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Ansh Kadam
Founder & CEO at Bui...Ā ā¢Ā 18h
How does it feel to sell something worth ā¹5000 Cr. for just ā¹25 lakh? Only the owners of Gaana. com can truly answer that. Once a shining star in Indiaās music streaming world, Gaana raised over $200 million since 2010 and was valued at a jaw-dropping $580 million at its peak. But then, in August last year, something unthinkable happened. Gaana. com was sold to Radio Mirchi for just ā¹25 lakh. Thatās not a typo. Not ā¹25 crore. Just ā¹25 lakh. So what went so horribly wrong? This is not a story of bad tech or poor product-market fit ā Gaana had 20 Cr. monthly active users. It had brand visibility, massive reach, and investor backing from giants like Times Internet and Tencent. But behind the scenes, the balance sheets were bleeding. Their losses consistently exceeded revenue. Debt piled up year after year. And in a shocking blow, their revenue dropped 80% last year to just ā¹12.5 Cr. Eventually, the losses became so overwhelming that Times Internet had no option but to cut the cord and dump it. Hereās the brutal lesson: Funding can buy time. Revenue can create hope. But only profits create sustainability. š If you're running a startup or business, hereās what you must do TODAY: Shift your KPI focus from growth to profitability. Stop chasing vanity metrics like downloads or users ā measure CAC vs LTV instead. Audit your burn rate monthly. If youāre spending ā¹1 to earn ā¹0.40, itās not growth ā itās decay. Build a path to break even. Even if it's slow, having a timeline keeps investors and your team aligned. Test pricing early. Customers paying even ā¹10 is better than 10,000 free users. Because hype fades. Profits donāt. And if you want more real, grounded insights like this to scale your startup or business sustainably, subscribe to our newsletter through the link in the comment.
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