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  • List of Brands Endorsed By Amitabh Bachchan

    A brand ambassador is the image of image and therefore, lies crucial to the growth and success of the brand. This is because it is the ambassador of the brand who embodies the brand that he or she is endorsing, thereby leading to influencing the consumers and raising awareness. In today’s marketing landscape many brands prefer to have younger celebrities as the image of their brands, but the one celebrity who is an exception to this trend is none other than Amitabh Bachchan. The 79-year-old veteran actor has still remained to be in demand and relevant in the endorsement world.

    Amitabh Bachchan is known for his elegance, trustworthiness, statesmanship, maturity, and mass appeal. The superstar has proved time and again that age is no bar, be it in the film industry or the marketing business, as he is still one of the top actors who are sought after by brands from all over the country and beyond for endorsements.

    Amitabh Bachchan, who was born Inquilaab Srivastava, is one of the most iconic actors with more than 50 years in the industry, a film producer, television host, playback singer, and a former politician. The actor is regarded to be one of the most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema and is also ranked ninth on the list of the most powerful people of India in 2019, according to India Today.

    During the 70s and 80s, the actor was termed as the one-man industry by the French Director, Francois Truffaut because of his domination in the Indian film industry. The actor is known for his work in countless Bollywood movies like Sholay, Deewar, Shahenshah, Namak Halaal, Don, Badla, Mohabbatein, Baghban, Pink, Piku, and more. Besides, the actor is also the host of a popular reality show known as Kaun Banega Crorepati.

    Amitabh Bachchan has won several awards such as Filmfare, National Film Awards, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and has also been honored by the Indian government with Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan for his contribution to the arts.

    The actor is also honored with the Legion of Honour by the Government of France as the highest civilian honor for his exceptional career in the world of cinema. Amitabh Bachchan is known to charge over Rs 5 to 8 crore for an ad commercial. The actor’s brand value is $41.2 million (2018), while the net value of the actor is $400 million (2021).

    So far, the actor has endorsed brands like Maggi, Emami, Parker Pen, Lux Innerwear, Dabur Chawanprash, Dr. Fixit, Cadbury, Pepsi,Times of India,  Tata Sky, Kalyan Jeweller, Navratna Oil, Gujarat Tourism, Mankind, Reid & Taylor, upGrad, JustDial, ICICI Prudential Life, Flipkart, TVS Jupiter, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cycle Agarbathi, First Cry, Tanishq and other government campaigns like Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, Polio Vaccine, etc.

    Along with endorsing a list of brands, Amitabh Bachchan has also been a crypto-enthusiast and has developed into quite a crypto-king of late. Cryptocurrency might be sounding like one of the investments that are not quite clear to many Indians but at the same time, the decentralized digital currency and the investments in the same, is rewarding a whole lot of celebrities, including popular Indian personalities. Amitabh Bachchan is one such renowned Indian celebrity that has been rewarded for his crypto investment where he had invested Rs 1.6 crore, which ballooned to become Rs 112 crores just within a year.      

    It was in 2015 that Amitabh and his son, Abhishek Bachchan invested around Rs 1.6 crore ($250,000) in Meridian Tech Pte, a Singapore-based, Venkata Srinivas Meenavalli-founded company, and within 2 and half years of the investment, they collected returns close to Rs 112 crores ($17.5 mn) in value.

    Nevertheless, here’s a list of all the prominent brands that Amitabh Bachchan has endorsed to date:

    upGrad
    Maaza
    MediBuddy
    Muthoot Finance
    Amway
    FirstCry
    Maggi
    Cadbury Dairy Milk
    Kalyan Jewellers
    Parker Pens
    Emami
    Gujarat Tourism
    Lux
    JustDial
    Dabur Chyawanprash
    ICICI Prudential Life
    Polio Vaccine
    Navratna Oil
    Dr Fixit
    Reid & Taylor
    Mankind

    Let’s look at the list of brands endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan:

    upGrad

    upGrad is the newest brand to be endorsed by the Big B. The Mumbai-based education technology company has roped in Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador on February 28, 2022, and releases its first advertisement campaign on March 23, 2022, which is spreading via #upGradAbroad and #ABchaleABROAD.

    upGrad Abroad is the new initiative designed by the popular edtech company, which is promoted by Amitabh Bachchan. Featuring Amitabh, upGrad, through this ad, promotes its initiative to help the Indian students start in India and study abroad, with a degree from the reputed universities outside of the country without wasting their money of staying abroad and studying.    

    Maaza

    The world’s largest brand of tropical fruit drinks, Maaza was founded in 1976 and is owned by The Coca-Cola Company. The fruit drink brand, popular for its selection of mango, orange, and pineapple drinks, has brought together Amitabh Bachchan and Pooja Hegde in its latest campaign titled ‘Dildaar Bana De’ in February 2022. This TVC is directed by the celebrated Bollywood filmmaker Shoojit Sircar.

    Maaza rolled out its new variant “Aam Panna”, which again grouped Amitabh Bachchan and Pooja Hegde together ahead of the summer season 2022.

    MediBuddy

    Founded in 2000, MediBuddy is a digital healthcare platform that helps the users book free consultations, checkups, lab tests and follow up the same without any hassles.

    The Bengaluru-based healthcare company roped in Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador on February 8, 2022, who has collaborated with MediBuddy in their recent advertisement to promote MediBuddy Gold, a healthcare subscription package that works for the whole family. The Amitabh Bachchan featured MediBuddy advertisement that came out on March 10, 2022, explores the benefits of MediBuddy Gold subscription, which enables the families of the users to receive free unlimited medical consultations from experienced doctors that can be availed 24×7.  

    Muthoot Finance

    Muthoot Finance is one of the most reliable Indian financial corporation and the largest gold loan NBFC in India. Founded in 1939 by Mathai George Muthoot in Kerala, Muthoot offers a range of services including money transfers, foreign exchange and wealth management services, travel and tourism services and more.

    Amitabh Bachchan is the face of Muthoot as well, which launched its newest marketing campaign on February 4, 2022. The advertisement focuses on the belief and trust in the brand that everyone should maintain.

    Amway

    Amitabh Bachchan was roped by the popular direct selling company, Amway, as a brand ambassador, on October 27, 2021. The US-based company that manufactures a wide range of consumer goods, has collaborated with the Big B of the Bollywood industry to ensure that the veteran actor endorses the the brand and promotes the Nutrilite range of the Amway products along with guiding the youth, empowering the women and others with the help of their entrepreneurship schemes.

    FirstCry

    FirstCry is an Indian e-commerce store that was launched in 2010, the company is known for its huge variety of baby products. By 2020, the company had opened over 380 offline stores across the country out of which 350 were franchise stores making it Asia’s largest online shopping store for kids and baby products.

    Amitabh Bachchan was signed as the brand ambassador of the company in 2015, after the birth of his granddaughter. In the commercial, the actor is seen to be in confusion while shopping for clothes for an infant as their unlimited options. After the ad, the company witnessed a massive increase in sales as the ad resonated with the people and passively offered them a chance to connect with Big B.

    While talking about making Amitabh Bachchan its brand ambassador, Supam Maheshwari, CEO, and founder, Firstcry mentioned that the company needed to create maximum impact with the campaign. Amitabh Bachchan brings in credibility to the brand as he has a mass India appeal and he is also a caring grandfather.

    Maggi

    Amitabh Bachchan in a maggi commercial

    Maggi is an international brand that originated in Switzerland in the 19th century, however, the company was acquired by Nestle in 1947. Maggi is known for its seasonings, instant soups, and instant noodles that are popular in countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and Bangladesh.

    Amitabh was the brand ambassador of Maggi but the actor stopped supporting the brand after a controversy with Maggi. The actor, however, has also been featured in many Maggi commercials before ending their deal, where the actor is seen introducing the brand to cater to the old generation audience and make them eat Maggi.

    The actor can be seen pitching the idea of happiness while eating the “2 minute waali Meri Maggi”. The campaign with Amitabh Bachchan was very successful, and Maggi made large profits out of it no doubt.

    Cadbury Dairy Milk

    Cadbury Dairy milk is a popular brand of milk chocolate that is manufactured by the conglomerate Cadbury. The brand was first introduced in 1905 in the United Kingdom and now has a huge portfolio of products under it. However, every product in this brand is made mainly with milk chocolate.

    The Cadbury Milk chocolate became the bestselling chocolate bar in the UK in 2014 and is also currently available in countries like India, Kazakhstan, China, Srilanka, and Pakistan. Big B became the company brand ambassador in 2004 and since then has appeared in many of its commercials.

    The actor is also responsible for making the tagline “Kuch Meetha Hojaye”  popular, emphasizing the celebration of the smaller things in life with something sweet like the Cadbury Milk Chocolate. In an interview, Bharat Puri the managing director of Cadbury said that they have chosen Amitabh Bachchan because he has a universal appeal that extends to everyone from 6 to sixty years old.

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    Kalyan Jewellers

    Kalyan Jewellers is one of the most popular Indian jewelry showrooms chains. The company currently is present in overall metro cities of India and even in West Asia and has over 8000 employees. Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan became the company’s global ambassadors in 2012.

    Thanks to his efforts Kalyan Jewellers has now become India’s single largest self-owned jewelry chain. The group currently holds a strong presence especially in South India, with 35 stores across four southern states. The ad commercial of Kalyan jewelers features Amitabh Bachchan with his daughter Shweta Nanda.

    This ad beautifully portrays the charm that jewelry adds to every occasion. The scene features Amitabh Bachchan buying jewelry for his daughter and his wife which evokes a very relatable emotion in the audience.

    Parker Pens

    The Luxor Writing Instruments company brought out the Parker range of pens, which are marked by their elegance and sophistication. These Parker pens were initially endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan between 2001 – 2008, and after a gap of 2 years, the Bolywood superstar had again resumed his collaboration with a 2 year-long contract on June 15, 2011.  

