Real money or revenue for a SaaS does not lie in customer acquisition. You might get thousands of users signing up and then ghosting away. A user that does not even use the product can not convert anyway. So, where to lay focus at? Activation rate.
Activation rate is a private metric vital for every SaaS business. Imagine, you have a cap table management tool. A user signs up, goes through the demo, and does not enter a single value in the software. It means the user did not derive any value from the product.
Every marketer should focus on the activation rate to understand how many people use the product. It involves various steps to determine the activation rate. Firstly, let us see what is the activation rate. Then, we will look at some strategies to enhance the activation rate.
Activation rate is a percentage metric that shows how many users use your product. It depends upon a certain milestone, criteria, or checkpoint.
For instance, you sign up for a B2B growth hacking webinar. What is the point if you do not check the emails from the company for confirmation or event details? It clearly shows that you will miss this event.
Similarly, the activation rate focuses on certain milestones to understand if the user is extracting any value from the product. Let us take the example of Trello. It is a project management tool. Activation points could be creating a workspace or adding cards on the board. These checkpoints are unique for every business. You determine the activation milestones of your business by:
Understanding different use cases
Types of the target audience
Identifying minimum steps to achieve the value of the use case
So, you start by understanding the different use cases of your product. This is followed by different personas to address. Finally, you look for milestones that tell if the user achieved value.
Taking forward the Trello example, some use cases could be: setting up a personal workspace, using boards for collaborating teams, using multiple boards to segregate departmental work, etc. Personas could be managers, freelancers, small team owners, founders, etc. So, the activation points become:
Setting personal workspace: adding cards, using description/ other fields
Collaborating teams: adding people to the board, adding people to cards, adding descriptions and files
The activation rate directly impacts SaaS growth and revenue. An average activation rate is 20-40% for freemium and free trial products respectively. Below are 10+ ways to optimize the activation rate.
The main aim of the activation rate is to show the product value to the users. Optimization focuses on improving the onboarding process and engaging users. In a nutshell, it involves providing customer support, seamless onboarding, and lifecycle emails.
Interactive Workflows
High Level Architecture Of The Configuration Services In SaaS
Many SaaS brands opt for product demos or self-service demos in case of complex installation or setup. But there are chances that customers might find the product complex and face a lot of friction. These are great for products with limited functionality and features. But if your product has a lot of elements and features, an interactive workflow or concierge onboarding is effective.
The interactive workflow involves navigation through screens that work on trigger-based prompts. It is customizable and scalable. Also, with simple targeting and segmentation, you get away with hiring personnel for onboarding.
Personalization
Personalization For Improving Customer Experience
One time I checked out the HubSpot sales page randomly. The next day, I received an email from their team. They were checking if I needed any products or help to get started. This was relevant, personal, and effective.
Personalization can improve customer experience. They feel connected and engage with the product. For example, a marketing SaaS product could send personalized resources or recommendations based on user activity. You could either deploy heat maps or activity-based triggers to personalize the user experience.
SaaS Welcome Email Series Flow To Delight New Customers
A dedicated onboarding email series can improve product engagement. You could use this series of emails to welcome users, highlight features, send reminders for trial expiration, and much more. With simple and clear copy, you could communicate the brand story, and USP, get feedback, and set future expectations.
Also, the onboarding emails have a 50% open rate, 86% higher than regular emails. This means you have a much higher chance to motivate and engage users.
Case Studies
SaaS Case Study Examples
Case studies can motivate users to use the product to achieve a desirable result like other users.
What if I told you that Berlin saw an increase of 346% in customers by opting for BigCommerce for setting up their eCommerce store? You would look into what worked for them and employ similar strategies.
Social proof gives the user a picture of what they can achieve with your product.
Live Chat
Live Chat For SaaS Companies
Over 43% of customers prefer live chat over any other customer support channel. It is fast, convenient, and solves queries almost immediately. It gives you a better understanding of user problems and improves conversion and retention.
You just need to have trained people to handle live chat effectively. You can improve live chat support by leveraging canned responses and simple language. Read tips on live chat support to boost customer satisfaction.
What if you sign up for a product that requires multiple departments to install and operate? You would avoid such a complex product or look for support from the business.
Mapping the customer journey helps you find out loopholes. You should aim at simplifying the onboarding with lesser steps and clear language. You can install heatmaps, estimate journeys, and talk to customers to find loopholes.
Either way, make the product experience effortless and inclusive. Work on the product performance and eliminate any gaps that bug users.
Online Community
How SaaS Companies are Building Successful Online Communities
Many businesses are leveraging the online community to connect and engage with their user. It caters to a specific target audience and aims to provide value by bringing like-minded people together. How does it impact activation?
Firstly, you could use this community to share content that stimulates people to use the product. A specific case study could motivate users to hop on to the product and leverage certain features. Also, addressing specific customer pain points motivates them to use the product.
Provide Checklists
Checklist For SaaS Activation Rate
How many times do you forget a task from your to-do list? Rarely!
In-app checklists help the user to explore different features and improve product engagement. This combined with relevant prompts could boost your activation rate. For instance, a checklist for Gmail is:
Adding signature
Enable desktop notification
Personalize settings
Creating labels
A checklist like this keeps the user hooked and increases activation.
The activation rate is a percent metric showing number of active users. It can be calculated by a simple formula:
Activation Rate= Total number of active users/ Total users X 100
In addition to this, you could look at these activation metrics such as feature adoption and the ratio of the daily active users to monthly active users.
Feature adoption highlights a particular feature used the most by the user. This could help you understand your most-used features. You could hone about these and drive your new users there to maximize activation.
The ratio of the daily active users to monthly active users indicates the difference between the number of users active daily and monthly. Like, there could be scenarios where users used the product for some days or opted for your product only during a specific time of the year. For example, an edTech app will have more users during the examination period. So, by tracking this, you could understand the customer journey and refine personas.
The activation rate can impact your profits. It is not only about tracking metrics but focuses on improving user experience. A poor activation rate indicates a complex product with a lot of friction. It could also mean that users do not see a clear purpose for using the product. Activation optimization increases the business revenue as well as the total number of loyal customers.
YouTube is an ocean of content. It can be difficult to find your niche amidst the plethora of variety of niches. But the two basic and most important things to remember to generate profit are knowing- you do it differently from others, and that you possess enough equipment to provide the best quality in your videos.
If you get these two things right, profit is on the way! That’s right, it is not as complex as you think it is. The next challenge that comes is selecting a niche. Here is a list of niches where one can thrive by possessing appropriate and updated skills. Always select a niche that falls under your expertise because that will make you gain views.
Some of the most hot-selling niches currently on YouTube
Most Hot-Selling Niches Currently On YouTube
Tutorials
As the saying goes, “Learning is the eye of the mind.” We are all aware that there is a constant need for teachers and students, and if one of them doesn’t meet the demand, the balance may be shaken. Since learning can occur anywhere, at any time, it has gained a lot of traction online. When turning to video learning, whether it be for getting in shape or passing a test overnight, most people knock on the doors of YouTube. Similar to how this tutorial field can never be depleted. The number of YouTube channels that provide tutorials for a variety of topics has experienced an increase in competition. But you know, a suitable waterway of knowledge has never been discovered or abandoned.
It is very helpful for people to remember things when presented visually.
WordPress
Tutorial Making A WordPress Website
Undoubtedly there is a huge market for WordPress tutorials as it has always been a subject matter that many people wanted to dive into. the number of audiences it generates has never fallen low. Learning WordPress can be a real challenge for people with zero software knowledge. If one knows the dos and don’ts of WordPress in a just fine way, it will be a great idea to put the talent out there. Even though it has a pretty crowded community of tutors, to cover the complex elements of WordPress each one of them has its own distinctive method. This niche is very profitable if your WordPress skills and interaction skills are solid.
