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Hindustan Times
26-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Bengaluru entrepreneur bans team from talking to Indian customers: 'Skip India movement'
Bengaluru-based millionaire and founder of Wingify, Paras Chopra, shared that he had banned his team at Lossfunk, an AI lab, from engaging with Indian customers. Chopra was replying to a post that claimed that more and more tech startup founders are choosing to bypass the Indian market under a "Skip India Movement". Vaibhav Domkundwar. a prominent investor and founder of Better Capital, claimed that AI founders are intentionally avoiding Indian customers for exploiting their startups for free trials or discounted work. "AI founders finally skipping selling to Indian customers after doing PoCs [Proof of Concepts] after PoCs and then being requested for even more 'free' PoCs. There is a limit to this and founders are saying screw it and skipping selling to Indian customers. Enough is enough. Even unicorns are using these startup founders (who are 10x better than their internal teams) for freebies," he wrote. Domkundwar claimed that his insights were based on 'primary data,' hinting at firsthand accounts from founders in his network. "I have banned builders at Lossfunk to talking to Indian customers. It's a tiny tech market, but a comfort zone. Many times, founders end up optimising for the Indian market and realise they can't scale further," Chopra said in a reply. The posts have sparked debate in the startup community, highlighting an uncomfortable pattern where Indian buyers engage in multiple unpaid product trials but rarely convert to paying clients. "Indians are 2x hard to convince and 1/4th willingness to pay. Not worth it at all. I have stopped marketing for the Indian market and will probably deprioritise Indians in the US too," said another founder. Another user said, "Same for new-tech hardware brands, tiny market, not many early adopters, low paying capacity." Others criticised the founder's move, calling it a mistake while trying to build a global startup.
Entrepreneur
21-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Misfits Raises INR 5 Cr from Info Edge Ventures and Better Capital
The funds will be deployed to enhance Misfits' mobile platform, making it easier for users to join, create, and grow clubs. The startup also plans to expand its presence in more cities across urban India. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Gurugram-based offline community platform Misfits has raised ₹5 crore in a seed funding round co-led by Info Edge Ventures and Better Capital. The funds will be deployed to enhance Misfits' mobile platform, making it easier for users to join, create, and grow clubs. The startup also plans to expand its presence in more cities across urban India. Co-founded in 2022 by Shashwat Narhatiyar, Chaitanya Dhawan, Saurabh Sharma, and Shaswat Kar, Misfits was born out of a desire to build real-world human connections in a digital-first age. The platform empowers individuals to discover, join, or lead hobby-based clubs, creating tight-knit offline communities through weekly meetups at local venues. "The seed of Misfits was born five years ago while doing a college assignment, driven by the belief that virtual social media platforms do not necessarily create meaningful human connections," said Shashwat Narhatiyar, Co-founder and CEO of Misfits. "We saw the need for a space where people could truly connect through shared interests, beyond just online interactions." From football games and quiz nights to art circles and music jam sessions, Misfits offers something for everyone. Each club is led by an independent club leader and meets weekly at partner venues, converting everyday hangouts into lively social events. The model not only builds tight-knit communities but also benefits venues through increased footfall and revenue. "We started Misfits to solve a problem we faced ourselves," said Chaitanya Dhawan, CMO of Misfits. "Despite living closer than ever, people feel more isolated. What began as casual gatherings in our home in Gurgaon has grown into a network of thriving communities, entirely through organic growth." Since its launch, Misfits has clocked over 25,000 organic app downloads and facilitated more than 3,000 social meetups. Rishabh Katiyar, Principal at Info Edge Ventures, said, "There is a clear need for such a platform, but the problem remains largely unsolved. Misfits' capital-efficient growth and strong community engagement make it a promising player." Vaibhav Domkundwar, CEO of Better Capital, added, "Misfits is the 'Airbnb of Human Connections,' and we are thrilled to support a team bringing this vision to life."
