StartupTalky

Tag: Olympiados

  • Is Olympics Economically Viable? | Economics of Hosting the Olympics

    Who doesn’t love to watch their favourite country in the Olympics but have you ever thought about the expenditure incurred to host the Olympics? For instance, the Olympics is the most awaited international leading sports event that every sportsman will look forward to.

    Whereby different countries compete with each other in various competitions such as- Athletics, Baseball, Archery, Gymnastics, shooting, Rackets and many more.

    Usually hosting an international event, especially the Olympics, demands a tremendous amount of money to conduct as, every year, different countries make bids million or billion bigger in order to host the Olympics and take charge of the spending that literally covers around tens of millions. So, Let’s understand the economic impact of the Olympics.

    Why is there a Concern about Investing Money in Hosting Olympic Games?
    The Economic Impact of the Olympic Games
    How are the Olympic Games Financed?
    FAQ

    Why is there a Concern about Investing Money in Hosting Olympic Games?

    Regarding hosting the Olympics, the priority task for the hosting country is to fulfil the demands & requirements of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) such as infrastructure updates, Olympics village, operational cost, transportation, maintenance, accommodation and so on.

    Apart from the benefits of the augment in tourism (travel to watch the games) and infrastructure update in the countries or cities, the hosting country has to defray the expenditure of renovation which are accountable to incur beyond the expected budget of the hosting country.

    As is the case, it is reported that many countries encountered an economic downfall and bankruptcy after hosting the Olympics. Instead of uplifting the economy in terms of unemployment, poverty, and many other opportunities, those countries misspent millions of million in hosting the Olympics which seems irrelevant according to the national spending.

    Since the Olympics 1960, No countries or cities haven’t witnessed profit from hosting, though London and Seoul found profitability as they took advantage of existing structures in updating infrastructure and corporate sponsorship in funding other expenses. While the other hosted countries fall into a massive debt that can take decades to pay off.

    Many hosted countries failed to maintain their finances which made them insouciance about investment in the Olympics again and not ready to face tremendous financial instability after hosting the Olympics.

    Here, one such country is taken into consideration, the Rio de Janeiro, When the state won the bid back in 2009, for hosting the Olympics 2016, didn’t see the preordained financial catastrophe after the Rio de Janeiro Olympics 2016. Although for the very first, the country received a global audience of more than 6.6 million in the Olympics, it failed to meet crucial financial arrangements for the games.

    In order to appeal to the audiences as well the IOC, the country did things beyond imagination, where the act of demolition and displacement of the country’s heritage sites occurred, fomented human rights in the nation.

    The former governor  Francisco Dornelles at the time proclaimed ‘state of calamity in the country, where the state’s government is bankrupt and failed to meet further requirements in the upcoming game of Olympics 2016.

    Another example of financial disaster after hosting the Olympics was Montreal’s 1976 Summer Games where they were liable to pay around $1.5 billion, which took three decades to repay.

    The Economic Impact of the Olympic Games

    Instilling in hosting the Olympic tournaments is beneficial and productive is a counterfeit presumption. The government’s agenda on constructing modern arenas is the perception that it will generate fresh careers and the arenas will succeed to be beneficial in the future but it never takes place.

    For hosting the 2002 World Cup, South Korea subsidized a hefty number in constructing 10 new arenas with a capacity of holding 40,000 to 60,000 people. But the aftermath was disappointing, to date they operated simply five of the stadiums and the typical crowd stature for soccer games is roughly 3,000.

    South Korea 2002 World Cup Stadium
    South Korea 2002 World Cup Stadium

    Likely, Nigeria built a stadium for the 2003 African Games with a capacity of holding 60,000 people, but the arena hadn’t been utilized due to the high keeping and conspiracy rate in the area.

    Likewise, there were several further countries like Chicago and Rio de Janeiro that hosted the tournament in the notion that it would boost tourism and also enhance the infrastructure. Nonetheless, some of the countries didn’t achieve the outcome they foresaw but few managed to succeed.

    Sydney developed over 100,000 new job vacancies, Atlanta Olympic Organizing Committee created 77,000 new jobs, South Korea profited an $8.9 billion.

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    How are the Olympic Games Financed?

    Organizing the Olympic Games costs high budgets and the allowance for the Olympic Games can be halved into two sorts:

    OCOG (Organising Committee For the Olympic Games) Budget:

    The IOC contributes a large amount of money. They subscribe from the dividend they receive from the top Olympic Partner programme and from the capital they obtain from the firm they trade the broadcast ownership for the Olympic Games.

