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  • Refrens – A Revolutionary Payment Gateway for Freelancers

    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 the organization it is based on.

    As people look for alternatives beyond their day jobs, they are quick to stumble upon freelancing. Freelancing is now emerging as a viable career option. Gone are the days when it was merely seen as a source of side income. However, this path isn’t void of difficulties. One such obstacle is a slow payment gateway. A freelancer’s will to take up projects dies down when payments aren’t received on time!

    This is where Refrens comes into picture. It aides freelancers by providing an optimal mechanism for payments gateway.

    Refrens – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Refrens
    Headquarters Bengaluru
    Founders Naman Sarawagi and Mohit Jain
    Sector Fintech
    Founded 2019
    Parent Organization Refrens Internet Pvt. Ltd.

    Refrens – Vision And Mission
    Refrens – Product
    Refrens – Industry Details
    Refrens – Founders And Team
    Refrens – The Idea And Launch
    Refrens – Product And Services
    Refrens – Name, Logo, And Tagline
    Refrens – Business Model
    Refrens – Funding and Investors
    Refrens – Customer Acquisition
    Refrens – Challenges
    Refrens – Future Plans
    Refrens – FAQs

    Refrens – About

    Refrens provides a payment gateway system for freelancers to send and receive payments comfortably, which offers free invoicing, payments, and expense management system. It was founded by Naman Sarawagi and Mohit Jain in 2019.

    The platform currently has 12,000 businesses and freelancers using the system, which is growing at 10 percent every week.

    Refrens – Vision And Mission

    Refrens wants to create the easiest way for freelancers to collect payments and collaborate with other freelancers. Refrens provides a payment gateway system for freelancers to send and receive payments comfortably.

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    Refrens – Industry Details

    The freelancing industry, better known as the ‘Gig Economy’, has since immense recognition and growth over the last decade. There are around 20 million people working as full-time freelancers in India. This number stands at more than 6 million in the USA; such is the influence of freelancing.

    On the other hand, the payment gateway service is also witnessing rapid adoption in India. Since this is the digital era and everything’s online, the technologies and tools powering the internet need to be efficient and flawless. This includes payment gateways as well. The existing payment mechanisms have tremendous scope for improvement which Refrens is working on.  

    Refrens – Founders And Team

    Refrens was founded by Naman Sarawagi and Mohit Jain in 2019.

    Naman Sarawagi, founder of Findyogi
    Naman Sarawagi, Co-founder of Refrens

    Naman Sarawagi is the product and marketing manager at Refrens. Moreover, he is the founder of FindYogi.com. Naman has previously been a product manager at Freecharge and ZipDial.

    With a penchant for investing in the right places, Naman has put his money in Daily Ninja and Holidify. Daily Ninja is a startup providing subscription based delivery of daily products whereas Holidify is a holiday planning website.

    Mohit Jain, Co-founder of Refrens

    Mohit Jain handles Refren’s technical division. He was the CTO at Findyogi.com. Mohit has been a tech consultant at various startups.

    Findyogi.com is a website that compares the prices of the product across different e-commerce websites out there. The company was acquired by Way2News in 2016.

    Refrens – The Idea And Launch

    I met a lot of good freelancers during my course of growing multiple startups but finding them and interacting with them was tough. It looked like a good market to solve problems for – Naman Sarawagi, Co-founder of Refrens.

    The duo scrutinized industry reports on the market size and the tools used by freelancers and other professionals for payments. They launched a raw product in a closed group. With the feedback received, they started improvising on the product.

    Their initial product wasn’t well-received by the audience. It called for excessive change in user habits. After incorporating the responses received by some freelancers in the product’s second iteration, Refrens’ offering was quick in getting accepted by the freelancing community. People found the tool simple and slick.

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    Refrens – Product And Services

    Refrens is a simple invoicing and payments collection system. Once the user has processed their first invoice through Refrens, the intuitive system gets the user hooked onto it through the numerous features the platform offers. For freelancers, it becomes easy to enable options like adding payment methods, offering discounts, etc. for their clients via Refrens.

    Refrens - Freelancers receive payments
    Refrens – Payment gateway system

    Refrens is an invoicing and payments service provider. The company’s core segment revolves around B2B freelancers. The Refrens team strongly believes in freelancing as the future of work. As a result, this domain needs significant enhancements and advancements to be successful.

    Refrens was launched to solve the delay and inefficiency freelancers face when collecting payments from different customers. It is possible to create an invoice within 30 seconds on Refrens.

    Refrens- Name, Logo, And Tagline

    Refrens - Payment gateway system
    Refrens Logo

    Refrens is a play on the reference. The team believe that the freelancers get business from reference of past clients so it is an important part of their growth.

    Refrens – Business Model

    Refrens plans to monetize the platform through its optional payment gateway facilities and by selling custom financial services.

    Refrens – Funding and Investors

    On May 2020, Refrens raised an undisclosed amount of funding from a group of angel investors including Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Founder of Paytm) and Anupam Mittal (Founder of Shaadi.com).  

    Date Amount Investors
    May 2020 Undisclosed Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Anupam Mittal

    The investment round also saw participation from The Collective fund, Mumbai-based early-stage fund Firstcheque, Amiya Pathak of Ezcred, Gireesh Subramaniam of Freshworks, Sujayath Ali, and Navaneetha Krishnan – Founders of Voonik.com, Amit Lakhotia of Park+, Ajeet Khurana – CEO of Zebpay, Founders and senior management of Kaleyra, Founders of DailyNinja, Springworks, and few others.  

    The startup said it will use the funds for expanding reach of the platform and adding freelancer friendly financial services.

    Refrens – Customer Acquisition

    Both the founders had a closed group of friends who were the first 10 users. They later announced the product on a couple of forums and freelancing groups. The platform currently has 12,000 businesses and freelancers using the system, which is growing at 10 percent every week.

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    Refrens – Challenges

    “Convincing freelancers about a new tool is difficult and time taking to do 1-on-1. We are now growing from our customer base.”, said Mohit Jain, co-founder of Refrens.

    Naman says that social media has stopped working when it comes to attracting customers. They tried a couple of hacks around Facebook groups and pages but weren’t successful in driving mass attention.

    Refrens – Future Plans

    The company is just a few months old and has a little over 500 users.

    Please note that we publish profile of companies of at least 8 months old startup. However, an exception was made in this case because of the team, vision, and its product.  

    Over the next few months we will expand our capabilities around accepting multiple currencies through multiple payment instruments. Over the next 2 years, we want to be the leading platform serving freelancers in india. We will be going deeper in their workflow and more useful features to collaborate – Naman

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    Refrens – FAQs

    What is Refrens?

    Refrens has created the easiest way for freelancers to collect payments and collaborate with other freelancers. It provides a payment gateway for freelancers to send and receive payments comfortably, which offers free invoicing, payments, and expense management system.

    What is the Pricing Plan of Refrens?

    Refrens is Free Forever. You can create invoices, quotations and can manage your expenses anytime. You can access any of these for lifetime for free. But you only pay a small fee if you wish to receive payments online.

    Who are the Founders of Refrens?

    Refrens was founded by Naman Sarawagi and Mohit Jain in 2019.

    What is the state of Refrens Funding?

    On May 2020, Refrens raised an undisclosed amount of funding from a group of angel investors including Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Founder of Paytm) and Anupam Mittal (Founder of Shaadi.com).

    How does Refrens make money?

    For every online payment done through Refrens, it keep a small payment gateway fee.

    How many transactions can you make on Refrens?

    Unlimited. There is no limit for the transaction you make. You can create unlimited invoices and record transactions. All absolutely free.

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  • Vani Kola: One of the Most Powerful Women in India!

    Women have been trying to make a huge impact on the startup circuit. With names like Sheryl Sandberg, and Vandana Luthra making a huge impact on the daily lives of people, women from different sections of the society have been coming up with ideas and are trying to revolutionize the startup sector. Among the women entrepreneurs, Vani Kola is a big name. Vani is an Indian venture capitalist and has been listed as one of the most powerful women in Indian Business by Fortune India. Vani is the founder and Managing director of Kalaari Capital, which is one of India’s leading venture capital firms. Read this article to know about the success story of Vani Kola.

    Vani Kola – Quick Facts
    Vani Kola – Kalaari Capital
    Vani Kola – Beginning
    Vani Kola – Becoming a Venture Capitalist
    Vani Kola – Venture Partners
    Vani and Kalaari Capital
    Vani Kola – As an Inspiration

    Vani Kola – Quick Facts

    Name Vani Kola
    Born 1964, Hyderabad, India
    Age 56
    Citizenship Indian
    Education Bachelor of Science from Osmania University and
    Master of Science from Arizona State University
    Title Founder and Managing director of Kalaari Capital
    Spouse Srinivas Kola

    Vani Kola – Kalaari Capital

    The Vani Kola biography starts with the fact that she is a successful entrepreneur. She was successful during her time at Silicon Valley and she enjoys working with first-time entrepreneurs. Hence, her main aim is to help the budding entrepreneurs grow as mature businessmen and individuals. Vani has a high success ratio in the filed of venturing and investing in startups. Therefore, she has built a solid reputation for picking the best young minds and guiding them to build successful companies.

    Vani aims at the technology companies in India. Her company Kalaari Capital has funded more than 50 companies across the subcontinent and in the e-commerce category. Some of the most popular investments include Myntra, Snapdeal, VIA, Urban Ladder, and Power2SME.

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    Vani Kola – Beginning

    Vani was born and brought up in Hyderabad. After completing her Electrical Engineering from Osmania University, she moved to the United States to pursue her Master’s degree. After completing her studies, she began working in the technological sector and went on to work with some big names like Empros, Control Data Corporation, and Consilium Inc.

    Vani, after working as an employee for 12 years, took a giant leap in her career and founded her first venture which is an e-procurement company. The company was founded in 1996 and was named RightWorks. After successfully controlling the company for more than four years, she sold 53% of the share of RightWorks for $657 million to the Internet Capital Group. After that, Vani decided to jab entrepreneurship in the face and started with another company maned NthOrbit in 2001. During her four year stint with the company, the company went on to become a leader in the financial compliance market with a global customer base of 70.

    Business venture know-hows from Vani Kola

    In 2005, the organization announced that PepsiCo had purchased its Certus international controls and assurance software and in the next few days, Vani moved to India. This started a new chapter in Vani’s life!