    Emami

    Emami Limited is a leading personal and healthcare products conglomerate that has its headquarters based in Kolkata. The company is a growing global presence and a huge portfolio of well-known products like Boroplus, Navratna, Fair and Handsome, Zandu Balm, Kesh King, She Comfort, Mentho plus Balm, and Fast Relief.

    It has over 250 products made with ayurvedic formulas which are available in more than 50 countries like the UK, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Belaris, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kenya, Singapore, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. The company has had other Bollywood actors as its brand ambassadors like Juhi Chawla, Katrina Kaif, Kangana Ranaut, Sonakshi Sinha, Salman Khan.

    Emami made Amitabh Bachan the brand ambassador for its Boroplus brand which is a natural antiseptic cosmetic brand originating from Russia. The actor has been featured in many television advertisements in the ad campaign of Boroplus. It is because of these ads that the brand has become successful and positioned itself in the audiences’ minds.

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    Gujarat Tourism

    The actor is currently the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism and is featured in many commercials of the ad campaign. The “Khushboo Gujarat Ki” taglined campaign by celebrity Amitabh Bachchan became so popular that it increased tourism in Gujarat by 14% per annum which is twice that of the national growth rate.

    This campaign has won several awards and has increased the benchmark of tourism ads by making Amitabh Bachchan its face. Big B became part of the initiative by the Gujarat Government to promote its Tourism.

    In the advertisement “Khushboo Gujarat Ki” Amitabh Bachchan can be seen in tourist spots like Bhuj, Dhola Veera, Mandvi and Rann of Kutch while exploring the culture of Gujarat and urging people to travel to Gujarat.‌

    Lux

    Lux Industries, a notable innerwear manufacturing company of India, is one of market leaders of the Indian segment of innerwear. Founded in 1957, and boasting of a complete range of innerwear for men, women and children, Lux is a famous name still in its niche.

    The popular inner garments company had roped in the veteran actor as the brand ambassador of Lux Venus and Lux Cott’s wool in August 2017. Amitabh came out with the advertisement of Lux Inferno last in October 2019 after featuring in multiple ads for the company. Kartik Aaryan was another actor who was seen alongside Bachchan in the same ad.

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    JustDial

    Justdial Limited is a company that provides local search for different services in India over the phone, website, and mobile apps. Justdial has its headquarters based in Mumbai, Maharashtra but also has offices in cities like Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, and Pune. In 2020, Justdial has more than 10,984 employees.

    Amitabh became the brand ambassador after investing an undisclosed amount in the company. This investment was later confirmed as Rs 6.27 lakhs in 2013 when he bought 62,794 shares of JustDial, which gave him returns close to Rs 7 crore, a whopping 10190% returns. Amitabh has helped increase the popularity of Justdial by featuring in their ad commercials. The actor can be seen portraying how the Just dial app is better than its competitors, its features and it is a one-stop-shop for all their customer’s needs.

    Dabur Chyawanprash

    Dabur took over the 2,500-year-old Ayurveda formula with its brand purpose and created the country’s first-ever branded Chayanprash in 1949. The company claims that two spoons daily of Dabur Chyawanprash support immunity and are beneficial for overall health and well-being.

    The company has made many iconic ads with Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador and continues to aim in boosting the country’s immunity, especially in the times of the Covid pandemic. In the 2000s, the company witnessed a sudden dip in sales that is when the actor was roped in to be the face of the brand and drive its growth.

    The company put out its largest ad campaign with Rs 10 crore featuring Big B, which showed him being strong after eating Chyawanprash and which provides immunity to all kinds of disease. Amitabh Bachchan made it a household name by changing the perception of the product.      

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    ICICI Prudential Life

    ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited is a popular life insurance company in the country. It was originally established after the joint venture between ICICI Bank and Prudential plc.

    The company is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and offers services life insurance and asset management business. The company signed Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador and was paid Rs 10 crore as endorsement fees to be featured in its commercials.

    In an interview, the actor commented on his association with the company by saying that, he was happy to associate with ICICI Prudential Life as he sees life insurance as a product that offers a feeling of reassurance to people, for all of them who opt for it. He also added that ICICI Prudential Life has been able to make a mark in the industry and is a trusted life insurance brand.

    Polio Vaccine

    Amitabh Bachchan is the face of the Polio campaign in the country, the aim of the campaign is to spread more awareness about the easy availability of the polio vaccine. The actor’s partnership with UNICEF has successfully persuaded many parents to get their children vaccinated especially in rural areas.

    The tagline of the campaign “Do Boond Zindagi Ki” talks about the importance of the two drops of the polio vaccine. This award-winning campaign ad was featured on Television and radio emphasizing the seriousness of the issue.

    The actor also took part in many public appearances and field visits to remote areas of the country to create awareness about polio prevention. Amitabh Bachchan plays the main role in why the campaign was successful as the actor has a huge popularity, credibility, and mass appeal not only as a celebrity but also as a humanitarian.

    Navratna Oil

    The popular Emami Oil product, Navratna oil, which is well-known for its cooling benefits and the relief that it provides people from headaches and body aches is an Ayurvedic product and has seen Amitabh Bachchan time and again as its endorser. The Big B has featured in multiple advertisements created for the promotion of the same and in the latest of the advertisements he has also sung the iconic Pyaasa song “Sir jo tera chakraye” performing as #RaahatRaja.  

    Along with the advertisements and investments, Amitabh Bachchan also usually remains busy on his work front. Runway 34, Brahmastra, Jhund, Goodbye, and The Intern are some of the movies that Bachchan is currently working on, as of reports dated January 31, 2022.  

    Dr Fixit

    Hailed as a leading waterproofing expert, Dr Fixit from the popular adhesive brand, Pidlite, brings right waterproofing solutions for the users to make their homes leak-free with the best waterproofing services in India.

    Dr Fixit had announced Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador in August 2016. According to the deal, the veteran actor was selected to be the person to spearhead its flagship campaign and act as the face of the brand across multiple engagement platforms. The recent Dr Fixit campaign that came out in December 2020 was the last campaign of the brand that featured Bachchan.  

    Reid & Taylor

    Founded in 1998, by S Kumar’s Nationwide (SKNL), Reid & Taylor was a fabric and suiting brand. As per the last reports, the Reid & Taylor brand’s shares were liquidated in December 2018 after RTIL was dragged to insolvency court.

    This popular suiting and fabric manufacturing company had announced Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador in July 2013, after which Bachchan had featured in a number of the Reid & Taylor advertisements.  

    Mankind

    Mankind Pharma is a pharmacy company, which is counted among the top pharmaceutical companies in India. Founded in 1995, Mankind operates 34+ overseas destinations and boasts of 14000+ happy customers.

    The popular medicine manufacturer had collaborated with Amitabh Bachchan towards the end of October in the year 2017, announcing the veteran actor as its brand ambassador. The latest Mankind ad has been launched in September 2021 and features Amitabh as well.  

    Conclusion

    When it comes to endorsements and advertisements Amitabh Bachchan is one of the most sought-after actors even at his age because of his reliability among the masses, elegance, trustworthiness, statesmanship, mass appeal, and maturity. He is also the one of the highest paid actors to feature in endorsements.

    Amitabh Bachchan is the country’s most iconic actor as he has starred in more than 190 movies since the 1970s. The actor is loved, admired, and respected by a massive public following. Big B as most people fondly call him is one the most prominent celebrity in the country, which is why many companies still prefer him to be featured in their advertising campaigns.

    FAQs

    Who is Amitabh Bachchan?

    Amitabh Bachchan is one of the most iconic actors with more than 50 years in the industry, a film producer, television host, playback singer, and a former politician.

    What is the brand value of Amitabh Bachchan?

    The brand value of Amitabh Bachchan is $41.2 million (2018).

    What are the main brands endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan?

    The main brands endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan are Polio Vaccine, ICICI Prudential Life, Dabur Chyawanprash, Just Dial, Gujarat Tourism, Emami, Kalyan Jeweller, FirstCry, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Maggi.

    What are the other brands endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan?

    The other brands endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan are Parker Pen, Lux Innerwear, Dr Fixit, Pepsi, Tata Sky, Mankind, Reid & Taylor, Flipkart, TVS Jupiter, Cycle Agarbathi, Tanishq, and other government campaigns like Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, etc.

    How much does Amitabh Bachchan charge for a brand endorsement?

    Amitabh Bachchan charges over Rs 5 to 8 crore for an ad commercial.

    What is the net worth of Amitabh Bachchan?

    The net worth of Amitabh Bachchan is $400 million (2021).

  • List of Startups Funded and Owned by Hollywood Actor Will Smith

    Celebrities funding brands is extremely common, and the influence that some of the prominent celebs hold on people turned out to be an advantage for the brands, that in turn increases their visibility and makes them stand out in the crowd. Celebs are turning into entrepreneurs and are investing in startups that they are founding promising.

    These deals are good for both parties, the celebrity also get benefits from these deals, like as they are getting accustomed to some of the new brands in the world, this way the image of celebs also getting stronger as it shows that they are supporting new innovations and this brings a positive impact in their career and life.

    One of Hollywood’s prime and loved names is Willard Carrol Smith II, commonly known as Will Smith. Will Smith is married to Jada Pinkett Smith, who is also an American actress. They have two sons, Jaden and Trey Smith and one daughter, Willow Smith.

    This multitalented Hollywood gem is known for his groundbreaking contribution to the industry with his acting and rapping. Smith made his debut in 1992 with the feature film ‘Where the Day Takes You’. It was followed by Bad Boys in 1995 the action movie that made him a household name. With a global box office record of $9.3 billion, Will Smith has given some of the greatest hits in Hollywood. Some of the famous movies by Will Smith are Hitch, IRobot, Focus, Bad Boys for Life, Men in Black, The Pursuit of Happiness and King Richard.

