In the recent years, Podcasts have been one of the most flourishing content. It is considered to be the next big thing in the content industry. Every time someone talks about a podcast the first mobile application that comes to everyone’s mind is Spotify. In this article, we will discuss about the best alternative mobile applications you can use instead of Spotify. You can use these to listen to your favourite podcasts.
Pocket Casts is one of the best alternative apps which you can use instead of Spotify. It is an app that you can use to listen to a wide range of podcasts. It has a lot of features an easy user interface, light and dark themes, etc.
Their search and filtering options are really useful. Some of their useful features include trim silence, increasing the variable speed between 5x and 3x, volume boost, chapter navigation, etc. The platform even provides apple watch controls.
Pocket casts
Another useful feature of the platform is that they have a sync option. This will let you pick the podcast from where you left in another device.
The platform works on the basis of a freemium model which means it is free to use but it also has a paid subscription model. The mobile app is available for both Android and IOS users.
Downloads (Android) – 1m+
Playstore Rating – 4.3
Size (Android) – 9.9mb
Google Podcasts
Google had released its own podcast app in June 2018. Google uses AI for transforming the podcasts for better. They provide smarter recommendations through their podcast platform. They use AI for suggesting the podcasts according to your likes and interests.
Google Podcast
You can listen to any of your favourite podcasts which include popular shows like The Daily, Modern Love, The Bill Simmons Podcast, and many more. Google Podcast mobile application is available for both android and IOS users.
Downloads (Android) – 50m+
Playstore Rating – 4.7
Size (Android) – 1.9mb
Player FM
Player FM is a platform that lets you play and manage podcasts across different platforms and hence it is a multiplatform mobile application. You can use Player FM and play podcasts on your web, mobile, and even smart watches. They provide access to over 20 million podcast episodes and recently they had partnered with Podcast hosts Libsyn and Buzzsprout.
PlayerFm
Their content library will be updated multiple times during the day which lets you access the trending shows and the most recent releases. They have around 20 million podcast episodes with more than 500 sub categories concentrating on different niches.
The platform is consistently ranked in the top 10 podcast player apps worldwide. The mobile application is available for both android and IOS users.
Downloads (Android) – 5m+
Playstore Rating – 4.6
Size (Android) – 28mb
Castbox
Castbox is another app that can be a replacement for Spotify. This platform was launched in the year 2018 but has gained a lot of popularity and great reviews in such a short span of time. They have some impressive features which make them quite different.
Castbox Podcast
The platform has won many awards from Google and Apple in the last couple of years. The platform is available for both android and IOS users. It is also available on Amazon Echo Skill, Apple Watch, and CarPlay support.
Downloads (Android) – 10m+
Playstore Rating – 4.7
Size (Android) – 37mb
Laughable
Laughable is a podcast app that focuses more on comedy. The application even provides various other options for podcast listeners.
Through laughable you can subscribe to podcasts of all genres and also directly to thousands of Comedians, actors, athletes, journalists, musicians, politicians, and authors. They let you subscribe and listen to people who are worth listening to.
It is very easy to find your favourite podcast and to listen to their newly released podcasts. The application has been featured on the apple store a couple of times.
Laughable has unique features and data. For example, the Laughable artist graph. This is a feature that shows how the audience overlaps the top podcasters and comedians. The mobile application is available for both android and IOS users.
Downloads (Android) – 10k+
Playstore Rating – 4.0
Size (Android) – 10mb
Stitcher
It is one of the most famous apps for listening to podcasts. The application has won many awards. One of the best features of the platform is that you can search on the basis of episodes not just the entire podcast.
Stitcher
Stitcher also works on the basis of a freemium model and has a paid subscription model as well where you can remove ads and listen to original shows. Stitcher lets you create playlists, find new podcasts, listen to the news, and so on.
The mobile application is available for both android and IOS users.
Downloads (Android) – 5m+
Playstore Rating – 2.6
Size (Android) – 25mb
FAQ
What is a podcast and how do they work?
A podcast is a series of episodes. These episodes are audio files that are likely stored with a podcast hosting company.
Are podcasts for free?
Yes, there are many podcast available for free.
What are the best podcasts 2020?
The top 5 podcast of 2020 are Nice White Parents, Code Switch, Staying In With Emily and Kumail, You Must Remember This, and Outsiders.
Conclusion
These are some of the best alternative apps you can use to listen to podcasts instead of Spotify.
Audacity is one of the most commonly used audio editing software. But if you are someone who wants to try something different, here is a list of the best alternative audio editing software you can use.
Ocenaudio is a cross-platform audio editing software. This can be an alternative software that you can use instead of audacity for your audio editing. It is loaded with all the features which you would expect from audacity.
The most important feature of Ocenaudio is that you can easily make fine-tuned audio processing with its real-time preview of audio effects. In addition to this, the platform provides a multiselection tool. This tool helps you select multiple parts of your audio file to edit and apply effects on them.
Oocenaudio Audio Editing software
You can easily edit audio files which are large in size, for a longer duration, without the file getting corrupted as the platform has an advanced memory management system in it. The software also supports VST plugins, spectrum analysis support, and many more. The platform is available on both Windows and macOS. The software has free versions.
Review – 4/5
Pricing – Free
WavePad
WavePad is one of the best audio editing software which you can replace it with audacity. The software is simple to use and is loaded with a lot of features. The software has a lot of audio effects which is diverse from the standard audio editing functions.
Apart from audio-trim and basic audio editing functions the software also provides normalize, reverb, echo, etc. Wavepad provides a feature where you can bookmark your audio editing file’s region or a specific area making it easier for you to edit long audio files.
Wavepad audio editing software
The software supports nearly all the popular audio formats and also supports VST plug-ins. This gives you an easy access to additional processing tools and effects.
Wavepad has a feature which is speech synthesis that is you can convert text to speech and also a voice changer tool that you can use especially when you are working on an audio file that requires different voices.
Using this software, you can directly edit the audio of a video content without the need for separately using specific software for editing audios and videos separately.
The platform is available on both Windows and macOS. There are free versions as well as paid versions of the software
Review – 4.5/5
Pricing –
Standard Edition – $39.95 – All Master’s Edition features without VST plugins support nor SFX Library
Master’s Edition – $69.95 – All Master’s Edition features including SFX Library
Sound Forge Audio Studio is considered to be an extremely powerful audio editing software. The software comes from one of the top companies that are well-known in the field of audio which is Sony.
It can be one of the best software to use for audio recordings as it supports audio capture with a resolution that is as high as up to 24 bit/192 kHz. The software’s studio-quality signals and their effect processing tool which has up to 30 built-in processors will provide you with the best quality audio output.
Sound forge audio editing software
Even Sound Forge Audio Studio supports VST plug-ins and can process files which is larger than 4GB. Some of the other features of the software include vinyl recording, restoration, real-time non-destructive editing, automatic file mixing, automatic file conversions, etc.
The software platform is available only for Windows OS users. The software has a paid version, you can have a free trial of the software. You can purchase the software from magix.com.
Review – 4.3/5
Pricing –
SOUND FORGE Audio Studio – Rs 3,320
SOUND FORGE Audio Studio 365 –
Rs 349/month (3 Month)
Rs 199/month (12 Month)
Wavosaur
Wavosaur is probably the most lightest audio editing software available in the market. The software’s file size is less than 1 MB. Even though the software is light it has a lot of features in it.