    Vani Kola – Becoming a Venture Capitalist

    After a successful stint in Silicon Valley, Vani started her journey as a Venture Capitalist in 2006. In India, instead of taking up the entrepreneur job, she decided to start a new course by becoming a Venture Capitalist. After returning from the United States, Vani spent all of her time researching, traveling, meeting people, visiting malls, and understanding the Indian market. As Vani was preparing to start the firm, a variety of questions plagued her mind. Some of the questions were tricky and were more of an obstacle in her path such as whether there would be enough entrepreneurs in the startup ecosystem? And was the Indian start-up market-ready?

    But, after wandering across the market sector in the country, Vani had noticed a lot of  signals hinting at a change in the startup ecosystem in the country. As per Vani, a huge transformation was on its way to India.

    Vani Kola – Venture Partners

    Vani moved ahead on her path with positivity. And to make a big mark in the ecosystem, she in collaboration with Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur Vinod Dham and Kumar Shiralagi launched a $189 million India fund. This fund was backed by NEA and was named NEA Indo-US Venture Partners. During those days, NEA was one of Silicon Valley’s most influential capital firms. This partnership ran for around four years, after which the latter organization decided to move out of the joint venture and directly enter the Indian startup market.

    One of the reasons behind the collaboration was that NEA did not have a big presence in the Indian market and therefore, they agreed to back the NEA Indo-US Venture Partners, but, when the organization decided to have a direct presence, Vani seemed that a big confusion was coming up on its way! Therefore, NEA Indo-US Ventures became Indo-US Ventures in 2010. And this was more of an identity evolution than a strategy evolution of the company.

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    Vani and Kalaari Capital

    So, to start a Venture Capital, Vani along with her partner Shiralagi rebranded their firm and named it Kalaari Capital. It is a Bangalore based capital fund team. The Kalaari Capital focused on investing in an early stage on the technology-oriented companies across India. The name is inspired from Kalaripayattu, which is a form of martial arts originated in the Southern state of Kerala. The idea of the team was to create an entrepreneur from a smart brain. Now, within four years, and with 55 investments, Kalaari Capitals has become India’s leading investor in the early-stage business. The team takes care of the entrepreneurs and guides them in every aspect of growth. The fund gets around 2000 proposals per year and is still growing!

    Some of the most successful investments made by the company ar Snapdeal, Myntra, VIA, Apps Daily, Urban Ladder, and Zivame. Also, the team has Ratan Tata as the chief advisor!

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    Vani Kola – As an Inspiration

    Vani Kola is the epitome of women entrepreneurship in India. The ideology to serve the startup ecosystem after becoming successful in a big stage has enabled Vani to become an inspiration for many entrepreneurs in the country. Her sheer determination and willingness to help the smart brains of the country has inspired millions of people to come up with ideas that may bring on a revolutionary change in the way we live. Hence, Vani Kola is an inspiration for many aspiring entrepreneurs.

    Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

    Who is Vani Kola?

    Vani, entrepreneur, is the Founder and Managing director of Kalaari Capital, which is one of India’s leading venture capital firms.

    Who is the Founder of Kalaari Capital?

    Vani Kola is the kalaari capital Founder and Managing Director.

    What is Vani Kola age?

    As of 2021, Vani Kola is 56 years old. She was born in 1964.

  • Amazing Holi 2021 Offers by Startups

    The most awaited festival is here! HOLI – The celebration of Colors!

    A festival of Hope, Colors, Happiness, and Vigor – Holi 2021 is here with lots of joy and enthusiasm. Where people are celebrating Holi with loved ones, the Indian startups aren’t leaving any stone unturned to make this Holi Season a special one for its clients and customers. From a Holi care kit to over 30% discounts on its products – Check out what these startups are offering this Holi.

    Grab the opportunity from these exclusive Holi 2021 Offers by Startups, as the unlimited fun awaits you all!

    Pallavi Kolhapure Shah – Founder, Bath element and more

    Bath element and more – Holi 2021 Offers

    We are offering a Holi care kit which is a combination of all natural and 100% luxurious ayurvedic bath & body essentials which are just perfect to take care of your Hair and skin.

    Our carefully curated kit consists of Cold pressed Virgin Coconut oil, Radiance Face scrub and Ubtan and lip scrub. While Cold pressed virgin coconut oil will protect your hair whether coloured hair or uncoloured and also nourish them, the Radiance Face Scrub and Radiance Ubtan will gently cleanse your skin and ensure the skin is well hydrated. Our 100% organic coffee lip scrub will gently exfoliate to velvety soft lips.

    Our products are consciously curated –

    The Radiance Ubtan & the Body Scrub is curated to make you feel squeaky clean, which is the best feeling to have after a long day spent outdoors. It’s a melange of Nagarmotha, Neem, Sandalwood, Hirda, and Rose which reinvigorates the skin and senses while imparting natural polish. A truly aromatic in-shower experience and truly Indian.

    The Virgin Coconut oil leaves your skin and hair deeply nourished and hydrated and acts as a protecting shield if applied before playing Holi. This cold-pressed oil-intensive conditioning treatment penetrates deep inside the hair cells to revitalise dry hair while protecting against noticeable festive damage.

    The 100% organic Coffee Lip Scrub has a rich, grainy-like consistency and will patch your pout, condition chapped and flaky lips, and give deli. It is the perfect hint of colour.

    Adhvika Agarwal – Co-founder, ORCO

    Holi 20212 Offers
    Adhvika Agarwal – Co-founder, ORCO

    This Holi season we are offering our customers 30% off on our 100% natural, healthy and certified organic spices, to use in their Holi cooking. The discount can be availed on our website www.Orco.in

    ORCO Spices are free of pesticides or any other hazardous chemicals and are hand pounded, hand cleaned and hand-ground on a hand mill(chakki) below 100 RPM, which retains their natural properties like taste, aroma and color.

    Our wide range of organic spices and condiments include Organic Chai Masala, Organic Golden Milk Masala, Organic Pink Salt, Organic Kadha, Organic Cinnamon powder, Organic Tandoori masala and all other primary spices used in an Indian kitchen.

    The pandemic has shown us the importance of building our immunity and clean eating and this festival season, we provide consumers with the perfect product to stay healthy and eat clean.

    Wasif Mohd – Founder and CEO, FreshUp Mattress

    Wasif Mohd – Founder and CEO, FreshUp Mattress

    Finally, that time of the year has come! Host a holi party at your place this season and flaunt your comfort with delight. But with the COVID-19 pandemic amidst us, would the zeal of this festival of colors be the same is a question of the hour. With the social distancing being the new normal, is the holi going to be the same? Well, the answer to that is yes! House parties are the new cool this season, and for that one needs to revamp the house. One thing you cannot miss out while revamping your home are the mattresses. Mattresses are supposed to be a significant investment for anyone, it comes as no surprise that many people want to find the best mattress within their budget. But for me, it all comes down to comfort. Ultimately, the best mattress for the money still depends on how much you are willing to splurge.

    If you’re looking for a budget friendly mattress, go for memory foam mattresses from Fresh Up mattresses. They have some special offer going on, flat 40% on mattresses purchased exclusively from www.freshupmattresses.com. You could specifically go for memory foam mattresses, with a competitive price and multiple layers of different types of foam, it’s a compelling pick for people looking for pressure relief. For a tranquil sleep one must choose a mattress that provides lumbar support.

    In fact, they are running discounts on sofa cum beds as well. Sofas cum beds are an ideal way to optimize a less spacious home.  It can be otherwise used as a sofa and can be converted to a bed when required. Most importantly you will have to purchase the sofa cum bed from their website to avail flat 25% off. Not just for the festivities and house parties, sofa cum bed is an essential. Why you ask? Because after a long day at work and braving the crowd, pollution and traffic on your way back home, you could unwind on your sofa cum bed and rejuvenate for the next day.

    Mr. Pradeep Pruthi, Managing Director, My Bar – Punjabi Bagh

    My Bar – Punjabi Bagh Holi offers 2021

    The most colorful festival of the year is around the corner and this year, the Holi parties are going to be like never before (quite literally, because of Covid-19).

    On that note, if the latest hit plays on your cellphone even before it becomes a hit, and if you know the newest tracks like the tattoo on your hand, My Bar Punjabi Bagh is hosting pre Holi bash, and you just cannot afford to miss it. Groove to the best tunes with DJ Himanshu and make your covid-holi celebration memorable! Also, to cater to your tummies, you can order your favorite food and drinks from their menu at a discounted rate! Seal the deal as this is definitely a not to be missed event to go crazy with your folks to celebrate festivities. My bar is definitely going to enthrall you with some scintillating Bollywood and commercial music, and that’s a promise. Price isn’t an issue because they’ve got you covered with pocket-friendly deals as well. Celebrate this Covid Holi like never before with an exquisite blend of the western music immersed with Indian culture. Bring out the dancing zombie in you. In fact, this pre – Holi bash also has great facilities to make your experience even better by taking all the precautionary measures suggested by the government in order to ensure your safety.

    Date: 28th March, Sunday

    Timings: 9 pm onwards

    Venue : My Bar Punjabi Bagh

    Just make sure you assemble your squad to enter the arena of unlimited fun!

  • Startups That Are Funded By Madhuri Dixit

    In the recent years the number startups or ventures funded by well-known Bollywood celebrities have increased. In 2020, many celebrities like Alia Bhatt, Suniel Shetty, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif and Sonu Sood have helped the startup ecosystem rise during the hard times of global pandemic by investing or endorsing the products of startups. This also includes Madhuri Dixit Nene, as the iconic actress has also funded in a startup GOQii known for its fitness technology.

    The Padma Shri awarded actress, Madhuri Dixit has also launched her own online dance academy known as Dance with Madhuri which has increase 5 times because of the ongoing pandemic, she is also the co-founder of  the production company called RNM Moving Pictures with her husband Dr. Shriram Nene.

    Madhuri Dixit Nene is an Indian actress, producer, dancer and a popular television personality. She is known for her work in movies like Devdas, Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Khalnayak, Dil to Pagal Hain, etc.

    Madhuri has so far worked in over 70 Bollywood movies and is also one among the highest paid actresses of India, featured in the Forbes India’s Celebrity 100 list for more than 7 times.

    Besides that Madhuri Dixit Nene is also known for her Philanthropic work as she is a part of UNICEF and has been vocal about the rights of children and child labor. She is a prominent name in India and uses her platform to endorse brands or even products from many small startups.

    GOQII
    The ventures started by Madhuri Dixit Nene
    The Growth and Future of Dance with Madhuri
    Upcoming Ventures of Madhuri Dixit
    FAQ

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    GOQII

    GOQii which is pronounced as Go-key, is a fitness technology company that is known for their range of wearable fitness bands with a mobile app and a personalized remote coaching.

