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General Motors: Driven to Succeed

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by General Motors.

General Motors, a multinational corporation based in the United States, was the leading automobile company for 77 years until it was surpassed by Toyota in 2008. Despite this, GM has consistently ranked among the top 15 companies on the Fortune 500 list, and recently moved up from No. 8 to No. 5. With operations in eight countries and four brands, GM is also involved in joint ventures with Chinese automakers and produces military vehicles for the US government.

General Motors – Company Highlights

Company Name General Motors

Headquarters Michigan, US

Sector Automotive

Founder William C. Durant, Charles Stewart Mott. Frederic L. Smith

Founded September 16, 1908

Website gm.com

General Motors – About
General Motors – Automotive Industry
General Motors – Founders and Team
General Motors – Startup Story
General Motors – Mission and Vision
General Motors – Name, Tagline, Logo
General Motors – Business Model
General Motors – Revenue Model
General Motors – Employees
General Motors – Challenges Faced
General Motors – Mergers and Acquisitions
General Motors – Awards and Achievements
General Motors – Competitors

General Motors – About

General Motors are the manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of vehicles and vehicle parts. GM is a public company owned by shareholders. General Motors formerly known as General Motors Corporation has been the world’s largest motor-vehicle company for most of the 20th and early 21st century. With a global presence, General Motors operates manufacturing and distribution plants not only in the United States and Canada but also across many other regions of the world. The company is majorly involved in the production of automobiles and trucks which also includes automotive components.

General Motors – Automotive Industry

The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the business of manufacturing, design, marketing, and distribution of automotive products. The automotive industry began in the 1860s with a lot of manufacturers that pioneered change in the carriage system. Earlier the manufacturing process involved a lot of labor from engineering to very little work. At the beginning of the 1960s robotic equipment was introduced and now most of the work is automated. General Motors is been a leading manufacturer in the industry for decades.

General Motors – Founders and Team

The origins of General Motors date back to September 16, 1908, when the company was originally founded. However, the present-day version of the company is the result of a reorganization that took place on July 10, 2009. General Motors was established by William C. Durant, Charles Stewart Mott, and Frederic L. Smith.

William C. Durant

William C. Durant – General Motors

William Crapo Durant was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry. He co-founded General Motors and Chevrolet. He was the one who introduced the system of multiple marques with different automobile lines. He also founded Frigidaire.

Charles Stewart Mott

Charles Stewart Mott – General Motors

Mott was an industrialist and businessman in America. He co-founded General Motors along with the other two. He initiated the idea of building colleges and pledged $1 Million towards the project. He also founded the Flint Senior College now the University of Michigan – Flint.

Frederic L. Smith

Frederic L. Smith – General Motors

Frederic Latta Smith was the pioneer of the automobile industry. He was one of the founders of the Olds Motor Works before he co-founded the General Motors Corporation in 1908. During the early years of the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers Smith managed to be its president.

General Motors – Startup Story

In the early 1900s, the General Motors company was formed under the leadership of William C. Durant. The formation was to consolidate several motorcar companies like Buick, Oldsmobile, Oakland, Marquette, and other several autos. This consolidation also includes Reliance and Rapid Trucks. The auto giant was the innovative body that first introduced the electric self-starter in 1912. Though it became obsolete in the beginning. GM became the leading American passenger car manufacturer in 1929.

Durant first formed the company as a holding company, with Charles Stewart Mott as a partner. The name was initially borrowed from General Electric. In 1919, with the acquisition of Guardian Frigerator Company, became the GMAC, General Motors Acceptance Corporation. GMAC provides financing to automotive customers and the acquisition was renamed Frigidaire.

In 1920, GM heavily competed with the Ford Motor Company under the leadership of Alfred P. Sloan. He implemented the pricing strategy from least to most expensive vehicles in his annual model changes. Sloan also created a market for the previous year’s car models as used cars. In 1921, GM patented the tetraethyllead (gasoline) compound and also developed Chlorofluorocarbons both were banned in the later years as harmful ingredients for the biosystem. In 1926, the Pontiac brand was introduced by GM along with the insurance program for its employees. In 1927, Sloan created the ‘Art and Colour Section’ of GM and Harley Earl was its first director. The automobile design created by Earl is still in practice. After Earl, Mitchell took over the design for GM.

GM invented the breakthrough in heat treatment by introducing the Jominy end-quench test for the hardenability of carbon steel in 1937. In 1939, the company placed its feet in the vehicle insurance market by finding the Motors Insurance Corporation. In the same year, the company introduced the world’s first affordable and successful automatic transmission.

The tremendous growth of Automatic Transmission Car sales has been recorded.

Automatic transmission is new normal as it provides numerous technological advances. The growth of production and sales is increasing every business year. The merits are super interesting.

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Vast quantities of production happened during the times of world war 2 when the company supplied armaments, aircraft, and vehicles for the Allies of World War 2. Its German factories were destroyed by the U.S. forces during the war for which a compensation of $32M was received by the company.

In 1962, the first turbocharged engine was introduced by the GM for the Oldsmobile Cutlass Turbo-Jetfire. In the next two years, the company introduced its “Mark of Excellence” logo and trademark at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The company used this mark as its main corporate identifier until 2021.

The first-ever hydrogen fuel cell car was released by General Motors Company in 1966. Though fuel cells were already in existence, GM was the first one to use them to power the vehicle. The budget to use the power cell supplied by Union Carbide was millions of dollars. It also introduced the first-ever turbochargers and gas turbine vehicles powered by kerosine, but later the techniques were abandoned due to the oil crisis in 1973.

GM produced the first rear-wheel anti-lock braking system for two vehicles namely the Toronado and Eldorado. The Oldsmobile Toronado is also the first retail car with a passenger airbag introduced in 1973. In 1975, GM installed the first catalytic converters in its models. The converters are exhaust emission control devices that convert toxic gases into less-toxic pollutants. Year after year GM proved itself by introducing various new techniques and innovations in the market.

In 1987, GM built the Sunraycer, which won the inaugural World Solar Challenge. This invention was a showcase of advanced technology. Later, in 1990, GM debuted the EV1 concept which is a battery electric vehicle at the LA Auto Show. But the EV1 lease was available to only a few dealers in California and Arizona. Production was stopped for this product as it would not be profitable for the company. This disappointed many people which led the company to deactivate and destroy the EV1s, 40 of which were donated to museums. The documentary film ‘Who Killed the Electric Car?’ covers the story of EV1. In 1993, Lotus cars by GM were sold to Bugatti.

It was in 1996, that GM completed the corporate spin-off of Electronic Data Systems. The next year, GM sold its military businesses of Hughes Aircraft Company to Raytheon Company. Being the king of inventions in the automotive industry, GM introduced the first full-sized pickup truck hybrid vehicle, the Chevrolet Silverado Sierra trucks in May 2004. Other than these mild hybrids, GM also developed another debutante using hybrid technology, along with DaimlerChrysler and BMW. In the same year, GM sold the electro-motive diesel locomotive design to Berkshire partners and Greenbriar Equity group.

GM added its “Mark of Excellence” emblem in all its productions till the reorganization in 2009. In 2005, GM newly created the vice president position to lead a global automotive design organization and made Edward T. Welburn the first VP. 2006 was the year when GM introduced the yellow gas cap on its vehicles to identify them as cars operated using E85 ethanol fuel and Saturn Vue Green Line.

In 2008, GM concentrated on reducing landfill waste to achieve the status of landfill-free production. It started recycling and reusing the wastes from manufacturing processes. This was the year GM was conscious about the environment and offered a 2-mode hybrid system in most of its vehicles. It also installed the world’s largest rooftop solar power installation in its manufacturing plant in Zaragoza.

In March 2009, the company received bailouts of $17.4 B under the presidency of Barack Obama. Then, GM motors filed a chapter-11 reorganization and sold its assets including the logo to the new company and thus the new GM was born. General Motors Canada was not a part of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The US department of treasury invested $49.5 B through the Troubled Asset Relief Program in GM and recovered only $39B with a loss of $10.3B. It also invested in the GMAC financing companies and had a profit of $2.4B. In 2009, the company shut down the production of the Saturn and Pontiac brands due to a lack of potential buyers. It also sold Hummer and Tengzhong in the same year.

After the reorganization, the company appointed a new CEO and made changes to the BOD team. The company became public through its public offerings in November 2010. This is one of the world’s top five largest IPOs to date. In the same year, the company became profitable. In the later periods of 2010, GM introduced extended-range electric vehicles (EREV) with backup generators powered by gasoline.

In 2013, GM and Honda partnered to develop a fuel cell system and hydrogen storage technology. They are the leaders in fuel cell technology holding most of the patents for fuel cells from 2002 to 2012. In 2015, the second generation Volt was launched in the United States and Canada. In 2017, GM introduced an autopilot feature in certain models of cars. In the same year, the GM Venezolana plant was seized by the Government of Venezuela in Valencia, Carabobo.

In November 2018, GM laid off 14000 employees in North America as it comprised the workforce by 15% and executive staff members by 25%. In 2019, GM ceased the production of the Chevrolet Volt and announced to begin of the production of the EV model in Lake Orion, Michigan. In January 2020, GM announced the return of the Hummer nameplate within the GMC portfolio known as GMC Hummer EV.

GMC Hummer EV

During the Covid period, GM assisted Ventec life systems to produce Ventilators. In September 2020, GM announced its partnership with Nikola Corporation to engineer and manufacture the Nikola Badger. Later, GM was committed to increasing capital investments in electric vehicles. GM in January 2021 announced its plan to stop the production and sales of fossil fuel vehicles as part of its goal to reach Carbon neutrality by 2040. It also announced its plan to start an automotive battery and battery pack laboratory in Michigan. GM facility at Brownstown Township is chosen to be upgraded as a battery pack plant. In April, GM announced its joint venture with LG to build batteries for electric vehicles.

Lately, GM also made the largest investment project in its home state, Michigan to invest $7B to convert plants to produce electric plants and build new battery plants.

Leading car brands in the United States in 2021, based on vehicle sales

General Motors – Mission and Vision

The original mission statement of GM is to earn customers for life by building brands that inspire passion and loyalty through not only breakthrough technologies but also by serving and improving the communities in which we live and work around the world.

The vision of the company is to stand together to drive the world forward. The statement is, “Everybody in. Our goal is to deliver world-class experiences at every touchpoint and do so on a foundation of trust and transparency.”

General Motors – Name, Tagline, Logo

General Motors – Logo

General Motors Company was formerly known as General Motors Corporation. The logo of GM fades from light blue to dark blue with GM letters in lowercase type. The logo intends to evoke the clean skies of a zero-emissions future and the energy of the Ultium platform. The company had only two basic emblems from the beginning of the company which is a script wordmark and a bow-tie design. The most recognizable bow-tie symbol was introduced in 1913 by William C. Durant on the Royal Mail model.

General Motors – Business Model

General Motors uses the Generic Strategy from Porter’s model as its business model. The competitive strategy of this model is cost leadership. This creates a competitive advantage based on the low costs of products.

General Motors – Revenue Model

The main source of revenue for the company is vehicle sales. It also earns an equal amount of revenue from its financing companies called GM Financial. The main stream of income for the company from the beginning is the manufacturing, assembling, and distribution of vehicles.

General Motors – Employees

General motors currently have 1,57,000 employees working in the company. The reward program at GM includes compensation, paid time off for holidays, high-quality health care, and GM family savings on vehicles, parts, and services.

General Motors – Challenges Faced

GM was the leading automobile industry for almost 77 years before its bankruptcy in 2009. The bankruptcy was due to the rising gas prices as consumers started looking elsewhere for fuel-efficient cars. When the sales went down, the company struggled to meet even the fixed cost expenses.

