Daybreak

Last Friday Apple reported the sixth straight record quarterly revenue from iPhone sales in India. Its FY2023 revenue from the country now stands at almost $6 billion. In fact, analysts say that by the end of this year, especially with the festive season around, it is very close to hitting $10 billion. Apple’s share in India’s smartphone market is now estimated to have touched 6%. CEO Tim Cook while speaking about Apple's performance called the Indian market extraordinary.But for over a decade since it launched in India, Apple's growth was sluggish to the point of being stagnant.What brought about this turnaround?Tune in.Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

It has taken Swiggy almost ten years and a whole lot of strategically planned moves to become the indispensable app that it is for us today.But decisive moment for the delivery giant came three years ago in 2020 with the pandemic. Swiggy’s core food delivery business took quite the hit . It had no choice but to adapt quickly and branch out. It decided to build on its delivery experience and launched Instamart for groceries and Swiggy Genie for intra-city couriers.The company is now valued at just under $8 billion dollars and has seen its revenue double to almost $600 million in the year ended March 2022. Putting itself on the fast lane to growth while delivering convenience to the urban consumer has really worked out for the company. Or at least so it seems.Because in doing all of this, Swiggy might have forgotten the most important part of the equation- its 350,000 delivery partners.Tune in.Recommended background read:How Zomato, Swiggy, and Co can refill their delivery-rider tankDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

If you’ve been watching the ICC Cricket World Cup, youve definitely seen the PhonePe one too many times. The payments giant paid Rs 150 crore to get these advertising rights. It is the biggest UPI payments company in the country with a 49% of the market share. But why is a payments giant selling insurance and why health insurance to be specific?You see, as big as the PhonePe might be, and even with a giant like Walmart behind it, profit margins in the the payments business are pretty slim. And with a possible IPO in the works, PhonePe had no choice but to diversify and so it did.It launched its insurance vertical in 2020. However, three years have passed now and PhonePe’s insurance business has contributed just 1% to the company’s consolidated revenue for FY2023.And yet PhonePe continues to pour money into it, mainly on health insurance part. Is it a conscious choice or is it because it has no choice?Tune in.FREE READ for 24 hours:How an Indian IVF chain became a global giantDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Yesterday, November 2, 2023, was the final day of Mamaearth-parent Honasa Consumer's IPO. The digital-first D2C sailed through with the price band fixed at Rs 308-324 per share.With this, Mamaearth has become the first digital-first D2C company to take the public route. It is also the first unicorn company to do so it the last 18 months. From 2020 to 2022, Honasa saw its revenues double every yea and in 2022 it also became profitable. Compared to other established beauty and personal care brands, it also stands out because of how "aggressively" it has been launching new products or SKUs. This year, it's already shown a 25 crore rupees profit. If we go by these metrics alone, things looked quite promising for Mamaearth.But its public issue was oversubscribed by 7.61X on the last day. And this was only because of the huge demand from qualified institutional buyers (QIBs). Retail buyers seemed quite uninterested in Mamaearth's IPO. Why?Tune in to find out.Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Vivo, the Chinese smartphone maker, was in the news earlier this month for arrests of its associates after it faced ED raids last year.Despite this, Vivo became no.1 in India’s smartphone market, even ahead of Samsung and Xiaomi in the quarter ended June.What’s more, unlike Xiaomi, which saw a sharp decline in its market share after raids in 2021, Vivo is still going strong.But it can’t celebrate the victory just yet. Why?Tune in.Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

The introduction of the contraceptive pill in the 1960s was one of the most significant events in the history of human society. It still left the burden of birth control largely on women.Now, however, things are changing. The demand for male contraceptives is on the rise. Last week, in a major breakthrough, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) finished clinical trials for the world's first injectable male contraceptive. The trial proved that it is safe and highly effective without any serious side effects.But why have big pharmaceutical companies not paid enough attention to the research on male contraceptives for all these years?Tune in.Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Delivery partners who work for Swiggy or Zomato are paid per order. The fee which includes variables like base fee, surcharge, etc, depends on how many kilometres they’ve travelled from pickup to delivery destination. These payments though, are never consistent and gig workers, who make our lives so convenient, struggle with earning a stable income. So when Zomato says on their bill under the delivery partner fee, ‘fully goes to them for their time and effort,’ we appreciate it thinking the money we’ve paid has gone to the delivery partner.Except, it doesn’t.Tune in.FREE READThe pandemic couldn’t kill Bookmyshow, but it definitely changed its faceDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

