On the 24th of February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin shocked the world when he had announced the decision to launch a “special military invasion” in the eastern parts of neighbouring Ukraine in order to “protect the Russian-speaking people” there.
While there are various reasons speculated for the war, such as Ukraine wanting to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or Putin’s vision of bringing back the old erstwhile Soviet Union, the economic effects of the war have been brutal for the world.
While the catastrophic effects of the invasion on the energy sector have been well-documented, given that Russia is one of the largest exporters of petroleum and natural gas and the subsequent oil embargo it has faced at the hand of the United States, this war also has effects on other sectors of the economy. One such sector is the agricultural sector, especially wheat production.
Russia is the largest exporter of wheat in the world, and Ukraine is the fourth largest exporter of the same commodity. Together they combine for a whopping 30% of the worldwide wheat production. But now, due to the various instability issues in the supply chain, there is a need for other countries to fill the void. India can be one of those countries.
And in India, one of the largest wheat exporters is the agribusiness section of ITC Ltd (formerly known as the Indian Tobacco Company). The agribusiness section of ITC accounts for about 21.88% of their revenue as per FY21 (Fiscal Year ranging from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021).
With ITC’s agribusiness section being one of the major contributors to India’s wheat exports, this article would discuss how they can benefit from this war, like, for example, the geographical conditions which help India’s aims, unlike exporters. We would also briefly discuss how ITC procures wheat from its farmers.
ITC procures wheat through their e-Choupal initiative. Launched in June 2000, it has provided computer and Internet by e-Choupal kiosks access to the rural regions across multiple agricultural regions in the country.
Through e-Choupals, farmers can negotiate with the representatives of ITC, eliminating the need for a third party. They also help farmers place orders for basic agricultural needs like seeds and fertilizers, which enhances their productivity.
In 2020, ITC launched e-Choupal 4.0 which gives farmers information on weather and markets on a real-time basis. Today, around 4 million farmers growing a wide variety of crops like soybean, coffee, wheat, rice, pulses, and shrimp in over 35000 villages, are connected with ITC through 6100 e-kiosks. These farmers are spread across 10 states (Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu).
How Much Wheat Does ITC Export?
As per a March 2022 Business Standard report, out of the nearly 7.25 million tonnes of wheat exported in FY 2022, ITC is responsible for about a whopping 50% of it. With the Indian government targeting a record 10 million tonnes of wheat export for FY 2023, it is reasonable to expect that ITC would be a major contributor to it.
According to domestic brokerage firm Edelweiss, the poor production of wheat in Russia and Ukraine in the third quarter of FY 2022 (July 2021- September 2021), was a major reason for a 100% YoY (year-on-year) increase in ITC’s agribusiness division revenue as they slowly started to fill the void. They were also aided by other factors, such as a growth in demand for spices and leaf tobacco.
The Opportunity That Beckons
The invasion of Russia on Ukraine has further exacerbated the issue regarding the poor yield of wheat exports.
In the case of Russia, it is because of the various sanctions the Western World has imposed on them due to the invasion. These sanctions also affect other Russian exports like petroleum and potash. In fact, Russia has even temporarily stopped exports to ex-Soviet countries in Belarus and Kazakhstan for the time being.
In the case of Ukraine, it is mainly due to the Russian airstrikes on all their major port cities on the Black sea like Odessa and Chornomorsk. This has led to supply chain disruptions worldwide.
So if we consider these two factors, then it should be no surprise that wheat prices have touched a record high of around $13.50 per bushel (roughly around $500 per tonne). This had led to a huge void in the market, especially with countries dependent on wheat imports like Egypt struggling right now, given its ever-increasing population at a rate of 1.9% per year.
How Can ITC Exploit This Opportunity?
Given that wheat is a crop that is mainly harvested in the months of April and May, it looks like India is at the right time to help the world overcome the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine as there has never been a demand for wheat higher than what it stands right now.
Another thing that needs to be considered as per the Edelweiss report mentioned before, the wheat produced in India is comparable in all parameters to Russian Red Sea Wheat, be it in quality, taste, or texture. Thus, all these factors help us conclude that the wheat produced in India is primed to fill in this huge void of wheat exported by Russia and Ukraine.
And who else is better positioned than ITC here? ITC already has a strong market in Bangladesh, the Middle East, and countries based in southeast Asia like South Korea and the Philippines.
Top Wheat Export to Countries From India
No wonder it has started taking steps to exploit this advantage, such as scaling up its wheat development program and introducing location-specific superior seed varieties. It has also started exporting its wheat to countries like Lebanon as well.
Even the current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, has acknowledged this need to fill this void and recently said that India should seize this opportunity of exporting the best quality of wheat the exporters can.
The government has also decided to aid these companies so that India’s exports can be further boosted as per the directive of our Prime Minister. They have started establishing laboratories at a faster rate for quicker testing. They have also told port authorities to give priority to wheat exports.
Admittedly, a major issue that still persists that the exporters continue to raise is state-specific taxes. For example, in Punjab, they have to pay 3% taxes as per the fee they have paid to the market and 1% service charges. Exporters have appealed to the respective state governments to give tax relief, which would ease their business a lot.
Conclusion
Thus, in this article, we have talked about why there is a huge gap in the wheat exports market due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and how ITC can exploit this gap. This gap is something that not only ITC but other exporters like Cargill or Olam Agro can take advantage of. And thankfully, it seems all of them are.
As per various reports, India could potentially export 4 million tonnes of wheat (around 55% of what it used to export annually) within the next two months, so it can be seen that Indian exporters are seizing this moment. This bodes well for the Indian economy and, thus, the country as a whole.
FAQs
Was Russia a major exporter of grain?
Yes, Russia is one of the largest exporters of wheat in the world and accounts for 16.5% of wheat production in the world. The country exported 37 million tonnes of wheat in 2020.
Does Ukraine produce a lot of wheat?
Yes, Ukraine accounts for 11.5% of wheat production in the world. It exported 18 million tonnes of wheat in 2020.
Who does Ukraine export wheat to?
Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, and Morocco are some of the top countries to which Ukraine exported wheat.
Who does Russia export wheat to?
Egypt, Turkey, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are some of the top countries to which Russia exported wheat.
How can ITC benefit from the Russia Ukraine crisis?
As the Russia Ukraine war has caused a huge shortage of wheat in the world, ITC can seize this opportunity by providing the wheat to the countries that Russia Ukraine exported to.
A brand ambassador is the image of image and therefore, lies crucial to the growth and success of the brand. This is because it is the ambassador of the brand who embodies the brand that he or she is endorsing, thereby leading to influencing the consumers and raising awareness. In today’s marketing landscape many brands prefer to have younger celebrities as the image of their brands, but the one celebrity who is an exception to this trend is none other than Amitabh Bachchan. The 79-year-old veteran actor has still remained to be in demand and relevant in the endorsement world.
Amitabh Bachchan is known for his elegance, trustworthiness, statesmanship, maturity, and mass appeal. The superstar has proved time and again that age is no bar, be it in the film industry or the marketing business, as he is still one of the top actors who are sought after by brands from all over the country and beyond for endorsements.
Amitabh Bachchan, who was born Inquilaab Srivastava, is one of the most iconic actors with more than 50 years in the industry, a film producer, television host, playback singer, and a former politician. The actor is regarded to be one of the most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema and is also ranked ninth on the list of the most powerful people of India in 2019, according to India Today.
During the 70s and 80s, the actor was termed as the one-man industry by the French Director, Francois Truffaut because of his domination in the Indian film industry. The actor is known for his work in countless Bollywood movies like Sholay, Deewar, Shahenshah, Namak Halaal, Don, Badla, Mohabbatein, Baghban, Pink, Piku, and more. Besides, the actor is also the host of a popular reality show known as Kaun Banega Crorepati.
Amitabh Bachchan has won several awards such as Filmfare, National Film Awards, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and has also been honored by the Indian government with Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan for his contribution to the arts.
The actor is also honored with the Legion of Honour by the Government of France as the highest civilian honor for his exceptional career in the world of cinema. Amitabh Bachchan is known to charge over Rs 5 to 8 crore for an ad commercial. The actor’s brand value is $41.2 million (2018), while the net value of the actor is $400 million (2021).
