StartupTalky

Tag: startups

  • The Current Insights and Challenges Faced by OYO Rooms

    Back in 2013, a college dropout spotted the untouched opportunity in organizing India’s budget hotels while travelling through the country. His startup has reached up to 3.5x growth in revenue when it was valued at 10 Billion dollars in October 2019.

    It’s easy to guess that OYO Rooms, a thriving venture by a young entrepreneur Ritesh Agarwal, is being spoken about.

    The funding marks OYO’s presence as India’s most successful unicorn. OYO has successfully raised a whopping $4.1B, as of August 20, 2021. The company has marked its footprints beyond India—in China, Malaysia, Nepal, and the UK. Here’s an insight into Oyo Rooms subsidiaries, growth and the challenges faced by Oyo.

    Oyo Rooms – Latest News
    Oyo Rooms – Growth, Expansion and Valuation
    Oyo Rooms Subsidiaries
    Oyo Rooms – Funding
    Challenges Faced by Oyo Rooms

    Oyo Rooms – Growth, Expansion and Valuation

    Ritesh Agarwal
    Ritesh Agarwal, Founder

    In 2012, Ritesh Agarwal launched Oravel Stays to enable the listing and booking of budget accommodations. After months of research and experiencing various bed and breakfast homes, guest houses, and small hotels across India, he pivoted Oravel to OYO in  May 2013.

    OYO partners with hotels to offer world-class guest experiences across cities. Shortly after launching Oravel Stays, Ritesh Agarwal received a grant worth $100,000 as part of the Thiel Fellowship from Peter Thiel, which greatly contributed to shaping his startup.

    OYO Rooms currently houses 17,000 employees globally, of which approximately 8000 are in India and South Asia. OYO Hotels & Homes is now recognized as a full-fledged hotel chain that leases and franchises assets.

    Over a span of six years, the startup expanded globally with thousands of hotels, vacation homes, and millions of rooms in hundreds of cities in India, Malaysia, UAE, Nepal, Brazil, Mexico, UK, Philippines, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam, the United States and more. It is even valued higher than the renowned  Taj group of hotels and Oberoi hotel chain.

    As per the DRHP filed by the company recently, the total income of OYO, which stood at Rs 13,413.26 crore in the previous FY20 fell by nearly 70% in FY21, standing currently at Rs 4,157.38 crore. All of these can be pointed out as the adverse effects of the pandemic, which restricted the Indians largely to their homes. However, it is important here to note that the company saw a massive 70% contraction in losses though.

    The losses of Oyo became as less as Rs 3,943.8 crore in FY21 when compared to the loss of Rs 13,122.77 crore in FY20. This is due to the reason of the huge fall in the expenses of the company, which was recorded at Rs 22,800.12 crore in FY20 and came down to Rs 6,936.07 crore. The company’s expenses on employee benefits also drastically declined by 63% to Rs 1,742.12 crore in FY21, from Rs 4,765.28 crore in FY20 because of numerous layoffs.

    The business that undoubtedly bore a considerable amount of the brunt of the pandemic is looking to rise again after the lockdown relaxation this year 2021. Oyo took its first step towards growth by raising funding from the American software giant, Microsoft, as part of strategic investment.

    Along with Microsoft, Oyo has a set of other strategic investors, which includes Chinese ride aggregators Didi Chuxing; South-East Asian ride-hailing giant, Grab and Airbnb, American online marketplace for lodging, tourism, and homestays.

    The total valuation of OYO is $9.6 Bn, as of August 20, 2021, after the company raised $5 Mn from Microsoft.

    Oyo Rooms Subsidiaries

    Oyo Rooms have acquired 8 companies to date. Denmark-based data science firm, Danamica was the last company that was acquired by OYO on September 2, 2019, at $10M, after which Oyo acquired Direct Booker on May 9, 2022. The Croatia-based hospitality service provider has more than 3200 homes with it and has serviced 2 mn+ customers so far. The acquisition of the Nikola Grubelic and Nino Dubretic-founded company is expected to strengthen Oyo’s presence in Europe, especially in Croatia.

    Acquired Date Amount
    Direct Booker May 9, 2022 –
    Danamica Sep 2, 2019 $10M
    Leisure Group May 1, 2019 $415M
    Qianyu Islands March 26, 2019 –
    Innov8 Coworking March 15, 2019 $30M
    Weddingz Aug 13, 2018 –
    AblePlus Solutions Pvt. Ltd. July 10, 2018 –
    Novascotia Boutique Homes March 18, 2018 –

    OYO sets foot in UAE after China
    OYO is on an expansion spree after launching its operations in 350 cities across India, Nepal and Malaysia. The latest operations embarked by OYO is in UAE hospitality space.
    StartupTalkyShubham Kumar

    Oyo Rooms – Funding

    Oyo has raised a funding of $3.1B in total, as of January 13, 2022. The company raised $29.72Mn in funding on January 13, 2022. Oyo previously raised an undisclosed debt financing round on December 16, 2021. The Ritesh Agarwal-led company raised its Series F round worth $5Mn on 20th August 2021, which was led by Microsoft. The company has seen 22 funding rounds to date.

    Softbank Group, Lightspeed Venture partners, Airbnb, Sequoia India, Microsoft, Chinese Didi Chuxing, Garb, and more make up the lead investors’ panel for OYO.

    Date Stage Amount Lead Investors
    January 13, 2022 Secondary Market $29.72M Qatar Insurance Company
    August 20, 2021 Corporate Round $5M Microsoft
    July 29, 2021 Corporate Round – Microsoft
    July 16, 2021 Debt Financing $660M –
    March 11, 2021 Debt Financing $200M Softbank Vision Fund
    Jan 6, 2021 Series F $7M Hindustan Media Venture
    Dec 10, 2019 Series F $1.5B Ritesh Agarwal, Softbank
    Nov 30, 2019 Debt Financing $6.73M MyPreferred Transformation
    April 1, 2019 Series E $75M Airbnb
    Feb 14, 2019 Series E $100M Didi
    Dec 7, 2018 Series E $100M Grab
    Sep 25, 2018 Series E $1B Softbank Vision Fund

    Oyo is currently eyeing an IPO soon for which the company is likely to file its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) within the next 10 days, according to the reports dated September 23, 2021. The company is looking forward to raising around $1 Bn through its IPO round, which will consist of an offer for selling shares from the existing shareholders along with some fresh issues of shares.

    Oyo has shortlisted 3 investment banks – JP Morgan, Kotak Mahindra Capital, and Citi eyeing its IPO that is to be worth over $1 billion, as per the last reports on August 9, 2021. The hotel and hospitality industry was among the most affected industries due to the strike of the Covid19 pandemic.

    Now that the world is unwinding, this industry has the potential of witnessing a record recovery. This is also the reason why the software giant, Microsoft is planning to invest in this sector, and Oyo will not lose out on this opportunity of receiving the much-needed funds from Microsoft, which is why it is gearing up towards an IPO.

    Furthermore, OYO has allegedly decided to proceed with a domestic IPO, however, they would also keep other options open.

    Oyo has filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) along with the details of its upcoming IPO round on October 1, 2021. The hospitality giant is looking to raise around Rs 8430 crores, which will be consisting of an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 1,430 crores and a fresh issue worth 7,000 crores. SoftBank Vision Fund will offload shares worth Rs 1,328.5 crores and shall be standing as the biggest beneficiary of the OFS whereas, Global Ivy Ventures and China Lodging Holdings will be selling Rs 23.13 crores and Rs 51.62 crores worth of stakes respectively.

    Oyo might raise close to Rs 1,400 crores with the help of a private placement in a pre-IPO round before the listing. This might reduce the size of its IPO to Rs 7,030 crores.

    The upcoming IPO of OYO is on the back foot. This is because the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) the regulatory body of the hotels, has written to SEBI, charging the company over alleged fraudulent and unfair business practices, as reported on October 26, 2021.

