Royal Enfield is easily one of the biggest brands from India founded by and has broken records in selling its motorcycle in India and abroad. But this wasn’t the case 20 or so years back, as Royal Enfield then was sitting on brink of bankruptcy. The automotive company has achieved its best-ever sales with over a million bikes that are sold worldwide. The company’s sales have also increased to about 27%.
Imagine if you brought a Royal Enfield motorcycle in 2001 you would now only have an old rugged bike. But if you would have invested the same amount in shares of Eicher Motors, the company that makes Enfield bikes your investment will be worth Rs 3.53 crore now. Despite operating in a niche segment, Royal Enfield remains one of the most admired motorcycle brands in India.
Royal Enfield is one of the flagship companies of the US 1.1 Billion Eicher Motors. It is an Indian motorcycle company with factories in Chennai, India. The company makes the Royal Enfield Bullet and other single-cylinder motorcycles. The company was established in 1955 and is one of the oldest motorcycles companies.
It first started out as a brand of the Enfield Cycle Company, a British manufacturing firm, then went out to produce the 500 cc bullets. It is a leading manufacturing company that manufactures bullets across the globe, was looking to upgrade its IT infrastructure using industry-leading solutions.
It has manufacturing plants in Thiruvottiyur, Chennai, Oragadam Chennai, Sipcot Industrial plant, Chennai and Campana, Argentina. The tagline of Royal Enfield is “Jab Bullet Chale Toh Duniya Raasta De” which sums it all quite beautiful as it is definitely a motorcycle that enjoys an overpowering presence as people have had to make way for it.
History of Royal Enfield
The Enfield Manufacturing Company Ltd was set up in England to manufacture bicycles. The company manufactured its products under the Royal Enfield Brand.
Not being satisfied with a limited product line of just bicycles, Enfield Manufacturing soon decided to focus on building other types of vehicles. In the year 1899, it started manufacturing a quadricycle called the Royal Enfield Quadricycle which was powered by a rear-mounted engine.
Royal Enfield Quadricycle
In 1901 Enfield manufacturing launched its first motorcycle fitted with a 239 cc engine. As a part of the global expansion strategy, Enfield started selling motorcycles in the Indian market in the year 1949.
In 1955, the Indian government placed an order for eight hundred 350cc Royal Enfield motorcycles for use by its police and armed forces. The Royal Enfield motorcycles were considered an ideal choice for the Indian army for patrolling the country border.
In 1990 Royal Enfield collaborated with the Eicher group an automotive company in India and merged with it in 1994.
In 2000 the company’s sales hit a low of 2000 units per month because it was suffering from problems like poor quality of its products, outdated design, change in taste and preference of customers and the entry of Japanese two-wheeler manufacturers in the Indian market.
Despite having a cult following among its fans many prospective customers saw Royal Enfield Brand as a relic from the past.
The man who is responsible for the tables to turn for Royal Enfield is none other than Siddhartha Lal is the man who is singularly responsible for Royal Enfield. Mr Lal has been credited with being able to make Royal Enfield a bike that is sold worldwide because of his dedication to the company. It was 2004 when Lal had taken over as COO of the Eicher group.
Siddhartha Lal – Former CEO of Royal Enfield
The group had a diverse spread of about 15 businesses including tractors, trucks, motorcycles, components, footwear and garments but none among them were a market leader. Lal decided to divest 13 businesses and put all money and focus behind Royal Enfield and trucks, two businesses where he believed the group had a genuine shot at leadership.
Lal decided to put his full force behind Royal Enfield and the trucks business. Immediately after taking over as CEO, Siddhartha analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of Royal Enfield and started to come up with a strategy to put the brand on its path to revival.
Buying Out Royal Enfield
The brand was surviving well in India until Japanese motorcycles began to enter the Indian market. This is when Mr Lal’s father who owned a tractor manufacturing company and was familiar with the way parts from Royal Enfield worked, swooped in to save the brand. Enfield was one of the biggest companies in South India, especially in the 60s and 70s.
Mr. Lal describes that “It was a bit of a tricky moment, and the firm was going bankrupt that’s when we bought it. My father got to know the people who were running the business because he was buying auto parts from Enfield for his tractor company. But we kept only one tiny portion which was the bullet factory and did not change the design because we liked the shape and the classic looks. We kept the character of the motorcycle, we kept the looks of the motorcycle, but we upgraded it to be relevant to people today.”
In order to pull the brand back from the edge of bankruptcy, the team decided to return to the brand’s roots to look for solutions that could help it soar once again. It is the only automobile Indian company that dint have a Japanese collaboration.
Speaking about this time, Mr Lal said, “They consulted many countries like US, Germany, Italy Austria and the UK to develop an engine or motorcycle, and felt that the UK understood us better.”
We found that engineering support that we could get in the Midlands was second to nowhere else in the world. In the Midlands, the team created the signature Royal Enfield Twin inceptor, which is what gave the bikes an additional boost of power that made them ideal for riding on the highway. This was a huge deal for the brand.
They had tapped into a huge consumer need that was not very vocalized. This allowed the brand to reinvent itself and become a lifestyle product that completely fit into the vibe of travelling and getting out in the world. This has made Royal Enfield quite popular with bike enthusiasts, making it the go-to bike for people who love to travel.
Increase in Sales
In 2005, the company was selling only about 25,000 bikes every year and needed a manufacturing scale and a fixed cost had to be spread around 100,000 bikes. Siddhartha Lal engineered and improved Enfield bikes by riding hundreds of kilometres himself and also initiated a motorcycling culture in the team. Under Lal, as quality improved, sales grew too.
By 2010, the company was selling 50,000 bikes, but on three platforms. That was when Lal decided to build all Enfield bikes on a single platform to maximize economies of scale. The Enfield Classic, launched from this single platform, caught the fancy of customers. Sales shot up six times in half a decade from 50,000 units in CY10 to 589,293 in CY14.
At this point, the sales were just enough to help the company break even. But soon, the tech economy in India began to boom in 2010, which brought about a turning point for the brand. Now, Eicher Motors earns over Rs 8,738 crore in revenues and makes a net profit of Rs 702 crore (FY14). Royal Enfield brings in about 80% of these profits.
Royal Enfield Bikes Sales Volume
Future of Royal Enfield
The prices of Royal Enfield were higher than that of the low powered Japanese motorcycle brands sold in India, but they were cheaper than the major global brands. And in order to keep the motorcycles affordable in the price-conscious Indian market, the company did not revise its prices even after the prospects of the brand started to improve in terms of sales.
Royal Enfield Model
Ex-Showroom Price
Royal Enfield Classic 350
₹1.52 lakhs – ₹2.18 lakhs
Royal Enfield Bullet 350
₹1.24 lakhs – ₹1.6 lakhs
Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350X
₹1.55 lakhs – ₹1.58 lakhs
Royal Enfield Himalayan
₹1.66 lakhs – ₹2.23 lakhs
Royal Enfield Interceptor 650
₹2.77 lakhs – ₹3.1 lakhs
The strong pricing power of the Royal Enfield brand and the improved operating margins rapidly increased the valuation of the company. In 2014, Royal Enfield recorded sales of 302,592 units.
The sales for the year were higher than even the worldwide sales of Harley Davidson for the first time in the brand history. By the year 2015, Eicher Motors had become one of the most expensive automobile stocks in India.
Eicher Motors Stock Price
As of Feb 2022, the stock price of Eicher Motors is ₹2,615.10.
Royal Enfield is an Indian motorcycle manufacturing company headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Who is the founder of Royal Enfield?
Robert Walker Smith and Albert Eadie founded Royal Enfield in 1955.
Who makes Royal Enfield motorcycles?
Eicher Motors Limited is the parent company of Royal Enfield that makes Royal Enfield motorcycles.
What is so special about Royal Enfield?
It provides a sense of strength and also a rustic charm. The brand has built itself from being an army bike to a cult classic. These bikes have a huge fan following and also there are several biking clubs exclusive to Royal Enfield motorcycles.
Entrepreneurs having big visions and dreams are looking for ways to make them happen but don’t know how to do it. For successfully running a startup, an entrepreneur needs a positive mindset and a huge responsibility. However, the major problem of every entrepreneur is that they are inexperienced when they start a business. And it is found that 90% of Indian startups fail within the first 5 years, mostly because of inexperienced founders. There is only one way to overcome inexperience quickly and that is by engaging in an advisor program or mentorship.
Startup mentors are extremely critical but how do you go finding them. Do not look for a mentor but mentors who are experts in different fields.Cause a single mentor cannot solve all of your problems. You’ll need one mentor for handling finance, one for personal guidance, one for startups and so on.
Now the question comes – There are many business mentors in India but how can you find the right mentor for your startup in India? So, I have prepared a list of places where you can find a mentor but before that let me tell you the key traits of a perfect business or startup mentor.
Mentorship is an important factor that shows the way for startups to reach heights. A perfect mentor provides tried and tested ideas, fills your knowledge gap, and helps to reach your goals with less stress.
There are so many important factors to the success of a business. It includes the cohesive force of your employees, the timing of the company, the strength of the idea, the cumulative experience of the team, the entrepreneurial experience of the person in charge, etc. Startup mentors help to maintain focus on business problems. Also, they provide alternative solutions to the problems.
Given below are some of the important traits of a perfect startup mentor.
1. Problem Solver
Entrepreneurs face so many problems while starting a business. So it is important to find a business mentor who could provide a solution to your problem besides being able to reduce the pool of difficulties. A mentor can help an entrepreneur to create a better business by overcoming the barriers. They help you to understand the different possible pain points of the startup.
2. Knowledgeable
A perfect mentor must be aware of the industry to which the startup belongs. An entrepreneur can overcome all difficulties if they have a mentor who gives advice and generic ideas. So getting a mentor from the same industry is more suitable. They can help you to learn the different nature of the market, the complexities of the business, the processes, and the novelty.
3. Strong Networking
A good mentor should succeed in maintaining a strong network of appropriate people in the startup ecosystem. Being a mentor with good connections in the industry gives you the ability to work without interruption. For example, investors are more likely to invest in your startup if their inner circle of network mentions them. A smart mentor helps you to get customer trials, potential investors and customers, strategic engagements, etc.
4. Entrepreneurship
A mentor, who has gone through the same processes of creating a startup and leading it to success, knows all the entrepreneurial activities required. They are validating your startup idea and leading the company into profitability. A mentor with an entrepreneurial background can help you to avoid barriers and identify all the possible options to prevent the problems.
How to Find a Perfect Mentor for Your Startup or Business?
Finding the right startup mentor is hard, but not impossible. A right mentor is a fundamental factor for having a successful startup. As an entrepreneur, mentorship is an important resource for growth. Some of the places for finding a perfect mentor are given below.
