Co-founder, Moonshot. Founding Member, @Superteam. Ex Head Writer @allindiabakchod. 📌Dubai/Mumbai
Former Bangalore Boy
Joined November 2009
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Our latest for @CRED_club. Wrote this series with @thetanmay, @deathbypun, @LifeOfPai_ and @VishalDayama. Directed by @AyappaKM. Thanks to @kunalb11, @trupthi_s and @neelakshmathur for making Bangalore boy's hopes and dreams come true. :D
Only sport where a ticket gets you 4% of the sport. See a car for 1.1 seconds, 58 times. Also from personal experience, the only sport where the people at home have to text the people at the venue to tell them what's happening.
Katrina is one of the best coffee shops in Dubai, way better than Starbucks, Costa, etc. One of those rare places that’s underrated just because it’s underpriced. People assume it can’t be that good, because it's so cheap. I'm just thrilled that it’s now opened in Marina.
Devaiah Bopanna retweeted
So now I run every want past my 13-year-old self.
Because my adult self is heavily compromised.
Sometime in 2024, I fell in love with watches. The good, expensive kind. I was down a YouTube rabbit hole for something else and ended up in a watch-watching rabbit hole instead. Teddy Baldassarre. Kevin O'Leary. John Mayer's collection. I started making grand plans. But as with any decision in my life that involves spending a significant amount of money, I delayed the purchase as long as I could.
Meanwhile I went deeper. My YouTube was only watch videos. My Insta explore page was only watch reels. I was in love.
Then a friend I never thought would be into watches started posting about them. Then a couple of influencers who had never once mentioned watches, whose audiences couldn't care less about watches, started posting too. It didn't look paid. It looked like genuine love, which was the weird part.
Then I saw the pattern. Everyone around me who had suddenly discovered watches had the same profile as me: same age, same circle, same assumed income, same life stage. We hadn't found a passion. We were a TG with wrists.
Instantly, I fell out of love.
I retraced my steps. I had been reading a lot about equities, finance, numbers. Enough for the algorithm to figure out I could be sold watches as an asset class disguised as good taste. And I'm fairly sure everyone around me got the same treatment.
Here's how it works. First the recommendation engine gets you. Then performance marketing takes over. Then the feeds of your entire circle hit resonance, and FOMO finishes the job. True for recent watch lovers. True for recent coffee machine buyers. True for any trend where people who look like you all buy the same thing in the same year.
Who benefits? The platforms. Nobody at Instagram sat in a room and decided I should like watches. The machine just optimises for watch time, and it's very convenient that the things that hold a man in his 30s' attention cost as much as a hatchback. More watch time, more brands who need to reach that interest, more ad money. The platform gets paid whether you buy the watch or not.
The other winners are the early movers, the people who genuinely loved the craft before the rest of us got enrolled. In investing terms, they get to dump their interest on retail. They become the influencers, launch the product lines, land the brand deals. Teddy Baldassarre has a watch store now.
And the asset class part? Most watches lose value the minute you wear them out of the store. Even the hyped ones had been sliding on the resale market since 2022. So in 2024, I wasn't getting in early. I was being recruited after the top. I was the retail.
So these days I look out for the next planted interest and find the people who were there before the algorithm arrived, because capital will flow through them. Partner early and you can capitalise a little. Yes, I know. My response to discovering the scam is to ask for equity in it. Or at least profit from it.
How do you protect yourself from being planted? Every time I feel a new want, I ask how I felt about it at 13 or 14. Did it make me go, "one day I'm going to get that"? For me that's cars. Something beautiful would pass me on the road and it would actually take my breath away. And sneakers. Just walking into a shoe store made me happy.
Was 13-year-old me also brainwashed? Obviously. By car magazines and Nike ads. But a want that has survived all these years with nobody retargeting me has earned its place.
So now I run every want past my 13-year-old self. Because my adult self is heavily compromised.
Devaiah Bopanna retweeted
Started a new passion or started enjoying something online more than before ?
