ASYMMETRIC

The ASYMMETRIC Crew today:

Revant: CEO, Mosaic Wellness

Shantanu: Founder & CEO, Bombay Shaving Company

Chirag: Founder, GoKwik

0:00 Coming up

0:47 Intro

2:31 10th foundation day is rare for a startup

8:48 Shantanu’s takeaways from a 10-year journey

14:07 Founder resilience

17:01 Near-death moments in a startup

22:45 Story follows data

27:03 Creator trust vs. ads

28:06 No more ads: what it means for brands?

37:47 Will branding metrics change?

45:05 True love for creators doesn’t exist

47:40 The rise of house of brands

52:00 New YouTube Premium prices in India

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The ASYMMETRIC Crew today:

Revant: CEO, Mosaic Wellness

Shantanu: Founder & CEO, Bombay Shaving Company

Chirag: Founder, GoKwik

Utsav Somani: Founder, Offline; Partner at Galaxy & iSeed

0:55 Intro & Welcome to Utsav Somani!

2:04 Utsav’s Current Work

4:13 Revant’s Angel Investing Journey

12:55 How Angel Investing Has Changed Post COVID

18:34 Will IPO Money Flow Back to Startups?

24:01 IRRs from Angel Investments

30:31 The Math Behind Angel Investments

36:46 From Angels to Fund Managers

40:10 The Problem with Domestic Capital Pools

43:35 What’s Worked in the US

44:40 Startup IPOs - Recycling into Angel Fuel

46:38 Types of Angel Investors

51:39 How to Classify Investors

53:46 The Bad Side of Angel Investing

58:07 Startups & the Media Hype

1:02:00 Building Good Faith in the Ecosystem

1:08:25 Angel Investing as a CEO

1:13:43 Managing Competition Risk

1:16:27 Consumer vs Platform Businesses

1:19:06 The Need for a Positive Sum Game

Charts referred to in the episode:

https://gamma.app/docs/Angel-Investment-Portfolio-Strategy-unv0lvzfc90d1iq

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X: https://x.com/ASYMMETRICCREW

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The ASYMMETRIC Crew today:

Revant: CEO, Mosaic Wellness

Shantanu: Founder & CEO, Bombay Shaving Company

Chirag: Founder, GoKwik

02:18 H-1B Landscape

02:39 Consumer Behavior and E-Commerce Trends

06:03 Impact of H-1B Changes on the Indian IT Industry

10:35 Impact on the U.S.

11:45 Lessons from China

12:34 Education Loan Concentration and NPA Risk

26:55 The Mathematics of Remittances

33:36 Chaos Around GST

36:08 GST’s Impact on Consumption

41:46 How India’s D2C Sector Responded to GST Cuts

45:30 Quick Commerce Thesis: Amazon/Flipkart

56:57 Interesting!

1:01:44 Sovereign Funds on the Cap Table

1:06:03 Compounding Machines: VC Time Horizons

Charts referred to in the episode:

https://gamma.app/docs/H-1B-Landscape-xm3m7j45c9nlc0v?mode=doc

Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theasymmetriccrew/

X: https://x.com/ASYMMETRICCREW

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theasymmetriccrew/

The ASYMMETRIC Crew today:

Revant: CEO, Mosaic Wellness

Shantanu: Founder & CEO, Bombay Shaving Company

Chirag: Founder, GoKwik

Avnish Bajaj: Founder & Investor Z47

0:00 Coming Up

1:10 Intro

2:30 Lenskart

3:20 On Urban Company’s IPO

7:01 On MobiKwik

10:20 The 4 Ps of IPOs in India

14:45 Is Every IPO Unique?

19:03 Behind Urban Company’s IPO Success

31:27 On China’s Narrative Violation

38:29 On China’s DeepTech

39:25 On The United States of AI

48:42 India’s Path Ahead: AI or Manufacturing?

Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theasymmetriccrew/

X: https://x.com/ASYMMETRICCREW

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theasymmetriccrew/

The ASYMMETRIC Crew today:

Revant: CEO, Mosaic Wellness

Shantanu: Founder & CEO, Bombay Shaving Company

Chirag: Founder, GoKwik

0:00 Coming Up

1:12 Intro

2:47 The North India Name Matrix

4:28 Fragrances in India: Trends

7:20 Perfume Wardrobing

9:49 The Rise of Dupe Fragrances

11:37 Why Mass Perfumes Are Booming

14:22 Fragrances Are Now Fashion

17:28 Global Deo Trends

19:39 Slices of Luxury for GenZ

23:21 Startup Founder Challenges

28:33 Thoughts on Org Planning & Target Setting

36:17 On Leadership Styles & Personalities

39:21 On Hiring Challenges

40:26 On Creating Clarity

43:35 On Process Dependence

47:18 On Org-Level Processes

51:27 On CEO Philosophy for People Management

53:48 On Evaluating Hiring Practices

Charts referred to in the episode:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KMa-I0N-BbCCnQaxKhynYlmoid-c7lXm/view?usp=drive_link

Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theasymmetriccrew/

X: https://x.com/ASYMMETRICCREW

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theasymmetriccrew/

The ASYMMETRIC Crew today:

Revant: CEO, Mosaic Wellness

Shantanu: Founder & CEO, Bombay Shaving Company

Chirag: Founder, GoKwik

0:00 Coming Up

1:13 Intro

2:31 The Rise of Plagiarism

3:39 Honasa’s FY25 Annual Report

6:42 Re-Evaluating the Omni-Channel Strategy

9:41 Nykaa & Purplle: Challenging the Offline Thesis?

