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|In: Entrepreneurship|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

When we talk about Real Estate Portals, there are very few [or should we say none of them] that focus on ‘Commercial Real Estate’. There are portals like CommonFloor, 99acres, Housing etc. that mostly target retail customers.

Today, we interact with Mr. Ajay Rakheja, Co-founder, CEO – creindia.com that aims to solve that problem. CREIndia is a commercial real estate platform that integrates the physical and technological world with the gel of research into it, making the outcome more meaningful and intelligent.

We have a chat with him about his startup, Commercial Real Estate Market, entrepreneurship etc. So let’s start of with the Q&A.

Can you give a small background about your startup and it’s founders

With decade of experience and expertise in commercial real estate enabled me to offer services to leading corporations, MNC’s, promising startups and high net-worth individuals. Some of the companies I have worked for Birla Sun life, ICICI bank, Anant Raj Developers, IL&FS & Colliers International.

Our co-founder team comes from commercial real estate industry itself. Their consolidated experience is more than 75 years, successfully executed more than 2000 commercial real estate deal of different nature and complexity

We are an informed integrated platform for commercial real estate with Online & Offline services. We founded creindia with the vision of creating a robust online commercial real estate landscape, where we wanted to simplify the search of commercial real estate and offer the business fraternity with a hassle-free process of locating their ideal property and maximizing reach to get best possible solutions

It is said that startups arise due to problems, is it same in your case ?

Yes, that holds true for us as well. As said, we all co-founders come from the commercial real estate background and have individually faced problem, creindia has thus been incepted as a solution to those problems.

What is the Total Addressable Market [TAM] of the ‘Renting/Leasing commercial property’ ?

Last 5 years of commercial market have recorded approx. 130 million sq.ft of office space leasing from key markets, whereas 15 Million sq.ft of leasing in retail spaces and 30 million sq.ft of leasing in warehousing spaces. These numbers are only from the recorded transaction whereas un-recorded numbers are much higher.

What are the various factors that your algorithm takes into account while keeping track of particular property’s valuation ?

Our process is the combination of algorithm and actual site visit by the team. The algorithm tracks various property characteristics and its detail whereas the site visit captures the market scenario and comparable of neighbourhood properties.

Valuation is done by combining both the aspects, that is property characteristic and market scenario which is further finalized by the approved private valuer or government valuer after going through the details.

Which are the cities where CREIndia is currently present ? [i.e. it tracks properties of how many cities ?]

We are currently showcasing properties from Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad, Lucknow and Chandigarh. Work in Progress has also been initiated at Kolkata and Jaipur.

Can your throw some light on funding, whether CREIndia is bootstrapped or seed-funded or angel-funded ?

We generated the Bootstrap fund traditionally by doing advisory services and sustain the model wherein we realized the next level of staffing and external advisor’s will have to empanelled and have some Seed fund on the table to structure and accelerate our growth and therefore  we went ahead took Seed fund  from HNI’s in September 2015.

What is your revenue model of CREIndia ?

We are an informed integrated platform for commercial real estate with online & offline services.  Property listing is absolutely free for landlords & brokers. However in case the landlord  or seeker wants to be facilitated by our offline services, our team does the same. Having said that in order to unlock complete property  details we do charge the seekers in two forms i.e. either  Subscription and /or  Individual property.

The revenue in current scenario is based on traditional formats for visibility and lead generation. Lately CRE Valuation has also been introduced to add another revenue stream to the existing traditional ones.

What is the kind of verification that gets done when some Retail/Office Space etc. is put for lease on CREIndia ?

Any property listed on CRE undergoes 3 levels of check before it goes live. Once the property is listed it goes under fist level of macro check by the Customer Relations team followed by  physical check  by the fleet on ground and finally the cycle ends with the Head of Verification department checking for content and other mandatory fields.

Can you share more information on CREBazaar ?

CREbazaar is an additional product feature with the idea of showcasing those properties which are under “best deal format”, “Discounts” or have some frills attached to them for both  sale and  lease offered by Owners/owners representatives.

