India has witnessed a significant increase in the emergence of startups in the last few years. India is now the world’s second-largest startup hub, with over 94 unicorns in total. Indian entrepreneurs have evolved into powerful drivers of the country’s economic progress. This is undoubtedly the best time to start a successful company in India.
With the Government encouraging people to form their startups, more and more people are indulging themselves in this journey. Currently, we have over 65000 startups in the country. The best part is every sector be it fintech, digital marketing or any other, is flourishing in the country.
Graph showing the Top 5 most valued Indian Startups as of the end of 2021
You got a Startup idea to build a product that could change lives. You have the BusinessModel and Product Development roadmap laid out. You might even have a small team to get started in your startup. And then comes the real problem that every Entrepreneur faces – funds to hatch the plan.
We all know that timing plays a major role in the success of any startup. It’s not a simple task to transform the ideas into a profitable business. Founders might not always have the funds to launch the product at the right time in the market at the beginning. Since growth is the main goal in the initial stages, startup owners must understand how to raise the “seed” capital.
What are Seed Funds?
Startups raise seed funds essentially for operational costs like hiring the right people, purchasing tools, leasing offices and more. This crucial step forms the solid basis for launching a thriving business at the right time. When you start a business, the most important thing that is needed is funding. Seed funding means the funds by investors provided to your business in the initial stage. The investors pour their funds in return for an equity stake at the initial stage of business. It is at the early stage that the investment by the investors is done, which helps the business to grow and make its capital. Seed funding should not be confused with a loan. Investors get equity in the company for their investment. Now that we know what seed funds are and why they are crucial, let’s dive deeper into the different ways to raise seed capital for your startup.
Crowdfunding is becoming increasingly popular in recent years. Many startups have successfully raised seed money through crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Wefunder. The process involves creating a campaign to convince and persuade thousands of people to invest and buy your product before its developed. This method is a great strategy for founders who do not want to give up equity and dilute the company at the seed rounds. The idea is to build the product from the money made from pre-sales and ship it when ready. Startup founders also utilize crowdfunding websites to understand the market and assess the demand for their products. The idea is to build the product from the money made from pre-sales and ship it when ready.
Friends and Family are mostly the first places every entrepreneur reaches out to for investment when getting started. Some founders offer equity in the company but many consider this investment as a loan. This method provides a little breathing room in terms of loan repayment.
Accelerators
Acceleratorstypically exist for startups that need assistance with launching and growing the company. Accelerators like Y Combinator runs programs to choose startups for investing. The selected startups get a pre-decided amount in return for a specific percentage of equity. They also support startups with Mentorship and Networking events where the founder gets exposure.
Incubators
Incubatorsare specifically created for startups that are at an early stage. They facilitate the development of ideas and the validation of market fit. The investments are usually small as most founders get this funding to nurture the idea and introduce innovations. Incubators also offer Workspace and Mentorship Support and Networking Opportunities for founders.
Many established corporations consider startups as a major source of fresh talents and innovative ideas. Megacorporations are always on the lookout for new ways to invest in emerging technological innovations. Again, this type of financial help gives the startup much-needed exposure and is frequently a precursor to a potential acquisition.
Bootstrapping
Let’s not forget that not every startup needs to raise money at the seed stage. Bootstrapping is the process of funding the startup with your savings and reinvesting the profits from the business. Many startup founders use their own money to get their businesses off the ground to eliminate giving away equity at the initial stages. Bootstrapping, on the other hand, might put entrepreneurs under further financial strain.
Venture Capital Funds
Venture capital firms offer seed funding for startups with high growth potential. Venture capitalists provide both professional experience and money to entrepreneurs. This type of investment calls for the exchange of a company’s equity for financial assistance. VCs review a lot of projects but only invest in a small percentage of them, so you’ll have to stick out from the pack.
Angel Investments
Angel investors are affluent people who invest their own money as seed capital in businesses in return for equity of the company’s ownership. This process is relatively quicker than a VC investment. Many angels are known to use convertible debt as it has the advantage of deferring the company’s value until the next funding round. Angel investors also get discounts for investing early in the startups.
Debt Funding
Debt funding is often provided by the bank, an investor or any financial institution to the startup founder. Here, the founder is borrowing the money for a fixed rate of interest instead of giving away any equity in the company. The capital must be repaid with the interest at the agreed timeline. It’s important to note that the only advantage for the investor here is the interest amount.
Government Grants and Schemes
The Indian government has stepped up to support young entrepreneurs who need help with growing their startups. The government has taken initiatives likeThe Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) which intends to support startups with the conceptualizing of new ideas, developing prototypes, determining the demand in the market and monetization.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that raising the seed funding is difficult. Gaining the right understanding of the options available for you is the key and we hope that our information has helped you. You must also know and understand how the different kinds of investors operate, how they make financial decisions to help your startup and how their seed fund can help you grow. It’s also worth noting that seed financing isn’t just for the early stages but it’s also for the years ahead. Also, keep in mind that timely capital is critical for companies to stay up in a challenging market like India. A startup that sets growth initiatives should be able to use the seed capital to raise further investments.
FAQs
What is Seed Funding?
Seed funding means the funds by investors provided to your business in the initial stage.
What are some of the effective ways of raising seed funds?
Some common and effective ways of raising seed funds are Crowdfunding, Friends and Families, Accelerators, Incubators, Bootstrapping, etc.
How many Startups are there in our Country?
There are currently over 65900 startups in the country. But the number is expected to rise shortly.
What is The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme?
The government has taken initiatives like The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) which intends to support startups with the conceptualizing of new ideas, developing prototypes, determining the demand in the market and monetization.
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 LegalKart.
Paperwork, as it is, is a lengthy process. With technological advancements, efforts are being made toward making it simpler and less time-consuming. One such initiative to enhance the functioning of the legal sector is LegalKart. Founded in December 2018, by Dr. Arvind Singhatiya, LegalKart is India’s first practice management mobile app for Lawyers. It’s an end-to-end solution for lawyers to manage cases, documents, client fees, and client management.
A lawyer with LegalKart Application can also connect with its existing clients and also accept new client assignments making it an ideal app to grow their legal practice on. In the short term, this venture aims to enable lawyers to adopt technology so that all the manual processes can be automated and they should be able to focus more on their core strengths. In the long term, the team sees LegalKart’s evolution as an AI-enabled system that will do predictive analysis of cases, auto contract drafting, document vetting, smart legal research using Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing and it will be an integrated ecosystem of all the stakeholders including clients, lawyers, and businesses.
So, let’s dive into the LegalKart success story, which will help you know all about the company, its Founders, Funding, Investors, Revenue, Business Model, Revenue Model, Awards and Recognitions, Competitors, and more.
LegalKart is not a legal service provider nor does it solicit any kind of legal service but it is a technology platform that facilitates legal service providers through managing their legal practice.
LegalKart uses artificial intelligence to connect qualified clients to lawyers helping them to build and grow their practice. A first of its kind in India wherein a lawyer can manage their cases, clients, team, and finances in one place; a majority of lawyers on LegalKart are using its unique features like voice notes, live case updates, lawyers’ collaborative network, client connect and one-click financial management. Lawyers on LegalKart are providing all kinds of legal support and services to the LegalKart user clients including case support, legal advice, documentation, etc.
LegalKart aims to help lawyers in assigning tasks, synchronizing calendars, and also providing advanced features like financial management, client management, document, and team management. LegalKart also facilitates collaboration with other legal professionals at the same time. LegalKart is free to download and FREE to use practice management Applications for lawyers.
LegalKart – Target Market Size
LegalKart’s technology is designed to cater to all practicing lawyers across the country in all courts and legal forums. LegalKart will also cater to all kinds of businesses starting from Startups, MSME, and Corporates across the country. LegalKart is sector and geography agnostic. It’s an evolving legal technology company that will accommodate all kinds of lawyers and businesses to connect and help them grow.
“We at LegalKart would like to metamorphose into a self-sustaining legal-tech ecosystem and like today taxi means Ola, a few years down the line LegalKart means reliable access to legal service and support.” Says Arvind Singhatiya.
Soon enough the team will be pushing technology awareness and sensitization among all the independent practicing lawyers and investing time and money in creating access to a reliable legal professionals for the masses.
Arvind Singhatiya is the Founder and CEO of LegalKart.
The core team is the heart and soul of a company and the founder, Arvind Singhatiya feels immensely fortunate to have Partha Sen as CTO and Founding Partner and Deepak Prajapati as Chief Strategy Officer.
Arvind Singhatiya
Arvind is a leader with relationship management skills, Technology, Legal and an entrepreneurial approach. He was a student of Sanskrit Literature, in which he completed his Bachelor of Arts in. After which he went for an MBA and Master of Business Laws from the National Law University, Jodhpur. Singhatiya then received an Honorary Doctorate degree from the Young Scientists University, CA, USA. He was serving as Vice President at Ola Cabs and Essel Groups before launching LegalKart.
