From India's cab wars to Ekta Kapoor's not-so-quiet disruption, our top stories of the week
In this week's newsletter, also read about the stealth rise of confidential IPO, the electric first impressions of Rapido founders, the future of opinion trading in India, and more
1) Cab Wars: New chapter
(From left)Pavan Guntupalli, co-founder, Rapido, Prabhjeet Singh, president, Uber India and South Asia Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO, Ola Image: Pavan And Prabhjeet: Madhu Kapparath; Bhavish: Selvaprakash Lakshmanan for Forbes India
The novelty of ride-share apps has worn off for Indian consumers. These cab aggregators have become a necessity, and that is now leading to a war for market dominance. It began with burnt-out drivers, tired of erratic pay, seeking to bypass aggregators to keep a larger chunk of the fare they earned. Cracks in the traditional commission-based model widened with the emergence of Yatri in Kerala, Namma Yatri in Bengaluru, and Yatri Saathi in West Bengal, among others. Rapido became the first cab aggregator to adopt a subscription model, taking the edge to win the cab wars. Ola responded with its zero-commission model across autos, bikes, and cabs. Now new questions and challenges arise. Will users pay more for rides? And can such models scale?
2) Stealth mode on
Image: Shutterstock
More Indian companies are quietly knocking on the public market’s door. The confidential DRHP (Draft Red Herring Prospectus) route is quickly becoming the go-to for firms that want to test investor appetite while sidestepping the scrutiny of early hype. The benefits include flexibility in timing, insulation from negative sentiment, and the ability to pivot before committing fully. But with SEBI tightening listing norms and investor expectations sharpening post-tech IPOs, stealth doesn’t mean stress-free. The stakes are just as high. Here's how companies are navigating these quieter seas.
3) The Ekta Kapoor instinct
Ekta Kapoor. Image: Mexy Xavier
Few figures have shaped Indian pop culture as significantly as Ekta Kapoor. But behind the barrage of melodrama and subsequent memes lies a businesswoman who played the long game, disrupting an industry ruled by patriarchy, hierarchy, and conventional storytelling. Kapoor’s journey—from early failures to turning Balaji Telefilms into a content powerhouse—was guided not by market research but by instinct, defiance, and belief. Whether it’s putting women front and centre in saas-bahu sagas or launching ALTBalaji in a crowded streaming market, Kapoor built an empire by trusting her gut, long before that was cool.
