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Stoa School has hit pause button but not dead: Co-founder Kunkolienkar

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Stoa School has hit pause button but not dead: Co-founder Kunkolienkar
Medial

Stoa School, which offers MBA boot camp program, has hit a pause button on its operations and is currently re-evaluating its future course of action, the company co-founder Raj Kunkolienkar told Entrackr. Stoa has stopped accepting new students to its programs but Kunkolienkar emphasized that it hasn’t shut down operations. According to a Ken report, the company has winded up its operations. “It was a temporary pause in admissions, not operations we took back on Jan 24 as we overhaul our offerings to keep up with the changing future of work and learning. We will write in public about the new direction by early August,” said the co-founder. As per Kunkolienkar, the company had also paused admission for a temporary period in early 2022. As per Entrackr’s sources, Stoa also laid off a significant portion of its employees in the past six months. “We let go of about 25 people back in November’ 23 and continue to have a team running learning, community as well as career operations,” said Kunkolienkar. Launched in October 2020, Stoa offers a six month part-time MBA programme with the focus on the startup ecosystem. Unlike a regular MBA degree which comes at a steep cost, Stoa charges around Rs 2.5 lakh. Its curriculum covers various topics such as strategy & models, general management, brand, economics, and analytical thinking. During the six months of the program, students spend most of their time learning online through weekly sprints. On clearing the mid and the end-term exam and completing the careers checklist, they get access to placement support. For the fiscal year ended in March 2023 (FY23), Stoa registered more than two-fold jump in its operating revenue to Rs 15.92 crore from Rs 6.13 crore in FY22. During the period, its losses reduced to Rs 43 lakh from Rs 78 lakh in the previous year. Stoa raised seed funding from the likes of Nithin Kamath, Kunal Shah, Gagan Biyani and AngelList in November 2021. The company has not raised any capital since then. As per startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Kulkarni holds 51.45% stake in the company while Kunkolienkar has 15.37% stake. It has an ESOP pool of 11%. Stoa’s competitors include Upraised, Invact Metaversity, Masters’ Union, and Mesa School of Business. Almost all of them had raised funds soon after their launch. Invact Metaversity, launched by former Twitter head Manish Maheshwari, scooped up $5 million in its maiden fundraise while Mesa School of Business raised nearly $4 million in April last year. Upraised also raised its seed round in August last year. Last year, Entrackr exclusively reported that Masters’ Union was in talks to raise a new round.

Exclusive: Kavin Mittal’s Hike shuts down operations completely

EntrackrEntrackr · 4d ago
Exclusive: Kavin Mittal’s Hike shuts down operations completely
Medial

Exclusive: Kavin Mittal’s Hike shuts down operations completely After 13 years of operations, Hike is shutting down completely, including its US business, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Kavin Mittal informed investors in an email on Saturday. Mittal said the decision follows the recent ban on real money gaming (RMG) in India, which shortened the company’s runway from seven months to just four months. “After much reflection and speaking with a few of you, I’ve decided to wind down Hike operations completely, including the US,” he wrote. Entrackr has reviewed the copy of the email. Soon after the RMG ban in India, Mittal had announced that the company would exit the country to focus on the United States and other global markets such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. However, the decision to shut down entirely has come as an unexpected move for the gaming industry. The company, which started as Hike Messenger and pivoted to Rush, scaled to 10 million users and generated $500 million in gross revenue in four years. Despite the growth, Mittal said the challenges of taxes, regulation battles, and the India ban made continuation unviable. “Is it worth it? For the first time in 13 years of building Hike, my answer is no,” he said, adding that the company may have been too early for its vision of building a gaming nation, while also pointing to better opportunities in AI and other frontier technologies. According to Mittal, Hike has around $4 million left on its balance sheet, which will be used to settle vendor costs and employee severance. Any leftover funds will be returned to investors. Mittal acknowledged the fatigue within the broader team after years of pivots and regulatory hurdles. “RMG was never the destination. It was a means to prove unit economics and unlock the bigger vision. But we got locked into the Indian market in a tax/regulation battle,” he said. Reflecting on the journey, Mittal noted milestones such as Hike Messenger reaching 40 million MAUs and becoming one of India’s most loved consumer brands. He described the shutdown as a disappointment but emphasized the learnings as “invaluable.” Looking ahead, Mittal said he plans to focus on new frontiers like AI, energy, and personal growth. “This chapter ends, but the climb continues,” he wrote, assuring investors that Hike will be closed responsibly.

