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  • JioMart VS BigBasket: Top Contenders Of Online Grocery Market

    In the year 2019, Reliance Industries launched their own online groceries ordering website called JioMart, this was meant to be an alternative for the other grocery websites like BigBasket which is a well-established company in the market for the last few years. BigBasket has the experience and expertise of almost a decade, while JioMart launched in 2019 is already gaining users rapidly.

    However JioMart has an added advantage which is pricing, JioMart offers a flat 5% minimum discount on MRP on all their products which is pretty similar to DMart’s model, this model helped DMart become an overnight success story in India with their malls being found left, right and center in most Indian cities today. Hence why, Mukesh Ambani’s digital grocery JioMart is scaling at a pace for its competitors to take a very hard look at their ventures.

    JioMart is currently receiving orders at 250,000 per day. At the same time, the old players in the market such as Big Basket is receiving 220,000 per day respectively during the coronavirus induced nationwide lockdown, Bigbasket however has seen per day orders to rise around 190,000 and 300,000 levels respectively. JioMart operates in 200 cities, while Big Basket operates inly in 30 cities.

    Investors That Make Reliance Retail The Largest Retailer In India
    The Reliance Retail has achieved success and become the Indian largest retailer,because of its investments, the investor demand for reliance retail business isso strong that Mukesh Ambani [/reliance-industries-amazon-stake/]is puttinginvestors on a wait list. Mubadala an Abu Dhabi based investor …
    StartupTalkyPV Vyshnavi

    A brief about BigBasket

    Big Basket is one of the largest online grocery super market in India. The company was founded in 2011 by Hari Menon, VS Sudharkar, VS Ramesh, Vipul Parekh and Abhinav Choudari. It is headquartered in Bengaluru and operates in 30 cities in India. Big Basket offers variety of products such as fresh fruits, vegetable, food grains, oil, masala, poultry and meat, packaged snacks, beverages household supplies including healthcare products.

    It has more than 20,000 different from 1000 different brands across its catalog. The valuation of the company is 1.8 billion, reaching the unicorn status. Bigbasket has revenue of around $3.2 million and approximately 4,000 employees. It delivers to various cities in India such as Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Delhi, Noida, Mysore, Coimbatore, Vijayawada, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kanpur, Gurgaon, Vadodara, Vizag, Surat, Nagpur, Patna, Indore, Chandigarh, etc.

    Big basket was launched at a time when India’s urban workforce in cities was finding it difficult to allocate time to buy groceries and home essentials. Bigbasket gave its customers a flexibility to place their order anytime and get the things delivered at their preferred time. Bigbasket comes with the promise of having low prices and prompt delivery services.

    The logos of bigbasket and jiomart
    The logos of bigbasket and jiomart

    A brief about JioMart

    JioMart is an Indian online grocery delivery service, started as a joint venture between Reliance Retail and Jio platforms. JioMart delivery grocery and daily essential from nearby stores. The platform was soft launched in December 2019. A pilot was launched in selected areas of Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan in April 2020. In May 2020, Jiomart launched in 200 cities and towns in India.

    Within a few days of its launch the JioMart Application crossed 1 million downloads. In October 2020, JioMart signed an agreement with Infibeam Avenues. JioMart is an online selling channel format of Reliance Retail Limited. We offer you convenience of shopping everything that you need for your home. The website sells products like fresh fruits and vegetables, cereals, packaged food, bakery and dairy, frozen and pet food, household cleaning items to your specialized beauty and personal care products from a single virtual store.

    JioMart is an online grocery store that provides 50,000 plus grocery products at discounts rates at your doorstep through an express delivery system. The company follows the on-demand model. JioMart also avoids using the system of warehousing and partner with local retailers instead. These retailers will source the grocery products and deliver it to the customers. JioMart’s app is available for download on Google Play Store and Apple Store.

    Online Grocery Service JioMart Expands services in 200 Cities
    After starting JioMart services in the suburbs of Mumbai, Reliance Industrieshas now expanded the services of JioMart, [/tag/jiomart/] an online grocerystore, to cover over 200 towns across the country. The latest venture by MukeshAmbani [/tag/mukesh-ambani/] will offer grocery delivery at the do…
    StartupTalkyVarad Kitey

    Features of Bigbasket

    BigBasket has over 10 million customers. While the companies target audience is the working people, students and old people who don’t have the energy to go to grocery stores or to even stand in lines and buy the necessary products. Big basket helps people to browse through a huge variety of quality grocery items. Big basket helps these people to browse through a huge variety of quality grocery items.

    BigBasket home page
    BigBasket home page

    When the customers can order the required products which will be delivery within 90 minutes for express delivery or next morning for slotted delivery. There are three types of delivery systems which are

    • Slotted delivery: Customers can pick a convenient slot when they want their purchase to be delivery.
    • Express delivery: This service can be availed by customers in cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Delhi NCR. Delivery will be done within 90 minutes

    The company has BB specialty stores: Big Basket has partnership with specialty stores like Karachi bakery. Customers can request a product from the store which will be delivered within 90 minutes. Big basket has acquired 100% stakes in milk delivery ventures Raincan and morningcart. The milk delivery service was branded as BB daily where customers can get milk delivered to their home in the morning everyday through subscribing for a fee.

    Online Grocery Service JioMart Expands services in 200 Cities
    After starting JioMart services in the suburbs of Mumbai, Reliance Industrieshas now expanded the services of JioMart, [/tag/jiomart/] an online grocerystore, to cover over 200 towns across the country. The latest venture by MukeshAmbani [/tag/mukesh-ambani/] will offer grocery delivery at the do…
    StartupTalkyVarad Kitey

    Features of JioMart

    JioMart will operate on the online to offline business model, it will connect with the local retailers and deliver goods to customers by procuring then from the nearest store located in the customer’s vicinity. This is unlike Grofers and BigBasket that use warehouse model. JioMart helps the correct the unorganized retail sector and help local shopkeepers whose businesses were adversely affected due to competitive pricing and warehousing strategies of online retail stores.

    JioMart home page
    JioMart home page

    In addition to increased sales and margins, these shopkeepers will be equipped with point of sale (PoS) terminals, integrated billing applications, and GST compliance. It will also upskill them in inventory management and supply chain management. The types of delivery services provided by JioMart are:

    • Free home delivery: It will give you the benefit of delivery of commodities at your doorstep by producing it from the nearby store.
    • No minimum value for free delivery: Sites like Big Basket and grofers det up a minimum value of purchase to avail the free delivery.
    • Express delivery: Express delivery means quicker delivery than ordinary services. In the ecommerce segment, it is generally within 24 hours.
    • No question asked return policy: When you wish to return the goods that you ordered online, you are almost always bombarded with unnecessary questions, JioMart will not ask the customer those questions.
    • Big discounts: The platform gives early discount of Rs. 3000, the platform has come up with a promotional strategy of pre-registration wherein people can save up to Rs. 3000 on future shopping.

    Mukesh Ambani’s JioMart Is Set To Dominate E-Commerce In India
    When it comes to the Indian business arena, one simply cannot ignore Mr. MukeshAmbani—the owner of Reliance Industries, and the wealthiest businessman ofIndia. He has footprints in some of the most important sectors of the Indianeconomy such as refining, oil & gas, petrochemicals, telecom, retail…
    StartupTalkyLakshya Singh

    Funding and acquisitions of Big Basket and JioMart

    BigBasket has received funds worth around $526 million. The investors include Alibaba group, Abraaj Group, Ascent Capital, Bessemer venture partner, Brand Capital, Helium venture partner, ICICI venture, IFC Venture capital group, LionRock Capital, Paytm Mall, Sands Capital management, Sands capital ventures, Trifecta capital and Zodius Capital.

    There are also talks about additional funding of around $200million post which the company would be valued at around $900 million. When it come to the acquisition BigBasket acquisition of delyver in June 2015 for an undisclosed amount. Delyver was also an online grocery store and its specialty was using local stores to deliver groceries to people. Now, all business assets of delyver have been merged with bigbasket.

    The Reliance Industries has acquired or invested in several companies, which are now under Jio platforms. Some of them Haptik, Embibe, Radisys, Reverie, Grab a Crub, EasyGov, Asteria Aerospace, Tesseract. The companies that have a stake in the Jio platforms are KKR, Public Investment fund of Saudi Arabia, Vista equity partners, Silver Lake Partners, Mudabla Investment Company, General Atlantic, Google and Facebook among others.

    Valuation of JioMart and Big Basket

    In May 2020, the enterprise value of Jio platform was estimated to be $72 billion. The company was also reported to be valuable than all other businesses of RIL put together. Morgan Stanley has valued the net asset value of Reliance Retail at $29 billion the company estimates the e commerce will account for 15% of all retail sales in India by 2023. Big Basket on the other hand has the valuation of over $1.2 billion.

    Big basket raised $300 million in February 2018 as part of its series E financing, which was led by the Alibaba Group. This gave the company a post-money valuation of $850 million. According to market sources, BigBasket is scouting for additional funding of $350-400 million at a valuation of about $2 billion. BigBasket has hence upped growth targets for FY21 by 40-50 per cent.

    BigBasket Success Story – India’s Largest Online Grocer
    Today, BigBasket is the India’s largest online grocer that receives over 100,000orders per day. Online grocery shopping is fast gaining popularity among theIndians. According to a Redseer report, India’s online grocery retail market isall set to touch $10.5 billion by 2023. A company that holds a…
    StartupTalkyChayanika Goswami

    Workflow and Navigation of both websites

    When it comes to workflow both the websites are similar overall ordering process, you sing up using email and phone number, selection or area or pin number, adding item to the cart, clicking on the checkout button to finally finish the payment process. BigBasket has a much wider variety of categories for products, while JioMart needs to work more in this area. However, JioMart is gets a point as it has the multi search feature. With the help of this feature the user can search multiple products in one go and the combined results will be displayed.

