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A blistering report by Hindenburg Research in 2023 led to a wipeout of $153 billion in the market value of Adani Group. The short seller had alleged Adani to have played the “largest con in corporate history”.

Surprisingly, Hindenburg has made little money in the 18-month saga—just over $4 million.

In a detailed report, the short seller disclosed how much gross revenue it earned from the saga and disputed the show cause notice from SEBI, terming it “nonsense”.

The Adani Group has made a stellar comeback since the scathing report, with shares of its 10 listed firms rallying this year.

Moving on, Unacademy has carried out another round of layoffs, impacting at least 250 people across multiple verticals as part of its efforts to achieve profitability.

Elsewhere, gig workers are in the spotlight. 

These workers, bereft of legal status, often work under unsafe conditions. But this is set to change in Karnataka as the state government has released a draft of the proposed Karnataka Platform Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2024 aimed at protecting their rights.

Did you know? In 2023, Rajasthan became the first state to regulate platform-based gig workers at the legislative level.

Lastly, a positive development in the field of prosthetics. 

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a new bionic limb that mimics natural movements.

And, thanks to AI, exoskeletons—suits that make walking, running, and other activities less taxing—have come a step closer to resembling those seen in sci-fi movies. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Trouble brewing at ReshaMandi
• A revamp for medical education
• Creating small-town love stories

Here’s your trivia for today: What classic book inspired the name of Starbucks?

Employees

Trouble brewing at ReshaMandi

B2B startup Reshamandi raised $5.6 million in a Series A funding round led by Creation Investments and Omnivore in June 2023 at a valuation of $74 million—the same month it informed its employees of salary delays. 

Former employees allege that management told them salary payments would be delayed for three months. However, what followed was not pay regularisation, but the first of many rounds of layoffs. 

A tale of two startups:

• Founded in May 2020 by Mayank Tiwari and ex-Cisco employee Saurabh Agarwal, ReshaMandi is a B2B silk agritech startup that links farmers to consumers. The farmers sell yarn to the company, which is then sold at the marketplace, with ReshaMandi pocketing a margin of the sale.
• Some employees were asked by the startup to join a new Noida-based entity called Genzr, for similar job profiles, offer letters reveal. These employees claim they were also promised that any remaining salary dues would be paid in the form of a joining bonus if they signed the letter.
• Employees say administrative mismanagement and incorrectly handled processes are hurting future prospects, including leaving some unable to access their provident fund accounts because of a botch-up related to their exit dates by the ReshaMandi HR team. 

Funding Alert

Startup: WatchYourHealth

Amount: $5M

Round: Series A

Startup: Fabriclore

Amount: $1.6M

Round: Seed

Education

A revamp for medical education

The organisation and structure of competitive exams in India have come under scrutiny in recent years, prompting the need for a thorough reform to ensure transparency and fairness.

The most recent instance was the postponement of NEET-PG, an academic test to determine eligibility for admission into postgraduate medical courses, which came amidst allegations of irregularities, including ‘paper leaks’ in NEET-UG (the undergraduate entrance exam). But what steps can be taken to prevent this?

Need for systemic change:

• Working in silos has affected the efficiency of processes across the ecosystem—from admissions and distribution of examination papers to time allotment and overall monitoring, point out industry observers.
• Experts also advise on stringent tech solutions to prevent data breaches and malpractices and make the testing machinery robust and foolproof. Solutions could range from secure distribution methods and advanced firewalls to cutting-edge encryption techniques.
• Regularisation of exam schedules by fixing them well in advance and developing clear policies on re-examinations will ensure smooth execution and help avoid last-minute hiccups. 

Startup

Creating small-town love stories

India is the fifth-largest market for dating apps in the world, according to smallcase. Today, even young Indians from small towns are into online dating. However, the primarily English-dominated interactions on popular dating apps can be a barrier for many when it comes to expressing themselves, especially in Tier II and III cities.

Kolkata-based Flutrr, founded in 2021 by father-son duo Kaushik and Anirban Banerjee, is working to break this barrier by bringing in online dating that supports 6 Indian languages, with backing from notable investors including actress Huma Qureshi. 

Transcending language barriers:

• Available for Android and iOS users, the app operates on a pay-per-use monetisation model with micro-transactions. 
• So far, flutrr has raised about $750,000 (Rs 6.5 crore) from notable investors, such as Times of India, The Chennai Angels, and several luminaries from within the corporate sphere, including top-level executives from Google, SAP, Microsoft & DBS.
• With an active user base exceeding 400,000, the app is nearing 1 million downloads and generating a monthly revenue of Rs 20-21 lakh. 

News & updates

• Bumper year: Qatar Airways posted a 39% jump in annual net profit to a record 6.1 billion Qatari riyals ($1.67 billion) on Tuesday. The Qatar government-owned airline said its revenue grew by 6% to 81 billion riyals in the year ended March 31.
• Long week: Greece has controversially introduced a six-day working week for some businesses to boost productivity and employment in the southern European country. The regulation, which came into force on July 1, bucks a global trend of companies exploring a shorter working week.
• For sale: The ownership group that controls the NBA champion Boston Celtics says it intends to sell all its shares of the team. In a statement, Boston Basketball Partners LLC said it intends to sell a majority of its shares in 2024 or early 2025. The balance of its shares would then close in 2028.

What classic book inspired the name of Starbucks?

Answer: Moby-Dick

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