    His music career was not at all something that one should keep quiet of. Some of his singles like Parents Just Don’t Understand, and Ring My Bell have been a part of the Billboard Hot 100. Smith’s roles in ‘Ali’, ‘Men In Black’, ‘I, Robot’, ‘I Am Legend’, ‘Independence Day’, ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, ‘Aladdin’ and ‘King Richard’ are astounding as well as outstanding.

    He has won some of the greatest awards of all time like the Golden Globe Award, Critics Choice Award and Grammy Award for the portrayal of roles and his music. Will Smith also won the Academy Award for the first time for best actor for his movie, King Richard in 2022.

    Apart from all that, the man holds numerous international box office records in his name. In this article, we will talk about the investments of Will Smith. So, let’s get started.

    “Products are made in a factory but brands are created in the mind.” -Walter Landor

    List of Startups Funded by Will Smith

    1. BioBeats
    2. Carol’s Daughter
    3. Chromatik
    4. Julep
    5. Landis
    6. Titan
    7. Socianado

    List of Startups Owned by Will Smith

    1. Overbrook Entertainment
    2. Westbrook
    3. Dreamers VC

    List of Startups Funded by Will Smith

    Some of the startups that are funded by the Hollywood actor, rapper and film producer, Will Smith are:

    BioBeats

    BioBeats Logo
    BioBeats Logo

    BioBeats is a company founded in the year 2012 that focuses on making digital artificial intelligence products such as wearable devices that takes care of mental health. Mental health disorders if not taken into consideration at right time can lead to disability.

    The company was founded by David Plans, Davide Morelli and Nadeem Kassam. The devices take the help of user data, AI and human insight to take care of mental health. In 2015, Will Smith funded the startup and contributed at least $650,000.

    Carol’s Daughter

    Carols Daughter
    Carols Daughter

    The multicultural American beauty brand that specializes in developing, body, skincare and hair products was founded in the year 1993 by Lisa Price. Lisa first opened a physical of this brand in 1999 before the products were made in her kitchen. The company is famous for the haircare products that it produces.

    In 2005, Will Smith invested in this beauty brand along with other investors and the company raised $10 million from them. The brand is now acquired by L’Oréal in 2014.

    Chromatik

    Chromatik Logo
    Chromatik Logo

    Chromatik was founded in the year 2010 by Matt Sandler. The company works on developing products that help musicians to learn, play and share their music with other musicians through music sheets, guitar tabs and others. The headquarters of the company is situated in Los Angeles, United States of America. In 2013, Will Smith made an undisclosed amount of investment in Chromatik.

    Julep

    Julep Logo
    Julep Logo

    Julep is a cosmetic brand founded in the year 2007 by Jane Park; the company has mostly focused on selling its products online since it opened its e-commerce in 2008. The USP of the brand is that they manufacture and sell products according to the feedback of customers that they get from social media platforms. Will Smith in 2014, funded Julep and invested an undisclosed amount.

    Landis

    Landis Logo
    Landis Logo

    Landis Tech is a company that helps in making your rented home your own. Here, you can rent your preferred house and can purchase it whenever you want to in the first twelve months. They mainly help the consumers in building their credit and down payment. It was founded in the year 2018 by Cyril Berdugo and Tom Petit. Will Smith invested in the company in the year 2021, along with other investors the company was able to raise $165 Million in funds.

    Titan

    Titan Logo
    Titan Logo

    It is mainly an operating system founded in the year 2018 by Clayton Gardner, Joe Percoco and Max Bernardy. The system helps in managing investments and charging up investment products of investors. The asset managing system is specially made for millennials and Generation Z. In 2021 Will Smith along with some other celebrities funded the company and raised $58 million.

    Socianado

    Socianado Logo
    Socianado Logo

    Socianado focuses on helping companies on creating their social media presence. It was founded in the year 2018, by Kofi Frimpong and William Lee. The company’s headquarters is situated in Los Angeles, The United States of America. Socionado participated in TechCrunch Disrupt which is an annual conference where startups attend and launch their products, in 2019.

    During the time, Will Smith was present there and Socionado pitched the Hollywood star as an elevator pitch. Will Smith decided to invest $10k in the startup.

    List of Startups Owned by Will Smith

    Apart from investing in some promising brands Will Smith himself has worn the entrepreneur’s hat and is the owner of some startups. Those startups are:

    Overbrook Entertainment

    Overbrook Entertainment Logo
    Overbrook Entertainment Logo

    Overbrook Entertainment is an American film production company that was founded in the year 1998. The company is co-owned by Will Smith and it focuses on producing films, music and TV shows. Under, Overbrook Entertainment Smith works as a film producer. The production company has produced some of the greatest films like, The Karate Kid, The Pursuit of Happyness and I Am Legend.

    Westbrook

    Westbrook Logo
    Westbrook Logo

    The multimedia and entertainment venture company was founded in the year 2019 and is co-owned by Will Smith. The company mainly produces short and medium-sized content for digital and traditional media like television.

    Dreamers VC

    Dreamers VC Logo
    Dreamers VC Logo

    Dreamers VC was founded in the year 2018, the headquarters of the company is situated in Los Angeles, The United States of America. It is co-owned by Will Smith. The company provides venture capital funds for startups that focus on social problems and address them.

    Conclusion

    Academy Award winner Will Smith has been associated with some of the brands by investing in them. Apart from that he has also, donned the hat of an entrepreneur and has founded some companies of his own. He is one of the finest actors in Hollywood and is now emerging as one finest entrepreneur as well.

    FAQs

    How old is Will Smith?

    Will Smith was born on 25th September 1968 and he is 53 years old.

    What is the net worth of Will Smith?

    The estimated net worth of Will Smith is $350 Million.

    Did Will Smith win an Oscar?

    Yes, Will Smith won his first-ever Oscar for the movie King Richard. The event didn’t go well as Will Smith slapped the host, Chris Rock for cracking a joke on his wife, Jaden Smith.

  • Why Did Lido Learning Shut Down Its Operations? | Lido Learning Failure

    The chances of failure of businesses in the first 10 years are 65%. It is true that not all businesses will survive till the end. In fact, more than half of new startups fail in their first year only. A business needs a lot of other things to survive apart from funds, of course, funds are the most important factor but without proper planning and execution, and the ability to adjust, even if you have a huge amount of funds, the business is bound to fail.

    In recent years, EdTech startups have created quite a stir in the world; naturally, India is not behind in this list. The pandemic has contributed to the boom of EdTech in the startup ecosystem. Several EdTech comapnies have made their name in the industry and some are on the verge to become the next big thing. Then there are other companies, who have faced defeat and have failed to survive in the industry.

    Lido Learning is an Indian EdTech company, whose failure was a great shock to the industry. In this article, we will talk about, Why Lido Learning shut down its operations while leaving employees unpaid. So, let’s get started.

    “You have to always be vigilant and make sure you’re ready to get on the bandwagon as a need for any new change arises.” – Pooja Agnihotri

    About Lido Learning
    Reasons for the Failure of Lido Learning

    About Lido Learning

    Lido Learning is an Indian EdTech company that was founded in the year 2019 by Sahil Sheth. The main motive of the company is to provide education in a revolutionary way through their online platform to Indian kids and develop the education industry.

    Sail Sheth - Lido Learning Founder
    Sail Sheth – Lido Learning Founder

    Live classes are held online through this platform for children. Apart from that, animated videos and interactive games are also included in the platform. Top teachers are provided to them and tests are conducted, to understand the progress of the students. The company is headquartered in Mumbai, India.

    The main USP of the company was that every class will consist of only 5 to 6 students so that they can get proper attention. Lido Learning was for the students of KG to Class 12.

    Reasons for the Failure of Lido Learning

    On 4th February 2022 on a very shocking note, Lido Learning shut down their operations and created a situation where 150 employees of the company’s future faced a big question mark.

    The EdTech startup was backed by some of the popular angel investors Paytm founder – Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Myntra founder – Mukesh Bansal, Shaadi.com’s founder and Shark Tank India judge – Anupam Mittal, MedLife’s founder – Ananth Narayanan, and UpGrad founder – Ronnie Screwvala.

    Some of the reasons that lead to the failure of Lido Learning are:

    Inability to Raise Funds

    Funding is one of the most, if not the most important factor in a business for its survival. Without funding, a company can never function properly. Although Lido Learning was able to raise $24 million to date for their funds from popular investors like Vijay Shekhar Sharma, and Anupam Mittal but due to the pandemic many companies backed out at the last moment who wanted to invest in the startup.

    Various deals with the companies like CureFit and ByteDance for investments got cancelled. This resulted in a shortage of funds in the company that lead to financial difficulties.

    Teachers and Employees Are Not Paid

    Employees are the backbone of any company; a company can fully function with the help of its employees. Now for that, a company needs to take care of its staff properly. The red flag arose in Lido Learning when the teachers and the employees are not given their payments.

    The teachers and the staff took to different social media platforms to complain against the company when their salaries were not paid to them.

    Juhiee Arora, Talent Acquisition Specialist
    Juhiee Arora, Talent Acquisition Specialist

    Some ex-employees also complained who quit were not given their payments as well. Nitish Banka, a lawyer at the Supreme Court also shared the same through his Linkedin post.

    Nitish Banka, Lawyer at Supreme Court
    Nitish Banka, Lawyer at Supreme Court

    As per sources, Lido Learning has already suspended all their operation and emails has been sent to the employees regarding the issue.

    Inability to Offer Refunds to the Customers

    Another main reason for the failure of this EdTech is that the customers of the company were not served properly, their demands were not met and the service was pretty bad.  

    When customers wanted to cancel the trial period, some demands were not fulfilled, refunds were not offered to them. After the cancellation of their subscriptions, this led to a bad word of mouth and also got negative feedback from the customers, thus the company lost its reputation.

