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Rising to the Top: The Incredible Journey of C&S Wholesale Grocers

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 C&S Wholesale Grocers.

In the fast-paced life we live, completing even the basics of jobs becomes rather challenging. Grocery shopping is a job that we need to make time for. Fortunately, with the boost of the retail industry, finding a reliable grocery outlet is no longer a tough task.

C&S Wholesale Grocers is a grocery supply chain that operates in the US. The company services nearly 7700 supermarkets, independent chains, and military bases. As per Forbes, in 2021, the company was the eighth-largest privately held company in the United States.

Dealing with various products, the company has crossed all hurdles to achieve success. Let us have a look at C&S Wholesale Grocers and their journey so far.

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Company Highlights

Company Name	C&S Wholesale Grocers
Headquarters	Keene, New Hampshire
Sector	Grocery wholesale and distribution
Founder	Abraham Seigel and Israel Cohen
Founded	1918
Revenue	$30 Billion (2021)
Employees	17,000+ (2017)
Website	www.cswg.com

C&S Wholesale Grocers – About

Based in Keene, New Hampshire, C&S Wholesale Grocers is a wholesale grocery supply service. The company was set up as a small grocery store in 1918. C&S Wholesale Grocers is considered the leader in supply chain management.

The company offers services to other supermarkets, independent stores, etc. in the form of wholesale procurement, pricing, marketing, category management, merchandising, advertising, business, accounting, engineering, and store design.

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Industry

C&S Wholesale Grocers operates in the Grocery wholesaling industry. As per the data shared by Marketresearch, the global wholesale market was wroth around $45672.6 billion in 2022.

As opposed to other industries, the Grocery wholesaling industry has shown slower growth. Between 2018-2023 the sector rose by 1.1%. The industry is affected by the number of households. The more the number the higher would be the sales of the industry.

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Founders and Team

C&S Wholesale Grocers was launched in 1918 by Abraham Seigel and Israel Cohen in Worcester, Mass. At that time, it was set up as an independent grocery provider.

Abraham Seigel

Abraham Seigel and Israel Cohen joined hands to fulfill the latter’s desire to have a wholesale supply of their own. They set up a 5000 sq. ft. Three-story Worcester warehouse that dealt in 1200 grocery products.

Israel Cohen

Israel Cohen was the founder of the C&S Wholesale Grocers company. He started his career in the wholesale grocery industry in the early 1900s. When working in Worcester for $25 per week, he thought he could make more profit.

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Startup Story

One of the company’s owners Israel Cohen was dissatisfied with the $25 per week he was earning in a supermarket. He decided to launch a wholesale delivery system of his own. Along with his companion Abraham Siegel, he set up C&S Wholesale Grocers in 1918. The company’s name was taken from the founders’ surname alphabet.

They set up a 5000 sq. ft. warehouse where 3 workers managed the delivery of around 1200 products. The need to have a well-defined distribution system became more evident with the rise in population.

Israel Cohen realized that their customer’s opinions held the most importance. While other distributors stocked the products as per their wishes, C&S Wholesale Grocers talked to the customers and kept their opinions in mind. This increased the company’s reputation among customers giving them a solid footing in the industry.

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Mission and Vision

C&S Wholesale Grocers’ vision statement is as has been mentioned below:

We work as one team.
Every person matters.
We’re tenacious in fulfilling our commitments.
We challenge the status quo.
We continuously make our work environment and communities better.

The company aims to take its customer’s opinions rather seriously. Their mission statement is as follows:

“Our mission is to consistently deliver the very best service and value to our customers..”

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Name, Tagline, and Logo

The term C&S from the company name “C&S Wholesale Grocers” is taken from the initials of the founder’s surname, Abraham Siegel and Israel Cohen.

C&S Wholesale Grocers uses a unique red and white logo to promote its brand. In the logo, both C and S seem intertwined with each other. The logo signifies the synchronization of the customer’s needs with the company’s mission to deliver quality groceries on time.

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Business Model

C&S Wholesale Grocers is a company that deals in wholesale grocery distribution to supermarkets, grocery stores, chain stores, military institutions, etc. They supply various products, including fresh produce, meat, dairy products, seafood, health, beauty products, general merchandise, etc. Some stores that the company provides products to include names like Stop & Shop, Giant of Landover, Giant of Carlisle, Pure Harmony, Safeway, and Target.

Apart from the above, the company also has its own brands that it owns and licenses. These include Best Yet, Piggly Wiggly, Tippy Toes, and Exceptional value. The other services the company provides are wholesale procurement, category management, pricing, marketing, advertising, etc.

C&S Wholesale Grocers moved into retail operations after it acquired Grand Union Supermarket chain in 2001. Post that, they merged with many other stores only to sell them further.

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Revenue Model

The revenue for C&S Wholesale Grocers was $30 Billion in the last quarter. The company has 17,000 employees. This makes it an average revenue of $17,64,705.

C&S Wholesale Grocers- Employees

Apart from offering competitive salaries, the company offers multiple benefits to its employees. Benefits like comprehensive medical plans, flexibility in choosing a dental plan, savings on basic eye care costs, paid vacations, retirement plans, tuition assistance, adoption assistance, employee perk, discounts, etc are provided by them.

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Challenges Faced

C&S Wholesale Grocers faced many issues post their association with A&P supermarkets. The deal was to provide them with groceries during the winter holidays. However, the company was not prepared to handle the bulk of the work. The issue was that the time to complete the order was limited.

The company needed to increase its productivity and number of employees to rise up to the challenge. Apart from that, they have to deal with increased fuel prices. Their work involves transportation, and if fuel costs rise, it impacts the margins of operations.

Severe weather is another problem that C&S Wholesale Grocers has to deal with. Flooding roads, transit systems, railways, etc., impact the transportation of goods. As they cannot modify the weather, they would have to boost the algorithms that trace the weather changes and locate warehouses that can be affected.

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Funding and Investors

The company received a grant investment from New York State on 2nd May 2014. The amount was greater than $ 5 million, which was a massive break for C&S Wholesale Grocers.

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Mergers and Acquisitions

Some companies that C&S Wholesale Grocers has merged with are shared below.

Acquiree name	Money	Year of announcement
Olean Wholesale Grocery Operative Inc	–	2018
The Grocers supply company	–	2014
Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co	–	2014
BI-LO	–	2005
Grand Union	–	2001

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Growth

C&S Wholesale Grocers has progressed in the form of expanding its network. They have around 7700 supermarket stores in 2021, rising from 7500 in the 2020 year. The revenue increased from $25 Billion to $30 Billion in 2021. This was commendable in a competitive industry like grocery wholesale.

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

C&S Wholesale Grocers has not ventured into creating any new commercials of late. However, in 2019, they released a series of ads that showcased the company as an ideal workplace.

Each commercial showed the company as a family-oriented warehouse. There were testimonials from the existing employees that showcased the company’s unique workplace policies.

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Awards and Achievements

Some awards received by the company are:

Seven Seals Award in 2012 from the Department of Défense and New Hampshire Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.
In 2010 C&S Wholesale Grocers was named the Business of the year by the Keene Chamber of Commerce.
The Food Marketing Institute awarded them the Wholesaler Innovator of the year, Feeding America’s Grocery Distributor of the year, and the national Neighbourhood Partnership award the same year.

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Competitors

C&S Wholesale Grocers has established itself in the Wholesale grocery market. Its competitors are:

Giant Eagle
Spartan Nash
Imperial Distributors
Kehe Distributors
Winn Dixie stores Inc
United Natural Foods
Mc Lane Company
US Foods
Sysco

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Future Plans

C&S Wholesale Grocers has always tried to make the process of distribution simple. It aims to increase transparency and flexibility in its supply chain processes.

The company has deployed a unified supply chain and planning technology from partner Relex Solutions. By doing it, the company aims to enhance the customer experience and focus on high growth.

In the future, C&S Wholesale Grocers wants to incorporate technology to transform the company’s operations. With AI and Machine learning, the company intends to use its operation platform to monitor traffic and identify suitable distribution routes.

FAQs

Who is the current CEO of C&S Wholesale Grocers?

The current CEO of C&S Wholesale Grocers is Mike Duffy. He took over the reins in 1989.

Which industry does C&S Wholesale Grocers operate in?

C&S Wholesale Grocers operates in the Grocery Wholesale industry.

What are some of the other brands that C&S Wholesale Grocers has?

C&S Wholesale Grocers has Best Yet, Piggly Wiggly, Tippy Toes, and Exceptional value brands.

Who are the founders of C&S Wholesale Grocers?

C&S Wholesale Grocers was founded by Israel Cohen and Abraham Seigel in 1918.

What are some competitors of C&S Wholesale Grocers?

Some competitors of C&S Wholesale Grocers are Giant Eagle, Spartan Nash, Winn Dixie, and Imperial distributors.

February 5, 2023

Building a Grocery Empire: The Success Story of H-E-B Grocery Company

The retail industry in the world is booming. The need to find all grocery purchases in one place has led to many brands successfully setting up their own supermarket chains. Despite the competition, these small-time stores have become fairly well-established.

H-E-B is an American supermarket chain that started its business in Texas. Currently, the chain has more than 340 stores established across Texas and Mexico. The company has also floated an organic food retailer chain named Central Market.

Read on with us to learn more about H-E-B and their journey to success.

H-E-B – Company Highlights

Company Name	H-E-B Grocery Company
Headquarters	San Antonio, Texas
Sector	Retail
Founder	Florence Butt
Founded	26th November 1905
Valuation	$17 Billion (2022)
Revenue	$38 Billion (2022)
Formerly Known As	C.C Butt Grocery Store

H-E-B – About
H-E-B – Industry
H-E-B – Founders and Team
H-E-B – Startup Story
H-E-B – Mission and Vision
H-E-B – Name, Tagline, and Logo
H-E-B – Business Model
H-E-B – Revenue Model
H-E-B – Employees
H-E-B – Challenges Faced
H-E-B – Mergers and Acquisitions
H-E-B – Growth
H-E-B – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
H-E-B – Awards and Achievements
H-E-B – Competitors
H-E-B – Future Plans

H-E-B – About

H-E-B is a food and grocery retail store chain. It operates most of its stores in Texas and Mexico region. Despite this, the company enjoys good sales and a strong customer base. H-E-B was established in 1905 by a woman named Florence Butt.

