The sales department plays a key role in the success of an organization. Also, it has an important role in creating trust between customers and business. Trust is the main reason why a customer selects to recommend your company to family or friends. So, motivation is essential for a sales team to make better performance. Let us discuss about how to motivate your sales team.
As a director or sales manager, you can influence the performance of your sales team in two dimensions. One thing is improving the skill set of your team. The other thing is motivation. Improving the skill set of your team is an objective process. You are able to determine which areas need improvement and act by analyzing the current performance and comparing them to a successful final condition.
Motivation is not an easy thing. There are some external factors that influence motivation. Also, every person needs different motivational strategies and different incentives. There are no doubts that motivated sales teams can enjoy their job more. So, they will try to do their job better. It will create more sales. That will lead the company to success.
How to motivate your sales team
Your sales team will face rejections from peoples on a daily basis. Those rejections from peoples can affect their productivity and efficiency. Also, the wrong selling time and the market downturn will affect your sales team’s performance badly. If they don’t get the motivation they require, it will result in slow sales. Some techniques to motivate your sales team are given below.
Motivation will increase the productivity and efficiency of a salesperson
1. Build trust with the members on your team
The base of the motivation is trust. If the peoples on your team think that you don’t have their interests at your heart, it is difficult for them to feel motivated by your actions. Also, If you don’t have an open and honest mind to make conversation about their goals and challenges, you can’t motivate them.
Managers need to build trust and sustain that trust. It can be done by engaging with the team in a nurturing and consistent manner. To be completely transparent is the best way to make trust with your team. As a manager, you need to work in a business relationship instead of being their boss.
You should appreciate your team members, if they completed a work well or if they made a particular strategy to achieve the company’s goal. Try to take two minutes out of your day to give a compliment to a salesperson to let them know how impressed you were by their work.
The managers should recognize and encourage members of their sales team who are making a small step forward toward a goal. It will boost their positive mood. Also, it will increase their ability to develop constructive ways to face challenges. Some small things that can motivate your sales team are given below.
Send an appreciation email to your team members, if they completed a job well.
3. Set goals
You have to give your sales team a goal to achieve. They are not able to know about what constitutes success or what to aspire to, without a goal. Select a goal that is achievable. But, it shouldn’t be an easy task. You need to set daily goals, weekly goals, and monthly goals. Every person is motivated in different ways. Some people are inspired by team-wide sales competitions.
Some are inspired by quota achievement. Some are motivated by qualitative improvements. Some peoples are inspired by their influence in the organization. Money motivates some peoples. So, you need to work with each member of your team to discover what will work best.
Giving rewards in the form of recognition or monetary incentives will motivate your sales team. You should try to recognize the qualities of your sales representative like positive attitude, being creative, more sales meeting contributions, etc. If your team is recognized beyond the volume of the sales they create, it will more motivate your team to improve the performance. Some types of rewards are given below.
Give recognition to individuals at team meetings
In each quarter, award the “Most Valuable Player” title to the best performers.
Provide cash bonuses and make trips with your team
Say your team to carry a paper, and pen to record all the good things that happened, no matter how small. It includes good things such as positive interaction with a customer, a new content handed out from the marketing team, a new prospecting tip they’ve learned, etc. Sharing small successes with someone else can increase morale.
6. Gamification
This method is considered as one of the popular motivational techniques. Gamification encourages coaching, open mentoring, sales team project management, collaborative sales techniques and information sharing. Also, it is good for fostering good morale and friendly competitiveness.
It is important to keep your salespeople motivated for making better results
You need to find the right gamification type depending on the preferences and personality types on your team. In most of the motivational sales games, specific numbers are assigned to several areas of the sales process. For example, if you completed a task, you will get 5 points. You can use graphs or digitized scoreboard to keep track of these points.
7. Team building
If a sales team is too competitive it will lead to a bad work environment and reduce performance and team spirit. Also on other hand, the lack of competitiveness will lead to individual incompetence and bad performance of the team. It is proven that team building will influence the performance of the team. The team members will get fun and relax by engaging in team building activities. Allow your sales staff to cultivate mutual empathy and bring the team to the forefront.
As a sales manager, you should try to find things that will enable your sales team to go the extra mile. The sales team is considered as the direct link between a company and its customers. Salespeople become more valuable for the company by returning the invested time, money, and effort many times over. So, it is important to keep your salespeople motivated for making your business successful.
The content in this post has been approved by the organization it is based on.
While today many employers are realizing the importance of organized and active workplaces for increasing the productivity of employees, there are other important factors like lighting, temperature, etc. that also effects productivity of employees directly. Not only in offices, in any building, the temperature, lighting, air flow etc can have a remarkable impact on the efficiency and mood of the inmates. To take care of this very crucial need,
75F was founded in 2012 by Deepinder Singh. It offers smart building solutions for commercial spaces, that not only improves the comfort level of the building inmates, but also aids conservation of huge amount of energy.
Lets have a look at the company profile of 75F, how the company was started, its Business Model, Revenue, Funding, Story etc.,
75F is a high-tech startup disrupting the building systems industry by taking a fresh approach to HVAC, lighting and building controls. 75F’s solution is uniquely capable of Improving a commercial building’s Operational Efficiency and Occupant Experience, or (OE)2.
Equipped with IoT and cloud computing data storage and processing power, 75F’s system is much more efficient than the standard building controls systems. They help commercial buildings save up to 50% on their HVAC and Lighting Energy bills! Due to the energy savings, utility rebates and ease of installation, the payback is typically less than 3 years. Simple, wireless installation can be done with little disruption. Cutting edge technology optimizes the operational efficiency of the building, making it truly smart and automated.
75F’s Building Intelligence System uses IoT and smart algorithms in the cloud to not only optimize energy efficiency but also uses the input from these sensors to proactively adjust HVAC, Indoor Air Quality and lighting settings to optimize occupant comfort and overall occupant experience. Studies show that each of these aspects significantly impacts occupant health, cognitive abilities, problem-solving capabilities, concentration, and ability to innovate.
For example- as the US Green Building Council points out:
“Studies show that small changes such as improved ventilation will boost the productivity of workers by 11% while better lighting will spark a whopping 23% jump in efficiency levels”
Another recent study states that over – cooled offices negatively impact employee output by nearly 50% and extremely warm offices lead to an 18% drop in attendance and an increase in project turnaround times by 13%.
75F solutions provide commercial buildings customers with Energy Efficiency, Comfort, Indoor Air Quality Management, Automation & Remote manageability. It includes a vertically integrated solution comprising of hardware, sensors, software, and analytics plus machine learning.
75F’s solution, a highly customized solution tailored to suit customer needs, compares very favorably with existing BMS + sensors + control systems while providing a far richer interface, far greater insight and significantly enhanced automation.
As one of the early Indian customers, Mr. Manjunath Srivatsa, Sr. VP – Facilities and Admin, Firstsource Solution says, “Since we installed 75F’s solution we’ve achieved significant savings on our energy bills and have noticed a considerable improvement in comfort levels. Moreover, 75F’s solution helped improve the productivity of my team.”
