Startup Sutra

Did you know that over 300 million units of eyewear were sold in India in 2017 alone? Or that this number is expected to cross 400 million by 2024? In this episode, Samaksh and Anirudh try to find opportunities in this multi billion dollar market which is highly fragmented and dominated by unorganized players, making it ripe for disruption. They start by discussing about Quadrant Eye (https://www.quadranteye.com/), a recent Y Combinator alum building an online eye testing platform and how such a concept could be pivotal for smaller cities and towns in India. They follow this with Hubble Contacts (https://www.hubblecontacts.com/) which is a contact lens subscription service delivering kits of single use contact lenses directly to your doorstep. Next they break down the concept of virtual inventory and how the concept could be very successful for optical stores, providing them with the same inventory and options to sell that are available with large players such as Lenskart, without actually stocking up the inventory physically in their stores. They move on to New Eye Company (https://neweyeco.com/) which is the company behind a patented prescription industrial safety glasses solution that can be used with any standard industrial safety glasses. Following this they break down the numbers for Pair Eyewear (https://paireyewear.com/), which provides customizable prescription glasses primarily for kids, with swappable magnetic covers, aimed at reducing the stigma of prescription eyewear for kids. Finally they end with a discussion about the rising market for blue lens glasses as a solution to tackle screen fatigue and its impact on sleep cycles.

Did you know that 1 out of every 4 Indians is involved in a blue collar job? In this episode, Samaksh and Anirudh focus on this massive market which is ripe for disruption. They start off by discussing about the growing e-commerce and logistics market that is creating the majority of blue collar jobs in the country. They discuss about Vahan (https://vahan.co/) which is helping on-demand companies such as Swiggy and Zomato hire delivery personnel using WhatsApp. Next they discuss about Apna (https://apna.co/), a job portal for blue collar workers and the fastest unicorn in India, achieving the elusive tag within 22 months of launch. Moving along, they break down the the business behind CourseKey (https://coursekey.com/) that is providing a SaaS tool to help ITIs/Trade Schools manage their students and business. Along similar lines, they discuss about Nana (https://nanahome.com/) which is a modern take on ITIs/Trade Schools by providing free training for appliance repair by partnering with appliance companies and charging them for hiring and training repair and service personnel for their appliances. Finally, they end with Main Street (https://www.getmainstreet.com/) that is providing a business-in-a-box solution for painters to set up their own successful painting business.

Lack of sleep can disrupt your life, making the sleep market a multi billion dollar juggernaut. In this episode, Samaksh and Anirudh focus on this sleeping giant of an industry, starting off with sleep apps such as Calm (https://www.calm.com/) and Headspace (https://www.headspace.com/) as well as sleep games such as Revery (http://reverylab.com/) that utilize cognitive behavioral therapy to induce better sleep. Next they move to an idea for an e-commerce marketplace for all sleep content and products for India. They discuss about some of the Melatonin consumables such as gummies and sleeping teas, as well as aromatherapy products such as candles etc. Changing gears for the next section, they focus on the booming sleep-tech market and some standouts such as sleep tracking ring Oura Ring (https://ouraring.com/), smart mattress company Eight Sleep (https://www.eightsleep.com/) & Bose Sleepbuds. Finally they discuss about the burgeoning market for weighted blankets such as Gravity Blankets (https://gravityblankets.com/) and Rumpl (https://www.rumpl.com/) as well as cuddle buddies such as Moon Pals (https://www.moonpals.com/).

Did you know that over 3 lakh people signed up to learn Korean language in India in 2020? Or that the Korean boy-band BTS is expected to generate over $37 billion in revenue from 2019 to 2029? In this episode, Samaksh and Anirudh discuss about the Hallyu wave and its inception. They break down the entry of Korean content and products in the Indian market and how it snowballed into a major cultural phenomenon. They detail the rise of K-beauty and the idea for an online marketplace for K-beauty, such as Sokoglam (https://sokoglam.com/). Next they discuss the adoption of K-food such as Kimchi, Ramen, Gimbap etc in the Indian market and the opportunity to build restaurants and packaged food businesses in the space. They detail the business behind Korikart (https://korikart.com/) and how it created a one stop shop for all things Korean. They move on to K-drama and how content has been the driving force for the adoption of the Korean Wave. They discuss about an idea for licensing IP from such K-drama shows to sell official licensed merchandise in India. Finally they discuss about another Korean content phenomenon which is K-pop, how the South Korean government is supporting it in India via K-pop events in the country and the business opportunity to create a K-pop events business in India, similar to how Sunburn has created a market for itself in the country. 

