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|In: startups|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

WizIQ, one of the world’s largest online education platforms, recently added another feather to its cap after being ranked amongst top five cloud-based LMS apps in the world in the recently released GetRank Q3 report for 2015. The report, which compared nearly 600 LMS apps worldwide, scored each app on five criteria, worth 20 points each, for a total possible score of 100: User Reviews, Integrations, Mobile Apps, Media Presence, and Security. WizIQ scored high in three prominent categories – Integration, Mobile and Media.

GetRank is GetApp’s quarterly ranking of the top 25 Learning Management System [LMS] apps based in the cloud. GetApp is a part of the Nubera network, which is an ecosystem of business app and software discovery platforms that operates under the aegis of US-based marketing research and advisory giant Gartner, Inc.

Harman Singh, founder and CEO of WizIQ said

The WizIQ Learning Management System is the only fully-integrated, cloud-based social learning platform available in the industry right now. WizIQ’s LMS provides educators with a comprehensive, hassle-free platform aligned with the latest best practices in online learning, making it the next-generation of LMS.

In addition to the latest accomplishment, WizIQ has been also been felicitated with several other noteworthy awards in recognition of its stellar contribution to the e-learning space. WizIQ has also been named Best Online Education Platform Technology Provider for its Online Academy Builder at the World Education Summit 2015, Best Virtual Classroom Provider at the World Education Congress 2015, Virtual Classroom Provider at the South East Asia Education Summit 2015, 2013 Shiksha Ratna Award for “Best Virtual Classroom”, the Public Choice Award for “Best Innovation in Open and Distance Learning” at the 2011 World Education Awards, and the “Best Education Webinar Series” Jury Award at the 2012 Indian Education Congress.

About WizIQ

Founded in 2007, WizIQ is one of the world’s largest cloud based education platforms. Over 400,000 educators have leveraged WizIQ to deliver learning services to 4 Million+ learners across 200 countries. WizIQ’s award winning Virtual Classroom solution that enables online delivery of live instructor-led learning, has received acclaim from education service providers from around the world.

The WizIQ Online Academy Builder represents an evolutionary leap in education technology by empowering education service providers to set up their own customized academies within minutes. Online Academy Builder is designed to increase learner engagement through cutting-edge features, such as mobile learning, video streaming, live online classroom, discussion boards, assessments, insights and analytics. The in-built e-commerce capability enables them to monetize their services and rapidly expand their reach to newer markets.

WizIQ is backed by Bertelsmann SE & Co., which runs Random House and Kaizen, a private equity fund focused on the education sector. For more information, please visit WizIQ

[Image Credit* – TeachThought]

|In: Incubators|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Target India hosted a Demo Day for the third batch of start-ups graduating from the Accelerator Program. The five start-ups, Find Me A Shoe, TimeFlex, BugClipper, Discover Dollar & House of Blue Beans showcased transformative ideas developed during the four-month immersive program.

Navneet Kapoor, president and managing director, Target India said

Being the first mover in this space in India, this initiative has provided us a unique opportunity to work with some of the best entrepreneurs, who have the potential to solve global retail problems. We have already worked with 15 start-ups over three batches and it has been tremendously exciting and satisfying to see start-ups mature their product journeys through this engagement, while helping Target accelerate its innovation journey. We are committed to growing the scope of this initiative and will continue to nurture path-breaking ideas that hold the potential to disrupt the retail industry.

Many of the start-ups, who have graduated from this program, have continued to work with Target beyond the program. For example, Whodat Spaces continues to offer virtual reality guest experiences & Visarity helped us with digital marketing solutions over the last few months. Future engagement opportunities with the current batch are being evaluated.

Strengthening innovation capabilities within the organization, the third batch also provided three internal Target teams a platform to work alongside the five external start-ups. These teams will grow and implement their ideas at Target.

