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Good Morning, 

The year 2022 has seen Indian startups collectively raise more than $6 billion on a year-to-date basis. However, despite the frenzied funding activity, investors are tightening their purse strings to see how their earlier bets play out in growth-stage startups. 

This wait-and-watch approach doesn’t augur well for startups looking to raise Series C, D, or subsequent funding – capital that is essential to keep their engines running.

“Startups depend on subsequent rounds of funding to keep the operations alive as they don’t have positive cashflow or profitability for many years. Normally, next round fundraising should start when there is 6- to 12 months worth of cash left to burn,” Growth Story’s K Ganesh, a serial entrepreneur and promoter of Bigbasket (now acquired by Tata Digital) tells YourStory.

Two promising startups, edtech platform Lido Learning and influencer-led commerce firm Trell, which closed their last funding rounds in July and September 2021 respectively, have had to trim their workforce as they found it difficult to raise subsequent funds. Is this a blip or does it point to more bad news? Read more. 

The Interview

Khushaal Pawaar is an actor who turned to content creation during the lockdown to hone his acting skills.

In this episode of #InfluencersInc, Khushaal talks about his journey and discusses the way forward.

Editor’s Pick: The Salt Revolution

Financial planning and investment app Salt has been on a mission to get women to reclaim what they’ve always had – an inherent acumen for money. More women making more financial decisions – it’s as simple as that, but how does one get there?

In a candid chat, Shinjini Kumar, Chaitra Chidanand, and Aditi Sholapurkar, Co-founders of Salt, join YourStory’s Shradha Sharma to unpack financial planning for women. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

Building scalable agri business

Many big corporates have tried to build a scalable business but the task gets complicated since fruits and vegetables are perishable commodities.

Founded in 2015, Kisanserv is solving this problem by refining the inward supply chain with the help of technology-enabled collection centres. Read more.

News & Updates

• In a conversation with YourStory, Sanjay Gupta, Acting CEO of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), said that India needs to focus on Tier-II+ areas to realise its $5 trillion digital economy, adding that Karnataka has a very important role to play in achieving this goal.

• Lead Angels Network, which operates an eponymous angel investment platform, has announced the launch of Lead Angels Fund. The Rs 300 crore fund marked its first close in January 2022, raising Rs 5 crore from nearly 20 early-stage investors. 

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

The credit of your success should go to your team — that’s the true mark of a leader. 

– Durga Shakti Nagpal, author, Grow Your Baby Not Your Weight

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