Social Media platforms
Social media is another good platform for finding perfect mentors for your startup. You can search for mentors through professional platforms like LinkedIn and public platforms like Twitter. There you can find professionals according to your requirements by using keywords for searching.
A good alternative to LinkedIn is the Intch app, where you can post your request to find a mentor and AI will match you with the right person. The Intch community mostly consists of startup founders, so it’s easy to discuss your idea, get advice and find first clients here.
One can determine the reputation of a person and their willingness to talk with others by monitoring the engagement level and followers. Firstly, get to know your hoped-for mentor instead of going with an outright request. Also, try to offer something of value to start the relationship.
Online Mentorship Networks
There are so many online programs dedicated to pairing potential mentors with professionals. MentorKart is an online mentorship network that connects the mentors and mentees who look for professional guidance. With typically a small or no cost, you can sign up and find upcoming advisors in your area of expertise. Also, you can chat with them or meet in person to start a partnership.
Small Business Development Centers
Small Business Development Centers are independent organizations that offer advice, expertise, and resources for emerging entrepreneurs across the country. You can find free consultation from small business development centers by using state and local government funds, Small Business Administration federal funds, and resources from the private sector.
Volunteer Events
Volunteer events are another good place for meeting people. You can meet like-minded professionals. They may be looking for ways to use their knowledge and experience. You can use the online platform named Volunteer Match to get volunteering opportunities in your city. You can find opportunities as per your interests. Attending these volunteer events helps you build contacts in the industry.
Industry Meetups
Industry meetups are the best place for finding mentorship in a specific industry sector. These events include networking events, conferences, speaking events, informal meetups, and trade shows. It can be advertised through meetups or classified ads.
Score
SCORE is an organization that works for helping individuals begin, run and grow their own businesses. Currently, there are more than 11,000 volunteers included in the program along with 320 chapters across the country. An entrepreneur can request a free face-to-face meeting with a mentor to discuss the business idea and also be able to create a more lasting partnership with them.
Social Media platforms
Social media is another good platform for finding perfect mentors for your startup. You can search for mentors through professional platforms like LinkedIn and public platforms like Twitter. There you can find professionals according to your requirements by using keywords for searching.
One can determine the reputation of a person and their willingness to talk with others by monitoring the engagement level and followers. Firstly, get to know your hoped-for mentor instead of going with an outright request. Also, try to offer something of value to start the relationship.
Fitness Classes & Groups
Business-minded people usually like to spend their time hitting the gym to relieve stress and maintain health. You can frequently find them in fitness-related groups and fitness classes. This could be a good platform to connect with people, get to know them and their businesses. Who knows, maybe you will end up finding a perfect mentor for your startup.
Networking Events
Networking events are designed to make connections by bringing together groups of professionals. Try to talk to as many people as you can through these events and don’t be too direct with your goals. Business leaders look for new contacts as they can be prospective partners, employees, or clients in the future. They attend these networking events to meet professionals in many various fields and expand their personal network.
Friends and Family
It is inevitable to say that you can find a perfect startup mentor only at the above-mentioned places. You could potentially find them anywhere and anytime. Talk to people, your acquaintances, family, friends, or even strangers. You never know who could help you to choose the right path. Maybe the people are present in your surrounding but you’re looking somewhere else for them.
We all want to lean on somebody, someone who can guide us shows us the right path when we are unable to see it clearly, help us grow, and be a torchbearer for our business or career or life for that matter.
People are lucky who have mentors in their life, a person who constantly pushes them when they are distracted shows them the light when they’re in dark, and always remain by their side.
Be it business or career or life, having the right mentor is very much helpful to sustain in this competitive world. A mentor is an experienced person and wise enough to calculate the risk while taking decisions.
FAQ
How to find a business mentor?
Find a mentor match on Ten Thousand Coffees, Meet experienced entrepreneurs at Meetups, Hop on a Clarity call, Ask around in forums and online communities, Connect with potential mentors on LinkedIn, and Form a Mastermind Group.
Who are some of the best business mentors in india?
Gururaja, Vijay Johar, Anand G Pai, and Dr Hemalatha. J.N are some of the leading business mentors in India.
How much should you pay a mentor?
Sessions (virtual, telephone, or in-person if the expert agrees) start at $50 an hour, though a quick look at the site tells us that many folks charge more than $100 an hour.
Is a business mentor worth it?
The long-term cost of not finding a good mentor far outweighs any short-term costs. Mentors can help you to become the best possible version of yourself. They can also guide you through difficult patches when you’re struggling to make decisions or lacking the experience to know in which direction to take your company.
Who is a good mentor?
A good mentor is someone who can guide you when you deviate from your path. They take in what’s happening, assess the path the mentee is on, and then guide the person onto the right track. Mentoring is as much about counseling as it is transferring knowledge and leadership skills.
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 Mudrex.
A rapidly growing sector of the larger financial technology (fintech) business is the cryptocurrency market. In order to enable secure and open transactions, the cryptocurrency sector makes use of digital currencies, blockchain technology, and decentralized financial systems. Companies like Mudrex are at the forefront of offering cutting-edge investing solutions in the cryptocurrency industry as demand for investment solutions for cryptocurrencies keeps rising.
Mudrex is a Global Crypto Investment Platform backed by Y Combinator and Nexus Venture Partners that operates in over 100 countries globally. It is a US-headquartered and Bengaluru-based fintech startup aiming to be the largest asset management platform for crypto investments. The company has $3 billion in trade volume, $20 million+ in assets under management, and 7,00,000+ investors.
StartupTalky interviewed Mr. Edul Patel (Co-founder & CEO, Mudrex) to get insights into the startup story and roadmap of the organization.
Mudrex – Company Highlights
Startup Name
Mudrex
Founders
Edul Patel (CEO), Prince Arora (VP, Engineering), Rohit Goyal (VP, DeFi), and Alankar Saxena (CTO).
Mudrex is a revolutionary cryptocurrency investment platform that empowers individuals and institutions to invest confidently in digital assets. With state-of-the-art technology and expert insights, Mudrex provides a secure environment to manage crypto investments. Their ultimate goal is to help clients achieve financial goals and become the go-to platform for crypto investing.
Products Offered by Mudrex
Mudrex Portfolio: The idea behind the product is to democratize access to investment opportunities in financial markets for investors. This product will provide access to sharp and insightful trading strategies that were earlier available only to high-net-worth individuals. The product is created to make an easy-to-follow process for cryptocurrency investments. The platform builds a portfolio bundle using top-performing algorithms for different risk-reward profiles. An investor starts with choosing a portfolio based on their risk-reward expectations. It then offers trading strategies and products that are most suited to their risk profile.
Mudrex Coin Sets: Mudrex Coin Sets are baskets of crypto tokens that will help users generate good returns in the long term. These crypto baskets are automatically managed and re-balanced periodically to ensure that they are improved as the market changes. Coin Sets is one such product that will allow investors to mitigate risk by diversifying investment in cryptocurrencies. It is a mutual fund-like product with a better risk-reward ratio. The product is designed to expand retail participation in crypto investment, curated suitably for investors who look at crypto investments as long-term wealth creation. Coin Sets boast of over 90% month-on-month retention rate.
USP of Mudrex
Being a holistic destination for all crypto investment requirements remains its biggest USP. Unlike other cryptocurrency exchanges in India, the Mudrex platform is hassle-free, easy to use, and equally supports trading and investing communities to test out strategies and grow wealth consistently.
Another major differentiator is the no coder feature offered to seasoned traders. This was introduced as the team realized that global exchanges that are open 24*7 do not provide accessible tools and proper infrastructure to trade. On the other hand, only 1-2% of the retail investor base holds the knowledge of crypto trading, hence Mudrex is trying to spread awareness and educate them on crypto as an asset.
Mudrex – Industry Details
The startup did extensive research to find out the market size for one of the most rapidly expanding industries in the world. Different sources point out that by 2025 the crypto asset management industry would be clocking more than $12.5 Billion per year. Mudrex’s growth estimates suggest that it will be able to scale up to capture 1% of that market share.
During the ideation phase of Mudrex, the team reached out to approximately 200 users experienced in the crypto space. They got a unanimous response stating that automating trading in cryptocurrencies was a revolutionary move. They then closely monitored the interaction with these users to understand their pain points. The founders & the entire team worked very hard to create a product that solves this unique problem. Apart from these 200 people, they reached out to various Discord communities to receive feedback and constantly improve the product and the user experience.
They figured that trading in the crypto market which remains open 24*7 was significantly different from trading in the stock markets. The team initially built Mudrex with the idea to make money for themselves. When they started building Mudrex in Oct 2018, the founders just wanted to solve their own problems. Automating trading was hard, finding quality strategies and signal providers was difficult, and the crypto world was filled with scams. They wanted to build a trustworthy, reliable, and scalable platform that just works and helps them grow their money.
2 years from that point, in Oct 2020, Mudrex made its first investment from the company’s books. The team paper traded for 6 months, ran countless backtests, and detailed risk analysis. After all, this was the company’s money, not something they could just afford to play with.
Mudrex – Founders and Team
Mudrex is a team of four co-founders from IIT Bombay and IIT Kanpur – Edul Patel (CEO), Prince Arora (VP, Engineering), Rohit Goyal (VP, DeFi), and Alankar Saxena (CTO).
Mudrex Founders
Edul Patel
Talking about Edul Patel’s background, he has over 10 years of deep-rooted experience in finance, entrepreneurship, and building tech-driven applications. His domain expertise lies in product and & risk management. Edul graduated from IIT Bombay in 2011, post that he went to Deutsche Bank and worked there for a couple of years in trading and investing. He left Deutsche Bank in 2013 to start his own company called Niffler.
Prince Arora
At Deutsche, Edul met Prince Arora (Vice President, Engineering) who was his CTO at Niffler, a tech lead in his next company, and now Co-Founder of Mudrex. ‘Nifler’- a $1 Million funded startup by SAIF partner (that eventually got acquired by Tapzo. Edul became the head of product at Tapzo, and it eventually got acquired by Amazon, and he didn’t want to go to Amazon. So Prince and Edul both left Tapzo and started working on Mudrex. They started doing this in September 2017.
Rohit Goyal
In September 2017. The duo got their third co-founder, Rohit Goyal (Vice President, DeFi). Edul has known him for the last 15 years now. He was a junior at IIT Bombay. Post IIT, he started his own company called Saabziwaala.com, which was acquired by Big Basket. After that, he started working on his own gaming company and created multiple casual games for over three years. After that, he came to Bangalore, started staying with Edul, and saw how interesting it was to work on Crypto.
Alankar Saxena
Mudrex’s fourth co-founder is Alankar Saxena (CTO) who was four years junior to Edul at IIT Bombay. He started his career at Twitter, and worked on personalization and scaling and Twitter security as well. He came back and started working at a credit lending startup, very quickly realizing that credit lending in India is an Operations problem and not a tech problem to solve. He joined Mudrex eventually.
