When it comes to oral care or toothpaste, in particular, there is one brand that immediately pops up in every Indian’s mind and that is Colgate. For over 200 years, Colgate has been carrying out its business internationally. Even today in India, Colgate is a brand that is known for its quality, its affordability, its product range, and most importantly its goodwill.
It has been a trusted brand for oral care products and has satisfied the needs of millions of customers. Be it the toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash, or dental floss, the company has never seen a great downfall in the market.
One of the major reasons for the success of Colgate in India and internationally has been the marketing strategies and ways of branding. The company applies effective marketing strategies according to its market segmentation, demographic, psychographic, and consumer behavioral patterns. To know more about Colgate, its history, and its marketing strategies, watch this space.
Founded in the year 1806, India’s No.1 toothpaste brand, Colgate was a soap, starch, and candles business back then. William Colgate found the company Colgate in New York. After he passed away Samuel Colgate ran his business and in the year 1873, a new product was launched – toothpaste that was then sold in jars. Since the 1920s the company started operating its business in other countries as well. By the end of the 1980s, the company was popular and successful in selling toothpaste that was to prevent cavities, bad breath, whither teeth, resolving gum bleeding problems, etc.
The Company has always targeted to shoot advertisements with prominent celebrities. Very popularly the Colgate Max fresh has always been promoted by Ranveer Singh which depicts that the toothpaste is equally fresh and energetic as Ranveer is.
Also, there are many other advertisements where many Bollywood celebrities have been associated like Kareena Kapoor, Shahrukh Khan, and Madhuri Dixit. Colgate has been collaborating with YouTubers as well which has targeted and reached millions of millennials.
Colgate Brand Endorsement
Location-Based Targeting
Colgate has always been a master when it comes to ad campaigns and marketing strategies. They tap different locations with different marketing strategies and get a lot of success in the form of positive response and lead generation. One such example of Colgate’s marketing strategy based on location was the Kumbh Mela, the largest spiritual gathering of Hindu devotees.
Kumbh Mela Campaign of Colgate
Colgate tapped this market very well and understood that most people who were present in this area had low levels of literacy rates. To make them aware of the brand and the product, Colgate had sent voice messages via radio and mobile phones.
The virtual network that the company created around Kumbh Mela was a perfect location-based approach to the target audience. The message spread to the pilgrims was to visit the Colgate booths and receive free samples of Colgate toothpaste along with that stand a chance to win prizes.
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Colgate is very witty when it comes to the packaging of its products. The packaging is very youthful, bright well has very decent which appeals to all kinds of masses as well as spreads the right message across.
Be it the Cavity protection toothpaste or max fresh toothpaste the company’s advertisement commercials and advertisement campaigns aptly signify what they are offering and by concentrating on the solution to the very specific problem of oral health, they gain the trust of the masses.
Building Trust Among Customers
Colgate has always touched upon the sentiments of the masses and has engaged the masses through its heartwarming stories. Not only the company has build trust in the market by providing quality and affordable products but also has participated in numerous social causes, which has increased the trust of Indians.
Colgate has participated and partnered in various NGO’s and social activities which have indirectly always been a part of one of the most effective branding and marketing strategies.
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Colgate has its operations since 1957 in India. It was a market mover then since it was the only company that provided toothpaste in a tube. It was a revolutionary time it got the attention of the masses, unlike any other brand at that time. Later on, the company identified the nerves of the Indian market.
Colgate launched a series of natural and ayurvedic toothpaste in India along with more than 90 other international markets. Indians have always been attached to traditions and values and Ayurveda is the essence of India.
They released Colgate Vedshakti which was made with Ayurvedic Ingredients and was said to be natural. The other great invention of Colgate was when the company released Colgate SlimSoft Charcoal.
It was the first-ever toothbrush In the Indian market that had super slim bristles combined with charcoal. There was no other company than who made charcoal-infused toothbrushes and toothpaste. In such ways, Colgate has always been reflecting its innovations in the Indian market.
