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  • The Top 8 Mobile Companies Of India

    The Indian Smartphone market is known to be the second largest smartphone market around the world according to the Counterpoint’s market monitor. In 2019 alone the mobile phone shipment to India increased to 158 million with a 7% annual growth. This is because popularity of the good quality and mid-range smartphones provided by the Chinese phone companies. Many Indians are now supporting the boycott of Chinese products amidst the ongoing border tensions between the two countries. But despite the Anti-China sentiments, the Chinese brands dominated the Indian smartphone market with a market share of 75% in 2020.

    Indian buyers have been partial to the foreign brands, especially to the Chinese and American brands like Samsung, Apple, Oneplus, Oppo, Vivo, Xiomi, Realme, etc in the smartphone market. Although with the current situation with the border issues between the two countries, the market is slowly seeing a shift with the home grown brands getting a chance to gain a better market share in the business. It also might be surprising to some people that they are already many Indian mobile phone companies like Micromax, Intex, Karbonn, Lava, etc, that disappeared because of the growing competition with the Chinese companies.

    These Indian companies have a long history of coming out with good mobile phones, with good quality, build, stunning features, advanced technology and lower/affordable prices targeted especially at the local audience. Some of these brands have also achieved a lot of success when they first came out, but now are nowhere to be seen. The recent bans on Chinese apps by the government have made many Indians keen on using Made in India products, and this gives our Indian mobile companies the opportunity to make a comeback with new smartphones.

    Recently, Micromax has announced that it will be coming up with new phones and reentering the smartphone market. Other companies like Lava, Intex and Karbonn have the potential to make a strong comeback, but have not come with anything yet. Below are the top 8 Indian smartphone companies that have the potential and could come back in the Indian smartphone market:

    Micromax Informatics
    Lava International
    Intex Technology
    Karbonn Mobiles
    iBall Mobile
    Xolo Smartphone
    Lyf
    YU Televentures

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    Micromax Informatics

    Micromax Informatics is a home grown multinational electronics company. Micromax specializes in making laptops, smartphones, tablets, LED televisions and other home appliances. The company is known for manufacturing products at a low cost less and making it affordable to the common man. The company was founded in 2000, by four college friends Mohit Sharma, Dewas and Rohit Patel and has its headquarters in Gurgaon, Haryana. Micromax was first established as an IT software company that focused on democratizing technology in order to compete with International players.

    why Indian mobile companies failed 

    The company entered the market in 2008 and quickly became one of the most leading consumers electronics company including the 10thlargest mobile phone brands in the world. Micromax still faces a huge competition with the Chinese brand in the Indian market. Micromax is also popular because it has introduced low budget phones with innovative features, which is why the company made X1i phone which became the first telephone with a battery that lasts for a month. In 2014, it became the first Indian company to sell in Russia. The company has two main sectors which are Mobile handset that include feature phones and smartphones.

    The second is Consumer electronics that include Air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machine and LED television. Micromax also owns YU Televentures, which sells mobile phones under the name of YU. By 2014, the company grew so popular that it got Hugh Jackman to be its ambassador. Micromax made it comeback in 2020 which a smart phone sub brand called IN. The company is now aims at expending its portfolio in the consumer’s electronics sector and targeting a wider target audience which are premium economy consumers.

    Company Name Micromax
    Headquaters Gurugoan, Haryana
    Founded On 2000
    CEO Rahul Sharma
    Employees 20,000
    Annual Revenue US $330 million
    Products & Services Smartphones, Tablets, Web browser, Air conditioner, LED TVs, laptops, power banks

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    Lava International

    Lava International is an Indian Smartphone company which also manufactures products like Television and Laptops. The company was founded by Hari Om Rai, Sunil Bhalla, Shailendra Nath Rai and Vishal Sehgal in 2009. The company is also headquartered in Noida of Uttar Pradesh. The multinational company has its operations in many countries such as India, China, Russia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan even launching some of its products in countries like Egypt and Africa. Similar to Micromax, Lava also focuses on making low budget or affordable devices.

    The company that started out as a telecommunications venture was given the title of the Most trustworthy Brand in the CMR retail sentiment index in the year of 2018. The company also faced a big competition from the Chinese companies in the Indian smartphone market, making it get into financial problem in 2018 making it delay payments to vendors and employees. The company is also known to be having a facility in China which is specifically for the design and development of its products.

    Logos of Indian mobile companies
    Logos of Indian mobile companies

    The company now has a distribution model which is only single layer, which includes more than 900 distributors across the country. The company is now aiming to establish a mobile phone design centre and more manufacturing facilities in India. Lava was the first company to launch 4G enabled phone in India through its 4G Connect M14, in 2017. Lava has also launched Z1, Z2, Z4, Z6 and myZ in January 2021 which are the world’s first customizable smartphone. It has also recently launched BeFIT Fitness brand.

    Company Name Lava International
    Headquaters Noida, Uttar Pradesh
    Founded On 2009
    CEO Hari Om Rai
    Employees 10,000
    Annual Revenue US $760 million
    Products & Services Smartphones, Tablets, Laptops

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    Intex Technology

    Intex Technology is an Indian multinational company that manufactures budget friendly smartphones and gadgets. The company makes a wide variety of products such as Smartphones, PC, mobile accessories, LED Television, speakers, IT appliances and Home appliances. Intex was founded in 1996 and has its headquarters in New Delhi. The company was founded by Narendra Bansal who wanted the bridge the gap between the rich and the poor by reducing the digital divide between urban and rural.

    The company also makes PCs and various products for computers like TFT – LCD Monitors, CRT monitors, Fax modems, keyboards, mouse, SMPS and UPS systems, headphones, DVD Players, MP3 players and many more. Intex was the first Indian company to launch the 3G sim enabled watch called the iRist. The company at a certain point was India’s second largest mobile phone company by sales.

    Intex is still producing devices and gadgets in other sectors but has not made new phones in a while especially since the rise of Chinese phones in the Indian market. The company began LED Television business in which it has seen a growth of over 150 %.  The company now focuses on IT hardware and distributing electronic in India. It has also big names such as Madhuri Dixit and Kiccha Sudeep as its brand ambassadors and owns an IPL franchise from 2016 to 2017 known as Gujarat Lions.

    Company Name Intex Technology
    Headquaters New Delhi
    Founded On 1996
    CEO Keshav Bansal
    Employees 10,000
    Annual Revenue US $870 million
    Products & Services Smartphones, Tablets, mobile phones, washing machine, LED TVs, UPS, webcams, security cameras, refrigerators, ACs

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    Karbonn Mobiles

    Karbonn is an Indian company that manufactures smartphones, tablets and even mobile accessories. This smartphone company is a joint venture of the Jaina Group from Delhi and UTL Group from Bengaluru. The company came to existence in 2009 after being founded by Sudhir Hasija and Pardeep Jain and is headquartered in New Delhi, India. The companies sells its products in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, European Countries and Middle East.

    Karbonn mobile have also collaborated with telecom companies like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and Jio. Karbonn is also given the rank of being one of the most trusted brands in India. The company was created after the maker’s infamous deal with the Eros International Media Ltd for whom they had to manufacture about 500,000 merchandise Kochadaiyaan which is a upcoming movie of that time.

    The company then collaborated with Hungama.com and have their app preinstalled in their phones. The company worked with Google and manufactured Karbonn Sparkle V which was one first android one phones in India. The company like other also faces competition from the Chinese brands and has also not launched any new models for a few years.

    Company Name Karbonn
    Headquaters New Delhi
    Founded On 2009
    CEO Pardeep Jain
    Employees 10,000
    Annual Revenue US $91 million
    Products & Services Smartphones, Tablets

    India manufacturing phones

    iBall Mobile

    iBall is as India electronics company that manufactures a wide range of products such as smartphones, tablets, web camera, PC cabinets, earphones, desk sets, keyboards, headsets, speakers, pen drives, USB products, LED monitors, chargers, etc. The company was founded in 2001 by Anil Pararampuria and has its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company also makes low budget smartphones, PC and tablets and its accessories.

    iBall first started out by making computer mouse, but is known for its 2014 projects named Andi Udaan through which it made smartphones for blind women. The phone was designed in way that it had a SOS button behind the phone which made to create sounds and send automatic messages and calls to five contacts when it is pressed. In 2015 and 2016 iBall collaborated with Intel and Microsoft to launch the country most affordable Windows 10 laptop which is iBall CompBook at Rs 9,999.

