Kishan Kashyap

Growing up in a humble background, I watched my parents navigate multiple 0-to-1 journeys as a small-town entrepreneur. From running a vegetable shop to a gas and stove store, a mobile accessories business, and eventually a bunch of other things—they were always reinventing themselves.

‍

In hindsight, I can think of the following: an unbridled—and often irrational—optimism that things will work out, the ambition to think big and punch above one’s weight, and a sharp eye for spotting trends and arbitrage opportunities. I can only hope I’ve absorbed some of it!

India is at a fascinating inflection point. As we progress toward becoming a developed economy with rising GDP per capita, we have a once-in-a-century opportunity to build multiple iconic consumer companies.

One exciting trend is premiumization—an India with rising disposable incomes signaling their arrival through choices like fashion, cars, travel, and getting more discerning- around health, fitness, personal care, homes etc. 

‍

Another is the penetration opportunity, where unorganized and unbranded commerce continues its journey toward becoming organized and branded, unlocking scale and efficiencies.

‍

Then there’s the emergence of India Consumer Tech 2.0. AI is poised to redefine user experiences—changing how we discover, decide, and shop—while enabling businesses to build seamless customer journeys and achieve profitability faster.

‍

And, as all of this unfolds, there’s immense opportunities in enabler businesses—“picks and shovels” across D2C, quick commerce, and offline channels, all while taking India to the world.

My framework is straightforward: lasting consumer brands solve deep, high-intensity pain points. When consumers love your product and brand enough to keep coming back and tell others - that's product-market fit. 

Market size, order value, frequency, and unit economics are outcomes of getting this core right. The best founders understand this sequence.

I try to brainstorm with founders across three layers. 

‍

It always starts with the founder—who they are and how their experiences have shaped their ability to uncover a core consumer insight. The best insights are obvious, but unknown.

‍

The key lies in how well you’ve understood the consumer: who they are, what their pain points are, and how severe those pain points can be. It’s about identifying a broken experience and reimagining what the future could look like. These elements together establish the foundational consumer and category truths.

‍

When it comes to GTM, the brand’s positioning is critical—its points of parity and differentiation compared to others targeting the same purchase occasion. Consumers think about brands far less than founders and investors do, so creating a frictionless purchase journey is essential. This involves driving both “physical availability” and “mental availability,” as Byron Sharp aptly puts it.

‍

With acquisition costs remaining high and few arbitrage opportunities left, the focus has to be on driving stickiness and repeats. These are your real moats and path to contribution margin positivity - ultimately helping you survive to fight another day.

Book: How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp – A must-read for anyone looking to truly understand the science behind building brands

Podcast: Acquired by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal – A nuanced deep dive into the most iconic companies.