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  • 5 Founders Share Their Strategies On Keeping Data and Business Cyber Secured While Working From Home

    Covid-19 has shaken the whole world and brought everyone’s life to a halt. This highly contagious disease is spreading so fast that Indian Government has ordered 1.3 billion residents to stay home for more than 40 days now. Malls, theaters, companies, shops, restaurants, and manufacturing units are all shut. Businesses and economy have taken a severe hit. Many organizations have asked their employees to work from home.

    A company has to take permission from its client if the employee has to work on the client’s data from home. Employees need laptop, a good internet connection, communication gear, work-related hardware, and software. Technology has made it easy to do everything online like meetings, attendance, etc. Data security is of prime concern when working from home.

    We asked a few founders about how they are keeping data and business cyber secured.

    Also read:  

    Keep Data and Business Cyber Secured 

    Sequretek

    Sequretek is a Mumbai based Indian cybersecurity company with offices in Gurgaon, Bengaluru, and the United States. We talked with Pankit Desai, co-founder and CEO of Sequretek, about how to keep data and business cyber secured with work from home, or WFH, becoming a norm.

    In the pre-Covid 19 era, employees working across companies were issued laptops and other devices which were checked for security flaws and appropriate end point protection were loaded into them. The entire network architecture and end point devices were periodically patched and checked for security lapses. As WFH was enforced without any notice, companies didn’t get the time or the option to issue cyber safe devices. In some cases, there weren’t enough devices to allocate. Thus, employees are relying on personal laptops, tablets, and other gadgets over unpatched home networks and accessing, sharing, and trading possibly sensitive information with each other to do their work. One of the main concerns we see is that the same devices are being used for personal reasons like searching for a plethora of information—from coronavirus updates to online purchases in your free time. So if hackers gain access to personal devices, they can acquire log details, texts, and there is a good chance that your credentials have been siphoned off. Those credentials can then be used to carry out various attacks. We are aware of certain cases where significant attempts have been made to steal credentials. In order to not be compromised, you can try a few things to help protect your system from such malicious attacks:

    1. Hygiene: Start treating your personal assets as if they are corporate issued. Try not to access any external storage devices and websites that you would not be permitted if you were working in your corporate environment.
    2. End point security:
      – Enterprises should make sure that all the devices (both company issued and personal) that are being used to access the company’s network have updated security software with auto-enabled patching. Use freely available antivirus software or 30/90 days trial version products, if needed.
      – Avoid using Windows 7 as most security products don’t support this operating system anymore. If you are still using it, ensure that the antivirus software is enabled. Windows 10 would be preferred as it comes with in-built security features.
      – Freemium antivirus: Avast / total AV; 30/90 day free trial: Norton/McAfee/ TrendMicro. Also, check out www.cert-in.org.in.
    3. Network security devices and rules will need to be reconfigured to support external communication:
      – Enterprises should ensure that the security monitoring capability understands the difference between company owned and personal devices that are now plugged into the network. It will help understand any abnormal behavior and can bring down the number of false positives that may otherwise create a worrisome situation.
      – Install a firewall if one doesn’t exist. Options range from low end to expensive ones.
      – Review the rules on firewalls to ensure they are valid and no gaps exist. For every mobile user, create a policy on the firewall for access. Secure the communication with VPN technology.
      – Most firewalls have a VPN feature. Use the same or open-source options. Try multi-factor authentication to prevent any abuse of credentials.
      – Enterprises can also implement geofencing to restrict traffic within their networks. For example, if most of the employees working from home on a project are from Mumbai, then the company can make sure that any IP outside the city will not be allowed to access the environment.
      – Also, lock the specific set of assets to an environment so that people from outside that particular geography can’t access specific environments.
    4. Datacentre:
      – Make sure your servers are patched and all recent vulnerabilities are fixed. Servers need antivirus software too.
      – All your OS/DB/network devices are hardened.
      – Review your applications and make sure they don’t have any loopholes which can be exploited.
      – Ensure proper credentials and authentication mechanisms exist for your applications.
      – If feasible, take up services of security monitoring that can help you identify credible threats.
      – Windows Defender is free with all Microsoft operating systems. WSUS is free for Microsoft patching.
      -Several open-source vulnerability scanners are available: Burpsuite/Wireshark/NMap.

    Surmount Business

    Surmount Business targets to become a strategic partner to entrepreneurs and enterprises and help expand beyond their existing roots, professionalize their operations, and enhance their capital efficiency. We spoke with Niraj Bora, the founder of Surmount Business, about how to keep data and business cyber secured with respect to the WFH culture.

    Dropbox, google drive, etc. tools are safe for file sharing and also provide real time sync, separate team login, accidental delete recovery options, etc. as well. They have these options that makes sharing very convenient. Communication and project management tools like zoom, slack, and MS teams have good functionality and are helpful for work allocation, tracking progress, email and chat integration, cloud integration, etc. Paid subscriptions further increase the utility to include call recordings, multiple team member logins, etc.

    Also Read:

    Excess2sell

    Excess2sell is India’s leading B2B excess inventory marketplace which covers multiple verticals. We spoke with Mr Amit Kundra, Technology Director, about how to keep data and business cyber secured when WFH is becoming a norm.

    Work From Home (WFH) has been the biggest challenge across businesses during the lockdown, especially in India where businesses still run the traditional way. The lockdown imposed on us due to the COVID-19 has left us with no choice but to WFH and since most businesses, especially the SMEs had never experienced this way of working prior to now, it has been a paradigm shift for enterprises. In such times, the only way to achieve business process continuity is through digital transformation, work automation, and mobility.

    We at Excess2sell.com managed to keep up the processes going in this crisis situation as our E2S Ecosystem has been architectured in such a manner that majority of our business processes are automated , run independently, and are tightly integrated with each other which had really helped to continue with our tech development, member on-boarding, activation, CRM support process and departments, and most importantly, customer facing apps seamlessly running without any hindrance factoring all security aspects.

    On the Infrastructure side, we decided to manage it out by categorizing it under two heads with strict guidelines:

    1. Use your own laptop.
    2. Company desktop / laptop with guidelines issued to all employees.
      • To beware of phishing emails.
      • To avoid use of public Wi-Fi.
      • To ensure home Wi-Fi routers are sufficiently secured.
      • To verify the security of the devices that they use to get work done.
      • To avoid clicking links in emails from people they do not know.
      • To avoid installation of third-party apps should be confined to bonafide app stores.
      • Daily backups.

    Since security was a bigger concern than the speed of work while allowing employees to WHF and ensuring business process doesn’t get stalled, we immediately actioned Privilege Access Management and transitioned our tech development completely onto offline mode. All new developments and product enhancements work are now being carried out on a separate secured Temporary Cloud bucket besides the ones regularly used considering best practices and team collaboration is happening via Slack.

    Track of every login to the system, Multi-factor authentication, bitbucket and webmails monitoring processes should be strictly followed. Access to All High Availability Production Apps and environments is/should be restricted to a bare minimum mode and only VPN connectivity should be permitted in case of any critical or urgent release need.

    To make communication smoother and faster with customers as well as internally, WhatsApp is being used as a part of enterprise communication along with SMS and email channels. Customers send their documents through WhatsApp or emails and they are tagged through Mobile or Web apps. Other tools that we recommend for efficient collaboration of the team in such times are Slack or Zoom.

    These are hard times for businesses and IT budgets will be impacted in more than one way. But considering the new working normal and moving forward, businesses should invest more in IT to enable employees and customers to operate seamlessly in such unavoidable circumstances in the future. Businesses will definitely benefit by enabling and allowing complete digitization and mobility.

    The need of the hour for every business moving forward is to be pro-active in defining business specific digital solutions rather than being reactive to similar kind of crisis conditions in future.

    Volksara Techno Solutions

    Volksara Techno Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is an all-in-one provider of remedies pertaining to the comprehensive security and safety solutions and integration of products, systems, and services. We spoke with Saily Lad, Director, about how to keep data and business cyber secured when WFH is becoming a norm.

    Due to the extraordinary circumstances we are navigating, working from home has become the norm for a lot of people and companies, possibly for the first time in their lives. This has not been a common practice in the past and hence, there is a severe lack of a strong cybersecurity policy and standards to keep one’s data safe. In fact, every time an employee connects to a corporate network from their homes, they are creating access points that can possibly be exploited by hackers. When this happens over 1000 times on a single network amid lockdowns, it becomes increasingly difficult to guarantee security of each and every connection.

    What we can do in such a scenario is to encourage employees to use a VPN at all times, especially when working with sensitive data. Additionally, we should encourage the use of cybersecurity tools that are capable of performing simulated attacks across remote connections in order to assess risks. This can greatly help determine the extent to which our current settings and defenses are effective, and what changes need to be made to keep our organisations and data safe.

    TechChefs Software

    TechChefs Software focuses on product engineering and multi-cloud engineering. Pratap Simha, the founder and CTO of TechChefs Software, discussed about how to keep data and business cyber secured by working at home.

    Today we live in a world where everything and everybody is interconnected. Technologies like cloud, automation, artificial intelligence, robotics…to name a few, have made life much easier to stay connected with one another, both at an individual and at an enterprise level. But these advancements have also brought security threats which can post significant threat to data, confidential information, and everything else. Fortunately, a host of antidotes are available— the basic ones being Firewalls, antivirus software, anti-spyware software, and password management software.