Now Mudrex is a team of 25 to 30 people, about 70% to 80% are ex-IIT, Ex-NIT, Ex-BITS, Ex-Google, Ex- Microsoft and 60% are ex-founders who have built and sold their businesses to other companies in the past. So, Mudrex has a strong entrepreneurial team.
Mudrex’s mission revolves around bringing “risk optimised high yield investments to everyone.”
Mudrex’s long-term vision
Mudrex aims to become a one-stop solution for crypto investment needs. It will achieve this by expanding the user community, and providing superior tools to advanced portfolio managers.
Mudrex’s Short-term vision
On an immediate basis, its vision is to improve accessibility to crypto investment for retail investors. Hence, the team will soon launch the Mudrex application and introduce tools to ease the process. Simultaneously intend to educate and debunk myths around crypto investing for beginners and novice investors in the space to accelerate the process.
Mudrex – Name, Tagline and Logo
‘Mudrex’ comes from the amalgamation of the Mudra exchange. Mudra refers to tokens, and therefore the name implies an exchange to trade tokens.
The tagline of Mudrex is ‘simplifying investing.’ The founders knew that trading cryptocurrencies were cumbersome, and simplifying the process was their unique proposition.
Mudrex Logo
Mudrex – Startup Launch
Mudrex started by having extensive one on one conversations with different sets of people through Twitter and Discord communities. It reached out to close to 2000 such people to land its first set of 100 users.
Mudrex’s primary strategy while going from 100 to 10000 was scaling up its various online communities. The team followed this up with a referral campaign. As they started growing, the startup entered into partnerships with various influencers.
Mudrex – Growth
On average, Mudrex is at revenue growth of 100% month on month. It currently stands at over 50.000+ registered users and has clocked over 450% user growth in 4 months. Mudrex currently has a user base of 100,000 users from over 100 countries. Mudrex has assets under management amounting to $15 million (as of October 2021).
Mudrex – Mentor/Advisors
Mudrex is fortunate to have advisors such as Nexus Venture Partners, Village Global, and other VCs such as Kunal Shah, Anand Chandrashekharan, and Anjali Bansal.
Mudrex has transitioned itself into an investing platform for the cryptocurrency market. Some of the international competitors are BlockFi, Celsius, Nexo, etc.
Mudrex – Funding and Investors
Mudrex has raised a Pre-series A funding round on February 8, 2022, which came from Arkam Ventures, Tribe Capital and Bolt by QED Investors. With this funding round Mudrex aims to boost user acquisition, licensing and looks up to a quick expansion in geographies like India, the US, Europe and Latin America.
This came after 4 months since Mudrex last raised $2.5 mn from Nexus Ventures in August 2021.
Mudrex’s funding details are as follows:
Date
Stage
Amount
Investors
February 8, 2022
Pre-Series A
$6.5 mn
Tribe, Arkam and Bolt
Aug 10, 2021
Seed
$2.5 Mn
Nexus Venture Partners with participation from Village
September 1, 2020
Pre-Seed Round
$250K
–
March 18, 2019
Seed Round
$500k
Y Combinator, Better Capital
“With the funds raised, we will be looking to perfect our existing products and introduce tools for simplifying the investing journey of investors. Furthermore, the capital will be utilized to expand the team globally and establish Mudrex as a leading crypto investment platform” – says Edul Patel, Co-founder & CEO, Mudrex.
Mudrex – Challenges Faced
Mudrex was started as a cryptocurrency exchange for India. The biggest challenge they faced was right before the launch of the platform in 2018. But just before going live, the RBI’s single unilateral decision robbed Mudrex of its entire market. On 8th April, the RBI decided to ban crypto trading in India which led to a massive setback for Mudrex. The team realized that an exchange is highly commoditized and the actual value is the investing part. They wanted to serve a global audience, hence turning the setback into an opportunity. Years later they launched Mudrex as a crypto investment platform.
Mudrex – Business Model & Revenue Model
Mudrex operates in a B2B2C business model. In Mudrex, there is a fee for different algorithms that you choose to invest with. The starting fee is as low as 1%-2% on average per month for investing in these products. And typically users see 7%-8% on their returns.
1. Mudrex Exchange – Build Mudrex’s retail-focused property. The team is building a full-fledged end-to-end crypto trading and investing platform. Users will be able to buy crypto from fiat, store it, trade it and invest it. They are working on a mobile app as well
2. Mudrex Capital focused on institutions – Provide bespoke services to 250k USD> clients. Institutional investors focused on the asset management desk providing bespoke products to HNIs, Funds, and institutions. The minimum check size for this is 250k. Mudrex will be advancing this desk to start providing services to others
3. Investment as a service
Working with liquidity gatekeepers as channel partners
Provide investment options directly to exchanges, wallets, and liquidity sources as a service to let their users invest
Five global integrations with exchanges across confirmed, there are 13 more in the pipeline.
4. ‘Shopify For traders’
Work with product gatekeepers as channel partners.
Repackage the Mudrex billing, subscription, and payments infrastructure in a service that traders use to run their own subscription business and community.
The pilot is already running. The product will go live soon this year
5. Products based on Mutual funds like layer
Mudrex is planning to launch a Crypto product based on themes in the upcoming weeks
The product modeled on the lines of ETFs/Mutual Fund will help users to participate in crypto retail
6. Team Expansion – Mudrex recently raised $2.5 million from Nexus Venture Partners as part of its seed round. The funds will be used to expand the company’s personnel and operations, as well as develop new products that meet global regulatory requirements.
Mudrex – FAQs
What is Mudrex?
Mudrex is a Global Crypto Investment Platform. It deals in 2 Products – Mudrex Portfolio & Mudrex Coin Sets. The former democratizes access to investment opportunities in financial markets for investors and offers trading strategies that best suit the risk profile. Whereas Mudrex Coin Sets are baskets of crypto tokens that will help users generate good returns in the long term.
Who are the founders of Mudrex?
Mudrex is a team of four co-founders from IIT Bombay and IIT Kanpur – Edul Patel (CEO), Prince Arora (VP, Engineering), Rohit Goyal (VP, DeFi), and Alankar Saxena (CTO).
How does Mudrex make money?
In Mudrex, there is a fee for different algorithms that you choose to invest with. The starting fee is as low as 1%-2% on average per month for investing in these products. And typically users see 7%-8% on their returns.
Is Mudrex an Indian Company?
Mudrex is a US-headquartered and Bengaluru-based fintech startup.
What is Mudrex’s USP?
Being a holistic destination for all crypto investment requirements remains Mudrex’s biggest USP. Another major differentiator is theno coder feature offered to seasoned traders. This was introduced as the team realized that global exchanges that are open 24*7 do not provide accessible tools and proper infrastructure to trade.
Paytm is India’s one of the biggest fintech startups founded in August 2010 by Vijay Shekhar Sharma. The startup offers versatile instalments, e-wallet, and business stages. Even though it began as an energizing stage in 2010, Paytm has changed its plan of action to become a commercial centre and a virtual bank model. It is likewise one of the pioneers of the cashback plan of action.
Paytm has changed itself into an Indian mammoth managing versatile instalments, banking administrations, commercial centre, Paytm gold, energize and charge installments, Paytm wallet and many other provisions which serve around 100 million enlisted clients.
The areas served by Paytm are India, Canada, and Japan, it is also accessible in 11 Indian dialects. It offers online use-cases as versatile energizes, service charge installments, travel, motion pictures, and occasions appointments. In-store instalments at markets, leafy foods shops, cafés, stopping, tolls, drug stores and instructive establishments can be accessed through the Paytm QR code.
One 97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, is all set to raise its capital target of over ₹16,600 crores ($2.2 billion) through an IPO that it had filed earlier in July 2021. Paytm is seeking to raise $25 billion to $30 billion valuation post this IPO.
According to the organization, more than 7 million traders crosswise over India utilize its QR code to acknowledge instalments straightforwardly into their bank account. The organization uses commercials and pays a special substance to produce income. Let’s look at this detailed case study on Paytm to know more about its growth and future plans.
1st November 2021 – The much-awaited Paytm IPO was launched with a price band of ₹ ₹2,080-2,150 per share.
13th October 2021 – Paytm users can now store Aadhaar, driving license, vehicle RC, insurance via Digilocker. Digilocker Mini App on Paytm offers access to these documents to users even when they’re offline or in a low connectivity zone.
8th October 2021 – Paytm is looking forward to bringing in sovereign wealth funds as anchor investors in the company’s pre-IPO placement.
5th October 2021 – Switzerland-based insurance giant, Swiss RE might join Paytm’s insurance business’ board.
3rd October 2021 – Paytm has acquired 100% stakes in CreditMate, a Mumbai-based digital lending startup.
Origin of Paytm
The saga and the emergence of Paytm are discussed in this section of the case study of Paytm. It was established in August 2010 with underlying speculation of $2 million by its originator Vijay Shekhar Sharma in Noida, an area nearby India’s capital New Delhi.
2013
It began as a prepaid portable and DTH energize stage, and later included information card, postpaid versatile and landline charge installments in 2013. By January 2014, the organization propelled the Paytm pocketbook, and the Indian Railways and Uber included it as an installment option.
The official launch of Paytm Payments Bank Operations in India
It propelled into web-based business with online arrangements and transport ticketing.
2015
In 2015, it disclosed more use-cases like instruction expenses, metro energizes power, gas, and water charge installments. Paytm likewise began driving the installment passage for the Indian Railways.
2016
In 2016, Paytm propelled motion pictures, occasions, and entertainment meccas ticketing just as flight ticket appointments and Paytm QR. Later that year, it propelled rail bookings and gift vouchers. Paytm’s enrolled client base developed from 11.8 million in August 2014 to 104 million in August 2015. Its movement business crossed $500 million in annualized GMV run rate, booking two million tickets for each month.
2017
In 2017, Paytm became India’s first installment application to traverse 100 million application downloads. That year, it propelled Paytm Gold, an item that enables clients to purchase as meagre as ₹1 of unadulterated gold on the web. It additionally propelled the Paytm Payments Bank and ‘Inbox’, and informing stage with in-talk installments among other products.
2018
By 2018, it began enabling dealers to acknowledge Paytm UPI and card installments straightforwardly into their financial balances at 0% charge. It likewise propelled the ‘Paytm for Business’ application, enabling traders to follow their installments and everyday settlements instantly. This drove Paytm’s shopper base to more than 7 million by March 2018.