We have experienced that with our ongoing aggregation strategy ,the BAZAAR will transform the way how the commercial real estate buyers & sellers used to traditionally behave. We have also observed that Delhi/NCR investors have been more interested towards the same kind of property.

How different is CREBazaar from the Real Estate Expo’s that happen in various cities ?

The very difference lies with the fact that its virtual exhibition, which is at the ease of seeker. And another difference is that the idea behind the CREbazaar to consolidate those “Best deal formats” at one place is something unique and never seen before.

It gives clients a complete informative way to confidently explore his options as per needs, budget and location. In a typical office or Retail scenario owners were never comfortable with the idea of deals and discounts on their assets and holdings but this approach & initiative from CRE has brought forward direct discounts from owners.

We believe that except for due diligence, this process has shortened the first level of negotiation and provided complete property details for an informed decision making.

Does CREIndia plan to provide End-To-End services [right from Estimating Valuation, Listing Property, Getting Buyers, Getting Legal Work done etc.] ?

We have a vision  beyond that. Our micro learning of our industry has given us some innovative thoughts of providing solutions at various levels.

Who are the potential competitors of CREIndia ?

Frankly, we don’t see any competitor as such. This is a complete fulfilment platform in making. There are many portals and apps which are attempting enter online real estate space but not much in commercial real estate except for large numbers now entering to co-working spaces.

What was the trigger point for you to become an entrepreneur ?

How do innovative ideas come into existence? They germinate when there’s a sense of restlessness that keeps prodding a person every day. They pluck you from your comfort zone, steady income, forthcoming promotions or promise to increase the bandwidth in a reputed organization & give you monotonous life and its style.

Probably that is not a common phenomena, I felt the same when the idea of  CREIndia sow into my head. It led me to leave my high performance and comfortable job from Colliers International, and my experience of 19 years in Commercial Real Estate, made me lay the foundation of CREIndia.

After quitting, me and my other co-founders came-up with a concrete, innovative and inevitably challenging business model of CREIndia. This project was incepted with the vision to spearhead revolution in the commercial real estate industry. They combined the challenges of real estate with the solution of the inability of the existing current online & offline models

Nowadays VC’s prefer to fund younger team(s), what is your take on it ?

There are two combinations that can really work out great together, either Ideation paired with experience or out of box thinking backed up by a great team. VC/PE’s of the world are now becoming more active on evaluating experience and execution capabilities.

What are your key advices to people who want to startup ?

Don’t be in hurry to be just an entrepreneur create sustainable and realistic revenue model, don’t simply rely on valuation and funding.

There is consolidation in Real-Estate sector, what is your take on the same since fund-raising was much easier in 2015 ?

We believe if consolidation is making any sense to the solution you were trying to give or M&A was the only strategy before you scale, than it is absolutely understood but if the same is just for the sake of valuation or in interest of investor’s sake, your purpose of existence gets defeated and then you drive the business for others.

Lately it has been seen and realized too much of spend on tech to influence and bring customer delight through social media which does not assure to give you a sale. The product is always hungry to actually attract clients to view and feel before it actually gets a conversion. So the flip side real estate conversion to sale will always have to be blend of offline and online.

We believe business through digitized way does need a scalable platform but with cautious and testing at all small steps. Revenue with start-ups are always on hits and misses and have to try out all possible options to get the ROI.

Fund raising has never been easy, investors always believe in the sustainability of business and have always been smart and calculative with their investments. Its just they have tried with many ideas and ventures, they have become more experienced with the industry and market move.

There has been a valuation bubble, what is your take on the same ?

We are not in a hurry and nor in this race. We believe in being clear with your product and know your customers by showing minimum tech and more of practical based services. Realistic revenue projections and sustainable model will eventually enhance  your valuation.

VC Funding or Bootstrapping ? Your thoughts on the same ?

Sustain with a bootstrapped venture for as long as you can and when you start feeling the need of extended resources because you are showing traces of tremendous growth get in there for the VC funding race.