Arvind Singhatiya – Founder, LegalKart
Arvind has plentiful experience in many other distinguished firms as well like Ola Cabs, Metro Cash and Carry, ACME Cleantech, FICCI, Indian Franchise Association, and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Partha comes with 22 Years of technology development experience and he is a passionate perfectionist for the technology he builds. With Global tech experience, Partha leads technology at LegalKart. Deepak is an IIT Bombay topper and serial entrepreneur leading Business Strategy at LegalKart. Recently Malay Mandal joined LegalKart as Chief of Growth who is an FMS Delhi graduate and has more than 19 years of experience in leading growth and marketing functions.
Every challenge that one faces in its lifetime is a hidden opportunity. In Arvind’s 12 years of professional experience with various corporations, he has dealt with serious challenges due to the unavailability of legal professionals in different parts of the country and sometimes at international destinations too.
“That feeling when you can see that the problem is obvious but there is no solution available inspired me to explore possible solutions.” Added Arvind Singhatiya. He is not a lawyer but has always managed lawyers and clients hence he was able to visualize the challenge as a third person and identified the key bottlenecks with the help of his founding partner and CTO Partha Sen using appropriate technology solutions. The only objective they had in their minds was to create access to a reliable legal professional on demand and this is how the concept of LegalKart was born.
LegalKart – Name, Tagline, and Logo
This one is definitely an interesting story. The founders did their research and realized that ‘Duniya’ word is a highly searched and used word on the internet and they wanted to connect law with Duniya like Lawduniya or something alike.
LegalKart
Although no one said NO to this idea, they didn’t receive much enthusiasm about it. This continued for a few days and they were yet to settle with ‘Duniya’ word when on an afternoon Arvind got a call from his founding Partner Deepak Prajapati, he sounded very happy and said: “How about LegalKart?” It was a eureka moment and Arvind jumped from the chair.
“The domain cost us a few Lakhs but that was our first investment in the name of the company”: Arvind Singhatiya.
LegalKart – Business Model and Revenue Model
LegalKart is a startup that brings easy and affordable legal consultation services to the customers via its easy-to-use and powerful platform and the wide array of expert lawyers that LegalKart has partnered with.
“We kept the LegalKart as a free to download and use mobile App for promoting the usage of legal technology among Indian Lawyers.” Added Arvind on the LegalKart Business Model.
In India, legal technology penetration is much lower as compared to developed economies like the US and Europe and when an individual or a business needs legal help there are basic challenges like access and identifying an appropriate lawyer for them. Similarly, for Lawyers, it is difficult to connect with new clients and manage their legal practice efficiently.
LegalKart is solving the problem of access for individuals and businesses by creating a connection with Lawyers using LegalKart Practice Management App. The LegalKart team has seen positive traction in this ecosystem and is now scaling the solution to reach the masses.
LegalKart – Competitors
There are quite a few startups in the legal sector especially when it comes to online ones. They might be catering to different sets of needs to the same audience but still can pose some degree of competition to LegalKart.
These startups that are deemed as LegalKart competitors include:
In October 2019, LegalKart raised $456.9K from multiple investors like Pranay Jivrajaka (CEO, FoodPanda), Mitesh Shah (CFO, BookMyShow), Sundeep Sahni (CCO, Rocket Internet), Pallav Singh (ex-COO, OlaCabs), Sudarshan Gangrade (CEO, Lo! Foods), and other individual HNIs from Microsoft, Cognizant, Tata Motors, METRO Cash & Carry India, and Oracle, who are based in the USA, the UK, Japan, and the UAE. After which it raised another funding round worth $522.29K on January 20, 2022, which was another seed round, led by IIM Udaipur Incubation Centre, Mumbai Angels.
The Gurgaon-based LegalKart successfully raised $979K in funding to date.
Date
Name of the Funding Round
Deal Value
Lead Investors
January 20, 2022
Seed Round
$522.29K
IIM Udaipur Incubation Centre, Mumbai Angels
October 17, 2019
Seed Round
$456.9K
Pranay Jivrajaka, Sundeep Saini, Pallav Singh, Mitesh Shah, Sudarshan Gangrade and more
LegalKart – Growth and Revenue
Acquiring the first customers for the LegalKart team was like a work of art and not a logical science. They didn’t have an excel sheet of data to pull from and no existing well-defined segments from which they could have done target marketing. Hence, they tested different methods to “see what sticks”. The team essentially reached out to their network of known lawyers and friends pitched the product to them and shared the pilot app with them. Phone calls, chats, google forms and mails were our initial tools to identify the correct demand. That helped them to get their first few App users.
Once LegalKart had its first 100 lawyers on the application, it started a referral program which led to the portal growing fast with referral incentives. Later digital marketing and offline outreach to courts helped it onboard thousands of lawyers across the country.
LegalKart is a growing business. Starting in 2018, based in Gurgaon, Haryana, LegalKart has seen many ups and has reached many milestones to date. Among some of the prominent growth highlights of LegalKart, the company boasts of:
Delivering over 100,000 minutes of legal consultation
Verifying over 25,000 properties’ documents
Delivering over 30,000 business documents
Incorporating 1000+ companies
Along with these milestones, LegalKart also has 73K+ calls completed with lawyers, 98% positive lawyer calls, and has a rating of 4.8/5 when it comes to an average expert lawyer star rating.
TALK NOW by LegalKart
With employees losing jobs and contracts getting terminated by companies, not just professionals but, interpersonal relationships too are seeing a tough phase in current times. Besides, with the sudden rise in domestic violence cases, many people are going through severe stress and lockdown is adding pain to it.
A common problem faced by almost every person seeking legal aid is that they know they need advice, but they don’t know whom should they approach for the same. In India, getting access to a Lawyer is not so easy and for serious legal advice, you cannot trust suggestions and tips from friends and family or free information on the internet. Getting the right advice from an experienced lawyer is the first step while taking a decision or legally dealing with a crisis.
LegalKart, a trusted name within the Legal community has now launched the TALK NOW feature on its website Legalkart.com for customers who are seeking any legal advice. LegalKart is a Legal technology company and through its proprietary, AI based technology has developed a solution that enables the customers to Talk to a Lawyer effortlessly and confidentially while sitting in the comfort of his home.
‘TALK NOW’ feature from LegalKart empowers an individual to connect with a verified Lawyer for matters ranging from job termination, consumer protection, money recovery, cheque bounce, divorce, domestic violence, property matters, corporate issues etc. This Secure & Private calling feature is available on www.legalkart.com for individuals from any part of the country 24×7 on a real-time basis.
‘TALK NOW’ on www.legalkart.com ensures complete confidentiality of the individual. The person can choose to remain anonymous (if they wish to) and their phone number is not visible to the Lawyer. Lawyers advising on the phone will never ask any personal questions related to identity, asset details, other transactions, residential address, etc. Just share the facts of the matter and get honest, neutral, and the right legal advice.
In the last 2 months since the service was launched, the LegalKart platform has witnessed a huge surge in stressed calls from women and men related to family and marriage issues, and also young people losing jobs with unpaid salaries. LegalKart has served more than 4000 legal advice to individuals from more than 300 cities across the country in the last 2 months. With the increasing COVID-19 cases in India and complete uncertainty on the lockdown restrictions, LegalKart’s TALK NOW feature is priced at an 80% discounted rate for a larger segment of the Indian population which is going through enormous stress. This offering a limited period discount which was originally priced at Rs. 499 for a 15 minutes advisory session now it’s available only at Rs 99.
As per the last reports in October 2019, LegalKart reportedly onboarded 2500+ lawyers in a time duration of 8 months. The revenue of LegalKart was last estimated to touch $450K in 2019, while the growth rate of LegalKart was announced to be 20% on an MoM basis.
LegalKart – Awards and Recognition
LegalKart has been identified as the 20 Asian Legal Tech Companies to be watched in 2020 by Asia Law Portal.
Also, the company received the Emerging Company Award for 2020 from the prestigious India Achievers Forum.
LegalKart – Future Plans
“We at LegalKart would like to metamorphose into a legal ecosystem like today’s taxi means Ola, a few years down the line LegalKart means legal support. We now have a user base of more than 5000 Lawyers all over India and its growing. We aim to be present in more than 1500 cities with more than 25000 lawyers on our platform in the next two years.” Concluded Arvind Singhatiya
FAQs
What is LegalKart?
LegalKart is a practice management app for lawyers to manage cases, documents, client fees, and client management.
Who is the founder of LegalKart?
Arvind Singhatiya is the Founder of LegalKart.
How much is the LegalKart funding?