H-E-B creates some of its own products, like ice cream, milk, snacks, and ready-to-cooked meats. The company has established itself rather strongly in Texas holding almost 55% of the market share. Its most important markets are San Antonio, Laredo, Austin, and Houston.

H-E-B – Grocery Retail Industry

H-E-B operates in the Grocery retail industry. The market size of this industry is around $818.6 Billion. Though competitive, the industry is expected to grow at 0.9% this year.

Since the last five years, the industry has maintained a growth rate of 2.7%. The grocery and supermarket industry in the U.S. is at the third rank on the basis of market size and overall at the fourteenth rank.

H-E-B – Founders and Team

H-E-B was launched as a grocery store called CC Butt Grocery store in 1905. Florence Butt set up the store in her home in Kerrville, Texas.

Florence Butt

Florence Butt opened the CC Butt Grocery store. She was born in Buena Vista, Mississippi, in 1864. She was the only girl in her class when she completed her graduation. After that, she married Clarence C Butt and moved to Kerrville, Texas.

Since her husband was unable to work, Florence accumulated a few groceries. With 60$ she opened a Grocery store. Her two sons acted as Delivery boys while she oversaw the daily operations. In 1919 her son Howard Butt returned from the Navy, and Florence handed the store to him.

H-E-B – Startup Story

The CC Butt Grocery store was initially set up to run household expenses. After Florence’s son returned from the Navy, she handed over the store to him. Howard Edward Butt set up four other stores in Central Texas, none of which succeeded.

In 1927 Howard bought three stores in Del Rio, Texas. He named the store after his initials, i.e., H.E.B. In 1971, Charles, the son of Howard, became the company’s President. With his efforts, he moved the company from annual sales of $250 million in 1971 to $13 billion in 2006.

H-E-B – Mission and Vision

The vision statement for H-E-B is as follows:

“Here, everyone belongs.”

The company’s mission statement aims to boost local farmers’ efforts. They also aim to develop and execute social efforts benefitting the populace, customers, and employees. The mission statement of H-E-B is as follows :

“We’re in the people business. We happen to sell groceries.”

H-E-B – Name, Tagline, and Logo

The company has maintained three taglines. It constantly strives to achieve what the taglines advocate:

Here Everything’s Better
Healthy Food at H-E-B
Helping here

H-E-B has been consistent with its brand image. The logo for the same is a horizontal badge with rounded edges. This ellipsoid has a double frame, and the main area has been done in a bright red and white palette. The color combination depicts professionalism, strength, and progressiveness.

The primary version of this logo is a red badge with a white H E B inscription. It follows an extra bold sans-serif font. In the secondary version, the white badge is projected on a red background.

H-E-B – Business Model

H-E-B’s key resources are product inventory, supply chain and logistics, store network, and the employees who work hard. Its success is also dependent on its sub-brands which include the names like Central Market, H.E.B. Plus, Mi Tienda, Jow V’s Smart Shop, IT and communications infrastructure, etc.

The partners with which the company works can be divided into the categories like vendor and supplier partners, storage and distribution partners, branding and marketing partners, community partners, and strategic and alliance partners.

H-E-B partnered with Instakart and the Animal Defense League of Texas in the past few years. The company has various product ranges, including fruits, dairy products, frozen items, baby and toy, pet and outdoor, kitchen, office, school, etc.

H-E-B – Revenue Model

As per reports, H-E-B Grocery Companie’s revenue is $21 Billion annually in 2021. The company has around 47K employees and adds to the employee count by 7% yearly. The estimated revenue per employee is around $178,946.

H-E-B – Employees

H-E-B focuses on giving its employees the rest and breaks they require. Apart from providing a competitive salary, the company offers the benefits like dental and health insurance, disability insurance, adoption assistance, family medical leave, flexible work schedule, parental leaves, relocation assistance, performance bonus, etc.

H-E-B – Challenges Faced

H-E-B was initially one of the few supermarket chains in the Texas area. That is the prime reason they were able to make it big. However, in the last few years, Walmart went into an expansion spree, increasing its store count from 253 to 372. That led to a downfall in the customer base as many of them shifted to Walmart due to reduced prices.

After the Pandemic, H-E-B had to face labor issues. Not many of them were willing to come back to work despite the company offering a competitive wage of $15 per hour. They were more interested in restaurant jobs than the ones offered by supermarkets.

Lastly, E-commerce has cut a significant portion of the grocery market. Companies like Amazon are setting new customer experience parameters, and it is hard for H-E-B to match up. Though the company uses its website to garner sales, it would take time before it becomes hugely successful.

H-E-B – Mergers and Acquisitions

H-E-B acquired the below-mentioned company in 2018:

Acquiree name	Money	Date of announcement
Favor	Undisclosed	15th February 2018

For 113 years, H-E-B never merged or acquired any company. In 2018 they acquired Favor which was an on-demand delivery outfit. It helped H-E-B simplify its delivery process for items ordered from the website.

H-E-B – Growth

2022 was a challenging year as inflation led to people cutting their spending. Yet H-E-B showed a hike of 12% in the average consumer transaction value. This was high than all the other supermarket chains operating. Apart from that, the average spending for H-E-B was at $64, again the highest.

H-E-B – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

In their latest commercial, H-E-B reinforces the concept of taking care of the consumers. They are propagating how the company is offering the best quality services, so everyone is taken care of.

From health prescriptions to immunizations, the ad shows how H-E-B is striving to take care of Texans. Have a look at the commercial here:

H-E-B – Awards and Achievements

A few awards H-E-B has won over the years are:

Grocery Dive named H-E-B as the Grocer of the year for 2020 for their response to the Pandemic.
In the BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards, H-E-B is most trusted for offering high-quality products.
BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards also showed H-E-B to have the highest trust score among most competitors.
H-E-B won the Gold Shorty award for their Holiday Even Brighter campaign that they ran in 2021.

H-E-B – Competitors

Some of H-E-B Grocery Companie’s competitors are:

Hannaford Supermarkets
Safeway
The Fresh Market
Publix
Whole Foods Market
Winn-Dixie
Walmart
Costco
Trader Joe’s
Amazon

H-E-B – Future Plans

In 2022, H-E-B established 5 new stores in Texas and areas around it. Apart from that, H-E-B have entered the Wellness primary care clinic segment. The company plans to add frozen capabilities to its stores in Temple, Texas. This project alone would grow their facility footprint by 325,000 square feet.

The company is also venturing into adding home goods with food items in its stores. They have already done so in their New Braunfels, Texas store. This section is named Home by H-E-B and would include items like throw pillows, candles, home décor, textiles, etc. In the future, they would also add the feature to other stores.

FAQs

What does H-E-B stand for?

H-E-B stands for Howard Edward Butt. He was the son of the H-E-B store founder named Florence Butt.

What kind of stores does H-E-B offer?

H-E-B offers a variety of stores like Central Market, H.E.B. Plus, Mi Tienda, and Joe V’s Smart Shop.

What is H-E-B best known for?

H-E-B is popular for multiple reasons. One of the prime reasons is its creativity in classic snacks such as apple pie-flavored potato chips. It is also known for its Café Ole brand, house-made frozen pizzas, cheese puffs, etc.

Who is the founder of H-E-B Grocery Company?

H-E-B Grocery Company was started by a woman named Florence Butt in 1905 as the CC Butt Grocery store.

February 4, 2023

Pawan Kumar, CEO of Elista, Emphasizes the Importance of Understanding Consumer Trends in the Consumer Durables Industry

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.

Home appliances, also known as domestic appliances, are electrical machines that help with household functions such as cooking, cleaning, and food preservation. Examples of home appliances include refrigerators, washing machines, ovens, microwave ovens, dishwashers, air conditioners, and vacuum cleaners. These appliances are designed to make household tasks more efficient and convenient, and they have become an essential part of modern life.

The growth of the consumer electronics and home appliances market in India is forecasted to reach an increase of USD 2.12 billion from 2020 to 2025. Factors such as rising disposable incomes, urbanization, and changing consumer preferences are driving the growth in the market. Additionally, the government’s focus on promoting the use of energy-efficient appliances and the increasing adoption of smart home appliances are also expected to boost the growth of the home appliance market in India.

For this Interview, we invited Pawan Kumar, CEO of Elista, and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the home appliances and consumer durables industry.

StartupTalky: Pawan, what products does your company sell? What was the motivation/vision with which you started?

Pawan: 2022 is the year of opportunity for Elista. We have expanded our product offering in the Smart TV, accessory, washing machines, and computer peripherals categories. We have seen tremendous success in the Smart TV category and registered over 20% growth y-o-y. We started with the motivation to offer technologically advanced products at affordable prices. Our vision is to Make in India for the world. With this objective, we have recently entered the UAE markets and plan to launch in the CIS and MENA markets in the coming year.

StartupTalky: What other products/features have been added in the past year? What is/are the USP/s of your products?

Pawan: We have been focused on providing a superior experience to the users on a budget. Earlier, we disrupted the Dishwasher category, which was considered premium. This year we have launched UHD webOS TV-powered ultra-premium Smart LED TVs in India. These are large-screen TVs that offer a clutter-free experience to our users. It also comes with an easy-to-use that can be maneuvered using voice commands. Elista also launched its Tower speakers, which have 140W of sound output to ramp up the home-party scene, making for a totally immersive experience.

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

Pawan: The most significant shift that has happened is the change in the production base. Most organizations have shifted most of their production from China to India. There is greater accessibility for Make in India products. The manufacturing capabilities in India have improved significantly, and the ecosystem has also matured.

