All Posts by Himanshu Sheth

|In: Business|Last Updated:

Urban-LadderWeb & Technology entrepreneurs Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan have made an investment in Urban Ladder, India’s leading online furniture and home decor company.  The Silicon Valley based entrepreneurs have come on board as investors at a time when the company is ramping up its technology platforms and offerings, to redefine furniture shopping in India.

Technology will be a key driver in Urban Ladder’s growth. The company is working on several tech innovations to solve complex furniture e-commerce problems.

Some of the key focus areas for Urban Ladder are mobile, data and analytics and product visualization. In an effort to provide world class furniture shopping solutions, the company will triple the size of its tech team in the next 6 months.

Speaking about the latest round, Ashish Goel, CEO & Co-founder, Urban Ladder said

We are thrilled to have veterans like Anand and Venky onboard as investors to mentor and guide us. They have done some fantastic work in technology, and set very high global benchmarks. It is great that they believe in the potential of the Indian e-commerce industry and are reinvesting in the ecosystem

Speaking about the funding, Anand Rajaraman, Founding Partner, Cambrian Ventures said

Furniture and home décor is a highly unorganized category in India, and Urban Ladder has been able to fill the need gap by finding great solutions for customers. The company’s journey has been very impressive. It’s a great team, off to a terrific start, and well positioned to be the leading furniture and home decor company in India

Urban Ladder is on massive growth path to achieve its vision of making a million homes beautiful. The company is strengthening its product portfolio and introducing new categories, along with geographical expansion to 30 cities by the end of the year.

Urban Ladder has thus far raised $77 million from Sequoia Capital, TR Capital, Kalaari Capital, SAIF Partners and Steadview Capital in the last 3 years. Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus, Tata Group made a personal investment in the company in November 2014.

|In: Marketing|Last Updated:

Fast-rising digital penetration and use along with massive and far-reaching shifts in India’s digital-user base mean big changes for marketing and media companies.

According to a report released today by The Boston Consulting Group [BCG], Digital India: Insights for Marketers and Media Companies, there will be as many as 550 million connected consumers—40 percent of the population—in 2018. Equally significant are the changes taking place in who these consumers are and how they are using their devices. The report is based on two recent consumer surveys by BCG’s Center for Consumer and Customer Insight.

Some interesting insights of the report below:

  • Users are getting older. In 2013, 40 percent of users were 25 years old or older; in 2018, 54 percent will be 25 or older. Because older users have more disposable income, they will likely transact more online.
  • More users will live in rural areas. In 2013, 29 percent of users lived in rural areas; in 2018, approximately half will reside in smaller towns and villages. This will open up significant growth opportunities for marketers and service providers that keep in mind the dynamics of the rural market in India, such as using online distribution through e-commerce to ensure wider product availability.
  • The user base will include more women. In 2013, 25 percent of users were female; in 2018, women will represent a third of all users. The increasing gender parity will have a major bearing on the Internet economy—women control 44 percent of household spending in India.
  • The ways in which consumers use the Internet are also changing. Mobile connections will increase from 60 to 70 percent in 2013 to 70 to 80 percent in 2018. A majority of Indians who embrace the Internet, particularly rural consumers, have bypassed the PC and are using mobile devices to get online on the go. Some 70 percent of rural users access the Internet from their mobile handsets.
  • Content will become more vernacular as the user base diversifies and grows to include larger numbers of rural consumers. The use of vernacular content online is estimated to increase from 45 percent in 2013 to more than 60 percent in 2018, mirroring broadening consumption patterns in off-line media such as print and television.
  • Consumption is becoming a shared experience for many. Social interaction, pictures, blogs, and videos are growing in importance. Websites and apps such as Google, Facebook, and YouTube are often the first destination for digital consumers.
  • Shifting digital use also has a strong impact on media consumption, with usage increasing as users gain digital maturity and as more content options become available. Consumers who have been online less than a year spend 30 percent of their media-consumption time on their devices, but after a year the percentage of digital consumption jumps to 34 percent, and after three years, it jumps again, to 39 percent. Those with more than five years of digital experience spend 42 percent of their media-consumption time on digital devices. This shift comes primarily at the expense of television. Print consumption remains relatively constant as digital consumption increases.