    Navigation and search on big basket and jiomart
    Navigation and search on big basket and jiomart

    Wallet and checkout

    JioMart does not have a wallet, it is also difficult choose an option to apply discount vouchers or choose a delivery slot. However JioMart directly refunds to your online payment method in case there is an adjustment later and they also have an option of crediting the amount to your store credit account. In contrast BigBasket provides lots of options during checkout such as the ability to apply a voucher, use balance from the wallet select a delivery slot, etc.

    Amazon And BigBasket Get Permission To Deliver Liquor In West Bengal
    The lockdown due to the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) affected the Indianeconomy in a bad way. The Indian economy came to a standstill ever since thelockdown has been imposed. Most of the industries except those which manufactureessential day-to-day products such as food products, medicines, et…
    StartupTalkyYash Taneja

    Storage Levels

    JioMart orders are sourced from your nearest retail outlet of reliance Fresh or reliance mart unlike BigBasket which are sourced from their own warehouses. This way JioMart has an advantage that is their sources like Reliance fresh are already established enterprises unlike the Big Basket warehouses, so they didn’t have to create their supply chain from scratch. Also, I think their stocks will churn out much faster as both online and offline buyers will buy from the same sources.

  • World’s Largest Retailer Walmart Plans To Grow Sales

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

    Walmart Inc. is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.

    The company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated on October 31, 1969. It also owns and operates Sam’s Club retail warehouses. As of October 31, 2020, Walmart has 11,510 stores and clubs in 27countries, operating under 56 different names.

    Walmart – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Walmart Inc.
    Headquarters Bentonville, Arkansas, U.S
    Industry Retail
    Founded July 2, 1962
    Founder Sam Walton
    CEO Doug McMillon
    Areas Served Worldwide
    Website www.walmart.com

    Walmart – About and How it Works?
    Walmart – Logo and its Meaning
    Walmart – Founder and History
    Walmart – Mission
    Walmart – Business Model
    Walmart – Revenue and Growth
    Walmart – Investments
    Walmart – Acquisitions
    Walmart – Competitors
    Walmart – Challenges Faced
    Walmart – Future Plans

    Walmart – About and How it Works?

    Wal-Mart was founded by Sam Walton in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962 and focused its early growth in rural areas, thereby avoiding direct competition with retailing giants such as Sears and Kmart.

    Walmart, Inc. engages in retail and wholesale business. The Company offers an assortment of merchandise and services at everyday low prices. It operates through the following business segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club. The Walmart U.S. segment operates as a merchandiser of consumer products, operating under the Walmart, Wal-Mart, and Walmart Neighbourhood Market brands, as well as walmart.com and other e-commerce brands. The Walmart International segment manages supercentre, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, and cash & carry outside the United States.

    Walmart is the world’s largest retailer company by revenue, with US $514.405 billion, according to the Fortune Global 500 list in 2019. It is also the largest private employer in the world with 2.2million employees. It is a publicly traded family-owned business, as the company is controlled by the Walton family. Sam Walton’s heirs own over 50 percent of Walmart through both their holding company Walton Enterprises and their individual holdings.

    Walmart – Logo and its Meaning

    As for the hidden message of Walmart logo, it considered that it symbolizes 6 sparks. And each spark, in turn, symbolizes ideas, which are making the company successful. They also remind of Sam Walton, who believed in himself and his success.

    Logo of Walmart
    Logo of Walmart

    Walmart Investment In Tata Group For ‘Super App’: $25 Bn
    The Tata Group [/ratan-tata-startup-investment/] has already made itssuper-application desire open for public in August. Walmart investment in Tatagroup is presently in the news with the investors for stakes in the digitalmedia, legitimately taking on Jio and the web-based business platforms[/75…
    StartupTalkyBaishali Das Adhikari

    Walmart – Founder and History

    Samuel Moore Walton, an American businessman and entrepreneurs is the founder of Walmart.

    Founder of Walmart

    The history of Walmart, an American discount department store chain, began in 1950 when businessman Sam Walton purchased a store from Luther E. Harrison in Bentonville, Arkansas, and opened Walton’s 5 & 10. The Walmart chain proper was founded in 1962 with a single store in Rogers, expanding outside Arkansas by 1968 and throughout the rest of the Southern United States by the 1980s, ultimately operating a store in every state of the United States, plus its first stores in Canada, by 1995. The expansion was largely fuelled by new store construction, although the chains Mohr-Value and Kuhn’s Big K were also acquired. The company introduced its warehouse club chain Sam’s Club in 1983 and its first Supercentre stores in 1988. By the second decade of the 21st century, the chain had grown to over 11,000 stores in 27 countries.

    Walmart – Mission

    Walmart’s mission statement says, “We feature a great selection of high-quality merchandise, friendly service and, of course, Every Day Low Prices. We also have another goal: to bring you the best shopping experience on the Internet. “

    Walmart – Business Model

    Walmart can develop, open, and operate units at the right locations and to deliver a customer-centric omnichannel experience. That largely determines its competitive position within the retail industry. Walmart employs many programs designed to meet competitive pressures within its industry.

    These programs include the following:

    • EDLP (everyday low price): items priced at a low price every day so Walmart customers trust that its prices will not change under frequent promotional activity;
    • EDLC (everyday low cost): effort to control expenses so that savings can be passed along to customers;
    • Rollbacks: pass cost savings on to the customer by lowering prices on selected goods;
    • Savings Catcher, Save Even More and Ad Match: strategies to meet or be below a competitor’s advertised price;
    • Walmart Pickup: customer places order online and pick up for free from a store. The merchandise is fulfilled through Walmart distribution facilities;
    • Pickup Today: a customer places order online and can pick it up at a store within four hours for free. The order is fulfilled through existing store inventory;
    • Online Grocery: a customer places grocery order online and has it delivered to home or picks it up at one of Walmart participating stores or remote locations; and
    • Money-Back Guarantee: ensure the quality and freshness of the fruits and vegetables in Walmart stores by offering customers a 100 percent money-back guarantee if they are not satisfied.

    The Business And Revenue Model Of Amazon
    In the recent years, Amazon has become a household name, whether it’s because oftheir unlimited options for selection, custom made services, cheaper prices,customer services or good quality search tool that helps in finding items ofone’s choice, it is popular worldwide. Amazon is a US based multi…
    StartupTalkyPV Vyshnavi

    Walmart – Revenue and Growth

    Walmart annual revenue for 2020 was $523.964B, a 1.86% increase from 2019

    Year Annual Revenue Percentage change
    2019 $514.405B +2.81%
    2018 $500.343B +2.98%

    Walmart – Investments

    Walmart has made 12 investments. Their most recent investment was on Oct 12, 2020, when Ninjacart raised $30M.

    Date Organization Name Round Amount
    Oct 12, 2020 Ninjacart Corporate Round $30M
    Jul 14, 2020 Flipkart Corporate Round $1.2B
    Dec 11, 2019 Ninjacart Series C $10M
    Oct 15, 2019 Level Home Corporate Round $71M
    Mar 9, 2019 Girls Who Code Grant $3M
    Nov 6, 2018 WalMart India Venture Round $37.7M
    Oct 25, 2018 FreshMart Series B –
    Aug 8, 2018 Dada-JD Daojia Corporate Round $500M
    Oct 20, 2016 Dada-JD Daojia Funding Round $50M
    Apr 1, 2015 Triad Workforce Solutions Grant $320K

    Walmart – Acquisitions

    Walmart has acquired 24 organizations. Their most recent acquisition was JoyRun on Nov 23, 2020.

    Acquiree Name Date Amount About Acquiree
    JoyRun Nov 23, 2020 – JoyRun is a community based delivery company
    CareZone Jun 15, 2020 – CareZone makes it easy to manage multiple medications, organize health information, and access health services from your smartphone
    Polymorph Apr 11, 2019 – Polymorph is a white-label SaaS monetization platform for publishers to maximize revenue, reduce costs and deliver better ad experiences
    Aspectiva Feb 25, 2019 – Turn Product Reviews into a Smarter Shopping Experience
    Art.com Nov 20, 2018 – Art.com is an online platform designed to sell wall art and decorative items
    Bare Necessities Oct 13, 2018 – Independent boutique retailers of luxury lingerie, swimwear and accessories
    Eloquii Oct 2, 2018 $100M Eloquii offers an online plus size clothing store featuring women’s plus size fashion, clothes, and accessories
    Flipkart May 9, 2018 $16B Flipkart is an e-commerce marketplace that offers over 30 million products cross 70+ categories
    Wim Yogurt Jan 1, 2018 – Wim Yogurt is a modern cooking appliances for healthy homes
    Parcel Oct 3, 2017 – Parcel is the same-day / last-mile delivery company built for the age of e-commerce

    Walmart – Competitors

    The top 10 competitors in Walmart‘s competitive set are Amazon, Target, Costco, Kmart, Kroger, ALDI, Walgreens, Tesco, Carrefour, and Best Buy.

    Walmart – Challenges Faced

    Walmart has faced issues with its employees involving low wages, poor working conditions and inadequate health care. Approximately 70% of its employees left within the first year.

    Walmart has been criticized by many groups and individuals, such as labour unions and small-town advocates, for its policies and business practices, and their effects. Criticisms include charges of racial and gender discrimination, foreign product sourcing, anti-competitive practices, treatment of product suppliers, environmental practices, the use of public subsidies, and its surveillance of its employees. The corporation denies any wrongdoing and says that low prices are the result of efficiency.

    In 2005, labour unions created new organizations and websites to criticize the company, including Wake Up Walmart (United Food and Commercial Workers) and Walmart Watch (Service Employees International Union). By the end of 2005, Walmart had launched Working Families for Walmart to counter those groups.  Efforts to counter criticism include a public relations campaign in 2005, which included several television commercials. The company retained the public relations firm Edelman to interact with the press and respond to negative media reports, and has started working with bloggers by sending them news, suggesting topics for postings, and inviting them to visit Walmart’s corporate headquarters.

    Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Retail Market ,Growth ,Trends,Covid Impact,Uses
    Artificial intelligence (AI), additionally called machine intelligence is thesimulation of human intelligence validated through machines, particularlycomputers. These techniques contain learning, reasoning, and self-correction.Artificial intelligence in the retail market exists with a reason to e…
    StartupTalkyHimangi Khare

    Walmart – Future Plans

    The world’s largest retailer plans to grow sales by $45 billion to $60 billion in the next three years and spend $20 billion buying back its own shares.

    The growth targets, stock buyback program and an $11 billion capital expenditure program, down from $12.4 billion this year, were announced Wednesday morning in New York at the retailer’s annual fall investor conference.

    “We are uniquely positioned to win with the future of retail,” Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., president and CEO Doug McMillon told attendees, echoing what has been a familiar omnichannel theme for the company in recent years. “We will be the first to deliver a seamless shopping experience at scale.”

    Achieving that goal is key to the company’s long term growth, but to get there the company disclosed the significant investments it has made in technology, wages, pricing and a weak dollar will pressure profits. Walmart CFO Charles Holley said the company’s earnings per share, which are projected to decline this year compared to last year, will fall another 6% to 12% next year as investments in the business peak. However, within three years, profits are forecast to rebound and grow between 5% and 10%.

    Investors were looking for a faster growth trajectory which explains why following the release of the three-year profit forecast shares dropped roughly $5 to hit a new 52-week low near $60. Anticipating such a negative reaction, Holley announced Walmart had authorized a new $20 billion share repurchase program and committed to spend those dollars within two years even though it had $8.6 billion in authorization remaining under the existing program.

  • Volkswagen – Investing Strongly In Its Future

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

    Volkswagen Group is a German automobile manufacturer whose main brand is Volkswagen. With headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, it is the world’s biggest luxury vehicle manufacturer.

    Volkswagen creates, produces, and distributes passenger and commercial cars, motorbikes, engines, and turbomachinery, as well as financial, leasing, and fleet management services. It overtook Toyota as the world’s largest carmaker in 2016, and held that position for the next three years, selling 10.97 million vehicles.

    Volkswagen – Company Highlights

    Company Name Volkswagen
    Headquarters Wolfsburg, Germany
    Industry Automotive
    Founder German Labour Front
    Founded 1937
    CEO Herbert Diess
    Parent Volkswagen AG
    Website vw.com

    Volkswagen – About and How it works?
    Volkswagen – Founder and History
    Volkswagen – Logo and its meaning
    Volkswagen – Mission
    Volkswagen – Business Model
    Volkswagen – Revenue and Growth
    Volkswagen – Investments
    Volkswagen – Acquisitions
    Volkswagen – Competitors
    Volkswagen – Challenges Faced
    Volkswagen – Future Plans

    Volkswagen – About and How it works?

    Volkswagen is a premium automobile manufacturer and retailer located in Germany. Volkswagen is derived from the German word Volk, which means “people,” and so Volkswagen means “people’s automobile” or “people’s car.” It is divided into four sections:

    • Passenger Automobiles – includes vehicle and engine research, manufacturing and marketing of passenger cars, as well as the related authentic parts industry.
    • Commercial vehicles include light commercial vehicles, trucks, and buses, as well as the genuine parts sector and related services.
    • Large-bore diesel engines, turbo compressors, industrial turbines, and chemical reactor systems, as well as gear units, propulsion components, and testing equipment, are all part of Power Engineering.
    • Dealer and customer finance, leasing, banking and insurance operations, fleet management, and mobility services are all part of Financial Services.

    Among the company’s brands are Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, SKODA, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Scania, and MAN.

    Volkswagen – Founder and History

    The German government, led by Adolf Hitler of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party at the time, forms the Gesellschaft Zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH, a new state-owned automobile business, on May 28, 1937. It was renamed Volkswagenwerk, or “The People’s Car Company,” later that year.

    Volkswagen was based in Wolfsburg, Germany, and was originally owned by the German Labour Front, a Nazi group. Aside from his ambitious plan to create a network of autobahns and limited-access motorways across Germany, Hitler’s favorite project was the creation and mass manufacturing of a low-cost, high-speed car that could be purchased for less than 1,000 Reich marks (about $140 at the time).

    Hitler enlisted the help of Austrian automotive expert Ferdinand Porsche to develop this “people’s vehicle.” “This automobile has been developed for the wide masses,” the Fuhrer said during a Nazi rally in 1938. Its objective is to satisfy their mobility needs while also making them happy.” However, shortly after the KdF (Kraft-Durch-Freude)-Wagen (“Strength-Through-Joy”) was presented at the Berlin Motor Show in 1939, World War II broke out, and Volkswagen halted production. With the plant in ruins after the war, the Allies chose to concentrate their efforts on rebuilding the German automobile industry on Volkswagen.

    Volkswagen – Logo and its meaning

    The Volkswagen logo is made up of the company’s initials, with the “V” positioned above the “W,” and both letters interacting beautifully.

    The Volkswagen Logo
    The Volkswagen Logo

    The blue color of the Volkswagen emblem stands for quality, reliability, and class, while the white hue stands for nobility, purity, and charm.

    Volkswagen – Mission

    There is no formal mission statement for Volkswagen. Volkswagen’s objective, according to a spokesman, is to “provide beautiful, safe, and ecologically sound vehicles that can compete in an increasingly competitive market and establish world standards in their respective classes.” The corporate aim encapsulates all the organization undertakes to achieve its vision. Its focus is on maintaining a level of quality that outperforms all other rivals in every way.

    Volkswagen – Business Model

    Innovation-driven VW introduces new models on a regular basis. It adjusts to fit local needs and focuses on the unique characteristics of each country (esp. in growth markets). VW seeks to decrease costs through efficient manufacturing methods and economies of scale while stressing the requirement for quality. “Offer beautiful, safe, and ecologically sound cars that can compete in an increasingly competitive market and establish world standards,” says the organization.

    VW secures control and exploits its scale by a degree of centralization, but its worldwide presence allows it to accommodate for local specifics: R&D (including worldwide trend reconnaissance and technology scouting) is headquartered in Germany, with subsidiary research hubs in the United States, Japan, and China. Similarly, Group procurement buys manufacturing supplies, services, and Capex in bulk to maximize negotiating power, but it does so from 39 sites in 23 countries.

    VW develops sustainable, long-term relationships with a range of suppliers and requires a high level of quality and dedication to ensure steady and efficient flows of high-quality and innovative sourced components.

    The Group’s multi-brand approach encourages internal competition, encourages switchers to try new brands, and appeals to a wide range of individuals. Because of its strict hierarchical brand design with sub-brands, internal cannibalism of sales is reduced. Passenger (VW), premium (Audi), luxury (Porsche), and commercial business holding firms are the four product categories in the corporation. The brands are translated into the corporate hierarchy and are used to arrange the business in order to represent customer preferences within the company.

    Larsen & Toubro Limited | Indian Company | Company Profile |
    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified informationon different startups and organizations. The content in this post has beenapproved by the organization it is based on Larsen & Toubro Limited, commonly known as L&T, is an Indian technology,engineering, construction,…
    StartupTalkySarika Anand

    Volkswagen – Revenue and Growth

    Volkswagen AG reported $60.736 billion in revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, down 10.89 percent year over year.

    Year Annual Revenue Percentage change
    2019 $282.948B +1.58%
    2018 $278.538B +6.83%
    2017 $260.74B +8.45%

    Volkswagen – Investments

    Date Organization Name Round Amount
    Jun 9, 2021 Northvolt Venture Round $2.8B
    Apr 28, 2021 IRP Systems Series C $31M
    Mar 15, 2021 Northvolt Corporate Round –
    Nov 30, 2020 TuSimple Series E $350M
    Sep 29, 2020 Northvolt Venture Round $600M
    Jun 16, 2020 Audi AG Secondary Market $267M
    Jun 16, 2020 QuantumScape Corporate Round $200M
    Nov 14, 2019 credi2 Series A –
    Aug 30, 2019 SeeReal Technologies Corporate Round –
    Jul 12, 2019 Argo AI Corporate Round $2.6B
    Jun 12, 2019 Northvolt Corporate Round $600M
    May 7, 2019 Gett Series E $120M
    Nov 12, 2018 ONO Grant $50K
    Jun 21, 2018 QuantumScape Corporate Round $100M
    Jun 7, 2018 Gett Series E $80M

    Volkswagen – Acquisitions

    Acquiree Name Date Amount About Acquiree
    WirelessCar Dec 19, 2018 $122M WirelessCar is a provider of manufacturers of cars and commercial vehicles with customized telematics services to end-customers
    Porsche Jul 5, 2012 – Porsche is a German automobile manufacturer
    Scania Mar 3, 2008 – Scania is a manufacturer of heavy trucks and buses as well as industrial and marine engines

    Volkswagen – Competitors

    The competitors of Volkswagen Automobiles are:

    • Ford
    • General Motors
    • Toyota
    • Suzuki
    • Hyundai
    • Nissan
    • Honda
    • FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles)
    • BMW
    • Mercedes

    Volkswagen – Challenges Faced

    Economic volatility and greater competitiveness, as well as the costs of the current diesel crisis and new, time-consuming exhaust testing in the European Union, are among the issues.

    According to chief financial officer Frank Witter, the cost of executing the Worldwide Harmonized Light-Duty Test Procedure (WLTP) testing surpassed €1 billion (S$1.6 billion). Production increased by 13.5 percent in the second quarter, more than twice the growth rate of deliveries, as the automaker prepared for the regulation change. Volkswagen warned earlier this year that inventories might pile up ahead of the WLTP’s implementation on September 1st.

    VW is grappling with political issues as well as internal transformation in the aftermath of the three-year-old diesel scandal, which continues to haunt the industrial juggernaut.

    The business incurred penalties of €1.64 billion, mostly due to a punishment imposed by German authorities, bringing the total losses to almost €27.4 billion. Mr. Rupert Stadler, the now-suspended chief of Audi’s premium division, was arrested by Munich prosecutors in June and is still detained.