    Company Name iBall Mobile
    Headquaters Mumbai, Maharashtra
    Founded On 2001
    CEO Sandeep Parasrampuria
    Employees 2,000
    Annual Revenue US $170 million
    Products & Services Smartphones, Tablets, mobile phones, speakers, laptops, routers, webcams, security cameras

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    Xolo Smartphone

    Xolo is an Indian mobile phone company which is a subsidiary to Lava International. The company was in 2012 and is headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The company is known for its smartphones, tablets, laptops and accessories like power banks. Xolo is credited for being the first company that launched a smartphone (X900) with the Intel processor in India.

    The company also aims in manufactures high quality smartphone with lower cost smartphones. It was the first Indian company to be the regional partner of the Liverpool FC. Xolo also launched a tablet named Xolo Win tablet and the first 4G enabled smartphone (LT900) in India in 2013.

    It also credited for introducing the first dual camera phone in India. The Xolo Black made with the partnership with Flipkart, while the Xolo era series was made in partnership with Snapdeal. Xolo introduced a lot of new features like dual 4G sims and up to 512 GB of ram in its Xolo A500 phone which came out in 2013. The company has also recently developed its own unique UI for android phone known as Hive UI. Xolo ZX smartphone is the last phone the company in 2019.

    Company Name Xolo
    Headquaters Noida, Uttar Pradesh
    Founded On 2012
    CEO Vishal Sehgal
    Employees 1,371
    Products & Services Smartphones, Tablets, Hive UI, Laptops

    Lyf

    Lyf or Reliance Lyf is a smartphone company that belongs to Reliance Jio which is a subsidiary of the Reliance Industries Limited. The company was founded in 2015 by Mukesh Ambani and is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company started out by making affordable smartphones which was named after elements of nature such as LYF Water, LYF Earth, LYF Fire with free Jio sim cards.

    This led it to becoming the fifth largest smartphone manufacturer and the second largest 4G LTE smartphone maker in 2016. The company also had partnered with Amazon and Grofers to deliver its phones. But after the short success the company stopped producing new phones.

    Company Name Lyf
    Headquaters New Delhi
    Founded On 2015
    Founder Mukesh Ambani
    Products & Services Smartphones, Wifi hotspot devices

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    YU Televentures

    YU Televentures is an Indian electronics company that is a subsidiary of Micromax Informatics and Cyanogen Inc. Yu was founded as a joint venture from the companies in 2014 and is headquartered in Gurgoan, Haryana. Micromax’s Co-Founder Rahul Sharma is known to own 99% of stakes in YU. Some of the best models created by the company are YU Yunique 2, YU Yureka 2 and YU Ace. However YU was discontinued by Micromax as it was merged with the company.

    Company Name YU Televentures
    Headquaters Gurgoan, Haryana
    Founded On 2014
    Founder Rahul Sharma
    Products & Services Smartphones, pocket printer, Power bank

    Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

    What are the Top Indian mobile companies?

    • YU Televentures
    • Lyf
    • Xolo smartphone
    • iBall Mobile
    • Karbonn Mobiles
    • Micromax
    • Lava International
    • Intex

    What are the Chinese companies dominating the Indian smartphones market?

    • Oppo
    • Vivo
    • Xiomi
    • Realme
    • Huawei
    • Lenovo
    • OnePlus

  • Madhura Moulik, Co-Founder, Skilfinity, On Women Entrepreneurship

    The history of International Women’s Day dates back to 1908, when some 15,000 women marched on New York City in the name of better working hours, fairer pay, and the right to vote. Three years later in 1911, the first official IWD was celebrated throughout Europe as more than a million women walked challenging stereotypes for their right and equality.

    Women in India have not only stepped into the corporate world but have also begun to make a mark in entrepreneurship. Fast forward even 2020, Women Entrepreneurs comprise 11% of all entrepreneurs in India, which means there are only about 550 women-led companies out of more than 5,000 startups (NASSCOM reports). The number is small and growing slowly, the with all the policy and most importantly mindset change coming up, we will soon see a rise in the same.

    March 8 marks International Women’s Day 2020, and we at StartupTalky, also wanted to celebrate the spirit of womanhood with the entrepreneurs who have come out breaking all the barriers to and lead and change the world for the good! let’s learn how these women are changing the entrepreneurial landscape and how!

    Madhura Moulik, Co-Founder, Skilfinity
    Madhura Moulik, Co-Founder, Skilfinity

    Here is our small interview with Madhura Moulik, Co-Founder, Skilfinity.

    ST – Why did you choose to be an entrepreneur? If not entrepreneurship, then what?

    Madhura Moulik – I spent my childhood in a remote mining colony, where I grew up as a typical girl-child amongst traditional ideologies, I was no exception. While my parents always wanted me to be well-educated and successful in my career, there was also an expectation of becoming a good homemaker. I guess, as a child, most Indian girls have learnt to be loyal to their families and prioritize it when the time comes to make a choice.

    It took me a little more than 30 years to travel around the world and meet women from various cultures and societies to get a wider perspective on how to make non-biased choices in life. That was the time I knew that I wanted to start an enterprise of my own where like-minded people and I, get the opportunity to apply our knowledge without any restriction.

    During my early days in business school, I was always keen to study marketing and wanted to pursue a career related to it. It was later when I started working for the corporates I got introduced to the marketing world beyond that of Philip Kotler and got exposed to the complex, fast-changing industry. So, if not entrepreneurship, my career would have always been as a marketer for a corporate with some intermittent struggle to remain motivated.

    ST – What Challenge did you face as a woman entrepreneur and How did you solve it?

    Madhura Moulik – There are more internal challenges than external. Most of the external challenges are not really gender-related but some obstacles every entrepreneur might have faced.Coming from a patriarchal society the biggest challenge for me was decision making. Most Indian women are nor really the final decision-makers in their household, and that sometimes hinders us to make prompt and crucial decisions that are expected from the head of the business.
    Early failure of the decisions is important. While you learn to overcome those failures, you gain the confidence to stand by your future decisions. The key is to overcome this mental barrier and start trusting your instincts.

    ST – What policies your company has adopted to support women at your workplace?

    Madhura Moulik – As a startup, all our employees, be it, women or men, get to work from home, get a flexible working hour, fair pay and choose their own holidays. We also have an open-door policy to maintain transparency and resolve various challenges like work pressure, financial need, etc.

    While policies are easy to make, it is difficult to build up a culture. The core culture that we want to inculcate is to think like an entrepreneur and not as an employee. So far I have observed that women have an ingrained sense of responsibility and ownership that makes it easier for me to establish this particular school of thought when I am working with women colleagues.

    ST – How can working women manage both, home and work?

    Madhura Moulik – It gets extremely difficult to manage both home and work. Most working women get burned up and decide to take a sabbatical from their career. I have seen several women struggling to return from a hiatus and fit into daily work life, often questioning their initial choice to take a break from their job. While our society is changing rapidly and there is more and more awareness, the key is to keep going during the dark days and not to quit.

    If the resistance is only driven by the gender factor, it is important for the person to strongly resist and denounce such obstruction. Any individual should have complete freedom to make their career choices.

    ST – Do you think there must be at least one female co-founder, why?

    Madhura Moulik – I think the qualification to become a co-founder should be based on other factors rather than gender. Having a female co-founder for companies that revolve around motherhood, childcare, women fashion, food, healthcare and beauty have been the trend so far. However, more and more women are now penetrating into the businesses that were traditionally been dominated by men and gaining business acumen that they can harness through effective leadership and management. As a co-founder, these new-age women leaders are bringing a fresh perspective for problem-solving, making them extremely invaluable for a new business.