Figure out how could it be happening ::
Sometime in 2024, I fell in love with watches. The good, expensive kind. I was down a YouTube rabbit hole for something else and ended up in a watch-watching rabbit hole instead. Teddy Baldassarre. Kevin O'Leary. John Mayer's collection. I started making grand plans. But as with any decision in my life that involves spending a significant amount of money, I delayed the purchase as long as I could.
Meanwhile I went deeper. My YouTube was only watch videos. My Insta explore page was only watch reels. I was in love.
Then a friend I never thought would be into watches started posting about them. Then a couple of influencers who had never once mentioned watches, whose audiences couldn't care less about watches, started posting too. It didn't look paid. It looked like genuine love, which was the weird part.
Then I saw the pattern. Everyone around me who had suddenly discovered watches had the same profile as me: same age, same circle, same assumed income, same life stage. We hadn't found a passion. We were a TG with wrists.
Instantly, I fell out of love.
I retraced my steps. I had been reading a lot about equities, finance, numbers. Enough for the algorithm to figure out I could be sold watches as an asset class disguised as good taste. And I'm fairly sure everyone around me got the same treatment.
Here's how it works. First the recommendation engine gets you. Then performance marketing takes over. Then the feeds of your entire circle hit resonance, and FOMO finishes the job. True for recent watch lovers. True for recent coffee machine buyers. True for any trend where people who look like you all buy the same thing in the same year.
Who benefits? The platforms. Nobody at Instagram sat in a room and decided I should like watches. The machine just optimises for watch time, and it's very convenient that the things that hold a man in his 30s' attention cost as much as a hatchback. More watch time, more brands who need to reach that interest, more ad money. The platform gets paid whether you buy the watch or not.
The other winners are the early movers, the people who genuinely loved the craft before the rest of us got enrolled. In investing terms, they get to dump their interest on retail. They become the influencers, launch the product lines, land the brand deals. Teddy Baldassarre has a watch store now.
And the asset class part? Most watches lose value the minute you wear them out of the store. Even the hyped ones had been sliding on the resale market since 2022. So in 2024, I wasn't getting in early. I was being recruited after the top. I was the retail.
So these days I look out for the next planted interest and find the people who were there before the algorithm arrived, because capital will flow through them. Partner early and you can capitalise a little. Yes, I know. My response to discovering the scam is to ask for equity in it. Or at least profit from it.
How do you protect yourself from being planted? Every time I feel a new want, I ask how I felt about it at 13 or 14. Did it make me go, "one day I'm going to get that"? For me that's cars. Something beautiful would pass me on the road and it would actually take my breath away. And sneakers. Just walking into a shoe store made me happy.
Was 13-year-old me also brainwashed? Obviously. By car magazines and Nike ads. But a want that has survived all these years with nobody retargeting me has earned its place.
So now I run every want past my 13-year-old self. Because my adult self is heavily compromised.
Devaiah Bopanna retweeted
your future is in your past
Sometime in 2024, I fell in love with watches. The good, expensive kind. I was down a YouTube rabbit hole for something else and ended up in a watch-watching rabbit hole instead. Teddy Baldassarre. Kevin O'Leary. John Mayer's collection. I started making grand plans. But as with any decision in my life that involves spending a significant amount of money, I delayed the purchase as long as I could.
Meanwhile I went deeper. My YouTube was only watch videos. My Insta explore page was only watch reels. I was in love.
Then a friend I never thought would be into watches started posting about them. Then a couple of influencers who had never once mentioned watches, whose audiences couldn't care less about watches, started posting too. It didn't look paid. It looked like genuine love, which was the weird part.
Then I saw the pattern. Everyone around me who had suddenly discovered watches had the same profile as me: same age, same circle, same assumed income, same life stage. We hadn't found a passion. We were a TG with wrists.
Instantly, I fell out of love.
I retraced my steps. I had been reading a lot about equities, finance, numbers. Enough for the algorithm to figure out I could be sold watches as an asset class disguised as good taste. And I'm fairly sure everyone around me got the same treatment.
