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  • Expert’s View on the Best Way to Market an eCommerce brand during Festive Season

    The views & opinions in this article is contributed by various industry professionals and entrepreneurs.

    In the age of digitalization, eCommerce is really real and pulsating today. Most of us love to order our products online via the trusted eCommerce platforms that surround us. Ecommerce giants like Flipkart, Amazon, eBay, Snapdeal, Alibaba, etc., have made our life easier with their range of quality products and amazing discounts that they come with. These discounts are irresistible all the more during the festive season!

    No matter how little time we have at the end of the day, we never forget to check the discounts on our favorite eCommerce websites during the festive season. The E-commerce companies, Flipkart and Amazon managed to bring in around $2.7 billion just in the first four days of festive sales that started from 2nd October onwards this year! Starting with The Big Billion Days and the Great Indian Festival sale, we see countless sales that continue to offer amazing discounts to the users along with being quite profitable for the businesses, which make up for a huge part of their income at the end of each year. These online sales are surely something that is looked up to by the entire nation and beyond. Therefore, no doubt, setting up one such sale so that it remains properly organized and runs smoothly till the end, is a mammoth task. Such a task needs early preparation in all aspects along with a special focus on marketing that needs to be throughout the sale, which is why we are here.

    If you are curious to learn about the best ways to market an eCommerce brand/website during a festive sale, then StartupTalky brings you all that you can ask straight from the experts of the domain!

    Nehaa Juneja | Founder, SkinWorks

    Marketing during Festive Season
    Nehaa Juneja – Founder, SkinWorks

    Festivals, family get-togethers, and a lot of joy are all part of the festival season. People are in such a festive spirit that they are more than willing to indulge in delicacies and exciting shopping sprees. It is true that during celebrations, people are willing to spend significantly more than they would on normal days. eCommerce companies see a substantial portion of their business come in during the Festival sales, so they invest heavily ahead of time to increase capacity and add features in order to handle the surge in orders while ensuring a smooth experience for both customers and sellers.

    Use the time leading up to the Festival season to segment your existing client base based on personas and purchasing habits, and provide product or bundle suggestions that are suited to their interests. The single most important component in attracting potential clients is personalization. This Festival season, create interesting and eye-catching landing pages and fill them with incentives that your visitors won’t be able to refuse.

    When you assist your clients in finding the things they want, especially during the Festival season, you enhance their chances of converting. You might want to add a new Festival category tab to make things easier. People are always looking for methods to get the most bang for their buck. As a result, packaged offers perform admirably over the Festival season. You can even seek ways to give freebies with the combos while still making a profit. Promote your Festival deals on other websites or form a collaboration with bloggers, Instagrammers, or YouTubers in exchange for external mentions. If you can locate and partner with the proper influencer, influencer marketing can be a helpful tactic. Use hashtags on social media sites like Instagram and Twitter. While hashtags are available on Facebook, they aren’t nearly as popular or valuable. As a result, it’s a good idea to limit your hashtag usage to platforms that support them. The way items are presented matters a lot to today’s consumers. Companies might change up their packaging depending on the occasion.

    Gaurav Jalan | Founder, Packman

    Festive marketing for ecommerce brands
    Gaurav Jalan – Founder, Packman

    It’s that time of the year again when several e-commerce brands launch big sales programs during the festive seasons.

    When it is done right, a good marketing plan could be a quite rewarding experience for you and your customers. The customer enjoys great products at the best price, and the e-commerce businesses get to clear the plenty of inventory and bolster their capital. Also, the pandemic has forced the focus to online shopping, and eCommerce businesses this year too must have a solid festive marketing plan in place to make the most of it.

    Though several look forward to the festive season having the anticipation of happy shopping and awesome deals, it could be a very stressful period for those at the selling end. There are several decisions to be taken ahead of time that can guarantee successful selling. It is critically essential to have your festive season marketing strategies ready and in place, and implement them as the season commences.

    However, there are a few ways that could help your e-commerce businesses to market the brand during the festive seasons. Here are some:

    Create Buzz

    Try to capitalize on the anticipation of the festive season by giving information to your audience for what’s ahead: amazing products, great discounts and offers prior to they go live. In a rather similar manner to the setup e-commerce offers to its Premium customers, (e.g., Amazon Prime) provides them a special sneak peek or special discounts link where they can see everything that is up for grabs.

    In return, request them for information such as their email address or other details you can then use to customize their offers for them. Give special deals, coupons, and other add-ons such as free shipping for registered users. These will prop your customers to make the purchase and complete the deal. If you are a small business having an existing clientele, these are great e-commerce marketing strategies to engage your customers and provide them great rewards and prove how grateful you are to have them.

    Here are Top 7 Ways to Create a Buzz around your Startup.

    Promotional Teasers

    You can also plan about floating a series of promotional videos on social media, TV showcasing behind-the-scenes, interesting facts about products, or the individuals behind them, to name a certain building up to the festive season. Go for a few things and check which ones strike the chord with your audience. This will assist you to understand your brand loyalists better.

    Get Prepared

    Utilize the time prior to the festive season to segment your existing customer base as per their personas and buying patterns, and come up with suggestions for products, brands, or bundles tailored to their preferences. You could even float some early-bird specials for those who like to get their shopping done well ahead of time. Today, many customers align with brands that uphold and share their values related to the environment, or other concerns. Send them updates about your achievements in like the sectors, tied in with product info.

    Promote on other Platforms

    Promote the festive offers on third-party sites or enter into an alliance with bloggers, vloggers, or YouTubers for external mentions. Influencer marketing could be a useful strategy if you can find a good partner in the right influencer. That can go a long way in enhancing your brand value.

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    Pooja Nagdev | Aromatherapist, Cosmetologist & Founder of INATUR

    Market an ecommerce brand
    Pooja Nagdev – Founder of INATUR

    Marketers in India, which is a land of diverse cultures, have a lot of scope in playing with various themes and colors in each festival. While the celebratory mood here never goes out of season, it is this time of the year that people wait for the most. While consumers witness the discounts during the festive season, marketers have to work hard to attract consumers’ attention, much before the season commences. Brands can increase their visibility on social media websites by posting engaging messages/visuals on their pages.

    Stand apart by using innovative methods with new players entering the market, the competition for brands is rising exponentially. While the customers are riding high on the online shopping trends, brick-and-mortar stores have maintained their charm. Even though online retailers deliver a convenient shopping experience to the consumers, the offline approach can allow them to experience the brand’s offerings.

    Using its website, social media handle, and offline store, the company should create a seamless omnichannel experience to increase customer engagement. Many companies, despite having a good online presence, like online furniture brands, are setting up stores or even concept studios in different cities to make their customers’ experience a differentiating factor.

    Customization and Packaging –

    The presentation of products matters a great deal to the new-age consumer. Companies can give their packaging a new twist as per the occasion. Indian festive season is one of the best times to make investments backed by the emotional bond brands share with their target audience. That said, they can curate marketing campaigns centering around emotions, which are on top of the mind of their target audience. By segmenting the customers for a personalized experience, making the campaigns easy shareable and relatable, and delivering irresistible deals across all the channels, brand marketers can unlock enormous sale opportunities and even positioning themselves with maximum success spell during the auspicious festive period.

    Also read: 7 Reasons Brands Should Change Product Packaging

    Goldy Nagdev | Managing Director, Hari Darshan Sevashram Pvt. Ltd.

    Ways to marketing ecommerce brand during festive season
    Goldy Nagdev – MD, Hari Darshan Sevashram Pvt. Ltd.

    If we consider the past few years, it is noticed that everyone is planning their strategies for the festival season sales. To prepare you in advance, we have brought down a list of marketing campaigns, digital platforms & promotional strategies. Explore further to know what marketing strategies you should follow, the major digital platforms you can promote your business on, and drive more sales.

    Here are a few marketing strategies you can follow to gain exposure for your brand and businesses to have a successful festival sales season –

    Launch video marketing campaigns, it is said that a minute of video is equivalent to eight million words. So, we have bought a list of digital marketing strategies you can adapt to uplift your business this festive season. Different tools are available to enhance your email marketing campaign this festival season.

    Social media marketing strategy, in case you are a seller having a B2C business, promoting your products on social media could be your ultimate strategy this festival season. There are several social media platforms you can choose from, such as Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp business, and many more, to uplift your business.

    The festive season holds the utmost importance for the sellers and the customers. Thus, it won’t be wrong to say that the festival season has the potential to make or break the revenue goals for the merchants both in online and offline stores.

    To help you boost your sales during the time of the festive season, we have listed some of the digital marketing services, marketing hacks, and tactics you can follow this festive season and win potential customers. So, start planning your strategies by keeping your customers in mind.

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    Bhavesh Navlakha | Founder, Sukkhi

    As the festive season is approaching, e-commerce sites begin promoting brands listed on their platforms by offering various deals across different product categories. The demand for Fashion also takes top priority in the festive season. As e-commerce acts as a strong discovery platform, customers use specific keywords to search for products they like to purchase. Top brands on these platforms have access to the analytics like for example the most searched keywords and the items that are in demand on these sites. Brands can use these analytics to market their products, reach the right target customers and increase sales. As we are a new-age fashion jewelry brand partnering with these marketplaces from their early days, the products get better organic priority than the others listed in the same category due to the high consumer impressions. This ensures visibility for our products and the brand is able to maintain its position in the top searched items. Sukkhi’s overall sales are driven by a healthy mix of organic traffic through these deals/offers and paid traffic to maintain its visibility across platforms.

    Sukkhi is a leading new age online- first fashion jewelry brand. Founded in 2012, Sukhhi began with a vision to provide quality and trendy fashion jewelry products. The company makes high-quality products from allergic-free material that is beautifully crafted and designed using the latest technology.

    Rajiv Kumar | Founder & CEO, StoreHippo

    Ecommerce marketing in festive season
    Rajiv Kumar – Founder & CEO, StoreHippo

    Modern e-commerce is all about customer experience and personalization along with ease of shopping. Brands should go for personalized product suggestions and deals to keep their customers engaged and nudge them to checkout. Along with this, to get the best out of the current festive season e-commerce brands should have a well-designed omnichannel strategy where they can connect with their customers on multiple touchpoints like their e-commerce website, mobile apps, mobile website, social platforms, and any other modern IoT devices. Also, brands should leverage PWA stores to reach the hinterland (tier 4 and beyond cities) which has seen the biggest rise in online orders during the last festive season. To facilitate more regional orders brands should transition into multilingual stores that facilitate the buyers in ordering in their native language. Along with these multiple payment options should be offered to the buyers to make the checkout quick and frictionless. Finally, the success of an e-commerce business will be dependent on fast and error-free deliveries. Brands should go for automated shipping options with multiple logistics partners to streamline and optimize their fulfillment and keep their customers happy and buying more and more.

    Mr. Rajiv Kumar Aggarwal is an Indian Internet Entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of the SaaS Ecommerce Platform StoreHippo. Kumar is an industry veteran and highly skilled technologist with 20+ years of strong experience in Internet Technologies and E-Commerce.