Another happy customer from the US Dan M, co-founder of Magnet 360 says, “I think it’s a fantastic solution. If you’re looking for the cost savings, it’s there. If you’re looking just to be green, it’s there. At the end of the day, if you’re looking for comfort, that’s the number one reason to roll it out.”
75F’s proactive, self-learning system with enhanced predictability, helps drive greater comfort and efficiency. Occupants of building with the 75F solution experience enhanced levels of thermal comfort, lighting comfort and air quality levels. This leads to far greater levels of productivity, occupant well-being, and longevity.
75F’s solution also improves the Operational Efficiency of the building, thereby improving the experience and the productivity of the Facilities Team. It empowers the facility team with Remote Manageability, better visibility, and control.
75F – Founders and Team
Deepinder Singh is the Founder and CEO of 75F.
75F Team
75F founder and CEO, Deepinder Singh has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology. Prior to starting his own venture, Deepinder held various technical positions at companies like Apex Electronics, Hughes Network Systems, Eftia OSS Solutions, Soma Networks, Suntulit and Unreasonable.
Regarding team size, 75F currently has over 70 employees in the APAC region, with offices in Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, and Singapore. In the U.S, the company employs over 40 people. 75F is expecting to add about 40 headcounts in both these geographies in the coming year.
How was 75F started?
75F was created to find a solution to an age-old problem. When 75F’s CEO & Co-Founder, Deepinder Singh’s one-year-old daughter moved to a separate room in their house in the US, she would often wake up crying in the middle of the night. He soon discovered this was because her room temperature was more than 8-10 degrees cooler than the other rooms – a significant difference in Minnesota, where the outside temperature could fall to -30 degrees Celsius. This was because the thermostat in the master bedroom did not take temperature variances into account. To fix this problem, Deepinder developed algorithms that incorporated temperature variances and thermal loads in different parts of buildings, and this was the beginning of 75F.
75F – Name and Logo
75F stands for 75 degrees Fahrenheit, which was set by the United Nations in 2008 as the optimum temperature in all its offices worldwide. Inspired by this, 75F seeks to deliver optimal comfort while saving maximum energy.
Initially, 75F’s go-to-market was direct to the customer, i.e. Facility Managers and Facility Heads of commercial buildings. Over time, it redefined its go-to-market strategy to approach the customers through their ESCo (Energy Service Companies) Partners or other channel partners such as FM Companies, Property developers, Building Automation SI’s, etc.
75F’s customers can opt for one of the two business models: CAPEX ( Captital expenditure) and OPEX ( Operational expenditure). In CAPEX, the customer makes an upfront payment, and there will be a small AMC fee for maintenance, but in the OPEX model, the customer will make regular payouts from the energy savings it enjoys for a predetermined period.
75F – Startup Challenges
Energy Efficiency, employee health and productivity, optimization and protection of assets or goods in a building, etc. all form an integral part of today’s business. While technologies such as IoT enable all of these at a much lower cost & in a more user-friendly way than before, there is inertia in changing to newer technologies and newer standards in comfort & sustainability.
That said, 75F is optimistic that the growth potential in the Indian subcontinent is huge where buildings are becoming people-centric with occupant’s comfort and preferences being given utmost priority. Energy efficiency & automation, which aren’t very big priorities for facility managers today, will soon become their prime focus.
75F – Funding and Investors
In its latest round of funding, 75F raised $18 Million from lead investors, Breakthrough Energy Ventures and OGCI Climate Investments in September 2019. 75F has raised 3 rounds of funding till date. Below are the details-
Date
Stage
Amount
Investors
Sptember, 2014
Grant
$105K
Grant received after participating in a startup competition called the MN Cup run by the Carlson School of Management
June, 2018
Seed
$2 Million
Gopher Angels, Steve Case(Chairman and CEO of Revolution, a venture capital firm based in Washington, DC.
September, 2019
Series A
$18 Million
Breakthrough Energy Ventures, OGCI Climate Investments, Revolution, Clean Energy Trust & Building Ventures
75F – Growth and Revenue
Over the past few years, 75F has expanded its product portfolio, entered new markets, and has started serving new verticals. Customers see value in investing in a truly predictive, proactive and self-learning solution that drives away inefficiencies. 75F today caters to an exciting breed of customers representing large and small enterprises that are looking for more efficiency, comfort, and power at their fingertips. 75F is headquartered in the U.S with offices in India (Bangalore, Mumbai, and Chennai) and Singapore. As revealed by Gaurav Burman, 75F’s APAC President , 75F has been growing in triple digits for the last two years.
With over 10 Mn square feet under management and a happy clientele that includes brands like First source Solutions, Flipkart, Bennett-Coleman Group, Shell, HP, ADAMAS Builders, and Mercedes Benz to name a few, 75F is very optimistic about their continued growth.
75F started operations in India in August 2016. As per reports the company was aiming to reach Rs 100 Cr in revenue in the fiscal year 2018-2019. However, 75F’s current revenue is not disclosed.
75F has won numerous awards for its pioneering and disruptive technology. Here are a few of the times they were deemed the best:
‘Most Innovative Smart Buildings Automation System 2019’ title by Global Excellence Awards 2019
‘PropTech Eco-Solution of the Year 2019’ by Realty+
Energy Efficiency Winner at CleanTech Open
Technology Inventor Winner at Titans of Technology
People’s Choice Award at Clean Energy Trust.
It also won the ‘Hot 100 Race to Grace 2017’ award and had been listed as one of the Top 50 SMEs by ASSOCHAM in India. Committed to innovation, the company is well poised to revolutionize the way energy efficiency and comfort are managed in the future.
75F globally has been conferred with the title of ‘Titans of Technology-2016’ and won the ‘People’s Choice Award’ at CleanTech Open 2014 and Eureka awards 2016. They were the Presenters at the 2014 Google Demo Day. 75F also scored big at the Regional Entrepreneurial competition and the Minnesota Cup in 2014 apart from winning a $100K cash recognition from AOL’s founder Steve Case.
75F – Future Plans
75F has been continuously expanding and recently opened an office in Singapore and Chennai and will soon be opening an office in Delhi as well. 75F is also working on expanding and adding to the capabilities and the width of the solution, enhancing the services suite and deploying additional go-to-market .
75F – FAQs
What is 75F?
75F was founded in 2012 by Deepinder Singh. 75F offers smart building solutions for commercial spaces, that not only improves the comfort level of the building inmates, but also aids conservation of huge amount of energy.
Who is the founder of 75F?
Deepinder Singh is the Founder & CEO of 75F.
How much is the revenue of 75F?
As per reports the company was aiming to reach Rs 100 Cr in revenue in the fiscal year 2018-2019. However, 75F’s current revenue is not disclosed.