Here's how it works. First the recommendation engine gets you. Then performance marketing takes over. Then the feeds of your entire circle hit resonance, and FOMO finishes the job. True for recent watch lovers. True for recent coffee machine buyers. True for any trend where people who look like you all buy the same thing in the same year.
Who benefits? The platforms. Nobody at Instagram sat in a room and decided I should like watches. The machine just optimises for watch time, and it's very convenient that the things that hold a man in his 30s' attention cost as much as a hatchback. More watch time, more brands who need to reach that interest, more ad money. The platform gets paid whether you buy the watch or not.
The other winners are the early movers, the people who genuinely loved the craft before the rest of us got enrolled. In investing terms, they get to dump their interest on retail. They become the influencers, launch the product lines, land the brand deals. Teddy Baldassarre has a watch store now.
And the asset class part? Most watches lose value the minute you wear them out of the store. Even the hyped ones had been sliding on the resale market since 2022. So in 2024, I wasn't getting in early. I was being recruited after the top. I was the retail.
So these days I look out for the next planted interest and find the people who were there before the algorithm arrived, because capital will flow through them. Partner early and you can capitalise a little. Yes, I know. My response to discovering the scam is to ask for equity in it. Or at least profit from it.
How do you protect yourself from being planted? Every time I feel a new want, I ask how I felt about it at 13 or 14. Did it make me go, "one day I'm going to get that"? For me that's cars. Something beautiful would pass me on the road and it would actually take my breath away. And sneakers. Just walking into a shoe store made me happy.
Was 13-year-old me also brainwashed? Obviously. By car magazines and Nike ads. But a want that has survived all these years with nobody retargeting me has earned its place.
So now I run every want past my 13-year-old self. Because my adult self is heavily compromised.
Sometime in 2024, I fell in love with watches. The good, expensive kind. I was down a YouTube rabbit hole for something else and ended up in a watch-watching rabbit hole instead. Teddy Baldassarre. Kevin O'Leary. John Mayer's collection. I started making grand plans. But as with any decision in my life that involves spending a significant amount of money, I delayed the purchase as long as I could.
Meanwhile I went deeper. My YouTube was only watch videos. My Insta explore page was only watch reels. I was in love.
Then a friend I never thought would be into watches started posting about them. Then a couple of influencers who had never once mentioned watches, whose audiences couldn't care less about watches, started posting too. It didn't look paid. It looked like genuine love, which was the weird part.
Then I saw the pattern. Everyone around me who had suddenly discovered watches had the same profile as me: same age, same circle, same assumed income, same life stage. We hadn't found a passion. We were a TG with wrists.
Instantly, I fell out of love.
I retraced my steps. I had been reading a lot about equities, finance, numbers. Enough for the algorithm to figure out I could be sold watches as an asset class disguised as good taste. And I'm fairly sure everyone around me got the same treatment.
Here's how it works. First the recommendation engine gets you. Then performance marketing takes over. Then the feeds of your entire circle hit resonance, and FOMO finishes the job. True for recent watch lovers. True for recent coffee machine buyers. True for any trend where people who look like you all buy the same thing in the same year.
Who benefits? The platforms. Nobody at Instagram sat in a room and decided I should like watches. The machine just optimises for watch time, and it's very convenient that the things that hold a man in his 30s' attention cost as much as a hatchback. More watch time, more brands who need to reach that interest, more ad money. The platform gets paid whether you buy the watch or not.
The other winners are the early movers, the people who genuinely loved the craft before the rest of us got enrolled. In investing terms, they get to dump their interest on retail. They become the influencers, launch the product lines, land the brand deals. Teddy Baldassarre has a watch store now.
And the asset class part? Most watches lose value the minute you wear them out of the store. Even the hyped ones had been sliding on the resale market since 2022. So in 2024, I wasn't getting in early. I was being recruited after the top. I was the retail.
