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Tag: india startups

  • Why Service-Based Startups Are More Successful In India?

    Many service based startups in india are establishing their place in the market, this is mainly because many of the new ideas have worked flawlessly for consumers. And that is why India is currently one of the fastest-growing startup ecosystems. Service-based Startups are ruling the market as compared to product-based ones. Examples for the top service startups in India are Flipkart, Quikr, Sulekha, Ola, Yatra and POPxo.

    India is also the third-largest startup ecosystem after the US and the UK. The liberated economies and affordable technologies have made it possible for the new age entrepreneur to compete with the already established players.

    The service oriented business in india is the fastest-growing sector, as it contributes significantly to the country’s GDP growth, employment, trade, and investment. In the Indian service based business, e-commerce takes the major share of the pie. According to the Morgan Stanley Research the country’s e-commerce market was estimated to increase from $102 billion to $119 billion by 2020.

    On the other hand, there are not many success stories when it comes to product-based startups. A few names that occur to us and which have made some inroads into the Indian startups market share, are Micromax Informatics, a leading consumer electronics company. Gecko, a device that works as a key finder and Goqii, a fitness tracking wearable.

    Reasons why Service-Based Startups are more successful?

    How Indian Startup Culture Differs From Others?
    Successful Service-Based Startups in India

    1. Zomato
    2. Practo
    3. Rentomojo

    Reasons why Service-Based Startups are more successful?

    Indian Startups are known to have a greater advantage with service-based business. Here are some of the reasons why service-based startups are more successful and survive longer in India.

    Low Capital Costs

    Manufacturing and selling a physical product involve a heavy capital investment, time, and energy. It usually requires taking a bank loan or securing funding from investors.

    On the other hand, there are little to no startup, overhead or manufacturing costs involved in service-based startups. A founder can start a setup (from his home or garage), with a few or no employees, and build his reputation through word of mouth marketing. Service based business only needs a small set-up and does not require a huge capital infusion, he can even bootstrap his business.

    Faster to Launch

    Service-based startups can get a business off the ground and start earning revenues earlier. The service startups need to define their service, find customers, listen to their requirements and start delivering the service. The product based startup ideas take a lot of time and resources to conceptualize, design and create the product.

    Lower Business Risk

    Every business is prone to some risk, however, service-based business in India face fewer risks. A customer who’s paying for a service usually knows his requirement, hence there is no guesswork involved, and hence, lower risk. You are selling the service and billing for a specific skill or expertise you already own. And, in service based business customers are committed to paying before you even start working.

    Flexibility and Adaptability

    Furthermore, a service-based startups are much more flexible and adaptable. Not only you can work from wherever you want, but you can easily make adjustments and customize your service as per an individual client’s needs. For example, If your client isn’t too happy with his website or campaign, you can make changes according to their feedback in real-time. Product-based companies in India find it much more difficult to improve or modify, as they may need testing, licensing and re-manufacturing.

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    How Indian Startup Culture Differs From Others?

    With the emerging business opportunities in India, The world biggest startups are no longer just in America or China. There are numerous successful startups in india, which has made the country a leading global startup hub.

    According to the latest report by KPMG, the number of startup companies in India has grown from 7,000 in 2008 to 50,000 in 2018. The growth of startups in india is significant, but there one primary difference between Global and Indian startups, and that is funding. It’s quite easy to get going in India, but the problem lies in the later stages where funding becomes more troublesome leading companies with no choice but to get international venture investors.

    Successful Service-Based Startups in India

    Zomato

    Zomato is an online restaurant search and discovery app, providing in-depth information about 1 million restaurants across 23 countries. Zomato is one of the successful service based startups in India. It is used by consumers globally to discover good food, rate, and review restaurants, as well as create personal networks of fellow food enthusiasts for trusted recommendations. This service startup was launched in 2008 covering over 331,200 restaurants in 19 countries.

    In addition to restaurant search and discovery, Zomato has expanded its offering to include transactions like Online Ordering, Table Reservations, and Point-of-Sale system, creating cutting-edge technology to connect restaurant businesses and customers in ways that will revolutionize the restaurant industry.

    Practo

    Practo is a health tech company with the motto of #DoGreat is prospering greatly with 2,00,000 doctors and 20 million patients across the world. This service based startup, kick-started its journey in the year 2008 from Bengaluru by two NITians Shashank and Abhinav Lal.

    Practo is the perfect example of “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity” because the idea of PRACTO was initiated from the difficulties Shashank faced concerning his father’s health. It is a successful startup in India because of its numerous unique services.