A tech niche can cover just about anything, it can vary anywhere from tech product reviews, tutorials, teaching, assembling, etc.
Tech can be a very profitable niche as it requires a certain level of skill set to establish yourself in it, Hence, bringing down your competition as not everyone can do it very well. Tech videos and tutorials are mostly explored in English-speaking nations hence making your CMP high and in return making a greater revenue for your YouTube channel.
Video/photo editing
Video And Photo Editing Tutorial
In the world where virtual content thrives, video and photo editing have become must-know skills in order to survive the virtual world. The demand to learn editing right from simple to complex levels is ever-increasing. A good editing skill set is required to make a noticeable social media presence. Frankly, nobody likes bland, be it content or presentation. Post-production requirements are usually given less attention because of a lack of knowledge and an appropriate skill set. if you think you possess interesting and updated skills in editing applications, equipment, and tricks to edit better, this niche is just for you.
It is pretty obvious that Microsoft Excel tops the list of one of the most wanted soft skills in this century. This skill is required by a receptionist of a 3-star hotel to a CEO of a conglomerate. It might sound boring, but you will be astonished to know that most of the Microsoft Excel tutorial channels on YouTube have done really well consistently.
Reviews of courses, software, products
What would be the first place you would turn to if you wanted to verify a rumour or obtain an opinion about a product? The Internet! No brainer, right? People tend to like verbal and visual explanations of things more than reading a long, boring manual. YouTube is a great place to explore and make money. All you have to do is, make a simple yet informative video, sharing all the experiences you have had, be it good or bad. One can stick to only a specific niche or have multiple random things under their umbrella, it doesn’t really matter unless your content speaks unbiased and clear.
Remember, to sharpen up your communication and interaction skills before diving into this niche. Be it unboxing a brand new phone to reviewing a book, everything sells well on YouTube.
Lately, everyone everywhere is curious about how to be good at trading stocks, and if you find yourself to be good at tracing and analyzing trends, be it fundamental or technical, you can teach it on YouTube where millions of viewers are waiting to explore this niche, as this topic is like a hot cake around the world and is in good demand. It makes a very profitable niche for anyone who is good at it.
How-to DIY videos
Popular DIY ROOM DECOR IDEAS
From searching for how to change an Instagram password to how to make origami flowers, YouTube has covered it all. YouTube is a destination where people from diverse age groups with the need of learning a variety of different skills are found. Videos of basic How-to things can be really helpful for these people. No how-to videos can be considered novice or silly, be it unlocking doors or fixing a fan. Quick problem-solving videos can be a very good profit maker.
Cooking
Veg Korean Fried Rice
Gone are the days people buy recipe books to get to know the skill. Cooking is by default a must-know survival skill. Every person at some point in their life gets in the kitchen to cook. Any recipe you think in mind you get it online. If you have unique recipes running through your family you can share them with the world. If you have the talent for cooking a very complicated dish in simple steps or experimenting with cuisines from all around the world, you know exactly where to showcase talent like this. Now, all you need is a good camera and good editing skills or a hired editor to get going.
Remember the workout motivation we all get at 2 am and how our fingers crawl to type “How to get fit in 10 days”? Yes, we have all been there. Each day new YouTubers are coming up with many innovative hacks for staying fit. If you are a medical or fitness professional you can easily make a good enough profit by spending some time exploring and working in this niche. Gym videos, basic exercises, yoga, and diet are very commonly searched for on YouTube.
Fashion and lifestyle
Who doesn’t want to remain in vogue? Fashion and lifestyle etiquette videos garner a lot of attention and top the charts of YouTube’s most watched. Be it from styling a very basic scarf to making big lifestyle decisions and changes, YouTube’s a single-station hub for all. If you have a distinctive sense of style and good taste in clothing, styling, and grooming, you can become popular in no time. The best-performing videos in this genre are weekly or daily vlogs.
Conclusion
It is wise to select a niche most relevant to your skill set and stick to that niche consistently for persistent growth. A frequent major switch in niches is likely to upset the quality of viewers on the channel. If you are not sure about the niche but still have a pretty good personality for a camera, you can always explore making entertainment vlogs that are also highly profitable, again, if consistent.
In 2022, we are living in an Era of Climate Change. It is a well-known fact that people are now becoming more concerned about environmental issues. The awareness of sustaining the environment has risen to a global level. Human beings all around the globe are thinking of being kinder to the planet and considers pollution of all type (air pollution, plastic waste, global warming, food waste, etc.) as a major threat to the environment around us.
In a small initiative towards our mother planet, people have been showing interest in buying products or engaging in purchasing services that are eco-friendly and have less or no impact on the environment, even if that product or service would cost them a little more. For example,people are more comfortable paying high prices for organic cosmetics than the ones that are cheap but processed chemically. On a similar note, organic products, or services that have negligible impact on the environment tend to experience high demand from their customers or users.
Catching on to the trend, organizations have started utilizing sustainable approaches to their business models and aim to contribute to societal goals through Corporate social responsibility because these factors determine the future of their organization.
Importance of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility for Businesses Worldwide
Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility for Businesses
The world has arrived at a point where the climate is a matter of concern and needs to be dealt with seriously. The heatwaves around the globe and scarce natural resources are already the signs of it getting worse day by day even after prolonged healthy ways of sustainability. This proves that we need to do even more of what is already being done. We must accept the fact that we caused the climate crisis and need to incorporate a changed, rather much more productive business model to be a thrust for good in the world.
Sustainability is utilizing resources in a way that not only fulfills the needs of the present generations but is also sufficient for the coming generations and thereafter. Utilization along with preservation is the key to gaining sustainability.
Corporate social responsibilities are the policies and practices incorporated by the organization to leave a positive impact on the world. These are ethically oriented practices that reflect accountability and commitment to the well-being of society.
Businesses need to combine environmental sustainability as well as their social responsibility in their business models to create something that is not only beneficial for them in monetary terms yet additionally profitable for the people, society, and the surrounding at the same time. Even consumers nowadays want to associate themselves or build a transactional relationship with organizations that are eco-friendly in nature. They think that their actions make a difference, in other words, they feel when eco-friendly companies are prioritized over others, they are not only taking the initiative to protect the environment themselves but also pushing other organizations in doing the same.
As the name suggests, it refers to new, innovative, and eco-friendly ways of leading a business that is not only suitable for the present generation yet additionally builds a sustainable environment for the coming generations as well. To incorporate a green business model, companies adhere to certain practices that are fruitful for the environment around them. A few basic ways in which companies could frame their policies in the context of the green business model are:
Recycling of their products and materials used,
Substitution of unwanted or toxic elements,
Reducing the ecological footprint,
Focusing more on environmental values than on economic benefits,
Reducing expenses on plastic packaging, transportation, and energy and water usage.
Benefits of Associating Brands with Ecology
Brands with Ecology
There are a lot of monetary as well as psychological benefits to the green business model. The below-mentioned points are a few reasons for incorporating businesses with an ecological marketing framework:
Businesses get an opportunity to take positive action concerning the environment.
The business is regarded as a progressive and revolutionary brand
They become more trustworthy in the market in no time
They tend to attract the section of customers that are eco-friendly and are highly concerned with protecting and preserving the natural environment. These customers have a willingness to spend more to be ethical towards society.
Associating business models with ecological aspects is an amazing way to differentiate a particular business from competitors in the market.
The brand always stays on top in the market, as organic products nowadays have a high demand. This ultimately benefits the organization in rapid growth.
For example, there are a lot of leading shampoo brands such as Sunsilk, Clinic Plus, Head & Shoulders, etc., available in the market, but the ones that have just entered the business, like WoW, Mamaearth, and Khadi have been proclaimed as a much trustworthy brand than the former by the same customers despite being costly and have encountered a rapid growth within a couple of years. This is sole because they have focused on delivering organic materials.
