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Tag: Gurugram Startups

  • Spinny’s Success Story – The Tech-Driven Startup Transforming Car Ownership

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

    Though some of us still want to go for a first-hand experience of things, a significant number of people opt for used products instead of new ones, especially when it comes to the purchase of vehicles.

    Our financial conditions have taken a tumble since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, but new cars are getting costlier each day. Furthermore, as ironic as it is, the quality of these cars and their average lifespan are going down equally. Besides, for first-time buyers, going for used cars is always better as a decision. All of these reasons have boosted the sales of used cars.

    Buying used cars in India is not at all pain, but all gain today! This is primarily because of the growing used car space in India, which is dominated by promising startups that are equipped with the technology of the age. Spinny is one such used car startup based in Gurgaon, Haryana that is disrupting the segment of used cars in India.

    Read more about the brand Spinny, all the details of the used car industry, Logo and Tagline, Founders, Startup Story, Mission and Vision, history, Employees of the company, the Business and Revenue Model, Funding and Investors, Competitors, and more.

    Spinny Company Details

    Startup Name Spinny
    Also Known As Spinny Cars , myspinny, Spinny Assured Cars
    Legal Name ValueDrive Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
    Headquarters Gurgaon, Haryana, India
    Industry Automobile, Automotive
    Founders Niraj Singh, Ramanshu Mahaur, Mohit Gupta, and Ganesh Pawar
    Founded 2015
    Valuation $1.67 Billion (as of December 2024)
    Areas Served India
    Current CEO Niraj Singh
    Website www.spinny.com

    About Spinny
    Spinny – Industry
    Spinny – Logo, and Tagline
    Spinny – Founders and Team
    Spinny – Startup Story
    Spinny – Vision and Mission Statement
    Spinny – Employees
    Spinny – Business Model and Revenue Model
    Spinny – Funding, and Investors
    Spinny – Shareholders
    Spinny – Acquisitions
    Spinny – Growth and Revenues
    Spinny – Financials
    Spinny – LayOffs
    Spinny – Competitors
    Spinny – Challenges Faced
    Spinny – Future Plans
    Spinny – FAQs

    About Spinny

    Spinny is a reliable platform for used cars. Powered by cutting-edge technologies, Spinny promises simple, convenient, trustworthy transactions for all the users who look to buy and sell used cars.

    The company’s platform contains a list of automobiles with full details that the buyers can check out. Furthermore, it also includes a test drive with a 5-day money-back assurance, thereby allowing the car owners to sell their vehicles and potential consumers to buy cars in an easy and transparent manner.

    Sellers may arrange for an evaluation and accept an offer for their vehicle. Buyers may also go through the wide range of cars that Spinny offers online, choose a car, and book a test drive. Car owners may also put their vehicles for sale on the site and receive fast bids.

    Spinny eliminates the danger of buying a used car and provides users with complete peace of mind. Its multi-step filtration means that the users always have the option of selecting from a pool of certified used automobiles of the greatest quality. When a customer buys a Spinny Assured automobile, he/she will be getting a used car that hasn’t been in an accident, hasn’t had its meter tampered with, has clean records, and has been properly inspected against a 200-point checklist.

    Spinny – Industry

    The used automobile market in India was valued at $561.13 million in 2023 and is predicted to grow to $738.57 million by 2032, with a CAGR of 3.10% between 2024 and 2032.

    As opposed to the serious aftermath of the pandemic for the new car space, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry was negligible. The industry is expected to significantly rise as more individuals desire independent mobility and new financial alternatives are incorporated into the used automobile market. Besides, after the pandemic onslaught, consumers have been forced to search for alternatives to new automobiles, and the used car sector has a lot of room for expansion in this area. Besides, manufacture and sale have also been hampered by the pandemic, which made the purchasers quickly resort to the used automobile market.

    Spinny – Logo, and Tagline

    Spinny Logo
    Spinny Logo

    Spinny has chosen red and black as its brand colors and the logo of the brand is crisp and catching, marked with the starting letter, “S”, of the brand.

    Spinny’s tagline says, “Cars you will love to buy.”

    Spinny – Founders and Team

    Spinny was founded by Niraj Singh, Ramanshu Mahaur, Mohit Gupta, and Ganesh Pawar in 2015.

    Spinny Founders (Niraj Singh, Ramanshu Mahaur, Mohit Gupta & Ganesh Pawar)

    Niraj Singh

    Spinny’s Founder and CEO is Niraj Singh. Niraj Singh has also worked as a Founding Partner at Outbox Ventures in the past.

    Ramanshu Mahaur

    Spinny and Karmabite were co-founded by Ramanshu Mahaur, who currently serves as the co-founder and CTO of the company. He was most recently a member of Adobe’s technical staff. Ramanshu graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.

    Mohit Gupta

    Mohit Gupta is one of Spinny’s co-founders. Prior to joining Spinny, he worked at Flipkart from 2011 to 2014, holding several responsibilities.

    Ganesh Pawar

    Ganesh Pawar used to be Senior Manager of Business Development in Flipkart. He, then, co-founded Spinny. Now, he is building the food FMCG business at Udaan – an eCommerce-supply chain.

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    Spinny – Startup Story

    India’s used car industry has been getting a lot of attention for quite some years now. It is mainly due to the better value proposition that used cars offer, that more and more Indians are looking to opt for old cars than the newer ones.

    However, the lack of proper information that is inherent in the process of the sales of used automobiles, the absence of trustworthy middlemen, the complexity of navigating through the variety of alternatives when it comes to buyers, and finding the correct price of the vehicles for sellers have all been roadblocks in this path.

    Besides, the procedure of buying a secondhand automobile is cumbersome and overly complicated. Independents provide a wide range of rates and services to entice people to buy automobiles of dubious quality. Choosing from a pool of mint and lemon autos, for example, has a high likelihood of bad selection for a beginner. All these provided a cradle for the birth of Spinny.

    Niraj Singh, an IIT-Delhi alumni, serial entrepreneur, and investor founded Spinny in 2015. His aim to alleviate young Indians’ automobile ownership woes led to the formation of the firm. Niraj invested $500,000 of his personal money into the company. He is now backed by numerous venture capital groups and has raised close to Rs 418 crore. Niraj saw a need to provide a quality experience for individuals buying used automobiles and decided to build a simple and clear platform for customers to collect information and purchase a car.

    Niraj Singh, Ramanshu Mahaur, Ganesh Pawar, and Mohit Gupta embarked on a mission to develop Spinny in order to sift out the quintessential problems of annoyance and skepticism and break down the arduous procedure into a one-click solution.

    Buyers may rest assured knowing that all of the cars on offer have been Spinny Certified, which means they have passed a thorough assessment by our expert inspectors. This guarantees that the buyer is fully informed about the vehicle’s condition and is making an educated selection. Buyers of Spinny-certified cars also benefit from a warranty on cars acquired via Spinny.

    In addition, the organisation handles all documentation, from registration to title transfers, as well as aiding purchasers with financing their new acquisition. Spinny has finally brought actual ease and a smoother transaction to the used automobile market for both buyers and sellers.

    The Spinny business initially started in Delhi NCR in 2015 and has seen quite a growth since then.

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    Spinny – Vision and Mission Statement

    Spinny’s mission is to make car ownership accessible, simple, and delightful.

    “Our goal is for the country to trust our method, believe in and enjoy our cars”, states the company’s website.

    “Only four percent of people are satisfied with their experience of buying a used car. We are providing trust, transparency, and simplicity. Our aim is that the buyer should be able to purchase the car with the same confidence that he or she shows while buying a new car,” added Niraj.

    Spinny – Business Model and Revenue Model

    Spinny, transitioned from a customer-to-customer model to a full-stack one in which it buys, refurbishes, and sells old cars. According to the creator and chief executive officer Niraj Singh, the website sells close to 1,500 automobiles every month and is increasing at a constant pace of 15-16% month over month. Spinny hopes to roughly triple its current volume by the end of the year 2021, according to Singh.

    “There was a lot more capital available, but we wanted limited dilution in this round because our burn is very limited. We don’t have a runaway problem. It was just that we wanted to add an extra layer of security and the ability to experiment more,” Singh said.

    Spinny has over 2 lakh customers and works with around 1000 people in over 11 cities, with ambitions to grow to 6 more by the end of the year, 2021. It now offers used cars in the INR 4-8 lakh range but intends to expand its services to include both cheaper and higher-priced vehicles.

    In 2024, Spinny startup sells over 7,000 cars each month. Spinny’s online sales have also increased by 13% to reach 70% of the total sales.

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    Spinny – Funding, and Investors

    Spinny raised around $513.5 million in funding over the 9 funding rounds it has witnessed to date. The last funding came in the form of an undisclosed funding round from Sachin Tendulkar after the huge Series E funding round on November 24, 2021, led by Tiger Global and Abu Dhabi Growth, which helped the company join the unicorn club of Indian companies. Currently valued at over $1.67B, as of December 2024, Spinny has already become the 4th Indian unicorn startup in the used car space and the 39th unicorn startup of India to achieve a unicorn valuation in 2021.

    Date Round Amount Lead Investors
    December 14, 2021 Funding Round – Sachin Tendulkar
    November 24, 2021 Series E $283M Tiger Global, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund
    Jul 9, 2021 Series D $103.30M Tiger Global Management
    Apr 7, 2021 Series C $65M General Catalyst
    Sep 27, 2019 Series B $43.7M Fundamentum
    May 21, 2019 Series A $13.2M Accel, Elevation Capital
    Nov 13, 2018 Debt Financing $4M Blume Ventures
    Jun 6, 2017 Seed Round $1M Blume Ventures

    Spinny – Shareholders

    Spinny shareholding as of November 2024 (source: Tracxn):

    Spinny Shareholders Percentage
    Niraj Singh 9.7%
    Mohit Gupta 2.6%
    Ramanshu Mahaur 2.6%
    Tiger Global Management 14.1%
    Elevation Capital 12.5%
    Accel 13.1%
    General Catalyst 6.6%
    ADFD 5.6%
    Fundamentum 5.2%
    Avenir Growth Capital 5.1%
    Blume Ventures 5.3%
    ESOP Pool 6.7%
    Others 10.9%
    Spinny Shareholders
    Spinny Shareholders

    Spinny – Acquisitions

    Acquiree Name About Acquiree Date Amount
    Scouto Scouto is an AI-powered connected car connectivity start-up. Feb 10, 2022 –
    Truebil Truebil is a team of young, highly motivated professionals who strive to help you buy and sell used cars in the simplest way possible. Aug 6, 2020 –
    HopCar HopCar is a provider of buy and sell car. Free Inspection. 15 days Sale Guarantee. Jun 13, 2016 –

    Spinny competes with its ESOP buyback for its current and former employees. The ESOP buyback plan announced on December 21, 2021, worth ($12 mn) INR 90 crores, was the first employee stock ownership plan that the company has seen to date.

    Spinny – Growth and Revenues

    • Top Car Preferences: Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz were the most popular in 2024.
    • Online Sales: 70% of purchases were made online in 2024.
    • Spinny Parks: 50% of deliveries were from new Spinny Parks in 2024.
    • Financing: 46% of buyers used Spinny Capital for financing in 2024.
    • Metro Growth: Bangalore, Delhi NCR, and Hyderabad saw the highest sales in 2024.

    Spinny – Financials

    Spinny’s financial performance from FY20 to FY24 shows strong revenue growth but continued losses. Revenue grew from INR 17.7 crore in FY20 to INR 3,821.9 crore in FY24, while expenses also increased, leading to a loss of INR 587.5 crore in FY24.

    Particulars FY24 FY23 FY22 FY21 FY20
    Revenue INR 3,821.9 crore INR 3,380.7 crore INR 180 crore INR 39.7 crore INR 17.7 crore
    Expenses INR 4,409 crore INR 4,196.1 crore INR 670 crore INR 150 crore INR 93.9 crore
    Profit/Loss INR -587.5 crore INR -815.5 crore INR -490 crore INR -110.3 crore INR -76.2 crore

    Revenue grew by INR 441.2 crore (13.05%) from FY23 to FY24. Expenses increased by INR 212.9 crore (5.07%), reducing the loss by INR 228 crore.

    Spinny Revenue:

    Spinny’s revenue grew from INR 3,380.7 crore in FY23 to INR 3,821.9 crore in FY24, mainly due to higher revenue from operations.

    Revenue Source FY24 FY23
    Revenue from operations INR 3,725 crore INR 3,259.8 crore
    Other income INR 96.8 crore INR 120.9 crore
    Total Revenue INR 3,821.9 crore INR 3,380.7 crore

    Revenue from operations increased by INR 465.2 crore (14.27%), while other income fell by INR 24.1 crore (19.93%).

    Spinny Expenses:

    Expenses rose from INR 4,196.1 crore in FY23 to INR 4,409 crore in FY24, driven by higher purchases of stock-in-trade and finance costs.

    Expense Type FY24 FY23
    Cost of materials consumed INR 90 crore INR 143.8 crore
    Purchases of stock-in-trade INR 3,495.2 crore INR 3,242.9 crore
    Changes in inventories of finished goods, WIP INR 8.4 crore INR (217.5) crore
    Employee benefit expense INR 391.7 crore INR 393.5 crore
    Finance costs INR 90.1 crore INR 67.7 crore
    Depreciation, depletion and amortisation expense INR 62.1 crore INR 77.9 crore
    Other expenses INR 271.5 crore INR 487.8 crore
    Total Expenses INR 4,409 crore INR 4,196.1 crore

    Purchases of stock-in-trade increased by INR 252.3 crore (7.78%), while other expenses decreased by INR 216.3 crore (44.34%).

    Spinny Profit/Loss:

    Spinny reduced its losses from INR 815.5 crore in FY23 to INR 587.5 crore in FY24 due to revenue growth and cost management.

    Profit Type FY24 FY23
    Gross profit/loss INR 326.7 crore INR 137.8 crore
    Operating profit/loss INR -497.4 crore INR -747.6 crore
    Net profit/(oss INR -587.5 crore INR -815.5 crore

    Gross profit increased by INR 188.9 crore (137.08%), and net loss reduced by INR 228 crore (27.96%).