So far, the actor has endorsed brands like Maggi, Emami, Parker Pen, Lux Innerwear, Dabur Chawanprash, Dr. Fixit, Cadbury, Pepsi,Times of India, Tata Sky, Kalyan Jeweller, Navratna Oil, Gujarat Tourism, Mankind, Reid & Taylor, upGrad, JustDial, ICICI Prudential Life, Flipkart, TVS Jupiter, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cycle Agarbathi, First Cry, Tanishq and other government campaigns like Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, Polio Vaccine, etc.
Along with endorsing a list of brands, Amitabh Bachchan has also been a crypto-enthusiast and has developed into quite a crypto-king of late. Cryptocurrency might be sounding like one of the investments that are not quite clear to many Indians but at the same time, the decentralized digital currency and the investments in the same, is rewarding a whole lot of celebrities, including popular Indian personalities. Amitabh Bachchan is one such renowned Indian celebrity that has been rewarded for his crypto investment where he had invested Rs 1.6 crore, which ballooned to become Rs 112 crores just within a year.
It was in 2015 that Amitabh and his son, Abhishek Bachchan invested around Rs 1.6 crore ($250,000) in Meridian Tech Pte, a Singapore-based, Venkata Srinivas Meenavalli-founded company, and within 2 and half years of the investment, they collected returns close to Rs 112 crores ($17.5 mn) in value.
Nevertheless, here’s a list of all the prominent brands that Amitabh Bachchan has endorsed to date:
Let’s look at the list of brands endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan:
upGrad
upGrad is the newest brand to be endorsed by the Big B. The Mumbai-based education technology company has roped in Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador on February 28, 2022, and releases its first advertisement campaign on March 23, 2022, which is spreading via #upGradAbroad and #ABchaleABROAD.
upGrad Abroad is the new initiative designed by the popular edtech company, which is promoted by Amitabh Bachchan. Featuring Amitabh, upGrad, through this ad, promotes its initiative to help the Indian students start in India and study abroad, with a degree from the reputed universities outside of the country without wasting their money of staying abroad and studying.
Maaza
The world’s largest brand of tropical fruit drinks, Maaza was founded in 1976 and is owned by The Coca-Cola Company. The fruit drink brand, popular for its selection of mango, orange, and pineapple drinks, has brought together Amitabh Bachchan and Pooja Hegde in its latest campaign titled ‘Dildaar Bana De’ in February 2022. This TVC is directed by the celebrated Bollywood filmmaker Shoojit Sircar.
Maaza rolled out its new variant “Aam Panna”, which again grouped Amitabh Bachchan and Pooja Hegde together ahead of the summer season 2022.
MediBuddy
Founded in 2000, MediBuddy is a digital healthcare platform that helps the users book free consultations, checkups, lab tests and follow up the same without any hassles.
The Bengaluru-based healthcare company roped in Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador on February 8, 2022, who has collaborated with MediBuddy in their recent advertisement to promote MediBuddy Gold, a healthcare subscription package that works for the whole family. The Amitabh Bachchan featured MediBuddy advertisement that came out on March 10, 2022, explores the benefits of MediBuddy Gold subscription, which enables the families of the users to receive free unlimited medical consultations from experienced doctors that can be availed 24×7.
Muthoot Finance
Muthoot Finance is one of the most reliable Indian financial corporation and the largest gold loan NBFC in India. Founded in 1939 by Mathai George Muthoot in Kerala, Muthoot offers a range of services including money transfers, foreign exchange and wealth management services, travel and tourism services and more.
Amitabh Bachchan is the face of Muthoot as well, which launched its newest marketing campaign on February 4, 2022. The advertisement focuses on the belief and trust in the brand that everyone should maintain.
Amway
Amitabh Bachchan was roped by the popular direct selling company, Amway, as a brand ambassador, on October 27, 2021. The US-based company that manufactures a wide range of consumer goods, has collaborated with the Big B of the Bollywood industry to ensure that the veteran actor endorses the the brand and promotes the Nutrilite range of the Amway products along with guiding the youth, empowering the women and others with the help of their entrepreneurship schemes.
FirstCry
FirstCry is an Indian e-commerce store that was launched in 2010, the company is known for its huge variety of baby products. By 2020, the company had opened over 380 offline stores across the country out of which 350 were franchise stores making it Asia’s largest online shopping store for kids and baby products.
Amitabh Bachchan was signed as the brand ambassador of the company in 2015, after the birth of his granddaughter. In the commercial, the actor is seen to be in confusion while shopping for clothes for an infant as their unlimited options. After the ad, the company witnessed a massive increase in sales as the ad resonated with the people and passively offered them a chance to connect with Big B.
While talking about making Amitabh Bachchan its brand ambassador, Supam Maheshwari, CEO, and founder, Firstcry mentioned that the company needed to create maximum impact with the campaign. Amitabh Bachchan brings in credibility to the brand as he has a mass India appeal and he is also a caring grandfather.
Maggi
Amitabh Bachchan in a maggi commercial
Maggi is an international brand that originated in Switzerland in the 19th century, however, the company was acquired by Nestle in 1947. Maggi is known for its seasonings, instant soups, and instant noodles that are popular in countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and Bangladesh.
Amitabh was the brand ambassador of Maggi but the actor stopped supporting the brand after a controversy with Maggi. The actor, however, has also been featured in many Maggi commercials before ending their deal, where the actor is seen introducing the brand to cater to the old generation audience and make them eat Maggi.
The actor can be seen pitching the idea of happiness while eating the “2 minute waali Meri Maggi”. The campaign with Amitabh Bachchan was very successful, and Maggi made large profits out of it no doubt.
Cadbury Dairy Milk
Cadbury Dairy milk is a popular brand of milk chocolate that is manufactured by the conglomerate Cadbury. The brand was first introduced in 1905 in the United Kingdom and now has a huge portfolio of products under it. However, every product in this brand is made mainly with milk chocolate.
The Cadbury Milk chocolate became the bestselling chocolate bar in the UK in 2014 and is also currently available in countries like India, Kazakhstan, China, Srilanka, and Pakistan. Big B became the company brand ambassador in 2004 and since then has appeared in many of its commercials.
The actor is also responsible for making the tagline “Kuch Meetha Hojaye” popular, emphasizing the celebration of the smaller things in life with something sweet like the Cadbury Milk Chocolate. In an interview, Bharat Puri the managing director of Cadbury said that they have chosen Amitabh Bachchan because he has a universal appeal that extends to everyone from 6 to sixty years old.
Kalyan Jewellers is one of the most popular Indian jewelry showrooms chains. The company currently is present in overall metro cities of India and even in West Asia and has over 8000 employees. Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan became the company’s global ambassadors in 2012.
Thanks to his efforts Kalyan Jewellers has now become India’s single largest self-owned jewelry chain. The group currently holds a strong presence especially in South India, with 35 stores across four southern states. The ad commercial of Kalyan jewelers features Amitabh Bachchan with his daughter Shweta Nanda.
This ad beautifully portrays the charm that jewelryadds to every occasion. The scene features Amitabh Bachchan buying jewelry for his daughter and his wife which evokes a very relatable emotion in the audience.
Parker Pens
The Luxor Writing Instruments company brought out the Parker range of pens, which are marked by their elegance and sophistication. These Parker pens were initially endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan between 2001 – 2008, and after a gap of 2 years, the Bolywood superstar had again resumed his collaboration with a 2 year-long contract on June 15, 2011.
Emami
Emami Limited is a leading personal and healthcare products conglomerate that has its headquarters based in Kolkata. The company is a growing global presence and a huge portfolio of well-known products like Boroplus, Navratna, Fair and Handsome, Zandu Balm, Kesh King, She Comfort, Mentho plus Balm, and Fast Relief.
It has over 250 products made with ayurvedic formulas which are available in more than 50 countries like the UK, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Belaris, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kenya, Singapore, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. The company has had other Bollywood actors as its brand ambassadors like Juhi Chawla, Katrina Kaif, Kangana Ranaut, Sonakshi Sinha, Salman Khan.
Emami made Amitabh Bachan the brand ambassador for its Boroplus brand which is a natural antiseptic cosmetic brand originating from Russia. The actor has been featured in many television advertisements in the ad campaign of Boroplus. It is because of these ads that the brand has become successful and positioned itself in the audiences’ minds.
The actor is currently the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism and is featured in many commercials of the ad campaign. The “Khushboo Gujarat Ki” taglined campaign by celebrity Amitabh Bachchan became so popular that it increased tourism in Gujarat by 14% per annum which is twice that of the national growth rate.
This campaign has won several awards and has increased the benchmark of tourism ads by making Amitabh Bachchan its face. Big B became part of the initiative by the Gujarat Government to promote its Tourism.
