Taking the first initial step to start a conversation with a stranger might be a tough task for some people. However, starting a professional conversation is a way more daunting process for some folks and due to this hesitation, they lost many good opportunities in life. If you are one of those people who doesn’t know how to break the ice in the first meeting and how to start one productive conversation with the potential clients, then you need to learn that tactic very fast, if you want to survive in this world. A strong conversation is a key element of many progressive business ventures. So, don’t let this one tiny problem of making conversation to stand in front of your progressive career.
Starting a good professional conversation is an art and it needs constant practice to master this art form. But, today we are going to discuss some easy method to handle professional conversation in an expert way. The conversation is a two-way process, so it is very important to understand the other party before starting a conversation. There are various little things present that you need to understand to become king of the conversation. So, let’s get to know so some simple method to adopt cunning and witty conversation.
Well, if you want to start a professional conversation with a stranger and you have no idea about the person, then don’t get nervous and adapt the traditional approach. As sometimes classics gives the best result. So, before approaching for the first time to the stranger you can start a great conversation with them, like;
Tell me about yourself.
What’s your story?
What is the current project you working on right now?
Make the conversation about them
People love to talk about themselves and especially about their achievements. So revolve a slick conversation about them and ask them about their goals in life, their success story and so on. This will help you in understanding the person and you can find the common ground for the next conversation.
Present an expensive body language
The body language has a very vast role in constructing a professional conversation, so make your body posture attractive and friendly before starting the conversation. Like smile politely and talk to the other person on the positive note. But don’t overdo yourself, just be polite but in the limit. Don’t make your fool with too much laughing.
Talk about passion
Find the common ground of interest and passion for starting an ethical conversation. Knowing common interest is very important to have some productive conversation. The two persons can have numerous common interests, like traveling, golf, cinema etc. Once you find the common base then the conversation will automatically follow and don’t forget to give equal chance to the other person to contribute to the conversation.
Have an honest conversation
Don’t manipulate your facts to just impress the other person. Always talk from your heart and what you believe in, don’t change your beliefs to simply impress the other person. Always say what you believe in and stay honest while making the conversation. As friends honesty is always a nice policy.
Offer Help
Offering help is the best way to show that you are a nice and approachable person. It is the best way to start a conversation with junior or a colleague. If you find yourself in a position to offer a help then go ahead and lend a hand. If you find someone a little lost and busy, you can proceed with a question ‘You seem a little lost, can I help you with something?’ or ‘Looks like you have a lot to carry. Do you need a hand?’.
Get out of fear of rejection
We often feel we aren’t good enough. “Who am I to talk to her?” we say when we should be saying, “Who am I NOT to talk to her?” You are good enough, but you have to believe it with confidence. We have amazing things to offer because we’re an amazing people. So, never stop making any start because of the fear of rejection, stay confident about yourself and never underestimate yourself. Never calculate your abilities lower than others.sss
Ask an opinion
Make a person feel that their opinions matter. Everyone likes that feeling. You can start by asking them opinion on topics that are immediately relevant. One must stick to relevant and non controversial. No one would want to get in a debate in their first conversation.
However, the above tips which we framed according to fellow readers will guide you to start a great ethical conversation and you should maintain it along with full confidence. Although communication is very important for everyone instead there are many skillsets which one needs to master to enhance their sociability.
Entrepreneurship is one of the growing professions in the recent times, and more individuals are gearing up to work on their own startups with unique and actionable ideas. Startups with a practical solution, and a roadmap to build a fortune out of it are often funded by venture capital and investment firms. Such firms offer private equity finances to startups in need of funds, for a fraction of the company itself. While there are discrete firms for such investment, larger corporations including Google and Jio haven’t held back from this either.
Microsoft offers an accelerator program, called the Microsoft Co-founder’s fund for venture capital to startups with great potential. Microsoft has so far made about 147 investments in different funding rounds along with over 200 acquisitions. The numbers place Microsoft in one of the top startup investors in the industry. So here we discuss 10 promising startups that Microsoft has invested in, and the solutions they have to offer.
Bindwise is an E-commerce based platform, and has raised about $86K in a total of 5 funding rounds, with the latest round held in the May of 2020. Bindwise offers robust E-commerce solutions for online merchants and sellers assisting them in time, stock, and inventory management. Workflow is an ever changing regime, and Bindwise knows exactly how to eliminate most of the manual work and manage orders as well as the inventory. Bindwise keeps you posted in regards to the latest Amazon trends that are likely to impact your sales, while also warning you of the defects in listing, policy violations, and other important issues, hence giving you a head start.
Co-founded by Tushar Vashisht, Mathew Cherian, and Sachin Shenoy, HealthifyMe was included in Microsoft’s Incubator program for its quality results in eating habits and fitness. With a user base of over 19 million, HealthifyMe has delivered and made its presence felt in the community of fitness enthusiasts, and helped users with weight loss, leading a healthy lifestyle, diet plans and other health sensitive issues. Users can communicate with certified fitness coaches, and monitor their progress by tracking food intake, workout routine and water intake, and witness the change steadily.
xCloud has raised a total of CN¥ 5M in 2 rounds of funding, including one lead by Microsoft Accelerator. xCloud is supposed to be a cloud-based gaming platform for web browsers, and will allow Xbox players to access their games through a browser. While currently, the xCloud works on android devices as well as tablets, the web version is in the works and will include a simple launcher with various functionalities including game recommendations, resume recently played titles, and more. The web version is currently supported by chromium browsers such as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, but is scheduled to be previewed soon.
Springboard
Springboard, the online workforce training and learning platform has secured funding from various investors, Microsoft Co-founder’s fund being one of them. Springboard offers part time bootcamps, that serve as a great help for professionals getting ready for their career within months. Once enrolled in a course offered by Springboard, users are assigned a mentor and are provided with the best in class curriculum, curated with diverse perspective by experts. All the lessons are taught to implement in the real-world with problems and project based assignments, while also offering the users valuable insights and feedback by the mentor on a weekly basis.
AppyWay
AppyWay, a kerbside management, mobility, and parking solutions provider, has secured an investment of over $12 million in different funding rounds from 12 investors, Microsoft being one of them. The parking solutions that AppyWay has to offer are meant to enable intelligent mobility and provide accurate off-street parking information. AppyWay also offers a traffic mapper, a traffic order tool meant for high performing authorities, as well as a traffic engagement tool for digitizing public consultation. It also furnishes users with Parking API and a Last Meter Navigation for enabling creaseless journeys with destination and drop-off data.
Cloudflare
Cloudflare is a web infrastructure and website security platform, and has raised about $332 million in funding up till its Series E funding from some big name in the industry including Google and Microsoft. Cloudflare offers an integrated global cloud network that users can deploy to boost and secure their websites. The security options that Cloudflare has to offer include advanced DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) along with intelligent Web Application Firewall, along with performance boosting with intelligent routing and mobile optimizations. Moreover, its serverless platform and reliability has attracted investments from various venture firms.
Cognisess, a market leading software provider, has been funded by 4 investors including the Microsoft Accelerator, and acquired Meet The Real Me in 2015. The solutions that Cognisess has to offer help businesses all over the world recognize, nurture, and retain talented individuals for a strong and productive workforce. Cognisess brings together the power of data science and the intelligence of machine learning, and helps make more informed and data driven decisions. It helps track employee performance and productivity and keeps them engaged with real-time feedback to manage the workforce.
AppsFlyer
AppsFlyer, a SaaS mobile marketing analytics and attribution platform, has raised over $290 million in various funding rounds and from 12 investors, including the Microsoft Accelerator. AppsFlyer is known for furnishing users with accurate data combined with a customer centric approach. Be it marketing analysis, cost aggregation, or even fraud protection and deep linking, AppsFlyer has all the solutions for industries including E-commerce, Entertainment, Finserv, Gaming and others. Moreover, the resources that AppsFlyer has to offer include Blogs, reports, podcasts, boards and a MasterClass with avant garde training for mobile attribution.
The Fabulous is a health, wellness, and fitness platform as well as your own personal coach, and has been funded by Microsoft Accelerator in the Venture Round. While some of us hardly find any time to hit the gym, The Fabulous helps us build and follow a strict and effective daily routine. Be it a coach that assists you throughout your transformation journey, or the discipline you need to endure it, The Fabulous is as good as the name suggests, and helps you achieve your set goals. One other perk that it has to offer is that you also get to connect with others with similar interest and hence become part of an organized community directed and motivated to the same goal.