Conclusion
Colgate has always been a company that has focused to work on its core products and operations and at the same time lookout for new areas to play. Be it rural India or urban India, Colgate has been one of the prominent leaders in the oral care industry and holds a loyal base across the country.
The company aims to continue this journey by serving its customers with the same passion and creating more awareness about the brand by using many different and new marketing strategies.
FAQs
Is Colgate an Indian company?
Colgate is an American brand founded by William Colgate.
What company owns Colgate?
Colgate-Palmolive Company is the parent company of Colgate.
Is Colgate a Fortune 500 company?
Yes, Colgate-Palmolive is a Fortune 500 company.
How successful is Colgate?
Colgate is a market leader in the toothpaste and toothbrush segment leaving behind the successful competitors.
Who are Colgate’s competitors?
Colgate’s competitors are:
Crest
Sensodyne
Patanjali Dant Kanti
Close up
Pepsodent
Vicco Vajradanti
Why Colgate is the best toothpaste?
Colgate is known for its tooth whitening properties and 12-hour protection that helps fight cavities, prevent gingivitis, reduce plaque, control calculus buildup and fight bad breath.
Which type of advertising is used by Colgate?
Colgate mainly uses a positioning approach based on its competitors. They have positioned their brand image in such a way that customers are bound to buy the product.
Spices from India have gained great popularity. The spice commerce brought primitive adventurers from all over the globe to the country. Indian spices are favoured throughout the world due to their unparalleled aroma, texture, flavour, and herbal prospect. India has the world’s biggest household spice segment.
Spices have customarily been grown on patches of land in India, with edible agriculture gaining wide acceptance. India is now the world’s biggest spice producer, consumer, and major supplier. It yields 75 of the 109 ISO-recognized sorts and accts for 50 % of the global spice trade.
For the past six decades, Badshah Masala has been the supreme leader in an industry where India has traditionally prevailed. Mr. Jawaharlal Jamnadas Jhaveri formed it in 1958, and it has been one of India’s most powerful players in the glitzy spice trade.
Badshah Masala is a well-known Indian spice maker that has been supplying the realm for over 70 years. Their vision has remained consistent over time: to provide inimitable flavours and lovely aromas to regional and global households while also ensuring adequate nutritive benefits.
It all began with garam masala and chai flavours. Mr. Jhaveri used to put masalas in used cig cans. Before stuffing the cans with spice mixes, he would sanitize them and remove the tags. He would then ride his pushbike around selling them.
Finally, a small factory in Ghatkopar was set up, which was quickly expanded to a massive 6000 sq. feet long factory in Umbergaon (Gujarat). Pav Bhaji Masala, Chat Masala, and Chana Masala were among the 3 fresh spice mixes created shortly after.
Creation of an Empire
Mr. Hemant Jhaveri, the creator’s heir, was an undergrad out of uni in 1994. He engaged in entering the family business and taking the helm. He joined his dad on work trips whenever possible.
Hemant Jhaveri, MD of Badshah
He interned under his dad’s supervision, learning about purchasing, sales, management, and manufacturing. After his dad died in 1996, he took over as CEO of Badshah Masala when he was 23 years old.
He worked tirelessly to broaden the firm’s reach across the nation. Badshah Masala is now outsourced to over 20 nations. It has a significant rack presence in international marketplaces as well. Hemant Jhaveri maintained his dad’s business heritage.
His family is also an essential facet of the Badshah biz. His wife works in human resources, and his oldest child handles in firm’s administration. He already holds a whopping 79 percent of the company. He plans to buy the entire company from his bro, Mr. Kailash Jhaveri, becoming a 100 percent holder in 3 years.
Advertising Adventure
It’ll be recognized as “Swad Sugand Ka Raja,” kudos to the epic jingle that was first telecasted over four decades ago and continues to cohere with both youth and old. “But things rolling very modestly,” Hemant Jhaveri explains. “Briefly after the label’s inception in 1958, it experienced good results, and new factories were established to meet rising demand.” To get the statement out to the public, ads were necessary, and the first major crusade began with billboards on the sides of Mumbai local trains. Even this modest channel was massive, as Badshah Masala and Nirma became the only 2 names noticeable on it at the moment.”