    Overall, a diverse leadership attracts a diverse talent group as well as clients, thus directly impacting the company’s revenue.

    ST – As a women entrepreneur, What kind of support have you got from the government? What would you like to suggest?

    Madhura Moulik – No support and neither I’ve been seeking any so far. To be honest I would appreciate if the government can support women entrepreneurs like me through schemes that can be availed without any administrative complexity.

    ST – Why do you think still women’s contribution is too less in the Indian startup Community?

    Madhura Moulik – 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.

    ST – If someone is stopping women to become an entrepreneur what advice do you have for her?

    Madhura Moulik – If the resistance is only driven by the gender factor, it is important for the person to strongly resist and denounce such obstruction. Any individual should have complete freedom to make their career choices. Especially for women, if there are expectations for them to perform household responsibilities at the cost of their career and subsequently they decide under pressure, it might pave way for bigger discontent in future, thus jeopardizing both personal and professional life. A mature conversation about the consequences of a particular decision might help to resolve the situation.

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    About Skilfinity

    Skilfinity is an integrated digital marketing consulting firm with clients across multiple domains headquartered out of Singapore. Their inique name comes from the fact that as individuals, we have limited skills, but when we are grouped together we have infinite skills to achieve tasks that apparently look difficult or even impossible.

  • Deepikaa Jindal, Creative Director and Managing Director, JSL Lifestyle, On Women Entrepreneurship

    The history of International Women’s Day dates back to 1908, when some 15,000 women marched on New York City in the name of better working hours, fairer pay, and the right to vote. Three years later in 1911, the first official IWD was celebrated throughout Europe as more than a million women walked challenging stereotypes for their right and equality.

    Women in India have not only stepped into the corporate world but have also begun to make a mark in entrepreneurship. Fast forward even 2020, Women Entrepreneurs comprise 11% of all entrepreneurs in India, which means there are only about 550 women-led companies out of more than 5,000 startups (NASSCOM reports). The number is small and growing slowly, the with all the policy and most importantly mindset change coming up, we will soon see a rise in the same.

    March 8 marks International Women’s Day 2020, and we at StartupTalky, also wanted to celebrate the spirit of womanhood with the entrepreneurs who have come out breaking all the barriers to and lead and change the world for the good! let’s learn how these women are changing the entrepreneurial landscape and how!

    Here is our small interview with Deepikaa Jindal, Creative Director and Managing Director at JSL Lifestyle.

    ST -Why did you choose to be an entrepreneur? If not entrepreneurship, then what?

    Deepikaa Jindal – I have always been a family person! At my prime, I was busy with my family when my kids were growing, and needed my time and attention. Fortunately for me, in my early 40s, my husband approached me with the idea of creating a lifestyle brand in stainless steel. It definitely was a sudden click with me! By then, my kids were settled and progressing well in their worlds. I had time to dive in a whole new project of creating something unique and fresh that may add some value in people’s life, for the goodness of the material. I quickly saw an opportunity of packaging a traditional material in something contemporary, which was apparently the exact gap in the market at that point. Material knowledge has been our core strength, and owing to that precedence we gloriously transformed an idea into an extremely elegant and stunning possibility, which is truly fulfilling for me.

    ST – What challenge did you face as an entrepreneur and how did you solve it?

    Deepikaa Jindal – Creating and stabilizing a brand in a dynamic market like India is not easy! The journey has been challenging, yet extremely enriching. It has been quite a ride for me so far! Since beginning when we started off, I wanted to put the Indian Artisan on the global map, which portrays our true strength of ‘karigari’ and ability of designing. Hence, the core idea of ‘Make in India’ was in my head right from the inception. And I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it!

    There were learning, successes and failures! But one has to understand that it takes all of these things to create something incredible. And nothing is easy when you have to craft something from the scratch.  And you learn so much in that process, while I think I am still learning. I truly feel, elegance translated into products is by far the most difficult to achieve, yet the most divine to experience!

    ST – What policies your company has adopted to support women at your workplace?

    Deepikaa Jindal – I feel blessed to have an opportunity of contributing towards the society in my own way. I passionately work towards making some difference that we can bring through our assorted efforts, especially for women. We value all our employees and have taken numerous initiatives to ensure their well being and security, like 24 Response enrollments, POSH policy enforcement, destination call checks for women employees, and much more.

    Furthering this, as a chairperson of varied O.P. Jindal platforms, I feel that we are not leaving any stone unturned to make constructive change in the society, and are utilizing every resource available to better lives that we are able to touch through our deep rooted social work. These duties entail me to get involved at the ground level and see how we can contribute in making social difference. We have planned interventions in the fields of education, vocational training, integrated health care, women empowerment, social projects, rural infrastructure development, environment sustainability, sports, preservation of art and culture, and much more.

    ST – How can working women manage both, home and work?

    Deepikaa Jindal – I think one should have clarity of their ambitions! That is of utmost importance and a starting point that further defines what you achieve in life. Knowing what you want without any ambiguity keeps you ahead, always!

    As a woman, the spectrum of responsibilities is wider, be it home or work. And, we have to balance both worlds without compromising anything! It is extremely crucial that one should know what to shun. So, removing ‘the unnecessary’ really helps in focusing on doing what is required or important at the given time, thus enhancing balance.

    Giving up on one’s dreams is really not a solution or a direction. You have to be a go-getter to make it happen. We truly have the power of empowering resistance. If the vision is clear, one can achieve what one is deemed to be!

    ST – Do you think there must be at least one female co-founder, why?

    Deepikaa Jindal – I feel both men and women have their parts to play, and that this is not a race of proving anyone wrong or better! I feel that women have a great quality of balancing and multi-tasking, which is always helpful and beneficial for business management. They are also naturally blessed by the foresightedness, which further enhances them to be visionaries.

    ST – As a women entrepreneur, What kind of support have you got from the government? What would you like to suggest?

    Deepikaa Jindal – Government has been constantly engaged in the consistent push for women empowerment and to build women entrepreneurship in the country. We

    ST – Do you think still women’s contribution is too less in the Indian startup Community?

    Deepikaa Jindal – Progression of women in today’s world is a recent development owing to our long history of women suppression in the society. Big changes take time, and are gradual. Having said that, I firmly feel that in today’s modern world women are leading from the front. However, it is also true that this has to take a leap in smaller or rural pockets of our country. While start-ups are mushrooming from all directions now across India, we will soon see many more businesses cemented by women in this domain as well!

    ST – If someone is stopping women to become an entrepreneur what advice do you have for her?

    Deepikaa Jindal – As I said, women have the art of balancing! I really feel that one has to believe in herself, and try triumphing in-securities or challenges that they encounter to be what they have to be. Giving up on one’s dreams is really not a solution or a direction. You have to be a go-getter to make it happen. We truly have the power of empowering resistance. If the vision is clear, one can achieve what one is deemed to be!

    Women Entrepreneurs on Why They Chose Entrepreneurship
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  • Moushumi Pal, Founder, Woodpecker Media, On Women Entrepreneurship

    The history of International Women’s Day dates back to 1908, when some 15,000 women marched on New York City in the name of better working hours, fairer pay, and the right to vote. Three years later in 1911, the first official IWD was celebrated throughout Europe as more than a million women walked challenging stereotypes for their right and equality.

    Women in India have not only stepped into the corporate world but have also begun to make a mark in entrepreneurship. Fast forward even 2020, Women Entrepreneurs comprise 11% of all entrepreneurs in India, which means there are only about 550 women-led companies out of more than 5,000 startups (NASSCOM reports). The number is small and growing slowly, the with all the policy and most importantly mindset change coming up, we will soon see a rise in the same.

    March 8 marks International Women’s Day 2020, and we at StartupTalky, also wanted to celebrate the spirit of womanhood with the entrepreneurs who have come out breaking all the barriers to and lead and change the world for the good! let’s learn how these women are changing the entrepreneurial landscape and how!