The software offers a multi-document interface. This will let you edit more than one file in a single session. It also has all standard audio editing functions which include trim, inserts silence, etc.
The software has a batch processing mode. This makes it easy for you to apply VST effects on the entire folder of your audio files. One of the special features of this software is that you can export audios in the form of texts which can be used for software like Excel and MATLAB.
The software platform is available only for Windows OS users. This software is free to use.
FL Studio is one of the best pro Digital Audio Workstation software available in the market. It is more commonly used by EDM and music creators. This software is known to be used by famous celebrities like Martin Garrix, Porter Robinson, and many others.
The software is available in the market for over 20 years. FL studio has all the features which you can expect from a pro Digital Audio Workstation software. Other than the normal audio editing features FL studio offers Step Mode, Note Mode, and Drum Mode.
FL studio audio editing software
Step Mode allows you to create patterns and sequencing in seconds, Note Mode lets you add harmonies and melodies in your audio files and Drum Mode helps you in adding MPC-style 16 or 32 pad layouts and many more.
The software is available for both Windows and macOS users. You can avail a free trial for the software.
Review – 4
Pricing –
FL Studio Fruity Edition – $ 99.00
FL Studio Producer Edition – $ 199.00
FL Studio Signature Bundle – $ 299.00
FL Studio All Plugins Edition – $ 499.00
FAQ
What does an audio editor do?
A sound editor is a creative professional responsible for selecting and assembling sound recordings in preparation for the final sound mixing or mastering of a television program.
What is the best free audio editor?
Audacity is one of the best free audio editor tools.
What audio software do professionals use?
Fl Studio, Avid Pro Tools, Apple Logic Pro X, Magix Acid Pro are some top audio software professionals use.
Conclusion
These are some of the software which you can use to replace audacity. All the above-mentioned software will let you edit your audios in a professional way. You can find your best suitable software and use it.
GoDaddy is one of the biggest domain and hosting companies in the world. They are quite famous among the individuals even the ones who are not much into websites or related fields because of their advertising and marketing strategies.
GoDaddy is not the best, the cheapest, or the most reliable domain and hosting company available in the market. Let’s look at some of the alternatives you can look into instead of using GoDaddy for registering your domain name or for hosting services.
Domain.com is one of the best platforms for registering a domain name or for getting an SSL certificate. It is one of the best alternatives available for GoDaddy. Domain.com is one of the most well-known domain registrar platforms. They offer all top domain extensions (TLDs).
They offer a feature which is known as “domain name generator”. This feature will help you find a suitable domain name for your business. You can enter your keyword or a particular key phrase related to your business and the platform will generate a list of results that matches your search.
Domain.com Website
Domain.com can also be an alternative platform that you can use to generate SSL certificates. The platform provides cheaper SSL certificates compared to GoDaddy.
The domain management area of Domain.com is easy to use and intuitive. You can easily do the renewal process, manage your DNS settings, privacy, and other domain-related settings.
You can easily point your domain names to any other hosting provider.
HostGator
HostGator is one of the best alternatives for GoDaddy if you are looking for a cheaper platform. They are one of the best companies in the market for shared hosting. They provide cheaper hosting plans for bloggers and startups.
HostGator Website
HostGator also offers dedicated and VPS hosting plans, Even WPBeginner is hosted using the servers dedicated to HostGator. It is one of the best options if you want to start a blog or if you want a starter site. You can easily set up WordPress using HostGator.
Bluehost is one of the best website hosting companies currently in the market. They provide affordable and fast hosting service which you can rely on setting up your website.
If you would want to replace GoDaddy for website hosting services then bluehost would be on top of the recommendation list. Bluehost is a hosting provider which is officially recommended by WordPress.
bluehost website
Bluehost also provides a free domain name and SSL certificate along with their hosting plans. You will not have to separately purchase an SSL certificate or register a domain name for your website.
SiteGround
SiteGround is the best choice if you want to set up a business website. They are also a hosting provider which is officially recommended by WordPress. SiteGround is one of the top hosting companies on the market.
SiteGround is very well known for its support to the customers. They provide technical support through Email, Live Chat, and Phone. They also offer a free SSL certificate, one free website migration, and many more.
siteground website
SiteGround is the best choice for e-commerce website hosting and business website hosting. They have an easier user interface and website management tools that will let you migrate, manage and run your website more effectively and efficiently.
DreamHost
DreamHost is one of the oldest hosting companies. You can easily rely on their services. DreamHost has one of the best shared hosting plans if you are looking for an alternative for GoDaddy shared hosting plans.
Their hosting services are offered on fast servers. They also offer free domain names and free SSL certificates. This will help you cut down your cost of creating your website and will help you manage your website more easily as everything is under the same roof.
Dreamhost Website
It gives you access to several tools that you can access to manage your website. They have a very simple and easy-to-use dashboard and it is the best choice for starter websites and growing businesses. The platform provides fast technical support through live chat and Email.
Network Solutions
Network solutions provide hosting, domain names, and SSL certificates. It is one of the best alternatives for GoDaddy for all these services. They have around 7 million domain names registered under them. This makes Network Solutions the largest domain registrars on the planet.
Through Network Solutions you can register all the popular domain extensions which include .com, .net, .biz, .info, and many more. It provides all other niche TLDs.
Network solutions Website
Network Solutions not only provide domain extensions but they have a wide range of services which include web hosting, website builder, website security tools, SEO services, and many more.
This platform would be the best choice if you are a business owner as it provides most of the services you require to create an online presence.
FAQ
Where is the best place to buy a domain name?
Domain.com, Bluehost, Network Solutions, HostGator and DreamHost are some of the best place to buy a domain name.
Can you buy a domain permanently?
You cannot buy a domain name permanently. Domain name registration is done on a yearly basis. However, you can pre-pay for up to 10 years which guarantees that you will have a domain name for 10 years.
Is domain com any good?
While Domain.com doesn’t have all the features that other web hosting sites have, it is still one of the best web hosting sites available.
Conclusion
These are some of the best alternatives available in the market instead of GoDaddy. You can choose the best suitable company after going through your requirements.
Mutual Fund investments are considered as one of the best ways to increase your money in the long run and to beat the inflation rates. This can be a way through which you can achieve financial freedom. With the availability of a lot of mobile applications in the market investing in Mutual Funds has become easier when compared to the days prior.
But choosing the best platform to invest in Mutual funds has become hard as choosing from a wide range of options is a hard process. You can go through this article to choose from the best Mobile Applications available for you to start your Mutual Funds Investment journey.
Groww is a mobile application you can use if you are a beginner in Mutual Fund Investing. The platform provides an interactive and simple user interface. The application offers various resources such as blogs and learning videos that are related to mutual funds to help you in Mutual fund investing in case you are a beginner.
Through the Groww application, you can easily invest in mutual funds at a zero commission rate. The platform provides an easy-to-use interface where you can track all your investments, total returns, and annual returns under one dashboard. You can also create an account easily with a one-step KYC process.
Groww Mobile App
They also have a Mutual Fund SIP calculator this will let you calculate the return on your investments easily and you can even start investing in mutual funds through a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) at a very low price of INR 100.
All your transactions through the platform will be secure as it uses 128-bit SSL encryption. The mobile application is available for both Android and IOS users.
Downloads – 10M+
Playstore Rating – 4.4
Download Size (Android) – 27mb
Paytm Money
Paytm Money Mutual Funds App is one of the best mobile applications in India for Mutual Fund investment. Through this platform, you can get access to various investment ideas from where you can choose according to your requirements.