The third batch focused on themes like Merchandising, Digital Marketing, Omni-channel, Mobile, Supply Chain & Analytics Technology, along with areas like Finance and DevOps that are core to retail technology. The five start-ups which presented at today’s Demo Day were:

Along with the graduation of its third batch of start-ups, Target is also excited to announce a partnership with GOQii, a wearable technology start-up. With a focus on wellness, Target is undertaking various initiatives to promote team member well-being. Making healthy living easier and more fun, every team member in India will be given a GOQii device to help track their well-being goals. This is one of the largest corporate wellness group purchases of GOQii devices to date.

Target is now accepting applications for the fourth batch of the Accelerator Program. You can apply for the same here. Scheduled to commence early next year, the four-month initiative will be run out of a specially designed, energetic and creative hub at Target India’s office in Manyata Tech Park, Bengaluru

[Image Credit* – ExcellMktg]

|In: Funding|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

AHA Taxis [a division of WAAH Taxis Pvt Ltd], India’s leading online aggregator for outstation travel has raised an undisclosed round of angel funding from ah! Ventures, a startup focused growth catalyst bridging ideas and money. The deal was solely advised and syndicated by ah! Ventures and led to closure on its private equity investment platform, CLUBah.com

AHA Taxis was founded in April 2015 by Amit Grover [ex-Infosys, Asian Paints, Onida, IIT-IIM alumnus], along with Praveen Samariya [ex-Times Internet, IIT alumnus], Kunal Krishna [ex-Headstrong, Copper Mobile], Kumar Arayan [ex-Swiggy, Askmebazar, NIIT] & Shivam Mishra [ex-Crazzy, college dropout]. The team complements each other on several fronts of technology, operations and marketing, all of which are critical to success in the outstation taxi sector in India. Additionally, AHA Taxis has roped in marquee advisers including Puneet Gupt of Times Internet and Vikas Taneja of Games247

AHATaxis

AHA Taxis helps travellers save cost on outstation travel by charging only for actual kilometers travelled. Traditionally in Indian road travel, the taxi owners charge a return fare from customers even for one way trips, as they are not assured of passengers on return journey. AHA Taxis provides service in 100+ cities currently and is expanding to another 100 cities by mid-2016. Customers can book an AHA Taxi by going on the website as well as mobile app available on Android Playstore.

Amit Grover, Founder, AHA Taxis, explains

Very few of the present cab providers offer intercity ride, “AHA” being one of them. Having said that, the primary problem with a regular cab is that you get charged for the return trip too.  Here, “AHA Taxis” takes the lead by providing you the taxi and charging you only for the actual kilometers travelled. We are aggregating demand and supply using website and mobile app to make it a win-win situation for all stakeholders – taxi owners, customers, society and environment.

 AHA Taxis has served outstation trips across 100+ cities for thousands of happy customers. AHA acts as an online bridge between drivers and customers offering significant value addition – it charges the customers for only one way trips rather than double fare for pick and drops. The drivers get a matching customer for their journeys instead of going empty, which enables them to earn more without extra investment.

Amit Grover further elucidated

Taxi sector has been developing by leaps and bounds in India, with OLA and Uber serving local travel, we felt that there is a gap in outstation travel which needs to be addressed by using technology and marketing. Our brand promise is to make taxis affordable, easily available and focus on customer safety – something none of the past and present players have been able to solve simultaneously at scale. After last few months of discovering our product market fit, we felt the need for investments to grow and ah! Ventures has come in at the right time to support us in this venture.

This deal was concluded through ah! Ventures’ private equity investment platform, CLUB ah!. CLUB ah! is India’s first full-spectrum startup investment network and platform comprising of over 550+ investors, including some of the renowned angels and early-stage VCs.

CLUB ah! platform today has over 5000+ startups, 475+ seed/angel investors and over 75 VCs & institutional investors, making it one of the largest platform of investors and startups. The network also recently secured its first profitable exit from Ed-tech venture Harness Handitouch within 2 years of its investment. CLUB ah! has till date invested close to INR 60 Cr in over 20 startups spread across varied industries and domains, including AHA Taxis.