    Quick Summary:

    • Revenue: Increased by 13.05% (INR 441.2 crore), driven by a rise in revenue from operations.
    • Expenses: Increased by 5.07% (INR 212.9 crore), mainly due to higher stock-in-trade purchases and finance costs.
    • Profit/Loss: Net loss was reduced by INR 228 crore (27.96%) due to improved gross profit and controlled expenses.
    Spinny Financials
    Spinny Financials

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    Spinny – LayOffs

    Spinny, a used car startup, had laid off 5% of its workforce, or around 300 employees in August 2023, as the company merged the Truebil and Max platforms into the main platform. The reason for the layoff is to have cleaner and more focused execution going forward and to offer everything to customers on the main platform.

    The company’s official statement on this “We have witnessed a sharp uptick in demand for reliable, budget-friendly cars as most people have resumed work from the office. By splitting our inventory of cars across different brand platforms, we were sometimes unable to offer enough options to such customers. With this consolidation, we should be able to meet the needs of these customers well.

    Spinny is providing affected employees with a three-month severance package, faster ESOP vesting, and the option to maintain their assets as a show of support.

    Spinny – Competitors

    • CarDekho
    • Droom
    • CARS24
    • CarTrade
    • CarWale
    • Creative Webmedia Pvt Ltd
    • Carnation
    • CheckGaadi
    • Chehaoduo
    • CapCar
    • Shift Technologies
    • and Carlypso, are the top ten rivals in Spinny’s competitive set.

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    Spinny – Challenges Faced

    The trust issue is one of the major worries consumers have when buying used automobiles, according to Niraj Singh, co-founder, and CEO of Spinny. The startup’s rigorous and transparent inspection of the car, buying it from the owner, and then selling it to clients, addresses those concerns, Singh adds.

    The business claims it is removing conventional intermediaries from the mix, making used car purchases more reasonable and reliable for clients. If a consumer is unhappy with the automobile they bought from Spinny, they will receive a complete refund.

    Spinny started out as a used automobile marketplace, but according to Singh, the company has grown to become a full-stack platform. The pandemic harmed Spinny’s company for a few months, according to Singh, but the startup has now restored its pre-pandemic growth rates.

    According to Singh, the outbreak of the deadly virus made many people wary about taking an Uber or Ola trip, prompting them to look into purchasing their own vehicles. Spinny’s CAC was also dramatically lowered, he claimed.

    Though Spinny is an evolving startup that has already achieved a unicorn valuation, it is facing tough competition from its rivals in the used car space. Therefore, surviving in one such landscape with cutthroat competition is itself a challenge that Spinny is battling against.

    Spinny – Future Plans

    Spinny doesn’t want to be just another participant in the market in the coming year; instead, it wants to be the catalyst for changing people’s perceptions about used vehicle purchases. According to Niraj, the goal is to create a seamless shopping experience that is consistent with openness, quality, responsibility, and trustworthiness.

    Spinny – FAQs

    What is Spinny?

    Spinny is an Indian used car buying and selling platform founded in 2015. It provides a seamless, transparent, and trusted process for purchasing and selling pre-owned cars.

    What does Spinny do?

    Spinny is a used car trading platform that aims to deliver affordable used cars via an easy and transparent process for everyone.

    Who founded Spinny?

    Spinny was founded by Niraj Singh, Ramanshu Mahaur, Mohit Gupta, and Ganesh Pawar.

    Spinny founded in which year?

    Spinny was launched in 2015.

    Which companies do Spinny compete with?

    CarDekho, Droom, CARS24, CarTrade, CarWale, Creative Webmedia Pvt Ltd, Carnation, CheckGaadi, Chehaoduo, CapCar, Shift Technologies, and Carlypso, are the top ten rivals in Spinny’s competitive set.

    What is Spinny business model?

    Spinny operates on a direct-to-customer (D2C) model for buying and selling used cars. It owns and inspects the cars, ensuring quality before selling them to customers through its online platform and physical hubs. This eliminates middlemen, offering competitive prices and a better customer experience. The company earns revenue from car sales, financing services, and value-added products like insurance and warranties.

    Who is Spinny CTO?

    Ramanshu Mahaur is the CTO of Spinny company.

  • Tata 1mg Startup Story: An Online Drug Delivery Platform

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

    An online pharmacy internet pharmacy, or mail-order pharmacy is a pharmacy that operates over the Internet and sends orders to customers through mail, shipping companies, or online pharmacy web portals. 1mg is a digital consumer healthcare platform, or an online pharmacy center, that makes healthcare accessible, understandable, and affordable.

    1mg was launched in April 2015 after Healthkart separated its generic drug search business, HealthkartPlus, and rebranded it as 1mg. It allows users to find information about medicines prescribed by doctors and also buy it online. Users can find medicines by ailments, class, companies, and brands.

    Let’s go through Tata 1mg’s Startup Story and get a glance at Tata 1mg funding, business model, company profile, turnover, growth, revenue model, founders & more.

    1mg – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Tata 1mg
    Headquarters Gurugram, Haryana, India
    Industry Healthcare
    Founded 2013
    Founders Prashant Tandon, Gaurav Agarwal, Vikas Chauhan
    CEO Prashant Tandon
    Area Served India
    Website www.1mg.com

    About Tata 1mg and How it Works?
    Tata 1mg – Logo and its Meaning
    Tata 1mg – Founder and History
    Tata 1mg – Mission
    Tata 1mg – Business Model
    Tata 1mg – Revenue and Growth
    Tata 1mg – Funding and Investors
    Tata 1mg – Acquisitions
    Tata 1mg – Competitors
    Tata 1mg – Awards and Recognitions
    Tata 1mg – Challenges Faced
    Tata 1mg – Future Plans

    Tata 1mg – About and How it Works?

    Tata 1mg is a developer of an online drug delivery platform intended to make healthcare accessible, understandable, and affordable.

    The company delivers medicines and health products online along with lab test booking, online consultations, and authentic information from healthcare professionals, thereby enabling customers to meet all their healthcare needs in one platform hassle-free.

    1mg.com brings to us, an online platform, which can be assessed for all our health needs. With AI being hailed as the technology of the future, every startup is trying to adapt it in some capacity to streamline and optimize their offerings. Tata 1mg recently started offering a feature, ‘Ask a Doctor,’ which is an intuitive chatbot that asks questions to accurately identify what the problem may be and shows the medicinal specializations under which the ailment may fall. Users can choose from one of them and a doctor, who can diagnose the problem via chat, is assigned to you.

    Tata Digital, a subsidiary of Tata Sons Private Ltd. acquired a major stake in 1mg to further widen the former’s digital offerings on June 10, 2021. Though the amount is still not disclosed by the source, the total valuation of 1mg was $400 million.

    Tata 1mg had the highest number of downloads (184.2K) among telemedicine startups during Jan 1-Feb 10, 2021, as per AppTweak data. It has invested in expanding its cold chain and in contact with vaccine makers for partnerships to participate in COVID-19 vaccination (when the government allows the private sector to get in)

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    Tata 1mg – Logo and its Meaning

    Tata 1mg is all about medicines and the basic unit for a medicine’s strength is measured in milligrams (mg). And to top it all, 1 MG Road was where the company’s first office was located.

    Tata 1mg Logo
    Tata 1mg Logo

    Tata 1mg – Founder and History

    Gurugram-headquartered e-pharmacy startup Tata 1mg (earlier as HealthKartPlus) was founded by Prashant Tandon, Gaurav Agarwal, and Vikas Chauhan in 2013.

    Founders of 1mg - Gaurav Agarwal, Vikas Chauhan, and Prashant Tandon
    Tata 1mg Founders – Gaurav Agarwal, Vikas Chauhan, and Prashant Tandon

    The website was started as HealthKartPlus, a platform for users to have all the information about the medicines. The platform became so popular and got a huge response from the public and users asked the company to start the delivery of the medicines too. Thus, Tata 1mg was started.

    Tata 1mg was launched in April 2015 after Healthkart separated its generic drug search business, HealthkartPlus, and rebranded it as 1mg. The company has three business verticals — Pharmaceuticals, Labs, and Doctors.

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    Tata 1mg – Mission

    The company’s mission is to make healthcare accessible, understandable, and affordable for one billion Indians through a comprehensive website and mobile app. Tata 1mg enables consumers to learn more about their medicines in addition to finding more cost-effective substitutes.

    Tata 1mg – Business Model

    Tata 1mg provides services like diagnostics, medicine, preventive healthcare, and online Q&A to its users. Apart from this, they also have native ads on their platforms for pharma companies. In the past year, The company has expanded its pharmacies to 600 cities and also expanded its product range to include homeopathy and Ayurveda range.

    The company used its app to spread information on medicines. They are using push notifications and emails to expand and let people know that they are living in their city. The company also uses offline advertisements depending on the city. They use newspaper advertisements and health camps to spread information. However, a majority of their marketing is digital.

    Tata 1mg makes money with online diagnostics and lab testing services. These account for a majority of their annual revenues. Online medicine delivery, B2B healthcare solutions, and subscription-based care plans form up the rest of their yearly finances.

    Tata 1mg – Revenue and Growth

    Tata 1mg Financials 2023 2024
    Operating Revenue INR 1627 crore INR 1968 crore
    Total Expenses INR 2894 crore INR 2303 crore
    Profit/Loss INR -1255 crore INR -313 crore
    1mg Financials FY24
    Tata 1mg Financials FY24

    In FY24, Tata 1mg’s operating revenue increased by approximately 21%, rising from INR 1627 crore in FY23 to INR 1968 crore. Total expenses decreased by about 20%, dropping from INR 2894 crore to INR 2303 crore. As a result, losses reduced significantly by nearly 75%, improving from INR 1255 crore to INR 313 crore.

    EBITDA

    FY23 FY24
    EBITDA Margin -71.66% -10.85%
    Expense/₹ of Op Revenue ₹1.78 ₹1.17
    ROCE -341.99 NA

    Tata 1mg saw strong and steady growth in FY23 without spending too much cash. FY23 was also its first full year under Tata Digital.

    1mg’s operating revenue jumped 2.5 times to INR 1,627 crore in FY23, up from INR 627 crore in FY22, as per its financial reports. Earlier, in FY22, the company had nearly doubled its revenue from INR 309 crore in FY21.

    As per regulatory filings, Tata 1mg’s total revenue was INR 369.3 crore in FY20, which is over a 77% jump from the company’s revenue which stood at INR 209.1 crore in FY19.

    Selling medicines online hasn’t been all easy as this space witnessed regulatory challenges back in 2019. While the Delhi High Court had ordered all state governments to ban the online sale of medicines in January last year, the central drug regulator had asked states to enforce a court directive prohibiting online medicine sales this month.

    Amidst this regulatory uncertainty, Gurugram-based Tata 1mg has demonstrated decent growth with a 2.8X jump in operating revenue. Registering 180% growth, it has posted a total operating revenue of INR 240.85 crore.

    The company collected Rs 39.45 crore from offering marketplace services and INR 68.3 crore through online diagnostics and lab testing services in the year ending March 2019. It also made INR 67.8 lakhs from collection charges.

    Importantly, the overall revenue from services grew 90.2% from INR 41.8 crores in FY18 to INR 79.5 crores in FY19. All services together accounted for a little over one-third of the total revenues generated by Tata 1mg during last fiscal in 2019.

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    Tata 1mg – Funding and Investors

    Tata 1mg has raised a total of $230.8 million in funding over 16 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Sep 6, 2022 from a Corporate Round led by Tata Digital. This funding round made Tata 1mg a unicorn as the company was valued $1.25 and $1.30 billion after raising $40 million in funding. Tata 1mg is funded by 10 lead investors. Tata Digital is the most recent investor.

    Tata 1mg funding details are as follows –

    Date Round Amount Lead Investors
    September 6, 2022 Corporate Round $40M Tata Digital
    April 19, 2021 Debt Financing $13.3M Tata Group
    Jul 3, 2020 Debt Financing $17.8M –
    Jan 31, 2020 Venture Round $9.48M Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
    Jun 28, 2019 Series D $70M Corisol Holding AG, International Finance Corporation
    Apr 5, 2019 Series D $10.3M Redwood Global Healthcare Fund
    Jan 1, 2019 Venture Round – InnoVen Capital
    Mar 1, 2018 Series C $10.1M Maverick Ventures
    Jul 26, 2017 Series C $15M HBM Healthcare Investments AG
    Jul 1, 2017 Series C $12.2M –
    Jun 30, 2017 Venture Round $10M HBM Healthcare Investments AG, Sequoia Capital India
    May 31, 2016 Venture Round – HBM Healthcare Investments AG
    April, 2021 Debt Financing $13.35M Tata Digital

    Tata 1mg – Acquisitions

    Tata 1mg has acquired 3 organizations. Their most recent acquisition was Dawailelo on Sep 1, 2017.

    Acquiree Name Date Amount About Acquiree
    Dawailelo Sep 1, 2017 – Dawailelo is a Varanasi-based healthcare startup that helps people connect with medical stores
    MediAngels Dec 14, 2016 – MediAngels delivers healthcare globally
    Medd.in July 5, 2016 – Medd.in is an online platform to book diagnostic and imaging tests

    Tata 1mg – Competitors

    Tata 1mg’s top competitors are Netmeds, Practo, Medlife, PharmEasy, Metarain Distributors Private Limited, HealthKart, CareOnGo, mChemist and BookMEDS.

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    Tata 1mg – Awards and Recognitions

    In 2014, just a year after they started off, Tata 1mg won the m-billionth award for m-health in South Asia. They were also recognized as the most promising healthcare startup by News Corp VCCircle. In 2016, Tata 1mg was acknowledged as the Best App in the medical category by Gmasa.

    They also won the award for the best online pharmacy in India at the International Quality Awards. They achieved the title ‘New Kid on the Block’ at the NDTV Unicorn Awards in the same year.

    Tata 1mg was recognized as one of the Top 50 ventures in the Smart CEO-Startup50 India 2017 program. By the year 2017, the company had grown by 600% in terms of the success of the Tata 1mg app and user engagement. They expanded their product range to encompass Ayurvedic medicines and homeopathy.

