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 Notebook Company.
Internet is steadily revolutionizing the Indian education system. Gone are the days when students used to pass hours in the library searching for that one reference book. Now every topic and every subject is available online. Furthermore, with more and more Edtech companies coming up, both the teaching and learning process has become easier.
Many startups have come up in India with innovative ideas in the Edtech sector. Notebook is one such Edtech Startup based in Kolkata. Notebook company’s vision is to enable access to high-quality education for every child. It strives to establish a benchmark in educational content quality for the Indian school curriculum.
Beyond its commercial presence, Notebook exists to empower positive social change. Its vernacular feature allows children to learn their syllabus in their regional languages. The videos include instructor-led components as well as graphic visualization elements to reinforce storytelling. Hand-drawn illustrations, soothing music, and well-thought-out creative design augment the Storytelling and enhance understanding and retention of topics.
Notebook company is also engaged in dialogue with the Education departments of various countries, to digitize education in these countries. There are on-going discussions with the governments in South Asia and GCC regions, and some other countries where the government is trying to serve different issues in their traditional education system through the distribution of digital content.
Products
The product is a self-learning environment. In its current shape and form, it provides videos and textual content that explain topics from school syllabi. Notebook has started with CBSE and will be adding more boards soon. It is available on the web, Android app, and iOS app.
Through its products Notebook company aims to bring out the curiosity among students and engage them. As in class holding the students’ attention for a long time is a challenge for the teachers, Notebook has attempted to create the audio-visuals in such a way that seems interesting to the students. Currently the course available in Notebook is English for CBSE 8th, 9th and 10th standard. Study Notes and Solved Questions are also included in the course.
The platform also employs Machine Learning to offer personalized learning pathways to the students. The back end will keep learning through usage patterns and use them in the future to recommend content to students based on individual learning needs.
Technology Used
Notebook operates on the Google Cloud and delivers video streams through the same pathway as YouTube. It has implemented best-in-class DRM to protect against piracy.
Notebook – Industry Details
According to a report by Google and KPMG, the online education industry in India will grow from $247Million to $1.96 billion by 2021, There are 260 million school students in India as per U-DISE reports. This provides a massive opportunity to deliver a high-quality product.
According to Cisco, just as with the advent of mobile phone connectivity has seen exponential growth from 3% to almost 100%, likewise, the smartphone will increase the computer penetration from 12-13% to 60-70%. As such, with Smartphone now being affordable and available to everyone, online education is no longer dependent on the computer.
Notebook – Founders and Team
Achin Bhattacharyya, Subhayu Roy and Abhishek Dutta are the co-founders of Notebook.
Achin Bhattacharyya
Achin Bhattacharyya – Co-founder of Notebook
Achin Bhattacharyya worked as a Chartered Accountant prior to the inception of Notebook. He worked with some of the best consultancy firms in India and abroad. His last stint was with Deloitte as a Director, prior to which he worked with KPMG, PwC, GE, and others, both in India and overseas. Achin takes care of overall strategy, content design, and finance at Notebook. Achin Bhattacharyya is the Co-founder and CEO of the company. An avid reader and passionate traveller himself, Achin has a keen interest in Economics, History, and Literature and Philosophy. He is a regular speaker at various forums and also contributes articles to numerous publications. He is also on the board of some of the most renowned corporates and contributes significantly to brand strategies.
Subhayu Roy
Subhayu Roy – Co-founder of Notebook
Subhayu did his Engineering from RVCE, Bangalore, and his MBA from TAPMI, Manipal. He had worked with L&T in Construction, and then with OnMobile in Africa for 4 years setting up a mobile content business. He headed Perform Group (UK)’s South Asia business before leaving and starting up Notebook. He also worked previously with VerSe Innovation, the parent company of Josh and Dailyhunt. Subhayu looks after Marketing of the edtech startup, Technology, and Product at Notebook.
Abhishek Dutta
Abhishek Dutta – Co-founder of Notebook
Abhishek is a qualified Chartered Accountant with 16 years of working experience in the corporate world. He has led large teams (400+) for delivering finance and accounting services to Fortune 500 companies.
The Co-Founders – Subhayu and Abhishek, bring valuable additions in terms of expertise and experience to Notebook.
The leadership at Notebook company believes that universal access to high-quality education is the only sustainable way to achieve social upliftment. To this end, Notebook has been proactively partnering with Government departments and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) across the globe. Currently, there are 50+ members of the startup team.
Notebook founder
Notebook – Startup Story
It was over the course of a discussion that we realized that an ‘Over The Top (OTT)’ approach in education was possible.
In March 2017, Achin was visiting Subhayu in Delhi. They were having a general discussion on the various social evils present in society and how these evils can be eradicated through education. Subhayu was working in the Sports content space and was witnessing the OTT phenomenon. Soon the idea stuck in their mind that they can make education easily available through the OTT approach.
After this, Subhayu and Achin spent a year traveling across India and abroad – visiting students, teachers, universities, academicians across various places and different strata of the society to identify the pain points.
In March 2018, they started developing content, which they kept sharing with teachers and students at every step for feedback. They gave leaflets to schools, actively courting criticism!
Both Subhayu and I have spent years in the Corporate world. Managing time effectively is second nature to us. We spend time and effort in finding the right people. Once we do, we empower them, trust them and watch as they take the lead on things. – Achin Bhattacharyya, CEO of Notebook
When we started out, we had a few names on the board to choose from. Given that we needed to be attractive to school students, we were thinking of names that were fun, tech-oriented, used intelligent wordplay. – Achin Bhattacharyya, CEO of Notebook
Finally, Achin and Shubhayu came up with the name ‘Notebook’. It was simple, direct and known. Even in logo and colours, the company kept things the same way – simple and direct. The choice of the Golden yellow colour stood for excellence and it is also believed to be Goddess Saraswati’s colour.
Notebook- logo
Notebook – Business and Revenue Model
Notebook is a subscription-based service operating on a Freemium model. It is India’s first after-school digital learning portal. Schools get access to concise and engaging high-quality audio-visual teaching aids for classrooms, and students get individual personalised access to the same content on their personal devices so that they can study at their convenience. Since its commercial launch in September 2019, the Notebook app has been downloaded and used by more than 90,000 students from across India, and several schools have already started implementing Notebook videos in their classrooms.
According to Achin and Suvayu, Notebook’s USP is the content and pricing strategy. The content design has been consciously done in a way that engages the student.
We have devised an augmented storytelling technique that invites the student to imagine along with the video, and this shows great results in understanding and retention. – Achin Bhattacharyya, CEO of Notebook
Notebook is available at a price of Rs 1,999 for all subjects for a month and Rs 9,999 for an annual subscription with unlimited access.
Achin and Suvayu felt the necessity for the product to be made affordable to the average Indian parent, and this is what they have modeled into Notebook’s subscription.
Notebook – Funding
Notebook is currently bootstrapped startup. It has not received any funding yet.
Notebook – Growth
Notebook has served over 2.3 million users as of November 2021. It had over 300,000 users before the lockdown and increased to 2.32 million in 2021.
Notebook – Challenges
The greatest challenge faced was establishing a balance between content and pedagogy. The content had to be comprehensive and yet crisp. The pedagogy had to be engaging without distracting. So there were quite a few balances to strike.
Creating high-quality content ensuring that the students find it engaging and also which is easily memorable was a challenging task. However, Achin and Subhayu actively discussed the issues, expectations, and requirements with the teachers and students across the country. On the basis of the feedback received, Notebook was able to come up with an easily comprehensible and memorable design for the content.
Support from family and friends is the highest asset during challenging times.
Both of us have been fortunate that our family and friends have believed in us right from the get-go. Every person we told about our decision felt that we were doing the right thing. It has been immensely encouraging to have so many people put their faith in us. – – Achin Bhattacharyya, CEO of Notebook
Notebook – Competitors
There are quite a few companies that are registered as Ed-tech with the ROC. However, very few are known and regularly used by students. Byju’s has done an outstanding job in Maths and Science, and in building a self-learning habit. Others like Meritnation and Toppr have been around for a while, and have their own content philosophies. They believe that the true competition is with rated content, pirated videos, and other distractions that students today has access to.
Notebook is growing under the active mentorship of –
Mr. Ashok Ganguly – Former Chairman, CBSE for 8 years.
Dr. Mrs. Minakhi Das – Former Chief Controller of Exams, Odisha Board
Notebook – Work Culture
I believe that the best way to treat any employee is to not treat him or her as an employee. – Achin Bhattacharyya, CEO of Notebook
The Notebook team is like a close-knit family where the team members continuously help and support each other. Notebook has provided accommodation facility to its team members who are from outside Kolkata. This is a caring gesture and it has helped to improve the work efficiency of the team members.
Notebook – Awards
Notebook bagged the awards for the Best Website and the Best App at the World Digital Marketing Congress – two awards in 2020 at The Taj Lands’ End, Mumbai.
On winning the awards, Achin Bhattacharyya, CEO, and Founder of Notebook said, “From its very inception, Notebook has been driven by a vision to help students learn. The content design, product development, research, and technology have all stemmed from this core value. It is immensely encouraging for the whole team, and me personally, to be recognised by such an eminent forum for our efforts. India has seen a mushrooming of Edtech products in recent times, and many of them believe in aggressive overselling. We, however, have always believed in the quality of our content and the intuitive nature of our product and this has been such a wonderful validation of that approach. Our App and Website are both embodiments of the essential values that Notebook embodies – respect for every individual, inclusion in all our actions and immense pride in the work we do. I am humbled by this recognition, and attribute it to two things – our ability to precisely and accurately assess the students’ learning needs, and the tireless effort from our entire team. Accolades like this provide us with greater impetus to work harder.”
Notebook – Future Plans
It is just the beginning for Notebook company, and Achin and Subhayu are planning to make things big. Notebook’s future plans include-
Creating content in 10 vernacular languages apart from English.
To provide educational aids for dyslexic and visually challenged students.
To bridge the gap in the school education system in different subjects and different boards.
FAQs
What is Notebook?
Notebook is a digital learning platform that combines video and text content to deliver learning materials according to Board curricula.
Who is the founder of Notebook startup?
Achin Bhattacharyya, Subhayu Roy, and Abhishek Dutta are the co-founders of Notebook.
When was Notebook founded?
Notebook, the Kolkata-based startup was founded in 2018.
Who is the CEO of Notebook?
Achin Bhattacharyya is the Co-founder and CEO of Notebook company.
Hyderabad is a major center for the technology industry. It is home to many upscale restaurants and shops. Hyderabad is historically referred to as a pearl and diamond trading center. Hence, it is known as the “City of Pearls”. We have also seen a sudden rise in emerging startups in Hyderabad. Here we present the list of startup companies in Hyderabad (2021).
Hyderabad is the startup hub that empowers the startup ecosystem of India. Here is the list of startups in Hyderabad.
SFarmsIndia is an online web application with two core functions; listing and fraction trading. These two functions work together creating a great synergy. On the listing platform, buyers can find/search agricultural lands and sellers can list/post the agricultural lands for sale/lease. This enables farmers and agri-realty developers to buy and sells agri lands.
SFarmsIndia’s main USP is Fraction Trading. It makes an agreement with the seller (agri-realty developer) to issue fractions by digital land contract against their lands.
The sellers/Agri reality developers can liquidate their big land parcels utilizing these fractions. Each agri land is assigned with a digital contract and divided into 2000 fractions per acre, thereby enabling medium to small income groups to acquire lands easily.
SFarmsIndia is one of the successful startups in Hyderabad that was founded by Kamesh Mupparaju in 2018 with his cofounder Linus Lindgren. Kamesh is the CEO of the company whereas Linus is the advisor.
2. eKincare
Founder: Kiran Kalakuntla
Industry: Healthcare Tech
Year Founded: 2014
Funding Received: $20.7 million
ekincare Website
eKincare monitors medical information and gathers medical results from various providers. It updates profiles and gives a single repository for users and stores their medical records in the system.
With eKincare, companies can take care of their employees’ health and create personalised health benefits. It is an AI-driven platform which analyses the data of your employees and makes the reports accordingly.
Kiran Kalakuntla, founder and CEO of eKincare, did his engineering from Duke University. eKincare was founded by Kiran Kalakuntla and Srikanth Samudrala in 2014. Their investors include Ventureast, Bitkemy, Eight Roads and Endiya.
3. My Dream Store
Founder: Karthik Venkat
Industry: Online Clothing
Year Founded: 2014
Funding Received: $320k
Nobero Website
My Dream Store makes and sells T-shirts. Many people who want to make a particular kind of shirt, but can’t find it in the market or online, can create that shirt on mydreamstore.com and buy it.
In fact, people create clothes and sell them on the same platform. Hence, in another way, it is a clothing marketplace where people can buy and sell personalised products.
Karthik Venkat, the founder of My Dream Store, completed his engineering at Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology. Later, he worked as a Financial Analyst. In 2014, he founded My Dream Store. The company has now rebranded to Nobero.
4. MastiTickets
Founder: Ravi Narla
Industry: Ticket Booking
Year Founded: 2014
Funding Received: –
Launched in 2014, MastiTickets has partnered with over 120 cinemas in AP and Telangana. It enabled users to book tickets for movies through its website and mobile app. The startup was booming in those areas around 2016. Hence, in 2017, BookMyShow acquired MastiTickets in an all-cash deal. The amount of acquisition is still undisclosed.
Ravi Narla founded MastiTickets. Ravi is an Andhra University graduate and also completed his master’s from the same university. He worked as a Project Manager in many different companies till 2013, when he decided to start MastiTickets.
5. REVOS
Founders: Mohit Ranjan and Jyotiranjan Harichandran
Industry: Tech Startup
Year Founded: 2017
Funding Received: $4 million
Bolt Website
REVOS, which stands for Revolutionary OS, is an AI & ML-enabled, IoT Platform for the next generation’s vehicles. It powers 2 & 3-wheelers with intelligent hardware & software.
REVOS makes on-the-go vehicle data analysis, diagnostics, smart control and protection, and visualization. This Hyderabad-based startup has already partnered with companies like Mirakles, Udaan, etc.
REVOS was founded by Mohit Ranjan and Jyotiranjan Harichandran in 2017. After graduating in Engineering from BITS, Mohit worked with Oracle for one year and then Adobe for four years. The company is now Bolt.
Founders: Raji Harish, Rajesh Kumar, and Girish Patinharepatt
Industry: Health Tech
Year Founded – 2017
Funding Received: NA
Psynapce is a healthcare tech startup. It provides backend services to clinics and hospitals. Its includes services like analytics, inventory management, hospital information system, EMR system, etc.
Along with these B2B services, the startup has also launched an app called Savika. Savika app is for pregnant ladies and guides them through every phase of those nine months.
Psynapce was founded by Raji Harish, Rajesh Kumar, and Girish Patinharepatt. Raji is now the CEO of the company whereas Rajesh and Girish are Managing Director and COO respectively.
7. Darwinbox
Founders: Rohit Chennamaneni, Chaitanya Peddi, and Jayant Paleti
Industry: HR Tech
Year Founded: 2015
Funding Received: $107 million
Darwinbox Website
Darwinbox is a tool for recruiters to find and train employees. It enables the managers to track and analyse the performance of their employees on the go. Features like employee engagement, Payroll management, and HR workflow make it useful, and its application and voice bot makes it easy to use.
Rohit Chennamaneni, Chaitanya Peddi, and Jayant Paleti together founded Darwinbox. They were able to get 40 clients in just one year. The company has raised a total of $107 million in funding.
8. Popicorn
Founder: Prashanth Gowriraju
Industry: Food
Year Founded: 2016
Funding Received: $3.4 million
Although, Popicorn is a food startup, that started in a garage. Popicorn provides delicious popcorn with low calories but is full of fibers. You can get their popcorn in many different flavours. However, Popicorn’s products can be bought from particular online platforms or offline stores only.
Founded in 2016, Popicorn is a subsidiary of Timla Foods which was founded by Prashanth Gowriraju.
9. Zippr
Founder: Aditya Vuchi
Industry: Tech Startup
Year Founded: 2013
Funding Received: $8.6 million
Zippr Website
Zippr is a very innovative startup. It provides personalised addresses to everyone. If you have a Zippr code, you don’t have to enter long addresses while ordering something. You can give the Zippr code to anyone like a delivery man, cabs, etc.