    A hefty sum of capital is mandated to coordinate an Olympic Games and IOC subsidies fill in a considerable portion of it. In the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the capital required to organize the event was 1.5 billion USD.

    The country that owns the Olympic rights should also provide the ticketing of the event. The money for host broadcast operations is also contributed by the IOC. The federal partnership programme is also the basis of income for the provincial organisers. Around 880 million USD will be invested for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

    NON-OCOG (Organising Committee For the Olympic Games) Budget:

    The regional councils hold control of this budget and it has several divisions in it.

    Systems budget: The operative services for general administrations like transport, customs, immigration, safety and medical assistance for athletics succeed under this budget.

    Capital Investment budget: The private or civil administrations undertake the financing of particular ventures. The edifice of tournament outlets succeeds under this allowance.

    Conclusion

    Hosting the Olympics is not a susceptible task and it arrives with a hefty price of ventures. Many countries imply no attention in hosting the occasion reckoning about the obstacles in undertakings and insurance.

    Usually, the nations who have investors and are inclined in boosting the technology of the nation put up with this as a recourse.

    With a substantial portion of capital, the nation hosting the Olympics obtains undisputed recognition. Around 880 million USD will be subsidized for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

    FAQ

    What was the cost of Tokyo Olympics?

    The cost of the Tokyo Olympics was $15.4 billion.

    Do Olympians get paid?

    Yes, In the Tokyo Olympics the athletes were rewarded $20,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze.

    Which was the most expensive Olympic ever held?

    Sochi Winter Olympics was the most expensive Olympics which a total cost was $51 billion.

  • My Entity – Offers Eco-friendly and Economical Digital Business Cards

    Many man made things are having a negative impact on the natural environment. One of these many things that has become a part and parcel of our lives is paper. From the newspaper, notebooks, packaging and lot more, paper is widely used. To meet this growing need, every year around 4 billion trees are cut worldwide to make paper. Thus, reducing the use of paper has become a necessity. Viinod Haridaas, an entrepreneur and nature lover has taken an initiative to reduce unwanted use of paper through his startup, ‘ My Entity’. ‘My Entity’ offers a digital alternative for the traditional paper business card.

    My Entity Highlights

    Startup Name My Entity
    Headquarter Pune
    Founder Viinod Haridaas
    Sector IT & Services
    Founded 2019
    Parent Organization Harit Applications Pvt Ltd
    Website myentity.in

    About My Entity and How it Works
    My Entity – Target Market
    My Entity – Founder and Team
    How was My Entity Started
    My Entity – Name, Tagline and Logo
    My Entity – Business Model and Revenue Model
    My Entity – User Acquisition
    My Entity – Startup Challenges
    My Entity – Awards & Recognitions
    My Entity – Future Plans

    About My Entity and How it Works

    Founded just in 2019, My Entity is an IT Tech startup founded by Mr. Viinod Haridaas who is currently running a sports infrastructure company named Olympiados, which is a top 10 sports infrastructure company in India. Conceived with the sole purpose of becoming an environmentally responsible global tech company, My Entity is based on reducing the unwanted usage of paper and help in ease of doing business.

    It is launching as a mobile application, ‘MeApp’, that would include different features such as MeCard, MePass, Sync Me and more. As the first course of business, the company is launching its first feature MeCard, which is an alternative to traditional Business Cards. The most interesting part is that the company’s goal behind this mind-boggling initiative is to ease the process of doing business with an integrated platform in a mobile application. Ideally to use smartphones more smartly.

    MeApp ideally provides free templates for creating professional business cards in no time. It identifies MeApp users in the near vicinity via GPS and lists down the name and their business category that easily allows you to decide whom to share your business card with. One can then easily share their business card with the desired person.

    This App also allows the users to share their MeCard with non-users via mediums like WhatsApp, E-mail, Message and other social media networks.

    Just like one would proudly handover the business card with both hands, this app is designed with a UI to provide a similar experience as a real-life scenario. You can swipe up with your thumbs to send a card and similarly you swipe down with your thumbs to respectfully receive the card. To discard a card you swipe left or right. Once the card is saved, clicking on the phone number, social media link or email address, will redirect you to the desired app.

    The most unique proposition of MeApp is the Real-time feature that automatically updates your MeCard in the other user’s app without bothering them with any notifications.

