There is a constant debate between traditional offline marketing and digital marketing. The battle between the two has been going on for many years and it is here to stay! Though each has its own set of advantages & disadvantages, the major USP of online marketing is that the ROI is highly measurable via analytics. One similarity between both these channels is that the first impression creates a long lasting impression on the consumer’s minds and it is created via your company’s website.
How many times have you been in a situation where a company representative has handed his/her business card and you were disappointed with their company’s website design. Studies show that 75 percent of people judge the credibility of a business based on the design of its website and credibility has a direct relation to how likely people are to make a purchase [Source]. Hence it becomes extremely important to have a website that has a great design since it results in customer delight. Let us look into some of the aspects that are important while developing a website.
When it comes to website design, ensure that the logo is well designed, is of high quality and conveys the core offerings of your business. It is extremely important to have an eye-catching logo since it would help you gain new customers and at the same time retain existing customers. With the increasing penetration of mobile internet, many users now access the web via mobile. Apart from having an exceptionally well-designed responsive website, the website should have cross-platform compatibility. It should have a design that is tailor-made for desktop, mobile, tablet, etc. so that customers can seamlessly browse through your website across different platforms.
The images used on the website should be properly resized for the medium from where the site is getting accessed. The layout should be simple so that visitors are able to find relevant information in the least amount of time. Make it easy for visitors to contact you, ideal location would be top right of the website since it is a more prominent position. Last but definitely not the least, ensure that your company’s website, as well as the blog is updated on a timely basis.
Techmagnate: Website Design and Development Services
Though there are CMS like WordPress, Joomla, etc. that can expedite the development process and shorten the delivery time, in many cases you might require website designing & development services from pioneers like Techmagnate. Techmagnate is India’s top digital marketing and SEO services company based out of New Delhi. They offer a plethora of services like Web Design, SEO, Social Media Marketing, Pay-Per-Click Advertising as well as Application Development and have clients ranging from big companies to SMB’s.
Apart from website design and development, Techmagnate also caters to this segment by providing Digital Marketing services so that you can focus on your core business and depend on them for these aspects since they have a proven track record and expertise in this field. In a nutshell, effective Digital Marketing can make or break the brand that you wish to create and brand building & management is a long-term game…so invest in it!
If you want to contact Techmagnate for their services or have some feedback for them, please leave them in the comments section.
The mobile phone has become an indispensable part of our lives but most of the smartphone owners face common problems. The problems are shortage of storage space due to the installation of the innumerable number of apps, power/battery management, app hopping (jumping from one app to another), etc. This is the problem that startups are trying to address so that the there is more stickiness to the app since it provides more services under one roof.
Yagerbomb Mediaplans to address this problem with its app FloChat. FloChat is a hybrid chat platform that lets you connect with your friends, colleagues, etc. via its instant messenger and also gives you the freedom to browse and share content from across apps from its own context. Today we review FloChat on Android that can be downloaded from here, so let’s get going…
FloChat: Hybrid Messenger + Multiple services via micro-app integrations
FloChat is India’s first hybrid messenger which is simple, private and comes up with a personalized experience. The major USP of FloChat is that it brings context to conversations, thanks to its partner ecosystem [Zomato, Uber, Ola, BookMyShow, DineOut, Goibibo, Jugnoo, CouponDunia, Bing, YouTube, and Tenor].
The size of the FloChat App is only 27MB which means you can save 100’s of MB that would otherwise have been occupied by its partner apps!
FloChat: Express yourself with Reaction and EmoGIF
With FloChat, you can discover, browse, chat and transact and that too without leaving your chat window!! Users can express themselves using Reaction [#facepalm, #oops, #thankyou, etc.] or via EmoGIF. The company has partnered with Tenor that brings personality to your conversations.
Some of the salient features of FloChat are below:
Group Chat: Create groups and add any number of people you like, no limit on the number of people who can be added to a group.
Multimedia Messaging: Send video, image, text, gifs, memes and voice messages.