    The company is founded by Vishal Gondal who was also the CEO and founder of Indiagames and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California with offices in Mumbai, Maharashtra and Shenzhen, China.

    An undisclosed amount was funded by Madhuri Dixit Nene and her husband Dr. Shriram Nene in 2014, as they liked that the company provided an end to end healthcare and wellness experience for users.

    GOQii products
    GOQii products

    The smart-tech enabled and integrated preventive healthcare platform has a long list of investors like Mitsui, Megadelta, Galaxy Digital, Edelweiss, Cheetah Mobile, Ratan Tata, Akshay Kumar, etc.

    The wearable fitness brand that GOQii makes collects the activity and sleep data of the user. The data is then reviewed by personal coach through the mobile app, after which the assigned coach guides the user towards a fitness or health goal for them. The app also has premium services which can be accessed after paying a subscription fee.

    The app allows its users earn karma points by meeting their target, these points are then donated to a charity of the user’s choice. It also allows users to share their stats on other social media sites.

    The mobile app of GOQii also includes health e-commerce store, scheduling health checkups, a health locker and exiting discounts. The company has also launched the personal health locker and a lifestyle doctor known as the GOQii Doctor for medical consultation in 2016.

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    The ventures started by Madhuri Dixit Nene

    RNM Moving Pictures Private Limited

    RNM Moving Pictures Private Limited is a non-government company which was founded by Madhuri Dixit Nene and her husband Dr. Shriram Nene in June of 2012. This company is an embodiment of Madhuri and Dr Nene as it is made with the 30 year old expertise in the Hindi cinema and technology & medical experience.

    It has a revenue of $5 million with its headquarters based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company is known for producing media and content across all platform by leveraging their individual and combined brand identities.

    The company is divided into the sections entertainment, lifestyle, interactive gaming and healthcare. RNM moving pictures combines the individual strengths, brand identities and unique strengths of the power couple Madhuri Dixit Nene and Dr. Shriram Nene in order to produce world class content and media across different platforms.

    The company produces digital products which are viewed on MadhuriDixit.com, the Madhuri Dixit app, Tophealthguru.com and DrNene.com across all Apple and Android devices.

    The motive of creating these websites is that the fans can connect with Madhuri Dixit, and get the latest information on Madhuri’s film, dance, art, music as well as he actress’s thoughts and recommendation on fashion, health and beauty.

    The DancewithMaduri.com which comes under this company is a dance initiative started by her for bringing her passion for dance to the world. The 10 year old company started with an idea of merging different sectors into one platform and giving the user a wide range to choose from.

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    Dance with Madhuri

    Dance with Madhuri is a well-established online gamified dance academy that allows its users to learn various dance styles. The Dance With Madhuri platform is the first ever celebrity backed online dance academy in the world and allows people to learn different forms of dancing.

    Madhuri says that she started this online dance academy because, “Dancing has been my passion since I was 3 years old, and it only grew stronger with time. Dance with Madhuri is an expression of my gratitude to my ever loving fans who have contributed to what I am today.”

    About Dance with Madhuri

    These dance forms are taught by renowned dancers/choreographers and the videos are designed to teach all levels of dancers from beginner to advance and are planned in a systematic, authentic and conveniently.

    DWM allows its users to exhibit their talents by uploading their videos of the same dance or even their progress videos and much more. DWM teaches dance forms like Bollywood, Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Folk, Club Dance Forms, Latin and Ballroom, Bollyhop, Street dance, Contemporary, Jazz, Ballet, Tap dance and Flamenco among others.

    Dance with Madhuri allows its users to learn various dance styles from the best teachers from their online dance courses and workshops. The website also promotes wellness and offers videos on exercise ranging from Core strengthening, stretching, functional training, Pilates, step burn, dancercise etc.

    The user can also apply for a certified courses and also connect with other dancers, participate in contest and events and showcase their talent to the world through this platform.

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    The Growth and Future of Dance with Madhuri

    The company started in February 2013, and was created in just three months with the help of online infrastructure and just three in house employees. When the website was launched it crashed after a while because of the overwhelming response that it received.

    According to Dr. Nene, they had over 6 million page views and 200,000 users just within a year. The couple and the team reworked upon it and then relaunched it in 2015.

    Earlier the DWM generated its revenue solely from sponsorship and advertisement model, but later changed to DTH subscribers in order to create a liner video channel. The company then got over 100,000 paid subscribers and turned profitable with over 50% of its users coming from India and rest the world. Currently in 2020, the business has grown over five times because of the covid 19 pandemic. The team is now planning to explore more avenues and introduce acting, scriptwriting, gourmet cooking, music and much more.

    With the global lockdowns in 2020, many dancers and choreographers had lost their daily living which is why DWM gave them an opportunity to have their classes on its platform.

    In an interview Dr. Nene added that, “Dance With Madhuri has been self- sustaining and could grow organically but looking at the potential it has, we are looking for strategic partners and funding so that we can expand it further.”

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    Upcoming Ventures of Madhuri Dixit

    The couple is now working on starting a new venture which will be dedicated for holistic healthcare. Dr Shriram Nene who is a cardiovascular surgeon in America, has been working on starting this healthcare startup from a long time and is said to launch it soon.

    In an interview Dr. Nene shares that, “We are trying to build is a holistic, personalized healthcare which can be used across different media platforms. What people really need is a trusted source which is aligned to their health needs from cradle to grave.”

    FAQ

    Who is Madhuri Dixit Nene?

    Madhuri Dixit Nene is an Indian actress, producer, dancer and a popular television personality.

    Which is the startup funded by Madhuri Dixit Nene?

    The startup funded by Madhuri Dixit Nene is GOQii is a fitness technology company.

    What are the ventures started by Madhuri Dixit Nene?

    The ventures started by Madhuri Dixit Nene in RNM Moving Pictures Private Limited and Dance with Madhuri.

    How much is Madhuri Dixit worth?

    Madhuri Dixit approximately has a net worth of $35 million which roughly translates to Rs. 264 Crores.

    What is the first movie of Madhuri Dixit?

    Madhuri Dixit made her debut with the 1984 film Abodh.

  • Top 22 Amazing Corporate Gift Ideas for Holi 2022

    Celebrating festivals in your corporate office is one of the best ways to strengthen the bond with your employees. It helps them form a personal relationship with the company. Celebrating with the employees and offering them gifts during festivals and other occasions certainly delight the employees, lifts their mood and helps increase the employee engagement with a sharp boost of the overall morale. This also helps the employees feel more motivated so that they start looking at your company as their own.

    Holi is one of such occasions that can be signified with colours, which spell joy and friendship. Such a festival surely weaves a feeling of brotherhood within a house and between two of them. The festival of colours can also be an excellent opportunity for the offices to bond with their employees over a gift or two. However, if you are wondering about the best corporate gifts ideas in Holi, then here are some of the best gifts that you can opt for to gift your employees with this Holi:

    Laptop Accessories
    Travel packs
    Gym or Fitness packs
    Cosmetics
    Blue light filter glasses
    Books
    Online courses
    Clothes
    Accessories
    Organic health packs
    A stress-free zone
    Desk accessories
    Subscription gifts
    Other accessories
    Organic usables
    Gift Vouchers
    Watches
    Holi special sweets
    Technological Accessories
    Camera Accessories
    Holi Colours and Greeting Cards
    Green gifts

    Laptop Accessories

    You can gift your employees with certain laptop accessories. In this era laptops will be used by almost all your employees irrespective of their job profiles. You can gift accessories for the laptops, such as laptop bags, laptop skins, laptop coolers, wireless laptops, and a mouse. The laptop accessories are needed by all, and thus, they would serve as excellent gift items that are useful too.

    Travel packs

    You can opt to gift certain travel packs to your employees who are more into travelling and love to travel. Travel mugs, Bluetooth headphones, Bluetooth speakers, travel bags, etc., can also be gifted to employees who are more a wanderers. You can even choose to gift trekking shoes or a small trekking kit for adventure enthusiasts.

    Gym or Fitness packs

    You can choose to gift smart bands, gym shoes, gym bottles, gym bands, track pants, t-shirts, or any other accessories to your employees, which can be helpful for their daily fitness routines. These can be customized according to your choice.

    Cosmetics

    You can provide certain cosmetics for the women employees of your office. Choosing generic cosmetic products, including lipsticks, eyeliners, or full cosmetic kits, would simply delight the female employees of your office.

    Blue light filter glasses

    Blue light filter glasses can be one of the most efficient gifts you can provide to your employees. Nowadays, since everything is online and the usage of phones and laptops has increased, this can be an apt gift. It can be one of the necessities for your employees and would show your care towards them.

    Books

    You can gift some self-help books to your employees who are much more into reading; you can even provide Kindle app subscriptions as a gift for this Holi. It would improve their knowledge and also would be of great help for their career ahead.

    Online courses

    You can gift your employees access to online courses. This would help them gain more knowledge in their specific domains and help them use it practically in your office as well.

    Clothes

    You can gift shirts, t-shirts, or formal wear for both male and female employees of your office. These gifts can also be ties, handkerchiefs, formal belts, or any clothing accessories that may be useful for them.

    Accessories

    Cash wallets, cardholders, power banks, or any such accessories are also great options that they would require and use in their daily lives.

    Organic health packs

    Organic health products like green tea, herbal juices, and other fitness food products are the latest drive of the age. Moreover, with the increasingly sedentary lifestyle of the employees today, reducing body weight and keeping fit and healthy are becoming really challenging. The organic healthcare packs can, thus, stand as wise Holi gift ideas for employees, which will help them immensely throughout their journey ahead.

    A stress-free zone

    You can try creating a stress-free zone inside the office, which can be a gift for all your employees at once. You can try including any of the indoor games such as a PlayStation, or table football or even just place a few cushions, which can be used as a relaxing spot for your employees. Though such gifts often form a part of the office renovation programme or stand as amazing New Year gifts for employees, creating a stress-free zone can also be dedicated as an amazing Holi gift for employees.

    Desk accessories

    You can gift them certain accessories that they will be able to place on their desks. It can range from small clocks, pen stands, sticky notes, personalized desk signs, personalized bobbleheads, or any accessory that they can place on their desks.

    Corporate Gift Giving
    Corporate Gift Giving

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    Subscription gifts

    Entertainment gifts can include anything, including subscriptions to OTT platforms. For example, a subscription to Amazon Prime, Netflix, or music streaming apps like Spotify or any other internet-based subscriptions can entertain your employees and help them stay refreshed throughout. Moreover, they also serve as excellent Holi corporate gifts for present-day employees who need a break from the monotony of their work.