    Oyo was earlier charged by FHRAI for the ‘anti-competitive’ measures that the company has embraced, with the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Furthermore, FHRAI also noted that an investigation by the anti-trust body is still pending and in its advanced stages. Besides, the company has also significantly failed to disclose the information.

    According to the hotel’s regulatory body, Oravel did not make a fair disclosure on the nature and consequence of the CCI-directed investigation and in turn, “has tried to confound investors by conflating irrelevant issues relating to the interim reliefs sought by RubTub Solutions Private Limited (Treebo) and Casa2Stays Private Limited (FabHotels)”

    All these are reasons enough that the IPO of Ritesh Agarwal-led Oravel Stays will more likely be rejected because no past incidents where a company was under the CCI probe have been allowed to go ahead with the IPO.

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    Challenges Faced by Oyo Rooms

    Despite the shiny, successful exterior, OYO’s reputation has been dubious soon after its founding. OYO’s work culture raises questions about the proficiency of its business, according to financial filings, court documents and interviews with 20 current and former employees along with the others familiar with the startup’s operations.

    Unethical growth strategies

    OYO offers rooms from unavailable hotels, those that have halted its service, according to the company’s chief executive and nine of the current and former employees. This boosts the number of rooms listed on OYO’s site.

    Thousands of rooms are from unlicensed hotels and guesthouses, its executives have acknowledged.

    To save the trouble from the authorities over the illegal rooms, OYO sometimes provides free stays to the police and other officials, according to nine of the current and former employees and internal WhatsApp messages, as viewed by The New York Times.”

    Having a huge base of unmarried couples, a scheme involved workers at properties run directly by OYO conspiring to keep the guests checked in after they left. The workers then cleaned and resold the rooms for cash to other guests and nabbed the money, says an ex-worker.

    Complaint of unpaid dues

    OYO charges extra on hotels while refusing to pay the amounts to the hotels, which they claimed they were owed, according to the interviews with several hotel owners and employees, legal complaints, and emails viewed by The New York Times. Some hotel operators have filed criminal complaints against OYO, which said it retained payments. Aditya Ghosh, OYO’s head of India operations, dismissed the argument as “noise,” he said, “the disagreement is about the penalties we charge on customer service failure”.

    Protests by hotel owners

    Independent protests by small-scale hotel owners are surfacing up in mid-tier towns like Pune, Kota, Manali, Ahmedabad and Jaipur as well as Delhi and Bengaluru. They claim that OYO has been eluding them of their promised returns and minimum guarantees by imposing a ream of charges, often without informing them. Many of these charges are not specified in the contract between the owner and OYO.

    The protestors state that OYO’s accounting and auditing process, and the penalties associated with petty faults and errors, are so heavy that they sometimes find themselves owing money to OYO at the end of the month.

    Covid-19 Impact

    Almost every business suffered a lot due to Covid-19, OYO was not any different. The hospitality business suffered a lot, and the occupancy rates of the hotels slow down due to all the lockdown curbs imposed by the Government. Even after the lockdown was over, people were being cautious and were avoiding travelling, so naturally, the occupancy rates were not increasing.All the restrictions created a negative impact on the revenues of the business

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    Conclusion

    Despite the hurdles, OYO has broadened its horizons beyond the bounds of India as well as just hotels. “Anyone who’s tried to innovate and attempted creating large organizations has faced bad press; Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Bill Gates—so I think he’s in the regal company,” said Ankur Nigam, a partner at KPMG. “I don’t think it’s fair to judge whether he’s a good leader. What’s visible is that he’s managed to build a $5 billion company and nothing succeeds like success”.

    Oyo happened to be one of India’s most gifted startups. It witnessed its valuation jump to $10 billion in 2019. Additionally, Ritesh Agarwal also had in his hand 30% of the profits. However, belonging to the hotel and hospitality industry, Oyo also happened to bear the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. This is the sole reason why it saw a drop in its valuation in 2020.

    The unicorn startup was valued at $8B by the Hurun Global Unicorn Report 2020. After the last funding round led by the software giant, Microsoft, Oyo’s valuation jumped $9.6 Bn, as reported on August 20, 2021. Oyo has bigger plans upcoming that the company feels too early to disclose.  

    It’s one thing to think of business tactics, and another to be morally wrong. OYO should realize the fact that integrity is what makes the pillars strong in the long run. If it loses its ethics in the first few successful years, it’s impossible that the company would ever be remembered for any good.

    Diversification of its humble beginnings as a budget hotel chain, Oravel Stays—the entity that owns and operates the OYO brand clearly aims for the sky and has accomplished triumph in the last five years to mark its eminence.

    FAQs

    What is the problem with Oyo?

    Oyo rooms is facing challenges like protests from hotel owners, Complaints of unpaid dues and unethical growth strategies.

    Is Oyo losing money?

    Although Oyo has managed to narrow its losses from ₹12,799 crores in 2020 to ₹3,929 crores in 2021. The revenue of the company has plunged rapidly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Who are Oyo’s competitors?

    OYO Rooms’s top competitors are MakeMyTrip, ClearTrip, Yatra, Treebo and Fabhotels.

  • 8 Valuable Tips for New Entrepreneurs

    We are living today in the age of the “new“, whether it is the innovative ideas, new ventures, or startups that the new-age entrepreneurs are bringing forth. A boom of ideas means an overpopulation of startups, and we are standing amidst a galaxy of startups already in India and abroad. Though these startups may seem many, only some actually manage to stand the test of time and a lot of it depends on the founder of the startup or the entrepreneur whose brainchild the startup is.

    An entrepreneur today needs to be alert, updated, know the market, and look into the future demands to mention the basics. Along with them, numerous other tips would help an entrepreneur stand out, and their startup, thrive. So, if you are an entrepreneur and you are eager to get an edge on the others in the space including other experienced entrepreneurs and rivals, then you can keep this StartupTalky article handy. This is because here you will be learning about 8 effective tips that will benefit you as an entrepreneur.

    There are many entrepreneurs in our Facebook group (StartupTalky). Some are successful, some are in their struggling stage and some are just learning before implementing. In the group, we often ask people to give tips they learned about startups. We believe that every person on this planet has something unique to teach us. So, here are some tips from those entrepreneurs and we are sure, you can learn something from them. It’s always huge to hear from successful and experienced people who are in the same field. So, check this article out to discover some of the most valuable tips for entrepreneurs.  

    Tips For New Entrepreneurs

    Find Clients Before Launching
    Design Matters
    Boost Your Focus
    Track Consumer’s Psycho-graphics
    Keep Interacting
    Stay Charged-up
    Rate Values
    Collaborate

    Find Clients Before Launching

    This is very unique advice but a very important one for developers. Before launching or even making a product, you should approach people and ask them if they need your product and are they willing to pay for it? Try asking them online if not offline. You can go to Facebook groups and many other forums. Knowledge about your target audience is a very crucial piece of information before launching any product.

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    Design Matters

    People are not attracted by the features of your product at the very first, but the first thing which attracts them is the appearance. So, focus on the looks. Try hiring a freelancer if you are not very creative in designs. Later you will be glad that you made this small investment in hiring a freelancer or professional for this purpose.

    Boost Your Focus

    Many times when we try to focus on our work, our brain starts thinking things like, will Avengers return? Or your brain just starts playing songs in the subconscious mind. So, to trick your mind and boost your focus and productivity, you can play Binaural beats in the alpha frequencies. They will make you focus more on the task. Or, you can play the video embedded with this point to find it out for yourself.

    Track Consumer’s Psycho-graphics

    You can study and research the customer’s data. Find out what they like, when do they buy or why do they buy it? This data will help you to make a better decision about your product. This will help you to create an effective and better marketing strategy. To get this data, you can directly ask the consumer or conduct surveys on websites or blogs. Online surveys can also be conducted through common social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

    Keep Interacting

    There is no substitute for real interaction. You cannot buy an AI system to do that. Real interaction helps you to build trust and goodwill with the customer. It also helps in staying updated about the customer’s choices and preferences. However, you don’t always have to meet your customer to interact, you can be active on Social Media too and stay connected with them through common online platforms. Try going live on your page. Or reply to the comments. Try to answer messages related to any query. This helps build a connection between you and your customer and builds a sense of trust in them.