    Over and above these, there a host of tools/activities which when diligently followed can have a significant impact on staying secure:

    1. Encryption of data and creating back-ups:
      The two most important aspects in staying secured are (1) to prevent sensitive information/data falling into the hands of hackers and (2) rendering the data useless if it falls into the wrong hands.
      Here, encryption plays a significant role addressing the issue. In parallel, creating a robust data back up to fall back upon in the event of any breach.
    2. Safeguarding the hardware:
      Much has been spoken about security from the software aspect. Theft of computers/laptops can also pose a threat. It therefore becomes important to secure the hardware system with a complicated and difficult-to-break-into password. Virtual Desktops on the Cloud are gaining popularity amount enterprises and eliminate the aspect of hardware theft.
    3. Cyber Security Insurance:
      Insurance for data, a relatively newer concept, is gaining popularity. At the end of 2019, cyber security was valued at USD 1.97 Billion with projections to be at USD 3.05 Billion by 2022. According to a joint study by PwC India and Data Security Council of India (DSCI), the average cost of a data breach in the country has gone up to INR 11.9 Cr, an increase of 8% from 2017. The losses incurred due to breaches can be best mitigated by investing in cyber security insurance. It is estimated that the yearly cyber premium is in the range of Rs. 80 – Rs. 110 crores with IT/ITES and Banking & Financial sectors as early adopters.

    Internally, creating a security-focused work place culture and educating all employees about the pit falls of an unsecured network makes it binding on every employee to be responsible for data security.

    ADDA

    ADDA is a must have for apartment residents. The App by ADDA is fully integrated with the ADDA SaaS platform which is meant for Community Administration. We spoke with San Banerjee, the co-founder and CEO of ADDA, about how to keep data and business cyber secured when WFH is becoming the new norm.

    There should always be a single secure entry point into all the digital systems and all other online systems should authenticate with this system. Email from Google Apps is ADDA’s single secure entry point and also serves as the company email inbox. We follow a default two factor authentication system that cannot be turned off by employees. During on-boarding their registered cell phone number is set as the second authenticator.

    The other online portals we use like CRM, Support Ticketing, etc are all synced to the single Google mail for authentication. For an in-house system, whenever employees log in, an email with a 6 digit OTP is sent to their company email inbox. Without this OTP the internal systems will not be allowed. Also, if more than a preset number of tries are exceeded, we deactivate the account and also send an email to the admins. When an employee leaves, deactivating the company email is sufficient and that automatically removes their access to all other portals instantly.

    Also Read:

  • Google India launches ‘YouTube Learning Destination’ to Teach Students From Home

    Students and instructors are bound to stay home due to lockdown imposed because of COVID-19. All the schools, colleges and institutes are ordered to remain closed during this lockdown. The closures of schools and colleges has led to the disruption of classes. It also affects the earning calendar of many educational institutions. To the rescue, YouTube India has added content to give students informative time during the lockdown.

    Many school and college students have started learning from various online learning platforms. Many teachers are conducting online lectures for students through video conferencing apps. Many students are also subscribing to the carious online courses so that there is no disruption in their studies.

    Today, as almost 91% of the students are out of school across the world, edtech startups across the world are gearing up to make up for the lost education. A similar trend can be noticed in India, where the current lockdown is forcing students to for apps designed by the edtech startups.

    Many Edtech platforms in India have been noting a hike in its user. Most of the users engagement across platforms is for test prep and skill development and more. For instance, BYJU’s, an online Indian edtech platform, has noted a 150% surge with 6 Million new students.

    YouTube India to provide Free Learning Content

    In order to help students and teachers to learn better online, Google-owned video platform YouTube India has launched a learning destination YouTube Learning Destination which will showcase useful and high quality learning content by education-focused creators on YouTube. The platform will assist students, parents and educators in finding relevant and high quality learning content on YouTube.

    YouTube India has launched YouTube Learning Destination to provide curriculum learning for students and also support general skill-building for students. YouTube Learning provides resources that offer learning based on the curriculum of students so that there are interruptions in continuing education in lockdown also. It is useful to students that need to keep their academic needs and opted to learn online.

    The YouTube Learning Destination is a separate section within the YouTube app itself. This section combines learning content from education-focused creators. In a blog post, Google India highlighted that section will contain various resources that fulfill all learning needs, including curriculum-relevant topics in Physics, Math and Biology, Chemistry and so on.

    Google India’s blog added ,“So whether a student is studying for a test or wants to learn a new skill, or are just curious about the world, the YouTube Learning Destination is a handy resource to provide overall curriculum learning for students or general skill-building.”

    Google also added items related to creativity, such as photography and arts. Most of them are skills that students want to enhance. These added features occurred to help students use their time at home. Students can hone their skills and discover new learning through this added feature.

    Besides this, the platform will also include study hacks, tactics and content for developing language skills and interest-based content like photography, yoga, culinary skills and many more. The platform is currently available in English and Hindi. However, YouTube is also looking to add content from other Indian local languages like Marathi, Tamil, Bengali and Telugu among others.

    Also Read: List of EdTech Startups in India | Emerging Education Startups

    Google also offers Premium Features of G-Suite

    Meanwhile, Google is also looking to bring more schools on board and promote remote education. Besides this, Google is also providing free access to the premium features of Google Meet to extend its video-conferencing capabilities to all G Suite.

    It has extended premium features of G Suite for education customers, across the world, until September 2020. It allows students and educators to conduct video conferences up to September 2020. The premium version can host up to 250 participants in a single video conference. This method gives excellent help to educators who struggle with their students’ needs.

    Google India aggregates edtech content
    Google India offers Free Services to promote ‘Teach from Home’

    To help teachers transition to remote learning in India, Google has partnered with FICCI Arise. Google has trained more than 250 schools across 23 states in India, where the tools are being used. Besides this, Google is also providing training and tips through the ‘Teach from Home’ hub. The platform is also available in Hindi, along with Chinese, Japanese, Turkish and more languages.

    The ‘Teach from Home’ hub would also answer queries like “setting up and teaching with and without video, keeping students engaged with discussions and virtual whiteboards, staying in touch with other teachers by sharing teaching resources and even making the teaching sessions accessible to children with special needs by implementing voice typing and closed captions.”

    Teacher approved Applications

    Apart from this, Google has also launched a teacher-approved kids section in the Play Store. It existed to ensure the safety of kids who use several applications. It also assures that the contents are appropriate to the users. It is because the apps approved by teachers also give assurance to parents their kids are learning appropriate content. It is also a great validation to prove that children may consume them.

    The company also released books that help children learn with entertainment. This way, children can educate themselves even in a lockdown situation. The company makes sure that the kids will only take in useful information. This resource has been built with UNESCO as central resource for teachers.

    Also Read: Notebook – An Edtech Company that is Making Learning Engaging and Fun

    The kids’ section came out early from its supposed release late this year. The primary reason for its earlier launching is because of the ongoing pandemic. This action took place to provide education to kids in the middle of this testing time. Even the children’s books from MoHFW and Chota Bheem reading app Bolo will also help kids understand the measures which are to be followed during this Corona lock down period.

  • Ultimate Guide To Write A Perfect Job Description

    At a recent corporate meet, when asked about the biggest issue faced, one of my HR friends complained about the difficulties he faced while hiring people. He complained about irrelevant applications, unwanted crowds and all the resources wasted to handle the situation. Gradually, the complaints transformed into a discussion and two things concluded. First, the current industry is talent-driven and Second, some key particles of the hiring process require urgent attention.

    Hiring is a process performed to hire the best talent available in the market. The flow of power has changed from employer to employee and wise game plans are now more than required to manage the flow of skilled workforce and help run a successful hiring campaign. Unsuccessful hiring campaigns should be considered as lessons for tomorrow and blueprints for hiring should be produced carefully. Moreover, we cannot allow irrelevant resumes to flood our desks which would again increase our current problems.

    But how can a piece of paper help you get your desired results?

    The answer is simple. A compelling job description exhibits your job profile to the fullest and helps candidates to decide whether their profile suits your company. Mission accomplished! Now you have relevant job applications for your profile, just by adding a pinch of creative flavour to your job cuisine.

    The job description is the first point of contact for a candidate who reaches your company (through job portals, social media or your website). Moreover, it helps you to describe the specifications for your profile. So, start your homework on how to write a perfect job description and cultivate fresh job descriptions to attract the candidate you desire.

    Consider your job description as your marketing tool to have an over the edge advantage over other job descriptions. So, let us make a move towards achieving your goal by helping you to write the perfect job description you can have. A few tips to write a perfect job description and land your dream employees.

    Impress Your Candidate
    Show your previous work
    Exhibit Your Perks
    Know Your Audience
    A hashtag Can Be Helpful

    Impress Your Candidate

    Impressing the candidate is considered the most important part of writing a job description as it’s the first step towards hiring. Don’t get irrelevant CVs even after listing all your specifications. There could be a problem with your presentation of your job description. The process may demand several hours of attention to provide the best results.

    Copying a job description is not advised.

    • Copying a job description will take away originality from your JD and will make it dull and monotonous.
    • Try to be as conversational as you can and list your expectations and challenges for your candidate. For example, a software developer should have a clear picture of his responsibilities and challenges while reading your JD.
    • Hence, it will excite your candidates and keep them interested. So, a perfect job description will help you to clear out junk at the beginning. Moreover, your candidate will have a better understanding of your firm and you will be able to produce a sure shot win-win situation. Don’t forget to mention other necessary technical skills and non-technical skills.

    Show your previous work

    Showing your previous work indicates experience which helps to show your company’s work. The art of creating a perfect job description may include naming your workforce in your JD. Discover a creative way to include your star performers and they can be your USP. This will create an aura of your organization in front of your potential employees. Your workforce will be your words and it would highlight your work culture.