Exclusive: Flipkart shuts down ANS Commerce

EntrackrEntrackr · 6m ago
Exclusive: Flipkart shuts down ANS Commerce
Medial

url: https://entrackr.com/exclusive/exclusive-flipkart-shuts-down-ans-commerce-8765612 Content: Flipkart has decided to shut down ANS Commerce, its full-stack e-commerce enabler, three years after acquiring the Gurugram-based company, sources familiar with the matter told Entrackr. "Flipkart has decided to shut down ANS Commerce and has also laid off several employees associated with it," said a source familiar with the matter, requesting anonymity. Confirming the development to Entrackr, a Flipkart spokesperson said, “'After careful consideration, ANS Commerce, a full-stack e-commerce enabler that was acquired by Flipkart in 2022, has decided to close its operations. As we wind down operations, we stay committed to ensuring a smooth transition for all stakeholders, including employees and customers.” “To minimize the impact on employees during this transition, we plan to offer internal opportunities at Flipkart, outplacement services, and severance packages,’ the spokesperson added. Founded by Amit Monga, Vibhor Sahare, Sushant Puri, and Nakul Singh, ANS Commerce is a full-stack e-commerce enabler offering services such as store tech, performance marketing, marketplace management, e-commerce warehousing, and fulfillment. It collaborates with over 100 brands, including Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, HUL, Piramal, Lakme, Nivea, Oziva, CEAT, and Bikanervala. The firm raised $2.2 million in its pre-Series A round, led by Gokul Rajaram and Venture Catalysts in October 2021. According to sources, ANS Commerce was acquired in a deal worth Rs 250-300 crore ($35-40 million) three years ago. During FY24, ANS Commerce recorded a 39.4% increase in operating revenue to Rs 54 crore, compared to Rs 39 crore in FY23. However, the company's net loss widened by 27.1% to Rs 73.8 crore in FY24 from Rs 57.8 crore in the previous year.

Paras Chopra’s Nintee shuts down, to return investors’ money

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Paras Chopra’s Nintee shuts down, to return investors’ money
Medial

Nintee, a digital health startup launched by Wingify founder Paras Chopra, has announced shutting down its operations after a year of launch. In a blog post, Chopra said that the majority of funding raised by the company is still remaining and will be returned to investors over the next few weeks. Nintee was backed by the likes of Peak XV Partners, Kunal Shah, and others. “Our original hypothesis was to use AI for helping people build better habits to transform their lives. This attracted a passionate niche, but we couldn’t build conviction that it could be a VC-scale business,” said Chopra. After abandoning the initial idea, the firm tried another pivot to explore education and learning related ideas, but Nintee team quickly discovered that building a successful consumer app today is very hard. Nintee has provided four months of severance to the impacted employees and also offered them to join Chopra’s other company VWO at the same salary. Nintee was the third company founded by Chopra after VWO and Wingify. His bootstrapped company Wingify reported back-to-back profits in the past fiscal years. Its revenue from operations increased 16.8% to Rs 223 crore in FY23 with Rs 51 crore profit after tax. Around half a dozen startups operating in India have announced shutting down their operations in the ongoing calendar year so far. The list counts Resso (India), Rario, OKX (India), Muvin and GoldPe. In 2023, more than 15 startups ceased their operations over funding and other challenges.

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