CTech by Calcalist’s Post

Revenue doesn’t always tell you what you think it tells you. I’ve been reading a few LinkedIn posts comparing Cars24, Spinny and CarTrade Tech, and it brought back a question I was asked repeatedly during the CarTrade Tech IPO process and subsequently in analyst meetings: “Why is CarTrade’s revenue so much lower than Cars24 and Spinny?” Having been on the other side of those discussions as CSO, the answer is actually quite simple. The businesses account for revenue very differently. CarTrade’s model is predominantly an asset-light marketplace model. When a dealer or advertiser pays to use the platform, CarTrade recognises the fee it earns as revenue. Cars24 and Spinny, on the other hand, operate significantly through an inventory-led model. They buy vehicles, take them onto their books and subsequently sell them. As a result, the entire selling price of the vehicle can appear as reported revenue. So comparing the headline revenue numbers without understanding the underlying business model can be very misleading. If a company buys a car for ₹5 lakh and sells it for ₹5.5 lakh, it may report ₹5.5 lakh of revenue — but the economic value created from that transaction is the ₹ 50,000 gross margin, not ₹5.5 lakhs. And that margin then has to fund a very different cost structure — refurbishment, logistics, inventory costs, marketing, people, physical infrastructure, financing and other operating expenses. This is why I’ve always believed that revenue should be looked at alongside the economics of the business that generates it. I like to keep things simple: Revenue tells you the scale. EBITDA tells you the operating economics. Cash flow tells you what the business is actually generating. And PAT tells you what ultimately accrues to shareholders. After spending more than two decades in the corporate world, including being part of the journey that took CarTrade Tech through its IPO, my biggest takeaway is this: The companies that ultimately win are not necessarily the ones with the biggest revenue numbers or the most impressive adjusted metrics. They are the ones that build a sustainable business and consistently convert that business into profits and cash. #cartradetech #cartrade #carwale #olx #cars24 #spinny

Spinny is winning the used-car race. But "winning" still means losing ₹423 Cr. Day 14/70: same industry, same year, two completely different stories. CARS24 (Day 10): revenue fell 10%, losses widened to ₹543 Cr. Spinny: revenue grew 25% to ₹4,657 Cr, losses narrowed to ₹423 Cr. Both companies are doing the exact same thing, buying and reselling used cars, in the exact same market, in the exact same year. One is clearly pulling ahead. But I don't want to hand Spinny a win it hasn't fully earned yet. ₹423 Cr is still a massive loss. A 28% improvement sounds great as a headline, but strip the framing away and this is still a company burning over a crore a day. Narrowing losses is a real, good signal, but it's not the same as being close to sustainable. So the actual question I'd ask if I were evaluating both companies: is Spinny's improvement a real structural fix, cost discipline that holds even without fresh funding, or is it easier to look efficient in the same year you closed a $170M round? And even if it is real, ₹423 Cr says the model isn't there yet either. Two companies, same market. One is losing the race. The other is still losing money. Source: Spinny FY24/FY25 RoC filings, CARS24 FY24/FY25 RoC filings. #BusinessAnalyst #ProductAnalyst #DataAnalyst #Spinny #CARS24 #StartupIndia

Almost six weeks since my last post here. Not because there was nothing to say. Because there was too much to build with my team. That is the part of startup life nobody photographs. The stretch where you go quiet, ship, break things, fix them, and come back with something worth putting Decklar's name on. So — back, with something worth putting Decklar's name on. Decklar will be presenting at the Autotech Council's September event on September 17. Vidya Subramanian, our VP of Emerging Tech, will be on stage in front of global automakers, Tier 1 suppliers, mobility companies, investors, and technology leaders. The message is one we have been living for years now: real-time visibility was the starting line, not the finish. The supply chains that win from here are the ones that decide and act on their own. AI that does not simply tell you the truck is late, but reroutes, reprices, and recovers while you sleep. And to every founder reading this from inside your own quiet stretch: the silence is not absence, it is compounding. Keep building. Then come tell the world. Thank you to the Autotech Council for the invitation. If you will be there at the Volkswagen Innovation and Engineering Center (Belmont, CA) on the 17th, find Vidya. He has a way of making the future sound inevitable. #Decklar #Autotech #Automotive #SupplyChain #AI #Mobility #Innovation

Before Aeroza became an idea, there was a much simpler problem. 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭. If you're a collector, you probably know what I'm talking about. You find a model you want. Then the search begins. One seller has a few models. Another has completely different ones. Some models are available only through small Instagram pages. Some are sitting with individual collectors. Some disappear from the market for months. There was no real, organized marketplace built specifically around this. The problem wasn't necessarily a lack of demand. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝. Collectors had to search across multiple sellers, communities, websites and social media pages just to find what they were looking for. And even after finding one, figuring out availability, authenticity, pricing and trust could be another challenge. That's when I started thinking: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? A place where collectors could discover models from different sellers, find what they're looking for, buy and sell with other enthusiasts, and eventually build their entire collection. That small problem became a much bigger idea. And that idea became 𝐀𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐳𝐚. What started with diecast collecting is now becoming something much bigger — a platform built around the entire automotive enthusiast experience. But diecast is where the journey started. We're still in beta, still learning, and still figuring out what Aeroza should ultimately become. One step at a time. #BuildingInPublic #Aeroza #Diecast #DiecastCollectors #Automotive #Startup #FounderJourney #Collecting

