CBIX, a premier office-leasing platform in Delhi-NCR has launched its dedicated Co-Working & Business Centres vertical – to help clients looking for flexible and managed office options. CBIX claims to have mapped out all possible serviced office options across Delhi-NCR and provide it in a usable, easy to browse manner to clients.
The company says around 30% of its incoming leads are for flexible and co-working spaces. With the huge increase in demand for such spaces, a number of co-working and managed office options have sprung up in all major cities in India. Established brands like Awfis, Innov8 and 91Springboard operate multiple locations that run to full capacity.
Recently global majors WeWork and Spaces have also launched services in prime locations. To make sense of the whole range of options customers have, CBIX provides an aggregated platform and gives clients a personalized dashboard with shortlisted options as per their requirement. CBIX is not a marketplace connecting clients to brokers or service providers, but works with clients to narrow down best options and helps with negotiations and leasing right until move-in.
In its continued efforts to strengthen the collaboration between startups and corporates, Microsoft ScaleUp [known previously as Microsoft Accelerator] has selected 12 startups to be part of its new 12th cohort. ScaleUp is part of the recently announced Microsoft for Startups initiative, a new program that delivers access to technology, go-to-market and community benefits that helps startups grow their customer and revenue base.
The selected startups in the 12th cohort are focused on areas of Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, Big Data analytics, among others to build solutions for the market. Microsoft ScaleUp focuses on late stage B2B start-ups and helps them accelerate their business growth through mentorship, streamlined Go-To-Market [GTM] activities and most importantly access to world-class technology.
During the six-month program, these startups will work closely with Microsoft leaders, industry experts and leverage the Microsoft Partner Network to scale their business models and serve enterprise clients. These startups will get access to Microsoft’s rich technology expertise, infrastructure and Azure cloud platform to build a strong technology backbone for their business. As part of the program, these startups will also have access to a vibrant global alumni network of over 730 startup graduates, which will foster peer support and networking as well as access to Microsoft industry and customer events.
Selected startups for the 12th cohort
AppICE has built a proprietary platform that can take soft and hard sensor data from connected devices like smartphones and use machine learning to generate actionable insights.
Appiyo Technologies’ Twixor is the first of its kind ‘customer engagement platform’ which brings together the power of ‘bi-directional actionable messaging’ and Business Process Management [BPM]. Twixor delivers actionable customer engagement in a PWA [Progressive Web App] capsule powered by their versatile BPM engine.
Avanseus Technologies delivers AI based enterprise solutions for Mobile, Fixed, Transmission and IP Backbone Networks, Industrial Analytics, Security, Railways and the Internet of Things, transforming massive amounts of data into useful business insights and actions.
eGovernments Foundation aims to build and drive government transformations across India using open source technology.
Gaia Smart Cities Solution is a Data Automation and Analytics Company focused on bringing together multiple IoT and digital data streams into a single platform to enable the clients to measure, monitor and manage performance and service delivery.
GrowthEnabler Pii [Personalised Intelligence Interface] provides insights and intelligence on Technology Disruption, Digital Innovation and its impact on large corporations to solve their business issues and create competitive advantage. Their unique Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning engine connects business issues to global innovative emerging companies and startups.
Karo Sambhav is a tech-enabled, environmentally beneficial and socially responsible Producer Responsibility Organization [PRO] that is setting up a robust India-wide transformative solution on e-waste management.
Kogence brings flexibility, agility and productivity in the High Performance Computing [HPC] based workflows.
MachineSense has developed a patented Industrial IoT system for Predictive, Preventative and Electrical Maintenance of Industrial Machines. The company aims to build an IIoT platform for factory and building utilities that includes electricity, compressed air, water, HVAC, vacuum, etc.
SmartVizX is developing VArch Suite, a virtual reality product that improves interior design collaboration in the Architecture-Engineering-Construction [AEC] industry by offering immersive visualization, spatial awareness, interactivity with design elements, data management and communication features.
Sprinkle Data provides Search based Insight discovery and adaptive data management software-as service.
Xurmo Technologies is a self-service data ingestion, preparation and analysis platform built with the vision to simplify and automate data-driven decisions. By simplifying the analytics process, Xurmo enables faster adoption of data-driven decision making in enterprises.