AHA Taxis plans to use the funds raised by investing equally in technology, marketing and operations. Having an asset light model, the company can efficiently scale up capabilities on consumer and vendor support side. Currently the company is clocking almost 100% MOM growth on all metrics, and with angel investors backing, aim to achieve 10x growth within a year. The company plans to expand to newer geographies, with a focus on tier 2/3 towns, and start coverage of non-tourism sector beyond usual routes like Delhi to Jaipur, Agra, Haridwar and Chandigarh. AHA Taxis intelligent technology coupled with human acumen will help the company cater to the long tail of the consumer demand. In long term, AHA Taxis’ vision is to provide an alternate to Indian Railways!

Giving an investors’ perspective, Harshad Lahoti, Founder & CEO of ah! Ventures, said

Taxi aggregators typically don’t own any cabs or employ drivers; they connect customers with drivers through a tech platform, the front-end for the customer being an app. This is the same asset-light model that AHA Taxis has implemented. Besides, big money is making its way into this sector.

According to the Association of Radio Taxi India, the taxi business in the country is growing at 20-25 per cent a year. The organised taxi sector accounts for just four to five per cent of the industry and totals $800 million. By 2020, it is expected to grow almost 10 times to $7 billion. Revenues for taxi service providers are expected to grow at a CAGR of about 25% during 2014-19. Also, over the last decade, the consumer base in India is moving from a price sensitive mind-set to a convenience-first mind-set fuelling further demand for such services.

Our Investment in AHA Taxis is at the opportune time as we believe strongly in the potential of the business in India. They are already clocking 100% MOM growth on all metrics. As such, we are extremely confident of the team led by Amit and had no second thoughts on wanting to be early investors in AHA Taxis. We are positive of their service offering & technology and also of their ability to create significant shareholder value.

AHA Taxis is ah! Ventures’ second investment in this month. Earlier this month ah! Ventures invested USD 250K in an online game-based engagement learning startup Shirsa Labs. Besides they recently closed two back to back investments of over 1M USD each in Origa Leasing and Ewya Media.

ah! Ventures is in the process of closing 2 more deals in the coming weeks

About AHA Taxis

AHA Taxis [a division of WAAH Taxis Pvt Ltd] is India’s leading online aggregator for outstation travel. They offer online taxi booking to customers for one way fares, return journeys and multi city booking. Their vision is to give freedom of choice to their customers worldwide for traveling safely where they wish to while saving costs and at the same time benefit the taxi drivers with increased profits.

[Image Credit* – AHA Taxis]

|In: Funding|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Goodbox, a conversational-commerce mobile app has raised $2.5 million from Nexus Venture Partners. Goodbox allows businesses to create a commerce-ready store within minutes that provides seamless discovery, ordering and payment. Consumers can buy from their trusted stores across multiple categories without having to download multiple apps.

The company had earlier raised seed funding from the Manipal Group, Aprameya Radhakrishna [co-founder, TaxiForSure] and Charan Padmaraju [co founder, redBus].The current funds will be used for merchant acquisition & building the team.

Goodbox allows businesses to create a store on the Goodbox app that resembles the physical environment where the merchant can chat with their customers, upload their product/services catalog for search and discovery, take orders, accept payments and get logistics support. Most customers and merchants already use generic messaging apps to place an order over a message. Goodbox significantly improves the customer experience by integrating e-commerce capabilities with messaging and with time saving features for quick or repeat orders. Customers can buy from and pay their trusted businesses through one window and reduce app fatigue of having to download multiple apps for multiple things.

Goodbox is operational in Bangalore with over 1200 merchants already signed up, including supermarkets, restaurants, laundry chains, rental providers, movers & packers, canteens, salons and thali services. The company’s mission is to get every business to create their store on the app and make that their primary way to interact with consumers.

Sandeep Singhal, Co-founder & MD, Nexus Venture Partners says

Goodbox is empowering businesses by getting them online and helping them engage with their customers. We are excited about partnering with a team that has great product thinking and proven operational strengths.

Abey Zachariah, Co-founder & CEO, Goodbox said

At Goodbox, we are committed to enabling businesses with technology by giving them a ready store on our app in a matter of minutes. We wanted to partner with someone who believes in our vision and is willing to support us in accomplishing the gargantuan mission we’ve set for ourselves. We found such synergy of thought with Nexus Venture Partners. The funds will be earmarked for our expansion in the coming months.

