Amit Aggarwal

“The golden age of consumer tech startups is behind us” “India will forever be just a DAU/MAU farm of the world” “The Indian customer doesn’t want to pay for anything” These are just a few of the pessimistic takes that founders striving to build in India's consumer tech today are hearing incessantly. Constructive doubt fosters curiosity. But cynicism? That's the sand in the gears of progress. We at Elevation are convinced, now more than ever, that massive opportunities in the consumer tech space in India are waiting to be tapped, and audacious founders will build large, mission-driven, lasting companies in the coming years in this space. That's why today we are releasing a set of considered, data-backed theses on the incredible opportunities we see waiting for audacious founders to tap into in India's consumer tech space. View and download the complete "What If.. We Win?" series here: tinyurl.com/ConsumerOpport… If you are building in this space, or are as excited about these and other opportunities in this space, our consumer practice would love to hear from you. Reach out to us at: consumer@elevationcapital.com @radusuma @mukularora @KhandujaM @akaggrwl @chiragchadha9 @manishadvani12 @AshrayIyengar @arrbitrary Vaibhav Chowdhury, Harsh Agarwal, Srishti Bhandari, Harshit Jain, Sakshi Mirge, Ayush Toshniwal, Karan Agarwal

Remember when we shared how India is moving beyond being just a DAU/MAU farm? A few months ago, we discussed how Indian social/content platforms are now successfully monetizing users directly at scale, adopting non-advertising models like subscriptions and micropayments. The response was overwhelming, with founders asking us: "How do I pick the right monetization strategy for my business?" In a new two-part article series, we are diving deeper into how founders can build and monetize consumer applications effectively in this new era of monetization. We sized up the market, and it turns out subscriptions and micropayments have emerged as a $3B revenue pool - and growing faster than ads - creating an opportunity that barely existed a few years ago. In Part 1, we explore India's evolution from a 'won't pay' to a 'will pay' market and examine how a new generation of consumer tech companies are scaling up monetization earlier in the journey. We reveal how the tradeoff between user monetization potential and the number of paying users shapes different business models. And this is just the start — Part 2 drops soon with detailed case studies and benchmarks across different monetization models. Read the article here: tinyurl.com/MonetizationPa… @akaggrwl, Manish Advani, Harshit Jain

"AppsForBharat is unlocking a whole new dimension in how millions around the world engage with devotion." As we go ALL IN and deepen our partnership with @AppsForBharat through their Series B round, @akaggrwl sits down with @prashantsachan to reflect on the company’s evolution over the past year and their vision for the next phase of growth. Watch as Prashant discusses market expansion, providing more personalized digital devotion services with Sri Mandir, monetization unlock and plans to expand globally. #ALLIN

We're thrilled to co-lead @atlys' $20M Series B funding round, deepening our partnership that began with their Series A in 2023. It has been heartening to see Atlys’ evolution into a comprehensive travel services provider and their commitment to doing right by the customer each and every time. @mohaknahta's vision to transform how people experience international travel by breaking down outdated barriers in visa applications resonated deeply with us from the start, and we've been impressed by the team's execution of this mission. Since our initial investment, Atlys has experienced remarkable growth, scaling its business 20x over the last 12 months. The company has processed over 1 million visas globally and has built a global best-in-class product out of India. Atlys has an exciting roadmap as they expand into new markets like UAE, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and the US while adding new consumer offerings like travel insurance, forex, and eSIM services. We're honored to be part of this journey as Mohak and the team scale their vision to make travel truly accessible, and we can’t wait to witness their next phase of growth. Onwards and upwards! Read our investment memo from 2023 here: elevationcapital.com/summit/memos/i… Watch our Day One podcast with Mohak here: youtube.com/watch?v=k2TJGr… @KhandujaM, @akaggrwl