BeatO [short for beating the ring ‘O’ of Diabetes], a comprehensive platform dedicated to improving the lives of those living with diabetes has raised an institutional round of $1.3 million led by Leo Capital and co-led by Blume ventures.
We are extremely excited to associate with partners like Leo and Blume. India is expected to have 100M diabetics by 2030. This puts tremendous pressure on all stakeholders in the healthcare eco-system both from a cost and well-being perspective to specially cater to this large demographic. This funding is a re-enforcement to the fact that we are solving a problem of massive scale.
Yash Sehgal & Abhishek Kumar, Co-founders, BeatO, said
With this funding, we plan to continue adding greater value to our customers through even better technology and distribution. We will also supplement our existing range of product categories including diabetic snacks and specialty foods. Our goal is to be an indispensable ally to a person living with diabetes.
BeatO makes blood glucose monitoring easy with its smartphone-based glucometer combined with support from experts. This is augmented by their wide range of diabetes-specific food and retail products, thereby catering to all the needs of a person with diabetes. Started just over 2 years ago, BeatO currently serves 25,000 active customers in more than 1,500 cities, some even as far as Baramullah in Kashmir. This depicts the powerful impact that a virtual and holistic solution can have in providing healthcare to everyone. BeatO is currently fulfilling over 5,000 transactions a month.
Speaking about the funding, Rajul Garg, Founder of Leo Capital, said
India is the diabetes capital of the world. We have looked deeply at chronic disease solutions and BeatO has been able to demonstrate an approach that diabetics find useful month over month. BeatO’s focus on a solution very unique to India is what attracted us.
BeatO is different from other players in the segment given their approach allows patients to manage diabetes effortlessly by having a wide array of healthy lifestyle choices available to them on a single platform.The founding team is perhaps one of the best in the industry and we feel confident that they will capture the opportunity in this space successfully.
BeatO had previously raised an angel round from a few individual investors including Rajeev Chitrabhanu, an early investor in Nazara Technologies, Rentomojo, etc and Vishal Sampat, who besides being an angel investor was also the Founder of Convonix, India’s largest digital agency acquired by Publicis.
BeatO has grown 10x in revenue within the last one year. It boasts of having facilitated more than 250,000 glucose readings and has over 80% repeat order rate of acquired customers. The company plans to continue adding products across categories which are useful for diabetics and leveraging technology to make them accessible in the near future.
About BeatO
BeatO is a full stack platform for people living with diabetes that was started in September 2015by Gautam Chopra, Yash Sehgal and Abhishek Kumar. With its unique mobile based monitoring solution, combined with diabetes-specific products such as diabetic snacks, specialty food, footwear etc, BeatO focuses on addressing all needs of their customers under one roof and supports them in making the right choices. For more information, please visit BeatO
Even though IoT is growing at an exceptional speed, developers and makers around the world are unable to match up with their development speed. This is because of the many separate elements required to build a project. You need to aggregate, learn how to integrate from a clutter of resources on the net. Bolt brings you just the right tools to help you build your projects at lightning speed [Source]
BOLT is an Internet of Things platform [Hardware + Cloud] that enables user to build IoT products and projects. Using BOLT, users can control and monitor devices from any part of the world. It provides the ability to embed Wi-Fi/GSM capabilities within other systems, or to function as a standalone application.
The manufacturers can embed the BOLT hardware in their product, develop a custom UI and then their users can control their products using the BOLT IoT app. BOLT works on pay as you go basis, which means the manufacturers have no capital investments to get their products IoT enabled. This lets even small scale players to build IoT enabled products and services. [Source]. Today we have a chat with Pranav Pai Vernekar, Founder & CEO of Inventrom-Bolt IoT about the startup, its products, IoT market landscape, developer ecosystem, etc. So lets get started with the Q&A…
Can you please share how did you come up with the idea of Bolt IoT and some insights into the team behind it ?
Before we got working with Bolt, our team has been strategic IoT consultants for various organizations and MNCs. We have trained more than 5,000 students in the field of IoT. During this time, we felt there was a need for building a truly seamless IoT platform that offers all the basic components in one go. This lead us to build the Bolt IoT Platform. We have been working on Bolt since January 2016 and managed to raise a funding of Rs. 3 crore in the same year.