How important for Entrepreneurs to have good mentors ?

For any successful venture, it is very important to have good mentors who can guide you with their experience . We are lucky to have good mentors around us.

Any parting advice from your side to the aspiring entrepreneurs ?

As they speed thrills but kills, so for all budding young entrepreneurs be cautious before speeding up your entrepreneurial ventures while all the others use your experiences to deliver and maintain high service standards thus justifying your role.

We are sure that you would have got some handy tips from the discussion we had with Mr. Ajay Rakheja of CREIndia. If you have any questions related to CREIndia or have any general query, please leave them in the comments section.

[Image Credit* – Metrorealtymagazine]

|In: Funding|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Zendrive, the mobile technology that makes roads safer through data and analytics, today announced it has raised a $13.5 million Series A round led by Series A round led by Shervin Pishevar of Sherpa Capital with participation from Nyca Partners, Thomvest Ventures [Peter J. Thomson] & existing investors First Round Capital, BMW iVentures, Fontinalis Partners [Bill Ford] and Tad Montross. The funding will drive the company’s focus on safety innovation as the world rapidly moves toward the future of transportation.

Pankaj Risbood, Co-Founder & VP-Engineering of Zendrive said

The transportation and logistics sectors in India are undergoing rapid growth and modernization. At the same time, road safety is becoming an increasing focus for regulators and communities [240,000 fatalities on the road in 2013]. Zendrive technology, by virtue of working on any smartphone, fits in very well with the requirements for a solution that is cheap, does not require hardware and can be rapidly deployed nationwide.

Through its product suite, Zendrive’s SDK technology taps mobile sensors to measure driver safety through actions like acceleration, braking, swerving, and phone use, among many others. Zendrive, founded by Google and Facebook veterans, is utilizing powerful artificial intelligence algorithms and hundreds of billions of data points to analyze sensor data and return actionable insights for fleets and drivers. Because it’s software-based, managing and scaling within any number of vehicles is simple and affordable, allowing for more flexibility than a hardware solution.

Shervin Pishevar, co-founder of Sherpa Capital said

Zendrive represents the natural evolution of safety for the next wave of transportation innovation. Stacked with mobile and data experts from Google and Facebook, this team has introduced the first significant driver and passenger safety innovation since air-bags.

Pankaj Risbood, Co-Founder & VP-Engineering of Zendrive added

Zendrive engineering team in India is building state of the art machine learning models to monitor driving behaviors and employing game mechanics to coach drivers to become safer. We are already working with hundreds of billions of sensor data points and growing very rapidly to extract actionable insights for making roads safer.

Zendrive’s technology can be used by a broad list of industries and products including on-demand services, commercial fleets, taxi aggregators, insurance, city planning, mapping, driving instruction, roadside assistance and more. Together, these industries span hundreds of millions of drivers worldwide. With its new investment, Zendrive plans to grow its team and continue honing its road safety technology. This round brings the company’s total investment up to $15 million.

About Zendrive

Zendrive is a company dedicated to making roads safer through data and analytics. It represents the next wave of safety innovation as the world rapidly moves toward the future of transportation that includes on-demand and autonomous vehicles. Through its product suite, Zendrive leverages mobile sensor data to provide actionable insights that improve safety for passengers and drivers. For more information, please visit Zendrive

[Image Credit* – Zendrive]

|In: e-commerce|Last Updated: | 2 Comments

Zappfresh, a fast growing online fresh meat brand focusing on delivering high quality ready to cook meat products has tied up with SRS Grocery, a Delhi based e-tailer having both, online and offline presence with over 100,000 plus customers. This tie-up will not only help Zappfresh to reach out to the customer base of SRS grocery but also give them access to newer markets.

Customers of SRS Grocery will now be able to choose from a wide range of over 40 high quality fresh non-vegetarian options including chicken, mutton, fish & pork and pre-cooked items like ham, sausages and salami. SRS’s already has a comprehensive online product catalogue of over 7500 SKU’s and reach in Gurgaon, Noida & Faridabad. This tie-up will enable them to enter into a new product category altogether. This service is currently available in Gurgaon and South Delhi and would shortly be available in other cities.