The organization propelled two new riches—Paytm Gold Savings Plan and Gold Gifting—to rearrange long haul savings. It propelled into diversion and speculations, and stripe alongside AGTech to dispatch the stage of a transportable game Gamepind, and putting in Paytm cash with a venture of ₹9 large integers to bring venture and riches as board items for Indians. In May 2019, Paytm joined forces with Citibank to dispatch credit cards.
Paytm or “Payment Through Mobile” is India’s biggest installment, trade, and e-wallet undertaking. It began in 2010 and is a brand of the parent organization One97 Communications, established by Vijay Shekhar Sharma. It was propelled as an online portable energize site and proceeded to change its plan of action to a virtual and commercial centre bank model.
The organization stands today as one of India’s biggest online portable administrations that incorporates banking administrations, commercial centres, versatile installments, charge installments, and energize. It has so far given administrations to more than 100 million clients.
Paytm’s enhancement has built a solid reputation and has turned out to be praiseworthy for some in the online installment industry. One of its increasingly vital accomplishments is in its joint effort with the Chinese web-based business Goliath, Alibaba for immense measures of subsidizing.
Aside from being a pioneer of the cashback plan of action, the organization has been commended for its introduction as a new business able to build huge partnerships in a limited time period.
Clients of Paytm Business
Paytm’s core focus is on serving its Indian client base, especially the cell phone clients. Numerous Indian clients saw the computerized world as an opportunity to open a financial balance. Accessing simple online installments missed the mark, and clients wound up with only poor experience. Paytm presented itself as a superior option to deal with such situations.
Paytm Offers
A portion of Paytm’s increasingly conspicuous suggestions was reviving the business which was the organization’s underlying administration recommendation.
At that point, it proceeded to differentiate and progressed to creating more current administrations from any semblance of Paytm Wallet, E-business vertical to Digital Gold.
These improvements were appreciated in the form of the Chinese mammoth Alibaba’s favours. Immense totals of cash were pumped into Paytm by Alibaba, expanding Paytm’s speculation potential. Paytm used cricket and TV promotion to capture more clients.
Relationship with Clients
Paytm Customers
Paytm has a 24*7 client care focus to interface with its clients. Simultaneously, the vast majority of Paytm administrations are self-served in nature and are open through their foundation straightforward.
Paytm’s Channel for Business
Paytm utilizes numerous channels to draw in clients. Aside from its very own site which drives clicks, Paytm has shaped associations with numerous customers and seller destinations that support its endeavour. Demonetization in India enabled the organization to succeed altogether and arrive at new clients too. Disconnected advertising is likewise a piece of their client procurement process.
Distinct Advantages
The RBI (Reserve Bank of India) permit fills in as Paytm’s fundamental asset. It should be explicit to Paytm. Different assets like the plan/programming society make it simpler for lower-pay Indians to use Paytm.
Key Roles
Paytm, being an innovation stage, dangers perils, for example, security and misrepresentation which is the reason it needs to take viable measures in ensuring its buyer’s cash by improving its security. It is likewise rolling out new improvements inside its foundation to draw in new clients and access their computerized wallets.
Partners of Paytm
Paytm accomplices with the banks that give it installment excursions into the financial framework just as escrow administrations. It works together with a heap of associations that accumulate bills and installments from its customers for its administration.
Structure of Costing
Paytm serves numerous clients which is the motivation behind why it is so cost-driven. The vast majority of its costs are identified with its foundation and client obtaining. It’s a typical cost-shared by numerous organizations over the reality where client securing cost is significant.
The cash utilized in this procedure is higher than the income it makes in its underlying buys. Most of its financial limit is to put resources into sloping up of its security and stay away from the danger of misrepresentation, particularly when it needs to deal with more than 65 million clients in its foundation. It incorporates a framework that empowers clients to avoid any tax evasion hazard.
Revenue Model of Paytm
The Paytm revenue models come in two structures. Paytm makes commissions from the client exchanges through their utilization of its foundation. Escrow Accounts are the accounts from where it creates their income. Inferable from the non-appearance of its hidden capital, it offers clients no intrigue. Starting in 2018 Paytm has aggregated 3314.8 crore INR in income.
Paytm Wallet
Paytm Wallet
Paytm wallet is one of Paytm’s best benefits that structures a connection between the bank and the retailers. This semi-shut wallet empowers you to take care of your tabs, pay for your tickets, or pay anyone concerned.
Paytm wallet separated from its profit, as approved by the RBI, has the advantage of accepting enthusiasm for a purchaser store, much the same as some other Payment Gateways.
When you store a specific measure of cash in your Paytm wallet, it will at that point set aside that cash in another bank from which it will win enthusiasm eventually.
It is the Paytm wallet’s fundamental capacity. For instance, suppose you make an installment of Rs. 1000 to a merchant and the vendor makes 10 exchanges to increase Rs. 10,000. If the installment of that sum is made through the Paytm wallet, the Paytm wallet will take a portion of about 1% of the aggregate sum. So the merchant will get around Rs. 9715.
Mobile Recharge Business
Paytm Mobile Recharge
Since its origin in 2010, Paytm’s underlying intention was to give online portable energizing administrations. Its capacity to create income was constantly shortsighted. Paytm’s administration guidelines are as praiseworthy and proficient as those of other telecom specialist co-ops running from Vodafone to Telecom.
The administrations are without shortcomings and give solace to their clients. As of now, Paytm increases a commission of 2-3% per energize. It is because Paytm, attributable to its support to its client to keep reviving through its foundation, has more grounded power in dealing than different merchants. That is the reason the commission it obtains is so high. This commission from its revive administration fills in as its income.
These administrations have supported the organization essentially in extending its base and thus, developing exponentially. When the client is fulfilled by the administration or item, he makes an arrival to a similar undertaking in this manner. This way Paytm does client maintenance and produces more traffic. Paytm has used this methodology to further its potential benefit and keeps on reaping positive results.
Paytm Digital GoldPaytm Digital Gold
Paytm Gold
Inferable from its organization with MMTC-PAMP, the outstanding gold purifier, Paytm has propelled “Computerized Gold”. This model enables clients to sell, purchase, or store gold in an advanced stage. Presently, clients need to pay at a rate just to get their gold conveyed to their families.
Paytm is very much aware of how much gold is put as a resource in India and is completely arranged to develop from this chance. The organization has made eminent arrangements to urge its clients to get their own Gold Bank Accounts individually. This record separated from empowering clients to purchase their gold will likewise furnish clients with simple access to other Paytm administrations.
Paytm Mall
Paytm Mall Website
In February 2017, Paytm propelled its Paytm Mall application which enables purchasers to shop from 1.4 lakh enrolled sellers. Paytm Mall is a B2C model enlivened by the model of China’s biggest B2C retail stage, TMall. For 1.4 lakh merchants enlisted, items need to go through Paytm-guaranteed stockrooms and channels to guarantee buyer trust.
Paytm Mall has set up 17 satisfaction focuses crosswise over India and joined forces with 40+ messengers. Paytm Mall raised $200 million from Alibaba Cluster and SAIF Partners in March 2018. In May 2018, it posted losses of roughly Rs 1,800 crore with an income of Rs 774 crore for money related to the year 2018. Moreover, the piece of the pie in Paytm Mall dropped to 3% in 2018 from 5.6% in 2017.
Advanced installments organization Paytm has professed to arrive at gross exchange esteem (GTV) of over $50 billion, while checking 5.5 billion exchanges in FY19. The Delhi NCR-based organization credited this development to the rising appropriation of Paytm over numerous utilization cases, for example, retail installments, expenses, utility installments, travel booking, excitement, games among others. It has as of late propelled membership-based prizes program (Paytm First) to aid development alongside expanding the client maintenance.
Discussing the feasible arrangements, senior VP of Paytm, Deepak Abbot stated, “We are centred around creating tech-driven arrangements, incorporated client lifecycle the board, upgrading the client experience and growing to Tier 4-5 urban communities. We are certain to accomplish 12 Bn exchanges before the part of the bargain year.” Before a month ago, the Ministry Of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had solicited Paytm to help its objective of encouraging 40 Bn advanced exchanges in FY20.
The organization shared designs to incorporate man-made brainpower in its model and achieve 2x development this year. Paytm professed to possess half piece of the installment entryway industry in India, with 400 Mn month to month exchanges on the stage.
Established by Vijay Shekhar Sharma in 2010, Paytm furnishes various new companies and huge organizations with arrangements running from a shareable PaytmQR code to profound coordination.
It empowers clients to process computerized installments through any favoured installment mode including credit and check cards, net banking, Paytm wallet, and UPI (bound together installment interface). Paytm had likewise propelled its very own installments bank in 2017.
Paytm Payments Bank is versatile first keep money with zero charges on every online exchange, (for example, IMPS, NEFT, RTGS) and no base equalization prerequisite. For investment accounts, the bank right now offers a loan cost of 4% per annum.
Expected Future Growth of Paytm
Computerized installments organization Paytm said it is looking to dramatically increase its exchange volume to 12 billion by part of the arrangement, from 5.5 billion out of 2018-19.
Paytm checked 2.5 billion exchanges in 2017-18. Paytm said it accomplished gross exchange esteem (GTV) of $50 billion out of 2018-19, as contrasted and $25 billion every year prior. GTV is the estimation of all-out exchanges done on the stage.
“This expansion is a consequence of the fast development in the reception of Paytm’s computerized installments arrangements crosswise over on the web and disconnected for different use cases including retail installments, charges, utility installments, travel booking, amusement, games and that’s only the tip of the iceberg,”
The organization said in an announcement. Its membership-based program Paytm First was propelled in March has pulled into equal parts a million supporters, the organization added.
Paytm has 350 million enrolled clients starting on 5 June, an organization authority said. Paytm offers a variety of installment alternatives that incorporate installment through portable wallets, just like ongoing installment framework Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and web banking.
The organization has been centred around structure instruments for dealers to streamline their everyday business needs. This has brought about enormous dealers obtaining who are very much furnished with innovation to acknowledge all installment modes (cards, wallet, and UPI). Paytm now intends to concentrate on embracing computerized reasoning and improving the UI.
Why was Paytm Removed from Google Play Store?
Paytm India app was removed from Google Play Store because it violated Google guidelines. While other apps like Paytm for Business, Paytm mall, Paytm Money, and a few more were still available. But after a few hours of being taken down, the Paytm app was back on Google Play Store.
#Paytm out of Google Play Store. Google: We don’t allow online casinos/support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting. It includes if app leads consumers to an external website that allows them to participate in paid tournaments to win real money/cash prizes pic.twitter.com/poeZzXw5nA
“We have these policies to protect users from potential harm. When an app violates these policies, we notify the developer of the violation and remove the app from Google Play until the developer brings the app into compliance. And in the case where there are repeated policy violations, we may take more serious action which may include terminating Google Play Developer accounts. Our policies are applied and enforced on all developers consistently,” Google Added.