Secret Chats: With this feature, chats would disappear or self-destruct in a *poof*
GIF Gallery: Hundreds of free GIF’s to express your feelings available from some of your favorite shows and movies.
Better Privacy: It gives you the highest level of control over your privacy. You would need to add people before they can message you.
Edit messages after you have sent them: Have you ever misspelled your messages or auto corrects have caused more mistakes than corrections? Now you can edit messages after you have sent them.
Free Voice & Video Calls (Coming Soon): High-quality free calls anywhere in India including group audio and video calls.
Real-time Location (Coming Soon): Instead of having to tell others where you are, just use real-time location sharing.
Payments (Coming soon): This is one of the most anticipated feature which is expected to release in the future versions of the app since it would bring Payments integrated into chat.
Some of the screenshots from the FloChat app are below
FloChat: Floda – Chat meets AI
FloChat also comes integrated with Floda which is an AI based chatbot. Floda can help you out with booking tickets, getting your generic queries answered or even suggesting you the best place for a romantic lunch/dinner 🙂 We asked some generic questions to Floda like temperature in Mumbai, to book movie tickets, etc, and results were accurate. The overall experience was breezy since Floda could decode our requests within a few seconds.
FloChat: Closing thoughts
FloChat is a feature packed hybrid instant messenger app that helps you stay connected with your loved ones. The power of FloChat lies in the premise on how you can get things done all within the chat! With integration of Floda, it brings more meaningful context to conversations. If you are searching for an app that is not demanding on storage space but helps you stay connected with friends, then you should download FloChat.
As a testament to its continued popularity among its users, MoneyTap is on target to issue credit lines worth INR 300 crores by the end of the current fiscal year. With this fresh funding, MoneyTap plans to solidify its leadership position by improving credit accessibility for other segments of customers, partnering with 6 other Banks and NBFCs and expanding to 50 cities in India by the end of 2017.
Since its launch in September 2016, India’s first app-based consumer credit line has attracted over three hundred thousand [300k] users. The majority of users have a monthly income of INR 30,000~40,000 and are aged between 28~32 years.
The Indian consumer finance market is estimated to grow at a compounded growth rate of 18 percent to become a USD 1.2 trillion opportunity by 2020. Reports also suggest that it is also one of the most underpenetrated markets for lending, with close to 70% of the population being underserved by institutional lenders. Penetration of unsecured personal loans has been extremely poor in India with the organized credit presence at around 1% in the country.
According to RBI data of August 2016, in a country of 1.2 billion Indians, only 26.4 million have credit cards. Comparatively, there are about 600 million active mobile phones in India and mobile banking transactions rose from Rs 4,185 billion in 2012 to Rs 5,243 billion in October 2016. All this data points out to the fact that consumer-lending startups such as MoneyTap, supported by financial institutions, can serve a huge creditworthy but financially excluded customer base previously overlooked by the lending businesses.
MoneyTap is available on Android Playstore and is targeted at salaried individuals and self-employed professionals earning more than INR 20,000 per month. MoneyTap evaluates the user’s eligibility in less than 4 minutes after which it provides an instant, real-time decision on the application along with the amount they are eligible for. Using the credit line, consumers can choose to borrow as little as INR 3000 or as much as INR 5 lakhs or up to their maximum eligibility limit. Customers can decide their own EMI plans with flexible payback periods ranging from 2 months to 3 years. Interest is paid only on the amount borrowed and rates can be as low as 1.25% per month. If the user does not borrow any amount, then no interest needs to be paid. The credit limit also gets topped up once EMIs are paid back.
MoneyTap along with RBL Bank is able to provide its customers, instant decisions and instant access to money, 24/7. All financial transactions such as billing and repayment are directly dealt with the bank but through the MoneyTap App using secure APIs, thus ensuring 100% secure transactions.
These are exciting times at MoneyTap. We deeply believe that the rapidly growing middle-income group in India is largely underserved by financial institutions. They are app-savvy and very demanding. We have been fortunate to partner with Sequoia, NEA & Prime – all of whom are top tier investors with deep fintech and operational expertise to take us to the next level.