According to latest numbers, Ola Electric, the leader of two-wheeler EVs in India, is losing market share—from 40 per cent in July to just 29 per cent in September. Bajaj Auto, meanwhile, has gained the most market share. It started with just a 4% share in April and now it has gone up to 11%. Ola Electric maybe doing much better with more than 250,000 scooters sold so far but the discontent regarding its after sales services is getting louder. Bajaj, on the other hand, has had a more sustainable growth trajectory and it has a lot to do with its service first approach. Plus, there’s one more thing that Bajaj has going for it that Ola Electric doesn't—the power of nostalgia. In 2020, it brought out its iconic Chetak scooter out of an early retirement in an all-new, high-tech, electric avatar.How far can nostalgia and focus on service take Bajaj in the two-wheeler EV market?Tune in.(With script inputs from Diksha Munjal)RecommendationCharging up the Chetak: Bajaj’s path to new mobility Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Two days ago, on Tuesday, India’s most famous edtech was in the news again. Byju’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Ajay Goyal quit the edtech barely 6 months after joining. It had taken Byju’s 16 months to find Goyal after its previous CFO PV Rao quit in December 2021 .Goyal was hired only in April this year and had a tough task cut out for him: to help improve the company’s financial compliance is what Byju’s has been in a lot of trouble for. Goyal was to finalize the FY22 accounts and and issue the audited accounts as soon as possible. A little more than a week ago, we also heard news that Byju’s was expected to file the long-awaited financial results for FY22 later that week. But more than 10 days later there is no sign of the financials. Instead the edtech’s CFO who was incharge of getting those financials out has quit. Thankfully though, in its statement, Byju's said that Goyal will complete work on Byju’s audited FY 22 financial statement before leaving, which means, that the FYY 22 financials will be out sooner than later. So in today's episode we take you back to the edtech's botched up FY 2021 financials so you know what to look out for in the next one.Tune in.Free ReadKota’s Rs 6,000 cr coaching business may never be the same againRecommended listeningWTFinancials is going on at Byju's?Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

On October 14, a Saturday, Disney Hotstar set a world record: it saw the highest number of simultaneous viewers tune in for any format of cricket ever. The ICC World Cup match between India and Pakistan was streaming and it drew in 35 million viewers.A week later, on Sunday, it broke that record too with the India-New Zealand match when 43 million viewers tuned in. The timing of this couldn't be better for the OTT giant which lost 21 million subscribers since last year when it lost the rights to IPL. Ever since Disney Hotstar executives in India were on a mission to prove to their California headquarters that its OTT business in India could be turned around. But just a day later after hitting 43 million viewers, on October 23, Bloomberg reported Walt Disney may sell a controlling stake in the Disney Star business to Reliance Industries. While nothing about the deal is final yet, it does make one wonder about the timing of it all.What is in this deal for Reliance and more importantly is it enough for Disney to hold on to Hotstar for now?Tune in to find out.RecommendationDisney+ Hotstar’s last danceDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

It's going to be a year since the Reserve Bank of India launched its very own Central Bank Digital Currency or CBDC. In fact, just a few days ago, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das, who has been leading India’s transition into digital payments while speaking at an IMF event touted CBDC, popularly known as the e-rupee, as the currency of the future.Banks, and tech experts have said that it is an innovation that can drive financial inclusion, help digitise India’s economy, and simplify cross-border trade. After the launch, the RBI's aim was to hit 1 million retail CBDC transactions per day by December 2023.But now, just a little more than a month away from the deadline, CBDC is lagging far behind its goal with just 10,000–18,000 retail transactions a day.Is the e-rupee ready to be the currency of the future yet?Free ReadNo funds. No ads. Indian short-video creators face a new reality RecommendationCan India’s digital currency still be another UPI?Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories

With increased competition within the country, the world leader of Ayurveda brands, Dabur, is looking to acquire and expand. It wants to change its story and focus on a new target consumer. Just last year in October, it acquired a 51% stake in Badshah Masala, one of the country’s leading spices companies. But how is the over-hundred years old company planning to reinvent? Tune in. RecommendationDabur seeks Gen Z approval to shed boomer imageDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories

BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) is becoming popular in India because it offers short-term financing options, financial flexibility, affordability, and smaller credit lines. In fact, the BNPL market expected to reach $35–40 billion by 2026 from $3.5–4 billion in 2021.But unlike credit cards, BNPL services lack security and many customers are left vulnerable to vishing (voice phising) scams. Most of them are via Olamoney and Mobikwik ZIP. Meanwhile, more than two-thirds of cybercrimes in India are now online and vishing scams account for 5.3% of such crimes. To make matters worse, there is little recourse for defrauded BNPL customers because proper consumer-protection guidelines are not in place. And even though they were scammed, many of them are being forced to clear their dues for transactions they never made.Tune in.RecommendationFirst Principles Ep.27: Lalit Keshre of Groww on being far-sighted, intuitive and absolutely obsessed with your customer🎧Spotify🎧AppleDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories

In March this year, the world's largest coffeehouse chain, Starbucks, finally crossed the Rs 1,000-crore rupee revenue mark in India for the first time. So far, it has 350 outlets in India. Now, carrying a cup of Starbucks around has almost become like a lifestyle statement.In many ways, Starbucks entered the Indian market with a huge advantage because India's undisputed coffee leader, Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), was already declining at the time.But while Starbucks is looking at the bigger picture and hasn't managed to become profitable yet, an Indian coffee startup, Third Wave, has entered the scene and is giving the global coffee giant a run for its money.Tune in.Free ReadThe invisible hand behind startups' crazy valuation runDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories

Beets are a superfood today. Tomorrow it’ll be lemons. The internet is rife with misinformation especially about food and health related stuff. There are hundreds of influencers on your feed telling you what’s good for you.But who’s telling you what’s bad and what doesn’t work? Maybe a keto diet worked for your friend but not for you. Take Dr Cyriac Abby Philips who goes by The Liver Doc on X or Twitter. Recently, he claimed there is no point in taking multivitamins.He is a de-influencer and there are many like him who work towards breaking down myths. Often they’re faced with legal action and threats, yet most of them continue their work.But what is really fuelling de-influencers?Tune in.RecommendationThe wild finfluencer party is finally coming to an endDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories

The NITI Aayog was created in 2015 to replace the decades-old Planning Commission. The idea was to adopt a more bottom-up approach to make India competitive in today's global economy. With CEO Amitabh Kant as the leader, the think tank progressed to become a thriving, open, and empowering space for public policy experts, including those from non-government backgrounds. But ever since Kant's stint ended at the think tank in 2022, the walls between the leadership and non-govt employees at the think tank are getting thicker. From what appears, NITI Aayog is going back to the top down approach, quite like the Planning Commission back in the day.This is making its non-govt employees quite unhappy. In fact 4 out of every 10 of them have quit this year.Tune in.Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories

Losing IPL rights last year to Jio and then dropping HBO content has cost Disney+ Hotstar at least 21 million subscribers in just a year.The streaming giant though, decided that IPL or no IPL cricket is going to be its biggest customer acquisition funnel in 2023. And it looks like they are holding on to that strategy. The Asia Cup was streamed for free on Disney Hotstar. Now, the ICC Cricket World Cup is on and it's available on Disney Hotstar too. The OTT giant is offering free live streaming of the event to its mobile users.But a lot of the new survival strategy, put together by the Disney Hotstar's head honchos, depends on how India does in the tournament.Tune in.CORRECTION: In the episode, the host mistakenly refers to the ICC Cricket World Cup as ICC T20 Cricket World Cup. The error is regretted. Free Read:What airports really want to do with DigiyatraAlso listen to:Disney leaves Jio the keys to the kingdomDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories

Licious, the online meat delivery platform, was India’s first direct to consumer company or D2C that achieved the unicorn status. It was valued at $1.4 billion two years ago and it had enough money to grow to Rs 100 crore of revenue per month, but its revenue has remained flat from the last two years.Licious follows the premium pricing strategy. Its products are priced higher price than the average market but its customer base is ready to pay that extra amount because of the quality Licious delivers. But Licious is not being able to expand its user base to the larger meat eating population because of this very premium pricing strategy.But it needs to deliver on a growth rate worthy of its billion dollar plus valuation.Tune in.RecommendationWhy India won’t see a $100 billion internet company anytime soonDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories

It took Bajaj Finance over 15 years to become the most valued NBFC in the country. And then came along Jio Financial Services Ltd (JFSL) and took the no. 2 position in a span of just two months. It is currently valued at more than $17 billion.Its all set to take the top space. Currently, the company is on a serious hiring spree and it seems to have taken a particular liking to former ICICI Bank employees for its key executive roles. After all, a lot of its future success will depend on the team it builds.But this is not the first time Reliance has tried its hands in the finance sector. The last time it did, things didn't really take off. What's different this time?Tune in.Free ReadA job with McKinsey, Bain, or BCG trumps everything. Or it used toDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories

What makes Dunzo unique is that one could never imagine a company its size to have the kind of influence it does.In 2022, a $200 million funding from Reliance Retail sent the quick-commerce startup flying high. It began expanding its dark stores and even ran advertisements in IPL.But the IPL led boom did not last long. The same year, the number and volume of orders began to decline. Dunzo was forced to recalibrate its focus and rethink its strategy.Tune in!Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories

After the pandemic years, Kota’s coaching industry saw an unprecedented boom. Money was pouring in from everywhere–from edtechs to investors. In the last five years, Kota saw about 2 lakh engineering and medical aspirants, on average, arrive from across the country. Kota runs on stiff competition not just among the students but also among the scores of institutes that host and prep them. But since the past four months, Kota’s reputation has been on the line. Student admissions have dropped, with coaching-centre owners pegging it to be at least 20%. While it is partially because of the rising number of student suicides, it is not the only reason why Kota may be one result away from losing its star position in the coaching business.Tune in.RecommendationKota’s Rs 6,000 cr coaching business may never be the same againDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, analytical business stories.

All the twists and turns in the journey of startups have been well-documented since VC funding began drying up over the past year or so. In the first half of 2022, Indian startups received more than $17 billion dollars. But a year later in 2023. they just got a little over $5 billion.What’s we’ve barely heard about, though, is what is happening to the funders of these startups and their foot soldiers—the VC analysts. With the slowdown, the day-to-day responsibilities of these analysts have changed and so has their approach towards dealmaking. Tune in to find out.Recommendation What VC analysts do when there are few deals to makeDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, analytical business stories.

From the time it was the number one indian telecom company to braving the whole phase when Jio came around and disrupted the whole space. Its been a long, brutal competition for Airtel and Gopal Vittal has managed to bring Airtel back to health.Meanwhile, he's spent years on finding and grooming the right talent to create the next generation of leaders at the telco giant. And now Airtel is undergoing a major reshuffle. As you would expect, it’s creating a sense of both excitement and stress.Tune in.RecommendationThe camel is inside the tentDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, analytical business stories.

For a people who were quite averse to the whole concept of credit, Indians really seem to be developing a new found love for the piece of plastic and banks have been happy to ride the wave. But lately they've been left quite baffled because they are being being beaten at their own game. A growing community of people are constantly finding hacks to take advantage of the loopholes in credit-card reward systems. For some of them , in fact, it's going so well that they’ve turned their secret operations into lucrative businesses. Turns out they can make more money from it than their 9 to 5 jobs.Meanwhile banks have realised they are being taken for a ride so some have taken extra security measures to keep such tricksters at bay.**Correction: The credit for this story was mistakenly attributed to Gaurav Noronha whereas the actual writer is Rounak Kumar Gunjan. We apologise for the errorRecommendationCredit-card whizzes outsmart banks at their own gameDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, analytical business stories.