    As per a spokesperson, a subsequent partnership with Ford in light commercial vehicles would allow the companies to pool development resources for electrification, lowering one-time costs in areas such as battery-powered and self-driving cars, both of which are gaining pace at the same time.

    “We cannot rest on our laurels because great challenges lie ahead of us in the coming quarters,” Mr Diess (chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen Group) said. “Growing protectionism also poses major challenges for the globally integrated automotive industry.”

    Volkswagen – Future Plans

    • Between 2020 and 2024, planned investments and development expenses in future sectors such as hybridization, electric transportation, and digitization will reach over EUR 60 billion.
    • In Planning Round 68, the share of anticipated spend on future themes grew to over 40%, up from around 30% in the previous Planning Round.

    The Volkswagen Group continues to make significant investments in its future. Planning Round 68 resulted in the creation of the investment plan for 2020 to 2024. The Group plans to invest over EUR 60 billion in hybridization, electric mobility, and digitization over the next five years. This amounted to around 40% of the company’s property, plant, and equipment investments, as well as all research and development costs, throughout the planning period. It’s a ten-percentage-point rise over the previous Planning Round for the Group. The Group expects to invest about EUR 33 billion in electric vehicles alone.

    “We are resolutely pressing ahead with the transformation of the Volkswagen Group and focusing our investments on the future of mobility. This is part of our systematic and consequent implementation of the Group’s strategy,” said Hans Dieter Pötsch, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Volkswagen Group.

  • Toyota Motors Plans to Design Special Electric Vehicles

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

    Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational manufacturer headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan.  In 2017, Toyota’s corporate structure consisted of 364,445 employees worldwide and, as of December 2019, was the tenth-largest company in the world by revenue.

    Toyota is the largest automobile manufacturer in Japan, and the second-largest in the world behind Volkswagen, based on 2018 unit sales. Toyota was the world’s first automobile manufacturer to produce more than 10 million vehicles per year, which it has done since 2012, when it also reported the production of its 200 millionth vehicle.

    Toyota Motor – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Toyota Motor Corporation
    Headquarters Toyota City, Japan
    Industry Automotive
    Founders Kiichiro Toyoda
    Founded August 28, 1937
    CEO Akio Toyoda
    Website www.global.toyota

    Toyota Motor – About and How it works?
    Toyota Motor – Logo and its meaning
    Toyota Motor – Founder and History
    Toyota Motor – Mission
    Toyota Motor – Business Model
    Toyota Motor – Revenue and Growth
    Toyota Motor – Funding and Investors
    Toyota Motor – Investments
    Toyota Motor – Acquisitions
    Toyota Motor – Competitors
    Toyota Motor – Challenges Faced
    Toyota Motor – Future Plans

    Toyota Motor – About and How it works?

    Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota), incorporated on August 27, 1937, conducts business in the automotive industry. The Company also conducts business in finance and other industries. The Company’s segments include Automotive, Financial Services and others. Toyota sells its vehicles in approximately 190 countries and regions. Toyota’s markets for its automobiles are Japan, North America, Europe and Asia.

    Toyota produces automobiles, and related parts and components through approximately 50 overseas manufacturing companies in over 30 countries and regions besides Japan. Toyota’s manufacturing facilities include plants in Japan, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Turkey, Thailand, China, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Australia, Argentina and Brazil.

    The Company’s Financial Services segment consists of providing financing to dealers and their customers for the purchase or lease of Toyota vehicles. Toyota’s financial services also provide retail instalment credit and leasing through the purchase of instalment and lease contracts originated by Toyota dealers. Toyota’s subsidiary, Toyota operates financial services companies in approximately 40 countries and regions, which support its automotive operations across the globe. Toyota Motor Credit Corporation is Toyota’s principal financial services subsidiary in the United States.

    The other segment includes the design, manufacturing and sale of housing, telecommunications and other businesses. Its information technology related businesses include a Web portal for automobile information.

    Toyota Motor – Logo and its meaning

    The overlapping of the two perpendicular ovals inside the outer oval symbolize “T” for Toyota, as well as a steering wheel, representing the vehicle itself. The outer oval symbolizes the world embracing Toyota.

    Toyota Logo
    Toyota Logo

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    Toyota Motor – Founder and History

    Kiichiro Toyoda is the founder of Toyota Motor.

    Founder of Toyota Motor Corporation
    Founder of Toyota Motor Corporation

    In 1933 Toyoda Kiichiro founded what later became the Toyota Motor Corporation as a division of the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. (later Toyota Industries Corporation, now a subsidiary), a Japanese manufacturer founded by his father, Toyoda Sakichi.

    Its first production car, the Model AA sedan, was released in 1936. The following year the division was incorporated as the Toyota Motor Company, Ltd., headed by Kiichiro. (The company’s name was changed to Toyota, which has a more pleasing sound in Japanese.) Toyota subsequently established several related companies, including Toyoda Machine Works, Ltd. (1941), and Toyota Auto Body, Ltd. (1945).

    Toyota Motor – Mission

    Toyota’s corporate mission is “to make ever-better cars, to build a future where everyone has the freedom to move.” This mission statement is a combination of the company’s official statements regarding the mission of its business: “to build a future where everyone has the freedom to move” and “to make ever-better cars.” Toyota’s corporate mission statement has the following key elements that reflect the enterprise and the purpose and goals of its business:

    1. Make ever-better cars
    2. Build an inclusive future
    3. Freedom to move for everyone

    Toyota Motor – Business Model

    Toyota’s operation has been analysed based on those 4Vs below :

    • Volume of Processes : Toyota manufactures numerous vehicles (8,736.5 thousand units in 2012, Toyota Production figures) and for such high output, there’s greater degree of repeatability in the process. The high volume of output has allowed Toyota in systematization of activities and Toyota believes in developing deep expertise in specialities among its workforce as an essential requirement to its product-development system. Such high volume process output helps Toyota gain economies of scale and thus reduces the unit cost of its production.
    • Variety of Processes : Toyota carefully chooses a variety to balance market demands and operational efficiency. The company is present in all the segments of automotive and at least 70 different models of vehicles are sold by Toyota (Automotive, 2014) making the portfolio with a wide range of products and this accounts for a higher variety of processes. High variety of processes enables Toyota to match a wider range of customer demands and be more flexible in the eyes of customers. This, however, accounts for higher unit costs and makes the process relatively complex but Toyota has advanced other productions methods to control such aspects.
    • Variation of Processes : With predictably constant demand, it’s easier to allocate resources to a level that is capable of meeting the demand Slack et al. (2012). The variation in demand for Toyota’s products is low in the past few years and the company’s production has integrated Just in Time production techniques to fulfil those demands. Low variation enables Toyota to implement stable, routine and predictable operation processes.
    • Visibility of Processes : Process visibility indicates how much of the processes are exposed to its customers Slack et al. (2012). Toyota has low process visibility, as most of its operation process is ‘factory-like’. Low process visibility means there’s a time lag between production and consumption of Toyota products but it enables the company for high staff utilization and enjoys low unit cost for its products. Few of its processes such as those of sales centre and test drive facilities, however, have some kind of contact with customers allowing limited visibility.

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    Toyota Motor – Revenue and Growth

    The Toyota Motor Corporation’s net revenue contracted by one percent year-on-year and dipped to just under 30 trillion Japanese yen in the fiscal year ended March 2020. This figure is approximately equal to 278 billion U.S. dollars. Toyota’s revenue for the twelve months ending September 30, 2020 was $241.196B, a 13.59% decline year-over-year.

    Year Annual Revenue Percentage change
    2019 $272.031B +2.88%
    2018 $264.416B +3.02%

    Toyota Motor – Funding and Investors

    Toyota Motor Corporation has raised a total of $243.6M in funding over 2 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jun 28, 2018 from a Post-IPO Equity round.

    Date Round Amount Investor
    Jun 28, 2018 Post-IPO Equity $201.6M GT Capital Holdings
    Apr 14, 1982 Funding Round $42M –

    Toyota Motor – Investments

    Toyota Motor Corporation has made 27 investments. Their most recent investment was on Feb 25, 2020, when Pony.ai raised $462M.

    Amount Organization Name Round Amount
    Feb 25, 2020 Pony.ai Series B $462M
    Jan 16, 2020 Joby Aviation Series C $590M
    Dec 4, 2019 May Mobility Series B $50M
    Oct 24, 2019 OPTIMIND Series A ¥1B
    Oct 15, 2019 LeapMind Series C ¥3.5B
    Jul 24, 2019 Didi Chuxing Corporate Round $600M
    Jun 28, 2019 MONET Technologies Corporate Round ¥499.9M
    Apr 19, 2019 Uber Advanced Technologies Group Corporate Round $1B
    Aug 27, 2018 Uber Corporate Round $500M
    Aug 21, 2018 Getaround Series D $300M

    Toyota Motor – Acquisitions

    Toyota Motor Corporation has acquired 3 organizations. Their most recent acquisition was Daihatsu on Feb 12, 2016.

    Acquiree Name Date Amount About Acquiree
    Daihatsu Feb 12, 2016 – Daihatsu is the surviving Japanese internal combustion engine manufacturers
    Cascade Corporation Mar 28, 2013 $760M Manufacturers of materials handling load engagement devices
    Hino Ottawa-Gatineau Oct 28, 2010 – A Japanese manufacturer of commercial vehicles

    Toyota Motor – Competitors

    Toyota Motor Corporation’s top competitors include FCA US, Mitsubishi Motors, Opel, Volkswagen, Nissan USA, PSA Group, Hyundai Motor, BMW Group, Ford Motor, General Motors and Daimler.

    Toyota Motor – Challenges Faced

    • Toyota’s sales in its home market are going through a phase of stagnation.
    • Any weakness in the Japanese yen provides a competitive advantage to Toyota’s overseas business. Therefore, the company’s margins from the overseas business are highly dependent on the currency movement of the Japanese yen against major currencies, including the US dollar and the euro. Continuous strength in the yen against these currencies can significantly affect Toyota’s profitability.
    • Despite being an Asian automaker, Toyota is unable to stay ahead of GM in the Chinese market.
    • With increasing environmental awareness across the globe, a delay in Toyota’s ability to deliver mainstream eco-friendly vehicles may restrict its future growth prospects.