Please walk us through the idea of Bolt IoT and the various products helpful for the developers ?
Bolt was conceptualized as an integrated IoT platform to immensely accelerate any IoT project or product, helping developers shape their idea into reality in the quickest and most efficient way. Bolt IoT solution currently consists of a Bolt WiFi module and our very own Bolt Cloud platform.
Our Bolt IoT cloud platform seamlessly lets you store data, run analytics or visualize the data for
presentation. It’s also very flexible in a way that, you may directly use the cloud platform or through your own or other compatible APIs. I would say the important feature of our Bolt platform is its capability of auto-sending alerts through Emails or SMS whenever a specified threshold has been reached.
Other noteworthy functions include, a powerful dashboard for device management, an online configuration and a code editor. Developers can use this to quickly prototype IoT use cases, allowing users to connect hardware and visualize their data almost instantly. We are already in the final stages of incorporating advanced data analytics protocols and Machine Learning features natively into our platform. This will help users to run key algorithms for predicting and visualizing trends in the data as well as detect any anomalies proactively.
Can you talk to us about the Kickstarter campaign, the response to it and some of the queries from the backers of the project ?
We successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign in the month of November~December 2017. The response we had far exceeded our expectations as we raised 484% of our targeted goal of USD 10,000 from more than thousand backers. The maximum number of backers came from USA followed by India, Japan, Germany, and UK. Most of the queries were regarding our scalability and the tech behind our product, I can confidently say that all of them eager to get their hands on the platform which we are shipping to the backers from the month of February.
We have now launched the platform for sale on Indiegogo InDemand. Here is the link to the campaign.
What are some of the ideal use-cases where the solution from Bolt IoT would be useful [or the ideal sectors where it could be used by devs/SMEs] ?
Bolt is ideal for anything that requires active data monitoring in real-time. Lot of makers use it to build some cool home automation projects such as Trash Can that send alerts when it is full, Voice activated lighting using Bolt with Alexa, Plant Monitoring system for Smart Garden etc.
Here is a link to the list of projects that have been built using Bolt. You may find some interesting use-cases for home automation in this YouTube link
There are lot of other exciting projects that have been built using Bolt such as a Crypto Alert System and Internet Controlled Robot. A couple of developers even built The Weasleys’ Clock from Harry Potter using Bolt IoT. This clock tells you the location of the family members instead
of the time.
When it comes to enterprise projects, a common Industrial use case of Bolt is for Temperature & Humidity monitoring purposes. One of our early use cases was when Bolt was used by a Tobacco MNC to monitor their curing process. Many Pharmaceutical Industries now use Bolt extensively to monitor the temperature in their storage and manufacturing areas.
There are loT of hobbyist/novice programmers that are interested to work on IoT and they already have hardwares like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, etc. Can you explain how seamless is it to interface modules from Bolt IoT to these open hardware(s) ?
We designed Bolt to be as universally compatible as possible, and so, certainly it can seamlessly integrate with all these open source hardwares over UART protocol. Arduino especially has been the most popularly used hardware amongst Bolt users, as it instantly enables cloud and IoT functions when it is interfaced with Bolt. We created a library to make interfacing very easy, enabling the boards to have active internet and cloud connectivity in just under a few minutes.
Can you please explain us about Bolt Cloud, its Pricing Plan and whether it can be used in co-ordinance with other existing Cloud Services [AWS, Azure, etc.] ?
Bolt was envisioned for the masses, to bring IoT tech accessible to everyone. In accordance with that vision, we made Bolt Cloud our main USP. Our cloud solution does more than just store data, it can actually analyse it through various Machine Learning Algorithms, and Visualization programs.
Our Bolt Cloud can be used a standalone cloud service solution or be seamlessly integrated with other existing Cloud service providers like AWS, Azure, Google, IBM etc. through Bolt APIs.
Currently, we are providing Blot Cloud access ‘free for life’ to all our crowdfunding supporters. Means, all the developers and users of Bolt who contributed to our Kickstarter campaign or the currently active Indiegogo campaign will have unlimited access for life to our cloud platform. It is our way of showing our gratitude and rewarding the trust they have on our IoT solution. There will be a nominal usage charge for all others post the crowd sourcing campaign and a reasonable usage fee enterprise clients using our solution for commercial application.
