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23 Nov, 11 tweets, 3 min read
Time to become a Unicorn startup:
- PayTM & Flipkart: 5 years
- Ola: 4 years
- Udaan: 2 years
⇒ Mensa Brands: 6 MONTHS!

Best part ⇒ It is NOT an "original" idea — just great timing & execution!

Why are VCs going gaga about Mensa Brands? Let's uncover 🧵
Outline:
1. What are Thrasio-style startups?
2. Is the space heating up in India?
3. What's Mensa really about?
4. How did they raise such a big round?
5. Where does the money go?
6. Future for this space

Thread continues below.

To read the full article:
buildd.co/funding/mensa-…
1/ What are "Thrasio-style" startups?

It all started in 2018 with a US startup, Thrasio.

Business model:
1) Acquire top-performing businesses ⇒ Revenue > Costs = Solid profits
2) Avg deal size = $4-5mn
3) Takeover the business & manage it end-to-end

(contd.)
Thrasio (OG startup) stats:
- Acquired 100+brands
- $500 million revenue
- $100 million profit
- $6 billion valuation in only 3 years!
2/ Is this space heating up in India?

VCs love thrasio-model startups!

In India,
1) GlobalBees ⇒ Biggest Series A funding in India of $150 million
2) 10Club ⇒ Largest seed round of $40 million, in <1 year of founding
3) GOAT Brand Labs ⇒ Series A funding of $36 million
3/ So, what's Mensa really about?

Follows thrasio-model:
1) If interested in a brand/business, sign Letter of Intent
2) Due Diligence ⇒ Financial statements, sales, costs, marketing etc.
3) If satisfied with brand health & future growth, share valuation to buy

(contd.)
4) Business founders get money and/or profit-share
5) Real execution ⇒ In-house experts experts take over to build the brand and scale the business rapidly
5/ How were they able to raise such a big round?

Mensa raised $135 million at a valuation of $1.2 billion.
- Thrasio-model is already popular with VCs
- Mensa founded by Ananth Narayanan, ex-CEO of Myntra and co-founder & CEO of Medlife ⇒ Huge credibility
6/ So much money! Where does it go?

80% fund raise to acquire new brands ⇒ $108 million

Average deal size ⇒ $4 to 5 million

Assuming avg $4.5 million, 108/4.5 = 24 brand acquisitions

Mensa plans to acquire 40 brands in next 12-18 months, so another fund raise is coming!
7/ Is Mensa Brands going to succeed?

Founder claims it's already profitable!

To succeed in long term:

1) Skillset: Need brilliant execution — marketing, supply-chain, pricing etc.

2) Market dynamics: Thrasio planning to enter India soon ⇒ Tough competition
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More from @_buildd

24 Nov
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Building tech has become easy, accessible & cheap with NoCode tools.

Today we share 7 types of NoCode tools along with:
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PayTM's IPO is the biggest ever in India — INR 18,300 Cr!

A huge moment for the Indian startup ecosystem!

But, do you really understand all that's being said?
- What these numbers mean?
- Where the money goes?
- What PayTM's future looks like?

Let's uncover the PayTM IPO 🧵
Structure of the analysis:
1) Understanding the IPO
2) Is PayTM that big? Is it profitable?
3) Is this exciting? What's the future?
4) OK, I'm happy - but, is it worth it?

Thread continues below.

For the full article & to subscribe for future updates:
buildd.co/funding/paytm-…
1/ Understanding the IPO

A) IPO Size: INR 18,300 crore

- Total value of shares being sold to the public

- This is NOT the valuation of the company, which has actually crossed INR 1 lakh crore
Read 12 tweets

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