Deepak Bhagchandani

The PhonePe IPO Reality Check Nobody Wants to Talk About Everyone’s busy hyping the IPO of PhonePe, but let’s pause and ask a brutal question: Is this a growth story… or an exit story? Backed by Walmart, the company is reportedly targeting a $9–10.5B valuation, notably lower than its previous $12B private valuation. That’s not just “market conditions”… that’s a reality correction. Even more interesting? This IPO is 100% Offer For Sale, meaning: 👉 No fresh capital for the company 👉 Early investors like Tiger Global and Microsoft are heading for the exit 👉 Retail investors might just be the liquidity event Let that sink in. Yes, PhonePe dominates UPI, but here’s the uncomfortable truth: 💸 Payments in India are mostly zero-margin 📉 Despite scale, profitability is still under pressure ⚠️ Monetisation remains the biggest unanswered question () And history has not been kind… Remember Paytm? Massive IPO. Massive hype. Then… reality. Now ask yourself 👇 Are we investing in: A) India’s fintech future B) Or someone else’s past gains Because when insiders sell, and no new money comes in, it’s not funding growth… It’s transferring risk. Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE) NSE India SEBI #IPO #PhonePe #StockMarketIndia #StartupReality #Fintech #Investing #Diverss #WealthBuilding #RetailInvestors https://lnkd.in/d3RhmDY4

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The Circle GTM Studio specializes in helping global startups soft-land in India. A structured accelerator designed to help growth-stage founders localize for India, run pilots, acquire early customers, and prepare for fundraising — backed by deep ecosystem access and real-world insights from founders who’ve successfully navigated the Indian market. If India is on your roadmap, this is where you begin. #thecircle #acceleratorprogram #startups #growth

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🚀 Big funding alert in India’s SaaS space! BambooBox has raised $6.6 Mn (₹55 Cr) in a funding round led by Peak XV Partners, with participation from Emergent Ventures, Arc180, Uncorrelated, HAF, and angel investors. Founded by Ankur Saigal and Divyesh Dixit, BambooBox is helping enterprises win high-value clients through AI-powered Account-Based Marketing (ABM). Its platform combines data, AI, and human expertise to drive targeted campaigns and better ROI. With this fresh capital, the startup plans to boost its AI capabilities, expand globally, and scale its AI-native ABM services—helping businesses get more value from their go-to-market strategies. 👉 Read more: https://lnkd.in/gzh2cD7X #BambooBox #StartupFunding #SaaS #ABM #B2BMarketing #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #MarketingTech #StartupIndia #VentureCapital #TechNews #BusinessGrowth

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Ahmedabad-based startup Reelo is helping restaurants move beyond aggregator dependency with its data-driven platform focused on customer retention and loyalty. Founded in 2017 by Parin Sanghvi and Prit Sanghvi, Reelo integrates with POS systems to automate personalised campaigns, feedback analysis, and re-engagement strategies. Its new subscription model—offering perks like free coffee and priority seating—is gaining traction as a fresh revenue stream. Backed by $1M in funding, Reelo works with brands like Nando’s, The Beer Cafe, and Lite Bite Foods, and is expanding to the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dRxX3aGS By Anuj Suvarna #F&B #Reelo #RestaurantMarketing

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Fintech platform Vyapar has acquired accounting automation startup Suvit to deepen its SaaS and AI capabilities for India’s MSME ecosystem. Suvit’s co-founder Ankit Virani will join as Business Head, leading automation integration across Vyapar’s platform. Vyapar enables mobile and desktop-based invoicing, inventory, accounting and compliance, while Suvit serves CA firms and tax professionals with AI tools that streamline banking, taxation and audit workflows. Together, they aim to enhance digital compliance and operational efficiency for small businesses and professionals. With India’s accounting software market expected to reach $5.75B by 2030, Vyapar is positioning itself against players like Clear and SahiGST to capture rising digital adoption across MSMEs. #vyapar #startupcityindia #suvit #fintechstartup #msmetech #accountingautomation #taxprofessionaltools #saasgrowth #aiintegration #workflowautomation #businesssoftware #accountingtech #marketexpansion #innovationindia #startupnews #enterpriseautomation #fintechupdates #businesscompliance #dataintelligence #accountingsoftware #digitalindia #financialtechnology #startupstories #technewsindia #futureofworkflows #productivitytools #msmeecosystem #scalinginnovation #businessupdates

