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In This Newsletter, We Will Talk About

Here is what you'll gonna learn in the next 10 minutes or less!

1. 150 AI Agents, To Unlock your GTM, Just 2 Clicks away, Exclusive Access
2. How Del Monte’s 139-Year Legacy Got Canned?
3. How did Byju's lost $22 Billion in just 3 years?
4. How a WhatsApp homework chat became a $3.2 billion empire?

Here are this Week's Giveaways!

150 AI Agents, To Unlock your GTM, Just 2 Clicks away​
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• 37 agents offer free plans (perfect for testing)
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• Sales (42 agents), Marketing (38), Customer Service (51)

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How Del Monte’s 139-Year Legacy Got Canned

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When a brand with roots in 1886 enters Chapter 11, you know there's a story. Del Monte’s collapse didn’t happen overnight, it was a slow drift of strategic missteps, macro headwinds, and shifting consumer trends.
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The brand name “Del Monte” became so popular that it was later extended to canned fruits and vegetables.

Del Monte was the product of industry consolidation, created by a collective of canners in California. It was corporate-born, not entrepreneur-born, unlike startups today.

Unique Value Proposition:

• Built vertically with plantations in Hawaii and the Philippines, U.S. canneries, canned goods, broths, and pet foods.
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• Early adopter of nutritional labeling in 1972, signalling forward thinking in consumer transparency.
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• Collective: Del Monte modernized its iconic red-and-yellow shield logo and aggressively expanded into new products and markets. The late 1960s brought diversification into fruit drinks, frozen foods, even ventures like seafood and snacks, riding the wave of conglomerate-era optimism

Memorable Marketing Campaigns:

• The Man from Del Monte (1980s): Perhaps the most iconic Del Monte campaign was the Man from Del Monte series of TV commercials from 1985 to 1991. These ads featured a globe-trotting quality inspector, dressed in a crisp white linen suit and Panama hat, who would arrive at sun-drenched orchards and plantations to sample the crop.
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• Country Yumkins: Del Monte ran one of the most successful mail-in promotions in food industry history. Customers could get a Yumkin free by mailing in 50 Del Monte can labels. The response blew away all expectations: consumers mailed in 20 million labels in the first promo wave, and Del Monte sent out 450,000 plush Yumkin dolls.

Triggers for Slowdown:

• From the 1980s onward, Americans started leaning towards fresher, lower-sodium, and less processed options. Frozen vegetables, ready-to-eat salads, and later organic and farm-to-table trends.
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• In 1989-90, Del Monte’s parent company had to sell off assets after a massive buyout, including Del Monte’s fresh produce and international businesses. Then, Del Monte’s own management bought the remaining company for $1.48 billion, mostly using debt, causing financial strain, forcing more sell-offs.
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• In 1990s-2000s: he company spent substantial cash servicing debt, which limited its ability to invest in marketing, R&D, and modernizing operations.
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• According to industry observers, price-sensitive shoppers increasingly chose store brands over Del Monte or other legacy labels. This commoditisation squeezed Del Monte’s market share and bargaining power with retailers, contributing to declining sales volumes in its highest-margin categories.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy:

• The COVID-19 pandemic initially caused a surge in canned good sales (stockpiling), but supply chain disruptions and commodity inflation soon took a toll.
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• In 2020, the U.S. imposed hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, critical materials for cans, driving up packaging costs significantly.
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• Transportation and labor costs also rose in the pandemic aftermath. Del Monte’s profitability was squeezed from both ends.
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• In July 2025, facing these accumulating pressures, Del Monte Foods sought chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