To date (April 2022), LegalKart has raised a total of $979K in funding.
What service does LegalKart provide?
LegalKart provides legal consultation services from expert legal professionals.
The article is contributed by Gayatri Panda, Business Partner, Themis Technologies Ltd., London.
The UK tech industry is now worth $1 trillion, making it the world’s third largest behind the United States and China. The UK tech startups and scaleups are receiving more investments than ever before, such as £29.4 billion in 2021; as a result, tech hiring activities within the UK organisations have skyrocketed. According to the statistics, the number of advertised IT jobs is up 42% compared to pre-pandemic levels. As the talent competition is getting fierce globally, the UK is joining the worldwide hunt for talents with a world-leading migration system. So what are the immigration routes for international technology talent to join the UK’s thriving tech sector?
A visa sponsorship means that an organisation, also known as the sponsor, is providing you a job because they are unable to fill a position in the local market. The sponsor is also legally and financially responsible for you and your activities throughout your stay in the country and must report to the UK government. There are various types of sponsored visas;
Skilled Worker Visa
A Skilled Worker visa allows foreign nationals to enter or remain in the UK to work for an authorised company in an eligible job. The Tier 2 (General) work visa was replaced by this visa route. To be eligible for a Skilled Worker visa, you must have a job offer from a UK company with appropriate salary level. After five years of stay in the UK, the Skilled Worker route can lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and eventually British Citizenship or British Passport.
Global Business Mobility Visa
It’s a new sponsored work visa option for international companies wanting to temporarily relocate employees to the UK to establish a UK presence or for specific commercial purposes. The introduction of the new route corresponds with the end of the Sole Representative visa and Intra Company Transfer or known as the ICT visa.
There are five subcategories in the Global Business Mobility route:
Senior or Specialist Worker: This visa has taken the position of the Intra-company Transfer visa. This category is for senior managers or specialists assigned to a UK company affiliated with their employer. It will not result in a settlement in the United Kingdom.
Graduate Trainee: The Graduate Trainee route replaces the Intra-Company Graduate Trainee Visa. This visa is intended for employees who are being relocated to the UK as part of a structured graduate training programme for a managerial or speciality post. You must have worked for your employer overseas for at least three months prior to the date of application. Graduate trainees will be paid at least £23,100 per year as a minimum wage. It does not directly lead to settlement in the UK. However, you may be able to change your immigration status to one that leads to permanent residence.
UK Expansion Worker: The UK Expansion Worker visa, which supersedes the Sole Representative visa, allows senior or specialised employees to enter the UK for a short length of time to carry out work related to their company’s expansion ambitions in the UK. It does not directly lead to settlement in the UK. However, you may be able to change your immigration status to one that leads to permanent residence.
SCALEUP VISA
The Scale-up visa is a newly introduced sponsored work visa that will become available on August 22, 2022. The sponsoring employer must be a scaleup firm in the United Kingdom, with annualised turnover or staffing growth of at least 20% for the three years preceding the application and a minimum of 10 employees at the commencement of the three-year period.
You need a sponsorship from a scaleup company and you must work full-time for the company in any position for 6 months. So, after just 6 months of being linked to a single company, you will be free to work in the UK in any employment of your choice. Nevertheless, the job must also meet specific standards, such as having a skill level of at least degree level (RQF level 6) and paying a minimum wage of £33,000 or the market rate for the position, whichever is higher.
After 5 years of continuous residency, you will be able to apply for settlement (indefinite leave to remain). You must have earned at least £33,000 (PAYE) in at least two of the three years preceding your ILR application.
One of the ways the UK government believes Britain can attract high-quality migration is by implementing independent elite visa routes.
High Potential Individual Visa
The government’s attempt to attract the world’s “brightest and best” into the UK economy incorporates the High Potential Individual visa. It is scheduled to open on May 30, 2022. The High Potential Individual visa is intended for international graduates with a bachelor’s, postgraduate or PhD degree within the last 5 years from a university outside the United Kingdom that is listed in the top 50 global universities ranking. Graduates with a bachelor’s or master’s degree can stay in the UK for up to two years, or up to three years if they have a PhD. It does not lead to permanent residence in the United Kingdom, visa holders can move to another UK visa option, such as the Skilled Worker visa.
Global Talent Visa
This visa is for globally recognised world leaders or promising individuals in Science and Medicine, Engineering, Humanities, Digital Technology, Arts and Culture, and Research. This visa provides absolute freedom and greater flexibility regarding work, location, remuneration, leave and engagement with organisations. You can join a company or start your business without any restriction. This results in a settlement after 3 years if you are a leader applicant or 5 years if you are a promising candidate. The UK govt has appointed Endorsement Bodies for above mentioned fields, you need to make an application along with proof of your past achievements and future plan in line with the government guideline. Upon successful approval, you can apply for immigration.
Startup Visa
The Startup visa category is for high-potential entrepreneurs looking to establish their business in the United Kingdom. To qualify, you need a new, innovative, viable and scalable business idea that is endorsed by a UK govt appointed endorsing body. The Startup visa is valid for a maximum of two years, after which you can switch to the Innovator Visa.
Innovator Visa
The Innovator Visa is for experienced business individuals who want to start a company in the United Kingdom. You must have a new, innovative, viable and scalable business idea that is endorsed by a UK govt appointed endorsing body and you are ready to invest £50,000 to your business. Under the Innovator Visa you are eligible to apply for ILR after 3 years.
Conclusion
The United Kingdom recognises migrants as one of the most efficient means to encourage the development and investments in viable, innovative, and scalable businesses in the United Kingdom in order to drive economic growth. The UK government has done everything possible to remove barriers to innovation and business expansion, resulting in a 31% increase in the number of technology firms in the UK private sector since 2010. With this fast and easy visa support, a favourable tax regime, stable and democratic political system, strong and respected system of law and a strengthening British Pound also known as safe haven currency, the UK is becoming the home for technology experts and digital innovators globally.
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 Club Factory.
Fashion is not futile. Your clothes and accessories say a lot about your personality and of course your mood. Thankfully now fashion is affordable too!. All thanks to the e-commerce sites now men and women from even remote nooks and corners have easy access to Fashion. An e-commerce site that we cannot miss when it comes to affordable fashion is Club Factory. This China-based e-commerce site offers apparel, accessories, and more at factory prices. Though Club Factory is currently banned in India owing to security threats and rising tension between India and China, we cannot surely afford to miss the story of this amazing e-commerce startup, that gained immense popularity in India. Here is all about Club Factory. The startup story, Club Factory founders, funding, revenue model, and competitors.
Founded in 2014, the Chinese e-commerce platform Club Factory became quite popular internationally as a platform offering trending fashion goods at a very affordable price. Club Factory delivers in many countries across Europe, America, and Asia.
Club Factory’s major USP is that its products are trendy yet much cheaper as compared to many of its competitors. The reason it can offer goods at a much cheaper price is its strong base of over 200,000 suppliers who want to sell directly to consumers and thereby liquidate their inventory.
For customers, Club Factory is very user-friendly as it offers recommendations to consumers based on their past choices of products and their preferred price range. The platform sorts out appropriate suppliers based on the quality of the products, their productivity, performance, and price. According to Club Factory founder Lou Yun, Club Factory uses AI and big data analysis to understand the users and suppliers better. Club Factory App uses AI technology to compare the prices charged by the manufacturers, find the lowest price of a particular product in real-time, and suggest to the customer the product having the lowest price.
Using Big Data Analysis, Club Factory shortlists the products that have the highest probability to be bought from a huge number of SKUs. Club factory offers insights to the manufacturers on the goods that are most preferred by customers so that the manufacturers can take appropriate manufacturing decisions.
In India, Club Factory did face some controversies. The biggest of all controversy was the tax evasion charges raised against Club Factory. Club Factory and a few other Chinese e-commerce companies like Shein were found shipping products from China directly to customers in India by marking these orders as gifts to avoid custom duties. To do away with the problem the Government of India started imposing custom duties on gifts as well from November 2019. Besides these, from late deliveries, late payment to sellers, and delivering damaged products, Club Factory has faced many charges in India.
Yet, Founder Vincent Lou perceived India as one of the biggest markets for Club Factory and had lofty plans to establish the company in India. The company had plans to invest in warehousing, technology, marketing, and delivery, and wanted to become India’s “One-Stop fashion marketplace” for sellers as well as customers. While initially, Club Factory sold only goods imported from Chinese manufacturers, in early 2019, the company adopted the local marketplace strategy whereby it brought in Indian sellers to the platform. The company onboarded around 5000 Indian sellers on the platform and was planning to bring in more local sellers. Club also Factory invested heavily in marketing in India. In 2018 Club Factory appointed Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh and Miss World, 2017 winner Manushi Chhillar as the company’s brand ambassadors.