    Practo, is a product of Naabo solutions, which became the Home for health by its hassle-free solutions for doctor appointments, delivery of medicine at the doorstep, online consultation with their registered doctors along online appointment booking software for doctors to manage their clinics.

    Rentomojo

    Rentomojo is a service oriented business in India that was started with the idea of providing online rental services for furniture (for 3 months) in 2014. The startup was started with the aim of providing its consumers with the ever-evolving style without the actual investment costs for furniture.

    Rentmojo is a service-based startup that was funded by IDG Ventures India and Accel partners initially and in 2017. The company gained $10 million Series B funding from Bain Capital Ventures and Renaud Laplanche.

    Rentomojo expanded its business to renting two-wheelers and appliances in 8 cities with an option of Rent-to-own model by the year 2018. Rentomojo is offering new services in india like cleaning annually, free maintenance with the subscription, swap products, and others.

    Conclusion

    When it comes to the product based vs service based startups, the success rate of product-based companies is very low than service-based companies in India. The ideas of some of the top Indian startups are quite out of the ordinary.

    If one wants to create the most successful startups in india, one needs to think outside of the box. Service startups in India have to keep up with their competition. Their startup ideas should be unique, which always attracts customers and brings forth profit.

    FAQs

    What is the difference between product-based and service-based company?

    A Product-based company creates or designs their products or application for general customers usage. They are not Client-specific. Whereas a Service-based company works only when a client approaches them with specific needs or requirements.

    What are service-based startups?

    Service-based startups fouses on clients requirements. They can get a business off the ground and start earning revenues earlier. They need to define their service, find customers, listen to their requirements, and start delivering the service.

    Which Indian startups are profitable?

    There are many Indian startups that are profitable. The country has many unicorn startups:

    • Byju’s
    • Swiggy
    • Oyo Rooms
    • Dailyhunt
    • CureFit
    • FirstCry
    • PharmEasy
    • boAt
    • Licious
    • Myntra

    Is India good for Service-based industry?

    India leads in the number of service-based companies in the world.

    Which is the best service-based company in world?

    Some of the best service-based companies in the world are:

    • TCS
    • Accenture
    • Infosys
    • IBM
    • Cognizant
    • Capgemini
    • Wipro
    • HCL
    • NTT Data
    • Fujitsu

    How many startups are there in India?

    There are around 55000 startups in India.

  • A Complete Guide on DPIIT Certificate of Recognition for Startups

    With the increased count of startups in India, the Government has put forward a flagship program to empower the startups, which is known as Startup India Scheme, which launched in 2016. As a developing nation, it’s crucial to expand the economy whose best possible method is to fund startups.

    Moreover, it benefits the employment rate with innovation in products and services. The government of India has introduced several beneficiary programs for startups, among which this scheme gives DPIIT recognition to the startups. Here arises a question, what exactly is DPIIT?

    Basically, DPIIT stands for the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. Those startups which get recognition under DPIIT gain many benefits, such as access to a host of tax benefits, IPR fast-tracking, easier compliance, and many more.

    The main objective of this Startup India initiative is to reduce the regulatory burden on the startups and to help them expand their core business with low-cost compliance. DPIIT works as the monitoring agency and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), the principal operating agency for funding startups.

    This scheme has indeed helped the nation to increase its employment rate. According to the report of March 2020 given by the Commerce and Industry Minister, Goyal Goyal, states that a total of 3,37,335 employment (sic) has been reported by 27,137 DPIIT-recognized startups.

    This statistic clearly shows that the DPIIT scheme has benefited the nation. Now, let’s move to the main content of this article which is how to gain the DPIIT Certificate of Recognition for Startups.
    Let’s begin!

    Benefits of Registering a Startup With DPIIT
    Eligibility Criteria
    Documents Required for DPIIT Registration
    Applicable Fees for DPIIT Registration
    Steps of DPIIT Registration

    Benefits of Registering a Startup With DPIIT

    This Startup India Initiative is mainly created to reduce the regulatory burden on startups. Therefore, it comes with several benefits through which the Government of India supports the current entrepreneurial ecosystem of the country. These benefits are:

    Exemption of Income Tax Act, 1961 under,

    1. Section 56(2)(vii)(b): This section talks about the tax that imposes on those companies which receive consideration for share issues exceeding fair market value. Now, the DPIIT registration helps startups to get exemptions under this section. The utmost benefit of this exemption is seen at the stage of the angle/VC round.
    2. Section 80-IAC: Under this section, DPIIT-registered startups are benefited by muting the income tax payment for three consecutive years out of the first ten years of the company’s incorporation date.
    3. Section 54(GB): This section discusses the tax imposed on long-term capital profit received on the sale of any residential property. And if the government capital profit is invested in the DPIIT registered startup, then the startup gains exemption from this tax payment.