The most noteworthy advert is “Swad Sugandh Ka Raja.” Preeti Sagar offered the voice for the iconic jingle.
The pioneering jingle-based Tv commercial was released, catapulting the brand to new heights and establishing it as a cultural icon. The impact of that piece of interaction is still felt today. For years, the melody was heard on TV, on airwaves, in theatres, and at train stations.
According to the firm, what separates Badshah Masala from other brands is that, while others are striving to expand their prominence beyond regional sales nationally, it’s growing worldwide. Because of the corporate reputation attained from being in the industry for a while, foreign associates favour the brand above other modern brands for their orders. The “Swad Sugandh Ka Raja” tune is also popular among Indians living overseas, as well as buyers and associates of other ethnicities.
There were also TV commercials that showed children preparing a delicious Pav bhaji with the assistance of a fictional cartoon Monarch, as the product was paraphrased into Monarch of seasonings.
Following that, the label aired a slew of mono TV commercials, including one for Lal Badshah. It reintroduced the tune as the background song for the next clip named Flavours Of India’, which depicted a merge of Indians enjoying their food, particularly street food, and our nation’s diverse food customs.
The firm unveiled a plethora of mixed spices and original grounded spices over the ages. The collection also involves aromatic Asafoetida varies to premix chai spice mixes – overall, it provided a hearty box of seasonings and bet big on ads is a wide profile uncovering 360-degree media – print, stereo, tv, and steadily engaged with tech.
Jhaveri recalls some funny stories from the production of one of the ads, saying, “During the scene of the montage campaign, the shooting team kept pulling over to relish all the tasty local food they were capturing.” But it was okay because they were content, and a content team produces excellent work.”
To commemorate India’s 71st Freedom Day, it released “Humare Yahan” in 2017, an advertisement that highlighted the similarities between the folks and meals of India and Pakistan, evangelizing love by focusing on what binds us rather than what separates us.
“We’re pleased in the close it all worked out, and the YouTube clip received a positive response,” he adds. The team liked reversing its phrase “Humare Yahan” as a prank to poke fun at some of our neighboring nation’s other less-savory prejudices.”
The label’s most recent advert, “Har Dil Ka Badshah,” has a deep messsge for cultural progress. It wished to focus gender inclusivity discussions on the incorrect assumption that only females cook in the home. The advertisement was captured in two formats, one with a mom and her baby girl and one with the mom and her son.
“During the scene of “Har Dil Ka Badshah,” starlet Loveleen Mishra kept switching the term Masala to Masale and opined with us it was the best semantic way, and folks started debating that the label was Badshah Masala,” Jhaveri says. The company lads thought it was hilarious because they stayed out of the argument and just witnessed us and Loveleen argue it out. Due to the sheer ad’s statement, the male character was mocked with variants of “khaane mein kya hai,” and “work from home.”
#HarDilKaBadshah was snapped during the pandemic, and Pacheriwal says it took a lot of retakes and was a very challenging vibe than the previous snaps.
Jhaveri remarks on the promotional trip thus far, “We deem user perspectives to be vital and customize our interactions to fit what our viewer enjoys.” Our clients act on trust, which we strive to strengthen by advertising that swirls around the clan and has robust social communication that strikes a chord with everyone.”
Digital Presence
Usual competitions have retained customers engaged on social networks, and the satisfaction of winning the hamper has been enticing. According to the label, it uses all famous apps for max reach, with Instagram being the most useful.
“Everyone is on it these days,” Jhaveri says, “it’s no longer a framework with selfies for youths.” The fresh-faced audience has a larger impact on buying decisions than previously thought. Twitter is ideal for current affairs and in-the-moment marketing. Facebook and YouTube are excellent platforms for reaching moms and cooking art lovers, and we will continue posting recipe clips and work with food influencers and creators to increase our reach.”