Paytm’s IPL 2021 Ad taking jibe over the slow payment of Google Pay.
FAQ
Is Paytm a fintech company?
Yes, Paytm is India’s leading and one of the most valued fintech startups founded by Vijay Shekar Sharma in 2010.
What are the areas served by Paytm?
Paytm is a leading fintech startup that not only operates in India but it also serves Canada and Japan.
When was Paytm established?
Paytm was founded in 2010 by Vijay Shekar Sharma.
What is Paytm and how does it work?
Paytm is a leading financial service and bill payments app that offers financial solutions to its customers, offline merchants and online platforms. All you need to do is open the Paytm app on your phone, click on ‘Pay’, and select ‘QR code’. Scan the QR code of the receiver and enter the amount to be paid. The money will be transferred in a few seconds.
How much does Vijay Shekhar Sharma own in Paytm?
Vijay Shekhar Sharma currently owns 14.61% of the company.
Startups are now ruling the business world, wherever you look, you’ll find one. It is becoming a crucial part of every country. There are people out there ready to invest in startups that look promising to them. Investing in a startup company can reward investors both physically and financially. It is also very risky as well, you are not exactly sure if that Startup is going to survive or not.
Although there is a huge number of startups that are creating a name for themselves in different industries but not every one of them makes it till the end. Of course, the reward is fascinating but the risk of losing the entire money is also there. The feedback on investing money in Startup Companies is immeasurable. So, there are many things for investors to keep in mind while investing their money in Startups.
According to a report, 90 % of Indian startups fail within the first five years. Hence as an investor, you must perform quality research before investing in startups. In this article, we will talk about some tips that an investor must follow before investing in a startup. So let’s get started.
To reduce the risks after investing in any Startup Company, the investor must know the domain in which the startup operates. This will help to attain potential success in investing. Always make sure that the startup company will grow and money will return back to the investor.
Be Mindful of the Founder’s Background
It is important to place the founders of the company in the right place as they are the ones to determine the company’s profits and success in the future. Especially for early-stage companies, founders are necessary for developing the path to success. If one product is made, it is tested by many members in the founder group and finally released. So, founders must have the right place to show their talents to lead the company. Thus, the investor needs to focus on the founder’s background story. The story includes which companies, the education they are previously coming from and what type of value they bring to the table.
Invest Your Money in Different Industry
The best way of reducing the risk of investing is multiple investments of money on different field tracks. This will increase the possibilities of success and will help to reduce risk. It will also increase the chances of getting money back with some profit or an offer by another company. This type of investment gives a result from the long gap. So, investors patiently wait for their turn and attain great heights in business.
Learn how to invest by joining another group
When investors are struggling with how to invest money in Startups, they can simply join other members online and invest a part of the amount. Investors must learn by analyzing different deals made by another member to determine what makes them a proper investors. It is important to understand the market before making any type of investment.
Analyse the type of competition held on markets
Analyze what type of competition is there among market investors. Investors are suggested to invest their money in the beneficial domain. First, the investors should analyze the customers, what they wish and what they want. Feedback is the key for the startup to develop the project at the right time. The investor must be very careful and analyse the market properly.
Find Out if the Startup Is Ready to Face Challenges
Not every time, things will go as planned, unforeseen circumstances can be a part of the journey of a startup, so the investors must analyse if the startup will be able to change its way, according to the circumstances so that they can survive the upcoming challenges.
Keep an Eye on Investing Money
Investors must keep an eye on investing money. They must watch for what purpose and how their money is spent. The investors must know that their invested money satisfied or reached the milestone of their startup company.
Examine the Legal Documents
It is an important thing for each investor to review the legal documents because sometimes cheating occurs when investing in a startup company. This may involve how the company is structured and who is involved. The investors must know the structure and ancient history of a particular startup company and what percentage of ownership in the company they are receiving depending upon the amount of money that they are investing.
Main Parameters for Investing
The first parameter for investing in startup companies is product or technology. The investors should be aware of what type of product is being developed by the Startup. They should also know, what type of problem occurs and when it occurs during investing money.
The second parameter is the team. The investor should know the team which works for them and whether they work efficiently or not. They carefully choose the associates and workers in a team.
The third parameter is scalability and competitive advantage. It means that can the business scale efficiently and cost-effectively. Investors should be aware of the business can be cost-effective or not. It decides if the investor is suited for the business or not.
The fourth parameter is the market. The investor should know the size of the market and how it reaches customers. They must know the number of people who really use their product efficiently.
Conclusion
If you are investing in a startup for the first time, then you must follow the above tips. Apart from that if you are not good at finance and laws, then it’s better to take advice from experts regarding stocks, bonds, shares, and other startup-related things. Last but not least, do invest in a startup first then measure the progress and learn from the mistakes.
FAQ
How do Investors Invest in Startups?
Investors create a partnership between the company and themselves.
Is it Good to Invest in Startups?
Investing in startups can be risky, if the startup turns out to be successful, the reward is great but if the startup fails, the investors lose their money.
Why do Most Startups Fail?
There are a number of reasons why most Startups fail, it includes money running out, choosing the wrong business market, problems between founders, wrong way of marketing and others.
We all realize how tough it is to start a company or a brand, but letting the rest of the world know about it and promoting it in a positive manner is much more challenging. With the industry being so crowded and competitive, you’ll need to develop a brand strategy so you can work accordingly and supply all of the tools you’ll need to expand your business.
A well-thought-out brand strategy may be extremely effective and profitable to a company, but it takes time and effort. With your approach, you must be patient and logical, and you must trust the process. But the most difficult element is figuring out how to create a strong brand strategy and how to implement it in the business.
So, first, let’s discuss what a brand strategy is and how it works, and then we’ll talk about how to create one later in the article.
A brand strategy is a plan or collection of tactics devised and implemented by a company in order to project a positive image of the company to the customer base. Image matters a lot. When a customer buys your service, they will look into the brand’s reputation since it gives them confidence in the purchase they are making and ensures that the service or product provided by the business is of high quality.
So to make your brand look more legitimate and have a positive image for the customers, you must have a good brand strategy to perfectly build your brand. Customers will form an impression of your brand as a result of this, and your brand will stand out in the competition.
What is Brand Strategy and How to do it?
Importance of Brand Strategy
An effective brand strategy emphasizes your brand’s message while also promoting a positive picture of your company. It will be difficult to track your company’s development and set goals for the long run if you don’t have a brand plan in place. If you want your firm to expand consistently, having a solid brand strategy and plans to implement it can be really beneficial.
Following are some benefits of Brand Strategy:
1. When you have a proper brand strategy and you are following it strictly, then you do not have to worry about all the useless advice people will give you to grow your company or make a profit.
2. As you now have a solid brand strategy, assist you in focusing only on the plan and strategies you have mapped out for your business. You will save a lot of time and money now that you have a strong plan and know what to do.
3. You will see an increase in the number of clients if you have a clear strategy and plan in place to improve the company’s image and generate an appealing brand. Positive branding and a good reputation are known to attract new customers and keep existing customers coming back for additional purchases.
A solid branding plan should help spread the word about your company. An effective brand strategy should make people aware of what you’re offering and that you provide the best service, at least better than your competitors. But the difficulty is how to construct one and which tactics should be used and which should be avoided.
Following are some steps one can follow to make a successful brand strategy:
Understand Your Business
If you want to build a strong brand strategy, you must first understand your business, what you want to get out of it, and how you want people to perceive it. The most important thing is to be aware of your competitors. Know your staff and how they may contribute to the company’s and their own personal growth by working more efficiently.
Set Realistic Goals
Set Realistic Goals for building Branding Strategy
When you’re starting a business and don’t have a lot of devoted consumers, you should create clear goals and numbers for yourself and your company, and try to make them reasonable, as setting realistic goals for yourself and your organization is the main challenge.
Know What Your Business’s Major Offering Is
One should have a clear understanding of what their company has to offer and devise strategies for getting the information out to the public. It will be the best opportunity to build a dedicated fanbase if the company has a core offering and the quality is guaranteed.
Having a Solid Brand Strategy That Attracts Investors
It raises the value of your brand and confirms the legitimacy of your company when you have a sound brand strategy and present it to investors in a clear and simple manner. So, if you want to attract investors and grow your firm, you’ll need a brand plan. Your investors may not take your goals and opinions seriously if you don’t have a brand strategy.
Know about the Target Audience
It’s possible that your business may suffer if you don’t know who will buy the service you’re selling or what their purchasing habits are. Work hard to understand your target audience so that you can create a strategy and marketing plan around them.
Conclusion
The success of a brand is determined by its effective brand strategy and expertise in the industry. If you don’t have a clear brand strategy in place, you may find yourself making hasty decisions. Know your brand and the message you want to send through it, as well as the primary service you’ll provide to your clients. Branding strategy aids in the development of a better image and general validity. This is advantageous if you want investors to approach you and invest in your company.
FAQs
Why is brand strategy important?
An excellent brand strategy aids in the development of a great reputation. It establishes who you really are as a company and concentrates your long-term objectives.
Who invented brand strategy?
Neil H. McElroy’s memo at Procter & Gamble is credited with launching the contemporary field of brand management.
Why do you need a brand strategy?
Maintaining a regular brand strategy makes it easier to connect with its customers. The more constant your advertising is, the more probable it will be successful in attracting and keeping customers’ trust.
The global economy has always been positively impacted by the introduction of startup companies, which has paved the way for the growing importance of their establishment among different countries.
This has made the governments of the respective countries come forward to encourage their growth and rapid development, along with apt regulation. This startup growth has been witnessed across different sectors of the industry in India, which is at par with the rest of the world. India is one of the leading countries in terms of its startups. The government of India recognized 14,000 new startups in 2021 and 44 of them have also joined the coveted club of unicorns. The funding that is pouring in India today had never been seen earlier. Along with helping the companies turn unicorns and steering them forward to the next level, this funding is also helping the Indian entrepreneurs grow like never before.
Here are some of the successful richest founders in India.
Byju Raveendran is the Founder and CEO of one of the most prominent EdTech startups in India Byju’s. The veteran Indian entrepreneur was born in 1981 at Azhikode, Kerala. He did his schooling from a Malayalam medium school, where his mother “Shobhanavalli” and father “Raveendran” were mathematics and physics teachers respectively. After schooling, he pursued B. Tech from the Government College of Engineering, Kannur.
Then after completing his graduation in the year 2003, he started working as a service engineer at a reputed MNC. After two years, he quit his job and started helping people prepare for the CAT examination. In 2007, he commenced the test preparation business “Byju’s classes” which was a success. This motivated him, thereby leading him to launch his startup Byju’s alongside his wife in 2011.