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    Toyota Motor – Future Plans

    The demand for electric and hybrid cars is growing vastly. You might have heard of the self-driving vehicles running on the roads these days. That is a rough example of what modern technology demands from the automakers. Inbuilt software running the automobile is the need of the hour. The automotive industries are now racing for innovations to keep up the repo in the market. The modern era is the time of transformation. And that is what Toyota is battling for.

    The manufacturers now understand that electric cars are the future. The company is now designing special electric vehicles in a partnership with Subaru. Toyota now has the dedication to built electric cars. Toyota future plans will help to increase global sales. They are now in a joint venture with the various battery supplying companies.

    They not only have to design electric vehicles but also have to match the market needs. Numerous electric car manufacturing vehicles are in this race. The demand for electric cars is increasing all around the globe. The experts working on Toyota future plans will have to put all efforts possible. It is so to increase sales and reach the set target.

    The automakers are working on hybrid and plug-in hybrid models as well. According to industry knowledge, the count of electric vehicles will still be less than hybrid cars. Electric vehicles are not the only focus for the company. They also want to increase global sales in hybrid vehicles. The company will design and manufacture electric vehicles as per the market demands. But the game will still be on the hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars.

  • NorthMist – Bringing in the Gorgeous Fusion of Fashion and Sustainability

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

    Recently we have been quite seeing a trend about using organic products. Also, there’s been a lot of buzz about how great these products are for human health and also society at large. Following the same insight, Smrity Gupta and Arijit Mazumdar launched NorthMist in 2018.

    NorthMist primarily offers 100% organic cotton t-shirts, in three categories- polo neck, round neck full sleeves and round neck half sleeves. They are priced at INR 1199 each, INR 899 and INR 799 respectively.

    NorthMist – Company Highlights

    Startup Name NorthMist
    Headquarter Bangalore
    Sector Clothing
    Founder Smrity Gupta and Arijit MAzumdar
    Founded 2018
    Website NorthMist

    NorthMist – About and How it works
    NorthMist – Target Market Size
    NorthMist – Founders and Team
    NorthMist – How did it start?
    NorthMist – Name, Tagline, and Logo
    NorthMist – Startup Launch
    NorthMist – Business Model and Revenue Model
    NorthMist – Startup Challenges
    NorthMist – Competitors
    NorthMist – Funding and Investors
    NorthMist – Advisors and Mentors
    NorthMist – Growth
    NorthMist – Future Plans

    NorthMist – About and How it works

    All the products at NorthMist are made of 100% organic cotton, sourced from exclusive and certified vendors, and manufactured in a pro-sustainability strategy. Also, all the products are ensured to be supremely authentic of being environment-friendly products. NorthMist procures raw materials in-house, from vendors, who are under the sustainability umbrella and supply only to it. Having multiple vendors for each of the raw materials, it picks the best and thus gets the best price in the industry. Moreover, it operates on a low inventory model with a turn-around time of 7 days. Through real-time orders and fast processing, which are pretty uncommon as well. Combined, this makes it stand apart from the present competitors.

    Low inventory levels, less stock, a small and efficient team and faster turnaround time pull down chances of loss while promoting faster decisions and cost-cutting opportunities. And that’s how it works at NorthMist.

    NorthMist – Target Market Size

    The apparel landscape in India is believed to be ruled by startups in the near future and going by the consumer preference pattern, eco-friendly start-ups will soon be at a better position, compared to bigger brands. Indeed, these are the reasons behind this startup venture too.

    NorthMist – Founders and Team

    Smrity Gupta and Arijit Mazumdar are the Founders of NorthMist

    “Smrity and I were co-workers. Shared philosophy and zeal to do something big allowed us to become friends.” Says the founder, Arijit Mazumdar.

    Arijit has a master’s degree in power engineering and has excelled in many fields including business negotiations, business development, and sales. Smrity, the co-founder of NorthMist is a fashion technology graduate from NIFT and holds immense knowledge of the industry. Her insights about the industry, her keen eye for detail and her experience made the journey of starting a fashion business easier for this duo.

    NorthMist Founders
    NorthMist Founders

    NorthMist has an in-house team that consists of about 15 people, encompassing different arena of expertise. It has a sales head, content marketer, visual designer, digital marketer, operations executives, and a production team. Eco-warriors as the venture identify the team. All decisions are taken by the in-house team of experts, who share a similar outlook towards sustainability. NorthMist also has an extensive network of freelancers working for it. At this moment, NorthMist has a strong team of 25 individuals.

    When the founders hire people, they ensure that the candidates believe in the concept of sustainability or are at least familiar with the concept of sustainability. There is no hierarchy in the office. Though every individual has their own role to play, when required, everyone can contribute. Every Saturday the core team conducts “brainstorming” sessions, where every team member shares their ideas for brand growth. From birthday celebrations to team outings, playing games to fun sessions, the work environment at NorthMist is all about being happy and content.

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    NorthMist – How did it start?

    “My co-founder and I shared the same philosophy- to make the world sustainable. This motivated us to come up with the idea of NorthMist.” Says Arijit Mazumdar. Both of them were working, however, their ambitions were different. All they wanted was to start their own brand. Since both of them were quite inclined towards adopting a sustainable lifestyle, their aim was to start something around it. And hence they started brainstorming on what they could do to bring about change in the world. And this motivated them to establish NorthMist.

    During the inception days, they were just 2 people. They worked really hard, supporting each other through all hurdles, which honestly were in abundance. The founders worked hard to realize our dreams. The first few months were all about tight schedules and deadlines. They would conduct surveys and get direct feedback from the customers. The focus was to create awareness and they ensured to do so using various channels. They kept the product line limited to draw more attention to the quality of the same. It was difficult, but fun nonetheless. When you have your friend by your side, sharing similar ambitions, everything becomes easier!

    The etymology of NorthMist is such- “North” is the head of directions and “Mist” is often associated with nature. Put these two terms together and one gets “NorthMist”, which literally means ‘to head towards nature.’

    Northmist Logo

    The founders wanted a name that was simple and relatable, yet strong in its resolution. And let’s not forget, a name that would convey the concept of being eco-friendly perfectly. NorthMist fitted the bill effortlessly.

    “It took us about a month, a self-determined deadline and suggestions from our friends to come up with an impeccable name for the brand. And today, we can say proudly that we have it.” Added Arijit Mazumdar

    NorthMist – Startup Launch

    After launching NorthMist in March 2018, the founders started participating in co-working events. We Work, CoWorks, Coho, 91 SpringBroad, they went everywhere to showcase the products. For the first eight to nine months, they were dedicated to doing events. This helped them to create a strong customer base. Then, they dedicated their efforts to retargeting these customers. They also started collaborating with marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart to create more awareness.

    The founder’s equally used social media platforms to garner the attention of the target audience. This helped them scale the brand and add visibility to the products. NorthMist’s journey from 50 to 5000 has been extraordinarily inspiring and only motivates the team to do better every day.

    NorthMist – Business Model and Revenue Model

    The business model of NorthMist follows can be classified broadly into B2B and B2C categories. Under the B2B model portion, it has wholesale, dropshipping and inbound corporate. B2C model, on the other hand, relies on its own website and e-commerce platforms like Flipkart, Amazon and The Better India for the sale of our products. NorthMist is also registering on national and international online marketplaces like LBB, Step Set Go, Ajio and more. In terms of offline presence, its products are available in Organic World and Go Native stores pan India.

    NorthMist – Startup Challenges

    Major challenges in the Indian apparel and fashion industry lie on factors like poor infrastructure, limited reach and unorganized market. Furthermore, for startups in India, the criteria to meet for Government funding are extensive and slow.

    Another major challenge is to create awareness. Considering the fact that sustainability is a relatively new topic with very less exposure, convincing customers to make a switch is fairly difficult. Not impossible though. “Our motive was clear, to reach as many people as we can and motivate them to make a shift to sustainability.” Says Arijit. The process was time-consuming, but their constant efforts have ensured that they are reaching the right. Communication plays a major role in a business such as NorthMist’s, and the core team seems to have mastered it. Garnering attention can still be challenging yet they are doing it quite well.

    NorthMist – Competitors

    Competition is quite huge as more than 300 international fashion brands are expected to create a footprint in India. Besides, the Indian apparel market predicts growth to $124 billion by the end of 2020. Also, more startups are certainly on the pipeline as the apparel space in the country is projected to be ruled by startups in times to come. Eco-friendly startups will occupy a big share, as consumers these days are increasingly making sustainable choices.

    When it comes to sustainability, the number of brands is quite limited; however, to name a few, NorthMist is in direct competition with No Nasties, Turmswear, and March Tee.

    NorthMist – Funding and Investors

    NorthMist has a set of angel investors, who have invested Rs. 1 crore inequity of the business.

    The first round of our series of funding came from Sanjay Koul, Managing Director and chairman of a top US company; Birju Gala, CEO of a leading company; Soumendra Biswal, Head of Corporate Affairs of a leading export company; and Srinivasan Sarangpani, Director of Supply Chain at a US company. The majority of the funding has been invested in R&D of our products, hiring the right team for delivering the best, marketing and creating awareness among consumers about the brand identity and sustainability goal.

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    NorthMist – Advisors and Mentors

    The list of advisors and mentors of NorthMist include:

    • Venkatesh Maheshwari
    • Sriram Sundaravadanan
    • Rajiv Mehta

    NorthMist – Growth

    In the last fiscal year, NorthMist has had a turnover of 30 lakhs. It has also got tremendous responses from conscious customers from cities across India. Metros and Tier 1 cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Bangalore have together recorded maximum sale figures for NorthMist.

    NorthMist – Future Plans

    Staying pivotal to the sustainability factor, NorthMist has plans to diversify. Adding to the existing men’s t-shirt categories, it will be launching women’s wear and a new range of sustainable hoodies soon.