So these days I look out for the next planted interest and find the people who were there before the algorithm arrived, because capital will flow through them. Partner early and you can capitalise a little. Yes, I know. My response to discovering the scam is to ask for equity in it. Or at least profit from it.
How do you protect yourself from being planted? Every time I feel a new want, I ask how I felt about it at 13 or 14. Did it make me go, "one day I'm going to get that"? For me that's cars. Something beautiful would pass me on the road and it would actually take my breath away. And sneakers. Just walking into a shoe store made me happy.
Was 13-year-old me also brainwashed? Obviously. By car magazines and Nike ads. But a want that has survived all these years with nobody retargeting me has earned its place.
So now I run every want past my 13-year-old self. Because my adult self is heavily compromised.
Decade or two ago, people absolutely loved the knowledge they had acquired. Because acquiring it was damn tough. The side hustle was becoming an expert at one side hustle all your life. That was what defined you. Stamp collecting, coin collecting, fitness, cooking mutton etc.
The reason I like being involved with early-stage companies is that I get to see first-hand how founders like @garvvvitt throw out the rulebook and build a homemade marketing engine without any external agency help.
In the past few months @kulfiapp built a growth engine that clocked 700k downloads and 30 million views a month, with zero bucks spent on media and a 2-3 member marketing/brand team.
Here's how:
Open and own 3-4 new Insta pages every month. Hire creators in-house, and let them crack IPs on these pages. Shoot daily in the office, upload daily. They now have 15+ pages, with 2-3 videos going up almost daily on each. That's 30-40+ pieces of content taking a shot at the audience almost daily, increasing the surface area of virality.
These are not creator collabs. This is content from pages built on material very close to their product, in a style that follows their brand (linking one of the pages in the comments). So a good chunk of people who engage with the content end up downloading the app, driving up DAUs, D1, D2... even D15, organically.
If you want to join this crack marketing team and are willing to make marketing guidelines extinct, they're hiring. Here are the roles open right now (you'll be at an advantage if you don't have long years in the business):
- Pod Lead
Kulfi runs 15+ Instagram pages and IPs it owns, each with its own face and format. You'll build 10 to 15 new ones from scratch and own how they perform. On a few, you are the face, so being on camera is a must. You write, you shoot, you lead, and you've engineered virality before.
- Content Creators
These IPs need faces. If you're confident on camera, come. You'll also help run content ops and keep the machine running.
- Editors
Instagram-first editors who know exactly where people stop scrolling, and how to make sure they don't.
- Influencer GTM
Anyone with a budget can pay a famous creator for a reel. This role is everything but that: scrappy, unexpected ways to get creators talking about Kulfi, at scale, without burning money. Business brain first; real creator experience and network are a must.
Influencer marketing is mostly boring. Please make it interesting.
Most roles are in person in Bangalore. Strong preference for people already there or happy to move. To apply, DM @garvvvitt, @aadharrr or email [email protected]. No resumes. Just a short note on which role, why you, and how you'd go about it.
Sometimes I dream about wearing good clothes, working in a posh office with a crazy cabin. So about once a week, I find a coffee shop in a tech park and work from there just to service this feeling.
Suffering imaginary pain from the future is called anxiety. Enjoying imaginary success from the future is called manifestation. Some delusions have better branding.
Skill means absolutely nothing without luck, network effect and distribution. I went into a LinkedIn rabbit hole of looking for some of my favourite ex-cricketers. Daryl Cullinan hit 17 international centuries. Pat Symcox took over 120 international wickets in the 90s. Andrew Hudson used to open the batting with Gary Kirsten and spent a chunk of his career belting Venkatesh Prasad all over Indian pitches.
If you look at their LinkedIn profiles today, Daryl Cullinan works in real estate. Pat Symcox is a property broker. Andrew Hudson is in corporate sales.
Imagine being one of the best in the world at what you do, and then turning 35 and having to draft a resume. Imagine going from 60,000 people screaming your name at the Wanderers to sending calendar invites for a Tuesday morning alignment call.