With the Zippr code, they can easily track your house. Zippr code is a combination of 4 random alphabets and 4 random numbers. Currently, the service of this startup is limited to Hyderabad only.
Aditya Vuchi, the founder of Zippr, has done his engineering at Osmania University and later studied at West Virginia University. In 2013, he found Zippr which is funded by Amazon and Indian Angel Network. It has raised a total of $8.6M in funding 4 rounds.
NowFloats is a business management company headquartered in Hyderabad. It gives local businesses a platform to promote their products and help them get patents for their technology creation. Their main product is “Boost”.
Boost provides a website management app and also automates its SEO. Businesses simply need to update their websites and Boost takes care of everything related to it.
Ronak Kumar Samantray, Neeraj Sabharwal, Nitin Jain and Jasminder Gulati are the founders of NowFloats. Gulati has done him under graduation from the University of Mumbai. Nitin completed his MBA in Marketing and Finance from the Indian School of Business. Samantray has done his engineering at the College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar.
Health Sutra is a food startup. They provide tasty food products but with healthier ingredients. The startup is working towards redefining tradition with taste. They use traditional grains like Jowar, Bajra, Ragi, etc. to make ready-to-eat foods.
The startup was founded by Sai Krishna Popuri. Sai is a graduate of Delhi and has experience working with different startups in different positions.
12. TinMen
Founder: Mukesh Manda
Industry: Food Delivery
Year Founded: 2015
Funding Received: 406.3k
Tinmen is a food delivery app which offers homemade food. People can order food on their website or on the app. They have a pretty good range of food variety. It also offers a chance for the people to join their community and provide food service through their app and earn some money.
The startup was founded by Mukesh Manda in 2015. Mukesh is an IIT Kharagpur graduate and has experience working with companies like Oracle and Amazon. The company had to shut down its operations in 2019.
Founded in 1996, Bharat Biotech is a multidimensional biotechnology company. They are specialised in product-oriented research, development and manufacturing of vaccines and biotherapeutics. Their investors include ICICI Ventures and International Finance Corporation (IFC).
14. Cyient
Founder: B. V. R. Mohan Reddy
Industry: Computer Software
Year Founded: 1991
Funding Received: $15 million
Cyient Website
Cyient is a software company based in Hyderabad. Cyient is a global engineering and technology solutions company. Infotech Enterprises was re-branded Cyient in 2014 and featured among the top 30 outsourcing companies in the world as of 2018.
Cyient’s industry focus includes aerospace and defence, healthcare, telecommunications, rail transportation, semiconductor, geospatial, industrial, and energy.
15. GrabOn
Founders: Ashok Reddy and Bhanu P Raju
Industry: Coupons and deals
Year Founded: 2013
Funding Received: $250k
GrabOn Website
GrabOn stands as a famous Indian coupons and deals marketplace, which onboards subscribers and merchants to offer the best deals and coupons online to its users. Founded back in 2013 under the parent company, Inspirelabs Solutions Pvt Ltd. GrabOn is one of the leading startups in Hyderabad that initially bootstrapped its way and turned profitable in 15 months.
GrabOn boasts of 4,000+ merchants and over 6.5 million users per month. Apart from coupons, deals, and offers, GrabOn has further diversified into the gift cards industry with BestPriceOn and GrabOn Gift Cards. GrabOn is listed in the 266th position by the Financial Times as a high-growth company in Asia-Pacific.
16. Neeman’s
Founders: Amar Preet Singh and Taran Chhabra
Industry: Footwear
Year Founded: 2018
Funding Received: $9.8 million
Neeman’s Website
Founded as a footwear startup in 2018, Neeman’s is ideated to empower the usage of renewable, organic, and sustainable materials to design an attractive range of footwear for the young and old. These shoes manufactured by Neeman’s are stylish, and comfortable along with being eco-friendly.
17. Hug Innovations
Founders: Raj Neravati
Industry: Service industry, software
Year Founded: 2014
Funding Received: $5 million
Hug Innovations brings a range of wearable products that constantly aim to bridge the gap between people and technology. Hug Innovations believe that the world is in growing need of technology that is user-friendly and convenient. This is why they strive to develop cutting-edge wearables that are easy to use.
Titan Company Ltd acquired Hyderabad-based Hug Innovations on February 11, 2020.
18. SkinKraft
Founders: Chaitanya Nallan, Veerendra Shivhare, and Sangram Simha
Industry: Skincare, Tech, Beauty
Year Founded: 2017
Funding Received: NA
SkinKraft Website
SkinKraft Laboratories, founded in 2017 manufactures beauty products for the cosmetic industry users. The beauty products manufactured by SkinKraft are not only produced to cure chronic diseases but are also customized as per the users’ requirements.
Along with skincare, SkinCraft is also distinguished for its effective hair and immunity-boosting products and solutions.
19. Flatpebble
Founders: Pranav Mehta, Venkatesan Seshadri
Industry: Photography, wedding
Year Founded: 2012
Funding Received: $1 million
TechClove Technologies Private Limited formed as Flatpebble is a wedding photography services company that helps offer wedding photographers and wedding photography services online.
The customers can simply place their requirements/requests via forms to receive detailed quotes and the relevant portfolios of wedding photographers so that they can make their own decisions comfortably sitting in their homes.
Flatpebble.com is also a remarkable platform for both professional photographers and those who are in the making to approach a wide user base and cater to their varied requirements.
Flatpebble currently boasts over 500 portfolios and is established across 80+ cities and 5+ countries, as of October 2, 2021.
20. Paynear Solutions
Founders: Krishna Kishore V
Industry: Fintech
Year Founded: 2013
Funding Received:
A Fintech startup based in Hyderabad, Paynear Solutions strives to revolutionize the payment industry with its innovative solutions. Paynear Solutions extends state-of-the-art payment transaction solutions to small, medium, and large enterprises and other businesses in India to help them manage their payment activities. The company helps create payment transaction solutions to simplify the businesses of the present and those that are to come in the future.
21. Nukkad Shops Technologies
Founders: Vivek Shukla, and Ravi Korukonda
Industry: Payments app, POS
Year Founded: 2015
Funding Received: $1.4 million
Nukkad Shops Website
Nukkad Shops Technologies stands as a commerce platform that serves small and medium-sized grocers and companies. With the help of the advanced apps that Nukkad Shops provides, the retailers can get their billing done without any hassles. Furthermore, they can also manage their inventory, move their dead inventory with up-sell, cross-sell, enable a loyalty program, and more.
22. Zifi
Founders: Anurag Singh Rathore
Industry: Healthcare, Medical
Year Founded: 2002
Funding Received: NA
Zifi is famous as the registered trademark of FDC Limited, which helps in bringing smiles among clinicians across the country. Zifi is recognized as a trusted partner of the clinicians that has effectively treated 300 million+ patients from the day of its inception.
The state-of-the-art Novel drug delivery system and the exceptional experience of clinical success by the medical fraternity have truly made Zifi India’s no. 1 prescribed anti-infective.
Founded back in 2002, Zifi has grabbed the growing need of the clinicians and helped in treating a wide variety of infections with highly effective and affordable anti-infective therapy, newer anti-infective combinations were launched as extensions.
23. Froogal
Founders: Jeevan Chowdary Mandadapu
Industry: Software
Year Founded: 2016
Funding Received: $1 million
Froogal Website
Froogal is a startup company that provides its users with rewards for their shopping habits. It helps in engaging customers with the help of digital strategy. The main aim of Frrogal is to establish customer loyalty and retain them.
It works as a tool and takes care of the business marketing needs. Froogal offers rewards and provides emotional experiences to retail customers and their loyalty.
Conclusion
This was our list of startup companies in Hyderabad. If you know any other startups in Hyderabad, please contact us. We will connect to feature the story in this list of startups in Hyderabad.
Fintech, short for financial technology, has become a crucial part of the global economy., all financial tasks were completed through paperwork only, as a paper-based medium was considered to be the safest. But with the development of technology, the internet has emerged as the preferred platform for financial transactions.
It is essentially an economic industry composed of companies that use technology to make financial services more efficient. They are used mainly by individuals to help in mobile payments, insurance, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, stock trading, digital lending and credit, budgeting and much more. Tech-focused startups and similar new market entrants are disrupting the way in which the financial services industry conducts its operations.
India has the world’s second-biggest fintech hub with more than 2,565 startups operating currently, there were only 737 in 2014. India’s largest share from fintech startups is through ‘payments’ and is followed by lending, wealth tech, personal finance, insurtech, regtech and others.
Let’s look at the list of the top fintech companies in India.
800+ stories, thousands of founders, and millions of visitors. Want to be the next?
StartupTalky is where founders, entrepreneurs, startups and businesses hang out and look up to for inspiration. If you have the means, we have the medium! Inviting founders and startups who are building sustainable solutions from ground zero! Startups who run the show, StartupTalky will let the world know!
Paytm was founded in 2010 and is India’s largest payment company that offers consumers multi-source and multi-destination payment solutions. They allow consumers to make payments from any bank account to any other bank account free of cost, i.e., 0% fee charges. Over 8 million merchants have availed its comprehensive payment solutions.
Paytm was founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma and is owned by One97 Communications and is licensed by RBI. The Paytm app allows users to shop for both physical and digital goods, and also pay for DTH plans, bill payments, and mobile recharges.
The company partnered with Alibaba’s cloud computing arm – ‘AliCloud’ to expand its payment network on a global scale. They have investors like Berkshire Hathaway, SoftBank Group, and MediaTek and even raised an undisclosed amount from Ratan Tata in March 2015. It is arguably the biggest fintech startup in India.
2. Razorpay
Founder: Shashank Kumar, Harshil Mathur
Founded: 2013
Razorpay Logo
Founded in Bangalore, Razorpay focuses on the payment needs of startups and enterprises. With Razorpay, merchants can easily accept, process, and disburse money to and from their dealers. It was founded in 2014 by Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar.
Thousands of clients use its service as it allows an online business to accept, process, and distribute digital payments through various modes like debit cards, credit cards, net banking, UPI, and prepaid digital wallets. It is one of the biggest fintech companies in Bangalore.
3. Upstox
Founder: Ravi Kumar, Kavitha Subramanian and Shrini Viswanath
Founded: 2009
Upstox Logo
Upstox provides financial services such as investments in stocks, mutual funds, derivatives, commodities, ETFs, and digital gold. It ensures full transparency in pricing by offering zero brokerage for equity trades and up to INR 20 per order for intraday, commodities, and currencies.
The founders, Ravi Kumar, Kavita Subramanian, and Srini Vishwanath conceived this idea of making trading and investing easier and cheaper and created Upstox for fellow young Indians. The Mumbai-based company is backed by industry giants like Tiger Global and Ratan Tata and currently has more than 250 employees and the fintech is striving to make trading a second nature for its users.
4. Cred
Founder: Kunal Shah
Founded: 2018
Cred Logo
Cred is a fintech startup founded by Kunal Shah, the founder of FreeCharge. The app aims to make paying credit card bills simpler and rewards you for paying them on time. The app asks for your phone number to check your credit score with Cibil, CRIF and Experian.
5. ETMoney
Founder: Mukesh P Kalra
Founded: 2005
ETMoney Logo
ETMoney is a full-stack investment platform with a wide range of products in the domains of investments, credit cards and loans, insurance, and financial tools. It aims to simplify the financial journey of retail customers.
ETMoney was founded by Mukesh Kalra in 2015. A passionate company that indulges in personal finance, has become the first fintech company in India to introduce Aadhar-based SIP payments. With more than 100 crore bank accounts linked to Aadhar, the company plans to simplify installment payments with Aadhar OTP verifications.
The company has also partnered with Google Pay for a simplified way to invest in Mutual Funds and National Pension System.
Sampad Swain, Akash Gehani and Aditya Sengupta co-founded Instamojo in September 2012. Instamojo started as a solution provider of digital payments which now has progressively grown into a robust online platform for enterprises like micro, small, and medium so that they start, manage, and grow their businesses online.
MojoCapital from Instamojo helps disperse bite-sized short-term credit loans which are worth around $2 million. MojoCapital caters primarily to its merchants on a monthly basis, and it has shown a projected growth of 25% on the month on month basis.
PolicyBazaar is an online insurance aggregator for comparative analysis of products that are offered by various insurers using parameters like price, quality, and key benefits. It helps users compare insurance policies and assists them in selecting the best or the most relevant policy that can be purchased online or offline.
PolicyBazaar was founded by Yashish Dahiya, Alok Bansal, and Avaneesh Nirjar in June 2008 in Gurugram. They have raised over $650 million as of 2020. The online platform began as a price-comparison website and an information portal for learning about insurance and related programs; it then expanded to become a marketplace for insurance policies.
PolicyBazaar has tied up with insurance brokers which helps it procure information such as price, benefit, insurance cover, etc. directly from the insurers for the customer to compare. They do not charge anything from the customer for their service. The revenue for the company is generated from the fees charged for the marketing and advertisement stints done by insurance companies on its platform.
MobiKwik is an Indian fintech company that was founded in 2009 by Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku. It is headquartered in Gurugram. MobiKwik is a digital wallet service provider that offers services mobile and online payments, phone and DTH recharge, mobile transfers, online shopping and a lot more.
It allows users to store up to INR 50,000 in a MobiKwik wallet that can be used to recharge mobile, pay bills, and shop across various channels. Their users can also use the partial payment feature for ticket reservations and cash pick-up for bus tickets booking.
MobiKwik’s investors include Sequoia Capital, NET1, GMO Venture Partners to name a few. Post demonetization, MobiKwik has made it free to transfer money from your wallet to your bank account.
Before demonetization, they used to charge 4% for a non-KYC compliant user and 1% fee for a KYC (know your customer) compliant user. They have over 100 million users across India and many more are being added. Non-KYC compliant users can transfer from INR 1000 to INR 20,000 to their bank account. But once your KYC is done, you can store upto INR 1,00,000 in your MobiKwik wallet.
9. ZestMoney
Founders: Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma and Ashish Anantharaman
Founded: 2015
Zest Money Logo
Do you want to buy something offline on EMI but don’t own a credit card? Zest Money has a buy now pay later policy and offers an EMI option that you can use to purchase things online or offline from its partner merchants. It is another Bangalore-based startup founded by Lizzie Chapman, Ashish Anantharaman, and Priya Sharma.
10. Lendingkart
Founder: Harshvardhan Lunia and Mukul Sachan
Founded: 2014
Lendingkart Logo
Lendingkart is an online financing company founded by Harshvardhan Lunia and Mukul Sachan in 2014. Lendingkartprovides loans for working capital needs for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises); these loans are quick and collateral-free with minimal paperwork.
The company works across1300 cities and has disbused loans over INR 3,500+ crores till date (2020). Aditya Birla Capital, Saama Capital, Mayfield Fund, Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), and Darrin Capital Management are some of its prominent funding partners. In March 2016, Lendingkart entered into a strategic partnership with Mahindra’s SmartShift – a digitally enabled aggregator for cargo owners and transporters.
Lendingkart has access to a huge amount of data from data partners dispersed across the country. These data partners provide Lendingkart with diverse information about the vendor: educational qualification, family background, reputation, competitiveness in the market, etc.
Refrens is fairly new to the fintech industry in India. It was founded by Naman Sarawagi and Mohit Jain in 2019. Refrens provides a payment gateway system for freelancers to send and receive payments smoothly.
It offers free invoicing, payments, and expense management systems. For freelancers, it becomes easy to enable options like adding payment methods, offering discounts, etc. for their clients. It is so easy to use that it is possible to create an invoice in just 30 seconds.
Pine Labs is a Gurugram-based fintech platform that provides PoS (Point of Sale) software solutions for offline retailers and brands. It was founded in 1998 by Lokvir Kapoor, Rajul Garg and Tarun Upaday.
They initially offered a smart card-based payment and loyalty solution for the petroleum sector. It then introduced a PoS machine for offline merchants. Its ‘Plutus PoS’ solution is a cloud-based software that can be integrated with a generic POS terminal to allow retailers to accept debit and credit cards, e-wallets, QR codes, and UPI-based payments.