Green Marketing Strategy and Its 4 P’s
Green Marketing Strategy and Its 4 P’s
A marketing strategy is a plan that resembles the vision and goal of an organization and is reviewed on an annual basis. Whereas the green marketing strategy plan focuses on developing a market plan that only maximizes the profits for businesses yet additionally works with principles and policies that are sustainable for the environment.
The goal of the business:To develop a green marketing strategy, the mission and vision of the organization should be lined up to plan out things in the most appropriate way possible.
The objective of the business:The objective of the business ought to be stated very clearly and should cover the goals as well.
Strategies and Plannings:After the goals and objectives of a business are formulated, the most important that comes is the strategies and planning. The strategy must be articulated in a way that depicts how the objective of the business will be achieved and in what period of time.
For example, if a company is indulged in the manufacturing business, then it should focus on buying locally available resources instead of importing raw materials from outside. This step will help the organization in reducing its carbon footprint. Furthermore, planning refers to specific means that would be utilized to accomplish the strategies.
Market: The market segment that will be targeted needs to be predetermined.
Target customers:Identifying potential customers or users is the most critical task. There are all sorts of customers in the market, people who are enthusiasts about the environment and would only purchase products that are eco-friendly or organic. Whereas there are still a large number of people who are not concerned much about the environment and buy products that suit their budget or are considered cheap and best.
Therefore, choosing the targeted audience is a critical task and needs to be formulated in a way that the products and services of a business not only serve one section of the customer but are beneficial for the other as well.
Furthermore, the 4 P’s had to be incorporated into the above business plan to lead and gain maximum trust and profit from the market. Developing the strategies around these areas enhances the brand value, sales of the product and services, and profitability. They are:
Green Product:Companies nowadays are focusing on developing greener products that are eco-friendly and use recycled scraps to manufacture new products to lessen their need for new raw materials. For example, Nike manufactures most of its shoes by recycling scrap and plastic bottles from waste. This step not only reduces landfill waste but also helps them in cutting manufacturing costs while decreasing their dependence on new materials.
Green Price:It is a well-known fact that green products are costlier than non-green products which only attracts only a few segments of society that are extremely concerned about the environment and are willing to pay more. So, this aspect needs to be worked on a little so that the pricing of greener products and conventional ones do not have a difference in pricing.
Green Place:Companies ought to choose a place that minimizes the customers’ as well as the manufacturers’ efforts in purchasing or selling the product. E-commerce websites are quite eco-friendly in this aspect as it cuts down the transportation of goods and services.
Green Promotion:While selling a product in the market, companies donate a portion of their profits to charities that are doing good for the environment. They have long-term environmental goals, such as 50% less carbon footprint by 2025, creative ways to save power, no plastic usage, and planting a tree for every item sold. These measures help them in bringing practices that ultimately promote them as an advocate of the environment.
Conclusion
Globally, people are thinking about how to treat the world better and see pollution as a serious threat to the ecosystem. People have been interested in acquiring eco-friendly goods and services that have little to no impact on the environment, even if they cost a little more, as a modest gesture to our mother earth. Sustainability is achieved through both consumption and preservation. Innovative, sustainable business methods that not only benefit the current generation but also create a sustainable environment for future generations.
Fundraising is the formal word for seeking funding to expand your business if you are a tech firm in its early stages. A convertible note is a financial tool that is most frequently suggested for this purpose. However, we must first comprehend equity to comprehend how those operate.
Here we have tried to explain the terms with certain examples and cases which would make it easier for you to understand. A hypothetical company named “Pitchify” with Sam and John as co-founders of this company is used in most of these examples and cases so that the flow of the article remains constant throughout.
The word “stock” is certainly somewhat known to you. Stock, which symbolizes a firm’s ownership, is allocated in portions to indicate how much of the business each investor or owner owns. One or more shares of stock are distributed to each shareholder.
Percentage Ownership = No. of shares or equity / Total no. of shares issued The acquisition of that ownership is frequently accomplished by a monetary commitment, but it is also possible through other types of value-added contributions, such as your diligent labor. An investor’s claim to the firm’s divided profits is typically determined by their ownership stake. The terms “dividends” and “voting power” are used concerning some important corporate decisions.
To help you understand, consider the startup “Pitchify”. Let’s assume that the company was founded by two individuals who shared the idea for the venture and gave their entire professional attention to its growth. As a result, they will be collaborators. Sam and John, the business’ co-founders, officially incorporate it.
Typically, startups register with approximately 1,000,000 shares of equity. Why? The division of a share into halves is difficult. As a result, after the company is incorporated, each of the pioneers holds 5,000 shares of stock, which is equal to half of the company’s total outstanding stock of 1,000,000.
The majority of startups are registered as Delaware C-Corporations. Investors are most accustomed to this type of legal arrangement since it is simple to set up, and maintain, and is also highly tax-friendly.
Now that we know what a stock is and certain terms related to it let us move on to something known as Priced Round right from the basics.
A priced round is the conventional method for raising capital. referring to a round in which the founding members and the investors may reach a consensus on a fair company value and the investor receives shares of the company’s equity in exchange for his participation.
Assume for a moment that Pitchify begins to operate, generate sales, and everything is going great. If they are making $10,000 per month in sales and subscriptions are increasing quickly, they might opt to raise capital.
They determine that they’ll need to raise $500,000.00 in investment to grow their company, so they start looking for investors. Keep in mind that businesses rarely fundraise when they have no revenue. In return for that $500,000, how many shares do they issue to investors? The answer to that query truly has to do with business value. What is the worth of this company? For example, if Sam and John ran a car wash rather than Pitchify, their EBITDA would be multiplied by that amount to determine the business’ value.
A typical firm might be worth up to twice as much as Sam and John’s $10,000 monthly income ($120,000 annually), based on how productive they are. This implies that an investor may pay around $250,000 to purchase the entire car wash company (Excluding the value of the land or the building).
Tech startups, though, are unique. It’s difficult to predict how quickly and how much tech firms’ revenues and worth will increase because they may have great scale prospects and outstanding profitability.
For instance, a software product or app might theoretically provide minimum service to billions of clients worldwide. Consider Uber, which received $5,000 in the initial round and is today valued at about $80 billion.
They didn’t have to spend billions of dollars, for instance, to purchase a fleet of cars. Because of this, the worth of a tech company is not closely correlated with its existing assets or sales, but rather with its potential growth, with its ability to develop and commercialize those ideas.
The size of the marketplace: How many potential clients does the company have, and what are their price preferences for this good or service?
The technology – Is there a special device that no one else has or that significantly improves a procedure?
Potential margins – what are the costs associated with serving an extra client? For instance, when Instagram had 300 million users, just 13 employees worked there. Nevertheless, none of these figures are certain; they are just estimations. However, depending on them and some reliable early outcomes, the startup’s worth is determined by the amount of potential an owner sees in the firm. How hazardous it is and how much gain do they anticipate in return for taking a chance with their investment?
Therefore, tech businesses like our hypothetical Pitchify would currently have an average pre-money valuation in Silicon Valley of roughly $4,000,000. I’m supposing once more that this is a large-scale, high-margin industry and not a car wash.
So, if Tom, our investor, agrees to these terms, he is prepared to invest $5,000,000 in our company by buying a $5,000,000.00 portion of it. If the total valuation is $4,000,000, then $5,000,000 represents approximately 11% of that value, according to plain math.
Just keep in mind that Sam and John each own 5,000 shares of this company. Tom will receive new shares from the firm instead of the usual practice of the existing shareholders transferring or selling their ownership.
If a company isn’t genuinely acquired, equity rarely changes hands. Contrarily, businesses frequently reissue stock, which reduces the percent ownership held by the initial shareholders. The number of shares the firm will have after doing this will be 1,125,000 rather than 1,000,000.
