Shrrinesh Bala

Long on Experience Economy | Building District | ex-founder | ex-Accel | IIT KGP

[Deepinder Goyal @deepigoyal]

Hello world. The first 100 Temples are ready to ship. We're now inviting athletes, scientists, founders, doctors, creators, and individuals who care deeply about their physical and cognitive health to be the founding users of Temple.

Apply for early access at https://t.co/XxGR9Hpq58

[Shrrinesh Bala @Shrrinesh]

@NayrhitB @SusquehannaVC @LightspeedIndia @BCapitalGroup @beenextVC @sparrowcapvc @2point2club deck

[Deepinder Goyal @deepigoyal]

Last one on this topic, and I have been holding this in myself for a while.

For centuries, class divides kept the labor of the poor invisible to the rich. Factory workers toiled behind walls, farmers in distant fields, domestic help in backrooms. The wealthy consumed the fruits of that labor without ever seeing the faces or the fatigue behind it. No direct encounter, no personal guilt.

The gig economy shattered that invisibility, at unprecedented scale.

Suddenly, the poor aren't hidden away. They're at your doorstep: the delivery partner handing over your ₹1000+ biryani, late-night groceries, or quick-commerce essentials. You see them in the rain, heat, traffic, often on borrowed bikes, working 8–10 hours for earnings that give them sustenance. You see their exhaustion, their polite smile masking frustration with life in general.

This is the first time in history at this scale that the working class and consuming class interact face-to-face, transaction after transaction. And that discomfort with our own selves is why we are uncomfortable about the gig economy. We want these people to look our part, so that the guilt we feel while taking orders from them feels less.

We aren't just debating economics. We are confronting guilt. That ₹800 order might equal their entire day's earnings after fuel, bike rent, and app cuts. We tip awkwardly, or avoid eye contact, because the inequality is no longer abstract. It's personal.

Pre-gig era, the rich could enjoy luxury without moral discomfort. Labor was out of sight. Now, every doorbell ring is a reminder of systemic inequality. That's why debates explode. It's not just policy. It's emotional reckoning. Some defend the system (“they choose it”), others demand change (“this isn't progress, its exploitation”).

And here’s the uncomfortable twist: the unsaid ask of clumsy ‘solutions’ isn’t dignity. It is about returning to invisibility.

Ban gig work and you don’t solve inequality. You remove livelihoods. These jobs don’t magically reappear as formal, protected employment the next day. They disappear, or they get pushed back into the informal economy where there are even fewer protections and even less accountability. Over-regulate it until the model breaks, and you achieve the same outcome through paperwork instead of slogans: the work evaporates, prices rise, demand collapses, and the people we claim to protect are the first to lose income.

And then what happens?

The rich get their old comfort back. Convenience returns without faces. Guilt dissolves. We go back to clean abstractions and moral posturing from a distance. The poor don’t become safer, they become invisible again: back in cash economies, back in backrooms, back in shadows where regulation rarely reaches and dignity isn’t even debated.

The gig economy just exposed the reality of inequality to the people who previously had the luxury of not seeing it. The doorbell is not the problem. The question is what we do after opening the door.

Visibility is the price of progress. We can either use this discomfort to build something better (which we keep doing continuously as delivery partners are our backbone), or we can ban and over-regulate our way back into ignorance. One of those choices improves lives. The other simply helps the consuming class feel virtuous in the dark.

[Deepinder Goyal @deepigoyal]

Agree.

I repeat – gig workers is one of the largest organised job creation engines in India. And we provide insurance, fair, timely and predictable wages.

Gig doesn’t need more regulation, it needs less regulation. It will bring more people into the fold, who will be able to earn some money, upskill themselves and later join India’s organised workforce. Not to mention, consistently send their kids to school - which will fundamentally change the fabric of our nation one generation later.

[Deepinder Goyal @deepigoyal]

One more thing. Our 10 minute delivery promise is enabled by the density of stores around your homes. It’s not enabled by asking delivery partners to drive fast. Delivery partners don’t even have a timer on their app to indicate what was the original time promised to the customer.

After you place your order on Blinkit, it is picked and packed within 2.5 minutes. And then the rider drives an average of under 2kms in about 8 minutes. That's an average of 15kmph.

I understand why everybody thinks why 10 minutes must be risking lives, because it is indeed hard to imagine the sheer complexity of the system design which enables quick deliveries.

Also, if you've ever wanted to know why millions of Indians voluntarily take up platform work and sometimes even prefer it to regular jobs, JUST ASK any rider partner when you get your next food or grocery order.

You will be humbled by how rational and honest they will be with you.

Having said that, no system is perfect, and we are all for making it better than today. However, it is far from what it is being portrayed on social media by people who don't understand how our system works and why.

If I were outside the system, I would also believe that gig workers are being exploited, but that's not true.

[Shrrinesh Bala @Shrrinesh]

Siri: What would you like me to play?

Me: All I want for Christmas is you

Siri: Oh, that’s so sweet

[Shrrinesh Bala @Shrrinesh]

WhatsApp was one place that felt fairly personal, now that’s spammed with ads too. P&L pressure works against customer experience, almost always.

[Deepinder Goyal @deepigoyal]

Once upon a time, people believed the Earth was flat. And then they didn’t. Then they believed the sun revolved around the Earth. Until they didn’t.

Humanity has built rockets, sequenced genomes, and cloned cells. Yet, in all our brilliance, we may have missed something glaringly simple.

At Continue, we’ve been chasing a crazy insight into why we age; a pattern that’s been hiding in plain sight for eternity. We’ve tried desperately to disprove it. We couldn’t.

