Interstellar by Stellaris

Stellaris Venture Partners
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Interstellar takes you behind the scenes with the stellar founders, business builders, and next-gen leaders driving India’s startup ecosystem. Hosted by the Stellaris team, our conversations explore the bold strategies, resilience-building setbacks, and transformative scale that define some of India’s most remarkable businesses. Whether you’re a builder, dreamer, or simply curious, join us as we uncover the insights fueling these journeys.

  1. EP 12| Why 90% of Membership Programs Fail (And How to Build One That Doesn't) | Interstellar ft. Anuj Rathi

    6d ago

    EP 12| Why 90% of Membership Programs Fail (And How to Build One That Doesn't) | Interstellar ft. Anuj Rathi

    Membership and loyalty programs are one of the most powerful growth levers in consumer businesses, yet 90-95% of them fail. Most companies treat them as a feature bolted on top of the product. The ones that survive treat them as a strategic operating system built into the core of the business. In this episode of Interstellar, Rahul Chowdhri speaks with Anuj Rathi, Founder, Profound Club. Over a career spanning Flipkart, Walmart, Swiggy and Cleartrip, Anuj has been at the centre of some of India's most defining consumer product moments, from early e-commerce to quick commerce, and from growth-at-all-costs to the harder, more nuanced work of retention. In this conversation, they go deep on what it actually takes to build a membership program that works; the right benefits, the right cohorts, the right payback horizon, and the strategic clarity that separates programs that scale from ones that quietly die. Coming up in this episode- 00:00 - Coming Up 01:25 - Intro 03:05 - Why do 90-95% of membership programs fail? 06:56 - Types of Membership/Loyalty Program 13:40 - Inception of Swiggy Super 20:31 - How to define program pricing? 26:20 - Acquisition vs. Retention 30:18 - Structuring your program 33:04 - Annual Vs. Monthly Programs 36:42 - How should founders approach membership/loyalty programs? 42:30 - Anuj’s favourite program Visit www.stellarisvp.com to learn more about how we invest.

    44 min
  2. Ep. 11 | Can AI Fix the Broken Travel Industry | Ft. Deep Kalra (MakeMyTrip), Aloke Bajpai (ixigo) & Hari Ganapathy (PickYourTrail)

    Mar 25

    Ep. 11 | Can AI Fix the Broken Travel Industry | Ft. Deep Kalra (MakeMyTrip), Aloke Bajpai (ixigo) & Hari Ganapathy (PickYourTrail)

    Travel is one of the earliest internet categories in India, yet it still feels unfinished. Millions of people book flights in seconds… but still walk into hotels to book a room. Planning a single trip involves dozens of decisions across multiple platforms, spread over weeks. And despite all the progress, trust remains the biggest bottleneck. In this episode, we brought together Deep Kalra (MakeMyTrip), Alok Bajpai (Ixigo), and Hari Ganapathy (PickYourTrail) – three founders who represent three distinct eras of building Indian travel tech. They’re candid about what’s still broken in travel, how AI is beginning to reshape the industry, and where the biggest opportunities lie. The next version of Indian travel is being built right now. This conversation is a window into what it might look like.

    1h 15m
  3. EP. 10 | How India's Going-Out Culture is Evolving | Interstellar ft. Rahul Ganjoo

    Feb 26

    EP. 10 | How India's Going-Out Culture is Evolving | Interstellar ft. Rahul Ganjoo

