Saransh Anand

Biggest Cheat Codes & Lessons in the Past 8 Months ⬇️ 1. Finding a Co-Founder 2. Hiring Head of Operations 3. SOPs Work, but Founders Work Better 4. Stay in the Honeymoon Phase 5. Constant Marketing & Sales 6. Increase Your Pricing 7. Being Humble & Likeable 8. Clarity Over Everything 9. Everything Will Go Wrong 10. Fire Bad Clients Catch the full breakdown in today’s newsletter. Link to subscribe in the comments.

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The IPL is leaving JioCinema. Here’s why Hotstar won. Disney and Reliance just shook up India’s entertainment game. All live sports, including the IPL, are moving exclusively to Disney+ Hotstar. The reason? Hotstar’s tech is built to handle the massive surge of sports viewership something JioCinema couldn’t keep up with. This isn’t just a content move, it’s a tech masterclass. Hotstar’s backend has been primed for years, and now, it’s ready to take center stage. So, while everyone’s talking about the IPL switch, let’s not forget the real stars: the tech teams who built Hotstar into a streaming powerhouse. They’ve been playing the long game and it’s paying off. #DisneyPlus, #Hotstar, #IPL, #Reliance, #JioCinema, #StreamingWars, #TechInnovation, #SportsStreaming, #TechStrategy, #Entertainment

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You shouldn't be growth hacking if you're the government. Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s policies made: 1. Stripe walk out from a self-serve 5 minute setup to an invite only, long process. 2. International payments fail. Banks reject transactions. You can't quite literally pay for tools you need. 3. Wise (Transferwise) won't offer sole proprietorships setups or company setups. 4. Wix offers payment processors in most countries. They're still struggling to do so in India. I think our govt is a bit too proud that we're the 5th largest economy et al. That the world should bend to our rules. Then they move fast and break things.

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Who would invest in founders who have wasted $50M? Koo, an Indian microblogging platform, recently shut shop after raising $50M in capital. Everyone has their views on why Koo failed. IMO, the biggest reason behind its failure was a lack of PMF (Product Market Fit). Koo spent much money on marketing and didn’t build a product people wanted. It kept harping on nationalism, a Twitter for Indians, made in #India. This approach failed. However, this doesn’t mean Koo’s founders aren’t smart or intelligent. I wrote in an earlier post that we shouldn’t be surprised if Koo’s founders raise fresh capital for a new startup. To many of us, this might seem grossly unfair. Millions of smart, hardworking founders are struggling to raise capital while investors are backing failed founders who have wasted millions of dollars. How is that fair? It confirms the widely held belief that the #venturecapital industry is broken and corrupt where a few people with the right connections get all the capital while others don’t see a dime. It shows that the VC industry is a closed group, a cabal where who you know matters more than anything. While these are just complaints, most people who criticise VCs don’t understand how startup investing works. VCs welcome failures. They embrace them because they know failures are inevitable. When VCs invest in 20 #startups, they know 15 will fail. The goal is to invest in startups that can give them a 100x return. Failures are part of the game. They are unavoidable. The aim is to back founders who can build such 100x return companies. Hence, failures are not looked down upon in the VC industry. It’s similar to the American culture where society appreciates the people who take risks, and it easily accepts personal bankruptcies that result from this risk-taking approach. There’s no taboo in failing in the USA and the VC industry. I’m sure Koo’s founders have learnt from their mistakes. It’s an expensive mistake and not everyone is so lucky to have this luxury to spend $50M on their education. ;) However, most VCs will back Koo’s #founders because these founders know how to raise capital and they know how to not build and scale tech companies. Their past failures have improved their chances of future success. In the VC industry, Failure is Good.