Sentri
Sentri, an AI powered access governance control system, has secured a strategic investment by the Microsoft Accelerator along with some other investors, and has raised over $855K in 3 different funding rounds. Sentri offers enterprise grade security services that include detection and prevention of security breaches, digitization of employee onboarding and off-boarding, as well as monitoring data security risks. Sentri also allows users to automate access controls, customize workflows, monitor real-time risks, and all that with the most intuitive and efficient UI. Moreover, integrations such as Oracle, Google Apps, Salesforce, and Office make Sentri all the more seamless and viable.
Conclusion
Microsoft, for the next couple of years has pledged to invest about $500 million in visionary startup ideas through its Microsoft for Startups program, dedicated to helping B2B startups to scale their company. Likewise in the years to come, worth of revolutionary startup ideas is going to be recognized by larger corporations and investment firms. Hence, startups with high potential will be more than welcome in the time that lie ahead, and more investors will be inclined to empower entrepreneurship than ever.
Tesco is a British multinational company that sells groceries and retails merchandise. The company has its headquartered in Welwyn Garden City which is located in England. Tesco is given the title of being the third-largest retailer in the world according to its gross revenues and the ninth-largest retailer in the world. It has its outlets spread across seven countries which are namely Europe, the USA, and Asia. The company is also the number one retailer of groceries in Ireland, Hungary and Thailand, and the UK because it is known to have a market share of around 28.4%.
Tesco is one of the most popular brands as everyone in the United Kingdom knows and prefers to do their grocery shopping from there. The company also competes with other local grocery and general merchandising companies. The British Conglomerate has earned a name for itself by providing its customers with organic groceries. The company is focused on making an eco-friendly change by making strategic acquisitions and subsidiaries. The United Kingdom now has a variety of hypermarket style stores and Tesco’s express high street outlets which are more than 2,200 stores.
Tesco also offers a range of products and services that are out of the box for grocery retailers such as Banking, insurance services, electronics goods as well as telephone equipment, and airtime. Tesco has also introduced something called ‘one-stop shopping’ which allows its customers to purchase everything they need just from one place. With this tactic and its online website, the company has managed to expand its customer base to over one million regular users.
The company had its humble beginning in 1919 with the efforts of Jack Cohen, who started with a number of market stalls in Hackney, London. The founder Jack Cohen sold groceries from a small stall in the east end of London, with a minimal profit of 1 to 4 euros. He then brought huge stocks of tea from the T E Stockwell Company, combined their names, and thus created the Tesco brand. The first store that opened in the name of Tesco was located in North London in the year 1929.
Tesco opened its first shop in the year of 1931 and within eight years it expanded to over 100 shops across the country. But it wasn’t until the 1990s that it expanded internationally to more than 11 countries. By then the company had expanded to retailing a variety of different things such as books, clothing, electronics, furniture, toys, petrol, software even financial services, telecoms, and internet services. Tesco is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is also present in the FTSE 100 Index. As of 2015, Tesco’s market capitalization was up to 18.1 billion euros.
Tesco has recently been trying to make more acquisitions in order to satisfy the needs of all the customers. The company’s main goal is to serve its customers and make sure that all its customers are happy and choose the retail services again. Tesco’s record-breaking sales of more than 1 billion euros a week and better than expected annual profits of more than 3.4 billion euros for the 53 weeks in 2010.
Tesco’s first acquisition occurred in 1957 when it brought 70 Williamson stores which were both shops and restaurants that sold meat. The second well knows acquisition made by the company is of 200 harrow stores in the year of 1959. The company then brought 212 Irwin stores of Liverpool in 1960. It then acquired 97 self-service locations from the Charles Phillips Company and 49 bakeries and cafes from Cadena in 1964. In 1965, it acquired Adsega which is a Manchester company. The company took a break from making more acquisitions until 1980 when it brought Cartier stores in Kent.
Key acquisitions of Tesco
Seven years later, Tesco completed a hostile takeover of the Hilliards chain through which it now had the control of more than 40 supermarkets in England. Tesco continued to make strategic investments throughout the 1990s and increase the list of acquisitions like Holland, Willaim Low, and Savia chain. The company bought Associated British Foods, which gave the company the ownership of the Quinnsworth, Stewarts, and Crazy Prices chains all of which were all located in Ireland. The other key deals include:
The purchase of 13 HIT hypermarkets in Poland in 2002
The purchase of Kipa shops in Japan in 2003
The acquisition of Admin store convenience stores in London in 2004
Buying out 21 Safeway/BP stores in 2005
Purchasing an 80% stake in Leader Price supermarkets in Poland in 2005
Buying Dobbies Garden Centres and Homeplus in 2008
Acquiring retail consultancy Dunnhumby in 2010
The purchase of Mobcast Services which is a mobile book platform in 2012
This chain of companies is known for its food wholesale operation, for providing branded and private-label goods to more than 400,000 customers, including convenience stores, grocery stores, pubs, and restaurants. Booker is credited for founding the booker prize for fictional literature in 1968. Tesco acquired the company in 2017 for the price of 3.7 Billion dollars. Booker became Tesco’s subsidiary in the year 2018. Booker also has stores like the Budgens, Londis, euro shopper, and premier stores brands under the company.
The logos of the subsidiaries of Tesco
Tesco Bank
Tesco Bank is a popular British retail bank which was brought by Tesco in 2008. The bank came into existence with the joint venture between the royal bank of Scotland and Tesco which was the largest supermarket in the United Kingdom even at that time. The services that the bank is known for are credit cards, loans, mortgages, savings accounts, and several types of car, home life, and travel. They were first promoted by pamphlets in Tesco’s shop and through its website.
The Royal Bank of Scotland also fully became a Tesco subsidiary and now operates under its own banking license offering its customers financial services and compensation schemes. The services of the bank include insurance, credit card loans, savings, mortgages, and travel products. One thing that is unique about Tesco’s banking products is that’s the bank is able to leverage its large customer base to cross-sell financial service’s products. With the help of this, the customers can get Tesco club card points when they purchase any financial services.
The company was first started in May 2003. The countries in which Tesco operates its mobile phone business are United Kingdom, Ireland, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech republics. This company is known to be operated using the 02 and three island as its carriers. By January 2011, Tesco announced it had over 2.5 million UK mobile customers which were considered successful for Tesco in that year. Tesco is also known to have operated a home telephone and broadband business.
In August 2004, the company started its broadband services in order to go with its already existing internet service provider business, providing an ADSL-based service delivered via BT phone lines. It started offering a 4G network service with no extra cost for its monthly and sim users. In January 2015, Tesco had to sell its home telephone and broadband business for around 5 million. The customers also transferred by the next year. The company now says that over 5 million people use Tesco mobile services, while more than 98% choose them again.
F&F
In 2001, Tesco launched F and F which is also called Florence and Fred in its UK and Ireland supermarkets. In 2010, the brand started to open f & f stores in and around London city. The company expanded to various countries both offline and on online websites during the 2010s. After this, F&F started falling as it lost its online presence in the UK which changed after it partnered with Next PLC a year later. Tesco launched a scaled-down version of F and F on Tesco.com soon after its deal with Next. The company now offers a wide selection of clothes with the latest styles for men, women, and kids from 607 different stores.
Tesco Tech Support
Tesco brought a small I.T. Support Company called The PC Guys in 2007, which lead to the launch of Tesco Tech Support in December of 2008.
Conclusion
Tesco is now a globally known company. It has its stores in countries like UK, China, Japan, Ireland, Poland, and The United States. It has a total of 4,811 stores including 2482 in Britain alone, it also has 472000 plus staff members worldwide. It also claims to be the most profitable grocery retailer in the world. The sales generated by the company account for almost 62.5 billion pounds with a profit of 3.4 billion pounds.
FAQ’s
1. What are the subsidiaries of Tesco?
Tesco Tech Support
F&F
Tesco Mobile
Tesco bank
Booker Group
2. What are the main acquisitions of Tesco?
HIT hypermarkets in 2002
Kipa shops in Japan in 2003
Admin store convenience stores in London in 2004
Leader Price supermarkets in 2005
Buying Dobbies Garden Centres and Homeplus in 2008
Dunnhumby in 2010
Mobcast Services in 2012
Euphorium Bakery in 2012
Giraffe restaurants and cafes in 2013
Booker Group in 2017
3. What is Tesco known for?
Tesco is a popular UK supermarket chain and 4th largest retailer in the world and most profitable online grocery retailer in the world.
We all like to play games, as it is considered to be one of the most intriguing activities for amusement and leisure. Be it Candy crush or PUB-G the craze for games in India has been on top. It is often said that this fun activity has the power to make you happy as it increases your brain function, releases serotonin which is a chemical that makes us feel delightful.