    Moushumi Pal founder at Woodpecker Media
    Moushumi Pal founder at Woodpecker Media

    Here is our small interview with Moushumi Pal , the founder at Woodpecker Media.

    ST – What led you to entrepreneurship? If not entrepreneurship, what would be your other choices?

    Moushumi Pal – I have always been someone with a knack and fondness for the creative field and communications. I had always planned on pursuing  a profession and a dream but to expand it to an entrepreneurial venture was not something that I was eyeing on. It was too big a bite at that point of time and I was not sure how I would approach the sheer vastness of it.

    Hailing from a small town, I never really dabbled with the idea of  entrepreneurship and that further cemented my skepticism to pursue entrepreneurship. I had mentally cut out a path for myself where having a steady job was the ideal  way to go.

    While it began with an ideal scenario but gradually as life started taking its turns there were serious decisions to be made which were too dear at that time to part with !!! Be it marriage or motherhood they looked more lucrative and satisfying then to make a decision of my career choices. With different phases of life I entered the journey of understanding job versus self employed and balance where I explored a lot about myself, my likes, what impacted me, and discovered the desire to finally do something of my own, the need to make a mark started smouldering within me.

    I knew I wanted to be different and there was deep urge within me to make an impact. I read  stories of real women who, in their lives, had triumphed over adversities and made their mark in not only the business sector but on the world as well. I am also thankful to some incredibly strong and inspiring women who provided an amazing ecosystem during my journey, rooting for me and encouraging me to grow.

    The culmination of all these experiences led me to be an entrepreneur that I am today.

    ST – What challenges did you face as a woman entrepreneur and how did you solve them?

    Moushumi Pal – When it comes to gender differences in the industry, the challenge mainly lies in the number of levels where a women entrepreneur has to prove her worth to all those who are a part of the market.

    Every step and circumstance demands us to be absolutely perfect because anything less than that can dampen our hard work that we have put in so far. That is the sad truth but we have to toughen up, A LOT!

    We have to be tough because this position demands that you work late into nights, rise up early with the same vigour, hectic schedules, taking care of your home if you have a family and most importantly, responding to a situation rather than reacting to it.

    There is a famous quote which states, “Life is 10% action and 90% your reaction”. There is a huge element of truth present in this small statement that can turn tables around for anyone.

    My mantra is plain and simple. Instead of seeing a situation as a problem, I try to engage my energy into finding the solution. For me, it is all about the attitude towards that situation. If you have decided to see the negative attributes of it, you will only see the negatives, but if we seek the positive, positive element is what we shall get.

    This is the half battle won where you eradicate hurdles in the form of negativity and convert them into stepping stone for success. We just need to be confident and determined towards what we want to achieve in our lives and have an absolutely clear vision about that. We need to continuously remind ourselves why this business is important, and we must remember that in the end, it is the vision that drives us to develop a successful enterprise.

    ST – What policies your company has adopted to support women at your workplace?

    Moushumi Pal – The main idea in the company is to allow a free flow of ideas without the hurdles of policies and hierarchies. Being a creative agency, it is important that we give our team members the room to allow them to engage in creative thinking. In a nutshell, we ensure that those working with us have flexibility, more leadership roles and empower them to be the decision makers on behalf of the company.

    We are trying to make independent thinkers instead of robotic members.The agency aspires to enable women to forge a successful career while raising a family.

    ST – How can working women manage both, home and work?

    Moushumi Pal – It all boils down to effective planning and management. While we have a lot of balls to juggle and a lot of struggles to overcome, it is always important to have a strategy in mind for both work and home. We have to be at least 2 steps ahead of everything so that we are prepared for everything that comes our way.

    Multi-taking is something that working women ABSOLUTELY HAVE to embrace and do not quiver in the face of hardships. In case you want to slow down, please do so by all means, but there is absolutely no reason for you to quit and leave the fight.

    One must not give the business and ecosystem she worked so hard build up in the face adversities. It is all about facing that adversity head on and crashing it down to be the fearless and flawless entrepreneur you are.

    ST – Do you think there must be at least one female co-founder, why?

    Moushumi Pal – So, in nature, there is always a need to maintain a balance. In the Chinese, it is known as Yin and Yan. I like to believe that having a woman co-founder balances a lot of things out.

    Look at Sheryl Sandberg! Mark Zuckerberg hired her when they were not even looking for a COO. He found her intellect and experience to be of value and thus, carved a role for her then and there. She is the one who pushed for Facebook Ads, one of the most successful marketing tools used today in the business.

    Having a woman co-founder can bring in the empathetic quotient to the organisation and also bring in the social skills that are usually the forte of the ladies.

    ST – As a women entrepreneur, What kind of support have you got from the government? What would you like to suggest?

    Moushumi Pal – The government has already taken a lot of steps in order to push for women entrepreneurship. From sustainable business models to subsidised financial help, a lot is being done.

    However, there is an impertinent need to foster women entrepreneurship right at the grass-root level in the form of education programs and policies. They must be introduced to the idea of entrepreneurship right from a young age where they can think of themselves as future founders of Indian conglomerates.

    ST – Why do you think still women’s contribution is too less in the Indian startup Community?

    Moushumi Pal – While it is good that there is a growth in the number of women entrepreneurs in the business scenario, the growth is extremely slow. The way the startup scenario is booming, there is a need to bring in more minds and hands on deck and women can be that reinforcement that is important for the growth trajectory.

    There is a HUGE scope for women entrepreneurs to make their mark in the business world as there is always a need for bright minds to lead from the front.

    As female entrepreneurs, we can always use a helping hand when it comes to helping fellow colleagues to grow their skills, business, and network. We can become mentors and offer direct support to female entrepreneurs, to create a chain to set up a great career that she, in turn, can pass on, too.

    About WoodPecker Media

    Woodpecker Media is a PR Firm based in Mumbai that develops customised strategies for Events, PR, Digital solutions, brand collaborations. Their USP for a successful business is a tremendous reputation for quality, service, and competitive pricing.

  • Ghazal Alagh, Co-founder, Mamaearth, On Women Entrepreneurship

    The history of International Women’s Day dates back to 1908 when some 15,000 women marched in New York City in the name of better working hours, fairer pay, and the right to vote. Three years later in 1911, the first official IWD was celebrated throughout Europe as more than a million women walked challenging stereotypes for their rights and equality.

    Women in India have not only stepped into the corporate world but have also begun to make a mark in entrepreneurship. Fast forward even 2020, Women Entrepreneurs comprise 11% of all entrepreneurs in India, which means there are only about 550 women-led companies out of more than 5,000 startups (NASSCOM reports). The number is small and growing slowly, the with all the policy and most importantly mindset changes coming up, we will soon see a rise in the same.

    March 8 marks International Women’s Day, and we at StartupTalky, also wanted to celebrate the spirit of womanhood with the entrepreneurs who have come out breaking all the barriers to lead and change the world for the good! Let’s learn how these women are changing the entrepreneurial landscape and how!

    Here is our small interview with Ghazal Alagh, Co-founder of Mamaearth.

    ST – Why did you choose to be an entrepreneur? If not entrepreneurship, then what?

    Ghazal Alagh – It was my life’s calling. My husband and I believed in our business idea so strongly that we decided to go ahead and quit our jobs. Being a mom entrepreneur has been one of the best experiences of my life, there is new learning, and a new adventure every day and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else!

    ST – What Challenge did you face as a woman entrepreneur and How did you solve it?

    Ghazal Alagh – The biggest challenge that I faced, like most women entrepreneurs, was managing the work-life balance, especially being a parent. There is only one way to solve it- never hesitate to ask for help, whether it is support for raising your startup or for raising your baby. We all need help and there is no shame in asking for it.

    ST – What policies your company has adopted to support women at your workplace?

    Ghazal Alagh – At Mamaearth, we understand the worth of women’s talent and time. In our endeavor to encourage more women to move forward in their careers, we have been promoting women-friendly HR policies including flexible working hours and mentoring support.

    Trust yourself. Trust your idea! Find people who believe in your idea and request for their support.