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Cracking the India Fintech Market: Why Your GTM Strategy Can’t Be a Copy-Paste. Expanding into India with a fintech product isn’t just another market expansion-it’s a decoding exercise. In our latest guest blog on "GTM strategy for fintech market entry in India", Madhuleena Medhi explores why traditional approaches fall short and how business development, partnerships and ecosystem thinking become your most strategic levers in the first 90–180 days. From identifying real buyer intent to sequencing go-to-market motions that build trust and reduce friction, this piece is a must-read for founders and teams planning India entry. Key take away: Design your GTM motion around learning and adaptation- not just execution. Check it out! https://lnkd.in/gmGmC-sP Thank you to Madhuleena for this fantastic share. Anuj Joshi Amber Joshi

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Edtech startup Codeyoung has raised $5 million (INR 44.4 Cr) in its Series A funding round led by 12 Flags Group and Enzia Ventures, with a mix of primary and secondary investments, the latter providing an exit for early investor Guild Capital. The funds will focus on expanding in international markets like the US and Canada, developing AI-driven personalization tools, and adding new learning categories. Founded in 2020 by Shailendra Dhakad and Rupika Taneja, Codeyoung offers online coaching for children aged 5-17. Currently, about 15,000 students learn weekly on the platform, with 70% from North America. The startup has 1,100 independent trainers and a Bengaluru-based operations team of 350 employees. Codeyoung is cash flow positive, generating monthly revenues of approximately $1.8 million, and its annual recurring revenue stands at $15 million. The funding round follows challenges in the edtech sector, notably with companies like BYJU’S, while the total addressable market for India's edtech sector is projected to reach $29 billion by 2030. . . #OverNexus #startupnews #EdtechInnovation #GlobalExpansion #StartupFunding #Codeyoung #EducationTechnology

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Bhavin Turakhia didn’t chase hype. He built profits. 🚀 Started at 17, built Directi created global SaaS products like Radix , Flock & Zeta and crossed $1B+ in exits — mostly bootstrapped. Key Learnings: • Profitability beats valuation • Build global, think long-term • Discipline > funding • You don’t need noise to win 📌 Quiet execution builds loud results. #BhavinTurakhia #StartupLessons #Bootstrapped #SaaS #Entrepreneurship

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Still toggling tabs to trace transactions in Bank statement reco? Chasing vendors for key onboarding data for urgent payments? Digging through google drives to find the right bill against a tally voucher? [ Yes- it's true] You don’t have to. Mysa’s May release fixes all that. Smart Statements, Multi-org switching, Instant vendor pay, Clickable Tally links: live now. Including Mysa API's that now power bill ingestion across supply chain ERPs into Mysa - Shoptree ERPNext being the first few. #getademonow #mysa

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Most startups chase VCs, but Rajesh Sinha built a $100M ARR company with customer funding instead. His counterintuitive approach to bootstrapping challenges everything we know about startup growth. Hear the complete playbook on Founder Thesis. Full episode at: podm.in/fulcrum

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Can you tell which app is which? India’s top 3 quick commerce apps have reached peak UX convergence today. If you stripped away the logos, you could not tell them apart. Why is this happening? Call it Product Darwinism. They have all evolved toward the same "optimal" form because they are solving the exact same problem for the exact same user. There’s already parity on delivery speed, price and inventory. What’s left to optimize is the ordering. Reduce cognitive load. Eliminate hesitation. Make the path to checkout feel automatic. The apps have A/B tested their way to the same local maximum and landed on the same visual hierarchy. We talk about moats all the time. But when the interface becomes the product and every interface looks identical, the real brand differentiation must happen beyond the screen. It shifts to something harder to copy, like trust, reliability, or experience.