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    Shriyans Bhandari | Co-Founder & CEO, Greensole

    Marketing in festive season
    Shriyans Bhandari – Co-Founder & CEO, Greensole

    The festive season always means higher sales than the rest of the year. We as a brand aim to give something new and niche to our renowned clients. Every buyer has a different budget and a sense of style and as a brand, we aim to cater to one and all. We plan to market the upcoming festive clearance sale a month before the new collection launch to keep the buyers hooked on our products. Another idea is to keep the clearance sale and the new collection launch together with an offer that will generate sales for both lines. It can be along the lines of buying the newly launched product at full price and get a certain discount on the old products. Buyers always love the idea of getting more than one thing at the price of two or three and the festive season is the perfect time to execute this idea. The promotion for all the discounted products will be hyped with the marketing plans focused on the same. We would start marketing the date and time on which the products will go on sale and shall keep it for a limited period of time in order to have quicker checkouts than the rest of the year.

  • Platform as a Service (PaaS) – What is it, Market Size, Pros and Cons

    The Internet can be considered as a miracle in our life, which changes the outlook of our world. Thanks to the internet, our life has become much easier. It wouldn’t be wrong to call the internet the greatest invention of the modern world. The internet has connected everyone and converted this huge world into a small global village.

    In this technologically advance and IT-dominated world, cloud computing is the new player. The days are long gone where you only have computer hard drives, where we used to store data and run programs. Now, because of the internet, we have the cloud computing system to do that.

    Cloud computing enables us to store, manage and process data through the internet. Basically, it is a prototype that provides on-demand network access to shared computing resources.

    Now to be specific, there are three delivery models of cloud computing and they are: SaaS, IaaS and PaaS

    Today, in this article we are going to discuss PaaS and the market size of the PaaS industry. So, let’s get started.

    “With the cloud, individuals and small businesses can snap their fingers and instantly set up enterprise-class services.”

    – Roy Stephan

    What is Platform as a Service (PaaS)?
    How does Platform as a Service (PaaS) Work?
    Pros and Cons of Platform as a Service (PaaS)
    Market Size of the Platform as a Service (PaaS) Industry
    Best Platform as a Service (PaaS) Providers
    FAQ

    What is Platform as a Service (PaaS)?

    The first question that arises in our mind when we hear PaaS is, What is PaaS?. To be specified PaaS also known as Platform as a service is one of the delivery models of cloud computing that deals with application development with the hardware and software tools provided by the third party.

    This model gives the user a free pass to develop and run the new applications without installing any hardware or software and also provides the necessary components needed for the deed.

    How does Platform as a Service (PaaS) Work?

    PaaS is provided through public, private, and hybrid clouds. They mainly provide an infrastructure for the development of an application. One can just have their access through a web browser.

    This is mostly a pay per use basis service, although there is an option of the monthly fee as well, where the users have to pay the provider per month for the service.

    A PaaS provider offers operating systems, database management tools, infrastructure, development tools, middleware, and other important equipment needed in the cloud environment.

    Pros and Cons of Platform as a Service (PaaS)

    PaaS as a service is gradually becoming a very significant part of the cloud computing industry.

    There are many reasons why people prefer it, some of them are:

    Pros

    • The first and foremost reason would be cost-saving; it is probably the most important one. The pay per use basis barred the enterprise to use more expenses, this cannot be possible if in-house hardware and software are used.
    • The user can access it from anywhere and at any time, thus giving a free pass to people from all around the world to collaborate in the development of an application.
    • Using in-house resources and managing can take a lot of time which may result in delays. Developing application tends to be faster with the help of PaaS as the resources are managed automatically here.
    • Any kind of device, mobile desktop, laptop can be used to develop applications through PaaS, unlike an on-site development platform that enables only one specific device.
    • The web-based nature of PaaS helps in getting updated tools automatically. While in-house technology tends to get out of date

    Just like the advantages, everything has its disadvantages as well, nothing is perfect. There are challenges that are needed to be solved and they are:

    Cons

    • Public PaaS products are not appropriate and are a basic concern for security as there are many people using the product and sharing the space with others.
    • PaaS products are made by the providers, so there is no say of the users here. They have to use what they are being provided with. Therefore compatibility issues can arise.
    • Moving from one platform to another can be a little tricky.
    Platform as a service (PaaS) end-user spending worldwide
    Platform as a service (PaaS) end-user spending worldwide

    Market Size of the Platform as a Service (PaaS) Industry

    The main reason for the growth of PaaS industry is because of the rise of cloud-based business. Many industries are adopting cloud services as they are able to meet their business goals at a minimal cost. With Covid-19 still looming over our heads, big businesses are opting for PaaS for developing and managing applications.

    The growth of PaaS industry is because of the minimal cost required for application development with that the time that is given during the procedure is much lesser than what the users give during the onsite application development. Although, security issues can be a hinder to the growth of this market.

    As per the reports, the market size of industry is 56.2 billion as of 2020 and it is expected to grow to 164.3 billion by 2026. The IT industry is looking forward to getting more involved with PaaS.

    Best Platform as a Service (PaaS) Providers

    There are various vendors who provides some of the best PaaS services and they are:

    • Amazon Web Services – Elastic Beanstalk
    • IBM – Bluemix
    • Microsoft – Azure
    • Red Hat – OpenShift
    • Google – App Engine
    • Microsoft – Azure
    • Engine Yard
    • Heroku
    • Pivotal
    • Mendix

    Conclusion

    Technological advancement has taken the world to a different level.  Thanks to that, humans are innovating things that are making life much easier than one could ever imagine. A thing can be developed with minimal cost is not time-consuming anymore.

    PaaS industry will only rise with time and with the existence of on spot infrastructure and tools that are needed for the development and managing of applications. It is just a matter of time before every kind of business will pick the side of cloud computing and will involve itself in the PaaS industry.

    FAQ

    How Big is the Cloud Services Industry?

    The market size of the global cloud industry is expected to reach $791.48 billion by 2028.

    What is the main function of PaaS?

    The main function of Pass is to develop, update, test, and host applications all in the same domain.

    Which is the biggest PaaS Provider in the World?

    Amazon Web Services is one of the biggest and best PaaS providers in the world.

  • How Gillette Became The Most Used Razor Blade In India?

    Gillette is one such brand that you have most definitely heard of, through your parents or in your friend circle. Over the years, Gillette has managed to become a common household name thanks to its popularity across all demographics. I have personally seen my grandfather use the same Gillette brand, which my dad has been fond of too for ages. So Gillette has been a part of this hierarchical journey in my family and is being passed on for three generations and would most probably be in use by the fourth generation soon.

    Although Gillette is an American brand that sells personal care products, including shaving supplies, a large sum of customer base and profits comes from India. Gillette has an approximate global brand value of around 7.55 billion U.S. dollars. The Gillette Company was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, by King C. Gillette in 1901 as a safety razor manufacturer. King Camp Gillette was a salesman and investor who came up with the idea of disposable safety razor blades way back in 1895.

    History of Gilette Razor in Indian Market
    How Gillette Razor Changed The Indian Mindset?
    Gillete Implementing The Golden Strategy
    Future of Gillette in India
    FAQs

    Gillette Business Strategy

    History of Gilette Razor in Indian Market

    Gillette Logo
    Gillette Logo

    Gillette entered Indian markets in 1984 when it was bought by Procter & Gamble. Gillette had to tackle and overcome various problems if they had to survive in India. The company’s main hurdle wasn’t any brand or competition. Instead, it was the Indian mindset that had to be changed. Gillette has only started its advertising journey in the late 2000s and has believed solely in providing high-quality, uber premium, and longer-lasting products. Midinstead low-income Indian customers would hesitate to get their hands on any Gillette’s premium double-edges shaving system products as they were priced at premium rates and would rather get the same shaving services by any local barber at a nominal price.

    Concerns such as it were time-consuming, caused skin irritation, and was an unpleasant experience were the main highlighted reasons which were found after extensive consumer research. Over the years, Gillette evolved and moulded itself to adjust to this weird Indian terrain and tried to educate Indians regarding grooming products. Gillette’s top ten competitors are:

    • Harry’s, 800Razors
    • Schick, Edgewell
    • Grooming Lounge
    • Braun GmbH
    • Dollar Shave Club
    • Raz*War
    • Custom Shave
    • ShaveMOB

    Only a handful of Indians know about these brands, this is the current hold which the brand has over the Indian market.

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    How Gillette Razor Changed The Indian Mindset?

    Gillette Razor
    Gillette Razor

    Gillette usually relies on extensive market research and development in order to cater to a global customer base through a single product. Still, this approach was bound to fail in India, and therefore the company dropped this worldwide strategy and instead focused on India as a whole and soon after saw dramatic growth in market share. Gillette launched various campaigns in India to make people think over specific questions like:- Are clean-shaven men more successful? Did the nation prefer clean-shaven celebrities? And the big one: do women prefer clean-shaven men? It’s questions like these that made men think over their choices and consciously make an effort to look better.

    Upon research, Gillette came to an understanding that customers want not only affordable products but also safe and easy to use products, and Gillette was able to deliver just that in October 2010 when it launched Gillette Guard, which was the first product created for the Indian market, pricing at just 15rs per razor and 5rs for the refill cartridge.

    It had of a kind and unique tagline.

    “The best a man can get” is known to most people as it’s unique and evokes a feeling of responsibility. It focuses on individuals trying to be the best version of themselves by making the right move and choosing Gillette. Gillette also played around the survey, which suggested that men who groom themselves and take care of their hygiene are looked at as more responsible, attractive and of higher status.

    Additionally, getting young Indian celebrities ranging from film actors and actresses to athletes also helped them build a company image and cater to a younger consumer base. The advertising and marketing department of Gillette also did a fabulous job of making ad films, such as the one with an army official talking about his close call during the war and proudly boasting his 7-inch battle scar and gliding his Gillette blade over it without any hesitation. It is because of advertising like this that the brand image and its perception have been absolutely top-notch and unshakeable.

    Gillete Implementing The Golden Strategy

    Gillette could very well have been one of many international brands which tried and failed to adapt in the Indian market, but what helped Gillett was their open-minded and flexible approach. Gillette’s business model in India shows that they dropped the idea and approach of a “one-size-fits-all strategy” wherein they would mass-produce a product and sell it globally.

    They took their time and contributed it to research and development for the future of Gillette in India. Gillette spent time, money, and resources in trying to understand the Indian market and customers’ wants and needs. This understanding helped Gillette innovate and develop new and improved products and various unique methods of communication to engage and attract new and existing customers.

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    Future of Gillette in India

    The company is showing no signs of stopping or even slowing down anytime soon with their market share as huge as it is, no other brand is even in close comparison to Gillette. The brand keeps on coming up with new and improved ideas for marketing and advertising, with the recent one including rising young talents of the Indian cricket team. The company’s ever-evolving strategy and ability to adapt in any situation helps them keep a clean and smooth track and glide across smoothly. Because of this approach from Gillette, it is not only dominant in India, but it is completely dominating across the world.

    FAQs

    Which is the best Gillette razor in India?

    Gillette Mach 3 Turbo is the most trusted razor in India.

    Who are Gillette competitors?

    The top 10 competitors in Gillette’s competitive set are:

    • Harry’s
    • 800Razors
    • Schick
    • Edgewell
    • Grooming Lounge
    • Braun GmbH
    • Dollar Shave Club
    • Raz*War
    • Custom Shave
    • ShaveMOB

    How did Gillette enter India?

    Gillette was launched in February 1993 with the launch of Gillette Shaving Products in India.

    What was the firstly launched product of Gillette in India?

    Gillette launched its first shaving product in India – Gillette Presto Readyshaver.

  • ClassMonitor is on a mission to establish better home learning experiences for early learners

    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 ClassMonitor.