Ranveer Singh and Manushi Chhillar in a Club Factory Ad
Club factory was looking forward to adding more product categories to the platform soon. But the ban on the app came as a shock to the founders.
Club Factory began as Baokuanyi, which was a SaaS data intelligence platform that helped manufacturers take manufacturing decisions based on stock and inventory-related data of over 200,000 factories. The aim behind starting Baokuanyi was to empower the manufacturers with better inventory data so that they can make their decisions better.
While working with Baokuanyi, the founders realized that liquifying inventory was challenging for manufacturers. So, they thought of coming up with an e-commerce platform through which manufacturers can directly sell to customers. Thus Club Factory was founded.
Currently, too Club Factory has a SaaS product that offers insights to the manufacturers regarding the products that are sold the most and the most popular designs so that the manufacturers do not end up making products that are not in demand.
Vincent Lou and Aaron Jialun Li are the founders of Club Factory.
Vincent Lou
Club Factory founder Vincent Lou holds a Master’s Degree in Computer science from Stanford University. As a student, Vincent had a deep interest in applied AI. At Standford, Vincent along with Aaron Li developed an AI-powered solution to help WHO optimize the costs of medical devices. Vincent worked as a Research Assistant at The University of British Columbia, and also at the Standford Biomedical Informatics Training Program. Vincent was working as a Software Engineering Intern at Facebook during the early years of his career. In 2014, Vincent founded Baokuanyi which later pivoted to become Club Factory.
Aaron Jialun Li
Club Factory co-founder Aaron Jialun Li holds a Masters’s degree in Business Marketing. Aaron also did data analysis in Alibaba Group and looked after Product Management at Sharethis before founding the SaaS platform Baokuanyi with Vincent Lou.
Founders, Club Factory
Club Factory – Tagline and Logo
While the company keeps experimenting with its tagline from time to time, the company had to face legal wrath in India in 2020 due to one of its slogans that involved the name of Indian e-commerce unicorn Snapdeal. In 2020, Club Factory was running the “everything cheaper than Snapdeal” ad campaign. Snapdeal approached the Delhi High Court against this ad campaign, in response to which, Club Factory discontinued the ad campaign.
Club Factory logo
Club Factory – Business Model
In India, Club Factory’s business model was quite different than its peers like Amazon and Flipkart. In India, Club Factory charged zero commission from the sellers. The Indian sellers could sell the products through the platform for free.
“Club Factory will continue to provide a level-playing field to all sellers by not charging any commission fee so that they get to increase their earnings while transferring the cost-benefit to buyers,” said Club Factory founder Vincent Lou, in an interview, before the platform got banned in India.
Club Factory does not stock inventories. It uses algorithms to match orders and sellers. When a customer places an order, Club Factory finds a seller who can fulfill the order. The supplier then sends the product to Club Factory’s warehouse, from where Club Factory ships the products to the customers. Club Factory also takes care of customer service.
Club Factory has raised a total amount of $220 million in funding over the 3 funding rounds.
Date
Transaction Name
Money Raised
Lead Investor
October 11, 2019
Series D
$100 million
Qiming Venture Partners
February 14, 2018
Series C
$100 million
Bertelsmann Asia Investments
January 1, 2017
Series B
$20 million
–
To date Club Factory has raised funding from 8 investors including institutional investors like Bertelsmann, Qiming Venture Partners, FREES FUND, ZhenFund, Kunlun Trust, and IDG Capital.
Club Factory – Growth
As per 2019 reports, Club Factory had over 70 million users worldwide, of which around 40 million were Indians. Club Factory also emerged as the most downloaded shopping app on the Android platform globally for the months of September and October 2019 (according to Sensor Tower’s Store Intelligence platform). Now that Club Factory got banned in India since June 2020, it has lost a huge user base. However, Club Factory is still delivering in many countries In Europe, USA, and Asia.
Club Factory – FAQs
Is Club Factory Working in India?
No Government of India banned Club Factory along with other 58 Chinese apps in June 2020.
Who is the founder of Club Factory?
Chinese entrepreneurs Vincent Lou and Aaron Jialun Li founded Club Factory in 2014.
This pandemic was hard for everyone one of us and we all struggled to oversee discretionary spending due to unanticipated expenditures. Many people also saw a dip in their savings to fulfill the family’s requirements. So to mitigate the increased financial stress some people turned towards personal loans but how do you know if you are eligible for a personal loan or not and what variables affect her personal loan eligibility.
Here’s what you need to learn about the 5 most important factors that may influence your personal loan eligibility.
Before that let me give you the specifics of the personal loan. So, let’s dive right in!
A personal loan is a form of installment loan that provides you with a set chunk of money, typically ranging from $1,000 to $50,000, in one single payment. They are typically unsecured, which means you need not provide assets to protect funds. The repayment period can differ considerably from one year to a decade. They are used for just about anything, though some financiers may limit their use.
Making an application for a personal loan is akin to making an application for a credit card. You will be asked to input your info, financial data, and loan info. The creditor will conduct a solid credit analysis before authorizing you, which may momentarily lessen your credit rating.
If the creditor is satisfied with your fiscal predicament and creditworthiness — typically, a rating in the mid-600s is required — the creditor will ascertain your interest rate, loan balance, and provisions.
However, these days there are platforms like Zest Money that have simplified getting personal loans much easier. With Zest Money you can get a personal loan even if you do not have a credit score. Simply download the Zest app, complete the KYC, and get a credit limit that you can use to shop in over 100,000 offline and 15,000 online stores. The best part is that the Credit Limit is available at 0% interestwhen paid on time. Once you sign up for a Zest Money Credit Limit, you also become eligible for Zest Money Personal Loans that too without uploading any additional documents. Besides, you can choose your EMI plan, and repayment term, and even foreclose the loan without paying any foreclosure charges.
The most vital eligibility criterion when applying is that you are within the bank’s age cohort. Age is an important factor as it tells lending institutions about your capital adequacy and earning power. If you’ve graduated college and are in your 20s, you may lack basic monetary stability. Likewise, if you’re over the age of 60 or are retiring early, your earning power will be reduced during this time.
Candidates between the ages of 25 and 55 are usually considered by banking firms. The age thing varies from bank to bank.
Monthly earnings
Monthly Earnings
Your potential to repay debt is directly proportional to your earnings. Your revenue is a critical component of your fiscal portfolio. The baseline salary requisite, on the other hand, varies by lender. Your lending institution takes into account the city you reside in as well as the corporation you work for when assessing your earnings.
Although the main income stream is taken into account by the lending institution, having extra revenue from passive channels such as subletting out your home or rental estate can be advantageous. Having a supplementary stream of revenue can help lending institutions feel more confident that you will compensate your EMIs on time.
Credit record
Personal loans are types of unsecured debt. They don’t have any assets or security backing them up. As a result, lending institutions use credit metrics to evaluate your ability to repay.
Your credit record reveals your EMI transaction regularities in the past. As a result, you must pay your EMIs on time to avoid falling behind on your loan payments. This will have a massive influence on the elements that influence personal loan acceptance.
Debt to income ratio
Assume you work for a reputable firm and are paid well, but the majority of your earnings are going toward EMI payouts. This factor influences your personal loan qualifications. The lending institution calculates your debt-to-income ratio by splitting your total earnings by the total amount of your current debt.
If your debt-to-income rate has risen, your lending institution may deny your loan request or cost you a higher rate of interest on your personal loan. Generally, it is best to keep the debt-to-income ratio below 50%. A higher proportion of this component increases the danger of nonpayment.
Stable employment
Employment
When approving a personal loan, your lending institution considers your total professional experience as well as your present employment status. If you work for a well-known company and have a consistent stream of revenue, your lending institution deems you a lienholder with stable employment.
If your manager has a background of late compensation or is not economically solvent, the lending institution may deny your request. This is attributed to the reason that these variables influence the potential to reimburse your personal loan.
Pros and Cons of Personal Loans
Pros of Personal Loans:
Personal loans can be used for a variety of purposes. They are used for a bunch of uses, including travel costs, medical bills, buying new accessories, gadgets, and even home/car upgrades.
Personal loans are available very quickly. In certain instances, the loan can be obtained within 24hrs. So, if you need emergency money, personal loans are your safest choice.
When contrasted to a mortgage payment or a car loan, personal loans usually do not necessitate as much paperwork. As a result, the handling time is reduced.
No need for security to acquire this loan, and the credit period is much smaller than that of a home loan or a car loan. In comparison to other loans, this carries less peril for the applicant because if you seem unable to pay back, your security is voided. Your assets are secure because personal loans do not require any security. This helps make this type of loan appealing to anyone who does not own any assets such as a car, a home, or stocks.