Pine Labs’ offerings include marketing tools, reporting and analytics, payment gateway API solutions, mobile payment solutions (via myPlutus), loyalty and gift card programs, value-added solutions like EMIs, discounts, pay by points, loyalty solutions, e-wallets and others.
The mobile app of Pine Labs is available on Android and iOS and can be used for targeted promotions, dynamic currency conversion and more. In 2017, Pine Labs launched its complete suite of services in Southeast Asian markets; it is present in Malaysia.
13. MoneyTap
Founders: Bala Parthasarathy, Kunal Varma, and Anuj Kacker
Founded: 2015
MoneyTap Logo
MoneyTap is India’s first app-based credit line. It provides you credit and you can repay your credit amount in flexible EMIs of 2 to 36 months. MoneyTap aims to make credit accessible to the Indians who use internet banking.
It uses customers’ details to evaluate the user’s eligibility and decide the credit limit. MoneyTap was launched in 2015 by Bala Parthasarathy, Kunal Verma, and Anuj Kacker.
14. Khatabook
Founders: Ravish Naresh, Dhanesh Kumar, and Jaideep Poonia
Founded: 2017
KhataBook Logo
Founded in October 2018, by Ashish Sonone, Dhanesh Kumar, Vaibhav Kalpe, Jaideep Poonia, and Ravish Naresh, Khatabook is the world’s fastest-growing SaaS company. It has become India’s leading business management app for MSMEs with 20M+ downloads in a remarkably short period of time.
This Bangalore-based mobile app service shares WhatsApp and SMS reminders to users when money is due to be paid or collected. Khatabook enables micro, small and medium merchants to track business transactions safely and securely.
Capital Float is a Bangalore-based digital finance company founded by Sashank Rishyasringa and Gaurav Hinduja that provides working capital loans and term loans to small businesses via a technology-led loan origination and credit underwriting platform.
Capital Float offers loans ranging from INR 1 lakh–INR 1 crore with terms between 1 – 12 months. The offered loans are based on cash flows, expected receivables, financials, CIBIL scores, and bank statements. Individuals can apply online for the loan and once the loan is approved, it is disbursed to their bank account.
If you have ordered from well-reputed corporate customers, you can borrow up to 80% of the value of an outstanding invoice, and repay only after you receive payment from your customer. The company has partnered with startups like Shopclues, Paytm, and Uber.
16. Shiksha Finance
Founders: V L Ramakrishnan and Jacob Abraham
Founded: 2014
Shiksha Finance Logo
Many individuals have the potential to become great students but the exorbitant tuition fees of educational institutions hinder them from pursuing education. Shiksha Finance provides short-term loans to students for their fees. The loan ranges from INR 10,000-INR to 30,050 and must be paid within 6-10 months. For a private school or college, the loan can range from INR 1 lakh-INR 73.5 lakh and can be paid within 6 months to 5 years. It was founded by Jacob Abraham in 2014.
Founded by Chandu Sohoni and Poorna Nayak in 2013, Amigobulls provides solutions to wealth management-related problems. You can get the daily stock analysis in the form of short, personalized videos.
The personalized videos are created automatically using Amigobulls’ technology; thousands of videos can be created in a few minutes. This fintech company offers investment advice and news to stock market investors through a patent-pending video generation technology.
18. KredX
Founders: Manish Kumar and Anurag Jain
Founded: 2015
KredX Logo
KredX isIndia’s first invoice discounting marketplace platform. It helps businesses gain quick access to working capital in around 24 to 72 hours by selling their unpaid receivables while providing investors with an opportunity to earn low-risk high returns through a unique short-term investment.
Founded by Anurag Jain, the company provides a technological platform that connects investors, both institutional and individual, with high-growth businesses looking for working capital through invoice discounting.
KredX’s objective is to facilitate short-term working capital to the SMEs raised against blue-chip companies to a network of financiers. KredX’s recent acquisition of Hummingbill, a New York-based startup – to strengthen technological capability has assisted the former to progress its growth curve in the lending space.
Founded by Ranjit Punja, Gowri Mukherjee and Rajasundaram Sudarshan in 2011, Credit Mantri is a credit facilitator which uses data and technology to help people make better financial decisions. It provides an Equifax credit score that is one of the four credit bureaus authorized in India by the RBI.
Anyone who needs credit can create a credit profile on CreditMantri’s website to apply for loans and credit card offers based on his or her credit profile. The Equifax score is used by CreditMantri to analyse the individual’s credit profile
Headquartered in Mumbai, Mswipe provides software solutions and payment devices to merchants. Mswipe works with all kinds of bank accounts; hence, merchants don’t have to open a new account for their devices. The company was founded in 2011 by Manish Patel.
21. Financial Software Systems (FSS)
Founders: Nagaraj Mylandla
Founded: 1991
FSS Logo
Financial Software Systems Pvt. Ltd. was founded in 1991 and is a Chennai-based fintech venture that provides electronic payment and financial transaction processing solutions and services globally. Financial Software Systems records all of the financial activities within a business organization.
Its products include card management, merchant management, mobile payments, financial inclusion, messaging middleware, and value-added solutions. FSS also offers software services that include systems integration, offshore development, project management and implementation, and 24/7 global helpdesk support services.
22. BankBazaar
Founder: Rati Rajkumar
Founded: 2008
BankBazaar Logo
BankBazaar is a Chennai-based online financial platform founded in 2008 by Adhil Shetty, Arjun Shetty, and Rati Shetty for product distribution and comparison analysis. It enables users to buy personal loans, home loans, auto loans, and education loans.
BankBazaar also offers debit and credit cards, life insurance, health insurance, auto insurance, travel insurance products, mutual funds, fixed deposits, and savings accounts. With multiple offers from multiple banks, you can compare offers and check your eligibility in minutes.
Users only need to provide basic details to apply for a product online and can track its status. BankBazaar’s revenue comes from application-based commissions from banks. Customers don’t need to pay any charge.
23. Active.Ai
Founder: Ravi Shankar, Parikshit Paspulati, Shankar Narayanan
Founded: 2016
Active.Ai Logo
Active.Ai provides chatbot solutions to all types of banks and other financial institutions. Although it is a Singapore-based startup, it has a lab in Banglore and was founded by 3 Indians – Ravishankar, Shankar Narayan, and Parikshit Paspulati in 2016. The main focus of Active.Ai is on the banking sector.
24. Finly
Founder: Vivek Alike Ganapathy
Founded: 2017
Finly Logo
Finly lets companies and startups analyse their expenses. Besides expense management, Finly also eases the process of fund disbursement, vendor payment, and helps with the automation of collection. It builds financial software products to save the companies money and time. It was founded in 2015 by Vivek AG.
25. Ezetap
Founder: Byas Nambisan
Founded: 2011
Ezetap Logo
Ezetap, co-founded by Abhijit (Bobby) Bose and Bhaktha Keshvachar, provides businesses and financial institutions with smart technological transaction solutions. The Company develops and commercializes a mobile point of sale (PoS) solution that allows mobile devices to be converted into PoS terminals by connecting a card-reader to the headphone jack of the device.
Financepeer helps to pay the entire year fees upfront to the School in one installment and collects fees in 3 to 12 monthly installments from parents at 0 Interest and 0 Cost. It is a Google incubated School (K-12) Fee Financing Company.Rohit Gajbhiye, Naveesh Reddy, Sunit Gajbhiye and Debi Prasad Baral launched Financepeer in 2017 to cater to an audience that cannot afford to pay the school fees all at once.
Loanwalle.com was founded by Sachin Mittal in 2015. It deals in payday loans which are quick emergency loans disbursed in 30 minutes from the time it is applied for. To fulfill the fast money requirements of the customers, the loan approval process is fully automated and is based on an algorithm that assesses the applicant’s creditworthiness.
28. Money View
Founder: Puneet Agarwal and Sanjay Aggarwal
Founded: 2014
Money View Logo
Money View was launched in 2014 by two IIT friends, Sanjay Aggarwal and Puneet Agarwal. Money View is a loan financer, and also helps in planning overall finances. Itcaters for the user with personal finance management, to keep a check on everyday finances and also provides loans ranging from INR 10,000 to 5,00,000 within a day or less. The application provides the user with a view of their bank balance, income spends, and income dues by pulling from their SMSes.The app runs and is updated even without internet connectivity.
29. Cube Wealth
Founder: Satyen Kothari
Founded: 2016
Cube Wealth Logo
Cube Wealth was founded by Satyen Kothari in 2016, who had previously founded Citrus Pay. Cube Wealth provides comprehensive portfolio management solutions to help busy professionals achieve their goals through investments.
The app helps individuals to invest in multiple asset classes including equities, mutual funds, P2P lending, gold, and even charitable investing to build a well-rounded portfolio. It is a subscription-based automated wealth technology application that works on the concept of disciplined long-term wealth creation.
Goal Teller founded by Vivek Banka in 2020 is a financial planning platform that allows users to build their own financial plans. It is a fintech startup in the investment planning space and is operating in the B2C space.
31. Kuants
Founders: Ayush Gangwar, Mohit Bansal
Founded: 2017
Kuants Logo
Kuants was founded in the last month of 2017, by Ayush Gangwar and Mohit Bansal. Their inspiration for the startup was to ensure that technology never acts as a barrier to a stock trader while exploring the domain of algorithmic trading. Kuants is a Fintech startup based in Gurugram, making algorithmic trading easy for those who cannot code themselves.
Akshat Saxena, Aurko Bhattacharya and Uday Somayajula are the founders of ePayLater. ePayLater provides credit at the point of sale. It offers a simple checkout experience by providing customers with the ability to conclude a transaction with just one click of a button. It is a ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ solution through which customers can get access to an instant credit limit to make faster purchases.
PayKun was launched by Nikunj Yadav, Prashant Kambad, Vijay Yadav, Deepak Dabhi and Nirav Solanki, who were five friends from Gujarat. It was founded in the year 2018, with the primary intention to introduce ease and integrity into the online payment system. PayKun is an online payment gateway integrator that allows merchants to integrate any payment gateway they prefer. It is an affordable and secure solution for sellers. And what’s more, it does not require the user to have any technical skills to use it.
PaisaDukan was established by Rajiv M Ranjan in 2017 . It is a P2P platform that acts as a mediator between investors and borrowers. The company serves as a digital marketplace to enable borrowers to meet their financial needs, provide investors with a safer and smarter investment option and aid financial inclusion.
35. Cashfree
Founders: Reeju Datta, Akash Sinha
Founded: 2015
Cashfree Logo
Cashfree, a full-stack payments solution is incubated and backed by PayPal and YCombinator respectively. Cashfree helps global and Indian businesses collect and disburse payments via 100+ payment methods including MasterCard, Visa, RuPay, UPI, NEFT, IMPS, Paytm, and other wallets.
It also claims of being India’s leading API banking platform. Other than payment gateway products, Cashfree has products such as UPI auto pay, Refunds Suite, Auto collect options and Marketplace settlements. Cashfree has integrated with major platforms such as Shopify, Amazon Pay, PayPal, Google Pay, and Ola Money.
36. CoinDCX
Founders: Sumit Gupta, Neeraj Khandelwal
Founded: 2018
CoinDCX Logo
Founded by IIT Bombay alumni Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal in April 2018, CoinDCX is a beginner-friendly crypto exchange platform.Investment in cryptocurrency has been made easy by CoinDCX. The platform also enables users to access a wide range of financial products and services backed by insurance protection.
The crypto platform with 1 lakh active users has a more than $40 million trading volume. Backed by hedge fund giant Polychain Capital, the platform offers crypto transactions at no cost to investors. For those who trade, it charges a fee of 0.1%.
The company recently launched CoinDCX Go. This product runs on the 7M framework which studies and analyses the depths of the crypto market and predicts future threats. On this platform, crypto assets are listed with uncompromising listing criteria. The product accommodates currencies like Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Tron, Bitcoin Cash, Matic, Litecoin, etc.
Easy Home Finance is a housing finance company that offers home loans through a paperless route. The Mumbai-based company was founded by Rohit Chokhani. It is registered under National Housing Bank Act as a housing finance company and aims to tap the market using a paperless experience.
Its products include home loans, home construction/extension loans, loans against property, and loans through Pradhanmantri Awas Yojana. They also have a pre-approved property database for home options and instant loan approvals.
The company, backed by Harbourfront Group, aims to streamline the onboarding, assessment, and management of home loans through an AI-based lending platform. Easy Home Finances is focused on providing home loans to first-time buyers and women who wish to enter the property market and also targets customers in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across India. It is also set to launch a Product-as-a-service (PaaS) with co-lenders and other financing companies.
38. Recko
Founder: Saurya Prakash Sinha
Founded: 2017
Recko Logo
Recko is a Bangalore-based fintech startup that is into the reconciliation of companies. It offers financial services to e-commerce companies, banks, and insurance providers who have huge volumes of transactions. It is a third-party transaction layer that ensures authenticity and transparency in all recorded transactions. Recko’s workings mainly rely on AI models to comprehend and collect data, connecting payment gateways, banks, and customer management systems.
Backed by Prime Ventures Partners and several angels, Recko was founded by Suarya Prakash Sinha and Prashant Borde. The fintech company claims to have reconciled accounts worth $5 billion to date and has integrated with big names in the fintech industry such as Myntra, Pharmeasy, Meesho, Dunzo, Townscript, and Grofers.
39. FypMoney
Founder: Kapil Banwari
Founded: 2021
Fyp Logo
Owned by Pockket Payment Technologies Ltd, FypMoney is a platform introduced for financial literacy in teenagers. The platform aims to target the age group 11-19 who comprise 15-20% of smartphone users. In a seed funding round, it has raised $2 million from angel investors including Leberatha Kallath, Mukesh Yadav, and Dinesh Nagpal.
FypMoney takes into consideration the concerns of parents with teenagers and has introduced features like instant pocket money transfers, tracking spending patterns with real-time transaction alerts, and setting transaction limits.
As for teenagers, it is equipped with quick transfer options like UPI, referral bonuses, Fyp Debit card, online investments in Mutual funds, savings, and a social community to interact with FypMoney users. The founder, Kapil Banwari believes that this platform will make teenagers aware of financial aspects, get them into a habit of saving and educate them about personal finance.
40. Avail Finance
Founder: Ankush Aggarwal
Founded: 2017
Avail Finance Logo
Avail Finance is a fintech startup based in Bangalore that exclusively focuses on the blue-collar workforce and aims at introducing credit facilities and financial literacy to them since they’re seldom aware of it. It provides them with a neo-banking platform and includes every individual on a credit hunt, under the financial umbrella.
The startup aims to reach that segment in the financial market that is oblivious to credit card penetration, has no credit history, and has a low to almost zero CIBIL score. The platform offers other financial services including savings, insurance, and investment products. Founded in 2017 by Ankush Agrawal and Tushar Mehndiratta, the startup has raised around INR 85 crore in a funding round led by Alpha wave Incubation.
Upwards is a fintech company that offers personal loans up to INR 2 lakhs within 24 hours to salaried individuals with no credit history and whose earning capacity is at least INR 15000 per month. The fintech has a wide range of personal loans that cover weddings, travel, studies, medical emergency, and home renovation. The company charges an interest rate of 18-32% on its financial products.
The Mumbai-based startup is currently active in more than 30 cities including Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns. Founded in 2017 by alumni of IIT Delhi Abhishek Soni and Nimesh Verma, the company has disbursed INR 4 crore since its year of inception and is 40% of its credit demand coming from smaller towns of Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu.
KreditBee is a personal loan platform for self-employed and salaried professionals where they can avail of a loan starting from INR 1000 to INR 2 Lakhs with minimal paperwork and tenures from two to fifteen months. It offers loans to even those without a credit history. It hosts multiple non-banking financial companies (NBFC) that are licensed by the Reserve Bank of India. This includes KrazyBee Services Pvt Ltd which is a non-deposit financial institution that offers innovative technology and availability of credit.
Founded in May 2018 by a bunch of intellectuals from various IITs across India, KreditBee currently has more than 1200 employees and a user base of 20 million. Through its holding entity Finnov, KreditBee has recently raised $70 million which it says will be utilized towards scaling up the lending portfolio beyond personal loans.