    ClassMonitor is a home learning platform, which blends traditional teaching with modern methods of learning. Its hybrid learning tool takes children to a learning space that combines real-life learning experiences with curated activities. The ClassMonitor Learning Kit blends traditional teaching with modern learning to ease a child’s transition from preschool to formal schooling.

    The startup focuses on the fundamental development of a child based on five core areas: linguistic skills, logical thinking, sensory and motor skills, cognitive skills, and creativity. Founded by Vijeet Pandey and Vikas Rishishwar in 2016, the ClassMonitor app currently has 85,000 registered users. Also, in the last 12-14 months, the startup has delivered and dispatched its kits to more than 5,000 PIN codes across India, and other 14 countries.

    StartupTalky interviewed Mr. Vijeet Pandey (Co-founder & CEO of ClassMonitor) to get insights into the startup journey and roadmap of the organization. In this article, you’ll discover how ClassMonitor was conceptualized & launched, its business model, marketing strategies, funding, founders, revenue, growth, future plans, and more.

    ClassMonitor – Company Highlights

    Startup Name ClassMonitor
    Founders Vijeet Pandey (CEO), Vikas Rishishwar
    Headquarters Indore
    Founded 2016
    Industry Edtech
    Website classmonitor.com

    ClassMonitor – About and Vision
    ClassMonitor – Industry Details
    ClassMonitor – Inspiration and Idea
    ClassMonitor – Product and USP
    ClassMonitor – Founders and Team
    ClassMonitor – Name and Logo
    ClassMonitor – Business Model & Revenue Model
    ClassMonitor – Startup Launch & Marketing Strategies
    ClassMonitor – Growth and Stats
    ClassMonitor – Funding and Investors
    ClassMonitor – Advisors/Mentors
    ClassMonitor – Tools used to run the startup
    ClassMonitor – Achievements/Recognition
    ClassMonitor – Future Plans
    ClassMonitor – FAQs

    ClassMonitor – About and Vision

    Vijeet and his childhood friend Vikas Rishishwar came up with the idea of ClassMonitor, an EdTech startup in the early childhood learning segment. They have created well-researched kits to provide holistic learning experiences for preschoolers and help parents keep their children away from screens. ClassMonitor is a home learning platform, which blends traditional teaching with modern methods of learning. Its hybrid learning tool takes children to a learning space that combines real-life learning experiences with curated activities. The platform offers integrated annual packs which are designed for comprehensive learning, logical thinking, and problem-solving. The products are affordably priced and designed to address the year-long learning needs of children up to 8 years.

    Aim and Vision: ClassMonitor’s journey has just started. The team aims to bridge the overwhelming gap in the modern education systems in India and abroad – that of the lack of parental involvement in their child’s learning. They are addressing this gap using a two-pronged solution, which involves combining traditional and digital learning. The startup’s vision is to create high-quality learning programs and establish itself as a leader in the early years’ education sector.

    ClassMonitor – Industry Details

    (Reference Source: BLinC_EdTech_Early_Childhood_Deepdive Report)

    In the report, Early Childhood EdTech has been divided into 4 major sectors – Aspiration, Engagement, Learning, and Ancillary Services focusing on the end-use/outcome of the product.

    ClassMonitor as part of the Engagement segment fulfills the basic requirement of keeping children constructively occupied. Its high engagement products comprise interactive elements and a strong subscription model which results in customer retention.

    Engagement Sector –

    • Target Market Size/ Customer Base – 40 Million ( All Urban and 10% of Rural Indians with smartphone access)
    • Total available market- $ 2,300 m
    • ClassMonitor aims to capture at least 10% of this market

    ClassMonitor – Inspiration and Idea

    Vijeet returned to India in early 2016 after completing his Master’s in Accounts and Finance in the UK and working in the retail business. He wanted to become an entrepreneur and do something in the field of education, which has always been something close to his heart. So, Vijeet along with his childhood friend Vikas Rishishwar, an expert in technology, set up ClassMonitor in March 2016.

    Version 1 of ClassMonitor

    The duo wanted to do something in the education sector where technology would be the backbone. They, therefore, decided to enter the EdTech segment to solve the parent-teacher communication problem that was a major challenge, back in 2016. Schools had been connecting parents and teachers through WhatsApp groups which were quite unprofessional and unsystematic. That’s how the ClassMonitor platform was born, as a means of communication for parents and teachers. They called it Version 1 of ClassMonitor.

    Idea Pivot

    While in the idea stage, they raised undisclosed angel funding from a Sweden-based investor, whom Vijeet had known during his time in the UK. ClassMonitor was growing as a platform gradually, but the founders wanted to solve the larger problems in the sector. Around early 2017, after interacting with their clients, mostly parents, as well as school principals and teachers, they saw that the major pain point was for parents of kids between the ages of 1-7 years — the early learners. They wanted to participate in their child’s progress but didn’t know how to do so. At the same time, they were looking for solutions that would keep their kids away from mobile phones, computers, and tablets. This gave them enough insight to innovate. In October 2018, the duo pivoted from a communication platform to a hybrid early learning tool that marries offline learning with digital cues and rewards.

    Latest Version of ClassMonitor

    Essentially, they built an O2O model in EdTech, and that’s when the hybrid learning model came into the picture, as a combination of online and offline tools. The technology aspect is meant completely for parents, educators, and mentors, and the learning kits are meant for the children. Through technology, the parent understands what, how, and when to do something, and the kits help children perform hands-on activities and learn in the process. The online live sessions are for parents to guide them on how to get their children to perform the activities in ClassMonitor’s learning kits. Instructors take these classes three days a week. People are purchasing the kit and the live classes feature together now. The startup has received excellent responses to its products.

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    ClassMonitor – Product and USP

    The ClassMonitor Learning Kit blends traditional teaching with modern learning to ease a child’s transition from preschool to formal schooling. ClassMonitor focuses on the fundamental development of a child based on five core areas: linguistic skills, logical thinking, sensory and motor skills, cognitive skills, and creativity.

    Every box contains 250 DIY activities, including flashcards, worksheets, rhymes, stories, games, fun activities, puzzles, and art supplies for kids to play based on a set of more than 14 themes like plants, animals, and more. It comes bundled with a subscription to the ClassMonitor app that has AR features and a QR code scanner. The learning kit comes in four different product variants for children aged 1 to 8 years and lets parents teach, play, and bond meaningfully with their children. All sheets and flashcards have QR codes that can be scanned on the app to get the cues needed to complete an activity. The product integrates online guidelines and offline activities to bring interactive learning content for kids. The activities progress in sequential order from easy to hard. As a parent one can use the app to learn how to help kids to perform these activities such as how to use the AR feature of the application. The app also provides details on the child’s learning outcomes after each activity —what your child’s learning progress is after he/she completes a single activity, etc.

    They’ve built EdTech for adults. Parents can personalize the pace of learning for their kids, choose activities they enjoy, and focus on areas that need development. This flexibility ensures that the child’s learning graph is individualized, and the parent can keep track of their child’s progress and attempt the embedded assessments based on the child’s learning readiness.

    ClassMonitor – Founders and Team

    Vijeet Pandey (CEO) and Vikas Rishishwar are the founders of ClassMonitor.

    After returning to India in early 2016,  post completing his Master’s in Accounts and Finance in the UK and working in the retail business, Vijeet wanted to become an entrepreneur and do something in the field of education. Vikas who is Vijeet’s childhood friend with expertise in technology-shared his dream and they launched ClassMonitor in 2016.

    During that time, they met Mrs. Shobha Wilfred an expert in early childhood education, with over 35 years of experience in content development, child psychology, and working with children of that age group. She joined them as Content Head. Mrs. Shaheen Shafi, an educationist with over 27 years of experience in curriculum development, training, and school leadership was their advisor. She recently joined ClassMonitor formally in May 2021 as Senior Curriculum Director.

    Vijeet is the CEO of the company and looks at Marketing, Operations, Strategy, and Business Scaling roles. Vikas as Product Head leads the Technology initiative, Shaheen and Shobha spearhead the education initiatives.

    ClassMonitor is currently a 150-member team. It has an open and supportive work culture. The startup seeks people who are driven, inspired, and passionate, who seek challenges, and are comfortable working in a dynamic and fast-paced workspace.  

    ClassMonitor initially entered the market as a parent-teacher communication platform. Therefore, at that time the brand name made sense. Eventually, they evolved the ClassMonitor Learning Kit and started selling. It was then that the team wondered if the brand name would work in the market. However, by that time they had already sold a lot of kits. The team, then, sought the advice of brand experts and they said that their excellent sales numbers demonstrated that the brand name was working well and changing it was not required. Therefore, they continued with the existing brand name- ClassMonitor.  Post that, the brand continues to garner large numbers and volumes thereby validating the decision.

    ClassMonitor Story
    ClassMonitor Logo

    ClassMonitor – Business Model & Revenue Model

    ClassMonitor works on three business models –

    1. B2C – Where it directly sells to its customers
    2. B2B- Where it sells to preschools
    3. B2B2C- This is a distribution network of 200+ mothers who are official distributors of the brand’s products across India.

    Price: The learning kit comes in four different models, each priced at Rs 3,499 per annum (including the app subscription). It has also created Skill Booster Kits priced at Rs 1,099 annually for kids aged 6 to 8, along with a Skill Master Hindi Edition Program as an extension to its ongoing programs, to introduce Hindi as a vernacular language to early learners in an engaging, active, and a Play-based approach.

    Distribution: ClassMonitor sells the kits on its own website and on Amazon.

    ClassMonitor – Startup Launch & Marketing Strategies

    The startup officially launched its ClassMonitor Kits in 2018 in an exhibition in Indore. It was indeed an exciting and eventful day, where the team sold 70 kits. Vijeet (C-founder & CEO, ClassMonitor) was personally at the stall from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m.

    From that day onwards the team never looked back. ClassMonitor’s products speak for themselves and its biggest strength is word-of-mouth publicity.

    In the initial days, while the startup was still in the process of procuring its funding, the team worked on innovative marketing strategies. The B2B model was working well. In January 2019, ClassMonitor appointed its first parent distributor and launched the B2BC model. Currently, she heads the distribution network of 200+ mothers who are official distributors of the brand’s products across India. These MOM CEOs have enabled the reach too far from the corners of the country at negligible marketing costs.

    ClassMonitor has been able to leverage social media platforms like Instagram effectively. A lot of parents share Insta stories of how delighted they and their children are with the learning kits. They celebrate each learning milestone of their children with pride.

    One of the biggest successes of its kits is that it has inspired many kids to discover their inner genius. For example, many parents have shared that they have been able to enter their child’s names in India Book for Records for various achievements using the ClassMonitor Kit.

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    ClassMonitor – Growth and Stats

    Present scenario

    In the last 12-14 months, ClassMonitor has delivered and dispatched the kits to more than 5,000 PIN codes across India, and as well as 14 countries. In 2020, it saw a 5x growth and aims to take that figure up to 10x in this financial year. As a brand, ClassMonitor has grown, and the team managed to reach out to the smallest of cities in India. As of now, the company has a presence in around 600+ cities in India. Around 65 percent of the contribution comes from the top cities, but there is also a lot of demand from the small cities and towns as well.

    Revenue

    By raising around $1Mn ClassMonitor has already achieved just under 10 crores in revenue.

    In the next few years, the startup plans to grow the topline by 4X-5X through new products, wider distribution, and user growth. Its B2B revenue has also grown 100 percent in the last two months.