With the rapid growth of the smartphone industry in India, he launched what we know today as “Byju’s – The learning app”. Within three years, the app got success at both national as well as international levels, as the app expanded its operation to English-speaking countries, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, etc.
Byju’s app adheres to a freemium operation model, primarily aimed at preparing Indian students aspiring to clear examinations such as CAT, IAS, IIT-JEE, NEET, etc. It also helps to provide teaching assistance and facilities to the students of classes 3-12.
The company overall gained so much success that it even bagged the recognition of being the shirt sponsor of the Indian cricket team, as announced in July 2019, replacing Oppo, who were the earlier sponsors. The deal allows Byju’s name to be printed on the team’s jerseys between September 5, 2019 – March 31, 2022. With over 100 million users and 6.5 million paid subscribers, along with a net worth of approximately 16.5 billion dollars, Byju’s is ranked among the top 5 national internet companies.
Net worth
The combined wealth of Byju Raveendran and his family (brother Riju Raveendran and spouse, Divya Gokulnath) stood at $3.22 bn (Rs 24300 crore), as per IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021. The personal net worth of Byju Raveendran was last reported to be $1.7 bn in 2020. His company, Byju’s is also a market leader in terms of valuation. With a valuation of $21 bn, the Raveendran-led edtech company is the second most valued startup in India and the most valued edtech startup in the world, as per December 2021 reports.
Thus, from his journey, we can learn that the passion for learning and imparting education o others, coupled with an overarching plan in place, one can achieve anything and everything in life.
Awards and recognitions
Awarded the Manorama News Newsmaker Award in the year 2019.
Fortune Magazine 2020 ‘40 under 40’.
Finalist of the Ernst and Young 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year.
Winner of the Business Transformation Award in 2020 by Ernst and Young.
Winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year award at the Forbes India Leadership Award (FILA) 2021.
Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath
Nithin and Nikhil Kamath
Nithin Kamath created Zerodha, a brokerage firm with an open and low-cost business approach, in 2010. Zerodha, presently led by both Kamath brothers, Nithin and Nikhil, is the country’s largest brokerage, with over 5.48 million active clients.
After reports in recent months that approximately Rs 80,000 crore of Indians’ money sits unreported in various banking and Demat accounts, Nithin stated in September that Zerodha would be introducing an ‘alert tool’ to its platform to notify beneficiaries when an account becomes inactive.
Nithin and Nikhil had been trading right from their teenage years. The kids of a veena teacher and the manager of Canara Bank grew up in Bengaluru’s Basavanagudi, which is known for its lively traders. Nithin confesses that “greed” drew him into trading in the first place.
They’d joined Reliance Money and Way2Wealth as sub-brokers, respectively. Kamath Associates, a firm that handles money for others, was founded because of its trading prowess. The trading brothers had a sneaking suspicion that the firm was about to be disrupted. “When the jobs accomplished per transaction are the same, why should fees be dependent on transaction value?” had been a problem Nithin frequently pondered.
Nithin was aware of the industry’s lack of transparency. The number of securities financial transactions tax or brokerage imposed by brokers was sometimes unclear to clients.
Despite the pandemic, Zerodha had its biggest year ever, with 1.5 million new users. Nikhil started his fund, True Beacon, for high-net-worth clients in 2019. It is still modest, with a corpus of Rs 380 crores, but it has gained an amazing 35 percent during the last 14 months.
For the time being, the Kamath brothers are concentrating on what they do best: providing the best trading experience and a risk-free alternative to investors. There is also no stock study and no sales targets for any of the employees, which leads to misselling. They’ve introduced Varsity by Zerodha, which includes market tutorials. And the primary broking service continues to be unadvertised.
Varsity by Zerodha
Nithin, the company’s CEO, makes product choices and oversees the production, while Nikhil, the company’s CIO, manages risk and deals on their account. They’ve invested in various firms in the investment field and given money to climate change solutions, thereby channeling their brokerage earnings for a good cause.
Net worth
They are the biggest Indian entrepreneurs under the age of 40, according to the IIFL Wealth Hurun India ’40 and Under Self-Made Rich List’ 2020, with Rs 24,000 crore. SEBI recently authorized them to establish an asset management firm.
Awards and recognitions
The Confederation of Indian Industry bestowed upon them the Emerging Entrepreneur Award (CII).
In its annual business review, The Economic Times recognized Kamath as among the 10 Indian entrepreneurs to follow in 2016 who have the most impact in their industries.
Forbes Finance in India in 2016 listed them in their 30 Under 30 list.
According to the CII’s CEO, “use technology to manufacture affordable things”.
Economic Times included them in “10 Businessmen to Watch in 2016”.
Divyank Turakhia
Divyank Turakhia
Divyank Turakhia is distinguished as an Indian-born serial entrepreneur, businessman, computer programmer, self-made billionaire, and investor. Turakhia is ranked #1 in the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021. Media.net is the company that Divyank founded back in 2010, which went on to become recognized among the top 5 largest online advertising businesses globally. After scaling media.net to a promising level, Divyank is also credited for selling it to Miteno Communication Technology (Shuzhi.AI) in an all-cash deal in 2016 for $900M. This is also famous as the third-largest acquisition transaction in the online advertising industry worldwide.
Turakhia began programming at the tender age of 9 years, while he started internet consulting for major companies including large corporates when he was just 14 years of age, in 1996. He then decided to borrow $600 from his father and after two years, he co-founded a web hosting and domain registration business. This venture was again quite a success for Turakhia and was eventually purchased by NASDAQ:EIGI in 2014 for $160M. Turakhia studied at Arya Vidya Mandir in Bandra, Mumbai and was later a student of Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics (University of Mumbai), from where he graduated.
Div or Divyank, as he is commonly referred to, reached the milestone of acquiring his $1 million at 18, attained the milestone of possessing $100 million at 23, and then leaped to cross the 1 billion dollar mark in 2016, when he was 34. A serial entrepreneur, Divyank has been Co-founder of Directi, Founder and CEO of Skenzo, Founder and CEO of Media.net, Founder and CIO of numerous global investment funds. Div stepped down from the position of CEO of media.net in October 2018 and is currently planning to spend some time running his global investment funds.
Net worth
Divyank Turakhia’s net worth has been listed at Rs 12, 500 crores by Hurun India in its IIFL Wealth Hurun India rich list 2021. He was featured as the youngest billionaire on the Forbes List of Richest Indians worldwide in 2018.
Awards and recognitions
Economic Times awards the ET Panache Trendsetter Award in 2016.
Ranked #2 in the IIFL Wealth and Hurun India 40 & Under Self-Made Rich List in 2020
Recognized as the Youngest Indian Billionaire successively in 2016, 2017, and 2018.
Bloomberg Television in 2010 conferred upon the title “Winning Warrior”
BusinessWeek Magazine listed Divyank Turakhia among Asia’s Best Entrepreneurs Under 25 in 2006
Nakul Aggarwal is popularly identified as the Co-founder and CTO of BrowserStack. Nakul is an alumnus of the IIT Bombay. Started with Lime Spot Technology India Pvt. Ltd., where he served the role of a Software Developer, he left the job after 2 years. In the meanwhile, he had already started QuarkBase.com as the co-founder. Aggarwal then switched to Lime Labs LLC as the Senior Software Engineer but left the same after stepping down from the co-founder position of QuarkBase.com. Nakul eventually took up the role of managing Development & Infrastructure at Downcase Consulting and while he was working with the company, he founded BrowserStack in 2011. Aggarwal then left Downcase Consulting.
Net worth
Nakul Aggarwal was ranked at the second position in Hurun Rich List 2021 with a total wealth of Rs 12, 400 crore.
Awards and recognitions
Nakul Aggarwal is currently ranked #2 by the Hurun Research Institute in the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021.
Ritesh Arora is known as the Co-founder and CEO of BrowserStack. Ritesh co-founded BrowserStack in 2011, which is currently hailed as the world’s leading software testing platform. The vision was mainly to simplify testing for millions of developers globally. BrowserStack scaled far and wide and currently boasts of 50,000+ global customers, along with being backed by marquee investors like Accel, BOND, and Insight Partners. The Ritesh and Nakul-led company was recently valued at $4 billion.
BrowserStack provides instant access to over 3,000 real mobile devices and browsers on its cloud platform and delivers quality software at speed. It currently aids leading companies like Microsoft, Twitter, Wells Fargo, Discovery, and Expedia.
Ritesh Arora has graduated from IIT Bombay with Computer Science and is a serial entrepreneur who has started multiple companies after completing his graduation.
Ritesh is known as an angel investor and currently mentors many technology startups in India. Arora started as a Software Developer at Lime Labs and then founded QuarkBase.com and Downcase.com, but he no longer holds the role in the companies. Ritesh Arora finally founded BrowserStack, where he still is a Co-founder and CEO.
Net worth
Ritesh has a net worth of Rs 12,400 crore, as listed recently in the IIFL Weal Hurun India Rich List 2021.
Awards and recognitions
His company BrowserStack has won numerous industry accolades like:
It has been named to Forbes 2021 Cloud 100.
LinkedIn ranked BrowserStack at #1 in its Top 25 India Startups list.
The company was hailed as the Bootstrap Champ by Economic Times.
With the increase in the support and assistance from the Indian government to the startups, the young and budding Indian entrepreneurs must keep these role models as their benchmarks of success. The early initiatives of these listed people got them to where they are now. The startup founders are the embodiment of creativity and innovation. Thus, their journey offers some valuable insights, following which the entrepreneurs can push their initiatives towards glory.
FAQ
Who are the richest entrepreneurs in India?
Byju Raveendran and Family, Nithin and Nikhil Kamath, Divyank Turakhia, Nakul Aggarwal, Ritesh Arora are the richest entrepreneurs in India, as of February 2022.
How much do startup founders make in India?
The average salary of a startup founder is between Rs 15 lakhs to Rs 80 Lakhs depending on the experience.
Who is the youngest CEO in India?
Suhas Gopinath is the youngest CEO in India. He took charge of the CEO of Globals Inc. at the age of 17.
The article is contributed By Vikash-Mishra, CEO and Co-founder of Moeving.
Animals, especially horses, have been central to transportation for a millennium. We humans had built our entire mobility infrastructure to suit this mode of transportation. However, when the modern car came into existence in the early 1900s, it replaced horses at an unanticipated pace. In a few urban settings like New York, the transition took less than a decade. People had to completely rebuild the transportation infrastructure, including fuel pumps, service stations and roads. And, this happened while the world was fighting World War I.