Hey there! The constantly changing nature of man gives enough reasons for occasional developments and changes in hobbies, ability to learn new things and to even explore them. So, if you are looking to start out a new enterprise and you want to know how to start your bakery business or business outfit, congratulations on your willingness to explore and your readiness to leave your comfort zone to being the proud owner of your own bakery business!
Far beyond the mere mix of flour and butter to make batter, it cannot be overemphasized that starting your bakery business requires much more of administration than skill and probably, you are developing cold feet or still in the process of startup research, the tips provided in this article promises to be of great help!
As expected, starting off any endeavor without first counting the costs and defining the aim might be unwise. You don’t want to trans-cede from being a startup to just a figure on the statistical talked of failed enterprises someday; here’s why you need a plan.It is important to define your goals, vision and mission. Ask yourself how much of losses you are willing to incur should the tides move against you slightly.
Bread_StartupTalky
Be Capital Ready
Depending on your region of the world, the availability of grants, funding and other financial aids for businesses may vary but it is highly important to have the needed monies ready either by personal savings, grants from friends, low-interest/zero-interest loans etc. You may also consider making provisions for excesses who that you do not get ‘cornered’ or stuck at any point.
The question of what exactly the monies will be needed for should already be answered if you have done well to get a comprehensive business plan ready. Anyone will relate with the confidence that gives with being financially fit. Guess what? That theory applies to business too!
Prepare To Guard Your Emotions Jealously
If there’s anything the entrepreneurial world assures you, it is a cycle of stories, shock, disappointments, ups and downs, highs and lows, peaks and valleys and so much more! At this stage of business and beyond, you must learn to be indifferent to contingencies. In other words, it’s time you free a thick skin!
Quote on emotion_StartupTalky
This ability will help you think straight and make the best decisions no matter how pressuring the happenstance may be. If you are a quite emotional person, not to worry! Yoga exercises, regular counseling and many more strategies could help you develop this much needed strength.
Frustration in business is real! Get a hold your emotions long before you are forced to.
Preparatory Guidelines To Building Your Bakery Business
Get/set a space
At this point, you are getting very set for your new fear and it is important to get a working space. Depending on your immediate environment, you could seek a property on lease that would serve as your workspace and reception or consider clearing and revamping one of the unoccupied rooms in your home for your bakery.
Locate your bakery
You must note that the apartment or space to be used must be well ventilated and spacious so as to serve you the best of comfort when in use.Consider asking friends, neighbors and relatives for help with this phase, you should get all the help you need.
Start Building Social Media Presence
Alas, your bakery business is getting all setup. This is the time to get on social media bit by bit. This is because you are not fully set up yet and are only taking your own space in the online world. You could start out by putting up a few pictures about yourself, what you do, your (work in progress) brand and asking your prospective audience to anticipate an announcement of a launch soonest.
This strategy has proven to help gather a loyal fan base and pool of ‘mouth – to -mouth’ advertisers who may not have met you physically before. So, what are you waiting for? Get on the net now!
Confirm Any Regulatory Laws For Bakery Businesses In Your Area
You must remember that you are not alone in your colony; the world operates on structures, principles and systems. Necessity demands that you ensure you are not ignorant of the governmental regulatory structures in place at your region or city. Also ensure that you are duly registered and recognized legally. This step does not require anything more than being knowledgeable.
Launching Strategies For Your Bakery Business.
Introduce Yourself To The Market Officially
Now that all is well set, it is time to go all out online and offline. Tell your friends you are ready to serve them; officially introduce yourself to social media and tell your audience that the days of anticipation is over! You may consider checking on any of your neighbors who may have an event coming or a nearby school who would not mind you vending your services to their students.
Introduce yourself
Furthermore, you could try creating and boosting your ads on social media platforms and blogs. Remember, you didn’t go through all the starting up stress just to hide your ‘shine’. This is the time to get on a rooftop with a loudspeaker and shake the waves with your arrival. This is the moment you have been waiting for to go all out. So dear, go for it!
Give Promotional Offers
Your bakery business is not the first – neither will it be the last to get established. As a matter of fact, you may have a competitor who would choose to get settled somewhere close to your work space/bakery not too long after you do. This is why you need to be as strategic as possible with gathering a strong loyalty and awareness by giving promotional offers on your services and products.
Try a referral reward system, where you compensate anyone who refers a buyer or offer an extra pastry on any order that exceeds a particular monetary worth. Choose to DO YOU, BE YOU and go for what works best for you. All in all, try your best shots possible to attract clients and then trust in the consistency of excellence in your delivery to earn their loyalty.
Stay in the box but think out of it
must have heard there axiom, ‘think outside the box’. While this is very true, you must take care to still ‘stay in the box but think out of it’s. Basically, you must start working towards your planned vision and the uniqueness of your own vision would influence the uniqueness of your strategies for marketing and in the delivery of your skills.
Employing this rule will help to simultaneously keep your feet on the while your head is in the clouds. You will be able to safeguards tomorrow while working on the present.At this stage, you are officially the proud owner of a baking business and can rely introduce yourself as one.
Make it priority to check back on your business plan as frequently as possible. Steve Jobs once said and I paraphrase,Be stubborn with the vision but flexible with the strategy.
Dear Entrepreneur, the road might be a bit Rocky but trust the process because it will be worth it!
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The number of startups in the Indian health-tech space has further increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several innovative solutions were provided by the healthcare startups in containing the spread of the virus. One such leading healthcare company in India is SastaSundar.com. The company provides services in the areas such as Pharmacy, Wellness, and Diagnostics. SastaSundar was founded in the year 2013 by B L Mittal and Ravi Kant Sharma. Here is the company’s profile describing its journey through these years.
SastaSundar is a web portal that focuses on the wellness of the people by providing information and knowledge about the medicines and healthcare products that are being purchased. SastaSundar.com connects Independent Licensed Chemists to its customers to clarify their queries on the products. The orders are fulfilled only on confirmation of the associated Independent Licensed Chemists. The health-related services of the company include Medicine Substitutes, Health tools, Symptoms Checker, Infographics, and Health Profiles. The products offered are also of different categories such as Nutritional Supplements, Home Care, Ayurvedic, and Herbal products.
The founders of the company are B L Mittal and Ravi Kant Sharma. They have worked together for 16 years. Ravi Kant Sharma is the CEO and B L Mittal is the Executive Chairman of the company. Banwari Lal Mittal worked with Birla Corporation Limited for eight years and he is also a member of Chartered Accountants, Corporate Secretaries, and Costs and Works Accountants of India. Ravi Kant Sharma is also a member of Chartered Accountants and along with Mittal, he founded financial business services in the year 2000. The company now works with around 950 employees.
SastaSundar – Vision and Mission
The mission of the company is to provide genuine, high-quality products and offer greater services at lower prices. SastaSundar encompasses knowledge and digital connectivity in the convenient marketing of their products.