    Within the years 2016 and 2017, the company had raised 37 million dollars through 5 rounds of funding. In 2018, Tata 1mg won the BML Munjal Award for ‘Business Excellence through Learning and Development’. During the Content Leadership Awards in 2018, they won the title ‘Best Content in a Healthcare/Fitness App’. Tata 1mg was also recognized as the ‘Best Mobile Innovation for Health award ‘ at the India Mobile Congress.

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    Tata 1mg – Challenges Faced

    1mg was initially started as HealthKartPlus, a platform that aggregated medical information and sold alternative medicine to its users. The platform caught up quickly with the users and soon the users began asking for delivery of medicines to be included as well. At a time when information and awareness about medicines and lab tests were either minimal or non-existent, 1mg aimed to change it.

    Tata 1mg has a system in place where they onboard vendors onto the platform if they meet certain requirements like computerized inventory and invoicing, which makes end-to-end tracking easier for the customer. The startup can generate business even after strict government compliances which banned online pharmacies by making a prescription mandatory to make a purchase.

    Tata 1mg – Future Plans

    Aggressively moving towards its expansion plans, Tata 1mg has decided to expand the scope of its platform and is entering the alternate medicine space (AYUSH categories) through the acquisition of Homeobuy.com. Homeobuy is a web platform for homeopathy medicines.

    With this acquisition, Tata 1mg will re-brand the website to www.1mgAyush.com and make homeopathic & ayurvedic medicines available to customers in New Delhi. The Indian government has also been actively supporting and developing the AYUSH categories, as a strong system of medicine that has evolved over a long period of time.

    After Tata Digital’s acquisition of the majority stakes in Tata 1mg, the company announced that they are looking forward to promising 60-minute deliveries in selected locations around the country. Tata 1mg is known for 4-5 hour deliveries in a bunch of locations, which will also be extended to other locations as well.

    “We are the platform that stands for consumer health and we believe the alternate forms of medicines are equally important. Having seen the importance of these alternative forms of medicines and our government’s support in promoting them, we aim at creating an exhaustive platform for all health solutions. The business will continue to work on a marketplace network model and partner with quality vendors in this sector,” said Prashant Tandon.

    FAQs

    What is 1mg?

    1mg is a digital consumer healthcare platform that makes healthcare accessible, understandable, and affordable. It allows users to find information about medicines prescribed by doctors and also buy them. Users can find drugs by ailments, class, companies, and brands.

    Who is Tata 1mg founder?

    Prashant Tandon, Gaurav Agarwal, and Vikas Chauhan are the founders of 1 mg company.

    Who is the CEO of 1mg?

    Prashant Tandon is the CEO & Co-Founder at 1mg.

    How does 1mg make money?

    1mg makes money with online diagnostics and lab testing services. These account for a majority of their annual revenues. Online medicine delivery, B2B healthcare solutions, and subscription-based care plans form up the rest of their yearly finances.

    Is 1mg an Indian company?

    Yes, 1mg is India’s leading consumer health platform.

    How do you order medication 1mg?

    You can send the list of medicines, your full address, contact number, and valid prescription to order@1mg.com.

    Does Tata 1mg provides franchise opportunity?

    Tata 1mg provides a franchise model, enabling individuals to partner with the brand and open their own 1mg store.

  • Paper Boat: The Refreshing Success of a Bold Brand

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

    India is a land of diversity. This variance extends to language, culture, food, attire, and whatnot. From Jal-jeera, the popular drink of north India, to kokum sherbet, the specialty of Maharashtra, the Indian food culture is earmarked with different beverages as one traverses across the Indian geography. The entry of global beverage brands in the Indian market, complemented by the fact that traditional Indian drinks are not as easily available as packaged ones, has severely affected the popularity of these specialties.

    To ensure traditional Indian drinks don’t fall into oblivion, Paper Boat, a Gurugram-based startup is going above and beyond. It has now established itself as a well-known brand with a vision to preserve ethnic recipes through innovation. The Paper Boat company is also catering to local and personalized tastes.

    Paper Boat – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Paper Boat
    Headquarters Gurugram
    Founders Neeraj Kakkar, James Nuttall, Suhas Misra, and Neeraj Biyani
    Industry Juice and Beverages
    Founded 2009
    Parent Organization Hector Beverages
    Website paperboatdrinks.com

    Paper Boat – About
    Paper Boat – Target Market Size
    Paper Boat – Founders And Team
    Paper Boat – History And Launch
    Paper Boat – Name, Tagline, And Logo
    Paper Boat – Products
    Paper Boat – Funding And Investors
    Paper Boat – Marketing Strategies
    Paper Boat – Startup Challenges
    Paper Boat – Competitors
    Paper Boat – Partnership
    Paper Boat – Acquisitions
    Paper Boat – Growth
    FAQs

    Paper Boat – About

    Hector Beverages was founded in 2009 by Neeraj Kakkar. The Paper Boat company was launched by Hector Beverages in 2013. Before launching it, Hector Beverages launched ‘Frissia‘, a protein drink, followed by the energy drink ‘Tzinga‘ in 2011.

    With the launch of Paper Boat juice company, in 2013, Hector Beverages shifted its focus to the traditional Indian drinks segment. Paper Boat is India’s fastest-growing consumer brand today, selling 11 different traditional-nostalgic Indian foods and beverages such as Aam Panna, jaljeera, chikki, and much more.

    Paper Boat, the juice company has distributors all over India with 48 SKUs. The single-serving flexible packages use Doypack, and interestingly, NASA uses the same for sending beverages with astronauts. In August 2019, the company collaborated with Tetra Pak and introduced holographic packaging for two of its juice variants: Alphonso Aamras and pomegranate juice. This new packaging is both appealing and easy to hold.

    Paper Boat also offers seasonal drinks like thandai, serbet-e-khaas, rose tamarind, and panakam. The company has carved a niche and is targeting Indians in other countries.

    Paper Boat – Target Market Size

    In 2024, the India Packaged Juice Market size is projected to reach a valuation of USD 1,309.22 million. Growing at a CAGR of 6.4% from 2024 to 2033, it is expected to reach USD 2,211.90 million by 2033.

    Paper Boat – Founders And Team

    Neeraj Kakkar, James Nuttall, Suhas Misra, and Neeraj Biyani form the founding team of Paper Boat.

    Founders of Paper Boat (Neeraj Kakkar, Neeraj Biyani, James Nutall and Suhas Misra)
    Founders of Paper Boat (Neeraj Kakkar, Neeraj Biyani, James Nutall and Suhas Misra)

    Neeraj Kakkar is the CEO of Hector Beverages. Before Hector Beverages, Neeraj had an impressive stint with Coca-Cola for around 8 years. He is a graduate of Wharton Business School. Neeraj was a bright student and was a Palmer scholar at the University of Pennsylvania’s business program.

    Neeraj Biyani is the co-founder and COO. He is an SRCC and MDI alumnus; Neeraj considers N. R. Narayana Murthy as his inspira­tion. Neeraj worked with Agro Tech Foods Limited and Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. before joining Hector Beverages.

    James Nutall is the co-founder of Paper Boat and was the CFO. James is also a Wharton alumnus. After pursuing his chemical engineering from Brigham University, he worked with Dow Chemicals for six years. James exited the company in 2015.

    Suhas Misra is the co-founder and Director at Hector Beverages. Suhas did his MBA from IIM Calcutta (class of 2003) and joined Coca-Cola from campus. He moved to Nokia in 2005 before starting ChannelPlay, India’s first integrated sales process outsourcing company (www.channelplay.in), in 2006.

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    Paper Boat – History And Launch

    The idea for Paper Boat blossomed during an office lunch between the co-founders in the early years. As they were mulling over potential business ideas, the flask of Aam Panna that Suhas Misra’s mother would pack him every day ignited a thought. Commercial production of ethnic Indian drinks, hitherto unavailable in the market, struck well with all.

    Hector Beverages, the parent company of Paper Boat, established its first production plant in Manesar in 2009. However, the Manesar plant couldn’t keep up with increasing demand. The plant also didn’t have the facilities for the manufacture of coconut water and sugarcane juice, drinks that the company was looking forward to launch. This led to the setting up of a second, much larger manufacturing unit in Mysore, Karnataka in 2014. While the Manesar plant has a production capacity of 80 bottles/minute, the Mysore plant is capable of 380 bottles/minute.

    Paper Boat Juice Company
    PaperBoat Logo

    The name Paper Boat was coined by design and brand consultancy Elephant Design. Two other names suggested by Elephant Design were Good Ol’ and Lost and Found. In the end, Paper Boat was chosen as it evoked childhood memories of kids drinking nimbu-pani, sherbet, etc.

    Sources at Elephant Design revealed that the name ‘Paper Boat’ was inspired by a well-known Jagjit Singh gazal, ‘Who Kagaj Woh Kagaz Ki Kashti Wo Barish Ka Pani’ by Sudarshan Faakir.

    Paper Boat’s tagline is ‘drinks and memories’.

    Paper Boat – Products

    Paper Boat company offers more than 11 types of ethnic drinks and juices: Jal jeera, aam Panna, aam ras, Alphonso aam, Jamun Kala khatta, chilli guava, nimbu pani, kokum, neer more, kanji, sugarcane juice, lychee ras, apple, and orange. It also has a range of milk-based beverages like buttermilk, badam milk, and thandai. The brand also launched coconut water in 2018. Apart from these, Paper Boat produces two seasonal drinks associated with Indian festivals—Panakam (available during Ram Navami) and Sherbet-e-Khas (available during Eid).

    In 2017, the brand expanded its offering by launching its drinks in 1 liter Tetra Prisma Aseptic cartons, replacing the 500 ml packs. This move widened the brand’s reach to include the multi-serve category.

    Hector Beverages entered the traditional Indian food sector in 2016. Besides the Paper Boat drinks, Hector Beverages’ products include traditional delicacies like peanut chikki, banana chips, aam papad, bakarwadi, namak para, gur para, and shakar para. For producing chikki, the company procures groundnuts directly from a farmers’ collective near Rajkot at the fair-trade minimum price. Paper Boat chikki is a fair-trade product, a certification to attest that everyone involved in the making of a product is fairly employed and paid.

    Hector Beverages uses a priority customer feedback analytics platform to survey customers on a large scale through WhatsApp. Most of the recipe modifications are made after conclusions are derived from the survey.

    “Our intellectual property is the recipe. A small decimal change in pressure or temperature can alter the taste of our product and the unique differentiation can be lost”, said Neeraj Biyani, Co-founder and COO.

    Paper Boat – Funding And Investors

    Paper Boat has raised a total of $153.4 Million in funding 15 rounds. Its latest funding of $48.5 million was raised on August 25, 2022, from a Series C funding round.

    Date Stage Amount Investors
    August 2022 Series C $48.5 million GIC
    July 2020 Series C $3.8 million Sofina
    February 2020 Debt Financing $1.3 million Trifecta Capital Advisors
    November 2019 Venture Round $2.7 million A91 Partners, Advent International
    March 2019 Venture Round $1.5 million A91 Partners
    November 2016 Venture Round $3 million –
    July 2015 Series C $28.7 million Hillhouse Capital Group, Sofina
    May 2013 Series B $8 million Sequoia Capital India
    May 2011 Series A $2.5 million –

    The company boasts of Narayana Murthy as one of its investors. Paper Boat issued 10 million compulsorily convertible debentures to A91 Partners on a preferential basis at INR 10.

    Paper Boat – Marketing Strategies

    As a brand relying on age-old recipes and memories, Paper Boat’s marketing strategy revolves around nostalgia, childhood, and innocence. The company’s beverages are drinks that consumers grew up drinking and carry a strong association with.

    Their television advertising campaign comprises a series of simple, evocative ads that reflect childhood nostalgia. Paper Boat’s debut campaign was penned and narrated by the renowned poet and lyricist Gulzar; the latter campaign was written by lyricist Swanand Kirkire.

    Apart from its television ads, the brand has also released a range of short films celebrating childhood memories and nostalgia as part of the Paper Boat marketing strategy. ‘Ride Down the River of Memories’, ‘Waiting for Ma’, ‘My Struggles with the Treasure Chest’, and ‘Hum Honge Kamyab’ (We shall Overcome) are all short films aimed at bringing out the child in us. The videos used animation, narration, and strong characterization to tell a moving tale.

    As an extension of its marketing campaign, Paper Boat has also ventured into book publishing. It has published reprints of the classics ‘Three Men in a Boat’ and ‘Jungle Book’; these were given away with the beverages in gift boxes and sales offers.

    In 2017, the brand published Half Pants Full Pants by Anand Suspi, a collection of real-life tales about growing up in Shimoga.

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    Paper Boat – Startup Challenges

    Limited distribution is one of the biggest challenges for Paper Boat. In terms of design restrictions, the team faced issues when it came to the colors. Paper Boat’s personality is in sync with the colors on the pack. On a doypack, the colors react differently. But the substrate on Tetra Pak is different. This was an obstacle.

    Paper Boat – Competitors

    PaperBoat’s major competitors are Dabur India, PepsiCo, Coca Cola, B Natural, and Nourishco.

    While Dabur India has entered the functional drink market with aam panna, beverage giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have also ventured into the non-carbonated drinks space. B Natural, an ITC-owned brand, is posing competition for Paper Boat through a wide variety of Indian beverages made without the use of any concentrate. Noursihco, a joint venture between Tata Global Beverages Pvt. Ltd. and Pepsico India Holdings Pvt. Ltd., is giving serious challenge to Paper Boat.

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    Paper Boat – Partnership

    The company has partnered with Indo Nissin Foods Japanese giant Indo Nissin Foods to expand into suburban and rural areas. This collaboration aims to boost Paper Boat’s distribution and brand presence in tier-II cities and beyond. Paper Boat is also partnering with large e-commerce and grocery delivery companies to make sure its products are available to everyone at all times.

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    Paper Boat – Acquisitions

    Tata Global Beverages wanted to acquire Paper Boat in February 2018, but the deal didn’t progress.

    Paper Boat – Growth

    In 2017, Paper Boat reported sales of $9.5 million (INR 69 crore) in 2016-17. Paper Boat’s total revenue grew by 70% to $16.25 million (INR 118 crore) in 2017-18. In the financial year 2019, Hector Beverages posted a revenue of $26.1 million (INR 189.56 crore), a 62% increase from $16.1 million (INR 116.94 crore) in FY18. In FY19, the company also managed to marginally cut down its losses by 1.92% to $8.2 million (INR 59.88 crore) from $8.4 million (INR 61.03 crore) in FY18.

