All Posts in startups

|In: Entrepreneurship|Last Updated:

Taxiforsure co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna has invested an undisclosed amount in Mobile Beauty and Wellness Platform Vyomo in its seed funding. This is less than a month after his last day at TaxiForSure, the cab aggregator he and Raghunandan G sold to bigger rival Ola for a neat $200 million.

Vyomo

Vyomo is  his maiden investment. Explaining his excitement, Radhakrishna said

The Beauty & wellness Industry is a large market, ripe for disruption. I decided to invest in Vyomo based on the extremely focused & effective core team led by Abhinav Khare and Poonam Marwah – they have built an intuitively smooth mobile platform that is way ahead of the competition. Such a high organizational maturity is quite rare for a start-up of this phase.

Vyomo is simplifying Beauty and Wellness Industry by providing the complete fulfillment technology stack for customers and beauty professionals. We have built a curated platform. Thus, despite having more than 1500 Salons on-board, we have opened our platform only to 25% of the verified Salons and Spa in the first phase. Remaining salons are still going through product and process training by our dedicated Account Managers

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.

Commenting on the development, Yuvraj Singh, an existing investor in Vyomo through his recently founded Youwecan VC fund said

At Vyomo our aim is to create a complete end to end solution for Beauty & Wellness, a mobile platform that is lacking so far within the industry and ultimately repeat the success story of tech startups within Cab industry. Thus having Aprameya on-board is priceless

The Vyomo Mobile App for Salons, Spas and Stylists was made available in May 2015. The Customer App is also being launched ahead of its schedule today. Within the first 4 weeks, Vyomo has already brought 1500 Salons and Spa on on-board.

Abhinav Khare, Founder & CEO Vyomo added

For us, the quality and customer experience is more important than to bringing short term traction. We are spending a fair amount of time with each of our salons on training and hand-holding for Beauty Professionals, before they start accepting bookings through Vyomo. We want our customers to receive exceptional experiences. Our team is working extremely hard to bring more than 1M stylists on the platform by 2018

Having Aprameya as our investor and a member of advisory board is a great validation for our Mobile only strategy. We are looking to replicate the success of the on-demand cab industry and thus having him will only enhance our execution even further. He will be involved very closely in advising me on the Strategy, business model and leadership hiring decisions. His presence in our team, will allow us to scale and expand quickly.

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 – Vyomo]

|In: startups|Last Updated:

From this month on-wards, we start a new edition named “Startup Spotlight” where we would feature journey of a startup or have a Q&A with their founders or share details about their journey. This week we have a look at a Coupon & deals website – GrabOn.

A start-up which has achieved so much in an year, so it is best to not put it in words. All you need to know is that it is a unique, fast-growing and interactive coupons and deals website. It was started with an aim to help online shoppers save more on the products and services that can be already discounted or not. And it is still thriving to accomplish the same by multiplying its network. Today, GrabOn offers exclusive deals for a wide range of online stores such as Paytm, Freecharge, Flipkart, Snapdeal and more.

Today we share exciting journey & details about GrabOn in an effective infographic

GrabOn

Do give GrabOn a spin& do not forget to use their coupons and enjoy all the extra discounts to its maximum.

If you want any startup to be featured on this blog, please shoot a mail to himanshu.sheth@gmail.com

|In: Incubators|Last Updated:

PayPal announced the graduation of three startups incubated at its Start Tank Incubation Center in Chennai. The three companies — DoPartTime, Fantain & Kobster — started their incubation at Start Tank between 2013-14. The occasion marks another milestone for Start Tank, which is located within PayPal’s Technology Center in Chennai.

PayPal

PayPal’s Start Tank aims to identify and incubate the country’s next generation tech startups. These startups receive technology mentorship and infrastructure support from PayPal, as well as business mentorship from charter members of The Indus Entrepreneurs [TiE] Chennai.