11:50 Where Are The Offline Success Stories?

15:52 Accounting for Customer Behaviour

21:07 Offline Offers Faster Feedback Cycles?

24:22 Ensuring Brand Presence in Offline Spaces

29:53 The Rise of Private Labels

33:56 Private Labels: The Cost Advantage

35:58 Category-Wise Penetration of Private Labels

41:40 Why Are Q-Comm Players Exploring Private Labels Now?

44:28 High Brand Differentiation & Private Labels

48:10 Private Labels in Modern Trade

55:04 Synthesising the Debate

58:23 The Pentagon Pizza Index

Charts referred to in the episode-

https://gamma.app/docs/Private-Label-Analysis-Pentagon-Pizza-Ban-tajolnl6qxa1afr?mode=doc

Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theasymmetriccrew/

X: https://x.com/ASYMMETRICCREW

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theasymmetriccrew/

The ASYMMETRIC Crew today:

Revant: CEO, Mosaic Wellness

Shantanu: Founder & CEO, Bombay Shaving Company

Tushar Behl: Principal at Glade Brook Capital

0:00 Coming Up

1:16 Intro

3:55 On Real-Money Gaming

9:41 Why the RMG Ban?

15:44 On Trump and Tariffs

17:07 The Shift in Investor Perspective on EBOs

23:24 AOV Impact on Online/Offline Sales

30:50 Manufacturing Capabilities of Lenskart, Wakefit and Bluestone

34:55 Should Mokobara Open a Factory? Integrating Online & Offline

44:45 Retailer + Brand Voice - A Timeless Principle

50:04 Sales & Marketing vs Rent

51:40 Inventory Turns & Gross Margins Matter

57:27 Bluestone’s Growth Story

63:12 Moving Away From Franchises

67:03 The Opportunity Cost of Offline

74:17 What Could Happen? Lenskart, Bluestone, Wakefit

81:48 Lenskart Convenience Fees

Charts referred to in the episode-

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A2i7JV7Rh3qzHqhuoyQ1d_QduXGaZG3S/view?usp=drive_link

Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theasymmetriccrew/

X: https://x.com/ASYMMETRICCREW

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theasymmetriccrew/

The ASYMMETRIC Crew today:

Revant: CEO, Mosaic Wellness

Shantanu: Founder & CEO, Bombay Shaving Company

Chirag: Founder, GoKwik

0:00 Coming Up

1:06 Intro

3:06 Platform Convenience Fees

9:19 India’s Consumption Appetite

13:28 The Global Picture: Comparisons with US and China

16:48 The Future of Platform/Convenience Fees

22:30 NPCI Data on UPI Payments

28:00 Indian Content by Language Share

30:45 South Indian Languages

36:14 State-Wise GDP & Purchasing Power

39:57 Opportunities vis a vis Regional Content

43:29 Brand Insights & Success Stories for Vernacular Content

47:09 Reading vs Speaking Vernacular Language

49:48 OTT & Regional Content

Charts referred to in the episode-

Platform fee: https://gamma.app/docs/Convenience-Platform-Fee-Analysis-Asymmetric-j3yt4mlgtpk19k4?mode=doc

Rise of Regional Content: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iNKXGBkqXeHauCVN6qdQSGDlgx_Mh6XY/view?usp=drive_link

Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theasymmetriccrew/

X: https://x.com/ASYMMETRICCREW

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theasymmetriccrew/

The ASYMMETRIC Crew today:

Revant Bhate: CEO, Mosaic Wellness

Chirag Taneja: Founder, GoKwik

Darshit Vora: GP, Sparrow Capital

Chapters

00:00 Coming Up

01:10 Intro & Welcome, Darshit

02:28 Paytm Financials (Q1 FY 2026)

07:14 Soundbox Scale & CAC Payback

09:20 Pine Labs vs Soundbox: Subscription vs MDR Economics

13:27 How Fintechs Can Scale Without Risk

21:21 Retention Is Key Going Forward

25:26 Why CRED Lending Works So Well

28:29 Paytm vs PhonePe vs Google Pay vs BharatPe

34:17 Bluestone IPO Journey

39:01 Omnichannel Works in Jewelry

42:30 Gold vs Diamond Jewelry: Market & Gross Margin

47:47 Lab-Grown Diamonds & Consumer Psyche

54:11 Bluestone Unit Economics: Store Throughput, SSSG

57:56 July MF Inflows & Risk-On Tilt

Paytm analysis:

https://gamma.app/docs/Paytm-Analysis-Asymmetric-e4rigwq2uzkpnzg?mode=present#card-h0s04ivkgcb0hgc

The ASYMMETRIC Crew today:

Revant: CEO, Mosaic Wellness

Shantanu: Founder & CEO, Bombay Shaving Company

Chirag: Founder, GoKwik

Sandeep: Co-Founder, Dezerv

00:00 Coming up

01:12 Intro and welcome, Sandeep

02:05 Bengaluru vs. NCR, IPO clusters & real-estate prices

05:12 ESOP value creation: Public vs. Private markets

12:13 Longevity in wealth creation

17:42 ESOPs are liquidity-driven

21:24 Salary vs. Salary + ESOPs

31:28 ESOPs aren’t free money for the company

37:42 Wealth can be created in the later stages of a company

40:41 Not all ESOP policies are equal

48:28 Founder’s mental model for ESOP allocation

55:06 ESOP wealth isn’t just for the earliest joiners

1:04:01 Flipkart created wealth, then created wealth creators

1:07:01 Concluding thoughts