    Schools have charged session fees, but they are unable to conduct classes due to the pandemic. So, they are buying kits in bulk and distributing them to the parents. The direct consumer traffic has also increased 50 percent per month since the start of the lockdown. With parents stuck at home for long hours with their kids, DIY engagement activities have grown organically. Overall, COVID-19 has had a positive effect on all revenue streams.

    Growth

    Amidst the global pandemic where all industries have been severely hit, ClassMoitor has been consistently witnessing growth as it has tracked 20,000 customers in the last 3 months. It aims to clock another 40,000 in the next 3 months to garner a total of 1 lakh customers by 2021.

    “We are proud to say that we have a PAN India customer base of parents with children in the age group of 1-8 years with Tamil Nadu, Karnataka & Maharastra being the Top 3 states” Vijeet added.

    User Stats

    The ClassMonitor app currently has 85,000 registered users.

    Currently, ClassMonitor has 95% of the total users from India and 5% of the total users from abroad. In the next 6 months, it aims to increase that ratio to be 90% and 10% from India and abroad respectively. This growth trajectory is followed by its global expansion recently.

    Additionally, the team expects growth in the Philippines, Australia, and the Middle East markets and aims to continue deeper penetration in Tier 1-3 markets. They are also looking to strengthen their customer base in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Rajasthan.  

    Sales Channels

    There are currently three sales channels in the company. The D2X space contributes most of the volume, while it also partners with several independent pre-schools.

    Also Read: Top 7 ways to create buzz around your startup  

    Partnership & Expansion

    The Indian pre-school market has two parts: branded and unbranded, but 85 percent of the Indian pre-school market is unbranded and ClassMonitor has partnered with them to improve their content and teaching methods. The third channel is a distribution network of 200+ mothers who are official distributors of the brand’s products across India.

    The brand is currently catering to the age group of 1-8 years and the majority of the volume is coming from the age bracket of 1-5 years. In the long run, ClassMonitor aims to expand its product range to cater to the age group of 0-12 years.

    ClassMonitor – Funding and Investors

    To date, ClassMonitor has raised INR 6 crore since its inception in 2016.

    Date Stage Amount Investors
    Angel Round INR 2.5 crore Piyush Jain (CFO, Al Hajri Group)
    May 19, 2021 Pre-series A INR 3.5 crore Construction firm Pasth India Ltd., UAE-based Calega family office investor group and Sarvann, a group of Oman-based investors

    • As part of the angel round, the startup is backed by Piyush Jain, Chief Financial Officer of Al Hajri group, an angel investor who has invested in over 25 start-ups across the globe
    • ClassMonitor has just started reaching out to venture capitalists for its Series A round of funding. It has spent time in the interim to ensure that the basic building blocks of the company are all in place –strong products, sound technical capability, and a solid business base
    • Post the Pre- Series funding, the startup has doubled its sales and onboarded a few senior resources who will help to take the company to the next level

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    ClassMonitor – Advisors/Mentors

    Mr. Nandkumar Venkatraman (Senior Advisor Content): A well-known academician, Mr. Nandkumar, in these 4 decades has donned various roles as CEO, Director, Member Board of Directors, Director Academics, Principal, etc. Key assignments have included Adarsh Group of Schools Chennai, TVS School Madurai, Dhirubhai Ambani International School, GIIS Singapore, Ecole Mondial World School Mumbai.

    Additionally, ClassMonitor has an education advisory panel comprising highly experienced and well-known educationists. The advisory panel meets twice a year to discuss the academic initiatives of the company.

    ClassMonitor – Tools used to run the startup

    1. Daytion is a platform created in-house. This has become the backbone of the upscaling from a team of 10 to 150 members and has helped streamline the ClassMonitor’s OKR based milestones thereby ensuring efficiency and greater productivity of the team.
    2. To engage and retarget the existing customers, the team has inbuilt an RPA (Robotic Process Automation)
    3. The startup uses G-suite for internal communication and collaboration. This was especially useful in coordinating work and staying connected across teams during the COVID lockdown.

    ClassMonitor – Achievements/Recognition

    ClassMonitor has received numerous awards and recognition for its high-quality products and dynamic and innovative leadership, for example, 2021 saw it winning the TIE Start-Up award in recognition of its exemplary work.

    ClassMonitor – Future Plans

    International expansion: In terms of expansion, ClassMonitor’s current focus is India but the company has recently started operations in the US and Dubai.

    “We are getting a lot of organic demand from these two countries, so we are now looking at a focused effort in growing there,” says Vijeet.

    The team is also exploring possibilities of participating in the government’s educational projects especially the Foundational Literacy & Numeracy initiatives.

    Future goals: Currently, the company is investing heavily in the content team to develop exciting high-quality content. For the age group of 0-6, the company is planning on continuing their pedagogy of keeping the kids away from mobile phones, and for the age group of 6-12 years, it is building AI/ML-enabled technology that can be directly used by children. The key focus areas are penetrating deeper into existing markets, building innovative content, and increasing marketing efforts.

    ClassMonitor – FAQs

    What is ClassMonitor?

    ClassMonitor is a home learning platform, which blends traditional teaching with modern methods of learning. Its hybrid learning tool takes children to a learning space that combines real-life learning experiences with curated activities.

    Who founded ClassMonitor?

    Vijeet Pandey (CEO) and Vikas Rishishwar are the founders of ClassMonitor.

    Is ClassMonitor an Indian company?

    Yes. ClassMonitor is an Indian company headquartered in Indore.

    What are ClassMonitor Learning Kits?

    The ClassMonitor Learning Kit blends traditional teaching with modern learning to ease a child’s transition from preschool to formal schooling. The kit comes in 4 different product variants for children aged 1 to 8 years. Every box contains 250 DIY activities, including flashcards, worksheets, rhymes, stories, games, fun activities, puzzles, and art supplies for kids to play based on a set of more than 14 themes like plants, animals, and more.

    How does ClassMonitor make money?

    ClassMonitor makes money by selling the learning kits on its own website and on Amazon. The learning kit comes in four different models, each priced at Rs 3,499 per annum (including the app subscription). It has also created Skill Booster Kits priced at Rs 1,099 annually for kids aged 6 to 8, along with a Skill Master Hindi Edition Program as an extension to its ongoing programs.

  • ImpactGuru: Crowdfunding Startup | Free Fundraising Platform for Healthcare

    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 ImpactGuru.

    Would you have been able to imagine a crowdfunding startup to be able to meet all your healthcare needs? This is where ImpactGuru comes in. In a survey carried out by NSO in July 2017-June 2018, it was found that only 14% of the rural population and 19% of the urban population had health expenditure coverage. Again, according to an analysis published in The Lancet in 2018, around 1.6 million people in India die due to inadequate healthcare. The Indian healthcare segment is clouded by many such disturbing data. However, it is good to see that not just the Government, but many NGOs and startups are coming up to solve the long prevailing issues in the healthcare sector. Today we are talking about one such startup, that is making a remarkable attempt to make quality healthcare accessible even to the poorest, through crowdfunding. Mumbai-based ImpactGuru is not just helping people to raise funds for healthcare, but for various other social and personal causes as well.

    In order to scale the fundraising for PPE for doctors, nurses and health care workers across India, ImpactGuru received INR. 40 lakh grant in the form of matching funds from The Action Covid-19 Team (ACT). The company added up to 20% in matching donations via the ACT Grant on every single donation for selected Public and Private Hospitals on its platform.

    ImpactGuru – Highlights

    Startup Name ImpactGuru
    Headquarters Mumbai
    Founders Piyush Jain (CEO) & Khushboo Jain (COO)
    Sector Fintech focused on healthcare
    Founded 2014
    Website www.impactguru.com

    ImpactGuru – Latest News
    About ImpactGuru
    ImpactGuru – Industry Details
    ImpactGuru – The Idea of Starting up
    ImpactGuru – Founders and Team
    ImpactGuru – USP
    ImpactGuru – No Platform Fee
    ImpactGuru – Business and Revenue Model
    ImpactGuru – Challenges Faced
    ImpactGuru – Funding and Investors
    ImpactGuru – Partners
    ImpactGuru – Awards and Achievements
    ImpactGuru – Future Plans
    ImpactGuru – FAQs

    ImpactGuru – Latest News

    6th October 2021 – ImpactGuru witnessed a rise in people seeking financial help for treatment. Around 25,000 patients have been assisted so far by ImpactGuru and half of these patients were assisted post-January 2020.

    2nd October 2021 – ImpactGuru has successfully crowdfunded over Rs. 75 lakh cumulatively contributed by over 700 donors in 2 weeks to cover treatment expenses of 2 brothers fighting Hunter’s Syndrome.

    About ImpactGuru

    ImpactGuru was born with a mission to make healthcare accessible to all and save more lives. It is a tech-for-good platform that provides complete crowdfunding solutions to empower individuals, NGOs and social enterprises to raise funds for medical emergencies, personal needs, creative projects or any social cause – be it big or small.

    “An ImpactGuru is someone who envisions change, who finds solutions to social problems, who steps up to support another change-maker, who makes kindness a habit, who dares to follow his/her dream, or who simply helps out a friend in need. We believe that each individual holds the power to effect great change and given the right tools and the right backing, can become an ImpactGuru himself/herself ” quotes ImpactGuru CEO Piyush Jain.

    ImpactGuru logo
    ImpactGuru Logo

    Starting a fundraiser campaign in ImpactGuru is easy. One just has to get started by clicking on the ‘Start a Fundraiser’ tab on the ImpactGuru website or app, fill in the required details to create the fundraiser campaign. Using ImpactGuru’s story builder feature, one can put up one’s cause of raising money in an appealing way to attract more donors.

    Once created, the fundraiser campaign is shared online. The money received from the donors is transferred to the beneficiary’s account after deducting the applicable fee and charges.

    Fundraising on ImpactGuru

    ImpactGuru – Industry Details

    India’s private healthcare spend stands at $90 billion a year. Of this, merely one-third is covered by insurance and the balance of $60 billion is met largely with borrowings from friends and family. Capturing 10% of this segment would mean a medical crowdfunding market of around $6 billion. This is the segment ImpactGuru is looking to tap.

    Healthcare crowdfunding is the most disruptive solution to address this problem. There are no loans or interest to be paid off when it comes to crowdfunding as funds raised online is considered as a donation.

    ImpactGuru – The Idea of Starting up

    The idea began to form in Piyush’s mind while he was working with Instilgo, a US-based non-profit organization.

    “When I decided to go to Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, I found my calling when I accepted a fellowship with Instiglio, a US non-profit focused on using social impact bonds to help non-profits scale” recalls ImpactGuru founder Piyush Jain.

    Besides, while at Harvard, Piyush assisted his Professor in teaching a class on financial management in non-profit Organizations. He also co-authored a paper on – ‘Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures’. For writing the research paper, Piyush had to explore different avenues to finance social initiatives. During this research, Piyush realized that the crowdfunding market in Indian is largely untapped and it is his willingness to do something in the field of crowdfunding that made him start ImpactGuru.

    Fortunately, both Khushboo and Piyush shared the same vision. Piyush’s knowledge of finance and technology clubbed with the brand, marketing and communications skillsets of Khushboo had garnered over the years. It does require a fantastic partnership and they have been very lucky to forge that successfully.

    The startup was incubated at Harvard Innovation Lab in August 2014 and at PACT, Singapore in May 2015.