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    Conclusion

    EdTech has been able to gather the attention of the world, especially after Coronavirus when people got confined in their own homes, the education system almost got disrupted. EdTech took the advantage of the situation and made a place in the startup ecosystem. Lido Learning was going good at first but the above reasons have led to its shut down as it was not able to adapt after the pandemic.

    FAQs

    Is Lido Learning shutting down?

    The founder, Sahil Sheth has announced that there is no fund left for the business so Lido Learning will shut down its operations in Feb 2022.

    Who is the founder of Lido Learning?

    Sahil Sheth is the founder of Lido Learning who founded the company in 2019.

    How old is Lido learning?

    Lido Learning was founded in 2019 by Sahil Sheth.

    Who invested in Lido?

    Paytm founder, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, CultFit founder, Mukesh Bansal, Shaadi.com’s founder and Shark Tank India judge, Anupam Mittal, MedLife’s founder, Ananth Narayanan were some of the investors of Lido Learning.

  • List of Startups Funded by Ghazal Alagh

    Ghazal Alagh is a charming and successful businesswoman who co-founded and built the beauty, child and skincare brand named ‘MamaEarth’. She was also one of the seven sharks from the Shark Tank India show. Though her presence in the show was limited, Ghazal made several investments and encouraged the upcoming entrepreneurs.

    In an unsuccessful search for a skincare solution for her kid, Ghazal ended up founding her own baby and skincare brand. Her love and passion for business and branding strategy made Ghazal an inspiring businesswoman. Now she’s passing hands to lift other budding entrepreneurs to develop their startups. Let’s know a little more about Ghazal Alagh and her investments in startups.

    Uvi Health
    The Sass Bar
    Sunfox Technologies
    Watt Technovations
    Humpy A2
    Gold Safe Solutions Industries
    Wakao Foods
    Nomad Food Project

    Who is Ghazal Alagh?

    Ghazal Alagh was born in Gurgaon, Haryana, on the 2nd of September 1988. She is a BCA (Information Technology) graduate from Punjab University, where Ghazal Alagh also completed her Post Graduation.

    Her love for arts made her attend several intensive courses on figurative painting and modern arts at the New York Academy of Arts. She worked as a corporate trainer at NIIT before founding MamaEarth.

    Ghazal Alagh with Varun Alagh
    Ghazal Alagh with Varun Alagh

    Ghazal got married to Varun Alagh in 2011. After the birth of their first child, the couple realized that there were no toxin-free baby care products available on the market. This compelled Varun and Ghazal to start their own company.

    They began with toxin-free baby products and later expanded to beauty, body, hair, and skincare solutions for all age groups. The company ‘MamaEarth’ has received multiple recognitions for its quality and growth over the years.

    Here is the list of all startups funded by Ghazal Alagh:

    Uvi Health

    Uvi Health Logo
    Uvi Health Logo

    Uvi Health is a healthcare solution platform that offers medical and other wellness assistance to women. The company offers personalized support from experts. Uvi aids women in taking care of their mental wellbeing, PCOS-related issues, and physical fitness. They organize doctor and health coach consultations for comprehensive expertise solutions.

    Ghazal Alagh made an investment in Uvi Health in July 2021. It was a Pre Seed Round led by Titan Capital. A sum of ₹2.47 crores was invested in the company by Ghazal along with five other investors.

    The Sass Bar

    The Sass Bar Logo
    The Sass Bar Logo

    The Sass Bar is a startup that is involved in the manufacturing of creative soaps. The company produces soaps that look and smell like desserts. The products are made up of completely natural ingredients.

    Other than desserts The Sass Bar manufactures soaps in the form of seascape, retro, cafe, festive and celestial collections. There is also a bulk gifting option along with curated gift cards.

    The Sass Bar’s innovative and creative idea fascinated Ghazal Alagh. She invested ₹25 lakhs for 17.5% equity in the company.

    Sunfox Technologies

    Sunfox Technologies Logo
    Sunfox Technologies Logo

    Sunfox Technologies or Spandan is a company that creates compact and portable devices that help people to track their ECG, Sugar, and BP levels. This startup aims at providing easy-to-use healthcare monitors at affordable costs.

    Sunfox Technology’s goal is to reduce the death rate caused by undiagnosed health failures. Constant monitoring of our health reduces this and Spandan’s compact devices help in achieving this.

    Ghazal Alagh made an investment of ₹20 lakhs in return for 1.2% equity in Sunfox Technologies.

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    Watt Technovations

    Watt Technovations Logo
    Watt Technovations Logo

    The 19-year old Nihaal Singh Adarsh, the founder of Watt Technovations, appeared in Shark Tank India. He got the attention of all Sharks through his passion for innovation and the investment he demanded from them.

    Adarsh pitched his idea of creating ventilated PPE kits but the sharks turned down his idea. Instead, they encouraged him to keep innovating by providing him with their support and the asked investment. Watt Technovations demanded a fund of ₹101 for 2% equity.

    Ghazal Alagh contributed her share of ₹25 for 1% equity in the startup.

    Humpy A2

    Humpy A2 Logo
    Humpy A2 Logo

    Humpy A2 is an organic dairy product startup. The company offers nutritious, pure, and fresh dairy products. In addition to it, Humpy A2 sells a few groceries like dals, rice, millets, honey, oil, etc., All their products are USDA, FSSAI and A2 certified.

    Humpy A2 not only aims at feeding people healthy but is also determined for safe and green earth. The company is trying every means to reduce plastic usage and go environment friendly.

    The founders managed to convince Ghazal Alagh and secured a sum of ₹33.33 lakhs for 5% equity in the company.

    Gold Safe Solutions Industries

    Safe Solutions Industries manufactures anti-suicidal ceiling fan rods that prevent suicides by hanging. The man behind this invention is Sharad Ashani and he pitched his idea in Shark Tank India.

    The founder claims to have installed over 50,000 anti suicidal rods in hotels, hospitals, jails, hostels, etc., His noble mission to reduce hanging deaths by his Gold Life Venture received a good reception from the sharks as well as the public.

    Gold Safe Solutions Ind. received a sum of ₹16.67 lakhs from Ghazal Alagh for 10% equity in the company.

    Wakao Foods

    Wakao Foods Logo
    Wakao Foods Logo

    Wakao Foods is a Jackfruit based food manufacturing startup from Goa. The company sells ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat foods with no added preservatives. Wakao Foods also produces vegan food varieties made from Jackfruit. The founder’s long-term goals and vision towards his business were so clear. Ghazal Alagh offered to invest ₹25 lakhs for 7% equity in Wakao Foods.

    Nomad Food Project

    Nomad Foods Logo
    Nomad Foods Logo

    Nomad Food Project is another food manufacturing startup that sells bacon-related jams and relishes. Bacon is the core food item used in making all other dishes made by this startup. The varieties and flavours Nomad Foods bring in their products and the marketing technique they used to sell them are excellent.

    The founders convinced Ghazal Alagh and bagged an investment of ₹10 lakhs for 5% of the company’s equity.

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    Conclusion

    Though MamaEarth stationed itself firmly in the market, Ghazal Alagh became well-known only after she appeared as a Shark in the Shark Tank India. She was the youngest shark in the show. Ghazal’s journey as an investor has just begun. She has made most of her investments in Shark Tank India. Ghazal’s enthusiasm for budding startups and entrepreneurs proves that she will invest more in the future.

    FAQs

    Who is Ghazal Alagh?

    Ghazal Alagh is a charming and successful businesswoman who co-founded and built the beauty, child, and skincare brand named ‘MamaEarth’.

    When and where was Ghazal Alagh born?

    Ghazal Alagh was born in Gurgaon, Haryana, on 2nd September 1988.

    How much has Ghazal Alagh invested in startups?

    Investments in startups are estimated to be around ₹1.2 crores in Shark Tank India and an undisclosed amount in Uvi Health.

    What is the net worth of Ghazal Alagh?

    Her net worth is estimated to be around $20 million.

  • How does Crowdfunding Work to Raise Money for Startup | How Crowdfunding Works in India?

    The concept of crowdfunding has just started to gain momentum in India. ‘Funding’ is the first problem new people, entering the world of business for the first time, find it difficult.

    Startups have to turn to institutions and angel investors because there is a lack of funds for bootstrapping or a lack of help from friends or family. But banks tend to refuse business loans for first-time entrepreneurs and often ask for huge collateral. Sometimes, it’s difficult to convince investors also. That crowdfunding platforms can play a key role in helping entrepreneurs make the most of their ideas.

    Crowdfunding is defined as a pooling of resources by a group of people for a common goal. In this concept, common mass is approached to raise funds for your idea execution, project, startup, or cause.

    According to a survey conducted, less than 2% of the companies end up raising funds from professional investors. This is large because of reasons ranging from non-scalable businesses to the lack of exits. The rest 98% still need to raise funds to take their startup to the next level.

    Some of the popular crowdfunding sites in India are Kickstarter, Wishberry, Indiegogo, FuelADream, Fundable, Ketto, Catapooolt, and Milaap which not only help Startups or individuals to launch a product but also test the acceptance of the product in the market.

    If we compare the crowdfunding market in India to that of the United States, we are still considerably smaller. However, if estimates are to be believed, this can soon change.

    Let’s see how does crowdfunding works in India for businesses and startups and its benefits.

    How Does Crowdfunding Work?
    How to Build a Crowdfunding Website or Platform in India?
    Benefits of Crowdfunding
    How to Raise Funds from Crowdfunding in India?

    How Does Crowdfunding Work?

    Donation Model

    In the donation model, individuals make a financial contribution to a project without any expectations of financial benefits.

    Lending Model

    In this model, individuals will lend money to the project with the expectation of being repaid under the terms and conditions agreed.

    Reward-Based Crowdfunding

    In reward-based crowdfunding, people contribute to your campaign and you give them a reward in return. The reward could be a DVD of the Film, The Gadget, etc. Equity cannot be given as a Reward.

