Saurabh Gupta

After a certain scale, 2 metrics tell a lot about company culture /further scalability 1. Attrition rate and its trendline YOY: Most growing organisations will also have headcount increase. If along with headcount increase, the attrition rate also goes up, it often means either capability scale up issue or a culture issue. Capability scale up issue ideally should not be there unless you are growing exponentially ( which very few companies do at scale). Attrition rate close to 20 percent is a very good goal. Anything more than 30 is a huge red flag 2. Early Attrition: Any org is as good as its people. And hence one of the most critical things to get right is hiring the right people with right skills for the right job and also to set them up for success. Any attrition that happens within 12 months of someone joining means a poor hiring and onboarding process. This number should be as close to 0 as possible If you are joining a growth stage startup, do ask about these metrics. Will show a better picture than all the stories about culture you hear during the hiring process

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Chiratae Ventures Rolls Out Sonic DeepTech Fast‑Tracks $2 Mn Capital For India’s Frontier Tech Startups Chiratae Ventures unveils Sonic DeepTech: USD 2 million funding, 48-hours evaluation to accelerate India’s frontier-tech founders Read full story on: https://lnkd.in/giinQQ8e #ChirataeVentures #SonicDeepTech Annurag Batra | Noor Fathima Warsia |Tanvie Ahuja | Chetan Mehra | Resham Suhail | Navneet Singh

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Whenever a new industry takes shape and scale, ancillary/supporting companies also get set up. We call such companies as ‘Enablers’, the ‘Picks and Shovels’, to the large and growing industries. For eg: Contract manufacturers for FMCG/Pharma/Electronics/Mobiles, auto-ancillaries for OEMs, bottling plants for Coke. These are supply side businesses. There are demand side businesses also. For eg. Franchisees of QSR/retail brands, Cloud kitchen business on Food Delivery apps, Fleet operators on Ride hailing apps. When E-Commerce started scaling in India, we saw players like Delhivery, Shadowfax and Shiprocket emerge. So, we asked this question to ourselves, "Which enabling business will emerge when Quick Commerce starts seeing unprecedented scale?" We found our answer in Inamo. Do chk them out. C Sumit Anand and Rupesh Thakare are building a fundamentally solid company and we at Gemba Capital are happy to be a part of the journey.

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Spot on. The era of "growth at all costs" in EdTech is officially over. We watched billions pour into massive customer acquisition engines that didn’t actually solve underlying educational problems—they just digitized the same broken, one-size-fits-all systems. The companies surviving this consolidation phase are the ones with intense operating discipline, a clear path to profitability, and a relentless focus on solving deep, specific pain points for families. At Schoolio, we've intentionally avoided the hype-cycle valuation game to focus entirely on building a sustainable, durable business that actually serves neurodivergent learners. As you noted: capital raised is just a metric of debt, not success. Operating margins and real impact are what actually sustain enterprise value.

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ROHIT BAFNA's 888vc has introduced its first INR 175 Cr ($19 Mn) AIF, targeting early-stage Indian deeptech startups in AI and sustainability. Over three years, investments will range from INR 2 Cr to INR 4 Cr, focusing on scalable tech ventures. Founded in 2022, 888VC has already invested $12 Mn across 20 startups like EcoRatings and Finly, valuing its portfolio at over $500 Mn. Addressing funding gaps, this AIF complements government initiatives like the INR 1 Lakh Cr RDI scheme and efforts from firms like Speciale Invest and Yali Capital. #Deeptech #StartupFunding #IndiaAIF #DeccanFounders

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EdTech is still on the investor radar. Vedantu has raised $11M via convertible notes and is now preparing for an IPO next year. But an IPO isn’t just about scale it demands: - Strong unit economics - Clear monetization models - Customer retention at scale For new startups and SMBs, the lesson is clear: growth without discipline won’t last. Thinksuite help founders design monetization and growth roadmaps that prepare them for the next level—whether that’s scaling or going public. #ThinkSuite #EdTech #StartupIndia #IPOReady #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship #FundingNews

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