Speaking about the graduation, Anupam Pahuja, General Manager, Technology, Asia-Pacific, PayPal said

As one of the world’s largest startups, we at PayPal are proud to see the graduating startups benefit from our mentorship and expand their teams and businesses while at Start Tank. This occasion is another major step in our commitment to the development of a strong technology ecosystem in India. We wish the three companies the best in their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Details about the Graduating Startups

Do_Part_Time_1DoPartTime, founded by Mohankumar Swaminathan and Arun David, is a marketplace for bringing together part-time job seekers and job providers. The portal facilitates the finding and hiring of flexible and temporary jobs through a technology-led web and mobile platform. The company was selected through the Start Tank Incubation Challenge startup selection event in Chennai.

Talking about the experince, Mohankumar Swaminathan, Co-founder & CEO, DoPartTime said

This tenure at PayPal has helped us with a myriad of opportunities. The periodic review meetings and regular technology guidance gave us the necessary direction to grow our company. We also made our first sale through the incubator when we helped fellow-incubatee – Kobster hire 15 candidates. We are aiming to become the country’s “hyperlocal job marketplace”.

Fantain_1Fantain, founded by Anand Ramachandran & Vivek Venugopalan, helps sports companies use ‘Fan Data’ to increase revenue and predictability. Through its ‘Fan Data Management Platform,’ it engages, collects, and analyzes ‘Fan Data’ from various sources and provides actionable insights to customers.

During its stint at Start Tank, Fantain expanded its headcount to 15 and won 3 clients, including the Indian Premier League T20 cricket team Sunrisers Hyderabad. Fantain was the recipient of the ‘Promising Startup Award’ at the Confederation of Indian Industry [CII] Startupreneurs Conference & Expo 2014.

Talking about their stint, Aravind Ramachandran, Co-founder & Chief Product Officer, Fantain

Sports fan engagement is a niche business, yet a highly potential space in India. PayPal’s fantastic support enabled us to take risks and achieve our targets in a relatively short period of time. We currently have more than one-third market share in our area of focus.

Kobster_1Kobster.com, founded by Vineet Neeraj, Karthik Ramaiah & Mohan Gayam, is a web-based, B2B e-commerce player that helps corporate buyers, retailers, SMEs, home offices, hotels, etc. to purchase office supplies in bulk at wholesale rates.

Kobster recently raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Splice Advisors and has seen its revenues grow from INR 40 lakhs to INR 6.5 crores by April 2015 while at Start Tank. The company aims to become the largest B2B provider in the space by creating an online platform for buyers and wholesale sellers from across the country.

Talking about their experience at PayPal, Karthik Ramaiah said

When we joined Start Tank, we were a four-member team. We’ve now become a 23-member strong enterprise and expanded our revenues tenfold. PayPal has been like a fourth co-founder, helping us build our company through their technological expertise and a great professional network including lawyers and chartered accountants.

About PayPal Start Tank

PayPal India formally launched its startup incubator in association with TiE Chennai in November 2013. The exclusive facility in PayPal’s Chennai technology center provides an obligation-free environment as well as technology and business mentorship for select startups to evolve. It has an office area of more than 11,000 square feet with a world-class incubation space, state-of-the-art conference rooms and other amenities.

Start Tank is located globally across PayPal offices in London and Chennai and provides access to global mentors, angel investors and venture capitalists. Start Tank Chennai currently hosts two other startups: Konotor and PiQube. PiQube recently secured $500,000 in funding from The HR Fund. More information about Start Tank here

|In: Entrepreneurship|Last Updated:

SAP SE announced the launch of a Startup Accelerator Program in partnership with CIIE to strengthen the local entrepreneurship ecosystem and provide mentorship to early-stage entrepreneurs. Through this program, SAP & CIIE aim to catalyse assistance from several support organizations such as angel networks, co-working spaces, fabrication labs, incubators, industry associations, and, technology and academic institutions, which have been working towards creating a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in Gujarat.

SAP-Logo.svg

Speaking about the association, Adaire Fox-Martin, President, SAP Asia Pacific Japan said

Entrepreneurs are the emerging leaders of the Digital Economy. They generate tremendous employment opportunities and contribute to the country’s growth. The program seeks to help entrepreneurs from tier II and tier III towns drive sustainable economic growth and innovation, and make Digital India real.