From content flagging, suspension, shadow-banning and even account deletion, content creators are grappling with a variety of censorship methods on social media platforms—all in the name of maintaining community guidelines.But with social media platforms relying more and more on AI and machine-learning tools identify and remove violating content, even content aimed at creating sexual, social, and political awareness ends up being taken down. And sex-ed and news content creators on platforms like Instagram and Youtube are seeing their reach, discoverability, and income take a hit.Tune in.RecommendationYoutube, Instagram creators got likes and shares. Now, some only get restrictionsFREE READDisney+ Hotstar is done with premiumisationDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, analytical business stories.

For almost two decades, India was a stagnant market for one of the leading tech companies of the world. But in 2021, things changed and Apple’s sales graph in India began to rise upwards.By 2022, Apple sold over 7 million iPhones in the country. And then in April, Apple CEO Tim Cook inaugurated India’s first Apple retail store in Mumbai. But compared to markets like the US and China, Apple’s numbers in India are far from substantial.Yet, the company is looking to give Its Indian customers a premium experience, even if the sales don’t yet justify it.Tune in. Free Read:India’s maternity law needs to stop being an outlierDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, analytical business stories.

For the longest time public sector banks, as we know them, have been very reluctant about study abroad loans. And it was for good reason. They've suffered greatly because of education loans going bad. Meanwhile, its a whole different story that was going on with non-banks. Study abroad loans accounted for about US$4 billion in the year ended March 2023. These were almost fully funded by non-banks like Credila and Avanse Financial. Their staregy was simple—sanction collateral-free as fast as possible. Over time they gained experience and most importantly, years worth of data.Guess who is using all that data and experience gathered by non-banks to offer overseas education loans now?The banks!Tune in.RecommendationWho will fund your study abroad? Banks want to be an option nowDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

The government of India launched Digiyatra, a contactless, facial-recognition-based passenger-entry system, in December last year. The idea is for those who sign up on the platform to avoid the tedious process of getting their ID and flight tickets checked by CISF personnel at airports.But lately, stories of passengers being forced to sign up for the app are surfacing on social media. Meanwhile, airlines, which are important stakeholders to make the entire endeavour successful are unable to see any benefits for themselves. Airports though see it as a great opportunity. In fact, multiple sources close to the implementation of Digiyatra told The Ken that the whole idea of Digiyatra came from airports themselves.What's in it for them?Tune in.RecommendationWhat airports really want to do with DigiyatraDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

For the longest time, consulting at the “Big 3” strategy consulting firms—McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Co.—is not only one the most sought-after careers but also one of the highest-paying jobs.Five years ago, 30% of graduates from the top IITs with bachelors degrees chose consulting. For those from the IIMs in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Kolkata, 35% of graduates chose a consulting job at one of these companies.But ever since 2022, something’s changed. The Ken spoke to four placement coordinators of IITs and IIMs and they told us that these jobs, especially at the entry level, are not as popular anymore.Why?Tune in to find out.Recommendation A job with McKinsey, Bain, or BCG trumps everything. Or it used toFree ReadHow brands decide what your favourite snack tastes likeDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Lately, India's bike taxi leader, Rapido, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. With numerous complaints of sexual harassment, theft, and even impersonation, the startup has been reckless with the safety of its customers, epecially women.Despite these incidents, Rapido still enjoys a 60% share of the bike-taxi market in India. It clocks in as many as 750,000 rides every single day and yet, the level of scrutiny it deploys for the drivers on its platform is close to non-existent.What’s is the bike-taxi not fixing these issues? Tune in to find out.Free ReadHow Domino’s defied the might of Zomato and SwiggyDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Airlines in India, from Indigo to Akasa, are on a spree to expand their fleet. Around a thousand more aircrafts will be flying the Indian skies in the coming few years.Usually, each aircraft usually requires a crew of at least ten or more pilots. This means we will need close to 10,000 pilots. But we already have 10,000 pilots waiting to be hired.The problem is no airline wants to hire them.Why?Tune in to find out.RecommendationAirlines want pilots. Pilots want jobs. Why are thousands unemployed?Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Last month, Unacademy did something very unsusal. It introduced a new policy, restricting how much its educators can engage online. Ever since, Unacademy has either suspended or sent show cause notices to at least 50-60 of its teachers.But Unacademy relied on its teachers to bring in students. It wanted them to be popular so it encouraged its teachers to work on methods to hack social media. It made them its sales force.What made it make this U-turn and restrict the personal social media accounts of teachers? Many think the Karan Sangwan incident must've something to do with it but there is much more to it than what meets the eye.Tune in.RecommendationUnacademy stifles tutors after giving them free reinDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Between 2018 to 2021, incidents related to breach of cybersecurity in the auto industry rose by 228%. In the next few years, this number is only expected to get worse.In India though, it is not much of a concern yet due to the low penetration of EVs so far. But it won't remain that way for long without proper safeguards in place.The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act 2023 is a step in the right direction, but it has a long way to go.Tune in.RecommendationOla Electric woke up and chose violenceDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