Sam and John will still each own 5,000 shares, but their ownership percentage of the company will be closer to 44.4 percent rather than 50 percent. Tom now holds 11.11 percent of the firm’s new 1,25,000 shares. Pitchify is currently valued at $4,00,000 post-money. And because of this, we initially issued 1,000,000 shares rather than fractional shares.
We would need to round up or down if the corporation had just 100 shares, for example, 50 for Sam and 50 for John. In such a case, Tom would have received 12 or 13 shares, depending on whether we’re rounding up or down. Even though the roundup may no longer be valuable, the 0.01 percent equity position In a business like Uber, amounts to $8,000,000 in the present.
Today, the difficulty of conducting a priced round of fundraising is that there are several details to be determined, such as how many votes each share receives in various discussions. Typically, you get one vote per share, but since they will hold a minority of the corporation, investors frequently demand additional power over important corporate decisions.
Investors are compensated first in the event of a firm bankruptcy, for instance, if assets need to be sold. On a priced round, that is another point on which you must agree. What about the management board? In addition, shareholders will want to have power over a seat and safeguard themselves from removal from the board. Because these choices call for negotiations, legal counsel, and the recording of signatures, the transaction may now take six months or longer than it would have otherwise. Since the majority of tech startups don’t have six months, they frequently decide to use a convertible note.
Before that what exactly is a convertible note? How can one raise capital using that? After learning about what stock and a priced round are, can you take a wild guess?
Too many questions I suppose. But it’s kind of fun this way! I’ll just explain it in the simplest terms. So moving on…
A convertible note is a tool that postpones the valuation discussion, allowing the business and the investor to reach an agreement and proceed with the funding much more quickly, with less negotiation, and more affordable.
A convertible note functions somewhat similarly to a loan, except instead of utilizing an asset like a property as security, the business stock serves as the security at a future-determined valuation for the firm.
Since the investor intends to turn this note into genuine company stock, investing in a firm requires a belief on their part that the investment will be successful. It might be difficult to define a company’s valuation. The investor is essentially saying, “I’ll offer you the money to grow now,” using a convertible note since there are too many unknown variables and too little data available.
We must have the information necessary to sustain a priced, conventional funding round in around a year, at which point my contribution will be converted depending on the terms and enterprise value that the stakeholders define for such a later priced round.
As you can see, there may be various terms associated with convertible notes that are difficult to understand; thus, we will define each of them using cases.
So let’s take our first case A:
Tom, the original investor, sends money to Sam and John on a convertible note. With the money, they expand as anticipated, and their firm appears to be in good condition and headed for great things. A year later, they can introduce a new investor named Peter, who is prepared to put in $1,000,000 for a round of funding that values the firm at $5,000,000.
The convertible note with Tom is activated when this fresh investment is received. Notes have a rate of interest and a discount, but not to make up for the initial investors’ belief in this enterprise. Typically, the discount is between 10 and 25 percent, while the interest rate is between 5 and 6 percent. That represents savings based on the new investor’s valuation.
Again, in this instance, Tom made his investment a year earlier than Peter, earning him an interest of nearly $25,000. When the moment arises to finalize the legal documents, Tom would convert $5,25,000 at a $4MM valuation rather than the $5MM valuation Peter received (that is the 20% discount). Peter puts their $1 million into the $5 million valuation once the note converts.
Now moving on to the second case that is case B:
Here, the business expands incredibly quickly. Pitchify locates a potential investor in a few years who values the business at $50,000,000. Even at a 20% reduction, Tom’s conversion valuation is $40,000,000, meaning that the initial $5,000 investment plus interest would represent less than 1.5 percent of the business. Tom’s risk-taking decision to invest initially was not paid for in this Pitchify venture. Nodes have a cap on their valuation because of this. The note will only convert at this cap’s highest value.
Let’s assume that $7MM was the agreed-upon investment cap in this scenario. So, while the shareholders make investments in a company with a $50,000,000 market value, Tom converts his note at the cap, earning a 6 x paper investment return. Which is rather good.
By the way, the same process will still be in place if the firm was successfully acquired. To become eligible to take part in the firm’s sale, the convertible notes would transform.
Lastly, let’s look at Case C:
If the business is unable to secure more capital. Therefore, the convertible note has a maturity period if the firm is unable to gain momentum and draw in new investors. Holders of convertible notes may convert their notes and interest at their ceiling on or after this date, or they may seek repayment from the notes. Investors won’t likely ask for a convertible note return unless the business can afford it. Additionally, they may think conversion at the cap is an extremely overpriced valuation for the firm as it stands now. The startup would likely need to declare bankruptcy if it cannot repay the notes when they are due and the financiers execute them. Due to the firm’s lack of resources to repay the notes, the investors will likewise lose most of their funds. Using the same $500,000 scenario as before, Sam and John may not have been able to establish a solid product-market fit, but they are still bringing in, say, $500,000 annually. In these situations, the business and the holders of convertible notes settle on one of the options given. They are:
Delay the notes’ maturity date while they continue to accrue interest. This allows the firm to grow rapidly and possibly draw in a new round of funding in the coming years.
Agree to a repayment schedule that requires the corporation to pay the notes over a predetermined length of time by making periodic installment payments rather than one large payment at the beginning. The firm can’t stand to repay without going bankrupt.
Find out how much you’ll need to raise. It costs approximately between $500 Thousand and $2 million. The lowest amount of capital you wish to solicit from investors. Consider that there are 4 separate investors, each of whom contributes $250,000. At least in terms of the funding round, you certainly don’t live in an ideal world. What are you willing to accept? You’ll come across a fair proportion of investors who are happy to write cheques between $5000 and $10,000 or who wish to invest at least $50,000. The point is whether you want to round up a dozen of those folks to get there. No, is the response. The cap table shouldn’t be filled in that way because handling it would be more difficult.
Certified investors should be informed of the terms of the convertible note. You ought to be able to rapidly come to an agreement with the investor on those conditions when the appropriate moment arises.
The new purchase contract should be signed and dated. Since this is a secured note provided by the corporation rather than a contract, you are the sole person signing it.
The note purchase contract will now be exchanged for the funds.
The note holder ought to be listed in your cap table if he or she is not a shareholder but appears on the debt page cap table.
It is a very short process and you could repeat it after months.
Every financial instrument has some pros and cons. We’ll first discover the pros of using Convertible notes or certain advantages they possess. Let us have a look at it. The following advantages or pros are taken into consideration:
Valuation – gives you money while delaying the appraisal of your business. Due to your increased value and higher stock price, that convertible note will turn into fewer shares. You have less dilution.
Legal cost – There are only a few documents in this collection. A questionnaire for accredited investors that asks them to certify that they are certified investors as well as the physical promissory note itself is usually required. The cost of the lawsuit is quite minimal. Since there are far more conditions to negotiate and since you normally pay legal fees each time you negotiate, doing an investment fund round includes far more and much lengthier documentation. Compared to a priced round, it costs much less.
The same applies here. Every financial instrument has some pros and cons. We’ll now explore the cons of using Convertible notes or certain disadvantages they possess. Let us have a look at it. The following drawbacks or cons are taken into consideration:
Maturity Date – You will eventually have to choose between having the note raised, renegotiated, and renewed, or converted to equity at a quite low valuation. That is currently one of the benefits of the simple agreement for equity (SAFE). However, the investor benefits because he frequently enjoys the concept that there is a deadline that, if the firm hasn’t delivered as predicted by that deadline, gives the investor some negotiation power over what follows next.
Therefore, a convertible note is a financial instrument with a discount, a cap, and an interest rate. The note is typically issued or activated with the closure of a new round of funding, upon the company’s purchase, or at some other predetermined deadline or maturity time, which is frequently 18 or 24 months after the initial funding. Investors can now request a payback, convert the note at the cap, or negotiate a note extension, normally if the company can afford it.