    As for short term goals, NorthMist looks forward to having a total turnover of 500 crores in the next five years; expand in terms of products under the sustainable lifestyle category. It wants to grow the business within India and beyond the geographic boundaries through different distribution channels and multiple branded outlets.

    “We are a pro-sustainability company; hence, sustainability is our long-term vision. The planet belongs to each of us and saving it from further damage is surely our responsibility. Instead of combating against brands, a collaborative effort of all sustainable brands making conscious choices of environment-friendly products should be the future.” Concluded Arijit Mazumdar.

  • Netflix: All You Need To Know About Free StreamFest Weekend

    ‘Netflix Binge’ is set to acquire a whole new meaning as the company prepares to offer free streaming for everyone starting from December 5 in India. However, good things do not last much longer and the StreamFest will end at 11:59 PM on December 6th, tempting viewers to cancel all plans for the upcoming weekend.

    As OTT platforms try to bring in fresh content and a blend of variety to attract more users, Netflix is going all out this time with a StreamFest, unlocking all award-winning movies, series, and documentaries.

    According to Netflix, “Anyone in India” can watch any movie, series, or documentary for free during this fest.

    Neflix StreamFest
    Neflix StreamFest

    “Any individual who signs in during StreamFest gets one stream in standard definition along these lines. Nobody else can utilize the equivalent login data to stream… Also, to ensure every individual who comes in gets the best insight, we should restrict StreamFest watchers’ quantity,” Netflix India Vice President (Content) Monika Shergill said in a blog.

    “Along these lines, during StreamFest, in the event that you see a message saying “StreamFest is at the limit,” don’t stress. We’ll tell you when you can begin streaming,” she added.

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    But there is a catch. These users might come across the message “StreamFest is at capacity” which can possibly limit the screen time. Netflix will however notify once the coast is clear and one can resume streaming again.

    This move by Netflix is expected to lure new viewers to the stage that contends with players like Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, and Zee5 in the flourishing OTT (over the top) market in India.

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    How to join the Streamfest aka Netflix-binging fest:

    1) Visit Netflix.com/StreamFest (or download the Android app), sign up with your email ID or name or phone number. You can set a reminder that will notify you once the StreamFest is live.

    2) No credit or debit card or payment is needed. PS: Netflix says it only requires user attention for the weekend.

    3) Anyone who signs in during StreamFest gets one stream in standard definition — so, no one else can use the same login information to stream.

    4) Users can access and enjoy every feature that current members use including My List, User Profile, Top 10 list, Smart Downloads, and so on.

    5) The fest will end after 48 hours and users can continue watching by subscribing to the required package.

    OTT platform Netflix has over 195.15 million paid endorsers worldwide as of the second from the last quarter of 2020. The organization doesn’t share nation explicit client numbers.

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  • Indian Startup WhiteHat Jr Surrounds Itself In Controversy Again

    The Delhi High court has granted interim relief in the form of an injunction to WhiteHat Jr founder Karan Bajaj in a defamation case involving his vocal critic Pradeep Poonia.

    Karan Bajaj, founder of Byju’s owned coding platform WhiteHat Jr had filed a defamation case against Pradeep Poonia, an engineer who has publicly criticized the startup for the controversial marketing tactics, the quality of the courses on the platform, and aggressive takedowns of such feedback.

    According to reports, the court order will restrain Poonia, a software engineer, from accessing the company’s curriculum and internal communication channels. The court order remains valid until the next hearing which is scheduled to be held on January 6, 2021. Poonia will also be restrained from telecasting or transmitting information from company sources in public.

    WhiteHat Jr Logo
    WhiteHat Jr Logo

    The court further restrained Poonia from commenting on the quality of the personnel who teach coding to school students through WhiteHat Jr– the educational technology startup-platform and to take down a few tweets that had referred to the startup as a “pyramid scheme”.

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    During the hearing, Poonia said that he had not downloaded any curriculum from Whitehat Jr or hacked into its system.

    Poonia had been accused of infringing trademarks and copyright of properties owned by WhiteHat Jr Karan Bajaj, defaming and spreading misleading information about the startup and its founder, and accessing the company’s private communications app.

    Meanwhile, WhiteHat Jr has filed another defamation lawsuit against another critic, angel investor Aniruddha Malpani, seeking damages worth $1.9 million.

    The education startup has been making headlines after few critics from within the organisation claimed that the company was peddling baseless claims regarding children, after learning to code, earned more than 20 crores, and were part of TEDx talks.

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    Last month, advertising regulatory body ASCI had asked WhiteHat Jr to withdraw five of its ads which claimed that knowledge of coding enabled children as young as six and seven to develop apps that will have investors lining up.

    Critics of WhiteHat Jr platform, like Poonia and Malpani, have said that such campaigns are made to sell tall dreams to parents and that they eventually affect the mental health and psychology of children.

    It is to be noted that in August, ed-tech leader Byju’s had acquired WhiteHat Jr for a whopping $300 million all-cash deal.

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  • 6 Essential Office Indoor Plants

    When you worship your work and enjoy what you do from dawn to dusk it’s extremely important to optimize your workspace into a stress-free and comforting zone. Just at your home, your office also needs office indoor plants which help you maintain your sanity throughout the day.

    Indoor office plants mostly thrive on their own and don’t require much of your attention. With a few decorations, lights, and indoor office plants you can easily jazz up your work environment making it much more likable and friendly. To be honest, office indoor plants paired up with cute decorations would also make your office Instagram worthy and who doesn’t like an instant worthy workplace? Also, if you’re into Vaastu Shastra and wish to have plants that would attract wealth and good luck in your work environment , then this article is definitely for you!

    Benefits Of Having Office Indoor Plants

    We are surrounded by concrete jungles today. Our work environments and homes are always in the shade of grey which ins’t exciting enough to be around. On the other hand, People love greenery.

    People adore nature, scientifically, this is known as ‘Biophilia’ and in layman terms, nature is a beautiful connection. Before actually buying your office indoor plant here are a few reasons you need to know to appreciate your green buddy even more!

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    Indoor office Plants offer a meditative element to your workspace. It is recommended for students or anyone who works hard to look at greenery as it cools down tired eyes and rejuvenates the mind.

    Clean air and a quality level of oxygen induces a highly attentive and productive mind. When you’re satisfactorily productive enough you ultimately feel and do better.Your indoor office plant makes your office calm and likable. When you’re working with thorns, the scent and touch of roses will definitely make you feel positive.

    Benefits of Indoor Office Plants
    Benefits of Indoor Office Plants

    Best Office Indoor Plants For Your Work Place

    Alright, now let’s get into actually selecting which indoor plant will suit your workspace and get you all nice and comfy. There are a variety of plants for you to choose from. Depending upon your office location, sunlight availability, your likeness with flowers or no flowers also your allergies, choose the one that soothes your mind and soul.

    Money plant

    Money plants are easily available in India. This creeper plant has several health benefits and an amazing appeal. This office indoor plant is known to filter and purify the air thus activating a positive aura in the room. Indians believe that money plant attracts wealth and prosperity.

    However, if you are too choose this plant and want to be Vaastu correct, place the plant in the southeast direction. the direction is ruled by planet Venus (Shukra)and is owned by Lord Ganesha, the lord of wisdom, knowledge, and prosperity.

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    Avoid placing the plant in north and northeast directions as Indians believe it to cause loss of money and health issues. The reason behind this is Venus and Jupiter (Brashaspati, the ruling planet of northeast direction) are incompatible with each other thus it is believed to keep them away.

    Lucky Bamboo Plant

    The Lucky Bamboo plant might just be an amazing indoor office plant for you as according to our Indian Vaastu Shastra, it is considered to be lucky, auspicious and another plant that attracts good luck and wealth. Indians believe to keep the lucky bamboo plant in the east corner of your house or workspace and do not keep it under direct sunlight.

    It is advisable to keep this plant in a transparent container so that its roots are visible. Make sure that your lucky bamboo plant consists of Earth, metal, wood, water, and fire ie. all the five elements of nature. An easy way for you to do that is to add pebbles, representing earth.

    A few coins to represent metal, the stem of the lucky plant symbolizes wood and the water available in the container fulfills the fourth requirement. For the fifth element is fire (Agni),  the plant is tied with a red-colored band which denotes the same. Bamboo plant with stems that are yellow or dark green in color should be avoided.

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    Jasmine

    Jasmine is an office indoor plant recommended for people who often feel anxious in their working area. Its scent impacts the CNS (central nervous system) and calms the nerves. It is known to help people with depression and anxiety.
    Jasmine is considered to be a divine flower that pleases the Lord Vishnu.

    An interesting mythology story behind The night flowering coral jasmine is that it emerged during the churning of the ocean. This plant is easily available in the Indian market and looks beautiful as well. One look at the jasmine plant will soothe not only your mind but also your eyes.

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    Aloe Vera

    Having a plant that attracts positive energy while also having tons of health benefits is absolutely crucial for your office desk. Alovera helps purify the air by emitting a large amount of oxygen. Keeping an aloe plant in the north or east direction of your office workspace is recommended.

    The plant is said to thrive well in bright light. The plant is easy to manage if kept in bright sunlight as it hardly needs much watering. this plant in its true sense is the most organic and refreshing thing you can have during your working hours.

    Essential Indoor Office Plants
    Essential Indoor Office Plants

    African Violet

    Want something Instagram worthy? Well then, African violets is just the office indoor plant you need to jazz up your workstation. This fuzzy leafed plant thrives well in the same conditions we live in.

    With average temperature, humidity and sufficient light African violets make their mark in offices and especially on office desks. African violets don’t grow too much in size, they’re a miniature plant hardly less than six inches in diameter. Due to this amazing size range, they can be accommodated in the smallest of the places.

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    English Ivy

    English ivy, in medium light and average water intake, tend to thrive well indoors. English ivy sometimes are used at art in offices and homes as they wrap their tendrils around things they find when the weather gets exuberant.
    English ivy needs little care and time.