    Self-certification under labor law and environmental laws

    Typically, all private companies are bound by labor and environmental laws for conducting inspections of the company’s establishment, safety norms, maintenance, and beneficial employee norms.

    However, those startups registered under DPIIT can self-certify for five years (counting from the incorporation date) themselves under six labor and three environmental laws.

    The exemption of six labor laws are:

    • The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation and Employment and Conditions of Service Act, 1996)
    • The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996
    • The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972
    • The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970
    • The Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Act, 1952
    • The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948

    The Exemption of three environmental laws are:

    • The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
    • The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Cess (Amendment) Act, 2003
    • The Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981

    Intellectual Property Registration

    The cost of a trademark registry in India for a trademark in one class is around Rs 9,000. But for DPIIT registered startups, they cost nearly half. The same goes for patent applications as well.

    Public Procurement Norms Relaxation

    Those within the industry know what Public Procurement refers to. It’s the process through which state-owned businesses and the government purchase goods and services from the Private sector.

    These contracts are usually marked with high eligibility requirements, but for the DPIIT-registered startups, the contract offer is relatively low.

    Eligibility Criteria

    Eligibility Criteria
    Eligibility Criteria

    Of course, for DPIIT registration, there are some eligibility criteria. Startups fulfilling the criteria will only get the approval and the one that does not fall perfectly under its eligibility criteria will not receive any exemption. The eligibility criteria are shared below.

    Company Age

    Startups whose existence and operational periods do not exceed ten years, counting from their incorporation date, can apply.

    Annual Turnover

    Startups with an annual turnover of Rs. One hundred crores for any financial year can apply.

    Company Type

    Startups that are incorporated as Private Limited companies or registered partnership firms, or limited liability partnerships can apply.

    Innovative & Scalable

    Startups that work towards product or service improvement and development along with a scalable business model of high potential can apply.

    Original entity

    Startups with original entities not reconstructed from a pre-existing business can apply.

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    Documents Required for DPIIT Registration

    Startups must submit a list of essential documents for registration under the DPIIT scheme. These documents are:

    • The Incorporation or Registration of entity Certificate
    • On receiving funding, Startups need to submit Proof of Funding (a support letter from the state or central government authorities or duly recognized incubator, and the angel funds or incubation fund needs to be 20% or above) to receive the DPIIT certificate.
    • Documents of award or any recognition received by the company.
    • Brief description of the nature of the business, including details of how the company is working towards innovation, scalability in terms of employment count, and product or service development.
    • Document of Patent (published in Patent journals by the company).

    And if the ministry found any of the documents mentioned above forged, the applicant is liable for the penalty of 50% of the company’s paid-up capital and Rs. 25000.

    Applicable Fees for DPIIT Registration

    There are no application fees for the startups to pay for registering with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to receive the DPIIT Recognition certificate for the startup.

    Steps of DPIIT Registration

    Business Incorporation

    The first and foremost step for DPIIT Registration is to incorporate your business as a limited liability partnership or private limited firm.

    Register on Startup India Portal

    Startup India Registration Form
    Startup India Registration Form

    You need to register your startup on the official Startup India Portal. Fill out the details, like the contact info of your startup, along with the name. After successfully registering, you will get the login credentials on your provided email address.

    Startup India Portal Login

    As you have the login credentials, log in to the Startup India Portal. There you will receive an application that must be filled out and submitted. Then only your startup will be registered.

    DIPP Recognition and Registration

    After submitting the startup registration form application, you will receive a form for DIPP recognition. Please fill out the form and select the tax exemption that you need, and submit the form by attaching the required documents with it.

    Certification of Recognition

    A Sample Certificate of Recognition
    A Sample Certificate of Recognition

    After submitting the application for DIPP recognition to DPIIT, which shall issue the Certification of Recognition to your startup.

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    Conclusion

    The DPIIT certificate is an essential document for startups to gain several benefits from the government. To avail of the certificate, one needs to register their startup companies under the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the sub-category of the Startup India initiative.

    The complete guide for the registration as well as the benefits of the DPIIT certificate, eligibility criteria, documents required, etc is shared above.

    FAQs

    How do I get DPIIT recognition for a startup?

    To get DPIIT recognition for a startup, one needs to log in to the page and look for the option of getting DIPP Certified to select register here under the category of Recognition and Tax Exemption.

