Our macro view on quick logistics, what we are reading at IQ, & some exciting portfolio updates!
Dear Investors and Friends,
There is no doubt that quick commerce is on the rise as brands across various categories are trying to adapt to the increasing time sensitivity of today’s consumers.
While big players like Amazon and Flipkart can more easily adapt to this trend, the same is not the case for smaller, individual brands. What will be the way forward for them?
Find out in our recently published macro view on quick logistics, which is also a key driver behind our investment in Blitz, a platform that offers end-to-end logistics solutions to D2C brands.
Read ‘Why We Invested in Blitz’, here.
We recently welcomed 2 new companies to our portfolio! 🎉
1. Ziffi Chess
‘We are doing to chess what Tiktok did to video.’
Ziffi Chess is a bite-sized avatar of a classic chess game.
It is a quick, online, 6-move-format chess game where players start from mid-game positions and get points for capturing pieces that can then be redeemed for real money.
Learn more about them here.
2. 8Club
8Club allows you to turn your offline gatherings into an AI-based hotspot experience. It is an exclusive platform to discover, invite, and interact with handpicked individuals.
Learn more about them here.
And ICYMI, PlatinumRx, and Reo.Dev recently announced their seed and pre-seed rounds led by us!
PlatinumRx is an online-first chronic illness pharmacy on a mission to make medicine in India more affordable and accessible. They are redefining how chronic illness patients access essential medication by curating and offering exact, lower-priced substitutes. Read more here: PlatinumRx secures $800,000 funding led by IndiaQuotient (Outlook Business + Money)
Reo.Dev is a revenue intelligence firm solving for developer-focused go-to-market. They help go-to-market teams accelerate sales using AI that identifies developer intent from vast data sources. Read more here: Revenue intelligence startup Reo.Dev raises $1.2 Mn led by IndiaQuotient (Entrackr)
We are beyond excited to back all of these incredible companies and the bold founders and teams behind them 🙌
P.S. If you are a founder building in a category unique to India or building for the globe from India, we would love to hear from you. Do reach out to us at [IQ team member’s first name]@indiaquotient.in
Introducing ‘IQ Top Picks’, a new addition to our newsletter!
Here, you will find 3 high-quality content recommendations handpicked by the IQ team—stuff that’s both enjoyable and insightful.
Before we get into the list, we also want to remind you that last month, we published our annual India insights report, ‘India Insights by IndiaQuotient’. It covers 8 sectors (SaaS, FinTech, Consumer, Marketplaces, etc.) and offers 20 crisp, nuanced insights and observations on each.
We received overwhelmingly positive feedback on the report online! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read it and share their thoughts on it.
Read the full tweet here.
Now, on to the list!
1. Book: ‘The Cold Start Problem: How to Start and Scale Network Effects’ by Andrew Chen, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz
The book provides a deep dissection of network effects, along with comprehensive mental frameworks and vocabulary for scaling products. It is a must-read for anyone interested in startups, successful product strategies, or scaling products. Even if the topic isn’t your thing, the case studies are a standout; they're plentiful, well-presented, and quite entertaining to read.
The book is filled with actionable insights on scaling products drawn from Andrew’s own experience of being a founder, VC, and managing growth at Uber.
2. Podcasts:
a) ‘Investing in 20+ Billion Dollar Companies and Mastering Stress’ episode by Chris Vasquez, host of the World Class podcast, featuring Keith Rabois, MD at Khosla Ventures.
In this episode, Keith shares his internal workings to master stress, overcome obstacles, and invest in countless multi-billion-dollar companies. Listen to the episode here.
b) We’re huge fans of the Acquired Podcast here at IQ, and their recent episode on Microsoft’s complete history and strategy is on all of our ‘weekend reads’ list. The episode covers Microsoft’s rise from a teenage dream to the most powerful business and technology force in history. Check out the episode here.
As always, we would like to leave you with some of the things our founders and the IQ team have been saying online:
Kanika Agarrwal (IndiaQuotient) on prioritising a co-founder with strong sales prowess > a technical co-founder:
Gagan Goyal (IndiaQuotient) on why B2B marketplace businesses should take their GM/take rate as revenue:
Lal Chand Bisu (co-founder & CEO, Kuku FM) shares why students need to engage with people outside of their college campuses and understand their real-life routines:
And finally, a fun one for last!
That is it for this newsletter. We’ll be back in your inboxes soon!
Do write back with your feedback :)
Cheers,
Team IndiaQuotient.