Our top reads of the week

Every week, catch up on the best long form stories from Forbes India. Often peppered with our binge-worthy podcasts, videos or infographics too.
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1) Look under the hood
 
Dalal street veterans and investors born in the pandemic have been equally looking forward to the LIC IPO even before Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave the assurance of its arrival in her budget speech earlier this month. When the insurance giant filed the offer document, Forbes India's Pooja Sarkar dug through the 652 pages and is now presenting the story that the numbers tell. Read more.
 
2) Not all that glitters…
 
The word hype was redefined by Zomato and Paytm IPO launches last year. Social media was abuzz and meme fests were aplenty. Retail investors who were allotted shares were euphoric and those not-so-lucky made the initial trades soar (not for Paytm, though). Financial year-end is close and quarterly earnings are here. Neha Bothra find out why the sheen of India's internet stocks is wearing off so soon. Read more.

3) Same mould, different outcome?
 
Thrasio, the US ecommerce roll-up startup, seems to have inspired similar models in India. It catapulted Mensa Brands and GlobalBees to become quick unicorns. 10club, an ecommerce roll-up startup started by Bhavna Suresh, Joel Ayala and Deepal Nair has taken the same path, but on a different vehicle. Their model is not tied to recurring funds raised, and the valuation flywheel. This Take One story gets into the details of their 'lean and mean' strategy. Read more.
 

DISCOVER

4) Ghar aaya mera pardesi
 
For much of its 154-year-old history, the Tata group has seen expatriate CEOs come and go. From Darryl Green at Tata Teleservices to Raymond Bickson at Indian Hotels Company Limited, the group had attracted some of the most prominent names from the world of business. Guenter Butschek, the former CEO of Tata Motors, left the biggest impact. İlker Ayci, who helped Turkish Airlines stay afloat during the pandemic, will now be helming Air India. What awaits Ayci? What he will bring with his global exposure? Where he can take Air India? Find out answers to all these questions.
 

5) Born out of passion
 
Tilfi, a textile brand based in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, gets its name from a traditional weaving technique. Established in 2016, it takes forward the legacy of a five-decade-old handloom business started by the family of Aditi Chand, Udit Khanna and his brother Ujjwal. Chand, an investment banker at the time, and Khanna, working for a British multinational consumer goods company, were inspired by a conversation with a local weaver and there was no looking back. Read about how Tilfi is changing the traditional way of doing business.
 
6) Edge of Seventeen
 
Chad Hurley, Steve Chan, and Jawed Karim launched YouTube on February 14, 2005. The world's largest video sharing platform initially launched as a dating service, probably explaining the V-day launch! From its inception to acquisition by Google; crossing billion-views milestone, and more—here's a look at YouTube's key turning points in its 17-year journey. Read more.
 

7) You must get to know Ria Mirchandani
 
Ria Mirchandani is 28-years-old and the product lead at WhatsApp Payments for the Indian market. She thrives on the challenging-but-exciting environment of the payments business in India. She felt proud of leaving her mark on WhatsApp Payments when the rupee icon was introduced in WhatsApp's chat composer. Mirchandani appears to be a jack of all trades and hence oftentimes better than a master of one. Winner of Forbes India 30 Under 30 finance category, Mirchandani shares what she wants to five years down the line. Watch here.