Goodbox has been co-founded by Abey Zachariah [ex-redBus core team], Anand Kelaginamani [IIM-B], Charan Raj [ex-Accenture), Mahesh Herle [ex-National Instruments], Mayank Bidawatka [ex-redBus core team& co-founder The Media Ant], Mohit Maheshwari [IIM-B] and Nithin Chandra [NIT-K & IIM-B].

About Goodbox

Goodbox gives an app presence to businesses. It enables a business to create a storefront on the Goodbox app. Businesses want to adopt new technologies such as being on app, having a storefront and being able to interact with their consumers real-time. However, creating or maintaining an app is a very costly and complex affair. Goodbox enables SME businesses with an app presence within 5 minutes at an unbelievably low price, along with a payment gateway. Businesses can host their menu on the app and create their business profile as well. Every business can now be on the Goodbox app and start conducting commerce with their consumers. Goodbox app for Android can be downloaded from here

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

From exclusive mobiles to laptops, apparels to toys; every category of item is available online. Discounts, Cash back and Easy Buy & return policy is driving the growth of e-commerce in India. Not to forget, exclusive tie-ups that brands have with e-tail companies which becomes a unique proposition of the e-commerce company.

However, when we think about e-commerce, only B2C companies like Flikpart, Snapdeal, Paytm, Amazon etc. comes to mind. Either you have Horizontal Players [as mentioned above] or Pure play vertical players like FirstCry, BabyOye etc. that cater to the ever expanding B2C segment.

Just imagine this random scenario – You as a Business owner want to buy a particular product in bulk but via the online route ? The options that come to your mind are very less & the resistance shown would be enormous since the capital required to buy in bulk would also be more !!! In a nutshell, in order to buy in bulk; you require higher capital, greater risk appetite & need to have faith on the seller/re-seller and the distribution model.

A typical B2B distribution model can encompass as many as half a dozen channels – distributors, resellers, retailers, in-house sales, dedicated agents and representatives, and independent agents. And, in many cases, can have as many layers – the publisher or manufacturer may distribute to a bevy of national and international distributors, who supply regional distributors, who provide product to independent sales agents, who service accounts that may have their own distribution systems to service the end buyer [Source – DigitalRiver]

However in the year 2014, IndiaMart – the undisputed leader in the B2B segment came up with the idea of Tolexo to solve this important problem for businesses. Tolexo is India’s online store for Business & Industry. It has the largest collection of products for offices, factories & businesses.

Tolexo is an IndiaMART Intermesh Ltd subsidiary that aims to leverage it’s expertise in the B2B segment by connecting buyers with sellers and providing supplementary services like Marketing, Brand Building, Product Fulfillment, Shipment etc.

Tolexo : Products Catalogue

Tolexo is the ultimate destination for Business Goods & Supplies, which transforms the way businesses buy these products. It offers consumer shopping experience for the largest collection of products needed by businesses, factories, offices and laboratories.

Tolexo has already served customers from more than 800 cities & towns across India. In order to maintain high level of customer satisfaction, Tolexo has rightly invested into it’s back-end infrastructure which has ensured friction-less e-commerce 🙂 E-commerce eco-system comprises of Buyers, Sellers [Merchants] & Products. Tolexo has more than 10,00,000+ essential products for business and industry, with more than 5000 sellers & 7500 brands.

Tolexo also provides Last-Mile delivery to it’s esteemed customers and has a very friendly ‘Cancellation & Refund Policy’.

Some of the prime categories on Tolexo are listed below:

[Source* – Tolexo]

Tolexo : Product Fulfillment

When we purchase any product online, one thing which we are concerned about is the timely product delivery. As mentioned above, risk becomes much higher in the B2B segment. Tolexo not only bridges the gap between the Buyer [Business Owner] & Seller [Merchant on Tolexo] but also provides supports to the merchant via Packaging, Logistics  etc. which play an important role in customer retention [apart from quality product :)].

To achieve this, Tolexo does inspections, ensures quality packaging and it has partnered with most of the top courier and logistics partners and communicates shipping status to customer at each stage of shipment. It’s logistic partners are FedEx, Gati, Blue Dart and Delhivery.