    Hector Beverages, the maker of Paper Boat has reported a 20% increase in the financial year 2020. The company’s revenue grew from $26.8 million (INR 195 Cr) in the financial year 2019 to $32.3 million (INR 235 Cr) in the financial year 2020.

    Hector Beverages’ valuation was $120.8 million (INR 876 crore) in March 2019. Paper Boat has two factories that produce up to 10 million pouches per month.

    As per November 2018 stats, the company distributes its products in over 50,000 outlets and exports them to over 10 countries. The company is moving to America, Britain, France, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, U.A.E, and Malaysia since Indian origin individuals reside in these countries in huge numbers.

    In India, significant business for Paper Boat comes from six cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai.

    Financials

    Paper Boat Financials FY23 FY24
    Operating Revenue INR 504 crore INR 584.9 crore
    Total Expenses INR 599.1 crore INR 642.3 crore
    Profit/Loss Loss of INR 90.56 crore Loss of INR 47.14 crore
    Paper Boat Financials
    Paper Boat Financials

    In 2024, Paper Boat’s revenue from operations increased by 16.1%. The company reported revenue of INR 585 crore in FY24 which is a hike up from INR 504 crore in FY23. Paper Boat’s total expenditure also rose by a marginal 7.2% to INR 642.3 crore in FY24, a slight increase from the previous year, which was INR 599.1 crore in FY23. The company on the other hand did manage to lower its losses significantly, from INR 90.56 crore in FY23 to INR 47.14 crore in FY 24. Which is an impressive 47.9% decline from the previous financial year.

    Paper Boat Short Film

    FAQs

    Is paper boat an Indian company?

    Paper Boat is India’s fastest-growing consumer brand, selling different traditional Indian beverages and foods.

    Who is the founder of Paper Boat?

    Neeraj Kakkar, James Nuttall, Suhas Misra, and Neeraj Biyani are founders of Paper Boat.

    Why is paper boat called paper boat?

    Paper Boat” is reminiscent of playing with paper boats as a childhood memory. It’s a nostalgic feeling. The company’s name revolves around this nostalgia.

    What is special about paper boat?

    The company’s aim is to preserve traditional recipes of India using innovation to make ethnic Indian drinks. Paper Boat does not use artificial coloring or preservatives in its products.

  • Wellversed: A Wellness Startup Helping in Creating and Scaling Consumer Brands

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

    The demand for health and wellness products is steadily growing. Research shows that an average Indian millennial spends over 3000 per month on their fitness and wellness. Digitalization has been quite influential in generating awareness of the common public about human wellness. The growing wellness industry has attracted many brands to come up with good and genuine wellness products. Entrepreneurs and startups are focusing on developing authentic wellness products that could contribute to the spectrum of human wellness.

    Wellversed is a startup that helps in building and scaling the business in the wellness industry. They help in accelerating the growth of wellness brands. Popular Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh is associated with Wellversed in its startup journey.

    Listen to Aanan Khurma telling the story of Wellversed in an interview with StartupTalky on Epic Brands Podcast

    Read further to know about Wellversed, its founders, products & services, business model, and more.

    Wellversed – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Wellversed
    Headquarters Gurgaon, Haryana
    Industry B2C and Wellness
    Founder Aanan Khurma, Aditya Seth, and Ripunjay Chachan
    Founded 2019
    Total Funding Raised $3.2 Million
    Website wellversed.in

    Wellversed – About
    Wellversed – Industry
    Wellversed – Founders and Team
    Wellversed – The Idea and Startup Story
    Wellversed – Name, Tagline, and Logo
    Wellversed – Products & Services
    Wellversed – Business Model
    Wellversed – Customer Acquisition
    Wellversed – Challenges Faced
    Wellversed – Funding
    Wellversed – Competitors
    Wellversed – Recognition and Achievements
    Wellversed – Future Plans

    Wellversed – About

    Wellversed is a full-stack accelerator for wellness brands. Wellversed startup accelerate wellness brands from their infancy to building them into strong world-class brands that enable better wellbeing. They enable founders to build genuine wellness brands by accelerating sales growth, strengthening the product-market fit, improving the supply chain, providing investment support, building the brand story, and improving key metrics, and M&A opportunities.

    Short term goal of the startup is to accelerate 1000 wellness brands by 2025, invest in 100 wellness brands by 2025, and acquire 10 wellness brands by 2025. It has a long-term vision to maximize human wellness by enabling genuine wellness brands.

    Wellversed – Industry

    The global wellness market is at more than $1.5 trillion per year, with annual growth of 5 to 10%. In fact, the rate of growth of the wellness industry is in double digits in the developing economy. 60% of this market is contributed by wellness brands while the remaining is contributed by services.

    Wellversed – Founders and Team

    Wellversed - Founders with Yuvraj Singh
    Wellversed – Founders with Yuvraj Singh

    Aanan was a fellow at the Stanford Biodesign School in 2012. As an alumnus of Stanford Biodesign, Aanan Khurma used to conduct a lot of Design Thinking workshops to disseminate the ideology of Stanford D-School to college students. It was during the organization of one such workshop that Aanan met Aditya Seth who was an industrial design student inclined toward designing manufacturing assembly lines. Both of them launched a brand together called Unsnack which was one of the early D2C brands in the Indian ecosystem. Both of them were later joined by Ripunjay Chachan who was Aanan’s batchmate at Stanford Biodesign. Yuvraj Singh was a consumer of the products crafted and traded by Wellversed before he decided to invest in Wellversed and later become a part of the core team of Wellversed.

    Aanan is the CEO of the Company and is primarily responsible for Business Intelligence, Defining Long Term Goals, and probably one of the only CEOs who directly leads the Human Resources department. Aditya Seth leads the supply chain while Ripunjay Chachan leads Business Growth. Yuvraj Singh is the chief evangelist and flag bearer of the message of health and wellbeing.

    As of June 2022, Wellversed has a total of 150 employees.

    Wellversed – The Idea and Startup Story

    The company started out as a personal quest to maximize healthspan. The human body is designed to live up to 120 years of age but most people become dysfunctional by 65-70 years of age. Aanan Khurma realized that people can live a disease-free life of quality, vigor, and intensity if their lifestyle is right. He realized that consumer brands are not optimizing for the long-term well-being of human beings. This led him to launch his first brand called Unsnack. Subsequently, he launched several brands like Ketofy, Ovego, and Wellcore to cater to different use-cases of wellness.

    These brands were unified under the common umbrella of Wellversed Full-Stack Accelerator structure evolved to help great founders create genuine wellness brands.

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    Wellversed Logo
    Wellversed Logo

    There is a very interesting story behind the name of the Company. Aanan’s first startup – Hansure – was funded by Microsoft Ventures. When he was going through the journey of formulating what is now Wellversed he was exchanging ideas with the Director of Microsoft Venture Fund. The Director asked Aanan to send a small note about his startup in order to make a connection with a probable seed investor. As an interim thought, Aanan penned down the name Wellversed in order for this connection to be made and the conversation to proceed further. The Company was never renamed although the name is difficult to pronounce and several stakeholders have pointed out that it’s an awkward name. Since Wellversed platform is not primarily consumer-facing, they never thought it would be relevant to rename the Company.

    Wellversed – Products & Services

    Wellversed Product - Ketofy
    Wellversed Product – Ketofy

    Wellversed is a tech-enabled full-stack accelerator for wellness brands. They assist founders in their journeys to build and scale genuine wellness brands. A great consumer brand is built through only THREE things:

    • A solution that serves a need.
    • A product that is great.
    • A brand story to carry the message to the masses.

    In a typical scenario, running a brand has so many operational components to it that a founder is not able to focus on the core aspects of creating a brand. Wellversed relieves founders from all the operational hassle of selling their products. This includes eCommerce Operations, Performance Marketing, Listing Operations, Warehousing & Logistics, etc. This allows founders to build genuine products to solve a real problem and craft a story that resonates. Wellversed is accelerating 40 wellness brands as of June 2022.

    Wellversed – Business Model

    The business model of Wellversed is centred on accelerating brands and charging them a percentage of their growth revenue. Their EBITA margins are close to 18-20%.

    Wellversed – Customer Acquisition

    They didn’t have a website for 6 months after they started selling to end consumers. They primarily relied on third-party eCommerce channels like Amazon.

    Their only hack was discipline and diligence. Most companies talk about consumer centricity but Aanan and Aditya actually spoke to most consumers to whom they sold. Back then, sellers could access the phone numbers of consumers who ordered via Amazon.

    Wellversed – Challenges Faced

    They took a very unique approach to create a group of brands that maximise human wellness. When they started, this concept and way of building multiple brands were not well understood. The toughest part was the impact that people’s limited understanding had on their own mindset.

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    Wellversed – Funding

    As of 2022, Wellversed has raised 3.2 Million USD through Jubilant Foodworks, Yuvraj Singh, other entities, and angels.

    Wellversed – Competitors

    Some top competitors of Wellversed are:

    • Mensa Brands
    • Global Bees
    • Evenflow
    • Powerhouse91
    • Thrasio
    • SellerX
    • Perch
    • Heydey

    Wellversed – Recognition and Achievements

    Their achievement is the culture of the Company. They believe that great things are achieved through distributed intelligence and the first step to that is creating trust on an individual level. Systems like beehives, ant colonies, and the human brain are regarded as some of the most complicated structures in the universe. The commonality between these biological systems is that they do not have a single intelligence centre. The fact is that the most cooperative, intelligent, and admirable biological systems in the universe have been created by distributed intelligence. This is noteworthy because an individual needs to operate by a minimal set of rules in a distributed intelligence system.

    Wellversed – Future Plans

    The Future of Wellversed is to evolve into a City of wellness entrepreneurs crafting brands for true maximisation of human wellness.

    FAQs

    When was Wellversed founded?

    Wellversed was founded in 2019.

    Who is the founder of Wellversed?

    Aanan Khurma, Aditya Seth, and Ripunjay Chachan are the co-founders of Wellversed.

    Who are the competitors of Wellversed?

    Some top competitors of Wellversed are:

    • Mensa Brands
    • Global Bees
    • Evenflow
    • Powerhouse91
    • Thrasio
    • SellerX
    • Perch
    • Heydey

    Has Wellversed raised funding?

    Wellversed has raised funding of $3.2 Million.

  • LocoNav – An Indian Fleet-Tech Company that is Simplifying Fleet Management Worldwide

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

    For any business that involves the transportation of goods, managing its fleet of vehicles is a major task. From accidents, and inefficient driving to theft, the risks involved in transportation are many. Though businesses understood this very well, they were not technically strong enough to manage their fleet until the invention of GPS. While some big corporates employed electronically processed management mechanisms for their fleets, things were not as simple and accessible as today. Post the development of GPS technology, fleet management started becoming easier, with the addition of new and innovative functionalities.

    Fast Forward to today Fleet Management is a full-proof system that tracks everything from the real-time location of your vehicle; fuel,  mileage, and maintenance-related data of your vehicle; the driving behavior of the driver, and so on.

    Fleet Management Companies has come up with innovative features and services that have made fleet management easier than ever before. In this article let’s introduce you to one such homegrown Fleet management company that is all set to make a mark Globally by offering a plethora of services that simplifies fleet management for businesses in 30+ countries across the globe. Here is the success story of Gurugram-based, LocoNav.

    LocoNav – Company Highlights

    Company Name LocoNav
    Headquarters Gurugram
    Sector SaaS & Fleet Management
    Founders Shridhar Gupta & Vidit Jain
    Founded 2015
    Website loconav.com

    About LocoNav
    LocoNav – Founders & CEO
    LocoNav – Startup Story
    LocoNav – Tagline & Logo
    LocoNav – Mission & Vision
    LocoNav – Business Model & Revenue Model
    LocoNav – Funding & Investors
    LocoNav – Competitors
    LocoNav – Growth & Future Plans

    About LocoNav

    LocoNav claims to be one of the world’s fastest-growing fleet-tech companies and offer a 360-degree fleet management solution. LocoNav’s fleet management software lets businesses manage all their fleet-related tasks from a single platform. With LocoNav, users can easily monitor their vehicles and rest assured that the vehicles are protected and are efficient on road. Here are some of the interesting features of the LocoNav software –

    • Fleet Lock. This feature lets users control the vehicle lock from LocoNav’s Vehicle Tracking app and ensure that the vehicles do not start without the consent of the owner.
    • Live alerts on overspeeding, idle time, service & maintenance needs of the vehicle.
    • Fleet Maintainance becomes easy with Loconav’s reports on the mileage and overall health of the vehicles.
    • Monitor the real-time location of the vehicles.
    • User-friendly video telematics solutions that let users view real-time video footage of the vehicles on road and thus keep track of the driver and guide him if required. The camera installed on the vehicles’ dashboard comes with active sensors that save vehicles from possible collisions.

    LocoNav also offers FASTag services in India. The ‘Vahan Jankari’ option available in the Loconav app allows fleet owners and operators to check all required details about the vehicles like registration details, e-challan details, etc which ensures that the documents related to the vehicle are all updated, and the vehicles do not get stopped by authorities. Loconav’s AIS 140 Certified GPS Trackers services can be used for tracking cars, buses, trucks, and school buses.

    LocoNav has a very easy-to-use interface, and the platform is available in English, Indian regional languages like Hindi, Punjabi, etc, and other international languages like Arabic, Spanish, Thai, and Bahasa.

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    LocoNav – Founders & CEO

    Shridhar Gupta & Vidit Jain founded LocoNav in 2015.

    Shridhar Gupta

    Shridhar is the co-founder of LocoNav. He began his career as a Brand Management Intern at ITC Limited. Shridhar Gupta also co-founded health care startups viz. DNG Enterprises and Fitho wellness. Fitho wellness got acquired by Practo in 2015. Before co-founding Loconav, Shridhar was the head of the Partnerships & Sales department at ClearTax. He is a BBA in Marketing from Jadavpur University. Shridhar completed his schooling at St James School, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

    Vidit Jain

    Vidit Jain is the co-founder of LocoNav. Before co-founding LocoNav, he was the Lead Engineer at ClearTax. Vidit Jain worked at Vinsol as a Software Developer and began his career at GREEN ADD+ as a Research Fellow. Vidit was also the Founding engineer of the automated marketing platform Bizzy.io.He pursued his B.Tech degree from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and completed his schooling at Lancer’s Convent.