    Other accessories

    Other accessories can include personalized gifts or any other gifts, which can include air purifiers, mobile holders for cars or bikes, wall clocks, glasses or tea sets, customized jars, and more. These household accessories can be extremely useful for your employees in their respective homes.

    Organic usables

    Organic products are sustainable and are a great addition to one’s household. Organic usables, from storage containers to jute bags and more, are really awesome for gifting. This is why they can also be something that you can select as convincing Holi gifts for employees.

    Gift Vouchers

    Gift vouchers will be a great option during the festival season. You can consider gifting vouchers for dress and lifestyle for both men and women. Such vouchers can thus be summed up among the top corporate gifts, even for Holi.

    Watches

    A good-looking watch can always be a classy gift. Gifting a watch indicates that you care for them, and a branded watch can always be added to their collection, which would make anyone happy.

    Holi special sweets

    You can gift your employees chocolates or special Holi sweets for them and their families. You can even provide sweet boxes or personalized chocolate boxes, wishing your employees and their families.

    Technological Accessories

    You can gift your employees with tech accessories from a list of trendy tech accessories like Amazon Fire Sticks, Amazon Echo, Google Home and more. You can even gift them a Kindle or any other technological accessories which will be useful.

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    Camera Accessories

    You can gift the employees working in the media domainchocolates or special Holi sweets for them with accessories for their cameras, tripods or editing software, SD cards, camera bags, printers, access to certain templates, etc.

    Holi Colours and Greeting Cards

    The festival Holi is empty without colours, so you can provide a greeting card with a personalized message to your employees with some Holi colours, or you can add these to the other gifts you provide them.

    Green gifts

    Green gifts can include a miniature plant which will be a gift as well as a move towards an eco-friendly environment. You can gift them a miniature plant to keep on their desk, making it their responsibility to take care of the plant.

    Conclusion

    Gifting your employees is always rewarding. It also symbolises how the office values the hard work and efforts that the employees put in for the development of the company. So, never neglect gifting opportunities like Holi. Instead, you can always call it an occasion and reward your employees to boost employee engagement and overall morale.

    FAQs

    What is the meaning of corporate gifts?

    Corporate Gifts are generally valuable items offered by the employer to their employees without any obligation as a token of appreciation or goodwill.

    Why is corporate gifting important?

    Corporate gifts are an incredible way to show your employees that you value them in a certifiable and attentive manner.

    What is a good small gift to show appreciation?

    Frame a picture of you with them. Personalized gourmet coffee mugs, nice pens, photo albums, and scrapbooks, are great small gifts to show appreciation to someone.

    What are some good corporate gift ideas?

    If you are running an office or managing it, and looking for some corporate gifts ideas to gift your employees on the occasion of Holi, then here’s a list of them to check with:

    • Desk accessories
    • Camera accessories
    • Sweets
    • Subscriptions
    • Gift vouchers
    • Clothes
    • Watches
    • Cosmetic products
    • Grooming products
    • Organic usable
    • Organic health drinks and food products
    • Online courses
    • Fitness packs
    • Travel packs
    • Laptop essentials and more.

  • VakilSearch- Ease in availing Legal Services like never before!

    When it comes to legal matters, we Indians always get a little scared because of the perceived complexities. To kill this preconceived notion and also to make the legal process easier for the common man, Hrishikesh Datar in 2011 came up with this brilliant concept of VakilSearch. Conceived with the mission to provide an one-click access to individuals and businesses for all their legal and professional needs across India, this startup is making legal simple for one and all in the country

    VakilSearch – Company Highlights

    Startup Name VakilSearch
    Headquarter Chennai
    Founder Hrishikesh Datar
    Sector Legal Services
    Founded 2011
    Parent Organization Uber9 Business Process Services Pvt.Ltd
    Website vakilsearch.com

    VakilSearch – About and How it Works
    VakilSearch – USP
    VakilSearch – Target Market
    VakilSearch – Founders and Team
    How was VakilSearch Started
    VakilSearch – Name, Tagline and Logo
    VakilSearch – User Acquisition
    VakilSearch – Business Model and Revenue Model
    VakilSearch – Revenue
    VakilSearch – Startup Challenges
    VakilSearch – Competitors
    VakilSearch – Advisors and Mentors
    VakilSearch – Funding and Investors
    VakilSearch – Awards & Recognitions
    VakilSearch – Future Plans
    VakilSearch – FAQs

    VakilSearch – About and How it Works

    VakilSearch provides legal services that cover over 300+ services such as Company Registration, Trademark Registration, Property Verification, just to name a few. Additionally, it also has two apps, Libra-The Advocates’ App (a one-stop case management tool) and MySteno – The Virtual Stenographer (helps lawyers draft legal documents in minutes)

    As legalities for different sectors and services in India play a crucial role in acquiring registrations for businesses, VakilSearch is addressing the huge need for legal in the country to be made simple. VakilSearch also developed solutions for lawyers and litigators to effectively track cases and manage their cases and clients in one place. Thereby, bridging the gap and simplifying the legal problems and offering a unique solution through technology. Vakilsearch.com is emerging as India’s biggest legal-tech pioneer.

    VakilSearch – USP

    The unique selling proposition of VakilSearch is that all services are offered 100% online and with quick turnaround time. And the consultation charges for all the services are free of cost.

    VakilSearch – Target Market

    The online legal market has grown considerably in the last 5 years. There is a growing online market for legal services. It emerges out as a viable opportunity. Day by day, there is an increase in demand.

    However, the global legal services market size is anticipated to reach USD 1,045.24 billion by 2025, exhibiting a CAGR of 4.1% over the forecast period, according to a new report by Radiant Insights, Inc. The growing use of latest technologies in offering legal services is expected to drive the market growth. A strong emphasis on ensuring transparency in the relationship with clients is also expected to drive the growth of the market.

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    VakilSearch – Founders and Team

    Hrishikesh Datar is the founder of VakilSearch.

    VakilSearch founder – Hrishikesh Datar

    Being an Alumnus of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, Hrishikesh is a keen Debater and Mooter. With increase of interest towards debating, he was always on a quest to find new approaches about a career in Law.

    He realized that “Entrepreneurship as a way of Life”, while starting a T-Shirt business in college. As far as the family is concerned, Law runs in the veins. Hrishikesh’s father is a reputed lawyer in the Madras High Court and Supreme Court, Great-Grand father was a lawyer in Pune and also some of his grand-uncles were lawyers and judges in different courts in Maharashtra.

    VakilSearch currently has a team size of 300+ employees.

    How was VakilSearch Started

    While Hrishikesh Datar, the Founder of Vakilsearch was at LawWeb (a portal to provide quality content for lawyers) showcasing an idea, at IIM, Bangalore, a question from the audience ignited the idea of launching something to ease and simplify the legal industry in India. This planted the initial seed. From there on, it grew into being a provider of every kind of legal solution, online.

    VakilSearch’s naming is plain and simple. People who are looking for legal help can reach out to VakilSearch where the word “Vakil” means lawyer representing legal & legalities and “Search” denotes customers who are seeking.

    The tagline of VakilSearch is “Legal is now simple” keeping the message straight and clear.

    VakilSearch Logo
    VakilSearch Logo

    VakilSearch – User Acquisition

    The very first day the VakilSearch website was launched, it garnered its first customer. After the launch, it’s strategy was obviously like any other startup to acquire more customers through developing its websites and creating a strong presence on all Social Media forums.

    Vakilsearch’s primary growth hack has always been focused on rendering good customer service. Additionally, Vakilsearch garners most of its customers through its gateway services. As in, when customers come for Company Registration, they also end up coming for other Mandatory registrations such as Compliance, business license, Tax Registration and so on.

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    VakilSearch – Business Model and Revenue Model

    The VakilSearch business model is Direct Online Marketing. The services are offered at economical pricing in comparison to others in the same field. One of the main reasons customers love VakilSearch is because of the quality it offers at extremely affordable pricing. VakilSearch is the only legal company in India to offer a Subscription-based revenue model for its customers.

    VakilSearch- Startup Challenges

    Finding the right product mix was VakilSearch’s biggest challenge when it initially began. However, a few months down the line, VakilSearch started helping entrepreneurs set up businesses, aiding them with the documentation, copyright, VAT and service tax registration, and income tax filings. Today it has 300+ services in its product & service range.

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    VakilSearch- Competitors

    Some of the Top VakilSearch competitors are India Fillings, MyOnlineCA, QuickCompany, MeetUrPro, Taxmantra.com, Venture Easy, DoBiz, Filingmantra, Bishnoi Advocats and HiGrit. Besides, there are some amazing apps like Willstar, which can be downloaded for free and takes the pain out of making a will. A similar kit is available on the Amazon marketplace, which costs Rs 399. The kit is self-explanatory and makes it possible to make a will within 15 minutes.

    VakilSearch – Revenue

    The VakilSearch revenue stood at $2.17M as on Dec 31, 2018 from 1.3M in the Calendar Year 2017

    VakilSearch – Advisors and Mentors

    Rajiv Luthra has joined hands with VakilSearch as one of its key advisors.

    VakilSearch – Funding and Investors

    As of Recent Funding, VakilSeacrh raised an undisclosed sum from technology growth investor and the Co-founder of B2B ecommerce platform Udaan, Sujeet Kumar.

    Date Stage Amount Investors
    2015-2016 Series A over two rounds of Funding 2.5 million Kalaari Capital
    May 2020 – Undisclosed Sujeet Kumar

    VakilSearch – Awards & Recognitions

    VakilSearch has been awarded the Ritz Entrepreneur Summit, 2016. It’s founder Hrishikesh Datar has been recognized as Forbes 30 under 30.

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    VakilSearch – Future Plans

    Besides its headquarter in Chennai, VakilSearch is operating from co-working spaces in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.

    As per the last fiscal year (2018-19) , the Company’s average annual turn over has been around 30 Crores. VakilSearch is further looking to upscale its business and achieve 3-4 times more than the usual. Its average website traffic month-on-month is 3.5+ lakhs. So far, VakilSearch has catered around 400,000+ customers.

    VakilSearch – FAQs

    Who is the Founder of VakilSearch?

    Hrishikesh Datar is the VakilSearch Founder.

    What is VakilSearch?

    It is a technology-driven platform, who provides services that cover the legal needs of startups and established businesses. Services include incorporation, government registrations & filings, documentation etc., In addition, it also offers services to individuals, such as property agreements and tax filings.

    How much is the revenue of VakilSearch?

    VakilSearch’s revenue stood at $2.17M as on Dec 31, 2018 from 1.3M in the Calendar Year 2017.