In the advertisement“Khushboo Gujarat Ki”Amitabh Bachchan can be seen in tourist spots like Bhuj, Dhola Veera, Mandvi and Rann of Kutch while exploring the culture of Gujarat and urging people totravel to Gujarat.
Lux
Lux Industries, a notable innerwear manufacturing company of India, is one of market leaders of the Indian segment of innerwear. Founded in 1957, and boasting of a complete range of innerwear for men, women and children, Lux is a famous name still in its niche.
The popular inner garments company had roped in the veteran actor as the brand ambassador of Lux Venus and Lux Cott’s wool in August 2017. Amitabh came out with the advertisement of Lux Inferno last in October 2019 after featuring in multiple ads for the company. Kartik Aaryan was another actor who was seen alongside Bachchan in the same ad.
Justdial Limited is a company that provides local search for different services in India over the phone, website, and mobile apps. Justdial has its headquarters based in Mumbai, Maharashtra but also has offices in cities like Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, and Pune. In 2020, Justdial has more than 10,984 employees.
Amitabh became the brand ambassador after investing an undisclosed amount in the company. This investment was later confirmed as Rs 6.27 lakhs in 2013 when he bought 62,794 shares of JustDial, which gave him returns close to Rs 7 crore, a whopping 10190% returns. Amitabh has helped increase the popularity of Justdial by featuring in their ad commercials. The actor can be seen portraying how the Just dial app is better than its competitors, its features and it is a one-stop-shop for all their customer’s needs.
Dabur Chyawanprash
Dabur took over the 2,500-year-old Ayurveda formula with its brand purpose and created the country’s first-ever branded Chayanprash in 1949. The company claims that two spoons daily of Dabur Chyawanprash support immunity and are beneficial for overall health and well-being.
The company has made many iconic ads with Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador and continues to aim in boosting the country’s immunity, especially in the times of the Covid pandemic. In the 2000s, the company witnessed a sudden dip in sales that is when the actor was roped in to be the face of the brand and drive its growth.
The company put out its largest ad campaign with Rs 10 crore featuring Big B, which showed him being strong after eating Chyawanprash and which provides immunity to all kinds of disease. Amitabh Bachchan made it a household name by changing the perception of the product.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited is a popular life insurance company in the country. It was originally established after the joint venture between ICICI Bank and Prudential plc.
The company is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and offers services life insurance and asset management business. The company signed Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador and was paid Rs 10 crore as endorsement fees to be featured in its commercials.
In an interview, the actor commented on his association with the company by saying that, he was happy to associate with ICICI Prudential Life as he sees life insurance as a product that offers a feeling of reassurance to people, for all of them who opt for it. He also added that ICICI Prudential Life has been able to make a mark in the industry and is a trusted life insurance brand.
Polio Vaccine
Amitabh Bachchan is the face of the Polio campaign in the country, the aim of the campaign is to spread more awareness about the easy availability of the polio vaccine. The actor’s partnership with UNICEF has successfully persuaded many parents to get their children vaccinated especially in rural areas.
The tagline of the campaign “Do Boond Zindagi Ki” talks about the importance of the two drops of the polio vaccine. This award-winning campaign ad was featured on Television and radio emphasizing the seriousness of the issue.
The actor also took part in many public appearances and field visits to remote areas of the country to create awareness about polio prevention. Amitabh Bachchan plays the main role in why the campaign was successful as the actor has a huge popularity, credibility, and mass appeal not only as a celebrity but also as a humanitarian.
Navratna Oil
The popular Emami Oil product, Navratna oil, which is well-known for its cooling benefits and the relief that it provides people from headaches and body aches is an Ayurvedic product and has seen Amitabh Bachchan time and again as its endorser. The Big B has featured in multiple advertisements created for the promotion of the same and in the latest of the advertisements he has also sung the iconic Pyaasa song “Sir jo tera chakraye” performing as #RaahatRaja.
Along with the advertisements and investments, Amitabh Bachchan also usually remains busy on his work front. Runway 34, Brahmastra, Jhund, Goodbye, and The Intern are some of the movies that Bachchan is currently working on, as of reports dated January 31, 2022.
Dr Fixit
Hailed as a leading waterproofing expert, Dr Fixit from the popular adhesive brand, Pidlite, brings right waterproofing solutions for the users to make their homes leak-free with the best waterproofing services in India.
Dr Fixit had announced Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador in August 2016. According to the deal, the veteran actor was selected to be the person to spearhead its flagship campaign and act as the face of the brand across multiple engagement platforms. The recent Dr Fixit campaign that came out in December 2020 was the last campaign of the brand that featured Bachchan.
Reid & Taylor
Founded in 1998, by S Kumar’s Nationwide (SKNL), Reid & Taylor was a fabric and suiting brand. As per the last reports, the Reid & Taylor brand’s shares were liquidated in December 2018 after RTIL was dragged to insolvency court.
This popular suiting and fabric manufacturing company had announced Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador in July 2013, after which Bachchan had featured in a number of the Reid & Taylor advertisements.
Mankind
Mankind Pharma is a pharmacy company, which is counted among the top pharmaceutical companies in India. Founded in 1995, Mankind operates 34+ overseas destinations and boasts of 14000+ happy customers.
The popular medicine manufacturer had collaborated with Amitabh Bachchan towards the end of October in the year 2017, announcing the veteran actor as its brand ambassador. The latest Mankind ad has been launched in September 2021 and features Amitabh as well.
Conclusion
When it comes to endorsements and advertisements Amitabh Bachchan is one of the most sought-after actors even at his age because of his reliability among the masses, elegance, trustworthiness, statesmanship, mass appeal, and maturity. He is also the one of the highest paid actors to feature in endorsements.
Amitabh Bachchan is the country’s most iconic actor as he has starred in more than 190 movies since the 1970s. The actor is loved, admired, and respected by a massive public following. Big B as most people fondly call him is one the most prominent celebrity in the country, which is why many companies still prefer him to be featured in their advertising campaigns.
FAQs
Who is Amitabh Bachchan?
Amitabh Bachchan is one of the most iconic actors with more than 50 years in the industry, a film producer, television host, playback singer, and a former politician.
What is the brand value of Amitabh Bachchan?
The brand value of Amitabh Bachchan is $41.2 million (2018).
What are the main brands endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan?
The main brands endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan are Polio Vaccine, ICICI Prudential Life, Dabur Chyawanprash, Just Dial, Gujarat Tourism, Emami, Kalyan Jeweller, FirstCry, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Maggi.
What are the other brands endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan?
The other brands endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan are Parker Pen, Lux Innerwear, Dr Fixit, Pepsi, Tata Sky, Mankind, Reid & Taylor, Flipkart, TVS Jupiter, Cycle Agarbathi, Tanishq, and other government campaigns like Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, etc.
How much does Amitabh Bachchan charge for a brand endorsement?
Amitabh Bachchan charges over Rs 5 to 8 crore for an ad commercial.
What is the net worth of Amitabh Bachchan?
The net worth of Amitabh Bachchan is $400 million (2021).
The effects of global pandemic has significant impact on several industries including the technology and software sector. But, it did not slow down growth in the software sector. The growth of enterprise software and SAAS products has been quite good. The expenditure of Information Technology on enterprise software is estimated to reach 672 billion USD in 2022. The Enterprise Software Market is forecast to reach $545m by 2025. SaaS products and enterprise software have become essential in a cutthroat business environment. They provide accessibility, functionality, scalability, and versatility to businesses. Kovai.co is a multi-product company that has a global reach in more than 70 countries. Read to know about Kovai.co products, founders, business model, marketing, and the complete journey of its growth.
Kovai.co is a bootstrapped & profitable multi-product enterprise SaaS company specializing in enterprise integration and knowledge management space based out of Coimbatore, India and London, UK. Kovai.co is a technology partner of choice for many of the world’s leading enterprises to manage and monitor their Microsoft BizTalk and Azure Serverless environments.Kovai.co’s product team consists of thinkers and innovators who are re-defining the way robust Enterprise Software and SaaS products are built.
Their mission is to create a successful global technology product company out of their home city – Coimbatore. Their vision is to be a SaaS Unicorn within 2030.
The core value of the company is #TogetherWeGrow. They identify necessities and create opportunities. Enjoy their growth in all aspects and continue the journey to scale.
