What Does It Take to Scale a Hardware Startup in India? Amit Gupta (Yulu) Has the Answers

"We have zero customer acquisition cost with a hardware business."  

This seemingly impossible statement from Amit Gupta reveals a counterintuitive truth: asset-heavy businesses can create stronger competitive moats than asset-light ones. While Silicon Valley preaches software scalability, Amit proved that owning physical infrastructure can lead to supply-constrained growth where customers queue up for your product. 

Amit Gupta is the Co-founder and CEO of Yulu, India's largest shared electric mobility platform with 45,000+ vehicles facilitating over 80 million rides and 20+ million monthly deliveries. Previously, he co-founded InMobi, one of India's first profitable unicorns valued at $1+ billion, where he drove global expansion across 70+ countries and helped build a $200 million revenue business. From mobile advertising networks to electric vehicle fleets, Amit has mastered the art of building category-defining companies in completely different industries. 

Key Insights from the Conversation:  

👉Asset-Heavy Advantage: Physical infrastructure creates defensible moats that digital competitors cannot easily replicate 

👉Supply Constraint Strategy: Being supply-constrained with high demand beats demand-constrained growth models 

👉EBITDA vs EBIT: Understanding the financial progression from operational profitability to full profitability in asset-heavy businesses 

👉Purpose-Built Design: Custom-designed vehicles for commercial use achieve 10x better unit economics than generic products 

👉Regulatory Arbitrage: Strategic product design around regulations (sub-25kmph) expanded addressable market significantly 

👉Second-Time Founder Lessons: Technology focus vs business expansion - applying learnings across different industries 

👉Zero CAC Achievement: Network effects in physical infrastructure leading to organic customer acquisition 

Chapters: 

0:00:00 - Introduction: From Family Business to Tech Entrepreneur 

0:18:32 - Early Career: Software to Banking to Startups 

0:26:36 - M-Khoj: SMS Search to Mobile Internet Pioneer 

0:49:22 - InMobi Success: Building India's First Profitable Unicorn 

1:07:21 - Glance Innovation: Lock Screen Revolution Within InMobi 

1:17:37 - Yulu Genesis: Personal Traffic Frustration to Mobility Mission 

1:25:28 - Product Evolution: Bicycles to Electric Vehicles Pivot 

1:39:14 - Technology Deep Dive: IoT, Predictive Maintenance & Security 

1:51:52 - Business Model: Asset-Heavy Strategy & Unit Economics 

2:12:14 - Scaling Strategy: Direct Operations vs Franchise Model 

2:24:51 - Second-Time Founder Wisdom: Key Transferable Lessons  

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Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the speaker, not necessarily the channel.