    Samit Shrivastav

    In September 2021 Samit Shrivastav was appointed the CEO (SaaS Global & Chief Business Officer) of LocoNav. Samit has years of experience managing businesses of established brands like Perfetti Van Melle, HealthKart, Jubliant Life Sciences Ltd., and Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd.

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    LocoNav – Startup Story

    It was in 2015 when Vidit and Shridhar were working at Cleartax, that they stumbled upon a startup idea, which lead to the launch of BabaTrucks in 2016. BabaTrucks was an online marketplace that connected truck and fleet owners to customers. Vidit and Shrihar started to realize that fleet management was a big issue for the vehicle owners, and fleet management services can be of great help for them. Thus, BabaTrucks pivoted to become a fleet management company, LocoNav. The platform BabaTrucks is still operational as a website where users can find news and reviews about trucks, and get tyres, engines, GPS devices, Fastags, auto loans, and insurance just with a click.

    LocoNav Logo
    LocoNav Logo

    LocoNav’s website displays the following slogan – “Fleets Move Our World. We Help Them Move Safely and Efficiently”

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    LocoNav – Mission & Vision

    LocoNav is on a mission to democratize access to fleet technology for every commercial vehicle in the emerging world. The company is working to eliminate the roadblocks of the commercial vehicle industry and is in the process of developing new products and services suite to do so.

    LocoNav – Business Model & Revenue Model

    LocoNav services can be availed both for personal and commercial vehicles. The company offers fleet management services to big and small businesses and the charges for the services vary based on fleet size and customer requirements. As per the website, the charges are levied on an annual basis. Loconav has clients across industries like Transportation & Logistics, Food & Beverage, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Construction, Passenger, and transit.

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    LocoNav – Funding & Investors

    LocoNav has raised a total amount of $44.4 Million in funding over 5 rounds.

    Date Transaction Name Money Raised Lead Investors
    June 29, 2021 $37 Million Anthemis Group, Sequoia Capital India & Quiet Capital
    Oct 1, 2020 $37 Million Anthemis Group, Sequoia Capital India & Quiet Capital
    September 9, 2019 Series B – –
    May 23, 2019 Series B $4 Million Sequoia Capital
    December 8, 2017 Series A $3.4 Million Sequoia Capital

    21 Investors have invested in LocoNav including RIT Capital Partners, Uncorrelated Ventures, Quiet Capital, Musha Ventures, and angel investors like Anand Chandrasekaran, Anjali Joshi, and Abhi Ingle

    LocoNav – Competitors

    Some of the top competitors of LocoNav are Fleetio, Samsara, and Trimble.

    Fleetio

    Fleetio is one of the top competitors of LocoNav. This company is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and was launched in 2012.

    Samsara

    Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, USA, Samsara was founded in 2015. Besides fleet management, Samsara also helps businesses manage their equipment, site, and more using technologies like IoT and AI.

    Trimble Transport & Logistics

    This company is headquartered at Lepers, West Flanders (Belgium), and was founded in 1985. Trimble helps users keep track of fleet, besides field service management and construction logistics tracking.

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    LocoNav – Growth & Future Plans

    Growth-wise, LocoNav has achieved much. As per the company’s website,  the company has served 30+ countries and has served over 5 Million vehicles. The company boasts of over 90k happy customers.

    In terms of revenueLocoNav’s operational revenue (revenue from the sale of goods and services) for the fiscal year, 2017-18 stands at INR 2.29 Cr. In FY 2016-2017, the company reported INR 1.21 Cr in operational revenue.

    LocoNav’s revenue has also been impacted by Covid. Revenue for the Calendar Year 2020 stood at USD 2.84M down from 5.04M in the Calendar Year 2019.

    One of the major achievements of the company is that it was EBITDA positive even during the time of the pandemic.

    The company wants to connect to its existing and potential customers via multiple touchpoints spread across the areas where LocoNav is offering its services. In India Loconav’s post-sales touchpoint and network are available to all pincodes across the country. The company wants to have more touchpoints in other countries of operation as well.

    LocoNav is looking forward to establishing itself as a leading player in the developing market.  

    “We aim to bring a radical change in emerging markets where no more than 30 percent of the 250million commercial vehicles use any form of fleet management tech. This is because the end customer perceives using fleet technology as an additional cost rather than a driver of business growth. To build a democratized and accessible fleet-tech brand in these markets our first step is to understand market-specific challenges and motivations to build an awareness campaign.” said founders Shridhar and Vidit in an interview emphasizing on the company’s plans.

    LocoNav – FAQS

    What LocoNav do?

    LocoNav offers fleet management solutions that help users keep track of everything from the health status of their vehicles to the live location, how the vehicle is being driven, and much more. All in all LocoNav makes fleet management a smooth and stress-free affair.

    When was LocoNav founded?

    LocoNav was founded in 2015 by Vidit Jain and Shridhar Gupta.

    How LocoNav makes money?

    LocoNav has many fleet owners as clients. The charges vary from client to client based on their requirements and fleet size.

  • Milkbasket Success Story – Hyperlocal Grocery Delivery App

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

    With a rising number of startups and the presence of many existing players in the industry, the customer acceptance of home delivery services is growing leaps and bounds. Living in the current era, we are surrounded by an increasing number of eCommerce platforms that offer almost everything and deliver all of these things right at our doorsteps.

    It is true that most of our daily needs are satisfied by the old and the newer players that are dominating the home delivery services, but for some of our daily needs, which are always in demand, like fresh milk, groceries, we often find a crunch, even if it is for a specific product. This is why many startups have solely dedicated their businesses to meet the growing requirements, thereby aiming to achieve a demand-supply equilibrium. One such startup that aims to take care of the fresh supply of milk and more is Milkbasket.

    Milkbasket is a subscription-based micro-delivery service that provides customers with the regular dairy necessities and household needs each morning. Within the first six months of its launch, Milkbasket claimed to have shipped 30 million orders.

    Founded by Anant Goel, Anurag Jain, Ashish Goel, and Yatish Talavdia in 2015, Milkbasket is a Haryana-based company that is currently owned and operated by Reliance Industries, when the latter acquired 96.49% stakes in Aaidea Solutions Private Limited Milkbasket parent in October 2021.

    Know more about Milkbasket’s startup story, business model, funding, revenue, growth, and more in the article ahead!

    Milkbasket – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Milkbasket
    Legal Name Doorstep Retail Solutions Pvt Ltd
    Headquarters Gurugram, India
    Industry Delivery Services, E-Commerce, Food and Beverage
    Founder Anant Goel, Anurag Jain, Ashish Goel, Yatish Talavdia
    Founded 2015
    Revenue $42.51 mn (INR 322 crore in FY2020)
    Total Funding $78.5 million (Feb 2021)
    Parent Organization Reliance Retail Ventures Limited
    Website milkbasket.com

    Milkbasket – Recent News
    About Milkbasket and How it Works?
    Milkbasket – Industry
    Milkbasket – Name, Logo and Tagline
    Milkbasket – Founders and Team
    Milkbasket – Startup Story
    Milkbasket – Vision and Mission
    Milkbasket – Business Model
    Milkbasket – Revenue and Growth
    Milkbasket – Funding and Investors
    Milkbasket – Competitors
    Milkbasket – Challenges Faced
    Milkbasket – Future Plans
    Milkbasket – FAQs

    Milkbasket – Conquering India’s Operational Complexities

    Milkbasket – Recent News

    October 23, 2021 – Reliance Industries’ subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd completes the acquisition of Milkbasket by acquiring 96.49% stakes in the company.

    August 28, 2021 – Milkbasket, a daily grocery delivery app, has advanced its bid to go public in the second half of 2021, boosted by solid market growth in recent months despite the pandemic, according to a top company executive.

    “Milkbasket has a near-perfect record of reaching growth targets since being founded in 2015. The rapid adoption of at-home grocery delivery amongst consumers due to the pandemic has provided us with an impetus to target IPO in just a year, which we had initially planned for the year 2023,” Anant Goel (Milkbasket co-founder and CEO) said.

    About Milkbasket and How it Works?

    Milkbasket is a Gurugram-based company that creates an online grocery network to meet consumers’ everyday household needs.

    The company provides a simple delivery system that delivers milk, bread, eggs, butter, juices, and other everyday necessities and basic dairy amenities to users’ doorsteps every morning. The platform also allows them to keep track of daily expenditures, schedule vacation time off, and easily build repeat orders every day.

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    Milkbasket – Industry

    The Covid-19 pandemic has created a huge growth opportunity for the online grocery delivery sector, which predicted that India’s online grocery market could reach $3 billion in 2020, up from $1.7 billion in 2019. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 37.1% from 2021 to 2028. The industry was valued at USD 2.9 billion in 2020. It has gained tremendous traction since 2020.

    Milkbasket – Name, Logo and Tagline

    ‘Milkbasket’ as the name suggests, was a milk delivery startup initially but later on decided to come up with a simple delivery system that delivers milk, bread, eggs, butter, juices, and other everyday necessities and basic dairy amenities to users’.

    Milkbasket Logo

    Milkbasket – Founders and Team

    Milkbasket was founded by Anant Goel, Anurag Jain, Ashish Goel, and Yatish Talavdia in 2015.

    Milkbasket's Founders
    Milkbasket’s Founders

    Anant Goel

    Anant V Goel was the founder and CEO of Milkbasket. Goel was a B.tech, Civil Engineering student of NIT Kurukshetra, after which he visited The Wharton School and INSEAD to complete MBA exchange and MBA, Strategy and Operations, Corporate Finance programs. Goel started his career at Tata Consultancy Services where he worked as a Project Leader and then went to Capgemini to join the company as a Sr. Strategy and Transformation Consultant. Goel then became the CEO and Managing Partner of UrSqft before founding Milkbasket and becoming its CEO. Gallup Consulting was another company where Anant Goel worked as an Associate Partner. Goel exited the company and stepped down from the CEO designation on August 23, 2021, after Milkbasket was acquired by Reliance Industries.

    Milkbasket Founder and former CEO Anant Goel  is all set to launch his new startup that will be based on the fruits and vegetable segment. It would be a consumer-centric platform that will delivery the fresh produce from farmers to the consumers, as per the sources close to the company and to the matter, reported on February 15, 2022.

    Anurag Jain

    Anurag Jain has been a co-founder of Milkbasket.com. He was also an alumnus of NIT Kurukshetra from where he completed a B.Tech degree in Civil Engineering. Jain later successfully pursued a PGDBM in Operations Management and Supervision from XLRI Jamshedpur. Anurag became a co-founder of Milkbasket after serving managerial roles in several companies like Spencer’s Retail, Cinepolis India, TPG Wholesale, and Samsung India.            

    Ashish Goel

    Ashish Goel served as the Co-founder and CTO/CPO of Milkbasket. A Mechanical Engineering student of Delhi College of Engineering, Ashish co-founded two companies –  Zamoona and UrSqFt before co-founding Milkbasket in 2015. Ashish Goel is currently serving as the CTO of ZipLoan after leaving Milkbasket in January 2021.

    Yatish Talvadia

    Yatish is currently hailed as the present CEO of Milkbasket after Anant exited the company. Talvadia has a Masters’ degree in Engineering/Industrial Management from Manipal Institute of Technology. Yatish was the Sr. Lecturer of JECRC and later served as a Core Team Member of Zamoona before co-founding Milkbasket with the 3 other founders of the company.  

    Milkbasket – Startup Story

    Ashish Goel availed of the ‘Milk and More’ service to deliver groceries and daily necessities to his home when he was in the U.K. This made Anant realize that India also needs one such service. However, entering around that time when the market was already being dominated by successful players like Grofers, Big Basket, LocalBaniya, and Peppertap, Milkbasket had only one intention, which is to stand as an alternative to the mom-and-pop stores of every Indian neighborhood.

    Milkbasket founders started in 2015 when they first set up a stall in an apartment complex in Gurugram. The founders soon got the first paying customer, who installed the app. The founding team of Milkbasket initially started to deliver milk by themselves, in their personal car. With the increasing demands, they eventually had to hire an autorickshaw to deliver it. The order volume further increased, which made Milkbasket partner with corporates and automotive companies and ultimately set up their own delivery fleet.    

    Milkbasket started off with just 22 customers in April 2015, and by the end of June of the same year, the team saw a growth of 30,000+ customers, and that too only in Gurugram. Ashish and Anant started with their initial capital seed of 50 Lacs.

    Milkbasket – Vision and Mission

    The company’s mission is to become the default mom and pop shop for over a million households. Milkbasket is by far the most cost-efficient model in the online grocery space as compared to its domestic and global competitors, accomplishing positive unit economics within about six months of launch. This is perhaps why the company has been acquired by Reliance.

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    Milkbasket – Business Model

    Milkbasket is a hyperlocal e-commerce company that believes in an inventory-based model where it sources its products directly from brands. Milkbasket co-founder Anant Goel believes that his company has developed a contactless hyper-local grocery delivery model. Customers can place orders before midnight and have them shipped by 7 a.m., according to Milkbasket.

    The e-grocery delivery startup doesn’t need checkout or payment because the purchase is prepaid with the help of a mobile wallet that is on the app. Therefore, the users can simply top it up whenever they run out of funds. Milkbasket earns from its delivery charges, subscriptions, and commissions from each transaction.

    Milkbasket – Revenue and Growth

    Milkbasket, a hyperlocal distribution startup based in Gurugram, announced a 3.8X increase in revenue in 2020, which ended in March last year, with only a small increase in losses. In 2020, the company reported revenue of INR 322 crore, of which 99.9% (INR 321.7 crore) came from operations.

    In 2020, the hyperlocal startup’s expenses rose at the same pace, to INR 337.7 Cr, bringing its losses to INR 15.7 Cr. In 2019, the company posted revenue of INR 84.6 Cr and expenses of INR 94.1 Cr, resulting in a loss of INR 9.5 Cr. Over the same time frame, it received around 99.7% (INR 84.4 Cr) from its operations.