Bolt IOT Team
What are the different pricing plans of Bolt IoT for Developers, SME’s or big businesses ?
We have various options available for developers and SMEs, as we want our users to have control over their purchase. They have a wide range of options to choose according to their budget and opt for the most ideal plan to meet their requirements. You can browse through our strategically priced plans here.
Can solutions from Bolt IoT be used for use-cases related to IIoT, if so can you please list down some examples where it is already deployed in a large scale setup [Farm, manufacturing unit, etc.] ?
Yes, of course. Currently, Bolt’s primary IIOT clients are from the Pharma Manufacturing sector. This year, we have launched the Bolt Temperature and Humidity Monitor [BTHM], a compact smart device which auto-logs temperature and humidity.
This data can be monitored over cloud and it can even send alerts via SMS or Email should the readings cross over a preset threshold. Needless to say, the Pharma and Medical industry as a whole is need of these smart solutions to drastically minimize losses due to quality issues of their products such as vaccines, blood, medicines, dry rooms etc.
How can developers of Bolt IoT platform leverage the use of ML, AI in their applications ?
Building something from scratch or bringing an idea to reality is a challenging process, not to mention time consuming and capital intensive. Bolt however, helps this process by intelligently collate data for developers over cloud and analyze it. It offers unparalleled flexibility by allowing users to run their own custom ML algorithms from their own cloud platform or use others like Amazon Machine Learning/Microsoft Cortana ML and IBM BlueMix.
Additionally, for use cases such as trend prediction using polynomial regression, there is native support coming soon to the Bolt cloud as a feature. You can read about how to use a third party setup for anomaly detection here and a detailed account of the polynomial regression feature here
There are many other/more or less similar IoT platforms targeting similar market segment, what are some of the core USP’s of your platform ?
I would say the core USP of Bolt IoT platform lies in its ease of use, whether they are beginners or professionals. Another key point of our platform is that its highly scalable and has been fine tuned multiple times since its inception through user feedbacks.
The core foundation of the Bolt IoT platform is its ease of use for developers and makers, whether beginners or professionals. The biggest advantage of using our platform is the Bolt Cloud which has been designed with scalability in mind and fine-tuned after multiple iterations and feedback from makers and developers.
The top five reasons our users have expressed their commendations are:
Its fast interfacing speed, as it only takes 20 minutes from hardware connection to visualizing data on the cloud platform.
Its compatibility and ability to collect, store, visualize and analyze IoT sensory data as well as alerting any deviations instantly through SMS or Email.
Its future ready, as its already has an native Machine Learning features to analyze data and even allowing users to connect their own ML algorithms on third party cloud servers should they wish.
Its highly customizable as users have full control on the configuration of their device as to how they want to connect, on data visualization, etc.
Its very scalable, as Bolt is capable of deploying the code to thousands of Bolt powered IoT devices and applications with a single click.
Power is an integral part of any Embedded System, can you share some details on the power figures of your platform and how does it compete vis-a-vis other platforms [offering similar functionalities] ?
Sure, the Bolt WiFi module can be powered using a 5v 300mA supply which typically available via a USB port. Hardware wise, the Bolt WiFi module is an ESP8266 along with some additional components. As such it’s power requirements are similar to a typical ESP8266 device.
What kind of coding skills are required in order to build solutions using the Bolt IoT platform and can it be used by someone who does not have coding experience ?
There are no prerequisite knowledge required for using Bolt. It’s quite easy to use as you can already launch systems to monitor data with just a GUI based dashboard. And, if you have knowledge of software programming such as Python, you can build a more advanced system
and develop complex solutions with Bolt.
We have tutorials to show how someone can use a graphical flow-based model using IBM NodeRED for projects with the Bolt.
Can you talk about the Security aspects of the modules in Bolt IoT since security in IoT security is very critical as it involves lot of data ?
Security is indeed a very critical aspect of IoT and at Bolt, we have implemented several measures in both hardware and software to ensure our users and data are protected at all times. Our Bolt Cloud already uses state-of-the-art encryption while communicating with the Bolt Wi-Fi module to prevent data from being snooped on by malicious external agents.