Abheek Anand, Principal, Sequoia Capital India Advisors said
Consumer credit in India is highly under-penetrated and is a complex problem to solve. MoneyTap combines an experienced team with a thoughtfully designed product – and their strong early traction is a testament to the efficacy of their approach to address this massive market opportunity.
MoneyTap is using the power of technology to provide a seamless lending experience to what currently is a largely broken discovery process with long execution timelines for consumers. Also, MoneyTap works with banks & NBFCs instead of competing with them therefore getting access to large amount of lending capital while managing the consumer journey throughout the lending lifecycle.
MoneyTap’s strong growth since its inception is testament to both the innovative nature as well as rapid consumer adoption of their solution which addresses a monster opportunity – providing effortless credit to worthy consumers entirely through an app. We are privileged to be associated with this stellar team from the start of their journey and be part of their vision to reinvent the unsecured consumer lending landscape.
About MoneyTap
MoneyTap is a Bengaluru-based fintech startup, founded by serial entrepreneurs Bala Parthasarathy, Anuj Kacker & Kunal Varma, who are IIT/ISB alumni. Bala has co-founded multiple startups in Silicon Valley including Snapfish (sold to Hewlett Packard), which he helped grow to 100M users and $300M in revenue. After moving to India in 2007, he volunteered for UIDAI under Mr. Nandan Nilekani before starting AngelPrime in 2011 (now Prime Venture Partners) where he helped create companies like ZipDial (sold to Twitter), EZETap, Happay, etc. Kunal (ex Texas Instruments) & Anuj (ex Airtel & JWT) co-founded Tapstart that grew to 300K users and turned profitable in 2 years. MoneyTap works in very close partnerships with various banks and other financial institutions to make the process painless and on-app. For more details, please visit MoneyTap
The famous lines by Henry Ford – Founder of Ford Motors ‘Failure is simply the opportunity to being again, this time more intelligently’ helps us inculcate a sense of positivity beneath us. Failure acts as a teacher in life which helps us determine the mistakes and move on. I always get inspired by the success stories of peoples who wrote their own fortune and proved themselves to the world with their achievements. Some of the examples of such entrepreneurs that must be revised are of Jack Ma [founder of Alibaba], Steve Jobs, J.K Rowling and Henry Ford who pulled out their success from failures.
Total Processing has done a great job by creating an infographic of quotes said by Successful entrepreneurs and I am delighted to bring this infographic to my readers which will play an important role in motivating the startups to stand out from their failures. Do check out the infographic 45 Legendary Quotes from Successful Entrepreneurs for your before starting your MSME business.
Note : The content has been reproduced on the blog with consent from Total Processing
With the second round of GST enrollment set to close tomorrow, the GST Network, the company providing the IT backbone for GST, announced that it will re-open the process of enrollment on June 25 to allow all taxpayers to smoothly complete the process.
More than three fourths of the total 80 lakhs existing tax payers under VAT, Service Tax, Central Excise and other taxes that are being subsumed under GST have already successfully enrolled themselves on to the new digital platform in two rounds of enrollment.
The exercise started from November 8 and continued till April 30 by when around 60.5 lakh taxpayers had enrolled. More than 4 lakh of the remaining taxpayers have completed their enrollment during the second window that opened on June 1. However, for the remaining tax payers, there will still be another opportunity to accomplish the task.
We realize that when we are implementing a change of this magnitude, taxpayers must be given sufficient time and opportunity to smoothly join the new online platform that will usher in a unified tax structure. Already, a majority of taxpayers have enrolled themselves for GST. Yet, those who might still be left due to any circumstances or technical inability need not panic with the closing of this window as we will open another round of enrolments from June 25.
Notably, the process of enrolment is not a highly time consuming one, with the total time taken in the entire process being not more than 15~20 minutes.
The Goods & Services Tax has been referred to as the most significant tax reform in India post independence. The new regime will usher in a common national market by doing away with a complex web of local and central taxes and incorporating them into a single levy.