BCG_Digital_India

Speaking about the report, Nimisha Jain, a BCG Partner & Co-Author of the report said

Marketers have an opportunity to engage with consumers in new and powerful ways and to develop new offerings based on clearly identified user groups

Marketers that fully embrace the changes taking place can go even further and craft offerings that address the personal preferences of micro-segments or even individuals, on the basis of data that defines their online behavior

Kanchan Samtani, a BCG partner and co-author of the report said

The question for publishers and electronic-media companies alike is one of opportunity. Can publishers translate off-line print dominance into digital attraction? Can print and TV companies stake out digital territory with ancillary genres in the short term and core news genres in the long term so that they maintain loyalty and relevance with existing readers and viewers as well as attract new ones ? Or, if they do not move quickly enough, will they cede audience to digital upstarts ?

A copy of the report can be downloaded from here

About bcgperspectives.com

Bcgperspectives.com features the latest thinking from BCG experts as well as from CEO’s, academics, and other leaders. It covers issues at the top of senior management’s agenda. It also provides unprecedented access to BCG’s extensive archive of thought leadership stretching back 50 years to the days of Bruce Henderson, the firm’s founder and one of the architects of modern management consulting.

|In: startups|Last Updated:

usf-logo-300px

A month after the first StartEdu competition, Unitus Seed Fund held its second online event, called StartEdu 1B. After receiving record number of applications for the startup competition, only ten made the finals.

Get Set Sorted emerged as the winner securing 5 Lakhs, while Classalyze bagged the runner up title. Both the winner & runner-up get introduced to angel investors who are interested in early stage education companies. The companies were assessed based on factors including Impact on the masses, Team, Innovation, Business Model, and Presentation after hours of reviews and deliberations.

More about the Winner & Runner-Up

Get Set Sorted based out of Pune is a career guidance platform offering end-to-end guidance to high school students through online and offline channels. They suggest top 3 career options based on: Aptitude, Interest, Personality, Career motivations as well as connect them to counselors along with providing career content. 

Classalyze, located in Gurgaon is an online tool that helps teachers check for & improve understanding using formative tests. Besides creating high quality formative tests, which can be conducted both offline and online they also provide meaningful and actionable feedback through online dashboards to teachers and principals.

Speaking about the event, Will Poole, managing partner & co-founder, Unitus Seed Fund said

We extend huge congratulations to the competition winners. The prize money, as well as receiving the benefit of training and mentoring from our Speed2Seed incubator and accelerator partner is sure to secure a bright future for these innovative startups.

The quality of the projects presented by all of the entrants proves that India is brimming with innovation and energy from a growing community of visionary entrepreneurs focused on the opportunities in the education sector

The 2nd edition of the StartEdu competition was held over a 4.5 hour marathon online pitch-fest, with viewers in Seattle and Boston USA, Bangalore, Jaipur, Goa, Hyderabad and Noida. The StartEdu program is presented jointly by Unitus Seed Fund & Sylvant Advisors.

Announcement of 3rd edition of StartEdu

Applications for the third & final edition of StartEdu competition for 2015 would open from July 1st, 2015. For more information, please refer the official StartEdu Page

About Unitus Seed Fund

Unitus Seed Fund is a new $23 million seed-stage investment fund based in Bangalore and Seattle that invests in startups innovating for the masses in India. More information here

About Sylvant Advisors

Sylvant Advisors works with entrepreneurs and early stage companies to accelerate their growth. Beginning with critical investment or fund raising effort, drafting business strategies, providing operational support and being a part of an entire growth lifecycle are the key levers to accelerate the growth of these entrepreneurial ventures. Sylvant is based in Bangalore. More information here

Image Credit – UnitusImpact.com

|In: Entrepreneurship|Last Updated:

Yuvraj Singh’s recently floated Startup Fund Youwecan Ventures has invested an undisclosed amount in Mobile Beauty and Wellness Platform Vyomo in its seed funding.