General Motors – Mergers and Acquisitions

General Motors had several acquisitions all these years. Here is a timeline glimpse of the latest and key acquisitions made by the company.

Acquisitions Acquired Date

Cruiser RV March 2016

Cruise March 2016

Sidecar January 2016

Cadillac July 1909

Vauxhall Motors 1925

Packard Electric 1932

Euclid Trucks 1953

General Motors – Awards and Achievements

General Motors bagged 4 awards in 2018 and 3 awards in 2017. It won the best CEO award in 2018.

General Motors – Competitors

General Motors ruled as a monopoly for the most of 20th century and the earlier times of the 21st century. But, it also has some heavy competition in the market like Tesla, Toyota, Chrysler, Honda, and Ford.

FAQs

What is General Motors known for?

General Motors Co. engages in the designing, manufacturing, and selling of cars, trucks, and automobile parts.

What does General Motors own?

General Motors owns Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC. Hummer returned as a GMC sub-brand. GM has a formal partnership with Honda to co-develop EVs.

What is the biggest controversy faced by GM?

GM was accused of having assisted the Nazis war during the second world war.

What was the reason for the failure of GM in India?

GM failed in India due to poor product planning and the lack of adaptability to the market.

February 22, 2023
Lego: The Rise & Shine of Bricks

Multicolored interlocking plastic bricks along with an array of gears and small figurines that can be assembled and connected in various ways to create and construct vehicles, buildings, working robots, and many other objects bring back childhood memories of playing with Legos. The brilliance of these pieces lies in their ability to be taken apart and re-used to build and construct new things. The brand, Lego, which is the world’s leading toy manufacturer today, derived its name from the Danish phrase ‘leg godt’ that means ‘play well’.

Commonly known as Lego bricks, the creative toys are currently sold in 130 countries. The brand recorded sales worth USD 3.6 billion in the first half of 2021 which was up by 46% YOY. It also owns 10 theme parks, a movie franchise, and above 600 stores globally. It has increased its product line to include DUPLO (which are larger bricks for younger children who are unable to handle smaller bricks) and a range of yellow Minifigures appearing in the company’s themed play sets. The company, which has marked 90 years in existence has been through a winding road of challenges and obstacles to reach the success pinnacle that makes it an unrivaled global toy empire today.

Lego – The Beginning
The Growth
Brand Inclusivity
The Economy of Lego
Conclusion

Lego – The Beginning

The year was 1932 and the world was going through tough economic crises. Ole Kirk Kristiansen, a carpenter in a small Denmark town, Billund, reapplied his skills to make wooden toys like cars, airplanes, etc. He named his company ‘Lego’ to reflect the quality of his products. In the year 1936, Kristiansen created a motto for his company, which when translated from Danish means “only the best is good enough”. A few years later, he was facing difficulty in sourcing wooden materials to make toys and turned his attention to the possibility of using plastic to continue manufacturing.

Wooden Lego

By 1947, Kristiansen expanded his manufacturing capacity to produce plastic toys and within the next two years, Lego began making their new interlocking bricks and called them ‘Automatic Binding Bricks’ – the early version of the now familiar interlocking tiles. Within the next four years, by 1951, almost half of the Lego-produced toys were made from plastic. Over the years, plastic toys from Lego have overcome the common anti-plastic sentiment, especially in children’s toys. This is mainly due to the high-quality standards set by its founder.

The Growth

It was Godtfred, Kristiansen’s son, who saw the immense potential in the Lego bricks to become a system for creative play through his conversation with an overseas buyer. Rising the company’s ladder to become the junior managing director in 1954, he set about correcting a few technical issues that existed with the bricks, like versatility and their limited locking ability. By 1958, the modern brick design was finalized and the company filed a patent application for it in Denmark on 28th January 1958. Godtfred said – “We wanted to create a toy that prepares the child for life, appealing to their imagination and developing the creative urge and joy of creation that is the driving force in every human being.” In the next few years, Lego also filed design patents in various other countries.

The DUPLO product line focuses on a range of simple blocks that are double in length, width, height, and depth and was introduced in the year 1969 for younger children. Almost a decade later, in 1978, Lego introduced the Minifigures which have become a staple in most of their play sets.

Minifigures – Lego

Two decades later, in 1998, Lego introduced a product line of bricks that was embedded with microchips to create programmable robotic packs. In the same year, the company was inducted into the US National Toy Hall of Fame. A couple of years later, Lego was named the toy of the century by the British Association of Toy Retailers.

Lego was crowned as the ‘world’s most powerful brand’ in February 2015 by the marketing consulting company, Brand Finance.

Brand Inclusivity

Over the years, the brand has spent heavily to remain relevant in an ever-evolving consumer market. Currently leading Lego is the grandchild of the founder, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen. The toy company is producing bricks that are, even now, compatible with those that were produced in 1958. Lego has made significant announcements in 2021 that reflect the company’s deep understanding of a changing society.

Lego’s first announcement was that the company planned to remove gender bias from its products to curtail the harmful effects of stereotypes on the ambition of children. The second announcement was made in March of 2021 as it unveiled ‘Everyone is Awesome’ – the set that explicitly celebrated the LGBTQ+ community.

LEGO – Everyone is Awesome

The Economy of Lego

Lego’s journey to greatness has not been without its obstacles and challenges. But the brand has emerged from its battles ‘the Lego way’.

After filing the first design patent in 1958, the company sailed smoothly for three decades on the founder’s original ideas with no research into emerging trends or new markets. Troubles began when their patents expired in 1988. Apart from dealing with Lego-inspired copies cropping up in the market, the company was also faced with a newer version of child entertainment – video games.

By the late nineties, Lego was struggling for survival. To renew interest in their brick-building sets and keep the brand alive, the company spent enormously to develop television shows, beginning with Jack Stone, a versatile character appearing in various avatars who builds machines to catch criminals. The show was a complete failure along with another one titled Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension. At this time, the only product brand that was keeping the company afloat was ‘Bionicle’.

A Complete Failure – Jack Stone Lego

Lego saw a small success when they sold their first group of Star Wars-themed sets around the release of the movie. However, the next year these sets did not sell as there was no Star Wars movie releasing and Lego had to absorb substantial losses. They repeated the same mistake with the Harry Potter sets and almost filed for bankruptcy. By the year 2003, Lego had built a debt of USD 800 million and recorded a 30% revenue decline.

Bionicle and Star War Lego

In a last-ditch effort to save the company, the board changed the management structure and a new CEO was brought in. This proved to be the correct move as he proceeded to make immediate and necessary changes by shutting down most of the unprofitable ventures for Lego. The company began diversifying by finding many production partners creating a channel of reliable income. Lego started creating and telling stories of the brands they partnered with. They began making their own stories and shows and their 2011 show Lego Ninjago proved to be hugely successful. This was followed by another successful show in 2013 – Legends of Chima.

Lego Ninjago

The Lego Movie which was released in 2014 recorded box office collections of USD 468 million. Riding on this success, the CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp said – “This has been the best year ever for the Lego Group. If I could sing and dance, I should be singing and dancing because it is a fantastic number of results.” The success of this movie resulted in a sequel and two spin-offs titled The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, The Lego Batman Movie, and The Lego Ninjago Movie.

The Lego Movie

Conclusion

With the severity of the downturns that Lego endured, it is truly a miracle that the brand has managed to not only turn around but rise to its former glory again. Their business economics is focused on telling stories that people love. These, in turn, are fueling their sales. The 90-year-old brand has traveled a road with a few twists, turns, and bumps and has emerged stronger leading the global toy market with aplomb and glory.

FAQs

What is a Lego toy?

Lego bricks are colorful plastic building blocks that can be joined together easily to make a tower, house, and more. It is the most popular building toy in the world.

What is the average cost of Lego?

This value can be calculated by dividing the total set price by the number of bricks.

What is the target audience of Lego?

The main target market for the Lego Company is children between the ages of 1-15 years.

Is Lego suitable for all ages?

Yes, Lego is suitable for all ages. They offer Lego sets for children and adults in all age groups.

February 22, 2023
Top E-Commerce Retailers in The USA by Their Market Share

As the world gears up through the prosperity and connectivity of Industry 4.0, e-commerce has had the best journey. The number of internet users is increasing tremendously by the day with more and more efforts to make people stay connected online and get things done virtually.

With over 63% of people using the internet across the United States of America, e-commerce has grown by 50% during the pandemic alone. E-commerce, due to the exposure that it provides for small businesses and the visibility that all businesses get even in the remote areas of the country, is getting bigger by the day.

The US is one of the most developed marketplaces for e-commerce companies with this particular segment accounting for more than $1 trillion in annual retail sales across the country.

This article will discuss some popular e-commerce companies in the USA based on their market share. Most of these companies or not only popular in the USA but are also the best globally.

Amazon
Walmart
Apple
eBay
Target
The Home Depot
Best Buy
Costco
Carvana
Kroger
Wayfair
Chewy
Macy’s

Amazon

Founded 1994

Headquarters Seattle, Washington, US

Revenue $513.98 Billion (2022)

Website amazon.com

Amazon – Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA

Amazon is the undisputed leader in the industry with a market share of 41% as per the reports that came in the year 2022. They have a whopping 2.1 billion visits on January 2022 which they proudly flaunt. Amazon was founded in the US in the year 1994 as an online marketplace for books from where it has expanded into a multinational technology company that focuses on e-commerce, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence.

It is one of the big five American information technology companies at par with Alphabet, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft. Jeff Bezos owns this e-commerce company, which generates revenue of $470 billion, and employs more than 15,44,000 people globally. Amazon is often referred to as “one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world”.

Market share of leading retail e-commerce companies in the United States as of 2022

Walmart

Founded 1962

Headquarters Bentonville, Arkansas, US

Revenue $570 Billion (2022)

Website walmart.com

Walmart – Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA

This American multinational retail corporation was in fact the world’s largest one of its kind that operates a plethora of departmental stores, grocery stores, and hypermarkets.

Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, Walmart was founded by Sam Walton and James Walton in 1962. They account for 6.3% of the market share to gain $393.25 billion in 2022 from $369.96 billion in 2021. Not surprisingly, they were also the world’s largest private employer with 2.2 million people working for them.

Apple

Founded 1976

Headquarters Cupertino, California, US

Revenue $394.328 Billion (2022)

Website apple.com

Apple – Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA

Apple.com, the retail store by Apple Inc, holds 3.9% of the market share through its net sales across its online store. They sell a range of their products from personal computers, smartphones, tablets, digital media players, etc. The first Apple store was opened in 2001 by Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Apple proudly holds its online retail stores as it was widely speculated that these stores would fail. Decades after its launch, apple stores continue to be one of the top e-commerce companies across the globe and in the United States of America.

It also became the fastest company to make more than 1 billion in sales within three years of its launch to be the first company to do so. Their success as top-tier online retailers becomes sweeter due to the fact that they only sell Apple products.

eBay

Founded 1995

Headquarters San Jose, California, US

Revenue $10.8 Billion (2021)

Website ebay.com

eBay – Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA

Since its inception in 1995, eBay has never had to look back as it continued to expand its business globally in more than 20 countries. It was founded by an Iranian American named Pierre Omidyar and the first item to be sold on the auction website was a broken laser printer.

They were in fact the pioneers of the e-commerce segment. This California-based company allows both consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. It holds 3.5% of the market share in the US.

Target

Founded 1902

Headquarters Minneapolis, Minnesota, US

Revenue $26.12 Billion (2022)

Website target.com

Target – Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA

Headquartered in Minnesota, Target is a big box department store that is considered the seventh largest retailer in the United States of America. Their e-commerce segment was launched in 2010 when they partnered with Amazon before independently launching itself.