    Stay Charged-up

    You don’t always have to work hard and keep working. Some fun between work is also important. You can have some fun with your team. Although too much fun is informal and not good for the company, you have to balance everything. Try going for a short weekend vacation with your team. Or just get them some gifts. Also, don’t forget to wish and motivate them in the morning. Celebrate good performances and results together. Doing all of these massively boosts the motivation of your team, which will ultimately help you in achieving better results.

    Rate Values

    You must have heard when a legend said: “If you are good at something, never do it for free”. No? Then you are missing one of the most amazing movies in history. Anyway, if you think your product or service is good enough, then never deliver it for free. And it works vice versa. If you want really good service, never expect it for free. Even if you have found a free substitute, then always remember, a substitute is always a substitute.

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    Collaborate

    Whenever you get a chance to collaborate with someone, never miss the chance. Collaborations are a great channel of Marketing. People will check you out if you collaborate with someone. It not only works on YouTube or Blogging or Social Media but on any type of business too. Ever wondered why some company gives free products like “Buy 2 Britannia bread and get a Parle biscuit pack”. This is all just to promote the product. Companies collaborate in this way and make people test the product while making a profit. Try doing it.

    Conclusion

    These were some tricks which were discussed in the comments of the posts on the page of Startup Talky. You can try these tricks out. These were not from very big entrepreneurs, but from those people who are still on their journey of a startup. That is why they make sense as they are tested by those people. If they don’t benefit you, they will not harm you either.

    FAQs

    Effective tips to benefit New Entrepreneurs

    Find Clients Before Launching
    Design Matters
    Boost Your Focus
    Track Consumer’s Psycho-graphics
    Keep Interacting
    Stay Charged-up
    Rate Values
    Collaborate

    Bill Gate’s advice to New Entrepreneurs

    “If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire you to build theirs.”

    Elon Musk’s advice to New Entrepreneurs

    “You’ve got to do all sorts of jobs and tasks that you might not wish to do, that are not intrinsically interesting to you, You’ve got to be prepared to do whatever it takes, work whatever hours. No task is too menial. I think that’s the right attitude for the CEO of a startup.”

  • Google for Startups – An Accelerator Program By Google to Support Startups

    Google for Startups is an accelerator program by Google for supporting Startups and helping them grow. It provides mentorships, training, and, guides entrepreneurs to find solutions for the challenges they face in building and growing their startups. StartupTalky took an initiative to know the details of the program – Selection Procedure, challenges to be addressed, help for women entrepreneurs, and more.

    Here are insights into Google for Startups by Paul Ravindranath G – Program Manager, Developer Relations & Head of Google Accelerator at Google India, Bangalore.

    How is Google for startups different from the traditional accelerator model?

    The Google for Startups Accelerator helps startups build successful products and businesses by focusing on 360* needs of the company and founders. Our needs analysis for selected startups helps us define a custom support plan for each of the startups that meet them at their point of need. Not only is there focus on solid tech, product strategy and growth but also on people and leadership.

    How is the selection procedure for startups?

    When applications open, startups can apply directly at the accelerator tab of Google for Startups.

    GFS Accelerator looks for startups that are meaningfully and scalably solving for the challenges of the current times. The program is vertical agnostic, but given the need to further innovation in an increasingly digital-first world, we are carefully considering verticals such as Edtech, Healthtech, Fintech, Retail & Logistics, Media & Entertainment, Agritech and Gaming.

    The 3 months mentorship program selection process has some basic eligibility criteria such as:

    • Startups need to be based out of India
    • Should preferably in the seed to Series A, B stages
    • Deep understanding/application of new-age technology

    What areas do most startups at the program struggle with/ What problems do they expect you to address?

    The program’s focus is a founder-first, founder-friendly approach to support startups in solving their business, operational, and technology challenges.

    Startups face a varied set of challenges at different stages of growth and maturity. Since the accelerator is a stage agnostic program, it presents the opportunity to work with startups facing diverse challenges. With a strong mentor base and methodologies to help with various areas, the program can address key challenges faced by founders.

    User Experience/User Interface, Product Strategy, Tech Architecture, Growth and Marketing and People Development tend to be the main areas where the program can add value to startups.

    Additionally, we also provide them with extensive training on leadership along with robust strategies for building company and product capabilities. As part of this program, founders outline the top challenges facing their startups and are then paired with relevant experts from Google and the industry to solve those challenges.

    We can see an inclination among startups towards AI and ML, where they adopt predictive decision-making capabilities, making them vital for scale based solutions.

    Is the support more tech-centric or spread across different domains? Do you plan to expand the horizon?

    Accelerator helps startups scale and be successful with strong product strategy and a robust and scalable technology approach. The 360* approach we take helps address all the key areas of concern for a startup. The goal is to constantly look to add on expertise and methodologies to help startups thrive.

    Every startup is unique and has different needs, how do you address their needs individually?

    With every class batch we attempt to identify some unique and interesting startups. Each of these businesses have different requirements and different business challenges. The accelerator is looking for startups at all stages of development that are not only using cutting-edge technology but are also helping India, and potentially the rest of the world, adapt and move forward especially in a post pandemic world.

    At the very beginning of the program, selected startups go through a complete needs analysis with a panel of experts and mentors. This exercise helps us build distinct goals and objectives for every startup that are addressed through a mentoring bootcamp, access to mentors and Google teams to help in moving their goals.

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    What are few areas which Google for startups provide a unique value? Does it help in connecting partners with govt agencies or a few of the best customers?

    Startups are connected to mentors from all over the world through the accelerator programme. As part of the programme, we have over 20 Google teams and hundreds of industry experts who assist with operational, technology, and business difficulties. Mentors bring expertise across a wide range of areas such as User Experience and User Research, Technology covering Android, Cloud, Web and more. Marketing & Growth, Leadership are other key areas.

    Additionally, the startups also find themselves to be eligible for the following perks, once they are part of the Google for Startups Accelerator Programme.

    • Equity-free support
    • Technical training on design, people, product, and growth marketing
    • Support on high-level company and product strategy
    • Google product credits and early access to new services

    What’s the format/curriculum of the program? Does it change every year?

    Google for Startups Accelerator India is a three-month cohort based program. There are typically 2 cohorts a year. While the accelerator team is based out of Bengaluru, the scope of the programme expands over the country where we handpick the best and the most promising startups to be a part of the batches.

    In light of the constraints posed by the pandemic, the accelerator currently runs as a fully digital program but is hopeful of going hybrid as things improve. During the beginning of the program, we work with the startups selected into the accelerator to determine each startup’s challenges and support required from the program. Then these startups go through an intensive Bootcamp around topics such as Product, Design, Technology, People & Growth, followed by the OKR (Objective Key Results) workshop to define their objective for the next 3 months.

    Have you ever considered a program specifically for women entrepreneurs or tier2 or tier 3 city startups?

    Despite the many strides in diversity and inclusion efforts in different industries in India and the world, we remain at some distance from true and proportionate representation of women in the workforce – be it in leadership, entrepreneurship or otherwise.

    This is a gap that we are committed to closing through various efforts within Google and beyond, across all the communities we support. Our ongoing efforts to support women entrepreneurs are one of these. To showcase our belief in the Indian women entrepreneurs, for our 6th batch we have selected around 35% of women-led startups in the mix and comprising a mix of B2B & B2C startups between Seed and Series A stages.

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    Do the alumni startups contribute in any way to the program?

    With over 100 startups graduating from the program, we have a broad set of alumni, including unicorns like Sharechat. Several Alumni give back to the program with their recommendations of great upcoming startups. They come forward to support the cohorts as mentors, speakers and more.

    Could you please share some insight on the success rates of the startups after the program?