Two years later, clues from biology, physics, evolution, and medicine are all pointing in the same direction.

In 48 hours, I’ll share what we’ve found and how one element of our environment may hold the key to slowing human aging.

Stay tuned.

[Deepinder Goyal @deepigoyal]

Zomato Healthy mode is now available in 7 cities. Already contributing to 5% of platform orders.

Thank you all for sharing feedback. We’re keeping a close eye on your inputs and baking (not frying) it into the product.

[Shrrinesh Bala @Shrrinesh]

@ar_aaradhya Is there a beta version I can try?

[Deepinder Goyal @deepigoyal]

For years, there’s been something about Zomato that made me uneasy.

We made eating out and ordering in easier than ever, but we never really helped people truly eat better. Yes, you could find a salad or a smoothie bowl, but the truth is, if you wanted to eat genuinely nourishing food, Zomato didn’t make it easy.

That weighed on me, because when we say our mission is “better food for more people”, the “better” has to mean something deeper.

Today, we’ve taken one of the biggest steps in fixing that blind spot. We’re launching Healthy Mode on Zomato.

Every dish in this mode now comes with a Healthy Score—from Low to Super—based on what really counts for your health: protein, complex carbs, fibre, and micronutrients, and not just calories. Behind the scenes it’s AI and restaurant data doing the heavy lifting, but what you’ll see is simple: a clear explanation of what makes a dish healthy, and why.

This is not your run of the mill “healthy mode” for beginners. We have kept the bar very high, that professional athletes can rely on healthy mode to find food that works for them.

This is personal for me. I’ve carried the guilt that Zomato made it easy to eat whatever you craved, but not easy to eat what your body needed. Healthy Mode is our first real step in putting that right.

It’s live in Gurgaon, and we’ll expand fast. Try it, tear it apart, tell us where it fails. Because this is just the beginning—and for the first time, I feel we’re moving meaningfully closer to truly living up to our mission: better food for more people.

[Shrrinesh Bala @Shrrinesh]

Day 1 in Japan, already feeling the warmth:

1. An elderly man helped us stick together in the metro line
2. A FamilyMart staff chased us down with a latte cap
3. An old lady thanked us over and over when we gave her our seat

Little moments of kindness I hope to carry back home

[Shrrinesh Bala @Shrrinesh]

Love the way @joinditto is being built. Have interacted with 2 advisors from Ditto and both the times the experience has been 11/10.

Nailing the customer experience in every interaction. Word of mouth becomes a powerful growth lever. What a way to build! 🚀 Bullish on this team

[Shrrinesh Bala @Shrrinesh]

@sehaj23 This was more of a personal cry for help than seeing it as a business opportunity. Wife is on 72 hr duty and I feel powerless as a partner. 😞

[Shrrinesh Bala @Shrrinesh]

Someone should solve for the health of doctors. ~1.4M indispensable souls, currently being overworked by the Indian healthcare system.

[Shrrinesh Bala @Shrrinesh]

Rajni has defined cinema for me through my childhood. Watching his entry, swaggering walk and the masterclasses in cool style, have always been a treat to watch.

Super excited for Coolie 🕶️🔥🤩

[District @district_india]

50 years of @rajinikanth, and the madness hasn’t slowed for a second. Theatres still erupt at his entry, fans still line up for first-day shows, and every film still feels like an event. That feeling hasn’t changed in 50 years.

Celebrating 50 years of The Thalaivar the only way that feels right - at the cinema.

#rajinikanth #rajini #coolie #thalaivar #Thalaivar171 #thalaivarforever #superstarrajinikanth #thalaivaa #district

[Shrrinesh Bala @Shrrinesh]

Time to test your Tatkal booking skills

[District @district_india]

This isn’t clickbait. It’s ₹10 movie magic 🍿

Set your reminders for 10 am tomorrow, Aug 1st: https://t.co/9V3YU9MTOW

#FlashFriday

[Deepinder Goyal @deepigoyal]

This isn't an ad. It’s a belief in effort over everything else.

Every day, millions of Indians tap ‘Place Order’ on @zomato in between their routines, responsibilities and dreams. Some are building startups. Some are raising kids. Some are taking a break.

Different stories, one thing in common: Consistent effort.

We’re not here to celebrate the stars, but the fire that built them. The fire each one of us carries inside — while food is just the fuel.

To everyone chasing something they care deeply about and showing up for it — we're glad to be a small part of your journey ❤️

[Vandhana Damodaran @DrVandhana007]

I’m a Pediatrician who worked 24-hour duties at @CloudnineCare Sector 55, Gurugram during Nov–Dec 2024. Despite repeated follow-ups with HR since December, I’ve still not been paid my December salary. Requesting leadership to look into this.

[Albinder Dhindsa @albinder]

Ambulance in 10 minutes.

We are taking our first step towards solving the problem of providing quick and reliable ambulance service in our cities. The first five ambulances will be on the road in Gurugram starting today. As we expand the service to more areas, you will start seeing an option to book a Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance through the @letsblinkit app.

Some more info-

• Our ambulances are equipped with essential life-saving equipment, including oxygen cylinders, AED (Automated External Defibrillator), stretcher, monitor, suction machine, and essential emergency medicines and injections.

• Each ambulance has a paramedic, an assistant and a trained driver to make sure we are able to deliver the highest quality of service in time of need.

• Profit is not a goal here. We will operate this service at an affordable cost for customers and invest in really solving this critical problem for the long term.

• We are carefully scaling this service up, as it is both important and new to us. Our aim is to expand to all major cities over the next two years.

Let's do our bit and make way for an ambulance always. You never know when you may save a life.