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From Swiggy to Zomato: VC Exits Hit $4.06 Billion—Is This Sustainable? Now we understand why everyone’s rushing to list their startups—because VCs are eyeing hefty exits. In 2024, VCs scored a massive $4.06 billion in exits, primarily from the IPO market. Key Exits in 2024 • Swiggy: $750M from IPO • FirstCry.com (BrainBees Solutions Ltd.):$227M • Zomato: $909M • Policybazaar.com (PB Fintech): $291M Year-wise VC Exits - 2020: 7 deals, $113M - 2021: 18 deals, $3.3B - 2022: 13 deals, $1.5B - 2023: 32 deals, $2.06B - 2024: 44 deals, $4.06B VCs are the real 'sharks', making massive profits by offloading shares to the public through IPOs. But who’s really winning in startup exits? The founder? The VC? The retail investors? Looking at the current wave, it’s clear—VCs are the real winners. But here's the flip side: while VCs are cashing in on their early exits, it’s also important to remember the crucial role they’ve played in scaling and funding these companies. Without their backing, these companies might never have seen the light of an IPO. Retail investors, though they may not always see quick wins, help fuel market liquidity and contribute to the longer-term growth of these businesses. They sustain these ventures even beyond the exit event. So, are VCs merely playing a funding game, or are they shaping the long-term future of startups? (follow - Aradhya Varyani) P.S. VC firms know the game—get in early, exit through IPO, and enjoy the rewards. But are they true architects of success, or just out for the payout? #VentureCapital #Investments #Startups #MarketTrends #IPO #VCExits Elevation Capital | Goldman Sachs | Norwest Venture Partners | Accel | DST Global | Alpha Wave Global | Hillhouse Capital Group | Tencent | Harmony Partners | Barons Capital Partners | Naspers Ventures BV | Alibaba Group | Temasek | TPG | SoftBank Investment Advisers

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Brands, Brews & Banter has been among the Top-15 marketing podcasts in India for the past nine months (Spotify & Apple Podcasts). Podcasts may look deceptively simple, but here's what I've learned from 25+ episodes: 1. Don't invest in any expensive gear or rent studios till you've done at least 20 episodes and figured out your niche 2. All podcasts are like blind dates - Some are nerve-wracking (even boring), and sometimes you just click! 3. Get ready for A LOT of editing 4. Great quality of conversations trump bad production value 5. There's no such thing as "too long" in podcasts, only "boring." The same people who will skip a 40-second Reel will watch a four-hour episode of the "WTF is" podcast. If you're ready to start your own podcast and I can help, feel free to DM me.

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Now, here's a game-changer that boosted my client's ROAS by 7x: targeting specific locations on Facebook. While most people go for broad targeting across India, I took a different route, and it paid off big time. Here's the magic I discovered: Initially, targeting all of India, my CPL hovered around Rs10-Rs12. But once I focused on specific locations, my CPL dropped to Rs7-Rs8, with an added bonus of high-quality leads. Let me walk you through my approach: Imagine I'm promoting an Artificial Intelligence course. I delve into Google Trends to spot where AI is trending the most. From there, I extract city names and use them for targeted ads. The result? I'm now reaching the exact audience actively seeking AI knowledge. This tactic slashed my recent campaign's cost per lead, and I urge you to give it a shot in your next campaign. Bonus tip: Experiment with multiple ad copies, tailor them for different demographics and locations. This way, you'll pinpoint what resonates best, optimize your budget, and maximize results. I'm here to assist with any Facebook ads, Lead Generation, or Funnel Building queries you may have. 😇

