Author: Meesho

Founded in 2015 by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Kumar, Meesho began as a social commerce reseller platform before pivoting to a direct-to-consumer marketplace model. This pivot was lethal to competitors: by eliminating the reseller middleman and charging zero commissions to sellers, Meesho aggressively lowered prices. The company raised \$1B+ from SoftBank, Prosus, and Meta, burning heavily to acquire users in Tier 2/3 cities. In 2023, strategy shifted from growth to profitability. The company slashed cash burn, optimized logistics (unbundling delivery), and monetized through ads and fulfillment services rather than commissions. The strategic "flip" to India in 2024 incurred a massive tax cost but cleared the regulatory path for domestic listing, signaling long-term intent to operate as an Indian entity rather than a US-held asset. Revenue scaling has been consistent—growing from INR 5,735 Cr in FY23 to over INR 9,000 Cr annualized run-rate in FY25. The strategy remains singular: dominate the unbranded, low-ticket market that Amazon historically ignored.