With rumors of a possible delay in roll out doing the rounds, the government yesterday clarified that the GST regime is very much on track to roll out from June 25, its designated date.
As the technology provider of the regime, GSTN has been working overtime to ensure there are no hiccups in the commencing of the ambitious indirect tax regime. The GSTN has set up a robust portal already equipped to handle as many as 3.2 billion transactions every month.
All taxpayers, who have valid a PAN and are currently registered under any State or Central taxes that will be subsumed in GST, are being migrated to GST under this process of enrolment, which essentially implies validating the data of existing taxpayers and filling up the remaining key fields at the GST Common Portal, which will serve as a one-stop shop for all tax payers.
The GST Common Portal will enable taxpayers to meet the GST compliance requirement like filing returns and making tax payments.
BookMyShow have announced that it has successfully rolled out its new in-app messaging feature Plan it to all its users on Android as well as on iOS. BookMyShow Plan it allows friends and families to interact with each other in real time, suggesting movies, show times, venue options and eventually complete the movie tickets booking – all without having to toggle between BookMyShow and other instant messaging apps or phone calls to arrive at a decision.
Not only this saves users the hassle of coordinating through endless trails of messages across multiple mobile phone windows, the in app messaging feature also simplifies, aids and enhances the movie booking process. With this, BookMyShow has blended social conversations into its app functionality while building on conversational commerce as the backbone.
BookMyShow Plan it automatically allows users to add friends from their phone books and start chatting. They can either initiate private one-on-one conversations or create a group to start discussions on movies. Similar to other popular instant messaging apps, Plan it supports encrypted conversations, multiple conversation threads at a time, lets users receive notifications, see when their friends are typing a message or are online and know when a message has been read.
Movie watching in India is more of social affair or experience. With this in mind, we integrated Plan it within the BookMyShow app to address a critical pain point of our user- the hassle to switch between multiple modes of communication while arriving at a movie going decision. BookMyShow Plan italso underlines a strong mobile centric approach. A feature such as this made absolute sense to us since over 75% transactions on BookMyShow happen over mobile.
Plan it has been conceived, designed and built by the in-house technology team at BookMyShow, keeping the users and their experience and journey on BookMyShow at the core. We are confident that Plan it will result in increased user engagement on our platform while improving and enhancing the overall experience on BookMyShow.
All BookMyShow app users need to only update their apps to start using this amazing feature and seamlessly interact with their friends and family while making a movie plan. Existing Plan it users can also introduce this feature to others simply extending an invitation to them throughany of the social sharing platforms including Whatsapp, Facebook, or even through SMS. The feature has already facilitated over 130k [1,30,000] movie plans and has more than 70,000 active users per day.
About BookMyShow
BookMyShow is India’s largest online entertainment ticketing platform that allows users to book tickets for movies, plays, sports and live events through its website, mobile app and mobile site. Founded in Mumbai in 1999 and launched in 2007, BookMyShow is now present in over 400 towns and cities across India, currently meeting the entertainment demands of millions of customers. For more information, please visit BookMyShow
Co-working spaces have been on the rise in India and the wave is catching up the interest of the entrepreneur as well as the investor community. The primary advantage that co-working space brings to the table is you can find passionate folks who might have complimentary skills that could be of help in building your startup. Most of these co-working spaces also host number of events around scaling, marketing, design, funding, etc. In order to make startups sustainable, it may be important to involve large businesses in their growth story, and such programs further add more value to co-working spaces [Source].
Couple of weeks back, we had written about GoodWorks CoWork,a design-inspired co-working incubation studio started by serial entrepreneurs Vishwas Mudagal and Sonia Sharma. As per the founders, the major USP of GoodWorks CoWork is that along with office space, entrepreneurs can also use GoodWorkLabs’s expertise in order to polish/validate their idea. GoodWorkLabs is a boutique Software and Mobile App Development Company in India and USA which was started by the duo. Through GoodWorks CoWork, they plan to give back to the entrepreneurial eco-system and angel-fund the startup [in case if they find the idea path-breaking].