Ultimate Tip to Build a Successful Startup! 🚀 I've had the privilege of working with over 200 startups since I launched StartUp. 👉League and the one core thing that I realized has stood out to me above all others. 👉You have to be obsessed with your customers' satisfaction! 👉When you’re starting, it’s easy to get caught up in perfecting your product or service. But the real secret sauce is a relentless focus on your customers. 👉Their needs, their feedback, their satisfaction these are the true north stars for your startup's success. I’ve seen it time and again. The startups that truly listen to and engage with their customers are the ones that thrive. 👉Here are a few tips to help you stay obsessed with customer satisfaction: 📌Listen Actively- Always listen to customers and gather feedback through surveys, reviews, and direct conversations. 📌Engage Consistently- Keep the lines of communication open with regular updates and check-ins. 📌Adapt Quickly- Be ready to make changes based on customer feedback. 📌Go the Extra Mile- Always aim to exceed customer expectations, not just meet them. 📌Measure Satisfaction- Use metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) to track customer happiness. Remember, your startup’s success hinges on the happiness of your customers. So, be obsessed with their satisfaction. How well do you know your customers? Share in the comments and stay tuned with Sanjay Pekam for such more updates!

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Like any first time founder, I used to think my edge is: → A ₹10,000 Cr market with 25% YoY growth → "Next-gen" app with world-class UI → Distribution strategy & systems → No dominant competetion But here's what actually matters: -> Ex-employer becomes your first enterprise client -> That side-project generating ₹2L MRR silently -> Family support & stable income at home -> Genuine industry connections Figure out the basics first and keep building. PS: If you're working on something meaningful, let's connect!

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Most popular dating apps face one big problem. After 2-3 exchanges, users shift to WhatsApp or Instagram to take the conversation forward. Time spent on the app drops, and thus, user retention decreases. At flutrr this is rarely an issue. We’re building for the youth in India’s small towns—an audience that isn’t very confident about talking to the opposite sex. They’re shy, take things slow, and rarely ask to exchange personal details, letting conversations flow on our app itself. To strengthen user experience, we’ve also introduced AI-driven sentiment analysis. If you’re chatting with someone, our AI understands the sentiment and helps craft responses aligned with the tone—ensuring longer, deeper conversations. Plus, we’ve added generative AI features for music creation and love quotes for moments when words fall short – making connections more meaningful. All these features are not there either on Insta or on WhatsApp. So our users will continue to chat with the app. And this is a first in the global dating industry This is something no other platform offers, and that’s the promise flutrr is built on—enabling genuine, meaningful relationships through innovation. #startups #india #datingapp #genai #product

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Why I spent $6,000 on buying the digitalscholar(dot)com domain for my business. It wasn’t just a purchase—it was a long-term vision. Backstory: Before starting digital scholar, I had only .in domain available and .com was taken by a certain research fellowship in one of the international universities (vaguely remember) After five years of waiting for the domain, I spoke to multiple agents who finally negotiated the price to $6000, and I finally made the move. Challenges with sticking to a .in domain: 1) Perception Limitations: International clients or students may see a .in domain as too regional, limiting my global appeal. 2) SEO Restrictions: A .in domain is was more likely to rank for Indian searches, affecting my visibility in international markets and getting me less traffic than my competitors. How this investment may benefit my business: 1) Global Expansion: I’m positioning Digital Scholar to attract clients from across the globe, opening doors for international growth. 2) Boosted Brand Perception: The .com domain positions my brand as a global leader, not just limited to India. 3) Better SEO: A .com helps my business rank higher in global searches, ensuring wider visibility and reach. I’ve waited five years for this domain—and now it’s a key part of my global strategy.

