Claim OwnershipSide Notes by Zerodha Varsity
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Byte-sized lessons on investment strategy, financial metrics, business decisions, and/or market phenomena.
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Microsoft Office used to be a one-time purchase. Now you probably pay for it every year. Why did Microsoft change its pricing so drastically? It was a risky move, but there was solid motivation behind it.Not just Microsoft, many software companies have transitioned from a one-time pricing model to an annual or monthly subscription model.
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.
For the longest time, Nike, Adidas, and Puma sold their sportswear through channel partners. However, in the early 2010s, they began shifting their strategy by selling directly to the end consumer through company-owned stores, websites, and apps. Did the business gain from such a shift, or did it blow up?
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 its early years, Amazon focused more on cash flows and not so much on profits. It inspired a generation of startups to chase scale and not worry about losses. Those imitating startups revealed the pitfalls of taking only half the lessons from someone else's playbook.
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.
Many nations have tried to model their sovereign wealth funds after Singapore's Temasek. While Temasek is an SWF, it behaves like a quasi Venture Capital firm with only one shareholder, that is, the Singapore Government. Here is Temasek's story.
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.
A business might be a market leader. Network effects might have helped it become a moat. However, government regulations, through bans or restrictions, can make or break companies. TikTok had over 200 million users in India, and overnight, it was banned. Suddenly, TikTok lost a large business. And it became an opportunity for some others.
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.
Launched in 1913, the Stanley Cup was marketed for its rugged uses by cops, defense personnel, and those engaged in outdoor activities. It remained a reliable but niche brand for its niche uses for over a hundred years. And then, by a stroke of luck, Stanley pivoted its marketing to appeal to a wider audience. What did they really do? What was this stroke of luck?
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.
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.
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