Keep pulling the thread on Aadit Palicha.
Before its founders committed full-time, Zepto had reached a GMV run rate of ₹60-70 crore.
Zepto pivoted from its original Kirana Kart model to a dark store model because the initial approach of delivering from mom-and-pop shops did not provide enough control over the customer experience.
The single neighborhood where Zepto first tested its dark store model generated 3 to 4 times the order volume of all its other operating areas in the city combined.
Zepto's 10-minute delivery model led to unexpectedly high volume and throughput in its warehouses, which in turn lowered unit costs.
Zepto employs over 200,000 people, including delivery partners, pickers, packers, and truck drivers.
Zepto operates what it claims is the largest fruits and vegetables supply chain in India, sourcing millions of units per week directly from farmers.
Zepto has scaled to billions of dollars in top-line revenue.
Zepto's advertising business generates hundreds of millions of dollars in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR).
Zepto has replaced its manual supply chain forecasting process with a machine learning algorithm that forecasts millions of units per day with no human intervention.
By developing internal tools, Zepto has cut its spending on external software and managed services to nearly zero.
The first iteration of Zepto was a WhatsApp group chat used to deliver groceries for neighbors in Mumbai, which later evolved into an app called Kirana Kart.
The founders of Zepto decided to drop out of college and commit to the company full-time only after reaching early product-market fit, defined as achieving 10,000 orders per day.