It's never too early to talk to us: https://nitter.gq/t.co/s9GBMtHTZW
India
Joined January 2017
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In VC, ‘early-stage investing’ can mean a hundred different things depending on who you ask. Some understand it by the stage of entry, while others consider revenue milestones or investment size.
To us, ‘early-stage’ is more than just a label. It's a philosophy
Quick thread🧵
Stellaris Venture Partners retweeted
Founders are preferring pitches with no deck - "let's just have a conversation." I have no problem with it, but it usually leads to a subpar outcome (actually I really like 1-pagers). Builders are poor natural storytellers, myself included & this is a time to play your strengths
Stellaris Venture Partners retweeted
1/5
Diwali shopping season is here, and it's interesting how similar consumer behaviour has become across Indian cities.
We have traditionally used geography and income to segment consumers. But I wonder if these filters will continue to be as useful going forward.
Stellaris Venture Partners retweeted
1/ @AnthropicAI filed its S-1 last week, and looking at the $40 trillion opportunity, I keep coming back to @vivekrag 's question:
“Are we going to rent intelligence and pay the global players, or are we going to own it?”
Stellaris Venture Partners retweeted
The thing I missed the most about AI/ML is becoming mainstream again
Two shifts are reshaping AI in India right now, and @alokgoyal1971 and @sarkar1028 share their perspectives on them.
Talent is coming home
Researchers from OpenAI, Google DeepMind and other frontier labs are returning to India to build their own companies. Sayantan explains why that experience matters: people who’ve built models up close can see where the tech is heading and attract other top talent. But his point is sharper than “pedigree wins.” The real edge comes from turning that experience into a company that’s different from everyone else’s.
@Inc42: inc42.com/features/can-india…
AI pricing is being rethought, but not thrown out
There’s a lot of talk about the death of per-seat pricing. Alok thinks the shift is real but narrower than the noise suggests. ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor and Copilot all still price around the user. As he puts it, “Per-seat never really priced the seat anyway. It priced the best available proxy for value.” That proxy only breaks when software stops equipping a person and starts doing the work itself. At that point, headcount no longer tracks value.
@EconomicTimes: entrepreneur.economictimes.i…
Stellaris Venture Partners retweeted
1/7 A couple of months ago, I wrote that AI has changed a great deal on the periphery of enterprise GTM and very little at the core.
Now there's data to back that up.
Stellaris Venture Partners retweeted
10 years ago, @GhazalAlagh and @VarunAlagh were new parents who couldn’t find safe products for their baby in India. So they built them. A decade later, Honasa is one of India’s most remarkable consumer stories. What stands out is how often they got there first.
1️⃣ Asia’s first MADE SAFE-certified brand: toxin-free baby care backed by proof.
2️⃣ First to unlock the power of online brand building and distribution.
3️⃣ First in Indian beauty & personal care to hit ₹1,000 crore in annual revenue at record speed.
4️⃣ First to build a successful “house of brands” playbook and the only FMCG company in India to create two ₹1,000 crore brands in a decade.
5️⃣ First new-age D2C company to go public in India (Nov 2023), and profitable when it listed. From start to listing in 7 years, fastest Indian startup to do so.
And they’re still building. Congratulations to the team. Proud to have had a ring side view of the journey from early days. Here’s to the next 10.
Here’s the latest edition of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆- a snapshot of the quarter that was and a few ideas to carry forward.
3
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Stellaris Venture Partners retweeted
Three years ago, when @RaghuReddy505 and I said we were building a home entertainment brand starting with TVs, we were met with a fair share of skepticism.
Who needs another TV brand? Who cares about speed on a TV? Why won’t the big guys just do what you’re building?
We had our answers. Very few believed them.
@rchowdhri did, and backed us on day one.
Today @LumioIN Vision and Arc are among the top sellers in their categories, and Aura 5 takes the same approach into home audio.
Enjoyed sitting down with him on Interstellar to talk about how we actually build: obsess over customer pain points, build products with passion and build alongside a community that deeply cares about tech.
Worth a listen.
In this episode of Interstellar, I speak with @kailazh and @RaghuReddy505, co-founders of @LumioIN, about building a hardware led consumer business,
When we first met 3 years ago, global brands dominated the market. Raghu and Kailash wanted to compete on innovation, not price. Their ambition was to build a business that could compete with global players on product and innovation, not just price. That’s a tough ask in a category like TVs, where consumers tend to stick to the 3-4 brands they’ve trusted for years.
Since our first investment when they started the company, it’s been exciting to see Lumio’s journey. Their TVs and projectors are now among the top-selling products in their categories across platforms. With the Aura 5, they’re taking the same approach to home audio.
