The importance of confidence in the face of adversity

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Hello readers,

I’ve been watching the remake of the 2001 anime Shaman King on Netflix recently. The annoyingly laid back protagonist has a catchphrase that goes: “Don’t worry, it’ll work out somehow.”

However, that formula doesn’t endorse simply submitting to the slings and arrows of life. Much to the contrary, the main character makes it his motto because he believes there’s no point in fearing the unknowable future – all we can do is put our best foot forward in every situation.

(It’s a stretch for sure, but what do you expect from an anime?)

That’s the kind of confident vibe I got from our recent piece that peeled back the layers on PolicyBazaar’s initial public offering filings. When asked whether the company was looking at profitability in the near future, an executive replied with just one word: “Absolutely.”

The India-based insurance aggregator had briefly turned profitable in 2018, but was unable to keep the momentum going over the next two years. But now, with its sights set on a public listing, PolicyBazaar could potentially generate even more interest among investors than newly-listed Indian food delivery firm Zomato.

According to the executive, the “only” things keeping the company from profitability at the moment are its hyper-growth agenda and heavy investments in geographical expansion and insurance penetration. While it’s hard to say whether PolicyBazaar will leap over all the hurdles that come its way, it seems like its team is spending less time worrying about what might be and focusing more on how to execute their plans and deliver good work right now.

You can find all other important investment deals over the last few days in our weekly funding news wrap-up.

Let’s dive into the biggest deals and M&As that recently lit up the space.

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BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY

🇸🇬 Emeritus: The edtech startup based in Singapore raised US$650 million in a series E funding round from Accel Partners and SoftBank Vision Fund 2.

🇮🇳 Eruditus Executive Education: The Indian edtech platform bagged US$650 million from Accel Partners, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 in a series E funding round.

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