YouWeCan

Vyomo is the first investment of the Youwecan ventures. Explaining his excitement, Yuvi said

We would like to support empowerment of millions of Beauty Professionals and help them improve their lives, income and be part of their personal milestones. Ultimately, we decided to invest in Vyomo based the execution capability of the team headed by MBAs from the London Business School, a truly great product and our belief in the vision of Vyomo that the Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics can simplify the lives of millions of Indians

According to KPMG report, Beauty and Wellness Industry in India will be US$13 billion by 2017 and within MENA region it was US$25.5 billion in 2014 as per the global market intelligence firm Euromonitor International.

The Vyomo Mobile App for Salons, Spas and Stylists will be available for both IOS and Android from May 2015. The Customer App will be launched in July.

Speaking at the occasion, Abhinav Khare, Founder & CEO, Vyomo said

Signing-up with Youwecan Ventures for securing our seed funding is an important milestone for the company, and one which will allow us to scale and expand to meet the demands of our global users.

In 3 years, Vyomo will shift the paradigm of Beauty and Wellness Industry where the Stylists and Beauty Professionals will get the place they deserve. Vyomo will bring more than 1 million stylists on the platform by 2017 and improve their earnings by allowing millions of customers to instantly access and book a hassle free Salon and Spa experience.

Our aim is to create a complete solution for Beauty Professionals to manage and grow their business through a smart-phone, and customers to book appointments instantly through their mobile devices, and ultimately repeat the success story of tech startups within Cab industry.

The App for Salons will provide professionals from the Beauty Industry an end to end salon management software that grows and simplifies their business by providing increased traffic, CRM, ERP, EPOS, Performance Management, Booking Management and Online Presence backed by state of art Data Analytics & Artificial Intelligence.

About Youwecan Venture Fund

Youwecan is a 50 CR seed fund that is created to empower young entrepreneurs on their journey to build brands and successful business ventures and improve the life standard of society. More information at their website.

About Vyomo

Vyomo is a Mobile Beauty and Wellness Platform that is backed by Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics to simplify the way beauty & wellness services are requested offered and rendered. It was founded by the London Business School classmates Abhinav Khare and Poonam Marwah.

  • Abhinav Khare Founder-CEO is Strategy and Corporate Development Expert with 10 years’ experience in 3 continents and 32 countries in the domain of Market Entry, Strategy Execution and Building Analytics products. He has an MBA London Business School and MSc in Technology Management from ETH Zurich.
  • Poonam Marwah Co-founder-COO has got 16 years Operations, Internet Marketing & Technology. Successfully lead 3 new ventures, growing organizations and managed complex projects. She holds MBA from London Business School, Masters in Computer Application, PMP, she is also a US Patent Holder.

Image Credit – pixr8

|In: Android|Last Updated:

Zoho has launched Inbox Insight, a minimalist mobile app for Zoho Mail that works like a search engine for the inbox. Inbox Insight fetches and displays only relevant messages based on user search queries, rather than bring in a barrage of emails and then sort them, as mobile apps do today. The new app is available for both iOS and Android smartphones.

ZohoInboxInsight

Inbox Insight Highlights

Faster retrieval – Inbox Insight presents a simple search box. Users specify criteria, like sender name, subject, attachments or date range. Inbox Insight whips out only relevant emails from the server.

Saved searches – Users can save searches and enable push notifications, so they get notified when new emails match their search. Saved searches are also available when users get back on their web browsers.

Quick sorting – Messages can be sorted quickly by simply swiping left to flag, label, archive or delete.