    Milkbasket is based on the habit of people residing in India, of having milk delivered to one’s doorstep every morning, and the company only delivers during one delivery slot, from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. By October 2017 they had delivered around 1.5 million orders and employed around 200 people.

    Milkbasket had earlier displayed an annual sales run rate of around USD 100 million, delivering over 9,000 items across FMCG, dairy, fruits, and vegetable categories in Indian cities including Hyderabad, Dwarka, Delhi, Bengaluru, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, and Noida).

    MbBulk and senior citizens-only helplines were also introduced in several cities to help people stay on lockdown without having to go out for groceries and dairy products. Within the first six months of its launch, Milkbasket successfully shipped around 30 million orders and achieved positive unit economics.

    The company has been in high demand since the lockdown began, as demand for hyperlocal grocery delivery has increased dramatically. During the lockdown, many companies with a logistics and distribution backbone, such as Swiggy and Zomato, switched to grocery delivery as these were the only essentials in demand across the board.

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    Milkbasket – Funding and Investors

    Over the course of 11 rounds of funding, Milkbasket has raised total funding of $78.5 million. Milkbasket’s Investors’ include InnoVen Capital, Inflection Point Ventures, Mayfield Capital, Kalaari Capital, Blume Ventures among others.

    Date Round Amount Lead Investors
    Oct 23, 2021 – $40M Reliance Retail
    May 13, 2020 Series B $5.5M Inflection Point Ventures
    Jun 27, 2019 Debt Financing ₹150M InnoVen Capital
    Jun 4, 2019 Series B $10.5M Unilever Ventures
    Dec 19, 2018 Series A $7M Mayfield Fund
    Nov 12, 2018 Series A $100M Mayfield Fund
    May 22, 2018 Series A $7M Kalaari Capital
    Jan 23, 2018 Seed Round $3M Unilever Ventures
    Aug 23, 2017 Seed Round $840.9K Blume Ventures, Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group (LCIG)
    Dec 1, 2016 Seed Round $634.9K —
    Apr 26, 2016 Seed Round $500K EVC Ventures

    Milkbasket – Competitors

    The top competitors in Milkbasket’s competitive set are –

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    Milkbasket – Challenges Faced

    Though Milkbasket initially started fine with the capital pool from the founders, the app has faced money crunches in regular intervals, which has been one of the major challenges of the company. Milkbasket was ultimately acquired by Reliance Retail and two senior executives of Reliance Industries Limited – Nikhil K Chakrapani, CFO of Reliance Retail and Rajendra Kamath, CFO of Reliance Content Management have joined the board of directors of Milkbasket as additional directors.

    Milkbasket – Future Plans

    According to a top company executive, Milkbasket has advanced its intention to pursue an initial public offering by the second half of 2021, boosted by solid market growth in recent months despite the pandemic. The widespread adoption of at-home delivery services among shoppers during the coronavirus disease outbreak, according to Anant Goel, has opened an opportunity to target an IPO in less than a year.

    “Milkbasket has a near-perfect record of reaching growth targets since being founded in 2015. The rapid adoption of at-home grocery delivery amongst consumers due to the pandemic has provided us with an impetus to target IPO in just a year, which we had initially planned for the year 2023,” he said.

    However, the company didn’t manage to go public till now. Milkbasket is currently looking forward to expanding its range of offerings and is looking for profitability after being taken over by Reliance. The company is also deemed to be a part of the Reliance super app.

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    Milkbasket – FAQs

    What does Milkbasket do?

    The company provides a simple delivery system that delivers milk, bread, eggs, butter, juices, and other everyday necessities and basic dairy amenities to users’ doorsteps every morning.

    Who founded Milkbasket?

    Milkbasket was founded by Anant Goel, Anurag Jain, Ashish Goel and Yatish Talavdia in 2015.

    What companies do Milkbasket compete with?

    The top competitors in Milkbasket’s competitive set are Supr Daily, DailyNinja, BB Daily, Town Essentials, Amshop, RainCan, ZopSmart, PepperTap, Big Basket, Grofers, Dunzo, Zomato and Swiggy.

  • Zimyo Startup Story – #1 Human Experience Platform

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

    Zimyo is a one-stop solution to all HR needs that helps organizations build a 2X more productive, engaged, and satisfied workforce. It provides cloud-based HR solutions to businesses of all sizes. It offers comprehensive smart HR solutions – Payroll and Expense Management, Performance Management System, Employee Engagement, Employee Benefits, Time and Attendance, and Onboarding and Recruitment solutions.

    In just 3 years since its inception in 2018, Zimyo is serving more than 500 organizations with 100,000+ active users! StartupTalky interviewed the Co-founder of Zimyo, Mr, Ajay Kadyan to know the startup story of Zimyo. In this article, you’ll get an insight into how Zimyo was started, its business model, founders’ profile, and more.

    Zimyo – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Zimyo
    Founders Ajay Kadyan, Kumar Mayank
    Founded 2018
    Headquarters Gurugram
    Industry HR Tech
    Website zimyo.com

    About Zimyo and Its USP
    The Backstory of Zimyo – How it Started?
    Founders of Zimyo
    Zimyo – Business Model and Revenue Model
    Employee Culture @ Zimyo
    Growth of Zimyo
    Zimyo – FAQs

    About Zimyo and Its USP

    Incepted in 2018, Zimyo is one of the fastest-growing unified HCM platforms in the HR tech space that automates tedious HR processes, eliminates payroll errors, and enhances employee experiences. It is a one-stop solution to all HR needs that helps organizations build a 2X more productive, engaged, and satisfied workforce. Furthermore, its intuitive HR solutions help employer organizations to drive improved data-driven decision-making and get better business outcomes.

    Zimyo is a one-of-a-kind platform that uses smart technology to provide smarter experiences. The company’s philosophy is purely inclined towards a human-centric design that leverages the power of Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning to build highly efficient products. The platform boasts a voice-user interface to simplify complex tasks using speech to enhance user experience.

    Zimyo Startup Story
    Zimyo Logo

    The platform features a broad spectrum of modules (over 40+) to offer flexibility to its users. Around 95 percent of Zimyo’s partners find it the easiest platform to switch and set up their complex processes in no time. Further, the platform processes the entire payroll in less than 2 minutes for over 1000 employees in just 3 easy clicks. Its robust analytics-driven employee intelligence system increases team retention by 3X and enables leaders proactively with the power of on-demand data and insights to make quick and informed decisions.

    Zimyo’s embedded finance solution enables employee-centric organizations to offer a one-of-a-kind employee engagement experience with benefits like advance salary, employee loans, insurance, and investments. With this solution, Zimyo intends to make financial services more accessible for employees across SMBs. This can help companies attract and retain customers while providing hassle-free financial services.

    The Backstory of Zimyo – How it Started?

    Kumar Mayank, CEO of Zimyo, has a background in microfinance. It is during his stint with the industry that he realized the absence of “formal credit” for employees. These employees who worked all their lives in factories with a PF account and investments to show had no bank willing to lend them credit when they needed it. Kumar analyzed this gap and decided to create a way to make credit easily accessible to these employees.

    There was a need for identifying the mechanism of establishing if there was actual salary transferred, which brought the HR and Payroll of an organization into the picture. That’s how the journey began as Zimyo started an innovation drive that merged FinTech with HRTech from an employee-first perspective.

    Along with co-founder Ajay Kadan, who has extensive experience of over 10 years in product development, system architecture, and data analytics, Zimyo plans to bridge the gap between the credit market and SMB employees with their innovative solutions.

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    Founders of Zimyo

    Ajay Kadyan and Kumar Mayank (CEO) are the founders of Zimyo.

    Ajay Kadyan | Co-founder, Zimyo

    Zimyo Founder
    Ajay Kadyan – Zimyo Co-founder

    Ajay has extensive experience of over 10 years in product development, system architecture, and data analytics. He has helped several organizations in the HR Tech, EdTech, and E-commerce space to build robust products. With his strategic leadership skills and critical thinking, Ajay has successfully built a highly efficient and collaborative team.

    Presently, Ajay works as the Co-Founder of Zimyo and spearheads the business with his deep comprehensive industry knowledge. He is currently focused on positioning Zimyo as one of the most preferred brands in the HR tech space. Besides, he works closely with the marketing team to improve Zimyo’s brand visibility and outreach. In addition to this, Zimyo has also joined forces with the sales team to increase client acquisition and improve conversion rate, while working closely with the product team to strengthen the product portfolio.  

    With his technical and functional knowledge, Ajay envisions empowering leaders and organizations across the world to offer true ‘employee experience’ to their employees, help them get the best out of their workforce, drive higher engagement, and build a differentiating human capital advantage.

    Kumar Mayank | Co-founder & CEO, Zimyo

    Kumar Myanak’s role as Zimyo’s Founder involves connecting with growth-focused organizations and helping them build a great organizational culture with the help of Zimyo’s product suite. He did his BA Hons in Economics from Delhi University and is an alum of IIM – Lucknow. Before starting Zimyo, Kumar Mayank was associated with well-known companies like Equitas Small Finance Bank, ING Vyasa Bank, and Janalakshmi Financial Services.

    With an extensive background in Microfinance, Kumar realized the lack of “formal credit” for employees. These Employees who worked in factories for their entire lives with PF accounts and investments to show for their work could not get credit from banks when needed. Kumar studied this gap and devised a way to make credit easily accessible to these employees.

    Zimyo – Business Model and Revenue Model

    Zimyo provides cloud-based HR solutions to businesses of all sizes. It offers comprehensive smart HR solutions – Payroll and Expense Management, Performance Management System, Employee Engagement, Employee Benefits, Time and Attendance, and Onboarding and Recruitment solutions. The platform charges a monthly fee from employers based on their needs and the number of employees. The basic package starts from INR 5999/PM/100 employees that can be customized as per their employer’s needs.  

    From the HR tech space, Zimyo has also entered into the embedded finance segment. It has extended its services to offer employee benefits, tax-saving solutions, retirement plans, and financial assessments. Besides this, the platform has also integrated with other job portals to ensure an efficient hiring process.

    In such a short span, the platform has onboarded prominent clients with Zimyo including Bajaj Capital, Hillson Shoes, 88 Pictures, iMocha, Yethi, M2P, TheData Team, Fleetx, Riskcovry, and many among others. Apart from this, Zimyo’s direct integration with other job portals makes the hiring processes more efficient by eliminating the need for manual data entry on multiple sites and removing the need to check back in on job posts.

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    Employee Culture @ Zimyo

    Given the exacerbating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, physical & mental wellness, financial stability and job security have become top concerns for employees. To handle the crisis well, Zimyo is bringing employee wellness to the forefront. Being a people-centric company, Zimyo is emphasizing on “Employee First” culture by adopting policies such as group health insurance, reimbursement for COVID vaccinations, paid leave for vaccinations, paid medical leave for COVID positive employees, mental wellness & engagement sessions, and additional insurance cover for oxygen concentrators & medical emergency.

    In addition to this, Zimyo also supports its partner organizations in building a positive and productive work culture. It has partnered with various integrators to provide Benefits such as Insurance, Tax Saving Investment Options, Wealth Management Solutions, Expense/Credit Cards, and much more.

    Also Read: Importance of Work Culture in the Success of a Startup

    Growth of Zimyo

    Currently, Zimyo is serving more than 500 organizations with 100,000+ active users. Along with HRMS & other modules, Zimyo’s ‘Benefits’ module has also seen a high user adoption rate. A bunch of Zimyo’s existing partners have opted for Zimyo benefits and are very happy with the offerings under this newly launched module.

    It has also designed a bilingual mobile app to further ensure a seamless employee experience. The platform has received avg. 4.2+ ratings from its users on various platforms. Recently, Zimyo has been also recognized by G2 as a “High Performer” in the HRMS, Payroll, and Time & Attendance Software categories – earning a total of 7 accolades.

    In such a short span, the platform has onboarded prominent clients with Zimyo including Bajaj Capital, Hillson Shoes, 88 Pictures, iMocha, Yethi, M2P, TheData Team, Fleetx, Riskcovry, and many among others.

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    Zimyo – FAQs

    What is Zimyo?

    Zimyo is one of the fastest-growing unified HCM platforms in the HR tech space that automates tedious HR processes, eliminates payroll errors, and enhances employee experiences.

    Who are the founders of Zimyo?

    Ajay Kadyan and Kumar Mayank (CEO) are the founders of Zimyo.

    How Zimyo makes money?

    Zimyo provides cloud-based HR solutions to businesses of all sizes. The platform charges a monthly fee from employers based on their needs and the number of employees. The basic package starts from INR 5999/PM/100 employees that can be customized as per their employer’s needs.  

    When was Zimyo started?

    Zimyo was launched in 2018.

    How much funding has Zimyo raised?

    Zimyo raised seed funding of $1.5 million led by BEENEXT in September 2020.

  • Tea Bro: India’s first Pre-Brewed Tea Liquid Decoction

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

    As per the Tea Board of India [Guwahati Tea Auction Centre], the Indian Tea industry is a massive $33bn market. With a vision to bring innovation to the way people consume tea, Kartic Sharma founded Tea Bro in 2021. Tea Bro manufactures and sells India’s first Pre-Brewed Tea Liquid Decoction (An Instant Tea offering).

    StartupTalky interviewed Mr. Kartic to get insights on the startup story and roadmap of the organization. In this article, you’ll discover how Tea Bro was started, its business model, future plans, and more.  

    Tea Bro – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Tea Bro
    Founder Kartic Sharma
    Headquarters Gurugram
    Founded 2021
    Industry Food & Beverage (Tea)

    Tea Bro – About and Vision
    Tea Bro – Industry Details
    Tea Bro – Idea and Inspiration
    Tea Bro – Product and USP
    Tea Bro – Founder
    Tea Bro – Name Meaning and Logo
    Tea Bro – Business Model
    Tea Bro – Launch
    Tea Bro – Challenges Faced
    Tea Bro – Funding
    Tea Bro – Competitors
    Tea Bro – Recognition
    Tea Bro – FAQs

    Tea Bro – About and Vision

    Tea Bro manufactures and sells India’s first Pre-Brewed Tea Liquid Decoction (A Instant Tea offering). They are Tea Farmers from Assam and control the entire supply chain of Tea from Farm to Cup.