    After clicking on the register here, one needs to fill out the form by submitting all the necessary information and documents required. After submitting, the form will then be processed and if found satisfactory, the startup will get a recognition certificate.

    What are the documents required for startup India Registration?

    Some of the essential documents required for startup registration are trademarks, articles of association or incorporation, a non-disclosure agreement, intellectual property assignment agreements, a founders agreement, terms and conditions, etc.

    Who is eligible for DPIIT?

    The basic eligibility criteria for any startup to be registered as DPIIT is to have an annual turnover of about Rs. 100 crores for any fiscal year from its federation.

    Is DPIIT registration mandatory?

    Startup India Registration with DPIIT is mandatory for startups to get the benefits from the recognition certificate like tax exemption, reduced compliances, etc.

  • The Startup India Seed Fund—How Will It Help Your Startup?

    Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has from the start of his tenure emphasized the growth of India with the “Made in India” plan. Under his leadership, the central and state governments have been actively incentives for Indian Businesses.

    He was addressing the Prarambh Startup India International summit and said in his address that the target for India’s startups over the next five years should be to become global giants in their respective service areas. And announced the launch of a new seed fund for startups for setting up and growing business subsequently.

    Read on to learn how it can impact your startup.

    When is a Business called a Startup?
    What is Startup India?
    What is Startup India Seed Fund?
    What will the Startup Seed India Fund do for Startups?
    What Advantages would Startups get with Startup Seed India Fund?
    FAQ’s
    Conclusion

    When is a Business called a Startup?

    A business would usually be called a startup when it has been set up, so a young company. It is a venture by the aspiring entrepreneur to create a unique product or provide a service. These usually operate on a tight budget and are funded either by the founder or with association with friends, family, or maybe personal borrowing.

    The very first challenge they face is validating their product or service. They have to convince the consumer that their product/service is worth believing and spending. And convince lenders and investors of the possibility of healthy returns.

    What is Startup India?

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    Startup India Benefits by Government

    Startup India was introduced in 2016 by the Central government with intention of creating a positive environment to encourage innovation and growth of new companies in the country. This would ensure the sustained growth of the nation and provide a continued source of employment.

    The government created the Startup India Action plan to:

    • Simplify establishing business and provide guidance
    • Provide funding schemes and other incentives
    • Be a common ground for industry and academia to work together

    Definition of a Startup under Startup India:

    • Establishment: The company’s date of incorporation should not exceed 10 years
    • Type of Company: The business should be registered as either Private Limited Company; a Registered or Limited Liability Partnership
    • Turnover: The annual turnover should not exceed 100 crores in any year since incorporation
    • Formation: The business should not have been formed by splitting the company
    • Potential: The should a potential to improve existing product or service and creation of wealth and employment in the process

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    What is Startup India Seed Fund?

    The Fund of Funds for Startups was set up in 2016 so that new companies could get assistance in raising equity capital through the Fourteenth and fifteenth Finance commission cycles. The size of this corpus was a huge 10,000 crores and it was mainly designed towards raising equity capital.

    With the announcement of the Startup India Seed Fund, the Government has taken its initiative a step further. Allocating 1,000 crores for gaining access to debt capital by providing the guarantee for these young companies.

    What will the Startup Seed India Fund do for Startups?

    Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi announced that the new Startup Seed India fund will assist companies source funds for their growth and operative costs. The main aim is to assist with gaining access to debt capital by providing a guarantee to potential investors and lenders.

    Your undertaking gets a solid back in form of a government guarantee and securing the needed funding. On the other hand, while lenders and investors have peace of mind having secured the return of their money.

    This follows a similar initiative by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in 2020 to select up to 300 startups and provide them financial assistance. This would include funds up to rupees twenty-five lakhs and a host of other benefits.

    The Startup seed India Fund is expected to be designed along similar lines and more details are expected in the forthcoming weeks as the structure is set in place for encouraging new enterprises by the Indian Government.

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    What Advantages would Startups get with Startup Seed India Fund?

    Startup India has a lot of in-store for the new enterprise. And as it sees a new dimension added to it, you can without doubt expect the advantages to be aligned with each other:

    • Simple Process: The government recognizes that setting up a new venture is exhausting; thus, the registration process is simple and straightforward. Most of it can be even completed online and the documentation required is easily accessible.
    • Inexpensive: The government can provide information about facilitators who help in completing expensive processes at lower costs. And the statutory and other fees may be borne by the government or kept very nominal.
    • Access to Funds: A 1000 crores corpus has been set aside by the government for the Startup Seed India Fund. This government will also provide a guarantee to lenders and other investors to help raise debt funding for the undertaking.
    • Simplified compliances: Many compliances and essential requirements have been simplified to save time and money. This makes the process more transparent, easily understandable, secure, and understood by the masses.
    • Tax Benefits: There are usually tax benefits offered to both new companies and investors. The new institution will get either be exempt from tax or reduced tax up to a certain turnover. The lender will have similar facilities for the money invested.