SastaSundar – Name, Tagline, and Logo
The phrase ‘SastaSundar’ denotes customers’ desire of purchasing high-quality products at a low cost. ‘Health and Happiness’ is the tagline of the company.
The company raised a revenue of Rs.218.53 Crore in the financial year 2019. The estimated annual revenue of the company is around $80M.
SastaSundar – Funding and Investors
SastaSundar has generated a total amount of $5M from Rohta Pharmaceutical in May 2017 through funding.
SastaSundar – Business and Revenue Model
The company uses a hybrid business model that combines the product offerings with digital updates. It uses both online and offline retail models with different payment options for the customers.
The leading competitors of the SastaSundar are 1mg, Netmeds, PharmEasy, Marketplace Ltd, CareOnGo, Medlife, and Apollo Pharmacy. SastaSundar stands ahead from its competitors with its sustained growth and updates according to the people’s needs.
SastaSundar – Future Plans
The company aims to expand its Pharma and Wellness services on a global scale by 2024 and also to create an impact on millions of lives with health and happiness.
Today, Ratan Tata needs no introduction as he is the most respected business tycoon in India. He is an Indian industrialist, philanthropist, former chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons. Post his retirement in 2012 he has turned into an avid angel investor who has left an everlasting impact. He is well-known for investing in some of the most successful startups today.
So far, Ratan Tata has invested in over two dozen startups, including top unicorns of India, like furniture e-tailer Urban Ladder, digital payments app Paytm, ride-hailing company Ola and its electric vehicle arm Ola Electric Mobility, Cure.fit, Urban Ladder, etc. His investment may only be a few million dollars, according to industry sources, but what’s invaluable is having the 81-year-old tycoon’s name attached to a young startup.
So, how Ratan Tata: the accidental startup investor turned into an avid angel investor? Let’s take a look.
Name
Ratan Tata
Born
Surat, India
Age
82
Citizenship
Indian
Education
Cornell University College of Architecture, Harvard Business School
Title
Indian Industrialist, Philanthropist, and a Former chairman of Tata Sons
Occupation
Businessman
Net Worth
Rs. 6396 Crore
Awards
CNN-IBN Indian of the Year in Business, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan
First Investment made by Ratan Tata
The 81-year-old also said that he became a startup investor by accident. He added that he used to look at the sector as exciting always but somewhat untouchable. Tata further mentioned that with two-three years into the sector, it has become a learning experience for him as he got to learn many aspects regarding investment in startups.
The business magnate, better known as the ”Accidental Startup Investor”, was always interested in the startup ecosystem. He mentioned that his tenure as the chairman of Tata Group as this sector meant conflicts if he would take up any entrepreneurial assignment. But once Mr. Tata retired, he wasted no time in becoming a full-time investor through his private investment vehicle—RNT Associates.
Ratan Tata said that when he retired, at first he started making small token investments in what he considered exciting companies. He admitted that in the beginning, he intended to take some more risks than he might have taken under different circumstances. With two-three years into this, it became a learning experience, as this sector is very active and has the best minds.
The first investment he made was in Snapdeal in 2014 which yielded great results. The CEO of Snapdeal, Kunal Bahl, has high regards for Ratan Tata and considers him to be a lucky charm for Snapdeal. He is believed to have bought a 0.17% stake in Snapdeal in August 2014, when he invested less than Rs 5 crore. Tata bought 256 shares from the e-commerce company’s angel investors, including Kenneth Glass.
Other Investments made by Ratan Tata
Following this, he has invested in 31 startups. After Snapdeal, the online furniture retailer Urban Ladder secured funding from Ratan Tata in November 2015. It was Tata’s second personal investment in an e-commerce firm. It is a popular furniture selling platform based in Bengaluru. It is currently present in 12 cities around India.
Paytm, a Noida-based digital-payments company saw an overnight jump in subscribers by millions, after Demonetization of announced by the government on November 8, 2018. The company had secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Ratan Tata in March 2015. Tata bought a stake in One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm.
Ola Cabs is India’s answer to Uber. Much like Uber, Ola provides cab services across all price segments, ranging from economic to luxury. Beginning its operations in 2010, Ola secured funding from Ratan Tata in July 2015.
Ratan Tata is the first Indian to buy a stake in Chinese tech giant Xiaomi best known for its affordable smartphones. It’s true, the amount Tata invested in Xiaomi was not disclosed. Similarly, services marketplace UrbanClap raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Ratan Tata in December 2015. In April 2016, Lenskart, the popular online retailer that sells eyewear secured funding from Tata.
Ratan Tata has invested in More than 30 Start-ups
Tata, while referring to the growth of budding startups said, “We are looking at the India of tomorrow and the day after, and the start-up industry is entering the global field in a manner where competition is open. The fact is we (Indians) are entrepreneurs at heart. Maybe what we need is the opportunity to flourish and I think the startup industry is doing just that.”
Ratan N. Tata has invested in over 30 startups. Among these, there are several technology-based startups too. Tata has made all these investments in his personal capacity. Ratan Tata has not restricted himself to a sector and stepped into a variety of diverse strata, be it clothing, weather, pet care services, etc., but technology catches his attention.
He holds the view that technology can be applied and used in any sector and the future is all about technology. He has recently invested in Tork Motors and Ola Electric. Ratan Tata has been supporting Ola since 2015. He openly expresses his excitement of participating in new areas and encourages young minds to search for domains yet to be explored.
Ratan Tata believes startups should get funded by Indian investors. According to him, the startup sector is growing rapidly with the best of minds involved in it. He regrets seeing such companies having great potential that could add value to the Indian economy but being bound to foreign authorities. Thus, Tata finds it unfortunate that founders get driven by foreign investments in the hope of an eventual acquisition by a larger entity.
He tells his decisions are intuition-driven, but the steps he has taken by now proves his intuitions are calculated risk oriented. He prefers getting into conversation with founders, analyze their personality, skills, their maturity, and the seriousness and most importantly, their zeal and dedication.
And like any other investor, he judges the future scope of pitched ideas. Tata has told in his case selection is more by intuition than by numbers. He further revealed that judging the intent of the founders and their seriousness influenced him more than any other factor.
How to Approach Ratan Tata for Investment?
Is Approaching Ratan Tata Difficult? As a matter of fact, its not. He is as approachable as any other investor. A few things to keep in mind if you plan to seek investment from the business tycoon:
Your idea should be unique and hold great potential.
The startup should have begun its operations, at least on a small-scale.
Tangible feedback on the startup and its product or service is a must. Remember, Ola got funding from RNT Associates 5 years after it began.
He is a man of experience, so it is advisable to be realistic and honest. Sniffing out non-sense is easy for him.
Being a personal investor, he prefers keeping the details of his investment private. He hates it when the media makes such information public. You will find it difficult to find the exact amount of his investments online, even when it comes to the biggest players he’s backing.