    ST – How can working women manage both, home and work?

    Ghazal Alagh – Like I mentioned earlier, getting the necessary support is crucial to be able to manage both home and work. If you are a mother, then leave your baby with someone who you trust completely so that you can pay 100% attention to work. When at home focus completely on your family. But don’t forget to take out some me-time as well, that’s equally important!

    ST – Do you think there must be at least one female co-founder, why?

    Ghazal Alagh – Women are born entrepreneurs! They are much better at taking calculated risks and always tend to take the long-term view into consideration while growing their business. When you give birth to a baby, you also give birth to a mother. A woman, a mother is actually like the CEO of the household- juggling schedules, managing budgets, and solving problems. These are the same competencies required to be the CEO of a business.

    ST – As a women entrepreneur, What kind of support have you got from the government? What would you like to suggest?

    Ghazal Alagh – While in India, women have been conditioned as homemakers and lack the basic financial and emotional support from their own family members, the government has taken some initiatives to encourage women to start up their own businesses. Some of the schemes include Mudra Yojna, Annapurna scheme, and Mahila Udyum Nidhi Scheme.

    ST – Why do you think still women’s contribution is too less in the Indian startup Community?

    Ghazal Alagh – 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.

    ST – If someone is stopping women to become an entrepreneur what advice do you have for her?

    Ghazal Alagh – Trust yourself. Trust your idea! Find people who believe in your idea and request their support. Grow your network and take inspiration from other women entrepreneurs.

    Women Entrepreneurs on Why They Chose Entrepreneurship
    It is Sunday. You wake up in the morning, as usual and grab the newspaper to gothrough the headlines and you are pleasingly surprised to know that SBI iswilling to step up and invest in the already troubled Yes Bank. Well, this maysound like any other acquisition news but there’s something differ…
    StartupTalkyAshwini

    About Mamaearth

    Mamaearth is an all-natural toxin-free brand specially formulated for soon-to-be or new mothers and newborn babies. They are Asia’s first made safe certified brand! They have everything from mosquito repellents to hair oils.

  • Best No Code Development Platforms for Building Landing Pages

    Digital Marketers today are very well aware of Landing pages and how much they can be useful when selling goods online. They serve as an asset when it comes to digital marketing campaigns and can be used on Facebook, Google AdWords as well as YouTube. With landing pages, marketers also have the privilege to segment their marketing campaign, and focus on individual products to enhance the conversion rate.

    What are Landing Pages?

    Landing pages are standalone web pages specifically built for advertising and marketing campaigns for a single product. Unlike other web pages and websites, landing pages are built with a single objective, know as call to action (CTA). It is this focus on a single objective or product that enhances the conversion rate of your campaigns by a huge margin than the traditional web pages.

    Landing Page Builders with Features, Pricing, and Comparison of Best Five
    Landing pages have become one integral part of digital marketing campaigns, andif you are an expert digital marketer, you know how important landing pages canbe, and how much they can boost a digital campaign. As important and effective,as they can be, one must be careful while building a landing…
    StartupTalkyANSH MEHREY

    Landing Page Builders

    Landing pages are of great significance in marketing and advertising campaigns, but to build a single web page for a product with code would amount to a lot of work and other complications. This is where no code landing page builders come in handy, since they drastically reduce your workload by removing the traditional coding and debugging from the equation. Now all you need to do is drag and drop elements to create the landing page of your choice. So here we compare the 5 best no code landing page builders, so you can take your pick for the best suited among them.

    Builder.io
    Grapedrop
    Mailchimp
    Maker
    Versoly
    Conclusion

    Builder.io

    Builder-landing-page-builder-Startuptalky
    Builder-landing-page-builder-Startuptalky

    Builder is an E-commerce and marketing tool that helps you create mesmerizing digital experiences seamlessly on any tech stack, without the use of code. Some of the key factors that make Builder stand out from its peers include the ability to create content visually, a one click publish button, along with A/B testing to create targeted content. Moreover, not just landing pages, with Builder you can also create storefronts, collection and product pages, as well as pop-ups.

    Features Offered by Builder

    • Builder can be integrated with various tech stacks and allows you to leverage your existing code to create custom pages with frameworks including React and Next.js.
    • Builder offers a customizable platform which you can effortlessly extend for absolute control and utility.
    • Builder lets you analyze your audiences’ behavior through insights to optimize your processes for better lead generation and conversion rate.
    • Builder furnishes your audience and viewers with a page that loads quickly and seamlessly, so you don’t have to lose them for rash reasons.
    • The CMS offers a drag and drop editor that you can use to visually create landing pages and more without putting in a lot of efforts.

    Also read:

    Grapedrop

    grapedrop-landing-page-builder-Startuptalky
    grapedrop-landing-page-builder-Startuptalky

    Grapedrop is one of the best landing page builders when it comes to lead generation, portfolios, and marketing campaigns. It offers you all the basic elements that you need to build an appealing page with a canvas, through a simple drag and drop functionality, and without the need to download or install anything. Grapedrop offers highly customizable and responsive components along with seamless integrations for creating the best designs and a higher conversion rate.

    How to Improve Landing Page Conversion?
    Landing Page is an opportunity for the company to tell the most important thingabout their products and services within a few seconds, and for a potentialclient – to make sure that it has hit “bulls eye”. Besides, it is a powerfultool for converting traffic and generating leads. The complexity of…
    StartupTalkyRishabh Rathi

    Enhance Landing Page Conversion Rate

    Features Offered by Grapedrop

    • Grapedrop offers users basic built-in elements to use in the templates for building landing pages, with an effortless drag and drop functionality.
    • The components offered by Grapedrop are highly customizable and furnish users with the fastest designing experiences.
    • The designs and elements are highly responsive with the ability to change and adapt on different devices and editors.
    • Grapedrop also offers a variety of integrations helping you to evade bots and automatically interacting with your CRM.
    • Layer, Google Fonts, SEO Tools along with the tons of images in the Unsplash library help you build the best landing pages with amazing search rankings.

    Pricing for Grapedrop

    Grapedrop offers 4 different pricing plans along with a free plan called the Starter plan. While the Starter plan offers all the basic functionalities of a no code landing page builder with unlimited custom domains, the priced plans offer different specifications for different prices. The plans include Basic plan, Premium plan, Advanced plan, and the Business plan that cost $4.90, $19.90, $34.90, and $74.90 per month respectively. While the other plans have limited pages, form submissions and custom blocks, the Business plan offers an unlimited number for these features with a dedicated support.

    Mailchimp

    mailchimp-landing-page-builder-Startuptalky
    mailchimp–landing-page-builder-Startuptalky

    Mailchimp is the go-to tool for expert and professional marketers for their marketing campaigns and effective implementations. Mailchimp offers users an all in one platform where you can build marketing channels and pile up audience data for better results and a more customer centric approach. Moreover, with the help of automation and analytics, you have the opportunity to boost your sales and even scale your business with larger communities and resources.

    Features Offered by Mailchimp

    • Mailchimp helps you bring your business online and start off with built-in marketing tools for email campaigns.
    • You can choose from a variety of templates for building landing pages for branding as well as a clear call to action.
    • Mailchimp also helps you create digital advertisements and social media posts to promote your brand and create a robust online presence.
    • Store your audience data in an Audience dashboard with personalized segmentation and predicted demographics.
    • Mailchimp lets you have full control over your content with a creative assistant, subject line helper, and campaign templates.

    Pricing for Mailchimp

    Mailchimp offers 3 different pricing plans along with a free plan for its marketing platform. The Essentials plan for email-only senders, Standard plan for automation and optimization tools, and the Premium plan for advanced features cost INR 770, INR 1150, and INR 23000 per month respectively. While the Essentials plan offer about 50K contacts and 3 audiences, the Standard plan offers 100K contacts and 5 audiences, and the Premium plan offers over 200K contacts with unlimited audience.