5 Mistakes Del Monte made to lose its 139 year Old legacy

1. Financial Discipline: The short-term gains of financial engineering became long-term pains, leaving Del Monte with debt, forcing asset sales and under-investment in innovation.
   ​Don’t mortgage the future of the business for quick wins today​
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2. Consumer Behavior: Del Monte excelled when convenience was king, but as health and freshness became paramount it was slow to diversify beyond cans.
   ​Continuously align your product strategy with emerging customer values.​
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3. Agility: If you pivot in different products, ensure it’s part of a coherent vision and even if you do shed divisions, plan how the remaining business will thrive on its own.
   ​Diversify in ways that complement and strengthen your core competencies.​
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4. Brand Positioning: Del Monte enjoyed over a century of brand equity, synonymous with quality, which gave it leverage with retailers and consumers. But relying on legacy alone made the company complacent.
   ​Leverage your brand heritage to maintain trust, but don’t rely on nostalgia to carry you forward​
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5. Engagement is Key: One thing Del Monte did right was inventive marketing, from early 1900s print ads to the wildly successful 1980s Yumkins promotion, but somewhere down the line, they lost track and core creative fabric.
   ​No matter your industry, creative campaigns and customer engagement can be a huge differentiator

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How did Byju's lost $22 Billion in just 3 years?

Born to teacher parents in tiny Kozhikode village, Kerala, India, Raveendran wasn't building the next unicorn, he was just helping friends ace the notoriously difficult Indian engineering entrance exams. His explanations were so clear, that the word spread Fast. ​ ​In 2011, Raveendran made his big move, he founded Think and Learn Pvt. Ltd. 4 years of bootstrapping later, they launched Byju's: The Learning App. ​ ​and Guess What!​ Within 90 days of launch in 2015-16, clocked 2 million downloads & had 900,000 paying subscribers by 2018

Initial Market Reaction:

• The "Enter-trainment" Approach: Byju's pioneered what they internally called "enter-trainment" (entertainment + training), revolutionising educational content in India. Videos featured teachers, presenting engaging visual learning experiences that were unprecedented in the Indian education market.
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• Personalised Learning: The platform analyzed individual learning patterns, identified strengths and weaknesses, and tailored content accordingly.
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• The Two-Teacher Model: In this approach, a group of students would first learn from an expert teacher online through video lessons, followed by a second tutor who would help with challenging exercises and provide personalized solutions.

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COVID: Blessing in Tragedy for Byju's

When the pandemic hit in 2020, Byju's wasn't just in the right place at the right time, they owned the place.

As traditional education scrambled to pivot online, Byju's was already there with a polished product.
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• Users: Surged past 100 million
• Valuation: Skyrocketed to $22 billion by 2022
• Raveendran's net worth: Peaked at $3.6 billion

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The investors lined up, like anything, some of the notable names were, Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Silver Lake, General Atlantic. Everyone wanted a piece of India's rising Edtech Market.

Between 2017-2021, they acquired a mind-boggling 17 companies for $3 billion. In 2021 alone, they spent $2.5 billion on nine acquisitions.
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But Soon after, it all turned downhill:

With billions in funding in their corporate pocket, Byju's went on what can only be described as the most expensive EdTech shopping spree in history.
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Investors started seeing Red Flags, they never thought, they would:

• The Accounting Mystery: In August 2022, a Bloomberg report revealed that India's Ministry of Corporate Affairs was asking the awkward question: "Hey Byju's, where are your financial statements?" The company was 17 months late filing audited financials. Not days. Not weeks. MONTHS.
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• The workplace disaster: Former employees began painting a picture of Byju's that was less "innovative tech company" and more "workplace pressure cooker."
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Byju's became a caution tale, with thousands of employees laid off, legal battles with lenders and investors, and desperately selling assets to raise emergency funds.