When me & my wife started selling Home-Made chocolates online, we gave prime importance to product packaging since that plays a crucial role in the product life-cycle.

Tolexo : Customer Service

Like other e-commerce companies, once the order has been placed customer can track of the product online as the updated status of shipment at its each stage from order is placed to processes to ready to ship to dispatch to deliver.

Tolexo_Customers

For this review, we called up Tolexo Helpline Number – 91 8282 8282 82 & the response was immediate. We asked them queries about certain factory products and posed questions about bulk-buying etc. The customer-care department did not disappoint us 🙂 Similar queries were sent to Tolexo Customer Support email which were answered in less than 24 hours.

Tolexo : Cancellations & Refund

At numerous times, we place an order for a product but plan to return the product due to some un-solicited reason. This is where the “Cancellation & Refund Policy” plays a very important role in ‘Customer Retention’. As per Tolexo’s Cancellation & Refund policy, it guarantees 100% MoneyBack if the issue not resolved in maximum 30 days via same mode.

Tolexo allows return of products for 3 days from delivery in all the following cases:

  • Product is used/worn or altered
  • Physical damage to the box or to the product
  • If sealed package of branded products is open
  • The packet was empty / some item or accessory was missing
  • The product was defective,
  • Significantly different from the description given by the merchant [wrong size, colour, quality or material related issues]
  • You changed your mind due to any other reason

Customer Testimonials section does indicate that they consider Customer Service, Last Mile Deliveries, Ease in Refund etc. core to their business !!

Tolexo : Design, Interface

Tolexo website has an simple & intuitive design. Searching for products across any category was very easy & we did not encounter any issue. The page-load time was also very less. It is also available on Play Store that ensures that it does not loose it’s customers and they can buy products in bulk even when they are on the go 🙂

The entire buying process was seamless which was a delight for us. They have a rigorous merchant selection process which ensures that they have the best merchants on their platform.

Closing Thoughts

Our overall experience on Tolexo was good. As mentioned by Sahil Barua, co-founder, Delhivery in this interview “B2B is an entire different ball-game and requires Logistics expertise”. Considering that the big-daddy of e-commerce – Amazon also ventured into B2B segment via AmazonBusiness [Source], Tolexo needs to pull up it’s sleeves & fill in the gaps where-ever required 🙂

If you are a business owner & have used Tolexo, please share them in the comments section !!

|In: startups|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Helpchat, the chat-based personal assistant app that helps you get more things done has started an unqiue campaign this Diwali. People have wardrobes filled with a multitude of clothing. A lot of which they would like to donate to those who don’t necessarily have the same privileges. But here is where the challenge lies for many, as people these days either don’t have the time or the knowledge of where they can make their respective contributions.

Helpchat is organising a clothing donation drive with its social media campaign #DiwaliDilSe. Helpchat users in Bengaluru can conveniently donate their old clothes and belongings this festive season by just clicking a picture of their old clothes and posting it to social media using #DiwaliDilSe.

Speaking on #DiwaliDilSe, Kali Charan Shukla, Vice President – Marketing, Helpchat

During Diwali, many people want to donate items to the less fortunate. However, they seldom have the time or the knowledge regarding the best way to go about this. As the perfect personal assistant, Helpchat is enabling its users to illuminate other lives this Diwali by facilitating the process of donating clothes. Users have to simply register a request online and Helpchat will organize a door-step pick-up at a pre-designated time!

Led by the online medium, Helpchat will invite its users to register for the clothing donation drive through social platforms & emails. Users simply have to provide their contact details and Helpchat will do the rest. Creating a positive impact in others lives’ was never easier!

About Helpchat

Helpchat [earlier called Akosha] launched it’s personal assistant chat app in January 2015 and raised Rs. 100 crores from Sequoia Capital in June 2015. It recently opened a Bangalore office to add more engineers and product people to its team. Be it anything, from recharging your phone to tech support, from travel booking to holiday guidance, from grocery to food ordering, from shopping assistance to finding deals & coupons, from finding gifts to suggesting the best electronic item, from doing a web check-in to getting your laundry done – Helpchat can get all of them done for you.

|In: Entrepreneurship|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Each one of us wants to make our loved ones feel special 🙂 So what comes to our mind – Gifting, Holiday, Partying etc. But what if someone could make that “Special Day” or occasion unique & memorable!! This is where Oye Happy can come to your rescue.