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This one thing cost Snapdeal its almost entire market share. 😯 Welcome to Day 4 of the Startup Series. Today, we’re diving into Competitive Analysis. 🚀 Did you know that 85% of startups perform competitive analysis regularly to stay ahead in their industry? Hence, it's very important and here's how you can do it: Step 1: Identify Your Competitors 👉🏻 Direct Competitors: These are businesses that offer similar products or services to the same target market. Analyze their offerings, pricing, and market positioning. 👉🏻 Indirect Competitors: These are businesses that offer different products but serve the same customer needs. Understanding their strategies can provide insights into alternative solutions your target market might consider. 👉🏻 Emerging Competitors: Keep an eye on new entrants in your industry. Startups and emerging companies can quickly become significant competitors. Step 2: Analyze Competitor Strategies 👉🏻 SWOT Analysis: Perform a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis for each competitor. This helps in understanding their capabilities and areas where you can differentiate yourself. 👉🏻 Business Models: Study their business models. How do they generate revenue? What are their cost structures? This can help you identify successful strategies and potential pitfalls. 👉🏻 Market Positioning: Analyze how competitors position themselves in the market. What are their unique selling propositions (USPs)? How do they communicate their value to customers? Step 3: Evaluate Competitor Performance 👉🏻 Market Share: Estimate the market share of your competitors. This helps in understanding their dominance and identifying potential opportunities for your startup. 👉🏻 Customer Feedback: Look at customer reviews and feedback on competitor products. This provides insights into what customers like and dislike, helping you to improve your offering. 👉🏻 Financial Health: Analyze financial reports of public competitors. Metrics like revenue, profit margins, and growth rates indicate their financial stability and potential vulnerabilities. Step 4: Leverage Competitive Intelligence Tools 👉🏻 Online Tools: Utilize tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and SimilarWeb to gather data on competitors’ online presence, including SEO strategies, traffic sources, and advertising campaigns. 👉🏻 Social Media Monitoring: Use tools like Hootsuite and Brandwatch to monitor competitors’ social media activities, campaigns, and customer interactions. By leveraging this information, you can identify opportunities, mitigate risks, and gain a competitive edge. 💪 Don't forget to join tomorrow on : Value Proposition 🙌🏻 What’s the most valuable insight you’ve gained from analyzing your competitors? Share your experiences below! 💬 #startup #entrepreneurship #innovation

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𝗭𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗼'𝘀 𝗔𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮 𝗢𝗻 $𝟱 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 $𝟯𝟰𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻- 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 1- Zepto recently closed a $340 million funding round at a $5 billion valuation, bringing its total funding to over $1.2 billion in the past year and a half. 2- Zepto's valuation Increased by $1.5 billion, from $3.5 billion to $5 billion in 60 days. 3- Zepto plans to expand its operations to new cities in India and launch new product categories, such as consumer electronics, general merchandise, and beauty and cosmetics. 4- The quick commerce market in India is becoming increasingly competitive, with established players like BigBasket also entering the space. 5- Palicha believes that the key to success is execution and building a strong customer experience. 6- Zepto prioritizes customer experience and has taken steps to improve delivery times and pricing. 7- Palicha's long-term vision for Zepto is to build a truly exceptional internet company in India and contribute to the growth of the Indian internet ecosystem. 8- The interview provides insights into Zepto's rapid growth, future plans, and the challenges and opportunities in the Indian quick commerce market. 9- The company delivers groceries, consumer electronics, general merchandise, and beauty and cosmetics in less than 10 minutes. 10-Zepto has a strong customer experience, with an average rating of 4.8 stars on the Google Play Store. #Zepto #QuickCommerce #StartupIndia #IndianStartup #Funding #Investment #Ecommerce #GroceryDelivery #ConsumerElectronics #BeautyAndCosmetics #CustomerExperience #Innovation #Growth #FutureOfRetail

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I have worked with 10+ startups. Few were closed and a few are doing good and still running. The one common factor of startups getting closed after raising seed or series A round is customer retention. Whatever you call it D1, D7, DAU/MAU or subscription retention. Retention is one core reason for startups getting closed after raising seed/series A round. There’s not a done & dusted playbook for retention.

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F..k..g insight on how to make 12.6 CR as a remote closer in 30 MIN I went on a podcast with Atul Anand and he made 12.6 CR as a remote closer He just went on and on how to be a remote closer to cracking deals of 10 lakh deals. He covered major topics like 1) His selling secrets 2) Rejection? It's All Part of the Game 3) How I Shifted my Mindset 4) Mastering the Discovery Call 5) Belief & Authority 6) Be a Leader, Friend, Motivator 7) Ditch the Textbooks Much much more Go ahead and watch it on my YouTube

