Nitesh Agrawal

Agilitas x Virat Kohli partnership is one of the masterstroke deals I have seen in recent times. Virat invests 40 CR in Agilitas for a 1.94% stake, putting Agilitas’s valuation around 2000 CR. 📈 In turn, Agilitas acquires one8world, making Virat a co-founder and shareholder. They now get two very important growth levers: ⬇️ 1. A powerful manufacturing (via Mochiko Shoes - a 600 CR+ footwear brand that Agilitas acquired in 2008 ), 2. India’s biggest athlete — exclusively aligned. Easily becomes a 4000 CR revenue brand in the next 5 years. Footwear + retail scale requires capital — but this partnership compresses customer acquisition, product cycles, and brand-building like few others. Even Virat said in his podcast with Abhishek Ganguly, the co-founder of Agilitas that, “I didn’t want a brand deal… I wanted to build something that outlives me.” And Abhishek said something even beautiful - “An ambition to build from India but be globally relevant.” This isn’t marketing. This is legacy building with shared skin in the game. And that is how startups work - shared ambition with one goal (to make the company big) and food (read stake) in the table for everyone! A company that can be built in the long term with culture, capital, and conviction aligned. This might be the first time in India, where an athlete joins hands with a sport company to re-imagine and build the sport ecosystem of India - truly revolutionalising the game with a clear vision. 🙌

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Lessons: performance of listed startups At the xto10x IPO academy, we track listed startups - financials, market updates, stock price, peer comparison, analyst coverage and earnings calls. The intent? Understand the patterns behind sustained performance vs. underperformance - defined as movement in the stock price vs. the Nifty 500 over the same timeframe. Of the 30+ companies we track, here are headlines from 8 (data as on 8/4/25) #1 (2021 IPO): significant challenges for the first eight quarters - profitability doubts, acquisition anxiety. But the script flipped in 2023: delivered on guidance, turned the core business profitable and demonstrated sustained improvement in operating metrics. Outperforming by 134% #2 (2024 IPO): listed at a discount to its peer. Latest results show a widening gap with the peer on core metrics - revenue, market share and MTUs, with the CM gap narrowing slightly. Underperforming by 8% #3 (2021 IPO): A SaaS company, did an outstanding acquisition, improving EBITDA margin from 15% to 20% from FY23 to 24, leading to outperformance. Now facing challenges with revenue churn and no subsequent acquisitions (discussed in earnings calls) - underperforming by 35% #4 (2024 IPO): Not just another coworking play — 43% return on capital employed, driven by high utilisation and the managed aggregator model. Analysts now compare it with hotel peers given the ROCE profile. Outperforming by 68% #5 (2021 IPO): Beat 8Q guidance with growth in core business at 23%, new business at 115% and EBITDA margin of 47%. The stock outperformed by 46%. Then came bolder guidance relying heavily on the new business. Growth in the last 2Q is significantly below expectations, the stock is now down 30% from its peak #6 (2021 IPO): Ecomm player, gained 96% on listing day. In 2 years, revenue grew by 30%, while EBITDA margins remained flat (5% to 5.7%). Underperforming by 37% #7 (2022 IPO): Logistics player that delivered meaningful earnings growth from -₹319 Cr to ₹561 Cr, but missed market expectations of Rs. 1325 cr. Underperforming by 98% #8 (2023 IPO): D2C brand that went public with a bold offline expansion plan. But near-expiry stock issues, distributor churn, & retailer resistance to its SKU mix showed challenges in offline. Trading 31% below its IPO price So what are the patterns? At the risk of oversimplication, here’s what we have observed: Outperformers compound earnings & ROCE over a longer timeframe - quality execution translates into strong input metrics which translate into superior financial performance. This is so hard to do. Underperformers don’t have compounding yet - many challenges get in the way, e.g. high expectations (and a high issue price), widening gap with peers, relying on uncertain M&A/ new businesses/ channels to deliver earnings guidance, limited operating leverage. One overall takeaway for founders trying to decide on an IPO? Please test your recipe for compounding before you go public.