    Investment Model

    In the Investment model of crowdfunding, the investor receives an equity stake in the project. Equity-based crowdfunding is not so common in India. Crowdfunding is becoming a lifeline for new entrepreneurs and small businesses as it helps them in many ways without losing much equity. Let’s see how crowdfunding helps startups and businesses in India.

    How to Build a Crowdfunding Website or Platform in India?

    Easy Steps to Create a Crowdfunding website or platform:

    Find a Crowdfunding Niche

    Choosing a niche helps to classify your site from others, and can also provide value to your campaign creators and sponsors. Every new crowdfunding website or platform is dedicated to a niche. That means that the website will host crowdfunding campaigns for one particular matter or kind of product.

    This is due to the big platforms that are available to crowdfunding creators. There is no use in trying to compete with the bigger crowdfunding platforms on the internet because you will likely lose.

    Use Crowdfunding Technology

    Search for the right technology that you want to use for your Crowdfunding website. Not all technology is paid, but when it comes to running a successful Crowdfunding platform, you want to be sure that there are no faults so users have a great experience on your website.

    You get what you pay for, if you use free Crowdfunding software, do not be surprised when something goes wrong with your website. Choosing a SaaS (Software as a Service) product can provide you with real-time support. This way you can get your site up and running fast, with as few issues as possible. And if there is a problem on the site, you are not left to your own to fix the issue.

    Connect The Payment Gateway

    It is usually best to open up a new bank account for the Crowdfunding platform if you are serious about taking a transaction fee on the donations to the website. If you were not already known, most Crowdfunding websites are taking a transaction fee on each donation to the campaigns on the site.

    This is a great way to generate an income on the side, by utilizing Crowdfunding. Depending on the usage of the platform, a bank account can be set up and connected to the payment gateway to receive a transaction fee.

    Add The Content

    Once you are finished choosing the niche, platform, and connecting your payment solution to your bank account, next, is the most time-consuming step, adding the content to your platform. You should have access to the front-end source code, to manipulate the User Interface (UI) to your standards.

    You will be restricted by the default UI and features from the product if you do not have access to the front-end source code. It is best practice to create all of the content, and have all of the images/videos ready before adding the content to the site. This can save a lot of time by simply copying and pasting the content onto the site.

    Launch The Platform

    Once the platform is all set up, the next step is to launch the platform. Before launching the platform, however, it is recommended to have Crowdfunding campaigns ready to host their campaign on your platform before launching.

    The first handful of campaigns on your new platform is likely going to be from friends and family. If those campaigns are not available, you need to start searching for campaigns by joining online communities in your niche, and in the Crowdfunding industry.

    Market The Platform

    The website is finally created and launched on the internet. The last step is to market the platform. The whole idea is to market the Crowdfunding platform successfully so that many campaign creators are approaching you to create a campaign on your platform. This way, you do not have to do any work to make money. This can be a great solution for those that want to generate monthly revenue by simply approving or disapproving Crowdfunding campaigns.

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    Benefits of Crowdfunding

    Crowdfunding Lowers Risk

    Starting up a company is a very risky and challenging journey. Launching a crowdfunding campaign hedges these risks and serves as a valuable learning experience. Crowdfunding as it is today allows an entrepreneur to gain market validation and avoid giving up equity before going all out and taking a product concept to market.

    Crowdfunding Saves Equity

    Crowdfunding is a great alternative way to fund a venture and it can be done without giving up equity or accumulating debt.

    Crowdfunding As Marketing Tool

    An active crowdfunding campaign is a good way to introduce a venture’s overall mission and vision to the market, as it is a free and easy way to reach numerous channels.

    Crowdfunding Proves The Concept

    Showing investors and convincing yourself that your venture has received sufficient market validation at an early stage is hard. Crowdfunding makes this possible as people get to know about your product and show their response.

    Crowdfunding Helps to Brainstorm Ideas

    One of the biggest challenges for small businesses and entrepreneurs is to be able to cover all the holes that a venture might have at an early stage. By having a crowdfunding campaign, the entrepreneur has the ability to engage the crowd and receive comments, feedback, and ideas.

    Crowdfunding Introduces Prospective Loyal Customers

    People who view the entrepreneur’s campaign and decide to contribute are ones that believe in the success of the company in the long run. In essence, these people are early adopters. Early adopters are very important to every business, as they will help spread the initial word without asking for anything in return. Such people care about the venture’s brand and message and are likely to be loyal customers throughout their life.

    Crowdfunding is Easier Than Traditional Applications

    Applying for a loan or pursuing other capital investments are two of the most painful processes that every entrepreneur has to go through, especially during the early stages of the company.

    Crowdfunding is Free PR

    The momentum created by successful crowdfunding campaigns attracts potential investment from traditional channels and attention from media outlets. Success stories make for interesting reading, and reporters are always hungry for them.

    Crowdfunding Provides The Opportunity of Pre-selling

    Launching a crowdfunding campaign gives an entrepreneur the ability to pre-sell a product or concept that they haven’t yet taken to market. This is a good way to gauge user reaction and analyze the market in order to decide whether to pursue or pivot on a given concept.

    Crowdfunding is Free to Launch

    Launching a crowdfunding campaign on some of the platforms is absolutely free. You will be charged a minimal fee when you raise funds.

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    Top 5 Kickstarter campaigns with their videos

    How to Raise Funds from Crowdfunding in India?

    Choose the Right Crowdfunding Platform

    This is the major step where most of the crowdfunding projects fail in India and the project creator never realizes it. As crowdfunding is a very niche stage in India, it is very important for crowdfunding platforms to help project creators in creating projects and help them to shape their projects for an Indian audience. Choose your crowdfunding portal wisely.

    Every crowdfunding platform in India takes a different approach to projects. Do little research on all the portals. Talk with some platforms, regarding your project and find out which crowdfunding platform fits perfectly for you.

    Create the Perfect Pitch Video for your Crowdfunding Project

    This is the most important factor which most of the people in India forget. Most people see Kickstarter and create crowdfunding projects, thinking that they’ll get millions overnight, which is never true.

    Entrepreneurs need to understand the mentality and psychology of Indians, compared to other nations. Indians love giving. We give millions and billions of rupees every year in temples and charity but when it comes to lending a hundred rupees to some person we think thousand times. That is where your crowdfunding video and description play a vital role in raising funds from them.

    Most people judge a crowdfunding project by just looking at the video. Make your crowdfunding video short and simple. Don’t add fancy 3D imaging graphics or VFX in the video. Nor add too much animation to it. Keep it to the point, make it clear.

    Remember, your end result from this video is money, not entertainment. Show your product, show yourself, your team, your workspace, your past work, and tell why someone should fund you or what change your project is going to make in society. This helps to build trust for the contributor.

    Project Description

    Write a detailed description but add attractive graphics along with it. In observation, it was found that most of the people in India write 2-3 lines or 1-2 paragraphs without graphics in their description. Writing only 2-3 lines shows that you are not serious about your product.

    A dedicated investor would never be investing in your project without knowing in detail about it. It is suggested to keep long description, as the one who is going to give a large amount of money to a stranger will surely want to read everything.

    Create a graphic picture that shows your product, your rewards, your timeline when you’ll deliver me rewards, and most importantly, your product specification.

    Rewards

    You need to understand that in India, most of the target audience is the middle class. Nobody will be willing to give more than 5% of their monthly salary unless you’re giving them something cool in return.

    Only rich people will give your project above Rs 5-10K and that if you’re giving them a customized product or something special in return. You need to consider giving a special reward gift in return which provides them emotional value. For example, you can give them your product with a celebrity’s signature or better, help them meet the celebrity.

    PR (Public Relation)

    Most of the people in India are unaware of crowdfunding. So, it is very important for the project creator to get the right reach of the right audience. Once your crowdfunding project is ready, you need to decide your communication strategy before making the project live.

    Create a mailer list, from your school friends to current enemies. Tell them all about your project and ask them to fund it once the project is live. Don’t be ashamed, be straightforward in asking to fund your project. If they don’t fund it, at least ask them to share a word of mouth or a small post on their social media. It will help you to raise a little fund. Then, it’s time for PR.

    Get in touch with all your press contacts and tell them about your crowdfunding project. If you don’t have any contacts, hire a PR agency. If you can’t hire a PR agency, ask your crowdfunding portal to do PR on your behalf.

    Some of the crowdfunding platforms in India help with that too. PR or Public relations are a crucial factor in any business. You need to have credibility in writing to prove your genuineness and potential in your PR.

    News articles will help you to achieve this and act as a backbone. It’ll also help you to get strangers to know about your project and in some cases, raise funds from them.

    Get in touch with bloggers who write articles regarding your project field. Let them know about your project and ask them to write an article on your project. Choose a blog with good reach and engagement.

    Social Media and Follow-up

    Build a social media strategy and create some unique campaigns surrounding your project. Social Media will help you to get that boost for making your project a success. A creative campaign will help your project go viral and even to reach the audience who’ll fund it.

    • Do Facebook posts thrice a day.
    • Interact with strangers on Twitter by tweeting, hourly.
    • Tell every possible person on the internet about your project.
    • Send emails to all your contacts regarding your project, weekly.
    • Take a follow-up via email or phone with the people who said they’ll fund your project or showed their interest.  
    • Connect with writers who wrote about your project in news articles or blogs. Ask them to update their articles about your new achievement.

    Put yourself in the investor’s shoes and see what you will want to see if someone asks for money from you.

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    Conclusion

    Crowdfunding is a good option for new startups with people and investors getting aware of it. It is a platform to show your product to investors if you do not have many contacts in the business world. The main advantage of crowdfunding is that you do not necessarily have to lose equity while raising funds. However, the Indian crowdfunding system does work in that way a lot.

    There might be some people who will fund you without equity but you will get the majority of the funds from professional investors who will demand equity in your company. It’s your job to choose the right crowdfunding option.

    FAQs

    What is crowdfunding and how does it work?