43. Finin
Founders: Suman Gandham and Sudheer Maram
Founded: 2019
Finin Logo
Finin is a fintech startup that has launched itself as a “neobank”, in partnership with SBM bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the State Bank of Mauritius in India. It is a platform that focuses on saving rather than lending. The “neobank” has an AI-driven experience for its users which gets insights from your spend-save behaviour. It can be linked to all your bank accounts and keeps a track of your transactions and budgets. Users also receive customized investment options and hyper-personal financial tips that take into consideration your pay cheque, lifestyle, marital status, and more.
Finin users have to rely on SBM branch networks for banking activities and the physical branches which are currently operating in Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. Going against the flow, founder and CEO Suman Gandham believes Finin will make more revenue from wealth management services rather than lending services.
Founders: Samant Sikka, Sanjeev Sharma and Dhananjay Singh
Founded: 2016
Sqrll Logo
Sqrrl is an investment and wealth management platform for young individuals and professionals. The company is registered under AMFI and SEBI and is available in 9 Indian languages. It encourages Indians to save and invest better while guiding them towards building an investment portfolio with baby steps.
The company uses machine learning, AI, and data science to offer one-on-one assistance encouraging users to invest in high-performing mutual funds based on the risks, their goals, and requirements.
Based in Gurgaon, Haryana, Sqrrl has a team of 40 people including the founders namely Dhananjay Singh, Sanjeev Sharma, and Samant Sikka.
45. Moneyfront
Founders: Mohit Gang, Anil Bang, and Puneet Mehta
Founded: 2015
Moneyfront Logo
Moneyfront is a wealth management platform that allows you to invest in funds and keep a track of them. While many other platforms offer the same, Moneyfront uses a comprehensive database, news, and statistics and lays out the best options for its users. It provides model portfolios so that you have more options and you can measure your risk appetite and choose what’s best suited for your goals.
The fintech company tied hands with Niyogin Fintech, which provides collateral-free credit to MSMEs. Reportedly, Niyogin has acquired a 50.1% stake in Moneyfront for INR 12 crore.
Founders: Archit Gupta, Srivatsan Chari, Ankit Solanki, Raja Ram Gupta
Founded: 2011
ClearTax Logo
ClearTax is a financial services platform that helps individuals, tax experts, SMEs, and enterprises streamline income tax returns, GST, Invoicing, Billing solutions, and more. Cleartax helps businesses save 2-7% of their net GST every month while individuals have saved up to INR 86000 by filing their tax returns through them.
The company recently launched a GST-compliant billing and e-invoicing product called ClearOne. ClearOne is an easy, affordable, and compliance-proof solution for all the challenges faced by SMEs. Founded by Archit Gupta, Srivatsan Chari, and Ankit Solanki, ClearTax is helping millennials pay their own taxes in a simple and hassle-free manner.
47. Groww
Founders: Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain
Founded: 2016
Groww has become the unicorn in the fintech industry by raising $83 million in a funding round led by Tiger Global. The company has raised $140 million as capital so far. With a freshly acquired unicorn status, Groww is an investment platform that allows individuals to invest and trade in stocks, mutual funds, US stocks, and Gold. it also has fixed deposit options for conventional investors.
Backed by a huge force of investors such as Sequoia Capital India, Ribbit Capital, Y Combinator, Kauffman Fellows, Propel Venture Partners, and Kairos, Groww plans to deploy its funding into introducing financial educational content for its 1.5 crore registered users.
LoanTap is an NBFC registered under RBI that offers flexible personal loans which are EMI-free (partial repayments of principal amounts), and allows personal overdraft and debt consolidation loans that are best suited for your lifestyle and requirements. Whether it’s an upcoming holiday, a wedding, a loan repayment, a new vehicle purchase, or a business loan, LoanTap covers it all.
The Pune-based company recently tied hands with the Bank of Maharashtra into a co-lending agreement. This agreement would help the bank meet its priority lending target through a digital lending platform like LoanTap by avoiding visits to the branch and easier loan disbursals.
49. RevFin
Founder: Sameer Aggarwal
Founded: 2018
Revfin Logo
Founded by an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, Sameer Agarwal, RevFin is a digital lending platform that offers loans through its own NBFC. Its products include regular personal loans and Revloans, which is an unsecured credit limit that a customer can use at any time as per their convenience. RevFin has currently financed E-Rickshaws in several towns across India which include Kolkata, Jhansi, Dehradun, Hisar, and Delhi.
Headquartered in Delhi, RevFin was founded in 2018 and has captured the sector of vehicle loans for three-wheelers and two-wheelers. The fintech is backed by several angel investors including Harsh Jain, Anil Goyal, Anil Lamba, and Krishna B Singh.
50. PayU
Founders: Jose Velez, Martin Schrimpff, Arjan Bakker, Grzegorz Brochocki, Nitin Gupta, Shailaz Nag
Founded: 2002
PayU Logo
PayU is one of the best fintech companies in India that provides a payment gateway and payment solutions for online merchants. The platform provides a seamless experience when users check out a particular website or mobile app. It integrates various gateways such as net banking, Visa and MasterCard, UPI, and wallets.
PayU has integrated with giants like Netflix, Myntra, and Cred with unique payment solutions where customers can choose any payment option on any platform or website. It also enables customers to accept payments outside India from 100-plus countries.
PayU India is the flagship company of Naspers Group, based in London. It has also launched an alternate lending platform called LazyPay to offer credit solutions such as Small ticket credit (Buy now pay later), App-based Loans, and Point of sale credit (Merchant EMI).
Conclusion
Startups work hard on their products, marketing, and other business activities but forget about one crucial aspect: finance. Managing one’s finances is of utmost importance. Business is all about money, you can’t run a business if you don’t think about money. This list of fintech startups in India should help you understand the advancements in the world of Finance and give you an insight into India’s biggest and top fintech to keep an eye out for.
There are more than 2000 fintech startups in India as of 2022.
What are some of the biggest fintech startups in India?
Some of the biggest fintech startups in India are,
Paytm
Cred
Razorpay
Instamojo
Lendingkart
MoneyView
Paykun
PaisaDukan
Mswipe
Kredx
What is FinTech Company India?
Financial technology is abbreviated to FinTech and it comprises companies that use technology to offer financial services. It has emerged as a relatively new industry in India.
What are examples of FinTech?
Some examples of FinTech are mobile banking, mobile payments, trading, cryptocurrency, insurance, trading, and lending to name a few.
The mindset of the people has changed from, over the decade, as now people want to be the boss of their own and don’t want to restrict themselves in the walls of 9-to-5 jobs. This decade brought a hit of entrepreneurs and their startups with amazing ideas and execution, that has helped people and has changed the ways, for people living their lives.
15 Best Startups of the Decade (2010-2020)
Here are the 15 best startups in 2010s which have changed the market of the Indian entrepreneurship-
The idea of ordering food online at the start of the decade was an idea that most of the people didn’t think upon but soon the thought changed with the arrival of food-delivering apps like Swiggy.
Launched in 2014, Swiggy is known as the largest and most valuable food ordering and delivering the platform in India, currently operating in more than 100 cities across India. Online food delivery platform, Swiggy, has launched its third series of television commercials and digital campaign, that are reflective of new-age India and its changing culinary culture. Swiggy tagline is “Swiggy karo, phir jo chahe Karo!”
Paytm
Founded: 2019
Paytm Logo | Best Startups of the Decade
Go cashless has been the motto of 2019 and the public is taking it quite effectively. The wave of online transactions hit India in 2010 when Paytm was launched. PAYTM is an e-commerce system, based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. It is available in 11 Indian languages and offers online use-cases as mobile recharges, utility, bill, payments, travel, movies, and events booking, in-store payments at grocery stores, fruits and vegetable shops, restaurants, parking, tolls, pharmacies, etc.
Oyo Rooms
Founded: 2013
OYO Logo | Best Startups of the Decade
Whenever it comes to book rooms for a vacation, weekend or a party, the one-stop shop is OYO. Founded in 2013, by Ritesh Agarwal, OYO Rooms is an Indian hotel chain and fastest-growing hospitality chain of leased and franchised hotels, homes and living spaces at cheap prices. It is currently UAE, Nepal, China, Brazil, UK, Philippines, Arabia, Sri Lanka, etc.
Finding bus seats can be quite hectic and without a good seat, going to a long ride can be hectic. So, to save the hassle, one can always go for redbus. An online app company, the user can look up to for buses and book tickets accordingly and get confirmed tickets, without struggling for tickets on the way. Redbus was founded by Phanindra Sama, Charan Padmaraju and Sudhakar Pasupunuri in 2006, however, it became famous after 2010 when Indian people were getting introduced to mobile internet.
Ola
Founded: 2010
Ola Logo | Best Startups of the Decade
Traveling was made much easier and better by OLA, which was founded in 2010 by Bhavish Agarwal. Now, it’s one of the largest cab services in India, with over 250,000 cabs and rickshaws in the app running over 85 Indian cities. The company is expanding its reach everyday. As of 2020, it has expanded its services to UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
Zivame
Founded: 2011
Zivame Logo | Best Startups of the Decade
Zivame is an e-retail lingerie brand for women, founded in 2011 by Richa Kar, to empower women to buy lingerie freely without feeling embarrassed as of in normal offline shops, which is generally filled by men. Meaning of Zivame is ‘radiant me’. It has also been known for showing diversity as it has no age -limit. It sells shapewear, sleepwear, and activewear through both online and offline stores.
Who would have thought in 2000s that we would be ordering groceries online? This thought also came into fruition in 2009 by Abhinav Choudhari, Hari Menon and Vipul Parekh. Now, BigBasket is an online food and grocery store that delivers personal and household needs right to customer’s doorstep. As of 2020, BigBasket is available in almost all the cities of India. Shah Rukh Khan is brand ambassador of BigBasket and bigbasket tagline is “I’m bigbasketeer, Are you?”
Byju’s
Founded: 2011
Bigbasket Logo | Best Startups of the Decade
The Bangalore based educational technology platform Byju’s is an online tutoring and coaching firm that was started in the year 2011 and runs on a freemium model. The main aim of Byju’s is to provide coaching through online video lectures for students of class 1 to class 12 and also for people who prepare for competitive exams like IIT – JEE, NEET, CAT, GRE, and GMAT.
Byjus- the Learning app was launched in the year 2015 by Byju Raveendran and since then it has been a huge success. It is used by more than 15 million students all over the world and has 900000 paid subscribers. The app helps the students to learn on their own rather than the traditional culture of spoon-feeding.
Firstcry
Founded: 2010
Firstcry Logo | Best Startups of the Decade
It is an overwhelming feeling for the new parents to buy all the goods for the baby or the newborn. Firstcry was started to fulfill that demand in 2010, by Supam Maheswari, when he couldn’t find quality toys for his new-born daughter. Now, firstcry sells baby products like diapers, cribs, clothes, nursery items, etc. It has become a popular website for buying baby products from online and offline stores.
Freshdesk
Founded: 2010
Freshdesk Logo | Best Startups of the Decade
Cloud-based software is the need of every brand to store all the data of the consumer. But back in the starting days of the decade, there were very few companies dealing with cloud-based software.
One of the most popular company was Freshdesk ( now known as Freshworks), which was launched in 2010. It was started by former ZOHO employees Girish Mathrubootham and Shanmugam Krishnasamy, who teamed up to create better software to help enterprises do after-sales support more effectively. The founder Girish Mathrubootham, is also a mentor and a key figure in the Chennai startup ecosystem.
Freshdesk’s customers in India include Saavn, Decathlon, Grofers, Lenskart, Oyo Rooms, Byju’s, and Goibibo.
Limeroad
Founded: 2012
Limeroad Logo | Best Startups of the Decade
Fashion has always found its way in women’s shelf, one of India’s most popular online boutique is Limeroad. It was founded in 2012 by Suchi Mukherjee and Ankush Mehra. It is known for being specialized in clothing and accessories for men, women or kids. The online store also allows the users to create their look on a virtual scrapbook by using the brand’s products and also allows users to earn from the scrapbook they create and then, they can use the points on the purchase, at the time of checkout.
Shopclues
Founded: 2011
Shopclues Logo | Best Startups of the Decade
Another big brand which started in 2011, was Shopclues. It was founded Sanjay Sethi, along with former wall street analyst Sandeep Agarwal. Both the founders returned from California, decided to go into a new venture. The company has over 6 lakh merchants and 2.8 crore products on its platform serving over 32,000 pin codes across the country. Although, the company didn’t do well in the market, Sandeep Agarwal did inspire many youngsters to get into entrepreneurship through his journey.
Buying furniture online? That was a dream of people in 2000s! But that dream was completed by Ambareesh Murty in 2012. He teamed up with Ashish Shah, one of the former head of eBay Motors in India and the Philippines and launched Pepperfry. It is a dealer of the best quality furniture and delivers it at the doorstep of the buyer. It has soon gained immense popularity in the country.
Snapdeal
Founded: 2010
Snapdeal Logo | Best Startups of the Decade
With the tagline of “unbox Zindagi’, Snapdeal managed to be a home favorite for varieties of goods ranging from home, fashion, electricals, sports, etc. It sells over 3 crores (30 million) products across 800+ diverse categories from over 1,25,000 regional, national and international brands and retailers and a reach of 6,000 towns and cities across the country. Although this ecommerce venture didn’t do as good as others like Flipkart or Amazon, it was still a big success in the early years of this decade.
Hike
Founded: 2012
Hike Logo | Best Startups of the Decade
Once a very popular youth app for messaging, Hike messenger has left an interesting mark on the market. It was founded by Kavin Bharti Mittal. The hike is a cross-platform instant messaging, voice over IP, social media and peer to peer file sharing app, launched on 12 December 2012.
Conclusion
These startups are known to be change force in the world of startups in the decade and are known to inspire many other startups. 2010s is probably the most revolutionary decade in the entrepreneurship world. However, we hope this decade brings more innovation to lives.
Although people underestimate the value of education these days because of the “dropout” tag, education is irreplaceable. People need to upgrade their skills instead of just getting a degree.
Schools and colleges are important but the skills which schools and colleges don’t teach us are equally useful. The leading edtech companies of India are changing the scene of education in the country. They are redefining the process of learning. And this contributes towards a bright future for Indian children and youth.
India suffers from a skewed pupil-to-teacher ratio that continues to rise; it compromises the learning experience for students in schools. To counter this skewness, technology-driven learning apps are using gaming elements such as point-scoring, interaction with others, personalization, and data-driven insights to enhance the learning process for students and sharpen their basics in various subjects. These apps are known for their features that enable students to perform better in classrooms.
Edtech startups are emerging as a major business industry in India. The education sector in India was estimated at US$ 91.7 billion in FY18 and was expected to reach $101.1 Billion in FY19 and the edtech market is expected to reach $4 billion by 2025.
Counted among one of the top and biggest edtech companies in India, Byjus is an edtech startup that offers a learning app that provides coaching for competitive entrance exams like IIT-JEE, CAT, UPSC, GMAT, GRE, Engineering & Medical, and courses of grades 6th to 12th. It offers online courses and tablet classes with multi-test and assignment solutions, personal feedback, and in-depth analysis.
After using the Byju’s app, 93% of parents reported a marked improvement in their child’s performance in grades according to the company. Byju’s has 15 million registered users with 900,000 of them taking annual paid subscriptions and an 85% renewal rate. The average app engagement rate, as reported by the company, is 53 minutes per day.
Byju’s is an edtech startup in Bangalore and was founded by Byju Raveendran in 2011. Its current total equity is $5.4 billion. BYJU’S also won many awards like the CRISIL Emerging India Award and the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Award. It is available on Android and iOS platforms.
2. Unacademy
Founders: Heemash Singh, Sachin Gupta, and Gaurav Munjal
Unacademy Website
Launched as a YouTube channel by Hemaash Singh in 2010, Unacademy is now a famous name in the education technology segment of India. It is a popular e-learning startup and one of the leading edtech companies in Bangalore.