Zappfresh, founded by Shruti Gochhwal and Deepanshu Manchanda in 2015, is one of the fastest growing direct to consumer online fresh meat brand focusing on delivering high quality ready to cook meat products. Currently available in the Gurgaon and Delhi, Zappfresh is already delivering to over 10,000 happy customers in these two markets and aims to reach 30,000 customers by mid-2016.

Zappfresh currently delivers fresh meats, fish, pork, chicken, sea food and other non-vegetarian ready to eats. The company has also partnered with ‘ColdEX’, India’s number one cold chain logistic company for managing their supply chain inventory.

Commenting on the tie up, Shruti Gochhwal, co-founder, said

The meat business in India is growing at an impressive rate. The segment has grown at an average 18% CAGR across category. Chicken tops the list followed by fish and other meat products. The Poultry industry alone is a INR 40,000 crore market now. Even if we are able to scratch the surface of this market, we are talking about Zappfresh being in pole position. We have aggressive expansion plans and are looking at similar synergies in newer markets.

Deepanshu Manchanda, Co-founder, Zappfresh further added

We are very pleased on our association with SRS Grocery, as it aligns with our strategy of delivering high quality products to customers.  With this tie-up we look forward to further increasing our market share in the geographies we are currently present in and also get access to newer markets. Currently we are reaching out to over 30,000 unique customers a month and expect to double this number by the mid-2016.

Pratik Jindal, Managing Director of SRS e-Retail Ltd., said

Zappfresh has created its own niche in the meat space industry by providing neatly packaged and carefully inspected high quality meat products. With this association we want to leverage Zappfresh products and offer a convenient solution to consumers who want to shop for quality and hygienic meat products but are strapped for time.

Zappfresh had earlier raised INR 2 crore [$300,000] in angel round of funding from a couple of high profile investors in 2015.

About ZappFresh

Founded by Shruti Gochhwal and Deepanshu Manchanda in 2015, Zappfresh is one of the fastest growing direct to consumer online fresh meat brand focusing on delivering high quality fresh and ready to cook meat products. Currently available in the Gurgaon and Delhi, Zappfresh is already delivering to over 10,000 happy customers in these two markets and aims to reach 30,000 customers by mid-2016.  The company has already created local fulfillment centers in these markets and have partnered with several online and offline channels to further boost delivery. They have one central processing unit in Gurgaon and two delivery hubs in Delhi. The company has also partnered with ‘ColdEX’, India’s number one cold chain logistic company for managing their supply chain inventory.For more details, please refer Zappfresh

[Image Credit* – WorkAdvantage]

|In: e-commerce|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Shimply, one of India’s fastest growing, multi-­category online bazaar for Indian products has launched its mobile app. The app features a patent pending technology of Virtual Trial Room which gives you the freedom to see in advance how the products of your choice look on you, before you decide on one. These products have been sourced from different states of India & Shimply guarantees dual benefit of unmatched selection of products and value for money.

The virtual trial room by Shimply.com addresses the common problem that every woman faces while shopping online – trying on the product. With this feature, Shimply.com will make online shopping experience as close to physical shopping.

This technology makes use of the camera on the customer’s phone to click their picture and then place a product on it to see how it will look. With the app, customers can try on multiple products, virtually; the product can be dragged to any part on top of the picture with hand gestures and touch features. The product and base picture [of customer] can be resized to generate a parallax and 3D effect that allows the customer to see the product in a way as if customer is actually wearing it.

Another amazing quality of this technology is that the customers can actually try home decors [like paintings/furniture, etc.] virtually to see how it looks on their wall/room. This ground breaking technology can also be used in shopping malls to let customers try on various dresses, without actually going to a trial room.

The patent pending technology aids the users to click their picture and try the products on the app without saving the picture on the phone. Also, it saves the customers from the peeping tom problem.

