Article · 14 min read

Go-to-Market Strategy for Indian Startups: Distribution Channels That Actually Work

Kae Capital Free Intermediate India

Puts the channel decision in Indian terms: banks, NBFCs, industry associations and the large system integrators as routes to enterprise and to tier two and three cities, at a 20 to 40 percent margin and the cost of losing the direct customer relationship.

  • India SMB SaaS benchmarks: 10 to 15 percent activation from trial or demo, 12 to 18 percent trial to paid, and Rs 15K to 50K CAC.
  • Over 50 million Indian SMEs run their selling through WhatsApp.
  • Bank, NBFC and consulting partners typically take 20 to 40 percent margin to co sell.
  • Tier 2 and 3 cities are more than 45 percent of ecommerce growth and need a different acquisition motion than metros.
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The question it answers

  1. A reseller wants to carry us. How do I build a price book for partners without my own sales team undercutting them?

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