A few months ago, multiple Hotstar executives had told The Ken the same thing. “IPL or no IPL, cricket is going to be the platform’s most important customer-acquisition funnel this year.” It seems Disney Star is holding on to that strategy. The Asia Cup is going to be streamed for free on Disney Hotstar from today onwards.Even after losing the IPL's digital streaming rights, Disney+Hotstar is the leader of the Indian OTT space in terms of subscriber numbers. But OTT is a complex business and just having the largest subscriber base is not really enough, at least not in India.In fact, Disney has been on quite the downturn in India. And the way its headed, it almost seems like its making space for Jio to come take its crown.Tune in.Free ReadProject Manager is dead. Long live the Product Manager Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

The mattress industry in India this year is valued at around $2.5 billion and growing at a CAGR of 10%. Up to 9 million mattresses are sold in the country every year. Among the top brands in the mattress market is Sleepwell, owned by Sheela Foam, the largest manufacturer of Polyurethane Foams (PU) in Asia Pacific. Despite having a fourth of the market share and conditions ripe for innovating and growing, the company had been in a limbo of sorts.Until last month, when it announced it was acquiring a 95% stake in Kurl-On, another popular mattress maker.What's in this deal for Sleepwell?Tune in.RecommendationUp all night: Capitalising on India’s big sleep gapDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Over the course of a year or so, we’ve seen how one by one, the chances of Byju's survival have been narrowing down. However, there’s one thing that could possibly save it from falling apart: Aakash, the offline coaching chain that Byju’s had acquired in 2021 for a staggering $950 million. Now, with its IPO upcoming in mid-2024, the struggling edtech giant has a lot riding on Aakash's success.But Byju’s is turning out to become quite the troublesome partner for Aakash, no thanks to its aggressive sales tactics. These selling hacks are driving a wedge between the two teams on the ground and the plans to integrate have been put on hold.Tune in.RecommendationAakash’s sales force has no love lost for Byju’s Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

For the longest time, despite being a giant steel-to-software conglomerate, Tata’s consumer goods game was nowhere close to India's top FMCG companies.Ever since 2019 though, when it decided to merge Tata Chemicals and Tata Beverages as Tata Consumer Products Ltd, the FMCG arm has been on a roll. In the recent financial year alone, it introduced more than 30 new products.Meanwhile, Tata Consumer’s shares have more than tripled. The Nifty FMCG index also almost doubled. What changed?Tune in to find out.RecommendationHow Tata Consumer’s Sunil D’Souza put product launches on steroids Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Last week, the edtech unicorn Unacademy fired Karan Sangwan, a law teacher for asking students to vote for educated candidates during elections in one of his video tutorials on YouTube. According to the edtech, Sangwan had breached the code of conduct by sharing his 'personal opinion.'While this case is of a slightly different nature pertaining to one individual, Unacademy's relationship with its educators in general hasn't been great either.With dwindling sales and a funding crunch, edtechs like Unacademy have made tutors their new sales force. Teachers are being forced to make viral content to meet targets but for many, it is too much to handle.Tune in.RecommendationThe product-market-fit hole in Unacademy’s SaaS offering, CohesiveDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

