Daybreak The Ken

No other payment aggregator has been able to pull off what Phonepe has in less than a year. 

Its nearly 50 per cent market share is obviously a huge draw for new merchants. And in the last couple years, its been able to onboard some pretty big names like Bharti Airtel and IRCTC. 

But the bigger the client, the more ruthless their demands. At the end of the day, they are only loyal to the aggregator that promises them the lowest prices and highest success rates. 

So how does PhonePe make sure that it stays on top? And where does that leave everyone else? 
Tune in.
Correction: The host mistakenly referred to NPCI as NCPI towards the end of this episode. We apologise for the error.
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
P.S. Daybreak episodes drop daily now :)

The lure of appearing on the popular reality show on national television is so strong that even startups that already have been funded by VCs and institutional investors want to get on Shark Tank. In fact, investors themselves are asking their founders to go on the show.

Money or funding is not the goal for these startups. It's the marketing opportunity they want.

But Sony, the producer of the Shark Tank is trying its best to make sure that the show doesn't lose its real purpose: to be an investment platform.
Tune in.
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
P.S. Daybreak episodes drop daily now:)

Contrary to its name, the US-based skincare brand 'The Ordinary' pulled off something pretty extraordinary when it was launched in 2016. From the beginning, it was all about transparency. It veered away from fancy packaging, instead opting for simple labels that list out all of the main ingredients, or 'actives', that were used to make the product.
And just like that, the brand managed to demystify active ingredients for everyone!
This kicked off somewhat of a skincare revolution around the world, including in India. Today, anyone who understands skincare knows what active ingredients are and which one is best suited for their skin. Suddenly, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, AHAs and BHAs are all part of common parlance.
But it took more than just 'The Ordinary effect' to get here.
Daybreak co-hosts Snigdha Sharma and Rahel Philipose speak to Shamika Haldipurkar, the founder of premium skincare brand d'you, and Vasudha Rai, former beauty editor of Harper's Bazaar and skincare content creator, to unpack this change in perception.
If you have already listened to this episode, please give us your feedback here.
Correction: The host mistakenly referred to The Ordinary as a US-based company instead of Canada. The error is regretted.
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
P.S. Starting this week, Daybreak episodes drop daily :)

CP Plus, one of the most popular CCTV camera-makers in India, gets 80% of its supplies for its parent company, Aditya Infotech Ltd (AIL), from the Chinese security-equipment manufacturer Dahua Technology.
Dahua and Hikvision, another Chinese surveillance-tech firm, are facing sanctions in the UK, US, Australia, and other countries, for their connection to the Chinese government.
But in India growing surveillance tech market, both these companies enjoy more than a 50% market share. And bringing them under control is turning out to be complicated for the government.
Tune in.
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

A few days ago Meesho closed the first tranche of its $600 million funding round by securing $275 million. The e-commerce unicorn has impressed investors lately thanks to its sustainded operating growth and the reduction in its monthly burn rate.
Over time, the platform has built a kind of dominance in India’s smaller cities and towns that become the envy of its competitors —all thanks to its super affordable unbranded products.
But now, Meesho wants to boost its profits. For it, it's relying on something that’s a bit out of character for it. It is betting big on Meesho Mall, a space dedicated to legacy and D2C brands.
But with small-businesses and unbranded products embedded in to its very DNA, is Meesho ready to take the big brands route?
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

You may be surprised by how often bank lockers are robbed. According to Finance Ministry data, close to Rs 200 crore has been stolen from locker facilities in the last three years alone. 
This is pretty disconcerting, especially considering that for the longest time the bank locker has been considered the safest place to store your most precious valuables. 
It also doesn’t help that every aspect of locker management in banks – from actually opening your locker, to eventually closing it – is extremely complicated. 
The Supreme Court recognised this. In 2021, it passed an order that was meant to make lockers more secure. After that, the RBI issued a new set of guidelines on locker management. 
But three years later, experts say the RBI guidelines are protecting banks more than customers. 
So, the question is: Is your locker really the best place to store your valuables?
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.