    The Google for Startups Accelerator has mentored over 116 startups, who have collectively raised over $2 billion in funding and contributed significantly to India being one of the world’s largest startup ecosystems.

    Startups solving for key large-scale opportunities that India presents such as Drivezy, Nestaway, Sharechat were part of our early cohorts. Several companies like Niramai that apply cutting edge AI/ML tech in healthcare, specifically early detection of breast cancer have benefited with our technology input.

    These startups, along with all the others in the previous batches of GFSA, continue to make an impact in the country.

    Few things we (the whole startup community) can do to support startups across India?

    The Indian startup community is currently witnessing a maturing cycle and even through the pandemic, growth has been solid. As a startup ecosystem few trends present an opportunity for us all to make a difference.

    Women’s Entrepreneurship is an area that not only requires focus from an access-to-capital perspective, but also building programs that meaningfully provide access to networks, mentors & addressing challenges specific to women founders is key.

    So also is the area of helping founders understand how to build great teams. Employability and access to good talent have been a challenge for seed to series A companies.

    Enabling startups with insights, research and access is going to be key as they innovate and solve for India and the world.

    The biggest support that we can provide each other in this thriving ecosystem, is collaboration across the ecosystem. Collaboration with a founder first, founder-friendly community approach can make a true impact as startups help accelerate our economy.

  • What’s on the Horizon for UK Tech Immigration in 2022?

    The article is contributed by Gayatri Panda, Business Partner, Themis Technologies Ltd., London.

    The UK tech industry is now worth $1 trillion, making it the world’s third largest behind the United States and China. The UK tech startups and scaleups are receiving more investments than ever before, such as £29.4 billion in 2021; as a result, tech hiring activities within the UK organisations have skyrocketed. According to the statistics, the number of advertised IT jobs is up 42% compared to pre-pandemic levels. As the talent competition is getting fierce globally, the UK is joining the worldwide hunt for talents with a world-leading migration system. So what are the immigration routes for international technology talent to join the UK’s thriving tech sector?

    SPONSORED VISA

    SCALEUP VISA
    INDEPENDENT VISA FOR EMPLOYMENT AND BUSINESS

    A visa sponsorship means that an organisation, also known as the sponsor, is providing you a job because they are unable to fill a position in the local market. The sponsor is also legally and financially responsible for you and your activities throughout your stay in the country and must report to the UK government. There are various types of sponsored visas;

    Skilled Worker Visa

    A Skilled Worker visa allows foreign nationals to enter or remain in the UK to work for an authorised company in an eligible job. The Tier 2 (General) work visa was replaced by this visa route. To be eligible for a Skilled Worker visa, you must have a job offer from a UK company with appropriate salary level. After five years of stay in the UK, the Skilled Worker route can lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and eventually British Citizenship or British Passport.

    Global Business Mobility Visa

    It’s a new sponsored work visa option for international companies wanting to temporarily relocate employees to the UK to establish a UK presence or for specific commercial purposes. The introduction of the new route corresponds with the end of the Sole Representative visa and Intra Company Transfer or known as the ICT visa.

    There are five subcategories in the Global Business Mobility route:

    1. Senior or Specialist Worker: This visa has taken the position of the Intra-company Transfer visa. This category is for senior managers or specialists assigned to a UK company affiliated with their employer. It will not result in a settlement in the United Kingdom.
    2. Graduate Trainee: The Graduate Trainee route replaces the Intra-Company Graduate Trainee Visa. This visa is intended for employees who are being relocated to the UK as part of a structured graduate training programme for a managerial or speciality post. You must have worked for your employer overseas for at least three months prior to the date of application. Graduate trainees will be paid at least £23,100 per year as a minimum wage. It does not directly lead to settlement in the UK. However, you may be able to change your immigration status to one that leads to permanent residence.
    3. UK Expansion Worker: The UK Expansion Worker visa, which supersedes the Sole Representative visa, allows senior or specialised employees to enter the UK for a short length of time to carry out work related to their company’s expansion ambitions in the UK. It does not directly lead to settlement in the UK. However, you may be able to change your immigration status to one that leads to permanent residence.

    SCALEUP VISA

    The Scale-up visa is a newly introduced sponsored work visa that will become available on August 22, 2022. The sponsoring employer must be a scaleup firm in the United Kingdom, with annualised turnover or staffing growth of at least 20% for the three years preceding the application and a minimum of 10 employees at the commencement of the three-year period.

    You need a sponsorship from a scaleup company and you must work full-time for the company in any position for 6 months. So, after just 6 months of being linked to a single company, you will be free to work in the UK in any employment of your choice. Nevertheless, the job must also meet specific standards, such as having a skill level of at least degree level (RQF level 6) and paying a minimum wage of £33,000 or the market rate for the position, whichever is higher.

    After 5 years of continuous residency, you will be able to apply for settlement (indefinite leave to remain). You must have earned at least £33,000 (PAYE) in at least two of the three years preceding your ILR application.

    Top 24 Startup Incubators & Accelerators in London (UK)
    Find the best startup incubators & accelerators in London to scale your startup. Here’s a list of the top 24 Startup Incubators in London.
    StartupTalkyAlan Joseph

    INDEPENDENT VISA FOR EMPLOYMENT AND BUSINESS

    One of the ways the UK government believes Britain can attract high-quality migration is by implementing independent elite visa routes.

    High Potential Individual Visa

    The government’s attempt to attract the world’s “brightest and best” into the UK economy incorporates the High Potential Individual visa. It is scheduled to open on May 30, 2022. The High Potential Individual visa is intended for international graduates with a bachelor’s, postgraduate or PhD degree within the last 5 years from a university outside the United Kingdom that is listed in the top 50 global universities ranking. Graduates with a bachelor’s or master’s degree can stay in the UK for up to two years, or up to three years if they have a PhD. It does not lead to permanent residence in the United Kingdom, visa holders can move to another UK visa option, such as the Skilled Worker visa.

    Global Talent Visa

    This visa is for globally recognised world leaders or promising individuals in Science and Medicine, Engineering, Humanities, Digital Technology, Arts and Culture, and Research. This visa provides absolute freedom and greater flexibility regarding work, location, remuneration, leave and engagement with organisations. You can join a company or start your business without any restriction. This results in a settlement after 3 years if you are a leader applicant or 5 years if you are a promising candidate. The UK govt has appointed Endorsement Bodies for above mentioned fields, you need to make an application along with proof of your past achievements and future plan in line with the government guideline. Upon successful approval, you can apply for immigration.

    Startup Visa

    The Startup visa category is for high-potential entrepreneurs looking to establish their business in the United Kingdom. To qualify, you need a new, innovative, viable and scalable business idea that is endorsed by a UK govt appointed endorsing body. The Startup visa is valid for a maximum of two years, after which you can switch to the Innovator Visa.

    Innovator Visa

    The Innovator Visa is for experienced business individuals who want to start a company in the United Kingdom. You must have a new, innovative, viable and scalable business idea that is endorsed by a UK govt appointed endorsing body and you are ready to invest £50,000 to your business. Under the Innovator Visa you are eligible to apply for ILR after 3 years.

    Conclusion

    The United Kingdom recognises migrants as one of the most efficient means to encourage the development and investments in viable, innovative, and scalable businesses in the United Kingdom in order to drive economic growth. The UK government has done everything possible to remove barriers to innovation and business expansion, resulting in a 31% increase in the number of technology firms in the UK private sector since 2010. With this fast and easy visa support,  a favourable tax regime, stable and democratic political system, strong and respected system of law and a strengthening British Pound also known as safe haven currency, the UK is becoming the home for technology experts and digital innovators globally.

  • Top Chinese Investors in Indian Startups Ecosystem

    Chinese investors have had a significant presence in the startup ecosystem In India. After the recent dispute at the Indo-China border, the Indian public is actively participating in the #BoycottChineseProducts movement. This has also resulted in the boycott of the services and products offered by different startups that have received investments from different Chinese companies.