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    ImpactGuru – Founders and Team

    Impactguru founders - Khushboo Jain and Piyush Jain
    Impactguru founders – Khushboo Jain and Piyush Jain

    ImpactGuru was founded by a couple of entrepreneurs, Piyush Jain and Khushboo Jain.

    ImpactGuru founder and CEO Piyush Jain is a BSc in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania – The Wharton School. He did Masters in Public Policy, Business and Government Policy from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government. Piyush worked with reputed organizations like JP Morgan, Instiglio, San Francisco based fintech firm SoFi, the Boston Consulting Group and RB Investments, before starting ImpactGuru in 2017.

    ImpactGuru co-founder and COO Khushboo Jain come from a fashion designing and fashion marketing background. Khushboo is an alumna of London College of Fashion, University of Arts London and Parsons School of Design. Khushboo did her Bachelors in Commerce from Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, and an MBA from Welingkar Institute of Management. Prior to joining her husband in his venture, Khusboo worked with brands like Kansai Nerolac Paints Limited and fashion brands like TheLabelLife.com and Manish Malhotra.

    Piyush is backed by an awesome and dedicated team who truly stand with the vision and mission of ImpactGuru. Some core members of the ImpactGuru team are-

    • Vikas Kaul, the Chief Product Officer of ImpactGuru is an IIMK graduate.  He is an ex-employee of Quikr and Deloitte.
    • Ankita Kumari is Vice President, Operations at ImpactGuru. She is an engineering graduate from Amity University Noida and an ex-employee of PSTakeCare and TinyOwl.
    • Sandeep Tripathy – Head, Business Development, Ex- PSTakeCare, IIT Bombay.

    ImpactGuru – USP

    What makes ImpactGuru stand out is that they are the only crowdfunding platform to have their own story builder to help customers write great stories as it’s a major pain point in the industry today. It has an AI-supported story builder for medical fundraisers, with a template for all campaigners to develop their own standardized campaign stories. It’s a first in the world innovation in crowdfunding globally!

    ImpactGuru is also the first crowdfunding player in India to launch a smartphone app for customers. The app presents the user with a quick view of their fundraiser, thus enabling them to keep track of the progress of the campaign, get real-time donation notifications and post updates.  

    ImpactGuru.com has become the largest crowdfunding platform in India for medical expenses. In total, ImpactGuru has raised around INR 950 Crore from over 2 lakh donors from 150 countries.

    ImpactGuru – No Platform Fee

    ImpactGuru has extended free fundraising to all causes by offering a 0% platform fee. It has Mobilized $200 million/INR.1500 crores through its platform and global partners, since inception.

    Free fundraising is made available to all types of fundraisers who are hosted on the platform – It can be patients with medical emergencies (Covid-19, organ transplant, cancer) or NPOs/Individual fundraising programs for any causes. By this, ImpactGuru has completely waived off-platform fees with an intention to maximize the funds raised by fundraisers.

    In order to sustain the platform and meet operational activities to provide a free fundraising platform, donors will be asked to provide any amount of voluntary tips.

    In a joint statement ImpactGuru.com’s Co-Founders Piyush Jain and Khushboo Jain said, “In the last 5 years, crowdfunding on ImpactGuru has now become the preferred way for people to finance critical illness bills at hospitals given the low level of insurance penetration in India. With the extension of our free fundraising options to all fundraisers, we hope to accelerate our ambition of helping finance the critical illnesses of over 1 million / 10 lakh patients over the next decade.”

    ImpactGuru – Business and Revenue Model

    But how does ImpactGuru make money? It has a highly scalable, asset-light, transparent revenue model. It charges an average of 8% of total funds raised as to its fees with 5% directly being net revenue. It charges additional fixed fees for premium services such as digital marketing, video, content support.

    I was keen on a business model that would add value and meaning to the community. Our vision is to make sure that nobody in India has to ever struggle to fund their medical treatment due to lack of money. – Piyush Jain

    ImpactGuru offers various packages that one can opt for fundraising.

    ImpactGuru – Challenges Faced

    Social problems are so immense in India, that often one can get disillusioned by the impact one creates i.e. whether one’s intervention is moving the needle or not. There are many challenges and dilemmas that the ImpactGuru team needs to face on a day-to-day basis. This is what Piyush has to say regarding the issues the team faces-  

    At ImpactGuru, we often face an ethical dilemma. Private hospitals will not proceed with treatment without the funds, say of 5 children whom are near death without a critical emergency surgery. It is an overwhelming feeling as we will be disappointing someone or maybe more as we have limited resources as an organization and limited donors to reach out to fund each of the 5 surgeries successfully. How to handle the mental pressure and how to execute the task is the pressing concern. It’s very important to keep the perspective that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. We thus pick cases where we can have the maximum impact given the short time. We select cases such as transplant, heart surgeries, cancer rather than dengue, malaria, diarrhoea.

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    ImpactGuru – Funding and Investors

    ImpactGuru has raised a total of $4.5M in funding over 5 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Mar 6, 2020, from a Seed round. The ImpactGuru funding details are mentioned below:

    Date Stage Amount Investors
    April 2016 Pre-Seed Round $500K RB Investments Pvt Ltd (Singapore based VC Fund)
    November 2017 Seed Round – Venture Catalysts
    May 2018 Series A $2Million Apollo Hospitals Group, Currae Healthtech Fund, RB Investments, Shorooq Investments, Venture Catalysts with participation from various other investors from the USA, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East
    December 2018 Series A $2Million Shorooq Partners
    May 2020 Seed Round – Rajesh Mane

    ImpactGuru – Partners

    ImpactGuru has a strategic partnership with GlobalGiving.org, the world’s largest non-profit crowdfunding platform based in the US and UK in October 2016. It is the only crowdfunding platform in the world that can offer Indian, US, and UK tax benefits to Indian and international donors.

    ImpactGuru team with GlobalGiving

    ImpactGuru has also partnered with Apollo patients nationwide which makes it the preferred crowdfunding platform for all.

    Recently, in early July 2021 Cure SMA Foundation of India, a public charitable trust has collaborated with ImpactGuru. The partnership is to support all its registered SMA patients in India.

    In April 2016, ImpactGuru partnered with Fundnel, an investment platform based in Singapore. This partnership allowed ImpactGuru to tap into philanthropic and investment capital from the Indian diaspora based in Southeast Asia.

    In September 2016, ImpactGuru partnered with UN Women (an entity of United Nations) to run Project Inspire, an initiative to support social entrepreneurs working for women empowerment.

    ImpactGuru – Awards and Achievements

    ImpactGuru has won the following awards worldwide.

    • Khushboo Jain featured as a Leading Woman in Business 2021 List by The Economic Times & Femina.
    • Khushboo Jain was recognized as Social Activist For Indefatigable Service During Covid-19 Crisis by the Punjab Govt. Dept Of Health & Family Welfare.
    • Piyush Jain featured in 2021 List of Nationwide Awards 40 Under 40.
    • Awarded as Best Social Impact Startup by Drivers Of Digital Awards.
    • Awarded as Best Digital Startup by Drivers Of Digital Awards.
    • Piyush & Khushboo Jain featured in 2019 List of Fortune India 40 Under 40.
    • NITI Aayog & United Nations – 2019 Women Transforming India Awards featured Khushboo Jain in Winning Top 15.
    • Recognized among top 5 startups in India and raised investment funding on live TV on Tie The Knot: Real Funding, Unreal Speeds, CNBC TV18’s longest-running shows – Young Turks.
    • ImpactGuru was declared the winner of Maharashtra Startup Week 2019, organized by the Maharashtra State Innovation Society.
    • BusinessworldTectors Awards 2018 – Tech Companies To Watch Out For.
    • TechCircle 2018 Public Choice Award for Best Social Impact Startup award.
    • MedAchievers HEALTH NXT 2018 Rising Startup Award.
    • 2018 Top 3 Startups in West Zone, Start Smart Awards 2018.
    • Businessworld BW Disrupt Social Woman Entrepreneur Award.
    • YourStory SheSparks Awards 2018 – Fintech & Financial Inclusion category.
    • Social Samosa Social Media Superwoman 2018.

    ImpactGuru – Future Plans

    Expanding business in Middle East markets is the next on the cards with the help of some investors from the region who have recently invested in the company.

    I’m on a mission to make healthcare accessible to all and save more lives and cast the ImpactGuru net across geographies.

    ImpactGuru – FAQs

    What is ImpactGuru?

    ImpactGuru is a Mumbai-based crowdfunding startup that offers a platform to raise funds for healthcare to social enterprises, NGOs, startups and individuals.

    Who is the founder of ImpactGuru?

    ImpactGuru was founded by a couple of entrepreneurs, Piyush Jain and Khushboo Jain.

    How does ImpactGuru make money?

    ImpactGuru charges a minimum of 5% fee on the funds raised by individuals on the platform.

    What is ImpactGuru funding?

    ImpactGuru has raised a total of $4.5M in funding over 5 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Mar 6, 2020, from a Seed round.

    What documents are required to run a fundraiser on ImpactGuru?

    NGOs: If you’re raising funds for an NGO, you will be required to submit your 12A certificate and 80G certificate. If you wish to receive foreign donations please also share your valid FCRA certificate.

    Individuals (medical causes): If you’re an individual looking to raise funds for medical expenses you will be required to submit the patient’s identity details, test reports and invoice (if any), hospital/clinic name doctor’s name & contact details, beneficiary’s bank account details.

    Individuals (other causes): For individuals looking to raise funds for other personal causes please share your identity proof and bank account details. It would help your fundraiser if you could provide any other documents that would validate your fundraising need.

    Is ImpactGuru a legitimate site?

    Yes, ImpactGuru is a legitimate and legal site.

    Is ImpactGuru genuine?

    Yes, all the cases are genuine. ImpactGuru itself verifies them to make sure that their platform is safe for both campaigners and donors.

  • Best selection criteria for instructional design tools

    Instructional Design is the formulation and creation of instructional experiences which make learning more engaging, effective, and efficient. It is the combination of education, Psychology, and communication skills to come up with meaningful experiences. Instructional design has gained popularity in the last few years, for a good reason. The organizations that align their business goals with learning & development are 40% more likely to see an increase in key business metrics.

    Now, that the importance of Instructional design is established, let’s discuss the criteria based on which instructional design tools can be selected-

    Pre-defined goals

    One of the prerequisites of a successful instructional design is the goals that are defined before the start of the process. By doing this, you ensure that you have a concrete objective that you need to work towards, and are not shooting in the dark. All your following efforts for instructional design can, from then on be focussed on the achievement of that goal.

    Systematic process

    Although instructional design can be considered a continuous process, that does not mean that it is a haphazard one. There must be a well-defined sequence of events pre-decided to be followed for it to be successful.

    Continuous improvement

    The instructional design is not a one-off task to be finished off with. But, it is a continuous process and requires constant improvement. A thoroughly researched, sequenced, and implemented content, also has room to improve upon. Thus, instructional design requires constant assessment, planning, implementation on the repeat.

    Holistic approach

    Another factor to consider for a successful instructional design is the holistic approach taken up for it. It means even the smallest possible part of the design is not neglected and worked diligently upon but without compromising the performance and integrity of the project as a whole.

    Learner-centered

    One of the major pointers to keep in mind for effective instructional design is to ensure that the design works in favor of the learners, by making the training fun, engaging, productive, and efficient for the learners. According to a few experts, a good way to do that is to make the study more explorative where the instructors support the learners by clearing their doubts and answering any queries they might have. They could also help the learners in the application of newly acquired skills.