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𝗜𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱? Lately, I’ve had a lot of D2C founders asking about building subscription-based models for their products. From meal prep and coffee to fashion, there are tons of successful subscription examples in the US. But when these models are brought to India, many of them just don’t click. In my experience building a subscription business for India, most of the customers generally don’t like being locked into subscriptions unless there’s a very clear value attached. In our case, we saw that most people either paid a hefty amount upfront to buy a water purifier, and they paid a good chunk of the device cost again every year just for maintenance. So even though they “owned” the device, they kept spending like they didn’t. Also, when we decided to launch a water purifier subscription, we were trying to mimic their existing behavior, of water cans. I feel subscription won’t work for every product, especially in a price-sensitive and evolving market like India. If your product doesn’t have strong repeat usage or real customer demand, don’t treat subscriptions as a shortcut to predictable cash flow. It’ll only lead to frustration on both ends.

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Pleased to announce that Karekeba Ventures, among others, has invested in Stylework SaaS-based co-working/managed workspace aggregator Stylework on Wednesday announced the closure of Rs 30-crore Pre-Series B funding, which is planned to be deployed towards technology enhancement, domestic and international market expansion, and hiring key leadership personnel. Of the total funding, the company had achieved the first close of Rs 10-crore led by Equentis Angel Fund last month, with participation from Karekeba ventures /Cogniphy AIF Fund alongside continued subscriptions from Lets Venture Fund, MoneyVyapaar, HNIs and other strategic investors, Stylework said. Karekeba Ventures Kshitiz Anand Vishal Nikumbh

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Baby Products in 60 Minutes? This Stealth Startup Just Raised $3.2M to Take on Zepto & Blinkit In a time when quick commerce feels dominated by groceries and kitchen staples, a new player is quietly rewriting the rules. Peeko, a babycare-focused quick commerce startup founded by former Leap Finance and OYO executives, has emerged from stealth with a $3.2M (INR 28 Cr) seed round led by Stellaris Venture Partners. Here are the key insights every founder should note: 1. Quick Commerce Is Evolving Peeko proves that quick commerce isn’t just about groceries. Parents of infants and toddlers (0-6 years) need diapers, toys, baby food, and personal care items on demand and Peeko promises to deliver all of it in under 60 minutes. 2. Strategic Fundraising The round saw participation from top angels: Maninder G., Abhishek Goyal, Nitin Gupta, Arjun Vaidya, Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal. This isn’t just money it’s domain expertise in scaling marketplaces, logistics, and consumer brands. 3. Cautious but Smart Expansion Currently in beta with a single dark store covering 10 Bengaluru pincodes, Peeko is validating demand before scaling. The team plans to set up two more dark stores in the next 3-6 months and expand its SKU base to 15,000-20,000 products. Its ‘try and buy’ feature + instant returns directly address trust and emotional needs in babycare something mass-market platforms often overlook. The takeaway? Quick commerce isn’t just about being fast it’s about being relevant. Peeko shows how vertical plays can survive and even thrive alongside giants like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto. What niche verticals do you think are ripe for disruption in quick commerce?