Kovai.co – Founder and Team
Saravana Kumar is the sole founder of Kovai.co ably supported by a leadership team of experts from various domains. The current team size is 240+. They coach and empower people thereby enhancing their performance. They are against command and control. All their leaders are friendly and approachable. They believe in doing the tasks first, get mature, then delegating, and elevate.
Kovai.co has its offices in London, UK and Coimbatore, India. Saravana Kumar is born and brought up in Coimbatore. He chose to give back to his hometown through his contributions on economic and skills upliftment. Kovai.co under his dynamic leadership has grown organically from a single product to multi product company with over 240 employees majority of them based out of Coimbatore. The company is bootstrapped and has crossed $10 MN ARR in 2020.
Kovai.co gives opportunities to freshers and expats who wish to come back closer to their hometown. For freshers there is a Kovai.co Connect initiative where in students from different educational institutions are hired as interns and given in-depth classroom & on the job training for a period of 6 months after which they are taken on rolls as full-time employees. Over the last two years the company has trained nearly 100 students under this initiative.
Kovai.co – The Idea and Startup Story
Saravana Kumar, Founder & CEO, Kovai.co was a Microsoft BizTalk Server Consultant for 10 years and during that time of building solutions for all their clients, he noticed there were some gaps in the BizTalk Server. He started off by building a solution to fill these gaps more as a passion in the year 2010. He presented the first version of the product to his peers at the MVP conference in the US and received very positive feedback. With the kind of positive feedback, he realized the importance of this solution in the commercial sense and decided to launch as a business. Within the first 2 months he was able to get his first customer all the way from Hongkong with whom he did not have any prior connection. Within the first three years of the launch, he was able to get about 150 customers and hence decided to go into the business full time & hire a team. Until the first three years he was running the company with a small 4-member team from the living room of his residence.
As the product started to grow both technically and commercially, he built & launched their second product Serverless 360 for managing the Azure platform in the year 2016.
Sometime in the year 2017 when the team was looking for a knowledge base solution to write and organize all their technical product documentation, they realized that there was not any suitable solution in the market to fit their needs and the ones that were there was very expensive. Thus, Saravana brainstormed with the team and decided to build a solution to solve this business problem there by launching their knowledge base solution Document360 in the year 2018.
Document360 is a knowledge base platform that is engineered for growing companies. It helps companies to instantly create an online self-service knowledge base for their customers or employees accessed either publicly or privately.
Kovai.co – Name, Tagline, and Logo
When the company was growing organically and the opportunity came to set up an engineering & marketing development center in India, back in 2013, Saravana ignored all the counsel from his peers to set up the facility in Bengaluru, Chennai or Hyderabad and started the office in Coimbatore.
The town Coimbatore was called Kovanputhur (pre independence days) with a shorter version called Kovai. The use of the word Kovai for Coimbatore is still in existence, and it has an emotional attachment to people of Coimbatore.
Hence when Saravana started the company, he registered the company name as “Kovai Limited” in the UK (in 2009) and “Kovai Systems India Pvt Limited” in India (in 2013). Even though the registered names were Kovai, the company was known as BizTalk360 (the first product) for a long time.
When the company was going through the re-branding exercise after evolving into a multi-product company, they decided to bring Kovai as the prominent brand name.
In 2018, they called the company Kovai.co.
In 2020, with continuous persistence, they managed to acquire the domain Kovai.com owned by its previous owner for nearly 20 years.
Their mission is to create a successful global technology product company out of their home city – Coimbatore.”
Kovai.co – Products
Kovai.co is a multi-product company with 4 different products and over 2000 customers spread across globally in more than 70 countries.
BizTalk360
BizTalk360 bundles over 50+ features into one single solution to make BizTalk server monitoring and administration super-efficient and secure. BizTalk360 provides everything enterprises need for BizTalk operations, monitoring, analytics, and more. Operations dashboards, widgets, advanced event viewer, data monitoring dashboards, notification channels, and throttling analyser and new relic integration are some of the features of BizTalk360.
Serverless360
Serverless360 is a portal focused on Operations and Support for Microsoft Azure Serverless resources, a Complementary tool to Azure portal in supporting Azure Serverless Application. Enterprises can better manager their business applications through Serverless360 and do end to end tracking on the message flowing through the Serverless Resources, and more.
Document360
Document360 is a Knowledge Base platform, engineered for growing companies. Businesses can instantly create an online Self-service knowledge base for your customer & employees (accessed either publicly or privately).
Cerebrata
Cerebrata Cerulean provides out of box support for a number of commonly used Azure services. It also provides deep integration with Azure Portal and Azure Cloud Shell to manage other Azure services.
Kovai.co – Business Model and Revenue Model
The business model of Kovai.co differs for each of their products based on its respective target audience. For instance any company with BizTalk server are their potential targets.
For Serverless360, that target is vast – Anyone with Azure resources in their integration platform, can use this application.
For Document360, this is also a vast adoption platform and basically anyone who needs documentation in SaaS or in On premise model is their target audience.
Kovai.co – Customer Acquisition
The first activity they undertook once they got a prototype of the product was to reach out to all their connections (experts from technical writing community, CXOs of companies etc) requesting them to try out the product and share their valuable feedback. The feedback received were evaluated, prioritized, and then passed on to the engineering team for development. Their marketing teams had begun writing blogs on showcasing the use cases of the product thereby generating prospective leads from readers. The sales team would then showcase demos of the product to these prospects and encourage them to take a trial of the product so that they can use it firsthand to understand the value it creates. They were frugal in their approach as they did not want to spend too much money and resources until the first 100 customers were acquired.
Kovai.co – Challenges Faced
In any business typically challenges are with people, like core people leaving at wrong times, wrong hires, people you trusted leave and they take away a few of your core members etc. These challenges will continue to remain and it’s the passion the founder has for building products and solving business user problems that drives the startup forward. Its also has the ability to impact so many people’s lives and create something big in the community, especially in Coimbatore which is a tier two city & the founders’ hometown. Moreover, challenges are never permanent. Any adversity that comes your way will subside over time. They have lost some crucial members at critical moments, but if they look back, it’s a short-term pain. There will be struggle for a while but eventually things will turnaround.
Kovai.co – Marketing
Content marketing has been the most successful marketing campaign. They write some high quality blogs focusing on multiple use cases of their product and enable their audience to clearly understand the value they will get out of the Kovai.co products.
Kovai.co – Growth
The last two years (2020 & 2021) has been a moment of many milestones for us.
Kovai.co hired over 175 people during this period
They made the first acquisition with Cerebrata in 2020
They crossed $10M in ARR in 2020
Document360 acquired over 500 customers in a year
In 2021 they have focussed on growing their products to the next level in terms of new features, enhancements, acquiring new customers, etc. They also put together a separate team & started working on a new product which will be launched in Q2 of 2022.
Their medium-term plan is to generate a $30M ARR within the next 3 years and their long-term plan is to be a SaaS Unicorn by 2030.
Kovai.co – Acquisitions
Kovai.co acquired Cerebrata in the year 2020.
Kovai.co – Competitors
Their enterprise products BizTalk360 & Serverless360 do not really have any prominent competitors.
The competitors for Document360 are:
Bloomfire
Helpjuice
ProProfs Knowledge base
Confluence
Help Scout
Help Docs
Kovai.co – Tools Used to Run The Startups
Microsoft OneNote captures all my to-do lists, ideas, notes, etc. It is a flexible tool – to manage my day-to-day tasks efficiently. Microsoft teams for communication and collaboration within teams. It is one of the powerful tools that helped us get going during the pandemic. Their integration with third-party collaboration tools makes them a very robust tool.
The team uses Adobe Photoshop extensively for designing dashboards and elements. It is their go-to design tool for image creation and graphic design. Microsoft Azure DevOps practices and tools provide support in building and deploying applications. It offers reliable support during each development lifecycle.
Kovai.co – Recognition and Achievements
Kovai.co has won the following awards in the last two years
Bootstrapped SaaS Startup of the year 2021 by SaaSBoomi – a community of SaaS Founders in India
Bootstrap Champ 2021 Award by The Economic Times Startup Awards
Document360 recognized under the SaaS Category as part of Nasscom Emerge 50 Awards.
FAQs
What type of company is Kovai.co?
Kovai.co is an Enterprise Software & SaaS products company.
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 Finnet Media.
Digital transformation and the use of technology are evolving in all business aspects. All businesses are leveraging new trends to optimize their marketing efforts. Businesses are changing their marketing mix to more digital channels and social media marketing, especially influencer marketing is the future-proof marketing trend.