The most vital point for the digital presence is to post engaging content, allowing consumers to easily find Badshah Masala on any channel they wish. “Scrumptious food images prove beneficial, making people hungry and craving a meal created with Badshah Masala.” The 2 most pertinent factors for our viewers are events and recipes, which we strive to do regularly” he adds.
Distinct Nature
Great additives are necessary for good food preparation, and spices are especially important in Indian cuisine. Indian cuisine is gaining popularity, and millions around the world are exploring the flavour and therapeutic properties of spicy meals. Spices are rich in antioxidants and work well as flavourings.
It selects fragrant and special seasonings from the best-growing fields in India and mixes them to produce a diverse range of spice mixes for a variety of cuisines.
They specialize in Indian flavours and their product range includes whole spices, ground spices, and mixed combination flavours. They also produce quick chai spice mixes in different flavours. The founders are in charge of quality checks.
In India and abroad, over 45 different items are available. The company is among the few Indian spice companies whose items are marketed in the U. S., the U.K., South Africa, the Mid East, Se Asia, Nz, and Israel.
Overcoming the Pandemic
During the disease outbreak, most businesses were forced to shut down. Despite having contributed 35% of its income to the spice segment, this had a major effect on its earnings. During the closure, among the most fun things was cooking. As eateries shut, the idea of a cloud kitchen picked up steam.
A cloud kitchen is a food preparation room that also functions as a shipment diner. This was the pivotal moment in Badshah’s decision to relinquish their old biz framework in favour of online sales.
Presently, their site includes purchasing their goods online and making delightful meals with them. They also have an editorial piece where they discuss spices and Indian food culture overall.
Acknowledgement and Expansion
The label is widely available, with approximately 800 distributors, 25 shops, and 450 salesmen on personnel. For its widespread distribution in both urban and remote areas in India, Badshah Masala surely is the spice leader of India. It earns $29 million in sales each year. It generates 1532 mt of items per month.
It has received several accolades. In 2004, AMGF Intercorp Ltd named the business the “finest maker in the spices segment.” It was also named “India’s most loved brand” that year.
Such victories also win hearts!
Over the years, consumer loyalty to the label has grown significantly, and folks relish its strong product portfolio.
It has sustained its quality since its outset. It retains a diverse nation united by a common love for food.
Mr. Hemant Jhaveri wishes to broaden and augment his spice empire. He intends to enter the brand into the RTE (Ready To Eat) and pickle segments. There are strategies to modify the methods and automate significant portions of the work while limiting menial work for a secure and more consistent outcome.
The goal to popularise Indian food around the globe is still ongoing. Because of the increased demand from foodies and cloud kitchens, it aims to offer both traditional and virtual customer demographics.
FAQs
Who is the owner of Badshah Masala?
Jawaharlal Jamnadas Jhaveri is the founder of Badshah Masala.
When was Badshah Masala founded?
Jawaharlal Jamnadas Jhaveri founded Badshah Masala in 1958.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Lyft.
The urging need for a better and safer travel system is fulfilled by Lyft. Lyft has become a household name from the time it was launched in 2012. Lyft is highly considered by the citizens of the United States and Canada for booking their rides.
Lyft was launched in 2012 by Logan Green and John Zimmer as the second-largest ride-sharing company in the United States. From the time of its launch up till now, it is known to provide multiple facilities such as providing a ride, arranging the driver, delivering food, etc.
Lyft has its roots expanded and well-developed in its field. Let us have a look at other important details such as founders, back story, mission and vision, business models, etc.
Let’s go through the Lyft success story and know about Lyft, its founders, business model, revenue model, funding, startup story, competitors and more.
Mobile Apps, Ride Sharing, Software, Transportation
Area Served
United States, Canada
Revenue
$3.2 billion (2021)
Total Funding
$4.9 billion (2022)
Website
www.lyft.com
Lyft – About
Lyft is an American-based mobility provider providing service that is considered the second-largest trusted ridesharing service in the United States. Lyft provides an application of its own that works in favour of people to help them with their travel plans. Apart from managing their travel, it also offers other services such as food delivery, ride-sharing, and renting bicycles types of services.