Learning algorithms – With every use, Inbox Insight learns more about the user and offers suggestions that make searches even faster.

Inbox Insight works with Zoho Mail, the company’s business-focused email application that combines a clean, ad-free interface with powerful features geared for professional users. Zoho Mail is free for up to 25 mailboxes.

Pricing and Availability

Inbox Insight is free and available immediately for iOS and Android smartphones.

For more information on Inbox Insight, please visit the Official Zoho Page

|In: Mobile|Last Updated:

Things are heating up in the Smart-Phone segment with many manufacturers entering into the sub 15K~ 20K range. The latest to join the bandwagon is ASUS with it’s latest model – ZenFone 2. The much awaited ASUS Zenfone 2 would be launched in India & like other companies, the model would be available exclusively on Flipkart from 23rd April. The phone would be officially launched by the

We have a look at some of the interesting facets of the ASUS ZenFone 2 including it’s price.

Design

ASUS has followed the same design principle used in ZenFone 5. ZenFone 2 has a highly-intuitive control layout, incorporating a physical rear key as part of the new Ergonomic Arc design. The ZenFone 2, with its curved back and thinnest edge measuring just 3.9 mm, is designed to comfortably fit your palm for ultimate comfort without sacrificing style – the back cover features an exquisite hairline design with a metallic finish. The back comes with a metallic cover.

The added rear key helps the user to perform naive functions like changing volume-control etc. using the index finger. Considering that “selfie” has become a part of every smart phone user’s life, the added rear key gives added comfort to take selfie’s 🙂

Asus_Zenphone2_BackCovers

Though the back-cover is removable, user cannot replace the battery. There are dual-sim slots & a single micro-sd card slot.

Design features in a nut-shell

  • Premium Color Options
  • Ergonomics Arc Design
  • 72% Screen-To-Body Ratio
  • Rear Key for Convenient Access

Hardware

The phone is powered by Intel Quad Core 64-bit Atom Z3580 with PowerVR Series 6 G6430 GPU.  The device sports 5.5 inch LED backlit IPS display with Gorilla Glass 3 and Anti-Fingerprint Coating. The resolution is 1920*1080 px which makes display very sharp & vivid. It has 4GB LPDDR3 RAM which makes the performance fast & snappy !!!

It comes in 3 variants:16 GB/32 GB/64 GB & has 13MP Rear Camera. It has 5MP Front Camera for selfie lovers. It has WiFi, BT 4.0 & AGPS. The phone has mammoth 3000mAh batery that has support for “Fast-Charging”.

It weighs 170 gm [Dimensions – 152.5 x 77.2 x 10.9-3.9mm]

Performance in a nut-shell

  • Intel Atom Z3580/Z3560 64-bit Processor
  • BoostMaster Fast-Charging Technology
  • Dual Active SIM
  • LTE Cat 4 connectivity

PixelMaster

  • World’s best Low-Light Mode
  • World’s Best HDR Mode
  • Beautification mode and Panorama Modes

Display & Camera

The ASUS ZenFone 2 packs a Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution IPS display complemented by an ultra-thin bezel. The 403 PPI is more than any phone in its price range and provides for an ultra-sharp viewing experience and a brightness of 400 nits ensures that you can see the screen in even the brightest of days.

Camera is one of the most critical features in any smart phone & ASUS has coined the term “PixelMaster” term to reference the suite of camera features provided with ASUS Smartphones. ASUS provides 16 different built-in picture modes to allow the user the most amount of flexibility in the pursuit of the perfect shot. PixelMaster on the ZenFone 2 include the world’s best low-light and HDR modes.

ASUS_Camera

ASUS ZenFone2 camera has Auto-Suggestion feature that recognizes the current environment & suggests preset’s to capture the best moment. It also has Try-It option. ASUS claims that the ZenFone 2 captures best images in Low-Light mode compared the competitors in the same price segment.

