Why rapid growth is not a true measure of success

Urging entrepreneurs to stay cautious of explosive growth, Naveen Tewari says it’s critical to first get the product right before thinking of scaling.

Suman Singh

Kanishk Singh

Thursday January 21, 2021 , 4 min Read

Good morning!

Success is a journey, not a destination. And if you ask Naveen Tewari, the journey of success is not scripted by rapid growth.

Many of us, including entrepreneurs, are often plagued by the need for “instant gratification”. Instant growth and instant success.

But the founder of InMobi, and a two-time unicorn builder has an important piece of advice for all entrepreneurs: ‘say no to rapid growth’.

“We've seen the blitz growth and we know it doesn't mean anything because sustainable growth is what really matters. So, I think there is a message out there to every other entrepreneur to try and be more secure about some of these things,” he says.

Urging entrepreneurs to stay cautious of explosive growth, Naveen Tewari adds, it’s critical to first get the product right before thinking of scaling.

As they say, slow and steady wins the race.

The Interview

With many people becoming first-time online shoppers amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, the situation presented an opportunity for Shiprocket to build on the message of Digital India and grow the online retail market. CEO Saahil Goel realised that the ecommerce logistics platform was positioned at the right place at the right time, and he leveraged the opportunity to build for digital growth.

Here are some key takeaways from the interview:

How Shiprocket adapted to the new normal
The role of technology in logistics
Helping merchants sail through COVID-19
New trends in the D2C space
How Bharat is driving the ecommerce growth

Startup Spotlight

Buy HomeMade is helping people discover regional food carefully prepared by home chefs

Passionate about food, Ahmedabad-based homemakers Ami Baxi and Deepika Lakhani realised that people crave home-cooked meals and local snacks that were prepared hygienically. So, they launched online platform Buy HomeMade in 2020 to enable home chefs to sell homemade snacks, pickles, organic oils, chocolates, and baked goods. Read more.

Editor’s Pick: 100X Entrepreneur Podcast

Challenges and failures are not signs of weakness but maturity, says Snapdeal Co-founder Kunal Bahl

Serial entrepreneur and investor Kunal Bahl believes that challenges and failures play an important role in giving people a purpose in life. And he has seen a fair share of problems when he struggled to build a business in the coupon space in 2007. But he didn't give up and pivoted Snapdeal from a coupons platform to become one of the early ecommerce success stories. Read more.

Kunal Bahl, Snapdeal — *Kunal Bahl, Co-founder of Snapdeal and Titan Capital [Image Credit: 100X Entrepreneur]*

News & Updates

Alibaba Co-founder Jack Ma, who was reported missing since China's crackdown on the ecommerce giant, has resurfaced after months out of the public view, as per multiple media reports. The entrepreneur addressed teachers in a live stream on Wednesday.

Antler, the Singapore-headquartered early-stage venture capital firm has announced the induction of Nitin Sharma as Partner and he will co-lead the firm’s India operations along with Rajiv Srivatsa.

Ola has partnered with Siemens as it looks to rapidly build its upcoming EV manufacturing facility. This announcement comes on the heels of Ola’s MoU with the government of Tamil Nadu to invest nearly Rs 2,400 crore towards building this facility.

Expressing support for data localisation, Paytm Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma said data generated in India should be processed within the country. He added that companies need to look at India beyond as just a market, given the massive opportunity it presents.

Fireside Ventures has closed its second fund — Fireside Fund II — at Rs 863 crore ($118 million). It will invest in 15 to 20 consumer brand startups while keeping its focus on digital-first brands.