Claim OwnershipSide Notes by Zerodha Varsity
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Byte-sized lessons on investment strategy, financial metrics, business decisions, and/or market phenomena.
77 Episodes
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Google became Alphabet, Facebook became Meta, and Zomato became Eternal - is there a commonality among the three? Each new name has a more widespread and overarching tone than the preceding one. But what drives an organization to rename itself at the peak of its popularity?
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
Big Bazaar was India's largest retail chain, sitting on a mountain of debt. Covid dealt a major blow to its operations. Reliance Industries stepped in to help, but Amazon obstructed the transaction due to an old deal it had struck with the Future Group.It was one of the most sensational corporate battles, but did anyone win?
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
How could Starbucks improve over CCD's offering? How could Ola and Uber improve over Hertz and Wings Radio cabs? Newcomers or challenger brands bettered the offerings of pioneers in their fields and made them bigger than the pioneers. But there have been instances of pioneers nearly monopolising their categories. For example, WhatsApp has only grown its market share with a moat difficult to break.
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
Know the history and customs behind Muhurat trading, and why the Muhurat trading of 2025 is different.
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
It is interesting how a tyre company became an authority on rating restaurants worldwide. The connection feels unusual, but once you know the story, it seems almost obvious. Did you know that many restaurants may not get a Michelin Star, but a consolation prize of sorts? It is a cute tag, to say the least.
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
Two companies, Concept2 and Centr, have long-standing agreements to supply equipment for Hyrox training and events worldwide. As Hyrox slowly becomes a cultural phenomenon, its suppliers stand to gain from the growing demand. There have been many similar parallels where cultural and subcultural trends have spurred demands for unlikely businesses.
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
KFC x Crocs, Nike x Ben&Jerry's, Supreme x Oreo, and Comet x Naru are all weird brand collaborations. There are so many more. But are such collabs just marketing stunts or actual business drivers?
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
Bhushan Steel was among India's largest secondary steelmakers. It rode high on India's infrastructure boom, expanding operations fueled by massive debt. Its growth came to a screeching halt when the promoters and senior officials were accused of multi-thousand-crore accounting fraud involving shell companies, fake invoices, fund diversion, and round-tripping.
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
Within just 6-7 months in 2020, Reliance had raised over 20 billion dollars from 13 prominent investors and sold about 33% of its equity Jio Platforms. This was the largest private capital raise by any company in India’s history. Why did such a cash-rich company like Reliance need external capital?
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
Aswath Damodaran called Walmart's acquisition of Flipkart the most expensive facelift in history. He felt Walmart wanted to feel young again by acquiring a modern-age e-commerce company in a developing market. But Walmart is seeing a value that others may seem to ignore.
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
L&T wanted to diversify out of infrastructure-related businesses. It was looking for targets. Mindtree was not looking for buyers, but it came on L&T's radar because of VG Sidhartha's struggles at Cafe Coffee Day. Then came a hostile takeover.
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
Rene Lacoste, a French Tennis prodigy, first wore a crocodile logo on his blazer. After his tennis career, he launched the Lacoste brand of tennis shirts, which, of course, had the signature crocodile logo.Lacoste is known for various shades of solid polos today. Surprisingly, it introduced those shades way back in the 1950s.
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
WhatsApp is perhaps the only messaging app in the world that is free and does not display ads when you use it. When Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion, everybody thought WhatsApp would now start having ads. But it remained independent and had no ads. Even today, WhatsApp does not have any intrusive ads. It has a brilliant way of making money.
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
Tata Steel punched above its weight when it acquired Corus, a UK-based steelmaker, in 2007. It was touted as the coming-of-age for corporate India. However, it soon became a tale of caution. Was it operational challenges or adverse externalities?
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
When you think of Vaseline, the first thing that comes to mind is petroleum jelly. And there is a reason for it. As one of the most recognized personal care products, Vaseline has a very interesting story to tell.
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
Mr. Ratan Tata's vision gave birth to the Tata Nano, which the engineers at Tata Motors made a reality. Perhaps some marketing missteps impeded the Nano from attracting customer interest as great as its popularity as the world's cheapest car. But was it just marketing or there were some other issues, too?
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
Labubu dolls have single-handedly transformed Pop Mart from a domestic toy retailer in China to a global toy retailer with stores in the most upmarket streets of London, Paris, and Los Angeles, and several countries. Labubu dolls are a fashion accessory, with arguably no utility, but crazy demand. This episode tries to dissect the business of a fad collectible.
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
In 1980, two Texas oil billionaires, the Hunt Brothers, tried to corner the global silver market. From secret Swiss accounts and offshore trusts to futures contracts and a full-blown silver mania, their plan sent prices soaring, until it all came crashing down on Silver Thursday.
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
How did replacing soap bars with liquid handwash renew the soap market's business potential? How did Colgate use a simple ad message to renew the toothpaste market's business potential?
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
The 100+ year-old Cadbury brand has had multiple owners. Kraft, Mondelez, and Heinz were side actors in this story, and Warren Buffett also made a cameo.
Zerodha Varsity on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerodhavarsity/X: https://x.com/ZerodhaVarsityYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@varsitybyzerodhaDisclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.
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