    Exhibit Your Perks

    Exhibiting perks 

    Exhibiting your perks helps them see your positive side. If you ask me what do you need to list, I would say anything that looks beneficial to a potential employee. It can be your medical insurance policy to weekend parties thrown to your employees. Free meals, transportation, cool office stuff, free goodies or even free crackers for snacks. Perks may even include expertise exposure

    Mention the salary or salary range offered. So, do not keep any table unturned.

    Know Your Audience

    Know your Audience

    Write your job description according to the mass you are approaching. Lay some facts and figures on your paper according to your audience.

    For example, it may sound cool for a 25-year-old college pass out to work in flexible hours and wear casual attire but a middle-aged mother may look for a family-friendly atmosphere. So make sure to talk through your JD.

    Just go with the flow. Research a lot about the nature of the forthcoming workforce to prepare job descriptions in the future. It will help you to keep ahead.

    To attract top talents, job description writers shouldn’t start with motivation and self-discipline. This way, the company can come across as unnecessary strict, and too demanding. Describe the responsibilities of the candidate, Think about the future, don’t brag about the past, Pick the right place for publishing your offer.

    Important: Always mention job location and contact information in your JD.

    Social media: The New Job Posting Arena

    It is common to see a job posting on social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. It will provide an edge over traditional job posting sites as it is easily accessible. So, embroider your job posting through the use of catchy images to make it visually attractive.

    A hashtag Can Be Helpful

    Adding hashtags has been found effective according to recent trends.

    Hashtag service helps the job seeker to quickly find the job of his dreams by using hashtags like #hotjobs, #jobopening, #careers, etc. So, create your hashtags sensibly according to your job profiles.

    Following the above points mentioned will help you to write a perfect job description.

    Don’ts for Job description

    This is an important list to follow when it comes to writing a perfect job description. Remember these points by heart and save yourself from repeating them like others.

    Never confuse your candidate
    Do Not List Too Many Things

    Never confuse your candidate

    Keep it simple when it comes to your profile names. Do not put unnecessary creativity to make it attractive. It should look professional and compelling at the same time. Some of the companies mess it up by using fancy names for job profiles. Simplicity holds the key to a perfect Job description. Hence, refer to some Job description templates and keep it low.

    Do Not List Too Many Things

    A crisp and to the point job description attracts everyone. Make sure your JD does the same thing. Stick to a maximum of seven crucial skills in the list. A long list may ruin the JD. Further, do not add a long list of must-do things to your JD.

    Conclusion

    A perfect job description helps you find a perfect candidate who is qualified and most eligible for the role. It helps in understanding the roles and responsibilities of the candidate to apply for the job. It also serves as a basis for interviewing the employee and evaluate their performance for the applied role.

  • Boost Your Content Distribution Plan With These Pro Tips

    Do you know that 60% of marketers create at least one piece of content each day.We all know that the first rule of marketing  is “provide value.” However, the second part is “distribution of content to the people who will find it valuable.” All you time and energy to create content will be in vain if you don’t reach an audience who cares about what you want to say.

    “If you wrote a blog
    And no one came to read it
    Did you write a blog?”

    You might think that you have created a good and SEO friendly content, then why should you worry about relevant traffic. Right, but as we all know SEO takes time to rank your site, So it should not be the only tool to gain users. Also if you only depend on the user from the organic search you might be loosing so many users who need your service but can’t find you.

    There you need to be proactive in distribution of content to them, Here are some of the Content distribution channels which you can use to deliver your content.

    Type of content distribution channel

    Channels for Distribution of Content
    Channels for Distribution of Content

    1. Owned Media

    These are those platforms on which you can control the content.  You must have heard: Don’t build your house on rented land. So, first of all, publish your content on your own platform.

    2. Earned and Paid Media

    Paid content distribution is a way- where you pay someone to share your messages in their channel. 82% of consumers proactively seek referrals from peers before making a purchase. You can combine your owned content with paid and earned media to direct new audience back to your owned content. Use your own content to captivate, entertain, share your knowledge, and provide massive amounts of value i.e in short your audience must feel any type of value addition after looking your content. So that once a new user lands on your platform it becomes forever yours.

    3. Not Owned or earned

    Earned media is when you get a mention on a platform you don’t own as the result of your efforts to create awareness. You can also earn attention when the industry notices you and essentially endorses you.  It’s hard to get better than a customer turning into a vocal advocate of your content or brand. There’s trust among your audience seeing a peer vouch for your business.It brings credibility to everything you’ve talked about. Because, sure, you say your content, product, and service is excellent, but now someone’s actually telling others you follow through on your promises.And, that testimonial—depending on where or how it was shared—has the potential to live on for a long time. You can see the effect of shared media with the fact that, ‘Every minute, Tumblr owners share approximately 27778 new blog posts‘.

    Also Read: What are different channels to advertise a start-up digitally?

    Goal Selection

    Goal Selection before Distribution of Content
    Goal Selection before Distribution of Content

    Different distribution channels meet different goals. Ask yourself who are you trying to reach? Your own community or a broader audience? People with written goals are 50% more likely to achieve than people without goals. What do you care most about or what you want at the end — visits, signups, conversions, social shares, followers, or brand awareness? Then only select the best distribution channel for you.

    Ask someone in your network with similar goals what has worked for them. Pay attention on the audience engagement with the content i.e. what content your audience is sharing, and where they are sharing it. You can use media monitoring and social listening for this. However, the same thing might not work for you what has worked for others so test and iterate until you’ve found what works for your content mix. So, it is very important to decide a goal before distribution of  content.

    Also Read: 8 Steps of Effective Planning for Every Business

    The ways of distribution of content

    1. Owned Not Owned
    2. Sponsored advertisement (Ad-Words)
    3. Presentations
    4. News apps
    5. Sponsorship to any event
    6. White Papers
    7. Earned Paid Blog post
    8. Guest posts
    9. Sponsored post
    10. Webinars
    11. Mainstream media
    12. Communities and Discussion forum
    13. Supporting any noble cause
    14. eBooks
    15. Social media groups
    16. Paid influencers
    17. Info-graphics
    18. Reviews
    19. Paid content
    20. Discovery services
    21. Guide
    22. Mentions
    23. Videos and Podcasts
    24. Word of Mouth

    Also Read: How to Get Media’s Attention Towards your Startup?

    Some Pro Tips and Content Distribution Platforms

    1. Build your own Content Distribution network.
    2. You can build and join the group on Facebook and LinkedIn.
    3. Tweet to any famous personalities/ influencer on twitter and ask them to promote your brand on their channel.
    4. Reach out to bloggers to share their article and develop a relationship. They are more likely to share yours.
    5. Comment on the relevant blog with your blog links.
    6. Share your latest piece of content automatically within your email signature.
    7. No content distribution strategy is complete without email. Grow Your own subscriber’s list and mail.
    8. Apply social share and plugins like click to tweet.
    9. Write on Medium LinkedIn Publisher and Facebook Notes: These allow you to create and share longer content that has wider appeal, based on the format and design.
    10. Ask your employees, to share he brand on their social profile.
    11. Create content for Slide share. You will be surprised to see the organic reach from this platform.
    12. Create a network of a group of people whom you can notify about a new piece of content you just created so they’ll immediately promote it to their own audience. This is great to get the initial traction going, particularly if you don’t have an audience on your website.Your network should consist of people from your industry.
    13. Social media is the hands-on tool for distributing content . Create account on all major social media platform and continuously share the new launches of the brand to the followers , to keep them excited and on board.
    14. Reddit works well for our tech posts, growth hackers.com works well for inbound-related content, and Twitter is our strongest social network.
    15. Use personal hashtags to engage the followers to share your content on their social media profiles . Organize contests and referral programs , as a way to distribute the content by your followers . This will expand the range of the distribution of the content.

    Conclusion

    Distribution of content is not something like learn and do. The important thing is to always be testing,  searching  and find what works best for you. Remember that you’re writing for and communicating with humans, so treat them that way.

    Comment below the ways through which you like to distribute the content and works the best for you , in the comment section  Mentions some more ways to distribute content ,which works the best for you.

  • 16 Founders shared Steps Taken by Companies after the Outbreak of CoronaVirus

    The COVID-19 pandemic has effectively brought normal life to a halt in whole world. Social distancing, work from home and a lockdown are the only ways to stop the spread of this virus. Situation is not different in India too. The Indian government has done the smart thing by implementing a 21-days lockdown along with an international and domestic flight ban, and a stoppage of the railway service. But, this lockdown, work from home will impact Indian economy.

    Transportation has stopped, manufacturing units are closed, shops which sell non essentials are closed, so this will affect economy for sure. One of the biggest potential impacts to India’s employment and economy could be the shuttering of manufacturing plants and assembly lines in the tech sector. So, this will affect startups too.

    Also read  – How Government is helping startups fight coronavirus

    We have asked few companies about what policies they have adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of CoronaVirus.

    Policies the company has adopted for the recent outbreak of Corona Virus

    MyGate

    MyGate is India’s leading security and community management solution for gated premises. MyGate helps residents to manage guest entries and delivery executives. We talked to Vijay Arisetty, Co-founder & CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    Quick access to medical expertise and credible information, particularly in the era of social media, is extremely important in the fight against coronavirus. We are very keen on raising awareness on the matter and ensuring the availability of qualified medical advice for our 1.5 million+ users, and found strong partners in digital healthcare platforms DocsApp and mfine who promptly agreed to offer online consultation via their nationwide doctor network. Their doctors were kept busy over the weekend, with 2800 consultations completed over the last weekend alone, at no cost to our users.