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Last week, a VC friend called me frustrated. He told me: “We just lost a deal to an angel who wrote a ₹15 lakh check three months ago. Now the startup's raising their Series A at 10x the valuation. We would've written ₹5 crores today, but the founder told us the angel gets first right of refusal on the entire round." I wasn't surprised. Because here's what most people don't understand about startup investing: the best returns don't go to whoever writes the biggest check. They go to whoever writes the FIRST check. And that's where angels consistently beat VCs. According to IP Ventures 2024 data, angel investors are seeing IRRs of 30-36% across their portfolios. Meanwhile, 66% of all VC funds yield less than 10% returns. Wait, how is that possible? VCs have bigger funds, better networks, more resources. They should be crushing it, right? Wrong. Because VCs are playing a completely different game. They're managing $100 million funds and need to write $3-5 million checks to move the needle. By the time a startup is "VC-ready" the valuation already reflects most of that upside. Angels? They're writing ₹10-25 lakh checks when the company is still figuring out product-market fit. They're buying at ₹2 crore valuations, not ₹20 crore. That 10x difference in entry price is the entire game. Here's something I've learned after backing 12 startups over the last three years: founders never forget who believed in them when no one else would. Look at the data: In 2025, 41.5% of AngelList deals went to AI/ML startups. Angels drove momentum in high-tech fundraising before VCs even woke up to the opportunity. The best angel investors I know source 70% of their deals through proprietary networks they've built over years. The platform deals are just bonus diversification. But I need to be honest as well. First check investing is high risk. You're writing checks before they have proven business models. You're trusting founders who might burn through your capital in 6 months and go back to their corporate jobs. But here's why it still works: The top 10% of your investments will return 85-90% of your total portfolio value. You don't need every bet to work. You need 2-3 companies out of 20 to go 50-100x. For fellow angels and early-stage investors: What's been your experience with first check advantage? Have you seen the founder loyalty I'm talking about? Follow me (Rushabh Shah) for more insights on startup funding and investment trends. #angelinvesting #StartupIndia #venturecapital #AngelvsVC #fundingstartups

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Excited to share this News, 888vc, Our Early-stage venture capital firm based in Bangalore, India has launched platfrom Gro8 backed by ₹175 crore (US$ 20M) fund to back startups focused on AI, deep tech, Enterprise SAAS and sustainability over the next three years. 💡 Key Focus Areas: 🔹 Average ticket size of ₹2–4 crores 🔹 Sector Agnostic Angel fund 🔹 Focus on globally scalable solutions 🔹 Launch of GRO8 angel platform for cross-border funding, mentorship & market access 📌 If you’re building in AI, deep-tech, or sustainability with ambitions to grow globally, let’s talk. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gtUcYkrx #888vc #gro8 #venturecapital #angelinvestments #startups

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Most brands are considering to launch an app But few know if it’s 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴. In our latest "Dilse Omni talks" podcast, I asked Abhijeet Singh ( cofounder Appbrew : Why do companies hesitate to build apps? “They aren’t skeptical - but dont know how to measure success.” And that’s where most go wrong. At top D2C brands with App benchmarks 👇 • Apps drive 50%+ of total D2C sales • Deliver 2-3x better conversion rates • Give 30-40% higher AOV • Achieve 2x higher retention • And boost LTV by 2-3x Yet many brands still don’t track these numbers. Because having an app is easy. But having a successful app needs measurement. Check out the full episode link in comments 👇 & learn how to make your app your biggest growth driver.

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$700M Just Landed Nexus Ventures closed its eighth fund. $700M for India and US startups. Seed to Series A. AI, enterprise software, consumer, fintech. Their portfolio: Zepto, Delhivery, Rapido, @Apollo If you're building in these spaces, the capital is there. The question is whether your traction is. #VentureFunds #Investments #Startups #Capital #Build