Finnet Media, is a Bangalore-based startup founded by Ayush Shukla who himself is an influencer on social media channels. Read the story of Finnet Media about how it helps in managing influencers and content promotions.
Finnet Media provides services like influencer marketing, content production, ad production, for brands and influencers. Their short-term vision is to build a strong core team and build a brand based on trust and credibility. Their core belief is to build an environment of trust, credibility, reliability, and growth.
Finnet Media – Founder and Team
Ayush Shukla – Founder of Finnet Media
Ayush Shukla is the Founder of Finnet Media. He is a digital creator, marketer, a podcast host, and entrepreneur.
The current company size is 7 people- 5 full times and 2 interns. It’s a great work-from-home opportunity which makes it flexible. They are assigned tasks that they can complete according to their convenience.
When hiring, they look for 3 things – you must be keen on the content economy, good at communication, and you must have some content idea.
Finnet Media – Startup Story
Ayush Shukla has been a creator himself. He started off by hosting his podcast, because of which he made quite a few connections. His network of creators kept growing. So he thought of leveraging it and making it easy for the creators to produce content. He connected with brands, linked them up with creators, small or big. He feels small creators lack the connections at ground zero. They try looking for the right people with the right skills but again, there has to be an ice breaker. That’s where Finnet Media comes. Their skills and expertise help in scalability. Ayush Shukla started with Anushka Rathod, Vedant Rusty, Sharan Hegde initially. Pitched about them to the brands like Groww, Smallcase, Amazon, and the conversions happened.
Finnet Media – Name, Tagline, and Logo
Finnet Media Logo
Finnet stands for Finance Network. They mostly work with the finance influencers of the country. The logo is half of a rupee sign.
Finnet Media – Services
The service they provide is to bridge the gap between creators and brands in producing content. They feel putting in tons of effort in creating content is not enough for a creator. Scalability comes from brand collaborations. It makes your content more credible and substantial. Creators lack those connections at ground zero. They try looking for the right people with the right skills but again, there has to be an ice breaker. That’s where we come.
Like it or not, influencer marketing is the future of marketing. It is now replacing celebrity endorsements because now people connect more with influencers. We spend more time with phones than with anything else. We connect more with influencers, their growth feels personal. It is like you know them up close. This is why we tend to follow them. This is what adds credibility and trust between the creator and the audience.
Finnet Media – Customer Acquisition
Finnet Media is a service business. They reached their brands through LinkedIn. Ayush has always been a cold emailer. He always focused on expanding his network and making valuable connections. Because he was a performance marketer and freelancer before, he had made connections with creators/brands and it was all organic. When he started off he reached out to 10-15 brands and barely 3 people responded. He immediately set up the meetings and that’s how the conversions started compounding later.
Finnet Media – Marketing Strategy
What worked out really well for them is maintaining brand relations. There are many marketers who convert the brand, collaborate, and don’t maintain the same relations anymore. Ayush tries to look at the long run because ultimately it is the growth of both the parties that matters. Only if both parties grow, we know that the audience is growing. Making both brands and creators win in the long run is important. No compromise on that front.
Finnet Media – Challenges Faced
The most challenging part has been dealing with the creative boom. Since the founder himself creates content, he understands how overwhelming it is when thousands and lakhs of people trust you with content. He exactly understands what a creator goes through while creating content and what a brand wants. They want to keep going, keep coming up with ideas, keep providing value. So refreshing themselves in this people to people business has been quite a challenge.
Ayush makes sure to not overdo it. He takes breaks and meditate when necessary. They try to keep the spirit of the team high and focus more on relationship building.
The startup has achieved GMV of 8-10 crores (Jan 2021 to December 2021).
Finnet Media – Advisors and Mentors
They have been mentored by a lot of brand stakeholders from different companies. Creators like Akshit Srivastava mentors the team often.
Finnet Media – Future Plans
Their long term vision is reliability. They want to make sure that any and every creator who is connected to Finnet Media doesn’t have to worry about financial freedom or monetization and distribution of their content. They want to build a brand name that implies extreme reliability. Both the parties must be feeling at peace when they hold the job.
The article is contributed by Mitesh Shah, Co-Founder, Inflection Point Ventures.
Start-up investing is an emerging and rewarding asset class. While many people are now starting to consider investing in startups, the initial journey can seem daunting and hard to navigate.
If you are someone who is looking to kickstart your angel investing journey, here are some tips that could help:
Tips for First-Time Investors
Develop a personal investment thesis
As an angel investor, you should work with a personal investment thesis. This thesis will help you identify the sectors and the kind of startups you would want to invest in. In this thesis, try to cover the following topics:
A range on how much you are willing to invest in startups.
What is your focus – impact generation or seeking substantial returns.
Identify sectors you are not comfortable investing in. For example, many angel investors who don’t support tobacco or alcohol consumption, do not invest in start-ups in those sectors.
Do your research and think about it from the perspective of building a portfolio
Once you have made up your mind about start-up investing, the first thing is to do is identify the right startups. Like most investments, it is imperative to do thorough research before investing in a startup. You can begin with identifying certain sectors that interest you or you can choose to be sector agnostic, but what is imperative is that you develop an understanding of the business, team and market before investing.
Target opportunities that are scalable
When looking for successful ideas to invest in, scalability becomes an important parameter to look at. Understand how large a problem they are solving; how many people will be able to adapt and benefit from the solution, what is their total addressable market size, how is the larger industry growing, etc.
Deep dive into the team
A startup idea is only as strong as the team that is going to execute it. So, when you come across an idea that excites you, gather confidence in not the founder/s but also the team at large. And how the founders plan to expand this team and hire good resources. At times people consider good pedigree – an IIT/IIM degree to be a good enough indicator of the founder’s abilities; this although might not be the best parameter at times so you may avoid following that convention.
If it’s a tech-driven business do your tech research and validation rigorously. If needed, seek advice from experts. Pay close attention to how they aim to build that tech and the timelines they are working with.
Don’t judge founders by their past failures
Don’t go in with biases. Failed entrepreneurs come with a great degree for experience and understating of “what not to do”. Research suggests the learning process of opening and closing a business increases the chances of success.
To begin your angel investing journey, it may be beneficial to start with industries and sectors that you are already familiar with or have some experience in. It positions you to better evaluate the start-ups when you are just starting out.
Invest your time, knowledge and connects
It ties into the previous point about investing in sectors you are familiar with because angel investing is about a lot more than just investing money. As an angel you can bring to the table your experience and expertise that’ll help the start-up grow. At early stages, guidance and connects are as important to a start-up as money is.
Invest with others/ Seek advice from others
Start-up investing is a risky asset class, and when you are just starting out, it might be difficult to get everything right on your own. Try investing with other investors, either through privately formed niche groups or through angel investing platforms. Other like-minded angel investors will not only help you evaluate your investment decisions but also help you learn more about the ecosystem and further identify potential investment opportunities.
Be prepared to invest for a long term
As an angel investor you will most likely invest in a start-up at a very early stage. At times startups can take some time to reach a scale wherein you get substantial returns on your investment. So be prepared to have the money invested into the startup for a long time and be patient till the start-up reaches its full potential.
Consider your exit opportunities at the time of investing
While making a decision to invest, it is also important to consider what your potential exit options will be. There are multiple ways to get an exit – follow-on rounds by VCs, M&As, IPOs etc. Undeniably, at the end of the day, your success as an angel investor is defined by the returns you are able to generate and the experience you have gathered.
Paperwork and legalities
A term-sheet defines the framework of your investment agreement with the startup. While it is a non-binding document, it is still important to make sure you have carefully considered all the terms mentioned in it. You need to know that you have the right to negotiate the terms if they don’t suit you. In the beginning, it is advised to take inputs from more seasoned investors or SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) when negotiating the terms. The important points to consider in the term-sheet are:
Valuation of a company & ownership percentages
Investor Rights
Payment of Dividend
Liquidation Preference
Types of Shares offered
Dilution/Anti-Dilution
Then comes the SHA – Share Holder’s Agreement. SHA is a legally binding document upon the investor and the company, and a precisely drawn term-sheet would help ensure that there are no sudden disturbances due to miscommunication while signing the SHA.