Well, the allure of playing games is not new, be it board games or virtual games, the excitement of it has always increased in India. After the technological advancement and the history of gaming has completely changed and transformed.
The one prominent area which did not get relatively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic was the gaming industry all over the world. In fact, the pandemic lockdown gave a boost to this industry since people were forced to sit at their homes and explore some leisure activities.
According to a survey, there was a 30% increased in traffic in online mobile gaming in India during this period. Also, Paytm First Games reported that they saw an increase of 200% in the users of this online gaming platform.
18th Century: It was those times when people first discovered the concept of games in the Egyptian Dynasties. Later on in the 18th century as people started evolving the invention of card games and board games began to happen.
19th Century: People realized this leisure activity can be commercialized. Also this time people became advanced with the facilities of printing and manufacturing and hence started to produce the more vibrant and rich card and board games. For the first time, Monopoly was introduced in the year 1902 which is still a big sensation today when it comes to board games.
In the late 1930s, when computers were built the gaming advancements also began. The simple card games and board games were thought to be converted in the form of electronic means as well.
1950s–1990s: This was the era when the very first computer games and video games started becoming popular. Home computers had built-in games and portable video games became trendy. When mobile phones were released in the late 1990’s people in India were crazy about games like ‘Snakes’ on Nokia phones.
2000 – 2010: As the technology started upgrading and the mobile phones became better and better, the digital gaming industry valued around $5 billion.
2011 – 2016: When the technology rapidly started growing, VR games were introduced to people. The evolution of cameras, graphics, and sound quality enhanced the user experience in the gaming industry.
2016 – Today: Since 2016 till date, the global mobile gaming industry has never seen a huge downfall. Along with mobile phones, tablets, and laptops, people started purchasing specialized PCs that are designed to play heavy games with the most effective graphics and user interface. The trend of playing games professionally has also increased a lot in the Indian market.
In the past few years, the gaming industry in India is flourishing tremendously. From $62 billion in 2019 to $90 billion in 2020, the market continues to grow in robust ways. During the lockdown, the major segments that contributed to the growth were esports, mobile gaming, and real money gaming. The gaming industry has also been very significant in creating numerous job opportunities for people.
Today mobile gaming in India has reached millions of people. There are more than 600 million gamers around us and this is not going to stop anytime soon. India ranks 5th in engagement and awareness of gaming around the globe and this shows that people are totally involved in this segment.
Value of the gaming industry in India from financial year 2015 to 2020
Gaming firms have now started earning handsome revenues from this sector by generating a huge volume of game downloads, shooting advertisements, and elevating user experience. These companies also charge their customers some amount for premium game packs, subscriptions, purchases of coins, and other such chargeable extensions.
Gamers and their Preferences
Even though many games are considered to be gender-neutral, but there are games that are specifically designed for males or females. Today over 80% of the gamers population is below the age of 24 years while only 8% of the people age above 40. Youngsters tend to your internet more and play online games. According to the statistics, over 83% of the gamers’ population is male while only 17% is female.
While categorizing the genre of games, females prefer games that are related to puzzle or arcade games, whereas males prefer games that have action, sports, and thrill. Usually, such games are heavy in usage and require efficient devices. India has world-class infrastructure, IT skills, and more than that, the talent which has advanced gaming technology. The gamers enjoy the games developed by gaming centers like Microsoft, Disney, Sony, Playdom, UbiSoft, etc.
Top 10 online games in India
Here is the list of Top 10 games that Indians have absolutely loved and have been most trendy to date –
1. Age and gender dominance is likely to improve in the near future. Online gaming will soon see a shift in the age and gender composition of the total population since the huge untapped market is likely to experience this world of gaming
2. Cloud gaming is going to get very popular especially in India. All people would need to have is a stable internet connection and they could get an experience of gaming like never before.
3. Freemium companies will help the industry to get better economic conditions. We are a very price-sensitive market and freemium gamers would continue to search for alternatives if the companies start charging for premium services.
4. Emerging technologies will help our country to uplift the gaming industry even more. The use of artificial intelligence augmented reality in games, virtual reality, modular technology, and cloud based gaming infrastructure will be the key drivers of the gaming industry in the future.
FAQ
How big is the gaming industry in India?
The online gaming industry in India is expected to grow up to $2.8 billion till 2022.
How much does the gaming industry make 2020?
Global gaming industry is expected to surge $179 billion in 2020.
Which country has the most gamers?
According to Statista, Vietnam is the country with most number of gamers as of 2020.
Conclusion
The Indian online gaming industry is growing every month these days. Especially after the pandemic, when kids have more time and even the adults got introduced to this world of gaming. Moreover, it has even given opportunities to entrepreneurs to find more ways to market their products. Additionally, there are startups emerging in this industry and even investors are heavily funding these startups seeing their potential to grow in the country.
Ninjacart recently laid off 200 of its employees working in middle and senior management. The agritech company attributes this layoff to poor performances and unmatched expectations. While the ex employees try to stain the company’s image with stating about unethical HR practices, the management and CEO of Ninjacart are in complete denial.
Ninjacart is an agritech startup that provides fresh fruits and vegetables to retailers directly from the farmers. It supplies over 1400 tons of fresh produce directly from the farmers to supermarkets and kirana stores. Currently, is actively moving the farm products in seven major cities- Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR.
23 February, 2021. Ninjacart announced that they are laying off 200 employees. Thirukumaran Nagarajan, the CEO of Ninjacart, said that the lay off was the result of issues with employee’s performance.
About Ninjacart
Ninjacart is India’s largest Fresh Produce Supply Chain Company. They are pioneers in solving one of the toughest supply chain problems of the world by leveraging innovative technology. They source fresh produce from farmers and deliver them to businesses within 12 hours.
The company works with farmers in Indian villages to produce fresh farm and deliver it on a pan India platform. When they saw that farmers are exposed to various challenges such as price risk, information asymmetry in demand, delayed payments or even insufficient knowledge on distribution, they decided to intervene and provide a channel to these farmers which would bring them better returns on their harvest.
Vision of Ninjacart
They looked at Retailers struggling with low quality produce, unhygienic products and everyday hassle to collect the harvest and pointed to it as a major concern. They also noticed that the traditional supply chain lacks efficiency, needs more organization and has a high rate of food wastage.
Successful businesses are those which take off with an intention to solve problems experienced on grass root levels. And Ninjacart was founded precisely for that. The founders, Sharath Loganathan, Thirukumaran Nagarajan, Vasudevan Chinnathambi, Kartheeswaran KK, Sachin Jose and Ashutosh Vikram made an impeccable team to work towards creating a better channel for the farm produce to reach the locals more efficiently.
Backed by several venture capitalists, such as TigerGobal, Mistletoe, ACCEL, including giants like Walmart and Flipkart, Ninjacart aims to eliminate intermediaries and take control of supply chain management. It is their goal to make sure farmers are paid rightly with consistent demand and retailers are supplied with fresh and hygienic products.
Why did Ninjacart Layoff 200 Employees
Possible reason of Ninjacart’s layoff
As we address the elephant in the room, we are going to talk about why a company like Ninjacart, which, as an ongoing concern, is breaking grounds to upgrade trading conditions for farmers, is laying off so many employees all of a sudden?
Ninjacart laid off 200 employees across various functions at all employee levels. The labor cut happened across all its key geographics- Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Unresolved issues from employees
The employees complained of being given a 15 day notice period whereas every other company provides a 30 day notice period which is bare minimum. Employees at senior levels have shown dismay as they have removed from the company by issuing fake resignations. Employees said that they don’t remember submitting any resignations and that their source was a portal used by the company’s HR department.
The employees believe the laying off was a part of their cost-cutting drive but the company has denied all such claims. According to CEO Thirukumaran Nagarajan, “Out of the 200 employees who were sent away, the majority of them were asked to leave due to performance issues. Every employee has an internal scorecard that we maintain so that whenever the performance dips below the expected KPIs, the manager (concerned) alerts him or her. If there is no improvement seen, the manager reports this to the HR who takes the final decision.”
“We have had cases of theft, including our own employees stealing our crates. We have found instances of several of our employees stealing crates of products and selling those in supermarkets and other offline markets. We were able to track down those employees in the past and terminate their jobs.” Thirukumaran Nagarajan further added
Apart from the layoffs, employees have complained about their performance appraisals being put on hold. Many companies, owing to the pandemic conditions, have had similar cost saving measures in place and CEO Nagarajan claims to have paid all the said payouts.