We caught up with Vishwas Mudagalfor a chat about this venture, its USP, insights into co-working, etc. So, lets get started…
Can you please give a brief about the team behind GoodWorks CoWork ?
After successfully establishing GoodWorkLabs as a leading new-age Outsourced Product Development Firm [OPD] and UX design studio, Sonia Sharma and myself wanted to use our knowledge to give back to the start-up ecosystem. GoodWorks CoWork was launched to build a thriving start-up community and provide the best ecosystem for them to succeed. Under Sonia’s valuable guidance and thought leadership, and my years of experience in handling startups, co-workers can expect to learn numerous tricks and trades of the industry.
What are some of the pain points your team identified which would be solved if a startup is working out of GoodWorks CoWork ?
As a new entrepreneur, you need to wear multiple hats. The sales guy, the tech guy and the marketing guy, you are constantly juggling between different roles. The most valuable benefit of working out of a coworking space is that it reduces burn-rate and allows investment in core business requirements. Secondly, it reduces the logistical pains of running an office and lastly, it provides the best opportunity for networking.
The objective of GoodWorks CoWork is to help budding entrepreneurs grow their business without the hassles of managing operations and logistics. Through GoodWorks CoWork, we aim at creating a perfect ecosystem for startups to nurture their growth.
There has been a plethora of co-working spaces that have been recently started in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, etc. what are some of the USPs of GoodWorks CoWork vis-a-vis other co-working spaces in the city.
Apart from providing world class services, I think what really sets us apart is our unique approach to coworking. The USPs are as follow:
Design-inspired coworking space – We provide creative, design inspired coworking spaces for our coworkers. Every element in the coworking space has been selected after considerable thought. The wall décor, the seating layout, the lighting structures and overall ambience have a creative undertone. We want to encourage creativity and innovative thinking in this space. We also have inspirational posters and graffiti on the walls to keep the community motivated at all times.
The possibility of getting funded – After successfully establishing GoodWorkLabs as a world-leading and award-winning new-age software lab and design studio, the founders are now all set to provide seed investment to upcoming start-ups and extend our Thought Leadership to help businesses grow. We plan to choose upto three promising start-ups annually that have a ‘real’ business/revenue model and growth potential and plan to invest anywhere between Rs. 20 lakhs ~ Rs. 1 Crore.
Consultation with In-House Experts – We have an in-house team of management consultants to help get the basics in place for your company. Start-ups can book a time with our experts to discuss problems and issues related to HR, Finance, Marketing, Design and Branding faced by the company.
The founders also act as mentors to the startups selected by us and support them through every step of their startup journey.
Can you please walk us through the application process for GoodWorks CoWork ?
GoodWorks CoWork was started to help budding entrepreneurs grow their business without the hassle of sweating about Operations & Support Services. So we’re open to any startup, entrepreneur or small business owners who are passionate about their new venture. Our space provides all the facilities needed to run a company smoothly without logistical hassles.
Is your team looking into particular sectors that a startup operates in or is GoodWorks CoWork open to startups in any sector ?
We are open to all sectors, there is no restriction as such. However, most of the queries we have received is primarily from the IT and Design sectors. However, we do not want to be limited to these two sectors only.
Given that GoodWorkLabs is a pioneer in the software industry. What are some of the areas where GoodWorkLabs can be of support to the companies in GoodWorks CoWork ?
GoodWorkLabs brings tremendous insights and valuable learning to cowork division, this aspect is one of our main USP’s. We provide consulting services for design, software development, android development, iOS development to name a few. The startups can really benefit from all these services which would be very unique in nature.
Vishwas, you as an entrepreneur have seen ups & downs, what is one best reason why a startupper has to choose working out of a co-working space vis-a-vis working out of SOHO
Coworking encourages networking and collaboration. Entrepreneurs, space providers, thought leaders, investors and mentors come together and exchange value with each other creating a mutually beneficial ecosystem. Also, working amidst various people, observing and adopting diverse work cultures can increase productivity as it helps maintain a professional outlook and also helps create your own identity.