Cons of Personal Loans:
Lenders consider these to be risky since they do not require any security. These loans have extremely high-interest rates to compensate for their dangers.
Most financiers do not accept loan payments in installments. This implies you will have to repay the lender for the period of the loan. Because your first installments are used to pay interest, it can be very costly.
Because these loans are very risky, most bank requires their borrowers to have a good credit score. As a result, if your credit score is low as a result of past loan defaults, your request will be denied. As a result, the accessibility of this loan is subject to rigorous qualifying criteria based on creditworthiness.
Even banks that provide loans to debtors with poor credit end up providing reduced principal amounts and rising interest rates than those provided to debtors with good credit. These debtors are also subjected to stricter repayments.
Is Personal Loan the Right Choice for You?
If you need money quickly, personal loans are an appealing choice. Here’s how to tell if a personal loan fits one’s scenario:
You require the finances as soon as possible. Many lending institutions, particularly those that function online, can make capital available in a couple of times.
You have an excellent credit rating. Borrowers with stellar credit are eligible for the lowest rate.
You want to get rid of your massive debt. Personal loans are an excellent tool to manage and pay off high-interest credit card debt.
You will put the money toward important purchases. Personal loans can also be used to pay for large costs or to renovate your home.
Personal loans, on the other hand, are not suitable for all. They are, after all, still a debt obligation. Here are a few explanations why it may not always be the safest alternative for you:
You have a bad habit of spending too much money. Paying off your debt with a personal loan may not seem like a sensible approach if you intend to simply start accruing fresh credit card debts.
You are unable to make substantial repayments. Consider a personal loan’s repayment schedule and monthly bills. Use a personal loan calc to discern whether you can finance the monthly payments over the financing tenure.
You don’t need the cash immediately. Saving for a big settlement may make better sense than taking out a personal loan and making interest-only reimbursements for many decades.
These are the variables that portray your creditworthiness when applying for a personal loan. Lending institutions mostly take this into account when determining your qualifications for a personal loan and the rate of interest. As a result, it is advisable to confirm the prerequisites of your ideal lending institution beforehand to obtain a reasonably priced personal loan interest rate. Also, do check the pros and cons before you decide to apply for a personal loan.
FAQs
What are the eligibility criteria for a personal loan?
Sufficient monthly earnings, good credit records, and stable employment are some of the eligibility criteria for a personal loan.
What is the minimum salary required for a personal loan?
Most banks set a minimum salary limit of Rs. 15,000 – Rs. 20,000 per month for a personal loan.
When we can’t find an answer to a topic even on Wikipedia, the last resort we have is ‘Quora‘ to look for answers. This website offers many people’s perspectives on a wide range of topics, including subject-related, money-making, music, literature, movies, computer science, lifestyle and technology. Quora is the place to go when we want to hear actual answers or real experiences from individuals since people share their real thoughts publicly, which can benefit someone who is seeking an answer to that question. Initially, Quora was intended to be a question-and-answer site, with Q&A software responding to users’ queries.
The site was developed in 2009 by two former Facebook employees Adam D’Angelo and Charlie Cheever. It became accessible to the public in 2010, with a user-friendly interface. Every year new features are added to the website, such as: Answering to the Question (similar to Reddit), Introduction of a blogging platform as non-answer content, Advertisement rollouts, Daily digest mode, Multilingual expansion, Top writer programmers and so on. However, Do you know that many people earn money through Quora? If your answer is no, read this article to learn how it’s done.
4 Effective Ways to Earn Money on Quora
Graph showing Monthly Active users on Quora
Quora can also be used to earn money online. Let’s discuss the most common yet effective ways to earn through this media.
Affiliate Marketing is one of the key ways that Quora makes money. Affiliate marketing, in general, is a type of marketing in which a company pays a third party to generate traffic, leads or sales for its products and services. Have you ever noticed ‘Accept Cookies’ when visiting a website for the first time? That’s one aspect of Affiliate marketing that adds several users who have visited their page.
The first step of earning money through affiliate marketing is to create content that will attract the attention of your target audience.
After deciding what content you’re going to create, look for the answers that the target audience is looking for, then answer that.
While writing the article, insert the affiliate links into them.
Your visitor then clicks on the link and purchases the item. The affiliate network gets the record of the purchase and then you get the commission.
Quora is a website where you may use maximum affiliate links to drive traffic to your content. For example, having a high number of audiences in your niche combined with a strong link to your content/company’s product would generate a large number of leads as well as money to your bank account.
As I previously stated, Quora was made to answer questions posed by users, similarly to providing a database to the public for a price. Something we may or may not be aware of is that Quora makes millions of dollars by making its database available to its users. Besides, users can also earn money by answering certain questions on Quora, where the software selects the best answers from a pool of thousands and awards knowledge rewards ranging from $200 to $1000. In Quora people are looking for proper answers and what is better than providing those answers with correct data. After collecting the data and then analysing it, you can share it in the article and the target audience can check those out.
You can earn money by participating in the Quora Partner Program and asking useful questions on the platform. To earn money with questions, you must first be invited to join the platform’s partner program. The criterion is:
You must have over 100000 views, then only you can get an invite and join the program.
Ask questions regularly, it is a good way to get the attention of the program. After a few weeks, you’ll be offered to join the partner program if you thoughtfully answer questions every day.
Your answer must be appropriate so that it seems you care about being in Quora.
Create your profile properly with pictures and descriptions.
The partners have to ask 10 questions a day. However, the amount of money that you will get will not depend on the number of questions.
If the question is popular, it gets ads impression which in return generates money.
Subscription
Quora+ Subscription Screen
Readers can access your space’s paid content by subscribing to it. You can publish premium content in your space that is exclusively viewable to Quora+ members and your space subscribers (your own subscribers). There are two types of material you can create for your space: Free and Paid. Subscribers and Quora+ users can view your content if it’s listed under Paid content. Subscriptions start at $0.99 per month. You can establish your own price as a Space owner. Subscribers have the opportunity to follow your space. 60% of the subscription will be yours. If your subscription is $10 and you have 100 followers, your revenue will be $1000, and you will receive $600. You can offer your followers a monthly or a yearly subscription. You are the one who decides, which posts should be exclusive for the subscribers and set an amount for that. Those who are your subscribers have the access to all your posts in the space.
Conclusion
Without a doubt, Quora is one of the ways to get money. But, before you jump in, make sure you thoroughly understand it and how it works, as not everyone has been successful to earn money from there. It won’t be easy, but if you form a plan and stick to it, you’ll be able to create a new source of passive income for yourself. Affiliate marketing, partner programs, and subscriptions are some of the ways through which you can earn money.
FAQs:
What is Quora?
Quora is a question-and-answer website based in the United States. Quora is an intriguing site that feels like a mix of a search engine and a social network, but its goal is to provide you with answers as well as allow you to answer questions for others in areas where you have expertise.
Who is the founder of Quora?
Adam D’Angelo and Charlie Cheever created Quora in June 2009. The company’s headquarters are in Mountain View, California.
Is there a fee for asking questions on Quora?
Quora does not pay for questions, contrary to popular perception. They just split any revenue generated by ad impressions on the answer pages as a result of the queries asked.
Is Quora a safe site?
Quora is just like any other social media platform on the internet in terms of security. The Quora website is extremely secure against cyber-attacks. Moderators constantly monitor the website’s content for sensitive or abusive stuff that needs to be removed.
One of the major reasons for the growth of the world economy as a whole throughout this 21st century is the East Asian countries. Comprising mainly of countries like China, Taiwan, and South Korea, these countries have revolutionized the world through their innovative processes in the world of manufacturing and supply chain for a wide range of products, be it semiconductor chips to automobiles to any product you can think of. This is one of the major reasons that we as consumers can enjoy the luxury of products that we would have not otherwise. Even the Prime Minister of India, Shree Narendra Modi, launched an “Act Far East Policy” in 2019, with the perspective of making our relations between Japan and South Korea even better.
While other countries of East Asia are interlinked successfully to the global economy, this has not been true for North Korea, which rather follows an isolationist path and is not connected at all to the global economy. This is mainly due to the policies of the Kim dynasty, which has ruled North Korea since Kim Il-sung took the reins of the country in 1948 and has been continued for generations with his grandson Kim-Jong Un currently ruling North Korea since 2012.
Isolationist North Korea
This map demonstrates to us how isolationist North Korea is. In the map, which is taken from a 2014 Business Insider report, we can observe how there are various routes of maritime transportation of cargo ships between China and South Korea and then how completely there are negligible cargo ship routes that involve North Korea even though they are sandwiched between China and South Korea here. No wonder, the exports of North Korea, a measly 2.2 billion dollars, is underwhelming in comparison to the two behemoths in China (which exports goods worth 2.6 TRILLION dollars and South Korea (which exports goods worth 531 billion dollars) they are sandwiched in-between.