    Maker

    maker-landing-page-builder-Startuptalky
    maker-landing-page-builder-Startuptalky

    Maker helps E-commerce businesses to engage their audience and convert more leads through its no-code platform. It helps create personalized designs and allows your team to collaborate and deliver lightning fast web pages for better customer experience. Moreover, with a collection of over 1300 professionally designed templates, create high-converting E-commerce experiences and integrate with various CRMs for seamless process.

    Features Offered by Maker

    • Maker helps you convert your designs from Photoshop or other designing software to web pages allowing you to use your imagination to create the best templates.
    • You can juggle between design, content, and media to convey your brand stories and add credibility to your online store.
    • Test different variants with the A/B testing and optimize your pages accordingly to enhance conversion and revenue.
    • Embed videos and live streams in your pages to engage your audience and convert more leads.
    • Maker offers over 1300 different templates along with integrations such as Shopify, Salesforce, WordPress and others to enhance your E-commerce store.

    Relevant Read:

    Versoly

    versoly-landing-page-builder-Startuptalky
    versoly-landing-page-builder-Startuptalky

    Versoly is no-code website creation tool for SaaS marketers and helps users build web and landing pages. With a plethora of pre-built blocks and templates coupled with its no code approach, Versoly allows users to build pages in no time. Moreover, it also offers various integrations including Google Analytics, Facebook, Intercom among others for seamless working and optimization. With a user base of over 5K customers, Versoly is one of the most popular no code website builder.

    Features Offered by Versoly

    • Make the most responsive and fastest loading page and prevent visitors from bouncing from your website or page.
    • With a collection of over 120 in-built components and templates, make and publish your landing page within minutes.
    • The interface is extremely customizable with the help of built-in html, CSS, and JavaScript editor.
    • Versoly also offers a blogging CMS to help you convert visitors into customers and publish new content along with advanced settings.
    • You can also create custom forms and download the form data in the form of a csv file or export to other third party integrated tools.

    Pricing for Versoly

    Versoly offers 3 different pricing plans along with a free plan with all the basic features, as is the case with other landing page builders. The Launch plan, Startup plan, and the Growth plan cost $19, $49, and $99 per month respectively. While the Launch plan allows for 10K visitors per month with 5 GB storage, the Startup plan allows for 25K visitors and 10 GB storage and the Growth plan offers up to 100K visitors per month with 20 GB local storage.

    Conclusion

    Landing pages have proven to exhibit a higher conversion rate along with better lead generation than the traditional web pages. This is why no-code landing page builders have started to garner so many users in such a short span. The above listed no code landing page builders offer some of the best templates and custom designs, however, different business can require different tools. For instance, Grapedrop and Maker also offer built-in CRM while others offer integrations with third party software. Hence, you can choose any of the above listed builders in accordance to the specs your business needs.

  • The Biggest Blunders of Banking History

    Banks are the place where individuals park their money. Bank’s indicate that your life’s savings are secure in their lockers or vaults. But as everything is getting digital, today banks deal with data and most of the transactions are online with just a click of few buttons and these automations and convenient banking techniques cause a lot of drawbacks if not used properly. These have created a lot of mistakes in the Industry where the customers and clients have lost their trust in the banks.

    Here are some of the Biggest Blunders of Banking History

    Citi Bank “Biggest blunder in banking history”
    KfW bank “Germany’s dumbest bank
    Deutsche Bank’s 26 Billion Euros Blunder
    PayPal’s USD 92 quadrillion blunder

    Citi Bank “Biggest blunder in banking history”

    Citibank lost $900 million
    Citibank lost $900 million

    Citi Bank was acting as a loan agent between the Cosmetic company Revlon and its creditors. The bank had to pay an amount of USD 8 Million to the lenders. In February 2021 Citi bank paid an amount of USD 900 Million (around INR 6,530 crores) to the lenders. Instead of paying the interest amount to the lenders the bank paid the full loan amount. Citi bank had notified the creditors within 24 hours of the mistake but yet it hadn’t received back around USD 500 Million from around 10 others.

    The bank moved to the court where the Judge said that the issue was in clash between two principles: money which is sent by mistake is supposed to be returned but if the lender is paid back in full, the creditor should not have to worry. Here, the bank had transferred to money to the people whom they owed money and the receiver had no reason to believe that it was an error.

    The Judge also said that Citi group transferred the money on 11 August 2020 when the due date for the payment of interest was on 28 August 2020 and the only way the interest would have been a due on 11 August 2020 only if Revlon was paying the principal amount early.

    As the lenders did not feel that the amount transferred was by mistake Citi Bank would lose around half a Million USD which is considered as the “Biggest Blunder in the Banking History”. The creditors are still not free to use the money as USD 504 Million is still frozen.

    KfW bank “Germany’s dumbest bank

    KfW bank accidently sent around 5 billion Euros (INR 43,966 crores) to accounts with four other banks. The bank has claimed that it was human error as an experienced programmer has committed an error which made their software automatically to transfer the amounts. The Bloomberg news has said that around 6 billion Euros have been transferred. The error was pointed out by the German Central Bank and KfW had claimed that it had immediately rectified the error not causing any financial damage.

    There was a similar incident which had happened during the year 2008 where the bank transferred 320 Million Euros to Lehman brothers on the day, they filed their bankruptcy.

    KfW was termed as “Germany’s dumbest bank” by the mass – market daily Bild.

    Deutsche Bank’s 26 Billion Euros Blunder

    The bank accidently sent 26 Billion Euros to an account in Deutsche Boerse AG’s Eurex clearinghouse in 2018. The bank had claimed that it was an operational error which happened during the movement of the collateral between Deutsche Bank’s principal accounts and Deutsche Bank’s Eurex account. The spokesman of Deutsche bank said that the errors was identified within a matter of minutes and was rectified. He also added that they had taken measures to not repeat the mistakes. This mistake had cost the company’s shares to fall by 25% that year.

    There was another incident which happened in 2015 where the bank transferred around USD 6 Billion to a client’s account in the hedge fund in U. S, the bank had received back the money the next day. It has told that the transfer of money was made by a junior foreign exchange sales department employee, when the boss was on vacation.

    PayPal’s USD 92 quadrillion blunder

    PayPal accidentally transferred $92 Quadrillion to a man in Delaware
    PayPal accidentally transferred $92 Quadrillion to a man in Delaware

    PayPal the online – money transfer company had accidently transferred an amount of USD 92 quadrillion to a man in Delaware named Chris Reynolds during the year 2013. The man said he was shocked when he received his monthly statement through an e-mail.

    Reynolds was a PayPal customer for the past 10 years and used it to buy and sell items on eBay mostly vintage car parts. He has told that he usually wouldn’t spend more than $100 a month.

    PayPal had admitted the error and paid an amount to Reynold as a compensation which was not disclosed. PayPal had admitted that it was a technical mistake.

    Conclusion

    The above are some important Blunders committed by the banking industry. There are a lot more blunders and with the implementation of technology the blunders have increased. The banks need to train the employees with the new technologies and make sure that the blunders don’t repeat. Updating their security systems and updating their employee’s knowledge on a regular basis will help to an extent to avoid these mistakes.

  • Kusum Bhandari, Director, Bhookha Haathi, On Women Entrepreneurship

    The history of International Women’s Day dates back to 1908, when some 15,000 women marched on New York City in the name of better working hours, fairer pay, and the right to vote. Three years later in 1911, the first official IWD was celebrated throughout Europe as more than a million women walked challenging stereotypes for their right and equality.

    Women in India have not only stepped into the corporate world but have also begun to make a mark in entrepreneurship. Fast forward even 2020, Women Entrepreneurs comprise 11% of all entrepreneurs in India, which means there are only about 550 women-led companies out of more than 5,000 startups (NASSCOM reports). The number is small and growing slowly, the with all the policy and most importantly mindset change coming up, we will soon see a rise in the same.

    March 8 marks International Women’s Day 2020, and we at StartupTalky, also wanted to celebrate the spirit of womanhood with the entrepreneurs who have come out breaking all the barriers to and lead and change the world for the good! let’s learn how these women are changing the entrepreneurial landscape and how!