    However, there are many different Chinese companies that have invested huge amounts in many startups across the country. Many startups in India have been receiving investments worth millions of dollars from different Chinese companies that wish to establish themselves in the Indian market. And they have been quite successful in this by investing in big and popular startups and companies in India.

    In this article, we discuss the top Chinese investors in the Indian Startup Ecosystem and their investments.

    Top Chinese Investors in India

    Alibaba Group
    Tencent Holdings
    Fosun Group
    Shunwei Capitals
    Hillhouse Capital Group

    Alibaba Group

    Alibaba Group is probably the topmost Chinese company that has invested in many Indian startups over the years, this multinational tech company was founded in the year 1999. Some of the biggest Indian startups and companies in which The Alibaba Group has invested include the Online Food Ordering and Delivery startup Zomato, Payments startup PayTM, and e-commerce startups such as Paytm Mall and SnapDeal and online grocery Store BigBasket.

    Startup Name Startup Founder Amount
    BigBasket Hari Menon, VS Sudhakar and Vipul Parekh $246 million
    PayTM Vijay Shekhar Sharma $1.1 billion
    Snapdeal Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal $150 million
    Zomato Deepinder Goyal $512 million

    Tencent Holdings

    Tencent Holdings, or simply Tencent, is another Chinese technology and entertainment conglomerate that has hugely invested in Indian startups. It was founded in the year 1998. This company has invested in many different startups and companies such as PolicyBazaar, e-commerce store Flipkart, Online Taxi Booking startup Ola and Food Delivery Company Swiggy.

    Startup Name Startup Founder Amount
    MX Player Karan Bedi $110 million
    PolicyBazaar Yahishis Dahiya, Avaneesh Nirjar and Alok Bansal $150 million
    Ibibo Ashish Kashyap Undisclosed
    Doubtnut Tanushree Nagori and Aditya Shankar $15 million
    Swiggy Sriharsha Majety, Rahul Jaimini and Nandan Reddy Undisclosed
    Flipkart Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal Undisclosed
    Byju Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath $40 million
    Hike Kavin Bharti Mittal $175 million
    Dream11 Bhavit Sheth and Harsh Jain $100 million
    Ola Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati $400 million

    Fosun Group

    The Fosun Group has been investing in Indian startups for a long time, keeping its main focus on Tech-based startups. It has invested in many startups including Delhivery, LetsTransport and others. Instead of investing large in big startups like the others that are already mentioned, Fosun Group mainly focuses on small tickets for relatively small startups. The group has its presence all around the world.

    Startup Name Startup Founder Amount
    MakeMyTrip Deep Kalra Undisclosed
    Delhivery Sahil Barua, Suraj Saharan and Kapil Bharati, $30 million
    LetsTransport Pushkar Singh, Sudarshan Ravi and Ankit Parasher $12 million

    Shunwei Capitals

    Shunwei Capitals has invested in many startups over the past years. It is a venture capital firm situated in Beijing, China. It was founded in 2011 by Lei Jun. In November of 2008, they raised around 1.2 billion dollars for investments in Indian startups.

    Startup Name Startup Founder Amount
    ZestMoney Lizzie Chapman and Ashish Anantharaman $13.4 million
    Vokal Mayank Bidawataka and Aprameya Radhakrishna $6.5 million

    Hillhouse Capital Group

    Hillhouse Capital Group is one of the most famous private equity firms in Asia. It has invested in some well-known startups in India. The company was founded in the year 2005 by Zhang Lei.

    Startup Name Startup Founder Amount
    Udaan Amod Malviya, Vaibhav Gupta, Sujeet Kumar Undisclosed
    Swiggy Sriharsha Majety, Rahul Jaimini and Nandan Reddy Undisclosed

    Conclusion

    China has maintained a firm grip on the Indian market by funding and investing in various startups and companies all across the country. Even after the tension regarding the Indo-Chinese dispute, Chinese companies are associated with some Indian startups. Some of the most popular and well known Indian startups got funds from these Chinese companies and with their promising future, more and more Chinese companies are looking forward to investing in them and other startups

    FAQs

    Have Chinese companies invested in Indian companies?

    There are multiple Chinese companies that have invested in Indian startups.

    Is BYJU funded by China?

    Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings has invested in the Indian ed-tech startup Byju.

    Who founded Alibaba Group?

    Alibaba is founded by Jack Ma in 1999.

  • 12 Downsides of Being Rich

    Money is the most important thing in this whole world, without it, humans cannot survive. There is hardly anyone in this world, who doesn’t want to be rich and spend money without checking out the left balance in their pocket. Everyone is dreaming to be the wealthiest person so that they don’t have to worry about anything.

    However, we also have the demerits of being rich. Every one of us has heard the statement that “Money can’t buy you happiness”. Unfortunately, it is the correct statement. Having money can solve hundreds of problems in your life, but it also creates thousands of new problems for you.

    Before enumerating the problems of being rich we quickly throw some light on the definition of being rich. This would help you to understand the possible problems which you face after being wealthy and prosperous in life. Rich people are divided into two categories –

    • Self-made rich
      The person who had worked hard and given all their efforts to live life like they own the world are self-made wealthy people. This segment of people has utilized more than half of their life earning the wealth and another half in some luxurious farmhouse with enormous bank balances.
    • Trust-funded rich
      This category of rich people is sustained by their previous generation’s money. They didn’t have to hustle hard to raise money from scratch, which leaves them with no experience of work in life. They only had to look for ways to make it bigger and sustain the wealth.

    Being rich might seem like every problem of your will get solved in just a snap of your finger. However, the reality is far from that. In this article, we will talk about the disadvantages faced by people, while being rich. So let’s get started.

    “It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy.”
    -George Lorimer

    Disadvantages of Being Rich

    Being rich has its own advantages and you know the advantages very well but you are here to know the disadvantages of being rich and we will briefly narrate the problem you have to face if you are wealthy.

    • As per history, most wealthy people have stayed alone for a lifetime. Some people choose to be alone and other stays alone because they have never found the right partner to share life with, as they are too busy to make money. All the rich people have somewhere crumbled their relationships with their closest to build their careers.
    • Wealthy people are not able to spend personal time socialising with people. As per a report, people with higher income spend 90.6 evenings with their family, 60.6 evenings with their neighbours and 65.6 evenings with friends. While people with lower income spend 96.4 evenings with family, 64.9 with neighbours and 61.1 with friends.
    • Undoubtedly, if you are rich it will be tough to find a true friend because most of your friends will be with you for the money and power. It becomes a legit difficult situation to share your deep secrets of life and get some friendly advice.
    • You’re automatically subjected to the rumours of the town. Hungry reporters will hunt you for top news for their channel TRP. Everyone is interested in your personal life and wants to know your secrets. If they don’t find any spicy news, then people go creative and create rumours about you. You need to bear all the nonsense of the people and remain unaffected.
    • People focuses on your wealth more than your characteristics.
    • You will be called in 90% of your friend’s hangout to pick the tab and pay bills. As you’re rich, so you are supposed to pay the bill every time.
    • Every friend and a relative who have a startup plan will drag you to fund their plan. Otherwise, you will be considered a rich snob.
    • Rich folks have trust syndrome. They can’t trust anyone easily and so they have to cross-check every strong intention, before considering them as a friend.
    • The rich people have to get comfortable with higher taxes. In fact, taxes are an obvious downside that many millionaires and billionaires try to avoid by putting money in offshore accounts.
    • Fake friends are abundant. Many men and women want to hang out with you if you are rich. When you tell them you lost all your money, they will start avoiding you and disappear from your life.
    • While becoming rich, you had to sacrifice a lot. Birthday parties, vacation and many other important events of your closed ones. This do take a toll on your personal relationships.
    • Criticim is part of wealthy, you’ll find people disliking you and criticising when they don’t even know you.
    • People will treat you differently, they might thing that just because you’re rich, you can’t have anymoreproblems.