    In its simplest form, crowdfunding is getting others to finance the creation of a product, project, business, or work of art. It’s extremely advantageous for entrepreneurs and eliminates the overbearing upfront costs that stop most startups before they begin. It uses a web-based platform or social networking sites to solicit funds for the fundraiser by showcasing the story to potential donors or investors.

    What are some of the benefits of crowdfunding?

    Crowdfunding can be a fast way to raise finance with no upfront fees in businesses. Pitching a project or business through the online platform can be a valuable form of marketing and result in media attention. By sharing your idea, you can often get feedback and expert guidance on how to improve it, etc.

    Kickstarter, Wishberry, Indiegogo, FuelADream, Fundable, Ketto, Catapooolt, and Milaap are some of the popular crowdfunding sites in India.

    What is an example of crowdfunding?

    An example of a successful crowdfunding project is The Veronica Mars Movie Project. Fundraiser Rob Thomas used crowdfunding to fund the movie. The project was a great success surpassing their $2 million goals by an additional $3 million. The crowdfunding project also gained international reach.

  • Top 5 Startups Funded By Lightspeed Ventures in India

    ‌‌Startups are the future of the business world. However, not all startups can climb the ladder of success. There are many reasons for the failure of startups. Some can fail due to an unclear concept of a startup. Some startups fail as they can’t attract their needed audience.

    Irrespective of the failure, there are a few reasons which can eventually stop the successful startups also at limited growth. One of the biggest reasons is funds. Not having enough funds for the startup can also cause issues in the growth of startups. However, there are few venture capital firms providing funds to newly started startups. They work by providing funds and buying shares from early budding startups.

    After some time, when the startup has already started climbing its success ladder, they take back their funds to invest in other companies but with the addition of profit earned from earlier investment. One of such firms is Lightspeed.

    Lightspeed venture capital firm is a global company providing multi-stage investments to different field startups. Lightspeed focuses more on the investment in the field of enterprise technology, consumer, and healthcare industry. They have their services expanded to multiple countries and have a history of backing up more than 400 different firms.

    Some of the startups funded by Lightspeed in India are:

    Yellow Messenger
    BlueLearn
    Magicpin
    Craftsvilla
    Darwinbox

    Yellow Messenger

    Money Raised Funding Round Lead Investor
    $4 million Series A Yes
    $20 million Series B Yes

    Yellow Messenger Logo
    Yellow Messenger Logo

    Yellow Messenger is an AI-based company established in the year 2015 by the joint efforts of Jaya Kishore Reddy, Raghu Kumar, Rashid Khan, and Anik Das. It is a Bangalore-based startup.

    Yellow Messenger is considered the world’s largest AI-sourced tool used for conversational engagement platforms. It is majorly used to provide the clients with multiple facilities such as marketing, servicing, acquiring and also enable them with the service of supporting customers on message and call.

    Yellow Messenger helps its clients with things that circle enterprise intelligence and customized conversational bots. Yellow Messenger raised the series A funds from Lightspeed of about $4 million and $20 million in series B.

    BlueLearn

    Money Raised Funding Round
    $450k Pre-Seed Round Yes

    Bluelearn Logo
    Bluelearn Logo

    BlueLearn is an educational-based platform founded in the year 2020 by the teamwork of Harish Uthayakumar and Shreyans Sancheti. It is also a Bangalore-based startup.

    BlueLearn was earlier just a community on a Telegram. From there, it was converted into a different platform enabling the students to find everything in one place. BlueLearn is a one-place platform for students to learn new skills, network with peers, and also apply for internships. With the funds, they are planning to hire the best talents and grow their platform to fulfil the demands of their highly increasing customers. BlueLearn managed to raise the amount of $450k in its pre-seed funding round.

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    Magicpin

    Money Raised Funding Round Lead Investor
    $3 million Series A Yes
    $7 million Series B Yes
    ₹1.4 billion Series C Yes
    ₹293 million Series C Yes

    Magicpin Logo
    Magicpin Logo

    Magicpin is a reward-based application connecting hyperlocal merchants with several customers. It was started in the year 2016 by Anshoo Sharma and Brij Bhushan. Magicpin is a Gurgaon-based firm.

    Magicpin is a reward-back platform. It allows its users to purchase products from several merchants available on its platform. Users get the tokens on the use of a Magicpin application for the purchasing of products or paying up the bills through its application. And all the merchants advertising them on its application need to pay the platform fee along with transaction fees to the Magicpin.

    Craftsvilla

    Money Raised Funding Round Lead Investor
    $1.5 million Series A No
    $34 million Series C No

    Craftsvilla Logo
    Craftsvilla Logo

    Craftsvilla is an Indian e-commerce platform launched in the year 2011 by Manoj Gupta. It is a Mumbai-based startup.

    Craftsvilla is an e-commerce platform known for selling multiple products such as ethnic appraisal, footwear, handbags, etc. Craftsvilla is popular for its unique Indian product identity. They are known to also sell ethnic Indian products through their platform.

    Lightspeed has backed up Craftsvilla from the start. There were multiple funds received from Lightspeed to Craftsvilla. Along with Lightspeed, different venture firms have also funded Craftsvilla each year. The most recent funds received by Craftsvilla from Lightspeed is about $1.5 million.

    Darwinbox

    Money Raised Funding Round Lead Investor
    $4 million Series A Yes

    Darwinbox Logo
    Darwinbox Logo

    Darwinbox company provides cloud-based human resources solutions to their clients. It was introduced in the year 2015 by Chaitanya Peddi, Jayant Palette, and Rohit Chennamaneni. It is a Hyderabad-based startup.

    Drawinbox was initiated with the vision of creating a change in the interaction between the workforce and technology. It provides complete solutions from hire to retirement process. They are known to provide multiple services such as HR Voicebot, Advanced Talent Analytics, Candidate Shortlisting, OCR-based expense scans, etc.

    Drawinbox also had its backed up by multiple capital ventures from the start itself. Drawinbox received $4 million as its first fund from Lightspeed and other ventures.

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    Conclusion

    Lightspeed venture capital firm was established in the year 2000. They are known to provide funds to unique concepts and highly potent startups during the early years of startups. With this step, they can invest in a good source and allow the startup to bloom well. Some of the most well-known and famous startups funded by Lightspeed have been given above.

    FAQ

    Which are some of the successful companies backed up by Lightspeed in the past?

    Lightspeed has supported many startups over time. Some of the most famous and well-known companies are Snapchat, Affirm, Byjus, OYO Rooms, etc.

    Who are the founders of Lightspeed?

    Lightspeed was founded in the year 2000 by Chris Schaepe, Barry Eggers, Ravi Mhatre, Peter Nieh.

    What is meant by venture capital firms?

    Venture Capital firms are those investors who provide funds to startups and newly opened small businesses as a part of the investment. They provide investments to the companies believed to have long-term growth potential and then receive their profits from the success of the business.

  • G7 CR Technologies Trying to Help Startups, SMEs and SMBs in Their Journey

    Attributed to Ms. Jesintha Louis, Director, Cloud Solutions, G7CR Technologies India Pvt Ltd.

    G7 CR Technologies, a niche technology service provider currently providing disruptive technology solutions for over 900+ business across India and MEA region. The company adopted Cloud earlier on and today is a leading Cloud partner for various businesses. The Company has special focus on SMEs, SMBs and Startups, it has in the past launched program like BEAP that provide technology funding mechanism for development & automation of business processes.

    G7 CR has two programs that are exclusive for SMEs, SMBs and Startups.

    Cloud Adoption Funding

    One of them is CAF, Cloud adoption funding, the program provides funding against Cloud spend for qualifying Startups who are in growth phase. For Growing tech enabled Startup, Cloud spend is generally one the of top 3 spends and CAF allows them to reinvest the Cloud spend on business growth while the Cloud is funded by G7 CR. The maximum funding available is up to $5 million, interested startups can apply for program at G7Cr.in ( g7cr.in > G7CR CAF > Apply Now). Currently the funding is available only to Startups who are running on Microsoft Azure. The company may open up funding options for other Hyperscaler in the future.

    Qualifying criteria for CAF program

    a) The business should be less than 10 years old
    b) Cloud spend must account for one of the top 5 expense or the minimum Cloud consumption must be $15,000/- per month.

    Technology Services Investment

    The second program is Technology Services investment. Finding & retaining technical talent is most common challenge and the economics of it does not work out if SMEs, SMBs and Startups try to do it in on their own. Given we live in a competitive world, competing on price & also providing great customer experience requires a lot of invest and the per transaction cost automatically increase if you try to focus on the experience. This is a challenge faced by SMEs, SMBs & Startups in the initial stage and they often end up losing the order because of the cost or will have to compromise on quality of service. With the Technology Services investment from G7 CR, SMEs, SMBs & Startups can bank on the migration, modernization & support expertise of G7 CR and the Company will fund the services and offer it to the Startups at no cost along with other benefits on the Sales & Business-like Sponsoring events, marketing campaigns to promote the products and services offered by the SMEs, SMBs & Startups or helping them achieve industry standard certification like ISO & PCI DSS. The company has already invested over $1 million in the last quarter in 100+ Startups and looks forward to double the investments based on the overwhelming response. The Company is also building strategic alliances with other OEMs to bring more volumetric benefits for the Startups under the program.

    Conclusion

    “We intend to take the growth journey with Startups, SMEs & SMBs from Start to Scale and our two-investment model are built with the same focus and intent. CAF to support Growth Startups and Technology Investments for Startups in Series A level of funding. But of course the technology funding is open to any Startup, SME or SMB and does not require them to be funded. We will continue to build new partnership and alliances to bring in the power of volumetric benefits for the Startups, SMEs & SMBs who are a part of the program. Collaboration & Trust is the new currency for business and continuing build it will be our aim for the new year 2022.”