Lyft uses 58+ technology products and services in its application and website. This enables the easy and updated use of its technology. Lyft is not a cab hiring service, instead, it connects the user with the facility provider to earn profit.
Lyft – Industry
The mobile application industry is the fastest growing industry due to the increased number of users. Along with mobile applications, the usage of personalized software makes it much more compatible to be used by any startup. In recent years, the software industry along with the mobile application industry has been combined to give out better results and eliminate the restricted use of models due to medium.
The ridesharing industry is the new talk of the town as the assumption to be believed is that the global ride-sharing market is projected to grow with a 16.6% CAGR with an estimated USD of 85.8 billion in 2021 to be around 185.1 billion by 2026 as per the report published by marketsandmarkets.com.
The transportation industry deals with the economy and the movements of people from one place to another. Lyft works together in this industry to provide relevant services with a profitable business.
Lyft – Founders and Team
Logan Green
Logan Green, CEO and Co-founder of Lyft
Logan Green, highly recognized as the CEO and co-founder of Lyft, was born in Los Angeles in 1983. Green is recorded to complete his schooling at New Roads High School, California. For his higher education, Green attended the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He completed his bachelor’s in 2006 and is recorded to hold a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics.
During his education, Green had achieved and served a few great responsibilities. Green had created the Green Initiative Fund while still being a student. He also served as a board member for Isla Vista Recreation and Park District in his early life.
Before the launch of Lyft, there was another carpooling service founded by Green and his friend John Zimmer named Zimride in the year 2007. After the success of Zimride, Green was not yet satisfied with his work and went forward to embrace the risk with the launch of Lyft in 2012.
John Zimmer
John Zimmer, Co-founder and President of Lyft
John Zimmer is a co-founder and president of Lyft born in 1984. He completed his education at Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. He was known to be a member of Sigma Pi Fraternity during his college years.
After completing his education, Zimmer went on to work as an analyst for real estate finance at Lehman Brothers (New York City).
While working for the Lehman Brothers, Zimmer along with his dearest friend Logan Green went on to launch a ridesharing platform named Zimride. After some time, Zimmer left his job at Lehman Brothers and again went on to give rise to another ridesharing platform named Lyft with the equal contribution from Logan Green.
Lyft – Startup Story
Initially, Lyft was started just as a part of Zimride. The story behind it becoming the sole project of John Zimmer and Logan Green is quite interesting to look at. Lyft is not any on-road ridesharing enabling platform, instead, it is the second most used ridesharing service in the United States.
To know the exact reason behind Lyft, one must be aware of the story of Zimride. As for the start, Lyft was a part of Zimride only before selling it to a private company.
The founders of Lyft met each other through a common friend and got to know each other on Facebook.
Logan Green used to travel to Los Angeles to meet his girlfriend. Green used to make sharing rides for travelling the distance. However, the key point in their travelling was mostly his anxiety about unknown drivers and passengers.
On the other hand, John Zimmer used to own a car but didn’t have any possible rider to share his ride with. He noticed that 80% of seats are empty on American Highways.
Both the friends put up their thoughts together and created the carpooling service named Zimride in 2007. The logic behind naming Zimride was taken from Zimbabwe, where they encountered people sharing rides as their basic transportation.
Zimride was created by keeping college students in mind. It was created in a way to provide easy travel access to the campus carpooling. They also provided a good way for students to earn money through Zimride. Till the year 2012, Zimride had thousands of users with 150+ universities participating in the business. Even after the great achievement, the co-founders were left with some dissatisfaction in their minds.
To improve the business and provide more easy ways to the users, Logan Green and John Zimmer gave rise to Lyft.
“Lyft came out of a hackathon project where we were trying to figure out what does Zimride look like on mobile.” – Logan Green.
With the concept in mind, they built and launched the Lyft application in the year 2012. Soon after the launch of Lyft, it started raising enough funds for its development. Lyft also proved as a healthy competitor to already existing ride-sharing company Uber.