    Rising Sun

    Inatur Ayurveda & Aromatherapy manufactures Organic and Natural skin, hair care and wellness products. These are safer, eco-friendly, and more effective skin care products. We talked to Pooja Nagdev, Founder and CEO,on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    We have taken the following steps to ensure the safety of all our customers, our partners & most importantly our employees.

    1. Our manufacturing facility, office and retail stores are being disinfected regularly.
    2. All employees have been given complimentary gloves, sanitisers & masks which are to be used at all times, without fail.
    3. Strict measures are taken against anyone working in an unhygienic way.

    Zamit

    Zamit- a one-stop platform that networks & supports school ecosystems to be future-ready. It is an information, engagement and interaction platform that networks schools, students, teachers, parents, and school service providers. We talked to Aarul Malaviya, Founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    The various steps taken by the company are as follows-

    1. Our HR has created a ready-to-refer document and shared it with every employee of the company which contains all the information related to the virus and preventive measures to be taken. (The information is taken from verified sources)
    2. Hand sanitizers are being placed at every entrance of the office and in all cabins/rooms of the office. The employees are asked to wash their hands at regular intervals and only enter the office premises on washing your hands using waster or Hand sanitizers.
    3. The employees have been asked to communicate using various communication platforms like slack, hangouts etc. as much as they can to maintain social distance.
    4. All the employees are being given strict instructions to clean and sanitize their stuffs like laptop, bags, mouse & mouse pads, phones etc. using Antiseptic Wipes which are placed in every room/cabin of the office.
    5. The cleaners are instructed to clean the office using an antiseptic liquid throughout the day in equal intervals of time.
    6. Disposable gloves are being provided to the cleaners and the people managing the pantry. The gloves will be worn every time they are serving any food item to anybody in the office.
    7. Time slots have been given to each department of the office for lunch in the pantry to avoid employee’s exposure to crowded areas.
    8. Face masks are made available in the office for every employee. Whoever feels the need, someone who is coughing, sneezing, running nose or symptoms of COVID-19 will have access to the mask.
    9. Lastly, info graphics, posters are set up across the office as a way of encouraging the employees to eat food & adopt practices which will help in immunity building of the human system.

    CASA EXOTIQUE

    The company has been exploring the depth of Interior Designing and Styling with the help of a remarkable team of professionals who takes each and every turn to make your vision come to life. We talked to Ms. Bhawana Bhatnagar, Interior Stylist, Founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    After consulting with experts in the field, we have adopted a number of routines to ensure that the risk of any possible outbreak is minimized.

    1. The workplace is routinely cleaned and sanitized to provide a safe working environment for our employees.
    2. Travelling, especially overseas, has been restricted and is permitted only in urgent or exceptional cases.
    3. We have also employed a temperature gun at the office so that in case anyone contracts the sickness, it could be detected at the earliest. This would help prevent the disease from worsening and would also prevent the infection from spreading.
    4. We have also asked sick employees to stay at home and we’re providing flexible leave policies as well. The alcohol-based sanitizer has also been made mandatory at the workplace.

    121 Experiences

    121 Experiences specializes in experiential brand communicating solutions to drive behaviour changing consumer habits. We talked to Aniket Sharma, Co-founder & CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    Following policies have been implemented starting this week –

    1. Office will be open from 11am to 4pm Monday to Saturday.
    2. No visitors will be allowed within the office premise.
    3. All employees who have laptops need to work from home; also they need to be available on phone calls and emails during office hours.
    4. For those who cannot work from home, a rotational cycle for attendance will be applied.
    5. Avoiding non-essential local travel.
    6. Domestic and international travel must be prohibited.

    Also Read – Tips to work from home efficiently.

    MyStarHub

    In their endeavor to create the most authentic and memorable fan experiences across the world, MyStarHub provides a platform where fans can book personalized video shoutouts from their favorite celebrities. We talked to Swapnil Mahajan, Founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    The safety of our employees is of utmost importance for us, and understanding the seriousness of the situation, we have been constantly tracking the turn of events.

    1. We have been maintaining the highest hygiene standards within the office premises and communicating detailed guidelines for personal safety and hygiene.
    2. Initially, we started by restricting travel and face-to-face meetings to only urgent ones. But as the coming few days are crucial for India to control the spread of Coronavirus, we have declared work-from-home for all our employees since March 18.

    Sify Technologies

    Sify is the largest ICT service provider, systems integrator, and all-in-one network solutions company on the Indian subcontinent. We talked to Praveen Krishna, Investor Relations, Public Relations & Corporate Communications, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    At Sify we have taken certain precautionary measures to safeguard the employees like daily mailers on hygiene, use of santizers, awareness through WHO videos, reporting colleagues who might be coughing or sneezing inordinately, no physical contact with each other, etc –
    Specifically, these are the is what is being implemented.

    People

    1. Stipulation that everybody should sanitise their hands a minimum of 4 times in the day.
    2. Report anybody who is coughing or sneezing inordinately.
    3. No shaking hands
    4. Hydrate with warm water regularly.

    Precautions

    1. Daily mailers on maintaining hygiene.
    2. If in doubt, get it checked at the nearest designated hospital.
    3. Recommended home quarantine for 14 days on the advise of a medical practitioner.
    4. In the event of co-habited work space, they have to have sanitisers on the desk.
    5. WHO videos on best way to avoid and if contracted what to do.
    6. Videos on fundamentals, for e.g. how to wash hands, how to wear a mask when out in public, what to avoid etc
    7. All events, offsites etc have been cancelled.

    Travel

    1. If carpooling, recommended to exercise caution and not drive other’s vehicles.
    2. International travel has been completely barred.
    3. Domestic travel is also being monitored with hot spots like Delhi, Hyderabad and now Bangalore not recommended.

    Quarantine

    1. Anybody who has internationally travelled in the last 30 days is quarantined for 14 days as a precaution and a report is shared with the travel and health authorities.

    Team Pumpkin

    Team Pumpkin is a 360 Degrees Marketing & PR agency commenced its operations in 2012 with a clear mission to help brands win in the Marketing and PR space. We talked to Ranjeet Kumar, Co-founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    1. We were one of the first few offices to declare WFH for all our teams.
    2. We had taken a note right from the beginning and have been preparing to tackle the situation.Initially, we created a COVID-19 response plan and shared it across teams to keep them aware of the probable actions according to the corresponding situations. This was shared along with detailed information about the transmission of the virus and guidelines to ensure safety.
    3. Sensing the seriousness of the situation we had limited travel only to the critical ones and restricted in-person interviews and meetings at all our offices.
    4. The use of the biometric machine has been completely stopped and attendance management is being done through the partner app.

    75F

    75F provides Internet of Things (IoT) hardware & software building products that makes office building more energy efficient, controlled and comfortable. We talked with Mr. Deepinder Singh, CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.  

    1. 75F Technologists and Sales Teams is working remotely to provide troubleshooting, ongoing training, best practices, and guidance to its customers.
    2. Their Facilisight are fully operational through which customers can monitor, manage, and control buildings remotely through their desktop, tablet or 75F apps to lower set points, power down building lighting, or bring down unused zones or floors selectively to conserve costs and equipment.
    3. 75F warehouse are fully staffed, and their flexible cloud-based infrastructure will ensure minimal disruption to the business.

    Dineout

    Dineout is India’s largest Dining out and Restaurant tech platform, helping more than 17 million diners monthly discover new restaurants, reserve a table, pay for their bills and get offers and discounts combined with a SaaS product offering to its restaurant partners manage their operations. We talked to Ankit Mehrotra, Co-founder & CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    At Dineout, our team is our extended family, and their health and safety always comes first! When the coronavirus outbreak first hit globally, we were as surprised as everyone else however we did start taking preventive measures right from the beginning.

    1. Rigorous office sanitisation, availability of masks and sanitisers, as well as a Self-quarantine policy was implemented under which all employees (or family) with a travel history outside India, or those who have been in contact with affected persons or even flu like symptoms were asked to self-quarantine themselves for 14 days.
    2. We also urged our teams to cancel any work related travel, reduce visitors and fever screening through IR thermometers at the entrance for the last 2 weeks.
    3. We also practiced social distancing at all our offices by sitting at alternate work stations and maintaining 6 feet distance at all times.
    4. From Monday, 16th March, we implemented work-from-home policy for our teams across all cities until March 31st 2020.
    5. Our sales teams have also been advised to focus on virtual training and virtual client support for the next two weeks. In fact our teams are also having lunch together digitally!

    In such challenging times, we continue to work together to overcome operational hurdles by leveraging technologies like Google Hangouts, Slack and Google Meets to stay connected virtually and ensure continuity of work.

    Huddle

    With a rich pool of dedicated experts and mentors to support the growth of early-stage ventures, Huddle enables the ventures to take their business to the next stage. We talked to Sanil Sachar & Ishaan Khosla, Co-founders & CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    The current challenges due to Covid-19, act as a reality check for a lot of startups and large ventures to realize who their real customers are and how valuable their product/service is. In an environment where doing less is helpful, there is a lot of reduction in spends which is funneling out and reducing customer base, which indeed has a detrimental impact on the cash flows of a venture. For us, we have taken measures to help our ventures from day one to create businesses that have a strong back end and therefore, not only those that can sustain during such unfortunate and unexpected times.