  • IPO India- How It Works? | Top 10 IPO Listing and Funding 2021

    IPO is a term that many of us are hearing nowadays. The ones who know about businesses and share markets are familiar with it. But few still don’t know what IPO is.

    It is simply a process that makes a private company become public. Investing in IPOs can be a lucrative option to earn great financials in the future.

    IPO investing does seem a good idea to almost everyone. However, it might not always be successful. It is important that you are a well-informed investor who knows about this world.

    IPO has a way of working in India. The entire process gets monitored by SEBI (The Securities and Exchange Board of India).

    About IPO
    How IPO works in India?
    How Does IPO Price is Decided in India?
    Top IPO Listings and Funding India 2021

    1. Zomato
    2. Nykaa
    3. Paytm
    4. MTAR Technologies Limited
    5. Easy Trip Planners Limited
    6. Paras Defence and Space Technologies Limited
    7. Nureca Limited
    8. Clean Science and Technology Limited
    9. Latent View Analytics Limited
    10. Laxmi Organic Industries Limited

    Conclusion
    FAQs

    About IPO

    IPO stands for Initial Public Offerings. As the name suggests it is a process that makes a company available to the public so that they can buy a share of it.

    Any company with any type of business, size, or time of existence can get itself listed for being public. IPO simply helps a company to earn funding through public.

    The company shares gets available to the public after initial public offerings. Investment banks help the company with the IPO process. The money raised through IPO enables a business to grow further. This in turn helps the shareholders to gain profits.

    About IPO Process

    How IPO works in India?

    When a private company needs huge capital which is way beyond its reach to raise, it resorts to other measures. One of the best and lucrative options is to ask the public for investment through IPO.

    A company can sell the shares itself, but this makes the process highly taxing. So, companies tend to hire investment banks to take care of the entire process.

    The process of IPO in India involves the following steps:

    Step 1

    At first, the company creates an agreement with the investment bank. This includes the aimed amount to be raised, security issues, and other details about the process.

    Step 2

    Then they register a statement to the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The statement is then approved by SEBI after proper examination.

    Step 3

    After the approval, the company finalizes the shares to be sold to the public. It also finalizes the price for it.

    IPOs are available in two issues. These are fixed price and book building. In the former, the company creates a fixed price for each share to be sold. In book building, the company provides a range of prices. The people then place their bids within the range to get a share.

    Step 4

    After the price fixations, the shares are available for the public. The interested people then submit their applications for the shares. Then after scrutinizing the applications, the company’s share allotment begins.

    Step 5

    The final step is the listing in the stock market. When the public investors receive their share, they are then listed in the secondary market.

    How Does IPO Price is Decided in India?

    In simple words, it is decided by dividing the entire value of the company by the number of shares in the listing.

    The total number of orders received for shares and maximization of the trades to be executed at the time of stock exchange launch makes for the listing price.

    Top IPO Listings and Funding India 2021

    Zomato

    The online food delivery company, Zomato gained huge popularity with its IPO listing. The date of listing was 23RD July 2021. The issue price was Rs.73. The current BSE and NSE prices are Rs.132.70 and Rs.133.70.

    Public offerings helped Zomato raise Rs. 9,375 crores. Its debut in the share market turned various heads around.

    Nykaa

    Another popular IPO listing of the year 2021 is Nykaa. The beauty and wellness e-commerce company was listed on 10th November 2021. The issue price was Rs. 1,125. The current BSE and NSE prices are Rs. 2,063 and Rs. 2,018.

    The company raised funding of Rs. 5,352 crores through the public offerings.

    Paytm

    The Indian digital payments and technology platform’s IPO listing date was 18th November 2021. The issue price was Rs. 2,150. The BSE and NSE prices are Rs. 1,955 and Rs. 1950.

    Paytm raised Rs. 8,300 crores through initial public offerings.

    MTAR Technologies Limited

    MTAR Technologies, the engineering solutions company’s listing date was the 15th of March 2021. The issue price for the share was Rs.575. The current price at BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) stands at Rs. 2236.95 and NSE (National Stock Exchange) current price is Rs. 2237.95.

    After the sales of shares, the company gained Rs. 179 Crores through IPO.

    Easy Trip Planners Limited

    Easy Trip Planners or EasyMyTrip is the online Indian travel company found in the year 2008. EaseMyTrip got listed on 19th of March 2021. The issue price of the share was Rs.187. The current BSE price stands at Rs. 520.25 and NSE price is Rs. 593.85.

    The company got the funding of Rs. 229 Crores after selling the shares to the public.

    Paras Defence and Space Technologies Limited

    Paras Defence and Space Technologies Limited deals in engineering products and solutions. The listing date for the company was 1st October 2021. The issue price was Rs. 175. The current BSE and NSE price stands at Rs. 732.4 and Rs. 732.9 respectively.

    The company earned funding of Rs. 51 crores through IPO.

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    Nureca Limited

    NURECA, the health and wellness products company’s listing date was 25TH February 2021. The issue price was Rs.400. The BSE and NSE current prices stand at Rs. 1390 and Rs. 1390.4.

    The company received funding of Rs. 44.55 Crores through initial public offerings.

    Clean Science and Technology Limited

    The company uses the latest technologies to manufacture specific chemicals. The listing date for the company was 19th July 2021. The issue price was Rs. 900. The BSE current price is Rs. 2481.65 and NSE current price is Rs. 2476.15.

    Through IPO the company collected a capital of Rs. 464 Crores.

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    Latent View Analytics Limited

    Latent View Company helps with the processes related to digital consumers. It got listed on 23rd November 2021. The issue price was Rs. 197. The current BSE and NSE price of the company is Rs. 491.55 and Rs. 491.3.

    The company received the funding of Rs. 267 Crores through IPO.

    Laxmi Organic Industries Limited

    Laxmi Organic Industries Ltd. is the chemical manufacturing company. The company was listed on 25th March 2021. The issue price was Rs. 130. The BSE current price is Rs. 396.45 and the current NSE price is Rs. 396.5.

    IPO listing helped the company to raise funding of Rs.180 Crores.

    Conclusion

    The IPO market in the year 2021 has seen a great amount of growth. Many startups like Zomato, Nykaa, Paytm have entered the unicorn club through IPO this year.

    IPO investing has two sides. It can be super flourishing but also a doorway to loss. So, it is necessary to do proper research about the company and the market before investing. IPO is a lucrative way that makes for company growth by making it available to the public.

    FAQs

    How many IPO are there in 2021 in India?

    As per data by BSE, a total of 63 Indian companies went for IPO in 2021.

    Which IPO is the biggest IPO in India?

    The listing of LIC is considered to be India’s biggest ever IPO.

    What are the top IPO funding in 2021?

    Some of the top IPO Listings and Funding in India in 2021 are:

    • MTAR Technologies Limited
    • Easy Trip Planners Limited
    • Paras Defence and Space Technologies Limited
    • Nureca Limited
    • Clean Science and Technology Limited
    • Latent View Analytics Limited
    • Laxmi Organic Industries Limited
    • Zomato
    • Nykaa
    • Paytm

  • Bootstrapping vs Funding: Which is the Right Strategy to Fund your Startup

    A Startup is a company that is just on the verge of developing and offering services and products that are not available in the market. Startups are now becoming a significant part of every country’s economy; they are providing jobs to the people of this generation and are carrying huge responsibilities.

    They are hugely contributing to the development of the socio-economic conditions of the country. Not only that, through the use of new technologies, they are providing solutions to the problems as well. Every industry is getting to see new Startups and some of them are going to be the future of that industry.

    The survival of a startup hugely depends on the fund, if there is no fund a Startup can never see the daylight, it will shut down even before the beginning. So, for preventing from getting shut down, one needs to arrange funds and must invest in the business and these can be done in two ways.

    One is getting money funded for the startup and the other one is through Bootstrapped. In this article, we will discuss the difference between funded startups and Bootstrapped startups and what they are all about. We will also talk about which will be a better option for your startup. So let’s get into the business.

    “It’s almost always harder to raise capital than you thought it would be, and it always takes longer. So, plan for that.”

    –Richard Harroch

    What is a Bootstrapped Startup?
    Pros and Cons of a Bootstrapped Startup
    Examples of a Bootstrapped Startup
    What is a Funded Startup?
    Pros and Cons of a Funded Startup
    Example of a Funded Startup
    Funding Vs Bootstrapped Startup: Factors That Entrepreneurs Must Consider
    FAQ

    What is a Bootstrapped Startup?

    Bootstrapped startups
    Bootstrapped startups

    Bootstrapped startups are those businesses, where you don’t take capital from an outside source or venture capitalist and totally depend on your own funds for the survival and growth of the business. There is no process for external funding here, you are the leader here and you need to take all kind of decision that is necessary for your business.

    Pros and Cons of a Bootstrapped Startup

    Pros:

    • The thing about bootstrapped startups is that the founder doesn’t have to depend on outside investors for the funds and the ownership solely belongs to the founder.
    • The founder of the business needs to just focus on the business products and services and there is no need for issuing equity.
    • The control of the business belongs to the founder and they don’t get succumbed to any pressures by anyone and have the control to take any important decision regarding the business.

    Cons:

    Examples of a Bootstrapped Startup

    GoPro

    GoPro Logo
    GoPro Logo

    This company is one of the best brands out there for selling personal cameras that capture video photographs was first founded in the year 2002 by Jill Woodman and Nicholas Woodman. It is a successful bootstrapped startup that has now become a big company that sells high-definition personal cameras.

    Nicholas Woodman got the idea of making such cameras that can shoot action photography while he was on a surfing trip to Australia. He funded  $10,000 from his own pocket to his business. He did many jobs such as emailing and truck driving and at last, he was successful. In 2004 his company, GoPro sold the first analogue camera of 35mm.

    GoPro First Camera
    GoPro First Camera

    Zerodha

    Zerodha Logo
    Zerodha Logo

    A popular example of a bootstrapped startup in India is Zerodha, Zerodha is an Indian financial services company founded in 2010 by Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath.