“We have never had cost-cutting measures, but we did make a decision to postpone payments of variable pay components of employees in April after the lockdown. We had to take this decision as we were unsure about how the business might look like after the nationwide lockdown. However, we have already paid the variable pay to all employees in 4 equal instalments in the month of September, October, November and December. The annual variable pay payout is for the period of April 2019 to March 2020,” he added.
Ninjacart calls upon innovators, problem solvers and executioners to be a part of their steadily growing team. It has a flexible schedule for its employees and aims to have a fun environment at work. It has hired several freshers, including some from IIM and middle and senior management level employees in the recent year and now going strong with 4000 plus employees.
Ninjacart Hiring Process
Casual Hiring Approach
Ex employees claim that the company had a casual approach towards hiring and firing people. It hired a batch of freshers from IIM and later fired them when their performance fell below a certain matrix without batting an eyelid or even giving them a second chance to improve themselves. This led to a lot of instability and insecurity among the employees and some of them left the company themselves.
The agritech recently caught a hiccup due to a mass lay off and alleged unethical HR practices where employee IDs were hacked by team managers to submit fake resignations. The CEO, Nagarajan commented that senior managers do not have the final say on layoffs without communicating the decision first to the HR department.
“The issue of a manager taking control of some employees’ official accounts to force termination only happened in a few cases, and I have already communicated to these employees to contact me personally for an appropriate resolution,” he added.
FAQ
How does Ninjacart make money?
Ninjacart is an AgriTech startup which allows farmers to sell their vegetables and fruits directly to retailers and restaurants without middlemen involved.
Who is the founder of Ninjacart?
Thirukumaran Nagarajan, Vasudevan Chinnathambi, Ashutosh Vikram, Kartheeswaran KK, and Sharath Babu Loganathan are founders of Ninjacart.
Why did Ninjacart lay off 200 Employees?
Ninjacart fired at least 200 employees citing performance and integrity issues, but employees believe the laying off was a part of their cost-cutting drive.
Conclusion
2020 Covid-19 pandemic left no stone unturned in messing up the world economy. Meanwhile, giants who stood tall taking hits from the pandemic, start up companies have struggled to even stay afloat. As we stated earlier, labor cut is a common practice when the company is in financial crisis and we surely empathize with that but the allegations Ninjacart are serious in nature.
HR practices form a very prominent and integral part of any organization. The preamble set by an organization’s HR practices enable a smooth run for employees from the top management to ground level employees, and hence they need to be as transparent as possible.
Rapid FDI stride is something India is boasting of since economic liberation in 1991, And indeed it brought in huge investments and millions of jobs alongside. No doubt market reforms placed the economy on the fast track of development. But on the flip side, soon after FDI in multi-brand retail got introduced in 2012 local businesses and trades took a hit quite as expected. Especially since gigantic foreign players like Amazon entered the market, Plenty of jobs were lost while micro & small retailers suffered significant losses.
First Significant Change in FDI Policy That Hit Amazon/Flipkart
The ease & comfort of e-shopping has been intelligently multiplied in value by these global giants by offering heavy discounts. Therefore, to level out the playing field, Govt of India brought in a major policy shift Via FDI into e-commerce in Dec 2018. This change was persuaded by Indian brick-and-mortar retailers who were long unhappy with the supposed unfair trade practices of these multinational corporations.
They contested that e-commerce retailers like Amazon & Walmart controlled Flipkart were creating complex business structures to smartly bypass foreign investment rules. They do it by finding a way around FDI rules to avoid complying with orders that are detrimental to these corporation’s interests & profits.
US companies deny these charges, But govt of India had to look over the interests of Indian businesses first & so it did. Now, these giants were disallowed to sell products from sellers in whom they had an equity stake.
However, this didn’t seem to deter these foreign participants from working around policies to keep competition from Indian retailers at bay. So the Govt of India again is revisiting the FDI rules off late to tweak it further and Prohibit even those sellers from selling on these platforms, in whom these e-commerce companies have indirect stake through their parent company.
Prohibit sellers who purchase from the e-retailer or its group firm & intern sell on the e-commerce site (presently the seller is allowed to transact 25% of its inventory under this arrangement)
Govt had earlier in 2020 tightened the noose on FDI from neighboring countries as well, who share land borders with us like China, who now will have to seek govt approval before investing. The objective behind was to protect opportunistic take-overs & acquisitions of Indian companies in distress by foreign giants, due to COVID-19 induced global recession.
Henceforth, any new investments in any sector from these (restricted) countries namely China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan and Afghanistan will have to take the govt route, and not the automatic route which was open to it earlier.
E-commerce/E-retail Growth in India
Let us look at some fascinating facts & figures before we discuss this subject further:
Why E-commerce Regulation is Vital for Indian Economy
According to an American market research firm, Amazon & Flipkart together occupy about 63% of the total e-commerce space in India. Now, if domestic retailers, online & offline i.e. physical brick-and-mortar stores have to have a fair share of the market or a fair competition at least govt has to devise a strategy to promote Indian e-commerce & Industry without discouraging FDI. It’s a tough proposition.
FDI is looked over by Indian departments of commerce & industry. They formulate laws and regulate FDI inflow by framing new policies and/or modifying scrapping old policies & rules. While this is done to further the economy on a macro level, its ripple effect on the micro economy can’t be overlooked either.
So it has to strike a fine balance between retail reforms, an open market which on one hand benefits end consumers and provides millions of jobs. On the other hand predatory pricing, deep discounting by online retailers makes small retailers(mainly owner-managed & run stores) fight for survival tougher.
A large growing economy like India, where low production costs and high-quality labor service lures investors from the world over, developed nations like the US, European and China, is also most prone to manipulations by foreign players if given a free run. As feared in this tweet by CAIT, Amazon India has been disrespecting laws reveals a recent Reuters investigation.
— Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) (@CAITIndia) February 17, 2021
In January 2020, India’s antitrust watchdog, the Competition Commission of India, announced it was investigating Amazon and Walmart Inc’s Flipkart following a complaint by an Indian trader group. The commission cited four alleged anti-competitive practices: exclusive launch of mobile phones by the e-commerce firms, promoting preferred sellers on their websites, deep discounting, and prioritizing some seller listings over others.
What lies Ahead for Amazon & Flipkart
While the colossal change in consumer behavior is unlikely to fade in near future, Amazon & Flipkart also maintain that they have been complying with Indian laws duly & are denying all charges. Govt is in talks with stakeholders for over a month. Therefore, for now, it is difficult to say what impact the policy changes, if any, will bring in, though e-retail unquestionably seems to have a bright future in the Indian market of a billion-plus.
FAQ
How much FDI is allowed in retail?
51% FDI in multi-brand retail through automatic route i.e. without having to seek govt approval.
Do online marketplaces like Amazon have their own products?
Amazon and other multi-brand retail marketplaces are only allowed to connect sellers & buyers on their website in India. They are not allowed to purchase, hold, market and sell stocks as their own.
Who started e-commerce in India?
K Vaitheeswaran was the first person who opened the first online marketplace for Indian consumers called Fabmart.com in India in 1999, now rebranded as ‘More’.
Digital Media – something that has changed the idea of marketing and advertising over the decades. It can be safely put that digital media’s growth is that of a dorky teenage kid who’s just been hit by puberty. It now has become an independent platform for digital content creators and advertisers alike. Audiences have gravitated to digital platforms because they have been devoid censorship and have provided authentic and raw content over the last decade. Same goes for marketing and advertising. Digital media includes gamification, teasers, promotional blogs, sponsored posts, websites, apps, you name it.
The social media influencer businessis rocketing sky high as brands are pursuing and collaborating with these audience-attracting magnets to push their products from smartphone screens, straight to their doors. Marketers and advertisers are weighing in for audience friendly faces who create quality content that is potent and niche. But how do we know that the services or products being endorsed on the social media platforms are genuine? How authentic are these influencing accounts? There is a blurry line between a paid ad and a generic post. to comprehend this difference certain draft containing guidelines was introduced earlier this week, the digital media influencer guidelines.
Reason to Introduce the Digital media Influencer Guidelines
Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)
To distinguish between what is an authentic opinion or a strategic product placement, the self-regulatory Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) drafted the guidelines for “Influencer advertising on social media” in February 2021. So what are these guidelines and what are the gains for the consumer and the influencer? Read on to find out.
ASCI guidelines for Influencers on Digital Media
The main motto of the draft is to distinguish between genuine and fake influencers and to make the consumer a little more attentive. It aims to protect the average consumer from plagiarized or low quality services or products. Lets dive straight into it.