    This period of isolation and in the day and age where social distancing is important, companies will see a reduction in funding, financing of their working capital due to reduced sales or utilization of their service and product, but the gain from this ‘downtime’ is to create sustainability within ventures through offerings that can add value despite the environment. We are prepared to support our startups through infrastructure and our team, with the resources we have to help them sustain and not succumb to any of these losses. At a time like this, is when our Huddle of portfolios are standing strong together to support one another. For us, we are preparing all the measures to support our ventures. Luckily we have not seen any decline in the speed at which our companies are working, and our onboarding of newer companies, because innovation is needed now more than ever.

    Zolostays

    Zolo provides fully managed, long-term affordable stay options with a warm and homely environment. We talked to Dr. Nikhil Sikri, CEO & Co-Founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    At Zolostays, the safety and health of our residents and our employees is of out utmost priority. Since we operate a co-living model, we have come up with specific policies to tackle the spread of COVID-19 for both our employees and our residents.

    For Employees

    1. We have advised employees to ‘Work from Home’, if they are experiencing any kind of flu, cold, cough and breathlessness and have been asked to self-quarantine and get in touch with a doctor.
    2. We have also encouraged hand hygiene by placing hand sanitizers around the offices and the commonly touched surfaces and objects are being wiped with disinfectants regularly.
    3. We have also cancelled non-essential business trips and our efficient HR team regularly shares all the advisories released by the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs.

    For Residents and HouseKeepers

    1. We have initiated special training of the housekeeping staffs for the best practices of personal hygiene and sanitizing for COVID-19 prevention.
    2. Personal Protective Equipment have also been provided to all our housekeeping and kitchen staffs including gloves and masks which are disposed off at regular intervals.
    3. We have also provided hospital-grade disinfectants and cleaning agents approved by WHO for cleaning purposes.
    4. All community activities have been suspended and a special trained support team is kept on standby to help the residents of any related COVID-19 instances.

    Ozonetel

    Headquartered in Hyderabad and Singapore, Ozonetel has several industry firsts to its credit in the area of Cloud Communication. We talked to Chaitanya Chokkareddy, Co-founder & Chief Innovative Officer, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    1. Ozonetel has adopted Work From Home (WFH) as one of their policies with respect to the recent COVID -19 outbreak. We believe that remote working model can be as efficient as working from office if we use the right tools. And since we can offer this option for our employees, we did.

    Tjori

    Imbibing cultural and traditional crafts from around the globe, Tjori is a platform for treasured designs across apparel, footwear, bags, decor, and jewellery. In keeping with the essence of our brand, it also offers a range of organic and ayurvedic skin care products, using secrets whispered through generations. We talked to Mansi Gupta, Founder & CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    We at Tjori are trying our best to create awareness and precautionary measures for our Tjori family, our employees, our vendors and our customers.

    1. The measures taken under the office premises are that of compulsory mask on everyone who enters the office, a sanitization process for our vendors and customers who walk-in for their respective needs. The sanitization process contains the simple steps of handing a surgical mask and using an alcohol derived sanitizer has that helps killing the viability of the office.
    2. The everyday cleaning processes has amplified and now every two hours a thorough cleaning is done.
    3. The people who are ill have been given grace leave in-order to help them recover without any stress.

    Packman Packaging

    Packman Packaging is one of India’s largest manufacturers of corrugated boxes, corrugated rolls, bubble rolls, bubble pouches, courier bags, POD jackets, duct tapes, e-commerce shipping bags and more. We talked to Gaurav Jalan, Director and Founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    Packman Packaging is trying what it can by implementing some of the things not just for the betterment of its employees but in a broader aspect its customers as well. Packman Packaging has already implemented certain work policies that include everyone from the workers and the management.

    1. Packman Packaging is primarily working as a manufacturer so in the manufacturing unit, Packman Packaging has adopted a policy where the workers are being asked to work in shifts so that there will be a lesser number of attendances at a given time.
    2. It will also ensure that every worker has a proper space to work because it is not crowded as it used to be before the pandemic days. As of now, this seems to work well.
    3. Packman has a huge advantage because of its online store. And because of that the majority of the staff related to IT and customer service the marketing and sales teams are working remotely from their homes most of the time.
    4. As for the senior management teams are concerned, the employees are working on a rotational basis. The management team members are working on alternate days. This way it not only helps the normal flow of work but also, ensures everyone remains safe.
    5. The most important thing Packman Packaging has assigned its guards an added responsibility that whoever is entering the premises of the office and manufacturing unit he is making sure that everyone is getting their hands sanitized and wearing masks.
    6. Also, there has been a floor manager assigned who is monitoring that everyone is washing their hands with sanitizer and wearing masks for every exit and entry in the respective floors.
    7. Sick employees are advised to stay at home as much as possible.

    Bridged.co

    Bridged uses a combination of AI and a 13,000 strong highly skilled workforce to develop unique and vast data at scale significantly improving the quality of data models. We talked to Ashwin Chalam, CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    1. We’ve educated our employees on best practices (such as washing hands often and limiting physical contact) to implement during this health crisis.
    2. We’ve placed hand sanitizers across spaces in the office, and even requested employees to practice social distancing and avoid unnecessary travel.
    3. We’ve implemented a work from home policy.

    With these efforts, we hope to flatten the curve by reducing the probability of our employees catching the virus, which is essential to mitigating this pandemic.

  • 3 Founders Shared their Opinions on Situation of Firing of Employees in Coronavirus Outbreak

    COVID-19 virus is spreading so rapidly and it has hit dozens of countries globally. Indian government has put 1.3 billion residents in lockdwon. This pandemic has impacted many industries like stock market, travel industry, healthcare, supply chain, manufacturing units. Most of the start-ups are on the verge of closure or bankruptcy. Every individual has been adversely affected however it has largely impacted the new start up’s. Companies are firing people from work. This situation is panic for employer and employees too. This virus originated in China but has spread-ed to many countries. Nobody knows when this contagious disease will end.

    We have asked founders of few companies their opinion on how employees should react on firing happening now in this corona virus outbreak and lockdown.

    Also Read:

    Firing of Employees in Coronavirus Outbreak

    Mamaearth

    Mamaearth is Asia’s first Madesafe certified brand that offers 100% toxin free & natural baby and mama care products. We talked with Ghazal Alagh, C0-founder, about how employees should react on firing happening now in this corona virus outbreak and lockdown.

    How should employees react to the firing happening right now?

    It’s undoubtedly a hard situation to be in — losing your job in a general atmosphere of fear and panic is not ideal. However, most employers are trying to avoid lay-offs unless it’s the absolute last resort and are also cushioning the blow with generous severance packages.

    The laid-off employees need to first take a breath and realize that what has happened is purely due to these extraordinary circumstances and nothing to do with their ability as employees. It’s okay to have a moment of anger and sadness because of the situation— but wallowing over a prolonged time will only make the situation worse. Even though it sounds hard to believe, there are a number of organizations taking a long-term view of this situation and looking to hire employees at this time. This is the right time to focus on their CV and consolidate all the work they’ve done and the skills they’ve acquired. Many platforms and universities across the world are providing great courses at a discounted price or even free of cost. This is the right time to acquire some additional skills.

    How/Where can employees, fired after Corona should look for the new job opportunity?

    Luckily most recruitment has shifted seamlessly to online channels. People are doing multiple rounds of interviews via Skype/Zoom, and many are even making final offers. As I mentioned before, many companies are looking at this time as an opportunity to hire skilled people without too much effort.

    Try to part on good terms with your employers. They will want to help you, making sure you land on your feet, and you can even ask them for both a good recommendation as well as referrals to employers who are hiring. Besides this, going through all the regular channels — your network, LinkedIn, and job portals— should yield the right results.  

    What do you think is the best way for employee to connect with an organisation/HR for any opening?

    The best way to connect, of course, is through your networks— whether batchmates/seniors from your college/business school, colleagues and seniors at work, or even general friends and family. This is the time to use all your social media networks to connect the dots and find who can connect you with which organizations.

    If that’s not an option, doing some basic research will help you figure out which organizations are hiring. Use LinkedIn to find relevant managers/HR within those organizations and send them a polite and personalized cover letter.

    What are different ways companies can implement to stop this firing?

    The best way is, of course, implementing salary cuts for senior management. This isn’t always the best course of action under ordinary circumstances. For instance, when a company is going through a bad time, experts always recommend lay-offs over salary cuts. That’s because a salary cut makes competent employees leave the company and join somewhere else. However, this isn’t an ordinary business situation — this is a global pandemic resulting in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Employees are even voluntarily taking salary cuts at this time so that others don’t experience hardship. This is definitely a good short-term measure.

    For companies where cash flow is the biggest issue, delaying part of the salaries might be an option. In this way, they can pay a minimum basic to every employee, but those who earn above a certain threshold could get part of their salary later.

    Whatever course of action companies choose to take, it’s important to explain the “why” of these actions in a clear, unambiguous way to all stakeholders.

    upGrad Education

    Founded in early 2015, upGrad offers online programs for working professionals. We talked with Mayank Kumar, Co-founder & MD, about how employees should react on firing happening now in this corona virus outbreak and lockdown.

    How should employees react to the firing happening right now?

    Our economy has taken a massive hit over the past few weeks of lockdown and has directly contributed to situations like  job loss, appraisals being called off, and downsizing along with other career opportunities turning obsolete are impending concerns. A recent report by CMIE (Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy) suggests that the nationwide lockdown saw the unemployment rate shot up from 8.4% in mid-March to the current 23.4%.