There are no hidden charges for buying and selling of Mutual Funds through the Paytm Money Mutual Funds App as it is absolutely free of cost.
Paytm money Mobile app
You can open an account in Paytm Money in less than 30 minutes through a paperless KYC process. Opening an account is very simple and it easily makes your account investment-ready as soon as your account is opened and the verification process is completed.
You can track the performance and returns of your investments easily as it has a one-stop solution. You can start investing in Mutual Funds using Paytm Money Mutual Funds App through a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) at a very low price of INR 100.
The app is available for both Android and IOS users.
Downloads – 5M+
Playstore Rating – 4.2
Download Size (Android) – 28mb
ETMONEY
ETMONEY is also considered to be one of the best platforms for Mutual Funds investments in India. It is a mobile application under Times Network. You can easily navigate using this platform and the application is very light.
ETMONEY provides insights about your investment from the application and this can provide a lot of information and improve your Mutual Funds investment process. This is considered as one of the best features provided by the platform.
ETMONEY Mobile App
The platform also offers personal finance strategies after taking into consideration your financial goals and your duties. The app also offers solutions for tax savings for free which will help you save up to INR 46,800.
Through this platform, you can also get access to various financial products such as insurance policies, direct mutual fund investments through SIP’s, Instant loans, etc. The app also lets you transfer money into the platform through various UPI payment apps such as Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, etc.
The Mutual Fund investments through the app are free of cost. The Application is available for both Android and IOS users.
Downloads – 5M+
Playstore Rating – 4.5
Download Size (Android) – 19mb
CashRich
CashRich was one of the earliest apps available for Mutual Fund investments in India. It is the first mobile application to offer a dynamic SIP investment option. This provides much higher returns than the regular SIP.
Opening an account is very easy as it is through a paperless KYC process and the platform lets you open an account in less than 30 minutes. The application provides personalized investment options after taking into consideration your financial obligations and goals.
Cashrich Mobile app
The account you open with CashRich comes as a free account for your entire life with no account opening charges and zero maintenance charges. There are no transaction charges as well.
They provide chat support which is active 24×7. The mobile application is available for both Android and IOS users.
Downloads – 100k+
Playstore Rating – 4.5
Download Size (Android) – 10mb
Scripbox
Scripbox is a mobile application which helps you invest in mutual funds. The platform helps you achieve your financial goals in your life by letting you invest in the best mutual funds available. It is one of the most trusted Finance based mobile application in India.
There is no lock in period for both equity mutual funds and debt mutual funds except for ELSS mutual funds. The platform provides a complete view on the growth of your mutual fund investments. They even provide periodic reviews of their mutual funds which will help you stay updated and analyze the best mutual fund available.
Scripbox Mobile App
Downloads – 1M+
Playstore Rating – 4.5
Download Size (Android) – 18mb
Coin by Zerodha
Zerodha Coin is a platform which is under the largest stockbroker of the country Zerodha. Zerodha coin is also the largest platform which lets you directly invest in Mutual Funds. The platform lets you invest online with zero commission directly from Asset Management companies.
You will have access to unlimited free investments in direct mutual funds.
Coin by Zerodha Mobile app
Downloads – 1M+
Playstore Rating – 4.5
Download Size (Android) – 9.5mb
Kuvera
Kuvera is an online platform which lets you invest in Mutual Funds. The platform runs under the company Arevuk Advisory Services which is a SEBI registered investment advisor.
You can invest in direct mutual funds through the app without any fees or commissions. The platform was introduced in the year 2016. It is a wealth management platform for individual investors.
Kuvera Mobile App
Downloads – 500k+
Playstore Rating – 4.7
Download Size (Android) – 32mb
FAQ
What is meant by mutual funds?
Mutual fund is a company that pools money from many investors and invests the money in securities such as stocks, bonds, and short-term debt.
What are 3 Types of mutual funds?
There are four broad types of mutual funds: Equity (stocks), fixed-income (bonds), money market funds (short-term debt), or both stocks and bonds (balanced or hybrid funds).
What is the 3 day rule in stocks?
The ‘Three Day Rule’ tells investors and stock traders to wait a full three days before buying a stock that has been slammed due to negative news.
Conclusion
Through such mobile applications investment in Mutual funds has become an easier and hassle-free process. Most of the applications mentioned in this article have somewhat similar futures. You can choose any of the platforms according to your choice and start your investment journey.
Stock Market investments are always considered to be very complicated and hence a lot of people stay away from it. Nowadays with the launch of new mobile applications stock market investing have been made much easier. Let’s look at some of the best platforms to help you in stock market investing.
Zerodha Kite is one of the best stock market investment apps in India. It has a rating of 9.85 in the trading app segment. Zerodha was the first discount stock broker of India. Currently, it is the number 1 stockbroker in the country. The app has a user-friendly platform and it does not have a lot of information or resources which are unnecessary.
All the investments using Zerodha are free of brokerage which means that if you buy a stock and don’t sell it on the same day then you will not have to pay any amount for the purchase of the stock. It is one of the best apps for a beginner stock market investor.
Zerodha Website
If you are an investor who wants to research on your own and then invest in individual stocks you can choose Zerodha as your stockbroker. Zerodha also has a mobile application which is Zerodha Varsity.
This application provides you with education on the basics of stock market investing and the different subjects related to it. You can access their mobile application for free of cost.
Upstox
Upstox is a leading discount broker in the country. It has a mobile application through which you can invest easily into stocks which is Upstox Pro. Upstox was formerly known as RKSV technologies. The company is backed by Ratan Tata.
upstox Website
The charges of Upstox are similar to that of Zerodha. It is also a discount broker and is second in the market share of the stock market brokers in India. You can also choose Upstox as your stockbroker if you want to research on your own and then invest in individual stocks
Currently, you can open a Demat and trading account with Upstox for free of cost with various other benefits.
Groww
Groww is a mobile application you can consider if you are a beginner in Stock Market Investing. The platform provides an interactive and simple user interface. The application offers various resources such as blogs and learning videos that are related to mutual funds to help you in stock market investing in case you are a beginner.
Groww Website
Through the Groww application, you can easily invest in Index funds, Mutual funds, and various other stocks at a zero-commission rate. The platform provides an easy-to-use interface where you can track all your investments, total returns, and annual returns under one dashboard. You can also create an account easily with a one-step KYC process.
You can even start investing in mutual funds or Index funds through a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) at a very low price of INR 100. All your transactions through the platform will be secure as it uses 128-bit SSL encryption. The mobile application is available for both Android and IOS users.
Smallcase is a mobile application that lets you invest in stock markets in a simple and easier way. If you are an individual who has no idea about stock market investing and has no time or interest to study about the stock market but wants to invest in it, then you can choose Smallcase for your stock market investments.
Smallcase will have a set of baskets from which you can choose. For example, if you believe that in the next few years the Electric Vehicle Industry is going to flourish then you can find a basket of stocks which are related to the Electric Vehicle industry in Smallcase. The basket can include EV car parts manufacturing companies, EV battery manufacturing companies, EV companies and so on.
smallcase Website
This makes it easier for any individual to invest into stock markets. Through Smallcase you can invest in the form of a SIP. You will have to link this application with your Demat account and all your stocks will be available in your Demat account according to your selected basket.
You can also edit the stocks in your basket and customize them according to your requirements. The fee is charged on a one-time basis that is INR 100 + GST is charged for all Smallcases that are for one basket of stocks.