Unacademy has provided lessons to more than 30,00,000 (3 million) students to date. It has tied up with some of the most experienced teachers to tutor its students. You will find over 2400 online courses. Most of the courses are free on this platform; however, you may have to pay for the certifications.
Unacademy has a goal of providing free education. And It has ventured into numerous fields like banking, CA, CAPF, UPSC, CLAT, CAT, JEE, pre-medical and more. The video tutorials are available in various languages and students can follow tutors to get directly courses from them. Unacademy’s business model is primarily based on the plus subscription feature offered on its platform.
Unacademy is an edtech company in Bangalore that serves as an online learning marketplace for courses. It was founded by Heemash Singh, Sachin Gupta, and Gaurav Munjal. The YouTube channel was shifted to an online learning platform in 2015. You can still find many videos on Unacademy’s YouTube Channel.
3. iQuanta
Founder: Indrajeet Singh
iQuanta’s website
iQuanta is India’s Largest online CAT preparation community. The founder and CEO of iQuanta Mr. Indrajeet Singh is one of the top 5 young Indian Entrepreneurs. His indigenous shortcuts and unconventional methods earned entitled him “Wizard of Quants”. iQuanta aims at offering quality education accessible to anyone willing to appear for competitive exams, along with its unique pedagogy at affordable prices. iQuanta is a bootstrap Edtech company.
iQuanta was incorporated in 2017 and today, since its inception, has built a community of 3.5 lakh+ aspirants from all over the world with 10,521 + IIM calls and 1000+ IIM converts in just 5 years.
4. TrainerCentral
Parent Company – Zoho
TrainerCentral’s website
TrainerCentral is a Zoho application, which aims to transform the way people teach online. This all-in-one online training platform empowers solopreneurs, edupreneurs, and anyone who wishes to share their expertise with learners worldwide.
The platform provides tools to help trainers build a fully equipped online training business with numerous integration capabilities. Trainers can create their own website, upload content, create course curriculum, host live classes, manage learner communications, certifications, collect learner fees, and much more, on one unified platform.
TrainerCentral strives to mitigate the inefficiencies caused by siloed tools and the technical complexities involved in building an online training business. Trainers and learners alike benefit from the built-in live classroom feature with chat and payment gateway integration options. Online trainers across the globe are thrilled with TrainerCentral, as demonstrated by its steady MOM growth of 30%.
TrainerCentral offers a 15-day free trial to help explore the platform.
5. UpGrad
Founders: Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, Phalgum Komapalli, and Ravijot Chugh
UpGrad Website
UpGrad is an online edtech platform that provides higher education programs. It provides an immersive learning experience through the latest technology that powers well-designed courses. UpGrad was founded in 2015 by Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, Phalgum Komapalli, and Ravijot Chugh.
6. Next Education
Founder: Raveendranath Kamath, Beas Dev Ralhan
Next Education Website
Next Education is a Hyderabad-based learning website founded by Beas Dev Ralhan and Raveendranath Kamath in 2007 and caters to K-12 students through its technology-based education solutions.
Next Education has leading products such as TeachNext, LearnNext, MathsLab, ScienceLab, and EnglishLab on its platform. These products are used in more than 6,000 schools across the country.
The study material and products are designed to cover the syllabus of CBSE, ICSE, and 23 state boards in 8 major Indian languages. Next Education’s technology platform is based on Linux and open-source resources.
Other technological advancements on the app include 2D and 3D graphics, interactive content of international standards, voice-overs, clear sound, and an innovative course design that is easily accessible via an inbuilt IR remote. The company has invested over Rs. 400 crores and more than Rs. 30 crores on R&D alone.
Leverage Edu started off as a college admissions platform and has now grown to be a full-stack marketplace within a year. Leverage Edu was founded by Akshay Chaturvedi and Aman Arora in 2018.
The platform uses an AI tool to help students in their careers through mentorship products, end-to-end college admission guidance, programs to help them become first-job ready, and one-to-one virtual advisory for multiple career streams.
The app has over 1500+ mentors from Ivy League Universities and individuals from organizations like Apple and Goldman Sachs. The founder was quoted saying, “The platform is in the middle of executing an inspiration product roadmap and will continue to scale and bring onboard great talent aggressively, invest in continuously bettering our experience, and doing more or what we are good at!”
8. NoPaperForms
Founder: Naveen Goyal
NoPaperForms Website
NoPaperForms is a SaaS-based enrollment automation solution startup that aims to transform the admission process in educational institutions in India and abroad.
The platform helps institutions increase their outreach capabilities, enhance recruitment efforts, expand customer service offerings, and improve end results. The entire process is 100% transparent.
NoPaperForms has partnered with more than 190 institutions and claims to have handled 350k+ queries. It has received more than 1.2 million applications and has grown by around 500% in a year’s time to Rs 100 crores. This valuation was achieved after NoPaperForms raised its Series B funding in December 2018.
9. Quizizz
Founders: Ankit Gupta, Deepak Joy Cheenath
Quizizz Website
Quizizz is an interactive teaching platform that allows its users to conduct student-paced formative assessments in an engaging manner for students of all ages. The website can be operated on any browser, PC, laptop, tablet and smartphone.
The platform combines game-design elements and helps teachers turn students’ homework and tests into self-paced games. Then there is the option of instant feedback. Teachers can use their own content or choose from millions of educator-created quizzes.
Quizizz’s aim is to motivate learners and play a part in their growth. Quizizz has over 10 million users and its solution is well-adopted in US-based schools.
10. Campk12
Founders: Anshul Bhagi, Sandeep Bhagi
Campk12 Website
Camp K12 provides entrepreneurship and app development programs to school students during their vacations and weekends. It is a K12 edtech company in India that focuses on developing kids into innovators.
CampK12 was founded by Anshul Baghi in 2010. The company started out as a coding boot camp for kids. As of today, CampK12 has catered to 50,000+ students.
Coursera is another education platform that offers a variety of courses. The USP of Coursera is the experienced professionals it hires which makes it one of the leading edtech startups in India. If you want to learn from highly experienced people from around the world, then Coursera is for you. Just like Unacademy, you can watch the videos of some courses for free but you will have to pay for the certifications and assignments.
12. Cuemath
Founder: Manan Khurma
Cuemath Website
Cuemath is a program that teaches math to children. Cuemath has more than 3000 centers in India and each session in a center has only 6 students at a time. The startup’s emphasis is not on Abacus or Vedic math; it focuses on improving the mathematical concepts of children instead of merely teaching them to calculate fast. Cuemath was founded by Manan Khurma in 2013. The fees range from Rs 2500- Rs 3000 depending on where the branch is located.
IndigoLearn is a Hyderabad-based accountancy focused edtech startup. The startup uses the latest technology and animation techniques to make finance and accountancy fun to learn. IndigoLearn was founded by Somayajula, Sathya Raghu Mokkapati, Suraj Lakhotia, and Sarat Udumari in 2017.
14. My Peegu
Founder: Chetan Jaiswal
MyPeegu Website
My Peegu provides tools that help parents and teachers monitor their kids’ well-being. A team of professional psychiatrists provides treatment to kids for mental development. My Peegu’s services are available in 6 countries including India.
15. Thinkerbell Labs
Founders: Sanskriti Dawle and Aman Srivastava, and Saif Shaikh
Starting as an independent research project named “Project Mudra”, Thinkerbell Labs is now working on a self-learning braille device. The device is named Annie and anyone can learn the braille language with it. Thinkerbell Labs was founded by Sanskriti Dawle and Aman Srivastava. The company showcased its idea on the popular business reality tv show Shark Tank India and received Rs 1crore funding.
16. MyCaptain
Founder: Ruhan Naqash, Mohammed Zeeshan
MyCaptain Website
MyCaptain provides students with a way to experience various fields of interest and test them out. Most of the time, kids choose their path according to the social norms or in the greed of tons of money. MyCaptain helps students discover their interests and indulge in a career that suits them. People can make informed decisions when they are aware of the realities associated with different career trajectories.
17. Adda247
Founders: Anil Nagar
Adda247 Website
Adda247 is one of the best edtech companies in India that assists with government job preparation and provides articles, jobs alerts, quizzes, videos, e-books, e-magazines, discussion forums, etc. The Adda 247 app offers a smooth UI and intuitive workflows that are powered by cutting-edge technologies.
The company has designed other apps like Bankersadda.com (to prepare for banking exams), SSCAdda.com (to prepare for various central government exams), and TeachersAdda.co.in to bag teaching jobs in government schools. The Adda247 YouTube channel contains videos on current affairs and upcoming government job vacancies.
Meritnation is an online education startup based in Delhi. Meritnation was founded by Pavan Chauhan in 2008. It has grown to become one of the most helpful websites for online education. Meritnation provides learning content for students for classes 1st to 12th across CBSE, ICSE, and other leading state boards.
Meritnation offers its users study material, tests, proficiency tests, and Olympiad packs via a social network like experience. The Meritnation app also tracks a student’s progress and displays personalized recommendations along with analytical data reports to point out his or her strengths and improvement areas.
19. Toppr
Founder: Zishaan Hayath, Hemanth Goteti
Toppr Website
Toppr is an online exam preparation platform for K-12 students. Toppr focuses on school curriculum syllabus and entrance examinations like JEE, UPSC, NEET, SAT, etc. It offers structured courses complemented by interactive video lectures, practise question sets, doubt clearing by professionals, and all-India test series.
Toppr is based out of Mumbai and was founded by Zishaan Hayath in 2013. The Toppr app includes goal-based learning, adaptive questions’ practice, performance reports, concept sheets, and previous year question papers. It also offers courses for medical and engineering examinations, board examinations, and Olympiads.
Conclusion
This completes the list of leading edtech companies in India. Even though the Indian education system is undergoing a seismic shift, Indians still have to deal with outdated methods of teaching and inefficient learning techniques. The system also fosters unhealthy competition among students. Edtech startups are gradually changing all of this for the better.
FAQs
Which is India’s largest edtech company?
Byju’s is India’s largest edtech company with a valuation of $21 billion. It has over 10 crore students and 65 lakh annual paid subscribers.
Which is the best edtech company in India?
Byju’s, Unacademy, UpGrad, Vedantu and Toppr are some of the best edtech companies in India.
What are some of the top edtech companies in bangalore?
Byju’s, Vedantu, Unacademy, Simplilearn, and Cuemath are some of the top edtech companies in Bangalore.
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 Bounce.
In a country like India, where traffic lights are more often a popping red than a sober green, and where there is more honking than the sound of the breeze, Bounce had come up with one of the coolest ideas of making your daily commute a little less hectic and convenient.
Bounce is one of the modern ventures that rents out scooters to anyone who:
Carries a License and
a cell phone.
This might seem obvious, but what is so exciting about Bounce? Well, read on to know more about the company, how does it work, what is renting scooters and why should we consider it, and more.
December 3, 2021 – Bounce launches its first e-scooter, Bounce Infinity E1 with replaceable batteries available for lease.
October 7, 2021 – Bounce is all set to acquire 22 Motors in a cash and stock deal, which will likely range between $7-10 mn. With this Bounce looks forward to entering the electric scooter industry.
About Bounce and How It Works
All you need to start with the Bounce services is a mobile phone, because where else would you receive an OTP? An OTP would ensure the team at Bounce that you want to rent one of their scooters and hop on your way. Another interesting service that Bounce provides is the helmet. Carrying that heavy helmet all the way to your grocery store or office is simply a nightmare. Therefore, Bounce provides helmets for the safety of its customers.
If you wish to visit a nearby park, or to a movie at the theatre nearby, and worry too much whether you would get your luck in the parking slot or whether there is enough fuel in your car, Bounce it onto the BOUNCE Scooters around. Bounce does not charge extra for fuel, yes, you heard it right. The payment is upon the distance and time traveled. Fares range begin at ₹ 5/KM & ₹ 0.5/Min.
After completing your ride and reaching your destination you just need to end the trip on the application and keep the scooter in a Bounce Zone, which is available in different corners of the city. You may also opt for the Pick and Drop option on Bounce.
Bounce – Founders and Team
Bounce was founded by Anil G, Varun Agni, Vivekananda Hallekere.
Varun Agni, Anil G and Vvekananda Hallekere, Founders of Bounce (from left to right)
Varun Agni
Varun Agni is known as the Co-founder & Head of Products and Technology at Bounce. Varun Agni studied at the University of Maryland from where he obtained a Master’s degree in Telecommunication after completing his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the RV College of Engineering, Bangalore.
Anil G
Anil G is the Co-founder and COO at Bounce. He has spent a significant amount of time (nearly 4 years 4 months), with Bharat Electronics, where he was later promoted to the position of Assistant Manager – Account and Finance. Anil G then became the Finance Head of American Tower after which he co-founded Bounce in 2014.
Vivekananda Hallekere
Vivekananda Hallekere is the Co-founder and CEO of Bounce. He is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, a degree which he obtained after getting his Bcom. He has previously worked as an Audit Assistant with Badari Madhusudhan & Srinivasan, Chartered Accountants. After working a little over 3 years at the previous firm, Hallekere joined BSR & Co. and then went to Suchindra and Vivekananda, where he has served as an Executive and a Partner respectively, before founding Bounce.
Though Bounce is the name that we know the scooter rental platform by, Bounce wasn’t named thus, nor it was Metro Bikes that was the name of the company. The founding trio founded Wicked Ride as a premium bike rental platform, which later became the parent company of Bounce.
The idea to found Wicked Ride came from a situation when Anil ordered a Royal Enfield and had to wait around 12 months to get the same delivered. This made the founders wonder about the purchase of bikes and the delay that the customers have to experience whenever they go for a high-end bike. They then thought that a premium bike like Hayabusa, Harley Davidson, and the rest cost so much and are even delivered so late that it is better to rent a bike than to buy one.
Eventually, the team started to offer daily commute bikes under the label, “Metro Bikes”, which was later remained to be Bounce, after a beta stage in September 2018.
Bounce – Mission and Vision
“If I was to talk about a vision, I believe we can do over one million rides in a day. If there is any category in mobility that can achieve that kind of scale in India, it is scooters,” says Vivek.
Bounce – Name, Tagline and Logo
The tagline of the company goes as:
“Pickup and drop in all legal parking areas. Bounce anywhere, anytime. Your scooter, Everywhere.”
The Bounce logo is in red and white, which are what can be referred to as the brand colours.
Bounce Logo
Why should you Consider Renting scooters?
Well here are some of the advantages that you can have if you rent a scooter instead of buying a car or a bike:
Saves your pocket: It weighs heavily on your pocket when you consider paying an EMI every month for your new 2 wheeler or 4 wheeler. Imagine having to pay EMIs for your house, laptop, air condition, latest microwave, dishwasher, washing machine, and more. Yes, the generation today is of the opinion that they simply need these things for survival. However, these monthly payments definitely take a toll on the finances at the end of the month. Higher so if you have to repay your education loan. So, where would you hope to save your money? Is buying a new car or a bike the best option now? Can it wait? If your answer is No to the first and a Yes to the latter, you should definitely try your hands on the rental service that Bounce provides.
Parking your cars can be a real headache: If you live in a metropolitan city like Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, or Kolkata, you would soon realize there are more than 15 lakhs of vehicles on the road on a single day. So, where would you park your own vehicle and how much would the parking tickets cost per hour? For cities like Bangalore and Mumbai, the parking tickets range up to Rs 50-70/hour. The parking areas except in the malls, which are recently planned and developed, do not suffice more than 100-150 vehicles. Therefore, sometimes it could be a real dilemma to have the perfect spot to park. With Bounce, you do not need to worry about parking. You may complete your ride and keep it in a safe Bounce zone so that someone else can hop into the scooter that you rode minutes ago.
Environment-friendly: Have you read the concept about mass transit and re-use? Well, the developers at Bounce, aims to Reuse and Recycle the transport system so that with the limited number of vehicles more people can use it in turns. With fewer vehicles that radiate carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrous dioxide in the environment, having a rented scooter that helps you travel and emits less smoke, thereby causing less harm to the environment, is definitely a WIN-WIN! The United Nations and WHO also stress a lot on the deterioration of physical health due to the harmful smoke being emitted from the vehicles. With a reduction in the frequency that you use your scooters, it will also significantly cut costs and save the time that you might otherwise spend in the washing and servicing of your vehicles each month. Therefore, you would be doing a favor to your body and mind.