    Amid such crucial times, when the anxiety of losing job and economical pressure is rapidly penetrating through our system, the only way to survive through the treadmill of life is by upskilling. One must use this extra time at hand to use it cautiously and meaningfully to develop new skills, understand rooted fundamentals and enhance their professional growth at large. While all hiring procedures have been put to freeze as of now, these newly acquired skills will help professionals bounce back into the system with ease and confidence once the dust settles down, leading towards the greater evolution.

    Also Read:

    Surmount Business

    Surmount Business practices targets to become a strategic partner to entrepreneurs and enterprises to help expand businesses beyond their existing roots, professionalize their operations and enhance their Capital Efficiency. We talked with Niraj Bora, Founder, about how employees should react on firing happening now in this corona virus outbreak and lockdown.

    How should employees react to the firing happening right now?

    Although difficult, employees need to accept the fact that the business has to justify profits to be sustainable. If it shuts down due to losses, every loses their jobs and is not good for overall good of stakeholders. Whatsapp and Alibaba was founded after the founders were not selected for an interview. Also, I know few people who planned to switch their profiles but never did for fear of low pay. They shifted to something they like and earn out of it. Staying alive is the only mantra for everyone through this, and once the market reopens many opportunities will come up in various positions. Also, next few months could have lower pay till the market stabilises and you have to manage till then.

    Employees can spend time learning more skills they through of but could not do so in past due to lack of time. It could be another language, an online course to add to resume, coding, etc. That really helps in future with getting back on your feet. Udemy, coursera, Unacademy, etc are great online learning tools for everyone.

    How/Where can employees, fired after Corona should look for the new job opportunity?

    Since WFH kicked in, searching only through job portals, linkedin, referrals are good ways to start with. Identify sectors that can compliment your skills and are recruiting. Look beyond your cliche profiles that can also switch your monotonous work.

    Nowadays, many freelancing websites are available that pays you on a project / task basis. Identify and search for such options and start working for any company anytime you want to.

    Eventually, the globalisation would be like a product you buy might be designed by teams spread across europe, using US technology manufactured in Asia, with materials specifically made in Africa for a brand based in some other country with no physical office. I believe the Gig economy would be a big market for all who can work from home.

    What do you think is the best way for employee to connect with an organisation/HR for any opening?

    Seek referrals online on social media, linkedin, job portals, etc. and connect with relevant persons. Understand the employers perspective with respect to skills required, get in touch with employees who are already working in the said organisation to understand more about the job opening or the profile/ work culture to better assess the prospect of working there.

    Also Read:

  • The Impact of Lockdown Extension on Electric Vehicle(EV) Market

    Since March 24, 2020, the novel coronavirus pandemic has put brakes on India’s manufacturing industries due to the 21-days complete lockdown across the nation. The coronavirus outbreak is having an unanticipated impact on every sector due to disruption in the supply chain and production. Many sectors like Electric Vehicle(EV) Market had planned things once the lockdown would be over.

    This week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of lockdown till May 3, 2020. As the extension was announced, things have begun to look sceptical for various companies across industries. Due to lockdown, the manufacturing and mobility services economy has collapsed but there is still a ray of hope for the electric vehicle market in India. EV market is less impacted since the EVs do not have a large audience as compared to the traditional auto industry in India but still it’s going to affect this sector.

    The lockdown has forced the people to avoid travel which has consequently hampered people’s appetite for new purchases. Especially costly ones such as a new car. This has resulted into great loss in electric vehicle industry. This impact is going to last for months even after the virus is contained.

    At the same time, due to the extension of lockdown, the electric vehicle owners might expect service issues post lockdown and might even have to arrange the charge and discharge of their vehicles. The same goes for petrol and diesel vehicles as well for their lead-acid starter batteries. So, the problems will be on both ends.

    At the same time, due to the extension of lockdown, the electric vehicle owners also might expect service issues post lockdown and might even have to arrange the charge and discharge of their vehicles themselves. The same goes for traditional petrol and diesel vehicles as well for their lead-acid starter batteries. Many industry experts suggested that the government should use this extended lockdown period to create an exit plan.

    SMEV says Lockdown Extension is the Right Move

    Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) – the registered association representing Indian manufacturers of electric vehicle & its components, said that extension of the lockdown is the right move taken by government. Yet, there will be certainly an adverse impact on the operations of its members for the next 1-2 months.

    SMEV Director General – Sohinder Gill describing the situation as a testing time for the whole EV industry. He also said that it is also time for its members to conserve cash, take care of workmen and utilise this time to plan ahead once the lockdown is over. Even though extension of lockdown is going to affect EV market and startups, Gill has expressed confidence that the EV industry will be able to spring back into action to recover the losses due to this shutdown.

    Sohinder Gill said in a statement, “Looking at the current situation in the country, the extension of the lockdown is the right move. Though there will be certainly an adverse impact on the operations for the next 1-2 months, I believe that we will be able to save lives of thousands and emerge as a healthier nation. I appeal to all the stakeholders in EV companies to conserve cash, take care of our workmen and utilize this time to plan ahead.”

    Most of the Indian electric vehicle (EV) industries are dependent on China for import of cells, battery and other electronic components and sensors used in electric vehicles.The EV companies & startups had initially started feeling the heat when coronavirus broke out in China and they faced component shortages. Now China is reportedly getting back into action, but manufacturing in India is still under lockdown.

    What Experts have to Say about this?

    Co-founder, CEO, Ather Energy – Tarun Mehta, “The lockdown has certainly disrupted the local supply chains and manufacturing. While demand will come down across all categories, EVs have a smaller audience in India and the impact may be lower than conventional automobile industry. The products and manufacturing aside, financing options for consumers will take precedence to enable new sales in the coming months.”

    Recently, research firm Wood Mackenzie has released a report where it predicted a 43 % contraction in the global EV industry by the end of 2020. The EV sector had just building up some serious momentum but the crisis couldn’t have come at a worse time. The big hope now is that government plans will continue to push for more electrification of the transportation sector. According to sources, sales of electric vehicles in 2019 had topped with 2.2 million sales but now this number is expected to drop by 43% to 1.3 million by the end of 2020.

    Vikrant K Aggarwal, director at EVI Technologies, also said that the entire auto sector is currently witnessing a 10% slowdown in sales. It has affected the electric vehicle industry the most as its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is bound to suffer due to slow down in new bookings. Since the market size of electric vehicle in India is very small and thus just 1% of the total motorized vehicles run in India. Hence, EVs sector’s growth require constant nurturing.

    Sharing the ground reality of the industry, managing director at Magenta Power – Maxson Lewis said that the demand for electric vehicles is linked to overall auto demand which has been and will continue to be impacted for months. This will push the electric vehicle business investments plans out by months. Further, Lewis said that possibly this extended lockdown could also mean that traditional auto may look towards electric vehicles as the reset plan.

    Also Read: 12 Founders Shared Opinions on Strategies to Fight with Situation if the Lockdown Continues

    Impact on EV Sector of Other Countries

    The effect of the outbreak on the world’s biggest EV market -China, are already visible. Electric car sales there fell by 54% by the end of January when the epidemic really took off in the country. February sales figures are expected to be even worse, with a decline of 90%. EV sales in Europe was really an impressive that increased up by 121% on the year in January. Then, due to coronavirus outbreak, it put brakes on this.

    Electric Vehicles may rise in demand after COVI-19
    People might turn to EVs after the Pandemic

    By now, it should be clear to everyone that the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic is killing both the energy and transportation industries all over the world. Now, three months after the COVID-19 originated, China is slowly restarting its economy despite a second wave of infections knocking on its door. Europe, the second biggest market for electric cars, is in the impact of the coronavirus and the countries are seeking ways to restore their economies.

    Several Governments are Taking Efforts

    Many governments across the globe have already devised plans to grow the EV market once the pandemic is under control. The electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) market is predicted to witness a 10.7% CAGR during the forecast period 2020-2025 to see an increase in its revenue from $1.5 billion in 2019 to $2.7 billion in 2025.

    Apart from this, the global market is being positively impacted by the increasing sale of electric vehicles. The investments by manufacturers have increased in last 4-5 years and government support for installing such charging stations has also increased. EV battery costs are expected to be nearly halved by 2025. There are several factors that have contributed to this growth and many EV players believe that these factors will eventually lead to the exponential growth of electric vehicles.

    The government of several countries are taking efforts to install EV charging stations. For instance, the South Korean government has targeted the deployment of 10,000 fast chargers by 2022. Similarly, India has plans to install 2,700 charging stations by 2023, in cities with more than 4 million residents. In the same the same way, Canada sanctioned $4.6 million for the installation of 92 DC chargers, while the Californian government has proposed a funding of $900 million for the deployment of 250,000 charging points by 2025.

    Also Read: How Different Sectors will Resume their Operations after Lockdown?

    At present, India is still in the early stages of adoption. According to a report, the electric vehicle adoption rate is less than 1%. However, over the last two years, there has been a significant development in the electric vehicle space in India with both two-wheeler and four-wheeler launches. The government’s target of 30% electric vehicle adoption by 2030 is projected to be powered primarily by electrification of two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and commercial vehicles in India.

  • 6 Founders Shared Work from Home Tools and Hacks used by them during Lockdown

    Covid-19, which has shaken the whole world has brought everyone’s life at halt. This highly contagious disease is spreading so fast that Indian Government has ordered 1.3 billion residents to stay home. In this lockdown period, all malls, theaters, companies, shops, restaurants, manufacturing units are shut. This will affect businesses and economy badly. Many companies have told their employees to work from home. But, its not possible for all companies like manufacturing units, theaters, malls to let their employees work from home.