We are excited to go public with our relationship with Schmooze (@schmoozeorsnooz) by leading their $4M Series A round as @vidyamadhavan2 and @abhinavanurag18 build an AI-powered meme-based dating app to reinvent how Gen-Z connects in the digital age. Schmooze was born out of a simple yet powerful insight: Gen-Z craves deeper connections that go beyond surface-level appearances. By leveraging the universal language of memes — and AI — Schmooze is helping users make meaningful connections based on shared humor, personality traits, and interests. In just 10 months since its launch in India, Schmooze has attracted over 1 million users and has witnessed a staggering 900 million meme swipes. The future of dating is here, and it's looking a lot more like a meme you can't stop laughing at than a tired old profile picture. Welcome to the @ElevCap family, Schmooze! Onwards and upwards! Read more about the announcement here: tinyurl.com/SchmoozeNews @KhandujaM | @akaggrwl | @manishadvani12 | Harshit Jain

✨Unveiling ‘The State of GenAI in Consumer Applications’ report Two years into the GenAI revolution, using AI apps for various use cases has become as reflexive as checking their email for many knowledge workers. It's now their go-to work buddy, personal tutor, and maybe even a confidant. It's wild if you think about it. What started with assistants like ChatGPT has exploded into a myriad of consumer applications, reshaping user behaviors and transforming our digital experiences in ways both profound and unexpected. In a new two-part series, we aim to provide a comprehensive snapshot of this evolving consumer applications landscape and our areas of excitement in GenAI consumer tech. Today, we are releasing the first report, ‘The State of GenAI in Consumer Applications’. It takes stock of the current state of consumer-facing GenAI applications across mobile and web platforms, uncovering trends and insights on their adoption and emerging use cases. Our analysis revealed interesting trends and learnings that we believe would serve as a critical benchmark for founders building GenAI applications from India to form an opinion on how GenAI capabilities are advancing and the market at large. View and download the complete deck here: tinyurl.com/StateOfGenAICo… @mukularora, @KhandujaM, @akaggrwl, @manishadvani12, @AryaAnoush48542, Harshit Jain

📱New Day One podcast episode! "We had just one month of runway left, and that was in a fixed deposit." This moment of truth in May 2022 sparked a bold decision that would define Seekho's trajectory. With their backs against the wall, co-founders Rohit Choudhary, Keertay Agarwal, and Yash Banwani took a leap of faith - they made the platform paid-only, with a subscription model. The bet paid off spectacularly, and today, Seekho boasts more than 500,000 paying subscribers. In this fascinating conversation with @akaggrwl (Principal, @ElevCap), @roh__cho takes us through his journey of building a "Netflix for learning" targeted at the masses. Seekho makes learning easy and fun - with a learning-focused OTT platform that's tapping into India's massive appetite for bite-sized, engaging educational content. Rohit's journey is filled with counterintuitive decisions - from charging users upfront in a market known for its aversion to paying for content to running a lean team of just 18 people at this scale. These choices, driven by a deep understanding of the Indian consumer and a commitment to efficiency, have set Seekho apart. In this episode, you will gain insights on: ➤ Identifying and serving the learning needs of the masses ➤ Evolution of Seekho’s supply engine ➤ Hiring for cultural fit rather than specific skills ➤ Balancing engagement and monetization for a consumer app Tune into the full episode here: tinyurl.com/SeekhoDayOnePo…

🔈 New Investment Memo Seekho is building the ‘Netflix for learning’. Today, millions in Tier 2+ cities in India are hungry for knowledge that can translate into better jobs, new hobbies, or digital savviness. And they are looking for educational content that is accessible, practical, and engaging. Seekho is addressing this need with an edutainment OTT platform built for this aspirational audience, bridging the gap between traditional edtech platforms and short-form video apps. When we partnered with Seekho in early 2023, we were struck by @roh__cho, @keertay, and Yash Banwani's deep understanding of the needs of their target audience and their innovative approach to content delivery - concise 2-5 minute videos in an episodic format. Since its 2020 launch, Seekho has scaled to over 500,000 paying subscribers, proving that Tier 2 and 3 users are willing to pay for valuable, informative content. Read our investment memo where @akaggrwl, @manishadvani12, and Harshit Jain explain the evolving market dynamics and the Seekho team’s unique founder-market fit that convinced us that this is the best team to go after this problem statement. LINK: tinyurl.com/SeekhoMemoElev…