In 2020 alone their business grew by 144.7 %. They hold 2.1% of the e-commerce sale in the country as of June 2022. It was established as a discount division of the Dayton department store in 1962. This Fortune 500 listed company has 1948 stores across the USA.

The Home Depot

Founded 1978

Headquarters Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Revenue $151.2 Billion (2022)

Website homedepot.com

The Home Depot- Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA

Home Depot is an online platform for all sorts of home improvement needs including appliances, bathroom decorating ideas, kitchen remodeling, patio furniture, and so on. They have employed more than 500,000 employees globally.

They have been able to significantly integrate the nuances of both online and offline shopping by providing a seamless customer experience. They hold 2.1% of the US e-commerce market. In the financial year 2021, they achieved the milestone of making $150 billion in sales.

Additionally, its personalized omnichannel strategy and revamped investments in areas like artificial intelligence and augmented reality have further improved its online presence.

Best Buy

Founded 1966

Headquarters Richfield, Minnesota, US

Revenue $51.761 Billion (2022)

Website bestbuy.com

Best Buy – Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA

Founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966, Best Buy was initially an audio specialty store that grew into a multinational consumer electronics retailer. They are the largest specialty retailer in the consumer electronics retail industry.

It holds 1.6% of the market share and was ranked number 17 in the Fortune 500 list of the top state corporations in the United States based on the total revenue generated. They have also integrated virtual shopping experiences into their midst to improve customer experience further. They hope to enrich the lives of people through the innovative and efficient use of technology.

Costco

Founded 1983

Headquarters Issaquah, Washington, US

Revenue $226.954 Billion (2022)

Website costco.com

Costco – Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA

Costco was first opened in 1976 in a converted airplane hangar in San Diego. It used to be a small endeavor that served only small businesses. In fact, Costco was the first company that got a whopping $3 billion in sales within six years.

As of 2020, Costco Wholesale is the fifth largest retailer in the world and holds 1.6% of e-commerce sales in the USA. As of today, Costco is an American multinational corporation that operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores.

They are listed as one of the Fortune 500 companies and continue to grow through its strong entrepreneurial drive for excellence and a strong backbone cemented by employees who are highly loyal to the company due to their excellent workplace culture which attracts energetic, positive, and talented employees.

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Carvana

Founded 2012

Headquarters Tempe, Arizona, US

Revenue $3.386 Billion (2022)

Website carvana.com

Carvana – Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA

Founded in 2012, Carvana has emerged as the most online growing used car retailer in the United States. It was started by Ernest Garcia III, Ryan Keeton, and Ben Huston and is most popular for its multi-story car vending machines.

As of 2021, Carvana operates in over 250 markets across the United States and has become one of the largest used car retailers in the country. Being a young company, Carvana was able to get its name featured in the Fortune 500 list (2021) and is known to hold 1.5% of the total e-commerce market share in the US.

Kroger

Founded 1883

Headquarters Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.

Revenue $137.888 Billion (2022)

Website kroger.com

Kroger – Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA

Introduced in 1883, Kroger is an American retail company that operates supermarkets and multi-department stores in the United States. Kroger holds 1.4% of the total e-commerce market in the US.

Kroger’s headquarters are placed in Cincinnati, Ohio. Today, Kroger operates over 2,700 grocery stores in 35 states under various brand names, including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, and Fry’s. In addition to groceries, Kroger stores offer a range of products and services, including pharmacy services, fuel stations, and online shopping options.

The company is also known for its private label products, which are sold under various brand names, such as Simple Truth and Private Selection. Kroger is committed to sustainability and has implemented several initiatives to reduce waste, conserve energy, and promote social responsibility.

Wayfair

Founded 2002

Headquarters Boston, Massachusetts, US

Revenue $13.708 Billion (2021)

Website wayfair.com

Wayfair – Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA

Previously known as CSN stores, Wayfair is an American e-commerce company that specializes in selling furniture, decor, home goods, and other household items online. It was founded by Niraj Shah and Steve Conine in 2002 with its headquarters being placed in Boston, Massachusetts. The company holds 1.1% of the total e-commerce market share of the United States.

Wayfair operates through several online retail websites, including Wayfair.com, Joss & Main, AllModern, and Birch Lane. Its website offers 14 million items from more than 11,000 global suppliers. Wayfair has operations in North America, Europe, and Australia, and as of 2021, employs over 16,000 people.

Chewy

Founded 2011

Headquarters Plantation, Florida, US

Revenue $8.891 Billion (2022)

Website chewy.com

Chewy – Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA

Chewy was introduced in 2011 by Ryan Cohen and Michael Day with the name “MR. Chewy”. The company was later on acquired by PetSmart in 2017. Chewy is an American online retailer of pet food and supplies that offers a wide range of pet-related products, including food, treats, toys, medication, and accessories for dogs, cats, birds, fish, and other small animals.

The company operates through its e-commerce website, Chewy.com, which offers a variety of search options and filters to help customers find the products they need.

Chewy has grown rapidly in recent years and as of 2021, Chewy has 13 fulfillment centers across the US. It also holds % of the total market share of the US e-commerce market.

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StartupTalkyPreeti Karna

Macy’s

Founded 1858

Headquarters New York City, US

Revenue $25.292 Billion (2022)

Website macys.com

Macy’s – Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA

They are an American chain of high-end department stores with a long legacy that can be traced back to 1858 since its launch by Rowland Hussey Macy. They account for 0.9% of the US commerce retail sales.

Headquartered in New York, Macy’s is known for its high-quality products with a nationwide footprint which gives a hassle-free shopping experience to the customers. They believe in and strive towards creating a brighter future with bold representation.

Conclusion

E-commerce industries are sprouting up not only in the USA but also across the world at a fast pace. Tracing the patterns of the top e-commerce companies, it can be understood that two things that all successful e-commerce companies did were to provide excellent customer service and cater to all their needs.

As long as the customers are happy the company can rest assured of its growth. However, there is no doubt that e-commerce industries offer a plethora of opportunities for young entrepreneurs to make their mark.

FAQs

What is the top US e-commerce company?

Undoubtedly, Amazon is the top US e-commerce company.

How many online retailers are there in the US?

As per the data shared by Zippia, the US is home to around 1.8 million online retailers.

Which country is number one in e-commerce?

China is number one in the e-commerce sector owing to its large population providing the opportunity of having the biggest marketplace.

How big is the US e-commerce market?

The US e-commerce market is the second largest e-commerce market in the world with a revenue of 862.4 billion in 2021.

February 21, 2023
GreenSole Success Story – How an Eco-Friendly Footwear Startup Is Making a Sustainable Difference
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by GreenSole.

Recycling and sustainable manufacturing are critical components of an environmentally conscious society. Recycling helps to conserve natural resources and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills, while sustainable manufacturing ensures that goods are produced in an environmentally friendly way. When combined, these practices can significantly reduce the environmental impact of the products we consume.

One startup that is making a significant impact in this field is GreenSole, founded by Shriyans Bhandari and Ramesh Dhami. Their unique vision is to recycle old shoes and convert them into usable, high-quality products. By doing so, GreenSole not only helps to reduce waste but also provides an affordable and sustainable solution for footwear. The company’s innovative approach to recycling has garnered widespread attention and praise, and its efforts are contributing to a more sustainable future for all.

In this article, learn more about GreenSole’s business and revenue model, startup story, founders, and more.

GreenSole – Company Highlights

Startup Name GreenSole

Headquarters Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Sector Footwear, Recycling, Manufacturing

Founder Shriyans Bhandari, Ramesh Dhami

Founded 2015

Website greensole.com

GreenSole – About
GreenSole – Industry
GreenSole – Founders
GreenSole – Startup Story
GreenSole – Mission and Vision
GreenSole – Name, Tagline, and Logo
GreenSole – Business Model and Revenue Model
GreenSole – Challenges Faced
GreenSole – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
GreenSole – Achievements and Recognition
GreenSole – Competitors
GreenSole – Future Plans

GreenSole – About

GreenSole is a unique startup that is making a significant impact in the field of social and environmental innovation by working in the area of sustainable footwear manufacturing and recycling.

The company refurbishes discarded sports shoes into comfortable footwear and provides them to those in need, protecting them from the diseases caused by unprotected feet. With its innovative approach, GreenSole tackles the environmental issue of reducing waste with its zero carbon footprint refurbishing process.

GreenSole – Industry

GreenSole operates within the footwear industry, which is a massive global market expected to reach $320.44 billion by 2023. The industry has been historically associated with heavy environmental impact due to the high consumption of raw materials and energy during the production process. GreenSole’s focus on sustainable manufacturing and recycling has the potential to make a significant impact in reducing the industry’s overall environmental impact.

As GreenSole continues to grow, the company has the potential to expand its operations and impact. It has already provided refurbished footwear to thousands of individuals in need and has plans to expand its reach even further. With its commitment to sustainability, innovation, and social impact, GreenSole is well-positioned to continue making a difference in the footwear industry.

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StartupTalkyYash Gupta

GreenSole – Founders

Shriyans Bhandari and Ramesh Dhami are the founders of GreenSole.

Shriyans Bhandari

Shriyans Bhandari, CEO and Co-founder, GreenSole

Shriyans Bhandari, an accomplished entrepreneur, and social innovator is the CEO and co-founder of GreenSole. He is also the Director of Heritage Girls School. Shriyans holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Studies from Jai Hind College in Mumbai, India, and has also done MSM Entrepreneurial Leadership from Babson College in Massachusetts, USA.

Ramesh Dhami

Ramesh Dhami, Director and Co-founder, GreenSole

Ramesh Dhami is the Director and co-founder of GreenSole. At GreenSole, he is responsible for handling the donation drives and village data collection. Ramesh has also designed the first prototypes of GreenSole footwear.

GreenSole – Startup Story

GreenSole is a startup initiated by two athletes, Shriyans Bhandari and Ramesh Dhami. The idea of sustainable footwear emerged when they observed the wastage of money and resources through dumping used and expensive shoes. The duo used to run hundreds of kilometers each year and often went through multiple pairs of sports shoes annually. However, they noticed that while the soles were still in good condition, the sides of the shoes would tear within a few months.

This made them curious if there was a way to repurpose the high-quality shoe soles that were still usable. After conducting some research, they came up with the idea to transform them into stylish slippers. They started to develop prototypes, then got CSR funding and stepped into the retail market, which gave birth to an eco-friendly business called GreenSole.

This was just a project of 19-year-old teenagers to provide a long-lasting solution for the environment, but as time passed, the idea gained popularity among Gen Z and Millennials, and now they have reached an established organization position.

GreenSole – Mission and Vision

GreenSole’s vision statement says, “To contribute to social good, by creating a self-sustaining infrastructure that facilitates the provision of the basic necessity of footwear to everyone, forever, environmental good, by refurbishing discarded shoes with zero carbon footprint and economic good by giving employment to refurbish shoes.”

The mission of GreenSole is-
“To upcycle and donate a million pairs to children in need while creating employment opportunities for women in rural areas. Supporting our three pillars of change: social, environmental, and economic.”

GreenSole – Name, Tagline, and Logo

GreenSole Logo

GreenSole’s tagline is “Step towards sustainability” – promote sustainability to encourage people to step up for eco-friendly solutions by buying a pair of sustainable footwear or donating and becoming nature saviors through associating with us.

Speaking about the story behind the name GreenSole, in the initial days, the team named the brand ‘Kadam by Kadam’ but then a professional agency helped them and came up with the idea of “GreenSole”. This name not only depicts the essence of the brand but is also reachable all over the globe. And the tagline shares the same story.