At Elista, we have been extremely bullish about Make in India. This is our third year running, and we manufacture most of the products in India. Even for the international markets we are entering, we are aligned to Make In India and are already in talks to set up a manufacturing facility in India in 2023.

StartupTalky: How do you stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in the home appliances and consumer durables industry?

Pawan: Manufacturers must be cognizant of consumer behavior in the consumer durable industry. In addition, technological changes are taking place at a break-neck speed. We have our pulse on the market and track all the changes taking place in the sector. Elista also has a full-fledged R&D center where we study all the changes and work on innovations.

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

Pawan: Given that we are still in the infancy stage, we track two parameters for our growth. First is our distribution width and growth in revenue. It is our endeavor to spread our presence in the country and continue to grow on a year-by-year basis. For the current year, we have set a target to achieve Rs 250 crore in revenue and looking to clock over Rs 1,500 crore by 2025.

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

Pawan: In the past year, the biggest challenge has been the persistent demand-supply imbalances that have impacted the demand momentum. Another big challenge the industry has to face inflationary pressures due to the ongoing geopolitical situation. To overcome these, we have strengthened our India manufacturing. Despite the rise in prices, through our quality offerings, we have been able not just to sustain the demand but even grow in the categories in which we are present in.

The burgeoning middle class in urban areas and aspirational demand from rural India is an excellent opportunity for us. We will continue to offer technologically-
advanced, feature-rich products at competitive prices to suit their needs.

StartupTalky: Repeat purchase is one of the most important parameters on which most e-commerce brands are betting. How do you keep your customer engaged to stop churn?

Pawan: For us, data is oil. We use the data that we have at our disposal to cross-sell. When someone buys our product, he/she is already exposed to the product and our promise. We try to entice them with our great product offering and even offer them exciting offers and discounts to buy the following product.

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

Pawan: Values-driven consumption in India is rising, and we have been able to tap this segment well. We have two iconic cricketers as brand ambassadors – Suresh Raina and Ishan Kishan. They have worked wonders for our brand, and we have used them well by making our packaging stand out with a popular face in the market. We are essentially strong in the Tier 2/3 brand, and to sustain our growth in these markets, we continue to invest in retail branding. We are also aware that the consumer from tier 2/3 are also digitally savvy and hence promote our brand digitally to reach out to them.

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

Pawan: We are currently using Zoho people and Zoho Expense for the smooth functioning of our business.

StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in the home appliances and consumer durables industry in India and the world? What kind of difference in market behavior have you seen within states in India?

Pawan: There is considerable growth potential in the product categories we are operating in, as the penetration level is still low. India is a large country with diverse cultures and needs. In many ways, our country is equal to many countries in size and consumer preference. The product needs of one state can be very different from the others.

For example, in dry areas, consumers prefer to buy desert coolers, while in many other states, the requirement is that of window coolers. We offer a diverse portfolio to cater to these varied needs. Our product promotion strategy is also customized as per the region’s preference.

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

Pawan: Despite the inflammatory challenges, the consumer durable sector has seen healthy growth this year. This year’s most prominent lesson that we have learnt is that consumers will always continue to prioritize their needs. They will also seek affordable quality products. They may put off buying luxury products, but the demand for coolers, washing machines, and refrigerators will continue to be strong. Keeping this in mind, we will be looking at strengthening our product offerings in these segments.

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

Pawan: We will expand our footprint in India and internationally in the coming year. We are also looking to enter into new product categories and will diversify into water dispensers and deep freezers. We are also looking at launching at expanding our presence in the trolly speakers. The team base will be enhanced, keeping these requirements in mind. We are hoping that the consumers that consumers will connect with these product categories that we are launching and will continue to trust us as they have been doing.

StartupTalky: With so much hype around D2C brands spending on ads, what will be your growth strategy, organic or inorganic? How do you plan to work around SEO and content marketing?

Pawan: Since we are a budding brand, we are looking for organic growth as there is a lot of scope in the market. We continue to invest strategically in enhancing our reach and are focusing on over 50 keywords.

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

You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

February 4, 2023
Director Deepti Sharma Highlights ThinkerPlace’s Focus on Independent Toy Making in India

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.

STEM DIY projects for children can help to develop their critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity skills. These projects also allow children to discover and explore their interests in STEM fields. Additionally, some STEM DIY (do-it-yourself) projects can help children develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

It’s important to note that it’s not necessary to have advanced knowledge or skills in STEM fields to conduct STEM DIY projects with children. There are many resources and tutorials available online, and most of the projects can be done with household materials or inexpensive materials that can be found at craft stores.

Developing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) skills in children is important because it can help to prepare them for the future and for the increasing number of jobs in STEM fields.

The Ed-tech industry has seen significant growth in recent years, as technology continues to play an increasingly important role in education. According to a report by Grand View Research, the global ed-tech market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 7.5% from 2020 to 2027.

For this Interview, we invited Deepti Sharma, Director of ThinkerPlace, and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the e-learning industry.

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

Deepti Sharma: ThinkerPlace aims to create a dynamic STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) universe for kids. We make educational STEM DIY (do-it-yourself) toys that introduce various futuristic skills to them like robotics, coding, automation, IoT, and more.

Presently, with technology being constantly updated and innovations every day, there is a high demand in the STEM industry for skilled and professional individuals. To fill in this increasing demand, a base in STEM from an early age and a career-focused education is very important. This is where ThinkerPlace comes in. We want to be the first point of contact for children and parents when
it comes to the introduction of S.T.E.M and its infinite possibilities through our DIY educational toys.

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

Deepti Sharma: ThinkerPlace offers a 360 Degree STEM learning experience along with DIY Toys. All our STEM DIY (do-it-yourself) Kits come with the Learning Management System which is a fun-learning platform where kids can learn many innovative skills like robotics, coding, automation, IoT, and more. With various instructional videos and 3D animations, kids can understand the various aspects of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) easily and also have a lot of fun while making the toy. Children also get expert guidance from our STEM experts when they face any problems during the learning process.

Educational Tools for Students for Online Classes, Learning, and Assessment

Educational tools for students for online classes, fun learning, engagement, and assessments including Edmodo, Socrative, ClassDojo, Animoto, and Toppr learning

StartupTalkyAnsh Mehrey

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

Deepti Sharma: In the past few years, the government had increased import duties on Chinese toys. We are associated with different vendors across India. We always aimed to Make in India and independently make and manufacture toys in India.

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

Deepti Sharma: Our research team rigorously keeps tabs on the latest toys that are launched in the market. After thorough research, they do various product tests in terms of its function and design and analyze what is working in the market and what kids will love to play with.

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

Deepti Sharma: We use various key metrics like website visitors, conversion ratios, social media engagement, repeat customer rates, sales engagement, etc.

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

Deepti Sharma: We are very stern about the ideology of “Make in India”. From conceptualizing to physically producing all parts of the toys and their dispatch nationally and internationally – everything is done in India. To achieve this at a national level, we have faced a lot of challenges but the results have been great.

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

Deepti Sharma: We use various channels for marketing like Digital Marketing which is one of the most popular and effective channels to reach your target audience. Apart from that we regularly host workshops with different schools to enhance STEM Awareness. We also set up stalls and kiosks for various events and
schools to reach our target audience and analyze what they like and what they don’t. We recently collaborated with Jio TV and Padhega Bharat to spread the roots of STEM Learning to about 50 Lakh households.

StartupTalky: What are the essential tools and software you use to run ThinkerPlace smoothly?

Deepti Sharma: We use tools like CRM software, accounting software, and Adobe Suite.

StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in the e-learning industry in India and the world? What kind of difference in market behavior have you seen within states in India?

Deepti Sharma: The future of STEM is bright. It is an in-demand stream in our country and even the government is pushing STEM Learning for children with its new guidelines in the NEP 2020 (National Education Policy 2020) The new guidelines say it is necessary for schools and educational institutes to have a learning system that is more goal-oriented and practical. This will nurture the children toward concept-building and practical thinking. ThinkerPlace has been successful in implementing the same in several schools across the country.

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

Deepti Sharma: We faced a few challenges when we started like researching and developing unique products that the target audience will like and launching a product line that will do well in the market. Another challenge that we faced was scaling up & optimizing various digital channels to reach our target group.

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

Deepti Sharma: Currently, ThinkerPlace is working on expanding its client base to reach the level of preschools. We have developed unique products that are well-received by children belonging to the preschool age. The launch has been pretty successful so far. ThinkerPlace has become the only company in India that provides S.T.E.M-based educational DIY (do-it-yourself) toys for preschoolers. We are also working on developing new and innovative toys to cater to a wide age group of 3 years to 14 years.

We recently collaborated in Nigeria to set up The Rehla Academy Makerspace (TRAM), a STEM Innovation hub at The Rehla Academy, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria in partnership with TechGen Africa. We are planning to expand to other countries like the UAE and the USA to set up STEM Innovation Labs for kids. We are also working on setting up STEM labs in different schools across India. The concept behind STEM Labs is to introduce children to the complex concepts of science technology, engineering, and mathematics in a fun and exciting way.

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

Deepti Sharma: I have always believed in learning from shortcomings. My mantra is ‘Learn Fast, Fail Fast, Move Fast’. If you fail at one thing, move on to your next solution. Never stop even if you fail, there is always a chance to start from the beginning.

We thank Deepti Sharma for spending her valuable time and sharing her learnings with all of us.

You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

February 4, 2023
Jayant Pal Singh, Co-founder of FemTech India, Discusses the Nature and Services of the FemTech Startup

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.

FemTech, short for “Female Technology,” refers to technology and products that are specifically designed to meet the health and wellness needs of women. This can include products such as period-tracking apps, fertility-tracking devices, and telemedicine platforms for women’s health consultations. FemTech is a growing field, as technology is increasingly being used to address gaps in healthcare and improve access to information and resources for women.