The final nails in the coffin:

• October 2024: Valuation effectively hits zero
• February 2024: U.S. division files for bankruptcy after defaulting on $1.2B debt
• March 2024: Shareholders vote to oust founder Byju Raveendran as CEO

5 Lessons for EdTech startups to Learn from Byju's $22 Billion Mistake

1. Software Ecosystem: The success of hardware products often hinges on a robust software ecosystem. The TouchPad suffered from a lack of available applications, which diminished its appeal compared to competitors.
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2. Market Research: Understanding market needs and consumer preferences is crucial. HP underestimated the importance of app availability and ecosystem readiness.
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3. Agility: Startups should be prepared to pivot based on market feedback. HP’s decision to discontinue the TouchPad was too late to salvage the brand’s reputation in the tablet market.
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4. Product Positioning: Effective marketing is essential for product positioning. HP’s marketing efforts did not sufficiently differentiate the TouchPad from competitors, hence failed in setting any clear Product Value differentiator.
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5. Leadership and Vision: Leadership and a clear vision are vital for navigating product development and market entry. The lack of a unified strategy post-acquisition hindered HP’s ability to leverage Palm’s strengths.

How a WhatsApp homework chat became a $3.2 billion empire?

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In 2015 in Vienna, Austria, 20-year-old math prodigy Felix Ohswald was helping his younger brother's classmates with homework over WhatsApp.

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What's different, right?

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Within weeks, hundreds of students were bombarding Felix's phone with questions. That's when the lightbulb moment struck him:
​What if every student could access exceptional teachers, regardless of location?

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In 2016, Felix partnered with his best friend Gregor Müller to transform that WhatsApp chat into GoStudent, a platform that would become Europe's first EdTech unicorn and eventually expand to more than 20 countries, supporting over 11 million families monthly.

Unique Value of this Unicorn:

Teacher-Centric Focus: GoStudent built its model around empowering great teachers, unlike others who prioritise content only. Quality Over Growth: While competitors continued bleeding cash, GoStudent adapted to the new reality, where Cash economy was everything. The Hybrid Advantage: This strategic move allows them to offer the best of both worlds: the convenience and global reach of online tutoring plus the engagement and structure of in-person learning.

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2 Major Triggers for Overnight Success:

1. The Subscription Sweet Spot: GoStudent's 6-36 month subscription packages create predictable, recurring revenue and reduce customer acquisition costs.
2. Ruthless efficiency: Using AI to automate customer service, saving $3.9 million annually
3. Strategic M&A: Rather than building everything from scratch, GoStudent acquired complementary businesses to enhance their offering:
   • Fox Education: School communication app
   • Seneca Learning: AI-driven content platform and more

Success Milestones:

• 23,000+ tutors on the platform
• 11 million families served
• 1.5 million tutoring sessions booked monthly
• 85%+ satisfaction rate
• $3.25 billion Valuation
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5 Strategies Gostudent used to turn a Whatsapp Group into $3.2 B

1. MVP > Perfection, Start Small, Scale Fast: GoStudent began as a WhatsApp homework help line, not a full-fledged tech platform. They validated user pain with zero overhead.​
   By 2020, they were clocking over 400k tutoring sessions/month.
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2. Don’t Chase GMV, Chase Retention: They chose subscription tutoring, not on-demand hourly lessons like VIPKid or Preply and yielded a 30–40% higher retention rate than one-off bookings.​
   This approach made them unit economics positive in Germany and Austria by mid-2023.​
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3. Strategic Acquisitions: They scaled not just digitally, but geographically and operationally, via M&A​
   Post Acquisitions, GoStudent’s user base grew from 250k to 1.5 million across 20+ countries. Acquisitions saved them 24–30 months off market entry cycles.​
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4. Brand Differentiation: They built tutor dashboards, feedback loops, and gamified learning experiences to optimize student outcomes and brand NPS.​
   NPS for top-performing tutors reached +70, beating edtech benchmarks. Tutor engagement → student satisfaction → viral parent referrals → compounding CAC advantage.​
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5. Profitability > Vanity Growth: By late 2022, amid global edtech pullback, GoStudent paused new markets and focused on core region profitability.​
   Became EBITDA-positive in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (their top 3 markets), just by retaining core tech-team.

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