Binny Bansal - the bookseller who became a billionaire

Good morning!

In 2007, when Binny Bansal co-founded Flipkart, not many could have predicted its monumental acquisition by Walmart in 2018 for a whopping $16 billion. 

Binny himself has been through several periods of rapid growth and equal amounts of challenges throughout his Flipkart journey. 

Needless to say, his illustrious journey inspired many across India to take up entrepreneurship as a career. And today, Binny lends his expertise and insights to scores of startups looking to embark on a similar startup journey.

He says, “During my time at Flipkart, I realised that many founders were going through similar challenges. We came from different verticals but we still encountered the same issues. At the time, there weren’t many helplines. And I realised my own limitations — I can probably only help 10 or 15 founders at any given time.”

This led him to start xto10x Technologies, which helps companies and founders after they reach a particular milestone, advising entrepreneurs in strategy, design, and architecture, and more.

In a conversation with Hans Tung, Managing Partner, GGV Capital, the prolific angel investor and mentor ruminates on the past, the present, and the future. Read more. 

Tune in to the podcast here.

The Interview

While the world continues to reel with the ravaging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a payment solution that is contactless, secure, and cost-effective is the perfect combination for carrying out retail transactions in the current environment, and the Soft POS app does just that.

In a conversation with YourStory, Mastercard's Rajeev Kumar, Worldline's Deepak Chandani, and Axis Bank's Sanjeev Moghe talk about Soft POS — an app that enables merchants to accept contactless payments by turning their smartphones into POS devices.

Editor’s Pick: India's bet on small satellites

The race to win space began in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik-1 into an elliptical low Earth orbit (LEO). Today, there are about 3,372 satellites in space, of which 2,612 are in LEO. The last few decades have seen a boom in the development of small satellites along with large-sized geostationary satellites, which are time-taking innovations that need high investment — one of many reasons why small satellites have been attracting attention, from public and private players, since 2012. Read more. 

Startup Spotlight

Walrus helps the ‘Instagram generation’ learn financial management

Money remains a hush-hush topic in India. Adults hardly discuss finances with each other, much less with their kids, and, as a result, Indian children grow up without any real understanding of money management. Neobanks, which are steadily gaining traction, appeals to the sensibilities of the “Instagram” and “Swiggy” generation by providing on-demand services at the tip of their fingers. One such startup is Walrus, founded in 2020 by Bhagaban Behera, Nakul Kelkar, and Sriharsha Setty. Read more.

News & Updates

• As per media reports, DCGI's Subject Expert Committee (SEC) has recommended Russia’s coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V for emergency use. The vaccine will now need approval from DCGI for its emergency use in India.

• The share price of Infosys hit a 52-week high as the company announced a share buyback programme. The share price of Infosys rose by two percent in early Monday morning trade to touch a 52-week high of Rs 1,480.

• Nykaa Fashion has acquired online jewellery brand Pipa Bella to capture and expand into the jewellery segment with a focus on fashion jewellery and accessories.

• Flipkart has entered into a partnership with industrial conglomerate Adani Group to create logistics and data centres. Adani Logistics Limited will construct a 534,000 sq ft fulfilment centre in its upcoming logistics hub in Mumbai.

• Amazon will cover the COVID-19 vaccination cost for all its India employees and associates as well as those in the partner network ecosystem, including delivery service partner associates, including Amazon Flex drivers, 'I Have Space' store partners, trucking partners, and their eligible dependents.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“Thankfully, in a startup, there’s always a point when things don’t work. At that point, you need to pause and reflect. I have made that into a habit now.”

— Binny Bansal, Co-founder, Flipkart; Co-founder and Executive Chairman, xto10x Technologies

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