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    FAQ’s

    What is Startup India scheme?

    Startup India Scheme is an initiative by the Government of India for generation of employment and wealth creation. The goal of Startup India is the development and innovation of products and services and increasing the employment rate in India. Startup India was launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

    Who are eligible for Startup India?

    Being incorporated or registered in India for less than seven years and for biotechnology startups up to 10 years from its date of incorporation. Annual turnover not exceeding INR 25 crores in any of the preceding financial years.

    How do I get funding for my Startup?

    One of the most popular forms of startup funding is through venture capital. High-net-worth individuals, giant super funds, corporates and other groups invest in venture funds, which are managed by investors, who invest in startups on their behalf, taking equity stakes in the business.

    How much Fund has the Indian Govt. announced for Startups?

    The Indian Government has taken its initiative a step further by announcing the Startup India Seed Fund and allocated 1,000 crores for the startups.

    Conclusion

    Under the current Regime, India has seen a more robust environment conducive to the establishment and growth of startups. The Indian government has promoted new ventures not only to engage the youth. But also, to bring forth innovation, create employment, strengthen the economy and development of the nation. This new Startup India Seed Fund is another step to make the future brighter and make India self-sufficient.

  • Skillate- Solving the Complications of Recruitment Flawlessly

    Recruitment is a tough process and it’s not just today but it always has been. Intending to make recruitment Easy, Fast and Transparent, Bipul Vaibhav, Anand Baranwal, and Kumar Sambhav launched Skillate in 2016. The whole idea behind this venture is to shift the focus of recruitment teams “from the ‘how’ to the ‘who’, i.e. process automation to candidate recommendation.”

    Skilliate HighLights

    Startup Name Skilliate
    Headquarter Bangalore
    Sector HR Tech
    Founders Bipul Vaibhav, Anand Baranwal, Kumar Sambhav
    Founded 2016
    Website skillate.com

    Skilliate Details

    Skillate – About and How it works
    Skillate- USP and Innovation
    Skillate – Target Market Size
    Skillate – Founders and Team
    Skillate – How did skilliate start?
    Skillate – Startup Launch
    Skillate – Business Model and Revenue Model
    Skillate – Startup Challenges
    Skillate – Funding and Investors
    Skillate – Advisors and Mentors
    Skillate – Growth
    Skillate – Future Plans

    Skillate – About and How it works

    Skillate is an advanced decision-making engine to make hiring easy, fast, and transparent. The AI-based platform helps in optimizing the entire value chain of recruitment, beginning from creating the job requisition, to resume matching, to candidate engagement. Skillate can work as both –

    1. A standalone Application Tracking Software (ATS) that takes care of the end-to-end recruitment needs of your organizations, or
    2. As an intelligent system that integrates with your existing ATS to make your recruitment easy, fast, and transparent.

    Skillate solutions are solving the following problems:

    • Candidate sourcing: Skillate’s new-age sourcing methodology continuously expands your central database through a connected network of resources: job boards, emails, ATS, consultancies, referrals, career pages, etc. Skillate solutions help you utilize your central database better.
    • Candidate screening: Skillate Chatbot and AI-powered matching, thinks like a recruiter and provides AI-backed scores for candidates based on education, experience, and skill levels. The intelligent platform provides ‘much beyond a keyword match’, and understands patterns and context to ensure that you never miss out on a quality candidate.
    • Candidate experience: The Conversational AI of our chatbot automates communication and creates personalized candidate experiences at scale. It captures information beyond resumes (for ex.- shift and relocation readiness) and keeps the information repository fresh. Our JD assistant, on the other hand, gives real-time feedback to recruiters on their JD and helps them in writing detailed job descriptions to attract the best candidates.