Moneycontrol is one of the most famous stock research websites in India. The website provides all the information regarding charts, trends, news, commodities, futures, options, IPO’s and many more.
Their website is considered as a one-stop solution for tracking the share markets in India. You can get access to all the fundamental and technical data of a particular stock using this platform.
Their mobile application is available to Android, IOS, and Windows users as well. They have a pro version for their platform which costs INR 199 per month, INR 499 per year, and INR 1999 for 3 years.
FAQ
How do I start investing in the stock market?
To start investing in stock, Decide on how you want to invest in stocks, Know your goal for investment, Open an investing account i.e. demat and trading account, Set a budget for your stock investment, Learn about stock market basics.
What is the best stock to invest in for beginners?
The best stock to invest according to Nasdaq is Alibaba (BABA Stock Report), Alphabet (GOOGL Stock Report), Amazon (AMZN Stock Report), Apple (AAPL Stock Report), Disney (DIS Stock Report).
Who is the richest stock trader?
George Soros is considered as one of the richest active trader globally whose fortune is approximately 8.3 billion dollars.
Conclusion
You can use the above platforms for beginning your stock market investment journey. All the platform charges are reasonable compared to the other applications in the market. All the apps mentioned above can be used by a beginner-level stock market investor.
From the past few years, Bollywood stars have been trying to do different things to give their career a whole new direction. According to Nasscom report, India is now the third largest startup ecosystem in the world with more than 50 unicorns by 2021. Which is why in the recent years the number startups or ventures funded by well-known Bollywood celebrities have increased.
Bollywood celebs like Alia Bhatt, Suniel Shetty, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Anushka Sharma, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sonu Sood have become investors or angel investors, while some have also started their own venture by becoming entrepreneurs.
This includes Katrina Kaif who is a British actress that predominantly works in Hindi Cinema. She is one of the highest paid actress in India and is known for her Box office hits like Namastey London, Zindegi Na Milegi Dobara, Bang Bang, Tiger Zinda Hai, Raajneti, etc.
Besides acting Katrina is also involved with her mother’s charity and participates in many stage shows. The actress has recently funded in the e-commerce startup Nykaa and has also started her own makeup brand known as Kay beauty.
Nykaa is an Indian Online shopping site that sells cosmetics and skincare/beauty products. The company was founded by Falguni Nayar and is the number 1 online marketplace for beauty and wellness products in India. Nykaa has its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra and was established in 2012.
The company also received an investment of Rs 100 crore from Steadview Capital in May, 2020 and has grown into a unicorn company with the help of many such investments.
Nykaa is currently present in over 70 stores in India including products from from luxury brands like Tom Ford, Jo Malone London, Dior and Givenchy among others.
The main competitors of Nykaa in India are companies like Amazon Fashion, Flipkart Fashion and Myntra. The website currently has over 5 million monthly active users and handles more than 1.5 million order per month. Nykaa is known to have huge portfolio of more than 1,500 brands with a range of 1.3 lakh products available on all its platforms like website, app and stores.
Katrina Kaif with Falguni Nayar, the founder of Nykaa
Nykaa also offers a wide variety of beauty and grooming products for men, the website also includes Nykaa Pro which caters to their customers with beauty needs and special offers. They also have their own in-house beauty products known as Nykaa beauty which makes cosmetics for lips, eyes, face and nails among other skin body care range. The company also raised Rs 100 Crore from TPG Growth which is an American private equity firm in April 2019.
Katrina Kaif launched her make up brand Kay Beauty in 2019 and went on to invest an undisclosed amount in Nykaa through a secondary transaction. When asked about why she choose to invest in Nykaa, the actress replied by saying that she was familiar with growth of the company’s equity and market leadership and so becoming an investor was a logical step to do.
She also added that Nykaa has opened new avenues for women to explore and celebrate their own unique idea of beauty. Falguni Nayar the CEO of Nykaa, also commented that she admires Katrina’s work ethic and understanding of beauty products.
Kay Beauty is an Indian Cosmetic Brand that was founded by Katrina Kaif, this beauty line is available on the Nykaa’s website and its retail stores. Nykaa currently has two types of store which are Nykaa On trend and Nykaa Luxe.
Kay beauty is divided three sections which are Kolor, Kover, Kare. The Kolor represents the color cosmetics with eyes, Lips and Nails, while Kover and Kare includes face products with nourishing ingredients. The brand has 48 different pieces of makeup products for eyes and lips just from Kolor Category.
#ItsKayToBeYou Campaign
These products are affordable and are priced at Rs. 249 to Rs. 799. Kay Beauty is India’s first celebrity brand. According to Katrina it has been a long journey and a lot of work for creating the brand the way she wanted it to be. The actress is involved in making decisions from the quality of the products to the textures of the company’s first campaign and photo shoot for the brand.
The Kay Beauty brand was created by Katrina because she is passionate about makeup, understood the art of makeup and gained knowledge about it through her experience of being a model and actor. Which is why the actress know exactly what to convey to consumers when it comes to Kay Beauty.
The company manufactures products that are said to be high-performance and long lasting while caring for ones skin at the same time. Commenting on her vision for the brand Katrina added that Kay beauty is not just another brand endorsement, but her own brand that truly represents who she is.
The Kay Beauty is good at marketing its products and has come up with many interesting hashtags such as the #MakeupThatKares and #ItsKayToBeYou, through which the brand talks about the gap that the brand fulfils by providing a makeup collection that has care ingredients to nourish the skin.
Kay beauty has also recently made a partnership with Nykaa, after which the company gave the Kay beauty team full freedom to create and market the brand.
Katrina partners with nykaa because Nykaa’s team has knowledge on creating unique formulations, educating the consumer and bringing the best beauty trends in the market. What Nykaa also has is a strong network of online distribution and stores all across India which will help the brand reach to top tier cities.
During the launch of Kay Beauty, Falguni Nayar, founder and CEO Nykaa added,
“The launch of Kay Beauty is a proud moment for Nykaa too because it is the country’s first celebrity beauty brand. I have always admired Katrina’s independent spirit and was also inspired by her vision to create this unique collection. Over the past two years, Katrina and the team have worked relentlessly with passion and dedication to bring this vision to life.”
Katrina also mentioned that this partnership has all the ingredients she is looking for, as Nykaa has all information in business, distribution and technical side of things which is very necessary while starting a brand.
With the tension escalating at the Indo-China border, the Chinese-funded companies in India are currently at risk. The people of India are now boycotting Chinese manufacturers and organizations that sell their products in India. As a result, Indian startups funded by Chinese investors are also facing severe backlash.
Among India’s top 30 companies and startups (entrepreneurial ventures worth over $1 billion), 18 have received funding from the Chinese.
Chinese investors are quick in identifying the potential in Indian startups. They find investing in India enticing because India has an attractive risk-return trade-off and remains the second-fastest growing economy in the world. Chinese investors have funded over 18 Indian unicorns; it amounts to around $3.9 billion in investment in 2019. But the growing conflict between the two countries is making it challenging for these unicorns to receive further investment capital from China.
BigBasket is an Indian online grocery delivery service. Alibaba invested in BigBasket in 2018. The investment assists BigBasket in competing with the US-based Amazon and India’s Flipkart. The company’s valuation exceeded $1 billion with the help of Chinese investment. The decision to boycott Chinese products affected BigBasket in several ways.
