Author | Lightnews

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 13h

7/ Lenskart will succeed because of real infrastructure and a brand moat. But the IPO will decide its fate; it will signal whether India’s public investors - bitten before - will finally let realism anchor the price, or if the pendulum swings back to suspended disbelief. #LenskartIPO #Eyewear

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 13h

6/ Globally, Warby Parker is the cautionary tale: once valued at $6B, now trading at less than a third of that. The market quickly punishes a D2C brand when its valuation exceeds category maturity.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 13h

5/ Lenskart's strength is operational: vertically integrated, controlling manufacturing, and enjoying 60% gross margin. But eyewear is a slow-moving category with long replacement cycles. Profitability hinges on premium positioning and frequency.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 13h

4/ Founder Peyush Bansal's timing is shrewd: He recently bought 4.27 Cr shares at ₹52/apiece, and is now cashing out approx 2.05 Cr shares at ₹402/apiece in the IPO. A standard late-stage playbook: lock-in low, monetize high.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 13h

3/ This IPO is OFS-heavy (approx ₹5,128 Cr Offer for Sale vs. approx ₹2,150 Cr Fresh Issue). It’s more of a massive wealth transfer for investors (SoftBank, Kedaara) and founders than a primary fundraise for growth.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 13h

2/ The "profit" is fragile. While Lenskart reported ₹297 Cr net profit in FY25, a significant chunk came from a one-time accounting gain linked to the Owndays acquisition. Adjust that, and the true net margin is razor-thin.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 13h

1/ Lenskart's IPO is a high-stakes test. It's listing at a projected ₹70,000 Cr valuation (P/E > 220x!) - testing whether Indian investors are ready to back Silicon Valley multiples again, despite the lessons from Paytm/Nykaa.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 1d

7/ The new valuation multiple (~4-5x revenue) is probationary. The co-living market needs structural winners. The verdict is simple: this model can work, but only if Stanza trades speed for structure and converts "beds under management" into "contracts that cash-flow." #Proptech #CoLiving

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 1d

6/ Stanza's homework for the next year: Stop chasing "largest footprint" vanity. Start publishing real metrics: Occupancy, ARPB (Average Revenue Per Bed), and Contribution Margin by city. Shift inventory off fixed leases to management contracts.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 1d

5/ The playbook that works globally (Unite, iQ) is unsexy: PropCo/OpCo models, long-term university nomination agreements, and 97%+ occupancy. Durable profit accrues to those who de-risk demand, not those who maximize beds.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 1d

4/ The industry's lifeline: GST exemption for stays greater than 90 days and less than ₹20,000/month. This directly improves affordability. But policy scaffolding alone doesn't fix an undisciplined lease book or weak demand contracts.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 1d

3/ The model is structurally difficult: "Living as a Service" layers elegant consumer promises over ugly fixed costs. Long-term leases don't flex when occupancy dips, leading to massive depreciation and finance costs - the core fixed cost trap.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 1d

2/ The P&L is the problem. While FY24 revenue rose to ₹584 Cr, net loss was still ~₹273 Cr - a 47% loss margin. This latest cheque buys roughly a year of runway at that burn rate. This cheque buys time, not safety.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 1d

1/ Stanza Living just raised $32M, but the headline is the down round. Valued at ~₹2,812 Cr, it's a stark reminder that investors are no longer betting on potential. They are asking: Show me the operational discipline.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 2d

7/ The biggest bet isn't that humans can live longer. It’s that Indian tech can think longer. If this project delivers reusable insights for ageing biology, it sets the standard for Indian deep science. One founder’s cheque becomes a country’s new habit. #Longevity #DeepTech #Zomato

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 2d

6/ The risk is real: $25M is small for wet labs and clinical trials. But the project's future rests on its execution and transparency. Fund quickly, share data openly, and attract co-funding by proving the model works.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 2d

5/ This is India's version of the Bezos/Page patronage (Unity/Calico), but with a crucial difference: it's open. This allows India to build a public knowledge base that later private companies can build upon, at India costs.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 2d

4/ The fund has two clear buckets: Moonshots ($50k–$250k for 6-12 month ideas) and Deep Dives ($250k-$2M for 1-3 year validation). The scoreboard is protocols and scientific papers, not GMV.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 2d

3/ The structure is key: Personal Capital, Open Source IP. The money is ring-fenced from the listed company (Zomato), and all findings are published into the commons. This lowers the technical risk for every Indian bio-startup.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 2d

2/ This is a strategic pivot for Indian tech: shifting elite attention from consumer convenience to population healthspan. Goyal's bet is that our short lifespans drive "short-termism" in policy/decisions.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 2d

1/ For a decade, India's best founders won by selling speed (10-min delivery, instant payments). Now, Zomato's Deepinder Goyal is taking his own $25M to fund the opposite: Longevity research via Continue Research.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 5d

7/ Five years from now, Zoho Pay will be the "business-first fintech" for SMEs - UPI, cards, and POS tied natively to accounting. They can choose unit economics over leaderboard screenshots, proving that a bootstrapped, patient culture is the ultimate moat. #Zoho #UPI #Fintech

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 5d

6/ Arattai, the in-house messenger, is an interesting but limited lever. WhatsApp proved that user scale doesn't guarantee payments adoption without merchant utility. Arattai’s best role is for internal B2B collection and expense claims inside the Zoho stack.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 5d

5/ The risk is clear: chasing consumer vanity metrics (like Flipkart’s Super.Money did with high cashbacks). Zoho’s discipline test is keeping incentives narrow: subsidize merchant hardware and reconciliation, reward high-margin credit cohorts.

1

StartupChai.in @startupchai.in · 5d

4/ Zoho’s quiet edge: it sits on ledger-grade data (receivables, payroll cycles, POS velocity) that most payment apps have to rent. This allows for Shopify-Capital-style merchant advances underwritten on first-party cash-flow data.

1