    Tea Bro is a startup with a clear mission to – “To serve high-quality Instant Tea to the Tea loving nation”. This patent-pending product is a ‘Ready to Drink’ Tea which is pre-brewed to perfection from the finest Assam Teas with love and care. Just add Tea Bro to a cup of hot water and Done! Your cup of tea is ready in 5 sec. Enjoy the perfectly balanced Milk Tea (in 5 Exotic Indian Flavours), Instantly!

    Short Term Vision – a) To serve high-quality Tea (Instantly) to its Tea loving nation. b) To bring in innovation in the Tea industry and the way high-quality tea is farmed, processed, blended, and served.

    Long Term Vision – a) India-wide distribution channel (online and offline). b) Sales abroad for its tea offering.

    Tea Bro – Industry Details

    1. Tea in India is a USD 33Bn dollar market. Indians last year consumer 110Mn kgs of tea per year.
    2. Tea is the second most drunk beverage in India after water.
    3. The Instant Tea market is the only sector in India that is on the rise.

    (Source: Tea Board of India, Guwahati Tea Auction Centre)

    In the next 5 years:

    1. With rapid urbanization and essentially people having less time to do the daily chores themselves, Kartic (Founder, Tea Bro) believes that Instant Tea will be a very common phenomenon in most of the household. If you see markets like the USA, which is a fairly urbanized market – has more demand for instant offerings (tea, coffee, soda) than the actual ones.
    2. In the next 5 years, the Instant Tea market should at least make up about 15% to 20% of the Tea consumption in India.

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    Tea Bro – Idea and Inspiration

    Kartic is from Assam and his family has been involved in the Tea industry for over 3 generations. They have seen the industry closely for the last 38 years and have realized that there has been very little improvement/innovation. Moreover, the way people consumed tea has also been the same for over 50 years now. A TeaBag was also introduced to the world about 40 years back. The last innovation in which Instant Tea was offered was ‘Powdered Instant Tea’, which was made by a process called Spray Drying.

    They found that there was no way in which companies were able to offer good quality tea in a ReadyToDrink manner. That’s when it struck that he can do something to solve this problem. After months of R&D, they came up with Tea Bro. This patent-pending product is a ‘Ready to Drink’ Tea which is pre-brewed to perfection from the finest Assam Teas with love and care. Just add TeaBro to a cup of hot water and Done! Your cup of tea is ready in 5 sec. Enjoy the perfectly balanced Milk Tea (in 5 Exotic Indian Flavours), Instantly!

    They’ve had tremendous responses from Tea connoisseurs and Tea blenders and tasters about its high quality and Tea innovation. In the last 2 months, since the startup has been live, the market response (where ever Tea Bro is present) has been encouraging.

    Tea Bro – Product and USP

    Tea Bro’s patent-pending product is a ‘Ready to Drink’ Tea which is pre-brewed to perfection from the finest Assam Teas with love and care.

    TeaBro
    TeaBro Products

    How does the product work?

    Just add Tea Bro to a cup of hot water and Done! Your cup of tea is ready in 5 sec. Enjoy the perfectly balanced Milk Tea (in 5 Exotic Indian Flavours), Instantly!

    What problem is Tea Bro intending to Solve?

    • TeaBags – In using TeaBags the process of brewing is never complete. By the time brewing is complete the temperature of the water goes down. Therefore, there is never a good tea drinking experience with tea bags.
    • Premixes are easy to use but lack the quality of the cup. Premixes are made by a process called Spray Drying. Tea is only spray-dried at or above temperatures of 180C. At this temperature range, all the constituents of Tea (its flavors, aroma, enzymes, polyphenols, etc) are all burnt off. Therefore, essentially Premixes have more of a punch of masalas rather than tea.

    USP of Tea Bro

    Tea Bro is a new category in the instant Tea market. It manufactures and sells India’s first ‘Pre-Brewed Tea Liquid’. This patent-pending product is a ‘Ready to Drink’ Tea which is pre-brewed to perfection from the finest Assam Teas with love and care.

    Tea Bro – Founder

    Kartic Sharma is the founder of Tea Bro. Being an engineering & management graduate from the University of British Columbia, Canada, Kartic has been associated with companies like Accenture, Invest India, and Delhivery before founding Tea Bro.

    The word ‘BRO’, is used very often in urban and rural India now. Even if a person does not know English very well, would know the meaning of this word. Kartic wanted to have the name of the company which is most relatable to the masses. Tea is and will be its main product always. Hence Tea Bro.

    Tea Bro Logo

    Tea Bro – Business Model

    Business Model of Tea Bro –

    • Sales (Online + Offline)
    • Institutional Sales (hotels, offices, flights, trains, Indian army, etc)

    Tea Bro – Launch

    • Channels – Tea Bro did pop-up kiosk across Gurgaon (in apartments, offices, co-working spaces, events, etc). This helped people to get introduced to its concept and innovation
    • Online sales have been working well for the startup for now
    • Tea Bro got an institutional Purchase Order from a large office and a hotel
    • Instagram Reels have been very helpful to get a large reach for Tea Bro

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    Tea Bro – Challenges Faced

    The main challenge faced by the startup was introducing its product in modern retail. They have a huge listing fee. The team worked a deal with them to offer more margin in comparison to high capital costs for listing fees and it worked better for Tea Bro.

    Tea Bro – Funding

    Tea Bro is currently a bootstrapped startup.

    Tea Bro – Competitors

    Currently, Tea Bro doesn’t have any direct competition for its offering, ‘Pre-Brewed Tea Liquid’. It is the first company in India to make a product of this sort and therefore for the product and the process, it has a ‘Patent Pending’ status. Instant Tea has traditionally been offered in Tea Bags or Premixes. There are hundreds of companies in India that retail these. Tea Bro is the first company in India to offer ‘Ready To Drink’ tea in a ‘Pre-Brewed Tea Liquid’ format.

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    Tea Bro – Recognition

    Tea Bro has been nominated by Industry Outlook and Fortune magazine to feature in the ‘Top Upcoming startup edition’.

    Tea Bro – FAQs

    What is Tea Bro?

    Tea Bro manufactures and sells India’s first Pre-Brewed Tea Liquid Decoction (A Instant Tea offering). They are Tea Farmers from Assam and control the entire supply chain of Tea from Farm to Cup.

    Who founded Tea Bro?

    Kartic Sharma founded Tea Bro in 2021.

    What is Tea Bro’s USP?

    Tea Bro is a new category in the instant Tea market. It manufactures and sells India’s first ‘Pre-Brewed Tea Liquid’. This patent-pending product is a ‘Ready to Drink’ Tea which is pre-brewed to perfection from the finest Assam Teas with love and care.

    Is Tea Bro funded?

    No, Tea Bro is a bootstrapped startup as of 2021

    How does Tea Bro work?

    Just add Tea Bro to a cup of hot water and Done! Your cup of tea is ready in 5 sec. Enjoy the perfectly balanced Milk Tea (in 5 Exotic Indian Flavours), Instantly!

  • Azah: Promoting Feminine Hygiene

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

    Feminine hygiene and its awareness have never been given its due importance in India It is only recently that people have become cognizant of it. Still, there are many women who compromise on their health by using below-par products for menstrual hygiene.

    While awareness about feminine hygiene is seeing an uptick, the existing products available on the market, especially sanitary pads, aren’t up to the mark. The optimal ones do their work but are often out of reach of the lower classes due to their costs. To tackle this issue, two individuals from Gurgaon launched a venture named ‘Azah‘ in 2018.

    Azah was founded with the aim to innovate, improve, and deliver high-quality products that solve menstruation-related hygiene issues faced by the Indian female population. Azah sanitary pads are the most well known product of the company as it is ultra-soft organic sanitary napkins known to be safe and comfortable, according to Azah sanitary pads reviews.

    StartupTalky interviewed Azah founder Mr. Aqib Mohammad to learn more about the company.

    Azah in A Nutshell

    StartupName Azah
    Headquarters Gurugram
    Founders Shashwat Diesh and Aqib Mohammad
    Sector Feminine Hygiene
    Founded 2018

    Azah – Latest News
    Azah – About
    Azah – Industry Details
    Azah – Founders
    Azah – The Idea
    Azah – Name And Logo
    Azah – Funding
    Azah – User Acquisition
    Azah – Major Challenges
    Azah – Competitors
    Azah – Advisors And Mentors
    Azah – Work Culture
    Azah – Achievements
    Azah – Future Plans
    Azah – Founders Advice
    FAQ

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    Azah – Latest News

    20th December 2019 – Female wellness startup, Azah Raised funding from Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl & Rohit Bansal

    Gurugram based female Wellness Startup, Azah.in, announced that the company has raised an undisclosed amount in Pre- Series A funding round from Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, Angel List India and a few other HNIs. According to a press release made by Azah on 20th December 2019, the lead funding came via Titan Capital, a VC arm run by Kunal & Rohit.

    The startup plans to use procured funds to enhance its production, launch new products and expand sales operations in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. As said by Azah sanitary pads owner Aqib Mohammed, a good portion Azah funding will go into the research and development of new products and carrying out further innovation in the company’s current product line. The company is also planning to expand its reach to newer demographics while exploring alternative channels to drive growth and acquisition

    6th March 2020 – Female Wellness Brand Azah launches #RashFreePeriod Campaign on International Women’s Day

    On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2020, Azah, India’s fast-growing female wellness brand, has launched a month-long #RashFreePeriod campaign. The campaign aims to encourage healthier menstrual practices and help women better protect themselves from rashes and irritation.

    The campaign to be run by Azah, invites women from all across India to buy Azah sanitary pads and use them while promising its customers a 100% refund should they get any rashes during their period.  

    According to a survey done by Azah among urban Indian women, around 50% of the women reported facing rashes and irritation during their period. The #RashFreePeriod campaign aims to educate women that these problems need not be an unavoidable reality of their lives and can be easily be prevented by using chemical-free products and following basic hygiene practices. Which is why the Azah rash-free organic sanitary pads became popular in the market.

    Shashwat Diesh and Aqib Mohammed, Azah pads owner said that, “As men, we were ourselves oblivious to the problems faced by women during their period. It was only when we saw our sisters’ lives get severely impacted because of rashes, did we realize that there is still a lot that needs to be done with respect to this category. #RashFreePeriod Campaign is our effort to help tackle this problem and make comfortable, rash-free periods a much more accessible reality for women. It is an Azah promise.”

    “During the course of our journey, we realized that a lot of women have accepted rashes as an unavoidable part of their lives. Our aim is to educate as many women as possible that rash-free periods are completely possible and women need not suffer from rashes every month throughout their menstrual lives. A testament to this is the fact that more than 97% of our customers who used to face the problem of rashes with standard pads no longer face the problem after switching to Azah. This insight is based on an internal research study that was conducted with more than 3000 Azah customers.”, added the duo.

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    Azah – About

    Azah.in currently manufactures ultra-soft organic sanitary pads that are available in 3 packages –  a box of 12, a box of 15, and a box of 30 pads. Azah pads are made to ensure premium quality at every stage of the production process. The price of Azah sanitary pads is Rs 239 for the pack of 12 pads, Rs 289 for the pack of 15 pads, and Rs 519 for the pack of 30 pads. Azah sanitary napkin scan be purchased online from the company’s website as well as from other major e-commerce portals.

    The USP of Azah rash-free organic sanitary pads are:

    • Convenient: The pads are available in 2 sizes. Both can absorb the light, medium and heavy flow.
    • Ultra-soft: The top layer of the pad is made with the finest organic cotton. This ensures a smooth velvety surface to prevent irritation and rashes.
    • Chemical-free: According to azah sanitary pads review, they don’t have harmful chemicals such as chlorine, dioxins, and artificial fragrances.
    • Super absorbent: can absorb up to 1000 times its weight in water.
    • Eco-friendly: All the layers except the bottom-most are made of either cotton or paper. Each pad comes in a sealed biodegradable disposal bag.
    • FDA approved: Azah is also amongst those Indian organizations that have been approved by the United States FDA, one of the most reputed quality certification bodies in the world known for its exacting standards.
    • Free of harmful plastic and synthetics.
    Azah Pads
    Azah Pads 

    Azah – Industry Details

    The Indian feminine hygiene industry is growing rapidly with women becoming more educated, financially independent, and aware of personal hygiene. Which is why companies like Azah are launching fem care line installation company in India.

    The revenue in the feminine hygiene segment has been US$105 Mn in 2019. The market is expected to grow annually by 6.7% (CAGR 2019-2021).

    Azah – Founders

    The Azah founders are Aqib Mohammad and Shashwat Diesh, and the platform was launched in November 2018. Shashwat and Aqib met while they were working with Snapdeal and came together to start Azah.

    Aqib Mohammad graduated from IIT Roorkee in 2015. He worked with Snapdeal and co-founded Edtech startup Xolvr.com that got acquired in October 2016.

    Shashwat Diesh graduated from R.V College of Engineering in 2012. He worked with Ola and Snapdeal before Azah. He also founded an FMCG brand ‘Flossy’ in 2017 which he exited in February 2018 to focus on ‘Azah’.

    The Azah team has 9 members at the moment.

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    Azah – The Idea

    Menstruation and openness are rarely mentioned in the same breath because of the social stigma around them. Therefore, it is was a courageous act for Aqib and Shashwat to start a company based on manufacturing sanitary pads.

    It began with a casual conversation. Sometime around May 2018, Shashwat was having a general talk with one of his sisters. She casually mentioned the problem of rashes and itchiness due to the conventional sanitary pads in the market.

    Sashwat was moved by his sister’s ordeal decided to take corrective measures. He spoke about the same with his friend Aqib and the duo began researching sanitary pads. They did a survey at the end of May 2018 and got a response from 285 women attesting to the fact that 1 in 2 women face rashes and itchiness from menstrual pads. They inquired further about feminine hygiene from gynaecologists and experts.

    On the 1st of June 2018, Aqib and Sashwat left their respective professional commitments and to work full time on Azah. On 28th October 2018, Azah.in officially launched its products in the market.

    “Without support from family and friends it would have been very tough to start up a company to produce sanitary pads considering the taboo associated with it”, says Aqib, the Azah founder.