GreenSole – Business Model and Revenue Model

The business model of GreenSole is based on a circular economy approach, where waste is converted into a valuable resource.

GreenSole’s revenue model is based on two primary sources:
1. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) partnerships: GreenSole partners with various corporates and organizations to collect their discarded shoes and transform them into comfortable footwear for underprivileged communities. The company charges a fee for collecting, cleaning, repairing, and delivering the shoes to the beneficiaries.
2. Direct-to-consumer sales: GreenSole also sells its upcycled shoes directly to consumers through its website and other online marketplaces. Customers can buy the shoes for themselves or donate them to a chosen NGO or social cause. The revenue generated from these sales is reinvested back into the company’s operations and social impact initiatives.
GreenSole offers vegan and sustainable solutions in footwear and clothing that customers can buy online through e-commerce platforms, which is not just an eco-friendly gesture but also very convenient to adopt.

The startup also donates a part of its revenue toward establishing skill centers and providing footwear for underprivileged children. As GreenSole is also into recycling and CSR, where companies have to discard their wastes from the production of footwear and apparel, it recycles that waste, converts it into usable articles, and donates them. So, these are the essential products and practices of GreenSole.

GreenSole – Challenges Faced

“The most challenging phase was entering the industry itself as we had no prior experience in entrepreneurship manufacturing footwear. So, precisely learning how to produce a pair of sustainable footwear and the whole process of recycling and donating was our key challenge” says Shriyans.

GreenSole – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

GreenSole #DonatingWalks

From the very beginning, GreenSole’s idea of sustainability grabbed the attention of this new generation and the startup managed to gather the crowd easily.

Its most successful campaign was #Donatingwalks. The campaign was an initiative launched by Greensole to encourage people to donate their old shoes. The idea behind the campaign was to collect shoes that were no longer being used, refurbish them, and donate them to underprivileged individuals in need of footwear. The campaign aimed to promote sustainability by reducing waste and promoting responsible consumption while also making a positive impact on the lives of those who received the donated shoes.

Greensole actively promoted the campaign on its website and social media pages and partnered with other organizations to increase its reach and impact. The campaign received a lot of attention on social media platforms, with many individuals and organizations supporting the cause and spreading awareness about the importance of sustainability and responsible consumption.

GreenSole – Achievements and Recognition
- GreenSole started its first skill center in 2018 in collaboration with TATA Steel and Lion’s Club Noamundi.
- GreenSole footwear has been showcased twice on the runway of Lakme Fashion Week.
- GreenSole has been awarded Lexus India Design Award 2017 and social entrepreneur of the year 2018 by Franchise India and Economic Times.
- The founders were featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 – Asia – Social Entrepreneurs (2018).
GreenSole – Competitors

Some of the competitors of GreenSole are:
- Paaduks
- Atoms
- Neeman
Neeman’s Shoes – India’s Top brand of Merino Wool Shoes

Neeman’s manufactures eco-friendly and comfortable merino wool shoes. Read about Neeman’s shoes, Founder, funding, business model, growth, logo wiki.

StartupTalkyChayanika Goswami

GreenSole – Future Plans

Greensole has plans to expand its business by collaborating with mainstream footwear and apparel brands to scale up the refurbishing of old shoes and soles. The company aims to increase its brand presence among its target audience and offer more sustainable footwear options. In addition, Greensole is focused on developing innovative technology to create biodegradable footwear, with the aim of reducing wastage.

“We’re also looking to get more and more corporate companies to collaborate with and push them to donate close to a million pairs of shoes,” says Shriyans.

Overall, the company’s future plans involve growing its sustainability efforts and developing new solutions to combat environmental issues.

GreenSole – FAQs

What is GreenSole?

GreenSole is a unique startup that is making a significant impact in the field of social and environmental innovation by working in the area of sustainable footwear manufacturing and recycling.

Who founded GreenSole?

Shriyans Bhandari and Ramesh Dhami are the founders of GreenSole.

Is GreenSole an Indian Startup?

Yes, GreenSole is an Indian startup headquartered in Mumbai.

When was GreenSole founded?

GreenSole was founded in the year 2015.
February 21, 2023
Parva Founder and CEO Raghu Seelamsetty on Helping Media Buyers Reach Customers in a Trusted, Premium, and Brand Safe Environment

StartupTalky presents Recap’22. This is a series of interviews in which we conduct in-depth discussions with founders & industry leaders to understand their growth in 2022 and their predictions for the future.

The media industry plays a crucial role in shaping the perception of products and services in the minds of customers. With the constant advent of new technologies and players in the field, the industry is highly competitive, and businesses are increasingly investing in advertising to attract and retain their customers. In 2021, global digital advertising spending reached a tremendous $521.02 billion, and this is projected to rise to $876 billion by 2026.

As a result, advertisers must stay informed about the latest market trends and technologies to serve their customers effectively. With this level of investment in advertising, businesses must keep a close eye on the changing landscape of the media industry to succeed. Therefore, staying up-to-date with the industry’s developments is essential for any modern business seeking to gain a competitive advantage and attract and retain customers.

For this Interview, we invited, Raghu Seelamsetty, Founder and CEO of Parva and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the media industry.

StartupTalky: What does your company do? What was the motivation/vision with which you started?

Raghu: We are a Native Ad Network of Premium Publishers. We believe that the changes happening in the industry w.r.t. to privacy whether it is the impending end of cookies or regulations such as GDPR and the Indian Data Protection Law will have a profound impact on our business. Platforms that are able to aggregate large users in a privacy-safe manner will get a disproportionate share of the overall market. We believe that Parva will be one of those players.

StartupTalky: What is/are the USP/s of your products?

Raghu: We provide a large audience base that comes to our properties multiple times a day for news, entertainment, and information. Our audiences are consuming content in the language that they are comfortable with and an environment that they trust. We are a must-have platform to reach audiences in a high-trust, premium, and brand-safe environment.

StartupTalky: How has the media industry changed in recent years, and how has your company adapted to these changes?

Raghu: The Media industry is in a constant state of flux. The last few years have seen the emergence of scaled solutions in OTT and retail media. OTT is great for top-of-funnel activities and retail media for driving performance. We see an opportunity to provide a scaled solution for driving mid-funnel activities such as interest and consideration.

StartupTalky: How do you stay up to date on the latest trends and developments in the media industry?

Raghu: By constantly meeting people, getting their feedback and insights, attending events (Offline/Online), subscribing to industry news and journals, etc.

StartupTalky: What key metrics do you track to check the company’s growth and performance?

Raghu: Our ability to have key conversations, meeting the right people, getting enough briefs from customers, our ability to turn around the briefs in a timely manner, our ability to convert business and customer retention.

StartupTalky: What were the most significant challenges your company faced in the past year and how did you overcome them?

Raghu: Our biggest challenge for the previous year was building awareness about our products and offerings in a world where most of our customers were working from home. Established brands, in our business, already had created space for themselves in our target market. Creating this space for ourselves was the biggest challenge when we were doing business online. This is changing now as most of our customers are coming back to the office and we continue to expand our team to reach them in a face-to-face setting.

StartupTalky: What are the different strategies you use for marketing? Tell us about any growth hack which you pulled off.

Raghu: We have used email marketing and PR well. We have a finite set of target accounts and share our success stories with them via these channels. This helps us build trust and stay relevant to our customers.

StartupTalky: What are the important tools and software you use to run your business smoothly?

Raghu: We use the entire suite of Google Business products including Google Meet, Google Office, etc. We also use LinkedIn to find and reach our target audience.

StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in your industry in India and the world?

Raghu: As India’s per capita income and disposable income increase, we will continue to see an emergence of new sets of advertisers looking to reach their target customers. This growth will help fuel the media industry.

StartupTalky: What lessons did your team learn in the past year and how will these inform your future plans and strategies?

Raghu: Our biggest lesson from last year is to be in front of the customer as much as possible. Be nimble, put the customers’ needs first, and really do everything we can to make them succeed. The more we do this, the more we will succeed.

StartupTalky: How do you plan to expand the Customers, product, and team base in the future?

Raghu: We are investing in expanding our team. Our goal this year is to focus on improving our product, providing better service, and aligning ourselves better with our customers’ needs.

StartupTalky: One tip that you would like to share with people reading this article who want to get into entrepreneurship?

Raghu: Stay aligned with the vision you had when you set out while you iterate from day to day.

We thank Raghu for spending his valuable time and sharing his learnings with all of us.

You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

February 21, 2023
Chandan Bagwe, Founder and Managing Director, C Com Digital, Shares Insights on Revolutionizing the Tech-Enabled Marketing Landscape

StartupTalky presents Recap’22. This is a series of interviews in which we conduct in-depth discussions with founders & industry leaders to understand their growth in 2022 and their predictions for the future.

Digital transformation and online presence are becoming increasingly important for businesses of all sizes. Techno-digital marketing agencies are on the rise, helping companies achieve their digital transformation goals and establish a strong online presence. These agencies offer end-to-end digital marketing communication and technology support, including services like social media optimization, digital marketing, search engine optimization, conversational marketing, and more.

With the constant need for businesses to keep up with the latest trends and developments in digital marketing, these agencies stay one step ahead of the competition by closely monitoring the latest industry trends and technologies. As the demand for digital marketing and transformation grows, these agencies are expanding their services to cater to clients on a global scale.

As per Statista, the global digital marketing industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.4% from 2021 to 2028, reaching a market size of $422.4 billion by 2028.

For this Interview, we invited, Chandan Bagwe, Founder and Managing Director of C Com Digital and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the digital marketing industry.

StartupTalky: What service does your company provide? What was the motivation/vision with which you started?

Chandan: C Com Digital is a full-service techno digital marketing agency. The company helps its clients undertake digital transformation and maintain a robust and effective online presence. We create brand communication for modern businesses and help them in digital marketing to grow their Business.

The vision behind C Com Digital was to build a globally renowned digital company that offers end-to-end digital marketing communication and technology support to its clients. We have steadily expanded our capabilities to fulfill that vision.

StartupTalky: What new services have been added in the past year? What is/are the USP/s of your service?

Chandan: Our unmatched excellence in creativity, customer understanding, and technical expertise has made us stand out in the market, and we are rapidly scaling our global presence.

We offer mandatory brand hygiene services like content-focused Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Optimization, and digital marketing tech configuration. Apart from that, we also do brand awareness campaigns, PII-focused campaigns, conversational marketing campaigns, digital PR Campaigns, and advanced AI-ML integration for lead analysis and higher conversion. This delivers more significant ROI for the clients.

This year, we have entered the US markets intending to become an international provider of reliable and high-performance IT-enabled services, specifically Enterprise Mobility Solutions, Program Support, Cloud Computing, Customer Software Development, and Enterprise Data Management.

StartupTalky: How has the digital marketing industry changed in recent years, and how has your company adapted to these changes?

Chandan: In the last few years, especially since the pandemic’s start, there has been a great need for digital marketing and digital transformation across all industry segments. Having been in the techno-digital space for more than two decades, we have all the right technologies and market understanding. As the world resumed work-from-office this year, we have expanded our service offerings and services. We have expanded to the US markets to ensure that Indian techno-digital companies get visibility in international circles. We will collaborate with more western businesses to keep the growth trajectory going.

How to Start a Digital Marketing Company? – A Guide

If you want to excel in digital marketing industry, then here is a guide to help you with the steps to start a Digital Marketing Company.

StartupTalkyAniket Mandal

StartupTalky: How do you stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in the digital marketing industry?