The program will be a significant catalyst of growth for entrepreneurs from emerging towns. Entrepreneurs will undergo a three-month, non-residential boot camp and monthly training workshops. They will be paired with domain experts from SAP Labs Bangalore to get insights into the latest technology innovations. The Startup Accelerator Program aims to create a pipeline of investable startups from this region by scouting for entrepreneurs from Gujarat and providing them with mentorship opportunities.

Kunal Upadhyay, CEO, CIIE at IIM – Ahmedabad added

Innovation and economic growth are directly linked to Gujarat’s ability to develop individuals with the skills to become a successful entrepreneur. We are pleased to collaborate with SAP on this initiative, and we will support this by leveraging our past experience and expertise to fast-track startup growth through operational guidance, mentoring and access to capital.

Believing in the power of small business and enterprises to drive innovation and job creation, SAP India is committed to finding unique ways to accelerate the growth of enterprises across the nation through training and technology consulting.

Apart from establishing best practices in the area of entrepreneurship, the Startup Accelerator Program will work towards building stronger collaboration between entrepreneurs and different stakeholders. In addition, this program will help develop a robust ecosystem and support entrepreneurs in areas such as Social Entrepreneurship, Healthcare, Education, Sports, Internet, Mobile, Internet of Things, Clean Technology, Smart City and Food & Agri Business by providing them with operational guidance and access to capital.

About CIIE

IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship [CIIE] helps entrepreneurs solve India’s most difficult problems in areas like energy, agriculture, healthcare and affordable technology. Set-up in collaboration with Government of India and Gujarat Government, CIIE is one of India’s leading entrepreneurship centre and operates different initiatives including incubators, accelerators and venture funds to support entrepreneurs. For more information, visit CIIE India

|In: e-commerce|Last Updated:

Funtuse announces the launch of its subscription-based marketplace specifically developed to provide children with appropriate online content and as a platform for publishers to effectively monetize their catalogs. The Funtuse all-in-one service offers children 5 to 12 years of age an ad-free, curated content platform featuring games, audio books, e-books, videos, and music.

All Funtuse content is specifically selected by experts and child psychologists to ensure that anything published is age-appropriate and suitable for young viewers. By creating a platform that offers parents piece of mind in regards to the content their kids are watching, Funtuse’s cross-platform service also allows users to access content on desktops, iPads & iPhones.

Funtse

Content producers who are searching for an alternative and secure way to distribute and monetize their digital media can leverage the Funtuse platform to gain a worldwide audience. With full, country-specific distribution and copyright control, content makers can now easily upload their content on Funtuse for free and receive a 50% share of subscription revenue generated by the platform. The more subscribers that view their content, the more revenue content providers receive.

Speaking at the launch, Funtuse Founder & Business Development Manager Sidharth Dhingra said

We look to offer children all over the world a secure and trusted digital environment to read, watch, and play the best quality content that can educate as well as entertain.

What we have developed is a platform that is beneficial for the end-user as well as the content provider who spends hours writing a great children’s e-book, or filming an insightful educational video series.

Funtuse is live, and we are constantly looking for content partners — whether they be publishing houses, independent animators, self publishers or game developers to help us grow and offer a unique media platform to children all over the world.

Content producers can also follow specific user trends via Funtuse’s detailed analytics dashboard, making the feature a powerful tool that can be leveraged to turn insights into effective product and marketing strategies. For parents, the analytics feature enables them to track their child’s interaction with Funtuse’s content and gain a deeper understanding of their interests.

Additionally, content providers can benefit from Funtuse’s expansive PR network giving them invaluable exposure in a global market that — according to IT research and advisory firm Gartner — has increased to $20 billion.

Funtuse is also uniquely positioned to provide access to content providers looking to tap the vast Indian market, where 30% of the country’s 1.27 billion people are under the age of 12 and are increasingly following the footsteps of their western peers.