    My Entity – Target Market

    Intending to operate in the most promising market in the world i.e., India, My Entity strongly stands on the insight that in the next 5 years roughly 100 million users will have digital visiting cards in India. These calculations are based on the number of taxpayers in India and on the fact that there are 15 million freelancers in India who will be the initial target market for this app.

    My Entity – Founder and Team

    Viinod Haridaas is the founder and CEO of My Entity. Viinod is a commerce graduate but has always been interested in technology and innovation. He started his entrepreneurial journey in 2012 with Olympiados, a company dealing in sports retail and sports infrastructure.

    My Entity has a team of 5 members. The other core members are, Sanket Dhone (Senior Developer); Anoop Kumar (Software Developer); Jagruti (Junior Developer); Puja(Creative Designer). My Entity hires through Linkedin and Indeed.

    My Entity Team
    My Entity Team

    How was My Entity Started

    The idea of digital visiting cards struck Viinod when he went to Dubai for an International sports convention. It so happened that he had a bunch of business cards with him but they were soon exhausted in the first row itself. After that people started taking snaps of his visiting card which left him wondering that why should one even use a conventional business card in this digitally advanced world? Also, he very well knew that the visiting cards become useless after a point and it more or less goes to the bin.

    Viinod got stuck with this question that why should one even print a card then? This led him to do a calculation on the visiting cards. The results were startling. On average, in a professional’s lifetime, one cuts around 30 trees to make his business cards alone. And with this awe-striking revelation, he realized the issues one faces with the traditional business cards and decided to dedicate himself entirely towards solving it. As a result, he started planning an eco-friendly digital alternative to the old business cards. After discussing this idea with his colleagues, the basis for the MeApp was laid down.

    When the idea was discussed internally, the (Olympiados)team loved the idea and were excited enough to start with it without any research or evaluation. Hence they went on building this concept without any prior research.

    Viinod began the basic ideation with his Olympiados teammates Kushagra and Dhiraj as they tried to address replication of the human actions of giving and receiving cards which are broadly known as skeuomorphism.

    The first thing that came up during the brainstorming was ‘ME’ as this is all about the concept of ME.

    When presenting a business card to someone, your card will symbolize your pride of your position and your company. Hence we extend our cards with both hands as a gesture of respect for each other’s positions. It’s all about me and my entity – Viinod says

    The logo indicates that the head is independent of the heart and body. And the idea was quite simple. It shows two people meeting and that’s how the beginning of any good relationship starts.

    My Entity Logo
    My Entity Logo

    My Entity – Business Model and Revenue Model

    The first phase of the product is a B2C platform and the primary audience are all those who still print their visiting cards. Me Card has a freemium model, i.e., the free premium model, wherein the users of the app will have access to both free and paid card templates. The basic idea is to create an ecosystem and making a habit of people getting into digital cards and MeApp.

    In the freemium model, premium cards have a one time cost of Rs 480 and a one-time payment for a customized option of Rs 960. The referral coupons are integrated, where when a user recommends 10 other users he will get Rs 250 credit in his account. And the person who is being introduced will get Rs 50 credit. The goal is to get 100000 customers in 6 months.

    My Entity – User Acquisition

    Leveraging social media and digital media and referral Coupon system is the main focus as this is a mobile application which can be crucial to the Businessmen, Sales & Marketing professionals, Freelancers and Small and Emerging Entrepreneurs. Hence social Media and Digital Marketing are our key strategies to attract the customer base.

    My Entity – Startup Challenges

    The most challenging part is getting the right human resources. As a non-tech founder, it becomes really difficult to recruit quality tech partners. First, the product was outsourced for development but not even 20% of the work could be completed and he lost a heavy sum of money. He then recruited a tech guy who almost single-handedly developed the MVP and later added more resources to support

    As of now the company is bootstrapped so going forward the next challenge would be funding. For the above reasons, they are looking to create good brand awareness with the help of responsible media houses like StartupTalky to help us in this initiative.

    My Entity – Awards & Recognitions

    This stellar idea was presented to the Forest Department of Maharashtra. The ministers, principal secretary, and officers in the department loved the idea and even offered for MeApp to be used in the ministry. The offer has been on hold due to the current Vidhansabha Elections.

    My Entity – Future Plans

    The company has just started its journey with the MeApp. This initiative by Mr, Viinod aims at bringing a revolution in the industry and he envisions a bright future for the company, just like any other. Also, the bonus is that they have a couple of innovative ideas for B2B companies as well and they’re already getting ready to drop them on the market.