Chandan: Being in the techno-digital space and working with clients daily keeps one aware of emerging trends and needs. Our teams are constantly monitoring these needs. We also keep a tab on the US and European digital marketing trends. We use the best of creativity and technology to ensure that we can help our clients achieve all their digital transformation and communication needs conveniently and efficiently.

StartupTalky: What key metrics do you track to check the company’s growth and performance?

Chandan: For us, the parameters that matter are how our top-line and bottom-line business grows. We have constantly achieved growth through deploying cutting-edge services, acquiring the right talent, and improving and optimizing processes through integrating CRM tools. We also measure growth by measuring new business generated and the new services launched. This year marked our entry into the US markets, where we have added diverse tech solutions to our offerings. These are some of the things we focus on apart from ensuring consistency of quality and client satisfaction.

StartupTalky: What were the most significant challenges your company faced in the past year and how did you overcome them?

Chandan: The significant challenges came in the form of changing expectations from the customers. They didn’t just want us to help them with their brand communication but also to provide holistic support in the digital transformation of their business. We leveraged our technological expertise and infrastructure to create the solutions the market needs. We have added various services to our
portfolio to cater to the demand.

StartupTalky: Good service is something everyone is talking about in the service industry. How do you ensure that your clients are happy?

Chandan: We have built an end-to-end portfolio of services by combining top talent and advanced platform technologies. We have integrated AI, ML, and data analytics to bring the best insights for continuous process improvements. We remain ahead of the competition regarding tech enhancements and understanding the audiences for each campaign or digital marketing activity we undertake.

Further, we work closely with our clients and constantly listen to their needs and feedback. This kind of collaborative support has enabled us to ensure that our clients are happy. Thus, it helps us solve any challenges that arise or fulfill their expectations.

StartupTalky: What are the different strategies you use for marketing? Tell us about any growth hack which you pulled off.

Chandan: Our digital marketing services for our client gives excellent results. Along with the hygiene activities as part of our services, conversational marketing, PII-focused campaigns, and Digital PR works wonders. We use the same techniques for our business growth too. We have been showcasing and presenting our successful and award-winning case studies to prospects. Case studies are the most important aspect of the growth hack.

StartupTalky: Foreign clients- this is what most of the service-based companies are looking for. What has been your experience?

Chandan: An international clientele is key to growth for any service sector enterprise. As a premier techno-digital agency, we have regularly worked with domestic and international clients. We have entered the US markets, and our experience working with international clients has been highly satisfactory, enriching, and encouraging.

StartupTalky: What are the important tools and software you use to run your business smoothly?

Chandan: We use many tools and technologies for web, cloud, and other projects. We primarily rely on Slack and Google suites for all communication needs, AWS Services for hosting and email solutions, and Adobe Suite for creative and web development services. We also undertake custom software development, using all the cutting-edge tech inputs per each project’s need. Apart from it, Various E-Commerce Partnerships and Online business partnerships are key to business success.

StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in your industry in India and the world? What kind of difference in market behavior have you seen between India and the world?

Chandan: The potential is enormous as almost every business, whether a startup or SME or a large global enterprise, is going for digital transformation and adoption of SaaS products and digital communication tools and capabilities. Beyond that, the growth opportunities are equally high in the domestic and world markets. Indian companies have traditionally lagged in digitization, but currently, we are witnessing an unprecedented surge in demand for solutions. Western markets have had exposure to SaaS solutions and tech-driven operations, so there is a little more clarity about the need and how things should be.

StartupTalky: What lessons did your team learn in the past year, and how will these inform your future plans and strategies?

Chandan: Most importantly, we must keep ourselves abreast with the technology change. We have to keep adding new services to meet the market demand. We must keep innovating and scout for the best talent in technology, creativity, content, and influencer marketing.

StartupTalky: How do you plan to expand the Customers, service offering, and team base in the future?

Chandan: We are a steadily growing organization, and our team base keeps increasing in proportion to business growth. We welcome quality talent in all areas that our operations cover. We entered the US market this year by unveiling our IT-enabled services. Our goal is to steadily expand the spectrum of our services and become an international provider of trustworthy, efficient, and cost-effective IT-
enabled services. As an Indian company entering the US markets, we are bringing about a transformation in the techno-digital space as earlier the trend used to be of American companies entering the Indian market. This will help C Com grow better in the times ahead and enable the entire ecosystem to evolve faster.

StartupTalky: One tip that you would like to share with another service company founder?

Chandan: In digital marketing, “Technology – Change is the Only constant.” Therefore, provide high-quality latest trending services to your client along with consistent performance. It is critical for business success.

We thank Chandan for spending his valuable time and sharing his learnings with all of us.

You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

February 20, 2023
Revenue Generation Model of Television Channels
The Indian Television Industry produces thousands of programs in many Indian languages with the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu factions of the industry being the largest. In 2021, the Indian Television Industry was worth INR 720 billion and is estimated to reach INR 826 billion by 2024.

Emergence & Expansion of the Television Industry

Television emerged on the Indian market in 1959 as an experiment which offered two-hour programs for a week. It soon garnered popularity and by the 1970s television centres were opened in other parts of the country. The year 1976 saw Doordarshan emerging as a separate government department and in 1982 it telecasted the 9^th Asian Games. The 1990s saw the television industry expand with the emergence of private television channels. It began after CNN broadcasted the Gulf War. STAR (Satellite Television Asian Region), which was based in Hongkong entered into an agreement with an Indian company giving birth of Zee TV. Several other channels came into existence during this time including regional channels and international channels like CNN, BBC and Discovery offering different categories of entertainment to a wide variety of audience. This expansion also gave rise to DTH (Direct To Home) cable operators. By the year 2016, Indian Television boasted of 857 channels of which 184 were paid channels.

Television has become an integral part of people’s daily lives. The popularity of the medium is due to its capability to cater to the needs of its audiences through various shows of different genres telecasted through various channels.

Revenue Generation Model

As with any commercial enterprise, television industry operates with the basic idea of generating revenue and posting profits. The various channels generate revenue from three basic streams – Advertisements, Subscription Services, Sponsorships & Product Placements, Licensing owned Content and Re-transmission Fees.

1. Advertisements

Television channels sell airtime and slots to advertisers who wish to showcase their products or services during commercial breaks. The slot and airtime rates depend on the time and on the popularity of the show as well as the time-length of the advertisement itself. Advertisements broadcasted during prime time cost more than those which are broadcasted at low viewership slots, like mornings or early evenings. Even the TRP (Television Rating Points) ratings of the show affect the airtime rates.

2. Subscription Services

This is a two-pronged process. Some television channels are made available to subscribers, by DTH operators, on payment, which could be monthly or annually. A part of this subscription fees goes to the channel itself. This model of revenue generation is largely volume based.

3. Sponsorships & Product Placements

Television channels are a high interest sponsorship venue due to their wide and deep audience penetration. They receive funding from sponsors for programming. A high revenue is also generated from specific advertiser product placement within their shows.

4. Licensing Owned Content

Television Channels also produce and distribute content like programs or movies and generate revenue by licensing or outright selling the rights to other networks or streaming devices.

5. Re-transmission Fees

Television channels charge fees from cable distributors and satellite operators to allow them the right to retransmit their local signals. This can happen for a program that sees high demand.

Specific coverage of live events like sports, concerts or award shows are also a high revenue generating stream for television channels. Such events attract large audiences which, in turn, translate into higher advertisement rates. Another minor, however, effective revenue generation source is the internet. Television channels stream their program episodes via YouTube and generate income on the number of times the program is viewed. This also works as an advertisement for the program and the channel and can increase their audience reach.

Trends in the Television Industry

The delivery of television programs to the audience has undergone a huge change, especially in the recent years. What was delivered through relied antennas has switched to dishes, distribution through cable networks and direct broadcast satellites. Through the use of Internet Protocol Television, programs are available to watch on mobile phones.

Conclusion

The television industry is fiercely competitive and its revenue generation is heavily dependent on capturing the viewers attention and sustaining it. Effectively, it is that attention that the channels sell to the advertisers. While the TV channel landscape continues to evolve with the rise of digital media and streaming services, the fundamental principles of generating revenue through high-quality content and effective advertising remain constant.

💡

The revenue of TV channels in India primarily comes from advertising, which contributes around 70-80% of their total revenue.
- As per industry estimates, the Indian TV advertising market was valued at approximately 35,000 crore INR (~$4.7 billion) in 2021.
- The television revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4-5% and reach Rs 826 billion by 2024, according to EY FICCI M&E 2022 report.
- The report says, the ad revenue of TV is expected to become Rs 394 billion in 2024.
- Revenue from subscriptions for TV channels is expected to reach Rs 415 billion in 2023.
What happened to Doordarshan | How it Lost 90% of Its market to Private channles

Doordarshan was one of the most famous tv channels and the only option to the Indian audience in the 90s but how did lose 90% of its audience?

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FAQs

How do free TV channels make money?

Free Tv channels earn revenue by displaying ads between the shows.

How much does it cost to start a TV channel?

To start a non news channel the net worth of the company should be around 5 crores.

What is the benefit of high TRP?

If a channel has high TRP they can charge a higher amount from advertisers.

What is the revenue model for TV Channels?

The two key methods of revenue for TV Channels are:
- Subscriber fee
- Advertising
How many TV channels are there in India?

There are 850 TV channels in India.

What is full form of TRP?

TRP stands for Television Rating Point.

Who calculates the TRP for Television Channels?

TRP is calculated by Broadcast Audience Research Council using “BAR-O-meters”.
February 20, 2023
TutorBin Success Story – A One-Stop Personalised Micro Tutoring solution
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by TutorBin.

The e-learning market has been growing at a rapid rate, and the pandemic played a crucial role in accelerating its growth. E-learning is gaining huge popularity because it allows students and professionals to learn at their own time and pace.

With this increasing demand and popularity, many e-learning platforms are emerging with varied technologies, offering solutions for different learning needs. An amazing example of this is TutorBin, an online tutoring portal that is a one-stop solution to all your homework problems.

The platform helps students with personalized tutoring and doubt-solving sessions and also ensures that its services are accessible and affordable for all students globally.

In this article, learn more about TutorBin, its story, founders and team, business and revenue model, challenges, and more.

TutorBin – Company Highlights

Startup Name TutorBin

Industry E-Learning Providers

Headquarters Gurugram, Haryana

Founded 2017

Founders Parveen Lather, Vishal Kumar, Ankit Gahlawat

Website tutorbin.com

TutorBin – About
TutorBin – Industry Details
TutorBin – Founders and Team
TutorBin – Startup Story
TutorBin – Startup Launch
TutorBin – Name and Logo
TutorBin – Vision and Mission
TutorBin – Products/Services
TutorBin – Business and Revenue Model
TutorBin – User Attraction and Retention Strategy
TutorBin – Funding
TutorBin – Challenges Faced
TutorBin – Marketing Strategy
TutorBin – Future Plans

TutorBin – About

TutorBin is an online tutoring portal founded in 2017. It is a one-stop solution for both students as well as online tutors. It hires skilled and knowledgeable tutors who are specialists in their respective fields.

The platform acts as a bridge between students and tutors. On the one hand, it helps students to learn and clear their doubts from global subject matter experts and on the other hand, it provides online tutors with an opportunity to earn while sharing their knowledge.

TutorBin – Industry Details

In 2020, the worldwide e-learning market size was valued at $197.00 billion and will reach $840.11 billion by 2030, enlisting a CAGR of 17.5% from 2021 to 2030. E-learning gives different advantages to students, including low education costs and specialized course learning. The rise in remote learning during the pandemic and demand for minimal-expense, convenient learning frameworks positively influence the market’s growth. The rise of a few patterns, for example, microlearning, versatile learning, and portable or mobile learning is supposed to offer worthwhile chances to grow the market during the figure time frame.