When asked what makes a good entrepreneur, he told what probably drives an entrepreneur to start a business is the fire in his belly that there is a better way to do something that has been done or a good opportunity to make a difference because something has not been explored well enough. And the confidence of staying with it is deciding factor of a good entrepreneurs. This is one thing to keep in mind while approaching Ratan Tata for investment.
Over the years, it is clearly seen that China is very interested in India. This can be easily seen with the help of the large investment made by the Chinese companies in the Indian Start-up ecosystem. In India, China’s tech giant companies and venture capital funds have made a big Chinese investments in India – largely in tech start-ups. These investment are made on evaluating some of the parameters which are acting as the ultimate success for the Chinese investing forums. They are:-
Value of Equity Invested- according to the business model.
Target Companies- according to the USP and the Similarity with other start-ups.
Location of investment for better acquiring the customers.
Nature of business- depending upon the people interest and other direct and indirect investment techniques.
Present Scenario of Chinese Investment in Indian Startups
Present scenario of Chinese Investment
Present scenario of Chinese Investment in India:Over the years, it has been seen that the Chinese start-up companies are getting a great success in the Indian market. TikTok, owned by ByteDance, is already one of the most popular and most downloaded app in India and the world, overtaking YouTube.
Xiaomi handsets are bigger than Samsung and Apple smartphones. The companies are having a large customer base making themselves the market leaders in their sectors respectively. All these Chinese start-ups are working behind the Indian start-up by providing the investment to these Indian start-up companies in the Indian start-up ecosystem. Chinese investment in Indian tech start-ups is making an impact disproportionate to its valuation, by deeply penetration of technology across sectors in India.
The statistics of the past years says, Oyo and Ola and many more. Indian Unicorns with Chinese investors are counted as 18 out of the 30 . This means that China has embedded itself deeply in the Indian ecosystem which is helping them in getting the large profits.
The Chinese companies and venture firms made the investment in about two dozen Chinese tech companies and firms which are having more scope of success according to them. These investing giants consist of the companies and firms like Alibaba, ByteDance and Tencent, which are completely established in the market and earning the great profits. These Chinese Companies have invested their money in about 92 Indian start-ups, including some of the unicorns such as Paytm, Ola, Dream 11, Byju’s and many more.
Division of the Chinese Investors
Chinese investment in Indian Startups are categorized in two groups. These Chinese investment in Indian Startups have made these companies a giant in the Indian startup ecosystem. They are:-
1) Chinese VC funds, such as CDH Investments, Ward Ferry, SAIF Partners and Hillhouse Capital, mostly based in Hong Kong. They are akin to professional global investors, such as Sequoia or Softbank, and look for a bigger financial returns according to the investment.
2) Tech giant companies, like Alibaba, Tencent and Xiaomi, which want a serious presence in the Indian market, just as Walmart (via Flipkart) and Amazon do but in a virtual manner without any burden.
Education, Logistics, Gaming, E-commerce, Media, Social Media & Fintech, Aggregator, Others
XIAOMI
SECTORS
City Mall, Hungarna Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, Marsplay Internet, Oye!, Rickshaw, Rapido, Sharechat ,Zesty Money
E-commerce, Fintech. Aggregator, Media, Social Media & Entertainment
Some of the big Chinese firms investment in the Indian startups ecosystem are:-
Funding by Chinese VCs
Shunwei Capital
Hillhouse capital
Fosun Rz Capital
GGV Capital
$ 9.4 Million Pratilipi
$ 13.2 Million epiFi
$8 Million DotPe
$24 Million Vedantu
$ 7.9 Million Sim Sim
$70 Million Car Dekho
$1.2 Million Loca
$36 Million Rupeek
$ 5.9 Million Kuku FM
$585 Million Udaan
$11.2 Million Delhivery
$25 Million Khata Book
This shows that the Chinese investors and VC firms are keenly observing the the Indian startup ecosystem and this can be easily proved by the above statistics which tells that these Chinese VCs are investing almost in all the Indian startups during their initial period of their startup. This Small-Small investment in almost all the startups has now become big amount in total.
Reasons behind the Chinese Investments in Indian start-ups
These Chinese companies are investing in such companies mainly due to 3 reasons. They are:-
Difference in the Currency Value
Powerful Chinese currency
It is clearly seen that the Chinese currency is having the higher value than the Indian currency. The Chinese currency is almost 10 times larger than the Indian currency. This is the main point behind the Chinese investment in Indian start-ups.
This creates a plus point for the Chinese investors as, they have to invest less while investing in the Indian start-ups as compared to any Chinese investment.
Secondly, these Chinese companies investment in Indian start-ups having a similar concept eg: Alibaba invested in Paytm. This helps the Chinese investors to make a trade of technologies with the invested start-up. So, the Chinese investors are able to get their invested in one or the other form plus also gets the partnership in the start-up with the help of the shares they purchased, which ultimately acts ROI for these investors.
Data of the Indian Users
Data security and data privacy
It is the well-known fact that data is the new oil. Chinese companies such as Alibaba and Tencent have their own ecosystems which are ready for use. This includes the online stores, payment gateways, messaging services, and many others.
These Chinese investors can pull the data of the Indian users. This can be done with the help of the position in the company (due to the investment) which can ultimately leads us to the loss of control over data. This data can be used in many ways and in different situations depending on the need of attraction of the customers having similar taste. This data has its own value in the market and after the loss over the data, there will be no privacy left for the existing customers of the service.
China is having a very large amount of restrictions over the companies which do not belongs to the Chinese state. China is having a closed internet service or the Chinese internet service which almost act as an intranet. This restricts outsiders and is closely monitored and controlled by the state. Many companies like Facebook, are banned in China and other companies working in China like Apple, have to undergo many restrictions.
Due to this many Chinese companies like Alibaba and Tencent are able to get all the benefits of this system. By restricting access to foreign players, China is able to create its own working surfaces. So, these Chinese investing companies and firms are trying to replicate their internet ecosystems in India. Once, they are able to get success in this task then they will be able to dominate over the Indian market which will directly affect the world’s market.
Chinese Investment in Indian Startups – FAQs
How many Indian startups are funded by China?
As per conducted surveys, it has been founded that 18 out of 30 Indian startups are funded by Chinese Investors. This means that China has embedded itself deeply in the Indian ecosystem which is helping them in getting large profits.
Is BigBasket funded by China?
Yes, BigBasket is funded by Chinese Investors – Alibaba. Recently, BigBasket has received funding of $50 million from Alibaba.
Is Flipkart funded by China?
Flipkart till now has received $7.7 billion from multiple investors and talking about Chinese Investors, Flipkart has received around $300 million from investors like Tecent and Steadview capital.
The Apparel and garment industry has been challenged by the growth of a global market and E-Commerce lately.
The solution is to meet the updated operations, enhancing supply-chain and distribution to meet customer demand. Nowadays, Apparel ERP is used on a greater scale to get detailed data of orders online, form query responses, effective control and, plan and schedule order accurately and predict data efficiently.