    Also Read: Top 6 Ways ChatBot For Business Can Help You

    Skillate- USP and Innovation

    Skillate has trained its system with over 20 million diverse profiles and has 15+ paying clients. Working with it, the clients have achieved the following benefits:

    • Reducing hiring time by 65%
    • Cost per hire by more than 30%
    • 40% Lesser Interviews
    • 2.2x conversions

    Some other prominent USP’s are:

    • The AI-based solutions are ‘self-learning’ and provide improved results over time
    • Skillate is secured and is working with some of the biggest enterprises across sectors
    • Skillate integrates with existing ATSs like Success Factor and Taleo to help organizations with a smooth transition
    • Skillate works efficiently at scale. The platform processes 5 Lakh resumes screening in 4 seconds
    • Skillate is the official partner of SAP

    Skillate – Target Market Size

    The Recruitment Industry in India is growing at 21% per year and is approximately worth Rs. 35,000 crores as per Executive Recruiters Association and Ernst & Young. The global recruitment software market size was valued at US$ 1,753.2 Mn in 2017 and is projected to reach US$ 3,095.8 Mn by the end of 2025, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.4%, according to Fortune Business Insights.

    The technology landscape is dynamic. Currently, traditional products like Workday, SuccessFactors, etc. are used by enterprises. Even though these solutions promise end-to-end management of the recruiting process, there are gaping holes that need to be filled. Solutions that use cutting edge technology along with the power of AI to integrate with these existing platforms can solve some real pain points of the industry. New players like Skillate, Talview, HackerEarth, Leena AI, KPISoft, Xoxoday, etc. are centering themselves around a mother platform to make the entire recruitment experience seamless.

    “People Analytics” and “Offer to Joining Ratio” are two new problems of this decade. Diversity and Inclusion is one of the core agendas for all the large enterprises today, and it is a global mandate to implement this at scale. The industry has started talking about the Quality of Hire and Reduced TAT by leveraging technology. The world is expecting to see some great innovation happening in these areas. So, in general, there are exciting times ahead. In the next 5 years, the industry will talk about analytics in the HR function by leveraging tools like Tableau or Power BI the way we do it in Sales, Marketing, or Operations.

    Skillate – Founders and Team

    The founders Skillate are Bipul Vaibhav, Anand Baranwal, and Kumar Sambhav. Sambhav and Bipul are friends from their college days. Sambahv was more into technology, and Bipul always had a great sense of business. When they decided to start their venture, Anand, who was living with them as their flatmate, decided to join in. Anand was working in Tracxn then as an analyst and had developed a deep understanding of the startup ecosystem during his research.

    Bipul Vaibhav, Co-founder, and CEO, Skillate- At Skillate, Bipul is responsible for AI, Investment, and overall business growth of Skillate. Before founding Skillate, Bipul worked as a Data Scientist at DataWeave Software Pvt Ltd, where he developed a machine learning model to classify the product categories of e-commerce products. He also worked as an advanced software engineer with Burning Glass Technologies for a little less than a year. Bipul holds a B. Tech degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from IIT Guwahati. He has co-authored a paper on an autonomous river cleaning robot and a model for video classification using semantic keywords. He holds research publications in the field of Artificial Intelligence at International Forums like SPIE and IEEE. Bipul is passionate about Cricket, Reading books, and Building software products.

    Bipul Vaibhav, Co-founder, and CEO, Skillate

    Anand Baranwal, Co-founder, Skillate – As one of the co-founders of Skillate, Anand’s primary role/responsibility is to drive business and growth at Skillate. He is responsible for Business Development, Marketing, and Hiring the right talent for his company. Before co-founding Skillate, Anand has had extensive experience as an analyst with Tracxn where he engaged with the FinTech industry in the Southeast Asia region. He has also managed projects for JSW Steel Ltd. Anand graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Production and Industrial Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur. Anand’s specialization skills lie in the areas of Business Development and Operations activities. Anand’s passion is to find and meet like-minded people to learn and grow in all aspects of life.

    Kumar Sambhav, Co-founder, Skillate – Sambhav is the Co-founder at Skillate and he is responsible for strategy, roadmap, and feature definition of the product to deliver unique value to our clients. Before Skillate, Kumar was involved in software development at Capillary Technologies. He was working in the product that handles the campaign management and subscription management for the client. Sambhav holds a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from IIT Guwahati. He specializes in software design and system architecture which varies from the backend to the front part of the application. He is passionate about music and plays guitar in his spare time. He has a sports bug and plays Tennis and Table Tennis.

    Currently, the Skillate team is made up of 25+ dynamic individuals with expertise in different domains. Skillate management is flexible with working hours and doesn’t believe in micromanagement. There is just one criterion to join the Skillate team- behave like an entrepreneur while respecting the team dynamics.

    Also Read: How to Hire CTO for Your Startup

    Skillate – How did it start?

    In January 2015, Bipul was working for an analytics software company in Chennai. Unhappy with his role, Bipul contacted various organizations with openings, but to no avail. The frustrating part was not that he was getting rejected, but that often, he would simply not receive any response from the recruiters. He had no clarity on what stage his applications were getting rejected, or even if they were noticed at all!