Rajat Garg, Founder and CEO of Shimply.com said

In e-tailing categories like apparel, accessories, and furniture, consumers want to touch, feel and try before buying. Not only the consumers’ hesitation about the look of clothing or an accessory, disappears with our app, it also helps them try unique products which represent the Indian diversity and culture. This is the reason why we encourage people by saying ‘India ko try kar ke dekho’.

Features of Shimply.com App

Virtual Trial Room – With this feature, Shimply.com’s app will not only come home to deliver your product, but also give you the freedom to see in advance how the outfits of your choice look on you, before you decide on one. We are bridging the gap between online and offline through its virtual trial room technology and is enabling users to try India in the online world.

Huge Selection – Choose from an exhaustive collection of 1.7 crore products. You can shop for Sarees, Jewellery, Salwar kameez, Bridal Suits, Kurtis, Men Apparel, Bollywood Actress Dresses etc. Shimply.com online shopping app will also provide you with huge discounts on ethnic wear, jewellery, beauty & personal care, ayurveda, books and more.

Authentic products, fast shipping – We take pride in having hand-picked sellers who have certificates like pure silk mark, hand-loom mark, GI certification etc to make sure that you are getting the best of the products. These products are sourced from different parts of India and reflect India’s diversity & culture.

Shimply app can be downloaded from the Google Play store from here

[Image Credit* – Shimply]

|In: startups|Last Updated: | 1 Comment

Delhi-based commercial real estate portal Creindia has launched an online commercial property fest CREBazaar on the 30th January. Being hosted on the site till 2nd February, this four day fest is showcasing more than 500 commercial properties in Delhi-NCR with limited period deals. Further addition of properties will be kept on adding during the event days.Projects being offered are nearing possession and include sale, lease and pre-leased options.

Ajay Rakheja, CEO & Co-Founder, Creindia said

Our USP of the event lies with our plan to showcase only ready to move-in or 70% completed commercial properties, with the added advantage of attractive discounts for limited time period

Commercial real estate market in India has in recent times opened up avenues for retail investors to enter and benefit from the higher yields than those offered by other asset classes such as residential. With smaller floor plates [10,000 sq.ft. or lower] now being offered in markets like Delhi NCR, it is easier for potential investors as well as smaller companies to take up office or retail space.

Increasing consolidation among corporates as well as the growth of new sectors such as e-commerce are fueling the demand for commercial real estate. Against this backdrop, technology intensive tools that are built around information gathered from the field are reducing the lead time for transactions.

Creindia offers a decision tool that is being used by corporates, start-ups, developers, consultants and investors to gain access to on-ground information about selected micro-markets. The listings on the site are all verified by a team of experts and the details being presented are up to date with the current status of each property.

Ajay Rakheja, CEO & Co-Founder, Creindia further added

Through the CREBazaar four day showcase, interested buyers and investors are being offered a selection of the best deals in the Delhi NCR commercial real estate landscape. This is the best time to invest in commercial real estate and we have seen increasing interest from all sections of the market for the products on offer.

The ‘CREBazaar pre-registration’ that we opened 15 days ago saw more than five lakh visitors, The reach of this event is spread and targeted to HNI, NRI , Startups , SME, Brokers, Developers , landlords and Fraternity members.

The site currently showcases more than 15,000 listings of properties in and around Delhi NCR , Chandigarh and Lucknow. The products on offer include offices, high street retail options, IT/ITeS buildings and will soon be expanded to include warehouses, malls, industrial spaces, standalone buildings, built-to-suit options and other commercial real estate offerings in Delhi NCR and beyond.

CREindia was awarded ‘Emerging Commercial Real Estate Portal Award’ at India International Property Awards 2015 in September.