The e-learning market is portioned based on provider, deployment or organization model, course, end user, and region. By provider, it is partitioned into content and administration. By organization or deployment mode, it is ordered into cloud and on-premise. By course, it is partitioned into primary and secondary education, higher education, online certification and professional course, and test preparation. By end user, it is grouped into academic, corporate, and government.

Academic, one of the sections dissected in the report, is projected to record a 10.2% CAGR and arrive at US$314 billion toward the finish of the examination time frame. Continuous content digitization endeavours in the academic area and the ascent in student enlistments for online courses on a part-time and full-time basis are helping support development in the academic section.

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TutorBin – Founders and Team

TutorBin was founded by Parveen Lather, Vishal Kumar, and Ankit Gahlawat.

TutorBin Founders

Parveen Lather, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Tutorbin’s CEO, Praveen, is a passionate educator who manages the company’s finances, operations, and overall business leadership. Before founding Tutorbin, he tutored students in several countries. As a tutor, he developed a strong understanding of the importance of tutoring and the role it can play in transforming lives. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and has obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Geophysics.

Vishal Kumar, Co-founder, Director and Chief Product Officer (CPO)

Vishal has been with TutorBin ever since it was conceptualized. He is leading the technology, design, and product development at TutorBin. He has been the force behind highly-rated products, including mobile applications, libraries, calculators, repositories, and others. He has accomplished his B. Tech. from IIT Kharagpur.

Ankit Gahlawat, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

Ankit is accountable for the advertising and global growth of TutorBin; he has managed advertising and marketing campaigns and growth across the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, the Middle East, and different components of the world. He is a keynote speaker in essential enterprise activities in global education, ed-tech, and tutoring. He firmly believes that innovation is critical for growth. Under his leadership, TutorBin has been involved in strategic collaborations, influencer marketing, digital engagement, and revolutionary advertising activities. He has carried out his B. Tech. from IIT Kharagpur.

TutorBin – Startup Story

In his early days at IIT Kharagpur, Praveen used to tutor his friends studying in foreign universities. Soon, he got connected with more students studying abroad through Facebook groups. The quality of services provided resulted in a spike in the number of interested students. From this time, he identified the need for on-demand tutoring and ideated the concept of personalized academic help for students. He understood that the students didn’t require hours of tutoring or a complete course. They just wanted to clarify their doubts, which came up while studying and were interested in precise tutoring.

While others were busy with the on-campus placements, Praveen and his two friends, Vishal and Ankit, were researching to solve this problem. At this moment, the number of interested students was steadily growing through references and word of mouth. Considering that the students have different requirements, the trio started mapping them with the appropriate tutors. Tutors loved the financial freedom, and students enjoyed the quality micro tutoring.

Praveen adds, ‘We were doing the basics right. The next step was setting up various functions, processes, and departments to focus on each part individually. Moreover, we were curious, so we started reaching out to more startup founders, seeking their validation, gaining their insights and experience on our idea/working.’

TutorBin – Startup Launch

TutorBin Total Registered Tutors (2017-2022)

While learning at IIT KGP, the originators behind TutorBin were already providing customized tutoring services and doubt-solving sessions at odd hours to fellow students and students studying in western countries. In the interim, they began contacting groups through social media and associated with many students. That is the point at which they recognized the student’s concern. Students demanded micro tutoring and moment question tackling meetings. To provide a solution for these issues, they needed a mentoring force.

In the beginning phase, they figured out that the most suitable tutors were the ones who were studying or preparing for competitive exams and needed financial independence. Founders mentioned, “Setting up an office in KGP was a decent choice to keep up with the accessibility of tutors, and it helped us a ton in developing our business.”

This way, even before formally sending off TutorBin, they had a steady student and mentor base through networking. The following stage ahead for them was setting up various functions, processes, and departments to focus on each part individually. Their visit to Kharagpur in the last few years assisted them with setting up their coach base, which was no longer a worry. At last, they focused on additional administrations, items, and group building.

TutorBin – Name and Logo

TutorBin Logo

At first, the organization was named “Snap Q/A,” which expressed that the students need to take a snap of their questions or queries and will get the necessary services and solutions liberated from plagiarism. Later, they modified the brand name to “TutorBin” to reflect the continuously expanding mentor base and the satisfaction they provide to their students. Not only did the mentor base grow in size, but the quality of tutors also improved and has continued to do so, ensuring that all students who approach TutorBin receive top-notch support.

Additionally, the logo of their brand speaks for itself. It was designed keeping in mind the level of contentment they deliver. They want to convey the message and showcase their students’ satisfaction in their Learning Journey. Hence they designed the A+ logo.

TutorBin – Vision and Mission

With a problem-solving approach, TutorBin focuses on providing students with personalized tutoring and doubt-solving sessions. TutorBin ensures that the services are globally accessible and affordable for all students.

Vision: As they say, “We strive to provide personalized micro-tutoring to the students around the globe while creating opportunities with good earning potential for the tutors.”

TutorBin – Products/Services

TutorBin Orders (2017-2022)

Initially, the core team at TutorBin started small by coaching their associates. Nonetheless, within a year, the core team realized they required a platform to resolve this issue on a more extensive scale. TutorBin arranged the accompanying items, website, and customized applications for both the students and the mentors. To facilitate the interaction between the mentors and the students, TutorBin developed products like Student Dashboard and Student CRM, which empower the students to transfer their requirements and the operations executives to attend to their requirements and map them with the experts with the help of the latter.

Since TutorBin is a platform for students and mentors, it likewise fostered a Tutor Dashboard and a Tutor CRM, which empower the mentors to recognize the necessities, convey requests, and track their accuracy. SMEs use Tutor CRM to confirm the accuracy of requirements fulfilled by them before they deliver them to the students, while the Tutor Dashboard essentially assists the mentors with satisfying the prerequisites. Moreover, they broadened and set up additional services for students, including:
- Online Homework Help
- Online Assignment Help
- Live Session
- Video Solution
- Essay Writing Help
- Lab Report Writing Help
- Project Report Writing Help
- Speech Writing Services
- Presentation Writing Services
That is not all. TutorBin has an E-Library in which students can explore from more than 1.5L Question solutions. And that too in a freemium version.

Five years down the path, TutorBin has a high-level site taking care of the requirements of both the mentors and the students. Likewise, at present, TutorBin offers over eight services and is anticipating integrating 1-1 live sessions for students, which will help the students in the following ways:
- Tackle their doubts on a video call with the specialists.
- It guarantees better clarity through the White Board Concept.
- Face-to-Face interaction between the student and the mentor will enable better understanding.
Also, TutorBin means to foster an Artificial Intelligence Calculator and an Audio Visual Library.
- An AI Calculator will permit students to get solutions in a snap, regardless if the questions are in the form of a numerical equation or an equation of words/letters.
- While the Audio Video Library will ensure that the question library turns out to be even more fascinating for the students, the Audio Video Library will allow students to understand the concepts better through visual representation.
Apart from these valuable services for the students, TutorBin ensures that these services are easily accessible and affordable for students around the globe.

TutorBin – Business and Revenue Model

TutorBin is an ed-tech organization that is a common platform for students and tutors. TutorBin focuses on unravelling the problem for the students while providing a platform for tutors to generate income. In addition, TutorBin plans to be a one-stop solution for all the assistance that a student needs during their schooling venture.

The revenue model of TutorBin is commission based. Students are not charged fixed costs for the services they receive. Be that as it may, the prices are determined by different boundaries like difficulty level, deadline, time consumed, etc. TutorBin ensures that the services are affordable and accessible for all students around the globe. Additionally, TutorBin has a flexible pricing model, i.e., the pricing of an order depends on the location and the type of students. In other words, they have different pricing techniques for different countries. This is to ensure that their services are affordable and accessible to all students around the globe.

TutorBin – User Attraction and Retention Strategy

TutorBin Total Registered Users (2017-2022)

Since the beginning, TutorBin has focused on delivering quality services. The primary technique TutorBin has applied to hold and draw in additional clients is fulfilling them with their quality of services.

TutorBin – Funding

TutorBin is still a bootstrap startup. However, it has been growing steadily through these years. They are currently looking to raise funding of $5M to Build a more strong and more groomed team of AI for their upcoming Projects of AI calculator that will be a Revolutionary step in the Industry.

TutorBin – Challenges Faced

TutorBin strives to satisfy its clients through the quality of services it delivers. The organization’s most challenging yet remunerating part had to be its global clientele. Their primary challenge was delivering satisfactory assignments to students studying in different countries. Since every country has its education system and evaluation framework, experts must provide it accordingly.

However, the mentors were trained according to the different curriculums in different countries to overcome this challenge. Before long, the demand exceeded the supply, especially during the COVID period.

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TutorBin – Marketing Strategy

TutorBin has clientele from the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, and the Gulf countries. To deliver satisfactory services to all its clients around the globe, TutorBin began by focusing on one country at a time and trained the tutors accordingly. The training resulted in customized solutions for students studying in different countries. Moreover, it increased the level of understanding between the tutors and the students, as the tutors efficiently understood the students’ necessities.

TutorBin – Future Plans

The originators started the company from scratch, and today it is growing steadily and has a stable student and tutor base. The tutors drawn in with the company are persistently growing with their opportunities. The students associated with TutorBin continue their journey until they complete their educational plan, conveying their fulfilment and faithfulness toward the company.

Furthermore, TutorBin aspires to provide a one-stop solution for all its students. It plans to send off its subscription model, 1-1 live video tutoring sessions, and an AI-based calculator. Besides, TutorBin has proactively sent off its Question Library, which has various Q/An and intends to incorporate video content.

FAQs

What is TutorBin?

TutorBin is a one-stop solution to all your homework problems. It focuses on providing students with personalized tutoring and doubt-solving sessions.

Who started TutorBin?

TutorBin was founded by alumni of IIT, Kharagpur Parveen Lather, Vishal Kumar, and Ankit Gahlawat.

When was TutorBin founded?

TutorBin was founded in the year 2017.

What are the services offered by TutorBin?

The prominent services offered by TutorBin include:
- Online Homework Help
- Online Assignment Help
- Live Session
- Video Solution
- Essay Writing Help
- Lab Report Writing Help
- Project Report Writing Help
- Speech Writing Services
- Presentation Writing Services
February 19, 2023

Company Name	General Motors
Headquarters	Michigan, US
Sector	Automotive
Founder	William C. Durant, Charles Stewart Mott. Frederic L. Smith
Founded	September 16, 1908
Website	gm.com

Acquisitions	Acquired Date
Cruiser RV	March 2016
Cruise	March 2016
Sidecar	January 2016
Cadillac	July 1909
Vauxhall Motors	1925
Packard Electric	1932
Euclid Trucks	1953

Founded	1994
Headquarters	Seattle, Washington, US
Revenue	$513.98 Billion (2022)
Website	amazon.com

Founded	1962
Headquarters	Bentonville, Arkansas, US
Revenue	$570 Billion (2022)
Website	walmart.com

Founded	1976
Headquarters	Cupertino, California, US
Revenue	$394.328 Billion (2022)
Website	apple.com

Founded	1995
Headquarters	San Jose, California, US
Revenue	$10.8 Billion (2021)
Website	ebay.com

Founded	1902
Headquarters	Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
Revenue	$26.12 Billion (2022)
Website	target.com

Founded	1978
Headquarters	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Revenue	$151.2 Billion (2022)
Website	homedepot.com

Founded	1966
Headquarters	Richfield, Minnesota, US
Revenue	$51.761 Billion (2022)
Website	bestbuy.com

Founded	1983
Headquarters	Issaquah, Washington, US
Revenue	$226.954 Billion (2022)
Website	costco.com

Founded	2012
Headquarters	Tempe, Arizona, US
Revenue	$3.386 Billion (2022)
Website	carvana.com

Founded	1883
Headquarters	Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Revenue	$137.888 Billion (2022)
Website	kroger.com

Founded	2002
Headquarters	Boston, Massachusetts, US
Revenue	$13.708 Billion (2021)
Website	wayfair.com

Founded	2011
Headquarters	Plantation, Florida, US
Revenue	$8.891 Billion (2022)
Website	chewy.com

Founded	1858
Headquarters	New York City, US
Revenue	$25.292 Billion (2022)
Website	macys.com

Startup Name	GreenSole
Headquarters	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Sector	Footwear, Recycling, Manufacturing
Founder	Shriyans Bhandari, Ramesh Dhami
Founded	2015
Website	greensole.com

Startup Name	TutorBin
Industry	E-Learning Providers
Headquarters	Gurugram, Haryana
Founded	2017
Founders	Parveen Lather, Vishal Kumar, Ankit Gahlawat
Website	tutorbin.com

Top Outbound Call Center Software

In today’s business landscape, where competition is intense, companies invest heavily in Competitive Intelligence to gain an edge over their rivals. To succeed, businesses need to leverage every aspect of their operations, including communication. Achieving a seamless communication network requires effort, but it is a crucial factor in determining a company’s success.