The draft asks the influencer to specify that an ad is an ad. You need to disclose:
What: clarification that the piece of communication is an ad
Why: it shouldn’t be rocket science for an average consumer to identify that a video/post is an advertisement.
How: by using disclosure labels that state the post is an ad.
When: Upfront, before further engagement of the viewer/reader/consumer.
Who: the responsibility is upon the respective influencer/advertiser/publishing account.
Digital media influencers are now required to post any brand endorsements along with disclosure labels such #ad, #promo, #collab, #sponsored and #partnership.
These disclosures are to be made upfront that is in the first two lines of the post or caption and has to be a part of the posts/images in case of stories or feed posts.
The disclosure has to be in English or the language (regional) that targets a specific audience and should be in a way that is understood by the average consumer.
In case of audio media, the disclosure has to be announced clearly at the beginning and at the end of the audio.
The draft discourages usage of filters which might enhance the look of the product, e.g.-makes teeth whiter or makes skin a shade fairer.
Due diligence about any technical or performance claims made by them such as 2X better, effect lasts for 1 month, fastest speed, best in class etc. Evidence of due diligence would include correspondence with the advertiser or brand owner confirming that the specific claim made in the advertisement is capable of scientific substantiation.
Influencer’s Take on ASCI Guidelines
When the guidelines were drafted earlier this week, there have been mixed reactions from various digital creators and industry participants.
Kunal Kishore Sinha, Co-founder of influencer marketing startup ClanConnect, says, “ASCI’s newly issued guidelines for influencer marketing will unlock a wealth of new opportunities for the fast-evolving segment that will result in positive outcomes for the sector in the long run.”
Aayush Tiwari, Head of Talent Acquisition, Monk Entertainment
“I believe that the latest issued ASCI guidelines is a good step to secure the future of now one of the most popular ways of brand promotions – influencer marketing. As the guidelines states, consumers, here disguised as a follower, should have all the rights to know what’s being uploaded organically and what’s a paid advertisement. This declaration also will motivate the influencer to study about the brand/product and investigate their claims before they go all out publicizing them. Post formulation we’ll surely see less cases of misleading advertisements, safeguarding both the consumer spends and influencers getting caught off guard for their claims.”
“..Different rules for different content types and platforms would be very difficult to follow and even difficult to regulate as drafted by the ASCI. Other guidelines suggested by ASCI such as non usage of filters when referring to ‘whiter teeth’ and claims such as 2x better, are in the favor of the consumer. As a creator we always look into these claims before highlighting it in our branded content, but unfortunately i see ads on television not following such norms which are regulated often but also are not followed by many brands… The rise of influencer marketing and its potential is huge and yes, there should be guidelines in place but the guidelines should also not hinder content viewing experience. Working with platforms is a better way to start and content creators also should work with brands with their due diligence keeping their viewers in mind.”
BeYouNick aka Nikunj Lotia, Digital Content Creator
“This is a welcome change. Many brands have their own directions when they do sponsored posts like mentioning them, putting a mention on copy or a link etc, this brings them into a common operating guideline of what to use and when. It’s a great starting point but it will probably also evolve from here onwards. Digital content creators have their own format of content, some do travel, some practice a skill, some entertain, brands are often involved in specific parts of the content instead of the content at its entirety. It can get confusing or misleading for the audience there. For instance, if I was wearing a jacket bartered with a brand on my road trip where I perform, my performance isn’t really a brand partnership.”
There are a lot of ways in which these guidelines may be perceived. The draft has provisions for any suggestions or feedback until 8th March 2021. The final guidelines are to be issued by 31st March 2021. The influencers would be complied to imply these guidelines on all promotional posts made on or after 15th April 2021.
As a part of the guidelines, influencers need to take note of events where there will be a requirement for these disclosures:
If it’s an ad for your service/product or a contest run by you.
When you’ve received payment/barter for promoting a product or service.
If you are willing to accept fees/service/discounts/hospitality in exchange of the promotion.
Final words – What is in it for Everyone?
The guidelines are only meant to promote authentic and genuine marketing. Advertising agencies will be able to create long term engagements with their respective ambassadors and the trust and brand loyalty could be kept intact.
As for the consumers, they will be able to distinguish between fake and genuine influencers and be seldom hammered with misleading ads and endorsements.
Digital media and the marketing gimmicks have proven to be so potent in nature as it doesn’t cost them a fortune anymore and reaches a wider spectrum of consumers. Everyone is glued to their screens and the marketing industry uses exactly this to screen through their target audience. Every brand is resiliently battling for the consumers’ attention and feeding off of the time spent by the consumer on social media. To wrap it up, we can say that guidelines will help regulate the faux and authenticity will prevail.
Medicine is considered one of the most essential needs for all of us. The Indian Pharmaceutical space is witnessing a storm of new start-ups, not only for cash flow opportunities the sector offers but for making affordable medicines. Lack of access to good quality and affordable medicines is a major challenge in Indian healthcare.
Medicine is concerned with maintaining and restoring human health, and the role of the pharmacist is vital for the benefit of patients. Not all medicines are available at low prices and thus not everyone can afford them. So for those customers who cannot afford expensive brand medicines, there is a generic medicine which is at a fairly low price. Here we are going to talk about the Top 3 Generic Medicine Startups that are Reshaping the Pharmaceutical Industry in India.
Generic drugs are identical to brand-name drugs that have the same dosage, intended use, effects, side effects, route of administration, risks, safety, and strength as the original drug. Generic drugs are only cheaper because the manufacturers have not had the expense of developing and marketing a new drug.
Generic Medicines Are Safe?
Generic medicines are as safe as branded medicines. The FDA requires that generic drugs work as fast and effectively as brand-name drugs. The reason generic drugs are cheaper is that companies don’t have to spend on research and development of generic drugs if they have patents for brand-name drugs.
Top 3 Generic Medicine Startups in India
StayHappi
Startup Name
StayHappi
Headquarter
Delhi, India
Industry
Pharmaceutical
Founder
Arushi Jain
Founded
October 2017
Parent Organization
SarvaGunAushdhi Private Limited
Products
Allopathic, Ayurvedic, Herbal medicines, Neutraceuticals, OTC, Consumables, Cosmetics, Surgical items and Medical Devices.
StayHappi was founded by Arushi Jain in October 2017. StayHappi Pharmacy offers these legitimate medicines at reasonable prices and empowers them to make the right choice. They offer high-quality generic medicines at 30- 90% lower MRP as compared to branded medicines and are leading the way in making healthcare more affordable.
StayHappi
StayHappi Pharmacy provides high-quality generic medicine so that people can get the best allopathic medicines at the most affordable prices. There is a growing demand for nutraceuticals and StayHappy provides these products as well. StayHappy Store also offers Ayurvedic Medicines, to cater to the health care basket and cater to people who have a penchant for Ayurvedic and herbal medicines. StayHappy also provides medical consumables and cosmetics at its stores.
Cardiovascular, Gastrointestinal, CNS, Urology, Disorders of Aging
Generico was founded by Siddharth Gadia in 2017. Fastest-growing speciality pharmacy retail chain of generic drugs. Started by IIT Bombay alumni, Generico aims to make healthcare affordable for millions of Indians. It offers the largest portfolio of generic drugs from reputed pharma companies under one roof and offers up to 80% lower prices.
Zeno Health
Zeno Health is India’s fastest-growing pharmacy retail company, with a presence in 100+ locations and the biggest private generic player in India. Zeno Health aims to satisfy consumer needs of trust in the quality of medicines, easy availability and best price, in accordance with their mission statement– Think Medicines, Think ZenoHealth.
Generic Aadhar was founded by Arjun Deshpande in 2018 in Thane. Generic Aadhaar provides generic quality medicines from reputed pharma companies at up to 80% fewer prices. It offers a wide portfolio of branded, generic, homoeopathy and Ayurveda medicines from government-approved manufacturing facilities.
Generic Aadhar
Generic Aadhaar aims to partner with 1000 pharmacies on a franchise-based model in the coming months and expand its reach to markets such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, New Delhi, Goa, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. Ratan Tata has invested an undisclosed amount in this pharmaceutical startup Generic Aadhar.
Generic medicine startups are doing a great job by providing generic medicines at affordable prices to customers who cannot afford branded medicines. As India is the largest provider of generic drugs globally, the Indian pharmaceutical sector supplies more than 50 per cent of the global demand for various vaccines, 40 per cent of generic demand in the US, and 25 per cent of all drugs in the UK. It is also expected to grow to US$ 100 billion by 2025.