This congenial environment doesn’t only foster interesting and divergent work, but also encourages knowledge sharing and instils a sense of ownership. Communicating regularly on work topics, trending news and exchanging jokes helps build a healthy environment for entrepreneurs.
Working out of a small office from your home closes all doors to such knowledge sharing and networking opportunities which are integral to your business growth.
GoodWorks CoWork is currently operational in how many cities and what are the future expansion plans ?
Currently, we have one co-working space in Whitefield, Bengaluru and the response has been overwhelming. We want to become one of the largest players in the premium coworking and shared office market with a Pan India presence. We will continue to provide creative, design inspired coworking spaces for startups, freelancers and entrepreneurs encouraging the shared economy. We believe that GoodWorks CoWork is not just a workspace. It’s a way of life & a path to success!
Apart from the business idea, what are some of the key things your team looks into while assessing the applications for Angel Investment ?
We will be selecting startups who demonstrate an idea that solves ‘real’ business problems and must be able to sustain itself. The startups will receive intense mentoring and training over a period of time and they are expected to iterate rapidly. So we are open to any startup, entrepreneur or small business owners who are passionate about their new venture. Our space provides all the facilities needed to run a company smoothly without logistical hassles. As mentioned apart from mentoring, the basic administrative facilities will be taken care of and most importantly, you will get free tech-consulting services with our team.
Vishwas, you don multiple hats [serial entrepreneur, best-selling author, etc.], how do you manage time ? [especially for founders since they need to get priorities right] ?
I won’t lie to you by saying it’s easy. It’s incredibly hard to balance different roles. I am a CEO during the days and a storyteller by night and weekends. I wish I had 48 hours in a day. I have so many stories to tell, and I have so many business ideas to execute. Our group companies GoodWorkLabs and GoodWorks CoWork are doing some incredible work right now, so things are hectic.
However, it is my passion that drives me and if you’re passionate enough you’ll find the time to do it.
Can you share some tips for building an effective team for startups [especially the initial core team] ?
Building the core team is one of the most critical factors that leads to the success of a startup. It is important to attract and hire the people who have the same values and reflect the same ideologies as the founding members. It’s easy to lose track of the goal and get lost in the initial days, if everyone’s not on the same page. The core team must believe in the idea as strongly as the founding members. No matter how many years of experience or how well educated the person may be – if he isn’t convinced about your proposition, it’s not going to be a fruitful partnership.
You have witnessed ups & downs in your career [shutting down of your startup than bouncing back], how according to you should entrepreneurs deal with such adverse situations and how they can keep themselves motivated so that they can bounce back ?
I have experimented a lot in my life. I have tried so many different fields, done random experiments, failed, succeeded, and all that. I usually tell budding entrepreneurs – ‘Be shameless. Experiment. That’s the only way to identify your true passion.‘ If I had not experimented by being shameless, I would never have identified my passions of writing and entrepreneurship.
With push for Digital India, sectors like Fintech, etc. what are some of the areas that might catch entrepreneur’s & investor’s interest in 2017 ?
There are many emerging markets and it’s vital for investors to keep an eye on what’s happening in these sectors. I am closely watching sectors related to – AI, AR, Machine learning, AR, VR, IOT, organic farming, renewable tech, REG [REGULATION TECH] and eGovernance and believe they are the future to look out for.
VC Funding or Bootstrapping, your thoughts on the same and when should a founder look out for institutional funding
Both VC Funding and Bootstrapping have their pros and cons. With bootstrapping, it’s a lot harder as the founders have invested their own money, scalability is a lot tougher and a much longer process when if comes to bootstrapped companies. On the other hand, getting funded doesn’t make the journey any easier. Companies will be giving away stake to investors and with it their freedom – you’ll have to be answerable to the investors and need their approvals for every step that the company takes.
However, the right time to apply for funding is when the startup has a Minimal Viable Product [MVP] and some traction or successful pilot to validate their business model.
Any books that you recommend and when would your next novel/book hit the market ?