In specific, the Bolt Wi-Fi module’s firmware includes various verification mechanisms to authenticate the user and to ensure the module cannot be re-linked to another user unless explicitly shared via the Bolt Cloud. Our Bolt Software and Hardware stacks are also audited by third-party security audit firms for vulnerability assessment. In addition, we possess patching capabilities to securely update the Bolt device over-the-air even if something unthinkable happens.
How can executives at industrial companies exploit the revenue-generating opportunities of the IoT/ IIoT ?
IoT is rapidly changing the business models by letting the organizations charge the end users for the service rather than the product. A few days back I came across a company that offers water purifiers by charging the users Rs.1 per liter of water rather than the one time charge of Rs. 15,000/- per unit. They take care of the regular servicing of the product at no additional cost.
This means that they have moved from the business of selling purifiers to the business of selling water. This is possible due to IoT as the sensors embedded in the water purifiers send the data about the water consumption over the cloud for the company to bill the customer. Its an ingenious way to generate revenue as consumption rate will only grow while production rate may decline in future. It certainly makes sense to switch to service rather than product in the future.
How important is a requirement for Open architecture, shared platforms, etc. for the growth of the entire IoT/IIoT eco-system ?
The most important factor which facilitates growth in the IoT and even IIoT ecosystem is the community which adopts the relevant platform/communication protocol/framework or standard.
Locking developers in is no longer an option as it stifles creativity and robustness of solutions. In keeping with that philosophy, we have opened up APIs for people to interact with the Bolt Cloud and develop their custom solutions for controlling the Bolt Wi-Fi module as well as using the data gathered. This allows developers to use popular third-party frameworks from IBM, Amazon, and Microsoft to process their data and even write custom applications in any language which supports RESTful APIs including Python, C++, Java, JavaScript. However, we also do believe in ease of development and hence do provide several features like device management, extensive visualization with graphs, and device configuration natively in the Bolt Cloud dashboard.
Additionally, the schematic and layout of the Bolt Wi-Fi module will also soon be made open to allow developers to easily work on custom solutions incorporating the Bolt.
Can you share some tips for building an effective team for startups [especially the initial core team] ?
There is a famous quote for startup hiring,’Hire the best no matter what.’ While this may seem obvious, practicing it is quite tough. We at Bolt IoT have struggled in the past with good hiring, and have learnt from our mistake.
For a good initial team, I suggest you hire via reference, as its a practice that’s been successful at Bolt. Also, in case the hire turns out to be bad, don’t to hesitate to ask the person to resign. It is a tough task, but by letting a non performer be in the company, you are being unfair to the other team members. In addition to some of the point advice on startup hiring, I suggest you read Cut the Crap and Jargon by Shradha Sharma & T.N. Hari. It lists some excellent tips for building a great team.
Hardware [be it IoT, Biometrics, etc.] is a very difficult nut to crack [especially from funding and hiring per-se], what are your perspectives on the same ?
Building a Hardware startup is indeed tougher than building a software startup as it involves aspects of inventory, logistics etc. This means that raising funds too is difficult. I believe that the investors are right in this regard as the possibility of success of hardware startups is less.
Yes, if you are solving a real big enough problem and have a right team in place then you can surely achieve success.
As per your entrepreneurial experience, when should an entrepreneur look out for external funding ?
I believe that once you have the MVP ready and a bit of initial traction, it is a good time to look for funding. As this will be a crucial time for your product and external funding will help you focus on the product rather than administration.
Some books that you highly recommend for entrepreneurs ?
Some of my top choices would be ‘Zero to One’ by Peter Thiel, ‘Pour your heart into it’ by Howard Schultz and ‘Cut the Crap and Jargon’ by Shradha Sharma & T.N. Hari
Some closing thoughts for our readers!
I believe success comes only through perseverance and persistence. Everyone can achieve what they set out to do if they soldier on while constantly improving their knowledge and skills. A new age of internet [IoT] is blooming and is open for all. Let’s be the forerunners and reap the rewards!