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    Ivy plants grow well when the soil is moist, so keep watering the plant regularly. Once they are of good height they enjoy dry conditions. English ivy hardly need fertilizers, their foliage grows pretty quickly. However, if you’re not satisfied with the growth of your office indoor plant spraying half-strength liquid fertilizers will be just fine.

  • Citigroup – Serving as a Trusted Partner to the Clients

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

    Citigroup Inc. is a diversified financial services holding company that provides a broad range of financial services to consumer and corporate customers. The Company services include investment banking, retail brokerage, corporate banking, and cash management products and services. Citigroup serves customers globally.

    Citigroup is the third largest banking institution in the United States; alongside JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, it is one of the Big Four banking institutions of the United States.

    Citigroup – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Citigroup Inc.
    Headquarters New York, U.S
    Industry Financial services
    Founders Sanford Weill(Travelers Group), Samuel Osgood(Citicorp)
    Founded October 8, 1998
    CEO Michael Corbat
    Website www.citigroup.com

    Citigroup – About and How it works?
    Citigroup – Logo and its meaning
    Citigroup – Founder and History
    Citigroup – Mission
    Citigroup – Business Model
    Citigroup – Revenue and Growth
    Citigroup – Investments
    Citigroup – Acquisitions
    Citigroup – Competitors
    Citigroup – Challenges Faced
    Citigroup – Future Plans

    Citigroup – About and How it works?

    Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate Travellers Group in 1998; Travellers was subsequently spun off from the company in 2002. Citigroup owns Citicorp, the holding company for Citibank, as well as several international subsidiaries. Citi is incorporated in New York.

    Citigroup is the third largest banking institution in the United States; alongside JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, it is one of the Big Four banking institutions of the United States. It is a systemically important financial institution and is on the list of systemically important banks that are commonly cited as being too big to fail. It is one of the nine global investment banks in the Bulge Bracket.

    Citigroup is ranked 30th on the Fortune 500 as of 2019. Citigroup has over 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries. It has 204,000 employees, although it had 357,000 employees before the financial crisis of 2007–2008, when it was bailed out by a massive stimulus package from the U.S. government.

    Citigroup is the holding company for the following divisions: Bank Handlowy (Poland), Citibank Argentina, Citibank Australia, Citibank Bahrain,  Citibank China, Citibank Europe, Citi Private Bank, Citibank (Hong Kong), Citibank India, Citigroup Global Markets Japan, Citibank Indonesia, Citibank Korea, Citibank Malaysia, Citibank Russia, Citibank Singapore, Citibank Uganda, Citibank United Arab Emirates, and Grupo Financiero Banamex.

    Citigroup – Logo and its meaning

    Logo of Citigroup
    Logo of Citigroup

    In 1812, City Bank of New York was organized. The name Citicorp was adopted in 1967 as an abbreviation of First National City Corporation. By then, the nickname “Citibank” already existed. In fact, it was in use since the 1860s, when it was the bank’s eight-letter wire code address.

    The word “Citigroup” was reduced to “Citi”, a simpler, lighter type. The red umbrella of the old logo transformed into a red curve. The logo was developed by Paula Scher from Pentagram.

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    Citigroup – Founder and History

    Sanford Weill (Travelers Group) and Samuel Osgood (Citicorp) are the founders of Citigroup.

    Citigroup’s origins date to the early 19th century. In 1811 the U.S. Congress refused to renew the charter of the First Bank of the United States—the country’s central bank, which had branches in cities such as New York. Thus, on June 16, 1812, some First Bank’s New York shareholders and other investors secured state incorporation of the City Bank of New York, which was later established in the branch banking rooms of the old First Bank.

    The bank grew as New York City became the nation’s commercial and financial capital, and in 1865 it was chartered under the National Bank Act and renamed the National City Bank of New York. In 1897, it became the first large American bank to open a foreign department and, in 1915, became America’s leading international bank upon the purchase of International Banking Corporation (founded 1902), which had 21 overseas offices in 13 countries and territories.

    Other mergers and acquisitions in the United States and overseas expanded the bank. Notably, in 1931 it acquired the Bank of America, N.A. (another descendant of the First Bank of the United States and no relation to the former California-based bank founded by Amadeo Peter Giannini). In 1955, it merged with the First National Bank of the City of New York (founded 1863). Upon the latter merger, the consolidated company took the name of First National City Bank of New York.

    Citigroup – Mission

    Citigroup’s mission statement,”Citi’s mission is to serve as a trusted partner to our clients by responsibly providing financial services that enable growth and economic progress. Our core activities are safeguarding assets, lending money, making payments and accessing the capital markets on behalf of our clients. We have 200 years of experience helping our clients meet the world’s toughest challenges and embrace its greatest opportunities. We are Citi, the global bank – an institution connecting millions of people across hundreds of countries and cities.”

    Citigroup – Business Model

    Citi provides a broad range of financial and banking services that target a wide range of corporate, institutional, and individual clients around the world.

    The company’s primary customer segments can be listed as follows:

    • General Consumers, comprising the general consumer population across the company’s numerous operating jurisdictions, to which it provides consumer banking and credit services;
    • High-Net Worth Individuals, comprising affluent consumers and family offices to which the company provides specialist wealth management services;
    • Corporations, comprising small, medium, and large business across multiple sectors, to which the company provides a range of retail banking services;
    • Institutions, comprising various non-governmental organizations, charities, and other institutions to which the company provides wealth management and retail banking solutions;
    • Government Bodies, comprising government departments, public sector entities, and other governmental institutions to which the company provides a range of banking services.

    Citi serves around 2 million customers across more than 160 countries worldwide. The bulk of the company’s revenue is derived from customers in North America, with the remainder divided between Latin America, Asia, and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

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    Citigroup – Revenue and Growth

    | Year | Amount | Percentage change from last year |
    | — | — | — | — |
    | 2020 | $94.702B | -7.61% |
    | 2019 | $103.449B | +6.52% |
    | 2018 | $97.12B | +9.17% |
    | 2017 | $88.962B | +6.79% |

    Citigroup – Investments

    Citigroup has made 86 investments. Their most recent investment was on Oct 15, 2020, when 4G Capital raised KES285M.

    Date Organization Name Round Amount
    Oct 15, 2020 4G Capital Debt Financing KES285M
    Oct 6, 2020 AccessFintech Series B $20M
    Oct 5, 2020 Genesis Global Corporate Round –
    Sep 30, 2020 BioCatch Series C $20M
    Sep 22, 2020 CloudMargin Series B $15M
    Sep 10, 2020 Capitolis Venture Round $11M
    Aug 19, 2020 PadSplit Series A $4.3M
    Aug 18, 2020 Solidatus Corporate Round –
    May 15, 2020 Spark Systems Series B SGD15M

    Citigroup – Acquisitions

    Citigroup has acquired 6 organizations. Their most recent acquisition was The BISYS Group on Aug 1, 2007.

    Aquiree Name Date Amount About Acquiree
    The BISYS Group Aug 1, 2007 – The BISYS Group global outsourcing solutions firm that helped investment firms and insurance companies to more efficiently serve
    Automated Trading Desk Jul 2, 2007 $680M Automated Trading Desk develops automated trading systems for the trading companies, buy and sell-side firms, and financial institutions
    Quilter Cheviot Dec 13, 2006 – Quilter Cheviot operates as an independently owned discretionary investment management firms
    Koram Bank Feb 18, 2004 – KorAm is the sixth largest commercial bank in Korea
    Banamex May 18, 2001 – Banamex offers the best financial products and services: Credit Cards, Mortgage loans, Personal loans, exchange rate
    European American Bank Feb 13, 2001 – European American Bank

    Citigroup – Competitors

    Citi‘s top competitors include State Street, BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley, RBS, HSBC, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, CIT and State Bank of India.

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    Citigroup – Challenges Faced

    One issue forces the bank to haemorrhage cash, the other prevents it from returning money to shareholders.

    • Analysts say the bank still has to get rid of dead weight on its balance sheet. That weight takes the form of underperforming, low-return businesses and Citi Holdings, the bank’s cluster of bad assets and businesses put together after the financial crisis.
    • The second issue with Citi analysts want to see cleaned up is the bank’s legal mess in Mexico. Few months ago, regulators accused Citi’s subsidiary, Banamex, of defrauding clients.
    • The New York-based bank slashed jobs across its fixed-income and stock-trading operations over the course of 2019, according to people familiar with the matter. That included at least 100 jobs in the equities unit, which would amount to almost 10% of the division’s workforce.

    Citigroup – Future Plans

    Citi announced its new five-year 2025 Sustainable Progress Strategy to help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. This new strategy includes a $250 Billion Environmental Finance Goal to finance and facilitate climate solutions globally. This builds on Citi’s previous $100 billion goal announced in 2015 and completed last year, more than four years ahead of schedule.

    This new strategy, integrated into Citi’s Environmental and Social Policy Framework, will focus on three key areas over the next five years:

    • Low-Carbon Transition: Citi aims to finance and facilitate an additional $250 billion in low-carbon solutions, in addition to the $164 billion the bank counted toward its $100 Billion Environmental Finance Goal (2014-2019). This new goal includes financing and facilitating activities in renewable energy, clean technology, water quality and conservation, sustainable transportation, green buildings, energy efficiency, circular economy, and sustainable agriculture and land use. Citi will continue to develop innovative financing structures and seek opportunities to scale positive impact in these areas while supporting clients across all sectors in the low-carbon transition.
    • Climate Risk: Measuring, managing and reducing the climate risk and impact of Citi’s client portfolio is a key aspect of a low-carbon transition. Citi has been a leader in climate assessment and disclosure in alignment with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, releasing its first TCFD report in 2018. Citi will further test the resilience of its lending portfolios to transition risks and physical risks related to climate change, and continue to disclose in line with TCFD.
    • Sustainable Operations: This strategy includes fourth generation operational footprint goals focused on GHG emissions, energy, water, waste reduction and sustainable building solutions. Since 2005 we have reduced 3,600 GWh of energy use and avoided 2.4 million MTCO2e, equal to the GHG emissions of over half a million cars on the road for a year (equivalency provided by EPA calculator). While climate science requires global CO2 emissions to be reduced by 45 percent by 2030, Citi is accelerating that timeline with a 45 percent reduction target in CO2 emissions by 2025. Citi expects to meet its goal of sourcing 100 percent renewable electricity to power facilities globally before the end of 2020.

