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Hello Reader,

When the Pet Shop Boys sang, “Let’s make lots of money,” they may not have been talking about entrepreneurship, but there’s definitely a lot of dough in the Indian startup ecosystem. 

Nykaa’s Falguni Nayar became the richest self-made Indian woman after the successful listing of her ecommerce company last year, according to IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022. 

Physicswallah’s co-founders Alakh Pandey and Prateek Boob, and Zepto’s co-founder Kaivalya Vohra, also entered the coveted list. In fact, Kaivalya is the youngest entrant on the list. 

In other news, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will conduct an overnight variable rate repo auction under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) for an amount of Rs 50,000 crore. 

The US Fed is also expected to fire off another three-quarter point rate hike—its third in a row. 

So, no one told you life was gonna be this way? 

Twenty-eight years ago today, one of the most watched sitcoms, Friends, aired its first episode. Ever since, the show’s much-beloved characters have got us hooked to the show — often imparting important life lessons. 

ICYMI: ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ Broadway’s longest-running musical, will close in 2023. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Locals brands on D2C path
• Meet IVCA’s new VC council chair
• Making mental healthcare accessible

Here’s your trivia for today: Which stock will replace Shree Cement in the Nifty 50?

Small business 

Locals brands on D2C path

Get your wallets out. It’s time for festive sales, and we’ve more choices than ever before. 

Ecommerce marketplaces give a major boost to emerging businesses, but homegrown brands are now opting to strengthen their presence online and solidify their D2C channels. This year may just be the beginning.

Festivals = festive sales:

• According to Avimee Herbal MD Siddhant Agarwal, small emerging businesses should use ecommerce as an ‘advertising medium’ that can play an important role in brand building. 
• Price war: “Ecommerce platforms do not allow us to run our businesses on our own terms. We do not have the power to set our own prices; we have to stay within their margins,” says Mandeep Arora, Founder, UBON. 
• August to December is the peak time for sales in India, making it the best period for all local, homegrown brands to focus on their strategies to penetrate the D2C space.

Investor

Meet IVCA’s new VC Council chair

The Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) has announced a VC Council for 2022-24, led by Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Sequoia India and Southeast Asia and Surge. 

The eight members constituting the new VC Council include Manish Khetarpal (WaterBridge Ventures), Priyanka Chopra (Bharat Innovation Fund), Ruchi Khajanchi (A91 Partners), Sehraj Singh (Prosus Ventures), Anil Joshi (Unicorn India Ventures), and Sameer Brij Verma (Nexus Venture Partners).

Key takeaways:

• The council will be co-chaired by Rahul Khanna, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Trifecta Capital.
• The apex industry body for alternative assets’ new VC Council aims to drive government engagement by advocating policies that encourage innovation, which contributes to capital creation, nation-building, and knowledge dissemination.
• The council wants to engage over 120 VC member funds of IVCA and engage with other domestic and global funds at large to work on important industry initiatives and issues.

Startup

Making mental healthcare accessible

India has 0.75 psychiatrists for every 100,000 people, underlining the need for expanding access to mental healthcare in the country.

Mimblu offers asynchronous text-based therapy on its app from certified therapists. It enables users to consult mental healthcare therapists through either chat by sharing voice notes or via video calls.

Access to therapy:

• Mimblu has 15 therapists from across the country who are available 24×7 for chat and video calls.
• It hosts around 8,000 users globally, with 80% of them hailing from India.
• The startup aims to create a ‘gig economy for therapists’, and splits 50% of the revenue with them.

News & updates

• Zero carbon: Thailand launched its first carbon credit exchange called FTIX, marking a major step toward the country’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and combat climate change. 
• A new look: Reliance Retail is in advanced talks to get the rights for beauty retailer Sephora in India. Its operations will transfer from Arvind Fashions Ltd to Reliance Retail if an agreement is reached. 
• Nightmares: People who experience frequent bad dreams in middle age may experience a faster rate of cognitive decline and be at a higher risk of dementia as they get older, data suggests. 

Which stock will replace Shree Cement in the Nifty 50?

Answer: Adani Enterprises

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