    Who are the Top competitors of VakilSearch?

    Online legal platforms that are posing a competition for VakilSearch are India Fillings, MyOnlineCA, QuickCompany, MeetUrPro, Taxmantra.com, Venture Easy, DoBiz, Filingmantra, Bishnoi Advocats and HiGrit.

    How does VakilSearch make money?

    VakilSearch is the only legal company in India to offer a Subscription-based revenue model for its customers.

    What is the tagline of VakilSearch?

    The tagline of VakilSearch is “Legal is now simple” keeping the message straight and clear.

  • Siddharth Kothari – An Angel Investor with a Preference for Vegan Startups

    A stock market is a fascinating place. Many men have tried to decode its workings, tried predicting its unpredictable moods, gained a lot, and lost a lot too. This fickleness adds to the charm of the stock market, where millions of investors flock to daily, aspiring to make a fortune. And, there’s a popular tale from the Stock Markets that: Bulls make money, Bears make money and Pigs get slaughtered; which fits the current situation of the investors.

    Siddharth Kothari is Chief Investment Strategist at the Om Kothari Group. The group was founded in 1971 and has interests in engineering construction, infrastructure, automotive dealerships, manufacturing and real estate. The group’s flagship company, Om Metals Infraprojects Ltd (listed on the NSE and BSE) is a global leader in hydro-mechanical equipment for dams. His startup portfolio has crossed over 12 companies including Grexter, ClearDekho, ApnaComplex, Innov8 and Beardo. Siddharth is a Partner at 2Point2 Capital and Venture Catalyst’s 9 Unicorns Fund. He is also an INK Talks Future Maker.

    Siddharth Kothari – About
    Siddharth Kothari – Journey
    Siddharth Kothari – Investment Mantra
    Siddharth Kothari – Few signs to Trust a Founder
    Siddharth Kothari – Aid to Startups
    Siddharth Kothari – Productivity Hacks
    Siddharth Kothari – Right Time to Invest for a Startup
    Siddharth Kothari – Pitch Deck
    Siddharth Kothari – Best Way to Divide Equity Among Founders
    Siddharth Kothari – 3 Private Companies to Invest in
    Siddharth Kothari – Indian Startup Ecosystem
    Siddharth Kothari – Recommended Tools

    Siddharth Kothari – About

    Siddharth Kothari
    Siddharth Kothari

    Siddharth grew up in New Delhi and went to the British School for further studies. He was the President of the student council and served as the Captain of the Cricket team, and enjoyed playing most sports. Siddharth was an above-average student and studied Finance at Boston University. Shortly, after graduating he read a book about Warren Buffett, and he knew exactly what he wanted to do. He aimed to be a successful investor.

    In India, Siddharth Kothari considers RK Damani, an idol given his massive achievements in investing and business and a humble attitude despite all of it. Both these great leaders proved to him that anyone can achieve great things in life while keeping a high bar when it comes to ethics. Another fun fact that Siddharth admires about RK Damani is, that he is also a vegan.

    Siddharth has been vegan for 10 years now! He also prefers investing in vegan-friendly companies. Apart from investing in stocks and startups, he enjoys reading non-fiction, watching documentaries, and playing poker. He spends about 3-5 hours a day reading. The rest of the time he is either meeting founders, attending con-calls, or hearing startup pitches. Siddharth Kothari used to spend about a week each month in Bombay before COVID.

    Siddharth Kothari gives credence to the fact that to be a good investor one needs to constantly keep learning and that is what he enjoys the most; whether it is through books, movies, conferences or interactions with founders, or other investors. He enjoys poker, sports, books, and movies. His passion for cinema has also led him to finance films produced by Wishberry Productions, a portfolio company.

    Siddharth Kothari – Journey

    Siddharth first started investing in stocks in 2013 and in startups in 2016. He believes that investing in the stock market is not tough as it is a democratized process for everyone, by setting up a DMAT account, and buy whichever company’s stocks they like. But breaking into the startup ecosystem took him some time as it is a tougher game. Afterward, he started investing in startups through angel networks like Venture Catalysts. When he found some success there, he started getting good deal flow, and so did several direct deals with companies too.

    Siddharth is sector agnostic. He invests for the long term and shoots for high returns, north of 26% CAGR.

    Siddharth Kothari – Investment Mantra

    Siddharth has a similar outlook to a famous investor who once told him: “I look for a smartass founder, in a big-ass market, with a kick-ass product.” It is a cliche to say that the founder is the absolute most important part of an investment, but he cannot turn up the volume on that enough. Siddharth, typically, looks for founders who are hungry and driven. If they are passionate about what they are building then that generally comes through during their pitch.

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    Siddharth Kothari – Few Signs to Trust a Founder

    Siddharth pays almost no attention to which college a founder is from. He himself has seen many great founders who came from unknown colleges, or even no university education, and they still succeeded. What is important in a founder is that s/he should be able to hustle and bring a team together and deliver.

    A startup is like a child and it takes a village to raise a child. Similarly, it takes a group of people including co-founders, mentors, investors, clients, suppliers, etc to build a startup. He believes that this is the founders’ job to sneak out synergies between various stakeholders and keep adapting to change.

    Siddharth Kothari – Aid to Startups

    Siddharth helps startups not just with capital, but also by opening up his network to them, giving his mentorship, and leveraging the strengths of their 50-year-old conglomerate: Om Kothari Group. This could be in the form of better deals with his real estate connections, better hiring using their established HR platform or even access to debt at reasonable rates. Since the Om Kothari Group is diversified in several sectors, synergies pop up for various startups.

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    Siddharth Kothari – Productivity Hacks

    Siddharth shared quite insightful hacks and one of them is Mindful Meditation, which is extremely beneficial to clearing up the mind and being more efficient. Just 10 minutes a day to start off with makes quite an impact. Sitting is the new smoking, so walking meetings are better at times than sitting down for long periods of time. Monitoring screen time is also important as smartphones can be a huge distraction. Very often – the smarter the phone, the dumber the user!

    Siddharth Kothari – Right Time to Invest for a Startup

    Startups should raise money when the environment is favorable and capital is available. If startups try to time it too, well then they might get stuck for long periods without capital as the macro environment can hamper investors despite founders and traction being good. Surviving is very important so raise the money when its available at decent terms. Siddharth believes that getting proof of concept is important to avoid failures at startups. Founders should dip their feet in to test the water before they dive.

    Siddharth Kothari – Pitch Deck

    A pitch deck should be crisp and quickly communicate to the investors what the USP of the product or service is. What problem does it solve? What the founder’s stories are. Why they will succeed. What is the competitive landscape? And what expectations investors should have for the downside and upside.

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    Siddharth Kothari – Best Way to Divide Equity Among Founders

    Siddharth affirms that this depends on the companies. Co-founders should own a significant chunk so as to not over dilute themselves by the time they are done with seed, angel, and Series A rounds. If it is a single founder, they should look for adding one more founder, and if there are already three founders, they should look not to add another. Generally speaking, there are exceptions, such as Infosys, amongst India’s greatest tech companies had six co-founders. Other than founders, deal leads or mentors should also have an equity incentive and there should be an ESOP pool for early and key employees.

    Siddharth Kothari | Chief Investment strategist at Om Kothari Group
    Siddharth Kothari | Chief Investment strategist at Om Kothari Group

    Siddharth acknowledges that founders should not look for keeping maximum equity but optimum equity while negotiating with investors. This is because the investors should also be incentivized with enough skin in the game to add value to the startup. Instead of accepting capital from any investors giving good terms, founders should raise smart money where the investors bring in advantages other than just money. This could be industry know-how, connections to distributors, etc.

    Covid19 is a black swan event. We feel comfortable buying equity in companies with virtually debt free balance sheets flushed with cash as they’re highly likely to survive the crisis and thrive when normalcy returns. They will also benefit from gaining market share of the many mortalities most sectors will mourn.  – Siddharth Kothari, Chief Investment Strategist, Om Kothari Group

    Siddharth Kothari – 3 Private Companies to Invest in

    We asked Siddharth if he would like to invest in 3 Private Companies of his choice today, at a valuation of his own choice, what will they be and why?

    • Impossible Foods (USA) – As they are majorly impacting the plant-based food revolution being led by Beyond Meat, Very Good Butchers, and other vegan food companies
    • Oatly (Sweden) – As they have taken on and are beating the giant dairy industry by leading a massive and important migration towards plant milk in a global manner.
    • Paytm (India) – As they have spearheaded India’s digitization movement and are pushing our country towards digital transactions which is the future

    Siddharth Kothari – Indian Startup Ecosystem

    Siddharth really wishes that Founders and VC’s in India should understand the importance of constantly experimenting, failing, and keeping at it. Actually, startups tend to be at risk-averse because of the fear of failing. But failing is important to keep learning and evolving. Of course, the failure should not cause such a large financial loss that no one can’t survive. But take small losses so that anyone can live to make more. And through these failures and experiments even if one works out well, it can be more than makeup for the duds.

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    One of the largest companies in the world, Amazon, become such a success because of its willingness to constantly experiment, many of which didn’t work as the Fire Phone. But the ones that did like Prime and AWS made history. Same for Google which failed with Google Glass bit hit big with Google Maps.

    Siddharth Kothari – Recommended Tools and Books

    • Screener and MoneyControl are good to monitor and track listed companies.
    • Ken and MoneyLife are great investigative publications that dig deep into their stories.

    Some of Siddharth’s favorite books that have influenced him in a better way are:

    • Poor Charlie’s Almanack by Charlie Munger
    • Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
    • The Dhandho Investor by Mohnish Pabrai
    • Zero to One by Peter Thiel
    • How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

  • Spintly- Smart Access Control System Allowing Secure Entry

    The content in this post has been approved by the organization it is based on.

    A modern and efficient smartphone-based access control solution to manage your accesses. Spintly Smart Access Solutions enables indoor as well as outdoor management of your access points like doors and gates. Its contactless attendance management system helps you monitor the attendance of your employees in real-time or download comprehensive reports from anywhere in the world through Spintly’s cloud-based access control system.

    Spintly offers its contactless technology solutions for workplaces, residential and hotels. Meet Goa-based Spintly, an IoT startup that develops wireless cloud-based access control systems for homes and businesses.