The global FemTech market is projected to reach $50 billion by 2025 with a CAGR of more than 20% during the forecast period. The growth of Femtech is driven by the increasing number of women in the workforce, rising awareness of women’s healthcare issues, and the growing adoption of digital technologies in healthcare.

For this Interview, we invited Jayant Pal Singh, co-founder of FemTech India, and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the FemTech industry.

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

Jayant Pal Singh: FemTech India is an authority on all things FemTech. The platform recognizes the need that no professional in the FemTech industry should exist in a vacuum and has created a repository of content, and curated experiences to enable the professionals to step up. FemTech India also offers curated community-based events, inspiring podcasts, exclusive databases, and cutting-edge industry insights for our audience which is reflective of the current times that we live in.

The driving motivation to launch the platform was to raise awareness about women’s health issues, provide access to exclusive databases, and also give a roundup of contemporary news. We also aim to be a significant contributor to the women’s health technology ecosystem.

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

Jayant Pal Singh: FemTech India offers a host of services. Some of the unique opportunities include- a convergence of domestic and global companies. The platform provides a unique opportunity for domestic companies to scale up in the international market and conversely enables global companies to step into the Indian market. The platform enables students, and FemTech enthusiasts to network and build their eminence in the space. The platform also offers hands-on workshops to FemTech Companies to help them scale up. The flagship ‘Mentorship Program’ includes individual mentorship with successful FemTech entrepreneurs as well as workshops with prominent experts. Additionally, FemTech India is also building the largest community for doctors, and FemTech enthusiasts, to foster a spirit of community building.

On the whole, FemTech India offers an opportunity for everyone to learn from women’s health experts, share information and support each other in a safe ecosystem.

StartupTalky: What other products/features/services you are planning to add in the coming year?

Jayant Pal Singh: FemTech India’s flagship weekly newsletter –‘FemTech Friday’ is a snapshot of the industry insights on a weekly basis. The newsletter covers everything related to Indian FemTech and Healthcare and offers insights on new product launches, job alerts, and funding insights, among others.

FemTech India also has its ‘Podcast Series’, which is India’s first podcast series
focusing on creating awareness about women’s health. The podcast brings real stories from FemTech founders, health experts, legal professionals, and Industry leaders, among others. The podcast brings out inspiring stories in the form of freewheeling chat, which makes the podcast all the more relatable to the audience.

Additionally, FemTech India also serves as a hub for Indian and Global companies to launch their products. Our platform provides a unique opportunity for FemTech
companies to easily scale up in the geographies of their choice. We also have ‘Investment Relations’, in the pipeline to help companies get access to details of upcoming investment opportunities.

StartupTalky: Can you share the name of some industry players associated with you?

Jayant Pal Singh: We have FemTech companies as part of the company directory with well-known FemTech startups like Mylo, Allo Health, Sirona, Peesafe, Hummcare, Kindlyhers, Salad, Femisafe, CervAstra, Sassiest, Elda Health, Mind My Mind, Newmi, Femisafe, Prev, Mywelme, Savage Club, Healthfab and many others. These startups deal with personalized solutions for women’s menstrual hygiene products, Perimenopause, menopause, contraceptive, Pregnancy, Post-partum, sexual health, Motherhood, fertility, mental wellness, Hormone health, diagnostics, and other areas related to women’s health overall.

We have also recently done a market entry for one of the global startup relationship apps – Coupleness (An app for your relationship). We strongly feel that relationship has a powerful influence on our health. We as a platform want to empower women’s health overall to bring positive collaborations to make a change.

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

Jayant Pal Singh: While the term FemTech is no longer new, the industry is booming and is welcoming newer players, and the landscape is poised for a positive uptrend. In the course of just a few years, it has grown to encompass a range of technology-enabled, consumer-centric products and solutions. Depending on the scope, estimates for FemTech’s current market size range from $500 million to $1 billion and are expected to grow at a CAGR of 15-17% by 2030. Forecasts suggest opportunities for double-digit revenue growth. On the digital health front, FemTech companies currently receive 3 percent of all digital health funding.

In the Indian market space, there are a lot of companies that are launching new
products and services. Additionally, with the user adoption rate in the industry on the positive side, FemTech India senses a lot of opportunity in the ecosystem. With
companies looking for smooth and streamlined ways to enter and scale up the market, most of them are driven by passion, but they lack a complete understanding of the market entry strategies in the region. FemTech India serves as the perfect strategic partner. like to offer numbers, insights, surveys, and trends in collaboration.

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

Jayant Pal Singh: FemTech India has strategic advisors on board, who bring with them deep industry experience and expertise. They have roots in different countries, and each of our advisors brings a strong niche area of expertise. Through regular stand-up meetings and team check-ins, we collectively benefit from each other’s wisdom. Our advisors and team members meet regularly to discuss and analyze market trends and industry insights.

StartupTalky: What were the most significant challenges your company faced throughout the inception journey and how did you face it?

Jayant Pal Singh: Since the concept of FemTech is new in India, and aiming to be the first FemTech company in India to be the platform for resources on Women’s health innovation, onboarding partners was a mild hiccup for us. Further, there were mild challenges in explaining and illustrating the concept of FemTech in newer markets.

Since the concept of ‘FemTech’ is still catching up, it was initially challenging to get
people to open up and boldly speak up about the issues in the FemTech space. Investors are looking at most money-making segments in Femtech versus attractive segments; quick ROI is the new mantra.

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

Jayant Pal Singh: Currently, we have been relying on social media platforms to build a niche for our brands. We have been building a strong profile for ourselves on varied platforms, for instance-we share all major updates and news through LinkedIn, which is one of the largest platforms for us to connect with professionals. On the podcast front, we have been receiving a lot of traction as we are currently the first podcast dedicated to raising awareness of women’s health.
Additionally, we have also been holding virtual and in-person networking events.
Both the virtual strategies and in-person networking events have been yielding
good results for us.

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

Jayant Pal Singh: With the world opening up newer avenues, there certainly seems to be a lot of changes. People are pivoting towards opening up in seeking to get awareness about FemTech-related issues. Further, with the awareness getting spread in the digital medium, it is becoming a lot easier for us to disseminate information. The market is poised for positive growth.

On the business front, there is also a lot of traction on the B2B front, which will open up newer avenues of growth. E-Commerce platforms, B2C products, customized diagnostic solutions, innovative products in the women’s health category, and products that are backed by science all are likely to see an uptick in the near future.

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

Jayant Pal Singh: Since we are less than a year old in the market, we are still in the nascent stages of growth. We are waiting to spend some more time in the market to devise future plans and strategies.

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

Jayant Pal Singh: In terms of future plans, we are taking one step at a time. At this point in time, we are focusing on our existing Go-To-Market strategy which focuses on building the community and bridging the ecosystem together. Currently, we have over 40 companies on board and are looking to partner with and onboard newer companies on our platform.

We are also starting workshops, which would be available to founders, academics, and any of those who are passionate about FemTech.

StartupTalky: With so much hype around D2C brands spending on ads, What will be your growth strategy organic or inorganic? How to plan to work around SEO and content marketing?

Jayant Pal Singh: Right now, we are aiming to foster a spirit of community and are working on building an excellent ecosystem for FemTech. Right now, we are focusing on the community-building aspect, and are not focused on advertisement-oriented SEO or content marketing strategies.

StartupTalky: One tip that you would like to share with other founders in the industry?

Jayant Pal Singh: We are really new to the industry and still learning. All we can say is FemTech for us is more than women’s health, it’s about women’s safety, and freedom, and making decisions about your body is a basic human right. We don’t look at FemTech as a competition, we believe that we have to be collaborative and not competitive.

FemTech is driven by passion. Since we are all working towards one unified goal – to make women’s health better. By supporting one another, and by collectively having each other’s back. According to us, we can all achieve better as a community. The only way ahead is great partnerships and collaborations.

We thank Jayant Pal Singh for spending his valuable time and sharing his learnings with all of us.

You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

February 4, 2023
India’s Massive Millennial and Gen Z Audience Is Highly Fashion-Conscious and Aspirational Says Aditya Modak, Co-founder of Gargi

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.

Fashion jewelry, also known as costume jewelry, is jewelry that is made to mimic the style and design of fine jewelry but is typically made with less expensive materials. This includes items such as necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and brooches that are often made with synthetic stones, plastic, glass, and metal alloys.

The purpose of fashion jewelry is to provide a way for people to accessorize and add a personal touch to their outfits without the expense of fine jewelry. It also allows for a more dynamic and frequent rotation of jewelry pieces. Many brands, designers, and retailers offer a wide variety of fashion jewelry options to choose from, which allows for a lot of variety and flexibility in how people accessorize.

According to a research report, the global fashion jewelry market was valued at USD 71.9 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.3% from 2021 to 2028. The increasing popularity of online sales channels and e-commerce platforms, rising disposable income, and changing consumer preferences are the major drivers of market growth.

For this Interview, we invited Aditya Modak, Co-founder of Gargi Fashion Jewellery, and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the Fashion Jewelry industry.

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

Aditya Modak: Gargi is a brand that is an offshoot of the iconic PNG & Sons, a 100-year-old jewelry company. The brand manufactures high-quality fashion jewelry made of sterling silver and brass. I treat Gargi as a brainchild of mine. I had the vision to transform the fashion jewelry space in India and I realized that there was a rapidly growing yet mostly unserved demand for fashionable and high-quality daily wear jewelry. The available products in the market were overpriced and of sub-standard quality. That’s why I decided to transform the space and create pieces that customers could wear with pride. My team and I envisioned Gargi and named after an ancient Indian scholar from Ramayana, to fulfill my vision.

StartupTalky: What other products/features have been added in the past year? What is/are the USP/s of your products?