    Conclusion

    Being rich may come up with lots of benefits but there are a few the struggles that rich people also have to face in their daily life. Sometimes, even money cannot solve your problems, even though it solves most of them. We cannot ignore the new problem that accompanies wealth.

    FAQs

    Who is the richest person in the world?

    Elon Musk is the richest person in the world, with a net worth of $274.3 billion.

    Who is the richest person in Asia?

    Gautam Adani is currently the richest person in Asia.

    What are the disadvantages of being rich?

    Rich people become addicted to money, ignore close relationships with friends and families and often buy unnecessary expensive things.

    Who is the richest woman in the world?

    Francoise Bettencourt Meyers is the richest woman in the world.

  • How to Build Best Company Culture – Things to Avoid

    When you begin an entrepreneurial journey or get a job in a startup, it feels like you have got a great opportunity to showcase your skill-sets and the methodology of work also shifts. This shift is due to the different cultures prevailing in different startups. Every organization whether it is big or small have a unique culture to provide diversification. The question that arises here is, what is startup culture and how does it affect the workmanship of employees.

    Numerous scholars and researchers have a different take on corporate culture or startup culture, as the term has a deeper meaning and have a very strong impact on the business. A bad startup culture might ruin the whole business and the foundation also gets degraded. To understand startup culture in brief, we can say that culture is a set of values, morals and beliefs on which an organisation works. The culture of an organisation is based on the leadership of an organisation which is designed by the leader.

    The startup culture depends upon the nature of the startup owner. A CEO has the full responsibility of the culture and he can mould it easily as per their desire. As a leader of an organization is a human and it’s pretty much possible that they might construct the wrong culture in an organization, which instead of boosting the business, lead to the path of destruction for it. So, it’s very vital to develop a perfect professional culture in an organization. Well if you are an emerging entrepreneur and want to avoid bad startup culture, then you’re at the right place, as today we will discuss some signs of bad startup culture and remedies to overcome them.

    Symptoms of Bad Startup Culture
    Characteristics of Good Culture
    How to Build a Great Company Culture

    Symptoms of Bad Startup Culture

    Before finding the cure for the bad startup culture, we need to find out its symptoms. So let’s begin:

    • The leader is the sailor in an organization, so he needs to set a great example for his superiors. If a leader doesn’t work properly and doesn’t delegate his duties to others, then this is the indication, that an organization is going to sink very soon.
    • The optimum example of bad startup culture is when you can’t work, as you desire and you have no creative freedom to explore more. This bondage of culture will affect the performance of the worker and the startup may fail, even before it began its jour.
    • ‘We are good’, ‘future is bright for us’, ‘We Will get profit soon, when you hear that kind of words from your boss, then it means you should start looking for a new job.
    • The fake media publicity and having numerous fake subscribers will never improve your business because it will give you a false picture of your business.
    • When there is any kind of dispute and rivalry seen in the coworkers of an organization, then that is a definition of bad startup culture and this will make the environment of the firm tense.
    • When higher authority keeps secrets from the employees and won’t disclose the true picture of an organization to them, which demotivates the employees and doesn’t see the business as their own.
    • The leader should motivate employees to work hard, but they should never be forced to work hard. Their feelings should be also taken into consideration and fair remuneration should be paid in lieu of extra work.
    • The business houses which forgets to cater to the needs of their customers have no chance to survive in the market. To make a good startup culture you need to satisfy your customers first.
    • Sometimes too much positive attitude can ruin your business. Be realistic and believe only in the facts.
    • If the values of the owner and employees don’t match, then this will create havoc in the office.
    • Fake news or gossip is the reason for bad startup culture and it should be avoided at any cost, as it negatively affects the image of startups and reputation is the only valuable asset of new startups.
    • When the owner is scared to take hard decisions, this is the beginning of bad startup culture.
    • The policies of an organization should not be rigid and the CEO must be capable to twist them, as per the requirement of time.
    • The imbalanced distribution of remuneration to the employees will cause partiality in the organization.
    • Drinking or smoking during work is highly unethical behaviour that is a symptom of bad culture.

    As, we are now familiar with the few indications of bad startup culture, that destroys the startup from the core. Now is the time to share a few remedies to cure this issue of depth.

    Characteristics of Good Culture

    • Strong leadership – The culture of an organization is the extension of its leader’s values. So the leader of a company needs to adopt good values so that they can be seen in the culture of an organization.
    • Creative freedom – The workers should be given the freedom to showcase their ideas freely and leaders must give them some freedom to work as they wish.
    • Mission – People have a shared sense of company mission. They “feel” it and it’s often tied to a problem they care about even if they’re not a primary user. They feel good about what they are doing as a company and are proud of the impact they’re creating.
    • Fast pace – This is the twenty-first century, so an organization should be running according to it and the work should be completed at a fast pace.

    So, after analyzing the symptoms of bad startup culture and evaluating the characteristics of a good culture, we come to the conclusion that leadership is the sole reason behind the culture. So leaders need to gather themselves and run their startup in good working culture.

    How to Build a Great Company Culture

    Good company culture is a practice every company aspires to have. Before we discuss how to make a good company culture let’s define what is company culture? Company culture is the working environment, policies and work ethics a company possess. It is very important to provide a healthy company culture to maintain and create a thriving business. If an employee likes the culture of his workplace, he is more likely to be in a better mood and work more efficiently.

    Below we have listed a few steps that you can follow to improve or make an amazing culture at your company.

    Decide Your Culture Type

    The first and foremost step is sitting down and deciding what your companies’ culture should be like. If you are a new company and are just starting out with a hand full of people, all of you can sit down and decide it according to your preferences. If you are a very big company with numerous employees, you can assign the job to one person who can ask for the popular opinion in your office and then you can decide upon it. No matter what culture you want for your company, make sure it is healthy and is making your employees happy.

    Transparency

    There should be transparency amongst all the people working at the company. Every person in the company should be treated with equal respect and should have access to each and every piece of information. The gap between the boss and the employee should be removed and you should start working as a team. Interaction between employee and the employer is very important, so holding sessions that provide a healthy interaction amongst the whole team is important

    Leisure

    As the old saying goes ‘all work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy’.  The same is the case with your employees. Even though we are adults but working for long hours without rest can hinder our productivity. Studies show that people were more productive when they have enough breaks between their work. Having entertainment rooms in your office or having a gaming room or outdoor activities in your office area can help your employees relax and also keep them healthy.

    Giving Space

    Giving each employee space for themselves and giving them a sense of responsibility helps in boosting the employee’s confidence and also since the work is completely their responsibility, they do it better. It is very important to create a healthy learning environment. An employee should be encouraged to learn if he makes any mistakes.

    Go Tripping

    Taking your employees on a tour of someplace occasionally can be a great way to relax them. If you do not want to take them, providing holiday incentives to the employees can also be done.

    Recognize Milestones

    In every meeting set milestones and goals for the company and reward the person that has worked extra hard in achieving it. Such an incentive from the company not only makes the employees happy but also inspires them to work harder. The reward can be small as well as big depending on the work.

    Hire employees that are suitable for your companies’ culture. If a person does not like social interactions and starts working in a work environment that promotes interactions amongst all employees, he will be more stressed than happy. Similarly, if a person who is outgoing and fun-loving is put in a very serious office environment he will get stressed. So it is important to know the employee’s point of view about your office culture before hiring them.

    Be Patient

    A company’s culture change is a very big step and will not be achieved in one or two days. It will sometimes require months and years to change. There might come some issues at first, but with time everything will fall into place as expected. All you need is to deal with the situation with patience and make corrections whenever anything goes wrong.

    Conclusion

    Almost all the young entrepreneurs like to create a cool company culture in their startups these days. However, most of them only get successful in making the infrastructure cool and not the environment. One needs to be aware of the ways to develop a cool culture, not just the infrastructure.

    FAQs

    What are the four types of corporate culture?

    The four types of corporate culture are clan culture, hierarchical culture, market culture and adhocracy culture.