    Spintly- Company Highlights

    Company Name Spintly
    Headquarter Fatorda, Goa
    Founders Rohin Parkar, Malcolm Dsouza
    Sector Access Control
    Founded 2017
    Website spintly.com
    Registered Entity Name Mrinq Technologies LLP

    Spintly- About and How It Works
    Spintly- Founders
    How Spintly Started?
    Spintly- Name, Tagline and Logo
    Spintly- Vision and Mission
    Spintly- Target Market Size
    Spintly- Hardware Products
    Spintly- Smart Access Features
    Spintly- Products/ Services
    Spintly- Business Model and Revenue Model
    Spintly- Startup Launch
    Spintly- Challenges
    Spintly- Competitors
    Spintly- Funding
    Spintly- Advisors and Mentors
    Spintly- Future Plans
    Spintly- Coupon Code/ Offers

    Spintly- About and How It Works

    Spintly is the world’s first truly wireless, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) smart access control system. The company provide contactless, touchless, and smartphone-based access control and attendance management solutions for enterprise, hospitality and residential applications.

    Spintly is built upon firm values that foster innovation and continuous improvement. The founders took a special interest in developing local talent from surrounding universities into world-class engineers. Their team consists of young passionate minds that do not consider what they do as just a job. It is a community where the thirst for knowledge and logical thinking is highly valued.

    As both the founders have experience working in world class companies like Nokia, Broadcom and TCS, they have adopted the best practices from these companies. A lot of focus is given to self-improvement and knowledge acquisition. The employees are given freedom to choose their own style of working and no formal titles are used. They believe in compensating their employees fairly and motivating them by sharing with them the company’s successes. They have always encouraged the spirit of questioning set rules and continuous learning and improvement.

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    Spintly- Founders

    Spintly is founded by Rohin Parkar and Malcolm Dsouza — engineers with nearly two decades of experience in Bluetooth and wireless technology.

    Spintly Founders | Malcolm Dsouza and Rohin Parkar
    Spintly Founders | Malcolm Dsouza and Rohin Parkar

    Being childhood friends, the two founders; Rohin and Malcolm, often talked about their experiences and future plans. They were based in America and always talked of starting something of their own, back in their hometown in Goa, India. They found that their combined expertise and experience favourably complemented each other and they decided to join hands to make this dream come true.

    Rohin Parkar has completed his BE (ETC) in 2001 from Goa college of Engineering, Goa; and management studies from MBA School – UTD Dallas TX. He has 17 Years of experience in wireless product development, manufacturing and leadership, Rich Silicon Valley startup experience. Rohin handles the business, Sales, funding and marketing aspects of the company.

    Malcolm Dsouza has also completed his BE (ETC) in 2001 from Goa college of Engineering. With 17+ years of experience Firmware development, signal processing and wireless Technology, he handles the technology and operational aspects. Mr. Dsouza has even worked at Nokia in Chicago, IL.

    Their hiring funda keeps them alleviating at each step of their business. One of their USP is passionate and talented team of engineers. They have invested considerable time and efforts in searching for the right candidates. Their main focus has been the involvement with local colleges and establishing ties with the professors. By attracting the most talented young minds with the right attitude to do industry relevant project/internship with Spintly, and they were able to evaluate and select a right team.

    Spintly team
    Spintly team

    How Spintly Started?

    The 2 co-founders agreed that they needed to build a product company that would solve real-life problems. So, it all started with a quest to find the right problem; one that was concrete enough to warrant a solution and one that they could leverage their skills and knowledge to solve. They also felt that they should do something to build a technology and a knowledge-based ecosystem in India, which can make use of the immense talent of young engineers in India.

    They started with a simple 3-D printed version of the product and deployed it in known organizations. Continuous feedback collected from these initial customers helped Spintly to steer-up their product in the right direction and to get a validation to their idea.

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    Early in the journey they were working on generic BLE-mesh based IoT platform for Smart buildings. They started interacting with customers with their platform and came across a pain point the buildings were facing in the access control space, which was the access control systems they had were very bulky. These bulky access control systems needed a lot of labour and wiring for deployment and in addition these systems were dumb. They quickly ideated a fully wireless, cloud-based access control solution which eliminated more than 90% of the cabling. They built their own initial boards in house and 3D-printed the products.

    Spintly Product Image
    Spintly Product Image

    Their first 50 units delivered to the customers were 3D-printed. Once they got a stable product and good customer feedback. They already knew that they were on to something which can turn out golden and it started to scale-up.

    CIBA, FIIRE, P&G, MyGate – were some of Spintly’s early customers. They spoke to and received a very positive feedback on their products and technology. They also spoke to their network in Silicon-valley and got their product-platform vetted and validated as a globally disruptive solution for access control.

    Spintly- Logo

    The founders were searching for something catchy and fresh. Rohin one day suddenly inspired by Swiggy came up with it. It doesn’t mean anything, but we find it apt as we are here to spin and revolutionize the access control industry. “Simplify” was the key word and “Spintly” sounded pretty close.

    Their tagline goes with “Amplify The Simplicity”– They asked suggestions from our team, and this one got the most votes and was closest to what Spintly is up for– Simplifying access control.

    Rohin came up with the initial hand drawn logo with a wireless symbol on the letter “I” in Spintly. Then they got it designed by a professional designer. The logo has been trademarked by Spintly.

    Spintly- Vision and Mission

    Spintly aims to simplify access control by contact-less control due to COVID-19, and providing solutions at ease to its customers. The company keeps up with the vision to be the leader in the wireless access control space. The long-term goal that they are constantly working upon is to become the 1st truly wireless access control solution provider, we want to revolutionize the way the world does access control.

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    Spintly- Target Market Size

    Markets and Markets forecast the physical security market to grow from USD 84.1 billion in 2018 to USD 119.4 billion by 2023, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.3% during the forecast period. Their target market- Global TAM = $119B, SAM = $1B (Over next 4 Years in India and USA). Currently, Spintly is in its 2nd year of Revenue and Spintly intends to grow rapidly to an Annual Revenue of $50M in 2024. They calculated it with the help of this source.

    The major factors driving the physical security market are rising incidents of terror attacks, technological advancements and deployment of wireless technology in security systems, increasing use of Internet Protocol (IP)-based cameras for video surveillance, and rising adoption of Internet of Things (IoT)-based security systems with cloud computing platforms.

    Spintly- Hardware Products

    Spintly hardware products
    Spintly hardware products

    3 In One Access Control System

    Seamless access control experience with Smartphone, key cards, and fingerprints.

    SMACC-OUT

    Designed to work with outdoor access barriers.

    SMACC-UNO

    Mobile based indoor access control system.

    Spintly- Smart Access Features

    Mobile-Based Access

    Smartphone has replaced many devices like cameras, watches, etc. Replacing the access card as well to mark attendance and gain access. Mobile is the safest means of identification as it has its own authentication known only to you. It is also the most accessible and handy device always in your hand.

    Spintly Mobile based access
    Spintly Mobile based access

    Eliminates Wirings

    Wireless Bluetooth Low Energy Mesh technology needs no wiring except for a power connection. No more messy and cluttered server rooms. No more ugly cables running from access points with Spintly.

    Works without Internet

    Their technology works on Bluetooth Low Energy Mesh, so all swipes will be recorded even with no internet. Once the internet comes back on, the swipe data will be automatically uploaded on the cloud through the Spintly gateway.

    Cloud-based access

    Accessing entry/exit data from anywhere in the world at any time. Their cloud-based system can be accessed by the Spintly Android/IOS app or the Spintly website on your laptop.

    Third-Party Integrations

    Spintly is integrated with the top Payroll and HR management software like GreytHR, Extenta, Tally, etc. More integrations are currently under process.

    Multiple Access Methods

    Spintly want more options to grant access to your employees, they have a wide range of access options. From conventional NFC card-based access to fingerprint/biometric access. They even provide with a manual button for those access points where identity capture is not necessary.

    Spintly IoT | Spintly contactless access and attendance management system

    Spintly- Products/ Services

    Spintly’s access control readers get installed on each of the doors which require access control. These readers communicate with each other over a wireless mesh network powered by Bluetooth Mesh. Users are granted access to the doors by passing a digital key from the cloud to their smartphones. Now, users can unlock doors with their smartphones and the access logs and history is captured in Real-time. Some of its exceptional features are:

    • The system solves the problem of excessive wiring and need for skilled and expensive labor to deploy access control systems.
    • It also solves the problem of managing access cards for employees.
    • Finally, it eliminates the need of maintaining expensive hardware equipment for access control.
    • Fully wireless access control system which is easy to set-up and is smartphone friendly.

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    Spitnly has pivoted twice, before. First, from being a Smart Home platform to a Smart-building Platform to finally a Smart access control platform. The Pivots were required to get more focused into a narrow-problem area. However, the technology developed can be used for other use cases in future.

    Spintly- Business Model and Revenue Model

    Spintly generates one-time sales revenue through product sale and then generated recurring revenue through software subscription. Spintly sells its products and services directly to end customers and also through channel partner network spread across the country.

    Aiosell Technologies – Taking the Hospitality Industry to the Next Level!
    Just when we thought the hospitality industry couldn’t get any better andautomized, Siddharth Goenka launched Aiosell Technologies in 2019. This ventureis all about automated pricing & revenue management for hotels, combined with anall-in-one integrated hotel marketing platform. The hotel indus…
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    Spintly- Startup Launch

    The company was initially launched as a technology development company and slowly evolved into a product focused company with access control as the main offering. This was achieved by establishing a feedback loop with the customers by constantly interacting with early Pilot customers. Constant customer interaction and feedback is what worked to build a product which customers wanted and that is how Spintly reached their first 100 users.

    Developing a culture of extreme customer obsession is something which Spintly strives for and that is what has worked for them to retain their customers. They have built key partnerships with other software companies like GreytHR and Mygate which allows them to acquire more and more customers.

    Spintly- Challenges

    One of the major challenges, Spintly faced was- the recent ongoing global pandemic “The COVID-19.” It not only struck the Indian economy but their business also got adversely affected. They quickly were able to change their messaging to a contact-less system and were able to attract customer attention. But for 2-3 months, going without revenues was a very difficult phase in the business.

    Spintly- Competitors

    Spintly’s top competitors include Openpath, GHA Technologies, Axis Security and Netsync. Openpath (also known as Openpath Security) is a company developing smart security solutions for offices.

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    StartupTalkyAshwini

    Spintly- Funding

    Date Stage Amount Investors Name
    March, 2019 Pre-Seed $100,000 Angels
    March, 2020 Seed $250,000 Saltwater Venture Sparks + Angels

    Spintly- Advisors and Mentors

    Spintly has 2 of its advisors:

    • Travis Willis, USA
    • Mitul Mehta, USA

    Spintly- Future Plans

    Spintly currently operates out of 4 locations, Bangalore being the main office which runs the Sales and marketing operations of the company. Goa is the R&D center, Mumbai Office is focused on the Sales for the West region and they have an Office in Los Angeles, USA which takes care of the Sales for North America.

