VC10X
VC10X Micro - The Land of Crazy Startup IPOs
VC10X
•November 20, 2025•14 min
0
VC10X•Nov 20, 2025
Key Takeaways
- •Indian IPOs value startups over century-old exchanges.
- •Companies often turn profitable just before listing.
- •Retail investors chase high grey market premiums, ignore fundamentals.
- •Startups relocate from US to India for easier listings.
- •Valuations driven by story, not earnings, risk retail losses.
Pulse Analysis
The Indian IPO market has entered a frenzy, with startups achieving market caps that dwarf century‑old exchanges. Fintech unicorn Grow debuted at a 94 % surge, valuing it above the Bombay Stock Exchange, while Lenskart and Physics Wallah posted dramatic listing gains despite recent losses. Multiples of 30‑40 times earnings and grey‑market premiums of 70 rupees have become routine, turning profit spikes just before the roadshow into a selling point. Investors are rewarding narrative and hype more than traditional fundamentals.
Companies achieve these headline numbers by engineering last‑minute profitability. They slash marketing spend, freeze hiring, delay expansion and use one‑time accounting adjustments to present a profit‑or‑break‑even quarter on the prospectus. After the IPO, spending ramps up again. A parallel trend is the ‘reverse flipping’ of legal domicile: firms like Grow, PhonePe and Zepto are moving from Delaware or Singapore back to India to exploit lower listing thresholds, abundant retail capital and higher valuation multiples. Access to capital, simplified compliance and tax incentives make the Indian market far more attractive than the U.S., where profitability is a prerequisite.
The surge of hype‑driven listings creates a massive retail investor trap. Grey‑market premiums generate FOMO, while the promise of “next Amazon” fuels blind demand. Compared with the cautious U.S. market, Indian investors face inflated price‑to‑sales and price‑to‑earnings ratios that often revert sharply after the initial pop, as seen with Paytm and Ola Electric. Savvy participants should scrutinize cash flow, sustainable margins and post‑IPO growth plans, ignoring superficial GMP spikes. In the long run, fundamentals reassert themselves, and disciplined valuation analysis protects portfolios from speculative busts.
Episode Description
India's IPO market has completely lost its mind. Groww is worth more than the Bombay Stock Exchange (as of 18th Nov '25 the date of recording).
PhysicsWallah is losing ₹243 crore but got a 33% listing pop. And companies are literally moving their headquarters from the US to India just to IPO here. What's going on?
In this deep dive, we expose the wild world of Indian startup IPOs. You'll discover how companies magically become profitable right before going public, why retail investors are gambling billions on unprofitable startups, and the shocking "reverse flip" trend where unicorns are abandoning Silicon Valley for Mumbai's markets.
This is the untold story of the biggest IPO boom and potential bubble in the world right now.
Note- The video was recorded on 18th Nov '25, all numbers and stock prices are true to that date.
Disclaimer: This video is for educational and informational purposes only and is not financial advice. Please do your own research or consult a registered financial advisor before making investment decisions. The creator is not responsible for any profits or losses resulting from investment decisions.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
✅ How Groww became worth more than the 150-year-old Bombay Stock Exchange
✅ Why PhysicsWallah got a 33% listing gain despite losing ₹243 crore
✅ The accounting tricks companies use to become "profitable" before IPOs
✅ Why 70+ startups are moving from US/Singapore to India (reverse flipping)
✅ India vs USA IPO markets: lower requirements, higher valuations, unlimited appetite
FEATURED COMPANIES:
Groww: ₹1.1 lakh crore valuation (more than BSE itself on 18th Nov '25)
Lenskart: Years of losses, then ₹297 crore profit in FY25—just before IPO
PhysicsWallah: Loss-making but 33% listing gains
Pine Labs: 2.5x oversubscribed despite unclear profitability
Zomato, Paytm, Nykaa, Ola Electric: The cautionary tales
TIMESTAMPS:
(0:00) Introduction
(0:33) Groww IPO
(1:54) Lenskart IPO
(2:36) Pine Labs IPO
(3:15) Physicswallah
(4:51) Why & how do companies turn profitable just before the IPO?
(6:51) Class of '21 - Zomato, Paytm, Nykaa
(9:45) India vs USA IPO Markets
(10:46) Reverse Flipping
(12:04) Why are companies reverse flipping to India?
(13:11) Is indian IPO market visionary or plain crazy?
(13:58) Closing
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COMMENT BELOW
Is India's IPO market the future or a bubble waiting to pop? Have you invested in any of these companies? Let us know in the comments.
#IndiaIPO #Groww #PhysicsWallah #Lenskart #StartupIndia #VentureCapital #IPOMarket #RetailInvesting #ZomatoIPO #PaytmIPO
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