    Experiences are emerging as a new layer of India’s consumer economy. From large global concerts to hyperlocal community events, consumers are increasingly stepping out not just for entertainment, but for identity, belonging, and participation. This shift is creating entirely new opportunities and challenges in building platforms that connect consumers to real-world experiences. In this episode of Interstellar, Rahul Chowdhri speaks with Rahul Ganjoo, CEO of District by Zomato. In this episode, we cover: (00:00): Coming Up (01:19): Introduction (02:04): Decision to join Zomato back, with District (02:54): Defining the ‘Going-out’ market (04:27): Market segmentation (06:04): District’s core ICP spend mix (06:59): Shifts in consumption patterns (10:48): Going-out behaviour across different age groups (12:25): Frictions in ‘Going-out’ (13:34): Experience-level unit economics (15:22): High spends and affordability (17:24): District’s venue experience strategy (19:35): District’s IP strategy (21:30): How global is the Indian consumer? (23:11): District’s role in the customer journey (25:35): ‘Going-out’ trends (29:44): AI in the ‘Going-Out’ business (32:00): District’s social platform play (33:05): Strategy for experience expansion (35:05): What's exciting in 2026? (36:07): White space opportunities Visit www.stellarisvp.com to learn more about how we invest.

    40 min
  4. EP. 9 | How Swiggy Is Building for India’s New Consumer | Interstellar ft. Rohit Kapoor

    11/25/2025

    EP. 9 | How Swiggy Is Building for India’s New Consumer | Interstellar ft. Rohit Kapoor

    As the world around him changed, Rohit Kapoor chose to reinvent himself. Curiosity led him into the startup world — from reimagining Indian hospitality at OYO to now powering India’s food story at Swiggy. His biggest learning: Hyperlocal logistics is one of the toughest businesses to build. Under Rohit’s leadership, Swiggy’s food marketplace now partners with 2.6 lakh+ restaurants across 720+ cities. Innovations like Bolt, DeskEats, the 99 Store, and health-forward curations — from high-protein to no added sugar — are all born from deep consumer insights. In this episode of Interstellar, Rohit shares what India is eating, how the young consumers are evolving, and how builders can create for this new generation. Find us on YouTube at youtube.com/c/StellarisVenturePartners Visit www.stellarisvp.com to learn more about how we invest. In this episode, we cover: (00:00): Coming Up (01:10): Introduction (01:51): Decision to join Swiggy (05:46): What young India eats (11:11): Tier I vs. the Rest: what’s different? (16:16): Marketplace vs. Private Label brands (17:20): Can Cloud QSRs build big? (21:51): 10-Minute: How Swiggy delivers (Bolt vs Snacc) (25:48): 10-Minute Full-Stack: Proposition & Challenges (28:00): Competition in food-delivery business (31:25): Swiggy Food vs Instamart - Synergies & divergence (32:56): What’s next for Food in India (39:28): Cooking Robots: Are they really automating? (42:28): India’s Shift to Healthy Food (44:06): What to build for tomorrow’s Indian Consumer (46:45): Advice for startup founders

    51 min
  5. EP 8 | Building & Scaling Fashion Brands in India | Interstellar ft. Nandita Sinha, Myntra

    09/29/2025

    EP 8 | Building & Scaling Fashion Brands in India | Interstellar ft. Nandita Sinha, Myntra

    Enamoured by Bangalore’s startup ecosystem, Nandita Sinha launched her own e-commerce venture in 2012. The learnings from that journey took her to Flipkart, where she rose through the ranks, leading multiple businesses and driving customer growth. For the past 4 years, she’s been at the helm of ‪@myntra‬ one of India’s largest fashion, beauty and lifestyle ecommerce platforms - steering it to robust growth while innovating on Gen Z fashion and redefining the possibilities in fashion shopping with quick commerce. Her journey reflects a rare mix of entrepreneurial hustle and leadership at scale, giving her a unique vantage point on what it really takes to build fashion and lifestyle brands in India. On this episode of Interstellar, she opens up about India’s $150B fashion opportunity, shifting consumer behaviour, and the unique complexities of building in fashion. Reach Nandita Sinha: LinkedIn: / nandita-sinha-3020275 Reach Rahul Chowdhri: X: https://x.com/rchowdhri LinkedIn: / rahulchowdhri In this episode, we cover: (00:00): Coming Up (01:17): Introduction (03:27): Nandita's entrepreneurial journey (07:02): Myntra's inflection points (10:49): Why does a Myntra equivalent doesn't exist in the US? (13:01): Myntra's role in a fashion brand's journey (16:38): Need for quick commerce in fashion (23:05): Does segmentation in quick commerce make sense? (26:03): Wishlist behaviour (27:55): Try and buy in quick commerce (30:19): Building fashion for GenZ consumers (36:49): Low MOQ for high-quality brands (38:33): Why is Myntra FWD within Myntra app? (40:23): Building premium fashion for 40+ customer segment (48:38): AI in Fashion (54:17): Lack of live commerce in India (57:43): Advice for founders Find us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@StellarisVenturePartners Visit our website at www.stellarisvp.com