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Many founders have DM me for help to: - validate their startup ideas - get the first $1 from customers - uncover hidden mistakes they made - point out potential disasters ahead - give honest + unbiased feedback to their products / business model / GTM But my time is limited as I can't help everyone. I really want to help and don't want founders to spend years building startups but failed because of costly mistakes. So here's how I can help: - I'm currently only open to 1-hour slot to have a call with a founder every week. - I'm most helpful if you're an early-stage founder in the validation or build phase. - During the 1-hour call you can AMA and I'll understand where you're now, ask pointed questions to uncover shits for you, give you a different POV, no BS advice, and tactical steps to achieve your goals (based on where you're in your startup). - If you're fundraising, I might also be able to connect you with the right angels/VCs (if there's a good fit). If that's what you want, DM me to see if we're a good fit. P.S. Love to see the wins from Riyansh Garg soon. Keep hustling man 💪🏻 #startup

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Coldplay Concert IPO: A Phenomenal Oversubscription The Coldplay concert tickets went on sale today, causing a frenzy that would make any IPO jealous. With 165,000 tickets up for grabs over 3 days of performances, the demand was so high that the Bookmyshow servers crashed, and people were left queuing up digitally for hours. If you missed out, you're not alone (I missed out too, alongside pretty much everyone I know). For every lucky person who snagged a ticket, there were 10-20 people who missed out. That's a lot of disappointed fans and a lot of missed opportunities for the organizers. With an average ticket price of Rs. 5,000 (ticket prices ranged from Rs 2,500 to Rs 35,000 for lounges), the total value of tickets sold was approximately Rs. 825 million (or $10 million). Considering the oversubscription rate of 10-20x, the potential market demand for tickets was between Rs. 8.25 billion and Rs. 16.5 billion ($100 million to $200 million). That's an insane amount of retail money chasing too few seats up for grabs. I wonder why the organizers did not pick larger venues - did they under-estimate the demand? Or maybe priced the seats too low - which is possible considering a ton of Indians traveled the seven seas over the last 12-18 months to attend a Coldplay concert at an international venue. This concert craze is just the latest in a series of high-demand events in India, from Diljit concerts to Lolla Palooza. It seems there's no limit to what Indian fans will pay to see their favorite artists live in action. #Coldplay #ConcertCraze PS: Reach out to me if you have a few extra tickets to sell ;-)

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Surprising WhatsApp Logo Impact (This test increased CR by 1.44% - completely by accident!) Quick context: We added the Whatsapp logo at checkout just to show people they'd get order updates there. Our only goal? Make sure conversions didn't drop. Instead, we discovered this: 1.) ARPU increased by 1.20%   2.) Conversion rate jumped 1.44%   3.) Potential monthly revenue boost: up to €77,630 Why did this work? Simple: When people saw the WhatsApp logo at checkout, they felt more trust. They knew exactly where their updates would arrive. Not through email. Not lost in spam. Right in WhatsApp. The key lesson? Sometimes testing things for strategic reasons (like better customer communication) can surprise you with unexpected revenue gains. You don't always know which tests will boost conversion! Follow (@) Samuel Hess for more insights on ecom, CRO and landing pages! Ps! want to see 90 Original A/B-Tests for $70,000,000+/year brands? I spent 182 hours doing tests ideas for these Top 1% Brands. 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻, 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀: 1. Like this post. 2. Comment "Sharing is Caring" 3. Repost this and i'll sent it to you ✨

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WHAT'S wrong WITH THIS Bold Care COPY? 🔁 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞: The sender ID already shows it. 🔎 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫: Lead with the offer. 🙁 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝟒 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬:  These words boost open rates. 😶 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐓𝐀:Make it engaging. 👇 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲: 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝟏𝐆𝟏! Unlock our biggest offer now! Apply code 𝐁𝟏𝐆𝟏 at checkout on products worth Rs. 449 and above. 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐰: weurl.co/qE0goC #SMSMarketing #RetentionMarketing #RjMari

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