Wooqer have announced that Ritesh Handa has joined the company as President – Operations, Finance & Corporate Development, reporting to Wooqer Founder & CEO, Vishal Purohit. Ritesh comes to Wooqer from a leading Indian publisher Pearson Education India. With a proven track record of over 15 years, he has worked with Microsoft, GE and Rockwell Automation.

[Image Credit – Wooqer]

Vishal Purohit, Wooqer Founder & CEO said

He is a passionate finance and operations senior executive with diversified business and management experience. He will be responsible for thought leadership by executing business strategies and operating plans.

We are fortunate to have incredible depth and breadth of talent across Wooqer’s executive team. Ritesh is hands-down the best operations executive I’ve ever worked with.

Prior to joining Pearson Education, Ritesh was associated with Core Objects in the capacity of VP & Director Finance. He was responsible for preparing monthly forecasts, annual and long-range financial plans at a country level resulting in financial plans that aligns with business/corporate objectives.

He holds Master in Business Administration from Faculty of Management Studies – Delhi and is also a Chartered Accountant from Deloitte.

About Wooqer
Wooqer is pioneering “end user computing” with an easy-to-use, do-It-yourself cloud based tool-set that enables faster, cheaper and smarter execution. Wooqer leads the space between the core systems for a business [dominated by software, hardware and services vendors] and consumer platforms [like Google, Facebook & others].

Founded by Vishal Purohit and backed by Indian business veterans like Harsh Mariwala, Chairman-Marico & BS Nagesh, Founder-TRRAIN as well as Silicon Valley legends like Michael Marks and Jim Davidson. Wooqer is among the most valuable B2B software companies in India by iSpirit Index for two consecutive years. Harvard Business Review has developed a business case on Wooqer now being taught in over 10 universities globally. For more information, please visit Wooqer

Times Internet, India’s leading digital products company have launched SpotLight@TimesInternet, India’s first all-encompassing content studio, providing marketers with content strategy, development and marketing solutions for their brands. This powerhouse has been created with a vision to be an end-to-end solution provider for marketers, giving them a chance to own a full scale content hub with Times Internet through SPOTLIGHT. What makes SPOTLIGHT stand out will be its ability to create branded content not only in English, but 9 other Indian regional languages across 150 million users.

[Image Source – Business2Community]

SPOTLIGHT aims to be a strategic partner for brands – from strategic recommendations to reviewing and editing existing content of brands and creating new branded content. To ensure the success of its latest venture, Times Internet is also pleased to announce that Neha Gupta has joined as Head, SPOTLIGHT with the mandate of working with marketers to create compelling branded content that meets their goals. Neha, was formerly VP Brand Solutions and Sales Strategy at NDTV convergence.

Speaking on the launch, Neha Gupta said

I’m extremely excited to be a part of creating SPOTLIGHT. This content studio will create new, best in class branded content.  Along with Times Internet’s unique reach and scale, it will provide a strong differentiator to brands and will help them increase their digital presence by showcasing their branded content. We will partner with brands to create stories, info-graphics, galleries, videos and new exciting native content solutions in English and multiple regional languages.

The SPOTLIGHT advantage

  • Reach and Scale – Through SPOTLIGHT not only do brands get a chance to create great content, but also populate it across the Times Internet Network that caters to 150 million users every month across genres, and languages.
  • Access to content creators – SPOTLIGHT will give marketers access to the largest editorial talent pool in the India – people who are experts in multiple genres to create and curate their content.
  • Mobile, Social and Search Discovery – Content created through SPOTLIGHT will give brands a chance to let their audience discover content in-stream in similar format as the Times Internet sites as well as third party publishers online.
  • Audience Analytics & Insights – As a part of the Times Internet group Spotlight has been created to know both – brands and their audiences. Spotlight will provide marketers with detailed report and insights.

Gulshan Verma, Chief Revenue Officer, Times Internet said

We are ushering in an era, where everything around us is content. With some of the best minds in the business across genres and languages with us, this was the right time to create a studio that unites all our capabilities. For marketers, SPOTLIGHT-India’s first all-encompassing content studio, will not only develop branded content, but will also give them access to India’s largest digital network – Times Internet and beyond.