Dailyhunt
Chinese Investor: Alibaba
Dailyhunt – Chinese Investment In India
Dailyhunt is one of the fastest-growing startups in this list. Dailyhunt is an Indian news content aggregator. It is considered as one of the world’s top mobile applications for staying abreast of the latest happenings across the globe. With 22 million users and 30 billion page views per month, Dailyhunt has indeed cemented its status in the Indian startup ecosystem. Alibaba holds an investment in Dailyhunt.
Healofy
Chinese Investor: Ant Financial
Healofy – Chinese Investment In India
Healofy is India’s largest women-oriented social network; it helps women connect with other women. Healofy raised $1 million in seed fund from Omidyar Network in 2018. Healofy then received $8 million in fresh funding from Alibaba-backed parenting platform BabyTree Group and BAce Capital, a fund anchored by Alibaba’s Ant Financial.
Paytm Mall
Chinese Investor: Alibaba
Paytm Mall – Chinese Investment In India
Paytm launched the Paytm Mall app in Feb 2017. Paytm Mall follows a business to consumer model. It is an e-commerce platform that allows consumers to shop from 1.4 lakh registered sellers. Alibaba invested in Paytm Mall for a 40% stake but refused to fund Paytm Mall further. Paytm is one of the biggest e-commerce organizations to be featured in this list of Chinese-funded companies in India.
Paytm
Chinese Investor: Ant Financial
Paytm – Chinese Investment In India
Paytm is an Indian e-commerce payment system and financial technology organization. Paytm was valued at $10 billion in January 2018. Paytmvaluation was $16 billion in 2021. Ant Financial has become the largest shareholder in One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, by investing $680 million.
TicketNew
Chinese Investor: Alibaba
TicketNew – Chinese Investment In India
TicketNew is a privately owned company that provides online ticket booking services for movies, theatre plays and sports. Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba has reportedly provided over $30 million in funding to TicketNew and has acquired the ticket booking platform..
Vidooly
Chinese Investor: Alibaba
Vidooly – Chinese Investment In India
Vidooly is an online video analytics and marketing company. It provides video analytics tools and video marketing services. Vidooly raised over INR 15 crores from the Alibaba group.
XpressBees
Chinese Investor: Alibaba
XpressBees – Chinese Investment In India
XpressBees is an e-commerce logistics firm that offers delivery, order management, shipping, and tracking services. Founded in 2015, XpressBees secured over $35 million in funding from Alibaba in 2017. Again in 2019, the e-commerce giant invested $10 million in the logistics starteup.
Snapdeal
Chinese Investor: Alibaba
Snapdeal – Chinese Investment In India
Snapdeal is an Indian e-commerce behemoth. Snapdeal received over $500 million in funding from three of Asia’s largest tech companies: Alibaba, Foxconn, and SoftBank. Snapdeal is another e-commerce giant that made it to this list of Chinese-backed companies in India.
It is an Indian restaurant aggregator and food delivery start-up that provides information, menus, and user-reviews of restaurants. Zomato also offers food delivery options from partner restaurants. Zomato has raised over $150 million from Alibaba.
BYJU’s
Chinese Investor: Tencent
BYJU’S – Chinese Investment In India
BYJU’S is an Indian educational technology (edtech) and online tutoring firm. It is considered as the largest ed-tech company in the country as well. Tencent, one of Asia’s largest valued Chinese tech company investor, has invested in Byju. The amount invested on the ed-tech was undisclosed.
Ola
Chinese Investor: Tencent
Ola – Chinese Investment In India
Ola Cabs is an Indian ride-sharing company offering services that include peer-to-peer ridesharing, ride service hailing, taxi, and food delivery. Ola was founded by Bhavish Aggarwal and Akit Bhati. Ola raised over $1.1 billion in funding from Tencent.
Doubtnut
Chinese Investor: Tencent
Doubtnut – Chinese Investment In India
Another ed-tech company, Doubtnut is an Indian online tutoring platform. Doubtnut operates as an e-learning platform that enables users to ask questions related to Physics, Chemistry, and Math. Tencent provided over $15 million funding to Doubtnut in the year 2020..
Dream11
Chinese Investor: Tencent
Dream11 – Chinese Investment In India
Dream11 is a fantasy sports platform that allows users to play fantasy cricket, hockey, football, kabaddi, and basketball. Tencent has a $100 million investment in Dream11 in the year 2018. Dream11 has become the first Indian gaming company to enter the unicorn club.
Flipkart
Chinese Investor: Tencent
Flipkart – Chinese Investment In India
It is an Indian e-commerce company based out of Bangalore, India. Flipkart was founded in 2007 and has been one of the e-commerce giant in India by serving . Chinese investor Tencent Holdings have invested more than $300 million in Flipkart.
Niyo
Chinese Investor: Tencent
Niyo – Chinese Investment In India
Niyo is one of India’s largest and fastest-growing fintech ventures with the vision of making banking simple, smart, and transparent for everyone. Niyo got its funding from Tencent, although the amount raised were not disclosed to the public.
Gaana
Chinese Investor: Tencent
Gaana.com – Chinese Investment In India
It is the largest Indian commercial music streaming service. Gaana.com was founded in 2012. Gaana raised over $115 million from the Chinese internet giant Tencent. Again in 2020, Tencent invested $50 million and in 2021 another $40 million on the music streaming app.
Khatabook
Chinese Investor: Tencent
Khatabook – Chinese Investment In India
Khatabook is a mobile app targeted towards small shopkeepers and kirana store owners in India. Khatabook app helps them manage their books by tracking the money owed to them through the means of a digital ledger. Tencent has invested over $75 million in Khatabook app.
MX Player
Chinese Investor: Tencent
MX Player – Chinese Investment In India
MX Player is an entertainment app that offers its viewers quality, digital-first content, it is a very popular OTT service in India for giving access to many exclusive content to it audinence. MX Player gained popularity as an Indian OTT platform. Tencent has invested over $11q million in MX Player in the year 2019.
MyGate
Chinese Investor: Tencent
MyGate – Chinese Investment In India
MyGate is an India-based security and community management app for gated premises. The security management startup raised an undisclosed amount from Chinese tech company Tencent in the year 2019.
Pine Labs
Chinese Investor: Tencent
Pine Labs – Chinese Investment In India
Pine Labs is an fintech startup and an Indian merchant platform company. Pine Labs provides financing and last-mile retail transaction technology through its help your business can accept different modes of payment. Tencent has invested and undisclosed amount in Pine Labs.
Pocket FM
Chinese Investor: Tencent
Pine Labs – Chinese Investment In India
Pocket FM is a social audio platform for Indian languages where users can find great quality audio content comprising audiobooks, stories, and podcasts. Tencent invested in this entertainment app, although the amount invested was not disclosed to the public.
Practo
Chinese Investor: Tencent
Practo – Indian Companies with Chinese Investment
It develops and distributes medical information systems. Practo Technologies Private Limited offers an online software platform that provides automated appointment scheduling, billing solutions, and storage of medical records. Practo raised over $55 million from Tencent.
Swiggy
Chinese Investor: Tencent
Swiggy – Indian Companies with Chinese Investment
Swiggy is one of the most popular a food delivery company in India. Swiggy is one of the unicorn in India and in fact, it is also India’s fastest unicorn. In 2018, Tencent invested on Swiggy again in 2020, Swiggy got a good amount funding from Tenvcent. Both the times, the amount is not diclosed.
