Interstellar by Stellaris

In this episode of Interstellar, Rahul Chowdhri sits down with Raghu Reddy and Kailash, co-founders of Lumio discuss their journey of building a premium, innovation-led consumer electronics brand in India.The conversation covers how they identified an opportunity in the market, why they chose to compete on product innovation rather than price, and what it takes to build products that consumers genuinely love. From launching smart TVs and projectors to entering the home audio category with the Lumio Aura 5, they share the thinking behind their product choices and their approach to building a brand that can challenge established players.

Media is democratised now. Every founder has free, credible distribution, but most struggle with the 'how' of it. Chandan Mendiratta, Chief Brand Officer at Zepto‬ and ex- Zomato brand lead, joins Rahul Chowdhri on what actually compounds, and what you're giving up by waiting. Coming up- 00:00 Intro01:11 The rise of founder brands08:30 Framework for personal branding 14:44 ROI & long-term compounding20:07 Content strategy & platforms 37:31 Working as a non-founder45:19 Rapid fire & closing thoughts

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 Up01:25 - Intro03:05 - Why do 90-95% of membership programs fail? 06:56 - Types of Membership/Loyalty Program13:40 - Inception of Swiggy Super20:31 - How to define program pricing? 26:20 - Acquisition vs. Retention30:18 - Structuring your program33:04 - Annual Vs. Monthly Programs36:42 - How should founders approach membership/loyalty programs? 42:30 - Anuj’s favourite programVisit www.stellarisvp.com to learn more about how we invest.

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.

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 opportunitiesVisit www.stellarisvp.com to learn more about how we invest.