North Korea has also faced a lot of economic sanctions due to its nuclear weapons program. The United Nations have passed several resolutions ever since North Korea had its first nuclear test in 2006, which effectively makes exporting goods to Pyongyang (the North Korean capital) futile unless it is basic amenities like nutrition, sanitation, and water. The European Union has also announced an embargo on virtually on all products to be exported from North Korea.
So this surely makes us wonder if North Korea is so isolationist, how can they earn revenue which helps them run their economy despite all these sanctions? In this article, we would discuss how various North Korean governments have earned the revenue they have accumulated in the first place despite their isolationist policies.
It can be seen China and North Korea have strong trade relations. This is mainly due to geopolitical reasons, as China sees North Korea as a perfect counter to the strong American relations with Japan and South Korea.
Import market in North Korea
As per a 2017 Statista report, a whopping 75% of its overall trade is with China. This can be seen by this pictorial representation, where China accounts for 94% of North Korea’s imports and 91% of North Korea’s exports.
Export market in North Korea
So what does North Korea mainly export? One of its main exports is COAL. North Korea has 661 Million tons of proven coal reserves, which makes it the 35th largest in the world. And out of these reserves, it is widely reported in a 2017 Observatory of Economic Complexity (also known as OEC) report that North Korea exports around 368 million dollars worth of coal, with China being one of its biggest beneficiaries.
In 2017, China announced that it would be ending all coal exports from North Korea to comply with the various sanctions North Korea got due to its nuclear program, but as per a confidential United Nations report, coal is still exported to China through illegal shipments. In fact, as per a 2021 Financial Times report, it is widely reported that coal exports have increased, with China battling its energy crisis.
Another crucial product that North Korea exports to China is TEXTILES. As per the same 2017 OEC report, North Korea exports around 584 million dollars worth of textiles, which include non-knit coats, suits, and activewear. This has been a major controversy in North Korea, as a lot of those textiles are re-exported all over the world with a “Made in China” tag. North Korea also gets to export other products such as ferrosilicon, potato flour, and components for electric watches.
Most of the trade between North Korea and China mainly happens through the north-eastern port of Dandong in China. This is separated from the closest North Korean city of Sinuiju by the narrow Yalu river.
If there is one product that North Korea exports on a relatively worldwide level, it is their renowned seafood products such as pine mushrooms, mollusks, and processed fish. The North Korean government has worldwide restaurants dedicated to it in parts of the world, like Vietnam, the Netherlands, etc.
North Korea also trades with India, with the trade deficit being predominantly in India’s favour. India mainly exports its petroleum products and other goods worth 60 million dollars, while it imports automobile parts and silver parts worth 36 million dollars. Even though India has condemned the nuclear weapon program of North Korea, especially its missile launch in 2019, it hasn’t participated in any United Nations sanctions.
According to Anwita Basu, The Economic Intelligence Unit’s lead analyst for Indonesia, the Philippines, and North Korea, “the North Korean economy is basically run by its arms deals”.
North Korea has established connections between various countries in the African Union due to the strong bond they shared in the name of socialism in the 1960s. Another factor that aids them here is only seven countries on the African continent have participated in the United Nations sanctions.
A South African think tank the name the Institute for Security Studies(ISS), the value of annual trade activities between the African States and North Korea has amounted to 216.5 million dollars. This is mainly because Pyongyang has built arms factories in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Madagascar, and Uganda. It has also been contracted to construct military sites in Namibia. North Korea has also sold ballistic missile lines for Egypt and Libya.
It has also been widely speculated that North Korea has also partnered with Iran on nuclear weapons development. A UN 2016 report also stated that North Korea has sold weapons to the middle eastern countries as well.
Cybercrime
Cybercrime in North Korea
It has been reported by multiple sources that there are 6000 hackers based in Pyongyang. Found as maths prodigies in various government-run schools across North Korea, they are trained by the North Korean government in the basics of hacking, from a beginner to advanced levels. Through this knowledge, the hackers steal a lot of money stored worldwide and then they have to contribute the money to the government. A confidential UN report in 2019 reported that the hackers had stolen about 2 billion dollars to fund their country’s nuclear weapon programme.
It is widely believed that North Korean hackers were responsible for the WannaCry ransomware attack that targeted the National Health Service program of the United Kingdom and other governmental-run organizations across the world. They were also reportedly behind 81 million dollars in cyber theft of funds from Bangladesh’s account at the New York Federal Reserve in 2016. This is just not limited to one domain. As per the 2022 Crypto Crime report from Chainlysis, the hackers have also stolen nearly 400 million dollars worth of cryptocurrency last year.
North Korean hackers were also responsible for hacking into Sony Pictures and releasing its confidential data worldwide. This was primarily because Sony Pictures had made a comedy picture about assassinating their leader Kim Jong-un by the name of The Interview.
Picture by Sony Pictures assassinating Kim Jong-un by the name of The Interview
Slave Labour
Between 50,000 and 100,000 North Korean citizens have been sent abroad especially to countries like China and Russia, to work in various labour industries like mining, construction, and textiles. Working conditions are harsh and salaries are virtually non-existent, with constant surveillance ensuring that labourers do not get any leeway. Money is exchanged for the excruciating work, but it goes straight to the pockets of the North Korean government.
Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the North Atlantic Council(the principal decision-making body of the NATO), has said that these funds can also help North Korea by buying the support of various leaders at various international organizations. He also believes the revenue earned through the form of “slave labour” described above is one of its most crucial reasons.
Robert Manning has also said that North Korea has a huge cartel in its own “illicit drug industry”, especially narcotics such as crystal meth. As sanctions continue to ramp up, this is one illegal path that North Korea may push further.
Conclusion
Thus, in this article, we have documented the various sources through which North Korea earns its revenue and how it compares to its geographical neighbours. With the various sanctions looming on its head due to its nuclear weapon programme and the fact that North Korea is not some stranger to famines (it faced one huge famine in the year 1994), we all must meet across a solution in which the basic North Korean does not struggle for basic amenities in roti, kapda, and makaan regardless of the ideology of the government.
FAQs
What is the major source of income for North Korea?
Major sources of income that adds to the economy of North Korea are:
Weapons Trade
Cybercrime
Slave Labour
Drugs
How does North Korea run its economy?
North Korea has an isolated and tightly controlled command economy.
What is the poverty rate in North Korea?
North Korea has a Poverty rate of 60%.
What is North Korea’s main export?
North Korea mainly exports coal.
Which country is the major partner for export-import in North Korea?
China is the biggest market for export-import in North Korea.
Actors are the people who belong to some sets of the most famous people on this planet earth. They are the people who are probably the topmost entertainers in the world. They appear in movies and TV shows and are seen by the masses to entertain themselves. Theatres and all the mass production of movies take place in the world as a serious job and it has a lot of potential to drive profits.
In eight out of ten events, these actors act as an influencing personality in creating trends of sorts. Their influence is not just limited to the movies they do and the TV shows that they appear in, but it is more than that. If a movie star is famous and popular, brands throw money to have them in their advertisement. This is due to the power of influence that actors and influencers have in their hands.
There is a famous dialogue that says “With great power, comes great responsibility”, which is completely true. People who have immense influencing powers at their disposal, have to act very responsibly. Actors in this case have to be very careful, because of the kind of influencing power they have, whatever they say, most fans will follow.
A classic example is of actors promoting products that do not follow the ideology that they endorse. A piece of recent news which covered the same event was the Vimal Advertisement. The advertisement created controversy and held some really big names in the industry by necks. This article talks about that advertisement and how the advertisement hurt the sentiments of fans of Akshay Kumar all over India. Read on to know the story that sparked the Vimal ad controversy.
The controversy arose when Akshay Kumar joined hands with Vimal (The brand) to enter into an advertisement for the product that they sell. Akshay Kumar is a very famous advocate of healthy living and this advertisement for Cardamom (Paan masala) is the opposite of his ideology.
This sparked the fans of Akshay Kumar and general people to rant about the actor. Ajay Devgan and Shah rukh khan were also seen in the promo for the advertisement.
Vimal Advertisement
Vimal is a brand that sells Cardamom products. Paan masala is one of their top-selling products and they advertise the same product with many actors. Actors who have high influencing power and have a lot of fan following to their credit. Vimal’s brand ambassador for the most of time has been Ajay Devgan and he is the most recurring face in Vimal’s advertising.
The advertisements of Vimal are very unique and can be separated from the rest in an easy manner. Vimal has also made its own signature move, the Zuban Kesari salute is a constant companion in its advertisement. We see Ajay Devgan salute the Zuban Kesari’s move to foreign lands to promote the paan masala.