    People are also scared of going out. This coronavirus has made people’s lifestyle slow and it will take time for everyone including companies to come back on track after this long period of lock down. COVID-19 has put slowdown to a business everywhere. Travel, Hotel, Events, and Entertainment are the sectors that are suffering. But on the other hand, other sectors such as eCommerce, EduTech have benefited immensely.

    But, it’s not easy for the company to let all employees to work from home. Company has to take permission from its client if employee can work on client’s information at home. Companies need tools for it. Employees need laptop, a good internet connection, communication gear, work-related hardware & software. Of course, technology has made it easy as you can do everything online like meetings, attendance, etc. But, all companies have to make plans how they can make it operational.

    We asked few companies about what tools and hack they are using to work from home.

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    Work from Home Tools

    AppViewX

    AppViewX is a modular, low-code software application that enables Certificate Management as well as Network Infrastructure Automation and Orchestration using an intuitive, context-aware, visual workflow. We asked Anand Purusothaman, Founder, about tools and hacks they are using for work from home during lockdown.

    We are using Slack and Zoom to stay connected with our teams. We have leveraged these tools from quite some time as it helps us get real-time updates from our teams and also have the much needed face time for virtually connected teams. Cloud based content and collaboration suites are also proving to be invaluable in these times. Our team is very familiar with these tools, so adapting to a completely virtual model was easy.

    Creating a task list to plan your day effectively is key. When you are working from home, especially now when you have your family with you, there could be a lot of distractions. So planning your tasks ahead, scheduling recurring meetings on a calendar and keeping the communication channels open with your team goes a long way. These are simple to follow, but very effective.

    LegalWiz.in

    LegalWiz.in is focussed on helping early-stage startups and small businesses stay compliant and maintain legal hygiene while maintaining the highest transparency on deliverables. We asked Shrijay Sheth, Founder, about tools and hacks they are using for work from home during lockdown.

    We are fortunate to be living in a networked world and each colleague is online – given the nature of our work at LegalWiz.in, we have not seen much disruption. Technology is a great boon.We leverage technology (skype, zoom, work-flow tools) and have conference calls as well.

    The HSE protocols – Health, Safety & Environment. Taking care of one’s Health, One’s Safety and Environment. These basic few precautions can help to ensure good health and prevention of COVID 19

    Primus Co-Work

    Primus Co-work partners with restaurants ,that open only during the night, to convert them into co-working places from Mon-Fri/10am-6pm. We asked Shardul Bayas, Founder, about tools and hacks they are using for work from home during lockdown.

    We are using Zoom conference calling and whatsapp. Create a daily ToDo list down the pyramid and ensure thorough followup to keep the team engaged and focused on work.

    Mamaearth

    Mamaearth is Asia’s first Madesafe certified brand that offers 100% toxin free & natural baby and mama care products. We talked with Ghazal Alagh, C0-founder, about tools and hacks they are using for work from home during lockdown.

    Luckily, we’ve always incorporated digital workplace tools even when we weren’t working from home, so the transition wasn’t too hard. We have standard communication tools like Slack and Zoom in place, along with productivity and collaboration tools like Trello. Then there are, of course, the regular sharing and storage tools — GSuite being the big one.

    Also read:  

    Excess2sell

    Excess2sell is India’s Premier and leading b2b excess inventory marketplace which covers multiple verticals. We talked with Mr Rajan Sharma, Founder & CEO, about tools and hacks they are using for work from home during lockdown.

    All our functions are equipped to work from home with complete backup in terms of hardware support, accesses to required data; and critical support to buyers and sellers as was available earlier.

    We are using all technology tools like WhatsApp, Zoom and other apps to have team meetings/conferences with our employees. It is important to constantly keep in touch so that the team remains motivated and on the ball. Similarly we are encouraging our marketing team to engage with our customers on a regular basis to allay any fears or doubts they might harbour.

    ZingHR

    ZingHR is one of the oldest HRM providers. ZingHR is one of the few global ventures which offers almost all web/mobile-based modules from Hire to Retire Solutions with state of the art tech supporting those applications. We talked with Prasad Rajappan, Founder and CEO, about tools and hacks they are using for work from home during lockdown.

    We are leveraging tools like Flock for our internal communication, What’s App, Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Go-to-meeting to make it work.

    Schedule – Plan – Collaborate – Praise – Work Harder – Rinse Repeat

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  • Steps Taken by Online Food Delivery Startups amid CoronaVirus Outbreak

    The Coronavirus or COVID-19 which started last year in December in Wuhan, China has impacted the global economy and no industry sector has remained immune to it. All businesses, startups and industries across the globe are coming up with safety measures to deal with the virus like asking employees to work from home, avoid social gatherings, etc. Foodtech startups are no exception to this.

    Top Indian food delivery platforms Zomato and Swiggy together deliver an estimated 2.6 million orders every day. But they have taken multiple measures to deal with the situation. These measures ensure the safe food delivery considering the safety of delivery executive as well as consumers. The measures are helping these startups to keep operations going and to reduce any negative impact on consumer deliveries

    Foodtech Startups to Follow Hygiene Practices

    Indian foodtech startups Swiggy and Zomato have announced several safety measures in an effort to combat the novel coronavirus. While the Bengaluru based foodtech unicorn Swiggy already sent an email to all its consumers how they are taking the different measures to cope with the situation. Zomato soon followed suit with safekeeping measures of its own like contact-less delivery.

    The main focus of the announcements is to inform people about different measures that food delivery platforms are taking to ensure that their delivery partners follow all the safety and hygiene guidelines approved by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoHFW). They also announced that the consumer will now have the option of choosing to ask the delivery partner to leave the food at their doorstep. Some startups are also offering insurance and financial support to delivery staff in case they are infected with the virus

    There are certain directives that these startups are following. They ensure that the crew member who assembles the food, the one who packs food and the delivery executive do not touch the food with bare hands and take all possible precautions to ensure hygiene. The delivery packets are sealed and delivered by a runner who drops the order at a pre-appointed spot usually outside the door and then watches from a safe distance while you pick up your order and go back inside.

    Co-founder and CEO of Zomato, Deepinder Goyal explained this through a tweet that “A consumer can now choose for this option through our ‘delivery instructions’ feature.” An app update over the weekend will make this explicitly clear to everyone.” Through this option, the delivery partner will keep the delivery parcel on a clean surface outside the door. When the consumer receives a photo of the delivered food, the consumer can then pick up the package at their convenience.

    As India prepares to face the current health crisis, Westlife Development, the company that owns and operates McDonald’s restaurants in West and South India, has launched contactless delivery service to deliver food to the customers’ doorstep. According to the company, McDonald’s India is ensuring that food reaches customers without being touched by bare hands and delivered safely with by following social distancing measures.

    “Our customers’ safety has been and will continue to be our top priority. On one hand, we have increased the safety and hygiene processes at our restaurants. On the other hand, we are ensuring contactless delivery to retain consumers’ trust in McDonald’s. Both our consumers and the industry look up to McDonald’s for path-breaking initiatives and contactless delivery,” said Smita Jatia, managing director of Hardcastle Restaurants.

    Online Food Deliveries Declining Fast

    Unfortunately, even after adopting the hygiene practices, online food delivery has seen huge fall in demand. Online food delivery orders for Zomato and Swiggy have dropped 70% in the last 10 days as customers step back and top restaurants shut shop during lockdown induced by the Covid-19 virus outbreak. The reason behind this is that people do not want to perform any practices, which in any way, can expose them to the virus.

    Their investors revealed that even before the lockdown, the orders had started declining. In the first two weeks of March, food delivery orders declined 20%. When lockdown was imposed, Swiggy and Zomato said about 60 to 70% of its cities would be shut for food delivery including few prominent ones. As a result, steady state of 2.5 million deliveries a day, the deliveries have fallen down quickly. In the last 10-15 days, online food delivery orders have dropped 70% to under 1 million a day.

    But considering food delivery startups, the Grocery delivery apps are in demand more than ever not only in India but in many countries during this health crisis. As many countries are under lockdown, the governments are asking people to strictly avoid getting out of their houses to maintain social distancing. Hence, majority of the people are relying on the Grocery delivery apps to avoid social gatherings.

    As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the countries, grocery delivery apps have begun seeing record numbers of daily downloads, according to new data from app store intelligence firm Apptopia. The firm said that online grocery apps like Instacart, Walmart Grocery and Shipt hit yet another new record for daily downloads for their respective apps.

    Typically, these apps see tens of thousands to as many as 20,000+ downloads per day. But on April 12, Instacart saw more than 38,500 downloads and Walmart Grocery saw nearly 54,000 downloads. Experts told the delivery strategies need to be better optimised at this time of uncertainty. Considering grocery is in high demand, this makes sense for all players involved in it.

    Also Read: Ideally Tested Food Business Ideas you can Start in 2020

    Zomato & Swiggy will also deliver Groceries Now

    In India too, Grofers, BigBasket and other grocery delivery apps have seen a boom in demand over the past week on the back of panic buying. As many consumers are stuck at home, they are heavily relying on these online grocery stores offering doorstep delivery. Seeing these demands, many foodtech startups are also turning towards these grocery sales to earn some revenue.

    Food-delivery and restaurant discovery app Zomato has decided to try hands at the grocery sale as the category sees a major demand amid the Covid-19 outbreak. The Gurugram-based startup Zomato has decided to partner with e-grocers, Grofers and BigBasket, to sell food products and essentials on its platform by facilitating their deliveries.