    Cost of tools

    The intended instructional design requires many tools. Before choosing the one we require, it makes perfect sense to check the price of the tool in the market and make a trade-off between the pros and cons of owning the tool. You can choose between free software, or open-source, or even a commercial one.

    Output to be managed

    The different types of files and images will be used for instructional design and its process. It is important to consider the kind of output that is expected to be produced and worked with before choosing the right kind of tool.

    Variety of functionalities

    This one is very logical, as the functionalities that you require in your instructional design will decide which tools you would be using in your design. If you need a video conferencing feature in your training, you would have to opt for a supportive tool. If you require an LMS for delivering, tracking, and reporting the training, then a good LMS, such as Litmos, which meets your requirements must be chosen.

    Reviews

    When buying something so important and with long-lasting impact, it is practical to ask around the industry to know about the reviews of the tool that you have in your mind.

    Thus, deciding on the instructional design is no easy feat, but with the help of the above-mentioned pointers, it gets easier to reach a suitable decision.

  • How much these Top Indian Cricketers Charge for Brand Endorsements

    Indian Cricketers have a lot of popularity among the common people in India. This popularity has given them an opportunity to earn through brand endorsements. You can read the article to know how much these top cricketers charge for brand endorsements.

    In this article, we have tried to give our best figures of all the Indian Cricketers who are getting paid for endorsing a particular brand. Here is a list of all the famous cricketers and the price they charge for endorsing a brand. Who is your favourite cricketer? And how much he is charging per brand endorsement? Take a look and find out.

    1. Sachin Tendulkar
    2. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
    3. Virat Kohli
    4. Yuvraj Singh
    5. Rohit Sharma
    6. Suresh Raina
    7. KL Rahul
    8. Jaspreet Bumrah
    9. Ravindra Jadeja
    10. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
    11. Harbhajan Singh
    12. Umesh Yadav
    13. Rishabh Pant
    14. Shreyas Iyer
    15. Sanju Samson
    16. Ajinkya Rahane
    17. Ravichandran Ashwin
    18. Yusuf Pathan

    FAQs

    Brand Endorsement Deals of Top Indian Cricketers

    Sachin Tendulkar

    Sachin Tendulkar is known as the God of Cricket. He was an Indian Batsman with a lot of records in his name. He is one of the highest-paid cricketers by brands for endorsements. He charges an amount of INR 1-5 crore or more per brand endorsement.

    Sachin Tendulkar Brand Endorsement Fee
    Sachin Tendulkar Brand Endorsement Fee

    Mahendra Singh Dhoni

    Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the former captain of the Indian Cricket team. He is well known for his exceptional wicket-keeping skills and batting skills. He is also one of the highest-paid cricketers by brands for endorsements. He charges an amount of INR 1-5 crore or more per brand endorsement.

    MS Dhoni Brand Endorsement Fee
    MS Dhoni Brand Endorsement Fee

    Virat Kohli

    Virat Kohli is the current captain of the Indian Cricket team. He is one of the highest-paid sportsmen in the country and he was on the Forbes 2020 list to be the 66th highest-paid athlete in the world. He is also one of the highest-paid cricketers by brands for endorsements. He receives an amount of INR 1-5 crore or more per brand endorsement.

    Virat Kohli Brand Endorsement Fee
    Virat Kohli Brand Endorsement Fee

    Yuvraj Singh

    Yuvraj Singh is a former Indian cricketer. He was known for his batting skills and his skills on the field. He has a record of hitting six sixes in an over. He gets an amount of INR 50 lakhs to more than INR 1 crore per brand endorsement.

    Yuvraj Singh Brand Endorsement Fee
    Yuvraj Singh Brand Endorsement Fee

    Rohit Sharma

    Rohit Sharma is part of the Indian Cricket team. He is one of the key players in the team and very well known for his batting skills. He gets an amount of INR 50 lakhs to more than INR 1 crore per brand endorsement.

    Rohit Sharma Brand Endorsement Fee
    Rohit Sharma Brand Endorsement Fee

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    Suresh Raina

    Suresh Raina is a former Indian Cricketer. He was a left-handed batsman who was known for his batting skills. He gets an amount of INR 50 lakhs to more than INR 1 crore per brand endorsement.

    Suresh Raina Brand Endorsement Fee
    Suresh Raina Brand Endorsement Fee

    KL Rahul

    KL Rahul is part of the Indian Cricket team. He is a wicket-keeper and an opening batsman. He also receives an amount of INR 50 lakhs to more than INR 1 crore per brand endorsement.

    KL Rahul Brand Endorsement Fee
    KL Rahul Brand Endorsement Fee

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    Jaspreet Bumrah

    Jaspreet Bumrah is also part of the Indian Cricket team. He is a fast bowler and is extensively known for his bowling style. He charges around INR 30 lakhs to more than INR 50 lakhs per brand endorsement.

    Jaspreet Bumrah Brand Endorsement Fee
    Jaspreet Bumrah Brand Endorsement Fee

    Ravindra Jadeja

    Ravindra Jadeja is part of the Indian Cricket team. He is an all-rounder and is also well known for his skills on the field. Ravindra Jadeja also receives an amount of INR 30 lakhs to more than INR 50 lakhs per brand endorsement.

    Ravindra Jadeja Brand Endorsement Fee
    Ravindra Jadeja Brand Endorsement Fee 

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    Bhuvneshwar Kumar

    Bhuvneshwar Kumar is also part of the current Indian Cricket team. He is a fast-paced bowler known for his bowling skills. He also receives around INR 30 lakhs to more than INR 50 lakhs per brand endorsement.

    Bhuvneshwar Kumar Brand Endorsement Fee
    Bhuvneshwar Kumar Brand Endorsement Fee

    Harbhajan Singh

    Harbhajan Singh is a former Indian cricketer. He was known for his spin bowling. Harbhajan receives around INR 20 lakhs to more than INR 30 lakhs per brand endorsement.

    Harbhajan Singh Brand Endorsement Fee
    Harbhajan Singh Brand Endorsement Fee

    Umesh Yadav

    Umesh Yadav is an Indian Cricketer. He is a fast-paced bowler. Umesh Yadav receives around INR 20 lakhs to more than INR 30 lakhs per brand endorsement.

    Umesh Yadav Brand Endorsement Fee
    Umesh Yadav Brand Endorsement Fee

    Rishabh Pant

    Rishabh Pant is part of the current Indian Cricket team. He is a youngster well-known for his batting skills. He is also a wicket-keeper. Rishabh Pant receives around INR 20 lakhs to more than INR 30 lakhs per brand endorsement.

    Rishabh Pant Brand Endorsement Fee
    Rishabh Pant Brand Endorsement Fee

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    Shreyas Iyer

    Shreyas Iyer is a part of the current Indian Cricket team. He is also a youngster who is well known for his batting skills. Shreyas Iyer receives around INR 20 lakhs to more than INR 30 lakhs per brand endorsement.

    Shreyas Iyer Brand Endorsement Fee
    Shreyas Iyer Brand Endorsement Fee

    Sanju Samson

    Sanju Samson is part of the Indian T-20 team. He is well known for his batting skills. Sanju Samson also receives an amount of INR 20 lakhs to more than INR 30 lakhs per brand endorsement.

    Sanju Samson Brand Endorsement Fee
    Sanju Samson Brand Endorsement Fee

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    Ajinkya Rahane

    Ajinkya Rahane is an Indian cricketer known for his batting skills. He is a well-known batsman who receives around INR 20 lakhs to more than INR 30 lakhs per brand endorsement.

    Ajinkya Rahane Brand Endorsement Fee
    Ajinkya Rahane Brand Endorsement Fee

    Ravichandran Ashwin

    Ashwin is part of the Indian cricket team. He is an experienced spin bowler in the team. He charges around INR 20 lakhs to more than INR 30 lakhs per brand endorsement.

    Ravichandran Ashwin Brand Endorsement Fee
    Ravichandran Ashwin Brand Endorsement Fee

    Yusuf Pathan

    Yusuf Pathan is a former Indian Cricketer known for his brilliant batting skills. He receives around INR 10 lakhs to more than INR 20 lakhs per brand endorsement.

    Yusuf Pathan Brand Endorsement Fee
    Yusuf Pathan Brand Endorsement Fee

    The above is the list of Indian cricketers and the amount they receive for brand endorsements as of 2021.

    FAQs

    What is a brand endorsement?

    Brand endorsement is a form of advertising where the brand uses famous personalities or celebrities to promote its product or service.

    Do celebrity endorsements increase sales?

    Celebrity endorsements significantly increase sales. Signing a celebrity endorsement can cause the value of stocks to rise and increase sales by about 4 per cent, according to Social Media Week.

    What are the 4 types of celebrity endorsements?

    Celebrity advertising comes in 4 forms of endorsements as spokespersons, advertising, branding, product design and placement. A common form is the use of celebrities in print advertisements and commercials.

    How many brands does Virat Kohli endorse?

    Virat Kohli has endorsed many brands like Puma, Audi, MRF, Colgate-Palmolive, Tissot and has done shoots for many personal care companies as well. He has endorsed 28 brands so far.

    How much does Virat Kohli charge for advertising?

    Virat Kohli charges around INR 1 crore to more than INR 5 crores per advertisement.

  • How To Open An Etsy Store?- A Guide

    Etsy is an excellent and unique platform to buy or sell its products and cater to millions of customers worldwide. Customers are directly connected to sellers online. Etsy is generally a very safe and secure platform, and one can really get their hands on genuine, high-quality products.

    Handcrafted, arts, crafts, and vintage goods are the most selling and dominate most of the sales that the company makes. Etsy is unique and gathers a lot of attention as the products sold are one of a kind and special. One can be sure of receiving a distinctive and personalized product and also get a chance to connect directly with designers, artists, and creative entrepreneurs.

    The company stands by its abbreviation, which says ” Easy To Sell Yourself,” as it promotes and encourages individuals to create products and be a part of their wonderful team. Since 2012 Etsy’s customers have nearly quadrupled in numbers which have garnered over 50 million shoppers to date.

    What Is An Etsy Store?
    How To Open An Etsy Store?
    Things To Remember When Opening An Etsy Store
    Conclusion
    FAQs

    How to Open Your First Etsy Store?

    What Is An Etsy Store?

    Etsy Logo
    Etsy Logo

    Etsy is a highly popular e-commerce website where handmade, handcrafted, and various other arts and vintage goods are sold. It’s a peer-to-peer platform launched back in 2005 by Haim Schoppik, Chris Maguire, and Robert Kalin and later joined by Jared Tarbell. Etsy had already garnered $26 million in sales and around half a million users within just two years of the website launch.

    On Etsy, a customer is buying products directly from an individual who may produce them in his backyard and not from a mass production manufacturing company. Therefore, Etsy can most definitely prove to be a game-changer if you are looking to sell or buy something that is unique and valuable.

    Being Designed in such a way that it’s pretty simple to use for both the parties, i.e., seller and buyer, it becomes one of its main advantages among many, which include having a niche market with a global reach across various geographical locations along with having a huge customer base. In addition, the platform self-reported that 87% of Etsy’s sellers were identified as women back in 2019.

    On average, a seller can make about $44,380, which can get a lot more if one puts their back into it. However, a transaction fee of 5% is charged every time one makes a sale through Etsy.com, which goes directly to the company. In addition, sellers are charged with a $0.20 listing fee per item for their store.