These days, it is possible to acquire capital from investors for free thanks to documents developed by Y-Combinator and 500 firms that are even simpler to implement than the original convertible notes. You can acquire financing and save some money on legal fees by using the keep-it-simple security and the basic agreement for future equity. Both of them work once more as convertible notes, albeit with less red tape. In addition, the phrasing in both versions is identical. At this point, you ought to be able to comprehend them.
Whichever way you choose to raise capital ensure to align it with your business goals so it doesn’t lead to any diversion from the vision or mission.
As an expression goes, “Worry is just imagination used in an unproductive way.” That simply means that if you don’t plan a schedule, then you either end up in trouble or fail to achieve the plan, which automatically results in an unproductive act. This is why planning and organizing are so important to you, especially if you have many things to get done at once.
As an example, if you have to prepare a document for your boss and attend a meeting simultaneously, or you forget to prepare an important presentation for the meeting that you’re going to attend right after, If that’s the case, what will you do? You’ll flunk either if you don’t stick to a schedule. It is a no-brainer that if you have a daily planner calendar that reminds you about your tasks and helps you handle other management duties, you will be an ace at work.
Workona is a work management platform, that could organize all the activities (docs, tasks, files, links projects) into your browsers, providing you with flexible workspaces to complete bigger projects. This platform collaborates with cloud-based apps and makes team collaboration easy in executing your project. Workona is known for organizing intricate tasks for a project in a single place without moving to different tabs, making a hassle-free workspace.
Features
Document Management
Tab Manager
Availability of better workspace templates
Project Planning
Real-time collaboration
Price:
Basic: 4.95 USD per month Pro: 8.95 USD per month Team: 8 USD per user monthly
Habitica Pomodoro gatekeeper
Used For
Time-Wasting Navigation
Founder
Francesco Cirillo
Founded in
2021
Habitica Pomodore Gatekeeper For Time-Wasting Navigation
One of the best chrome extensions is Habitica Pomodore gatekeeper, which plugs into Habitica and turns your time-wasting navigation into rewards, by means of this, you could stop walling time and start developing new habits to run errands that are worthy of. There are two types of Pomodoro extensive- Site Blocker (which limits you from visiting websites that you decide on) and Pomodoro timer, which helps stay focused.
It would be easy if you can strip clutters from a website and then view it in ‘read mode’. Yes, there is a chrome extension, that helps to read any content in reader view, by pressing the page-action button and thereby personalizing the content (changing color, text, font size, or width of the reader view) on the left pane of your screen.
Features
Read in fullscreen mode
Prevent Advertisements
Can save in HTML format
Edit, highlight, and resize the font of the content
Display publish date
Easy to do in moving to the next or previous pages to read
Price:
Free
Evernote
Used For
Note Taking App
Founder
Stepan Pachikov
Founded in
2011
Evernote For Taking Notes
Even if you’ve been listening from the start, you may find it challenging to respond to the presenter’s question in a meeting. It will be easy to acknowledge any concept if you have the habit of taking notes. That’s why Evernote Corporation developed a note-taking task management software for those to create & organize digital notes which could automatically sync across all their devices. Evernote keeps your workplace productivity high, by turning your to-do list into ‘done’.
Features
Sync and Organize
Web Clipper
Google Calendar
Paperless
Document scanning
Templates
Complete the tasks
Price:
Basic: Free version with limited features available Personal: 249 INR per month Professional: 319 INR per month
Video conferences are used in corporate meetings to discuss anything important, but since we can’t remember everything, confusion pops up after the meeting, right? Instead of long emails, try out Awesome screenshot, which does the job for you. By recording the screen, the software allows you to share your work with non-real-time video so that you can use it later.
Features
Beautify & share your screenshots
Record an online conference
Edit a record, polish screenshots, and tag names in the comment section.
Add blur or image to a video and enhance in full size
Reply with an emoji
Customize Avatar
Annotate a screenshot
Price:
Starter: Free for a month Basic: 5 USD per month Professional: 6 USD per month
Tab Suspender
Used For
Saving Memory
Size
84.6 KB
Founded in
2017
Tab Suspender Foe Saving Device Memory
If you don’t close various tabs on your devices, then leads to low battery and high heat generation. Tab Suspender is an extension that automatically suspends, parks, or hibernates inactive tabs on your browser which helps in saving up to 80% of device memory, saving battery life, and reducing heat.
Features
Unload tabs after a specified time period
Support white-listing for domains
Do not hibernate pinned tabs or tabs that are prying sound
Do not hibernate when offline
Price:
The software is free for download and charges 3.20 USD per additional feature.
Another Pomodore diverge extension- Marinara, a Pomodoro-style timer, you can tailor to fit your productivity needs. You can set time segments that fit your workflow, reduce distractions and share your productivity timer with teammates to complete tasks more efficiently.
Features
Short & long breaks
Toolbar icon with countdown timer
Track Pomodoro history & stats
Configurable long break intervals
Configurable timer durations
Desktop & tab notifications
Audio notifications with over 20 sounds
Ticking timer sounds
Scheduled automatic timers
Open source software
Price:
Free
Clickup
Used For
Project Management Platform
Size
Zeb Evans
Founded in
2017
Clickup For Saving Time
Clickup is one of the best chrome extensions, which does everything for you to boost your productivity at the workplace. This software was designed to give at least 20% of your time to other things, by doing all the chores for you, which you had been doing for a whole day.
Features
Customize to-do Tasks
Nest subtasks and checklists
Automate routine work
Integrations
Notepad
Gantt Chart
Mind Maps
Time Tracking
Kanban Board
Sprints
Price:
Personal use: Free for a period Small Teams: 5 USD per month Mid-sized teams: 12 USD per month Multiple teams (Business): 19 USD per month
Here’s another gamified Pomodoro timer that protects you from visiting blocked websites. When the workday’s allotted time is up, a sound signaling a break can be customized. Additionally, a website will be restricted once a certain amount of time has passed ( which you have set a time limit).
Features
Work/Break timer
Block websites
Point-based reward system
Autoblock websites
Hard mode
Insights
Notifications
Break mode (websites are unblocked during a Pomodoro break)
RescueTime For Tracking Time Spent On Useful Websites
The websites you visit on the internet are tracked by RescueTime. The program will provide you with a productivity score at the end of the day or the week, helping company owners know how much time they spend on useful websites as opposed to those annoying non-useful ones.
Features
Time Tracking
Ease of Completing Timesheets
Tracking Time to Project/TaskBillable Time Rate Management
Mobile Time Tracking
Time Tracking
Administration
Workflow
Platform
ReportingAPIs / Integration
Performance and Reliability
Mobile User Support
Price:
The basic version is free but a premium version costs $9 per month.
Loom
Used For
Record your screen
Founder
Joe Thomas
Founded in
2016
Loom For Video Recording and Sharing With The Team
Video may be recorded and shared with the team quickly and easily using Loom. For quick-moving, virtual teams seeking a personal connection, it’s the ideal online browser add-on.
Features
Screen, camera, microphone, and internal audio recording
Save videos to the cloud automatically and share them immediately with a link.
Receive alerts
Emoji reactions and time-based comments.
controls over security and access
to record videos to your camera roll.
Price:
It’s Free up to 50 Creators Lite, videos/person, and 5 mins/video.
uBlock Origin Protecting Users From Invasion Of Their Privacy
Protecting users from the rising internet invasion of their privacy is uBlock Origins’ main objective. It is a content filtering add-on for multiple web browsers that is open-source, free, and ad-blocking. One of the most sophisticated and functional tools for enhancing your online privacy with no impact on your CPU or memory use is uBlock Origin.