FAQ
How to start a generic medicine business?
Start with the premises of your office, a unique and meaningful brand name, and finances. Then get your business registered. The main steps of registration are Digital Signature Certificate, Director Identification Number, getting user registration, and filling out the e- form. The next steps include getting the GST number, trademark registration, and FSSAI registration.
What is an example of a generic medicine?
The majority of drugs, particularly life-saving are manufactured and sold as generic drugs. One example of a well-known generic drug is metformin, which is used to lower blood sugar levels in diabetes.
What are generic medicines?
According to FDA generic drug is a medication created to be the same as an already marketed brand-name drug in dosage form, safety, strength, route of administration, quality, performance characteristics, and intended use.
Is the generic medicine business profitable?
Yes, according to a recent study margin on generic medicines can be 100%. As per recent reports, the Indian pharmaceutical industry is largely dominated by ‘branded generics’ that are cheaper, more effective, and safer. India is the second-largest producer of generic drugs, therefore, the generic market is anticipated to offer so much to the Indian economy.
Indian-based actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas had launched a second career as a venture capitalist investing in some tech companies in recent years. She stated it was an effort on her part to change the tech industry and gender inequality.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas had told that she was introduced into the investing world by her U.S manager Anjula Acharya who is also a Venture Capitalist and also said that Anjula Acharya was an influence on her entrepreneurial career. Priyanka Chopra Jonas has been very active with her entrepreneurial career since 2018.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas said, “Ideas are the currency of the present” during the recently held event ‘Startup India Prarambh’ supported by the Indian government.
Below are the startups funded by Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
Bumble is an online dating app which was founded in 2014 by Whitney Wolfe Herd. She was the vice – president in marketing for its rival app Tinder. She later left the company after filing a lawsuit against it.
Bumble is known as a women-led company, as Herd is the youngest women CEO to take a company public in U.S and the youngest woman self – made billionaire.
Bumble is slightly different from its rival companies. It is known as the “feminist app”. A woman wouldn’t have to reveal their name in the app, they can reveal their identity only after finding a match and that is only if they feel secure to reveal it. It requires the women to make the first move.
The app also has other features where they filter friendships and professional relationship with Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz. Their major revenue is through the purchases from inside the app and the different subscription models such as bumble boost and bumble premium.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas invested in Bumble in the year 2018 and she was also acting as an advisor to the app for its launch in India. The app was introduced in India in the year 2018. The app was later acquired by American firm Blackstone.
Holberton school was founded in the year 2016 by Sylvain Kalache and Julien Barbier. The founders had noticed that there was a huge gap between the software engineers and the skills required by the company. Most of the times the students would end up in huge debt after their graduation and still would lack the knowledge and skills to find a job.
So, they built a school which helps the students to learn programming as well as the soft skills required to find a job. The school actually allows students to study for free until they find a job after graduation. Their curriculum is designed for students to gain more practical experience.
Graduates from this school have found really satisfying jobs in companies like Google, LinkedIn, Apple, Tesla, Facebook, Cisco, IBM etc.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas had invested in the company during the year 2018. Her investment was 8.2 Million (around INR 59 crores). She had mentioned that the company’s mission was aligned to hers which is empowering women through technology.
After the investment in Bumble and Holberton School, Priyanka Chopra Jonas tweeted that she was so excited to partner with them and that she was honored to join the companies to expand gender equality across the tech space and to make a social impact for the greater good.
Apartment list
Logo of Apartment List
Apartment list is a U.S technology based real estate company. It was launched in the year 2011 by John Kobs and Chris Erickson. It is an online marketplace for apartment listings.
Apartment lists help people find rental apartments. Their mission is to help families find a place to call home. It provides smooth, simple and smart rental facilities to people. The aim of the startup is to make market rentals an easy and a simple work as it is considered very tedious and a complex process.
At the end of December 2020 Apartment list was valued at USD 600 million. This was Priyanka Chopra Jonas latest investment with an undisclosed amount. With this investment she joined the board of directors of the company which include American singer Lizzo, baseball star Alex Rodriguez or Arod, NBA player Andre Iguodala and others.
FAQs
Which startups have Priyanka Chopra Jonas invested?
Priyanka Chopra Jonas has invested in three startups, Bumble, Apartment List, Holberton.
Which is the next startup Priyanka Chopra Jonas is looking to invest in?
The actress said that in 2021 she is looking forward to investing in a mix of beauty and tech and education.
Conclusion
Priyanka Chopra Jonas has said that she was willing to invest in Startups that have found a gap in the market. She also added that she is willing to invest in Startups that aim to make people’s lives easier and those who work for a social cause. She also added that it is important for startups to have good viability with the above-mentioned qualities.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas has mentioned that she would love to invest in Indian-based startups that would make a mark globally. The actress said that in 2021 she is looking forward to investing in a mix of beauty and tech and education.
Women in Entrepreneurship! Even after 73 summers of independence, this phrase pleasantly raises a few eyebrows. And the ‘pleasantly’ that I added before the raise doesn’t sound as pleasant as it should be. Rather, it is a matter of concern for our country. According to a census, women make only around 14% of the business leadership class in India. No matter how many women’s days we celebrate, the reality lies in the fact that we haven’t been that successful in having better participation of women. We asked the people who can answer these better than anyone else. We asked the women themselves and here is everything we got to know. So here is what women founders think about the contribution of women in the startup ecosystem and why it is lagging behind, despite all their effort.
Arushi Bansal, Interior Design Director at AND Studio
Arushi Bansal, Interior Design Director at AND Studio
If we take into consideration the level of dedication and the amount of stress involved in starting a high-growth company, many women choose not to pursue this industry due to lifestyle choices and other priorities. Also, the natural prejudice that continues to exist in the startup community can be a pitfall for women, especially while networking and obtaining funding. Considering the small percentage of women in venture capitalism, these drawbacks sometimes create more of an obstacle for female entrepreneurs. Another reason that could hamper the involvement of women in this domain is that there are not enough role models for inspiration. Women who have boldly defied the norms are missing from the limelight and lack exposure.
Madhura Moulik, Co-Founder at Skilfinity
Madhura Moulik, Co-Founder at Skilfinity
Gender diversity in various industries in India is quite low leading to a massive dearth of women leaders who can eventually become part of the startup community. I think the change can happen when parents and even the education system encourage more girl-child to make their own career choices based on their aptitude. In the current condition, various start-up incubators and government bodies can provide a platform for women entrepreneurs and thus build role-models to inspire the next generation.
Yogita Tulsiani, CEO at iXceed Solutions
Yogita Tulsiani, CEO at iXceed Solutions
Acceptance of women entrepreneurs
Female entrepreneurs are judged to be less competent than their male peers.
Perceived bias within the venture finance community is a concern.
Women typically have higher risk-awareness than men and are more cautious about starting or scaling a business,
Women are less likely to believe they possess entrepreneurial skills:
Women are less likely than men to know other entrepreneurs or to have access to sponsors, mentors or professional support networks
Himani Khanna, Co-Founder & Director at Continua Kids
Himani Khanna, Co-Founder & Director at Continua Kids
Its more about a taboo which is not allowing women entrepreneur to mushroom but I look forward to inspirational people like Indra Nooyi who have crafted their path against all odds. The real breakthrough in human flight didn’t come from crafting better wings or using more feathers by which I mean even if the numbers are less but we simply cannot be ignored of our contributions in the society. I always look forward to women like Kiran Mazumdar Shaw who are leading a few of the powerful organizations and leaving a huge imprint on society.
Dr. Pooja Chhabra, Co-Founder at Nuskay Skincare
Dr. Pooja Chhabra, Co-Founder at Nuskay Skincare
It’s changing now, however slow & steady but the change is evident. The new India has more people taking risks, irrespective of the gender. Women-owned firms are less as of now, But it is growing against all the odds and challenges. However, it is still a difficult road. Society is not fully supportive towards women’s entrepreneurship, even now. People still believe women lack entrepreneurship skills and being taken seriously is itself a task. Women entrepreneurs have to stand tall against gender bias, difficult access to funds and male-dominated market.
Avni Kaul, Nutritionist, Founder at NutriActivania
Avni Kaul, Nutritionist, Founder at NutriActivania
In my opinion, it is not correct to generalize that women’s contribution is too less. There are actually many factors that in my view could be some of the reasons as far as women’s role in the Indian start-up community is concerned. Starting a business or a venture needs plenty of thinking and support too. I think even if someone wants to go for start-up several thoughts like finance, planning, support, and other factors are considered. Still, starting something new is never easy owing to various factors. But if you look around there are women who are actually quite successful in start-ups. And there are various companies across different dimensions of India where you can find many successful women who are playing a key role in start-ups. I don’t know how you look at it but if you look at some of the brands they were established even before the start-up era like Amul and Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad and they are some of the classic examples where women were the chief role players. So, this is enough to justify that women have a role.
