Last Saturday, I had the privilege of attending a panel discussion alongside my collegue Sai Trivikram Chintakunta, hosted by eChai Ventures at Draper Startup House. The event, titled "Founders who have made it to Shark Tank India: Hyderabad edition", featured founders of direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands and offered profound insights into the nuances of running a startup.

Here are the key takeaways from the discussion, which revolved around the 4Ps of marketing, though not explicitly mentioned.

Product: To ensure long term success and sustainability of D2C brands, innovation is key. With Gen Alpha emerging as a significant customer base, staying ahead with novel products is crucial.

Price: Pricing strategy plays a pivotal role in profitability. It is advisable to aim at least a 5x markup on the cost of production. If your products are priced at a 3x or 2x markup, it may be time to revisit your pricing strategy to ensure sustainability.

Place: For D2C startups, an offline presence is very advantageous. It significantly reduce customer acquisition costs and facilitates quick feedback integration for new product pilots.

Promotion: Budgeting for marketing is crucial as the promotional cost varies between 25% to 60% of the revenue depending on the product. While getting viral on social media is rare, identifying the most effective promotional channels is key to driving customer acquisition.

Special thanks to Ravi Kabra, Harshvardhan Khemani, and Suraj Pusarla for sharing invaluable insights during the discussion.