Aditya Modak: Gargi offers a wide range of products, such as Rings, Bracelets, Mangalsutras, Necklaces, Chains, Pendants, Earrings, Anklets, etc. In 2022, the company launched the Signature Collection of silver designer jewelry with over 170 products. The USPs of Gargi by PNGS are the high-quality and fashion quotient that the customers can’t get from other vendors. The brand has rapidly built a
reputation for creating the right price products that customers can repeatedly wear for a long- time. Gargi’s jewelry is made of 92.5% sterling silver and brass.

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

Aditya Modak: Rising economic empowerment and purchase power have made modern consumers more aspirational, and the audience has become more receptive to fashion jewelry. A major change that is being noticed is that millennial and Gen Z customers have become more mindful of their everyday appearance. The demand for unique, high-quality, affordable fashion jewelry is growing in the social media-inspired and remote/hybrid work culture.

Gargi has built an extensive range of jewelry products with a style and design for everyone. Gargi provides quality and style-befitting designer labels. The combination of 92.5% Sterling silver and brass ensures that the customers get great value for money. This is how Gargi has brought about a change in the market in the last year.

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

Aditya Modak: I have worked across various profiles while working with PNGS in his career span of 12 years. While in sales, I would interact with consumers directly, and that is when I realized what the market wanted. With this rich understanding of jewelry trends and patterns, I successfully tried to bridge the market gap. Further, I follow all global fashion trends and have a great penchant for creating innovative combinations of Indian sensibilities and global trends.

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

Aditya Modak: We look at customer sales and which items have picked well during the quarter. This we do across all product categories. Like we offer a huge variety of earrings, here we will evaluate what kind of earrings are a hit, is plain or with stones, etc. Also, we assess the basis of geographical liking, bracelets are a hit in Maharashtra, but in the northern part of the country, it is chunky neckpieces. We also measure performance basis customer acquisition and sales of products.

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

Aditya Modak: As a newly launched brand in the fashion jewelry segment, Gargi had to find the right manufacturers willing to focus more on quality and craftsmanship instead of volumes. That was the biggest challenge of the year, and the brand overcame it. Today, Gargi has a reliable chain of high-quality fashion jewelry makers and an excellent brand reputation for building upon.

StartupTalky: Repeat purchase is one of the most essential parameters on which most eCommerce brands are betting. How do you keep your customer engaged to stop churn?

Aditya Modak: Gargi constantly focuses on ensuring the buyers’ unmatched quality of products and style. The brand has retained many early customers but is proliferating due to positive word-of-mouth engagement. Using 92.5% sterling silver with brass makes the products look great and superior in quality. Further, Gargi has been strategically expanding the product range by introducing new SKUs and design elements that ensure that the customers remain engaged and keep making repeat purchases.

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

Aditya Modak: Gargi is a digital brand that leverages various aspects of digital marketing, such as SEO, search engine marketing through Google Ads, and social media campaigns on Facebook and Instagram to showcase the products. The brand’s 100-year-old legacy, courtesy of the parent company, PN Gadgil & Sons, has given it a great launchpad to benefit from.

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

Aditya Modak: Gargi is an online retail brand that uses advanced e-commerce tools for retail and marketing. The design process is software-driven, and the latest technologies are used to craft unique pieces, each of which has a story.

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

Aditya Modak: India’s massive millennial and Gen Z audience is highly fashion-conscious and aspirational. With internet access, even the Tier-II, Tier-III, and Tier-IV cities are now teeming with youth with clear expectations and demands regarding style. Thus, the market potential for a brand like Gargi and the overall fashion jewelry is incredible. High-quality, contemporary Indian fashion jewelry from reputed brands is bound to increase demand overseas. India has a rich cultural diversity, and the local culture often influences jewelry design choices. For instance, the jewelry that will be popular in a northeastern state will likely differ from that in Rajasthan or Tamil Nadu. The growing urban population is becoming more cosmopolitan, and good-quality jewelry has takers everywhere.

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

Aditya Modak: While data provides insight into the movement of products, styles, etc., it can’t be considered sacrosanct. It is a very dynamic and ever-changing domain. So, while we watch movements, we also go by our overall understanding and experience.

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

Aditya Modak: We are a designer jewelry brand like all other fashion labels; we aim to launch new collections and designs every quarter in India. The number of SKUs keeps growing for a fashion brand, and we will also be hiring talent as per the growth needs. We might be the only player in the segment with SKUs as high as 15,000 units. In the future, we will only be adding more to the offerings.

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StartupTalky: With so much hype around D2C brands spending on ads, what will be your growth strategy, organic or inorganic? How to plan to work around SEO and content marketing?

Aditya Modak: We are an online brand relying predominantly on social media, search engines, and content marketing channels. However, shortly, we will expand our presence to branded kiosks in shopping malls and that’s when we will adopt an omnichannel marketing approach integrating digital and conventional mediums.

StartupTalky: So finally Aditya, One tip that you would like to share with another D2C founder?

Aditya Modak: For any business to thrive, you need to understand your customers. Don’t get affected by what the competition does. Try maintaining your unique identity. Also, never compromise on your brand values and ethos.

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

You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

February 4, 2023
Bounce vs Ola Electric Scooter: Who Will Win the War?
The world is evolving at a fast pace, right from climate change to pollution and everything in between — things are moving fast towards a more sustainable and economical future that is built upon the grounds of frugal innovation and so is India’s push towards sustainable use of resources and development.

The EV industry is on the verge of major leaps forward and this is when Ola & Bounce, two of the promising names in the sector are up for a ‘neck-to-neck’ tussle to the top. But who would actually be able to have the upper hand in building the future of automotive? Let’s find out.
Ola Electric — The Founder’s Ambitious Dream Ft. Mark Zuckerberg

No click baits. Bhavish Aggarwal & Mark Zuckerberg may be the two immensely popular CEOs with completely different products in two distant time zones, but they still have a striking similarity i.e., putting in their everything for a vision they have for themselves and the company.

What Mark Zuckerberg is doing with Meta is something that all of us already know, and Bhavish too — seems to be in that zone, where he thinks and believes that Ola’s future lies in the automotive sector and that is what the company wants to be known for, and not just another cab-hailing company.

In fact, when Ola Electric began in 2019 — many perceived it as a side gig for the cab-hailing unicorn, but the recent developments have pivoted Ola Electric as Ola’s flagship product.

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Ola Electric Tweet

Ola, which was among the first movers to launch last-mile mobility solutions in the country, grabbed eyeballs for all the right reasons. A track record where they were able to keep Uber on check to establish a duopoly in the last mile mobility landscape.

Thus, it was no surprise when the company announced its plans to expand into other verticals, but things changed. Out of all the categories, Bhavish and team vesting into the EV sector and that too with an in-house production unit came as a surprise to many.

But then, the reveal and the marketing on top of it successfully created that much-needed buzz in the automotive industry and among EV enthusiasts, who were eagerly waiting to discover what lay ahead.

Ola launched the S1 and the S1 Pro — two of their flagship electric two-wheelers that could cover the maximum distance of 180+ km on a single charge, a debatable claim that felt hard to achieve in real life. They were priced at a premium, significantly more than what their competition was charging for their EVs.

Ola was clear about its stance, and that was to position its offerings on the basis of quality and not price. With an exclusive invite-only system, Ola aimed at gaining enough momentum and buzz before a full-fledged launch.

However, the move didn’t reap enough rewards for the aggregator and it was more of a hit-and-miss. What followed was a pivot in the way the company went about its marketing endeavors. Ola went in with the pre-booking strategy, where users could book the vehicles for a token amount of ₹499, paying ₹20,000 on confirmation and the remaining at the time of delivery.

The small token for pre-booking went well with the customers, as they were a bit overwhelmed with the considerable price tag for the vehicle, despite all the features it comes with.

Reduce the premium price tag, that Ola deemed as ‘affordable’ and the company had cracked the code for a winning product that could redefine the company mission and scale in the times to come.

However, as we already mentioned — the high penetrating price was going to be an issue not because the price was too high — but because of the skeptical nature of the average Indian customer.

The users have expressed concerns about the EV industry overall, with a question mark upon the ability of EV manufacturers to get it right with their money and adhere to the safety norms.

Enters Bounce — A Fresh Twist in the EV Saga

First things first. Bounce was meant to be taken seriously, not because of the product but its sheer habit of solving complex problems differently, simplifying them for the end user.

Bounce started off as a bike sharing and self ‘PuDro’ mobility company Is known for this same appetite to solve mobility once and for all, by giving users the leverage to pick up and drop off their vehicle at the nearest bounce dockyards, at their own convenience.

The team and the idea of ‘Bounce’ were already bagging positive reception and that is when the company announced its focus on EVs and teased its first entry-level vehicle ‘Infinity’ for the daily commuter.

When a company that scaled to 100000 rides per day by just focusing on a couple of cities, announces something — we tend to get curious. Isn’t it? This was no different. Bounce’s announcement of the EV made one thing clear i.e V. Hallekere and the team have something cooking in their heads and the R & D labs.

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Bounce Battery Swapping Strategy

The founders were aware that they were competing with someone like Ola and Ather who have the luxury of a vast distribution network. Competing with them on the distribution front may not be a good idea and Bounce’s pricing for their entry-level scooter further justified their understanding of the Indian market.

Bounce’s entry-level scooter which is available at a price of ₹36,000 without the battery (apple folks crying in the corner) is about giving the liberty back to the customer, by giving them the option to pick what they want.

Bounce’s swappable battery feature across the network made the cost of owning a two-wheeler EV significantly cheaper, and the Bengaluru-based company surely deserves some brownie points for the move.

“The public transport in India is not like it is across the globe. For instance, there are 6,000 buses for over three million people in Bengaluru, alone. Public transport was thus overcrowded, and the number of people dependent on it was high. The biggest question is how you get these people to move,” Bounce’s Vivekananda H, Co-founder and CEO, tells YourStory.

The Pain — The One Who Solves It Faster, Wins

EV acceptance in India can’t be just dependent upon one or two companies. Rather, it has to be a combination of various factors, permutations, and combinations — and a lot of that has to do with the quality of the product and the price point.

