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🍀 Sustainable and Inclusive Athleisure

Plus: How to define a productive day, Artist Uses AI To Generate Selfies, A Missed Opportunity.

Author

Chai Sip
March 21, 2023

ISSUE #033

☕ Good Morning! Sippers,

In the age of social media, it’s no secret that beauty standards can take a toll on our self-esteem. The pressure to achieve a ‘perfect’ body with the ‘right’ measurements has led to a lot of self-doubt and body shaming.

However, there is hope in the form of body positivity, a movement that celebrates and accepts all body types.

In today’s Issue đŸ“„ :

  • Sustainable and Inclusive Athleisure.

  • How to define a productive day.

  • Artist Uses AI To Generate Selfies

  • A Missed Opportunity.

SIP WORTHY

Sustainable and Inclusive Athleisure Brand Makes Rs 1 Cr in 6 Months: How Aastey Is Contributing To The Body Positivity Movement

What’s Sipping? ☕ At the forefront of this movement is aastey, an Indian athleisure brand founded by Jeevika Tyagi and Kanupriya Mundhra. The brand is on a mission to promote inclusivity and sustainability in the fashion industry, something that has been long overdue.

😄 We are excited to share the inspiring story of aastey, its founders, and their journey towards building a sustainable and size-inclusive brand. Here are some highlights:

â™»ïžđŸ—‘ïž Size-inclusivity and sustainability are the two main priorities of aastey. The brand offers clothing made from recycled polyester, and wearing one legging from the brand is equivalent to recycling up to 25 trash bags.

Aastey’s product range includes leggings, sports bras, yoga mats, eye masks, tote bags, and more.

Despite facing several challenges, including finding vendors who were willing to make clothes out of sustainable fabric, aastey has grown steadily since its inception. Within six months of launching, the brand crossed an ARR of Rupees 1 crore and has been growing 3X since then.

Aastey has built a community of 60,000+ women and plans to expand to Tier II cities in India.

😃 We hope that aastey’s success story inspires you to embrace body positivity and sustainability in your daily life. You can show your support by checking out their products on their official website or e-commerce channels like Amazon and Myntra.

Let’s celebrate and promote inclusivity and sustainability together!

IMPROVEMENT SIP

How to define a productive day. A best-selling author’s 3-3-3 Method

Oliver Burkeman, the renowned author of “Four Thousand Weeks,” recently revealed his “3-3-3 Method” for a productive day in his newsletter, The Imperfectionist.

As individuals who work with computers, ideas, and words on a daily basis, we are constantly faced with the challenge of organizing our tasks. While we may not be physically building structures like houses, the task of prioritizing our work can be overwhelming. To address this, we can follow certain rules or methods to structure our days, such as the 90/90/1 Rule or the Most Important Tasks method, both of which I have found helpful.

Although there is no one “right” rule, a simple heuristic can make it easier to decide what to focus on and provide the motivation needed to complete tasks. With this in mind, I have developed my own technique, which I call the 3/3/3 technique. After conducting focus groups and branding exercises, this method has proven effective for me for several months.

On any typical workday, I have a plan to:

  • Devote three hours of focused attention to my top priority project, setting a clear goal for the progress I wish to achieve that day.

  • Complete three quick tasks that are either pressing to-dos or tasks I have been avoiding, each usually taking just a few minutes (I also count meetings and calls in this category).

  • Spend time on three ‘maintenance activities’ that require daily attention to keep things running smoothly.

As for the rationale behind the three-hour focus time, you can find it here. The term ‘maintenance activity’ is intentionally broad and open to interpretation. At present, my daily maintenance activities involve writing morning pages, dedicating an hour to email, and engaging in at least 45 minutes of outdoor walking or running – a combination of healthy habits and essential daily admin.

My inner critic is already busy generating the ways you’ll object that this method won’t work for you: that you don’t have the time to do all this each day, or perhaps that you need to do far more than this. OK, fine – make up your own rule! What really matters here aren’t the details, but the principles embodied by the approach:

  1. It’s non-comprehensive in terms of tasks: It is designed to prioritize a few essential tasks and ensure they get done no matter what. If more tasks are completed, that’s a bonus.

  2. It’s intended to take less than the time available: Even if tasks take longer than expected, there is still room to adjust and complete everything without feeling like the day is on a tightrope walk. The 3/3/3 activities account for about six hours of the available eight hours, leaving room for unexpected tasks or activities.