Interested marketers can visit SPOTLIGHT and can send in their queries to spotlight@timesinternet.in

About Times Internet Limited
Times Internet, India’s leading digital products company and the digital venture of Times of India, India’s largest media and entertainment group. Reaching over 150 million visitors each month, with businesses across content, entertainment, classifieds and transactions. Times Internet Limited websites are among the fastest growing Web / Mobile based networks worldwide. A powerful portfolio of world class product brands that are market leaders in the country which reaches, engages and ultimately transacts with customers in their preferred medium.  For more information, please visit Times Internet

In a world where relationships between couples are increasingly strained, Bharat Matrimony’s 2gether app is intended to enhance and enrich the relationship by seeking to bring out the good times couples have in their journey and improve the communication between them.

This app is a secure and private messenger. All the communication between the couples is encrypted. It also captures the memorable moments to be relived over a lifetime. We believe that positive memories are essential to happiness and improve a couple’s well-being. Couples can communicate through text and voice messages, photos, videos and share locations with each other.

Murugavel Janakiraman, Founder and Managing Director, Matrimony.com said

We believe that 2gether app will enhance and create a happy married life for couples. What better day to roll this out 2gether app than on Matrimony Day [April 14]

For archiving your special moments as memories to look back on, the app encrypts and securely stores all your photos, videos and voice messages. It also allows you to text privately from within the app.

The 2gether app is currently active on the Play Store and can be downloaded from here

About Matrimony.com

Matrimony.com Ltd manages brands such as BharatMatrimony. The company delivers matchmaking and marriage services to users in India and the Indian diaspora through its websites, mobile sites and mobile apps complemented by on-the-ground network of 180+ retail centres in India.

It has introduced several services such as AssistedMatrimony.com, EliteMatrimony.com, MatrimonyDirectory.com, MatrimonyPhotography.com & CommunityMatrimony.com, a consortium of over 300 community matrimonial websites. Additionally, one of the company’s subsidiaries operates Tambulya.com

Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship [Independent Charge], Rajiv Pratap Rudy released the India Entrepreneurship Report 2015 by Amway. The reports aims to understand the latent enthusiasm for entrepreneurship in the country, as well as factors that motivate and obstruct the creation of new enterprises.

Research partner Nielsen India surveyed 250 households in each of the 21 states across 50 different cities. One male & one female member in the 21-65 age group were interviewed from each household taking the total no of respondents to 10,768 individuals [Male 5,402 and Female 5,366].

Unveiling the report, Rajiv Pratap Rudy

The contribution of MSME sector in India, is much less as compared to some of the developed nations. This needs to change. It is critical that there is entrepreneurship led boom at the grass root level so that India can leverage the demographic dividend to the maximum possible extent. The understanding of motivations, attitudes towards entrepreneurship, offers valuable insight to the policy makers.

Anshu Budhraja, CEO, Amway India, said

We are aiming to engage different stakeholders on what drives entrepreneurship in India and contribute to the on-going discussions on the role of skill development and self-employment in improving employability of the youth.

Entrepreneurship is a way for people to realise a better life for themselves and their families. Entrepreneurs also create jobs and encourage competition. They spur economic growth and bring opportunities to communities. So, it’s important that businesses like Amway know how entrepreneurs think and act in order to better support and encourage them.

Findings of India Entrepreneurship Report 2015

Two-Thirds of Indians view entrepreneurship positively

Entrepreneurship is valued in India. India Entrepreneurship Report 2015 reports tangible enthusiasm for entrepreneurship as being a good prospect to earn a livelihood in India, with nearly two-thirds of the respondents viewing it favourably. Kerala [78 percent], Punjab [77 percent] and Uttarakhand [76 percent] were the states with most positive attitude towards entrepreneurship.

Access to finance [41 percent] and Family support [35 percent] emerged as the most important factors to start one’s own business. 73 percent of the respondents believe that anyone can be trained/educated to be an entrepreneur. 62 percent of all respondents thought that the education they had right now was sufficient to start their own business.

Nearly 50% of respondents considering to start their own business

Almost one in two respondents [47 percent], said that they had either thought about starting their own business or are actively pursuing one. Overall, 19 percent of respondents said that they are “very open to starting a new business and in fact are actively pursuing one”. Jharkhand has the highest number of respondents [60 percent] who say that they are actively pursuing a new business, followed by Uttarakhand [40 percent] and Uttar Pradesh [29 percent].