For Ola, the pre-orders became a curse as they have failed to deliver upon orders and promised features, something that they have assured to fix in future updates.

The fire outbreaks in the vehicles, poorly built, and lack of safety — a lot of which is being deemed as the result of rushed manufacturing and cost cutting, can become deal breakers for customers who are looking to switch to a reliable EV.

Ola Fire Incidents

On the other hand, pricing and delivery are some of the major pain points that will determine the potential winner in the long run — as the price, distribution, and infrastructure still continue to be the biggest pain points when consumers look to switch to a new piece of technology.

Where Ola sells the EVs through its own app, Bounce has tied up with the homegrown marketplace, Flipkart to sell its EVs and make them accessible to customers. With the rise in fuel costs, impending recession, layoffs, and escalating inflation — affordability has become the need of the hour for customers.

However, this has also created chaos among the EV and OEM manufacturers as the ‘risk’ involved with the utility of a technology or an EV-like industry, await the tests of time and it is not something that the average Indian customer will be assured about, from day 01.

How companies can actually win it, is via a systematic funnel right from marketing to after-sales support. When customers switch to something new, they aren’t buying the product or the functionality — they are buying the hope and the change that it promises.

The graph shows the sales volume of electric two wheelers for the fiscal year 2016-2021

Conclusion

As they say, never judge the conclusion by the beginning — and rightly so, we feel that it is too early to decide upon a winner in the vastly interesting and highly competitive urban mobility landscape.

Companies like Ather, Bounce & Ola are constantly pushing their limits and redefining the way India perceives EVs, but then it is too early to say anything. When you take that giant leap forward, there are chances that you will stumble here and there, and you may fall too — but that is what startups are all about.

They’re not afraid to fall because they are not afraid to fail and that is what makes all the difference. Ola and Bounce are here to stay, but who’ll stay relevant in the long run? Well, that is the story for another ‘What if’!

FAQs

Who is the CEO of the Bounce?

Vivekananda Hallekere is the CEO of Bounce.

Which is the best EV scooter?

Some of the best EV scooters are Nami Burn-E 2 Max Electric Scooter, Dualtron Thunder Best Premium Electric Scooter, Kaabo Mantis Pro Best Electric Scooter, etc.

Do Bounce electric needs a license?

As per ARAI, any electric bike traveling at more than 25 kmph with motor power exceeding 250W needs a license for its use. And under the same criteria, Bounce electric also requires a license as it can travel much faster than 25 kmph.

Is Bounce an Indian company?

Yes, Bounce is an Indian company based in Bangalore, Karnataka.
February 3, 2023
Harsh Kedia of Auburn Digital Solutions Highlights the Growing Trend of Brands Realizing the Benefits of Expanding Their Online Footprint

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 digital marketing business helps companies promote their products or services through various online channels, such as social media, search engines, email, and websites. The goal of a digital marketing business is to increase brand awareness and drive sales through targeted and measurable campaigns.

The CAGR of the digital marketing industry varies depending on the source and the specific sub-segment of the market being analyzed. However, generally, the global digital marketing industry has been growing at a steady pace. It is important to note that the CAGR of digital marketing is expected to grow in the future due to the increasing use of mobile devices and the growing popularity of digital channels for reaching customers.

According to a report by KPMG, the digital advertising market in India has grown to INR 14,000 crore (approximately $2 billion) by the end of 2020, growing at a CAGR of 22.6% between 2016 and 2020.

For this Interview, we invited Mr. Harsh S Kedia, Co-founder of Auburn Digital Solutions, and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the Digital Marketing industry.

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

Harsh Kedia: We help brands build, communicate, and achieve better audience visibility through our services of performance marketing, brand-building strategy, and creative tech and communication solutions. Auburn started with the vision of offering a complete constellation of tech-oriented solutions and today we are the preferred name in offering digital solutions to clients for enhancing their online presence and customer connection. From offering AI-based marketing to brand planning and social media management to Digital PR, we offer a one-stop solution for all your scalability and sustainability needs.

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

Harsh Kedia: In recent times, we have added a host of services to our portfolio, and prominent among these are AI-based marketing, multidimensional video production, and advanced attribution for targeted reach among prospective buyers. In addition, Auburn has also made comprehensive upgrades to its brand-building solutions while optimizing touch points for delivering brands with better reach, targeted advertisements, and superior customer engagement among others.

The aspects of maintaining the uniqueness and offering customized solutions are the things that set us apart from our contemporaries. We are proud of our holistic and all-encompassing nature of services that ensure that brands get a complete solution for all their marketing and brand-building requirements in one place.

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

Harsh Kedia: Although the field of digital marketing has been around for a while, it has only recently started to gain momentum in India. Today brands across industries have begun to realize the tremendous benefits associated with expanding their footprints online. This realization coupled with expanding internet access has revolutionized the digital branding space across the globe.

Looking at today’s scenario, it can be easily concluded that we are at the cusp of digital transformation today and Auburn is fully geared to participate and contribute to this revolution. We have adapted ourselves and aligned our solutions to meet the fast-changing requirements of clients who want to make it big in the digital world. Auburn today offers the most advanced and sophisticated constellation of digital branding services which are helping brands to effectively scale and sustain their digital branding strategy.

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

Harsh Kedia: At Auburn Digital Solutions, we keep a close tab on the changing trends by maintaining constant touch with each and every stakeholder in the business ecosystem. we interact constantly with our clients and gather feedback from them to make necessary changes in our solutions and services. We also closely monitor the pulse of customers and upcoming shifts in the industry by becoming part of international conferences, seminars, symposiums, and other leading events that happen in the domain of digital marketing and allied fields. In addition, we exchange ideas with creative teams, marketing executives, and advertisement professionals in other industries as it helps us to incorporate novel approaches to our brand-building efforts.

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

Harsh Kedia: Customer satisfaction is a key metric, and we work closely with clients to understand service levels for each account and accordingly make the necessary changes to further, enhance the effectiveness of our solutions. Customer-centric programs that increase retention or advocacy are the second important metric we carefully track to get an accurate idea of how well are our services being received by clients.

Further, the performance of the organization on both top-line and bottom-line
parameters of growth such as sales, revenue, profitability, and margin are being
constantly tracked for evaluating the performance of the company.

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

Harsh Kedia: The fast-changing nature of the business environment is the biggest challenge that we continue to face in our industry. Especially, the segment of digital marketing is highly volatile which mandates us to constantly evaluate and upgrade our services and solutions.

We have also witnessed the advent of a large number of digital advertising agencies, leading to more intensified competition in the segment. Further, we operate in a very dynamic industry, so training new hires and subsequently keeping them on board is among the prominent challenges faced by
us in the past. Although it has been ingrained in us to always be on the lookout for
new trends, we are inevitably going to miss a few, as indicated, due to the dynamic
nature of the work we do.

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

Harsh Kedia: We at Auburn have cultivated a culture of customer-centricity in our functional procedures and operational mechanisms. We exercise the highest level of transparency and work ethics in our business which has helped us to deliver excellent services to our clients. In fact, we have gone to the extent of classifying the job descriptions for various roles in our company in terms of the needs and demands of the customers. Further, we never shirk from making investments in upgrading our services and this has helped us to remain ahead of the learning curve and deliver industry-leading solutions to our clients.

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

Harsh Kedia: Auburn offers a host of strategies and brand-building solutions for companies to achieve their desired goals and performance in digital marketing and branding requirements. We have excelled in conceptualizing the fundamental aspects of strategic marketing for our clients that include segmentation, targeting, and positioning.

On the tactical side of the marketing sphere, we offer holistic solutions
for generating leads, updating social media strategy, creating digital advertisements, and optimizing web pages to garner better visibility and audience interaction. In terms of pulling off a growth hack, we have managed to grow a discount brokerage firm into one of India’s largest stock brokers and have reduced their acquisition costs drastically.

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

Harsh Kedia: We are fast expanding our global footprints as more prospective clients from countries all across the world are approaching us for digital marketing solutions. We have already expanded our customer base in Canada, the US, and the Middle East, and in the coming years, we expect to cover more countries for achieving high growth in business and profitability. Our experience of working with overseas clients has been fantastic and we would like to further up the momentum of acquiring more foreign clients in the coming years.

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

Harsh Kedia: Integration of Technology has always remained one of the priority areas of our business. We have successfully integrated new-age solutions such as AI, ML, and automation into our services and continue to experiment with advanced innovations for delivering the best solutions to prospective clients. Our team makes extensive use of Similarweb Pro and for managing media buying and reporting, we use DV360 and Data Studio among others. Moz, Screaming frog, Radian 6, and Simplify 360 for ORM are other tools that are used by us to deliver digital marketing solutions to our clients.

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

Harsh Kedia: The Digital Revolution is upon us and it has undoubtedly opened new avenues of opportunities for all stakeholders in the business ecosystem. We are witnessing a surge in demand for digital advertisements, brand building, and global marketing outreach campaigns. The influence of digital is also becoming very much apparent in the penetration of OTT, social-media influence, and the rise of virtual worlds in the form of metaverse platforms. To help clients make the most of these opportunities, we have aligned our solutions and upgraded our strategies with new-age innovations and creative technology.

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

Harsh Kedia: The market dynamics are changing continuously and hence, our team continues to remain focused on changing references of prospective clients. We have very well recognized that in this fast-changing business world, we have to remain agile, nimble, and focused to deliver the highest standards of customer satisfaction. We cannot solely rely on AI and ML as the importance of human touch and service orientation is equally important to achieve the best of both worlds.

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

Harsh Kedia: We are aggressively working towards providing a digital transformation experience to our clients. We are investing a significant amount of money in technology and strive to build one of the largest digital marketing agencies in India with a significant global presence. The efforts are on to further develop and expand our existing portfolio of services so that the company comes across as a holistic and one-stop solution for all needs related to digital marketing and brand-building exercises in the world of marketing.