    Nithin Kamath started trading in stocks at the age of 17. When the market crashed between 2001 and 2002, he lost 5 lakh rupees. He still continued to trade in stocks and later started his own brokerage Kamath & Associates. In 2010 he founded Zerodha.

    Now the company has a revenue of 1,093.64 crores INR and is valued at $2 billion. The founder of Zerodha in a series of tweets explained why the company doesn’t raise any funding.

    Nithin Kamath Tweet on Why Zerodha does not raise Funding
    Nithin Kamath Tweet on Why Zerodha does not raise Funding

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    What is a Funded Startup?

    Funding your Startup
    Funding your Startup

    While starting a business, an amount is needed as an investment. There are some startups who decide to raise amounts from the public as the fund for the company. Here you look out for investors also known as venture capitalists, who are actually interested in your business and they provide you with your required amount of capital in return for your company’s equity.

    Pros and Cons of a Funded Startup

    There are some advantages and limitations that one faces when they chose to raise funds from the public for their business and they are:

    Pros:

    • Funding from outside provides businesses with lots of opportunities related to finance which in turn becomes a big factor in the fast growth of their business.
    • The Investors who are funding the business guide the owner of the startup with their experience, if the need arises.
    • The connections of these investors can be a plus point for the startup and it can help them in earning the trust of the public.

    Cons:

    • When external forces started involved in the business, decisions related to payments, finance, equity by the startup founder become limited.
    • The founder loses a big amount of the company to the investors and thus holds a very small part of it.

    Example of a Funded Startup

    Flipkart: Funded by Venture Capital

    Flipkart Logo
    Flipkart Logo

    This online shopping website was founded by Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal in the year 2007. The online E-Commerce company that started its journey by selling books now sells everything. In the year 2018, Flipkart got its first fund from Junglee and Helion Venture’s founder Ashish Gupta. After that, Flipkart received $10 million from Tiger Global Management. Tiger Global Management is an American investment firm.

    Flipkart keeps getting bigger and bigger with various investments by the investors It even acquired Myntra in the year 2014 for $270 million dollars. In 2018 Walmart acquired Flipkart and became the fund provider of the business and Walmart now owns almost an 82.3% stake in the Indian E-Commerce giant. It has raised almost $12.6 billion. As per reports, the current value of Flipkart is $37.6 billion as of 2021.

    Funding Vs Bootstrapped Startup: Factors That Entrepreneurs Must Consider

    In the choice between funding and bootstrapped, one must decide what they want with their business. Here they need to consider some factors that would help them in deciding between funding and bootstrapping. Those factors are:

    Objective

    The main aim of your business is one of the prime factors that help you in deciding the future of your startup. If you just want a profitable business, bootstrap is the option for you. On the other hand, if you want your business to have maximum revenue growth then, external funding is the answer.

    Pace of Growth

    When you are the only one who is investing in your business, the growth will be slower in pace. As the resources you have, including the financial ones, are limited in nature. While funded business provides resources like new connections and finances thus the growth is way faster.

    Control

    In a Bootstrapped startup, you have control over your startup. Whatever the important decision is, your call is the last one. On the other hand, funded startups don’t give you that much freedom, where you can take the final decision for your startup as it involves the investors who are funding your business.

    Conclusion

    In the end, the decision of choosing between funding and bootstrapping is yours. If you decided to bootstrap your business, in the future you can go for funding as well. Whatever you do, you need to consider the factors while making the decision, because the survival of your business depends on this.

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    FAQ

    What is a funded startup?

    A funded startup means a business where money is raised from externals or third-parties as an investment.

    What percentage of startups bootstrap?

    75% to 80% of startup founders prefer bootstrapping their startup.

    Is funding important for a startup?

    Funding is definitely important for a startup, as it increases visibility in the market and helps in attracting the public’s attention.

  • When should you Stop Raising Funds for your Startup?

    Businesses are crucial for this world. You exchange what you have for something that you want. Trade is the basic brick that establishes the foundation of businesses. Which cements humans together with better cooperation abilities. As an entrepreneur goes about starting a business, he faces many problems. One of the problems is the issue of raising capital. If done correctly can change the future of enterprise for the better. Otherwise, it will sink the whole ship of sustenance.

    Money capital is the lifeblood of every investment. Without this fuel, there can be no product, no property, no sales and no cash flows. This is an article talking about the same issue of raising capital. Read to know, should you even raise money? when you should not raise money and when to stop raising capital.

    Things to Remember Before Raising Funds
    Disadvantages of Raising Funds
    When to Stop Raising Funds for your Startup?
    FAQ

    Things to Remember Before Raising Funds

    If you don’t know about raising capital, or If you don’t know how you will end up managing money – don’t raise funds. So, do your homework first. Deciding in advance, the goals and goalkeepers for the organisation is crucial. It will make the road to success otherwise it will be a recipe for disaster.

    Remember, raising capital is for achieving scale. Scale means growth in this context. Raising money is essentially losing control and getting scale. You need to let go of total control in some cases of raising funds. So, If you are not ready to jump off a cliff with a firm belief in your team and culture. Don’t seek a raise.

    Another con is simple yet thoughtful. You don’t need to raise. Yes, a raise is the least type of money that an entrepreneur wants. Even a Venture capitalist will tell you this. VC cheques are the worst kind of money. The favourable kind of money is your customers’ money. Your own revenue. The best way is to go bootstrapped. Again, If you are risk-averse, stay put.

    Disadvantages of Raising Funds

    The first question that a rational person should ask is “Should he/she really raise money?” This question is a valid and important point to consider. Raising capital is not a fairy tale, it has its downfalls too.

    If you are not ready to face the downfalls, smart advice will be that you stop chasing funds. These disadvantages can affect different people differently. Some might be more affected than others.

    Let us see some of the responsibilities that you will have to carry if you are seeking capital.

    Ownership

    When someone tries to raise capital, he is often left with the choice of diluting ownership of the company. Which means lessening the controlling power of entrepreneurs. It will allow interference of the Venture Capitalist in the decisions.

    This interference can be effective or it can affect the growth of the company, depending on the scenario. If the entrepreneur is someone who wants full control of the company, reconsider the choice of raising funds for your startup.

    Accountability

    An entrepreneur who raises capital has to be accountable. Depending on which source of raising he chooses, he needs to be accountable. The source or the Venture Capital can push and pinch for specific and exact usage of money.

    A business person has to iterate his ways in different scenarios. He/she needs to be experimenting with a product. In order to get the perfect product-market fit. In some cases “being accountable for the capital raised” can also reduce the experiments of an entrepreneur. Leaving no space or very little space for mistakes.

    Debt

    This can be seen as a subsection of the previous issue. Raising capital is debt. Some people might get overwhelmed by the thought of using others’ money. This heavy feeling of responsibility can disrupt the natural flow of an entrepreneur.

    Which also points out someone’s personal relationship with money. A person having a bad relationship with money will fear its responsibility. That responsibility rises manifolds if the money is a debt.

    When to Stop Raising Funds for your Startup?

    If you are through the hurdle of deciding to raise capital. Let us discuss when to stop your fundraising rounds. It is imperative to mention that you need to take professional advice on this matter. Investors write a cheque when they are compelled by your work. When raising capital, remember the time frame. Check these points to get some bookmarks.

    Ideal position –

    So, when you’ve managed to impress an investor, make sure you know the ideal condition. The ideal condition is to raise as much as you want to reach profitability. The reason behind this is that it allows you to stop raising for more rounds. It will lessen the hassle one needs to go through for another round of funding. Remember to stop with an ideal cash position in mind.

    Survival of Operations –

    When raising capital, think about your burn rate. You need to consider how many months you are planning your operations to survive. It can be a year to 18 months. This definitive time frame set a bar for raising capital. Even though different products and startups have different burn rates, making sure your burn rate is in check is helpful.

    The Growth Pace –

    If your company is in a good cash flow situation. Like, when the company is adding more customers and revenues and employees. When it is growing really fast. Then you should refrain from raising large funds. The reason is that if you raise 2 to 4 years of funds at this growth pace, then by the end of 2 years you would earn a similar amount by your own operations. There is a good chance you reach that cash by operations.

    So at that point, sitting on a huge debt is of no use. Checking your growth pace before taking financing decisions helps.

    Cash needs –

    It is always tempting to raise capital. To have surplus money than you actually may need. So it is important to remind yourself that there are harms too.

    First, raising capital is expensive and complex. If an entrepreneur is not ready to handle this hassle, it can be disastrous. Second, due to unpreparedness, you may never know the ideal position of raising, which can make you raise too much. This can be a worst-case scenario. Third, remember raising deprives focus.

    An entrepreneur’s main focus should be to provide value, anyhow. Raising money will get investors on board and this will take your arm and a leg. They might interfere with your vision too. So keeping these points in mind, you can set an ideal cash position for the company.

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    Conclusion

    We get to know with this enlightening article that raising capital is complex. The best money way is still the bootstrapped way. It is considered the smoothest. But when it comes to hacking growth and scaling your product, a VC can do wonders. It can provide you with a primary boost or a launchpad for flying.

    Nonetheless, that launchpad can also become the reason for your own perishment. Knowing how much you need, your burn rate of operations and the scale you want to achieve is crucial in setting a definitive goal for your fundraising. Having your vision and current situation intact in your head will go a long way in fixing this question.

    It is strongly recommended that you go and take the path of organic growth. That is, growing your business naturally should be preferred. Before going on a run for chasing capital and Silicon Valley dreams. You might need the right advice, the right homework and just the right negotiations to get to an ideal position. This is not rocket science but it is nothing sort of less than that.

    FAQ

    How long should a seed round last?

    A typical range seed round lasts between 12 and 18 months.

    How much traction is enough for investors?

    The “traction” that’s relevant for your current stage should be in the range of 0.1% to 0.5%.