Safety factor: Whether you are a woman or a man, traveling with an unknown person might seem scary on a cab. We all know about the different challenges that occur in the daily lives of workers who return late, especially for women. If you know how to use a scooter, Bounce may be the best option to ensure safety. You can ride anytime anywhere without having to rely on another person.
Bounce – Business and Revenue Model
Bounce is a 2 wheeler rental platform based out of Bengaluru, India. It is currently the most affordable bike-rental platform that charges Rs 5 per kilometer and Rs 0.5 per minute. This definitely makes it really cost-effective as a commute option. When considered, Bounce’s rates are even lesser than that of an autorickshaw.
According to the pricing model of the company, the cost of petrol is estimated at Rs 1.75 – Rs 2 per km and that of the maintenance can be summed up at Rs 1.5 per km. This then becomes over Rs 4 per km. Therefore, if any other company charges anything above Rs 4, then that turns into profit for them.
However, the team is looking to further reduce their cost by the electric scooters, the first of which was Bounce Infinity E1, which was rolled out on December 2, 2021. The E1 models of the Infinity range of scooters come with replaceable batteries and will be available for lease soon. These scooters will significantly contribute to maximizing the profits of Bounce, pulling down the overall price to Rs 0.5 per km. This shall make them simply put a charge of Rs 3 per kilometer and will still allow Bounce to make money out of it.
Bounce – Growth
Bounce:growth highlights are:
It has traveled 180 million km as of March 2024
It has traveled 32 million rides as of March 2024
It has traveled 30 million EV rides km as of March 2024
It has traveled 5.1 million EV rides as of March 2024
It has saved 1,250 metric tonnes of CO2 as of March 2024
5,365,929 accounts have been signed up as of March 2024
It has clocked 2.1 crore+ km in 6 months as of March 2024
The company has swapped 10 lakh+ batteries across 200+ stations as of March 2024
Financials
Bounce Financials
Bounce Financials
FY22
FY23
Operating Revenue
Rs 15 crore
Rs 91 crore
Total Expenses
Rs 277 crore
Rs 297 crore
Profit/Loss
Loss of Rs 243 crore
Loss of Rs 197 crore
EBITDA
EBITDA Margin
FY22
FY23
Expense/₹ of Op Revenue
-524%
-142%
ROCE
Rs 18.47
Rs 3.26
Profit/Loss
-60%
-82%
Bounce – Startup Challenges
“The true fundamental mobility is only accessible to a privileged few”, says Bounce founder Vivekananda, and “Bounce is trying to change that in a significant way”, added he, which is quite challenging to be sure.
Bounce – Funding and Investors
Bounce has raised around $214.2 mn over 9 funding rounds till date.
There are currently 7 lead investors backing Bounce.
Bounce – Future Plans
The future plans of Bounce are associated with bringing the company’s financials towards profit, increasing the revenues, and spreading its areas of operation. The company launched its first electric scooter Infinity E1, which is expected to help the company improve its revenues because it brings swappable batteries to the market. These swappable batteries have brought down the market cost of the Bounce scooter by around Rs 36,000.
Conclusion
Bounce is a dock-less two-wheeler ride-sharing solution, on a mission to make daily commute reliable, affordable, and convenient in India. If you are willing to travel with your friends or just commute to your workplace every day with the most economical rates (ride fares as low as ₹5/km + ₹0.5/min), try and grab the scooters and pave your own way. Also, it’s fun to enjoy life by doing everything you want on a low budget, after all, saving goes a long way.
Bounce – FAQs
What is Bounce?
Bounce is a 2-wheeler lending platform aiming to redefine daily commute with its smart, affordable, and effective mobility solution founded in 2014 in Bengaluru.
Who are the founders or owners of Bounce?
Bounce has been founded by the trio – Vivekananda Hallekere, Anil G, and Varun Agni.
How does Bounce app work?
If you are planning to book a ride via Bounce, you first need to help the app detect your location with the help of the location services of your mobile devices. You will then be having a scooter/bike booked by the app. You will then be able to use the scooter to drive to your destination. After you complete your ride, you can simply end your trip and make the payment.
A nascent stage startup is no different from a toddler—it needs to be nurtured with utmost care and conditioned for tackling the challenges that lie ahead. To provide this grooming, several cities in India are preparing themselves for incubating and bolstering entrepreneurial ventures.
The global buzz surrounding the startup mentality has made it more important than ever to create a breeding ground for innovation and creativity, and it’s great to see that India is also taking this seriously. This has given rise to a number of startup hubs across the country, with the quantity increasing continuously.
There has been a paradigm shift when it comes to the importance of 9 to 5 day jobs. Although many Indians still prefer such jobs over conceiving new ventures, some studies report that the number of startups in India has grown over 7 times in the recent decade. Are Indian’s ditching the traditional conception of employment? Quite likely a yes.
According to the reports, the number of Indian startups in 2008 lingered at around 7000. A 2018 study estimated approximately 50,000 startups in existence across India. The startup culture in India has seen tremendous growth. According to a 2021 Global Startup Ecosystem Index by Startup Blink, three cities in India, Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai ranked among the top 20 cities globally.
If one was to single out a specific brand or entity that paved way for entrepreneurship in India, it would be Zoho. Then known as AdventNet.inc, Zoho offers productive tools (Document processing, etc.). It began in 1996 and amplified the “startup” trend in India.
Here is a list of some of the best cities for startups in India that are providing startups and initiatives to the pedestal to grow and make name for themselves. With the penetration of more international tech giants, most of these cities are changing into the IT hubs of India.
800+ stories, thousands of founders, and millions of visitors. Want to be the next?
StartupTalky is where founders, entrepreneurs, startups and businesses hang out and look up to for inspiration. If you have the means, we have the medium! Inviting founders and startups who are building sustainable solutions from ground zero! Startups who run the show, StartupTalky will let the world know!
Bengaluru, once known as the startup capital of India before it was dethroned by Delhi which added 5000 startups against 4,514 in Bengaluru from 2019 to 2021.
Bengaluru has been the womb to big shots like Ola and Flipkart. The city houses various technical and analytical firms, an enticement for budding and established entrepreneurs.
Rightly christened as the Silicon Valley of India, Bangalore is the perfect amalgamation of the corporate lifestyle and vibrant social life. Home to the country’s top technical and managerial institutions (IIM, Bangalore and IISC) and a strong industry connection, there’s no shortage of opportunities in this city. It is known as the best city for startups in India.
Even freelancers across the country have an inclination towards working out of Bangalore; such is the lure of the city. Other countries are becoming cognizant of the strategic significance of this south Indian city—large organizations are adamant about having at least one of their offices in Bangalore. This creates an extensive network highly beneficial to ventures and initiatives seeking support and guidance.
On the other hand, startups based out of Bangalore are expanding their operations and services beyond India. With the city in dire need of renovation and re-modelling (lack of space and water issues being some reasons for worry), the inevitable transformation of Bengaluru will open up new avenues for entrepreneurs. The city is also among the top IT startups in India.
Delhi
Delhi City
Delhi, the startup capital of India is the center of India that commands the respect of its own, Delhi is the seat of political power and this lends a greater hand to the startup ecosystem flourishing there. Having a stronghold in telecommunication and media, Delhi has been a destination for various entrepreneurship-related meetups and conferences, with the Government of India promoting and publicizing a majority of these events.
The close vicinity to Delhi has enabled both Noida and Gurugram to establish themselves as startup hubs. A trade and commerce place historically, Delhi has seen the rise of tech startups such as Hike and Paytm, food tech startups like Zomato, and Shopclues belonging to the e-commerce segment.
With booming infrastructure and ease of business, Delhi is counted among the top cities for startups in India where foreign behemoths like Samsung are exploiting Noida and Gurugram to the fallest; Samsung recently opened the “world’s largest mobile factory” in Noida. These regions entail a huge potential for growth along with a thriving network of investors and entrepreneurs. The presence of centres of excellence like IIT, DU and IIFT (to name a few) means there’s no shortage of expertise.
Hyderabad
Hyderabad City
Traditionally known as the city of pearls, this city in Southern India is witnessing a rise in foreign investments and the number of successful startups blossoming on its land. Hyderabad can be called the second IT hub of India after Bangalore.
With many international giants like Microsoft, Google, and Uber setting up their offices in Hyderabad, the city is slowly yet steadily catching up with Bengaluru as a startup hub. Top institutes like ISB, IIIT, and BITS being located in Hyderabad is icing on the cake—alumni from these places are directly incubating their ventures in Hyderabad.
The support from the State Government has encouraged entrepreneurs to make the best out of unrealized opportunities Hyderabad has on offer. The State Government is vesting time and money in organizing and setting up conferences, hackathons, state initiatives, and development centres—everything geared towards making Hyderabad synonymous with entrepreneurship. It is even slackening on policies and procedures to showcase the city as a favourable incubator!
Mumbai
Mumbai City
The city of dreams, also the home to some of the world’s wealthiest businessmen, has only recently been dethroned by Bangalore when it comes to India’s favourite startup destination. Mumbai is still the first choice for anyone who is into non-technical startups as it is India’s financial capital.
One of India’s most recognized institutions, IIT Bombay has been instrumental in cultivating the startup ecosystem across the nation, being the birthplace of many wildly successful startups. Moreover, alumni from this esteemed college have gone on to make name for themselves across countries through their initiatives. It’s a proud feeling to say that many globally recognized brands are the outcomes of the toil put in by IIT Bombay grads and post-grads. It is among the best cities for startups in India.
BookMyShow, JustDial, and Cleartrip are only scratch the surface of the plethora of startups to have emanated from this sea-facing city. With conglomerates like L&T and Tata group setting up their offices in Mumbai, the financial hub has seen a steep growth in the economy, employment, and business. But the rising cost of living and real estate in Mumbai has caused a few unicorn enterprises such as Ola to shift base. In spite of such issues, Mumbai will continue to dominate the entrepreneurship segment, come hell or high water.
Emerging Startup Cities in India
With big cities gradually losing their shine and attraction, many emerging startups are focusing on tier 2 cities for growth and sustenance. Some cities have seen a surge in entrepreneurial activities and have made it big in the last 3-4 years. Some of the emerging startup cities in India are:
Ahmedabad
Gurugram
Pune
Chennai
Kolkata
Nagpur
Chandigarh
Indore
Goa
Bhubaneswar
Lucknow
Surat
The Government setting up a tech park called GIFT City in Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar, Pune becoming a smart city, and Chennai emerging as a host to entrepreneurial discussions and events—smaller cities are gaining traction. Cheap land rates, low cost of living, remarkable talent yet to be utilized, and lucrative government policies have made these cities the future of the Indian startup ecosystem.
FAQ
Which city has the most startups in India?
Delhi has dethroned Bengaluru and now ranks in the first position for the most number of startups in India.
Which city is known as the startup capital of india?
Delhi is known as the startup capital of India.
Which is the best city for startups in India?
Some best cities for startups in India are Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Noida, and Pune.
What is the best city to start a business in India?
Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru are some of the best cities to start a business in India.
With India getting a bit more tech-savvy along with rapidly changing technology around the globe, Indian startups have ventured into a wide range of domains including the development of home automation systems to provide a better lifestyle to the Indians. In this article, we have listed some home automation companies in India, that aim to provide a good experience to their customers.
From controlling room temperature to lightings, from managing entrance gates and cameras to making the appliances at your home smarter, home automation startups in India have developed some cutting-edge technology. With these startups at your service, comfort is just a click away from you. So, let us take a look at the list below.
Cubical Labs is a Delhi-based home automation startup, founded by three IIT-Guwahati graduates – Swati Vyas, Dhruv Ratra, and Rahul Bhatnagar in the year 2013. The startup offers solutions for building a wireless, cost-effective, safe, and smart home solution, all of which can be controlled remotely through a mobile. They also have products that cover a wide range of utilities including surveillance, control, energy monitoring, and intelligence.
Home Brain
Home Brain Homepage
Home Brain is a Gurgaon-based startup that offers automation consulting, designing, and integration with hands-on experience in today’s technological era. It is the brainchild of NetWorld Inc, which is a leading IT-enabled company and some of its products are Security Brain, Lighting Brain, Entertainment Brain, Climate Brain, and Appliance Brain.
Oakter
Oakter Homepage
Founded by three IITians, Varun Gupta, Nithin David, and Shishir Gupta in 2014. Oakter is a smart home startup based out of Noida that aims to resolve the technical issues faced by Indian homes. The company manufactures products that make the existing home appliances like AC, water-pump, geyser, door-lock, lamp, room heaters, etc smarter. One can also control the home appliances through the Oakter mobile app and schedule it as per their needs.
PicoStone
PicoStone Homepage
PicoStone, a Mumbai-based smart home automation startup that was founded by Virang Jhaveri, Niket Sarvaiya, and Nilesh Jain with a mission to automate every home in India. PicoStone gives its users complete control of their electrical devices at their fingertips and also helps in saving electricity and their product named Butler controls the smart home devices.
Fox Domotics
Fox Domotics Homepage
Founded in the year 2012, Fox Domotics is a Mumbai-based home automation manufacturing startup widely known in the market for manufacturing Wifi Light Switches, Touch Switches, and Hotel Room Automation Switches. Mohammed Sikander Manihar is the brains behind converting Fox Domotics from just an idea on a paper to one of the successful home automation companies in India.
SharpNode
SharpNode Homepage
Founded in the year 2014 by Mohit Agnihotri, SharpNode is again a Mumbai-based home automation startup. It has a product that monitors homes and provides control and security over electric appliances through smartphones or laptops installed SharpNode application. It helps one to guard their prominent home without putting the security guards on the house as it has motion sensors.
Inoho
Inoho is a Bangalore-based startup and was founded in January 2014 by IIT Guwahati graduates-Deep Singh and Deepankar Garg. It provides a home automation system containing a switchboard control module, central hub, and a smartphone application. One can control all such switches using their smartphone app even when they’re not at home.
Metagan Technologies Pvt Ltd.
Founded in 2015 by Ganesh Prasad Kumble, Metagan Technologies Pvt Ltd. is aimed at providing simple, secure & standard automation solutions to the world. Based out of Bangalore, it manufactures products across various domains including Security & Home Automation, Industrial Automation, Smart City Automation, Healthcare Automation, Agriculture Automation, and Vehicle Automation, etc.
eDomotics
eDomotics Homepage
Based out of Bangalore, eDomotics was founded by Ganesh Vudutha and Keshava Varma in 2012. The company aims at providing comfort, convenience, security & safety to its customers. With just a click of a button, customers can control lighting, appliances, entertainment systems, air-conditioning, curtains, sprinklers, or surveillance cameras of their homes.
Pert
Pert Homepage
Based in Bangalore, Pert is a Home Automation solution provider that was founded by Arun Cheela in 2014. It allows its customer to control their 8 switches with just 1 Pert device. It also helps with features like time-scheduled events to carry out routine tasks which otherwise would be time-consuming.
IFIHomes
IFIHomes Homepage
Based out of Bangalore, IFIHomes was founded in the year 2013 by Rohit Khosla. It is one of the leading smart home startups in India that manufactures products in various domains including home automation, secure vision, smart light, as well as solar products. Some popular applications in home automation include universal remotes, smart switches, IP Camera security systems, blinds, lighting, and video door phones, security alarms.
Silvan Innovation Labs
Silvan Innovation Labs Homepage
Founded by Avinash Gautam in the year 2008, Silvan Innovation Labs is based out of Bangalore and develops video surveillance, analytics, and home automation solutions products. Its wide range of products includes CBell, a WiFi video doorbell, which calls the owner’s phone when the doorbell is pressed, and Secure, an app-enabled security system, which secures the home against safety hazards such as gas leakages and fires.
Thasmai Automation
Thasmai Automation Homepage
Founded in the year 2010 by Karigirish Murthy, Thasmai Automation is based out of Bangalore and offers home automation and home theatre solutions for its customers by making the products and systems that are already used in everyday work together. They also provide home security solutions including CCTV Systems, Anti-Burglary Systems, Video Door Phones, and Biometric Locks.