Conclusion
Overall, while navigating start-up investing can seem difficult in the beginning, access to right information and a like-minded community of investors can definitely make it an enriching journey. Joining an angel investment platform can help you get access to good startups, diverse network of experienced investors and help with legal documentation. This will enable you focus your time and attention towards finding the right startups for your portfolio, where you can contribute not only dry powder, but your time and professional experience as well.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verifiedinformation ondifferent startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Cikitsa.
In the past, the healthcare and beauty industry has been flexible, but the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted both sectors globally. The healthcare and beauty industry in India is expected to exhibit huge growth in the coming years. People are getting concerned about their health and beauty which makes them choose herbal and natural products over chemical products. The herbal product market is expected to grow at a CAGR 38.5% to Rs.14 billion (US$ 188.6 million) by 2026. Cikitsa has promised to bring well researched quality products to the world. They have aim to provide truthful beauty and healthcare products from Mother Nature.
Read the startup story of Cikitsa, Founders, ideation, its products, and more about Cikitsa.
Cikitsa is a Cochin based Beauty and Healthcare startup founded in 2020. They offer products inspired by ancient science of healing.
At this time, their hero product is Cikitsa hair oil that caters to customers who are seeking to alleviate an array of hair issues while promoting hair growth. In addition to that, they have a selection of other nature-based products that cater to a wider audience.
The company’s short-term goal is to ramp up their product from an eCommerce business to brick and mortar stores spanning across the state. In the next year or two, they are anticipating the launch of their product in some of the flagship stores across the country. With due time and continual growth, it won’t be long before Cikitsa hits the international markets.
Their core beliefs guide them and help formulate their convictions, their values, and their code of ethics.
They diligently spend time in bringing the best of nature to their customers in the most unaltered form- from soil to shelves. They are guided by the desire to provide 100% organic, natural, and efficacious products that address their customer’s concerns within a budget.
Cikitsa – Founder and Team
Cikitsa Founders – Fazal Rahman and Thamanna Jabin
Cikitsa was founded by Fazal Rahman with his co-founder Thamanna in 2020, the very year they got married. Right from the inception to this date, her support and contributions to the making of the brand have been nothing short of irreplaceable. Her know-how of the cosmetic space with her passion for all things creative has helped us position themselves in a commendable way.
Thamanna takes care of and heads the creative and marketing side of things, Fazal Rahman takes on the general operations and financial side of the business.
Cikitsa – The Idea and Startup Story
Enterprising, inventive, and extremely driven, Cikitsa’s founder and CEO, Fazal Rahman has always been unafraid when it comes to heading the path less travelled. That would explain why he wanted to venture into the relatively daring task of setting up his own business, despite enjoying comfortably mighty success in his family business. Thus, in many ways, Cikitsa was conceptualized by the founder’s towering entrepreneurial mindset.
That, coupled with his drive to create a natural, sustainable, and eco-friendly brand that fostered conscious living, Cikitsa was quick to peek through. When he shared the business idea with his immediate family and close friends, the love, support, and encouragement sure gave him the extra nudge to follow through with the plan. To set the wheel in motion, he was quick to identify the prizable and yet often untapped potential of amalgamating Ayurveda into cosmetic products. Thus began extensive research to identify the needs and pain points of their target market. To ensure maximum quality and stringent safety regulations, he sought expert opinion each step of the way.
Time, energy, and money were invested in formulating, manufacturing, and designing the product to perfection. From sourcing the raw materials right through packaging, binding standards are ensured to provide the best quality products that tackle customers’ pain points without burning a hole in their pocket.
Cikitsa – Name, Tagline, and Logo
Cikitsa Logo
When setting up the brand, they were dead set on choosing a name that best represented the intent and purpose of the brand. Because of that, they were bound and determined to steer clear of any and every westernized name.
Cikitsa was ideated from the Sanskrit word ‘Chikitsa’ which loosely translates to salving therapy or resurrective healing. Considering that it was much in line with their brand and ethos, they didn’t have to think twice and wound up using it without second thoughts.
Cikitsa – Products
Cikitsa Hair Oil
At present, their hero product is none other than Cikitsa hair oil. In making this product viable they have fortified pioneering research, ingenious formulas, and synergetic herbs to alleviate irksome hair issues such as dandruff, dryness, lice, postpartum hair loss, etc, and in the course of time, promote hair growth.
Right from sourcing raw materials through packaging, they take care to stand by their pledge to offer products that are as close to nature in non-prescription formulas. They provide safe, thoroughly researched solutions with no side effects.
As soon as the product was ready to be sold, they reflexively sprang into action and started promoting it on their Social networks. They reached out to their network, both personal and professional, to get the word out about their launches. While the first few purchases came from friends and family, the word fast caught on and they ended up seeing good traction without any paid marketing.
Thus, by simply leveraging their online presence and harnessing the power of word-of-mouth marketing, they were able to expand their reach and expand their customer base quickly.
By being hell-bent on tracking and analyzing customer behavior and metrics, they were able to continually make progress. They kept an open mind while listening to their customers’ feedback and were quick to act on their key concerns and suggestions. Not only did this help us in retaining existing customers via repeat purchases, but also furthered positive reinforcements around their product, and attracted new customers.
They were also quick to create an attractive and functional website to bolster their customer experience further. Launching its website helped us streamline the purchase process, and made placing an order with us a lot more convenient and hassle-free. That, along with implementing good SEO practices and regularly optimizing their web pages for search, they were able to drive a lot more traffic and in turn, more customers.
Cikitsa – Challenges Faced
While setting up my business, we, as a team, had to tackle several roadblocks to get where they are today. While most of them were anticipated hiccups, their journey was not without major challenges.
One of the trying issues was procuring licenses for their products. While getting all the required paperwork for a business is often always tedious and time-consuming, it took us quite a while to wrap up the documentation towards legal compliance. But by being proactive and consistent in their approach, they were able to speed up the process and make things happen.
Another taxing challenge came in the time of the pandemic when their day-to-day operations were largely disrupted and they were forced to slow down. Nevertheless, their timely interventions and re-direction helped accelerate their recovery.
Cikitsa – Advisors and Mentors
When Cikitsa was in its early inception stages, the brand very much benefited from the mentorship and guidance of the directors of my family business. Seasoned professionals and experts in their own lane, they sure helped me navigate the business in the right direction. Even to this date, their timely inputs and pointers continue to steer this business to greater heights. It would also be worthwhile to mention the invaluable feedback and suggestions from my family who are weathered and accomplished business veterans themselves.
All things considered, the future sure looks bright for Cikitsa. From newer and better additions that customers love, we’re committed to building a brand that’s synonymous with the good old glory of nature.
In the next few years, they see themselves diversifying their product portfolio and launching thoroughly researched & effectively formulated products to the market. With due time and steady progress, they definitely are going international to cater to a larger customer base across the globe.
FAQs
Who is the founder of Cikitsa?
Fazal Rahman and Thamanna Jabin are the founders of Cikitsa.
Extraordinary designs and illustrations are crucial to a successful business. Maintaining the various aspects of a business and that too single-handedly can be very tiring especially when it comes to graphic design. Meet Design Pickle, the perfect solution to all your design and illustration problems.
Design Pickle gives you the access to share your work brief with well-trained graphic designers. They provide you with multiple designs according to the specified briefs so that you can choose the one that you think satisfies your need.
The website provides its users to get multiple assignments done without any limit on the number of tasks they demand from designers. This makes it worth investing the crucial funds of a business in it.
Unlimited revision
Don’t really like the designs provided by the designers or want something specific to be added or removed. Viola! The service provides you with one of the best options when it comes to user satisfaction.
Sceptical about using it. You got covered.
One of the best online services, it will provide you the option of a free demo so that you can get a glimpse of how well the designers are able to provide you with desirable and out-of-the-box ideas.
Storage access
All the designs that are delivered to you via the designers on the website are made available so that you can redownload them even after a long period of time without facing any difficulty in doing so.
Timely Service and support
The service has a whole team dedicated to solving user doubts and assisting them in getting the most out of the tools offered by the website. The designs are provided before deadlines to ensure that you do not face any problems associated with late work.
Additional resources
The website has developed specialized handbooks solely created for the purpose of serving as solutions for businesses. They are curated with unique ideas and perspectives for people who like to be creative.
Design Pickle Website
Pros of Design Pickle
Free demo service for interested businesses.
Wide range of designs.
Timely delivery of designs.
All files are securely stored to be accessed later.
Effective management of design requests.
Plans can be cancelled anytime a user wants.
Cons of Design Pickle
No option for branding.
Revisions sometimes get counted as new requests.