Akriti Khatri, Founder at Venus Detective Agency
Akriti Khatri, Founder at Venus Detective Agency
Women start up is less in the community, as in today era parents are sending their both male and females children to school, But as the time comes to accomplish the dream male are supported whereas females are suppressed with the excuse that they have to be married and take care of their family so what’s the need of job. Even today there are very less women who are allowed to breath outside & follow their dreams. These all are the factors due to which women are still less contributing in startup as they can’t built confidence in them.
Kriti Jindal, Owner and Designer at Kari by Kriti
Kriti Jindal, Owner and Designer at Kari by Kriti
I think it is the fear and to a certain extent reality that women are treated differently. It’s changing now, but that disparity is definitely a contributor that pulls women down. According to an article that I recently read on Demium, there are fewer women leading startups because of these four reasons:
Fear of failure
Financial insecurities
Sterotypes and
Work life balance I think these four reasons hold true for women in any geography, not just in India.
Meha Bhargava, Founder at Styl.In
Meha Bhargava, Founder at Styl.Inc
According to research by Columbia Business School and London Business School, businesses led by women are 63 percent less likely to obtain venture capital (VC) funding than those led by men. While women don’t have the same glass ceiling issue they face in the corporate sector, in the startup community there is still a skewed mix of male founders and male lead successful startups. Some of the reasons I feel are:
The psychology and mindset of investors may need more time to change
The diversity mix in business schools is still skewed towards males which can be an indicator of people moving towards entrepreneurship as a career.
Imaan Javan, Director at Suntuity Renewable Energy India
Imaan Javan, Director at Suntuity Renewable Energy India
The kind of encouragement and boost the Indian start-up community needs is largely expected from the government. A variety of organizations and government bodies need to come together to play their respective roles in increasing the contribution of women to the start-ups of today’s India. Most importantly, a positive attitude about women entrepreneurship needs to be promoted on a large scale through role models and ambassadors, which will help in building the required confidence among women and give them the necessary push to come forward. Also, failure should not be looked down upon but considered a crucial learning step when it comes to start-ups. I also believe that India would benefit immensely from structured training and mentoring on honing one’s entrepreneurial skills, and I feel that this should start as early as possible right from early college years. Networking is highly essential in the start-up scenario and building linkages can expedite the establishment of a business or market penetration. Promoting a healthy work-life balance can also help women entrepreneurs as it will take a lot of load off them and allow them to focus on their dreams and ambitions. Women protection is also an extremely high level of concern in India that many a times deters people from coming forward and impedes them from reaching their maximum potential. I also strongly believe that there is tremendous potential in Rural India, which is untapped especially for women entrepreneurs. I feel a lot needs to be done in this direction to bring out the best in our country.
Swati Chugh, Director at 7th Heaven
Swati Chugh, Director at 7th Heaven
In our country we have taught women to be good caretakers and to be good followers but not confident leaders. Hence you will see a lot of women being good home makers or excellent employees, but they will not be comfortable to start their own company. Starting a business requires certain personality traits and in our country, till now, we have not really worked on building the personality of the girl child so that she becomes more risk taking, takes effective decisions, solves her own problems, acquires the correct knowledge and becomes technologically advanced. We did not expect her to be a leader, and hence she was never influenced to become one.These trends are rapidly changing and these days more and more families and women are realising the need to raise a girl child as an individual who can fulfil her own potential as compared toan individual who is supposed to only fulfil certain pre-defined roles.
Dr. Patricia Connolly, CEO at SMC Squared
Dr. Patricia Connolly, CEO at SMC Squared
Humbly, I’ll try to answer this question. When my company sponsored an Anita B breakfast in Bangalore, we welcomed many Indian women leaders, new college grads all the way up to C-level, accomplished women to the event. Several had started new ventures in addition to going to college, raising a family, and working in corporate firms. It was inspiring to listen to their stories, challenges and openness. I was in awe of the intelligence, perseverance, and passion they brought forward and shared that day! During that morning and at other conversations, I do sense a stressfulness, perhaps a deficiency, with women’s involvement in the in the Indian start-up community. I don’t see a simple answer to this question. What I do sense is that the seeds of greatness are there. Women of all generations should take their place, drive their ideas, and keep building. You can do this!
Neha Bagaria, Founder & CEO at JobsForHer
Neha Bagaria, Founder & CEO at JobsForHer
Only a quarter of India’s workforce is female. According to the India Skills Report 2018, the economic participation of women in the workforce has fallen from 32% in 2016 to 23% in 2018. The 2019 JobsForHer Benchmarking Report shows that a gender gap exists at all levels of the pipeline for women, 56% of the companies surveyed mentioned that they have greater than 30% women at entry level but widens as they move towards senior management/CEO levels and 56% of the companies mentioned that they have less than 10% women. Only, 48% of the companies (large, SMEs and Startups) surveyed are actively recruiting more women returnees. This indicates the tremendous efforts that still needs to be done to pave the way for women’s inclusion.
Chinu Kala, Founder at Rubans Accessories
Chinu Kala, Founder at Rubans Accessories
I strongly feel that times are changing ….and changing fast. It has taken many years for women to start thinking of doing something for themselves and the society. Imagine a time when all women start working – the Indian workforce will just double up. This is one of the key reasons that other countries have been able to grow rapidly. But as I said earlier – times are changing – and we are already seeing a shift in the next generation. With more women pursuing careers, India’s growth will be compounded in the next decade as we will have more participation from women in the country’s growth story.
Nirupama Subramanian, CoFounder at GLOW
Nirupama Subramanian, CoFounder at GLOW
At GLOW, we mentor and support women entrepreneurs and have heard first hand about some of the barriers, external and internal that women face. The biggest barrier is cultural and personal factors that inhibit women from taking the plunge and taking risks. There is not much support from the family, There is a fear that being an entrepreneur will lead to personal sacrifices. Many women don’t have the self confidence to power through. One of the things we hear about is limited access to funding- Women may not own property in their own name, women face the Maternal Wall bias if they have children. Women are not seen as natural born leaders. This comes in the way of active support for women. There are many incubators for women entrepreneurs and we hope things will improve in the startup community.
Mansi Gupta, Founder Tjori
Mansi Gupta, Founder Tjori
There are certain factors like unconscious gender bias, confidence in business skills, women safety in workplace and majorly access to finance.
Vishakha Chawla, founder at Vishakha Chawla Interiors
Vishakha Chawla, founder at Vishakha Chawla Interiors
In India women can’t decide their fate on own, they need lot of approval from near and dear ones. There is also a misconception that women can’t be leaders, they can’t manage a team, they can’t be the face of the brand. Also I feel there is no support for women on ground level. People are always in doubt of women’s decisions. With internet outspread in the country, I believe things will change. And I am hoping to see many women come out as an entrepreneur and lead their vision on their own terms.
Moqierish Tak, Co-Founder at India Assist Insights
Moqierish Tak, Co-Founder at India Assist Insights
There are many factors that contribute to the lack of women contribution in the Indian Start-up community ranging from lack of institutional support system for first timers, no risk covering possibility financially, lack of professional mentorship and recognition. Additionally, when it comes to funding, collaborations or running our business, women are scrutinized about how they would manage their but also personal lives in parallel, which is not a filter men are put through.
Sumita Tulsiani, Co-founder & Director at TravelDilSe
Sumita Tulsiani, Co-founder & Director at TravelDilSe
The major reason I personally feel why women contribution is still less in the Indian Startup community is lack of social support. A women is responsible to bear and also largely raise the child and handle the home. If on this count, women doesn’t receive the required support to balance her personal vs professional life, somewhere the professional life tend to take a back seat over personal life. Hence if our ecosystems, creates a strong backup or support system for every aspiring women wanting to come out and do something of her own, then am sure the dynamics of Indian economy on global front will change drastically.
Ankita Sheth, Co-Founder at Vista Rooms
Ankita Sheth, Co-Founder at Vista Rooms
Due to bias towards women entrepreneurs that they might take breaks in their career in order to adhere to their responsibilities at home. Hence, because of the same reason, they are not given enough opportunities to be able to exploit them. However, we see that the trend is slowing changing and more women are coming forward and running businesses.