    This got Bipul thinking about the lack of transparency prevalent in the recruitment process. He realized that even though candidates desperately want a response from the company on the stature of their candidature, large corporations often don’t have the time and bandwidth to respond to every candidate at each stage of the hiring process. With corporate firms receiving millions of applications every year, the unstructured hiring process not only keeps the candidates in the dark but also deprives organizations of the best talents.

    This led Bipul with his co-founders – Sambhav and Anand to form Skillate, an AI-based platform that makes recruitment Easy, Fast, and Transparent with its cutting edge technology.

    Skillate – Startup Launch

    In the beginning, when the co-founders had only tested the platform on LinkedIn profiles, they connected to an HR manager through a mutual connection and collected about 1600 resumes. “We tested our algorithms on these resumes and failed miserably! We were shocked. It was one of the days when we doubted if we should go ahead with our product or not.” Says Bipul Vaibhav.

    However, rather than giving up, the team went back to the drawing board and revisited the basics of the technology they had created. They understood that to truly make AI work in a complex industry like recruitment, they will need to consider the human element of resume making.

    For example, they can’t just feed the machine with names and expect that it will understand the context. Let’s say a candidate has written his address as “next to Lakshmi road”. The machine needs to understand that here ‘Lakshmi’ is the name of the street and not a person as it normally would be.

    Similarly, as they tested more and more resumes, they understood some of the different patterns of resumes. Simple elements, like mail id and contact information, are placed at different places by different candidates. And then they trained the algorithms to identify elements like that.

    After this, the first person they spoke to was Tanuj Choudhry from HomeLane and Anuj Agarwal from zyoin. They had a deep understanding of the recruitment industry and came from a rich technical background. Then the founders started with finalizing a set of target organizations and sent highly personalized emails to the decision-makers so that they can trust the product as well as them. In the early stage, founders must make themselves as credible as they want their product to be. Apart from the personalized emails, in-depth market research helped them in understanding the pain points of our customers. Word of mouth and reference from existing clients also played a crucial role in acquiring new clients since they were highly satisfied with the product.

    Skillate – Business Model and Revenue Model

    Skillate charges on a yearly subscription model, depending on the size of the company.

    Skillate – Startup Challenges

    Recruitment as an industry still plays by the old rules. Convincing the team that heads technology can make their work easier and more efficient was a challenge. Even after Skillate’s solutions convinced them, adoption in the company remained an issue. Also, it’s dashboard’s highly intuitive design, along with our committed customer success team, ensured that adopting the Skillate platform was a smooth process with little training to the recruitment team.

    Skillate – Funding and Investors

    In October 2019, Skillate raised its pre-Series A funding of $1 Million from investors like Mynavi Corporation, Incubate Fund, and Whatfix Founders, among others.

    Also Read: Top Funded Startups India

    Skillate – Advisors and Mentors

    The advisors and mentors of Skillate are:

    • Shraddhanjali Rao – Head HR – SAP, India, Partner to the business
    • Abhijit Bhaduri – ex-Chief learning Officer – Wipro.

    Skillate – Growth

    Skillate is working with some of the biggest enterprises of the country, including the likes of Yes Bank, OYO, Saint-Gobain, L&T Financial Services, Software AG, RBL Bank, Liberty Insurance, Bigbasket, etc.

    Skillate – Future Plans

    “International expansion is one of our key focus areas, especially in the US. As we expand, we are making our product multi-lingual and more scalable so that it can handle even more volume.” Concluded Bipul Vaibhav.

  • Trade Show Advice For Startups

    Every year, thousands of trade shows are held across the globe. They are popular, not to mention effective, way to promote products and services to a wider audience. Trade shows have been effectively used to scale businesses and as an essential tactic in taking them to the next level. Startups can find particular success at trade shows as these shows thrive in key areas such as emerging technology and innovation.

    The best thing about a trade show is that the startup or small business does will find a ready-made audience available to them. Pick the right event and you will find a significant audience of your target demographic available to you.

    “Gearing up for a trade show is like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle. Pieces can come up missing, but companies should do their best in advance to make it all fits together to their advantage.” – Susan Friedmann, Author

    Trade shows are equally popular with customers as they are with exhibitors for several reasons. Firstly, trade allows customers (whether B2C or B2B) to investigate all their options before purchasing goods or services. This is great for startups, too, because it allows them to have real-time interactions with customers and inform them about their product. Secondly, trade shows are frequented by investors because it is a well-known fact that these events are marketing hubs and allow investors to discover the latest startups worth investment. Investors are key players in growing your startup, which can be seen in this example of a startup’s incredible growth.