In the recent past, Shah Rukh Khan has also been seen in advertisements promoting the product of paan masala. The king khan of Bollywood is said to have a huge fan following and Vimal plans to capitalise on it by offering the role to SRK. Except for some trolls here and there, these advertisements were never a problem until Akshay Kumar stepped in. Let us see why people are outraged by such a little thing.
Akshay Kumar Vimal Controversy
Akshay Kumar is the name that tops the list of healthiest actors in Bollywood and all of India. Even in his fifties, this actor is super active and fit. Not only does he follow a fit routine, but he also encourages and motivates all of India to follow a good healthy routine. He is the brand ambassador of the Fit India mission and an inspiration for many.
The controversy began when he starred in a Vimal Advertisement. Soon after the advertisement started to air, people were agitated by the act of Akshay starring in an advertisement for a tobacco product.
Fans shared old videos of Akshay taking a public pledge of not endorsing tobacco products in future for any amount of money. Fans and others ranted that Akshay Kumar is a hypocrite and does not follow what he preaches. This controversy was a serious hit on the persona of one of the top paid actors in Bollywood.
Akshay Kumar Fans Reactions to Vimal Ad
As Akshay joined Ajay Devgan and Shah Rukh Khan for the advertisement of Vimal’s cardamom products, it started a controversy almost instantly. It is a brand that also sells tobacco products.
As opposed to most reactions to major events in India, this controversy did not split people into two opinions. Most people were against Akshay Kumar endorsing a product of tobacco. There were thousands and thousands of tweets against Akshay, people even made memes of the irony of the events. Not only on Twitter but on Instagram also saw memes and rants of people who were shocked at the hypocrisy of Akshay as an influencing personality.
Akshay Kumar Fans Reaction
For such a big actor like Akshay, this move was not a thoughtful move at all and could take a toll on his credibility and trust in the public. There were tweets that called out Akshay for being such a hypocrite. People called that Akshay just used fitness as a PR device and nothing else.
The co-founder of Monk Entertainment, Viraj Seth twitter “Everyone has a price” in relation to this matter.
Everyone has a price, bro. It can vary. But everyone has a number.
People slammed Akshay for endorsing harmful products and they also took a jab at his healthy routine cover that he uses for PR. In a country like India where actors are more famous than most politicians and have a huge fan base, this act was no less than ugly. But actors are human too, they are often covered with greed and can’t see what the future repercussions will be.
Akshay Kumar’s Apology to Its Fans for the Vimal Ad
The advertisement made a lot of stir among fans and others, people ended up ranting about Akshay Kumar and his career. Not to mention that This was a big blow to the credibility of the actor and how people perceive the actor and his words.
Owing to this, Akshay Kumar responded with a heartfelt letter to his fans and followers. He was apologising in the note that he shared and said that he will use the proceeds from the advertisement for a noble cause.
He explicitly apologised for the association with the brand that promoted tobacco products and mentioned that he will use all the endorsement fees towards a noble and worthy cause.
Many actors supported his reply in the comments and shares. On the other hand, fans and followers were really agitated. Many said that the actor should not have done that in the first place. Others admitted that humans are greedy mostly and actors are no exceptions when greed takes over.
@akshaykumar 👍 you made the right choice, whatever the reason !
Ajay Devgan commented “It is a personal choice. When you do something, you also see how harmful it would be. Some things are harmful, some are not. I would say it without naming it because I don’t want to promote it; I was doing elaichi. What I feel is more than advertisements, if certain things are so wrong, then they should not be sold.”
Filmmaker Vinod Kapri, commented on Akshay’s post, “Sorry is just one word. But people need a lot of courage to say that.”
As we mentioned earlier, actors are really a special category of people who get a lot of attention. Thus, the result of all that attention is a lot of influencing powers. They have to use that influencing power very wisely and thoughtfully, otherwise, they will communicate some unintended ideas.
Not only does this make them the butt of the joke but also demotivates people to believe in goodness. Earlier this week, in a new ad by Vimal, Shah Rukh and Ajay Devgan were seen welcoming Akshay to the ‘Vimal universe’. Vimal universe, because these advertisements are continuous and unbroken.
All three actors performed the Vimal salute and promoted the product by Vimal. The ad brought an outrage almost instantly on social media after getting aired. People slammed Akshay for endorsing harmful products and disregarded the fitness and health cover that he usually wears.
The controversy became so big in just a few days that Akshay had to reply to his fans. He came up and shared a note of apology with his fans and following. He said that he is deeply affected by the act that he has done and the sentiments that he has hurt.
Furthermore, he mentioned that he will be donating all the proceeds of the endorsement to a charitable and worthy cause, without utilising the fund for himself. He asked his fans to forgive him for this mistake and continue to support him the old way.
Many actors supported it but many fans said that he shouldn’t have done this in the first place. Acts like these, make people think that actors are all liars who just wear a cover of good habits. These acts make people believe that “Everyone has a price” and whatnot. Someone has said rightly that, Absolute power corrupts. Those people in power often do not have the people’s best interests in mind. Power puts the morality of a person to the test and most of the time, people fail.
FAQs
Is Akshay Kumar in Vimal pan masala?
After the huge backlash from his fans, Akshay Kumar stepped down as the brand ambassador of Vimal Pan Masala.
Who is the brand ambassador of Vimal?
Ajay Devgan, Sharukh Khan, and Akshay Kumar were the brand ambassadors of Vimal. But Akshay Kumar has stepped down as the brand ambassador of Vimal Pan Masala.
Durables also referred to as durable products or consumer durables, are items that do not have to be replaced frequently and generally endure for three years or more. Consumer durable goods stay long enough to purchase on a regular basis. Furnishings, automobiles, books, metal, and other consumer durable products are examples. In India, there are a number of consumer durables companies that make and supply such items. In the coming year, the sector’s market will be worth around $3 trillion. So, here’s a look at the top durable companies in India.
White Goods: Air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers, drying cabinets, freezers, refrigerators, kitchen stoves, water heaters, washing machines, microwave ovens, and induction cookers are examples of white goods.
Brown Goods: Microwave ovens, grinders, chimneys, electric fans, iron, mixers, and other similar cooking gadgets are examples of these types of commodities.
Consumer Electronics: VCD players, DVD players, MP3 players, mobile phones, telephones, and other similar items fall within consumer electronics products.
In India, a number of consumer durables companies make and distribute such items. In the year 2020, the industry’s market was worth around $3 trillion. Apart from that, India is a fast developing country in the sector of technology.
Top 9 Consumer Durable Companies in India
1. Bajaj Electricals
Bajaj Electricals Logo
Counted among one of the top consumer durable companies in India, Bajaj Electrical is a well-known brand. The Bajaj Group, situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra, was founded in 1926 and is the parent business of Bajaj Electricals. Kitchenware, ceiling fans, table fans, pedestal fans, exhaust fans, light bulbs, lanterns, and battery torches are just a few of the consumer products produced by Bajaj Electricals.
Bajaj Electricals’ market capitalization as of August 2, 2021, is 13, 185.69 crores. Their products are all produced with cutting-edge technology. It has over 20 branch offices throughout the country. Bajaj sells its products in more than 5 nations, including the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
2. Prestige
Prestige Logo
It is an Indian firm that produces Prestige brand kitchen gadgets and cookware. Pressure and induction cookers, mixer grinders, glass top, and electric cookers are some of their best-selling items. The TTK Prestige consumer durables division is part of the TTK Group, a commercial conglomerate that was created in 1928. TTK Prestige is well-known and respected.
Prestige is one of the top consumer durable companies in India. It has a market capitalization of 12,060 crores as of August 2, 2021. All of their items fall under the category of kitchen appliances, and roughly 60% of regular and repeat clients trust them. For its efforts in the field, the corporation was also awarded the power brand award.
3. Philips India
Philips Logo
Philips India Ltd., headquartered in Amsterdam, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate. They are one of the world’s leading consumer durables corporations. Radios, shavers, and lights, among other things, are well-known and frequently purchased. Clinical intelligence, imaging systems such as CT and MRI, diagnostic monitoring, and defibrillators are among their healthcare offerings.
Philips has taken a number of steps to improve environmental circumstances. Their inventions and new procedures have gained them notoriety, and they are now one of India’s leading consumer durables enterprises.
4. Blue Star
Blue Star Logo
Blue Star Limited is a well-known refrigerator manufacturer. In India, the firm is also the major manufacturer of air conditioning equipment. It also provides other services such as electrical drilling and plumbing. High-quality air coolers and purifiers have come from their firms’ cutting-edge technologies.
With a network of 32 offices around the country, the annual income is around INR 5405 Cr. There is approximately 2800 employees total, with 3880 channel officers. They have a steady stream of corporate and commercial clientele.