Design Pickle Pricing
Design Pickle is priced on a slightly higher side. It has three plans, Graphic, Graphics Pro, and Graphics Premium. Graphics Pro is their most popular plan priced at $995/ month.
Design Pickle Pricing
Who Should Use Design Pickle?
Design Pickle is a great service for,
Businesses looking for graphic designers
Entrepreneurs
Graphic designer teams
Online businesses
Software developers
Graphic design consultants
Design analysts
Conclusion
Design Pickle is one of the best options that can be considered by the graphic design and illustration teams of top small or medium businesses and startups. With options of free demos and work samples, it continues to dominate the industry and has gained positive reviews from a lot of companies, owing to its unique approach.
FAQs
Who owns Design pickle?
Russ Perry is the founder and CEO of Design Pickle.
How does Design Pickle work?
You have to submit your design request to Design Pickle, then the company provides you with a trained designer that will design for you. You can accept or reject the design if you are not satisfied with it.
When was Design Pickle founded?
Russ Perry founded Design Pickle in January 2015.
What is Design Pickle?
It is an online service dedicated to providing assistance to the designing teams of businesses and new startups and helps them step up their game by staying ahead in the competition.
How good are the services of Design Pickle?
Design Pickle provides good services to its users. Interested businesses and individuals can check out their demo options and free samples provided on the website.
Does Design Pickle provide plans for its users?
The website provides two plans for their users known by the name of Scale and Pro. These have different price ranges and can be chosen accordingly.
The product marketing and sales industry never remain the same. The strategies adopted by different businesses change over time with varying consumer needs. This change in strategies is a must if a business wishes to stay on trend for a long period.
The underlying principle for this is that people get bored with existing products and crave something new. Ask yourself, would you want to purchase the same type of product for ten years? No, right? Well, it is basic human nature and there is no denying that.
Dropshipping businesses have been on the rise in recent years. According to research conducted by various organizations, the market is projected to grow at a rate of 25-28% between 2019 and 2025. For those of you who are not familiar with what dropshipping is, let’s look at it in detail.
A dropshipping business works by purchasing products from a third party and selling them to consumers. These businesses have their own advantages:
The startup does not require high investment costs as the company does not need to maintain stocks all the time.
A single business can deal in a variety of products without any constraints.
The profits are high due to fewer people involved in the supply chain.
The customers get to enjoy a variety of products at reasonable prices.
As specified earlier, starting a dropshipping business can be very easy. You will not have to maintain an inventory and can pay the supplier when you get paid. But wait, wouldn’t it be confusing for you to choose the products which your business will deal with? Don’t have one? Don’t worry, you can start it easily and gradually work your way up to attain success.
Given here is a list of some of the most innovative and intriguing dropshipping business ideas. Dropshipping has not only enhanced the quality of products but has revolutionized the industry from a consumer’s perspective.
Personalized Crafts
Personalized Crafts
Personalization of products has become the new trend among customers, and almost everyone is craving it. Even big companies like Apple are offering engravings on their devices. This is an indication of how well this trend has been going on. You can opt for a variety of personalized products including:
Personalized necklaces and bracelets.
Keychains
Wall décor
Device accessories
Notebooks and pens
Wooden Accessories and Decor
Wooden Accessories and Decor
People are now looking for sustainable and environment-friendly products. A lot of companies are trying to switch from plastic to other eco-friendly substitutes. Wooden accessories and décor can include a large variety of products:
Stationary enthusiasts are loving the products available on the market. From aesthetically pleasing colours to cute little cartoon designs. Wouldn’t it be even better if they can get stationary customized by themselves? Yes, of course. These may include:
Notebooks and covers
Pouches
Cartoon inspired pens and pencils
Note pads
Sticky notes in different shapes.
Makeup Organizers
Makeup Organizer
A lot of youtube ASMR and relaxing videos show a user arranging their makeup products. This not only seems relaxing but intrigues makeup enthusiasts for doing the same for their makeup supplies. These may include:
Silicon organizers for makeup brushes
Glass trays for eyeshadow palettes
Mirror trays for foundations
Pearl filled glass jars for brushes
Aesthetic Lamps
Aesthetic Lamps
Beautiful lamps can change the overall appearance of a room with different coloured lights. A lot of them may also have projectors that project beautiful images onto ceilings. A lot of people use them as light sources as they are afraid of total darkness at night. Some of these best lamps can be:
Moon lamps
Night sky projector lamp
Open book lamp
Led projector lamps
Organic Facial Oils
Skincare has now become the first choice of everyone and there is no denying that. From face serums to skin treatments, people are following 7-10 step skincare routines. A large proportion of consumers wish to have organic products rather than harsh chemicals. You can start your business in organic facial oils like:
Tea tree oil
Rosehip oil
Vit c serum
Coconut oil
Kitchen Tools in Pastel Colours
Kitchen Tools in Pastel Colours
The colour choices of consumers are now changing from all black to all pastels. And kitchen tools are maintaining their position in the race, as they are available in a variety of colours. You can start selling small kitchen accessories in pastel colours that are desired by everyone.
Ladles and tongs
Storage boxes
Spice racks
Label makers
Citrus juicers
Conclusion
Starting a dropshipping business, especially in one of the above-mentioned products can be very fruitful. These products are in high demand among consumers and will help you gain profits with higher margins. You may include one or even multiple products from the different products mentioned in this article. Good luck with your business initiative.
FAQs
What is the most profitable dropshipping business?
The most profitable dropshipping businesses are Health and personal care, Wardrobe and accessories, Home and bedroom and Office products.
Who are some successful dropshippers?
Tze Hing Chan, Cole Turner, Andreas Koenig & Alexander Pecka, and Sarah & Audrey are some of the successful dropshippers.
Who is the richest dropshipper?
Irwin Dominguez is one of the richest dropshipper, he made nearly $1,000,000 in just 8 months from dropshipping.
Authors across the world have produced a lot of masterpieces and literary treasures, some of which people still revere after decades. The love for literature can be seen in these aspiring writers, as they can be seen dreaming of creating one of the masterpieces and getting the #1 bestseller achievement. An aspiring writer, always tend to wonder what it is that the popular writers got right, that so many other authors did not. The secrets that all the #1 bestsellers have.
There are several techniques that authors follow to be inspired and write quality content. Some of these are unique, while some others are good generic practices that all aspiring writers should follow. In this article, you will learn some tips and tricks to write an excellent storyline. So, let’s get right into the business.
Before starting the prologue or Chapter 1, you should have a clear idea of the novel outline. Your story’s skeleton should consist of the overview of the story it includes the introduction, key events, main characters, and the climax. The overview has to be of perfect size, a summary of the plot that you should be able to tell in under a minute. If you can get this underway, it means you have all your basic plot set, which holds the entire novel together.
Strong Opening
To capture the reader’s attention right from the start a powerful or startling opening line or a gruesome or shocking opening sequence is needed. Remember that the beginning need not to be the first incident chronologically.
In thrillers, the prologue usually begins with an ominous incident, the significance of which is known only later in the book. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with a simple opening where you introduce all the characters one by one and set the mood or tone of the novel. Another way of beginning a story is to “start at the end,” and narrate the remainder of the book through flashbacks or diary entries. It makes it interesting and can keep the attention of readers till the end.
Elaborate Your Characters
It is always good to prepare a mental picture of the characters and their traits beforehand so that you can plan how you want to introduce them to the story. The protagonist and antagonist typically have an elaborate introduction sequence, sometimes with a backstory as well. Some characters end up being just names, while others have a deceptive nature to the reader until the end of the tale.
Make your characters realistic; create qualities, strengths, and weaknesses that the readers can empathize with or find a connection with. Your pen and imagination have the power to create powerful and memorable heroes and villains.
Dialouge and Narrative Structure
Some characters have become famous because of their nature, while others have become popular because of their punchlines. The dialogue is an integral part of stories that most writers underestimate. Conversations can reveal a lot of details about the plot and especially about the nature of the characters in the story.
A closely linked factor is the narrative format of your story: first-person or third-person. If you want the reader to explore the story from a particular character’s point of view, use the first-person narrative. If you want to talk about multiple storylines or wish to reveal information to the reader that none of the characters knows, the third-person narrative is better. This format, however most of the time forces you to write using formal language.
Build the Suspense
The build-up of the plot and the escalation of all the storylines towards the finale form the biggest chunk of the book. You must keep the reader guessing at all stages of the book; that is what keeps the story flowing. How much information you reveal to the reader and the characters in the book defines the suspense.