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GTM for India’s consumer tech market is a different beast. And the sooner we accept that, the fewer mistakes we make. Everyone loves neat ICP slides. But the truth is, India refuses to behave like a homogenous market. It never has. And every founder who has built here eventually runs into the same realisation: India is not one ICP. It is a grid: X-axis = Age Y-axis = Tier And each cell behaves like a completely different market. If you look at any adoption data from India: 1. Tier 1 has ~60–70 percent digital payment penetration; Tier 3 still hovers around 20–30 percent. 2. Gen Z spends 2.5x more time on mobile gaming compared to 35+ audiences. 3. Average order value and trust in online purchases drop by almost 40 percent between Tier 1 and Tier 2, and by 60 percent when you hit Tier 3. 4. A Tier 1 user adopts new tech 2–3x faster than a Tier 3 user, even when exposed to the same product story. Same age. Same product. Same country. Completely different behaviours. And this is where Geoffrey Moore’s Crossing the Chasm becomes painfully real in India. In most countries, innovators and early adopters come from a predictable socio-economic band. In India, early adopters are scattered across age and tier but concentrated in very specific grid cells. 1. A 22-year-old in Tier 1 behaves like a global early adopter. 2. A 22-year-old in Tier 2 behaves like early majority. 3. A 40-year-old in Tier 3 might still be in the “late majority” even for mainstream tech. So the “adoption curve” is not one curve in India. It's multiple curves stitched together across the grid. And your GTM either respects this or burns money trying to force everyone to behave the same way. Some practical learnings from the trenches: 1. Age determines aspiration. Tier determines access. 2. You cannot sell high-AOV tech with the same confidence story across all tiers. Content format shifts by grid cell. 3. Tier 1-Gen Z discovers through Instagram Reels. 4. Tier 2-Millennials through YouTube explainers. 5. Tier 3-Gen Z through influencer trust, not product specs. CAC multipliers vary dramatically. 6. A CAC that works in Tier 1 becomes 1.7x in Tier 2 and 2–2.5x in Tier 3. Language, humour, even UI-UX expectations change by cell. You can’t localize India with just Hinglish. You don’t scale India with one GTM engine; you scale with sequencing. 1. Pick your beachhead (age x tier) like Moore suggests. 2. Nail product-market fit for that cell. 3. Then expand cell by cell not state by state. The biggest learning? India doesn’t reward generic GTMs. It rewards precision GTMs that understand culture, geography, aspiration, and adoption psychology. Your real ICP isn’t a persona. It is a grid and every square in that grid represents a new market to win. If this challenge excites you, we’re hiring a Marketing Lead. Fill out the form and let’s talk. Form: https://lnkd.in/d9wqtS_S

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𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐯𝐬. 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 - 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧-𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 Indus Khaitan, Founder of Redblock, shares his experience of working with design partners across 3 venture-backed startups, on An Operator's Blog. (Full episode link in comments)

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Entrepreneur lessons from a venture capitalist- a revenue model that is gaining popularity : Usage Based Pricing What is usage-based pricing? Usage-based pricing is a popular alternative to subscription-based pricing wherein customers are free to modulate their usage and companies measure usage and bill accordingly. It’s designed to capture more value, based on the assumption that the functionality customers are paying for is measurably improving their own bottom line, so they’ll be happy to pay. For example, if they’re using more API calls, that means they’re delivering more orders. Advantages of usage-based pricing 1. It’s appealing to users The straightforwardness of usage-based pricing appeals to many customers. It’s simple: Pay for what you use and nothing more. Much like a mini fridge in a hotel, you’re free to consume whatever you wish and you’ll get charged accordingly. Similarly, if you don’t touch anything, you won’t incur a charge. 2. Low barrier to entry Usage-based pricing and product-led growth tend to go hand-in-hand. Since customers don’t have to sign an upfront contract or hand over a substantial budget to get started, they can begin with a small amount of usage, and quickly scale up as they receive more value from your product. Customers only pay more as they benefit from increased usage and you get to share in your customer’s success as you scale with them. This approach may even widen your addressable market by making your product accessible to smaller companies. 3. Potential for quick spikes in revenue When customer usage surges, it means you’ll capture a large amount of revenue in a short period of time. Of course, the flipside of this is when usage plummets, you may run into a cash flow problem. 4. Higher net dollar retention Companies that leverage usage-based pricing far outperform their peers in terms of net dollar retention. Downsides of usage-based pricing zjd hoe to mitigate them 1. Low switching costs While an annual contract locks customers in, usage-based pricing lacks the same upfront commitment. This allows users to switch software providers on a whim. One bad experience is all it takes to lose them instantly. Usage-based pricing may prompt users to constantly consider and reconsider whether the value of your product is worth it How to mitigate: Invest in a stellar customer experience, even for lower-paying customers. Give support and service reps authority to discount to win back disgruntled customers. 2. Creates revenue (and cash flow) insecurity Since customers are free to modulate their usage at-will, you can’t guarantee a steady flow of revenue. It also becomes harder to forecast future revenue since customers can turn down their spend anytime. How to mitigate: Recognize that usage decreases from some customers will often be by increases from other customers. Invest heavily in data science and personnel to forecast, accounting for unknowns and complex factors like seasonality.

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