Now look at the Indian cricketers they played against in the 90s. Not a single one of them is sending out CVs for corporate sales roles. They are commentating, doing IPL analysis, running academies, shooting brand campaigns, or sitting on advisory boards. They never had to leave the cricket ecosystem.
Were the Indian players ten times more talented than Daryl Cullinan? No. In fact, a lot of them were worse than him. (Sanjay Manjrekar has 5 centuries, Akash Chopra has 0 centuries)
The difference isn't skill. It’s distribution.
In India, playing cricket is top-of-the-funnel customer acquisition. The market’s media engine gives an Indian cricketer built-in, lifetime distribution. Playing the sport creates a network effect that monetizes them for the next 40 years, long after their knees give out.
The South Africans had world-class skill, but they operated in a market without that media distribution. The moment their physical skill hit expiry date, reach disappeared overnight.
A lot of people in their 30s and 40s think they’re safe because they’ve built up 15 years of deep domain expertise. But if you’re not lucky enough to own a skill in a domain or field with crazy network effects, or organic distribution, you really have to start thinking about how to make your career, career. Especially in a post AI world, where skills can get replicated easily.
It also makes me think about my own setup deeply. Am I in an industry with crazy network effects? Do I have enough organic distribution and a strong enough network to coast when pure skill stops being enough? Honestly, maybe that’s the real reason I'm writing online. Just trying to build my distribution because I may not have it in me to take on crazy career pivots like these South African legends have. Actually now, I have way way way more respect for these cricketers.
Devaiah Bopanna retweeted
A few weeks ago at a dinner at @spc_india, I ran into Garvit Agarwal, one of the co-founders of @kulfiapp, a new product that was apparently rocketing up the app store charts in the 'Gaming' category in India (rising to #2 in their sub-category last week and top 20 in ALL games above the likes of Angry Birds, Clash of Clans, and Temple Run over the past month).
Aside from a sweet origin story (and an even sweeter inspiration for the name) Garvit spent 30 minutes taking me through the various iterations he and his co-founders - @aadharrr and @naushad_arsalan - had been through in order to create what they believe is a new category of digital experience.
From where they're sitting, Kulfi is the first company taking a very old, very human behaviour - 'carving time out for your partner' - and building its digital equivalent, doing for 'relationships' what Facebook originally did for friendship and Tinder did for dating.
The Kulfi journey so far starts with @ycombinator's founder matching platform, with a pitstop at @spc, picking up key allies along the way including @ankitcc, @devaiahPB and @soleio, ending with 150K+ new installs and >20 million views across their socials over the last 30 days.
This past Friday @garvvvitt was kind enough to share their story in a guest written post for @nextupindia, where we've been documenting the most interesting ideas and products from India's consumer ecosystem.
If you're building in consumer, there's so much to take from Garvit's piece, like their understanding of Indian (relationship) psychology, their innovative game mechanics, their discovery of 'Concept-Market Fit', and their Arya-Stark-meets-Dread-Pirate-Roberts approach to brand building and product marketing.
Check out the essay via the link in comments under Garvit's post👇
wrote up on 2 years of building @kulfiapp
every iteration, mistakes included
from shutting down 100 times to now 450k+ downloads, 2M+ gameplays just this month - we’re creating a new category
we go into what the future looks like and why we know we win
this one is special to me, give it a read. Link below.
Thanks @RahulSanghi1 for helping us share our story!
@aadharrr | @naushad_arsalan
The joy of witnessing ideas and ideators go from ‘maybe this will work’ to escape velocity is really something else. Great gang of learners and hustlers. 🚀🚀🚀
wrote up on 2 years of building @kulfiapp
every iteration, mistakes included
from shutting down 100 times to now 450k+ downloads, 2M+ gameplays just this month - we’re creating a new category
we go into what the future looks like and why we know we win
this one is special to me, give it a read. Link below.
Thanks @RahulSanghi1 for helping us share our story!
@aadharrr | @naushad_arsalan