ERP is used in the apparel industry for a garment manufacturing process, design, material checking, shipping, and distribution. A fashion ERP provides a centralized database of all the business processes and so on.
Handling and operating Apparel industry without an ERP Software would be a disaster. ERP software for manufacturing in the Apparel industry will let help the organization anticipate user demand patterns, Wishlist, and clients requirements. In the absence of an operating Apparel ERP software, these tasks would turn into challenges.
The global ERP software market in 2018 was valued at $35.82 billion and is predicted to reach $78.4 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 10.2% from 2019 to 2026.
Growth factors in Apparel ERP Software
The production industry dominated the ERP Software Market in 2018 and is expected to continue this trend during the forecast period. It is expected to rise in several pharmaceuticals, automotive, garments, and electronic manufacturing market. However, the apparel industry is expected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period.
As per the latest research of the Apparel Business and ERP Software Industry market provides a comprehensive assessment of the key factors driving the industry growth. It also lists out the existing challenges and opportunities crucial to business expansion in the upcoming years. It has an economically wide database to enhance business management and boasts a dedicated section for considering leading players. So, the impact of the pandemic is covered too.
The Apparel ERP Software Market is forecasted to rise at a significant rate between 2020 and 2025. The forecast report studies the Apparel ERP Software market size which includes value and volume, by players, regions, and product types. The history data 2014-2018 and the forecast data 2019-2025.
ERP software in the apparel and textile industry offers businesses unlimited benefits in monitoring operations, helping the organizations to plan effectively and work on a unified, seamless platform for greater operational efficiency.
Inventory Management
Apparel manufacturing ERP software lets the business comprehend the basic ideas of cost while maintaining the right mix of merchandise across the organization. Monitoring the state of stock/inventory of the Organization gives a proper picture of whereabouts of the material and makes the management easier.
Improving Production Planning
With advanced ERP software and algorithm at play, it will help organizations to draw the best and most cost-effective schedule in planning and control of production.
Accessibility
Digital transformation has made it necessary for key personnel to have access to reports and information 24/7, from anywhere, from any authorized device.
To fulfil the purchase orders quickly while allocating the right person the right work, ERP software makes it possible. It helps in reducing errors, redundant data entry and other problematic activities. With an ERP software, real-time tracking and reporting of resources at the warehouse, shop floor, procurement, shipment is also possible.
Hub of Multiple Functions
The dashboard offers a complete view of every department or operation which includes Production, Supply Chain Planning, RCCP, QC, Warehouse Management, Finance, HR, Sales, Marketing, Shop Floor Control.
Accuracy
ERP facilitates prompt decision making, productivity and improves the connection between vendors, customers, and coworkers by offering the correct information to the authorized users who work from anywhere in the world.
Top Apparel ERP Software
Top Apparel ERP Software
There are several different ERP Software which performs and help in Apparel, Clothing industry and Garment industry to make the operations easier.
Fishbowl
Fishbowl Management software offers the Apparel Organizations a complete supply chain management and efficient sales tracking process in one convenient system. It is an inventory system, with features for raw materials management, customized reporting, barcoding, and asset management. This management automates the quoting, ordering and purchasing processes.
Fishbowl Manufacturing allows businesses to track stock/inventory across multiple locations including warehouse and office branches. Professionals can use the app for purchase order management, warehouse management, inventory tracking, and more, and multiple warehouses can be managed from one centralized solution. The inventory management feature allows businesses to carry out barcode scanning as well as serial number identification to trace shipments and orders.
e-Smartx
e-Smartx is an efficient, modern, cost-effective, and proven enterprise platform solution that meets the requirements of the apparel manufacturing industry. e-Smartx monitors and manages the total processes in the apparel manufacturing business. Its workflow system provides accurate business management capability for faster response to consumer demands. The internet-enabled, real-time system gives manufactures the capability to monitor the whole process from product development to exports.
FDM4
FDM4 is an integrated system that leverages fashion ERP to the next level by allowing enterprise-scale apparel manufacturers to work smarter, faster, and more efficiently across the global market.
It was designed specifically by fashion users and involves a comprehensive matrix of processes allowing the company to handle purchasing, inventory, customer orders, sales fulfilment, billing and financial reporting, everything based on the particular needs of required operations in the fashion domain.
INFOR Fashion
INFOR Fashion ERP provides resource management operations based on fashion requirements. This ERP is configurable that operates the entire fashion process chain ranging from design, materials sourcing, and product distribution, to manufacturing, private brand wholesale and retailing.
Apparel Connect
Apparel Connect was developed specially by garment manufacturers, in direct support of the global buying audience.
The system allows the apparel enterprise to operate seamlessly due to its high performing toolset including product development, marking and processing, order management, demand-based processing, inventory control, purchasing, reporting, production planning, carton packing, outsourcing operations, task management processing, and much more management to these processes.
A2000
This ERP provider produces a market-leading fashion solution oriented to the specific needs of apparel businesses. The system is fully-integrated and includes advanced warehouse management capabilities, order processing, PLM processing, financials reporting, and inventory management.
In addition to these, there are modules for catalogues and telemarketing. The system is mobile, in addition to a unique capability to develop and deliver internally produced social-network communications.
PolyPM
PolyPM system offers an integrated ERP and product lifecycle management which is capable to design and manufacture specifically for the apparel industry. This platform is comprehensive and ranges in value from the development of style to product execution, and lastly to global buyer distribution.
Some of the system’s more unique features include cut planning, fabric inspection, production and a 2D size ranging, in addition to more accepted manufacturing processes and the inclusion of a comprehensive order auditing capability.
Conclusion
The journey of fashion, textile, and apparel industry will significantly take a new shape considering that the businesses implement a powerful ERP software for the apparel industry to work productively while increasing the bottom line.
Benjamin Franklin said “Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.” In other words, you can rely solely on first-hand experiences to gain sales knowledge but it might be painful. There are plenty of blogs and websites dedicated to SaaS out there, but sometimes nothing beats a good book.
An expertly written book offers a great way to learn in-depth strategies and tactics that you can explore in your day-to-day tasks and along your long-term career path. It’s always a good idea to explore new resources to continually grow your knowledge, so I present you some of the best sales and marketing books. Some are sales related, some offer a fresh perspective on content marketing and others cover great growth hacking techniques.
Most Recommended Sales and Marketing Books
Get one or more of the books listed below, read them cover to cover and enthusiastically apply the techniques these experts reveal to help your SaaS business enter new realms of growth.
Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth
– by Gabriel Weinberg, Justin Mares.
Traction
In Traction, serial entrepreneurs Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares give startups the tools for generating explosive customer growth. Most startups don’t fail because they can’t build a product. Most startups fail because they can’t get traction. Building a successful company is hard. Smart entrepreneurs know that the key to success isn’t the originality of your offering, the brilliance of your team, or how much money you raise. It’s how consistently you can grow and acquire new customers.