A March 2022 report from the World Health Organization said that over 17% of households in India incur catastrophic health expenditures every year. And it results in the impoverishment of around 55 million people. Anyway, it's just about 37% of the population that actually has any form of health insurance. In such circumstances, if the rate at which a health insurance company denies claims begins to rise, it is a matter of concern. Star Health, one of India's leading health insurers, had the highest number of claims outstanding among the standalone health insurance companies for the year ended March 2022. Aggrieved customers have been running from pillar to post for payouts, turning to social media and consumer courts for respite.And yet, Star Health's new business is still growing and its retail policy renewal rate remained unaffected.Tune in.Recommendation:IPO-bound Digit trusts its tech to sell health insurance, but consumers don’t yet Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Reliance controls just 3% of India’s retail market. You might think it's a tiny share. But 80% of the retail industry is unorganised. And overall, the retail sector in our country is worth nearly 900 billion dollars. So to control even 3% of it is a big deal.But it is refining and petrochemicals that is the Reliance's biggest business. Why is it then that since the last three years, Reliance Retail is being made to headline the conglomerate's annual report?Tune in.Free Read:Lenskart’s CEO and chief people officer Peyush Bansal has a people problemDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Beets are a superfood today. Tomorrow it'll be lemons. The internet is rife with misinformation especially about food and health related stuff. There are hundreds of influencers on your feed telling you what’s good for you. But who’s telling you what’s bad and what doesn't work? Maybe a keto diet worked for your friend but not for you. Take Dr Cyriac Abby Philips who goes by The Liver Doc on Twitter. Recently, he claimed there is no point in taking multivitamins.He is a de-influencer and there are many like him who work towards breaking down myths. Often they're faced with legal action and threats, yet most of them continue their work.But what is really fuelling de-influencers?Tune in.RecommendationThe wild finfluencer party is finally coming to an endDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

After a delay of almost a year Ola Electric finally released its financials this week. The company was valued at $5 billion last year and so far it has raised nearly $800 million from investors, including Softbank. With a 40% market share, it is the leader of the two-wheeler EV market in India. It has already sold over 250,000 vehicles.Ola Electric has set up 600 experience centres around the country where people can go take test rides. But the company only has 200 service centres. Its lack of focus towards after-sales servicing is upsetting customers. Plus, the financials point towards a 4X loss in FY 2022.Meanwhile, its competitors like Ather and Bajaj are strategically going for a service-first policy.Tune in.RecommendationWhy $3 billion set aside for India’s EV makers is sitting idleDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Known for its high-end EV models, earlier this year, Tesla went on a cost-cutting spree. Six months ago, though, the EV maker was on the verge of shutting down its office in India. But last week, the company took up a sprawling office space in Pune on a five-year-long lease. And last month, it was reported that Tesla plans to set up a factory in India with a yearly capacity of 5 lakh EV units. Now, at a time when there is a general fall in EV prices, it is admittedly chasing growth—even if it comes at the cost of profitability.In fact, the starting price range of Tesla models in India could be as low as US$24,000. It looks like the EV-making global giant is picking up cues from the reigning giant of India's passenger EV market—Tata Motors.Tune in to find out how.RecommendationWhy Tesla is surely watching Tata, BYDDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

The voice of the gig worker is getting louder, and it's coming to a point where neither delivery companies nor the government can afford to ignore it for much longer.Last month, the Rajasthan government came up with a new law that aims to establish a welfare board and a dedicated social security fund for platform-based gig workers in the state. One could say the new law sets a precedent for gig workers across the country.However, that is so only if you take it at face value.Once you look beyond the headlines and go through the technicalities of the law, it doesn't paint as rosy a picture for the aggrieved gig workers.Tune in to find out more.RecommendationGig-worker strikes are just the tip of the iceberg, unionisation lies beneathIndia's first law to protect gig workers is surprisingly good news for their employersDoes the delivery-partner fee you pay 'fully go to them for their time and effort'? NopeDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