Udaan
Chinese Investor: Tencent
Udaan – Indian Companies with Chinese Investment
Udaan is a network-centric B2B trade platform designed specifically for small and medium-scale businesses in India. Udaan brings traders, wholesalers, and retailers into one place. Udaan raised funds from Tencent,the amount invested was not diclosed.
Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd
Chinese Investor: Xiaomi
Hungama Digital Media – Indian Companies with Chinese Investment
Hungama Digital Media Entertainment serves as an aggregator, developer, publisher, and distributor of Bollywood and Asian entertainment. Xiaomi made its first investment in an Indian company by pouring $25-million in Hungama Digital Media Entertainment.
Marsplay
Chinese Investor: Xiaomi
Marsplay – Indian Companies with Chinese Investment
Marsplay is an online platform that allows users to discover and share fashion and beauty tips. Marsplay Internet Private Limited, the parent company of Marsplay, raised funding from Xiaomi in 2018, although the exact amount was not disclosed.
Oye! Rickshaw
Chinese Investor: Xiaomi
Oye! Rickshaw – Indian Companies with Chinese Investment
Oye! Rickshaw is an electric rickshaw mobility platform that connects driver-partners and users. The best part is it is environment-friendly and is on a mission to make people commute without any problem. Oye Rickshaw raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Xiami in 2020.
ShareChat
Chinese Investor: Xiaomi and ShunWei Capital
ShareChat – Indian Companies with Chinese Investment
ShareChat is an Indian Social networking service, and it was incorporated on January 8, 2015. The main attraction of this app is that it support over 15 languages. ShareChat raised funds from Xiaomi and ShunWei Capital, a Chinese venture capital firm. Both the investment amount was not disclosed
ZestMoney
Chinese Investor: Xiaomi
ZestMoney – Indian Companies with Chinese Investment
ZestMoney is the largest and fastest-growing consumer lending fintech company in India. ZestMoney’s platform enables instant approval and disbursal of small-ticket loans. Xiaomi invested an undisclosed amount in ZestMoney in 2018.
OYO
Chinese Investor: Didi Chuxing
OYO – Indian Companies with Chinese Investment
OYO, the multinational hospitality chain is famous for its budget rooms and it is considered the biggest network of hotels in India. It is also spread in more than 199 cities and serves its people. In the year 2019. Didi Chuxing a transport company invested $100 million in OYO.
PolicyBazaar
Chinese Investor: Tencent
Policy Bazaar – Indian Companies with Chinese Investment
Policy Bazaar is a company that provides online life insurance and general insurance. The Indian multinational fintech company has been here for 14 years and has been serving people. Tencent invested $150 million in PolicyBazaar in the year 2019.
Delhivery
Chinese Investor: Fosun
Delhivery – Indian Companies with Chinese Investment
This Indian logistics and supply chain company’s main service is to transport parcels and provide third-party logistics for e-commerce companies. In the year, 2017 Fosun, a Cho9nese conglomerate company invested $3o million in Delhivery.
FAQs
How many Chinese companies are there in India?
There are 105 Chinese companies in India.
Is BigBasket funded by China?
BigBasket is an Indian online grocery delivery service. Alibaba invested in BigBasket in 2018. The investment assists BigBasket in competing with the US-based Amazon and India’s Flipkart. The company’s valuation exceeded $1 billion with the help of Chinese investment.
Is flipkart funded by China?
Flipkart is an Indian e-commerce company based out Bangalore, India. Chinese investors like Tencent Holdings and Steadview Capital have invested more than $300 million in Flipkart.
Is Paytm owned by China?
Paytm launched the Paytm Mall app in Feb 2017; Paytm Mall follows a business to consumer model. It is an e-commerce platform that allows consumers to shop from 1.4 lakh registered sellers. Alibaba invested in Paytm Mall for a 40% stake but refused to fund Paytm Mall further.
What are the Chinese Investment Companies in India?
Top Chinese Investment Companies in India are:
Tencent
Alibaba
Xiaomi
How many Chinese companies are listed in Indian stock market?
There are a total of 16 Chinese FPIs registered in India.
What are the top companies that received funding from Chinese company in India?
Top companies that received funding from Chinese company in India are:
Celebrating festivals in your corporate office is one of the best ways to strengthen the bond with your employees. It helps them form a personal relationship with the company. Celebrating with the employees and offering them gifts during festivals and other occasions certainly delight the employees, lifts their mood and helps increase the employee engagement with a sharp boost of the overall morale. This also helps the employees feel more motivated so that they start looking at your company as their own.
Holi is one of such occasions that can be signified with colours, which spell joy and friendship. Such a festival surely weaves a feeling of brotherhood within a house and between two of them. The festival of colours can also be an excellent opportunity for the offices to bond with their employees over a gift or two. However, if you are wondering about the best corporate gifts ideas in Holi, then here are some of the best gifts that you can opt for to gift your employees with this Holi:
You can gift your employees with certain laptop accessories. In this era laptops will be used by almost all your employees irrespective of their job profiles. You can gift accessories for the laptops, such as laptop bags, laptop skins, laptop coolers, wireless laptops, and a mouse. The laptop accessories are needed by all, and thus, they would serve as excellent gift items that are useful too.
Travel packs
You can opt to gift certain travel packs to your employees who are more into travelling and love to travel. Travel mugs, Bluetooth headphones, Bluetooth speakers, travel bags, etc., can also be gifted to employees who are more a wanderers. You can even choose to gift trekking shoes or a small trekking kit for adventure enthusiasts.
Gym or Fitness packs
You can choose to gift smart bands, gym shoes, gym bottles, gym bands, track pants, t-shirts, or any other accessories to your employees, which can be helpful for their daily fitness routines. These can be customized according to your choice.
Cosmetics
You can provide certain cosmetics for the women employees of your office. Choosing generic cosmetic products, including lipsticks, eyeliners, or full cosmetic kits, would simply delight the female employees of your office.
Blue light filter glasses
Blue light filter glasses can be one of the most efficient gifts you can provide to your employees. Nowadays, since everything is online and the usage of phones and laptops has increased, this can be an apt gift. It can be one of the necessities for your employees and would show your care towards them.
Books
You can gift some self-help books to your employees who are much more into reading; you can even provide Kindle app subscriptions as a gift for this Holi. It would improve their knowledge and also would be of great help for their career ahead.
Online courses
You can gift your employees access to online courses. This would help them gain more knowledge in their specific domains and help them use it practically in your office as well.
Clothes
You can gift shirts, t-shirts, or formal wear for both male and female employees of your office. These gifts can also be ties, handkerchiefs, formal belts, or any clothing accessories that may be useful for them.
Accessories
Cash wallets, cardholders, power banks, or any such accessories are also great options that they would require and use in their daily lives.
Organic health packs
Organic health products like green tea, herbal juices, and other fitness food products are the latest drive of the age. Moreover, with the increasingly sedentary lifestyle of the employees today, reducing body weight and keeping fit and healthy are becoming really challenging. The organic healthcare packs can, thus, stand as wise Holi gift ideas for employees, which will help them immensely throughout their journey ahead.
A stress-free zone
You can try creating a stress-free zone inside the office, which can be a gift for all your employees at once. You can try including any of the indoor games such as a PlayStation, or table football or even just place a few cushions, which can be used as a relaxing spot for your employees. Though such gifts often form a part of the office renovation programme or stand as amazing New Year gifts for employees, creating a stress-free zone can also be dedicated as an amazing Holi gift for employees.