Traction will teach you the nineteen channels you can use to build a customer base, and offers a three-step framework to figure out which ones will work best for your business. No matter how you apply them, the lessons and examples in Traction will help you create and sustain the growth your business desperately needs.
This advanced handbook explains how to acquire customers for your site/app, and how to entice them to purchase. It is widely recommended within Silicon Valley because it actually teaches growth marketing to a professional level. It doesn’t waste time on self-evident, nonsense advice.
Julian says “If you’re skeptical of marketing advice, know that I am too. This handbook is unique in that I have years of diverse data: I’ve run thousands of experiments for clients like Microsoft, Imperfect Produce, Perfect Keto, Webflow, Tovala, Clearbit, and others.” This material applies to companies of every size and vertical. It covers both introductory and advanced B2B and B2C tactics. Marketers of every skill level will encounter new material.
SaaS Marketing Essentials
– by Ryan Battles
SaaS Marketing Essentials
SaaS Marketing Essentials by Ryan Battles is a great primer covering essential marketing strategies and tactics with concrete, actionable examples. Whether you’re kicking a SaaS idea around in your head or are looking to level-up your current recurring revenue, this book shows you how to attract & convert new users. This book gives so many great ways to find and convert customers, it’s a no-brainer for anyone that wants to grow a successful SaaS product.
Smarter, Faster, Cheaper
– by David Siteman Garland
Smarter, Faster, Cheaper
With huge recent shifts in the way enterprises are built, marketed, and monetized, these are “wild west” times for business. Smarter, Faster, Cheaper gives you an innovative, approachable new guide on how to market, promote and improve your business drawing on real world examples and offering practical advice as opposed to fluffy theory.
It presents a complete roadmap for marketing and promoting your business with the latest techniques. Strategies and ideas are easy to understand, digest, and immediately put to use. From learning when to skimp and when to splurge to mastering the art of online schmoozing, Smarter, Faster, Cheaper will save you time, money, and aggravation whether you’re building your tenth business or your first.
Launch
– by Jeff Walker
Launch
Launch will build your business—fast. Whether you’ve already got a business or you’re itching to start one, this is a recipe for getting more traction. Launch is the treasure map into that world—an almost secret world of digital entrepreneurs who create cash-on-demand paydays with their product launches and business launches. Once Jeff started teaching his formula to other entrepreneurs, the results were simply breathtaking.
Tiny, home-based businesses started doing launches that sold tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and even millions of dollars in sales with their launches. Whether you have an existing business, or you have a service-based business and want to develop your own products so you can leverage your time and your impact, or you’re still in the planning phase—this is how you start fast. This formula is how you engineer massive success.
With the help of this book, discover the outbound sales process that, in just a few years, helped add $100 million in recurring revenue to Salesforce.com, almost doubling their enterprise growth, without cold calling or a boiler room approach. This is NOT another book about how to cold call or close deals. This is an entirely new kind of sales bible for CEOs, entrepreneurs and sales VPs to help you build a sales machine, and a sales culture that people love.
This book answers the questions like what does it take for your sales team to generate as many highly-qualified new leads as you want, create predictable revenue, and meet your financial goals without your constant focus and attention? What does it take to attract top sales talent, people who exceed and want to stay and grow with your company?
From Impossible To Inevitable
– by Aaron Ross and Jason Lemkin
From Impossible to Inevitable
From Impossible to Inevitable details the hypergrowth playbook of record-breaking companies like Zenefits, Salesforce and EchoSign. Whether you’re a small business owner or have a $1 billion firm, you can use the insights from these notable companies to learn what it really takes to break your own revenue records. The authors show how you can grow your company by developing repeatable processes that will consistently drive revenue and increase your growth. This book is a seminal work in the field of SaaS sales and focuses in on a number of critical cogs in the growth process of a business.
They Ask, You Answer
– by Marcus Sheridan
They Ask, You Answer
They Ask You Answer is a straightforward guide to fixing your current marketing strategy. Regardless of your budget, you are almost certainly overspending on television, radio, and print ads, yet neglecting the number-one resource you have at your disposal: the Internet. Content marketing is no longer about keyword-stuffing and link-building; in fact, using those tactics today gets your page shuffled to the bottom of the heap.
Quality content is the key to success, and you already have the ingredients in-house. This book shows you how to structure an effective content strategy using the same proven principles that have revolutionized marketing for all types of businesses, across industries.
The Lean Startup approach fosters companies that are both more capital efficient and that leverage human creativity more effectively. Inspired by lessons from lean manufacturing, it relies on “validated learning,” rapid scientific experimentation, as well as a number of counter-intuitive practices that shorten product development cycles, measure actual progress without resorting to vanity metrics, and learn what customers really want. It enables a company to shift directions with agility, altering plans inch by inch, minute by minute.
Rather than wasting time creating elaborate business plans, The Lean Startup offers entrepreneurs—in companies of all sizes—a way to test their vision continuously, to adapt and adjust before it’s too late. The book provides a scientific approach to creating and managing successful startups in a age when companies need to innovate more than ever.
Start Small, Stay Small
– by Rob Walling
Start Small, Stay Small
Start Small, Stay Small is a step-by-step guide to launching a self-funded startup. This book intentionally avoids topics restricted to venture-backed startups such as: honing your investment pitch, securing funding, and figuring out how to use the piles of cash investors keep placing in your lap.
This book assumes:
You don’t have $6M of investor funds sitting in your bank account.
You’re not going to relocate to the handful of startup hubs in the world.
You’re not going to work 70 hour weeks for low pay with the hope of someday making millions from stock options.
There’s nothing wrong with pursuing venture funding and attempting to grow fast like Amazon, Google, Twitter, and Facebook. It just so happened that most people are not in a place to do this.
Start Small, Stay Small also focuses on the single most important element of a startup that most developers avoid: marketing. There are many great resources for learning how to write code, organize source control, or connect to a database. This book does not cover the technical aspects developers already know or can learn elsewhere. It focuses on finding your idea, testing it before you build, and getting it into the hands of your customers.
Conclusion
I hope that this list provides enough books to keep you busy for a while – and to help transform your business. Give them a try and understand how it changes your startup. Also, give us suggestions of books that you read and can benefit others in the comments section.
The content in this post has been approved by the organisation it is based on.
Education and career related decisions can have a huge impact on our lives. But, many of us find it challenging to decide upon the kind of education we want to pursue. Be it picking the avenue of choice i.e. Arts, Commerce, Science or finding the best institutes, and coaching classes, we often get confused and can’t narrow down on. While coaching classes are mushrooming in every nook and corner of every town and city, when it comes to choosing one, it is not an easy task. Edviseme, a Mumbai based Ed-tech startup has come forward to simplify this process.
Edviseme is an education aggregating platform that connects students to the best coaching institute in the vicinity by bringing together the best educational and coaching classes on one platform. You can filter options to find an institution that is easily accessible to you and works best to your advantage. StartupTalky interviewed Edviseme founder Suraj Punjabi to understand more about the startup.