    Azah logo and the name is a Hebrew name meaning strong and bright. The brand name is inspired by the immense strength a woman carries within herself and consequently as a brand, it aims to lend the same qualities to its product line.

    Azah Logo
    Azah Logo

    Azah – Funding

    When it comes to Azah funding, the company has raised USD 200,000 in seed-round funding from a group of angel investors in April 2019.

    Date Stage Amount Investor
    April 2019 Seed $200,000 Angel Investors

    Azah funding is said to be used for the expansion of its inventory and operations across India. Azah.in plans to use a part of the fund to optimize its supply chain management and improve customer service by leveraging technology.

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    Azah – User Acquisition

    It’s extremely hard to develop and design a product that you yourself can’t use – Aquib (Azah Founder)

    While the company got its first set of customers through friends and family, the biggest factor that helped the company scale to 5,000 customers in a matter of 90 days was through positive word of mouth publicity. The company also runs social media campaigns to promote its products.

    Azah – Major Challenges

    According to founder Aqib Mohammad, brand stickiness is unusually high in this industry. There is very little consumer awareness and women resort to whatever brand they were introduced to in the beginning by their mother or sister. It has always been a challenge for an upcoming brand to convince customers to switch brands, especially when they’ve been using a specific one for as long as a decade.

    Azah – Competitors

    The company faces tough competition from international market leaders like P&G and Johnson & Johnson. The company has been still been successful in carving its niche in the market and earn the trust of consumers.  The other Azah Competitors are Peebuddy, Carmesi, Nua, Heyday Care, GlamEgo, Bharti Sales, My Urifiemme, GoGirl, among others.

    When it comes to azah pads vs nua pads, Azah Sanitary pads is better because is free of harmful synthetics such as chlorine, dioxins, and artificial fragrances, and is FDA-approved. Besides that, it also helps to prevent rashes and itchiness. Whereas Nua on the other hand, is super light, chemical-free and has great absorption, but is more expensive.

    Azah pads vs Nua pads

    Azah – Advisors And Mentors

    Azah is moving forward under the expert guidance of Mr. Mehmood Khan who served in the Global leader innovation process at Unilever from 1990-2009.

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    Azah – Work Culture

    We are friends first then colleagues – said Aqib Mohammad.

    Every member of the Azah team is motivated by the positive impact fostered through the work done at Azah. This enables the team to go above and beyond in making ever-lasting contributions.

    Azah – Achievements

    The Azah sanitary pads review are usually positive from all customers across various e-commerce platforms. It sold more than 200,000 pads within 5 months of launch. The Azah pads review also helped the company to successfully served customers in over 1800 pin codes across India with the average delivery time being only 2.5 days.

    Azah’s average monthly revenue is growing at 50%. The company’s revenue crossed INR 10 lakhs in March 2019. Azah.in claims to have a retention rate of 90% and has a net promoter score (NPS) of +6.

    Azah – Future Plans

    Azah plans to become a one-stop solution for all premium feminine hygiene products. Azah.in is expecting a ten-fold growth in order volumes by 2020. The company envisions expanding globally over time since the Azah sanitary pads review are positive and the demand for Azah sanitary pads has increased over the years.

    Azah – Founders Advice

    Don’t be afraid of taking risks. More importantly don’t be afraid of failure – Aqib, (Azah pads owner).

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    FAQ

    Who’s the Azah sanitary pads owner?

    The owner of Azah is Shashwat Diesh and Aqib Mohammad.

    Azah pads made in which country?

    China

    Are AZAH pads biodegradable?

    Yes

    Is Azah an Indian brand?

    Yes, Azah is an Indian brand.

    Are Azah pads safe?

    Azah is known for Azah rash-free organic sanitary pads which are extremely safe.

    Is Azah eco friendly?

    Azah is eco-friendly and non-toxic as it is made of organic materials.

    Who are the Azah competitors?

    The Azah competitors are Peebuddy, Carmesi, Nua, Heyday Care, GlamEgo, Bharti Sales, My Urifiemme, GoGirl, P&G and Johnson & Johnson.

  • Startup Story of Qandle: All-In-One HR Platform

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

    Qandle is a young startup focused on re-engineering HR Technology from employees’ perspectives. Founded by Chayan Mukhopadhyay and Himanshu Aggarwal in 2016, Qandle aims to build connected, engaged, and empowered workplaces. It has launched an all-in-one cloud-based HR software solution that impacts the entire employee lifecycle from hire to retire and makes each step smooth and hassle-free.

    StartupTalky interviewed Mr. Chayan Mukhopadyay, Co-founder & CEO of Qandle to get insights into the Startup Journey and Growth Story of Qandle. Know all about Qandle’s business model, How it Started, its funding details, marketing strategy future plans, tagline, and more.

    Qandle – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Qandle
    Founders Chayan Mukhopadhyay (CEO), Himanshu Aggarwal (CTO)
    Founded 2016
    Headquarters Gurugram
    Industry HR Tech
    Total Funding USD 1.2 Mn (Pre-seed)
    Team Size ~ 40 Employees
    Website qandle.com

    Qandle – About and Vision
    Qandle – HR Tech Industry Details
    Qandle – Founders and Team
    Qandle History – How it started?
    Qandle – Product/Service
    Qandle – Name, Tagline and Logo
    Qandle – Business Model and Revenue Model
    Qandle – Startup Launch
    Qandle – Marketing Strategy
    Qandle – Growth
    Qandle – Funding and Investors
    Qandle – Advisors and Mentors
    Qandle – Competitors
    Tools used by Qandle to run the startup
    Qandle – Awards and Achievements
    Qandle – Future Plans
    Qandle – FAQs

    Qandle – About and Vision

    All-In-One HR Platform – founded in 2016, is a young startup focused on re-engineering HR Technology from employees’ perspectives. The brand provides HR Tech solutions that ease the way HR departments operate in companies. It has created an array of different tech-based solutions to fill in the gaps in the usual HR operations.

    The company’s vision is to build connected, engaged, and empowered workplaces. In the short term, the brand plans to continue growing sustainably and profitably, while in the long run, the startup aims at being a leading HR tech solution across the globe. The brand believes that with the right employee experience-focused technology implementation, there can be a sea-size transformation in the way the HR industry operates in India.

    Qandle – HR Tech Industry Details

    According to many credible industry reports such as People Matters, Bersin, IDC, etc. the size of the HR tech industry varies between $50-100Bn. It is growing at 10% CAGR.

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    Qandle – Founders and Team

    Chayan Mukhopadhyay (CEO) and Himanshu Aggarwal (CTO) are the founders of Qandle.

    Qandle Founders and Owners
    (L-R) Himanshu Aggarwal, Chayan Mukhopadhyay – Qandle Founders

    When Chayan met Himanshu, who was proficient with tech, and discussed the idea, he already felt convinced. Himanshu himself had the same experience in terms of clunky HR tools at the organization. He was confident that this idea can be very successfully implemented through refined tech skills.

    Chayan Mukhopadhyay | Co-founder & CEO, Qandle

    Chayan is an MBA graduate from IIM Bangalore (2009-11). Before that, he completed his B.Tech in ECE from IEM (Institute of Engineering and Management, Kolkata). Chayan started his career in 2011, with American Express as Associate Manager. After working for 2 yrs with Amex, next Chayan switched to Jabong as Senior Manager- Operations. He gained good experience and rose to the designation of Deputy General Manager and Head – Marketplace Operations in 2015. He wanted to start building something of his own. That is when he started Perkkx, followed by Qandle, which is his HR Tech venture along with Himanshu.

    Himanshu Aggarwal | Co-founder & CTO, Qandle

    Himanshu is an alumnus of IIT Roorkee. He completed his Engineering in 2007 and started his career as a Software Engineer with Techkriti. After working there for 2 years, he had 2 years stints each with Ibibo Group and Naukri.com as well. Then he joined the founding team of a US-based Foodtech startup Munchado and worked there for about 4 years. He is a cybersecurity expert and has been a tech consultant to multiple growing companies including Shopclues and Askmebazaar. He started Qandle along with Chayan in 2016.

    On paper, Chayan looks at the business and the product side of things while Himanshu looks at the Tech side, but in reality, Chayan and Himanshu discuss everything and they both jointly look at all aspects of the business.

    The current company size is about 40 employees. The team is intentionally kept lean. Work culture is – Get the work done. Qandle hires for just 3 things – attitude, ability, and willingness to learn.

    Qandle History – How it started?

    The idea was first conceived by Chayan. At his previous workplaces, he had experienced the challenge of working on clunky software solutions for different aspects of HR such as leave and attendance, performance, recruitment, reimbursements, etc. While he was working with American Express, it would take him over 30 minutes to submit his mobile bills. However, what struck him most was that organizations had to conduct training sessions for employees on how to use HR tools, which implied that the tools were not very user-friendly. Next, when Chayan worked with more companies, his experience with these tools was no different.

    What further highlighted the lack of a perfect solution was that at least one of these tools would change every 6 months, and since these tools didn’t speak to each other, it would cause a lot of issues.

    However, this alone was not the launchpad for Qandle. When Chayan first entered into entrepreneurship, he launched an employee benefits platform- Perkkx. However, when he met HRs to pitch it, he figured the true pain point – an end-to-end HR tool. They wanted to know if Perkkx could provide an HR tool that worked seamlessly.  That is when Chayan saw the gap and decided to address the same by launching Qandle.

    To explore the model Chayan and Himanshu connected serendipitously. Himanshu had been a techie all throughout his career. They discussed the idea with each other, realized they had complementary skills and decided to launch Qandle together.

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    Qandle – Product/Service

    Qandle leverages different technologies for various solutions depending on the relevant, expected impact, and affordability for the client. It has launched an all-in-one cloud-based HR software solution that impacts the entire employee lifecycle from hire to retire and makes each step smooth and hassle-free.

    The name is a play of letters on Candle. It signifies how we aim to spread light around us by enlightening companies about how to manage, engage, and empower their most valuable asset – employees.

    Qandle’s logo looks like a magnifying glass, it is also a play on the letter Q, as the team named themselves Qandle because they didn’t get the domain candle.com. The logo signifies how companies need to look and listen closely to their employees in order to grow and win in the marketplace.

    Qandle Logo
    Qandle Logo and Tagline

    The tagline  – Smart HR for the Modern Workplace, signifies what Qandle stands for. Qandle wants to work with companies that care about their employees, organizations that want to create connected, engaged and empowered workplaces.

    Qandle – Business Model and Revenue Model

    Qandle follows a classic SaaS (Software as a Service) model where they charge the customers a subscription fee per employee per month. The amount depends on the modules subscribed, the number of employees, and the frequency of payment chosen (discounts are offered for quarterly or annual advance payments as opposed to monthly advance payments).

    Qandle – Startup Launch

    “We used our network and cold emails to get the first 20 customers. The journey of 20 to 100 was easy, as we ensured the initial 20 customers were happy, and then they recommended others” Says Chayan Mukhopadhyay, Co-founder & CEO, Qandle.

    There are no growth hacks that work for the long term, except being customer-focused and ensuring customers are happy. That is the only thing Qandle does.

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    Qandle – Marketing Strategy

    Qandle’s most successful campaign has been ‘word of mouth’. When happy customers recommend others, they purchase the solution without the company having to do much work. As mentioned earlier, keeping current customers happy and satisfied is Qandle’s only growth strategy.

    Qandle – Growth

    Qandle has been cash neutral since March 2020. It operates primarily in India, all across the country.

    Notable clients of Qandle – Spinny, Quality Council of India, Shadowfax, Vidyamandir Classes among others.

    Qandle – Funding and Investors

    Qandle has raised total funding of USD $1.2 Mn to date.

    Date Stage Amount Investors
    2018 Pre-seed USD 1.2 Mn Arun Chandramohan, Redwood Internet Ventures

    Qandle – Advisors and Mentors

    Multiple people including Arun Chandramohan (Ex MD and Founder of Jabong.com). We are part of 2 accelerators as well – Village Capital Future of Work India and Newchip.

    Qandle – Competitors

    “Our biggest competitor is paper and spreadsheet as most companies in India are using those, and these are error-prone, inefficient, difficult to archive and require a lot of manpower. Other companies who are trying to solve the same problem as we are, and who we admire are Darwinbox and SAP Successfactors” Chayan added.

    Tools used by Qandle to run the startup

    Its own software – Qandle, Google Workspace, and Whatsapp

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    Qandle – Awards and Achievements

    Biggest achievement – being able to grow profitably since March 2020, i.e. when the pandemic struck. Managing cash flow is crucial for the survival of any company, and the team is proud that they have been able to do that so far.

    Software Suggest Recognition awards 2021 in 5 categories:
    1. Best support
    2. Best value
    3. Easiest to do business with
    4. Fastest implementation
    5. Best software
    Software Suggest Recognition awards 2020 in 2 categories:
    1. Most popular
    2. Customers’ choice
    Software Suggest Recognition awards 2019 in 2 categories:
    1. Best usability
    2. Highest quality
    Techimply:
    1. Top payroll software
    2. Top HR software
    Financesonline awards 2018 in 2 categories:
    1. Great user experience
    2. Rising star
    CIO awards in 2 categories:
    1. 10 most recommended employee management software solution providers 2019
    2. 20 most promising HRMS solution providers 2018

    Qandle – Future Plans

    Qandle’s aim is to expand the number of clients they serve and make its solution even more intuitive and configurable.

    Qandle – FAQs

    What is Qandle?

    Qandle is a startup focused on re-engineering HR Technology from employees’ perspectives. The brand provides HR Tech solutions that ease the way HR departments operate in companies.

    Who founded Qandle?

    Chayan Mukhopadhyay (CEO) and Himanshu Aggarwal (CTO) are the founders of Qandle.

    Is Qandle an Indian Company?

    Yes. Qandle is an Indian company headquartered in Gurugram.

    How does Qandle make money?

    Qandle follows a classic SaaS (Software as a Service) model where they charge the customers a subscription fee per employee per month.

    Who are Qandle’s Investors?

    Arun Chandramohan and Redwood Internet Ventures led the Pre-seed funding round of Qandle for USD $1.2 Mn.

    What is the tagline of Qandle?

    Qandle’s tagline is  – ” Smart HR for the Modern Workplace”