    Spintly has reached 3000 users within a Month and an on-month growth rate of 15% prior to COVID-19. Spintly, currently has an order pipeline of about 1.5Cr and a user on-boarding visibility of over 20,000 users in the next 4-5 months. Spintly has acquired notable clients like Mygate, Smartworks, FF21, L&T realty etc.

    Spintly plans to grow its sales and distribution network across the country in 2020-21 and also plans to acquire a sizable customer base in the USA. Spintly is also in discussions with Global industry leaders for key technology partnerships.

    Spintly- Coupon Code/ Offers

    Spintly gives away the below Coupon Code to avail 10% discount and 2 Months Free Software Subscription.

    Coupon Code- “SP-DISC”

    Legal, Tax Filling and Accounting Services for Business
    LegalWiz provides a simple, affordable and transparent way for online pvt ltd company registration, registration, Accounting & Bookkeeping and others. Also read about the business and revenue model, marketing, hiring strategy, competitors from shrijay sheth.
    StartupTalkyLakshya Singh

  • Just.Jobs – A Job Portal For The Blue-Collar Workforce In India

    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 Just.Jobs.

    One of the remarkable trends in the job market today is the expansion of the blue-collar workforce. Blue-collar jobs include jobs like that of delivery boys, drivers, security guards, beauticians, maintenance workers, carpenters, etc that involve manual labor.

    According to a report by BetterPlace, a platform for blue-collar workers, by 2020, approximately 21 lakh blue-collar jobs will be created in India. To meet these fast-increasing demand for blue-collar workers, ‘Just.Jobs’ a Delhi based startup is offering an online platform that connects the blue-collar workforce directly to the employers, thus providing better opportunities for this under-served category of workers.

    StartupTalky interviewed Just.Jobs co-founder Kishore Beniwal to know more about this startup.

    Just.Jobs – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Just.Jobs
    Headquarter New Delhi
    Founders Kishore Beniwal & Sitaram Madhukar
    Sector Employment & Jobs, Recruitment
    Founded 2016
    Parent Organization Just Jobs Internet Services Pvt. Ltd.

    About Just.Jobs and How it Works
    Just.Jobs Founders
    How was Just.Jobs Started
    Just.Jobs – Revenue Model
    Just.Jobs – Funding and Investors
    Just.Jobs – Startup Challenges
    Just.Jobs – Competitors
    Just.Jobs – Growth

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    About Just.Jobs and How it Works

    Just.Jobs is a one-of-its-kind job portal designed & developed for informal sector workforce/jobs & hiring. It is an innovative recruitment portal which solves the problem of hiring semi-skilled and skilled workers, by connecting the employers with the job-seekers.

    Every job portal has 2 different types of users i.e. employers & job seekers. In case Just.Jobs, jobseekers belong to the BoP (bottom of economic pyramid) of India who is often underpaid and in search for better jobs. The job portal is designed for delivery boys, drivers, beauticians, cook, tailor, waiter and sales boy, etc. Employers registered with Just.Jobs are small to medium-sized businesses, startups, even some big firms who need to hire staff for blue-collar jobs.

    Just.Jobs came into existence due to the lack of connectivity to job opportunities in the informal or rather unorganized sector. Jobseekers belonging to this sector face challenges while looking for new jobs or the right job. Blue-collar job seekers in most cases go to traditional job agencies which are often times manipulative as well as not being effective. Just.Jobs is one-of-a-kind fully-featured job board, exclusively designed and developed for Indian blue-collar jobs sector.

    Some notable features of Just.Jobs for employers are–

    • Jobseekers registered with Just.Jobs are verified which ensures that the employers get genuine candidates.
    • No question asked, 100% money-back guarantee.
    • Employers enjoy lifetime validity and can post jobs at any time.
    • Just.Jobs provides a beautifully integrated employer profile.
    • The platform has simple, all-inclusive, and most inexpensive pricing plans
    • There is no hassle of long term contract with Just.Jobs. One can upgrade, cancel and ask for refunds any time.

    Some attractive features for jobseekers are–

    • Personal information of Job Seekers are always safe with Just.Jobs
    • It’s free for jobseekers
    • Registration or profile creation is not obligatory for the jobseekers
    • One can apply for jobs simply with a click without hassles of uploading resume.
    • Job Seekers can filter their preferences to get their dream jobs.
    • Gets free and instant job alerts

    One can mark one’s favorite jobs and employers instantly to get more related updates.

    Unique thing about our product is that it is easy to use. We have invested heavily on the portal’s UX to ensure a hassle-free process for our users. This allows better and faster results compared to conventional methods. Moreover, it’s 100% free for our users who are looking to search for jobs and will remain forever

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    Just.Jobs Founders

    Just.Jobs was founded by two childhood friends Kishore Beniwal and Sitaram Madhukar in 2016.

    Kishore Beniwal is the CEO of Just.Jobs. A “believer” with clear and inspiring thoughts. He started “Just Jobs” in Aug 2016 with a clear vision – to organize the unorganized, to create a platform where India’s most unserved or under-served part can connect with the right opportunities for the betterment of their life. He is a hardworking person with a “never quit” attitude. Kishore is a commerce graduate from Delhi University and is a serial entrepreneur who also founded two other startups ‘Xoxo Tours LLC’ which is a travel dating app and ‘Intense Interactive’ a web solution provider company.

    Sitaram Madhukar is the CFO of Just.Jobs. He is a highly self-motivated, hard-working, grounded and trustworthy guy focusing on operations & financial issues within the organization. He believes in learning something new every day.

    How was Just.Jobs Started

    At the start of his career, Kishore himself worked as a construction laborer as well as a waiter for almost 4 years. Having worked in an informal work environment and tough conditions, he understands the problem that such a platform can solve. He has lived the life of a blue-collar sector worker and knows that to most of them, the future seems desolate. Due to the lack of the right jobs and awareness of available job opportunities, they find it difficult to move up in their career. He wanted to do something to solve these issues faced by the blue-collar workers, and this led to the idea to start Just.Jobs.

    Just.Jobs was launched on 1st Aug 2016 through a formal press release. It was picked up by 70+ news sites/apps (newspapers or news channels) including many prominent ones like AajTak, India Today and VCCircle.

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    Just.Jobs – Revenue Model

    Just.Jobs follows a similar business model to any job portal business modes. It is a job portal for blue collar workers. Just.Jobs offers 3 different types of pricing/hiring plans to employers. As Just.Jobs have different types of employers registered on its portal, from small shops/ parlors/ restaurants, startups including prominent & popular ones like Swiggy & Myntra, SMBs to large scale companies, it offers different types of hiring plans which can satisfy the requirements of these employers.

    Just.Jobs has ‘Pay-As-You-Go’, ‘Unlock-Contacts’ and ‘One-Time-Payment’ plans. Each one of it is a different hiring method and an employer can choose one or more among it according to the number of candidates one is looking to hire. Just.Jobs is completely free for job seekers.

    Just.Jobs – Funding and Investors

    Just.Jobs has not raised any funding till date. (March 2021)

    Just Jobs Logo

    Just.Jobs – Startup Challenges

    Like many other startups, Just.Jobs didn’t generate much revenue initially, which disheartened the team.

    “We expected people to come looking for us. However, what happened was opposite. Running a bootstrapped company isn’t an easy thing. But we did our best in working hard.” says Kishore recalling the initial challenge.

    The team also found that there were few flaws in Just Job’s future plan which needed to be worked upon. But with continuous & persistent efforts towards finding the flaws & improving on the same basis, Just.Jobs was successful in building a strong product.

    They introduced a freemium model in the first few months which is still there in the site which allows every employer to post 1 job for free. After that, it started gaining new clients and sustained with the revenues from the product they built.

    Launching Just.Jobs & going through that time was painful as expected by us. It took more time, money and efforts than we envisioned. Just.Jobs didn’t make much revenue in the start which made us feel sad but we didn’t lose any hope. Our passion & belief kept us moving ahead, working hard and kept iterating the product as humanly as possible to make it more fast, intuitive and useful with which we started attracting the right audience. And soon users were making registrations on our portal. However, we keep improving our platform; identifying the flaws in it which need to be worked upon has been our continuous plan.

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    Just.Jobs – Competitors

    Quikr Jobs, Aasaan Jobs & WorkIndia are some competitors of Just.Jobs.

    However, Just.Jobs is not just another traditional & complex job board. It has its own USP which makes it stand out from the competition. It regularly updates the platform and it is incredibly easy, and in fact, the fastest and the most reliable job board when it comes to hiring or job search within the Indian informal jobs sector.
    Just.Job also takes a lot of care when it comes to data privacy. It does not sell off the user’s database for quick bucks.

    We consider it our onus to solve the actual problem. Just.Jobs is committed to making the experience of hiring or finding the right job as easy as possible without compromising any aspect of the overall selection process, and fast. Thankfully, we are in a market where the idea is already validated. But unfortunately, existing players or as we think, are finding it hard to add any value to the lives of people of this sector. Some are still following the practices of traditional offline agencies/consultancies. That we feel are not good enough.

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    Just.Jobs – Growth

    Just.Jobs is in line with many initiatives of the government of India such as Digital India, Skill India, Startup India and Made in India. The company has come up with a 100% digital solution to empower the most underdeveloped informal sector of India by connecting the right skill with the right opportunity. That’s how Just.Jobs makes the hiring process more transparent, easy and fast even in case of informal jobs sector which conventional methods have not been able to do so.

    Currently Just.Jobs is a well-known blue-collar jobs marketplace in India. In a meager 8 months after its launch, Just.Jobs surpassed 10,000+ registered employers. As of today, there are 50,000+ employers registered on Just.Jobs which include some prominent Indian startups and established companies like Swiggy, Myntra, Axis Bank, BigBasket, Flipkart, UrbanClap, Ola, Portea, Uber, Jugnoo, Omaxe, CrossRoads, Zoomcar, and 1 MG along with many others.

    “For us, there is nothing like anything which went viral or success overnight. The key strategy which worked & has been working for us is continuous & persistent efforts towards finding our flaws & improving on the same basis which makes our product & process tight as well as strong” Kishore says explaining Just.Jobs’s growth strategy.

    Currently, Just.Jobs is focusing to promote its product in 12 big cities of India which includes Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Chandigarh, etc., as it is one of the few blue collar job portals available in India. The team also is looking forward to setting up Just.Jobs in overseas countries like Australia, UK, US and other countries shortly.

    Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

    What is Just.Jobs?