Features
Features Vote on or suggest new features
Block Ads
Lightweight
Configurable
Customizable
Firefox Extension
Privacy focused
Element blocker
Custom filters
Google Chrome Extension
Privacy Protection
Website whitelisting
Disable JavaScript
Browser extension
3rd-party filters
Security-focused
Unblock Netflix
Low CPU usage
Microsoft Edge extension
Price:
Since uBlock Origin is completely free and open-source software, any developer is free to do whatever they want with the code.
With Forest, you may avoid using distracting websites like social media during work or study periods by combining the Pomodoro Technique with a website blocker. You can view websites on your Blocklist while logged in using the Allowlist mode. In addition to the Chrome extension, Forest has a mobile app. You may check your stats, see a virtual forest of trees that have successfully grown from previous work sessions, and unlock new tree species to plant on the app.
Features
A Pomodoro timer
gamified website blocker.
Price:
Forest is free for Chrome and Android. The iOS device users must pay $1.99.
Save to Pocket
Used For
Capture Articles, videos, and anything else you find on the web
Founder
Nate Weiner
Founded in
2007
Save to Pocket For Saving Your Interests
Due to its strong recommendation engine, user-friendly UI, and community features, Save to Pocket has surpassed Instapaper as the finest online clipper site at the time. It’s a fantastic web clipper inbox for reference, allowing you plenty of time to browse when you go back.
Features
Save unlimited articles, videos, and other web pages
Sync your articles automatically
Add Tags
Save from your browsers including Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Edge, and more
Text-to-speech
Customer support team
No sponsored content
Full-Text Search
Access unlimited text highlighting
Permanent Library
Custom reading layouts and 8 additional font options
Price:
$5/month or $45/year for unlimited highlights, permanent article backups, and no advertisements, as well as complete article and tag search.
Goal-setting and habit tracking are both included in this free Chrome addon. To develop better habits, you can keep a close eye on and check your everyday activities. When you open your screen to start your day’s work, the Chrome extension icon is right there, making it the ideal location for your goals. In order to focus on your work, the web application also filters your most distracting websites.
Features
Every day, a new motivational image, quote, and mantra.
Although Noisli is mostly a website with different sounds, its Chrome extensions offer a more practical approach to accessing the key functions. The plugin has a drop-down menu with sections labeled Productivity, Random, and Relax that contain tailored playlists of blended ambient sounds. Clicking on the category will modify the sound mix. Additionally, Noisli enables you to save your preferred mixes and access them at a later time. Any time period can be selected for the Pomodoro timer.
Features
A Pomodoro timer
Ambient sound player.
Price:
Free
Right Inbox
Used For
Gmail extension
Founder
Sujan Patel
Founded in
2018
Right Inbox For Gmail
With the productivity add-on for Gmail, you can change how you use your Gmail account under the Right Inbox. Right Inbox users can spend more time on essential things and less time on email.
Features
Recurring Emails
Email Tracking
Email Sequences
Mail Merge
Price:
Right Inbox is cost-free to use up to a set of monthly feature caps. Plans with limitless features can be purchased for $5.95 per month.
The to-do list and Pomodoro timer are combined in Focus To-Do. You can plan tasks, make projects, send reminders, assign tasks based on priority, add subtasks, and monitor your progress with in-depth pie charts and graphs. Simply set a programmable Pomodoro timer for the task at hand, then get to work. After finishing it, tick it off. You can always access your to-do list from any device with Focus To-mobile Do’s and Mac apps since they sync with the extension.
Features
A Pomodoro timer
to-do list combo.
Price:
Free
Grammarly
Used For
Writing App
Founder
Alex Shevchenko, Max Lytvyn, and Dmytro Lider
Founded in
2009
Grammarly For Mistake Free Texts
Almost all high school students in the digital period have at some point either heard of or utilized Grammarly. The most comprehensive grammatical knowledge, spell-checking tools, advanced suggestions, clarity improvements, and style modifications are all included in this piece of software. On most websites with text fields, the plugin automatically runs as soon as you start typing and follows you around.
Features
In the Plagiarism feature of Grammarly, your content is compared to tens of thousands of other online pages to identify any instances of plagiarism.
It’s a useful feature for journalists, writers, and obviously students.
Price:
Grammarly is free for individual users, however, if you want an invoice to pay for Grammarly Business for 10 or more members on an annual basis, you can do that.
The same technology that’s causing the commotion is also providing you with the means and tools to mute it and fully concentrate on the task that matters. Since there are simply too many options to pick from, the top 20 Chrome extensions have been compiled. These 20 Chrome extensions come with many that are cost-free to use.
Just like Westerners have the NBA, we have the IPL. Every year, we gather around the television with our family to watch who will take home the IPL trophy. All the credit goes to Lalit Modi, one of the world’s top businessmen, for introducing IPL, which has enthralled millions of people since 2007. Lalit Modi belongs to one of the leading business families in India. He is the grandson of Gujarmal Modi, who founded the Modi Enterprise, an Indian Business conglomerate. Lalit Modi studied electrical engineering and business administration at two prestigious universities, Pace University and Duke University, but didn’t earn a degree from either.
After returning to India, he joined his family firm and served as the president of International Tobacco Company Limited from 1987 to 1991. He then served as a Non-Executive & Non-Independent Director of Godfrey Phillips India from 1989 to 2010. Prior to Krishan Kumar’s death, Lalit Modi was assigned the responsibility of taking over the Modi Group in 2010.
Modi Enterprises is an Indian Business conglomerate based in New Delhi. It was founded by Gujarmal Modi in 1933. This business group is known to have an extremely diverse portfolio in industries like personal care, cigarette manufacturing, entertainment, food and beverages, and more. The following are the popular brands of Modi Enterprises:
Godfrey Phillips India
Founded In
1936
Predecessor
Abdulla & Company
Headquarters
Delhi, India (since 1967)
Godfrey Phillips India , Produces Tobacco
As of 2021, Godfrey Phillips India would be one of the world’s biggest tobacco producers, with a total income of 2784 crores INR in FY22. Godfrey Phillips created the company in 1844 in London, which was the first UK-based corporation to mass-produce cigarettes with extensive international ties. After the founder’s death in 1908, the firm was sold and renamed Godfrey Phillips, with two significant stakeholders: Philip Morris and K.K Modi Enterprise, becoming a flagship company of Modi Enterprise. Godfrey Phillips Ltd. of London struck an agreement with International Tobacco Co. to construct a plant in Northern India to produce on the business’s behalf as Godfrey Phillip India Ltd.
Shanghai Tang, an international clothing brand founded by David Tang, has become a global powerhouse that represents China’s cultural fashion. In 1998, Richemont bought a majority stake in the business. It has a connection with Modi Enterprise as Godrej Phillips India tied up with the brand as a master franchise in India by entering the retail sector in 2005.
24SEVEN
Founded In
2005
Founder
Modi Enterprise
Headquarters
New Delhi
24SEVEN India’s First Convenience Store
Just like its innovative name for the brand, the company also comes with a unique feature of operating as an organized retail convenience store in New Delhi in the round-the-clock format i,e. 24×7. 24 SEVEN offers an international shopping experience to Indians, by selling a variety of products & services. 24 Seven is the first Indian premier convenience store with over 100 outlets across Delhi/ NCR and Chandigarh.
Indians have an affinity for pan masala, which is why Modi Enterprise created the premium brand Pan Vilas in 2010. The firm is a connoisseur’s treat, with a well-balanced combination of the best ingredients providing Pan Vilas with an unrivaled and enduring flavor. Pan Vilas has an unmatched and lasting flavor due to its carefully balanced blend and rich treasure of the best ingredients. Pan Vilas is made in Baramati, a cutting-edge factory that utilizes some of the world’s most modern food processing equipment.