The business segment and the after-sales segment are both included in their electromechanical project. Apart from that, their electronic and unitary products are among the best in the industry, making them India’s leading consumer durables company.
5. Whirlpool
Whirlpool Logo
Whirlpool corporation only entered India in the late 1980s through a partnership with the TVS group. They began producing and marketing washing machines in the union territory of Pondicherry, and now have facilities in Pune, Pondicherry, and Faridabad.
With a variety of items such as air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, and imaging equipment, their mission is to make happier households in the country. To assure customer pleasure, they have world-class dealers and retailers. With their state-of-the-art technology, they have reached new heights with their brand philosophy of serving clients from all over the world.
6. Voltas
Voltas Logo
Voltas is one of the top durable companies in India that is a division of the well-known Tata group. The company is professional in establishing market leadership through creative solutions. It’s a multibillion-dollar home appliance conglomerate known for its high-quality air conditioners and cooling systems. Their project businesses are divided into two sections. The domestic segment is one, and the foreign segment is the other.
To secure profitability, they deliver cutting-edge quality items. Air conditioners, air and water purifiers, water dispensers and cleansers, and other goods are among their most popular. A number of prestigious organisations had praised their work, and they had received numerous prizes.
7. Hitachi
Hitachi Logo
Hitachi is a Japanese multinational corporation that ranks 129th among Fortune 500 firms worldwide. The induction motor was the company’s first product. They produce and distribute a wide range of items, including automotive systems, construction machinery, defence systems, digital media products, and more.
Many hospitals throughout the world have purchased equipment from their electronic division, including particle treatment and cell therapy technology. Wires and cables are also bought and traded across borders. Hitachi is one of India’s leading consumer durable enterprises, providing social and infrastructural system facilities such as elevators and escalators.
8. Orient Electric
Orient Electric Logo
In 2011, the company entered the consumer durables industry and has performed admirably since then. The company is well-known for its cutting-edge, market-leading products. Emergency LED lamps, inverter fans, and UV sanitary machines are just a few of them. It has won the prize for best corporate super-brand. Their main goal and ambition is to make items more accessible to people all over the world by ensuring profitable products.
9. Godrej and Boyce
Godrej Logo
With over 616 million active consumers in the country, Godrej has succeeded in performance since its inception. It has also aided in the expansion of India’s economy and the development of its stakeholders. It is the first Indian firm to receive a nomination for the global cooling price.
According to projections issued in 2019-2020, their entire revenue is over INR 11,500 Cr. Lighting and security solutions are among their most trusted categories. With its foreign subsidiaries and affairs, the company has established global footprints on about five continents.
The company’s current ROE value is 20.5 percent, and thousands of people are actively contributing to its growth. Many people have put their faith in the country’s satellite launches and other aviation endeavours which makes it one of the best consumer durables companies in India.
The demand for a wide range of consumer durable products is steadily increasing in India, thanks to rising disposable income and technological advancements. As the price gap between the identical consumer goods produced by different companies narrows, this results in fierce competition among different consumer durable brands. These items are becoming less expensive by the day.
From US$ 6.3 billion in the 2010-11 fiscal year to US$ 12.5 billion in the 2015-16 fiscal year, the consumer durables market is predicted to grow at a 14.8 percent CAGR to US$ 12.5 billion in the 2015-16 fiscal year. According to the most recent data, it is predicted to grow by 9% by 2022, reaching US$ 48.37 billion.
FAQs
What is a consumer durable company?
Consumer durable companies are companies that manufacture consumer durable goods that are bought in the long run. Goods like refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, fans, etc.
What are the top consumer durable companies in India?
Some of the best Consumer Durable companies in India are:
Bajaj Electricals Ltd.
Prestige
Philips India Ltd.
Blue Star Ltd.
Whirlpool Corporation Ltd.
Voltas Ltd.
Hitachi Global
Orient Electrical
Godrej
What is an example of a consumer durable good?
Refrigerators, automobiles, furniture, household appliances, washing machines, and mobile homes are some examples of consumer durable goods.
Many factors play a role in building a flourishing business, one of which is business process management. A business process involves the steps your company takes to accomplish specific goals. Business process management means constantly reviewing and enhancing each of your company’s operations. By doing this, you increase the overall organizational value.
Once companies expand, they also become more complex, involving more people in the daily operations and more variability in customer’s expectations. Therefore, it can get tricky to control the processes as they become variable and complex, increasing risks to businesses.
To build a scalable company and continue moving forward, business leaders need to improve their processes effectively.
Why is improving business processes imperative for an organization’s growth?
Companies go through a constant digital change in today’s competitive business environment. It’s challenging to keep your business on track, and ineffective processes can adversely affect your whole business operations. It takes only one inefficient process to impact resources, profit, and product quality negatively.
Here are some benefits of optimizing business processes:
You ensure your organization has an effective team and the required skills to help you achieve business goals;
You and your team become more productive;
You get a constant approach and output for your clients;
Your job becomes more enjoyable;
You decrease workflow time;
You reduce errors.
Organizations are often resistant to change, and that’s somewhat understandable, as it is not comfortable getting out of your comfort zone. But the truth is, you can’t expect success unless you choose discomfort. You may find it challenging to figure out the exact steps to improve your business processes. How can you be sure you’re doing it right? Luckily, by enrolling in a training program, you can develop the necessary skills to lead process development. By getting a Green belt certification, you will be able to implement process improvement projects in your company. You will learn how to enhance business processes by identifying, examining and decreasing issues in the processes.
Practical ways to enhance business processes
Map the existing process
This is a no-brainer step – before making any changes to the process, it’s critical to visualize it. Process maps can give you a visual representation of process workflows, and thus, it allows you to understand and interpret them better and then make the necessary improvements.
This visual angle of the processes provides a detailed perspective on the process workflow elements, such as accountable employees, tasks, systems, and tools. This way, it is easier for you to identify issues that negatively impact your business performance.
Once you’ve recognized what’s not right, you can take action to improve the processes.
Several tools can help you map the processes, such as Lucidchart or Microsoft Visio. Or you can simply use paper and a pen – if investing in such a tool is not among your options.
Start asking questions about the process
Since you are a business leader, you likely have a clear picture of how your processes work. However, your employees have the most knowledge about your business processes. Thus, the next step in the process improvement is asking questions to your staff. Check whether you got all the details of your map right.
Your employee’s perspective on this is crucial because it helps you learn things you’d otherwise miss out. Suppose you want to enhance your client’s onboarding process by reducing the onboarding time. Since you are the leader, you know the steps of the actual process. However, you are not aware of what leads to a delay in onboarding the customers. Once you talk to the project team, you figure out the problem – your sales team is not using the systems correctly to update the project time about new customers.
These details may seem insignificant, but they are critical to improving your process strategy. And the only way to learn these details is by asking your employees the right questions. You should focus on finding out the desired result of the process, the monotonous aspects that can be cut out, and the issues they encounter in their daily work.
Examine the current workflow of your process
This is perhaps the most time-consuming yet imperative step in improving your business processes. You can use the map you’ve created to establish the gaps and opportunities for progress in the workflow and then create a plan to redesign the actual process more efficiently.
Ask yourself if you can reduce costs by saving money, time or other resources and figure out what process tasks lead to delays in the output. Also, consider the tasks that are repetitive and can be automated. These are just some questions that you can use as guidelines to create an effective process strategy.
Remake the process workflow to fill gaps
If you go through all the steps mentioned above, you’ll acquire enough data to start creating an action plan. Based on the insight you got from your analysis, write down the changes that will fill the gaps in your process and boost operations performance.
Collaborate with your process team to identify the most effective solutions. Don’t overlook a suggestion just because it seems minor – it may be impactful. Once you create a list of all the ideas and changes you can implement, consider how they will influence the process outcomes and then prioritize them according to the business impact.
Automate repetitive process tasks
Redundancy decreases productivity – it’s just like eating the same meal daily. The absence of creativity will negatively impact your employees. You can use the information from your process analysis to evaluate those repetitive process tasks and find ways to automate them.
Automation facilitates the process workflow and speeds up your processes. Plus, it enhances employees’ productivity because they get to direct their efforts towards doing something more creative and valuable for the business.
Evaluate the efficiency of the workflow changes
Use key performance indicators to monitor the performance of the enhanced processes. What kind of outcomes do they produce, and how effective are they? Are the operations executed faster? Did the errors reduce? What about the employees? How did they improve? Are they more productive than they used to be?
By answering these questions, you will get a clear picture of how your process improvement strategy impacts your business. That way, you will know that the effort and time you invested in enhancing the processes were all worth it.
Obviously, the process improvement doesn’t stop here, and you still have to seek more opportunities to enhance the processes further. The only way to stay above your competitors in an ever-changing world is to evaluate and improve your business constantly.
Ashwini