Build Track
Build Track Homepage
Based out of Mumbai, Build Track is one of the top home automation companies in India that provides user-friendly solutions that are cost and energy-efficient. All the products are manufactured in-house, and are tested before being delivered and are specially designed to suit Indian conditions. They even won the CII National Award for the Most Innovative Energy Saving Product.
KlickH
KlickH is a home automation startup that focuses on home security and automation products for India and is based out of Hyderabad that was founded by Madhu Reddy Salla in the year 2008. It manufactures various products and aims at providing safety, convenience, comfort, etc.
Conclusion
With so many companies in the market offering home automation products and services, it has become very easy to make your home smarter. This was our list of Home Automation startups in India. If you are not among them, then connect with us at shubham@startuptalky.com to get featured in the list.
FAQs
Who is the leader in home automation?
HomeSeer is one of the leading home automation companies in India.
Which company is best for home automation?
Schneider Electronics, Philips, TIS Control, and Legrand is some of the best home automation companies in India.
Is Home Automation worth it in India?
Due to the high cost of home automation, it is considered a luxury in India.
Startups are a hard cookie to bite in. But for these Indian cricket players, it is just another pitch to show their talent. With this kind of dedication, practice, passion, and talent they have achieved the best in both the fields namely sports and business.
Indian cricket team players have been the face of numerous brands over the years. But with the startup culture flourishing and having a positive environment in the country, many cricket stars are showing interest in new ventures and are backing them up by investing both their time and money into business enterprises they believe are promising and relevant.
Here are some Indian cricketers who have invested in new-age startups:
Also referred to as the God of Cricket this batting maestro has been the face of various brands over the years. After a successful cricketing career of 24 years, Sachin retired in 2013 and started his second innings with several ventures. Here is a look at the startups he has invested in.
Musafir
It is a travel company based in Dubai and was founded in 2007. Sachin was both the stakeholder and the brand ambassador of the company. Sachin Tendulkar exited the company in 2018 with ₹25 crores.
Smaaash Entertainment
Sachin Tendulkar at Smaaash Launch
Founded in 2009 it is a sports simulation technology based on various games like cricket, football, racing, and other recreational activities. It also hosts leisure activities that include a lounge, a spa, dining and music for men, women, and children as well as a gaming mall. The company was shut down in 2020 as the pandemic hit.
Sachin and Sanjay Narang
Sachin collaborated with the famous hotelier Sanjay Narang of the Mars group and opened restaurants. They are situated in the Colaba and Mulund areas of Mumbai and one in Bangalore.
Kerala Blasters of Indian Super League
Sachin Tendulkar at Kerala Blaster Team Unveil
Sachin was the co-owner of the Kerala Blasters franchise of the Indian Super League along with other investors. It’s a football team and the Kerala Football Association has full faith in Sachin’s and his entry is said to bring funding and revival of the game itself in the state. In 2018 Sachin sold his entire stake of ISL Kerala Blaster.
Mumbai Franchise of International Tennis Premier League –
Sachin has been known for his passion for Tennis and is a long time fan. He is the co-owner of the newly-formed Indian Tennis Premier League’s Mumbai Franchise.
Smarton India
Sachin Tendulkar at Smarton Phone Launch
In 2016, Sachin invested in the Bengaluru-based Internet of Things (IoT) company Smartron India and came on board as the brand ambassador of the company.
Yuvraj Singh
After successfully combating a cancerous tumour in his left lung and winning the 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj Singh started his foundation, YouWeCan. Established in 2015, it spreads awareness about cancer and the effects of the dangerous disease.
This fabulous batsman of the International Indian Cricket Team has inspired millions with his on-field and off-field batting. In 2011 after winning the World Cup he was diagnosed with cancer but he made an international comeback just in a year with newfound enthusiasm and courage.
YouWeCan Ventures
A part of YouWeCan is the YouWeCan Venture which is an initiative to provide support to budding businessmen. The start was initiated with the help of Nishant Singhal who is both the co-founder and Chief Investment Officer.
In 2017, YouWeCan Ventures backed the online table reservation platform EazyDiner and Yuvraj Singh became the brand ambassador for the app. YouWeCan’s portfolio also includes healthcare marketplace Healthians, Bengaluru-based automotive services marketplace startup Cartisan, Gurugram-based Startup Buddy, an online marketplace for private jets and helicopters JetSetGo and startup incubators and media funds. He also owns a sports-based e-commerce store Sports365.
Virat Kohli is the captain of the Indian cricket team and also the new face of the Indian youth. He is one of the best batsmen in the world right now both on-field and off-field. Virat Kohli has earned accolades on the field and off-field made concrete plans for his retirement. Here is a look at some of Kohli’s Investments.
Wrogn
Virat Kohli started his fashion brand with co-founder Anjana Reddy. It is a youth fashion platform for graphic T-shirts, lightweight denim jackets and collar shirts.
Chisel Gyms
Virat Kohli at Chisel Gym Launch
Known as a fitness freak Virat Kohli has launched Chisel, a chain of fitness gyms and fitness centres. The startup recently introduced technology-enabled workout routines that aimed at addressing the youngsters of information technology workers.
UAE Royals
Virat Kohli at UAE Royals Event
It’s the franchise of the International Tennis Premier League. Virat is the co-owner of the franchise with Neelesh Bhatnagar and Sachin Gadoya. It has availed the 17 times Grand Slam Champion, Roger Federer.
FC Goa
Virat Kohli at FC Goa Launch
It’s the franchise of the Indian Super League and was the first investment made by Virat Kohli at the age of just 25 years. He is the co-owner of this ISL team and holds stakes of 12%.
Zeeva – MuveAcosutics
Virat Kohli – MuveAcoustics
Kohli partnered with Hong Kong-based consumer electronics companyZeeva in order to launch the audio equipment company MuveAcoustics in India.
The former captain of the International Indian cricket team’s both ODI and Test Cricket has ventured into multiple startups and businesses. Here is a look at some of the business ventures of MSD.
Ranchi Rays
It is a Hockey club franchise of the Hockey India League that is co-owned by Dhoni and the Sahara India Pariwar.
Chennaiyin FC
MS Dhoni at Chennaiyin FC Launch
It is a Football club franchise of the Indian Super League that is co-owned by Dhoni, Abhishek Bachchan, and Vita Dani.
Mahi Racing Team India
MS Dhoni at Mahi Racing Team launch
With his interest in bikes, Dhoni has co-partnered this World Super Bike Championship team with Akkineni Nagarjuna.
SportsFit
Dhoni has co-founded his fitness brand in 2012. Sports Fit World Pvt. Ltd is a gym franchise with several stores open and functional in India already.
Cars24
In 2019, M S Dhoni invested in the online used car marketplace Cars24 as a Series D investor.
SEVEN
MS Dhoni at Store Launch of Seven
MS Dhoni has also launched a lifestyle brand SEVEN and owns the shoe section of the brand.
Khatabook
The cricketer has recently invested an undisclosed amount of equity funding in the Bengaluru-headquartered business ledger app, Khatabook.
Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricket coach. He was one of the fourth-highest wicket-taker of all time.
Tenvic Sports
Anil Kumble co-founded TENVIC Sports with international table tennis player Vasanth Bharadwaj in 2010. The firm intends at rendering structured coaching to assist kids to stand out in a sport of their choice. It also caters to businesses and sports persons by providing training and mentoring, along with vision and ideas to help brands improve leverage in their marketing. Its clientele includes schools like Pearson and Delhi Public School. Corporate clients include IBM, Weber Shandwick, Accenture, Pepsi, HP, etc.
Kapil Dev was the captain of India’s first World Cup-winning team. He was a fast-medium bowler and a hard-hitting middle-order batsman. He was widely recognized as one of the greatest all-rounders to play the game, he is also regarded as one of the greatest captains of all time.
PeopleEasy.com
As an angel investor, Kapil Dev has invested in online grocery startup PeopleEasy.com.
Samco Ventures
Kapil Dev – Samco Ventures
In 2015, the former Indian cricketer turned into a venture investor after picking up a stake in Mumbai-based Samco Ventures.
WizCounsel
Last year, Delhi-based online market network WizCounsel raised INR 1 Cr in an angel round led by the cricketer among others.
VAOO
Kapil Dev – Vaoo
Kapil Dev has also invested in VAOO, a Mumbai-based cab aggregator which offers free rides to passengers in return for viewing advertisements.
Conclusion
Indian cricketers have invested in numerous startups. Some of them are well-known and recognized in India. These startups are successful and also help the people in need. Startups like YouWeCan is helping cure cancer patients. Such startups should be encouraged as they help in the betterment of society and people in need. Many cricketers are trying their hand in startups and helping society. We can see many more startups invested by Indian cricketers in future.
FAQ’s
Do cricketers invest?
Yes, many Indian cricket legends, like Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli have invested in various startups.
What business does Sachin Tendulkar have?
Sachin Tendulkar has invested in startups like Musafir and Smaaash entertainment. The god of cricket also co-owns Kerala Blasters.
2021 was one year full of events. This was the year when the pandemic did not come to an end. It was the year when the vaccines started to pick up the pace. Not only the pandemic stayed but it transformed into many forms and variants. We were confined to our homes and were still connected with the help of technology.
This was the year when we saw how crucial healthcare workers really are. We learnt how to honour them. We learnt ways to heal, and we shared the ways we found. We learnt how we can be alone and together with everyone at the same time. We rediscovered that we can overcome anxiety to rise above our shortcomings. We learnt how to smile under our masks and how to appreciate friends and family and life. We learnt how to hit back from the setback.
All these things happened in 2021, and now it is almost the end of the year. India too shared the pain and heals with the whole world. We too joined hands and faced the pandemic with courage. There was one new event that we witnessed this year and that set the tone for the rest of the year. The event we all saw was the uprising ‘valuations of startups’.
The Indian startup ecosystem saw unicorns from all directions, it was quite literally raining valuations. Companies raised a lot of capital, reached huge valuations and made a mark in this unusual year. This is the time for a startup rewind. Let us see back on this eventful year and bid farewell. This article entails everything that happened in our Indian startup ecosystem this year. First, the basics and then the technicalities, read on to witness glory.
There are many jargons that go without saying in the business world. One of the most (considered) prestigious words is Unicorn. A unicorn refers to a startup (A company) that is privately held and reaches or over a valuation of 1 billion dollars. The term was first officially coined in 2013 by Aileen Lee, a venture capitalist.
She chose the mythical creature (It does not exist in reality) ‘Unicorn’ to represent the rarity of such immense successful ventures. When Aileen coined the term ‘Unicorn’, there existed about thirty-nine companies that deserved to be called unicorns.
If we look at CB insights, we will find that there exist about 803 unicorns as of august 2021. If we sort the list of all unicorns on the basis of scale, the top tier will be reserved by ByteDance, SpaceX and Stripe. Some of them have already achieved valuations of 10 billion dollars like SpaceX and Stripe. They are to be called ‘Decacorns’.
Indian Startup Ecosystem in 2021 – A look back
This year was the year of many firsts, this year we saw many things that were never done before. America chose its first female vice president, NASA touched the sun for the first time ever, space tourism became a reality, and India won its first gold medal in the athletics category.
Neeraj Chopra Gold medal in Javelin Throw
Alongside all the worldly business, our country India saw something unusual in the startup ecosystem. We saw a boom of unicorns and many firsts in these many categories too. India witnessed the first health tech unicorn “Innovaccer”, the first social commerce unicorn “Meesho” and the first electronic pharmacy unicorn “PharmEasy”. These were the firsts (types) unicorns in their respective fields that India saw this year.
Well, startups are quite always the trailblazers for technology and innovation they bring to society but apart from these above mentioned ‘Firsts’, do you know how many Indian Startups became a unicorn?
The Indian startup ecosystem saw 33 startups that came under the definition of a Unicorn. That means in just twelve months, India produced something like three dozen unicorns in the country. This stunning number definitely improved India’s status in the world.
Moreover, India displaced the UK to become the third top country to have a flourishing startup hosting ecosystem. The cumulative valuations of these unicorns go over the value of 33 billion dollars and that is a new record in itself. The UK on the other hand produced 15 unicorns.
India now is ahead of the UK, France, Israel, Brazil, Canada and South Korea, on the list of top startup hosting countries. It added many unicorns, led by the online educator BYJU’S (worth the US $21 Billion), Mobile ad tech InMobi (the US $12 Billion), and travel stay finder (the US $9.5 billion). There are 33 stories to be celebrated. We will talk a little about some of them. Let us read the most glorious and biggest startups of the year for the Indian startup ecosystem.
BYJU’S (Education + Technology)
BYJU’S is an “ed-tech” platform which simply means the amalgamation of education and technology. It is one of the world’s leading ed-tech companies providing learning programs for students in LKG, UKG, classes One to twelve (K-12) and competitive exams like JEE, NEET and IAS. The mobile app uses a mix of video lessons and interactive tools to personalise learning for every student.
It has a valuation of about 21 billion US dollars. That is a massive number. The company is also in talks for a listing in the United States. It is expected that if the listing is successful, BYJU’S valuation will jump from 21 billion dollars to a whopping 48 billion dollars. It is headquartered in Bengaluru.
It is not just India’s topmost startup in terms of valuation but it is also one of the most valued ed-tech platforms in the whole world. BYJU’S has had and still has, a great growing perspective in India but the plans of this ed-tech giant is deviating a bit.
The company is planning to enter the United States and then on to other English speaking international markets. It tends to believe that these countries (like the United States) have a large untapped demand for a merger in the field of education and technology. These are developed countries with an already built strong payment infrastructure and the willingness to pay a fee. The subscription business model of BYJU’S, hopes for better demand and a better future in these outside countries.
It is here to be noted that it is not going to be easy. Conquering the education and technology amalgamation is a herculean task. That too in a foreign land where technology is already developed and flourishing. So, fighting in a market that is already a place of the target for many corporations will be difficult. The expansion is still in talks but the effect it has on India is nothing short of remarkable.
InMobi (Mobile Marketing platform)
Going by the most amount of valuations, InMobi lies second in this list. It is the country’s second most valued startup. It is valued at 12 billion dollars. Inmobi is based out of the most favourite city for startups, is Bengaluru. It is a mobile advertising platform that helps others in optimising the ranks of the advertisements which run primarily on mobile phones.
InMobi has raised a total of $320.6M in funding over seven rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jan 1, 2019, from a Venture-Series Unknown round. InMobi is funded by six investors. Lightbox and Tennenbaum Capital Partners are the most recent investors. InMobi has acquired 10 organisations. Their most recent acquisition was Appsumer on Oct 13, 2021.
InMobi has invested in NestAway on Mar 16, 2015. This investment – Seed Round – NestAway – was valued at $1.2M. InMobi has raised a total of $25M in a single venture fund, InMobi Indie Game Developers. This fund was announced on Jul 24, 2014, and raised a total of $25M. Data is sourced from Crunchbase.
One of the most interesting facts about InMobi is that it is India’s first Unicorn. Yes, it is true. In 2011, the startup was provided with a cheque of 200 million dollars from SoftBank and thus it became the first-ever unicorn startup in India.
The future of this advertisement focussed startup is quite interesting. According to the March 2021 news, the company InMobi is planning for an IPO in the United States at a value of up to 15 billion dollars. After being founded in 2007, and becoming the first-ever unicorn in India, it is seen as a hopeful venture. It is also seen as the torchbearer of the unicorn league that started after this company entered the $1 billion mark of valuation. The company also has a subsidiary named “Glance”, which also turned a unicorn in the pandemic year, 2020. What the future holds for this venture, is yet to be seen, for now, it is expanding as much as possible.
OYO Rooms (Hotels and technology)
Ritesh Agrawal, a 19-year-old college drop-out released the nightmares of a traveller for an affordable place to stay in and then decided to develop an Airbnb inspired online homestay service. Spotting a perfect opportunity in the then unorganised hotel market, which was worth less than $7 billion, he founded OYO Rooms in 2013. 24-year-old Ritesh Agarwal had the solution to a backpacker’s ordeal of unpleasant surprises to horrors of the “budgeted” hotels is a booking app that promises clean, affordable and branded hotels.