Desk accessories
You can gift them certain accessories that they will be able to place on their desks. It can range from small clocks, pen stands, sticky notes, personalized desk signs, personalized bobbleheads, or any accessory that they can place on their desks.
Entertainment gifts can include anything, including subscriptions to OTT platforms. For example, a subscription to Amazon Prime, Netflix, or music streaming apps like Spotify or any other internet-based subscriptions can entertain your employees and help them stay refreshed throughout. Moreover, they also serve as excellent Holi corporate gifts for present-day employees who need a break from the monotony of their work.
Other accessories
Other accessories can include personalized gifts or any other gifts, which can include air purifiers, mobile holders for cars or bikes, wall clocks, glasses or tea sets, customized jars, and more. These household accessories can be extremely useful for your employees in their respective homes.
Organic usables
Organic products are sustainable and are a great addition to one’s household. Organic usables, from storage containers to jute bags and more, are really awesome for gifting. This is why they can also be something that you can select as convincing Holi gifts for employees.
Gift Vouchers
Gift vouchers will be a great option during the festival season. You can consider gifting vouchers for dress and lifestyle for both men and women. Such vouchers can thus be summed up among the top corporate gifts, even for Holi.
Watches
A good-looking watch can always be a classy gift. Gifting a watch indicates that you care for them, and a branded watch can always be added to their collection, which would make anyone happy.
Holi special sweets
You can gift your employees chocolates or special Holi sweets for them and their families. You can even provide sweet boxes or personalized chocolate boxes, wishing your employees and their families.
Technological Accessories
You can gift your employees with tech accessories from a list of trendy tech accessories like Amazon Fire Sticks, Amazon Echo, Google Home and more. You can even gift them a Kindle or any other technological accessories which will be useful.
You can gift the employees working in the media domainchocolates or special Holi sweets for them with accessories for their cameras, tripods or editing software, SD cards, camera bags, printers, access to certain templates, etc.
Holi Colours and Greeting Cards
The festival Holi is empty without colours, so you can provide a greeting card with a personalized message to your employees with some Holi colours, or you can add these to the other gifts you provide them.
Green gifts
Green gifts can include a miniature plant which will be a gift as well as a move towards an eco-friendly environment. You can gift them a miniature plant to keep on their desk, making it their responsibility to take care of the plant.
Conclusion
Gifting your employees is always rewarding. It also symbolises how the office values the hard work and efforts that the employees put in for the development of the company. So, never neglect gifting opportunities like Holi. Instead, you can always call it an occasion and reward your employees to boost employee engagement and overall morale.
FAQs
What is the meaning of corporate gifts?
Corporate Gifts are generally valuable items offered by the employer to their employees without any obligation as a token of appreciation or goodwill.
Why is corporate gifting important?
Corporate gifts are an incredible way to show your employees that you value them in a certifiable and attentive manner.
What is a good small gift to show appreciation?
Frame a picture of you with them. Personalized gourmet coffee mugs, nice pens, photo albums, and scrapbooks, are great small gifts to show appreciation to someone.
What are some good corporate gift ideas?
If you are running an office or managing it, and looking for some corporate gifts ideas to gift your employees on the occasion of Holi, then here’s a list of them to check with:
Do you also get goosebumps when you hear the word “IIT”? Do you also see IITians getting special treatment in social circles (among your family, relatives, friends, neighbours, etc)?
Here, I’ll provide additional reasons to back the statement above. IIT is among the most respected educational institutions in India ever. It has had students who have made an immense impression on students all over the world. It is, without doubt, eminent and highly productive.
IIT is the ideal choice for students who want to study engineering. It is famous for producing the top engineers in the world and there are plenty of IIT graduates who chose another path than they had planned to take. They became entrepreneurs and set up their own startups in the marketplace. Although they’re not experts in their sector, they’re making waves. Let’s take a look at 10 successful startups led by IIT-Grads.
OLA is an Indian multinational ride-sharing company offering services that include a vehicle for hire and food delivery. Founded by Bhavish Aggarwal, a Computer Science and Engineering graduate of IIT Bombay in 2008. He began his career with Microsoft, where he worked for two years, filed two patents, and published three papers in international journals. In January 2011, he co-founded Ola Cabs with Ankit Bhati in Bengaluru.
OLA – Successful Startups
Now, OLA has a turnover of $320 million and is valued at $6.2 billion in worth. It has over 6000 employees working and is currently available in 169 cities in India. It has expanded in countries like Australia and New Zealand in 2018 and the UK, it started its Auto Rickshaw service in 2019.
Founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal in 2007, it is one of the most popular e-commerce in India. Both Sachin and Binny are alumni of IIT Delhi. The two wished to offer Indians an online store that was created in India which led to the making of what we all now know as Flipkart.
Flipkart Online Shopping Platform
Flipkart, which initially started as book sales, expanding into other product categories such as electronics, fashion, and lifestyle products. In August 2018, US-based retail chain Walmart acquired a 77% controlling stake in Flipkart for $16 billion, valuing Flipkart at around $20 billion.
Quikr is an Indian online marketplace and classified advertising company, based in Bangalore, India with listings in over 1000 cities in categories such as mobile phones, household goods, cars, real estate, jobs, services, and education. It provides a platform for users to buy or sell goods and services from each other. Other services offered include a missed call service and instant messaging. Quikr was founded by Pranay Chulet and Jiby Thomas in 2008. The CEO of the company Pranay Chulet grew up in Rajasthan and completed his Chemical Engineering from IIT Delhi.
Quikr | Co-Founder | Pranay Chulet
4. Acadboost
Acadboost is started by Kalpit Veerwal, an IIT Bombay student. He has completed his 3rd year of Computer Science Engineering from IIT Bombay and founded AcadBoost Technologies Pvt Ltd in his second year. It is an EdTech startup that aims to provide the correct mentorship to students from experts in various fields of education – ranging from competitive exams like JEE, NEET, CAT, GATE to college.
AcadBoost Online Learning Platform
5. Zomato
After graduating from IIT Delhi, Deepinder Goyal took up work at a company Bain & Co, where he met Pankaj Chaddah, and the duo then started a delivery service Zomato in 2008. Zomato is an Indian multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company that provides information, menus, and user reviews of restaurants as well as food delivery options from partner restaurants in select cities. As of 2019, the service is available in 24 countries and in more than 10,000 cities.
Zomato – Online Food Delivery App
Zomato shares made a strong stock market debut on 23rd July 2021, listing at ₹116 apiece on the NSE. Zomato shares surged 53% over the IPO price of ₹76. With the listing, Zomato entered the club of India’s top 100 listed companies with a market capitalization of over ₹90,000 crores. The company’s shares got listed at ₹115 apiece on the BSE.
Khetify is an urban farming venture in New Delhi, India founded by IIT Kharagpur graduates Kaustubh Khare and Saahil Parekh that build farms in urban spaces and enable people to grow chemical-free, fresh food. The aim of the startup is to promote food sustainability to city dwellers.
Khetify Logo
Claiming that 16,000 sq km of rooftop space is being wasted in urban cities, Khetify aims to promote the use of this unutilized space to develop small rooftop farms.
7. InMobi
Founded by Naveen Tewari, an IIT Kanpur graduate. InMobi is an Indian multinational mobile advertising technology company, based in Bangalore. Its mobile-first platform allows brands, developers, and publishers to engage consumers through contextual mobile advertising. In 2008, it was enhanced from SMS-based services to mobile advertising and rebranded as InMobi. It is now competing with giants like Google and Facebook for data-driven mobile advertising. InMobi is one of the top 5 players in the US, China, Southeast Asia, and India. Also, Softbank has invested $200 million in it.