Environment for entrepreneurs to start business in India has improved

Nearly half of all respondents [45 percent] said the environment to begin a business in their state has improved over the past five years. 11 percent of the respondents felt that the environment has ‘improved significantly’.

Financial institutions play a key role

83 percent respondents voted banks as their main port of call for starting a business. This insight clearly point to the role of financial institutions in fostering and facilitating entrepreneurship. Friends and family came second on this index with 78 percent.

Fear of Failure

Across gender, income and age, the fear of failure emerges as a clear obstacle to starting a business with 63 percent of the overall respondents saying so. The fear of failure is composed of different factors. 31 percent of respondents found “financial burdens up to bankruptcy” as the “most important” cause for the fear. Non-conducive market conditions [24 percent] and fear of unemployment [23 percent] were the other key causes of the fear.

The complete report can be downloaded from here

About Amway India

Amway India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Amway with headquarters located in Ada, Michigan, USA.  Amway is one of the largest Direct Selling companies in the world with presence in over 100 countries & territories.

Globally, Amway is over 56 year old, US $ 9.5 billion, manufacturer and direct seller of high quality consumer goods. Amway’s innovation and industry-leading R&D has seen more than 1,150 patents granted and another 500 patents pending.  Amway has more than 950 scientists across 75 research and development and quality assurance laboratories worldwide. Amway India sells more than 130 daily use products across categories like Nutrition, Beauty, Personal Care and Home Care through individuals who make personal recommendations regarding the use of distinctive high quality products. Amway products are widely recognized and appreciated for their quality and value. These products are backed by a money back guarantee for 100% satisfaction of use. For more information, please refer Amway India

Source – Euromonitor International Limited

Magzter, the world’s largest digital magazine news-stand have launched a new advertising platform in its iOS and Android mobile apps. Magzter has over 7,700 magazines and over 28.5 million users around the world. In what could be called as a pioneering and innovative move, Magzter now enables advertisers to reach out to millions of potential customers by showcasing interactive advertisements inside the most sought after digital magazines.

Magzter also announced its strategic tie-up with SPH, Singapore for this advertising business and SPH will be representing Magzter for Singapore and South East Asia. SPH Singapore is among world’s leading publishers and No. 1 in Singapore. With over 1800 Indian publications from all leading publishing houses on Magzter, this would be a lucrative opportunity for publishing houses to monetise their online assets further. Globally, Magzter is targeting an annual revenue of $ 100 million from advertising within next three years.

Unlike normal banner advertisements that are displayed on websites, interactive advertisements can have audio-visual content in them and they can have many other interactions apart from taking the user to advertiser’s landing page. The ads are full page swipe-able advertisements and non intrusive to users and continues to give best magazine reading experience. An interactive advertisement could range from playing a video to adding a floating element to it. Other exciting ways to create interactive advertisements include the usage of swipe interactions, event reminders and location pointers.

Even mini games can be inserted as advertisements in between the pages of best-selling magazines. Currently, Magzter is offering full-page interactive HTML5 advertisements to ensure that the advertisements are responsive and automatically fit across all iOS and Android devices.

Girish Ramdas, CEO, Magzter Inc. said

At Magzter, we are extremely happy to introduce interactive advertisements in our Apple and Android apps. This is the first time anywhere in the World such ads are being made available inside digital magazines. The digital advertising industry still has a lot of untapped potential and the arrival of immersive and contextual advertisements on Magzter inside digital magazines is a definitive step in raising the bar. We are hoping to receive tremendous response from advertisers all over the World.

Vijay Radhakrishnan, Co-founder and President, Magzter Inc. added

This will revolutionize the digital advertising industry soon. As our interactive advertisements appear in between the pages of a magazine, readers are most likely to get influenced by them since the advertisements are carefully chosen based on the location of the user and the category of the magazine. For instance, when a young woman is reading a fashion magazine on Magzter and she comes across an interactive advertisement to purchase a product she likes from the magazine, she is expected to go for it. Click throughs of our ad inventory is anywhere between 15-30% . This is way high than standard CTR on the Web which would be less than 1%.

