Meesho beats Amazon? India's Startup game-changer!

Welcome “India” Bulls!

India’s startup ecosystem saw a modest rise last week, securing $112 million across 21 deals (April 19–25, 2025). Notable among them, Vayudh raised $10 million led by Dharana Capital. While activity is up slightly, overall investor sentiment remains cautious, reflecting a broader focus on fundamentals over fast growth.

Dive in to stay ahead!

P.S. The Sunday Special is designed to help you discover the most important Startup insights outside of Share Markets. Our regular Share Market updates will resume as usual on Monday.

Startup Menu

• Startups this Week: Meesho, Boult Audio & VinFast

• Funding Space

• Special

• Everything else you need to know

• Life Hack in Video: How to think like an entrepreneur

• Startup Tools: Want to rank higher? These tools do the heavy lifting

STARTUPS THIS WEEK

1. Meesho Surpasses Amazon and Flipkart in Daily Orders: In a surprising twist in India's e-commerce landscape, Meesho has outpaced giants Amazon and Flipkart, averaging 4.9 million daily orders between April and December 2024.

2. Boult Audio Achieves ₹700 Cr Revenue Amid Profit Dip: Bootstrapped audio brand Boult Audio reported a 40% increase in operating revenue, reaching ₹702 crore in FY24. However, the growth came with a 37% decline in net profit, attributed to rising costs in materials and marketing.

3. VinFast to Launch EV Assembly Plant in India by June 2025: Vietnamese EV manufacturer VinFast is set to inaugurate a car assembly plant in Tamil Nadu by June 2025, marking its entry into the Indian market. The facility aims to assemble up to 150,000 vehicles annually.

Today’s Fastest Growing Company Might Surprise You

🚨 No, it's not the publicly traded tech giant you might expect… Meet $MODE, the disruptor turning phones into potential income generators.

Mode saw 32,481% revenue growth, ranking them the #1 software company on Deloitte’s 2023 fastest-growing companies list.

📲 They’re pioneering "Privatized Universal Basic Income" powered by technology — not government, and their EarnPhone has already helped consumers earn over $325M!

Invest in their pre-IPO offering before their share price changes on May 1st.

Invest in Mode's pre-IPO offering at just $0.30/share.

_{*An intent to IPO is no guarantee that an actual IPO will occur. Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.modemobile.com.
*The Deloitte rankings are based on submitted applications and public company database research.}

FUNDING SPACE

💰 Weekly Funding Spotlight: Major Startup Investments (April 19 -April 25)

The past week witnessed significant investments across various sectors:

▪️ Drone Power-Up: Defence startup Vayudh secures $10M from Zomato’s CEO to supercharge India's nano-drone capabilities for military use.

▪️ Snack Boost: Phab: bites into a tasty $2M seed round from OTP Ventures, aiming to dominate India’s nutritious snacking market.

▪️ Peak XV’s Mega Move: Peak XV Partners targets a massive $1.4B raise in its first fund post-Sequoia split, betting big on India's startup future.

▪️ iPhone Made in India?: Apple plans to shift 100% of U.S. iPhone assembly to India by 2026, marking a bold move away from China.

SPECIAL

Making Money While You Sleep? 

These Passive Income Ideas Can Actually Work

Passive income isn’t just a financial buzzword, it’s a founder's secret weapon for building wealth beyond the hustle. Entrepreneur Magazine laid out some powerful (and practical) income ideas that can keep working while you sleep.

💼 1. Dividend Stocks - The Silent Wealth Builder

Treat this like long-term business equity. You invest once, and the stock pays you back every quarter - no selling required. It’s consistent, requires research, and compounds over time.

📢 2. Affiliate Marketing - Earn by Recommending

If you have an audience or niche, affiliate marketing lets you monetize your influence. Promote tools, products, or services you believe in - and earn per conversion. It’s like digital referrals that never sleep.

📦 3. Digital Products - Build Once, Sell Forever

Got knowledge or frameworks that help people? Turn them into templates, ebooks, or courses. This is perfect for consultants, creators, or coaches - and scales with platforms like Gumroad or Teachable.

📺 4. Content Monetization - Your Content = Your Business

Podcasts, YouTube, and newsletters aren’t just platforms, they’re engines. With ads, memberships, and sponsorships, you can turn consistent content into a recurring revenue stream. Think media company mindset.

👕 5. Print-on-Demand - Merch Without the Mess

No stock. No logistics. Just your designs. Platforms like Redbubble and Teespring let you run a creative store that prints and ships only when someone buys. Low risk, high creativity.

🧠 Final Thought:

Passive income isn’t truly “passive” at the start, it requires building systems, testing channels, and showing up with intention.

But with focus, it becomes freedom. And that’s a founder’s ultimate flex.

FROM THE WAR ZONE

Everything else you need to know

📱 iPhone Revolution: Apple is gearing up to shift the entire assembly of U.S.-bound iPhones to India by 2026, aiming to cut its dependence on China. India already manufactures 25% of Apple’s total global iPhone production, a number set to soar.

🤖 AI Blitz: Databricks is set to invest over $250 million in India across three years, expanding its R&D, training initiatives, and boosting headcount by over 50% to fuel the country’s booming AI ecosystem.

🔬 Quantum Leap: Bengaluru-based QpiAI has built India’s first full-stack quantum computer, integrating advanced processors and AI to push India into the global quantum technology race.

🚀 Startup Springboard: Finvolve India Accelerator has invested in six startups across health tech, edtech, and fintech, offering funding, mentorship, and strategic guidance to fast-track their growth journeys.

⚡ Electric Pivot: Following new U.S. tariffs, India is considering tweaks to its EV policy, which currently requires a $500M investment and offers a 15% import duty cap for approved manufacturers.

LIFE HACKS

How to think like an entrepreneur

STARTUP TOOLS

Want to Rank Higher? These Tools Do the Heavy Lifting

In the world of digital visibility, keywords are more than search terms, they’re signals.
Signals of demand, relevance, and opportunity.

In this top keyword tracking tools every startup should know about, and it’s a goldmine for founders, marketers, and operators who want to grow with intention - not assumption.

Here’s the quick breakdown:

🛠️ Ahrefs: The Swiss Army knife of SEO. Deep keyword insights + competitor strategy + backlink gold.

📊 SEMrush: Competitive intelligence on steroids. Great for teams who want to track, compare, and conquer.

📈 SE Ranking: All-in-one dashboard with precision tracking, local/global ranking insights, and on-page audits.

⚡ GrowthBar: Chrome-native and built for speed. Perfect for solo founders and small teams who move fast.

🧠 Serpstat: Budget-friendly, scalable, and ideal for startups experimenting with multiple content strategies.

🔬 Moz Pro: Clean UX, actionable alerts, and trusted metrics. A no-brainer for marketing teams without full-time SEO leads.

📍 AccuRanker: The laser of the lot. If you’re managing multiple clients or projects, this is your fast lane.

Why it matters:
▪️ Tracking isn’t optional anymore, it’s foundational.
▪️ The earlier you integrate keyword intelligence, the sharper your growth decisions become.
▪️ Because in SEO, what you don’t measure will eventually cost you.

Your Opinion Matters!

Got more feedback or just want to get in touch? Reply to this email and we’ll get back to you.

Thanks for reading.

Until tomorrow!

Mohit & the OneZero-F team

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