InMobi Logo
8. Housing.com
Housing.com is founded by Rahul Yadav, an IIT Mumbai alumnus. Housing.com is a Mumbai-based real estate search portal that allows customers to search for housing based on geography, number of rooms, and various other filters. Rahul Yadav was featured in the list of Forbes 30 under 30 young Entrepreneurs. He is known as the bad boy of an Indian startup, gaining comparisons from Steve Jobs. And fun fact, he was once fired from a company.
Founded by Sanjay Sethi, an alumnus of IIT Delhi who previously worked in the US in the field of e-commerce marketplace, online payments, and operations. After serving as a key to establishing eBay in India, he started his own company Shopclues, along with Sandeep and Radhika Aggarwal. ShopClues provides unstructured categories of home and kitchen, fashion, electronics, and daily utility items at wholesale rates. In 2019, the company was acquired by Singapore-based Qoo10 in an all-stock deal valued at approximately US$70 million, representing one of the largest valuation meltdowns for an Indian-based startup.
Inspiring words of ShopClues Co-Founder- Radhika Aggarwal
10. Snapdeal
FYI Snapdeal wasn’t an e-commerce company till 2008, but then it was founded by Rohil Bahl and Kunal Bahl, the former has a Wharton degree while the latter has an IIT Delhi, graduation degree under their belt.
Snapdeal Logo
It is now one of the most popular e-commerce websites in India, with over 3,00,000 sellers, over 3 Crore products across 800+ diverse categories from more than 1,25,000 regional, national and international brands and retailers and a reach of 6,000 towns and cities among the country.
Imagine it is your groceries day out. You pick up your long list of things and head out for the store. After shopping for all your things which by the way is already exhausting, you happen to find a queue longer than the wall of China waiting at the reception counter. I just quoted a typical shopping experience of any other shopper who’s happier to find an empty cash counter than the 50% sale.
Retailing has come a long way from just trading things in a barter system or for money to “having a shopping experience”. We now have acres of land converted into malls and stores which offer you that experience.
You have food courts, playing arenas for kids, baby crashes all under one roof so that you make the most of your shopping spree. But the one thing every shopper dreads is the never-ending queue on the cash register. That is why retail stores, over the decades have launched self-checkout systems to save you the hassle of waiting for your turn to pay.
We will be exploring the pros and cons of autonomous stores and how will it transform the retail business in this article. Read on to find out more.
Autonomous stores are cashier-less stores where there is no human presence required for checking you out of the store. These stores have self-checkout options where you pick up the stuff you require, bill them yourself, pay, and leave. That means no long queues or wastage of time.
All the items that you have picked are added to your cart, just as in case of an online order, and you have to pay through store crafted app and set out. The items that are added by mistake can be sorted out too without making you pay for it.
Aifi is a company that provides software to retailers to open cashier-free stores, where the purchases are tracked by artificial intelligence technology. Aifi sells software to third parties for a seamless shopping experience.
The company uses a series of cameras to track the movement made by the customer such as lifting or putting down a product on the store shelf and automatically updates the virtual basket of the customer. Aifi sends a digital receipt once the customer leaves the store.
In case the customer prefers using the cashier-less system, the user has to simply scan the credit card or their Aifi app on their way out. It provides other payment solutions such as kiosks set up in nearby stores.
Aifi just launched the largest autonomous retail store in Shanghai, China. Unlike other autonomous stores, the 40000 square foot store uses only a camera series and refrains from using weight sensor shelves which has resulted in slaying their investments by 60%.
Aifi can be installed into new and existing retail stores. Aifi CEO Steve GU believes that Aifi can revolutionize the retail autonomous sector. “People can literally just walk into a shop, grab stuff, and then leave,” he added. Adding Aifi to retail stores can result in needing few staff people or engaging the same staff in other value-added services.
Amazon has launched its first offline store called Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh which lets you pick up items and leave without queuing or checking out. The payment is later made through the Amazon Go app.
Amazon Go App
So far, it has opened twenty-six Amazon Go stores and is well intended to open thousands more worldwide.
Nike’s Speed Shop
Nike opened a flagship store in 2018 calling it the “House of Nike Innovation 000”. As the name suggests, it isn’t your regular retail store. The ‘Speed Shop’ is a six floor customization studio with instant check-out points.
This allows customers to book shoes-trial online to try on in the store. Customers arrive through a dedicated entrance to find a locker with their name on it, which can be unlocked through their smartphones.
The shoes in question can be bought without even talking to anyone through mobile checkouts. No queues, no waiting. The ultimate shopping experience.
Burberry’s Social Retail store
Burberry opened its first social retail store in July 2020 in China’s tech hub Shenzhen. Powered by Tencent technology, it hopes to redefine the expectations of luxury retail. It provides personalized experience through a dedicated WeChat app and can share them with their communities.
WeChat App
The mini program on the WeChat app lets customers book appointments, learn more about certain products, and their UGC (user-generated content) accumulate a social virtual currency. This virtual currency converts into a gamified experience as shoppers continue their shopping throughout the store.
The Chinese e-commerce giant opened its first Hema’s store in 2016. The store aims at combining elements of online and offline shopping to create the ultimate shopping experience. Alibaba has opened over 35 new retail stores with an aim to combine offline and online retailing.
Hema QR Codes
Customers use the Hema’s app to scan barcodes throughout the store to find product information and recipe ideas. The stores also provide deliveries of online orders. They have employees roaming around the stores filling in contents of online orders. Customers pay through their accounts on Taobao or Alipay. At select Hema stores, customers can make payments at kiosks using facial recognition.
Kroger’s digital Price tags
Kroger’s is rolling out new technologies to improve the buying experience. The technology helps customers by communicating with their smartphones. It uses emoji as they walk up and down the shopping aisles giving them clear choices in a pool of identical products.
Crafted along with Microsoft in 2019, this technology displays nutritional information, pricing, video ads and coupons. Customers scan their items using their smartphones and these items get added in the cart.
Besides hassle free shopping, Kroger’s and Microsoft aims at making this a sustainable option too. The technology runs on renewable energy and helps Kroger’s cut down over head lighting and therefore reduce energy costs.
FAQ
How does Amazon go store work?
Amazon go store uses a combination of ceiling-mounted cameras and shelf-weight sensors to automatically track customers and items as they move around a store.
How do you pay at Amazon Go store?
Amazon Go store accepts all types of credit and debit cards.
Where is Amazon Go available?
There are currently 26 Amazon Go stores located in four cities — New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle.
Conclusion
2020 has accelerated the contactless shopping trend and rightfully so. Retailers continue to explore more of these innovative shopping ideas to bring back the offline footprint. Most of the traditional brick-and-mortar stores are redefining their shopping arenas to provide the ultimate shopping experience.
While autonomous stores are trending since decades, there are still a few things that they haven’t gotten right. They are prone to thefts and require manual overrides. Furthermore, many surveys have found that customers defraud the systems by under scanning or item swapping.
Some retail stores have gone back to traditional checkouts since the customers started leaving loaded carts in the store, frustrated at the self-checkout machines.
The technology may completely replace human intervention in the up coming high tech retail stores. But with parallel challenges, this would be lest recommended. Instead companies could deploy their staff more flexibly and use them for other value added services.