About Creindia

CREIndia is India’s fastest growing marketplace for the commercial real estate fraternity, integrating innovative technology, inventory data bank and research on macro and micro markets to offer the best real estate solutions. CREIndia aims to break traditional ways of searching an office or retail space cross cities in India. For more information, please visit Credindia

[Image Credit* – Creindia]

|In: Funding|Last Updated: | 1 Comment

SnapBizz, a retail-technology firm, has raised $7.2 million led by Jungle Ventures, Taurus Value creation, Konly Venture and Blume Ventures. The funds raised will be used to continue the firm’s rapid growth and spur market expansion across key cities. The company had earlier received a seed fund of $1.7 million from Qualcomm, Jungle Ventures, National Research Foundation of Singapore, Taurus Value creation and Blume Ventures

SnapBizz is already transforming thousands of traditional retail outlets in Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad via a technology solution addressing the key business challenges faced by them. SnapBizz also connects and provides immense value to all stakeholders of the fragmented retail ecosystem of India.

The cost-effective, end-to-end solution is an Android-based, cloud-connected business platform. The solution comprises a tablet, barcode scanner, printer and an intelligent consumer-facing LED display for consumer engagement.

Prem Kumar, Founder and CEO, SnapBizz said

We are thrilled that all ecosystem players have shown confidence in our solution and that our existing investors have reiterated their support to us. Large retail and online players account for only 10-15% of any brand’s business. The remaining 90% happens through traditional trade and there is zero or minimal last mile connectivity between brands, consumers and retailers. We are on a mission to address this big gap while addressing the pain points of the kirana stores.

David Gowdey, Managing Partner, Jungle Ventures said

We are convinced with the SnapBizz business model, which brings a tailored technology solution to kirana stores and believe that it will play a large role in India’s retail growth story. Prem and team have a rich and diverse experience across multiple markets and verticals that has led to their impressive growth over a short span of time.  We are confident that this momentum will continue as more kirana stores look to leverage technology to improve their business.

SnapBizz empowers retailers by delivering a competitive edge through leveraging their strengths to achieve improved profitability. SnapBizz also drives digital inclusion of a large part of the economy and provides the much needed last mile connect in keeping with the national agenda of Digital India.

Chirantan Bhabhra, Director- Brands Engagement, SnapBizz added

SnapBizz is bringing in more money to kirana stores through partnership with FMCG companies. Brands, large and small, find SnapBizz a must-be-on platform. They can now contextually engage consumers in and out of stores, track promotions efficiently, analyse their business like never before and connect directly with kirana retailers.

Prem Kumar, Founder and CEO, SnapBizz added

Kirana stores have been the face of India’s retail ecosystem for ages. The last few years witnessed the entry of large players in the form of supermarkets, hypermarkets and e-commerce posing a huge threat to kirana stores’ business. Despite stiff competition, kirana stores are still considered as the most trusted retail format in our country.

They have unique strengths like trust, convenience, flexibility and competitive pricing which make them highly relevant. SnapBizz helps kirana stores leverage these strengths to get a competitive edge. In line with the changing business environment and consumer expectations, kirana stores have realized the need to transform the business through advanced technology solutions

About SnapBizz

SnapBizz Cloudtech Pvt Ltd is a retail-technology company founded in 2013 to transform the small scale retail sector in the country. To reverse marginalization of SMB’s and drive digital inclusion in the large consumer goods industry, it has developed a technology platform to connect all stakeholders of the fragmented retail ecosystem of India, while adding value to individual stakeholders.

The end-to-end solution it offers is an android based, cloud-connected business platform that is also cost-effective. The solution comprises of tablet, barcode scanner, printer and an intelligent external large consumer facing LED display for consumer engagement. SnapBizz is backed by leading investors and strategic partners who are captains of industry and bring in an innovation funnel of cutting edge technology.

|In: Funding|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

CREO, a Bangalore based fast-growing consumer Technology Company, has secured $3 Million funding from Sequoia India, Beenext Ventures & India Quotient. The home-grown tech startup will join the exclusive niche of global companies that produce smartphones by developing both, a proprietary software OS and the smartphone itself.

On the inception of the startup, Sai Srinivas, Co-Founder & CEO, CREO, said

The idea of building an Android based Operating System for a Smartphone stemmed from the realization that in the current market, while hardware is getting better very fast, there is not enough differentiation on the software front. We want to be the ones bridging that gap.