A hundred years later, today, the transport industry is coming full circle. The world is at the cusp of another transportation revolution, one that promises to eliminate emissions related to transportation and make it sustainable again. This time, the ICE (Internal Combustion Engines) engines are at the receiving end. As of today, it might look like an insignificant trickle globally but the tipping point for Electric Vehicles (EV) is not far. With much of Europe already reaching double digit percentage sales penetration, steadily globally uptake of EVs driven by technology innovation, will do to ICE vehicles exactly what happened to horse-driven vehicles; obsolete. The speed at which the transition will take place in this decade, especially in high-density areas like larger cities, means we will witness a time when EVs will outnumber fossil fuel vehicles by several times.
The transition will not be a simple passing of the baton though. We will have to reimagine the entire transport industry like we did when transitioning from horses to cars. Working in siloed partnerships will not lead to meaningful at-scale growth, but taking a holistic ecosystem approach to tie all the loose ends can lead to faster adoption of EVs. The form factor of EVs, which has started as an extension or as a mirror image of the ICEVs, will transform significantly. These will be largely triggered by economic dynamics (policy push towards manufacturing, new age financing of vehicles, natural realignment of cities in line with MRTS, etc.), technology interventions from AI, IoT (leveraging data science for better vehicle quality, autonomous technologies), battery form-factor (flexible batteries allowing EV form factors fluidity), as well as fast charging technology (adding to range and reducing downtime). However, the biggest impact on how EVs evolve will be triggered by changing human behaviour. As people move from ownership to access, and as more move to hybrid working styles, the way people view mobility will change.
Like during the transition from horses to cars, there will be massive disruption with some clear winners and heavy losers. Like in the 1900s, transportation infrastructure was rebuilt, during the EV disruption, given the higher upfront vehicle cost but lower vehicle built-up complexity, we need to further optimize our EV infrastructure investments, for example in terms of charging and maintenance, and build highly distributed, accessible low cost infrastructure with an ecosystem approach. There will be limitless opportunities for early adopters who can visualise some of these changes early enough. This is true for people and organisations, but even more so for nations. India, due to its unique position (very low per-capita personal vehicle density, evolving urban infrastructure, robust start-up ecosystem, abundance of rare earth metals, growing renewable energy focus) can become a global hub for EV manufacturing and adoption if it plays its cards right.
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 Svenklas.
Social Impact is being focussed by many startups for ethical growth of its business. Companies are thoughtful towards bringing a significant, positive change that addresses a social challenge specially environmental issues and shows care & concern towards mother Nature.
In modern days with shortage of natural resources Svenklas put its focus on practising sustainability and artful lifestyle products designed thoughtfully with modern aesthetic and hand-made with plant based natural materials.
Read to know about Svenklas, founders, products & services, business model, and the story of its growth.
Svenklas designs minimal, functional and aesthetically appealing products for life’s everyday journeys. Channeling the simplicity and beauty of the great outdoors, their durable and quality pieces are infused with a distinct streak of luxury with carefully chosen features for everyday use.
“The thinking about Svenklas is to create products that are minimal, stylish, beautiful and just keeping things simple. Sometimes innovation is about taking things away. We saw an opportunity to innovate by using natural materials and creating products that are more design driven.” – Svenklas founder duo Nikhil and Nischal.
Svenklas – Industry
As per Technopak Advisors, the fashion accessories market of India was observed at USD 3.4 billion in 2014 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 12 percent to reach USD 10.6 billion by 2024.
Svenklas – Founders and Team
Nikhil Sharma and Nischal Sharma
Nikhil Sharma and Nischal Sharma are the founders of Svenklas. They both met at the workplace and became friends instantly due to their common Himalayan connection as one of them hails from Shimla and the other is from Dehradun.
They were friends first and business partners second and always shared ideas back and forth about things they loved, things they saw, brands, objects, architecture, and places to go. It was quite natural to start a business together for them. They have complementary skill sets, but also different ones, and that helped when there were just the two of them were trying to get Svenklas off the ground.
Svenklas – Startup Story
Svenklas started out by making lifestyle products from discarded materials like billboards that would normally end up in a landfill. They eventually had to pivot as they started to face raw material sourcing requirement issues. So, they started exploring and researching “non-fuel” based natural sustainable materials. This eventually led to Svenklas where they are creating technical lifestyle products of the future using innovative sustainable natural materials.
Svenklas – Mission and Vision
Svenklas is a design-driven sustainable luxury lifestyle accessory brand creating thoughtful products using plant-based natural materials for life’s everyday journeys. With sustainability at the forefront and inspired by the vast yet beautiful Himalayan landscapes and rich Nordic heritage, the company are on a mission to prove that aesthetics, design and sustainability doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive.
They found that anything synthetic materials can do, natural materials can do better. Channeling the simplicity and beauty of the great outdoors; Their minimal, functional and aesthetically appealing products are infused with a distinct streak of luxury with carefully chosen features for everyday use.
They are committed to creating products that would act as a vehicle for change and would speak to the generations of people who know the distinction between quality and quantity and also care about our planet. That’s the brand and mission of Svenklas.
Svenklas – Name, Tagline, and Logo
Svenklas company logo
The founders of Svenklas spent months looking for the apt name in English-Nordic dictionaries before they found the one that mirrored their vision for the brand. The name Svenklas is composed of two Nordic root words “Sven” + “Klas” which translates to ‘Victory for the Youth’ in Norse language.
The name also reflects their vision towards creating products that are rich in meaning, quality and story while focusing intently on aesthetics, functionality, natural materials, attention to detail and artisanal craftsmanship.
Svenklas – Business and Revenue Model
Svenklas primarily sells directly to consumers via its website. The other channels of revenue are 3rd party marketplaces like Tata CLiQ Luxury, Amazon, Flipkart, Ajio and Myntra. They also work closely with platforms like CRED, Paytm, PhonePe and Magicpin.
The other revenue streams include selling on curated marketplaces like Rooted Objects, Caelum, Vibecity and via exclusive brand partnerships. They’re also available in the US (online and offline) with a couple of retailers and a few dropshipping partners.
Svenklas – Products and Services
Svenklas was created to show that you don’t have to sacrifice style for sustainability and their collection is a testament that you can actually produce great looking products in a sustainable way.
The company is always looking to contribute towards considered, conscious and responsible design while challenging the role of functionality in design to deliver the highest quality products.
In today’s world, there is an acute shortage of natural resources which forced Svenklas to do away with thoughtless consumption, production and design. So, they’ve put their focus on practising sustainability and respect for the environment at all times without compromising the aesthetics.
Their collection is the love letter to sustainability and craftsmanship – from the pride that’s taken in making something sustainably by hand to the joy of owning a little piece of that magic. Their collection draws inspiration from raw Himalayan landscapes and rich Nordic heritage to create everyday products which are uncomplicated, long-lasting, modern and aesthetically appealing.
All of the products by Svenklas in the collection are made using 100% organic cotton or full-grain vegetable-tanned leather and all the synthetic fabrics contain recycled fibres. They’ve designed the collection for the urban city lifestyle and outdoor adventures alike.
Combining innovation with the inspiration provided by the timeless Himalayan landscapes that include wide unpopulated areas, waterways and dense forests alongside the modern urban way of life.
Svenklas have created a premium collection of products that includes a selection of styles from backpacks, tote bags, hip pack, messenger bags, briefcases to wallets for every occasion and adventure with a simplistic design aesthetic
A lot of things in life are utilitarian. So, there isn’t a lot of importance attached to them. Svenklas cared about backpacks which not many people cared about when they started, although everybody wore them. They had to break that barrier where people would pay importance to a brand that sells just only backpacks and also make them care about sustainability, materials, design and craftsmanship.
Svenklas – Growth
Svenklas relied heavily on influencer marketing when they started. It just happened that a lot of celebrities who they reached out to on Instagram really loved their mission, design and approach to sustainability that somehow convinced them to carry their products and then share pictures on social media. This really catapulted their brand among the initial target audience and that’s how they got their first 100 users.
Svenklas – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
The marketing campaign of the brand with Vicky Kaushal was hugely successful where Vicky carried our Hagen backpack to Serbia for the shoot of his film ‘Uri’. He posted about Svenklas and their Hagen backpack on his Instagram while he was in Serbia and that created a lot of buzz and helped them carve a little niche as a brand in the backpack category.
Svenklas – Awards and Achievements
YourStory Top 500 Challenger Brands of India 2021.
ELLE Graduates 2021 Sustainable Design Award finalists.
Our products are carried by celebrities like Vicky Kaushal, Sumit Vyas, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Sayani Gupta, Aisha Sharma, Mrunal Thakur and Angira Dhar.
They have also been featured in magazines and news portals like Grazia India, ELLE India, Times Internet, Homegrown, LBB India, Fashion Network and YourStory.
Svenklas – Competitors
Da Milano, Hidesign, Herschel, Bellroy are some of the top competitors of Svenklas.
Svenklas – Future Plans
Svenklas are soon planning to enter the apparel category with their t-shirts launch. As trends change, they’ve adapted to them, and now are building a product roadmap on how they can be relevant to the female consumer beyond just the unisex aspect. They are looking to add more feminine, smaller silhouettes and pay more detailed attention to how women are going to carry it
The company has grown multifold year on year since its inception in 2018. They are growing through their own means with a laser-sharp focus on unit profitability and will continue to reinvest profits into opportunities create more categories, go into more countries and retailers.
They will also continue to invest in social causes like their partnership with GiveIndia where they plant 2 trees for every Svenklas product sold. The future plans of Svenklas include further international expansion, new category launches, limited product drops, exclusive brand partnerships, working with social media creators, influencers and celebrity collaborations.
The concept of crowdfunding has just started to gain momentum in India. ‘Funding’ is the first problem new people, entering the world of business for the first time, find it difficult.
Startups have to turn to institutions and angel investors because there is a lack of funds for bootstrapping or a lack of help from friends or family. But banks tend to refuse business loans for first-time entrepreneurs and often ask for huge collateral. Sometimes, it’s difficult to convince investors also. That crowdfunding platforms can play a key role in helping entrepreneurs make the most of their ideas.
Crowdfunding is defined as a pooling of resources by a group of people for a common goal. In this concept, common mass is approached to raise funds for your idea execution, project, startup, or cause.
According to a survey conducted, less than 2% of the companies end up raising funds from professional investors. This is large because of reasons ranging from non-scalable businesses to the lack of exits. The rest 98% still need to raise funds to take their startup to the next level.
Some of the popular crowdfunding sites in India are Kickstarter, Wishberry, Indiegogo, FuelADream, Fundable, Ketto, Catapooolt, and Milaap which not only help Startups or individuals to launch a product but also test the acceptance of the product in the market.
If we compare the crowdfunding market in India to that of the United States, we are still considerably smaller. However, if estimates are to be believed, this can soon change.
Let’s see how does crowdfunding works in India for businesses and startups and its benefits.
In the donation model, individuals make a financial contribution to a project without any expectations of financial benefits.
Lending Model
In this model, individuals will lend money to the project with the expectation of being repaid under the terms and conditions agreed.