Ayn Rand is my favorite author. Her book The Fountainhead influenced me deeply during my college days. It’s the perfect book to gift. I also enjoy reading Dan Brown, Michael Crichton, Sydney Sheldon, & Jeff Archer among others. So people can gift me a range of books! I like reading science fiction, thrillers, adventures, and many more genres. But I usually stay away from books that are boring. I have very little patience.
My next novel is completed and in the final stages of editing. It’s an exciting trilogy that I’m thrilled about, I’m hoping that it hits the market sometime in December. I will be announcing more details about the story and launch plans shortly.
We thank Vishwas for his time and sharing valuable insights with our readers! If you have any questions for Vishwas about GoodWorks CoWork, startups, funding, technology, etc., please email them to himanshu.sheth@gmail.com or leave your question in the comments section.
Millennipreneurs are basically the generation of young entrepreneurs that are born in the year 1980~1995. According to the statistics, most of them came from a family with a background in business where they probably get their capital finance. At least 78% of the Millennipreneurs have ‘baby boomer’ parents who run a successful venture. This means that they basically grew up in the kind of environment that is designed for this industry. The success that most Millennipreneurs enjoy at their young age is undeniable. Based on the gross profit, the millennial entrepreneurs’ target is around 32.6% compared to the baby boomers that is just 27.5%. This means that the millennials are now outperforming their parents.
How Business Loans Can Support the Millennipreneurs on the Business Venture
It may be true that more than 70% of the millennial entrepreneurs have background in the business. But it does not instantly mean that they have a starting capital for start-up. In addition, in order to support the growing demand and expansion of their business, they will also require additional funding. Most of them start in the SME industry that generates the average amount of profit. In India, at least 12.5% of them are in the retail industry, 8.5% are offering their professional expertise and only 7.3% in the IT industry. To help them propel their business into new heights, MSME Loans can definitely help them.
When choosing a platform that can support the Millennipreneurs in expanding their reach, there are different companies in the industry that are offering business loans. However, not all of them will provide you with a fair agreement, competitive bid, great loan structure, and fast approval. These factors are all essential for the millennial entrepreneurs. They love opening new businesses, and they want a platform that can support them quickly. At least 60% of them decided to open new business since there are not enough jobs available. Millennipreneurs who are looking for those desirable attributes may find Loan Frame as a worthy candidate.
Quick Approval
Most of the Millennipreneurs started at their young age. They do not necessarily have the right amount of resources to support their start-up. Though most of them grew up in the business environment, the only thing that they can expect would be business advice from their parents and other corporate professionals. This generation is eager to start their venture, and they want a financing option that can provide them support in an instant. With Loan Frame, they can check your eligibility in applying for business loans for as little as 60 seconds. It also does not involve a lot of paper works.
A Loan Option That Focus on the Core of Your Business
Instead of managing their wealth, most of the Millennipreneurs in India are also focusing on the core of their business, and they also want a partner who looks at their business the same way they do. According to the recent survey, at least 20% of their resources are being invested on the original core of their business. Loan Frame will offer you business loans that will match the nature of your business and will provide you with a huge selection of loans that will match your business needs.
Millennipreneurs managed to crack the purchasing habit of the millennials. They hold a significant influence in this business. To help them advance their business and conquer new heights, business loans offered by Loan Frame is designed to address their needs.
Further, given the general under-penetration of banking services in India, it is no surprise that Alternative Lending channels are making inroads. This has been further given push through various initiatives of the government increase financial inclusion and financial penetration.
The Indian landscape is ripe for Alternative Lending to thrive in all its forms including online NBFCs, Loan Marketplaces, P2P platforms, and others. Consider the numbers placed before Rajya Sabha, RBI had informed that gross outstanding credit for top ten corporate groups is Rs 5,73,682 crore as on March 2016. This compares with the total credit to the MSME segment of Rs 11,10,000 crores spread across 2.06 crore loan accounts as on March 2016.
This is all that formal banking channels have on offer for 5.1 crore enterprises providing employment to 11.71 crore persons and contributing 37.5% of India’s GDP! Moreover, the 4th All India survey of MSMEs states that close to 90% of MSMEs are dependent on informal sources, which are mostly in the form of unsecured loans and are at higher cost.
