Hey y’all - When most founders dream about building the “next big thing,” their eyes automatically turn to customer-facing features. They chase sleek apps, fancy UI upgrades, and viral growth loops. But here’s the hard truth: growth rarely begins at the surface. It often hides deep in the messy back office - payroll, procurement, reporting, compliance - the areas nobody wants to touch because they’re “boring.”

Yet, the boring parts are where friction silently bleeds time and money. Every untracked invoice, missed reimbursement, or manual compliance check slows teams down. Back office inefficiencies create invisible bottlenecks that eventually cap growth, no matter how polished your product looks to customers.

The startups that break through aren’t always the ones with flashiest pitches. They’re often the ones that streamline a painful, overlooked workflow - and suddenly free up organizations to scale faster. Think of how Slack turned messy email chains into organized communication, or how Rippling replaced scattered HR tasks with unified systems.

The edge isn’t always found where customers click. It’s often found where employees sigh. Fix the “unsexy,” and you’ll make the “sexy” scale.

Here’s today at a glance:

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🔗 Mohit’s Picks

My favourite finds of the week 

Strategies

• The Science of Business [Link]

• How to Be Financially Fit in India: Insights from Nehal Mota, Co-founder & CEO of Finnovate [Link]

• Gameskraft: How is it creating a World-Class Gaming Experience for the Indian Users [Link]

• How this Chennai startup is crafting India’s homegrown drone technology [Link]

• How I Used Side Hustles to Pay Off $40,000 Debt in 1 Year [Link]

• This CEO's 'Powerful' Switch-Up Is Securing 8-Figure Revenue and DMs From Nordstrom [Link]

• How Dynamic Pricing Helps Brands Win The Festive Discount Battle [Link]

• Meet 20 Startups Selected For Google’s AI First Accelerator 2025 [Link]

• From Dumka to Delhi: Mithila Foods is bringing Bihar’s flavours to India’s metros [Link]

Learn through videos

• Top 5 Investments in Indian Startup History [Link]

• Agencies Don’t Want You to Know This Startup Hack [Link]

• 50 Lakh RS Startup Funding in 2025 [Link]

• How Karnataka is Building India's Quantum Future? [Link]

• How this Chinese Startup is Crushing Dyson's Empire [Link]

The “X” Factor

• Can you build a startup in a weekend? [Link]

• Peter Thiel on why all trends are overrated and one-of-a-kind companies are underrated [Link]

• OpenAI JUST released how people are using chatgpt [Link]

• AI Startup Flock Thinks It Can Eliminate All Crime In America [Link]

• Jack Dorsey on why building something for yourself can be better than trying to solve a problem [Link]

• Elon Musk on the #1 attribute to cultivate if you want to be successful [Link]

• I just watched a guy scrape google maps with an ai agent and show EXACTLY which boring businesses can make you stupid money in your local area [Link]

💡 Opportunity: “Smart Expense Card for Students & Interns”

Universities and companies that provide stipends to students and interns face an underrated but persistent problem: fund misuse. Stipends meant for travel, meals, or learning often get spent in unrelated ways. Worse, administrators are stuck with manual tracking through messy spreadsheets, WhatsApp receipts, and endless reimbursements. It’s chaotic, inefficient, and prone to errors.

Imagine a prepaid card + companion app designed specifically for stipends. Admins can preload funds, while the app enforces category-level controls-travel, food, or education-ensuring money is used only where intended. Every swipe shows up instantly in the admin dashboard, giving real-time spend visibility.

The system could also automate nudges: reminders to upload receipts, notifications of approaching limits, or alerts for non-compliant spending. To incentivize good behavior, cashback or reward points could be tied to compliant usage, creating a gamified loop of trust.

Expansion opportunities are vast. Start with universities and internship programs, then scale to corporate trainees, government fellowship schemes, and research grants.

Think of it as “Slice × Corporate Card, but for stipends.” It solves a tangible pain point, offers clarity for institutions, and empowers students with responsible money habits. A true win-win wedge that could scale into a category-defining product.

🧠 Framework: “EDGE” for Finding Competitive Advantage

How do I stand out in a crowded market? The answer lies in finding your EDGE. This simple framework helps you evaluate whether your startup has a sustainable competitive advantage:

1. Efficiency → Can you deliver faster or cheaper than the alternatives? Efficiency often becomes your entry wedge. Think Zoom’s simplicity compared to clunky enterprise tools.

2. Differentiation → What makes you unique? It could be product design, pricing models, integrations, or customer support. Without differentiation, you’re just another option in the noise.

3. Growth Leverage → Can your solution scale without proportional increases in cost? Software with automation or network effects often wins here. Airbnb scaled because every new host added exponential value.

4. Emotion → Does your product create human connection or trust? Users rarely stay for features alone. They stay for the way your product makes them feel-safe, empowered, understood.

If you don’t score high on at least three out of four, you’re at risk of blending into the background. EDGE isn’t just a framework; it’s a filter. Use it ruthlessly to sharpen your strategy before you waste time scaling mediocrity.

🛠️ Tool: Coda.io - Docs That Can Replace Apps

Early-stage teams rarely have budgets for custom software, yet they juggle dozens of tools. Enter Coda.io, a powerful all-in-one workspace that blends docs, spreadsheets, and apps seamlessly.

With Coda, you can create interactive dashboards, mini-CRMs, project trackers, or automated workflows - all inside a single document. It’s like Google Docs and Airtable had a startup-friendly child.

What makes it stand out? Scalability without complexity. YC startups often run their first 6-12 months entirely on Coda before moving to larger systems. It’s cost-efficient, flexible, and reduces the chaos of app-switching.

📈 Trend: “Employee Perks Going Modular”

The era of one-size-fits-all employee perks is fading. Free gym memberships and catered meals sound great, but they don’t resonate equally with every employee. Today’s workforce wants personalization, and startups are leading the way with modular perks systems.

Instead of blanket policies, employees get wallets or credits that they can allocate however they choose: fitness, therapy, learning platforms, childcare, or even pet care. This flexibility boosts retention because people feel truly supported-not just given cookie-cutter perks.

The infrastructure behind this is exciting for startups. Wallet-style SaaS platforms are emerging to let HR teams allocate budgets, track usage, and negotiate partnerships with service providers. The beauty? Modular perks are globally scalable. Remote teams across geographies can access tailored benefits through one system.

For founders, this isn’t just an HR trend. It’s a massive SaaS opportunity waiting to be tapped. The startup that builds a “Gusto for modular perks” could become the next category leader, solving both employee satisfaction and corporate efficiency.

💬 Quote: Chris Dixon (a16z)

Airbnb was mocked as “air mattresses in strangers’ homes.” Twitter was dismissed as a tool for sharing lunch updates. Even Stripe was doubted because payments were considered too entrenched to disrupt.

But each of these “toys” solved an overlooked friction - and unlocked network effects that competitors couldn’t match. What looks small or trivial in the early days can actually be the seed of an empire.

For founders, don’t dismiss an idea because it feels too niche or too simple. If it solves a real pain and builds momentum, it can outgrow its toy-like beginnings into something transformational.