Oye Happy is a startup that provides a unique platform for making special occasions memorable through gifts, experiences or even simple wishes of the day.

We caught up with Varun Todi & Harshvardhan Khemani, Co-Founders of Oye Happy who shared their thoughts on Oye Happy, Startup mantras & Entrepreneurship.

Note : “I” in the conversation refers to Varun Todi.

Can you give a small background about your start-up and it’s founders?

I worked as a copywriter and creative consultant for several advertising agencies and Harsh was a strategy and operational efficiency consultant at KPMG before Oye Happy.  We are cousins.

Oye Happy was started as a passion project by us in 2009 while we continued working in our respective fields. It wasn’t till 2014 that it evolved from a fun project to a serious business. We launched our e-commerce portal last year and soon grew into a team of 12 delivering surprises across the country.

Every idea is born out of a problem, what was the trigger of starting Oye Happy?

Harsh and I have always been great at making special occasions extra special for our loved ones. A friend once requested us to surprise her boyfriend at the airport as he was flying in from the US. We actually held a mock swayamvar to welcome him! We had a blast getting it together and they couldn’t have been happier. This led to a whole bunch of similar requests coming our way from friends and friends of friends who wanted to pay us.

It didn’t take us long to realise that the Indian customer had evolved. People don’t spend enough time with their loved ones so the time that they do spend together, especially on special occasions, matters a lot. Buying a gift is a form of expression and people look for emotional connect in the gifts they get.

We noticed that unique experiences were valued much more highly than traditional gifts and various studies backed up our observation. People chose to create memories rather than invest in expensive material presents. Our surprises helped in building that connect in a way flowers and cakes simply couldn’t.

How did your team come up with the name Oye Happy?

We considered a lot of names at first. We wanted it to be bigger than gifts or even surprises because, as we like to believe, what we’re ultimately delivering is happiness. Harsh came up with “Oye Happy” and I thought it was perfect.

What are some of the unique services offered by Oye Happy?

At the moment we have two distinct products – our gifts and our experiences. These gifts are unique ideas conceptualised by our in-house product development team. We then create them ourselves and have it mass manufactured by external vendors or tie-up with professionals who handle end-to-end making of them. Experiences too are similarly conceptualised and executed.

This essentially makes the majority of our products unavailable elsewhere. Our customers are usually more than impressed with what have to offer considering they have never encountered similar services especially in India. You can treat your loved one to a play date with puppies, get a pani-puri stall set up at a chaat lover’s doorstep and do so much more beyond the usual cakes and flowers through us.

Which are the cities where Oye Happy is currently operational?

We have delivered our gifts to more than 50 cities and towns since our launch. Our immediate plan is to have a physical presence in every metro to start offering the experiences as well since we have already gotten queries from across the country, including smaller towns for them.

Does it cater to enterprise segment or Oye Happy only caters to B2C segment?

Besides our retail operation, we have launched Oye Happy ‘Excite’ which are experience boxes for businesses. This will allow companies to gift a memorable experience to their employees and clients instead of conventional gifts. Employees can choose to do what interests them from a host of options like wine tasting, horse riding, Zumba classes, etc. available in the experience box.

What are some of the customer retention policies followed by Oye Happy as special moments for every person might be few.

70% of our repeat clients order again with us within 3 months of their first order. They do not necessarily employ us for special occasions that only involve their inner circle [spouse, best friends and kids/parents] but also beyond that like valued colleagues and relatives with typically lower cost products.

The key customer retention policy we have followed so far is only limited to good and prompt service. Even without customer referral or loyalty programs we have seen a steady increase in repeat and referral customers.

How does Oye Happy stake up when compared to other startups in more or less similar market segment?