Edviseme claims to be India’s largest institute aggregator and provides every student with the information collected from hundreds of coaching centers, training institutes, and tuition classes. It not only connects the students with the desired coaching centers but it also helps students book their seat and get admissions instantly. Students can compare, review the institutes and make informed decisions from the comfort of their homes.
In addition to this, Edviseme understands the growing demand & interest of students in studying abroad especially in countries like the USA, UK, and Australia. Institutes & Organizations providing Courses like Graduate Records Examination (GRE) or TOEFL are also partnered with Edviseme to help students realize their dreams.
Edviseme founder Suraj Punjabi is a young entrepreneur and has been in multiple business such as garments, retail, import and export since he was 16 years old. He is also PR professional with a Masters degree in Media and communication. He is a complete believer in empowering people to be the best they can be, unconditionally, and, in keeping commitments ruthlessly!
Suraj Punjabi, Founder, Edviseme
Rakesh Chipte is the co-founder of Edviseme.
The Idea Behind Starting Edviseme
Finding a good coaching institute is not an easy task, and as a student Suraj Punjabi realized this issue very well.
When I was pursuing my Post Graduation and looking for coaching classes that were highly rated, I realized how difficult it was to narrow down and finalize on a good tutor or institute. There was no platform that I could go to, that would help me find the learning institute I was looking for considering everything from budget to convenience – Suraj quotes
Thus, he built the platform Edviseme with an idea to create a marketplace where students can easily find and connect with good coaching centers. The platform helps students make the right decision by quickly connecting them with matching coaching institutes in their locality or online, across a range of categories.
The name Edviseme is a combination of Education-Advise.
Edviseme Logo
Edviseme – Revenue Model
Classes and tutors can showcase their skills by creating their profile and get hired. Edviseme doesn’t has any pre-lead or subscription base model. The company charges commission from the classes after the student has registered. The commission can be anything between 5% to 30%. The listing of the classes is completely free.
Edviseme has built a strong network of professionals across Mumbai and is soon going to penetrate into tier 2 cities like Surat, Pune and Bhopal. The team focuses on generating a new lead every day. Besides, the company has a strong presence on social media, engages in PR activities and also promotes the platform in schools and colleges.
We are a marketing-oriented company and the marketing team does not follow the box-in-box-out approach. They believe in launching unique marketable concepts and back them up with 360-degree marketing efforts. On top of this, we have built a business with strong unit level economics, which is hard to find these days – Suraj Punjabi says explaining the company’s marketing techniques.
Edviseme till date (as on Septmeber 2020) is a self-funded startup
Edviseme – Challenges
The challenges were more about building the product than taking it to the market. The portal is designed in a way that revolutionizes the way students search for coaching institutes, and building such a two way market place was obviously challenging for the Edviseme team. The company was formed after 9 months of doing a proper R&D and after planning each and everything.
Edviseme will list over additional 1500 prime non educational classes. The company which is currently operational in Mumbai, will soon expand listing of classes in Pune and Surat. Within the next 2 years, Edviseme aims to reach out to all metro cities PAN India and start listing of Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities.
Edviseme – FAQs
What is Edviseme?
Edviseme is an education aggregating platform that connects students to the best coaching institute in the vicinity by bringing together the best educational and coaching classes on one platform
Who are the Founders of Edviseme?
Suraj Punjabi and Rakesh Chipte are the founders of Edviseme
How does Edviseme make money?
The company charges commission from the classes after the student has registered. The commission can be anything between 5% to 30%. The listing of the classes is completely free
The government of India brought in a lot of changes in the FDI norms. This was done keeping in mind the nation’s condition amidst the global pandemic. The main aim was to prevent foreign companies from opportunistic take overs of Indian firms.
The recent investments made their point on curbing Chinese investments in Indian Firms. As per the new FDI norm any country that shares a land border with India will no longer be able to use the automatic route in the FDI. The companies who would like to invest must seek government’s clearance over any investment proposal.
The changes were brought in late April earlier this year. The main aim was to stop Chinese Investors from their predatory behavior. These rules would be applied on countries such as Bhutan, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Afghanistan. But there is a very small flow of investments from these countries. So, this is evident that the norms are to keep an eye on China for any signs of exploitative behavior.
All this was not done on any sudden decision. The reason behind all this is form the year 2015. Since 2015 China has increased its investment in India. This looks like a very strategic move. According to a report by the DPIIT, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. The total amount of FDI that has flown from China to India is around $1.8 Billion. All this within a 2015-2019. In the year 2015 itself there was an investment of total $494.75 million.
The industry that has particularly caught the eye of the Chinese investor is the Indian Automobile Industry. Between the same period that is from 2015-2019. The automobile Industry has seen a total investment of $876.30 million. The electrical equipment manufacturing along with the book printing sectors have also seen a hug inflow. All this FDI flow confirms the foothold of Chinese investors in the nation.
Yearly FDI Inflows (in USD Million)
The companies that would be affected the most would be the companies like BigBasket, Paytm and Ola. These companies are just collateral damages of the governments new rules to protect minor companies. The online Grocery vendor Gofers along with the digital payment app and OLA have received millions of dollars as investment from Chinese Investors.
The new norms would effect the fresh funds that were supposed to role in.
“The new FDI guidelines essentially imply Chinese capital would require prior government approval. In effect, given the uncertainty around approval, startups will shy away from Chinese capital. In the immediate future, this could impact PhonePe and potentially Paytm at a later date,” said Ashneer Grover, CEO and co-founder, BharatPe
According to a report by the Think Tank Gateway House a total of $4 Billion has been invested in Indian startups by the Chinese tech investors. Another report said that 18 of India’s 30 Unicorn Startups are funded by Chinese Investors.
BigBasket the online grocery store got a $50 million funding from Alibaba. This investment rolled in when the company was facing its own share of problems in the lockdown. But these new FDI norms would hit the company. BigBasket would face troubles for its capital infusions with Alibaba. BigBasket would now have to search other places to reach its requirements on the basis of investments.
Paytm raised a huge sum of $1 Billion from the Soft Bank in Japan and from Ant Financial from Alibaba. Paytm faces tough competition from Google and PhonePe(owned by Walmart). To fight these competitors Paytm has to be always on the edge of innovation . But the company would face a major fallback after the new norms. Alibaba is the largest share holder in the company. This would indeed affect the digital payments platform.
Alibaba’s Ant Financial has been an investor in Zomato since the year 2018. Ant Financial invested $210 million in the food delivery app. It go a stake of 14.7%. By this Ant Financial became the company’s Largest investor. This stake was raised to 23%. According to news reports this was going to be increased earlier this year. But between that the Indian government revised its FDI norms.
18 of the 30 Unicorn Startups who are funded by Chinese Investors would face a lot of troubles. The move of making changes in the FDI norms is to hurt the Chinese Investors. But this would hurt the unicorn startups. This move has put many jobs on risk.
Parnas Ghosh