We all love Thai cuisine in particular, as it matches our cuisine very much. Modi Enterprise launched Ego-Thai in 2002 for a fine dining experience with an exclusive bar and lounge in New Delhi. The restaurant is managed by Thai chefs, with excellent interior design with Thai paintings & artifacts decorated.
Indofil
Founded In
23 Mar, 1962
Founder
Modi Enterprise
Headquarters
Mumbai
Indofil For Crop Care Solutions
Indofil, a division of Modi Enterprise, has successfully marketed Insecticides, Fungicides, Bactericides, Herbicides, Acaricides, Surfactants, and other Agro-chemical products. The firm has a well-equipped production infrastructure in R&D as well as a domestic and worldwide distribution network. Indofil emphasizes the notion of the Indian crop protection market by providing productive crop care solutions through cost-effective management.
Modi Healthcare For Indian Healthcare Professionals Who Desire To Work Abroad
Modi Enterprises founded Modi Healthcare to create an ethical and credible gateway for Indian nurses and other healthcare professionals who desire to work abroad. Modi Healthcare has received several awards for its collaboration with renowned health centers in the United Kingdom and the United States in establishing world-class courses for the placement of Indian nurses. Furthermore, the organization specializes in providing educational and training components that incorporate soft skills such as communication, management, and assertiveness.
Beacon Travels
Founded In
1988
Founder
Modi Enterprise
Headquarters
New Delhi
Beacon Travels For Travel Solutions
India is one of the best destinations as it highlights the rich Indian culture. K.K Moi Group company commenced Beacon Travels to bring high-quality travel solutions to the corporate sector in India.
Modicare began in 1996 and is one of India’s leading direct-selling companies in offering services in the categories of Personal care, skin care, home care, laundry care, auto care, cosmetics treatment, and Health & wellness.
Modi Entertainment Networks (MEN)
Founded In
19 March 1997
Founder
Modi Enterprise
Headquarters
New Delhi
Modi Entertainment Networks (MEN) For Community, Personal & Social Services
MEN was incorporated on 19 March 1997, as a private unlisted company, that happened to be focusing on community, personal & social services. The company board members are Krishan Kumar and Samir Modi and network operations are withhold in 2010.
Lalit Modi’s mother- Mrs. Bina Modi wanted to open an Italian restaurant and launched one in 1995, in Delhi. The place has a hygge ambiance with wooden furniture and interiors, decorated with greenery, graffiti, ship lights, and vintage paintings.
Colorbar
Founded In
2005
Founder
Modi Enterprise
Headquarters
New Delhi
Colorbar A Cosmetic Brand
Colorbar is one of the leading cosmetic brands in India, which ranked 7th in ‘India’s Great Mid-size Workplaces 2021′. The company was established in 2005 and has gained rapid growth in the cosmetic industry through building more than 65 stores and 900 plus multi-brand outlets.
The brand’s strength lies in its international formulations, premium packaging, and constant product innovations for its fast-growing and demanding target segment of consumers – the independent woman of today who is exposed to global fashion trends.
Modi Enterprise is a 1.5 billion USD net worth corporation that manages approximately 12 brands with a specialization in education, personal care, tea and drinks, tobacco manufacture, entertainment, retail goods, multi-level marketing, agro-chemicals, and restaurants and bars.
In spite of their hardships, those who are physically or mentally challenged serve as an inspiration and an example that “Anyone can do anything”. Recently, there has been much buzz about how entrepreneurs are changing the world, but little about how differently-abled entrepreneurs are changing perceptions. There is a saying that says ‘Disability is just a matter of perception.’ If you believe in yourself, then nothing can stop you.
Would you believe that Walt Disney, the founder of the Disney Company, suffered from dyslexia growing up? Incredibly, a disabled individual became a cultural icon of the country and is still remembered today. The example I gave above illustrates how some people have changed the mindset of those who are afraid to dream big. Our special needs entrepreneurs can be found here awe-inspiring others with their business success stories.
Top 12 specially-abled entrepreneurs who are inspiring the world
Sharath M Gayakwad
Occupation
Founder of Gamatics
Establishedin
2014
Awards
Arjuna Award for Para-Swimming
Sharath M. Gayakwad – Founder of Gamatics
Sharath M. Gayakwad is the first Indian swimmer to qualify for the London 2012 Summer Paralympics. From adoring his sport to winning record-breaking medals for his nation, he has come a long way. In 2014, he became the first Indian to win six medals in a multidisciplinary sports competition, breaking P.T. Usha’s record. Since his swimming career began, he has achieved 39 international medals and 55 national medals, turning his biggest weakness into his biggest strength.
With a modest socioeconomic background, he began mentoring children in November 2014 by founding a company called “Gamatics.” The startup focuses on providing high-performance practises and pieces of equipment for swimming at a very affordable rate, unlike the marketplace. Sharath wishes to impart to his students the strategies, abilities, and challenges he encountered while competing. In addition, the venture lists nutritionists and physiotherapists to give sportsmen the finest of everything.
A 19-year-old girl was diagnosed with epilepsy in the first year of college and left her studies behind to focus on treating her epilepsy. During recuperation, she met patients from various states, age groups, and financial backgrounds, and each one had a story to tell. Eventually, she started volunteering after realizing that everyone goes through something, and epilepsy happened to her. She began collecting funds through social networking in 2009, which helped defray her treatment costs and covered other epilepsy patients’ costs as well. In the year that followed, she became a member of the Indian Epilepsy Association to help many people going through similar issues.
In India, nearly 12 million people are victims of epilepsy. Still, one is there to provide employment opportunities to them, so she wants to earn independently as well as give jobs to epileptic people. She did her research on people working in a building with office space of matchbox size, and therefore, wanted to create a space for conferences or meetings that could be rented whenever needed and be budget-friendly. That’s when she started SoboConnect, establishing a 15-seater rent-by-day workspace to replace her father’s old warehouse that looks like an arbitration hall with projectors so that the meeting can be conducted effectively.
Mohammed Gaddafi
Occupation
Co-founder Maa Ulaa bike taxi company
Established In
2016
Location
Chennai
Mohammed Gaddafi – Co-founder Maa Ulaa bike taxi company
The Maa Ulaa bike taxi company in India’s capital is the first service operated by people with disabilities, inspired and designed by Mohammed Gaddafi, who lost his legs at 19 years of age. Gaddafi derived the business idea from an amputated leg person, parking his government-provided tricycle and begging on a Chennai beach. When Gaddafi asked “Why?”, his response was “How can we lead better lives just because the government has provided bikes?”. Thus, Gaddafi decided to break ground by starting up a journey with the differently abled with his best friend Balaji. As a result, he intends to use the bicycles provided by the government of Tamil Nadu for disabled people for a good cause.
Aditi Verma
Occupation
Founder of Aditi’s Corner
Established In
2015
Location
Mumbai
Aditi Verma – Founder of Aditi’s Corner
There is no denying that individuals with down syndrome are changing the face of entertainment. One of them is Aditi Verma. Aditi’s mother learned that she had bronchitis in this manner when she was only 2 years and 6 months old and needed open-heart surgery. She became interested in cooking while attending a special education school, and at age 25 she launched her own cafe. Aditi’s Corner was the name of the cafe she opened, which she operated in addition to serving customers coffee and pastries. She received the Entrepreneur beyond Challenge Award from the Rotary Club of Mumbai in 2017, and despite having both physical and mental impairments, she went on to become a great achiever.
Simon George, a 52-year-old engineering graduate from Kerala, has been paralyzed below the waist for more than 30 years. The wheelchair-bound man nevertheless founded SpecialCare Holidays in 2018, the country’s first travel company for people with impairments. The Kochi-based company provides excursions for those with disabilities, the elderly, the ill, and others who need extra care while on vacation. It provides services like lodging, contemporary tools, motorized wheelchairs, wheelchair-accessible transportation, knowledgeable tour guides, medical experts, nursing assistants, and sign language interpreters. Because of Simon’s efforts, the Kerala tourism administration has agreed to include “accessible tourism” as a specific service within its “responsible tourism” policy.