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    How To Open An Etsy Store?

    Opening Etsy Store
    Opening Etsy Store

    One can open their Etsy store by following the below steps.

    Step 1. One needs to register themselves on the “sell on Etsy’” link and then filling up details like name, email address, and password.

    Step 2. The next step would be to select your shop preferences; here, you can create and choose basic settings for your store, starting with a preferred language.

    Step 3. Followed by the step which would be to choose a desirable shop name as long as it follows the below mentioned Etsy Guidelines.

    Here are the Etsy guidelines you need to follow when registering an Etsy Store

    • No profanities,
    • No trademark infringements,
    • No spaces or special characters,
    • Must be at least 4 to 20 characters,
    • No name which is already in use by other Etsy sellers.

    Step 4. The next and one of the most important steps would be to list your products in-store by adding their name, description, size, colour, type along with accurate and informative pictures.

    Step 5. After completing the details of the listing and uploading an appropriate thumbnail, one can move on to completing and setting up the inventory and pricing. One must make sure to set final shipping prices such that it makes them a decent profit and is within the customer’s expectations.

    Step 6. The next few steps would be setting up your preferred store policies and guidelines along with customizing your shop with an accurate and informative bio and detailed photos.

    Step 7. The next most important step would be to set up payment preferences like a credit card, debit card, PayPal, etc., followed by setting up the billing.

    Step 8. The next and final step would be to open your store by clicking on “Open Your Shop.” Your shop will then be open, and the URL would be in one of those two formats https://www.etsy.com/shop/yourshopname or https://yourshopname.etsy.com.

    Etsy could prove to be a really great stepping stone to test your product reach and acceptance along with your time, money, and business management skills. If you can put even some effort into your business, it can benefit you highly and can take off in a matter of months or weeks. Just like a flower takes time to blossom similarly, even a unique and memorable business idea can take time to reach masses and gather customers.

    Things To Remember When Opening An Etsy Store

    There are a few pointers that one needs to look after before opening an Etsy store, such as

    • Making sure that your product or goods are ready and deliverable.
    • Making sure you have a well-set up Shop with a clear idea of what, when, and how things are to be done.
    • Making a reasonable and achievable business plan and sales management.
    • Never give up in the starting phase and try to keep on going through hardships for at least a couple of months as that’s when actual growth can be seen.
    • Having too many product listings can actually cause more damage than profit.
    • It’s better to focus on a few high-quality and trending products.
    • Make use of SEO, marketing strategies and social media advertising to help the business with that much necessary boost.
    • Manage your budget for advertising and marketing and it holds power to make a huge crowd interested and willing to get their hands on your product.

    Conclusion

    Opening an Etsy store can really prove to be a great idea and can bring colossal cash flow if managed and run systematically with discipline. Just as most other digital platforms and e-commerce sites, Etsy functions on audience reach and interaction and therefore one must work on it. Etsy can most definitely prove to be a game-changer if you are looking to sell or buy something that is unique and valuable.

    FAQs

    What is the store Etsy?

    Etsy is an online marketplace where independent artists and crafters can sell their goods.

    Is there a monthly fee for an Etsy store?

    Etsy store offers 30-day trail. After the 30-day free trial, you’ll be charged a monthly subscription fee of $15.00 USD.

    Is Etsy used in India?

    Yes, Etsy has been launched in India in 2018.

    Is Etsy worth using?

    Etsy keeps evolving to be a better platform for both sellers and buyers. It is one of the quickest and easiest ways to get your handmade products online. it is quite worthy to be used as it has low financial risk.

  • Magneto CleanTech Success Story: India’s Best Air Sanitization Solution!

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

    Magneto CleanTech’s flagship product is the Magneto Central Air Cleaner (MCAC)— a high-efficiency ISO-certified air purification solution that not just absorbs all kinds of viruses (including SARS-Cov-2 where coronavirus belongs) and bacteria from the air, but also destroys them ensuring no further proliferation. Magneto solutions provide a 99% elimination of viruses and bacteria from any indoor environment including residential, commercial, or industrial applications.

    Founded by Himanshu and Bhanu Agarwal in 2017, Magneto claims brands like Apple, Google, Nokia, Uber, Taj Group of hotels among others as its clients. The entire team at Magneto holds a vision to make clean air accessible to everyone. Let’s see how Magneto CleanTech is going to make that happen!

    StartupTalky interviewed Mr. Himanshu Agarwal (Founder & CEO, Magneto CleanTech) to get insights on the startup story and growth hacks of the company. In this article you’ll discover how Magneto started, its business model, how Magneto works, funding, growth, future plans, and more.

    Magneto – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Magneto CleanTech
    Founders Himanshu Agarwal (CEO), Bhanu Agarwal
    Headquarters New Delhi
    Industry Cleantech
    Website magneto.in

    Magneto CleanTech – About and Vision
    Magneto CleanTech – Industry Details
    How Magneto CleanTech Started
    Magneto CleanTech – Product & How it Works
    Magneto CleanTech – Founders and Team
    Magneto CleanTech – Business Model & Revenue Model
    Magneto CleanTech – Launch & Marketing Strategy
    Magneto CleanTech – Challenges Faced
    Magneto CleanTech – Growth
    Magneto CleanTech – Funding
    Magneto CleanTech – Advisors/Mentors
    Magneto CleanTech – Competitor
    Magneto CleanTech – Recognition & Achievements
    Magneto CleanTech – Future Plans
    Magneto CleanTech – FAQs

    Magneto CleanTech – About and Vision

    Magneto CleanTech is India’s 1st and only provider of an entire range of certified and patented air sanitization solutions that can eliminate all kinds of viruses (including SARS-Cov-2 where coronavirus belongs), microbes, and pollutants from the indoor air. Magneto solutions provide a 99% elimination of viruses and bacteria from any indoor environment including residential, commercial, or industrial applications.

    It provides design, engineer, and manufacture central air-purification and air sanitization solutions powered by advanced technologies that destroy nanoscopic microbes and pollutants, including PM 2.5, PM 1.0, bacteria, and even viruses from the indoor air. Magneto’s chief product is the Magneto Central Air Cleaner (MCAC), a high-efficiency ISO certified air purification solution that not just absorbs all kinds of viruses and bacteria from the air, but also destroys them ensuring no further proliferation.

    Magneto CleanTech Logo

    Magneto’s vision is to make clean air accessible to everyone, whether in homes, offices, or buildings. Magneto drives innovation built on strong research fundamentals while ensuring that its products adhere to rigorous standards of safety and quality. Through a deep understanding of the needs of a developing economy and collaboration with researchers across the world, Magneto delivers products that solve customer problems in a data-driven way, making clean air quantified and visible.

    Magneto CleanTech – Industry Details

    Any air-conditioned indoor space is a potential customer for Magneto CleanTech including homes, commercial spaces such as malls, movie theatres, residential complexes, hotels, hospitals, schools, restaurants, fitness centers, etc. It caters to residential, commercial, and industrial spaces. The products have been adopted by some of the largest brands in India such as Google, Apple, Uber, BMW, Airbus, Nokia, Jindal Group, Taj Hotels, Oberois, PGI Chandigarh Hospital, Godrej Properties, and DLF, to name a few.

    The Indian air purification market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 27% in the next five years. While the current penetration of air purifiers on average is less than 5% in India, the potential of business growth looks a lot higher than projected. Given the current dynamics, different segments will grow disproportionately as far as air purification is concerned. For example, the healthcare and hospitality industries might become the early adopters of high-efficiency air sanitization technology, while residential applications will grow a little later. Magneto has enjoyed a CAGR of over 60% in the last three years.

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    How Magneto CleanTech Started

    Starting in early 2013, Himanshu recognized the growing need for improved air quality in India and began investing in the research and development of IAQ solutions. After numerous cycles of product development, the founders were able to conceive a product line specifically designed for the Indian environmental conditions in collaboration with international, core-technology providers, making it available at a price point that is viable for developing countries like India for mass adoption. This led to the birth of Magneto Cleantech in 2018. Recently, the company has seen tremendous growth in this segment and has gained great market traction.

    Magneto CleanTech – Product & How it Works

    Magneto CleanTech’s flagship product is the Magneto Central Air Cleaner (MCAC)— a high-efficiency ISO-certified air purification solution that not just absorbs all kinds of viruses and bacteria from the air, but also destroys them ensuring no further proliferation. Its patented ‘Trap and Kill’ technology is Magneto’s key strength and it follows a three-fold process. Magneto Central Air Cleaner works on a three-stage process. Unlike traditional air filtration, MCAC kills trapped microorganisms instead of letting them grow:

    • Impingement: Particles up to 10 microns in size are trapped.
    • Polarisation: All particulate matter and microorganisms, including viruses, when passed through this layer get charged and start getting coagulated.
    • Agglomeration: All the charged particles are trapped. The viruses and bacteria are killed and only pure and sanitized air is delivered back.

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    Magneto CleanTech – Founders and Team

    Himanshu Agarwal and Bhanu Agarwal are the founders of Magneto CleanTech.

    Magneto CleanTech Founder
    Himanshu Agarwal -Founder and CEO of Magneto

    Headquartered in Delhi, Magneto has over 60 employees now. Its production unit is also based in Delhi. While a startup, the work culture at Magneto is more of an enterprise because it is committed to providing the best value to its customers in terms of not just product, but also service and customer care. The startup is constantly hiring professionals across business segments including engineering, sales, marketing, etc. People with an HVAC background who understand the technology and can serve its customers well are key.

    Magneto CleanTech – Business Model & Revenue Model

    Magneto’s direct business model has been focusing on the commercial air purification segment so far. Its product design, manufacturing, and installation have been in-house. Some of the largest brands in India have installed Magneto air purification solutions integrated with their central air-conditioning systems.

    The company has started developing a dealer network across India only since last year (2020). Magneto is committed to providing complete support to its channel partners, and the startup expects that part of the business to grow in double digits YoY. The partner network is mainly focused on the consumer market for its Split and Cassette AC solutions.

    Magneto CleanTech – Launch & Marketing Strategy

    Magneto CleanTech was founded based on over 30-years of combined experience of the founders and key stakeholders. They already had a very strong network in the industry, which is where the company started from. Magneto started marketing its products commercially only in 2019 to expand across verticals and geographies.

    Making clean air visible was a core part of its marketing and product strategy. Magneto initially started with an air purification product line, but quickly realized the importance of having air quality monitoring in its portfolio. By offering visibly clean air, the startup was able to give customers confidence in its systems in real-time applications. This became a critical piece of Magneto CleanTech’s marketing strategy, and the entire industry followed suit soon after.

    Magneto CleanTech – Challenges Faced

    One of the biggest challenges was finding a technology that could work in heavy air pollution settings of India with a low operating cost.

    When Magneto first entered the market, a big customer pain point was that the traditional media filter-based purification solutions had a high recurring cost, requiring filter replacement every 3 months in the heavy pollution load of metro cities. Devising a solution that could be reused without any consumables, drove the team to research alternative forms of air purification. Additionally, they recognized that in the context of India, airborne infectious diseases were already a big epidemic, especially with Tuberculosis. This drove the team to research technologies that holistically cleaned air, beyond just PM 2.5 and PM 10 to eliminate microbial contaminants as well. They spent over 5 years working and prototyping with different technologies that could satisfy these considerations before the team landed on the Magneto Central Air Cleaner product.