Pavithra Rao, Cofounder and VP at Growth and Revenue, WaterScience
Pavithra Rao, Cofounder and VP at Growth and Revenue, WaterScience
The same reason there are fewer women in senior management- expectations from society and being primary caregivers for children which does not allow them to take up entrepreneurship wholeheartedly. That said, there are a lot of women who run small businesses that do not come under the definition of startups, as in the VC funded ones. As society evolves, we will definitely see more women embracing entrepreneurship in the future.
Kavya Dommeti, CEO at iB Hubs
Kavya Dommeti, CEO at iB Hubs
Just in the last generation, we have seen a rise in the number of women stepping up to work. Entrepreneurship, on the other hand involves lots of uncertainty and needs persistent efforts even in the face of failure. This needs a lot of courage and support from the community. iB Hubs is the platform that provides this support that young entrepreneurs need. Right from developing the mindset in the youth, we provide end-to-end assistance assistance to startups where they just need to focus on their core idea and we take care of the rest. We’re changing the face of entrepreneurship culture in the country in a holistic way.
Dr. Prerna Taneja, Director at Clinic Eximus
Dr. Prerna Taneja, Director at Clinic Eximus
Women contribution is too less in the Indian startup community, definitely yes! This is because of the reason that the policies in our country are not right. It should be seriously looked into. Also, funding here is the biggest issue. We have people around who doesn’t believe in funding a women startup as they feel that we can not run a business successfully and can only make loss. With this mindset of our society women are not allowed to go forward and showcase their real talent. With all these negative atmosphere sometimes women step down and leave their dream as it is because somewhere they turn negative themselves due to the surrounding they are fighting in. I would like to tell all those women who want to start their business, you need to understand that there will be a lot of reason to stop and let go your dreams but one reason to fight against all these mindset and move forward to prove them wrong. Keep believing yourself and you will definitely achieve your goal.
Avneet Makkar, Founder & CEO at CarveNiche Technologies
Avneet Makkar, Founder & CEO at CarveNiche Technologies
Women are lacking in the Startup scene as there is lack of credit protection, no financial risk covering and lack of professional mentoring. Furthermore, when it comes to funding, women are often questioned as to how would they manage family and work together, a filter men are not put through. In order to increase the number of women entrepreneurs in India, we need to improve their access to finance and networks.
Devangi Dalal, Audiologist and Speech Therapist, Co-Founder at JOSH Foundation
Devangi Dalal, Audiologist and Speech Therapist, Co-Founder at JOSH Foundation
I think it’s a perception. I think it is an individual’s desire and their ability to come up. If one works hard and is confident about what they do, any individual can do it. Many women are not confident about their capability of whether they will be able to do it. They are scared of taking the responsibility and fear of failure. But failures are also a part of learning. In many cases, women are still not giving opportunities to reach that level as they are thought to be incapable, feeble, etc. There are still many businesses that are controlled by men not because women cannot do it but simply because they are not given an opportunity to deal with patriarchal businesses and women are kept away from even trying to prove their potential. In many societies, even today, women are expected to betake care of the home and children. This mentality has to change. Our society has to change to make our women self-confident so that they can go out and achieve their dreams. I woman is trained from childhood to take care of the house, cook and be responsible. She manages to achieve this very skillfully. Just imagine if these same women are taught to be self-dependent, they would turn out be great entrepreneurs.
Ruchi Garg, CEO, Co-Founder at Venuelook
Ruchi Garg, CEO, Co-Founder at Venuelook
For centuries, most men have been thanking the women in their family to provide inspiration, motivation, and support that enabled them to achieve extraordinary feats in life. Sadly, eventually, this became the norm – our society’s perfect template! Women are raised to be multi-talented, multi-taskers; to be ladylike (polite, non-aggressive, inclusive); to be dependable; to be empathetic, caring for the family and society. And yet when some of them try to break the society’s perfect template (the glass ceiling), they enter an ugly world that starts to judge them with a bias! There are definitely more existing biases in the society and if we add gender bias to the list too, then opportunities left for women to grow professionally are constrained “Women, from time immemorial, have fought for the right of others, now it’s her time to get her rights realized and get equal participation in the society.” The day I wouldn’t need to write anything about women getting “Equal Rights” in this society, is the day this world will have moved to a dimension of unbound success.
Divya Gupta, Founder at Dialogue Room
Divya Gupta, Founder at Dialogue Room
In one of my finance events I’d held with women, I enquired why women don’t invest under their own name. The response I got from them stated that a lot of women don’t know much about finance and investment. Therefore, women are scared to venture into that space. I believe not enough skill or training is being given to women to step into the startup space. Hence, there should be special programs that focus on skill development and investment training for women.
Dildeep Kalra, Director at Massive Restaurants
Dildeep Kalra, Director at Massive Restaurants
I’ve had exposure to working women around me and they have been very supportive and have given me full guidance. I can prioritize my work when it is needed as well as my family. In Indian society, women are traditionally discriminated against and are excluded. However, in the last decades, the situation of women in India has greatly improved. Women in India have gradually started recognizing their true potential. Women have started questioning the rules laid down for them by society. As a result, they have started breaking barriers and earned a respectable position in the world. Today, Indian women have excelled in each and every field from social work to visiting space station. There is no arena, which remains unconquered by Indian women. Whether it is politics, sports, entertainment, literature, technology everywhere, its women power all along. The most important aspect is to change the mindset of the people that women can also make good entrepreneurs. People should be more supportive of them to start their entrepreneurial journey and should pressurize them less to start a household.
Aditi Olemann, Co-founder at Myelin Foundry
Aditi Olemann, Co-founder at Myelin Foundry
I have seen a similar scenario in STEM, where there are far fewer women than what one should expect. It is a societal issue and not a skills issue. However, I think it is changing and in 10 years’ time, we will see an equal number of women taking the entrepreneurial leap of faith.
Shobhana Sriram- Co-Founder and CTO of Quick Ride
Shobhana Sriram, Co-Founder and CTO of Quick Ride
Starting your own company, especially in a fast-moving startup world is extremely challenging for anyone as it requires initial funding and being able to breakeven. Even the uncertainty of success sometimes makes the foray into business challenging but this problem is compounded for women, especially married women, who cannot overlook the primary responsibilities of looking after the family and home or have to deal with the lack of access to appropriate networks and safety in public places. This is more so in the initial stages of business and tends to ease out as the business develops and grows. Women must learn to tough it out, especially in the formative years of the business.
Barkha Bhatnagar Das, Co-Founder at Greendigo
Barkha Bhatnagar Das, Co-Founder at Greendigo
For starters, the declining sex ratio of India, the world’s second-most populous country, is itself very dismal. Furthermore, lack of the right skillsets and professional mentorship coupled with limited access to networks and finance are some of the factors responsible for women dropping off from the entrepreneurial bandwagon. Apart from this, stereotypical societal biases and discriminatory behavior adversely impact the confidence levels amongst women resulting in many of them suppressing their entrepreneurial ambitions.
Tina Garg, CEO at Pink Lemonade
Tina Garg, CEO at Pink Lemonade
To me it’s a mix of access, culture and capability. Women get left behind in the responsibilities of managing a home. They drop out due to cultural reasons around matrimony, motherhood, elder care, etc. Gradually their abilities and confidence wane. Their networks begin to fade. Again due to culture and financial restrictions, access to infrastructure, opportunities, capital, mentoring, etc. take a dip. Time investments in a startup are immense. Not all women may be able to do that with a double responsibility of a home. Naturally, some dreams fade away and we see fewer women take the risks. However I do see more and more younger women take the leap and am pleased to see this.
Ghazal Alagh, Co-founder at Mamaearth
Ghazal Alagh, Co-founder at Mamaearth
Yes, unfortunately this is the case. While many women possess the necessary skills and talents required to run a startup, not many actually end up doing it. Socio-cultural barriers, living in a male dominated society and lack of financial support are some of the factors that hinder Indian women to take up entrepreneurship.
This might sound harsh, but true from my space of work. Because their families and husbands or boyfriends mostly never support them. In my career of being a divorce monk, I have seen so many women settling for teaching jobs, home tuitions, craftwork, cooking help, etc while these were not their dream jobs. Every job has its importance in our society and there is a tribe that would lovingly do it. But mostly we force-fit women in jobs and roles where they have to meet certain criteria of being in a family and giving their careers a back seat.
No job comes without prejudices, but being a women in the entrepreneur field has an exceptionally higher rate of prejudices than any other. These answers by women entrepreneurs further explain it. We hope this changes your mindset about working women.
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