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

Harsh Kedia: Instead of waiting for an opportunity to knock on your door, keep knocking on the doors of opportunities. It’s India Inc. time, thus we should work incredibly hard to achieve a massive global scale like what the US and UK witnessed in the past. Our country is going to be the next growth engine for the global economy and digital transformation is going to play a crucial role in multiplying prosperity across the globe.

We thank Mr. Harsh Kedia for spending his valuable time and sharing his learnings with all of us.

You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

February 3, 2023
Neil Unadkat Co-founder and CTO of Intangles Lab, Advises to Prioritize Solution Development Over Feature Selling
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.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being increasingly used in the field of mobility to improve the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of transportation systems. The goal of mobility planning is to create transportation systems that are sustainable, efficient, and equitable for all users. This can be achieved through a combination of infrastructure improvements, policy changes, and education and outreach programs.

Mobility planning is the process of designing and implementing transportation systems that are efficient, safe, and accessible for all users. The field of mobility planning has grown in recent years as more emphasis has been placed on creating sustainable, efficient, and accessible transportation systems.

According to a report by MarketsandMarkets, the global smart mobility market is expected to grow from $66.34 billion in 2020 to $173.75 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 21.7% during the forecast period. This growth is driven by factors such as increasing urbanization, the need for sustainable transportation, and advancements in technology. However, please note that this information is based on a specific market research report, and the actual growth rate may vary depending on the specific sources and data.

For this Interview, we invited Mr. Neil Unadkat, Co-founder and CTO of Intangles Lab Pvt. Ltd., and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the Mobility industry.

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

Neil Unadkat: Intangles Lab started operations in 2016. Our passion for data sciences and automobile technologies led us to the exploration of On-Board Diagnostics data streams on commercial vehicles, including trucks and buses, which opened doors to a vast arena of opportunities.

With a clear use case in sight, we developed our hardware interface capable of collecting data from CV (Commercial Vehicle) platforms across OEMs, fuel injection, and emissions technologies. This was augmented with a state-of-the-art edge-to-cloud communication backbone and a suite of proprietary algorithms targeted toward predictive health alerts, driver behavior profiling, fuel pilferage, and geospatial intelligence.

Our vision is to become the global de facto standard for predictive AI in mobility. Our solutions are focused on the health of the vehicle, driver behavior analysis, and efficient operations automation. We have taken the approach of creating digital twins of specialized power-train functions such as battery charging, engine cooling, fuel injection, and assisted air intake. Historic and real-time data helps deliver alerts of possible failures, leading to a significant reduction in the on-road breakdown of vehicles, thereby increasing operational hours and lowering maintenance/repair costs.

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StartupTalkyRishita Jain

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

Neil Unadkat: In 2022, we launched a new Inline Driving Scorecard feature that enables fleet operators to monitor and analyze erroneous driving practices and incentivizes good driving behavior. The Scorecard provides accurate feedback on
gear utilization trends, idling instances, and other erroneous driving practices, thereby improving fuel efficiency and the overall health of the vehicle. It takes into consideration different driving and ambient conditions and vehicle specifications. Fleet operators witnessed an impressive 12-15% improvement in fuel economy on utilizing the feature.

2022 marked our foray into vigorous revamps in the EV sector. We built comprehensive feature sets around cloud-integrated range prediction. Range prediction has always been a major roadblock when it comes to the widespread adoption of EVs and different vehicles on the same route are found to exhibit a high level of variance in battery discharge rates (2%-15%).

In addition to that, the Digital Information System (DIS) estimates of Distance To Empty (DTE) are highly unreliable. As a result, ad hoc charging sessions based on spurious DTE readings lead to schedule disruption. Intangles’ platform provides comprehensive data on the number of charging cycles from the moment our device is installed on the vehicle, as well as backtracked data from the moment the vehicle hits the roads. This is done by taking into account the Battery Management System (BMS) degradation levels over time. We also provide accurate SOC and DTE predictions considering varying ambient and driving conditions. In addition to weather forecasts, the model has been trained to make predictions around motor torque, wheel speed, and sunset-sunrise trends, which inﬂuence HVAC and lighting. This multi-parametric approach enables consistently accurate predictions across dynamic ambients, traffic conditions, and routes.

Our core differentiator is the derivation of easily discernible, actionable insights from complex telemetry data streams targeted at fulfilling the KPIs of the everyday fleet manager. These envelopes have highly accurate performance statistics (fuel consumption, distance, run hours), predictive alerts for failure with the highest levels of precision, diagnostics alerts with elaborate metadata (causes, repair strategies), and comprehensive reports on schedules and pilferages.

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

Neil Unadkat: Over the last couple of years, the automotive industry has undergone significant changes. The government’s introduction of new policies and norms has facilitated the development of new and complex technology. These developments have also been accompanied by complications for fleet operators as the inflow of massive amounts of data and the number of unknown variables when the vehicle is on the road keeps increasing. The technology has progressed by leaps and bounds and demands that operators keep pace.

Our solutions are aimed at helping them navigate these challenges by adapting and updating our technology in accordance with the latest trends. We also aim to provide them with better visibility into their fleets using our ML-driven data insights. This has facilitated better profitability for our customers, growth for our organization, and new and better technology for the industry at large.

Startuptalky: How do you stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in your industry?

Neil Unadkat: We always encourage interactive and productive discussions with our end users regarding their pain points and difficulties. Our efforts are aimed at centering our offerings based on these discussions. In addition, on-field real-
time feedback provided by our fleet operator partners gives us scrupulous insights into the latest trends in the industry.

When it comes to our OEM partners, we are constantly in touch with experts and thought leaders who drive the industry toward growth. These conversations help us better understand upcoming and projected developments within the industry.

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

Neil Unadkat: If we talk about metrics and performance, there are a few things I would like to highlight.
- We are constantly generating around 1,00,000 predictive alerts per month, which has enabled as much as a 75% reduction in breakdown events.
- Tracking over 400,000 liters of fuel pilferage through our devices equipped in Indian fleets.
- Recording a 20-30% improvement in driver behavior through our monitoring of 20+ driver behavior exceptions.
- Bringing about a 10-30% increase in asset availability owing to a reduction in vehicle breakdowns.
- Helping reduce vehicle maintenance costs by 5-10%.
We have witnessed staggering growth when it comes to revenue. As of today, we have onboarded 7 OEMs in the 11 countries where we are now operating. Furthermore, the platform already has over 8,000 fleet operators. We enroll around 800 fleet operators every month and collect an astounding 5 billion sensory data points per day. We estimate 5x growth in FY’23, with some of the top brands in mobility already signed up as customers.

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

Neil Unadkat: The most significant challenge we have faced in the past year has been keeping up with our staggering growth numbers. We have been pouring all our efforts into upholding the quality standards of our solutions while sustaining our growth. Ensuring that our customers get only the best-in-class service has been our foremost priority, and to maintain that, we have been multiplying our resources on all fronts. We have also had to assess, evaluate and rethink some of our strategies going forward to sustain the progress.

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

Neil Unadkat: Our aim has always been to ensure our customers overcome the issues they originally approached us with. After resolving those issues, we direct our efforts to keep up with the varying demands of the market to meet their requirements. This is accomplished through constant updation and revamping of our technology and customer experience strategies.

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

Neil Unadkat: Globally, we have a diverse range of fleet operators in the automotive sector, but they majorly end up suffering from similar pain points. Their efforts are focused on increasing the efficiency of their fleets, gaining better
visibility, avoiding breakdowns and malfunctions along with saving on expenses. After gaining a comprehensive understanding of our value propositions and solutions, operators across different demographics are keen on adapting our technology.

We aspire to become the Digital Twin Open-Source Software (OSS) of the world across every segment. Our vision is to bring the power of Digital Twin technology to every segment across the globe so that it is accessible and benefits everyone. While we are cementing our position in the Indian mobility ecosystem, the prospect of new opportunities in North America, Europe, Australia, and APAC is highly promising. Our remarkable development and expansion story exemplifies the game-changing potential of Predictive Analytics enabled by Digital Twin technology. We will continue our efforts to redefine performance benchmarks in mobility and transportation in FY’23.

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

Neil Unadkat: The majority of the tools we use have been custom-built by us internally and are well-integrated to fulfill the core applications and requirements of our product. We have also integrated third-party systems for internal tooling in
functions like sales, inventory, and production planning.

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?

Neil Unadkat: The Indian government has been heavily investing in improving road infrastructure. We also project significant growth in long-haul travel and last-mile deliveries. The nation is embracing a more connected ecosystem to use data to understand and improve every element within the system. Data sharing positively impacts the operations, service, maintenance, routing, dispatch, and other core functions of a fleet. With more connected vehicles hitting the road and sharing extensive data, the industry is scheduled to be the fastest-growing segment in terms of machine-to-machine connections.

Electric vehicles have also generated a stir across the industry, with factors like sustainability and efficiency at the forefront. Moreover, automakers are continuously increasing their efforts to provide a diverse range of AI-driven features. For instance, complex driver monitoring systems that evaluate driving behavior, cognitive-behavioral processes, and vehicle health diagnostics are being designed using machine and deep learning algorithms.

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StartupTalkySouvik Dey

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

Neil Unadkat: We are aiming to deploy our devices across the entire Commercial Vehicle segment. This also involves vigorous revamps in the Electric Vehicle segment through our extensive Ambient Cognitive AI technology that gives you
real-world performance numbers. We are helping organizations meet the regulatory emission norms in accordance with CPCB – 4 and IUMPR requirements according to OBD regulations. We are also working towards bringing Over-The-Air (OTA) software updates for the ECUs. We are helping fleet operators stay ahead of the curve by getting better visibility on complex powertrains and simplified analysis of their fleet’s health and daily operations.

To keep pace with our massive demand in the market, we need to maintain a growing workforce that can excel and fulfill requirements. To sustain a growth rate of over 200% year-on-year, we are expanding our workforce on multiple levels throughout the organization. In line with our expansion plans, we plan to expand our workforce domestically and internationally.