🔧 WE’RE LISTENING TO THE MECHANICS Before launching DrivePlug Auto SA, we’re speaking directly to the people who experience the challenges of the automotive industry every day. One of our first mechanic validation conversations highlighted several important realities: • Customer referrals are a major source of business. • Finding and retaining customers can be challenging. • Sourcing parts is still a significant pain point. • Mechanics often compare prices across different suppliers. • Price and parts availability matter when deciding where to source. • There is a clear interest in discovering customers and accessing multiple supplier options. • The proposed DrivePlug features were positively received. • There is willingness to pay for a platform that genuinely creates business value. This feedback is important because we don't want to build DrivePlug Auto SA based only on assumptions. We want to build it with the automotive ecosystem. Our October live-testing phase will allow us to put the MVP in front of real mechanics, workshops, dealerships, parts suppliers and customers — measure what actually works, identify what doesn't, and improve from there. The objective isn't simply to launch an app. The objective is to solve real problems. One mechanic at a time. One workshop at a time. One customer at a time. 🚗 DrivePlug Auto SA — Connecting the automotive ecosystem. #DrivePlugAutoSA #Mechanics #Workshops #AutomotiveIndustry #AutomotiveTechnology #SouthAfrica #Mobility #SaaS #MVP #Startup #CustomerValidation #AfricanStartups

The traditional automotive shopping experience has a gap. Consumers can spend hours researching a vehicle online and still have a difficult time simply experiencing one without entering the traditional dealership sales process. DriveThis is being built to change that. The platform connects consumers with real vehicle owners for low-pressure vehicle experiences. Vehicle owners gain an opportunity to earn from cars they already own, while dealerships gain access to shoppers who have already experienced the vehicles they're interested in. We're now opening the DriveThis Founding Member Program ahead of public launch. Founding Hosts — $29 one-time Early access, priority onboarding, launch benefits, and the opportunity to help shape the host side of the platform. Founding Dealers — $299 one-time Priority onboarding, early dealer access, launch-period visibility, introductory benefits, and the opportunity to help shape how DriveThis connects dealerships with qualified shoppers. We're not trying to replace dealerships or the car-buying process. We're building a better step before the sale. Real people. Real experiences. A better way to shop. DriveThis.co #DriveThis #AutomotiveInnovation #FoundingMembers #Automotive #CarDealers #CarBuying #Entrepreneurship #Mobility #FutureOfAutomotive

Mercedes-Benz Korea launched “Retail of the Future (RoF)” in April 2026, shifting to an agency model in which the manufacturer controls inventory and pricing while dealers handle commission-based consignment sales. The move standardized the customer experience through nationwide uniform pricing, integrated inventory, and a consistent online–offline process, but initially led to a demand contraction and an approximately 18% sales decline as discounts ended. Whether the model ultimately succeeds will depend on balancing three factors: a rational dealer compensation structure, tangible consumer benefits, and a stable nationwide IT infrastructure for inventory and logistics. https://lnkd.in/gp32uvFB

We were supposed to launch last year. Instead, we kept our heads down for another 1.5 years. At that time, I felt like we were a huge failure. We had already spent an entire year developing the product, and so to spend ANOTHER year felt like a big waste of time and money… especially as a bootstrapped company. The reality is that we did fail, and pre-maturely launching a mediocre, slightly above average product doesn’t erase that failure. The line between “good enough” and “nobody should ever see this” is tricky, and is the crux of many heated debates that I regularly engaged in as a product manager in tech. We live in a world (esp. now with AI) where it’s super tempting to launch quickly, and iterate based on feedback. “Move fast, break things” may no longer be on the walls, but some variant of this motto remains as the drumbeat of many startups. The pre-mature launch is a trap. You spend your time A/B testing sign up flows, trying to figure out what your product market fit is (because the organic pull doesn’t happen). You’re interviewing 25 users to figure out your retention problem (when you don’t even know if those are supposed to be your core users). Instead of stacking new features with more team members, you’ve got a lean team trying to fix the P1 problems you were aware of prior to launch. But in the moment of making the go/no go decision, it's hard - I get it. It feels better to make decisions with data post-launch than to make guesses right now. And as someone who lived and breathed OKRs, it’s really tough to miss your metrics and revenue forecast. That was personally the most challenging part last year. When we had to make that decision last year, Gemma (my co-founder and partner in everything in our lives) wisely said: “we can only launch once”. Last week, we finally got to make that first impression after being in the dark for 2+ years. Our newest product is called The Rollaway, which we’re nicknaming “the SUV of carry-on rollers for parents” because it carries everything so that parents don’t have to. It’s different than anything we’ve ever done before. Actually, I think it’s different than anything the entire luggage industry has ever done before. I think about that decision last year a lot. It affected me more than I’d like to admit. We usually hear success stories of moving quickly, but we rarely hear about those moments where the harder thing to do is to slow down, revisit everything, “not launch” in time. With how quickly things are moving right now with AI, I hope this can act as a counterbalance to some of the narrative today. We crossed the $1M mark on Kickstarter in our first week 🎉, and while hindsight is always 20/20, I’m glad we waited. 🎬 Launch video: https://lnkd.in/gj7gx2QJ 🚀 Kickstarter launch page: https://lnkd.in/g4qFWBB6

Porsche AG focuses more on his Core-Business - I like the Idea! Why? Automotive Business is full of challenges at this time. It needs a strong recalibration - what areas are core Strategy (A) - and what activities pay into that direction (B) IMO this should be all about Sportscars, Racing, Digital and AI Business - and the openness to promising Startups. How do you see it?

Southeast Asia 2nd-hand car marketplace Carro is planning for Nasdaq & Singapore dual-listing IPO to raise $500 million at $3 billion valuation in 2026 Q4 or 2027.  In 2026 June, Carro was planning for a United States IPO & Singapore secondary listing in 2026 to raise $500 million at $3 billion valuation.  Carro was founded in 2015 by Aaron Tan Aditya Lesmana & Kelvin Chng. Carro investors include SoftBank, (Eduardo Saverin) B Capital, Singapore GIC & Temasek. https://lnkd.in/eXrCftw9