We thank Pranav for sharing her insights with our readers and walking us through his journey. If you have any questions for him, please share them via a comment to this article.
Joining the league of smart technology and fitness gadgets, multi-feature mobile application Revofit, a one stop shop for a total transformation, was launched by healthpreneur and wellness expert, Sunjay Ghai, who is also a Co-Founder of hyper local delivery platform ‘Scootsy’. The app was incubated in AntFarm Incubators, which has been founded by Rishi Khiani. In just a few weeks, the app has crossed 20,000 downloads, its key features being credibility and convenience.
Bad eating habits, stress at the work place, lack of sleep and nutritional deficiencies are the root cause of preventable diseases such as diabetes, heart issues, hypertension, and so on. In fact, such preventable diseases will for the first time be the highest cause of death in India. Revofit intends to be the ultimate destination for preventive health and fitness. A pocket guide with multiple avenues of engagement, the app provides customized support across five categories – Plan, Move, Eat, Shop and Chat.
Not only can you enjoy its many novelty features, but you can also connect with competent professionals for real-time tips and advice. Plan right begins with an advisory service driven by a team of nutritionists, who using AI create unique eating plans designed specifically for users at a very individual level. This is tracked within the app to ensure that the user is following recommendations.
Move right, as a section, is based on a trainer, that is shot on HD video. It uses a complex algorithm to create unique workouts, which keeps evolving according to user inputs and progress, just like a human personal trainer. For the walking enthusiasts, a walk/run feature uses a voice coach to motivate and guide users through walks and runs.
Eat right is content driven primarily by recipes from master chefs like Vicky Ratnani, who dispel the myth that eating healthy is boring and bland. In certain pockets of Mumbai, one can also order food through ‘farm to fork’ RTE brand Hello Green by Revofit, which will soon scale to all major metros of India.
Moreover, Revofit also has a shopping section of curated brands based on nutrition and vitamins, aimed at offering the best products at the best prices. The app can be accessed ‘anytime anywhere’, and is a convenient tool for working professionals, travellers, and just about anyone facing a time crunch. Skipping daily workouts and indulging in cheat meals are no longer an option.
Revofit offers a completely dynamic experience that adapts to each individual according to data collected via user interactions; workouts, diets, and preferences are curated according to their inputs, and they progress accordingly. This algorithm sets us apart from other fitness apps. Consider us the Netflix of fitness, because in the coming months you will see India’s renowned trainers launch their fitness programs using our platform.
Aside from fitness content, users can also access a library of oriental and continental recipes, healthy meals on Hello Green by Revofit, meditation programs; have fun with its gamified interface; engage with the brand offline at various experience centers and events; participate in support groups; and snap up branded Activewear. For further information, please visit Revofit
Indian School of Business [ISB], organized the India Conference on Innovation, Intellectual Property and Competition in Delhi. The objective of the conference was to offer a roadmap to manage innovations at various stages in the value chain, which calls into play the various tools of the Intellectual Property System. The role of Intellectual property, from producer to the end user, in relations to innovation was addressed through a daylong conference.
In his keynote address,Shri Suresh Prabhu, Minister for Commerce and Industry, Government of India, mentioned that Government is working on having regular interactions with the Start-ups, who are at the forefront of innovations, primarily on regulatory aspects, which helps them in their business initiatives.
There is a need to integrate insights from West and East to address the tussle between competition and protection. There is a need for a dialogue between the competing interests of the society, corporate and the individual level for the required value migrations. Our Lab is the Market Place and we need to look at ways we could manage ideas.
Dr Girish Sahani, Director General, CSIR & Secretary, DSIR, said
CSIR stands No.1 in R&D Patents and this was possible because of the mind-set change in the scientists to bring about synergy into production systems and focus towards more product based innovations vis-a-vis process based. CSIR is currently positioned at 75th in the Global R&D institutions.
Speaking on innovation ecosystem in India, Dr Rishikesha Krishnan, Director, IIM Indore, pointed out that much of the innovation in India is dominated by the multinational companies. However there is immense scope for frugal innovations in India especially happening at the start-up levels.
Start-ups are becoming increasingly visible. The future of innovation is in e-commerce, Fintech, Artificial Intelligence, machine learning etc. Many companies are looking at India for their R&D needs.