As a business, bringing in, the potency of outbound call center services becomes necessary. It is where business agents make outbound calls to potential customers. However, choosing the best service provider can be a confusing task. To simplify your search, we have compiled a list of the top 10 outbound call center software that can enhance your business’s performance.

RingCentral Contact Center
Five9
ZenDesk
Aircall
Vonage
Avaya
Zoho Desk
Hubspot
Cloudtalk
Dialpad

RingCentral Contact Center

Website	Ringcentral.com
Ranking	3.9 out of 5
Best For	All Businesses

RingCentral Contact Center – Best Outbound Call Center Software

RingCentral Contact Center is a cloud-based call center service that offers a wide range of features, including automatic call distribution, call recording, and real-time reporting. The service also offers integrations with popular business applications such as Salesforce and Zendesk. Apart from it, you may get auto-dialer, agent scripts, etc. Before you consider it for your business, here are the pros and cons to look for:

Pros:

Automatic call recording for training purposes
Real-time data analysis available
Video meetings
CRM integrations
Advanced call handling features like barge, whisper, etc.

Cons:

Customer support has been questionable
Call quality suffers from noise
Call blocks and drops have been reported

Pricing:

Contact the sales team for a quotation. Taking plans for a higher number of users will come with a discount.

Five9

Website	Five9.com
Ranking	4 out of 5
Best For	Small to Medium Businesses

Five9 offers excellent easy-to-communicate solutions to businesses through its outbound call services. Some of the features of their outbound calling solutions include ACD, agent scripting, dialer preview, call monitoring, multichannel, queue callback, chat, speech recognition, etc. Here are the pros and cons to consider before going for Five9:

Pros:

On-screen caller data available
CRM integration
Their voice quality has been good
Use of Practical AI to enhance productivity
Intelligent routing

Cons:

No free trial involved
Call drop has been reported
Their price might not be affordable for some

Pricing:

Contact the sales team of Five9 for a quotation.

ZenDesk

Website	Zendesk.com
Ranking	4.3 out of 5
Best For	Medium to Large Businesses

Zendesk is one of the renowned names in the field of outbound calling. Using their services, you can easily make sales through phones, conduct research, provide phone support for your premium customers, or reach out to existing customers for renewals. Their outbound calling features include SSO, hot desk, IVR, call recording, click-to-call, omnichannel integration, mute and call forwarding, data analysis, etc. Here are the pros and cons to consider:

Pros:

No setup fee involved
Less customer waiting time
Simple and fast customer follow-up
Simple interface, good mobility, and ease of access
Reasonably priced
Provides numerous useful business features

Cons:

Can be a bit complex to learn
Phone lagging has been reported
Call transfer could be troublesome

Pricing:

Here are the pricing packages offered by Zendesk.

Plan	Price
Suite Team	$49 agent/month
Suite Growth	$79 agent/month
Suite Professional	$99 agent/month

Aircall

Website	Aircall.io
Ranking	4.3 out of 5
Best For	Medium to Large Businesses

Aircall is best for companies looking to enhance the sales team’s productivity. Their software provides smooth integration with CRMs and helpdesk, which can be a bit troublesome for many. Above it, you may get several useful features like IVR, conference calls, call notes, call automation, call monitoring, etc. Their calls, however, be limited to US and Canada. Here are the pros and cons to look for:

Pros:

Free trial is available
Call clarity has been hailed by many
Provides an excellent mobile app
Integration with HubSpot
Public number for customers and contacts
Call routing and IVR
Upfront pricing

Cons:

There could be some setup fees
Dashboard could be a bit clunk
Their chrome extension is buggy
Customer service has been reported as poor

Pricing:

Plan	Price
Essential	$30 user/month
Professional	$50 user/month

Vonage

Website	Vonage.com
Ranking	4.3 out of 5
Best For	All Types of Businesses

Vonage has been an excellent outbound call service provider that offers powerful features to enhance customer experience. The best thing about Vonage is that it is customizable and you can scale your business according to your needs. Although integration is not a problem with Vonage, you might face troubles with Salesforce. Here are the relevant pros and cons:

Pros:

Provides excellent features like IVR, ACD, click-to-call, recordings, routing, etc.
Excellent phone app
Voice quality is great
Softphone and click-to-dial options work great
Useful add-ons available
Good admin console
User interface is excellent and easy for both admins and users

Cons:

A delay in audio has been reported by some
Occasional call drops and disconnections
Poor customer service
No free trial provided

Pricing:

Domestic Calling	International Calling
Make a call to a landline number $0.0043 per minute	Make a call $0.0138 per minute
Make a call to a mobile number $0.0043 per minute
Receive a call $0.0043 per minute	Receive a call $0.0048 per minute

Avaya

Website	Avaya.com
Ranking	4.1 out of 5
Best For	All Types of Businesses

Founded in the year 2020, Avaya has claimed its spot in the top cloud calling companies and is a global provider of business communications solutions. Their system allows businesses to make and receive calls, as well as send and receive voicemail, all through the cloud. This means that businesses can access their phone system from any location, as long as they have an internet connection. Here are the pros and cons to look for:

Pros:

Provides call automation
Allows database sharing through the cloud
Good workforce management for big companies
Their data precision has been hailed by many
Affordable pricing

Cons:

Call recording quality is questionable
No self-service
Might be slow at times

Pricing:

Plan	Pricing
Digital	$48 user/month
Voice	$83 user/month
All Media	$125 user/month

Zoho Desk

Website	Zoho.com/desk
Ranking	4.4 out of 5
Best For	All Types of Businesses

Zoho Desk is a customer service software that provides businesses with a wide range of services to help them manage their customer interactions and support operations. Some of the key services offered by Zoho Desk include ticketing, chat and email support, knowledge management, integration, automation, mobile app, reporting, analysis, etc. Here are the pros and cons if you want to consider Zoho Desk for outbound call center services:

Pros:

Features like call logging recording, holding, muting, etc.
Provides integration
Call queue management
Better team collaboration
Excellent dashboard that is easy to understand and use
Better ticket management

Cons:

Might create issues if workflow increases
Workflow sees interruption
Data privacy has been a concern here
No automation setup

How To Use Zoho Desk?

Pricing:

Plan	Pricing
Team	Up to 10 users $100 /month, billed annually
Office	Up to 30 users $300 /month, billed annually
Corporate	Up to 100 users $1000 /month, billed annually

Hubspot

Website	Hubspot.com
Ranking	4.5 out of 5
Best For	Medium to Large Businesses

HubSpot is a comprehensive marketing, sales, and service platform that helps businesses grow and streamline their operations. HubSpot’s key services include marketing automation, service and support, reporting and analytics, integrations, conversation routing, etc. Here are the pros and cons to consider:

Pros:

Provides useful features like live chat, automation, video messaging, email health reporting, etc.
Good all-in-one software
Excellent UI
Centralized contact management is there
Data reliability
Good voice quality

Cons:

Might be a bit expensive
Annual contracts even if you cancel early
Poor customer support has been reported

Pricing:

Plan	Pricing
Starter	$45/month
Professional	$360/month
Enterprise	$1200/month

Cloudtalk

Website	Cloudtalk.io
Ranking	4.2 out of 5
Best For	Medium to Large Businesses

In 2020, this company was awarded one of the best call center tools. Cloudtalk can provide you with numbers for more than 140+ countries if you have global customers. Apart from it, there are features like virtual phone numbers, auto-attendants, call recording, SMS, integrations, mobile app, etc., that make it an excellent company. Here are the pros and cons to look for:

Pros:

Free trial is provided
Virtual phone numbers for over 140 countries
Call recording
Call tagging
Better integration with over 2500+ software
Comparatively cheaper than its competitors.

Cons:

No MMS available
1 to 1 video meeting is not allowed
Basic plan doesn’t have SMS
Limited audio conferencing

Pricing:

Outbound calling is included in the custom plan.

Dialpad

Website	Dialpad.com
Ranking	4.4 out of 5
Best For	Medium to Large Businesses

Dialpad is an outbound cloud calling company that provides businesses with a range of phone and communication services. They offer a variety of features such as call routing, call recording, and analytics to help businesses improve their customer interactions. Dialpad also offers a mobile app for employees to make and receive calls on the go, and integrations with popular productivity tools like Salesforce and G Suite.

Pros:

Offers AI scripts for common questions
Features like smart dialer, call history, sentiment analysis, in-queue call-back, etc.
Provides internal MVP communication
Clear sound quality

Cons:

Poor phone activation and deactivation
Desktop integration could be troublesome for a few
It might fail to filter spam calls
No free trial

Pricing:

Request a quotation from their website.

Conclusion

Outbound call centers are essential for businesses because they allow companies to proactively reach out to their customers and potential customers. This can be a powerful way to generate new leads, build relationships, and increase sales. Outbound call centers can also help businesses gather valuable information about their target market, which can be used to improve products and services. Before choosing an outbound call center company, you must always make a list of your requirements. If you need a free trial, you may go for Aircall or Cloudtalk; if you need a company with trust and experience, go for ZenDesk, Hubspot, RingCentral, or Avaya; if finance is your concern, get quotations from different companies and see which one suites you best.

FAQs

What is an Outbound Call Center?

Outbound call centers tend to make more calls than they receive. Their main focus is reaching out to customers, making sales, and publicizing the company.

What are the main features of an Outbound Call Center service?

The main features of an Outbound Call Center service include call routing, call recording, auto attendants, conversation routing, automatic call distribution, agent scripting, dialer preview, call monitoring, multichannel, queue callback, chat, speech recognition, and others.

Is there a free trial provided by any Outbound Call Center service?

Aircall and Cloudtalk are providers of Outbound Call Center Software that offer free trials for prospective clients to ensure a perfect fit for their business needs.

What are the top Outbound Call Center Services?

Below is the list of best Outbound Call Center Services:

RingCentral Contact Center
Five9
Zendesk
Aircall
Vonage
Avaya
Zoho Desk
Hubspot
Cloudtalk
Dialpad

February 19, 2023

Best Cloud Phone Systems of 2023
The foundation of a successful business thrives upon a good business-customer relationship. A company providing poor customer support doesn’t run without a limp for long. In this hyper-competitive modern world, reaching customers become vital for a company’s growth. Not only does a company need to provide a good medium that could channel support, but that medium must be fast and smooth too. This is where cloud-based phone systems come to the rescue. Not only is this cost-effective, but it also has a greater reach too. But with so many cloud-based phone system companies in the market, choosing the right one could feel a bit scary. We understand your concern.