    What is the ideal company culture?

    An ideal company culture keeps its focus on its employees and clients.

  • 10 Ways to Boost Self-Confidence That You Need to Know as an Entrepreneur

    Believing in your abilities, powers, and judgments is what brings success in life. Self-confidence is a memory verse in our day to day life. Life feels meaningless without self-confidence. Self-confidence can be achieved by analyzing and identifying what you are good at, what value you add by doing it, believing in yourself and portraying it to other people. Never try to diminish or underestimate your abilities or look at yourself as a lesser human being. There is always a potential in everyone that can be built. Remember, every human is special.

    There are so many advantages attached to self-confidence. It brings effectiveness, deadlines can be met on time, boost concentration and commitment in our tasks and also brings motivation. All these also helps to see challenges positively, hence reducing stress. For an entrepreneur, it’s very important to have self-confidence. Every time you meet your business partners, investors or even customers, self-confidence is what everyone looks for first. Here are 10 ways to boost your self-confidence that you need to know as an Entrepreneur.

    Self-Assessment
    Self-Assurance
    Overcome Fear
    Be Positive
    Learn to Help Other People
    Set Boundaries
    Be Assertive
    Actions and Body Language
    Change Your Mentality
    Always Prepare Yourself

    Self-Assessment

    As human beings, it is important to visualize. We tend to have a poor perception of issues when we have low self-esteem. We have set goals and it is through visualization that will take you through the processes of achieving them. A fresh mind and ideas are installed when you try to assess yourself. This not only increases confidence but also boosts ego.

    Self-Assurance

    The way we see or perceive ourselves is what drives our behaviour. We should stop looking down upon ourselves and must believe that we can make it. You drive towards working on what you affirm yourself. For example, if you sit down and hate yourself or start seeing yourself as ugly, who do you expect to appreciate you?.

    Overcome Fear

    What is this mountain that is scaring you? It is you who built that! We should come out of our comfort zones and self-pity and must learn to face all the issues head-on. The insecurities that we possess will never help us. It is the experience that makes us strong every day, so whatever challenges you, do it quite often.

    Be Positive

    Every time we should see ourselves as winners, don’t dwell on something that has been done by you but wasn’t a success. In life, we need to come up with realistic goals, there are times when people have been discouraged because they set targets that are not easy to achieve, avoid doing that. Set simple goals that are easy to win first, then change as you move on. This will help keep on track of your progress.

    Learn to Help Other People

    It is always good to touch the lives of other people and make a difference in them. We should learn to mentor people with our skills and inspire them to do their job perfectly. As we practice this, satisfaction comes naturally, this way, you realize your potential and gain new tactics to solve your own problems. Self-confidence can be built naturally if one keep these things in their mind.

    Set Boundaries

    Not everyone is perfect and can be a jack of all trades. Be assertive in everything and learn to be a go-getter. Learn to say no when it is necessary. Take control over your life and demand respect where you deserve it. It is the secret of achieving self-confidence.

    Be Assertive

    How we present ourselves determines how people will judge us. When we are self-assertive our self-esteem is built. Avoid being nervous and learn to voice your opinion. This way people will be ready to listen attentively to you.

    Actions and Body Language

    Take up what you have never done before, use the skills that you have, to do the impossible. Confidence starts to rise once we employ our energy. Body language speaks a lot, it can shout insecurity and it can also show that you’re ready to take over the world. Another secret to show confidence is when interacting with people try to maintain eye contact. If you are confident, people will also be confident in you.

    Change Your Mentality

    Low self-esteem can make you feel that other people are better than you. This makes you feel uncomfortable when associating with them.  See yourself as equal with the rest, you are unique and that is what makes you strong and different. You are not less than anyone.

    Always Prepare Yourself

    Poor performance most of the time occurs because of poor planning. When we prepare ourselves, we become more confident. This is also a mark of competency in you, it will show how mentally tough you are. Unexpected surprises of life will never get you shocked if you have prepared yourself for anything and planned them accordingly. Gather necessary information on an issue that you want to tackle and break those tasks into small sequences so that you can manage them properly.

    Conclusion

    Self-confidence is one of the key things leaders should have. Decisions that you make will determine the outcome of your expectations. When you are an entrepreneur, the self-confidence that you possess shows your worth to everyone. Before expecting someone else to believe in you, you need to learn to believe in yourself. Remember, you are the leader of your life, no one apart from you can change it.

    FAQs

    What are the four signs of low self-esteem?

    The four signs of low self-esteem are:

    • Saying negative things about yourselves.
    • Self-blaming when things go wrong.
    • Joking negatively about yourself.
    • Think that you are less than other people.

    What are the three types of Self-Esteem?

    The three types of self-esteem are inflated self-esteem, low self-esteem and high self-esteem.

    Why Self-Confidence is important?

    Self-confidence is important because it helps you in taking the challenges in life that are thrown at you.

  • A Complete B2B Marketing Strategy – B2B Lead Generation

    Today, a huge number of startups are setting their foot in the industry and are conquering the world with their innovative ideas. These startups follow different types of business models. A business-to-business startup, commonly known as a B2B startup, is a huge thing in the market these days. The whole idea of a B2B company is to establish a business that caters to the needs of other businesses. According to a report, 85% of B2B marketers say lead generation is their most important content marketing goal.

    However, running a B2B startup is a tough task as owners of such businesses need to look for suitable clients who require the goods or services that the company is offering. Moreover, generating B2B leads for your startup can become a hectic job and cause excessive levels of frustration. So here is our B2B marketing strategy. It will help you to generate B2B leads for your startup and proceed with their work strategies.

    What Is Business-To-Business Marketing?
    Pre-requisites for a Business-To-Business Marketing
    10 Ways of B2B Lead Generation for Your Startup 2022
    B2B Success Stories on Social Media

    What Is Business-To-Business Marketing?

    Business-to-Business (B2B) marketing mainly involves the vending of one company’s products and services to another company’s products and services. The goods could be used for the production of some other goods, for reselling it to the consumers or could be used in the general operations of the business.

    Pre-requisites for a Business-To-Business Marketing

    B2B marketing requires products for other companies. You should not just start off without even a rough idea in your mind. This will only lead to unproductive outcomes and will take you nowhere. The first thing that one should do is think about the product, its merits, and its demerits.

    Several questions should come to your mind before finalizing anything.

    • Is my product beneficial for the company?
    • What would be the gain that my product/service would provide to the clients?
    • How much will my product/service help the clients to earn?
    • What are the main advantages of my product/service that make it better than the others in the market?
    • What efforts can be made to improve the quality of the product/service?
    • What is the price structure of a similar product in the market?

    Conduct a thorough analysis of your products and services. Customer feedback is the best way to do this.

    10 Ways of B2B Lead Generation for Your Startup 2022

    Diversity

    All buyers of a B2B company will have different needs and wants, so an entrepreneur must make sure that their content addresses all the needs and demands. The content should fit the shoe and not be focused on just one thing to attract buyers from all around the globe.

    Stand Out

    The capabilities of a startup are judged by the content that is posted on their blogs or social media websites. Hence, this content needs to be attractive with infographic inputs and strategically placed to allow buyers to find them easily. Moreover, it gives a boost up to the startup showing true data in their content which makes them trustworthy.

    Pricing

    It is not a common practice to post prices on the company’s website as it hinders the chances of getting many opportunities, but if the prices are not posted, most of the queries would be to know the cost but not generally buy the services. Posting prices would decrease useless traffic and allow more room to focus on potential customers. Furthermore, the pricing strategy should be decided with a thorough competitive analysis for breakthrough performance.

    Relationships

    Having a healthy relationship with the client’s company is extremely important for the business to flourish, thus, building a good connection will allow the business to grow through word-of-mouth marketing. Although, word-of-mouth has a different approach it has always had a high conversion rate.