The advertisers can choose their preferred location, category and language to target their ads, so that they can extend their reach to the niche group of readers. This not only gives them the freedom to choose even a small region where they need more visibility, but also gives them the power to make a bigger impact within a controlled budget. With Magzter having magazines across over 30 categories in over 60 languages and users from over 175 countries, the advertisers can choose the magazines and locations that best suit their needs.

Joseph Lee, Managing Director, SPH Magazines explained further

Our advertising partnership with Magzter is a significant move for us as advertising revenue is a key driver for our growth. We are also excited to represent Magzter in Singapore region to get advertisers on-board. Magzter has developed an excellent advertising platform for digital magazines and we were privileged to use it for the last 3 months. The results are extremely encouraging and our advertisers are very excited to see their interactive ads on our magazines. We have many of our titles playing ads through Magzter’s ad system.

For more information, please visit Magzter

EazyLeazy is a Mumbai based rental startup which provides customers access to great products as and when they need them. So for consumers who want to rent something for a short period of time [and not buy it] or try something out before they buy it, EazyLeazy is the place to go.

They aim at making rental so easy, whenever you want something, you Don’t Think… Just Rent it. They make rental super easy by

  1. Having very low rentals and deposits
  2. Delivering in under 3 hours if required
  3. Having easy online booking with instant order confirmation
  4. Being easily available over Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, email and on the phone
  5. Giving a complete package [for example a GoPro comes with all the mounts as standard
  6. Allowing cash/card payment at the door
[Image Credit – EazyLeazy]

EazyLeazy currently has four portfolios of products

  1. Travel and photography – Entry-level DSLRs, GoPros with mounts and Kindles [Professional DSLRs and lenses coming soon]
  2. Party and entertainment – Karaoke machines, board/card games, hover-boards, party speakers, HD projectors, giant Jenga and beer pong [Barbeques and portable speakers coming soon]
  3. Hobbies – Baking kit [precision digital weighing scale + electric mixer + measuring cups and spoons], keyboards
  4. Try before you buy – Smartwatches, fitness bands and flagship mobile phones

But why EazyLeazy? The founders realized that there were a lot of things that they would want to use but did not want to buy. For example, Peshotan Kapadia wanted a DSLR camera when on holiday but didn’t want to buy one [since he had but little interest in photography]. Similarly, Meheryar Tata wanted access to entertainment products [games, karaoke machines or speakers for his housewarming parties] but it made no sense to buy these things which he wouldn’t use frequently. And so EazyLeazy was born – an online rental portal that would provide these consumer products to people who needed them on a short-term basis.

Peshotan Kapadia, Co-founder of EazyLeazy said

We are not here to replace ownership. There will always be things you should own – like a Play Station if you are a gamer or a keyboard if you play the piano. But what about hundreds of other products you want to use just once in a while? We found no credible, convenient or professional business providing this service. Prices were all over the place, they wouldn’t deliver, and companies gave no assurances on breakage or on the assets being in good condition. So there was a big gap. And online was clearly the way to go.

Meheryar Tata elaborated

We wanted to make renting these things so easy, that you wouldn’t have to think if you wanted something. Just rent it! That’s why we focus on delivering to your doorstep in under three hours, on keeping our prices low, and on providing great service.

Meheryar Tata added

The one thing we are proud of is that all our customers are happy. They appreciate our honest pricing, our super service and the care we take of both them and our products. And we have the testimonials to show it.

When people get to use these useful products which they otherwise wouldn’t have experienced, it gives us great joy. That’s what EazyLeazy is all about. It’s not about saving money or being practical (which for us are collateral benefits). It’s about not having to give up experiences because ownership is the only option.

EazyLeazy went live on 13th December 2015 and already have over 170 happy customers from Cuffe Parade to Borivali in Mumbai. They have had as customers a Spanish teacher wanting to shoot a 100 online lessons for Youtube, an oncology surgeon recording a thyroid surgery, a college student who wanted to convince his parents that the Apple Watch was worth it, a band manager going on tour with his band, holidayers going diving, a regular joe who became a karaoke addict overnight, young studs going surfing, professional film makers, bikers, a brand manager introduced to the madness that is Twister, a consultant who wanted to check if Apple watch was actually useful, a baking enthusiast who doesn’t have space for a large oven at home, a cafe owner wanting to have a karaoke evening for his patrons and many more.