UPI or the Unified Payments Interface has revolutionised the way we use money. So much so that we don't think twice about freely accept financial connections with strangers. Since its launch seven years ago, 300 million users in India are on the UPI platform freely carrying out financial transactions.But did you know that your bank can block your account without a warning or any explanation? And what's worst, you could even come under the radar of law enforcement authorities like the cyber crime police. Anyone who unknowingly makes a transaction, directly or indirectly, with a fraudster can be considered suspicious by authorities.Meanwhile, banks and law enforcement agencies are yet to figure out a standard operating procedure in dealing with such matters. This had led them to adopt a ‘block first, ask questions later’ approach that's been making the lives of innocent victims even harder.Tune in to find out more.RecommendationOn the UPI social network, who do you ‘know’? And who do ‘they know’?Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Once upon a time, not too long ago actually, Byju's was the world’s most valuable edtech. Now, though, it's in a big mess. And that’s putting it mildly.However, Byju’s employees got the worst end of the stick because of all the company has been going through. The Ken spoke to employees who told us they were fired arbitrarily without notice. In fact, they said they are being forced to resign.And like that wasn't enough to deal with, some companies have specifically told recruiters not to look at Byju’s employees.Tune in to find out why.Recommendation: Indian lenders cut off Byju’s air supply by not lending to its usersThe seven things you need to know about Byju’s FY21 financialsDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Last month, the global tech giant Microsoft India saw its revenue hit $3 billion, much closer to its $5 billion target by 2025. A Mumbai based sales leader told The Ken that in 2022, Microsoft India grew twice the growth of Microsoft globally.Behind the company's success was Anant Maheshwari who had been leading it for the last seven years. Described as an aggressive salesman and hard taskmaster, while he took the Microsoft India to new heights, his leadership style left a section of employees feeling dejected.What was going on inside the walls of the tech giant?Tune in to find out.RecommendationThe ChatGPT effect: Microsoft gaining momentum in cloud race against Amazon and Google by Pratap Vikram SinghDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Nine years ago, Urban Company (then UrbanClap) disrupted the market and eventually went on to become Asia's largest home services marketplace. Last year, the US$2 billion company was ranked as one of the top-rated platforms for gig workers in Fairwork India Ratings.But just a year later now, Urban Company partners are are protesting nationwide against the platform's arbitrary and unfair policies. Meanwhile, customers are growing increasingly unhappy with the services. The company is also grappling with losses and has been cutting costs to achieve profitability. But the rising anger from both ends, customers and partners, is coming in its way and managing both is getting quite difficult.Tune in.RecommendationUrban Company is caught between angry customers and angrier partners Urban Co’s three-way balancing act in search of profitabilityDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

The fintech sector has been buzzing after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted credit lines on UPI a few months ago. From what we know so far, banks are likely to gain the most out of it.But a credit line-backed UPI product will also change how customers use credit. While they might continue to choose credit cards for high-value purchases, for smaller purchases like groceries and clothes, they could very well start looking at the new product. The whole rewards system which had been helping issuers draw huge numbers of credit-card users, is going to change with it. In fact, it may even come to and end.Tune in.RecommendationThe Indian credit market is ripe for disruption againFree airport lounge access helped sell more credit cards. Now its come to bite banksDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

In the first half of this year, from January to June, Tata Motors had 3/4th of the passenger EV market share despite relentless competition from the likes of Mahindra & Mahindra and other newer rivals.Its revenue for FY23 stood at almost $8 billion. The not-so-secret secret behind this success Tata Motors' its Xpres-T EV sedan—the go-to for cab companies and fleet operators that are looking to switch to greener alternatives. Xpres-T could easily to capture the cab market except Tata Motors maybe deliberately downplaying this bit of its success so far. Tune into find out why.Recommended reading:Why $3 billion set aside for India’s EV makers is sitting idle Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.