Using plot twists is the best way to surprise the reader, but you need to get the timing right. Note that plot twists can serve as humour elements too. A comedy of errors or a hilarious mix-up is effective in engaging the reader.
The Timeline and Setting of the Story
The time period of your story is very important, the setting depend on the time period. It can be restricted to a small, possibly imaginary, town, or it can also span across several countries. It can be in the contemporary settings, during the Second World War, or in the year futuristic world. The setting can be put into action only after analysing the time period.
You need to know enough about the location you choose, it includes the people, their culture, local events, and others. You can choose to tweak science and history a bit to make your book more entertaining, but do not go overboard.
The Perfect Climax
One of the most important thing that an author ponder on is how to write an ending that will blow the reader’s mind away. If you want a final plot twist, you must lay enough clues in the story to lead up that perfect plot twist. If you had to pick one segment of the story to give maximum attention to, it is the climax. There are various types of endings you can give your story, and you can select the one that fits in most naturally.
For a mystery novel, tie up all the loose ends and present a clean solution. If you want to continue the book in a “Part 2”, you can either write the climax in such a way that this novel is a standalone book or by preserving some essential information for the sequel, it depends on your writing skills.
Conclusion
The storyline is the heart of your book, and getting it right is paramount to your novel’s success. You have the freedom to use your creativity in any way you want, and you can use the best writing apps as well. Ultimately, the effort you put in must make the book the best one possible.
FAQs
What are the three things that make a good story?
The three things that make a good story are:
Characters
Conflict
Resolution
Who is the world’s highest-paid author?
Dan Brown is the highest-paid author in the world and his net worth is $178 million.
Who are the three most famous authors in the world?
The three most famous authors in the world are William Shakespeare, George Orwell and J.K. Rowling.
The top ranking executive of a company is called as CEO (chief executive officer). They have so many responsibilities. It includes making important decisions of the company, management of all operations of the company, management of the resources of the company, etc. The public face of a company is CEO.
There is a common thread that connects the famous multi-billion dollar companies. The current CEOs of these companies are mostly from south Asian countries, mainly from India. South Asians secured the most number of C-level leadership positions in the tech industry. Many of these south Asians are born and raised in their home countries before moving to the Western countries.
The Indians are playing an important role in changing the way of technology works. The world’s two largest technology companies are headed by Indian origin CEO’s. We can add more names to the list. Being a leader in the most important companies in the world and playing an important role in growth are not an easy task.
In large companies, CEOs generally manage only the highest level of strategic decisions, which affect the overall growth of the company. In small businesses, CEOs are often involved in daily operations. If you think that some of the best CEO’s in the world are international, you will be surprised to hear so many names from India.
Sundar Pichai
CEO: Google
Sundar Pichai – CEO of Google
Sundar Pichai is the CEO of Google. He was born in Tamil Nadu, India on 10 June, 1972. He took a degree in metallurgical engineering from IIT Kharagpur. After that, he moved to US. He completed his MS in material sciences and engineering from Stanford University and he attained his MBA from Wharton University.
He was awarded the titles named “Siebel scholar and Palmer scholar” from there. On August 10, 2015, Sundar Pichai was selected as CEO of Google. He played an important role in the development and launch of the Google Chrome web browser. He was the product head for projects related to Google drive, Google map, and Android. That helped him to grow in his career.
Satya Nadella
CEO: Microsoft
Satya Nadella – CEO of Microsoft
Satya Nadella is the CEO of Microsoft. He was born in Hyderabad, India on 12 August 1967. Hewas selected as CEO of Microsoft on February 4, 2014.He completed his degree in electronics and communication engineering from the Manipal institute of technology. He completed his master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
He attained his MBA from the University of Chicago. After that, he worked as a technology staff at a company named “Sun Microsystems”. In 1992, he joined the Microsoft. Satya Nadella headed in some major projects at Microsoft, which including cloud computing and developing one of the world’s largest cloud cluster infrastructure.
Shantanu Narayen is the CEO of Adobe systems. He was born in Hyderabad, India on 1963. He took his degree in electronics and communication engineering from University College of Engineering, Osmania University. After that he completed his MBA from Haas School of business, University of California.
He earned his master’s degree in computer science from Bowling green state university, Ohio. His career started at Apple. After that, he worked in Silicon graphics. He co-founded a digital photo sharing company named “Pictra”. In 1998, he joined the Adobe Systems. He promoted as CEO of the company, in 2007. Also, he got the Padma Shri award in 2019.
George Kurian
CEO: NetApp
George Kurian – CEO of NetApp
George Kurian is the president and CEO of NetApp. It is a storage and data management company. He was born in Kerala, India. He completed his engineering from IIT Madras. He attained bachelors of Science degree in electrical engineering from Princeton University and earned MBA from Stanford University.
He started his career at Oracle in 1996. Later, he promoted as the senior vice president of Oracle’s server technologies. Also he served as vice president of Application Networking and Switching Technology Group at Cisco Systems. In 2011, he joined the Netapp. He became the CEO of the company in June 2015.
Nikesh Arora
CEO: Palo Alto Networks
Nikesh Arora – CEO of Palo Alto Networks
Nikesh Arora is the CEO of Palo Alto Networks. He was born in Uttar Pradesh, India on 9 February 1968. He completed his degree in Electrical engineering from IIT Varanasi. After that, he completed his MBA from Northeastern University. Also he earned a master’s degree in finance from Boston College.
He worked at Google. Also, he served as a president of a company named SoftBank Group. He resigned from there on 21 June 2016. In June 2018, he joined the Palo Alto Networks. Presently, he serves as the chairman and CEO of the company.
Rajeev Suri is the ex-CEO of Nokia. He was born in New Delhi, India on 10 October 1967. He has Singapore citizenship. He completed his degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology, India. He served for multi-national companies in Nigeria and India. In 1995, he joined the Nokia. He played an important role in transformation of the company. He became the CEO of the company on 29 April 2014.
Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram
CEO: Sehat Kahani
Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram – CEO and Co-founder of Sehat Kahani
Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram is CEO and co-founder of the company named “Sehat Kahani”. The services of the company focus on health awareness, primary health care consultation, and health counselling. She was born in Karachi, Pakistan. She completed her MBBS in 2010 from DOW University of Health Sciences.
Later, she earned a master’s degree in Health Policy and Management from The Aga Khan University of Health Sciences. She is the first women in Pakistan to win the Rolex award.
Raj Fernando
CEO: Workstorm.com
Raj Fernando – CEO and Chairman of Workstorm.com
Raj Fernando is the CEO and Chairman of Workstorm.com. He is a Sri Lankan descent American businessman. He was born on 8 July 1971. He completed his bachelor’s degree in economics and history from Beloit College. He found a company named “Chopper Trading” in 2002 and he became CEO of the company.
Fernando’s contributions helped the company to become one of the main participants on world’s largest global exchanges. But in 2015, he sold the company. He launched an internet startup named “Workstorm.com” in 2016. Now he serves as the CEO of the company.
The South Asian cultures encourage debate, communication, and argumentation. Also, the mainstream American culture encourages assertive communication too. According to a study by MIT, South Asians are more likely to achieve leadership roles in American organizations. The research focused on the three key aspects of prejudice, motivation, and assertiveness.
The research proposed that the cultural differences around assertiveness and the willingness to engage in the debate may be strong contributing factors in what resonates with American company leadership expectations.
This is a good trait that is seen in South Asian peoples. Because of this type of trait and culture, there is a high chance of people from Asia succeeding in leadership roles. We can expect more such leaders to take up leadership positions in big multi-national organizations.
These CEOs are not from the same background. It includes from poverty to the middle class. Most of them were born and raised in different places. They left the home countries to attain higher education in other countries, yet they all have the same instincts, values and traits. Anyway, climbing the ladder of success is not an easy task. So, this completes our list of top Asian CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.
FAQ
How many Fortune 500 companies have Indians as there CEOs?
38 CEOs of Fortune 500 Companies are Indians.
What is the number of Asian American CEOs in the fortune 500 companies?
5.6% of total CEOs in fortune 500 Companies are found to be Asian American.
Who is the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company?
Katharine Graham is the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
Which is Number 1 in the Fortune 500?
Walmart is ranked no. 1 in Fortune 500 Companies.
What is the number of Asian Americans in professional workforce?
Asian Americans made up about 13% of the professional workforce.
Damini Bhandary