If you are from Mumbai, do give EazyLeazy a spin and share your experience in the comments section.

With an aim to fuel the dreams of India’s aspiring entrepreneurs, Haywards 5000 has launched Haywards 5000 Hauslay Ki Udaan – country’s first start up reality program. The initiative, launched earlier by the Haywards 5000 Hausla Buland Academy, encourages the spirit of those who have an innate resolve to succeed in spite of challenges. The first of its kind program received over 40,000 calls in its last season and over 500 exciting entries went through auditions, leading to one winning idea.

To announce its second season, the Haywards 5000 Hausla Buland Academy has also launched a new TVC campaign – Naa Se Haan Tak. The TVC showcases the challenges of an aspiring entrepreneur who hails from a small town of India. In spite of being rejected by everyone, his will to fulfill his dream motivates him to make his business idea a reality. The TVC also highlights his strong resolve [Hausla] that transforms every “Naa” to a “Haan”. He charts his own path and finally reaches his next milestone.

Haywards 5000 will conduct auditions across the nation which will serve as a platform for aspiring entrepreneurs from small and big towns to showcase their innovative business ideas and share their stories of unrelenting resolve. The participants will be mentored by an interview panel consisting of well-known entrepreneurs and industry experts as well as Hausla Buland Academy professional counselors through online and offline mediums. The winning business idea will receive a seed funding of Rs. 15 Lakhs from the Hausla Buland Academy.

The finalists will be selected basis a combination of factors including market opportunity, uniqueness of the presented business idea, the growth potential, the strategy, the enthusiasm and passion of the participant, the knowledge of the industry, realistic goals and finally the total investment required. The on-ground auditions will be held this year in the following cities: Gurgaon, Faridabad, Jaipur, Pune, Nagpur, Kolkata, Bangalore, Secunderabad, Rohtak, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Mohali and will begin in July 2016.

Entries are open until the date of these on-ground auditions and participants can register on HauslaBulandAcademy to participate in “Hauslay Ki Udaan”.

About Haywards 5000 Hauslay Ki Udaan
The first year of the “Haywards 5000 Hauslay Ki Udaan” initiative was held in 2015 and received a tremendous response from all over the country. Last year’s initiative’s calling for entries began in April 2015 with an association with India’s biggest media event – IPL 2015, where Haywards 5000 was one of the co-sponsors.

The campaign received over 40,000 calls from across the country and after this remarkable response the Haywards 5000 team conducted auditions across 10 cities over a period of 3 months in order to find “City champions” from each city from a total of over 600 entries. Last year the judges ranged from entrepreneurs like Sumit Jain, Co-founder & CEO, CommonFloor, Vivek Singh, Co-founder & CFO of Tone Tag, Naidu Darapaneni, Founder CEO of Meraevents, Santhosh Karnananda, CEO of MeraEnglish to industry Stalwarts like Sunil Subramaniam, CEO of Sundaram Finance among others.

About Haywards 5000 Hausla Buland Academy
Haywards 5000 launched the Haywards 5000 Hausla Buland Academy in 2012 to provide online skills development courses and training through workshops and has so far reached out to over 100,000 people from different walks of life. For more information, please visit Hausla Buland Academy

Few days back, couple of friends were having discussion over lunch about “Savings” and the talk slowly diverted to “Strategies that each one of us uses in order to maximize returns on Savings”. Many of them in the group were ‘Conservative Investors’ and hence they mostly invested their money in PPF, few Mutual Funds, Insurance policies etc. When he was questioned about the same, his clear-cut answer was that – Though returns might be less, at least it is predictable. Most of them agreed to the point since, sometimes being risk-averse (especially if the overall economy is not doing good) is the best thing to do 🙂

However, I follow a different strategy to manage my savings. Along with ‘Less risky investments that provide Fixed returns’, I also play the ‘Risky’ game by investing in Mutual Funds (mostly Equity based investments are more compared to Debt based investments) and Stock Market. Well, I decided to invest in stock market when Satyam Computers (the in-famous company founded by Ramalinga Raju) was latched up in the biggest corporate scandal of our times !!! Due to push from one of my old friend’s (who is active in stock market), I picked up shares at very ‘Low Price’ and the same stock ‘sky-rocketed’ after Mahindra acquired Satyam (which eventually became Mahindra Satyam).