    1 hr
  6. EP. 7 | The Next Big Bets in Quick Commerce: Deep Dive on Fashion, Baby & Kids, Beauty | Interstellar ft. Mayank Jain

    08/22/2025

    EP. 7 | The Next Big Bets in Quick Commerce: Deep Dive on Fashion, Baby & Kids, Beauty | Interstellar ft. Mayank Jain

    Why is this a Quick Commerce category and not e-commerce or offline-first? What’s the right to exist for a vertical player - why won’t horizontal platforms win here? Does this category demand a unique buying experience? And finally - how do the unit economics scale to a large outcome? In this episode of Interstellar, Rahul Chowdhri and Mayank Jain unpack India’s Vertical Quick Commerce opportunity, breaking it down across Fashion, Baby & Kids, and Beauty using this framework. Reach Mayank Jain: X: https://x.com/jainmayank_943 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayankjain943/ Reach Rahul Chowdhri: X: https://x.com/rchowdhri LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulchowdhri/ In this episode, we cover: (00:00): Coming Up (01:21): Introduction (02:03): Framework to evaluate Vertical Quick Commerce (02:45): Is this a Quick Commerce category? (03:56): Why will horizontal platforms not win? (05:03): Will the economics work out? (06:11): Does the category demand a unique buying experience? (08:05): Fashion category deep dive (need for quick commerce) (09:17): Value proposition for Fashion Quick Commerce over E-commerce (11:02): Trade-offs between Quick Commerce & E-commerce (14:33): At home try-and-buy experience (16:07): How will economics work? (19:24): Competing against Myntra (21:27): Building a GenZ-focused fashion quick commerce (23:40): Areas founders should focus on (26:55): Baby & Kids category deep dive (need for quick commerce) (30:01): Why not offline for Kids apparel? (31:57): Competing against Firstcry (33:23): Private label economics in apparel (35:36): Customer spend & market expansion (36:30): Why not horizontals for Kids consumables? (37:53): Beauty category deep dive (need for quick commerce) (40:59): Differentiated buying experience in beauty (41:31): Economics in beauty category (42:42): Frequency of buying in beauty category (43:37): Conclusion & other promising categories Find us on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@StellarisVenturePartners Visit our website at www.stellarisvp.com

    45 min
  7. Ep. 6 | How I Built Flipkart's Mobile Business from Scratch | Interstellar ft. Smrithi Ravichandran

    08/01/2025

    Ep. 6 | How I Built Flipkart's Mobile Business from Scratch | Interstellar ft. Smrithi Ravichandran