Professor Anil K Gupta, Founder Honey Bee Network & Executive Vice Chair, National Innovation Foundation, said
We must not focus on frugality which is only for customers but also look into the manufacturers. There is a need to bridge the formal and informal innovations happening in India.
Ms Geeta Gouri, Former Member, Competition Commission of India and Director [Tariffs], APERC, in her address opined that creating new markets is also an important responsibility of the competition commission. Taking the examples of the cases at the Competition Commission on automobile after market and Google search engine, Ms Gouri said
Anything dominant will result in abuse, but the innovator must get the required credit for his innovation.
Mr Vivek K Kamath, Managing Director, Merck Sharp and Dohme Pharmaceuticals [India], opined that there is a need to focus on both large as well as niche categories healthcare intervention. Mr Vivek K Kamath said
Policies are forward looking right now, but enforcement gap maybe the challenge. We need to do better on the enforcement dimension especially related to Intellectual Property Protection, Patented product pricing and clinical trials which will create a robust Indian healthcare innovation ecosystem.
The conference saw a galaxy of speakers speaking on various aspects of innovation ecosystem – IP Index, clusters, Chinese exceptionalism, piracy, healthcare innovation, app economy, trade agreements, intersection of technologies, inequality among others. The interactive conference was attended by around 150 delegates representing industry, academia and the Government. This is the inaugural edition of such a conference organized by the Indian School of Business.
Brigade REAP, an accelerator program with a focus on technology that Impacts the real estate industry, announced the graduation of its third cohort of five startups during the Brigade REAP Handover Day. Located in the premises of the iconic World Trade Centre – Bangalore, the Brigade REAP accelerator program is Asia’s first-ever startup accelerator, designed to help enterprise startups in the Real Estate sector.
REAP was Launched in October 2016 with an intention to mentor startups leveraging technology which can help in delivering greater efficiencies to the Real Estate sector. Over 100 plus start-ups were evaluated for Cohort three and after two rounds of intense jury selection, 5 start-ups were inducted into the program. The start-ups inducted in the program went through a rigorous four and a half month mentorship and acceleration program before being handed over to the real estate Industry for consumption of their products and services.
The five start-ups reaped immense benefits from mentoring, stakeholder development, tech evaluation, business modelling and investor & enterprise connects. The six pillars of engagement focused by REAP are product development, Technology road-map, people strategy, go-to-market strategy, marketing-branding-PR strategy and strategies to make startups investment ready.
At the Handover Day of the 3rd cohort, these five start-ups demonstrated their ventures to eminent developers from the Real Estate Industry, Investors, HNI’s, other startup founders and senior management of global corporates. The event marked the culmination of the third cohort’s technology and market acceleration journey. Even as alumni’s, the startups will have continued access to mentorship and go-to-market opportunities with Brigade REAP, as well as eco-system connects.
The main focus of the accelerator program is to make startups ‘industry ready’. Many of them need to tweak their business model in order to work seamlessly with established real estate developers who have their own idiosyncratic way of working. We try to work with startups that can help developers either increase revenues or decrease cost and time taken to deliver on products or services. We look at startups in the Real Estate, Hospitality, Office and the Retail Sector. We hope to add value to the industry and ecosystem through our efforts. ” said Ms. Nirupa Shankar, Director, Brigade REAP speaking on the occasion.
Startups that graduated from the Brigade REAP program
ECOSTP – A ‘Zero Power’ sewage treatment technology. Compared to conventional STP’s that consume energy, ECOSTP produces energy. A 200 KLD ECOSTP based sewage treatment plant can generate 50KL/day Biogas, energy equivalent to 25 liters of Diesel.
REAP helped us succeed and coached us on all aspects of our business. If you have an idea which can disrupt the realty market place, REAP is the place to knock.
QuickQuotes– An enterprise procurement platform for construction, infrastructure & interiors. With a month on month growth of 100% in GMV since inception, they have over 300 QuickQuotes trained vendors dealing with a client base of over 150.
I had a great experience with REAP and the learning will continue despite graduating from the program.
Synconext– An IoT based building workplace technology that does energy monitoring for commercial Real Estate. They have successfully saved 157K kw/h of energy within an area of 561K sq.ft.