As I understood from that incident, most of the times in stock market we are heavily influenced by the buying decision of our friends, acquaintances etc. Also, many times investing is ‘Emotion Driven’ hence, it becomes necessary to control emotions (be it fear or greed) & investing should not be done on your fear of loosing out 🙂 One of the mantras that I diligently follow is from the famous investor Warren Buffet

The basic ideas of investing are to look at stocks as business, use the market’s fluctuations to your advantage, and seek a margin of safety. That’s what Ben Graham taught us. A hundred years from now they will still be the cornerstones of investing.

When I was looking to invest in some more stocks, there was a company by name of Kushal Tradelink [KTL] that struck my attention. In fact, the strange factor is that this stock was recommended to me by some of my friends (who also invest in stock market). Let’s deep dive into why that stock can be a valued proposition & must to be in your portfolio.

Background

Kushal Tradelink is a closely held private limited company (headquartered in Ahmedabad) and is a major paper products manufacturer as well as paper and agriculture products trader. It was established in the year 2000, which means it is a company that has established it’s foothold in the segment in which they operate. The company has very good financials and a company that is built on strong fundamentals is good pick for your portfolio.

Along with business, they are also involved in lot’s of CSR activities which gives a human touch to business !!

Financials

The promoters of the company have been in business of paper trading since 1965. Kushal Tradelink recorded sales of Rs 200 crore in fiscal 2015, however we could not get information on the bottom-line.

They have contract with Shree Rama News prints & also entered into Rs 250 crore deal with the Adani Enterprise. To top that all, they also have a deal with Bungee India (Fortune 500 company) and serve more than 1500 SME customers across India. Company has three giant paper mills in Gujarat as well as corporate house, wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore and in Ajman [UAE].

Listing details & stock performance

Kushal Tradelink is listed on the BSE (in the B group) and as per my knowledge (and understanding of the market) it is candidate of S&P BSE 500 stocks. Before investing in any stock, we definitely have a look at the previous dividends that the company has offered and it’s performance in the market. Stock of Kushal Tradelink is trading actively with over 10 Lakh shares average daily volume, stock price has risen consistently and has never fall even Rs. 10 from its high price at any point of time.

Also, if you are planning to start investing with 50% amount and are waiting on the sideline which is the tendency of the other investors i.e. to wait for the price to come down so that you can latch on to the shares on lower price. In that case, my suggestion would be that do not wait for that moment since the growth of Kushal Tradelink’s stock is very good and the demand of this stock is much higher as compared to supply (fundamentals of Supply v/s Demand theory). It is like retail concept ‘Offer Valid till Stocks Last’ 🙂

The company has already declared interim dividend twice, 40% in January and 60% in March. For more information about it’s share holding pattern, please visit Kushal Tradelink on BSE To check the performance of Kushal Tradelink on BSE, please check this link The consistent performance definitely gives a big boost to the confidence of the retail investors to invest in Kushal Tradelink 🙂

Retail Investor interest

After interacting with couple of traders in the stock market, we got the information that there has been an increasing retail investor participation after December Quarter in Kushal Tradelink. 7991 retail investors have invested in Kushal Tradelink’s stock (after December Quarter) and after March quarter it rose to 20270 which shows increasing substantial public interest in the company’s stock.

[Image Source – MoneyControl]

As per the discussion I had with my stock-trader friends, they expect announcement of another dividend from Kushal Tradelink depending on their overall performance.

When I started investing in stock market, I was always told that company’s stock would definitely go-up if the fundamentals of the company are strong !! Same holds good for Kushal Tradelink and considering the excellent performance of the company it definitely falls into my “Hot performing stocks” bucket 🙂

As seen above The stocks are currently trading at Rs 127.60 (rise of 0.87% since previous close) and expect the bull-run to continue for Kushal Tradelink !!

So, do you plan to invest in Kushal Tradelink ? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Disclaimer: Information provided in the article is based on my research and I do not have any holding. Investment in stocks involves huge risk, so consult your financial adviser or do your own analysis before making any investment.