Reward-Based Crowdfunding
In reward-based crowdfunding, people contribute to your campaign and you give them a reward in return. The reward could be a DVD of the Film, The Gadget, etc. Equity cannot be given as a Reward.
Investment Model
In the Investment model of crowdfunding, the investor receives an equity stake in the project. Equity-based crowdfunding is not so common in India. Crowdfunding is becoming a lifeline for new entrepreneurs and small businesses as it helps them in many ways without losing much equity. Let’s see how crowdfunding helps startups and businesses in India.
How to Build a Crowdfunding Website or Platform in India?
Easy Steps to Create a Crowdfunding website or platform:
Find a Crowdfunding Niche
Choosing a niche helps to classify your site from others, and can also provide value to your campaign creators and sponsors. Every new crowdfunding website or platform is dedicated to a niche. That means that the website will host crowdfunding campaigns for one particular matter or kind of product.
This is due to the big platforms that are available to crowdfunding creators. There is no use in trying to compete with the bigger crowdfunding platforms on the internet because you will likely lose.
Use Crowdfunding Technology
Search for the right technology that you want to use for your Crowdfunding website. Not all technology is paid, but when it comes to running a successful Crowdfunding platform, you want to be sure that there are no faults so users have a great experience on your website.
You get what you pay for, if you use free Crowdfunding software, do not be surprised when something goes wrong with your website. Choosing a SaaS (Software as a Service) product can provide you with real-time support. This way you can get your site up and running fast, with as few issues as possible. And if there is a problem on the site, you are not left to your own to fix the issue.
Connect The Payment Gateway
It is usually best to open up a new bank account for the Crowdfunding platform if you are serious about taking a transaction fee on the donations to the website. If you were not already known, most Crowdfunding websites are taking a transaction fee on each donation to the campaigns on the site.
This is a great way to generate an income on the side, by utilizing Crowdfunding. Depending on the usage of the platform, a bank account can be set up and connected to the payment gateway to receive a transaction fee.
Add The Content
Once you are finished choosing the niche, platform, and connecting your payment solution to your bank account, next, is the most time-consuming step, adding the content to your platform. You should have access to the front-end source code, to manipulate the User Interface (UI) to your standards.
You will be restricted by the default UI and features from the product if you do not have access to the front-end source code. It is best practice to create all of the content, and have all of the images/videos ready before adding the content to the site. This can save a lot of time by simply copying and pasting the content onto the site.
Launch The Platform
Once the platform is all set up, the next step is to launch the platform. Before launching the platform, however, it is recommended to have Crowdfunding campaigns ready to host their campaign on your platform before launching.
The first handful of campaigns on your new platform is likely going to be from friends and family. If those campaigns are not available, you need to start searching for campaigns by joining online communities in your niche, and in the Crowdfunding industry.
Market The Platform
The website is finally created and launched on the internet. The last step is to market the platform. The whole idea is to market the Crowdfunding platform successfully so that many campaign creators are approaching you to create a campaign on your platform. This way, you do not have to do any work to make money. This can be a great solution for those that want to generate monthly revenue by simply approving or disapproving Crowdfunding campaigns.
Starting up a company is a very risky and challenging journey. Launching a crowdfunding campaign hedges these risks and serves as a valuable learning experience. Crowdfunding as it is today allows an entrepreneur to gain market validation and avoid giving up equity before going all out and taking a product concept to market.
Crowdfunding Saves Equity
Crowdfunding is a great alternative way to fund a venture and it can be done without giving up equity or accumulating debt.
Crowdfunding As Marketing Tool
An active crowdfunding campaign is a good way to introduce a venture’s overall mission and vision to the market, as it is a free and easy way to reach numerous channels.
Crowdfunding Proves The Concept
Showing investors and convincing yourself that your venture has received sufficient market validation at an early stage is hard. Crowdfunding makes this possible as people get to know about your product and show their response.
Crowdfunding Helps to Brainstorm Ideas
One of the biggest challenges for small businesses and entrepreneurs is to be able to cover all the holes that a venture might have at an early stage. By having a crowdfunding campaign, the entrepreneur has the ability to engage the crowd and receive comments, feedback, and ideas.
People who view the entrepreneur’s campaign and decide to contribute are ones that believe in the success of the company in the long run. In essence, these people are early adopters. Early adopters are very important to every business, as they will help spread the initial word without asking for anything in return. Such people care about the venture’s brand and message and are likely to be loyal customers throughout their life.
Crowdfunding is Easier Than Traditional Applications
Applying for a loan or pursuing other capital investments are two of the most painful processes that every entrepreneur has to go through, especially during the early stages of the company.
Crowdfunding is Free PR
The momentum created by successful crowdfunding campaigns attracts potential investment from traditional channels and attention from media outlets. Success stories make for interesting reading, and reporters are always hungry for them.
Crowdfunding Provides The Opportunity of Pre-selling
Launching a crowdfunding campaign gives an entrepreneur the ability to pre-sell a product or concept that they haven’t yet taken to market. This is a good way to gauge user reaction and analyze the market in order to decide whether to pursue or pivot on a given concept.
Crowdfunding is Free to Launch
Launching a crowdfunding campaign on some of the platforms is absolutely free. You will be charged a minimal fee when you raise funds.
This is the major step where most of the crowdfunding projects fail in India and the project creator never realizes it. As crowdfunding is a very niche stage in India, it is very important for crowdfunding platforms to help project creators in creating projects and help them to shape their projects for an Indian audience. Choose your crowdfunding portal wisely.
Every crowdfunding platform in India takes a different approach to projects. Do little research on all the portals. Talk with some platforms, regarding your project and find out which crowdfunding platform fits perfectly for you.
Create the Perfect Pitch Video for your Crowdfunding Project
This is the most important factor which most of the people in India forget. Most people see Kickstarter and create crowdfunding projects, thinking that they’ll get millions overnight, which is never true.
Entrepreneurs need to understand the mentality and psychology of Indians, compared to other nations. Indians love giving. We give millions and billions of rupees every year in temples and charity but when it comes to lending a hundred rupees to some person we think thousand times. That is where your crowdfunding video and description play a vital role in raising funds from them.
Most people judge a crowdfunding project by just looking at the video. Make your crowdfunding video short and simple. Don’t add fancy 3D imaging graphics or VFX in the video. Nor add too much animation to it. Keep it to the point, make it clear.
Remember, your end result from this video is money, not entertainment. Show your product, show yourself, your team, your workspace, your past work, and tell why someone should fund you or what change your project is going to make in society. This helps to build trust for the contributor.
Project Description
Write a detailed description but add attractive graphics along with it. In observation, it was found that most of the people in India write 2-3 lines or 1-2 paragraphs without graphics in their description. Writing only 2-3 lines shows that you are not serious about your product.
A dedicated investor would never be investing in your project without knowing in detail about it. It is suggested to keep long description, as the one who is going to give a large amount of money to a stranger will surely want to read everything.
Create a graphic picture that shows your product, your rewards, your timeline when you’ll deliver me rewards, and most importantly, your product specification.
Rewards
You need to understand that in India, most of the target audience is the middle class. Nobody will be willing to give more than 5% of their monthly salary unless you’re giving them something cool in return.
Only rich people will give your project above Rs 5-10K and that if you’re giving them a customized product or something special in return. You need to consider giving a special reward gift in return which provides them emotional value. For example, you can give them your product with a celebrity’s signature or better, help them meet the celebrity.
PR (Public Relation)
Most of the people in India are unaware of crowdfunding. So, it is very important for the project creator to get the right reach of the right audience. Once your crowdfunding project is ready, you need to decide your communication strategy before making the project live.
Create a mailer list, from your school friends to current enemies. Tell them all about your project and ask them to fund it once the project is live. Don’t be ashamed, be straightforward in asking to fund your project. If they don’t fund it, at least ask them to share a word of mouth or a small post on their social media. It will help you to raise a little fund. Then, it’s time for PR.
Get in touch with all your press contacts and tell them about your crowdfunding project. If you don’t have any contacts, hire a PR agency. If you can’t hire a PR agency, ask your crowdfunding portal to do PR on your behalf.
Some of the crowdfunding platforms in India help with that too. PR or Public relations are a crucial factor in any business. You need to have credibility in writing to prove your genuineness and potential in your PR.
News articles will help you to achieve this and act as a backbone. It’ll also help you to get strangers to know about your project and in some cases, raise funds from them.
Get in touch with bloggers who write articles regarding your project field. Let them know about your project and ask them to write an article on your project. Choose a blog with good reach and engagement.
Social Media and Follow-up
Build a social media strategy and create some unique campaigns surrounding your project. Social Media will help you to get that boost for making your project a success. A creative campaign will help your project go viral and even to reach the audience who’ll fund it.
Do Facebook posts thrice a day.
Interact with strangers on Twitter by tweeting, hourly.
Tell every possible person on the internet about your project.
Send emails to all your contacts regarding your project, weekly.
Take a follow-up via email or phone with the people who said they’ll fund your project or showed their interest.
Connect with writers who wrote about your project in news articles or blogs. Ask them to update their articles about your new achievement.
Put yourself in the investor’s shoes and see what you will want to see if someone asks for money from you.
Crowdfunding is a good option for new startups with people and investors getting aware of it. It is a platform to show your product to investors if you do not have many contacts in the business world. The main advantage of crowdfunding is that you do not necessarily have to lose equity while raising funds. However, the Indian crowdfunding system does work in that way a lot.
There might be some people who will fund you without equity but you will get the majority of the funds from professional investors who will demand equity in your company. It’s your job to choose the right crowdfunding option.
FAQs
What is crowdfunding and how does it work?
In its simplest form, crowdfunding is getting others to finance the creation of a product, project, business, or work of art. It’s extremely advantageous for entrepreneurs and eliminates the overbearing upfront costs that stop most startups before they begin. It uses a web-based platform or social networking sites to solicit funds for the fundraiser by showcasing the story to potential donors or investors.
What are some of the benefits of crowdfunding?
Crowdfunding can be a fast way to raise finance with no upfront fees in businesses. Pitching a project or business through the online platform can be a valuable form of marketing and result in media attention. By sharing your idea, you can often get feedback and expert guidance on how to improve it, etc.
What are some of the popular crowdfunding platforms in India?
Kickstarter, Wishberry, Indiegogo, FuelADream, Fundable, Ketto, Catapooolt, and Milaap are some of the popular crowdfunding sites in India.
What is an example of crowdfunding?
An example of a successful crowdfunding project is The Veronica Mars Movie Project. Fundraiser Rob Thomas used crowdfunding to fund the movie. The project was a great success surpassing their $2 million goals by an additional $3 million. The crowdfunding project also gained international reach.
Damini Bhandary
Rishabh Rathi
