Z47
September 22, 2021

Fundraising when you don't need it

"The best businesses raise money inbound, not outbound" - Avnish Bajaj As a founder, if you don't need the funding but capital is chasing you, should you still raise a round? Here's #AMatrixMoment with our perspective on fundraising when you don't need it. Tune in.

Rajinder:

What if I’m a founder and I don’t need the money, but a lot of capital is chasing me. Should I be adding to the round, should I be crowding out capital from investing in other competitors, what should I do?

Avnish:

You know its going to be a controversial answer, I use to tell people that you know, as a founder raising capital, it should be like Virendra Shewag, see ball hit ball, right? See money take money. Now, that’s the simple answer and that simple answer I actually believe in.

Assuming your business needs money, don’t optimize to say my business will need money one year from now and therefore I won’t take it today, then take it today. If you don’t it need now you can optimize on improve the terms. But best businesses raise money inbound not out bound.

And the best situations are those where you will get the terms you want. If your business doesn’t need money, don’t take it, but I’m very clearly of the view that business get money when they don’t need money and if you are seeing capital flowing towards you, you should take as much as you can within reasonable dilution.

Now, whether it crowds out competition, it might. I think the world has moved from this capital as a weapon and as a moat. So I don’t know how much of that will continue to be true, but the reality is in any sector category leaders gets differentiated over a period of time and more and more capital and brand names want to be attached to that and if you are one of them you absolutely should.

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September 22, 2021

Fundraising when you don't need it

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"The best businesses raise money inbound, not outbound" - Avnish Bajaj As a founder, if you don't need the funding but capital is chasing you, should you still raise a round? Here's #AMatrixMoment with our perspective on fundraising when you don't need it. Tune in.

Rajinder:

What if I’m a founder and I don’t need the money, but a lot of capital is chasing me. Should I be adding to the round, should I be crowding out capital from investing in other competitors, what should I do?

Avnish:

You know its going to be a controversial answer, I use to tell people that you know, as a founder raising capital, it should be like Virendra Shewag, see ball hit ball, right? See money take money. Now, that’s the simple answer and that simple answer I actually believe in.

Assuming your business needs money, don’t optimize to say my business will need money one year from now and therefore I won’t take it today, then take it today. If you don’t it need now you can optimize on improve the terms. But best businesses raise money inbound not out bound.

And the best situations are those where you will get the terms you want. If your business doesn’t need money, don’t take it, but I’m very clearly of the view that business get money when they don’t need money and if you are seeing capital flowing towards you, you should take as much as you can within reasonable dilution.

Now, whether it crowds out competition, it might. I think the world has moved from this capital as a weapon and as a moat. So I don’t know how much of that will continue to be true, but the reality is in any sector category leaders gets differentiated over a period of time and more and more capital and brand names want to be attached to that and if you are one of them you absolutely should.

We are excited about the innovation and growth opportunities in this sector.

If you are considering building in the footwear space, we’d love to chat.
Drop us a line at consumer@matrixpartners.in

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Index Performance

+28.1%
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Z47^fortyseven is up +23.9% since its January 2024 base date, versus Nifty 500's +18.4%, ahead by 550 bps.

The cohort moved +4.7% over the month versus Nifty 500's +2.5%, leading by 220 bps.

Anchored in domestic demand and rising digital adoption, the cohort remained resilient amid global headwinds.

Consumer Tech was the best-performing sector at +9.2% last month, driven by sustained growth in consumer demand and strength in consumer-internet platforms.

Largest Constituents  ·  The Names That Anchor The Index

1.
Eternal
Quick-commerce leadership and continued investment
▲ +12.8%
2.
Groww
Broking market-share gains and margin-funding growth.
▲ +10.4%
3.
Lenskart
Store densification and margin expansion.
▲ +2.4%

Top Gainers  ·  Key Drivers

1 MONTH RETURN
1.
CarTrade
Auto-marketplace dominance and a cash-rich balance sheet.
▲ +59.4%
2.
 Amagi Media Labs
Profitability turnaround and AI-led cloud media adoption.
▲ +31.4%

Top Laggards  ·  Key Drivers

1 MONTH RETURN
1.
Fractal Analytics
Enterprise AI spending trends and post-listing share supply.
▼ -10.8%
2.
MedPlus Health
Pharmacy-margin pressure and competitive intensity.
▼ -6.6%

Key Themes  ·  Latest Results

In Q4FY26, Z47^fortyseven's cohort grew top line ~39% YoY, more than 3x the broad market's ~12% growth.

Operating leverage lifted net margins around 500 bps into positive territory, even as broad-market net margins remained roughly flat.

With 40 of 47 companies now profitable, the cohort reflects a broader shift toward profitable growth over growth at any cost.

AI adoption runs deeper across this cohort than in the broader market, with companies using it to drive growth and reshape demand, not just improve efficiency.

Cash generation is increasingly defining the winners, enabling market leaders like Eternal, CarTrade, and PB Fintech to fund acquisitions and expansion from their own balance sheets.

Market & Macro Context

The cohort saw several block deals this month, including sizeable stake sales in Lenskart, Delhivery, Honasa, and Shadowfax.

Ownership continues to shift from foreign investors to domestic institutions, creating a more durable shareholder base.

AI remained the defining technology investment theme, driving capital deployment across both private and public markets.

IPO Takeaway · Kissht

Listed May 2026

A modest listing pop followed by strong post-listing gains reinforced the market's preference for asset quality and disciplined underwriting over pure loan-book growth.

The listing helped reset perceptions around unsecured lending, creating a constructive valuation anchor for the issuers that follow.

The buyer mix was a notable positive — strong participation from long-only domestic institutions supporting a durable post-listing ownership base.

Net Read

Fundamentals continued to strengthen across the cohort, with growth, margins, and cash generation improving in tandem.

Performance dispersion widened, with profitability and earnings quality increasingly distinguishing the strongest performers from the rest.

Disclaimer

Z47^fortyseven is published for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, or any offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell securities. Index performance is historical and should not be construed as indicative of future results.

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