The REAP team is very experienced and provides all round mentorship which is critical for any startup to succeed. REAP’s connects in the ecosystem is brilliant and this has helped us in opening doors for acquiring various leads.
WeGoT Utility Services– An IoT based water usage Analytics Company which helps track user consumption of water. In more than 2000 homes they have saved over 30 Million liters of water within the first 2 years of existence.
Being part of REAP has given us the opportunity to interact and connect with various stakeholders in the industry that are striving to bring about a real change in this space.
Woodzon – An Online B2B marketplace for woodworking industry. They have 20,000 plus products with categories ranging over 200 plus.
Being a startup it’s really hard for us to have an acceptance in the market but the brand name Brigade REAP gave us a huge push to the market. The program helped us in improving our conversion ratio which was one of our biggest ask.
Applications for the fourth cohort are now open. Selected startups will receive technology and business mentorship as well as access to markets and investors. To know more, please visit Brigade REAP
About Brigade REAP
Brigade REAP is focused on technology startups whose end product/service is applicable to Real Estate be it Residential Commercial or Hospitality projects. The sectors range from IoT, Nano Technology, Cleantech and Renewable energy, Logistics and Visual Computing. The program is mentored by John Kuruvilla, Chief Mentor for the program and Apul Nahata, Mentor-in-Residence and has a stellar line up of mentors and advisors.
Karma Healthcare, a Rajasthan-based startup in the technology-led healthcare space, has raised INR 3 crore [~USD 500,000] in equity funding from early stage investment firm 1Crowd, existing investors Ankur Capital, Ennovent Capital and Beyond Capital, and angel investors including Mr Anil Chatta [an experienced healthcare professional based in the Middle East].
Image Source – Fund Raising
Founded by ISB Hyderabad alumnus Jagdeep Gambhir, Karma Healthcare aims to provide high quality, affordable, equitable and reliable healthcare to India’s underserved population via a differentiated business model.The company has combined the human touch of a nurse with the scalability of shared doctor services via real-time online video consultations, and delivers healthcare to consumer via its e-Doctor clinics. Karma Healthcare’s overarching vision is to disrupt the healthcare landscape, by establishing a pan India network of healthcare clinics.The company thus seeks to make definitive large scale impact and in-turn take significant steps towards ‘healthcare for all’.
Karma has completed over 50,000 consultations, and currently operates 10 e-Doctor clinics in the states of Rajasthan and Haryana which deliver a comprehensive ecosystem of clinical treatment, quality medicines and diagnostics at competitive rates. With the new funding, more than 10 Lakh patients in the underserved communities of India will be able to access quality healthcare services through Karma’s network of e-Doctor clinics.
The company has developed an in-house technology suite that helps it deliver standardized care, including a bespoke Clinical Decision Support System, and is extending its capabilities to deep learning driven diagnosis, treatment and monitoring. Karma is supported by marquee organizations such as the Tata Trusts, UBS Optimus Foundation and WISH Foundation.
We are grateful to all our investors for reposing faith and commitment in our work. This new funding will help us scale our operations as well as enhance our technology offering to improve quality of care and provide great patient experience.
Karma has vividly demonstrated that a viable business model, with enormous socio-economic impact can indeed be targeted at the lower half of the pyramid. The simplicity with which they combine knowledge and technology, makes for a unique venture. We look forward to working with them as they enter a very exciting phase of growth.
Ritu Verma, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Ankur Capital, said
Karma’s deep engagement and understanding of healthcare delivery has allowed it to develop an impressive healthcare analytics and decision support system. We look forward to working with Karma in rolling this out to a much wider set of consumers in the next phase of their growth.
About 1Crowd
1Crowd is an early stage investor and has made over 15 investments in areas such as FinTech, healthcare, education, enterprise technology and deep technology [including BioTech, NanoTech and CleanTech]. 1Crowd recently announced the first close of its maiden venture capital fund. Ankur Capital is an early stage venture capital fund investing in opportunities created by rising aspirations and digital access for the next billion Indians. Ankur Capital looks for innovative business models that can address core challenges in agritech, food, healthcare, skill development and education among others. For more information, please visit 1Crowd