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    Magneto CleanTech – Growth

    Magneto has provided its marque solutions to some of the largest brands across industries in India including Apple, Google, Nokia, Uber, Taj Group of hotels, PGI Hospital, Chandigarh, Medanta hospital, IFCCO, RBI, Raheja, Godrej housing, to name a few.

    Its vision, however, is to make clean air accessible to everyone. The team understands the unique challenges posed in India and looks to invent solutions that will improve human lives across the nation and the world. In the next couple of years, Magneto will focus on residential applications like Split & Cassette ACs and is planning to expand the dealer network to reach mass consumers across India.

    Magneto CleanTech – Funding

    Magneto CleanTech is a bootstrapped startup. As stated by the founder of Magneto, Mr. Himanshu Agarwal, the startup has over $1.6 Mn poured in.

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    Magneto CleanTech – Advisors/Mentors

    Mentor: Arun Seth, Chairman, NASSCOM Foundation

    Magneto CleanTech – Competitor

    Magneto CleanTech considers Honeywell as its major competitor.

    Magneto CleanTech – Recognition & Achievements

    • CBRE Nasscom Finalist – 2018
    • CII, GreenPro – 2018
    • iNFHRA Clean Air Award Winner – 2020
    • Royal Academy of Engineering, UK with IIT-M, Queen’s University UK, Grant Winner – 2021
    Magneto

    Magneto CleanTech – Future Plans

    Magneto CleanTech is committed to its vision of providing clean and safe air to every individual in developing countries like India. For this, it will continue to invest in R&D and develop products for larger applications, including industrial (manufacturing plants, energy sites, warehouses, etc.), transport (railways, bus, airways, cars), and also enterprise solutions with independent equipment that can cover larger non-air-conditioned areas for places like schools, hostels, old age homes, animal shelters, etc.

    Magneto CleanTech – FAQs

    What is Magneto CleanTech?

    Magneto CleanTech is India’s 1st and only provider of an entire range of certified and patented air sanitization solutions that can eliminate all kinds of viruses (including SARS-Cov-2 where coronavirus belongs), microbes, and pollutants from the indoor air.

    How is Magneto CleanTech different?

    The patented ‘Trap and Kill’ technology is Magneto’s key strength and it follows a three-fold process. Magneto Central Air Cleaner works on a three-stage process. Unlike traditional air filtration, MCAC kills trapped microorganisms instead of letting them grow.

    Is Magneto an Indian Startup?

    Yes. Magneto is an Indian Startup headquartered in New Delhi.

    Who is the founder of Magneto?

    Magneto CleanTech was founded in 2017 by Himanshu Agarwal and Bhanu Agarwal.

  • Zimyo Startup Story – #1 Human Experience Platform

    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 Zimyo.

    Zimyo is a one-stop solution to all HR needs that helps organizations build a 2X more productive, engaged, and satisfied workforce. It provides cloud-based HR solutions to businesses of all sizes. It offers comprehensive smart HR solutions – Payroll and Expense Management, Performance Management System, Employee Engagement, Employee Benefits, Time and Attendance, and Onboarding and Recruitment solutions.

    In just 3 years since its inception in 2018, Zimyo is serving more than 500 organizations with 100,000+ active users! StartupTalky interviewed the Co-founder of Zimyo, Mr, Ajay Kadyan to know the startup story of Zimyo. In this article, you’ll get an insight into how Zimyo was started, its business model, founders’ profile, and more.

    Zimyo – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Zimyo
    Founders Ajay Kadyan, Kumar Mayank
    Founded 2018
    Headquarters Gurugram
    Industry HR Tech
    Website zimyo.com

    About Zimyo and Its USP
    The Backstory of Zimyo – How it Started?
    Founders of Zimyo
    Zimyo – Business Model and Revenue Model
    Employee Culture @ Zimyo
    Growth of Zimyo
    Zimyo – FAQs

    About Zimyo and Its USP

    Incepted in 2018, Zimyo is one of the fastest-growing unified HCM platforms in the HR tech space that automates tedious HR processes, eliminates payroll errors, and enhances employee experiences. It is a one-stop solution to all HR needs that helps organizations build a 2X more productive, engaged, and satisfied workforce. Furthermore, its intuitive HR solutions help employer organizations to drive improved data-driven decision-making and get better business outcomes.

    Zimyo is a one-of-a-kind platform that uses smart technology to provide smarter experiences. The company’s philosophy is purely inclined towards a human-centric design that leverages the power of Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning to build highly efficient products. The platform boasts a voice-user interface to simplify complex tasks using speech to enhance user experience.

    Zimyo Startup Story
    Zimyo Logo

    The platform features a broad spectrum of modules (over 40+) to offer flexibility to its users. Around 95 percent of Zimyo’s partners find it the easiest platform to switch and set up their complex processes in no time. Further, the platform processes the entire payroll in less than 2 minutes for over 1000 employees in just 3 easy clicks. Its robust analytics-driven employee intelligence system increases team retention by 3X and enables leaders proactively with the power of on-demand data and insights to make quick and informed decisions.

    Zimyo’s embedded finance solution enables employee-centric organizations to offer a one-of-a-kind employee engagement experience with benefits like advance salary, employee loans, insurance, and investments. With this solution, Zimyo intends to make financial services more accessible for employees across SMBs. This can help companies attract and retain customers while providing hassle-free financial services.

    The Backstory of Zimyo – How it Started?

    Kumar Mayank, CEO of Zimyo, has a background in microfinance. It is during his stint with the industry that he realized the absence of “formal credit” for employees. These employees who worked all their lives in factories with a PF account and investments to show had no bank willing to lend them credit when they needed it. Kumar analyzed this gap and decided to create a way to make credit easily accessible to these employees.

    There was a need for identifying the mechanism of establishing if there was actual salary transferred, which brought the HR and Payroll of an organization into the picture. That’s how the journey began as Zimyo started an innovation drive that merged FinTech with HRTech from an employee-first perspective.

    Along with co-founder Ajay Kadan, who has extensive experience of over 10 years in product development, system architecture, and data analytics, Zimyo plans to bridge the gap between the credit market and SMB employees with their innovative solutions.

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    Founders of Zimyo

    Ajay Kadyan and Kumar Mayank (CEO) are the founders of Zimyo.

    Ajay Kadyan | Co-founder, Zimyo

    Zimyo Founder
    Ajay Kadyan – Zimyo Co-founder

    Ajay has extensive experience of over 10 years in product development, system architecture, and data analytics. He has helped several organizations in the HR Tech, EdTech, and E-commerce space to build robust products. With his strategic leadership skills and critical thinking, Ajay has successfully built a highly efficient and collaborative team.

    Presently, Ajay works as the Co-Founder of Zimyo and spearheads the business with his deep comprehensive industry knowledge. He is currently focused on positioning Zimyo as one of the most preferred brands in the HR tech space. Besides, he works closely with the marketing team to improve Zimyo’s brand visibility and outreach. In addition to this, Zimyo has also joined forces with the sales team to increase client acquisition and improve conversion rate, while working closely with the product team to strengthen the product portfolio.  

    With his technical and functional knowledge, Ajay envisions empowering leaders and organizations across the world to offer true ‘employee experience’ to their employees, help them get the best out of their workforce, drive higher engagement, and build a differentiating human capital advantage.

    Kumar Mayank | Co-founder & CEO, Zimyo

    Kumar Myanak’s role as Zimyo’s Founder involves connecting with growth-focused organizations and helping them build a great organizational culture with the help of Zimyo’s product suite. He did his BA Hons in Economics from Delhi University and is an alum of IIM – Lucknow. Before starting Zimyo, Kumar Mayank was associated with well-known companies like Equitas Small Finance Bank, ING Vyasa Bank, and Janalakshmi Financial Services.

    With an extensive background in Microfinance, Kumar realized the lack of “formal credit” for employees. These Employees who worked in factories for their entire lives with PF accounts and investments to show for their work could not get credit from banks when needed. Kumar studied this gap and devised a way to make credit easily accessible to these employees.

    Zimyo – Business Model and Revenue Model

    Zimyo provides cloud-based HR solutions to businesses of all sizes. It offers comprehensive smart HR solutions – Payroll and Expense Management, Performance Management System, Employee Engagement, Employee Benefits, Time and Attendance, and Onboarding and Recruitment solutions. The platform charges a monthly fee from employers based on their needs and the number of employees. The basic package starts from INR 5999/PM/100 employees that can be customized as per their employer’s needs.  

    From the HR tech space, Zimyo has also entered into the embedded finance segment. It has extended its services to offer employee benefits, tax-saving solutions, retirement plans, and financial assessments. Besides this, the platform has also integrated with other job portals to ensure an efficient hiring process.

    In such a short span, the platform has onboarded prominent clients with Zimyo including Bajaj Capital, Hillson Shoes, 88 Pictures, iMocha, Yethi, M2P, TheData Team, Fleetx, Riskcovry, and many among others. Apart from this, Zimyo’s direct integration with other job portals makes the hiring processes more efficient by eliminating the need for manual data entry on multiple sites and removing the need to check back in on job posts.

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    Employee Culture @ Zimyo

    Given the exacerbating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, physical & mental wellness, financial stability and job security have become top concerns for employees. To handle the crisis well, Zimyo is bringing employee wellness to the forefront. Being a people-centric company, Zimyo is emphasizing on “Employee First” culture by adopting policies such as group health insurance, reimbursement for COVID vaccinations, paid leave for vaccinations, paid medical leave for COVID positive employees, mental wellness & engagement sessions, and additional insurance cover for oxygen concentrators & medical emergency.

    In addition to this, Zimyo also supports its partner organizations in building a positive and productive work culture. It has partnered with various integrators to provide Benefits such as Insurance, Tax Saving Investment Options, Wealth Management Solutions, Expense/Credit Cards, and much more.

    Also Read: Importance of Work Culture in the Success of a Startup

    Growth of Zimyo

    Currently, Zimyo is serving more than 500 organizations with 100,000+ active users. Along with HRMS & other modules, Zimyo’s ‘Benefits’ module has also seen a high user adoption rate. A bunch of Zimyo’s existing partners have opted for Zimyo benefits and are very happy with the offerings under this newly launched module.

    It has also designed a bilingual mobile app to further ensure a seamless employee experience. The platform has received avg. 4.2+ ratings from its users on various platforms. Recently, Zimyo has been also recognized by G2 as a “High Performer” in the HRMS, Payroll, and Time & Attendance Software categories – earning a total of 7 accolades.

    In such a short span, the platform has onboarded prominent clients with Zimyo including Bajaj Capital, Hillson Shoes, 88 Pictures, iMocha, Yethi, M2P, TheData Team, Fleetx, Riskcovry, and many among others.

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    Zimyo – FAQs

    What is Zimyo?

    Zimyo is one of the fastest-growing unified HCM platforms in the HR tech space that automates tedious HR processes, eliminates payroll errors, and enhances employee experiences.

    Who are the founders of Zimyo?

    Ajay Kadyan and Kumar Mayank (CEO) are the founders of Zimyo.

    How Zimyo makes money?

    Zimyo provides cloud-based HR solutions to businesses of all sizes. The platform charges a monthly fee from employers based on their needs and the number of employees. The basic package starts from INR 5999/PM/100 employees that can be customized as per their employer’s needs.  

    When was Zimyo started?

    Zimyo was launched in 2018.

    How much funding has Zimyo raised?

    Zimyo raised seed funding of $1.5 million led by BEENEXT in September 2020.