    Once you have made the wise decision to attend a trade show, it is critical to make sure you make the most out of your attendance. Here are some trade show advice and tips for startups to maximize your trade show presence and use the event to attract new customers, drive sales and grow your business.

    Trade Show Advice

    1. Know Your Niche

    Invest in a trade show that is geared towards your products and services. It is obvious that a car accessories company should exhibit their products at an automobile show instead of at an agricultural festival. However, you should dig into this a bit deeper, as within each industry there is a range of shows and you should make sure to attend the ones suitable to your niche in order to avoid wasting time and money. In the same way, you must find a trade show which has an audience relevant to your brand. Knowing your niche inside and out will help you to make such decisions.

    2. Invest In Your Display

    First impressions last forever. The very first impression your startup will give a potential customer is through your booth or display. A well-made booth will convince attendees that your is professional and is serious about business. Investing in a professional booth from a company like Fret Free Productions will be well worth the investment.
    A poorly designed display, on the other hand, will not attract consumers and may give an impression that something is lacking in your company, which is not what any startup wants! It pays to hire a professional to design your display because it is the first impression of your startup that people will have. Make it attractive, on-brand and sure to capture attention even in a busy trade show all!

    Also Read: Best ways to find Business Ideas

    3. Advertise As Much As You Can

    Ahead of the trade show event, be sure to let people know that your startup will be attending! Marketing your attendance may attract people who have had an eye on your product for a while, or may help you attract brand new prospects. Use the power of social media to promote the trade show and send out invites to people in your network who may be interested in attending your display at the event. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are good platforms for this.

    Also Read: Digital Marketing Business Ideas

    4. Rehearse Before The Show

    Before the show, gather your teammates and employees and decide on a game plan. Discuss ways to approach customers and promote your product and company. Being prepared in advance will pay off on the final day. You can even go as far as to have a “dress rehearsal” of how to set up the booth and how to talk to customers.

    5. Encourage Your Team Members

    Remember that the success of your startup depends on the performance of your team. Keep them motivated and happy to ensure they perform strongly at the show. Encourage them to do their best. Leadership skills are vital in such situations. Do your best to stay calm and work side by side with your employees. The result will be workers that are happily engaged in promoting the startup and introducing new customers to your company.

    Read Also: Tips and Hacks which StartupTalkers used to Grow their Startups

    6. Create An Interactive Experience

    Allow your customers to ask questions. If you talk to them and be open to discussions, they will gain a better understanding of the product and will be more likely to purchase it. Samples are another brilliant way to capture your customer’s attention and interact with them. Testing the start up’s product or service first-hand is a sure way to boost sales! You could also set up other fun, interactive elements that will help draw attendees to your booth such as games.

    7. Organize Your Time And Resources

    Start planning your display well in advance to avoid any unwanted bumps in the road. Even if a problem does occur, by starting early, you will have ample time to resolve the issue. Being late to the event will make your startup look unprofessional. It is a sign of lack of commitment, so be sure to arrive well in advance! As for resources, create a detailed itinerary and check you have everything you. Also, make sure your employees all arrive. Employee presentation is critical. It is a part of what defines your brand. Ensure their outfits are well pressed and clean.

    8. Give away stuff for free

    Customers love free stuff. You can offer simple things such as freshly baked cookies. You can go a step further with promotional goods such as pens, hats, notebooks, or water bottles. Try to offer something relevant to your brand.
    When customer sees your product more, he or she will become more eager to find your booth and see what you’re about. This strategy is great for sales because once someone has tried something, they often feel obliged to make a purchase.

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

    9. Flyers And Business Cards

    Keep a stack of printed flyers and contact cards ready to distribute amongst visitors. This will help them remember your startup and have a way to contact your team for future reference. Make sure they are well designed and professional. Flyers and cards can have a lasting impact on customers, so keep them well stocked and ready for distribution!

    “Be audacious and memorable… but smart… and relevant.” -Ken Krogue

    Conclusion

    Keep these tips in mind when planning for your startup’s trade show. Whether it is the first one, or the last one, the event deserves your full attention. Trade shows can be the key to a successful entrepreneurial future for startups. Your next trade show might just be where you’ll meet your next investor, so make sure to give it your all. Stay on top of things, be organized, and on time. Be patient and responsive to your customers’ and employees’ needs. By following these suggestions, your trade show event is bound to be a roaring success!