Following are a few benefits you reap by approaching an Alternative Lending source
The Loan Buffett vs. The Fixed Menu
Everyone is familiar with the plain vanilla loans available from banks viz business loans, loan against property, secured project loans. Banks also have a defined policy for calculating eligibility a well as setting the interest rates for the loans. With the advent of technology, , alternative lending options are also available for small business owners. This includes e-commerce Merchant Cash Advances, Unsecured Business Loans, Seasonal Working Capital Financing, Various Forms of Short-Term Funding, Equipment Loans and Business Line of Credit. Loan Frame, for example, has more than 50 products in its marketplace suite. This wide range also goes well beyond being just an eye-pleasing variety. A small business can choose the specific loan based on the desired utilization objective, thus increasing chances of approval and also giving an optimum rate of interest suiting the requirements.
Tailored Approach vs. Off-the-shelf Loans
Traditional banks follow strict & inflexible credit policies that are replicated across products and borrowers. More often than not, these are relevant for larger, more established borrowers and end up complicating the applications by smaller businesses. The SME owner comes across redundant documentation requirements, unreal covenant expectations and needless scrutiny that invariably leads to either rejection or a higher interest rate, both of which are indeed not desirable.
Alternative Lending is more customer-centric and focused on creating value for the borrowers.. Documentation and compliance requirements are adjusted based on the type of loan product.
Beyond Just Lending
Borrowers are used to approaching banks and picking from the 2-3 off-the-shelf products that come closest to meeting their requirements. Many Alternative Lending channels such as Loan Frame provide value added advice to the borrower as to which loan product will be more appropriate, leading to more efficient and effective borrowing. There is also significant assistance provided in drafting the loan application and ensuring complete documentation.
Debt Consolidation
Alternative Lending channels make it possible for a borrower with a variety of facilities across lenders to consolidate debt under one lender. This is facilitated by multiple factors such as a common platform, deep lender relationships, a variety of loan products and a better understanding of the borrower’s requirement.
Read how debt consolidation can help improve credit standing and lower borrowing costs.
The Sheer Convenience of It All
Alternative Lending channels save you a lot of time and effort. You get to be evaluated against various options online and can spend your energy with the best one rather than waste energy in approaching various banks. This helps you to focus more on what you are good at and interested in – running the business – rather than on just arranging finances for it.
Leveraging Technology
The traditional lending process involves lots of paperwork and physical visits, which lead to delays in the approval and funding process. On the other hand, Alternative Lending channels leverage technology to save on both time and effort. Firstly, proprietary algorithms check for your loan eligibility within few seconds even as they incorporate many aspects beyond just the credit score. These include financials, business profile, promoter’s credit history and other business-specific data. In short, you have a more detailed assessment done in a shorter time leading to faster credit approvals and swift credit disbursal. It’s no wonder that the rise of the tech-based Alternative Lending channel has coincided with the widespread adoption of initiatives such as eKYC, Aadhaar, and UPI.
In this way, Alternative Lending helps solve not just the funding availability problem but also addresses the vexing problem of unduly high-interest rates for small businesses. As Narayana Murthy says,
If you cultivate inexpensive habits, you will not become a victim of money in later years. And, you will not fall into the trap of greed which leads you to do things that you will later regret.
This applies in equal measure to personal habits and business expenses, including what you pay on your borrowings. A better credit appraisal leads to a more appropriate interest rate for your business loan.
Some of the NPA-laden and capital-starved banks are either unable or unwilling to step in and plug the big funding gap that exists for MSME borrowers. Alternative Lending is a viable alternative for such borrowers. Furthermore, loan marketplaces like Loan Frame have several banks on their platform, therefore effectively serving as a bridge between the traditional and the alternative lending options.
About the author
This article is contributed by Neha Nayyar who works with Loan Frame. Loan Frame is one of the leading players in SME finance space and is backed by marquee investors.