Gunavathy Chandrasekharan
Occupation
In charge of Guna’s Quilling
Established In
2013
Location
Chinnalapatti in Tamil Nadu
Awards
District and State awards
Gunavathy Chandrasekharan – Owner Of Guna’s Quilling
Gunavathy Chandrasekharan was primarily just one and a half years old when she was given the polio diagnosis. She lost much of the function in her legs and is presently unable to walk more than 20 feet without assistance. She is in charge of Guna’s Quilling, a company she founded in 2013. She uses the quilling process, in which paper strips are rolled, shaped, and glued to produce beautiful motifs, to create crafts. She sells her handmade products, which she and four other women helped produce, at markets across India and earns roughly Rs 80,000 from a single market. Gunavathy has won district and state awards in the art & craft category. To encourage Tamil Nadu children to strive for the things they are immensely passionate about, she often visits schools and institutions there.
Pranav Desai
Occupation
Founder of VOSAP
Established In
2015
Awards
NRI community award in Los Angeles, Corporate award
Pranav Desai – Founder of VOSAP
Pranav Desai, an Ahmedabad native, was four years old when he was diagnosed with polio, which left both of his legs paralyzed and required braces and a cane for him to move. Through the Voice of Specially Abled People, his organization, he decided to use his personal and professional expertise to empower those who are differently abled (VoSAP). In 2015, while working for the global conglomerate NTT Data, Pranav, an engineer, and MBA graduate, founded VoSAP. Thru openness, knowledge, and occupation, the international advocacy group—which has more than 3,000 volunteers—seeks to empower persons with disabilities.
Iftkhar Ali, an IIM Calcutta graduate, was given a polio diagnosis when he was just a year old. He is an Agra native who created the Delhi-based ALIQAN Technologies software and web development company. Before starting ALIQAN Technologies in 2015, he worked as a management consultant for HCL, TCS, and IMS India. He had also served as IMS India’s center operations head. A few of ALIQAN Technologies’ clients include HCL, Wipro, the Indian Air Force, the Shiv Nadar Foundation, Allizhealth, The Football Link, and Allizhealth. Iftikhar wants to expand operations in the services sector, launch two more product companies, and go into the educational sector.
Sangita Desai
Occupation
Co-founder of Raw Nature Company
Established In
2017
Situated
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Sangita Desai – Co-founder of Raw Nature Company
Despite having Symbrachydactyly, a congenital disease involving limb abnormalities, Sangita has been a prosperous fashion designer for 25 years. While studying English literature at Sophia College, she fell in love with fashion, and in 1989 she enrolled in the American College of London to pursue a fashion degree. Sangita, who was born without any fingers, created outfits for the Vareli ad campaign for Aishwarya Rai in addition to working for Manpreet Brar, who qualified India for the Miss Universe competition, and Shweta Menon, Ms. Asia Pacific. However, in 2006, the Mumbai rains wrecked her studio, which led to a setback for her. Sangita joined her father’s essential oil company and sought to expand it significantly, refusing to let nature stand in the way of her ambition. The knowledge she acquired allowed her to launch the Raw Nature Company in Mumbai, which provides a variety of natural plant personal care products for both men and women. Her products are cruelty-free, vegan, and devoid of any synthetic dyes, fragrances, or other potentially harmful ingredients. Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa, and other important offline retail firms are now selling Sangita’s items.
Shailesh Sheth, a mobility-impaired investor, founded the Antarnaad venture with the assistance of his group of physically disabled people and other young people. Prior to this, he worked for 15 years in the finance and commercial sectors. As part of the initiative, all types of disabled people must obtain training in economic empowerment. The Ahmedabad-based nonprofit supports people in Gujarat and the surrounding areas who have similar physical constraints in achieving their potential and living the lives they want.
Conclusion
The idea of entrepreneurship is currently the one that is most frequently discussed and pushed in the country as a way to address financial difficulties. Specially abled persons have demonstrated that their dreams and aspirations are unaffected by what others think or say about them. Even a disability can be overcome. And it is because of their talent and labor that have shaped who they are today.
In the electronically dominated world that we live in today, we expect things to be done fast and with a little effort put into it. Today, most of the web sites earn their revenue from ad banner impressions and clicks. But as a user, some of these ads can be very annoying & disturbing and in a few cases even malicious. To overcome these issues, it becomes necessary to block ads. It’s not so easy to block ads on smartphone as it needs some proper way to be followed.
Today, smartphones have become an integral part of our lives so much that even though one-to-one communication has decreased with our parents, relatives, and friends but we are connected digitally (video calls and messages). Smartphones have made our lives so easy and relaxing but there are some of the ads on smartphones which irritate us very much while using our smartphones.
These ads are created by pop-up pages, while some automatically start playing video or audio clips. These cause phone’s resources to be overused. As normal people don’t know how to block ads running in our smartphones. Here is a brief guide on how to block ads in simple steps.
How to block Ads from Smartphones
How do Companies target Audience to Advertise Products?
Smartphone tracks each every detail of the user and maps it as data to show relevant ads to the user. We have become so dependent on the technology that we feel short-handed when our smart devices run out of charge or we forget to take them with us or it runs into some repair.
There are many applications available online where we go and browse and shop for almost everything. Right from groceries to electronic gadgets to furniture to automobile, everything is made available online and we just buy it online assuming that we’re doing ourselves a favor. But, is that what really happening?
Smartphone applications request for special permissions at the time of installation and we just accept them without a second thought. It requests permission to access our location, personal information, access to our contacts, to view, read and send SMS and we simply grant permission to whatever is asked without knowing what we’re doing.
Follow these steps to Block the Ads on Smartphones:
Read the app permissions carefully before installing it and grant access to what is absolutely necessary for the proper functioning of the application.
Use apps like Ad-Blocker browser, AdLock, AppBrain, AdAway, AdGuard, AdBlock Plus to prevent annoying Ads from popping up here and there when you’re browsing.
Clear your browser cache regularly.
Clear your browser search history regularly.
Clear your app cache regularly.
Avoid browsing in another person’s phone or computer.
Use Incognito mode when browsing in a cyber café.
Visit only secure sites (HTTPS) and avoid other sites (HTTP).
When searching for jobs on job portals, provide only the necessary details and avoid giving unwanted details to avoid spam calls and spam messages.
The internet works based on the data available and the volume of data available increases manifold every day. The smartphone applications that we use today collects data of the user and the activities of the user(s) to help improve the application and to generate huge revenue from advertisements.
Ads are used for Data Analysis
Google, one of the largest search engines in the world has admitted that over 92% of its revenue is from Ads. Have you ever wondered as to how the same product which you viewed on some website appears as an Ad on another website that you’re viewing later? This is simply because the websites collect your data in the form of cookies and it is provided as data to the other site and this is carried so on and so forth in almost every website. This thing helps them in re-targeting the audience.
Legal or Non-Legal
Is it legal to collect all these data and information by these websites? Well, the answer is yes, because when you sign up to any website they ask you to agree to the terms and conditions of the company and we simply agree to all of them without bothering to read them because they are too long and boring and we end up providing them the data. This is the main reason of these annoying ads and thats why you see these ads. So, you should read the terms and conditions in order to block the ads.
So, is there any way to block the ads or all this from happening? The answer is yes. As mentioned earlier, there are several ways to block the ads and prevent these annoying Ads popping up on the websites and the SMS’s from being received on your smartphones. The following are some of the ways to prevent e-commerce companies and other organizations from sending you unwanted messages to your phone.
Rishabh Rathi