    Kusum Bhandari, Director at Bhookha Haathi
    Kusum Bhandari, Director at Bhookha Haathi

    Here is our small interview with Kusum Bhandari,  Director at Bhookha Haathi.

    ST – Why did you choose to be an entrepreneur? If not entrepreneurship, then what?

    Kusum Bhandari – After working for 18 years for others, being an entrepreneur finally gave me the freedom to work on my own terms. Though, it is more challenging than working for others; when you start the journey of your entrepreneurship, you have to manage several tasks and roles at once rather than performing just one assigned task or role. You have to be more hands-on with everything and it makes you learn things that you wouldn’t have learned in any job. The adrenaline rush of being on your own is much greater than any high in the world. It helps you grow as a person and as a professional as you learn to overcome many challenges and hurdles on the way, which is very rewarding.

    If not entrepreneur, then I think I would still be a small-time business owner, having a small café or home-stay in the hills of my homeland Uttarakhand while at the same time following my passion for painting and other crafts.

    ST – What Challenge did you face as a woman entrepreneur and How did you solve it?

    Kusum Bhandari – Fortunately, there were no major hurdles for me as I found full support and encouragement from my family and peers when I decided to be an entrepreneur. I was lucky enough to find the right business partner at the right time in my journey of entrepreneurship.

    ST – What policies your company has adopted to support women at your workplace?

    Kusum Bhandari – We have adopted all the policies as per government rules and regulations. We have equal pay parity. We also have flexibility in terms of timing and working from home when a woman decides to get back to work after the said maternity period is over so that there isn’t any added pressure on her. She can get back to normal working hours slowly over a period of time keeping all her baby’s needs in mind. We have very strict no harassment policies and any type of harassment is not tolerated at all. I am directly approachable in case any of the women have any issues that need to be resolved at any hour of the day.

    ST – How can working women manage both, home and work?

    Kusum Bhandari – Women have multi-tasking abilities by nature so it comes naturally to them. They are problem-solvers and get things done rather than waiting for things to happen. They give priority to others’ needs first rather than their own. They like to take care of the people around them and are more compassionate towards them. Even when they have domestic help around, they like to give their own touch to things. They hold the entire family together even when faced with adversity. At work, they are more disciplined, well organized and manage tasks and people with ease.

    At this day and age where more and more women are joining the corporate workforce, they are still expected to manage both work and home with perfection. Sometimes, one or the other aspect suffers because of given timelines and circumstances. I feel the true balance could only be achieved when their responsibilities are also shared by their partner and the family equally.

    ST – Do you think there must be at least one female co-founder, why?

    Kusum Bhandari – Having at least one female co-founder not only provides a balanced perspective but also brings gender diversity to any organization. Women are emotionally stronger and more adept at handling tricky situations with calm and ease. A woman’s intuitive abilities are a great compliment to the risk-taking capabilities of their male counterparts. Women are good listeners which combined with their problem-solving skills, can help in resolving day-to-day issues and conflicts arising in the organization. Their soft skills help bring discipline and much cohesive work environment that is required for any organization to succeed. Women create deeper bonds with their peers and the team which is very crucial for smoother operations in any organization.

    My only advice would be not to listen to any voice that is deterring you to go ahead in your path. The only voice you need to listen to is your inner voice, your intuition

    ST – As a women entrepreneur, What kind of support have you got from the government? What would you like to suggest?

    Kusum Bhandari – We are registered under MSME and DIPP. Till now we have not sought any support from the government. Our vision to reduce tobacco consumption in India at least by 50% by 2050 aligns with government’s mission of “Swastha Bharat”, we would like government to provide more encouragement to entrepreneurs who are working towards a larger social cause in form of tax exemptions and other financial schemes so that both entrepreneurs, as well as consumers, can benefit from it. This step will encourage more and more entrepreneurs to come up with more such solutions enabling them to work towards a common mission and target other such widespread vices in the society that affect the health and well-being of people.

    ST – Why do you think still women’s contribution is too less in the Indian startup Community?

    Kusum Bhandari – For women to choose the path of becoming an entrepreneur takes a lot of courage and deliberation. We step into it thinking of all the personal, financial and familial responsibilities in mind; it is not that men do not think about all these things, but the expectations out of a woman are much greater than that from a man. We as women are expected to perform every role in our life with perfection at work and home. Most often than not, our decision to become an entrepreneur is questioned and criticized. Therefore, more often than not, women chose not to pursue their dream of being an entrepreneur. For more women to choose the journey of entrepreneurship, we need much more support, encouragement and the right advice from people around us.

    ST – If someone is stopping women to become an entrepreneur what advice do you have for her?

    Kusum Bhandari – My only advice would be not to listen to any voice that is deterring you to go ahead in your path. The only voice you need to listen to is your inner voice, your intuition cos that’s the biggest strength you have that will guide you to the right path and keep at it in your entrepreneurship journey.

    Women Entrepreneurs on Why They Chose Entrepreneurship
    It is Sunday. You wake up in the morning, as usual and grab the newspaper to gothrough the headlines and you are pleasingly surprised to know that SBI iswilling to step up and invest in the already troubled Yes Bank. Well, this maysound like any other acquisition news but there’s something differ…
    StartupTalkyAshwini

  • GoMechanic Plans to Expand into 1000 Cities through AatmaNirbharBharat Project

    On 23rd January 2021, GoMechanic organized a Gopreneur Meet at its
    head office in Gurgaon. It was a 3 Days Training Workshop for Gopreneurs.

    GoMechanic launched the GoPreneur initiative during lockdown in April last year aiming
    to create self-employment opportunities for the youth of India. This project was to help
    all those who lost their jobs during lockdown and entrepreneurs and automotive
    mechanical engineers who wanted to work with GoMechanic to generate income for
    themselves. The first enrollment happened in April 2020 and first sales started in May
    2020 after online video training.

    “GoPreneur” – the program is listed under the Government of India’s “AatmaNirbhar
    Bharat” initiative. GoPreneur term is coined out of two words “GoMechanic” and
    “Entrepreneur”. Gopreneurs were selected based on their passion to work for
    themselves. Their task was to sell GoMechanic’s wide range of spare parts and private
    label consumables in their respective hometowns against a healthy incentive.

    “This project was started when the world was uncertain about future jobs. I always
    believe in the spirit of entrepreneurship to create jobs in India. This project has made
    that possible to create self employment by leveraging the strength and values of
    GoMechanic” says Rakesh Sidana, AVP – Spares, GoMechanic who started this project
    during covid-19 lockdown.

    GoMechanic invited the first batch of Gopreneurs to its head office in Gurgaon for
    aggressive sales and technical training to take this program a step further.
    With nine-speakers, intense training sessions, GoMechanic not only trained these
    young entrepreneurs but also learnt about the potential and challenges of their
    respective spare part markets.

    Apart from conducting training programs, this was also a celebration of the success of
    the project and the high achieving gopreneurs were awarded by the four co-founders for
    their excellent performance during the year.

    GoMechanic has expanded into 35 Cities, majorly Tier-2 & Tier-3. These cities are
    Siliguri, Waluj, Nanded, Parbhani, Manipur, Jamnagar, Amravati, Kota, Anand, Raipur,
    Solapur, Latur, Mehsana, Aurangabad, Gorakhpur, Nagpur, Indore, Bhopal, Nashik,
    Bhubaneswar, Jamshedpur, Madurai, Cuttack, Coimbatore, Surat, Trivandrum, Jaipur,
    Mangalore, Ahmedabad, Jabalpur, Mohali, Vadodara, Coimbatore, Varanasi, Lucknow.
    The company has a plan to expand to 1000 cities through this project.

    On this meet, Mr.Nitin Rana, Co-founder, GoMechanic said, “A typical Gopreneur is a
    young, enthusiastic individual in a Tier 2 or Tier 3 city, a dreamer who wishes to be an
    entrepreneur but either lacks a sustainable idea or doesn’t have enough money to
    invest. GoMechanic wants to empower the youth with technical and sales training to
    become independent and self-employed. We are fully committed to expand this
    program to at least 1000 cities. This program takes us a step closer to our ultimate goal
    of becoming the largest aftermarket automotive company in the country.”