A lot of founders want to take on established players. But success takes a deep understanding of the customer and a genuine love for the product. I’ve seen both in Raghu and Kailash. Here's the link to my recent chat with them: youtu.be/b39sRsEqfEE
Stellaris Venture Partners retweeted
In this episode of Interstellar, I speak with @kailazh and @RaghuReddy505, co-founders of @LumioIN, about building a hardware led consumer business,
When we first met 3 years ago, global brands dominated the market. Raghu and Kailash wanted to compete on innovation, not price. Their ambition was to build a business that could compete with global players on product and innovation, not just price. That’s a tough ask in a category like TVs, where consumers tend to stick to the 3-4 brands they’ve trusted for years.
Since our first investment when they started the company, it’s been exciting to see Lumio’s journey. Their TVs and projectors are now among the top-selling products in their categories across platforms. With the Aura 5, they’re taking the same approach to home audio.
A lot of founders want to take on established players. But success takes a deep understanding of the customer and a genuine love for the product. I’ve seen both in Raghu and Kailash. Here's the link to my recent chat with them: youtu.be/b39sRsEqfEE
Stellaris Venture Partners retweeted
The one thing that separates a venture outcome from a good services business in AI native services is the slope. This is the piece we have spent most time on, because it is where we actually underwrite these businesses.
Stellaris Venture Partners retweeted
Fund raising is so much about founders transferring their excitement to investors. Unfortunately, despite great solutions, few founders are able to do justice to that. However unfair this may sound, it’s a reality that we all live in (unless we move to agent selling to another agent).
Stellaris Venture Partners retweeted
A rather fun part of investing in consumer brands is getting to experience a product before it hits the market.
During a recent chat, @kailazh and @RaghuReddy505 brought over the new @LumioIN Aura 5 speakers and despite not being an audiophile, I could hear the difference between this and my soundbar at home.
Sharing a BTS of my first experience. You have to hear it to feel it.
More details about Aura 5 on the Lumio website- lumio.co.in/aura
Stellaris Venture Partners retweeted
1/
I started looking at logistics in early 2017 when we started @Stellaris_VP . I was inspired by China, where 7 logistics companies had gone public. The belief was that eCommerce would grow in India the same way, logistics with it, and several winners would get created.
Stellaris Venture Partners retweeted
Most "home audio" today is a soundbar. One box, pretending to be stereo.
Lumio Aura 5 is the real thing. Two speakers. Wooden cabinets. Proper Hi-Fi sound. And a setup that takes about two minutes.
It's our first home audio product, and we can't wait for you to hear it.
Here's what you get.
Simple: everything's built in
Aura 5 is a complete, powered stereo pair. The amplifier and DAC are already inside, so there's no receiver to buy and no pile of components to figure out.
Connect the two speakers. Plug in the power. Connect your source. Done.
Fidelity: two speakers, real stereo
Each speaker has its own dual-driver setup: a 4.5-inch aluminium woofer for the lows and mids, a 1-inch silk dome tweeter for the highs, and a front-facing bass port.
Because the left and right speakers sit apart, vocals land in the centre and instruments spread across the room. That sense of space is what a soundbar can't give you, and it's what Hi-Fi is really about.
There's plenty of power behind it. 100W sustained, 200W peak, reaching 105dB SPL at one metre. Loud enough to fill a large living room without straining. Bass reaches down to 35Hz at 80dB, so kick drums hit and movie scenes rumble, without a separate subwoofer.
We also cared about the parts you'll never see. Aura 5 plays lossless audio up to 24-bit/48kHz, and the DAC runs on its own isolated, low-noise power supply.
Tuned with our community
Sound is personal, so we shaped our DGS tuning together with Lumio's community of enthusiasts.
Pick the mode that fits what you're playing:
Studio: balanced, for everyday listening.
Cinema: clearer dialogue and more atmospheric detail.
Groove: extra bass for the high-energy playlists.
Versatile: connects to everything
Seven input modes: HDMI ARC, optical, coaxial, 3.5mm, Bluetooth 5.4, and USB with separate PC and playback modes.
Under your TV for movie night. On your desk while you work. And when a friend wants to play one song, they just pair their phone.
The Minion OLED Bluetooth remote handles volume, inputs and listening modes from your couch. An Android and iOS app is coming soon.
Service that comes to you
Home service across India, backed by 300+ service centres. Plus a one-year comprehensive warranty on the speaker pair and six months on the remote.
Price and availability
Lumio Aura 5 goes on sale soon on Amazon and Lumio Store.
Early bird price: ₹19,999
Regular price: ₹24,999
Your audiophile journey starts here.
Stellaris Venture Partners retweeted
Why India loves Quick
Featuring Anjali from Pronto, Aniket from Swish, Akshay from Slikk and @rchowdhri from @Stellaris_VP
Stellaris Venture Partners retweeted
A huge opportunity in consumer AI is democratizing access to high-quality services.
Today, the best versions of wealth advisory, healthcare, education and financial advice are largely accessible to a relatively small, affluent, Tier-1 consumer base. AI can change that.
🤖 Made with AI