OYO is a global travel technology company. The aim of this company is to help people find hotels and staying locations. It also works as a connection between patrons and guests. It was founded by Ritesh Agrawal and the startup is based out of Gurgaon (Now gurugram), Haryana, India. The company now has about 10,000 employees as of now.
The startup is financed through debt and is a privately held company. OYO has been able to raise about 4.5 billion dollars up till now and has made twenty-seven investors interested with their money in the venture. Let us see through the facts and figures that shaped the hotel retail chain OYO, here in the next para we discuss the founding and funding of this startup,
OYO has raised a total of $4.6 billion in funding over 21 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Dec 16, 2021, from a Debt Financing round. OYO has invested in OYO LIFE on Oct 30, 2018. This investment – Funding Round – OYO LIFE – was valued at ¥8.3B. OYO is funded by 27 investors. Microsoft and Värde Partners are the most recent investors. OYO has acquired a total of about 7 organisations. Their most recent acquisition was Danamica on Sep 2, 2019. They acquired Danamica for $10M.
Investments Analysis for the year 2021 (Investments behind valuations)
The Indian startup ecosystem saw a noticeable record on investments this rather unusual year. The startup ecosystem has witnessed an investment of $36 billion in privately held companies this year. This investment trend can be seen making sense as the demand for digitisation has grown many many folds amid the Covid 19 pandemic.
This year, the opus of seed-stage deals dominated nearly 396 deals aggregating to a value of 705 million dollars. Moreover, the number stood at 166 Investments at the “Series A” round of funding, which amounted to about 1.67 billion dollars. This is the data up till the 20th of December. It is to be carefully noted that most of the majority of the investments were in the direction of the IPOs that were listed in the year 2021. It was directed to the pre-initial public offering and nuanced rounds in companies like Zomato, PolicyBazaar, Ola and Paytm. If we count and add the top ten deals or investments, we will get the number 5.58 billion dollars.
In addition to the number of deals of investments, Indian startups also raised more than normal. Normal here refers to the compared rounds of the previous years that were preceding 2021. Startups raised much more than they normally do, this is quite unusual. Which matches the theme of the whole of the unusual year that we faced.
Risk capital funds stepped up the game to take bigger and bigger bets on high growth companies. Interestingly, they put all that risk of investing capital in these companies very early in time. This resulted in companies getting more and more valuations. These higher valuations inflated the worth of these newborn businesses and led the way of doubling and even tripling their value in each successive funding round.
VC Deals in India By Year
The graph above clearly shows the enthusiasm in investment deals this year. We can notice that venture capital deals in India are rising. The number is not even steady, it is mostly a jump. After a little slump in the year 2020, it picked up the pace again like before. Not only the pace and rapidness but the volume and magnitude grew too.
The aggregate value of deals that happened tripled from what it was in the initial year of the pandemic. The second year in pandemic saw an average deal of almost 33 million dollars. Such a jump in average deals proves the point that investors and Venture capital funds are bullish on companies. This year they took more risk in hope of expected future returns.
“Valuations are a reflection of an investor’s exit expectations. 2021 has proven the full venture cycle for India. Some fabulous exits like Zomato, Nykaa, PolicyBazaar and others have increased exit size expectations, and consequently the valuations,” said Alok Goyal, founder and investment partner at Stellaris Venture Partners, an early-stage VC firm.
He also sounded a cautionary note while pointing out that
“markets have a habit of overreacting on both sides – in bull and bear cycles. We are seeing a bull cycle reaction right now and (won’t) be surprised if there is a bearish overcorrection in the future.”
Many companies like Fintech startup, Cred, OfBusiness, Groww, Cars24, Licious, Spinny, InfraMarket, Good Glamm Group and Pristyn Care were among the firms whose valuations grew manifold in the last year.
Number of VC Deals in India in 2021
“Through 2021 we experienced a strong positive shift in the quality of founding teams, depth of markets, unit economics and exit opportunities via public markets. As a result, investors across stages felt comfortable writing larger cheques and taking more risk,” said Vaibhav Agrawal, partner at Lightspeed India, which has backed new unicorns of 2021 like ShareChat and Apna Co.
Seed VC Deals in India by Year
The above graph is the graph showing Seed Venture capital deals in India over the years. The number of capital deals was rising until a halt in 2020, that too got over and the growth continued in 2021. However, if we look at the average deal size, we can clearly see a good amount of growth. The average investment deal we saw was about 2.5 million dollars, which is the highest over the years preceding 2021. With this trend in the average deal size, aggregate deal value also grew to 700 from 400 in the year 2020.
With all this capital at ease and in their bank account, startups have been able to execute their strategies and thus are able to grow more than ever in the past twelve months. Moreover, they are seeking listing not only in our big nation but even in the foreign developed and technology-rich lands.
More and more investments are enabling them to grow both vertically and geographically. Most investors said that sectors that dominated 2021 like web3/ crypto, SaaS, direct-to-consumer or D2C brands and tech, business-to-business (B2B) commerce, edtech and healthcare will continue to attract funding next year as well.
“ Cycles will come and go, but the important takeaway here is that Indian entrepreneurs have access to the equity needed to get closer to their vision of being market leaders,” said Pranav Pai, cofounder, 3one4 Capital, an early-stage venture fund with investments in Licious and Koo.
“They are also taking this opportunity to strengthen balance sheets and prepare for the resilience needed to face a correction when it comes,” he added.
Today, most mature startups have dedicated corporate development teams and an exit by sale is a real option for founders now, according to Kashyap Chanchani, managing partner, The Rainmaker Group, a Mumbai-based investment bank. “Till two years ago a majority of M&As would have been out of distress and lack of options,” he said.
Some time ago, we feared that the covid 19 pandemic will impact and eventually affect the listings this year. We were surprised by startups as if they were ready for the magic trick. Initial public offerings were not in the options for startups this year but 2021 changed that.
This year we witnessed monumental shifts in how technology-led businesses expand at the maximum. Smaller startups like gaming firm Nazara Technologies went public this year but it was food delivery from Zomato’s Rs 9,000-crore IPO that really set the stage for at least half-a-dozen top-league startups seeking an IPO in India.
Country
No. of Unicorns
USA
487 (+254)
China
301 (+74)
India
54 (+33)
UK
39 (+15)
Germany
26 (+16)
France
19 (+12)
Israel
17 (+9)
Canada
15 (+12)
The above list is the list containing “Top countries and cities where the world’s unicorns are based out of”. We can see India is ranked third in this list of countries. It has added 33 new unicorns in this year alone.
City
No. of Unicorns
San Francisco
151(+83)
Beijing
91(-2)
New York
85(+52)
Shangai
71(+24)
Shenzhen
32(+12)
London
31(+15)
Bengaluru
28(+20)
Hangzhou
22(+2)
The top cities where the Unicorns are based are also listed. San Francisco is the top tier city where startups foster growth the most. SF is the home of the startup world, the presence of Silicon Valley makes it a very favourable place to be.
If we move down on the list and see the number 7, it is Bengaluru, the startup hub of India. Later in the list, we can also see Gurugram and Mumbai. All these cities because of their business environment and with the help of the government have turned out to be a growth nest for new-age startups.
Industry
No.of Unicorns
% of Total Value
FinTech
139
19.5%
SaaS
134
10.4%
E-commerce
122
8.4%
AI
84
6.0%
HealthTech
80
4.7%
Cyber Security
40
2.5%
The above list is an excerpt that we are linking to our blog. We can see that FinTech (Finance and technology) has incorporated the most number of unicorns. Not to mention that technology has occupied a huge part of our daily life amid the pandemic. This can be safely assumed as the reason why technology has grown at this pace.
During the pandemic, people began questioning a lot of things like their finances and the security that they get from money and the likes. Thus, these questions and the revelation of the fact that life is fragile led to the growth in people investing their money into stocks. We can safely say that people began thinking long term because of the pandemic. The second and third rank is held by SAAS (Software as a service) and E-commerce startups, which too is crucial to normal life in the pandemic.
Unicorns Founded by Indians (Abroad)
We read about the data about startups that went on to become unicorns in Indian borders or boundaries, but Indians won’t stop here. There are some startups that are helmed by Indians that went unicorns outside of the Indian borders.
Indians now can be seen running about 119 unicorns in India and around the world. This cumulative number contains 54 unicorns that are in India and 65 outside Indian borders. Let us talk about a few unicorns that are either founded by Indians or who have at least one co-founder who is an Indian.
Instacart – Instacart is an on-demand delivery startup based in the United States.
Clip – Clip is a finance technology (Fintech) company based out of Mexico. It is founded by an Indian,
Improbable – gaming company based out of the United Kingdom.
Moglix – E-commerce platform based out of Singapore.
Determining Valuations
When we think about valuations, we might think about some graphs and numbers and more data and more numbers. Well, you are right, it is number crunching and data drives but there is one more aspect to it, the story behind the data. And oftentimes the story enjoys more space than numbers. There are three things that need to be kept in mind,
Valuation is simple, we choose to make it complex.
Every valuation has a narrative behind it. A good valuation is more about the story than about the numbers. When valuations go bad, it’s not because of the numbers, it’s because of biases, uncertainty and complexity.
When valuations go bad, it’s not because of the numbers, it’s because of biases, uncertainty and complexity
Why we are seeing a surge in Unicorns (What explains India’s Unicorn boom ?)
It was a wonderful year for the Indian startup ecosystem. It is really interesting to see that in an unusual year like 2021, startups were able to get impressive valuations. Not only impressive valuations but they were able to become unicorns with a worth of over a billion dollars. This requires an explanation. Let us see how these new businesses with literally no past record of profit-making are even able to hold great valuations. Let us see the most expected view that the experts are saying.
Technology Sector Uprising
Before the pandemic started in the year 2020, India was a developing nation (still is). India was adapting to the major shifts in the sector of technology and slowly but surely was on the path of making the new behaviour (of using technology on a regular and normal basis) a reality.
At that time, there was a chief technological officer in almost every Indian household, who was under the age of 20 and above 12. That person was the chief in the technology sector of the house. He/She was the person if the other members of the home (who are not that tech-savvy) wanted any sort of help in that domain.
As the pandemic hit, everything came to a standstill and our dependence on technology grew manifolds. This growth made the public procure more and more technology in houses all over the country.
The CTO of the house also became the chief procurement officer for the household. As the reliance on technology became broader and broader, people became more used to it. We are seeing a massive change in consumer behaviour, and we don’t think that the change is irreversible.
Now, it has been about two full years in the pandemic and the need for technology has not slowed. It has risen and only risen in the past year. This rise in the usage of technology has made possible such growth trends in this unusual year.
Each and every business, or startup has become a technology business, without them realising this thing. Today even before anything, they want to work on the technology behind the company, because they know that it will be the face of the company in the future. The future is already here.
Cheaper Accessibility to technology
The lockdown and the fact that people spent most of their time at home has led to more technology boost. We have used technology for quite everything except a few things. Phones and laptops were seen as the most important technological devices in a household. We attended virtual meetings, went on to more virtual meets, dated on our phones and ordered food from our mobiles.
This dependence has led to a huge demand for not only the technology sector but the wearable sector as well. The cheaper accessibility of smartphones and the wide range of tech devices has also led to a boost in this technology race. This race has opened the door for a fully digital economy that India will become in the upcoming years. This boost in technology has enabled a new playground for startups and thus, we see huge and handsome valuations and of course “Unicorns”
Thriving Payments ecosystem
Led by Paytm and Google pay, India is paying digitally. We are using net banking, Unified payments interface or UPI, credit cards, debit cards and all sorts of things to make our payments easy and convenient. This has led to startups expanding their respective user bases. This has also led to the digital and cashless and paperless economy that the government of India supports.
A thriving payments infrastructure also has led to growth in the valuations of startups. The reason is the fact that as paying someone becomes easy and it alters the behaviour of people transacting something, it boosts it.
A good and smooth payment gateway also lubricates the payments made to a business. This lubrication has penetrated every business in this tech-savvy India and led to more and more payments. As paying becomes easier and business transactions become more and more accessible, startups are able to maintain a healthy user base and even they are able to increase their user base in the previous year.
This increase in user base and the loyalty customers show startups are able to generate some income that proves the point of investing in them. Thus, they get more and more money from investors and Venture capitalists as they are able to see and witness a good and healthy user base.
Digital-first approach
Every business, be it a newborn startup or a 100 year old national or a multinational company, eerie business is operating with a target of a “Digital-first approach”. Going by this approach, the businesses are starting to maintain and take their online business very seriously and make their digital hand the strongest among all. This will not only help in maintaining that already established user base but it will also help them to establish themselves as a brand in this technology world.
Moreover, it is online and in the digital space than in the offline space that people discover new businesses to get their work done. Thus, digital businesses are also good at generating new customers from zero. This has also helped startups to establish themselves as a trustworthy investment for both venture capitalists and potential customers.
IPOs of startups
This year we all have witnessed that startups that are relatively young than that of established brands went ahead and listed themselves. They had, what we call an Initial public offering in financial terms. IPOs of Zomato and Paytm proved the might of these young startups.
Venture capitalists used to invest in tech companies. The reason behind that is that software is easy to scale, In fact, the software is the most scalable thing in the whole world. Softwares and digital assets can give you returns as much as 10X a year in some cases.
Now, as we all know that pandemic accelerated that trend of dependence on software and led to our more use of technology on a daily basis. When everything came to a halt, like restaurants, retail businesses and theatres and other businesses, the only sector that shined through that rough phrase was the technology sector. This is why capitalists and investors invested their money in tech businesses because it is the hottest available option of investment right now and possibly in the future as well.
Future Predictions of Indian Startup Ecosystem
The future is going to be interesting at this pace. We don’t know when this cycle of great valuation will stop and it is hard to tell. The pandemic taught everyone that technology is the sector that is the best for investments. The best way and most efficient way to invest in technology is through the hands of venture capitalists. This is the trend that we saw recently in the pandemic years. We can safely and surely say that technology is going to be something that will drive growth in the future.
If we talk about the future predictions, then boss, it is on the positive side of the slope. As things get normal, people will resume working on their laptops and smartphones. This pandemic altered the behaviour of people from all over India, also the whole of the world saw a change in behaviour.
Some are saying that these valuations are just vanity metrics and some are promoting the fact that Indians will run the world and tech is the next big thing (already is). Some are even thinking of a correction in the market that the market will correct itself in the future time to come. Some are also saying that it is a unicorn bubble. What is a unicorn bubble? let us find out,
A unicorn company is one that is valued at, or above, $1 billion US dollars. A unicorn bubble is a theoretical economic bubble that would occur when unicorn startup companies are overvalued by venture capitalists or investors. This can either occur during the private phase of these unicorn companies or in an initial public offering. This is what we call a unicorn bubble.
The term is as weird and mythical as the term ‘Unicorn’ itself, but in this uncertain and unusual world, we are now probably ready for each and every ‘weird’ and mythical thing that crosses our path. Let us then witness the future with our own eyes.
Conclusion
This year, the volume of seed-stage deals dominated with nearly 396 deals aggregating to $705.86 million while about 166 investments series A amounted to about $1.67 billion, this data is until December 20. India is now the third most destination in terms of startups produced per year. We produced 33 this year. That is the highest of many countries.
We did even better than the United States and other developed countries in this category. India is growing insanely when it comes to the startup world. There are so many unicorns in India these days. The reasons we discussed already in the blog above. We have been betting on technology for two years now. It is the foreseeable future as far as we can see, the pandemic only accelerated it. We are seeing a massive change in consumer behaviour, and we don’t think that the change is irreversible.
All these things happened in 2021, and now the year is ending. What you want to take with you depends heavily on you. As we come to the end of the year, it’s time to reflect back and set the tone for the new year. It is that time of the year when we get ready to start something again and try again, and/or continue doing successful ventures in the future.
The startups in India made us proud and had shown us a ray of hope in a rather dull year. We all hope that this ray of hope broadens in the new year as explorers from all over the world continue to make our world better equipped for the future.
FAQ
How many unicorns are starting in India in 2021?
India added over 33 unicorns in 2021 which takes the total count to 54.
Which industry added the most unicorns in 2021?
The fintech sector added the most unicorns in 2021 with 139 unicorns.
Niku Mandal