ASUS PixelMaster intelligently adjusts noise-level, color and contrast automatically. Smart Pixel Merging and Pixel Perfecting results in 400% better light sensitivity, 400% noise reduction, and a 400% increase in contrast.

It also has best oriented pictures for capturing the best shots. Super Resolution Mode allows you to maximize your camera’s ability. ASUS PixelMaster makes it possible to use the 13MP rear camera in order to take images with up to 4X more clarity, up to 52MP, by extracting a high-resolution image from multiple lower-resolution images of the same subject.

ASUS ZenFone 2 Variants

The ZenFone 2 comes with two variants – ZE500CL & ZE550ML. ZE500CL is tagged as an “entry level” ZenFone 2 & would come with a price-tag of Rs. 12,000. ZenFone 2 ZE551ML is tagged as “top-end” model & would come with a promotional price of Rs. 20,100.

Zen UI & Zen Motion

ASUS has optimized the Android experience through its custom ZenUI to provide a simple, direct, and unique look that can be modified to each user’s liking. It has made an excellent attempt to follow the “Material Design” principles and same is visible from it’s UI.

ASUS_ZenUI

Double tapping on the phone takes the device out of suspend-mode. ASUS has focused a lot on usability side & Zen Motion ensures that the user’s reach to their favorite apps using Gesture Control shortcuts [C – Launch Camera, B – Launch Browser, e – Launch Email]. The phone comes with a Kids-Mode [where user can manage app list for kids, control time they spend on phone etc.]. Like other phones, like comes with an Easy-Mode that would come in handy when the device is running out of battery !!!

Verdict & Availability

ASUS Zenfone 2 is a superb phone in the price segment where it competes with the Moto G, Huawei Honor 6 Plus amongst others. But given that it sports 4GB RAM & 64 bit CPU, that would definitely add a great amount of juice to the performance. Definitely a phone that every user would be eager to buy !!!

ASUS ZenFone 2 would be launched on 23rd April  & would be available exclusively on Flipkart.

To know more about the device, please visit the ASUS India FB Fan Page or visit ASUS ZenFone 2 link

|In: Events|Last Updated:

Innovative Search & Discovery Platform Xploree, powered by KeyPoint Technologies has been declared amongst the top 50 technology product finalist award winners at InTech50 2015 event held on 15th and 16th April at Bangalore.

KPT

Xploree was shortlisted as one of the finalists in a rigorously contested award process that received nominations from 228 companies. Winners of InTech50 receive advice, on-going mentoring, product marketing support and funding to scale their offering to global markets.

Winners of prestigious InTech50 receive advice, on-going mentoring, product marketing support and funding to scale their offering to global markets. The winners are chosen by an Advisory Board comprising global and Indian CIOs of marquee companies, product company heads, venture capitalists and analysts after a rigorous evaluation process.

KeyPoint Technologies presented an accelerated five minute pitch of its innovative search & discovery platform Xploree to renowned CIOs from leading global multinational companies. Xploree is industry’s first, revolutionary search and discovery platform that connects mobile application users to the most relevant brands and services during conversations.

The innovative, user-initiated and multi-lingual platform can predict a mobile device user’s needs and guide them through their journey across applications through relevant content, deals and services. The application is available to Indian users and will eventually roll out in other global markets.

Speaking at the occassion, Sumit Goswami, CEO of KeyPoint Technologies mentioned

InTech50 is a showcase of some of the most promising and innovative technology and software products created by new and emerging companies. Being adjudged a Top 50 finalist by an eminent panel of CIOs and leaders is a validation of Xploree’s disruptive innovation in connecting mobile device users to relevant brands and services in the precise moment of need.

Xploree’s ability to pre-target users with relevant services in the mobile moment enriches consumer conversations and engagement with brands thus strengthening purchase intent. Our results have shown that Xploree can hike consumer engagement rate with brands by over 10 times industry average.

