Flipkart’s search for Shopsy’s right hook

Hello,

How many times have you heard the phrase “money can’t buy happiness”? Well, science disagrees.

A recent study by Daniel Kahneman and Matthew Killingsworth in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that people are generally happier as they earn more. In fact, the researchers found out that “happiness continues to rise with income even in the high range of incomes” for the majority of people.

But if you are already rich and miserable, more money won’t help…

Meanwhile, even as funding continues to be bleak across the ecosystem, Lenskart is gearing up to raise a massive round.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is in advanced talks to buy a stake in the eyewear startup for about $500 million, reported Bloomberg. This investment by the Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund will raise Lenskart’s valuation to more than $4 billion.

ICYMI: Ever wondered how coffee affects your body? 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Flipkart’s search for Shopsy’s right hook 
• Benefits and dilemmas of online dating
• BYJU’S plans to raise $250 million

Here’s your trivia for today: Who is the only individual to have received both the Nobel Prize as well as its satirical counterpart, the Ig Nobel Prize?

Ecommerce

Flipkart’s search for Shopsy’s right hook 

Nearly two years ago, Flipkart launched Shopsy as a social commerce site where resellers from smaller cities could order for their network of friends and family and earn a commission. However, Shopsy has since strayed away from the reseller-led model and is focused on driving direct purchases from consumers to grow the platform. 

Taking stock:

• Shopsy now wants to reach the 300 million-plus base of customers who are starting out on ecommerce.
• It crossed the 100 million user mark in mid-2022. The platform claims to have 60% of its user base in Tier III-plus regions in the country and about 15% from metros. 
• Monetising its long tail of value-conscious customers will continue to pose a challenge to Shopsy as it tries to fight off incumbents, including Shop101, JioMart, Amazon-owned GlowRoad and Meesho.

Funding Alert

Startup: Bira91

Amount: $10M

Round: Undisclosed

Startup: Houseware

Amount: $2.1M 

Round: Seed

Startup: Inker Robotic

Amount: $1.2M 

Round: Pre-Seed

Technology

Benefits and dilemmas of online dating

In an era where love is hard to find the traditional way, online dating is proving to be a blessing for many urban Indian women. Dating apps are enabling women to take charge of their dating lives with a swipe and a tap but finding true love and a safe experience is not that easy.

Let’s date:

• With dating apps—unlike traditional matrimonial sites—there is less pressure to ‘settle down’, yielding to parental push or society’s expectations.
• Self-love is moving beyond being a social media fad, with more and more women adopting habits that nurture their self-esteem and regard for their own happiness. In short, many women are not viewing dating as a means to an end.
• While online dating has emboldened some women and made them more confident and forthcoming, there are also instances wherein their self-esteem has taken a beating.

Edtech

BYJU’S plans to raise $250 million 

Edtech unicorn BYJU'S is planning to raise as much as $250 million through the issuance of convertible notes by its test prep service provider, Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL). Aakash will issue the notes, which will be converted into equity at a discount of 20% to the listing price of the unit’s planned IPO, Bloomberg reported.

Funds in need:

• This will help BYJU’S wave over a liquidity crunch. The edtech major is struggling with the delay in its fundraising due to the delayed due diligence process.
• The edtech major started talks with bankers last year to pick arrangers for Akash’s IPO.
• BYJU’S reported to have raised an unsecured loan of Rs 300 crore ($36.45 million) from Aakash’s "principal business activities" in October 2022. 

News & updates

• Father factor: Scientists have created mice with two biological fathers by generating eggs from male cells, opening up radical new possibilities for reproduction. This could pave the way for treating severe forms of infertility, and help same-sex couples have a biological child together in future.
• Winding down: Silvergate, the San Diego-based crypto bank, plans to shut down operations. Citing “recent industry and regulatory developments”, it announced that a “voluntary liquidation of the bank is the best path forward”.
• Overwhelming: Layoffs by US companies over Jan and Feb touched the highest since 2009, with the tech sector accounting for more than a third of the over 180,000 job cuts announced. In Feb alone, layoffs in the US stood at 77,770, over five times higher than the 15,245 job cuts in the previous year.

Who is the only individual to have received both the Nobel Prize, as well as its satirical counterpart, the Ig Nobel Prize?

Answer: Sir Andre Konstantin Geim, a Russian-born Dutch-British physicist who was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in 2000 for levitating a frog by magnetism. In 2010, he won a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work with the electromagnetic properties of graphene. 

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(This was updated to correct a typo in two places)