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🌏 India’s cross-border momentum is just getting started. 🚀 From the rise of Tier 2 exporters to the power of digital-first platforms, Payoneer is witnessing a shift in how India does global business. 💡 Gaurav Shisodia, Vice President, Payoneer India, shares key insights in Outlook Publishing (India) Pvt. Ltd. spotlighting what’s driving the next wave of cross-border growth for Indian SMBs. Read the interview here 👉 https://paynr.co/4pqPkdK

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India’s Revenue Architects | Ep. 1 Ft. Prakhar Jain What Shark Tank did for founders we want to do for sales leaders. Over the last decade, India’s SaaS ecosystem has scaled globally, powered by the people who drive growth from the frontlines the sales leaders. And yet, their stories often go untold. That’s exactly what India’s Revenue Architects is here to change. A first-of-its-kind docu-series by HiveSchool, featuring India’s top sales leaders Episode 1: Ft. Prakhar Jain From joining Whatfix as one of the first employees to helping build a global sales org across 40+ countries his journey is proof of how sales shapes companies, careers, and India’s revenue story. Massive respect to Prakhar for opening the series and for being the face of what modern sales leadership in India looks like. For us at Hive School of Business, It's a step towards giving the world’s fastest-growing revenue ecosystem the spotlight it deserves. The first episode drops soon. Stay tuned. If you're curious, check HiveSchool here: India’s Revenue Architects | Ep. 1 Ft. Prakhar Jain What Shark Tank did for founders we want to do for sales leaders. Over the last decade, India’s SaaS ecosystem has scaled globally, powered by the people who drive growth from the frontlines the sales leaders. And yet, their stories often go untold. That’s exactly what India’s Revenue Architects is here to change. A first-of-its-kind docu-series by HiveSchool, featuring India’s top sales leaders Episode 1: Ft. Prakhar Jain From joining Whatfix as one of the first employees to helping build a global sales org across 40+ countries his journey is proof of how sales shapes companies, careers, and India’s revenue story. Massive respect to Prakhar for opening the series and for being the face of what modern sales leadership in India looks like. For us at Hive School of Business, It's a step towards giving the world’s fastest-growing revenue ecosystem the spotlight it deserves. The first episode drops soon. Stay tuned. If you're curious, check HiveSchool here: https://lnkd.in/g4J9WyQK

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Quick home services startup Snabbit acquihires Pync’s founding team to scale operations across India! The move brings experienced founders on board and strengthens Snabbit’s position against rivals like Urban Company, as it prepares for a $100M funding round. #Snabbit #Pync #HomeServices #StartupIndia #Acquihire #TechNews #RapidGrowth #StartupStories #Startups #Entrepreneurs #Founders

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App attribution and analytics platform (MMP) Linkrunner has raised Rs 5 crore in a pre-seed funding round. The funding round was led by Titan Capital along with participation from angel investor Samir Sood and early-stage venture firm 2AM.VC. Linkrunner was co-founded by Shreyans Sancheti and Darshil Rathod. The startup is an AI-driven app attribution and analytics platform (MMP) designed for modern consumer apps. It helps companies track customer metrics, manage advertising spends, and make data-driven growth marketing decisions. #funding #linkrunner

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Codeyoung, an edtech startup has raised $5 million (Rs 44.4 Cr) in its Series A funding round, led by Blue Tokai-backer 12 Flags Group and Enzia Ventures. The round was an equal mix of primary and secondary funding, with the secondary portion allowing early investor Guild Capital to exit. The startup will use the new funds to grow in its current international markets, especially in the US and Canada. Some of the money will also go toward building AI-based personalization tools and adding new learning categories. 🔗 Read full article link in comment Shailendra Dhakad | Rupika Taneja #codeyoung #edtech #funding #startupnews #growth

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Why build an MVP? Because guessing doesn’t scale. ✅ Test the market 📊 Get real user data 💸 Use insights to pitch investors with confidence Build smart. Launch small. Learn fast. #MVP #StartupTips #BuildMeasureLearn #ProductLaunch #FounderJourney #StartupIndia

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