    About GoMechanic:

    Started by IIT and IIM Alumni; Kushal Karwa, Amit Bhasin, Rishabh Karwa; Nitin Rana,
    GoMechanic, founded in 2016, is currently India’s largest network of technology-
    enabled car service, spares and accessories centres, offering a seamless experience at
    the convenience of a tap. GoMechanic’s asset light model with centralized bulk
    procurement of spare parts from OEM’s, low real-estate overheads and technology-
    driven efficiency, results in significant savings which are passed onto the customers.
    Currently, GoMechanic has over 500 car repair workshops, 100 spares and accessories
    outlets across 50 cities in India, including Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune,
    Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. It currently services 2+ million customers annually and
    is targeting 10 million by 2021.

  • Impact of Crypto Ban on Indian Economy

    The crypto ecosystem has been doing news rounds ever since the RBI proposed a ban on using or trading or holding Crypto currency in 2018. It was all cloudy for the crypto investors until recently when the Supreme court in 2020 quashed the ban on trading on virtual currencies.

    RBI has been reluctant to let the crypto currencies co-exist in the Indian economic system. Crypto currency is a booming sector and has put so many miners on the map.

    So why is RBI not allowing crypto trade in India? Will it ever oblige? How is crypto business coming along in India? We answer all these questions in this post. Read on to find out more.

    The Crypto BAN
    Why RBI wants Crypto Ban?
    How Crypto Ban affects Indian Economy?
    Major Crypto Startups in India
    #IndiaWantsCrypto – Campaign
    Crypto Ban – Opinions
    Crypto Ban – FAQs

    The Crypto BAN

    In 2018, RBI issued a circular to take down crypto currencies from the Indian virtual trade. The Internet Mobile Association Industry- a non profit organization and a group of corporations dealing in crypto exchange platforms stood up against this circular in the Supreme court.

    RBI, in a Financial Stability report, defined virtual currency as unregulated digital money which is controlled and issued by its developers and accepted by a specific community. RBI exercised its power to ban private digital currencies and their trade/circulation through any financial institution in India.

    However, in March 2020, this circular was quashed by the Supreme court saying that though RBI has the authority to regulate virtual currencies, it was disproportionate to impose prohibition on trading of crypto and therefore, ultra vires the constitution.

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    are acquainted with this well-known terminology.
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    have such ques…
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    Why RBI wants Crypto Ban?

    RBI Crypto Ban
    Why RBI bans Crypto

    According to the survey of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the government has issued over 122 crore Aadhar cards as of March 2020. That means it has covered 90% of the population and out of 110 crore bank accounts in India, 96 crore are linked to Aadhar.

    This could be one of the reasons for banning crypto since it is rumored that RBI wants to launch a digital currency of its own and is sparing the competition. The said digital currency is to be called Lakshmi-named after the Goddess of wealth.

    RBI has been pretty stringent with its ban on crypto. According to the “Banning of crypto currency and regulation of official digital currency bill 2019” , the draft sentences 10 years of prison to anyone who mines, circulates or holds private digital currencies. This sentence surpasses the 7 years of imprisonment for money laundering.

    The Supreme Court’s decree paved way for some relief as it states that virtual currencies are not legal tender but tradable commodities and lacks precise definition and the RBI circular has disproportionately invaded the investors’ rights.

    Cryptocurrency is readily redefining the future of finance sector in India
    Cryptocurrency is a thriving ecosystem, encroaching on conventional territory
    and is redefining the Finance sector. Over the last few years, Bitcoin users and
    transactions have averaged a growth rate of nearly 60% annually. Similarly in
    private and public investors have deepened the commitment to cr…
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    How Crypto Ban affects Indian Economy?

    Crypto, especially Bitcoin seems to have come around with the retail investors in India. More than 5 million Indians have invested in Bitcoin.

    Crypto is not just being used as exchange in restaurants, shopping, payments and insurance but has now become a prominent source of funding for start ups in India. Start ups are longingly looking at Initial Coin Offering (ICO) as fund raising options. But the situation is contemplating since the ban was announced.

    Almost 30 to 40 start up companies from India have tried to pursue the ICOs. The ban has caused these companies to choose foreign jurisdiction and have raised funding from foreign investors.

    The ban could bring uncertainty among the retail investors in India.

    Nischal Shetty (CEO, WazirX) said – “Criminalizing digital tokens could destabilize existing businesses eroding the wealth of millions”

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    [https://startuptalky.com/tag/money/]and business
    [https://startuptalky.com/tag/business/]. The up to the minute development is
    money in the form of cryptocurrency
    [https://startuptalky.com/tag/cryptocurrency/]. A cryptocurrency…
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    Major Crypto Startups in India

    Crypto startups are developing slowly and steadily because of the regulatory reforms in India. Though India has been gaining exposure on the global front, the traditional methodology of the government seems to hold back a few areas such as the crypto economy. Despite this, there are a few Crypto startups which are propelling and being recognized.

    CoinDCX

    The Mumbai based startup provides users with various crypto based financial products. Users can buy and sell more than 100 coins instantly with INR.

    Nuo

    Nuo is a decentralized finance (DeFi) application that converges sellers and borrowers through smart contracts. Nuo network has also launched a new digital banking platform called Juno, which is built on top of Ethereum and depends on Nuo protocol for Nuo banking services.

    WazirX

    WazirX is the leading crypto exchange platform in India at present. It was the first exchange in India to introduce a native token called the WazirX token (WRX) which has resulted in significant growth of engagement on the platform.

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    cryptocurrency. It features the face of Shiba Innu dog from the “Doge” meme as
    its logo & name. Discover all about the Story of Dogecoin in the article ahead… What are Dogecoins?
    Formation and History of Dogecoin
    Dogecoi…
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    #IndiaWantsCrypto – Campaign

    Crypto companies WazirX and CoinDCX along with several others are running a hashtag campaign #IndiaWantsCrypto on twitter to raise awareness about the bill and its consequences. The campaign has already found support from several start-up founders and angel investors such as Sahil Lavingia, Rajiv Mantri and Balaji Srinivasan.

    Crypto Ban – Opinions

    The sovereign insists on not having private crypto currencies in the Indian ecosystem since it considers crypto as something that is foreign and threatens security of its citizens. Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey in an interview said that crypto currency is unconstitutional as it is produced outside India and cannot be treated as currency but a commodity.

    Although the government might not completely impose a ban on crypto, the law intends to create a facilitative framework under the guidance of RBI, exceptions will be provided to promote the underlying technology of crypto currency and its uses. However, many of the retail investors think differently.

    Ex CTO of Coinbase and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Balaji Srinivasan, an entrepreneur and an investor, believes that crypto ban is as bad as internet ban. In an interview he said that eventually in the coming years India will have to accept crypto as it already co existing in other countries as an alternative currency. India has great potential not just in terms of selling but also producing which makes it a strong contender amongst the developing nations.

    Crypto Ban – FAQs

    Why did RBI ban Cryptocurrency?

    It is rumored that RBI wants to launch a digital currency of its own and is sparing the competition. The said digital currency is to be called Lakshmi-named after the Goddess of wealth.

    What is Crypto Ban?

    In 2018, RBI issued a circular to take down crypto currencies from the Indian virtual trade. According to the “Banning of crypto currency and regulation of official digital currency bill 2019” , the draft sentences 10 years of prison to anyone who mines, circulates or holds private digital currencies. This sentence surpasses the 7 years of imprisonment for money laundering.

    What is #IndianWantsCrypto campaign?

    Crypto companies WazirX and CoinDCX along with several others are running a hashtag campaign #IndiaWantsCrypto on twitter to raise awareness about the Crypto Ban bill and its consequences

    Which are the major crypto startups in India?

    Coin DCX, NUO, WazirX are some of the major crypto startups in India