In this article, we’ll reveal to you 10 excellent cloud phone systems to consider in 2023.

RingCentral
Grasshopper
Nextiva
Vonage
8×8
MagicJack
Dialpad
Mitel MiCloud Connect
Cisco Webex Calling
GoTo Connect

RingCentral

Website Ringcentral.com

Rating 3.9 out of 5

Best For All businesses looking for a Unified Communication (UC) system

A Screenshot from the RingCentral Dashboard

Founded in the year 1999, RingCentral has been providing cloud-based communication services since then. Although it offers a wide range of services, its forte has always hovered around cloud-based business communication. They provide four plans in the MVP sector and their pricing is based on a per-user basis. Here are the pros and cons to look for:

Pros:
- Provides call recording for later documentation and analysis
- High-quality noise-free calls; they claim their system to be available 99.99% of the time
- Provides free trial to build trust
Cons:
- Billing terms can see changes even after the contract
- It might be a little expensive
- Sluggish customer service
RingCentral: Simpler Communications

Pricing:

Have a look at the pricing details of RingCentral. Note that taking plans for more users will come with a discount.

Plan Pricing

Essentials $19.99 per user/month

Standard $27.99 per user/month

Premium $34.99 per user/month

Ultimate $49.99 per user/month

Grasshopper

Website Grasshopper.com

Rating 4.1 out of 5

Best For Small to medium businesses that need to respond in case the call is not answered

A screenshot from the Grasshopper Dashboard

Considering the rise of the internet and the needs of the modern world, the duo of David and Siamak founded Grasshopper, a VOIP service provider, back in 2003. So far, it has served over 400,000 happy customers and is on its way to serving a million more. Here are the pros and cons to look for if you want to choose Grasshopper as your cloud-based communication provider:

Pros:
- Automatic responses to customers if the line is not picked
- Noise-free calls
- Can handle simultaneous calls
Cons:
- Is not so cheap
- You might face troubles while canceling accounts
- Has been questioned for selling client data
Pricing:

Have a look at the pricing details of Grasshopper. You can save up to $75 on a yearly plan.

Plan Pricing

Solo $28 per month (1 line)

Partner $46 per month (3 lines)

Small Business $80 per month (5 lines)

Nextiva

Website Nextiva.com

Rating 4.4 out of 5

Best For For businesses that are growing and need to scale themselves

A screenshot from the Nextiva Dashboard

Nextiva is another VOIP service-providing company that was founded in the year 2006. Within six years it had gathered a workforce of 120 people working with. It provides excellent internet communication services that help businesses grow at a tremendous pace. It recently recorded a revenue of over 200 million USD. Here are the pros and cons to consider before choosing Nextiva as your communication company:

Pros:
- Provides a screen-sharing option, which has become necessary considering the present work culture
- Excellent customer support
- Has a good record in enhancing communication within the remote work culture
- Is cheaper than RingCentral
Cons:
- Customers have sometimes reported noise during the calls
- The flow of their service is a bit unreliable
Pricing:

Below mentioned pricing is for a user base of 1-4 and is billed monthly. Taking yearly plans for a higher number of users yield an extra discount.

Plan Pricing

Essential $30.95 per user/month

Professional $35.95 per user/month

Enterprise $45.95 per user/month

Vonage

Website Vonage.com

Rating 4.3 out of 5

Best For Businesses that have industry-specific communication needs

A screenshot from the Nextiva Dashboard

Because different businesses have different structures, they have different communication needs too. For example, a healthcare company cannot run on the communication flow that serves the finance sector. This is where Vonage comes in. It offers specially crafted unified communication that tries to serve a business to its satisfaction and growth. Here are the pros and cons to consider before you choose Vonage:

Pros:
- Industry-specific plans and solutions
- Offers mobile app
- Flexible pricing
- Good track record with an experience of over 25 years
- Clear call quality
Cons:
- Issues with texts and voicemails reported
- Questionable customer service
Pricing:

Have a look at the pricing offered by Vonage.

Plan Pricing

Mobile $19.99 per user/month

Premium $29.99 per user/month

Advanced $39.99 per user/month

8×8

Website 8×8.com

Rating 4.1 out of 5

Best For Businesses that deal with customers through many mediums like chat, video, call, etc.

A screenshot from the 8×8 Dashboard

With an over 2 million user base, 8×8 has been hailed as one of the best companies in the field of VOIP. It was also awarded the Best Value Business Phone of 2021 by US News and World Report. What more? It offers services in different field that enhances business communication. Here are things to consider before buying plans from 8×8:

Pros:
- The pricing is cheaper than its competitors
- Provided call monitoring for training purposes
- International calling can be done
- Has a good track record with users like Acer, FredLoya, Live Oak Bank, etc.
Cons:
- Their customer services have been questioned by many
- You might face problems canceling their plans
Pricing:

Have a look at the pricing offered by 8×8.

Plan Pricing

Express $15 per user/month

X2 $24 per user/month

X4 $44 per user/month

MagicJack

Website Magicjack.com

Rating 3.3 out of 5

Best For Small businesses and individuals

A screenshot from the MagicJack Dashboard

Founded in the year 2007, this company has been a name among small businesses looking for a cheaper communication environment. It offers a mobile app and a small USB device. As a business just starting up MagicJack can help you handle communication at a cheaper price. Here are the pros and cons to look for:

Pros:
- Simple plan that is easy to understand
- Conference calling, call blocking, and call holding
- Call hold music
- Voicemail and call forwarding are also provided
Cons:
- Poor customer support has been an issue
- Call dropping has been reported by its users
- No unlimited international calling
Pricing:

MagicJack is one of the cheapest cloud phone systems. Have a look at its pricing.

Plan Pricing

1 Year $43

2 Year $79

3 Year $109

Dialpad

Website Dialpad.com

Rating 4.4 out of 5

Best For Small to medium businesses

A screenshot from the Dialpad Dashboard

With call and SMS support in over 50 countries, Dialpad has been rising in the cloud phone system sector. Founded in the year 2011, this company offers industry-specific solutions to serve different communication demands. So far, it has served over 25,000 customers. Here are the pros and cons to look for:

Pros:
- Unlimited international calling to over 50 supported countries
- Supports a remote culture
- Affordable and beneficial for startups and small-scale businesses
Cons:
- Poor call quality has been reported
- Call drops
Pricing:

Have a look at the pricing details of Dialpad.

Plan Pricing

Standard $21.50 user/month

Pro $27 user/month

Enterprise Contact Sales

Mitel MiCloud Connect

Website Mitel.com

Rating 3.8 out of 5

Best For All businesses

A screenshot from the Mitel MiCloud Connect Dashboard

MiTel, a company owned by Searchlight Capitals, provides companies with its cloud business communication services. Back in the years, it had sold a few of its technologies to RingCentral, which is another VOIP service-providing company. Apart from services, it also offers communication devices that help businesses reach their maximum potential. Here are the pros and cons to look for:

Pros:
- Easy-to-use interface that helps non-technical users
- No setup fee
- Great call and chat quality
- Helps set up an excellent remote work culture
Cons:
- Doesn’t provide a free trial
- Consulting charges are there
- Poor UI on iPhones
Pricing:

Contact sales support for business-specific quotations.

Cisco Webex Calling

Website Cisco.com

Rating 4.4 out of 5

Best For All businesses

A screenshot from the Cisco Webex Calling Dashboard

Cisco is one of the most experienced companies in the field of cloud communications. Founded in the year 1995, Cisco offers business solutions for all types of communications like video conferencing, voice calling, screen share, webinars, etc. If you are a large-scale business looking to set up a unified cloud communication, here are the pros and cons to look before:

Pros:
- Easy to use
- Free trial available
- Screen-sharing and other cloud communication features
- Online meeting and collaboration environment setup
- Provides quality communication
Cons:
- Poor quality file transfer
- Technical user interface
- Audio jitters have been reported
Pricing:

Have a look at the pricing details of Cisco Webex Calling.

Plan Pricing

Basic Free

Starter $14.50/license/month

Business $20.30/license/month

Enterprise Contact sales

GoTo Connect

Website App.goto.com

Rating 4.4 out of 5

Best For Businesses looking for specific communication needs

A screenshot from the GoTo Connect Dashboard

Based in Boston, this company was founded in the year 2003 as a remote access and screen-sharing company. Today, it has reported over $1.3 billion in revenue, 10 million users, and 3,500 employees. This SaaS company has been helping big businesses connect no matter where they are. Here are the pros and cons to look for:

Pros:
- Excellent user interface
- Good integration with Salesforce, Slack, etc.
- Quality calls and customer support
Cons:
- Chat function might see some issues sometimes
- The mobile app user interface needs to be improved
- Some calls might fail to get through
Pricing:

Have a look at the pricing details of GoTo Connect.

Plan Pricing

Basic $27.00/user/month

Standard $32.00 /user /month

Premium $43.00 /user /month

Conclusion

As a business trying to tackle competition and thrive in the modern world, having an excellent communication system becomes important. A slight delay in communication could mean a big chunk of customers wincing away. The cloud phone system is an excellent solution that provides remote communication using different mediums like voice, chat, screen-share, etc. If you are a small-scale business looking for a cheaper communication setup, you may go for 8×8 or MagicJack. If you have specific demands, you may go for GoTo, Vonage, Dialpad, MiTel, etc. Cisco can be trusted for its experience and deep history. Before choosing a cloud-based phone system, always make a list of what your requirements are; it’ll help you narrow down your search and select the company that best suits your business structure.

FAQs

What is a cloud phone?

A cloud phone system is a phone service that allows users to make and receive calls over the internet, instead of relying on traditional phone lines.

What are the benefits of a cloud-based phone system?

Key benefits of a cloud-based phone system are:
- Easy implementation
- Cost efficiency
- Advanced call features
- Increased productivity
- Reliability and security
How does the voice quality of a cloud-based phone system compare to a traditional phone line?

Depending on factors such as internet speed and network reliability, the voice quality of a cloud-based phone system can be similar to or better than that of a traditional phone line.

Can a cloud-based phone system be used by businesses of all sizes?

Yes, a cloud-based phone system can be used by businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises.

How secure is a cloud-based phone system?

The security of a cloud-based phone system depends on the measures put in place by the provider and the user.
February 17, 2023

Website	Ringcentral.com
Rating	3.9 out of 5
Best For	All businesses looking for a Unified Communication (UC) system

Plan	Pricing
Essentials	$19.99 per user/month
Standard	$27.99 per user/month
Premium	$34.99 per user/month
Ultimate	$49.99 per user/month

Plan	Pricing
Solo	$28 per month (1 line)
Partner	$46 per month (3 lines)
Small Business	$80 per month (5 lines)

Plan	Pricing
Essential	$30.95 per user/month
Professional	$35.95 per user/month
Enterprise	$45.95 per user/month

Plan	Pricing
Mobile	$19.99 per user/month
Premium	$29.99 per user/month
Advanced	$39.99 per user/month

Plan	Pricing
Express	$15 per user/month
X2	$24 per user/month
X4	$44 per user/month

Plan	Pricing
Standard	$21.50 user/month
Pro	$27 user/month
Enterprise	Contact Sales

Plan	Pricing
Basic	Free
Starter	$14.50/license/month
Business	$20.30/license/month
Enterprise	Contact sales

Plan	Pricing
Basic	$27.00/user/month
Standard	$32.00 /user /month
Premium	$43.00 /user /month

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