    Marketing

    Marketing is the best way to generate leads. In today’s technology-driven society online marketing is the major contributor to an increase in sales. Services can be marketed depending upon the needs of various buyers using social media platforms, blogs, or a well-developed website. Creating an email database to send occasional newsletters to potential buyers helps in boosting the business. In other words, email marketing is a great tool to generate B2B leads for the business.

    Sign up forms

    Sign-up forms for the company website should not be very long as that irritates buyers. The easier the signing up process the more potential buyers will sign up and add to the business. They should contain the basic details like name, email, phone number and address but not a whole lot of information that can be asked in later stages.

    Optimize the Landing Page

    The homepage of the company’s website or the social media profile should be SEO-friendly. Articulating content that would attract people. Make your content in such a way that it is displayed clearly on top Google searches. Most people do not go to the second page while searching for something on Google to make sure that the website comes in the first page in Google searches related to the keyword.

    Have a Q and A section

    Have a FAQ section, which is clearly visible on the website, to answer the most common queries on the website for people to properly understand the services. Ask present clients about the issues they may have faced while registering on the website, collect the information and create a questionnaire with answers by the team.

    Buy Leads From Various Platforms

    Startup owners can also buy leads from various online platforms that are selling them. There are many sites that provide quality leads with accurate information. B2B companies should collect as many leads as possible from these sites to help them in progress.

    Hire

    Owners can also hire a company that specializes in lead generation or hire freelancers that can generate leads and do promotions. Hiring freelancers residing in different countries can be profitable and will help in getting leads from various different countries. It is also inexpensive in nature and provides a quality result to generate B2B leads for your company.

    B2B Success Stories on Social Media

    Approximately, 69% of the Indian B2B marketers agree, social media is one of the major tools to engage potential customers. Statistics regarding the success of lead generation for B2B companies using social media marketing are quite high. B2B buyers are much more attracted to brands that have a strong social presence. They prefer the companies to present the information via social media.

    Some of the successful social media campaigns implemented by a few companies are:

    iYogi

    iYogi being a technical support company faced many difficulties in generating leads and creating brand awareness for its new service; Digital Service Cloud. The company chose LinkedIn to focus on the key areas of interest and target audience. The campaign was a huge success and helped to achieve 62% of the follower base in the duration of just three months.

    Deskaway

    The company chose Twitter along with paid media and Adwords for the purpose of selling its web-based team along with the project collaboration software. Product announcements, news, and blogs were shared on a continuous basis and thus, generating leads.

    Conclusion

    The above two examples show that social media is really an efficient tool for B2B marketers. It not only helps to increase brand awareness on a huge scale and target a bigger audience but also establishes a company as a thought leader. The company gets to connect easily with the clients and the prospects. Good relations are built with the people who can influence the industry. Social media and email marketing also trigger word-of-mouth conversations and help in optimizing the conversions for B2B companies. Keeping these important points in mind shall go a long way for B2B companies in creating a huge client base and gaining success in their business proceedings.

    FAQs

    What are 4 types of Marketing Strategies?

    Four types of marketing strategies are:

    • Market Penetration Strategy
    • Market Development Strategy
    • Product Development Strategy
    • Diversification Strategy

    What are the four types of B2B Markets?

    The four basic categories of business customers in B2B markets are producers, resellers, governments, and institutions.

    Is Amazon a B2B OR B2C?

    Amazon is both business-to-business B2B and business-to-consumer B2C.

  • Important Tips to Know Before Investing in Startups

    Startups are now ruling the business world, wherever you look, you’ll find one. It is becoming a crucial part of every country. There are people out there ready to invest in startups that look promising to them. Investing in a startup company can reward investors both physically and financially. It is also very risky as well, you are not exactly sure if that Startup is going to survive or not.

    Although there is a huge number of startups that are creating a name for themselves in different industries but not every one of them makes it till the end. Of course, the reward is fascinating but the risk of losing the entire money is also there. The feedback on investing money in Startup Companies is immeasurable. So, there are many things for investors to keep in mind while investing their money in Startups.

    According to a report, 90 % of Indian startups fail within the first five years. Hence as an investor, you must perform quality research before investing in startups. In this article, we will talk about some tips that an investor must follow before investing in a startup. So let’s get started.

    Analyse the Domain
    Be Mindful of the Founder’s Background
    Invest Your Money in Different Industry
    Learn how to invest by joining another group
    Analyse the type of competition held on markets
    Find Out if the Startup Is Ready to Face Challenges
    Keep an Eye on Investing Money
    Examine the Legal Documents
    Main Parameters for Investing

    Analyse the Domain

    To reduce the risks after investing in any Startup Company, the investor must know the domain in which the startup operates. This will help to attain potential success in investing. Always make sure that the startup company will grow and money will return back to the investor.

    Be Mindful of the Founder’s Background

    It is important to place the founders of the company in the right place as they are the ones to determine the company’s profits and success in the future. Especially for early-stage companies, founders are necessary for developing the path to success. If one product is made, it is tested by many members in the founder group and finally released. So, founders must have the right place to show their talents to lead the company. Thus, the investor needs to focus on the founder’s background story. The story includes which companies, the education they are previously coming from and what type of value they bring to the table.

    Invest Your Money in Different Industry

    The best way of reducing the risk of investing is multiple investments of money on different field tracks. This will increase the possibilities of success and will help to reduce risk. It will also increase the chances of getting money back with some profit or an offer by another company. This type of investment gives a result from the long gap. So, investors patiently wait for their turn and attain great heights in business.

    Learn how to invest by joining another group

    When investors are struggling with how to invest money in Startups, they can simply join other members online and invest a part of the amount. Investors must learn by analyzing different deals made by another member to determine what makes them a proper investors. It is important to understand the market before making any type of investment.

    Analyse the type of competition held on markets

    Analyze what type of competition is there among market investors. Investors are suggested to invest their money in the beneficial domain. First, the investors should analyze the customers, what they wish and what they want. Feedback is the key for the startup to develop the project at the right time. The investor must be very careful and analyse the market properly.

    Find Out if the Startup Is Ready to Face Challenges

    Not every time, things will go as planned, unforeseen circumstances can be a part of the journey of a startup, so the investors must analyse if the startup will be able to change its way, according to the circumstances so that they can survive the upcoming challenges.

    Keep an Eye on Investing Money

    Investors must keep an eye on investing money. They must watch for what purpose and how their money is spent. The investors must know that their invested money satisfied or reached the milestone of their startup company.

    Examine the Legal Documents

    It is an important thing for each investor to review the legal documents because sometimes cheating occurs when investing in a startup company. This may involve how the company is structured and who is involved. The investors must know the structure and ancient history of a particular startup company and what percentage of ownership in the company they are receiving depending upon the amount of money that they are investing.

    Main Parameters for Investing

    • The first parameter for investing in startup companies is product or technology. The investors should be aware of what type of product is being developed by the Startup. They should also know, what type of problem occurs and when it occurs during investing money.
    • The second parameter is the team. The investor should know the team which works for them and whether they work efficiently or not. They carefully choose the associates and workers in a team.
    • The third parameter is scalability and competitive advantage. It means that can the business scale efficiently and cost-effectively. Investors should be aware of the business can be cost-effective or not. It decides if the investor is suited for the business or not.
    • The fourth parameter is the market. The investor should know the size of the market and how it reaches customers. They must know the number of people who really use their product efficiently.

    Conclusion

    If you are investing in a startup for the first time, then you must follow the above tips. Apart from that if you are not good at finance and laws, then it’s better to take advice from experts regarding stocks, bonds, shares, and other startup-related things. Last but not least, do invest in a startup first then measure the progress and learn from the mistakes.

    FAQ

    How do Investors Invest in Startups?

    Investors create a partnership between the company and themselves.

    Is it Good to Invest in Startups?

    Investing in startups can be risky, if the startup turns out to be successful, the reward is great but if the startup fails, the investors lose their money.

    Why do Most Startups Fail?

    There are a number of reasons why most Startups fail, it includes money running out, choosing the wrong business market, problems between founders, wrong way of marketing and others.