Bazball and BYJU'S

Raising Funds, Manifesting Growth and Platforms

Even as last week’s newsletter went out, news was already trickling in about the move by a coalition of prominent shareholders, led by tech investor Prosus, to remove the founders of Indian edtech giant Byju's and initiate a leadership change. And then on Monday, Boom Boom Bumrah derailed the English Bazball train.

So, here we are dealing with Bazball in Platform Businesses! See you at the other end of this piece!

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DTW

During the Week, English Cricket team found that things may not always go their way even if they execute their BazBall brand of cricket pretty close to plan. This is something that many Tech Platforms’ Founders have learnt the hard way over last few days/weeks/months depending upon what you call hard. Both paytm and Byju’s have an existential threat owing to regulatory/investor actions. Both English cricket team and these founders have “played a fearless brand“ of game and tried to force the hand of opposition to gain an advantage. And for last few seasons, they have succeeded till Murphy ji struck.

I have written about the complex relationship between regulators and platforms most recently as a three part series on Platform and Anti-trust. You may want to read these on Size does Matter , 800 Pounds Gorilla Unleashed and Taming the 800 Pounds Gorilla.

The central thesis of three part series is as follows- Platforms gain extraordinary power through user side network effects and commodification of supplier and use access to cheap capital to execute Predatory Pricing and Vertical Integration. Governments must maintain oversight over platforms by continuously evaluating the threat to Customer Welfare and work towards Preservation of Open Markets.

We could also use the BAZBALL Framework for understanding the relationship between Regulators/Investors and Tech Platform Founders which is fraught with Tensions and Symbiotic Relationships.

The tensions between them could be explained through the acronym BAZ:

B - Balancing Control: Investors often seek greater control over the direction and decisions of the platform, while founders may resist relinquishing autonomy. This is something that we have seen over multiple embarrassing episodes over last few decades of platform business rise a dominant business model. Bansals’ struggle with Walmart and other investors is well documented and recently has come to a ‘logical‘ conclusion where Binny Bansal finally left the Flipkart’s board after 16 years.

A - Allocation of Resources: Conflicts may arise over the allocation of resources, including funding, talent, and strategic focus, as investors push for profitability and founders prioritize innovation. Growth vs Profits often leads to ugly scenes and unfortunate exits. Regulators are often at loggerheads with the founders when the start ups push against legal boundaries.

Z - Zeal for Growth: On the other hand, investors' pressure for rapid growth may clash with founders' desire to maintain product integrity and user experience, leading to tensions over scaling strategies.

But all is not lost as the BALL acronym reflects on the Symbiotic Relationship between the stakeholders:

B - Building Trust: Despite tensions, investors and founders cultivate trust through transparent communication, aligned goals, and mutual respect for expertise.

A - Achieving Milestones: Through collaboration, investors provide crucial resources and guidance to help founders achieve key milestones, such as product development, market expansion, and revenue growth.

L - Leveraging Expertise: Investors offer valuable industry knowledge, networks, and strategic insights, complementing founders' vision and entrepreneurial skills to drive the platform's success.

L - Long-Term Partnership: A symbiotic relationship fosters a long-term partnership based on shared vision, mutual benefit, and a commitment to navigating challenges and seizing opportunities together.

This framework provides a holistic understanding of the dynamic interplay between tensions (BAZ) and symbiotic elements (BALL) in the relationship between investors and tech platform founders, shedding light on both the challenges and opportunities inherent in their collaboration.

This week as usual was filled with catching up with friends and industry experts. It was great to interact with health and health tech industry leaders at 2nd Edition of Healthcare 4.0 Summit organised by Indian School of Business Max Institute of Healthcare Management.

It was also both fun and enriching to meet and listen to Vivek Kaul’s views on Interim Budget through an interesting lens of WYSIATI.

WYSIATI stands for "What You See Is All There Is," a concept introduced by Daniel Kahneman in his book "Thinking, Fast and Slow." It refers to the tendency of individuals to rely heavily on the information that is readily available to them when making decisions, often overlooking or neglecting other relevant factors. This is becoming a limiting factor in the current environment where social media as a source of information/misinformation has completely derailed any consensus building through dialogue.

OTW

Over the Weekend, I read “Don’t Believe Everything You Think” by Joseph Nguyen discussing why our thinking is the beginning and end of suffering. One of the chapter focussed on following heart/intuition and not over thinking.

“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary”

-Steve Jobs

Reflecting on the wisdom of one of the most iconic visionaries of our time, Steve Jobs specially n a world often dominated by analysis paralysis and overthinking, Jobs advocated for a different approach—one rooted in following our hearts and intuition, Jobs famously remarked, "Your time is limited, don't waste it living someone else's life." This sentiment underscores the importance of trusting our instincts and pursuing our passions fearlessly. Instead of succumbing to the pressures of conformity or the allure of safety, Jobs urged us to listen to that inner voice guiding us towards our true purpose.

Indeed, many of Apple's groundbreaking innovations—from the revolutionary iPhone to the sleek MacBook—were born out of Jobs' unwavering commitment to intuition over convention. He believed in the power of simplicity, elegance, and above all, following one's gut instincts.

Let's heed Jobs' timeless advice: let go of the need for perfection, trust in our inner compass, and dare to dream beyond the confines of what is deemed possible. For it is in embracing uncertainty and listening to our hearts that true innovation flourishes.

Wishing you a week filled with inspired moments and bold leaps of faith!

I Love You.

Shailendra