How to build a travel empire; Mensa’s narrowing losses

Hello,

Tech at the Mahakumbh Mela.

The world's largest religious event, in a partnership between blockchain solutions provider Chaincode Consulting and the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, will allow devotees and participants to engage with the gathering through an NFT platform.

These NFTs will offer participants exclusive digital collectibles and personalised digital quizzes on the festival and Indian mythology.

Meanwhile in India’s funding ecosystem, RevX Capital, a private credit fund, is launching its second fund targeting to raise Rs 750 crore, including a greenshoe option of Rs 250 crore.

The news comes amid private credit funds' increased focus on India. Non-banking institutions are carving out a niche by financing mid-sized corporate borrowers, often overlooked by traditional lenders.

Speaking of capital, Indian fintech startups secured $1.9 billion in funding in 2024, marking a 33% decline from $2.8 billion in the year before, according to Tracxn's annual Fintech Report. Despite the decline, India retained its position as the third-largest fintech funding hub globally, trailing only the US and the UK.

Lastly, don’t miss YourStory’s first-of-its-kind storytelling experience—The Great Indian Startup Showcase–during the 9th edition of National Startup Day on January 16.

Join us on LinkedIn for a day-long live marathon startup showcase, where 200+ handpicked early-stage startups from across the country will spotlight the innovation, resilience, and creativity driving the entrepreneurs of India’s tomorrow.

Want to share your startup story during the showcase? Sign up here!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• How to build a travel empire
• Mensa’s narrowing losses
• Modernising waste management

Here’s your trivia for today: In The Great Gatsby, what was Jay Gatsby’s given name?

Interview

How to build a travel empire

The idea for developing a tech platform focused on ground transport was born out of tech entrepreneur Naren Shaam’s struggle to book a train ticket from Paris to Amsterdam way back in 2012. 

Recognising the gap in the travel sector for ground transport options, Shaam took it upon himself to consolidate the fragmented market and aggregate these options across geographies. In fact, the opportunity was so compelling that he decided to relocate to Berlin, where he laid the foundation for Omio.

Global journey:

• Shaam draws a lot of inspiration from India, where he spent his childhood. Growing up in the country taught him the importance of hustle, hard work, and perseverance. To capitalise on India’s talent pool, Omio plans to establish a tech hub in Bengaluru to hire 30–50 people over the next six to nine months. 
• Today, Omio processes over $1 billion in ticket sales annually and serves 900 million users globally. It generates about $10 million in EBITDA (about Rs 90 crore) per year, as it continues to grow.
• Drawing from his experience, Shaam encourages Indian entrepreneurs to capitalise on their strengths and aim for global relevance. He also calls for a cultural shift within organisations and urges people to strive for focus and consistency.

<Funding Alert>

Startup: Aragen

Amount: $100M

Round: Equity

Startup: WeWork India

Amount: Rs 500 Cr

Round: Rights issue

Startup: Boba Bhai

Amount: Rs 30 Cr

Round: Series A

News

Mensa’s narrowing losses

Rollup ecommerce startup Mensa Brands has clocked an operating revenue of Rs 557.6 crore in FY24—an increase of 11.6% from Rs 499.6 crore in FY23, according to its filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

Meanwhile, the company’s consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 155.8 crore in FY24 from Rs 227 crore in the previous fiscal.

Recovery:

• In line with its rising operating revenue, Mensa’s total income grew by 12% to Rs 598.2 crore in FY24, as compared to Rs 534.6 crore in FY23.
• Total expenses for the Indian entity of Mensa Brands stood at Rs 712 crore during the year under review—a decline of about 6.7% from Rs 763 crore in FY23. Of this, the company’s employee benefit expenses clocked in at Rs 123.6 crore in FY24 from Rs 91.5. 
• Founded by former Myntra CEO Ananth Narayanan in 2021, The House of Brands unicorn owns and operates several consumer brands, including Pebble, Karagiri, Ishin Fashions, MyFitness, and Dennis Lingo, deriving most of its revenue from product sales. 

Startup

Modernising waste management

According to Astute Analytica, India is the third largest generator of e-waste in the world, after China and the United States, generating 2 million to 3.2 million tonnes every year.

Since its inception in 2014 in Kolkata, Hulladek Recycling has handled 25,000 tonnes of waste. In 2023 alone, it collected 2,050 tonnes of e-waste across India for recycling. During Diwali last year, Hulladek collected about 15 tonnes of waste from West Bengal, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Delhi and Punjab.

Recycling e-waste:

• Hulladek offers e-waste management services to both individual households and companies. It does not rely on aggregators or kabadiwalas for waste collection, instead sourcing it directly from waste generators to ensure the metals are untarnished. The company operates in 20 states and 2 union territories in India.
• E-waste forms about 90% of the waste collected by Hulladek; 20% of this is used batteries, while the rest includes computers, monitors, phones, and household appliances. Plastic waste accounts for 7% of the remaining waste.
• The startup has worked with over 300 brands in the past 10 years, including Nestle, Cadbury, Tata Steel, Mondelez, Hindustan Unilever, Kwality Walls, Coca Cola, Pepsi Co, Red Bull, IndusInd Bank, and Punjab National Bank.

News & updates

• Delayed: Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin called off the launch of its New Glenn rocket after "a few anomalies" during the mission countdown on Monday, postponing by at least a day an inaugural attempt to reach orbit and compete with SpaceX in the satellite launch market.
• Scrutiny: Apple’s revamped fees for app developers are under fresh scrutiny from European Union antitrust regulators amid concerns they could drive up costs for software makers.
• Missed expectations: Moderna set financial targets for 2025 and said it expects between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion in revenue in 2025, as companies in the healthcare space rolled out corporate updates in conjunction with a health conference held by J.P. Morgan.

In The Great Gatsby, what was Jay Gatsby’s given name?

Answer: James Gatz

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