  3. It’s loosely structured, not overstructured or unstructured: Although I have previously used and advocated for strict time-boxing, I have now accepted that it does not work for me. I have found that either I struggle to adapt when things do not go according to plan, or I feel burdened by a rigid schedule even when things go as expected. The 3/3/3 method provides structure to my day without making me feel confined. For instance, I make sure to complete those three focus hours before anything else to ensure they get done.

“The man who works so moderately as to be able to work constantly,” wrote Adam Smith, “not only preserves his health the longest but in the course of the year, executes the greatest quantity of work.” Yes, doing less is a way to be kinder to yourself, and to be more present to the world around you – but paradoxically, it’s also an excellent way to get more done.

HOT SIP

đŸ“· Artist Uses AI To Generate Selfies From The Past, Results Leave Internet Stunned.

BharatPe’s $100M Banking Blunder: A Missed Opportunity

Today we have news from BharatPe, the Indian fintech startup that received an in-principle banking license and saw its valuation skyrocket to $2.85 billion.

The company partnered with Centrum Financial Services to bid for Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank and create a subsidiary dedicated to the lucrative banking technology infrastructure market.

The joint venture, Unity Small Finance Bank, was meant to be the subsidiary’s first client. However, controversy struck after co-founder and former CEO Ashneer Grover was accused of financial mishandling. This led to several departures of founding members and senior executives, delaying progress on the subsidiary’s tech plans. As a result, Unity SFB signed with M2P Fintech to upgrade its core banking system, leaving BharatPe without a client.

The future of the subsidiary, Resilient Tech Serv Pvt. Ltd, created in June 2022, is uncertain, and it remains to be seen whether BharatPe’s ambitions for a full-fledged entry into the banking-as-a-service sector will be realized. Nevertheless, the global banking-as-a-service market is projected to reach $6.9 trillion by 2030, and the compound annual growth rate of BaaS platforms in India between 2021 and 2030 is predicted to be 26%.

On a more positive note, Unity SFB formally commenced its operations in November 2021. The tech team of around 60 members, led by the then CEO Suhail Sameer, swiftly made progress on the first task of migrating the operations and customers of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank to Unity SFB. The team also continued building the core banking and frontend technology for Unity SFB, with plans to launch the first set of products related to payments and investments.

BharatPe was also working on floating a subsidiary to tap the digital banking infrastructure opportunity, seeking to become a technology service provider for fintech startups and banks, starting with Unity SFB.

It’s a challenging time for the company, but with its innovative spirit and ambition, we’re sure they’ll find a way to succeed in the ever-growing fintech market.

During an interview with Business Standard in October 2021, the former CEO of BharatPe, Suhail Sameer, mentioned that the company was almost finished with the development of the core banking system for Unity SFB, which had been created entirely from scratch.

đŸ§ȘCompany’s Reaction:

Unity Small Finance Bank: Unity Bank is managed by a team that is separate from Centrum and BharatPe. They have their own plan for growth that is decided by their board. If they decide to work with Centrum or BharatPe, it will be fair and not favoring one side over the other.

BharatPe:

BharatPe has invested in Unity Bank, and we are happy to support the management as a responsible shareholder. However, Unity Bank is an independent entity and makes its own decisions about partnerships that fit its overall growth strategy. If BharatPe and Unity Bank decide to partner, both boards will need to approve the partnership, and it will be done on a fair basis.

SMALL SIPS

Gol Gappe: Nagaland minister Temjen Imna Along has reacted to a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida enjoying ‘gol gappe‘ in Delhi.

Vineeta Singh: The co-founder of SUGAR Cosmetics, extended her condolences on the sudden death of Rajalakshmi Vijay, CEO of Mumbai-based tech company Altruist Technologies, in a road accident while jogging. She shared a post on Twitter and wrote, “So shocking and heartbreaking. Really hope Raji’s family gets justice and the driver doesn’t get away with murder.” She also tagged the Mumbai police and its commissioner in her tweet.

Credit Suisse: has 15,000 employees in India, its second-largest employee footprint, just behind its operations in Switzerland. Although the fine print of UBS’ acquisition of Credit Suisse is not out yet, the employees facilitating Credit Suisse’s India operations have been left in a state of uncertainty.

Design Leak: At present, iPhone models have separate buttons for volume up and down. But the leaked images suggest that high-end iPhone 15 series phones may have a unified volume button.

Hidden Oceans: At a time when scientists are trying to find water on other planets and their moons, NASA has made a big revelation. According to a tweet by NASA Sun and Space, one or more of Uranus’ moons might have oceans hidden beneath their icy surfaces. “One or more of Uranus’ moons might have oceans hidden beneath their icy surfaces, according to new findings,” the tweet read.

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