We are the only company that not just creates our own unique gifts but also creates experiences. While companies like Giftxoxo, etc. are essentially curators, we go a step beyond by also creating products that fit our customers’ need perfectly. What is currently and widely available in the market no longer cuts it for the customer and we constantly provide them with more options that are not otherwise available.

What are some of the factors that entrepreneurs should consider while naming their start-up?

Two important questions to consider would be – “Does this work for the brand I’m building and will customers be able to relate the name to the service I provide?” and “Is this a name my target audience will like and be able to recall?”. And they should also probably ask themselves, “Is this a name I can repeat over a hundred times a day for a long time to come and not cringe?”.  We’re glad “Oye Happy” fit all three criteria!

What are the major changes that you experienced when paved your way into entrepreneurship?

Both Harsh and I were leading our teams in our respective workplaces before we started Oye Happy so running the show wasn’t new to us. And as far not having a boss is concerned, we’re still answerable to each other so it helps having a co-founder. You keep each other in check.

What are your key advice(s) to people who want to start-up?

The only advice we have for entrepreneurs is that they should be truly passionate about the industry they are getting into and to be able to admit it when they are wrong. If you’re willing to invest several years of your life in an idea, you need to enjoy every moment of it and constructive criticism is always more helpful than blind agreement.

Can you give some pointers on Scaling Up & Customer Acquisition?

Every entrepreneur must acquire the first few customers themselves for proof of concept. It is imperative that the business grows organically in the initial stage through repeat purchases and word of mouth marketing for an objective view of your product in the market.

How important it for startups especially web, mobile to follow Lean Methodology?

The idea behind using technology aggressively is to make a business process-driven. Scaling up a business need not to be in proportion to scaling up the manpower. A company that follows the lean methodology from the beginning allows you to focus on perfecting the process without it being dependent extensively on manpower, especially applicable for startups that use web and mobile platforms.

Thanks Varun & Harsh for your time and sharing your thoughts with us. We hope that Oye Happy grows leaps and bounds to make ‘Gifting’ unique & memorable.

If you have any questions for Oye Happy or their founders, please leave them in the comments section…

|In: Events|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

The fastest growing enterprise communication and collaboration app Flock continued its trend of creating waves yet again at the recent Gartner Symposium held in Goa this week. Flock participated in the ITxpo as a Silver Sponsor of the event, and as usual was one of the primary show stealers at the event.

The Gartner Symposium IT expo is the world’s most important gathering of CIOs and senior IT executives with an agenda that is designed to provide the strategies, insights and tools needed to lead the next generation of IT and achieve business outcomes.

Gartner invites leaders and executives from some of the most reputable firms in the market for the event, and the turnout this year did not disappoint, with over 1100+ people attending. It was these global leaders that Flock presented itself to and received a highly positive response and rave reviews. Members of the Gartner team itself complemented and congratulated Flock on its tremendous job at engaging such influential people with their insight and product.

The features that generated most interest were its slick, clutter-free interface across platforms, rich, intuitive user experience and newer features such as Video Calling, Shared Group To-Do’s, Reminders and Integration with other apps. Flock’s tagline of ‘Get Work Done. Faster.’ and promise of increasing employee efficiency by a significant amount resonated with members of startups and big businesses alike and made for a convincing proposition.

Bhavin Turakhia, CEO, Flock [and its parent company Directi] said

The Gartner Symposium is an extremely prestigious platform, and our main focus is to let people at the event know how Flock is changing the way teams communicate and collaborate. Most teams in organizations struggle with using multiple distributed systems for different collaborative tasks. With Flock, companies can actually make people and teams more efficient, by helping them get work done faster. This is a space that is ripe for disruption and Flock is quickly breaking new ground. I am very happy with what we have achieved here today as a team.

About Flock

Flock is a free enterprise communication and collaboration service for enterprises that is designed to enable people to get work done faster. Flock simplifies communication within teams and enables quick communication across multiple platforms without the need for IT admin support. It is scalable to any number of users and has a simple, clutter-free and intuitive interface synced across multiple platforms. Flock is the perfect communication tool for fast moving teams and organizations. It is available for download for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and Chrome from flock.co

[Image Credit* – Flock]