    Online Grocer Delivery or E-grocer
    Zomato & Swiggy have started to Deliver Grocery in Major Cities

    Zomato has begun delivering grocery in more than 80 cities in India. Users can access this service by downloading the Zomato app and visit the Zomato Market section. Zomato Market identifies nearby grocery stores that are available and open for delivery. They have started grocery delivery in 80 plus cities across India to help with the supply of essentials.

    CEO & founder of Zomato, Deepinder Goyal said, “Our delivery network in the country is the second best after India Post. Thus, we are ensuring that in every effort we put it to good use to serve the community. We would like to thank the government authorities, grocery stores, FMCG companies and other startups that have come forward to partner with us and support the community in this endeavour.”

    Apart from its grocery deliveries, Zomato has also extended paid Zomato Gold memberships by two months at zero additional cost. This new extension is valid in India, UAE, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Lebanon, Turkey, New Zealand, Portugal, and Qatar.

    The food delivery app Swiggy is also not behind in this league. Swiggy has announced a new service to deliver groceries through the application. The lockdown has encouraged the company to spread this service to over 125 new cities across India. Swiggy will be providing essential commodities by partnering with numerous national brands.

    Swiggy has launched a hyper local delivery service called ‘Genie’ that will pick and drop items from any local store that is open. The service is currently only available for essentials and even medicines. During the launch of the service in September last year, the service was labeled ‘Swiggy Go’.

    Swiggy will be partnering with Hindustan Unilever Ltd., P&G India, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd., Dabur India Ltd., Marico Ltd., Vishal Mega Mart Pvt. Ltd., Adani Wilmar Ltd., Cipla Ltd to provide essential items across various cities.

    Also Read: Abhinay Choudhary: Simplified Grocery Shopping Through BigBasket

    Conclusion

    Due to lockdown, Swiggy and Zomato are finding it difficult to grow online food deliveries but this has led them to partner with local grocery shops to provide essentials to the people who want to avoid social gatherings. But this has given people a good opportunity to maintain social distancing by ordering groceries from home only.

  • 14 Founders Shared Opinions on how Industry and Customer Behavior will Change after Coronavirus Fight

    Covid-19, which has shaken the whole world has brought everyone’s life at halt. This highly contagious disease is spreading so fast that Indian Government has ordered 1.3 billion residents to stay home. In this lockdown period, all malls, theaters, companies, shops, restaurants, manufacturing units are shut. This will affect businesses and economy badly. Many companies have told their employees to work from home. But, its not possible for all companies like manufacturing units, theaters, malls to let their employees work from home.

    People are also scared of going out. This coronavirus has made people’s lifestyle slow and it will take time for everyone including companies to come back on track after this long period of lock down. COVID-19 has put slowdown to a business everywhere. Travel, Hotel, Events, and Entertainment are the sectors that are suffering. But on the other hand, other sectors such as eCommerce, EduTech have benefited immensely.

    How Industry and Customer Behavior will Change after Coronavirus Fight? 

    We have asked few companies about changes in industry and customer behavior with respect to their company after this coronavirus outbreak.  

    Also Read:

    Rising Sun

    Pooja Nagdev, Founder and CEO

    At this time people have become more aware and going back to the basics. I see that with respect to FMCG ethical labelling will be enforced and people will more watchful of the ingredients they are consuming. The trend for natural and organic care will be the rise.

    Indi Collage

    Anuradha Singh

    At the moment people are more inclined towards online shopping but once the epidemic comes under control we expect to see more of experience based buying & shopping as a social interaction

    Tres’Chic Academe

    Chitra Balasubramaniam, CEO

    Since we operate online most of the time doing business the customer satisfaction is high & this corona virus situation has made us realise our step taking our business online earlier & given us good dividends by doing so.

    CASA EXOTIQUE

    Bhawana Bhatnagar, Interior Stylist, Founder

    There is no denying that business has taken a real hit because of the spread of this menacing disease. Many business firms are closing their stores, and numerous art and design fairs have been either canceled, postponed, or their upcoming plans have been modified. Moreover, due to the hindrance brought about in the global business, overseas procurement has become impossible. Due to this, the supply chain is going to be affected and this will change the dynamics of business. Customers are looking at products customized for them, made locally by us.

    MyStarHub

    Swapnil Mahajan, Founder & CEO

    Well, we are already experiencing a shift from traditional gifts to personalized online gifting due to the digital revolution. With isolation being the key preventive measure in checking the spread of Coronavirus, digital gifting solutions will certainly get a boost.

    While celebrations have been put on hold and people are staying indoors, getting a personalized video message from one’s favorite star on a special occasion will be a unique gift to cast off gloom in the environment and bring some cheerful moments to make the day memorable. Especially in the current scenario, being able to send and receive these celebrity video shoutouts that too without any fear of being exposed to the virus will gain popularity to keep the celebratory spirit on.

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    Team Pumpkin

    Ranjeet Kumar, Co-founder

    Just like every other industry, the digital media and advertising sector is also strongly impacted by the virus outbreak. Since consumers are locking themselves indoors to stay safe and social distancing has become the norm of the day, there is a likely boost expected in the consumption of content online. Internet penetration has already taken B2C marketing online, the isolation mandate due to COVID-19 will now de-popularize out-of-home advertisement and also lead B2B ad turn towards digital.

    As people keep avoiding social gatherings and public places, they eventually would rely more on social media and therefore, the digital media consumption will increase significantly. Social networking platforms will shine even brighter during the need to stay connected and access content. And above all, digital marketing will provide immense opportunities for businesses to create leads without traveling and having any face-to-face interactions.

    Ozonetel

    Chaitanya Chokkareddy, Co-founder & Chief Innovative Officer

    We are already seeing many companies curious to understand how the work from home model can work for their industry. We have executed Work From Home facility for Acko General within a quick time span. We do think this might act as a point where companies start thinking about their backup for remote functioning.

    Dineout

    Ankit Mehrotra, Co-founder & CEO

    The pandemic has severely affected our operations and we’re seeing a heavy downfall in demand of our services at the moment. Social gathering is the key to our industry, while social distancing is the key to fighting this virus today and we’re strongly promoting it on all our platforms.  

    While we are not sure of the full consequences of the ongoing crises, this is certainly going to affect consumer behaviour as far as the F&B industry is concerned. Consumers will take some time to gain the confidence to go out again. The key is to provide for the safety and confidence for our diners once the pandemic subsides. We need to go above and beyond to make customers feel safe and engaging with them over the topic. A slew of measures can be taken as per the protocol prescribed by the Health Ministry, including increased access to hand sanitizers and hygiene procedures, body temperature checks for everyone at the premises, etc.

    Meanwhile, we stand strong with our partners and are hopeful and positive for the betterment of the situation. We shall be ready with the help of technology to help serve both our diners and restaurants stronger and better than ever.

    Packman Packaging

    Gaurav Jalan, Director and Founder

    It is too early to say currently, the industry is still operating as much as it can. But if it becomes a prolonged situation then there might be some issues but they will be temporary not permanent.

    There might be a possibilities that sales of packaging materials may dip a bit because of several advisory such as not going outside a designated territory in that case several businesses that uses packaging materials will be affected.

    One may also see rise in online sales that may still boost the packaging industry as it will open an avenue for supplying their products to several e-business platforms.

    For Packman, their customers are the assets so it will ensure that it can continue its services to its clients and customers. In general one should be prepared and monitor where the company and industry will go in these tumultous times. Customers also understand what is going on so we are sure that our customer will still view us in the same light as they do.

    Bridged.co

    Ashwin Chalam, CEO

    We expect potential and present clients to become conservative with their expenses. Businesses will not be looking to experiment much (with good reason) and will only want to work with teams that have a proven track record and can satisfy critical requirements.

    The coronavirus outbreak doesn’t change the fact that businesses are in the information age, and they will need access to high-quality data. Bridged’s USP is that we provide businesses across industries (primarily AI/ML and financial services) with a cost-effective and scalable data solution. During these trying times, we will leverage that.

    Zolostays

    Dr. Nikhil Sikri, CEO & Co-Founder

    With respect to the co-living space that we operate in, we will most likely see a decline in the number of bookings as this is a pandemic situation which has been declared by the World Health Organization and social distancing is the need of the hour. However, we do have single room occupancy which could also have higher response rate for our prospective customers and existing residents to shift into.

    CarveNiche

    Avneet Makkar, Founder & CEO

    The online education market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 44% between financial years 2019 and 2024, these trends are expected to disrupt the industry going forward. Keeping current trends in mind, ed-tech services will offer immersive and industry-specific learning across larger groups. Online learning and personalization of education will garner prime importance.

    ZEUX Innovation

    Hemal Gathani, Co-founder

    Post the COVID pandemic, we will see the world becoming even flatter. COVID will teach people how to work remotely. And companies would want to take advantage of the best available talent from across the globe at the right price with the location not being a factor.

    We will also see a surge in spending on digital initiatives. Industries would want to digitize everything possible. But going digital won’t be a differentiating factor and won’t necessarily lead them to success. Companies that provide the best user experience on digital channels will take a lead.

    This is the time to invest in enabling best in class user experience as not only businesses will be compelled to go digital but there will be a massive shift in user behavior to do more things online.

    Tjori

    Mansi Gupta, Founder & CEO

    The most important thing is to inform the customers about the exact reality of the scenario and give guarantees and assurances about the safe guarding of their money and products. Nobody loses anything because of this and all people need to realise that we are just at a halt for the next 21 days’ post which all activities would resume better than normal.

    The pre planning done at any situation always help the company and we are also banking on ours, but at this unforeseen times we solve every problem as it comes. Through this platform I wish to advice people to stay indoors and safe.

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