    Just.Jobs is a one-of-its-kind job portal designed & developed for informal sector workforce/jobs & hiring.

    What is a reliable job portal for blue collar workers in India?

    Just.Jobs is one the best job portal for blue collar workers in India.

    What is a blue collar job?

    Blue-collar jobs include jobs like that of delivery boys, drivers, security guards, beauticians, maintenance workers, carpenters, etc that involve manual labor.

  • Shuttl – Offering Services At Around One-Eighth The Price Of a Cab

    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 Shuttl.

    Public transportation provides a good deal of mobility, safety, and economic benefit to people and businesses. Beyond those key benefits, it also offers the most significant environmental advantages that contribute to a better quality of life. Public transportation reduces the number of cars in the street, and thus helps improve air quality, alleviate traffic congestion, and noise.

    Shuttl is an app-based office bus service that provides buses for intra-city commute by allowing users to search and book AC bus-rides for travel.

    Shuttl – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Shuttl
    Headquarters Gurugram, Haryana, India
    Industry Transportation
    Founded 2015
    Founders Amit Singh and Deepanshu Malviya
    CEO Amit Singh
    Area Served India
    Website www.ride.shuttl.com

    Shuttl – About and How it Works?
    Shuttl – Logo and its Meaning
    Shuttle – Recent News
    Shuttl – Founder and History
    Shuttl – Mission
    Shuttl – Business Model
    Shuttl – Revenue and Growth
    Shuttl – Funding and Investors
    Shuttl – Awards and Recognition
    Shuttl – Competitors
    Shuttl – Challenges Faced
    Shuttl – Future Plans
    Shuttl – FAQs

    Shuttl – About and How it Works?

    Shuttl being India’s largest bus aggregator platform, provides office goers an easy and stress-free mode of travel to their workplace and back. Shuttl offers its services via their mobile application, which is available on both Google Play store and App Store. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Gurgaon.

    The company started operating first in Delhi-NCR. By now, Shuttl has extended its services to other cities of India such as Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai.

    Shuttle provides reserved seats in AC buses, real-time bus tracking, affordable single day and monthly plans, guaranteed safety via advanced technology integrations, and robust identity checks of drivers and co-passengers.

    “India isn’t as evolved a market where a passenger would feel safe in a stranger’s personal vehicle. That same person would be perfectly fine sitting next to a stranger in a public vehicle, like a bus. Commuting is the worst part of the day, and we wanted to come out with a solution to take the pain away from people of daily commuting and buses are the most efficient and cost-effective. Shuttl was the credible alternative to these people,” said the CEO.

    You can explore bus routes between two locations and the app assists you in finding the best possible route to reach there. Once the booking process is done you need to browse your bus route on the Map. The application helps you navigate to your pickup point. The tech sourced app facilitates user to keep track of your Shuttl on the app to plan the journey. A user receives the vehicle’s details within 30 minutes before the scheduled boarding time. User can cancel or reschedule the booking before Shuttl reaches your pick-up point.

    Therefore, Commuting with Shuttl reduces congestion, pollution, stress on city infrastructures (toll plaza, parking spaces), and gives back precious travel time that was lost earlier in driving/standing.

    Shuttl – Logo and its Meaning

    Shuttl’s company logo consisting of a bus in light blue colour, depicts how the company leverages on technology and focuses on comfort, and time-saving process of travelling through buses. All one has to do is install Shuttl app for easy commute.

    Shuttl's company logo
    Shuttl’s company logo

    Shuttle – Recent News

    • Shuttl begins testing international market with Thailand
    • Amidst dealing pandemic, Shuttl expands its ESOP pool
    • Bus aggregator startup Shuttl raises INR 57 Crore from SIG Global India Fund
    • Shuttl raises $8m from SIG Global and more updates
    • Amazon backed Shuttl raises $36 Million from Toyota, others for expansion

    Shuttl – Founder and History

    The company was founded by Amit Singh and Deepanshu Malviya in 2015.

    Founders of Shuttl
    Founders of Shuttl

    With buses, it was possible to offer a service at around one-eighth the price of a cab.

    The Shuttl startup began intra-city bus fleet operations in 2015 within Delhi-NCR. The story of Shuttl dates back to 2014 when IIT-graduates Amit Singh and Deepanshu Malviya used to work for e-commerce company Jabong. They wanted to start their own venture, which led them to quit their jobs at Jabong. They started with a mobile content platform and later tried their hands at inter-city cab services. However, both these projects failed to take off. Nonetheless, neither Amit nor Deepanshu lost hope and kept looking for new opportunities.

    When the founders noticed the huge challenges faced by commuters every day in Delhi-NCR and how people were usually forced to travel in crowded buses. The entire experience was quite stressful, they started with a pilot project wherein they hired two Toyota Innova cars and launched a basic app for the Shuttl service. With reserved seats, reliability and comfortable rides, the word soon spread and Shuttl started getting more requests from office goers. As of now, Shuttl operates hundreds of buses across various cities it serves.

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    Shuttl – Mission

    With a mission of solving the pain of commute, Shuttl offers a space-efficient, safe, and cost-effective solution for urban India. Shuttl has demonstrated the ability to simultaneously address the dual challenge of congestion and pollution.

    Shuttl – Business Model

    Since the startup’s inception, the bus sharing commute offered more than 8 lakh rides and clocking about unimaginable rides a day. Apart from Delhi the company operates in the cities like Hyderabad, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida, and Pune and expanding to other cities as well.

    The Shuttl business model is simple. They are an online aggregator and works with multiple service providers to sell their services under the Shuttl branding. The service providers in this case are Bus Operators with a valid licence to ply their buses on particular routes. Shuttl does not own any of the vehicles that are operated under its branding. It merely enters into service contracts (often at a fixed price) with bus service providers for the use of their vehicles under the Shuttl branding.

    The responsibility to provide the actual transportation service lies with the bus service operators. It is also the operator’s responsibility to hire drivers and other crew necessary to ply the vehicles.

    The fare that individual users pay to avail the shuttle bus services is collected and retained by Shuttl.

    Shuttl – Revenue and Growth

    App-based bus aggregator Shuttl surpassed INR 100 Crore in revenue in the financial year ended March 2019, clocking a 123% year-on-year growth compared with INR 44.8 Crore revenue reported in FY18, according to the company’s unaudited financial results released. Shuttl claims to have a rider ship of over 1 lakh rides per day across the six cities. Shuttl which raised over $50 million since its inception in 2015, currently has a network of over 350 shuttle routes operating 1,800 buses across different locations in India. Shuttl also claims to have completed over 33 million rides till date. Around 38% of Shuttl users are women.

    “We attribute our sustained growth to our riders and uniquely designed services that we are offering them. Our endeavor is to deliver a safe, reliable and environmentally sustainable mobility for urban India, and by attaining one lakh daily ridership, we are confident that our constant efforts to enhance asset utilization, lowering transportation costs and improving rider convenience will help us transform the mobility landscape of cities in future,” Amit Singh, Co-chief executive of Shuttl said.

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    Shuttl – Funding and Investors

    The Shuttl funding has raised a total of $122.3 Million in funding over 13 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Feb 18, 2020 from a Corporate Round round. Shuttl is funded by 22 investors. Sojitz and SIG Global India Fund are the most recent investors.

    Date Round Amount Lead Investors
    Feb 18, 2020 Corporate Round $3M Sojitz
    Feb 14, 2020 Series C ₹570M SIG Global India Fund
    Dec 17, 2019 Series C $2.5M Moving Capital
    Nov 25, 2019 Series C $18M SPARX Group, Toyota Tsusho
    Oct 29, 2019 Series C $42M SMBC Trust Bank, Toyota Tsusho
    Apr 17, 2019 Venture Round ₹350M NAV.VC
    Mar 28, 2019 Series B ₹499.9M Lightspeed India Partners, SCI investments, Sequoia Capital India, Times Internet
    Jan 17, 2019 Debt Financing ₹100M Trifecta Capital Advisors
    Oct 23, 2018 Debt Fiancing $1M Trifecta Capital Advisors
    Jul 30, 2018 Series B $11M Amazon, Amazon Alexa Fund, Dentsu Ventures

    Shuttl – Awards and Recognition

    In June 2018, Shuttl was felicitated in the sustainable mobility category at the International Ashden Awards held in London.

    In November 2017, in the FICCI Road Safety Awards, the firm had won the Special Jury Award in the category of Road Safety Product and Solution.

    Shuttl – Competitors

    ZipGo, WhistleDrive VProtect India, VAJOR.COM, EazyDiner, The Man Company Cityflo, and Commut are the leading contenders to Shuttl.

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    Shuttl – Challenges Faced

    Shuttl, an app-based on-demand shuttle service has suffered a loss of $8.21 million in fiscal year 2015-2016.

    In a media interview, co-founder Amit Singh said the company plans to scale its fleet to at least 700 by the end of the ongoing financial year. It is also expected to hit a monthly sales run-rate of INR 10 Crore after that.

    However, for Shuttl, the path to growth was not going easy as the company was facing various regulatory issues with state governments.

    The transport department of Delhi government impounded over 50 Shuttl buses for permit violations. Besides, the department also threatened the two co-founders of Shuttl for ‘illegally’ plying buses in the national capital. In defence of the impounding, a senior official in the State Transport Ministry stated that these private buses are contract carriers and cannot act as stage carriers to pick up individual passengers as it leads to safety concerns, besides congestion and pollution.

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    Shuttl – Future Plans

    India’s largest bus aggregator Shuttl has entered the highly contested food delivery space by launching meals on buses for daily commuters, as it looks to further monetize its captive customer base.

    “Our customers are demanding food to be served on buses. The metric we track, ie Items sold per ride, show that about 90% of the people are buying something which validates that there is a consumer demand for it….we are working with cloud kitchens and building an ordering product to scale this offering,” Amit Singh, cofounder of Shuttl, said, adding that the service would target commuters who on average use the Shuttl service 22 times a month.

    The company expects to break even at an operating level on the back of an increase in prices, bigger buses, and improved occupancy levels. Selling daily essentials on buses like bread, butter, curd, eggs and milk would be the next step for the startup, Singh said. The Shuttl startup also aims to expand their franchise in other cities of India.

    Shuttl – FAQs

    When was Shuttl founded?

    Shuttl was founded in 2015.

    Who is Shuttl’s CEO?

    Shuttl’s CEO is Amit Singh.

    Who are the Shuttl Founders?

    The company was founded by Amit Singh and Deepanshu Malviya in 2015.

    Who are Shuttl’s competitors?

    Shuttl’s top competitors are ZipGo, Easy Commute, and Cityflo.