Groww's IPO, Foxtale's fundraise & NewMe's ₹200 Cr. GenZ Playbook 💸

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Jan 17, 2025

We are back with our new edition, which covers three important business topics in one go. Today, we discuss Groww’s upcoming IPO talks, FoxTale’s ₹240 Cr. funding, and NewMe’s ₹200 Cr. GenZ fashion playbook.

Groww’s upcoming IPO 🏦

First, some context.
Groww is in discussions with investment banks for its upcoming IPO this year, with an expected valuation of $6 to $8 billion—over double its valuation from the 2021 funding round. If successful, Groww will make history as the first trading app in India to go public.

Who is leading the broker market?
As per the 2024 figures by NSE, Groww is winning the game in terms of users with ~13 million users, followed by Zerodha’s ~8 million users, and Angel One’s 7.7 million users. That said, in terms of revenue, Zerodha has a big lead with 3X the revenue of Groww at ₹9,300 Cr. vs ₹3,145 Cr.

Btw, In FY24, Groww made a loss of ~₹800 Cr. because of the big one-time cost hit of ~ ₹1,300 Cr. for moving its parent entity to India. Also, we discussed the concept of domicile flipping in-depth in our last edition. Rest, more clarity on numbers and projections would come as the company files its DRHP document.

Fact.
Groww’s moat lies in being the “user-friendly” choice for average joes investing in mutual funds and stocks, while Zerodha caters primarily to active traders. Which makes Zerodha’s topline a little prone to tailwinds due to tighter F&O regulations. That said, the upside is huge—only 17% of Indian households invest in stock markets, compared to 40% in the US.

2025 is a big year for startup IPOs.
This year, we’ll see roughly 25 startup listings — 2X to we saw last year. The markets are regaining confidence, especially in fintech, with 6 fintech IPOs on the cards, with names like Pine Labs, PayU, and InCred. It’ll be exciting to see how these IPOs drive wealth creation and reshape the ecosystem.

Foxtale’s ₹240 Cr. fundraise 💰

First, some context.
The 4 year old DTC skincare brand is raising ₹240 Cr. in a round led by Japanese beauty products company Kose Corporation. Interestingly, this marks their second fundraise within a year, following a ₹150 Cr. round in June 2024.

What has Foxtale cracked?
The company has been digital-first since day one, building a strong bond with its core users. It makes roughly ₹175 Cr. in revenue, 90% of which comes from online. Staying lean with just 20 SKUs and doing some solid micro-influencer campaigns (different to approach what Minimalist took).

The next wave of ₹500 Cr. DTC brands.
We’ve seen plenty of DTC fashion and beauty brands hit the ₹100 Cr. revenue mark. But the ₹500 Cr. milestone is where things get interesting—pushing brands to innovate with channels and make bold offline bets, be it multi-brand outlets, exclusive stores, or general trade.

Bullishness on beauty & personal care.
There’s been a big rise in conscious skincare brands like Minimalist, Deconstruct, Pilgrim, Skin Inspired, and The Derma Co. as label reading has become the new norm. The Indian beauty and personal care market is currently valued at $20 billion and is expected to hit $30 billion by 2030.

There’s been a big shift in consumers’ purchase patterns in the last 5 years. They’ve become cautious about what they put on their skin, preferring smarter & science-backed skincare. Investors know this too. That’s why out of $1.4 Billion VC money flown into the Indian DTC brands between 2014 to 2020 — 54% went to the beauty and fashion segment.

NEWME's ₹200 Cr. Fashion Playbook 💡

First, some context.
NEWME is a women-only GenZ fast fashion brand that is making more than ₹200 Cr. in yearly revenues in just 2 years. What started in Bengaluru with 1 store in 2022 has expanded to 9 cities pretty quickly. The interesting part? They were among the first to dive into 90-minute deliveries in 2024. Now, let’s dive into what they have cracked.
Finding a whitespace.
The company recognized that India's demographics are heavily skewed towards Gen Z, which accounts for roughly 30% of the country's population. This category is spending more on new brands and is willing to explore. They targeted this market with a narrow focus—zeroing in on women’s fashion with a limited range. The idea was to avoid overwhelming users with too many choices, ensuring they could make a buying decision without second-guessing. Once the trust is established, they can later add more product lines and also a men’s category.

Acquiring first 1000 users.
For the first 1000 users, the company took a creative route by setting up pop-up stores in universities/colleges—but with a twist. Instead of directly selling products, users could scan QR codes from pop up stores to buy from the website or "earn" these for free through activities. This unique “not selling, but engaging” approach boosted brand recall. The logic is simple → get as close as possible to users when they have the right mindset to explore your brand.

Cracking the “Trial Room” Insight.
They realized one key insight—real customer conversion for clothing happens in trial rooms. Most brands treat trial rooms as an afterthought, making them dull and uninspiring. NEWME flipped the script, turning trial rooms into the fanciest and most luxurious part of the store. This made customers feel great about themselves, pushed them to click pictures, and ultimately drove more purchases.

P.S. Their content game including their YouTube podcasts is a masterstroke as they are tailored to their ICPs, bringing both organic eyeballs & trust.

Btw, we hosted Sumit (the founder of NEWME) on the GrowthX Inner Circle Podcast.

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