About Funtuse

Founded in 2014, Funtuse is a subscription-based content marketplace for a wide range of media, including e-books, video, audio books, music and games perfect for kids aged 5-12. The all-in-one solution also offers content providers a powerful platform to distribute and monetize their existing and new content. For more information visit Funtuse

[Image Credit – Funtuse]

|In: Entrepreneurship|Last Updated:

Intel in India and the Department of Science and Technology announced the call for entries for the Intel & DST- Innovate for Digital India Challenge. The challenge is aimed at fostering a culture of innovation, create solutions that can address local needs and build an empowered ecosystem for pervasive technology adoption in the country.

The challenge will be open to aspiring and existing entrepreneurs, innovators, academia, designers, engineers & makers from diverse backgrounds.

To participate in the challenge, candidates must log on to Innovate For India & register their projects at the earliest. The registration closes on June 22, 2015

innovate_for_digital_india

Participants of the Intel & DST- Innovate For Digital India Challenge will be mentored by industry stalwarts and Intel experts. The participants will be trained in technical know-how, will be provided access to product kits and infrastructure and multiple commercialization opportunities.

Some key insights of the Innovate for “Digital India Challenge” are:

  • IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship to execute the challenge. Intel, CIIE & MyGov to work together for application management, program facilitation and popularization.
  • The challenge, running from April 2015 to January 20161, is open to academia, aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators, and startups.
  • Total grant worth Rs.1.5 crs; top three to get access to seed fund of Rs. 20 Lakhs each.

Speaking about the challenge, Narendra Bhandari, Director, Software & Services Group, Intel Asia Pacific said

Innovation is part of Intel’s DNA. This challenge combines Intel’s history of creating innovative technology with government’s Digital India vision, complemented by entrepreneurial talent to create a sustainable technology ecosystem. Through this challenge, we aim to encourage people to come forward and participate and create solutions that will help make Digital India, a reality.

Naganand Doraswamy, EVP & co-founder SPAN Infotech & President TIE Bengaluru, said

It is wonderful to see Intel actively collaborating with the government in the product start-up space. The Intel & DST Innovate For Digital India Challenge will offer a platform to the young creative minds of Karnataka to showcase their ideas and build start-ups that can make a difference in the Indian market.

Speaking at the event, Shankar Maruwada, Co-founder & CEO Ekstep said

Innovate For Digital India Challenge promises to be a timely platform for young creative minds across the country and we are extremely excited to be part of this challenge as this is the right time for students, innovators, and aspiring entrepreneurs in Karnataka to come forward and pave the way for enabling an innovative ecosystem.

Detailed T&C on the challenge and prize money are available at InnovateForDigitalIndia

[Image Credit – InnovateForDigitalIndia]

|In: startups|Last Updated:

Eka Software Solutions, the leading global provider of Smart Commodity Management software solutions, announced today the general availability of Commodity Analytics Cloud, an advanced analytics solution for commodities companies in the agriculture, manufacturing, energy & metals industries. With Commodity Analytics Cloud, traders, risk managers, analysts, supply chain/logistics managers, IT specialists, back office personnel and executives gain previously unavailable insights into key business areas and can take action before competitors.

EkaSoftware

Speaking about Commodity Analytics Cloud; Manav Garg, CEO at Eka said

Commodities markets are characterized by risk, volatility and complexity. Business users can no longer afford to wait days and weeks to understand market changes, analyse the alternatives, and make decisions. Every business user needs the power to analyse data the way they want, and that’s exactly what they get with Commodity Analytics Cloud.

Harnessing data from internal systems such as ETRM, CTRM, ERP, CRM & spreadsheets, and external sources such as market curves and weather data, Commodity Analytics Cloud brings all the data together in one place to answer the most important questions. Information is displayed in an easy-to-understand way that facilitates deeper inquiry. Business users can focus on data analysis, not data collection.

Backed by years of deep domain experience, Eka has created a series of apps specifically designed for the commodities markets that address high value business issues. Providing an end-to-end analysis of the entire enterprise, these apps span multiple categories including positions, P&L, trading, risk, credit, finance, supply chain, reconciliation, counter parties, and more.

Users can download the specific apps needed for their area of the business, and even customize apps for their individual needs. Analytics are no longer restricted to the realm of the IT department or other specialists. Commodity Analytics Cloud opens analytics to everyone.

