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Ansh Kadam
Founder & CEO at Bui... â˘Â 14d
How does it feel to sell something worth âš5000 Cr. for just âš25 lakh? Only the owners of Gaana. com can truly answer that. Once a shining star in Indiaâs 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 âš25 lakh. Thatâs not a typo. Not âš25 crore. Just âš25 lakh. So what went so horribly wrong? This is not a story of bad tech or poor product-market fit â 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 âš12.5 Cr. Eventually, the losses became so overwhelming that Times Internet had no option but to cut the cord and dump it. Hereâs the brutal lesson: Funding can buy time. Revenue can create hope. But only profits create sustainability. đ If you're running a startup or business, hereâs what you must do TODAY: Shift your KPI focus from growth to profitability. Stop chasing vanity metrics like downloads or users â measure CAC vs LTV instead. Audit your burn rate monthly. If youâre spending âš1 to earn âš0.40, itâs not growth â itâs 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 âš10 is better than 10,000 free users. Because hype fades. Profits donât. 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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