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

Neil Unadkat: Your primary focus should be on developing solutions rather than feature selling. As long as your organization is able to solve a customer’s problems, they will always be open to working and experimenting collaboratively on new features and developments.

We thank Mr. Neil Unadkat for spending his valuable time and sharing his learnings with all of us.

You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.
February 3, 2023
Iesh Dixit, Founder and CEO of Powerplay, Discusses How Smart Management Is Helping the Construction Sector Reduce Costs and Time

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 construction industry in India is a significant contributor to the country’s economy, with a market size of around $126 billion in 2019. The construction industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6% during the period of 2020-2025. The report also states that the Indian construction industry is expected to reach a market size of around $340 billion by 2025.

The Indian construction industry is characterized by a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and unorganized players, with only a few large companies. The sector is also known for its low productivity and low-profit margins. The government’s ‘Housing for All’ initiative, increasing infrastructure development, and rising foreign investment in the real estate sector is expected to drive growth in the Indian construction industry in the coming years.

For this Interview, we invited Iesh Dixit, Founder & CEO of Powerplay, and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the Construction Industry.

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

Iesh Dixit: Powerplay is a freemium app to simplify communication between construction sites and central office teams. It enables specialty contractors, general contractors, and builders to manage site work, materials, and labor on its SaaS platform.

The platform has multiple modules that offer palpable convenience through its framework of seamless interoperability. The offered free modules are made readily available for the site teams to use on Android, iOS, and web browsers.

The premium modules include project management, financial management, and procurement management services, which are suitable for office teams. Located in Bengaluru, Powerplay, the SaaS-based construction management platform was founded by Shubham Goyal and me (Iesh Dixit), in the year 2020.

The initial spark was ignited when my father was building a house for my family, giving me a glimpse into how time and budget estimations go wrong in the Construction industry. But at that time, I never understood the reason for the same.

Fast forward a couple of years, when Shubham and I moved in together in
Bangalore to continue their entrepreneurial journey, We decided to get their apartment renovated, and this time again both the budget and timeline were exceeded by 40% — Forcing us to stay with the carpenter and painter for a week to keep the cost & time under control and understand the problem.

We wondered how such delays affected larger projects if smaller projects like this faced so many issues. That’s when We realized that owners lose a lot of money when construction projects exceed budgets and timelines. We both validated the problem by spending weeks on multiple construction sites and started to build technology to solve those problems. Making plenty of mistakes along the way, we have got some fantastic clients now and a long way to go.

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StartupTalkyAshwini

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

Iesh Dixit: Construction is one of the key contributors to the Indian economy but still uses clunky and archaic solutions. We are helping the sector to reduce its construction costs and time by enabling smart management via the use of technology. We are on a larger mission of accelerating the growth of socioeconomic infrastructure in the country.

We provide a SaaS base application to construction clients to track and manage their labor, material, and tasks. Meticulously tracking these day-in-day-out details is a painful task for construction businesses. They generally use traditional methods like pen-paper, WhatsApp, and excel spreadsheets to track these details on a daily basis. With Powerplay, we help them reduce their construction cost and time by carefully managing all on-site stakeholders at ease.

The platform also provides features like – Geo Tagging, Org Level Dashboard, Multiple-languages, etc. It is available on Android, iOS, and the Web.

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

Iesh Dixit: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, like all other industries, real estate and construction have adopted technology in their day-to-day construction management activities. During the lockdowns, it was difficult for site managers to travel to sites and get real-time updates. We saw an opportunity here as we were doing the right thing at right time. With the Powerplay app, the on-site team can now update their supervisors regarding tasks, labor, and material at a click. When we started in 2020, the task module was the key requirement as site supervisors were keener on observing progress while they worked from home. And since then, we identified two more pain points of construction management and introduced them on our app – labor and material management.

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

Iesh Dixit: Being closely connected with our paying and non-paying customers helps us with grass-root-level insights. And this has helped us grow tremendously since our inception. Our teams regularly connect with users and visit sites to understand their pulse, and take corrective actions accordingly.

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

Iesh Dixit: Being in the growth phase, alongside MMR, we currently very closely measure the number of active users (users who use Powerplay more than 4 days a week) and their engagement with the platform.

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

Iesh Dixit: Moving people from traditional platforms like Whatsapp and excel was one of the biggest challenges. Bringing a behavioral change is never an easy task. With our freemium approach, people started ‘trailing’ and slowly were confident and motivated enough to access the paid premium version of the platform.

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StartupTalkySunita Singh

StartupTalky: Customer Success has become more important than ever. How do you keep your customer engaged to stop churn?

Iesh Dixit: With customer centricity as one of our key approaches, we believe in delivering a positive experience for our customers, paid or unpaid. In order to stop churn, we introduce and upsell new features which may be beneficial for their business. We also have a strict policy of resolving customer grievances within a set turn-around time.

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

Iesh Dixit: At present, our key goal is to build a community of active users who engage deeply on the platform. We have a community on Instagram (@CivilEngineersDiary) which has close to 900K followers. With this page, we are trying to build a strong connection with civil engineers and the on-site engineers’ community. Also, we are using a mix of ATL and BTL marketing activities. Digital Marketing, SEO, Social Media Marketing, Referral, PR, E-mail, etc are some mediums we are currently using to create a buzz amongst the target group. Being an extremely niche market, we are yet to explore our fullest potential via marketing.

StartupTalky: Content marketing and Community building are something everyone is talking about in SaaS, How do you plan to leverage that?

Iesh Dixit: The success of a SaaS product is highly dependent on the number of active and engaged people on the platform, and hence it gets extremely essential to keep the target group hooked. While content marketing may help in acquiring new clients or generating interest, it is the platform ultimately that will decide how far will they engage. For this, robust troubleshooting, behavior research, and delivering features or updates even before the client thinks of them are extremely necessary. While we do all this, we never forget to keep the app – simple and easy to use. That’s the secret mantra to keep audiences engaged.

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

Iesh Dixit: Slack and Google suite are the basic software we use company-wide to work effectively. Parallelly, individual teams use much other software like Trello, Whimsical, Mix Panel, etc for their internal work and task tracking.

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

Iesh Dixit: We launched our product in the US market this year, and by far we have observed minimal differences. While we do have competition in the US market, most of the existing players are currently focusing only on monetization and revenue.

We would rather want to focus on the user engagement aspect as that is very crucial for scalability. Hence the opportunity is immense. However, the US has more tech-savvy blue-collar workers and higher penetration of iOS users when compared to India.

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

Iesh Dixit: We have collectively learnt that it is user engagement over monetization. I am sure that this learning will help us grow much faster as a PLG SaaS company globally.

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

Iesh Dixit: National and international expansion is on our radar. We are working toward making self-serve software and building intuitive product flows. This would reduce human intervention and help us scale faster. While we are expecting to grow our OS user base, we are committed to delivering a glitch-free experience as we scale. To meet this promise, we are working towards expanding our tech team by bringing in a few industry leaders.

Expanding our software offering to cater to wider segments of global users is our immediate action plan. With the high penetration of iOS users in the US market, creating a universal application that runs cohesively across platforms (android, iOS, and web) will be our key focus area for the next few months.

StartupTalky: Iesh finally, one tip that you would like to share with another SaaS founder?

Iesh Dixit: Focus on user engagement and not monetization in the initial phase of your SaaS business.

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

You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

February 3, 2023

Blog

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Company Highlights

C&S Wholesale Grocers – About

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Industry

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Founders and Team

Abraham Seigel

Israel Cohen

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Startup Story

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Mission and Vision

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Name, Tagline, and Logo

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Business Model

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Revenue Model

C&S Wholesale Grocers- Employees

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Challenges Faced

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Funding and Investors

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Mergers and Acquisitions

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Growth

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Awards and Achievements

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Competitors

C&S Wholesale Grocers – Future Plans

FAQs

Who is the current CEO of C&S Wholesale Grocers?

Which industry does C&S Wholesale Grocers operate in?

What are some of the other brands that C&S Wholesale Grocers has?

Who are the founders of C&S Wholesale Grocers?

What are some competitors of C&S Wholesale Grocers?

H-E-B – Company Highlights

H-E-B – About

H-E-B – Grocery Retail Industry

H-E-B – Founders and Team

Florence Butt

H-E-B – Startup Story

H-E-B – Mission and Vision

H-E-B – Name, Tagline, and Logo

H-E-B – Business Model

H-E-B – Revenue Model

H-E-B – Employees

H-E-B – Challenges Faced

H-E-B – Mergers and Acquisitions

H-E-B – Growth

H-E-B – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

H-E-B – Awards and Achievements

H-E-B – Competitors

H-E-B – Future Plans

FAQs

What does H-E-B stand for?

What kind of stores does H-E-B offer?

What is H-E-B best known for?

Who is the founder of H-E-B Grocery Company?

StartupTalky: Pawan, what products does your company sell? What was the motivation/vision with which you started?

StartupTalky: What other products/features have been added in the past year? What is/are the USP/s of your products?

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

StartupTalky: How do you stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in the home appliances and consumer durables industry?

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

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

StartupTalky: Repeat purchase is one of the most important parameters on which most e-commerce brands are betting. How do you keep your customer engaged to stop churn?

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

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

StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in the home appliances and consumer durables industry in India and the world? What kind of difference in market behavior have you seen within states in India?

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

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

StartupTalky: With so much hype around D2C brands spending on ads, what will be your growth strategy, organic or inorganic? How do you plan to work around SEO and content marketing?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

StartupTalky: What are the essential tools and software you use to run ThinkerPlace smoothly?

StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in the e-learning industry in India and the world? What kind of difference in market behavior have you seen within states in India?

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

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

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

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

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

StartupTalky: What other products/features/services you are planning to add in the coming year?

StartupTalky: Can you share the name of some industry players associated with you?

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