Key Features of Xploree

Hyper-Contextual – Location, environment, user intent, past actions and more – relevant information, always in context.

Immediacy – Information, services and product purchases in your mobile moment and time of need in real-time.

Simplicity – Mobile search made simple with one tap – easy to find what exactly you want.

To view Xploree in action, please visit http://bit.ly/1LQKJqo

For Xploree updates please visit http://www.xploree.com/

|In: Mobile|Last Updated:

Staying connected has become very critical in today’s world and with the increasing number of first-time users of the smart phones, they have become in-separable from our lives !!!

Smart phones from brands like Sony Mobiles, Samsung, Apple & Xiaomi are beneficial for both business people and gadget fans alike because they offer both easy access to emails and word processing programmes, plus they are equipped for gaming and listening to music on.

Busy work people can reply to emails, edit word documents or even host online calls, which makes dealing with work issues convenient and accessible at any time. Many commuters can now do some work on the train, meaning they can relax when they get home. In fact, to be more precise; even Students and House-Wives have also become a ciritical market that mobile phone manufacturer’s now consider important.

 

Alternatively, phones are perfect for those who love socializing and gaming. Wifi allows users to go online, chat to friends using instant messaging and browse their favorite websites. Users can view sites like Facebook, YouTube or even do some online shopping. Plus, the large screen makes reading online magazines, newspapers and E-books easy and clear.

When it comes to mobiles, consumers want a stunning display & one brand that everyone can co-relate to it “Sony Mobiles”. Who can forget their impressive line-up of TV’s – The Bravia 🙂

When it comes to smart-phone’s; we cannot forget the Battery Life since with more & more requirements; it has become very critical for Smart-Phone’s success. In this article, we feature some of the power-packed options consumer’s have if they plan to purchase Sony Mobile Phone.

Sony Xperia Z3

This flagship from Sony falls in the “Premium Category”.

Some of the features of the phone are listed below

Sony_Z3

As they have mentioned in their Tag Line, Sony Xperia Z3 does make you “Demand Great” of the smart-phones !!! It is Everything you want a smartphone to do. Done better than ever.

Priced handsomely around Rs 35K, it is a great buy who want all the smart-phone features packed into one “beast of the smart-phone” !!!

We feature the next smart-phone from Sony “xperia-c3-dual” which caters to the Mid-Level segment.

Sony Xperia-c3-dual

This smart-phone has been tagged as the “Best phone for Selfie-Lovers”. Considering it’s impressive specs, the price of Rs 19K looks appealing.

Display – 9 cm HD (1280×720) IPS display

Processor (CPU) :

• Snapdragon 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Quad-core
• Adreno 305

Memory and storage :

• 1 GB RAM
• 8 GB flash memory [internal]
• Up to 32 GB microSD [card slot]

Connectivity and communication

• aGPS
• Bluetooth 4.0
• Native USB tethering
• Screen mirroring
• Smart Connect

Camera and video

• 5 MP Front-facing camera [720p]
• Front flash LED
• Wide view front camera
• 8 MP camera with auto focus
• HD video recording 1080 p
• Sony Exmor RS for mobile image sensor
• HDR (High Dynamic Range) for photos and videos
• Pulsed LED flash
• 16x digital zoom

More information on the product can be found at the official website.

Sony – The revival Story

Ever since Sony has broken its alliance with Ericsson (by buying the company out of Sony Ericsson), it has been trying hard to gain a significant foothold in the mobile market. The smartphone market in India is growing significantly with 70 per cent growth per year.

With increasing marketing efforts, consumers are now able to connect to the “Sony Brand”. As per the recent reports, Sony Mobiles now stands as the second largest smartphone brand [in terms of value sales] in India. Major of this revival is due to their major focus on India specific features in their mid-range & high-range smart phones [Xperia Z category].

In this competitive landscape of “Indian Smartphone Market”, Sony would definitely want it’s market share growing with introduction of “smarter & better” phones in the Indian turf !!!