CREO will invest the funds in building an enriching and evolving software experience through their proprietary Android based Operating System and a flagship Smartphone to be launched later in the year.

Commenting on the round, Sai Srinivas, Co-Founder & CEO, CREO said

We believe when powerful hardware works hand-in-hand with continually evolving software, magical experiences can be created. Our team is gearing up to make an operating system and a smartphone that constantly evolves to give you new experiences every month; experiences that were never heard of on any smartphone. In the long run, we also plan to license our OS to other OEMs in India and worldwide.

Formerly known as Mango Man Consumer Electronics Pvt. Ltd, CREO’s first product offering was Teewe – an HDMI media streaming device that was launched in September 2014. With Teewe 2, launched in May 2015, Teewe has established itself in over 50,000 households across India.

About CREO

CREO is a Bangalore based Consumer Technology Company, on a mission to build software that empowers every device, to deliver new experiences every month. CREO delivers its core promise of a new experience every month, by building features which stem from ideas and suggestions given by its community of users and makers. Formerly known as Mango Man Consumer Electronics Pvt. Ltd., CREO’s first product offering was Teewe – an HDMI media streaming device.

|In: startups|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

The Young Entrepreneurs Academy, Inc. [YEA!] with Incredible Ideas Ltd has announced the launch of its first two Academy centers that will launch this August in Mumbai and Delhi. The Young Entrepreneurs Academy celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit of India’s youth by teaching students ages 11-18 how to launch their own, real companies.

The YEA! class will launch in Mumbai at the American School of Bombay and at the Shri Ram School in Delhi, 2 premier education institutes in India. Each YEA! class is designed for 30 students between the ages of 11 and 18 to participate in a 25-week after-school entrepreneurship program to generate business ideas, conduct market research, write business plans and pitch to a panel of investors for startup funding. By the end of class, students launch their own, real companies.

The Young Entrepreneurs Academy is proud to announce the launch of the Mumbai and Delhi centers as Prime Minster Narendra Modi announces ‘Start-Up Action Plan for India’ and ‘Start-up India’ an initiative that celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit of India’s youth.

Namita Thapar, founder of Incredible Ideas Ltd and Chief Financial Officer & Executive Board member of Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Ltd has partnered with YEA! to bring this program to India. Being a Chartered Accountant and MBA from Duke University, she is passionate about the field of education and hopes to scale this program Pan India in the coming years.

Students will get an opportunity to hear as well as get inspired by several celebrity guest speakers. The list comprises of entrepreneurs from some of the top industrial houses in India as well as some of the larger e-commerce start-ups. In addition, students will take behind the scenes, fun-filled trips to India’s most successful businesses. They will work with mentors from top consulting and venture capital funds in India.

Finally, they will participate in a ‘Shark Tank’ style Investor Panel, where they will present their business ideas to a panel of India’s most successful business leaders for the opportunity to secure real funding to launch their businesses.

One YEA! India student will be named the YEA! Saunders Scholars National Winner and qualify to speak at a national event in Washington, DC. Quikr, Luxor and Cello, 3 reputed companies founded by Indian entrepreneurs, are the national sponsors of this program. Incredible Ideas in India is the first overseas organization to license YEA!.

YEA! was founded in 2004 at the University of Rochester, New York with support from the Kauffman Foundation. YEA! classes are currently available in more than 103 centers across 39 states in the U.S.A. To date, more than 4,000 YEA! students have launched over 3,000 real businesses.

YEA! alumni include 15-year-old Rachel Zietz, CEO of Gladiator Lacrosse who was featured in The New York Times and Entrepreneur.com for her business success as the number one re-seller of lacrosse re-bounders on Amazon. Zietz is now a contender on season seven of ABC’s hit show, Shark Tank.

YEA! is sponsored by the United States Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Sam’s Club and supported by other companies including Toshiba, American Express, General Motors, Coca Cola, FedEx, Kodak and Microsoft.

To learn more about YEA! visit YEA USA and YEA india