  • The Insider’s Guide to WhatsApp Business

    WhatsApp is not just for staring at memes, chats and watching stories of your contacts. You can use WhatsApp for a better reasons. Back in the old days, entrepreneurs used their personal WhatsApp for engaging with their customers.

    Seeing this, WhatsApp launched its dedicated version of WhatsApp business and now they are coming with WhatsApp Ads for its business application. Therefore, here in this post, we are going to evaluate everything about WhatsApp Business account and WhatsApp Ads.

    WhatsApp to Rollout WhatsApp Ads for its Business Application
    The Story Behind The Speculation
    WhatsApp Business
    Features of WhatsApp Business
    Uses of WhatsApp Business
    How to Register Landline Number on WhatsApp Business?
    A Foothold to Monetize The Application
    Conclusion

    WhatsApp to Rollout WhatsApp Ads for its Business Application

    Whatsapp Story Ads
    WhatsApp Story Ads

    WhatsApp users could soon notice a big change creeping into the most popular Android and iOS chat app with ’WhatsApp Ads for Business’. It is considered to be the world’s most popular chat app, with over 1.5 billion users each month. A controversial change is coming to the Facebook-owned Android and iOS chat app. Unlike the other widely popular social networking apps like Facebook and Instagram, WhatsApp has so far remained an ad-free programme. However, a drastic change is about to happen to the people-friendly application. It will feature a landing page where WhatsApp Ads can take the potential buyers to the requisite business with an Ad Manager to manage ads for target customers.

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    When it all started

    In September 2017, WhatsApp announced a forthcoming business platform that will enable companies to provide customer service to users at scale.

    The proposal was to enable larger companies, not only small businesses, to integrate a new API [application programming interface]. And Facebook’s Vice President of messaging products, David Marcus, has said WhatsApp will be more open to advertisers.

    Due to the difference of opinion on ad-based revenue and data targeting Jan Koum, the Founder of WhatsApp left Facebook. Jan has explicitly explained the reasons behind keeping the app free of ads.

    Rumours have started to spread about the role adverts will play in the future of WhatsApp since the executive’s departure. Consequently, speculation started to grow all around after his withdrawal leaving a controversy behind him.

    The Story Behind The Speculation

    The freeware and cross-platform messaging app was a paid-for service from when it was launched in 2009. The founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton started WhatsApp to create an advertisement-free application.

    The founders spent their time building a service people wanted to use because it worked and saved them money and made their lives better in a small way.

    WhatsApp was created to chat and interact with people. It was all about exciting people every day the very morning till they make their bed. By making them stay in touch with their loved ones. Their entire day revolves around their own set of people and their emotions. No one likes to wakes up excited to see more advertising, no one goes to sleep thinking about the ads they’ll see tomorrow. It is a more emotionally connected encrypted app.

    No one jumps up from a nap and runs to see an advertisement. Evidently, WhatsApp was found with an intention to be opened every morning only to connect with people.

    After 5 years the messaging was purchased by the social networking giant, Facebook back in 2014 for $1.5 billion. Later on, Voice calls and video calling was introduced. Status updates in WhatsApp became very popular amongst WhatsApp addicts.

    Jan realized WhatsApp was starting to find more ways than he could have imagined with Facebook’s acquisition. He believed team to be stronger than ever and it’ll continue to do amazing things. Consequently, he left the social media giant, Facebook. WhatsApp is more likely to show adverts in the wake of Koum’s departure.

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    WhatsApp Business

    Whatsapp Business Account
    Whatsapp Business Account

    WhatsApp’s high number of fervent daily users in India which is about 9 million.

    Many small business owners use the WhatsApp platform to handle orders, address customer service inquiries, and manage customer relationships. However, the process can be tiresome through a personal account.

    WhatsApp Business allows us to personalize the business brand on the platform and stop using a personal phone number to communicate with your customers. Firstly, WhatsApp Business crept in Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the UK, and the U.S. and is now accessible in many more countries.

    The app is Facebook’s maiden attempt to help small- and medium-sized businesses improve their customer service on WhatsApp. Business people can create a business profile with relevant information for the customers such as contact information, a description, a business category, and more. They can also do automatic messaging and create custom labels to monitor conversations. Check out the features below.

    Features of WhatsApp Business

    • Quick Replies: As an entrepreneur, you are always busy. You can set some basic replies which will help you to reply quickly.
    • Auto Replies: Not just a quick reply, you can even automate some messages to save time. Some basic greeting messages, sorry messages and others can be automated.
    • Analytics: Analytics is a big part of business these days. You can check the performance of your WhatsApp Business in the app itself. It will let you know about the sent, delivered, seen and received messages.
    • Profile Info: You can customize your profile which your customers will see. You can set the opening and closing time, your social media or website link, description of your business and the address and location of your office or shop.
    • Landline Number: This is the best feature by far. You don’t have to get a new business number if you have a business’s landline number. Whatsapp lets you easily register your landline number. Furthermore, you can also use the mobile number, of course.

    Uses of WhatsApp Business

    • Customer Service: Certainly, the most obvious and important use of WhatsApp Business is its ability to serve customers. You can solve your customer’s problems. Also, as you can send images, videos, docs, etc. it becomes easy to help them.
    • Review: You can take the reviews of your product from the customers. It becomes easy as many people use WhatsApp daily, so they will remember about you if you are on their chat list.
    • Promotion: Every business runs more on marketing than the capital. You can promote your upcoming products, offers, events, etc. on WhatsApp.
    • Order Updates: You can send the order tracking link through WhatsApp to the customers. Moreover, you can simply update them with the text message too.

    How to Register Landline Number on WhatsApp Business?

    If you use a landline number for your business, you can still use the WhatsApp Business app in your phone using the landline number. You just need to follow this easy instruction:

    • Download WhatsApp Business from in your Smartphone.
    • Insert your landline number (or business mobile number).
    • As you cannot receive verification message on the landline, you can choose to get a confirmation through the call on the landline. Receive the call and listen carefully to the code number they will give you.
    • Set up your profile according to your need.

    A Foothold to Monetize The Application

    These days companies know literally everything about you, your friends, your interests, and they use it all to sell ads. Facebook and WhatsApp previously disagreed on how to monetize the messaging app. It’s likely that WhatsApp will start using ads now that its founder has left Facebook. Likely, the influx of ads for WhatsApp ads could greatly benefit Facebook’s impressive growth.

    While the future of WhatsApp’s business model is still unclear, the app’s high number of daily active users and strong engagement could increase Facebook’s overall impression growth significantly with WhatsApp ads.

    Conclusion

    WhatsApp has become an important part of our daily life. Why not make it a part of your business too? You can reach a big amount of people at once if you connect with them on the phone. Let them know about the new dish you got in your restaurant or the new collection of clothes in your store or maybe the antique’s collection you just got. The more you update your audience, the more they will come to you.

    A great person once said, “If you are on their phone, you are probably in their mind”. This might be a very hypothetical thing to commit and may not be relatable to But it’s still true that if you are in their chat list, they will see you again and again. So, download the WhatsApp Business app now and create a profile. Do you use WhatsApp Business? What changes did you observe in your business? Share this post with all your friends.

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    Frequently Asked Questions

    How WhatsApp for business works?

    WhatsApp Business is free to download app available on Android and iPhone and was built with the small business owner in mind. WhatsApp Business makes interacting with customers easy by providing tools to automate, sort, and quickly respond to messages. Messaging tools to quickly respond to customers.

    Is WhatsApp business free?

    WhatsApp Business is free to download and was built with the small business owner in mind. WhatsApp can also help medium and large businesses provide customer support and deliver important notifications to customers.

    How WhatsApp works?

    WhatsApp uses your phone’s cellular or Wi-Fi connection to facilitate messaging and voice calling to nearly anyone on the planet, alone or in a group and is especially nice for families and small collaborative workgroups. The app lets you make calls, and send and receive messages, documents, photos, and videos.

    How to create WhatsApp business account?

    1. To get started, simply download the WhatsApp Business app from the Google Play Store.
    2. Sign up using your mobile phone number.
    3. Create your profile by entering your business details under Settings > Business Settings > Profile.

    What is the difference between WhatsApp and WhatsApp business account?

    WhatsApp has officially launched a new app, called WhatsApp Business. It’s completely separate to the standard version of WhatsApp, but it works in much the same manner – only its purpose is connecting businesses and customers, rather than friends and family. The app is aimed at small business owners.

    How to Use WhatsApp to Generate More Leads and Queries?

    Using WhatsApp for Lead Generation: Without any doubt, WhatsApp is rated as a diverse platform that allows businesses to establish one to one connection with customers. This instant messaging platform can lead to conversational marketing, and it helps to boost lead generation opportunities.

    How do I advertise on WhatsApp?

    Under Ad Type, select Click to Message. In the Messaging Apps section, select WhatsApp. Choose your Audience, Placements, Budget, and Schedule and click Next. Select your ad format and complete your ad setup.

    Is WhatsApp business free to use?

    WhatsApp Business is free to download and was built with the small business owner in mind.  WhatsApp can also help medium and large businesses provide customer support and deliver important notifications to customers.

    What is business model of WhatsApp?

    The way WhatsApp used to make money was through a subscription model. It cost $1 to download and then $1 a year going forward. Potential revenue for WhatsApp is estimated to be $5 billion and the average revenue per user to be $4 in 2020.

    Can I use a landline for WhatsApp business?

    You can also sign up using your WhatsApp business with landline, which means you can keep your existing personal WhatsApp account, and run a WhatsApp Business account on the same device.