Eka’s revolutionary next-generation technology, Pace, processes millions of data entities in seconds which enables users of Commodity Analytics Cloud the ability to move through data at unprecedented speed. Users can mix and match different data sets and perform real-time analysis on extremely large volumes of data.

Available on both smartphones and tablets as well as desktops and laptops, Commodities Analytics Cloud can be deployed on-premise in an internal company network or externally on a public cloud. More information about Commodity Analytics Cloud is available at this link.

About Eka Software Solutions

Eka is the global leader in providing Smart Commodity Management software solutions. Eka’s analytics-driven, end-to-end Commodity Management platform enables companies to efficiently and profitably meet the challenges of complex and volatile markets.

The company’s best-of-breed solutions manage commodity trading, enterprise risk, compliance, procurement, supply chain, operations, logistics, bulk handling, processing, and decision support. Eka partners with customers to accelerate growth, increase profitability, improve operational control, and manage risks and exposures.

|In: Events|Last Updated:

Building on the creative energy that Startup Weekend 2014 brought to the city, global leader in online payments, PayPal, announced today that it will host Startup Weekend in Chennai for the second consecutive year at the PayPal India Technology Center, Chennai from June 5 – 7, 2015.

PayPal

What is Startup Weekend ?

Startup Weekend is a 54-hour event where aspiring entrepreneurs come together to form teams, build products and try to develop viable startup ideas. The global grass-roots movement, which promotes creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship, is the largest community of entrepreneurs in the world, with over 1,800 events organized in 120 countries in 2014.

At Startup Weekend, participants get to meet, brainstorm and form groups based on their interests. They will also have the chance to work with mentors from technology and business fields, as well as angel investors to discuss and get insights on coding, designing, business model creation and market validation to help their idea development. At the end of the weekend, the teams will present their final plans to a panel of expert judges from across the industry.

Speaking about the event, Anupam Pahuja, General Manager, Technology, PayPal Asia Pacific said

We are thrilled to be hosting Startup Weekend in India for a second time. Through such events, we hope to be able to create a community for technology and startup enthusiasts to come together and collaborate on great ideas. As a leader in online payments and one of the world’s largest startups, we hope that the technology mentorship PayPal can provide will help enable and drive innovation within the technology ecosystem in India.

Details about Startup Weekend Chennai

Startup Weekend Chennai will focus on solving challenges in the financial technology space, encompassing areas related to credit, payments, security, asset management, currencies, etc.

How to register for Startup Weekend Chennai

The contest is open to developers, designers, product managers, marketers and startup enthusiasts – anyone with a creative idea and the desire to learn. Interested applicants can register for this year’s Startup Weekend at the following link. The registration closes at 12 P.M on June 4, 2015.

Why should you attend Startup Weekend

Participants will have the opportunity to interact with technology leaders from PayPal, including Anupam Pahuja, General Manager, Technology, PayPal Asia Pacific, as well as renowned industry experts such as Deepak Krishnan, Associate Vice President of Growth, FreeCharge.in & Ashwini Asokan, CEO and Co-founder, Mad Street Den & Mad Street Labs, and Ramanan RV, CoFounder at Juspay.in who will be mentors and conduct workshops during the event.

The top three teams who will be crowned at the end of the 54-hours will have a chance to enter the Start Tank Incubation Challenge organized by PayPal, which provides early-stage startups a world-class incubation space and access to global mentors, angel investors and venture capitalists.

In 2014, the Startup Weekend witnessed participation from over 100 startup enthusiasts, well-established CEOs, and a network of angel investors.

About Startup Weekend

Startup Weekend is a global movement to promote entrepreneurship, which takes place in over 550 cities. Many existing companies have also raised angel funding as well as gone onto accelerators like The Morpheus, 500 Startups, Y Combinator, Microsoft Accelerator etc. They are supported in their efforts by Google for Entrepreneurs, NASSCOM & 500 Startups.

In the past 3 years, 500+ startups have started & 15,000+ entrepreneurs have been inspired. Teams have even started to generate revenue during the 54 hour event & others have even gone on to raise funds from Business Angels or Venture Capitalists.