    Switching from a coveted FMCG job to an industry that was barely taking shape was one of the riskiest career moves in 2011. But Smrithi Ravichandran took a leap of faith into ecommerce when most were still figuring out what it meant.What drove her? A strong belief that technology would transform how Indian consumers shop and behave.As one of Flipkart’s earliest employees, Smrithi has lived through every phase of India’s ecommerce story, all the way from convincing customers to buy online, building trust and affordability, to now, racing ahead with quick commerce. She’s led game-changing categories like electronics, grocery, and mobiles.In this episode of Interstellar, she talks about what’s changed in the Indian consumer, how to build brands in electronics, whether vertical quick commerce can work, and Flipkart’s bet on the $50B smartphone market.Reach Smrithi Ravichandran: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smrithi-ravichandran-a139289/Reach Rahul Chowdhri:X: https://x.com/rchowdhriLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulchowdhri/In this episode, we cover:(00:00): Coming Up(01:20): Introduction(02:41): FMCG to Flipkart: Why did you make this move?(05:15): Surprises in the early days at Flipkart(06:54): How consumers have evolved since Flipkart’s inception(12:16): Why lifestyle focus for smartphones?(13:41): How can brands tackle the complexity of SKUs?(14:34): Gaps to be solved in ecommerce(17:55): Voice search: has it worked?(20:28): Premiumization trend in the smartphone category(24:09): Second-hand smartphone marketplace opportunity(27:14): Service layers for added revenue(31:02): Is the electronics category profitable or a GMV driver?(35:11): Flipkart’s private label strategy in electronics(37:17): Subscription services(40:04): Opportunities for emerging brands in consumer electronics(41:24): ‘Made-in-India’ as a consumer demand(44:27): Can Indian consumer electronics brands go global?(46:24): Quick commerce for electronics(50:31): SKU planning for electronics quick commerce(52:21): What’s quick for the electronics category?(54:32): Discounting on quick commerce platformsFind us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@StellarisVenturePartnersApple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/interstellar-by-stellaris/id1794113841Visit our website at www.stellarisvp.com

    56 min
  8. Ep. 5 | How OYO Scaled from India to the World | Interstellar with Abhinav Sinha

    07/04/2025

    Ep. 5 | How OYO Scaled from India to the World | Interstellar with Abhinav Sinha

    With an IIT KGP degree, an MBA from Harvard, and a comfortable consulting job at BCG New York, Abhinav Sinha had every reason to stay back in the US. However, in 2014, he packed his bags and returned to India with a mission: to be part of something entrepreneurial. He took a leap of faith and joined @-RiteshAgarwal at @OYO when it was barely a year old. In doing so, he left behind the comfort of certainty and traded predictability for possibility, betting on belief over a plan. As one of the earliest OYOpreneurs, Abhinav helped shape OYO’s journey from an early-stage idea to a global hospitality platform. In this episode of Interstellar, he shares hard-earned lessons from building OYO, how the company navigated challenging times, and where he sees the next big opportunities for founders in the travel space. Reach Abhinav Sinha: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhinav-sinha-5193b15/ Reach Rahul Chowdhri: X: https://x.com/rchowdhri LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulchowdhri/ In this episode, we cover: (00:00): Coming Up (01:20): Introduction (02:08): How Abhinav became an OYOpreneur (04:03): OYO’s founding problem and insight (06:05): Full-stack vs Asset-light model (08:29): Inventory vs Minimum Guarantee model (14:39): Insight behind OYO Townhouse (18:06): OYO’s global expansion strategy (23:06): Insight behind OYO Vacation Homes (25:50): Post-COVID reset strategy (29:09): Consumer evolution in travel (32:49): Customer segmentation (37:09): Vertical platforms for travel (39:17): Zero Commission Models in travel (41:45): End-to-end travel planning platforms (45:29): AI’s impact on OTAs (47:25): Opportunities for founders in the travel space Find us on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@StellarisVenturePartners Apple podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/interstellar-by-stellaris/id1794113841 Visit our website at www.stellarisvp.com

    51 min
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About

Interstellar takes you behind the scenes with the stellar founders, business builders, and next-gen leaders driving India’s startup ecosystem. Hosted by the Stellaris team, our conversations explore the bold strategies, resilience-building setbacks, and transformative scale that define some of India’s most remarkable businesses. Whether you’re a builder, dreamer, or simply curious, join us as we uncover the insights fueling these journeys.

Information

  • Creator
    Stellaris Venture Partners
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Stellaris Venture Partners
  • Show Website
    Interstellar by Stellaris