Martin Naithani

Zomato's monthly userbase - ~20 million Swiggy's monthly userbase - ~17 million Uber India's monthly userbase - ~17 million Cred's monthly userbase - ~13 million Declared income tax payers over 50 lakhs ($58k USD) are around 9 lakh (900,000). Another 24 lakh folks (2,400,000) earn over 20 lakh ($23k USD) . A further 69 lakh (6,900,000) people earn over 10 lakh ($12k USD). Now this is based on Income Tax Return data so evaluate these numbers as you will. So when you're building a startup, and I see TAM SAM SOM (god this sounds like a Thai Salad) showcasing over 3 crore paying users, my question is "Sure, where are you producing these folks from?" We've seen a ~500% growth in tax payers earning above 50 lakh from 2013 till 2024. Assuming even a similar trajectory, we've got 45 lakh folks by 2035. Still a bit short of 3 crore. Meanwhile, AI is most DEFINITELY impacting jobs, household debt sits at ~42% of GDP and inflation is high. Now none of this is meant to be discouraging. We've had a surge of brilliant brands rise in India, several which are making their way across the world today. Lenskart, Innovist, Mokobara, The Whole Truth, Blue Tokai, these are all part of my everyday usage, and I'm seeing them sold across the world. If you had told me this a decade ago, even I wouldn't have fully believed it was possible! The reason I'm writing this is to put out direct numbers. There's a finite audience you're reaching, so understand the cost of acquiring them, retaining them and creating a differentiated voice and product. #venturecapital #startups #d2c #consumer

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Perplexity AI just became India's most downloaded app on the iOS App Store, beating ChatGPT, another AI tool! This is a massive shift in the Indian Tech industry and it raises a question. What is the reason behind this sudden shift? It's all thanks to a smart move. Airtel is now giving away a free year of Perplexity Pro if you have an Airtel SIM. This means powerful AI research tools are suddenly free for millions, shaking up the whole AI scene. This partnership shows something big: the race for AI isn't just about who has the coolest tech anymore. It's about who can get it into the most hands easily. This team-up makes advanced AI search, accurate answers, and real-time info available to everyone, without the usual cost. It’s a clear sign, making AI easy to get and having good partners are key to winning in big markets like India. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and follow Full Disclosure for more.

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“Wait so - I don’t need a dual entity structure to scale into the UAE anymore?” Two months ago, I was on call with the founder of a Series-A D2C brand from India exploring global expansion. “We get orders from different parts of the world but also want to officially enter the UAE market.” Their playbook was clear: ✅ Use the UAE as a trading post to ship orders globally ✅ Test the Dubai market for direct-to-consumer sales We had proposed a dual entity structure: -A free zone company for international trade -A mainland company (owned by the FZCo) to sell locally Government costs? Around $30,000 annually in entity setup and maintenance. Their response? “Maybe we need to rethink this for Q3.” Fast forward to this week’s resolution - and that plan looks very different. 𝗕𝗘𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗘: Free zone companies could only operate within their designated zones. To serve clients across Dubai, you needed two separate legal entities, doubling licensing fees, compliance, and admin burden. 𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥: Thanks to a new resolution issued by HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, free zone companies can now operate anywhere in Dubai — with a simple permit from the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). This is a massive unlock for founders building internet-first businesses. At doYou, we see rising interest from global companies drawn to Dubai’s tax advantages, infrastructure, and ease of access. But the fragmented regulatory landscape has long been a sticking point. The D2C founder’s plan now? ✅ Start lean with one free zone entity ✅ Use a DET permit to sell locally ✅ Avoid duplicated structure and scale faster At half the cost. Here’s my takeaway: The journey from 0 to 1 is the real bottleneck in the rising demand for scaling into the UAE. Until now, the fragmented regulatory environment and complex licensing infrastructure came with significant time and financial costs - slowing down global businesses before they could even start. This new regulation is, in my opinion, a step toward a “one license regime” - much like Singapore - that dramatically reduces the complexity of doing business in the UAE. For founders ready to go global, Dubai just became a lot more startup friendly. [artwork by: justatef_ on instagram]

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Debating consumer vs. tech startups is like comparing MNREGA to ISRO. Both have their place, but serve fundamentally different purposes. Consumer-centric startups are the MNREGA of the startup world, they create jobs, solve day-to-day needs, and keep the economic engine running at the grassroots. Think roads, water, plantations, they’re essential, immediate, but not transformative. Tech startups, on the other hand, are India’s ISRO bets, they demand patience, deep tech, and vision. The returns? Nation-changing. Own GPS systems, disaster prediction, secure communications, these are not just products, they’re sovereignty enablers. Yes, consumerism creates jobs. But let’s not pretend food and grocery delivery is a blueprint for the future. If we truly dream of our kids becoming scientists, engineers, and innovators, not gig workers; we need to back the hard tech. The long-term moonshots. P.S. On a lighter note — maybe the government should levy an angel tax on non-deep tech investments. And let’s define deep tech as startups that publish original research, write their own IP, and file patents :) #ChinaStyle Piyush Goyal sir

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🌱 After interviewing 9 ag-tech founders who built ₹7,000+ crore businesses, One Lesson kept coming up. The biggest surprise? None of them started with technology. Their secret wasn't coding skills or VC connections. It was understanding farmers as humans first, customers second. These entrepreneurs didn't just talk to plants—they listened to the people who grow them. 📚 All these stories and more in "Techies Who Talk to Plants" - now available from Bloomsbury India. Grab your copy here: https://amzn.in/d/8Mzrgxw Hemendra Mathur Shashank Kumar Abhishek Negi Eggoz Nutrition Nidhi Pant S4S Technologies Rajamanohar (Raj) Aquaconnect Shridhar Mehta Prompt DairyTech Sachin Nandwana Prateep Basu SatSure Bloomsbury Publishing India Kunal J. Mahendra Lodha #AgriTech #Entrepreneurship #Startups #Agriculture #TechiesWhoTalkToPlants #Innovation #Farmers #BusinessLessons

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