In this episode, Samaksh and Anirudh focus on the booming ecommerce marketplaces and how to build businesses on top of these marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart. They start off by discussing about revenue based financing companies for online sellers, such as Clearbanc (https://clear.co/) & Klub (https://klubworks.com/) and how they are creating an alternative financing option for such sellers. Next they move on to the business of Amazon aggregators/rollups such as Thrasio (https://www.thrasio.com/), Perch (https://www.perchhq.com/) and 10Club (https://10club.team/) and how this market is heating up with over 60 aggregators popping up across the globe since 2018 and raising billions in funding. Following this, they dive deep into the world of fake reviews and how it impacts online sellers, while discussing about the process in which these fake review farms operate to avoid being detected by Amazon. Then they break down the product return problem for online marketplaces and how you can create a reseller business in the form of Amazon mystery boxes, such as BlueLots (https://www.bluelots.com/). Finally they discuss about the business of ecommerce packaging, such as the packaging giant Sealed Air (https://www.sealedair.com/), the company behind the revolutionary bubble wrap and how they are poised for growth due to the ecommerce boom in light of the global pandemic.

While the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns raged havoc on most businesses, there were certain businesses that got a big boost. The lockdowns and subsequent family bonding time at home was a blessing in disguise for some. In this episode, Samaksh and Anirudh start by discussing about one such company, called Hunt a Killer (https://www.huntakiller.com/), a murder mystery game subscription company which got a  66% bump in sales during 2020 as compared to 2019. Along similar lines, Jiggy (https://jiggypuzzles.com/) which is a jigsaw puzzle maker and Shark Tank alum, saw a sharp spike in revenue in the lockdowns. Another major trend to pick up during the lockdowns was art and crafts. One beneficiary of this trend was Itsy Bitsy (https://itsybitsy.in/), an online marketplace for art/craft and DIY supplies, that generated over INR 70 crores in revenue in 2020. Finally, they discuss about virtual escape rooms and how companies such as Puzzle Break (https://www.puzzlebreak.us/) are raking in millions providing virtual team bonding activities in the form of virtual escape room games.

In this episode, Samaksh and Anirudh try to make sense of the booming NFT trend. They start by breaking down the concept of NFT and how it works. They discuss about how Dapper Labs (https://www.dapperlabs.com/), a consumer applications focused blockchain behemoth has created the biggest digital sports collectibles platform, NBA Top Shot (https://nbatopshot.com/). Then they move on to the liquidity and trading of NFTs, which leads to the second idea for a marketplace for NFTs and Crypto Collectibles, such as OpenSea (https://opensea.io/). Next they break down 2 interesting crypto collectibles and gaming ideas, the first one being CryptoKitties (https://www.cryptokitties.co/), another project by Dapper Labs, and the second one being Zed Run (https://zed.run/). Finally, they brainstorm how creating a blockchain based game engine/OS, such as the one being developed by Mythical Games (https://mythicalgames.com/) and how it can be a better alternative to traditional options like Ethereum.

Did you know that the tattoo and tattoo aftercare market in India is worth over INR 20,000 crores? In this episode, Samaksh and Anirudh start by discussing the size and fragmented nature of the tattoo and tattoo aftercare market. They recap how they stumbled upon the industry while breaking down the numbers behind Mad Rabbit (https://www.madrabbit.com/) which is a fast growing D2C tattoo aftercare brand. Next they break down an idea for creating a branded high end tattoo studio chain in India. They move on to discuss about Ephemeral Tattoo (https://ephemeral.tattoo/) which is a made-to-fade biodegradable ink tattoo company. Finally, they brainstorm about Ink Hunter (http://inkhunter.tattoo/) which is an Augmented Reality app to virtually try on and visualize tattoo designs in real time. 

In the spirit of the 75th Independence Day, Samaksh and Anirudh start by discussing about an e-commerce platform catering to frontline workers. They discuss about GovX (https://www.govx.com/) and how they have created a successful profitable ecommerce business by catering to millions of verified frontline worker community on its platform. They also discuss about UdChalo (https://www.udchalo.com/) which is a travel ticketing platform for Indian Military personnel. Next they break down the current prison system and it's challenges. They discuss about the ePrison platform that was recently launched in lieu of the pandemic and the KaraBazaar initiative that promotes prisoner made products. They also discuss about Pigeonly (https://pigeonly.com/) that connects prisoners and their families via an online platform with services such as video conferencing, letter, birthday card and photograph delivery etc. As they move on, they talk about the breakdown of the notary system in India due to the pandemic, simply because of an old law prohibiting digital notary. They discuss about Notarize (https://www.notarize.com/) which is an online notary platform worth $760 million and how one rule change could disrupt this multi billion dollar industry in India. Finally they discuss about the concept of Geographical Indication (GI) and how it can be leveraged to create a competitive advantage for business. They discuss some examples such as the "Basmati" name dispute between India and Pakistan and the very lucrative Champagne GI. They brainstorm an idea for an authenticated marketplace for Geographical Indication (GI) products and brands for India.