Here's how unicorns build their brands

In a virtual panel discussion at the Grand Finale of TechSparks 2021, founders and CEOs of - Razorpay, Harshil Mathur; ShareChat, Ankush Sachdeva; and Licious, Abhay Hanjura spoke about brand evolving and building larger brands.

Tuesday November 02, 2021 , 3 min Read

Good Morning,

How do unicorns build their brands?

According to Abhay Hanjura, Co-founder of Licious, while startups are focused on building their product to solve a problem in the initial days, they need to look closely at the brand and evolve the organisation as they grow.

"In the early days, you have to live the brand. When it comes to scale, what becomes extremely important is creating ownership of the brand,” he added.

He was speaking at the grand finale of the 12th edition of TechSparks, India's most influential startup-tech conference hosted by YourStory, in a virtual roundtable along with Harshil Mathur, Co-founder and CEO, Razorpay; and Ankush Sachdeva, Co-founder and CEO, ShareChat.

Talking about nuances of brand building from unicorns' perspective, the founders agreed that brand is the projection of what you stand for and truly believe. It is about the people who put in their investment.

Check out YourStory's full coverage of TechSparks 2021 here.

Click here to download YourStory’s Tech50 report.

The Interview

In his 11th year as a bootstrapped founder building retail brokerage firm Zerodha, Nithin Kamath equates founders diluting too much of their shareholding to shorting the stocks of their own companies, especially when India is on a journey to being an economic superpower.

Speaking at YourStory’s flagship event, TechSparks 2021, Nithin cautions founders against the rat race for higher valuations. Read more.

Editor’s Pick: Co-Terminator Shield

Amid the pandemic, doctors and healthcare workers have been tirelessly working around the clock, wearing PPE kits and layers of masks and face shields. However, working long hours in PPE gear led to several challenges such as sweating, headaches, heat, and exhaustion.

Hardik Kumar Dewan, a 16-year-old entrepreneur from Rewari, has developed a face shield named The Co-terminator Shield, designed especially for healthcare and paramedic workers. Read more.

Co-terminator Shield, Hardik Kumar Dewan

Startup Spotlight

Making high-speed internet available

With a large swathe of businesses now online due to COVID-19, digitisation has become the need of the hour. However, it isn’t possible for a large section of the Indian population, who cannot afford to buy expensive high-speed internet plans for their homes.

Delhi-based technology startup i2e1 aims to change that by using its technology and innovative business model to tap “extra” internet provide high-speed internet to the masses for as low as Rs 5 a day. Read more.

News & Updates

Grocery delivery startup Zepto raised an early-stage funding round worth $60 million, at a valuation of $225 million, to expand its 10-minute grocery delivery nationwide.

Fi, a neo-bank for working professionals, has raised $50 million at a valuation of $315 million from B Capital Group, Falcon Edge, and others in addition to an earlier interim round with existing investors Sequoia Capital and Ribbit Capital.

The Director of the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) David Beasley recently stated that just 2 percent of Elon Musk’s wealth could solve world hunger. Elon Musk took to Twitter and said that he would sell his Tesla stock if WFP can describe how exactly $6B will solve world hunger.

Video-based social commerce startup Kiko Live has raised $1 million pre-Series A funding. The round saw participation from SOSV, a global VC firm which led the round, GSF Accelerator, and Venture Catalysts, India’s leading angel network.