With the constant expansion of Lyft, the co-founders of Lyft concluded renaming Zimride “Lyft” in 2013. Along with that, they sold the Zimride services to Enterprise Holdings.
From there on, Lyft has successfully tried to accomplish its goal and is still on its way to success even after some rough waves.
Lyft – Mission and Vision
The mission stated by Lyft is to “Improve people’s lives with the world’s best transportation”.
The vision of Lyft is stated as “ride by ride, we are changing the way our world works. We imagine a world where cities feel small again. Where transportation and tech bring people together, instead of apart. We see the future as community-driven and it starts with you.”
Lyft – Name, Tagline, and Logo
Name
Lyft name of the vehicle is the general word “lift” and shares the same meaning. The idea behind naming Lyft ” originated after Logan Green observed people sharing minivan taxis in Zimbabwe. From there, the idea to name their startup Lyft ” originated, However, it was made in use after a few years when Zimride was renamed Lyft.
Tagline
The tagline of Lyft is Your Friend with a car.
The Initial thought of the Lyft founders was to enable safer and secure travelling options for daily commuters. The tagline itself suggests that a customer can trust their rider like a friend and can travel comfortably without worry.
Logo
Lyft Logo
In the first logo of Lyft, The Pink Moustache with the name Lyft was made. However, with time, only the name is left as its logo.
Yet, Lyft vehicles were found to have a big pink moustache attached in the front. The prime reason behind this was the old friend of the founder of Lyft named Ethan Eyler. Ethan Eyler was known to run a company at that time selling big pink moustaches that can be attached to vehicles in the front.
As for the logo of Lyft, all the letters of Lyft are written in small letters with Pink colours on a white background. The reason behind selecting the colour pink was to normalize the Lyft brand as more friendly for females riders. Lyft was originally planned as a fun-filled and friendly ride-sharing option for its users and hence selecting such a vibrant colour gives out a similar vibe to daily commuters.
Lyft is an on-demand ride-hailing platform. It enables the online connection of a ride needing the user to the rider available at the nearby location. The typical business model of Lyft works on the principle of Peer to Peer model.
It combines all the necessary details such as base charge, the distance covered, the per-minute charges, the per-mile cost, time of day, ride type, the chosen route, number of available drivers, current demand for rides, and any extra charges or taxes. With all this calculation, the only remaining part is the time required to reach the destination. After going through all these elements, the final fare is decided.
There are four basic steps in the Lyft Business Model. However, Lyft itself is compromised of two different parts, riders, and drivers.
Riders
The four basic steps for Riders are:
Requesting a Ride
In this step, a rider needs to download the application of Lyft and complete their profile. Once done with the basic process, they can start with the available options and decide according to their needs.
Coordination
This step is mainly done by Lyft. Lyft enables the nearby available Lyft ride as a suggested option as per the rider. Once matched, basic information is shared on both sides such as the live location of the driver with the vehicle information, and the driver’s name is shared with the rider. And the personal needed information about the rider is shared with the driver for their easy access to each other.
Ride
Once the request is accepted by the driver and the ride is accessed by the rider. The actual map of the destination is shared with the driver and real-time tracking is enabled for the safety of the rider.
Final Check With Payment and Ratings
Once the ride is completed, the final amount is displayed to both parties with the option of rating each other. A rider can rate the driver with needy comments and the same facility is given to the driver to rate their rides.
Drivers
Lyft has a slight change to the business models for those wishing to make money through driving but does not have their vehicle. For such people, Lyft has a dedicated Express Drive Program through which one can easily rent a car to drive. Before that, they need to get eligible to bypass the profile screening test. Once all this procedure is done, the driver can then start with their allocated process of four steps:
To Register As A Driver
For this process, Lyft has assigned them another application known as Lyft Driver App. After downloading the application, the driver needs to set up their profile with honest details. Once completed, they can then enable themselves on a Drive Mode to receive notifications from neighbouring locations.
Receiving A Request
After the drive mode is on, the Lyft application allows the nearby passenger’s details to be sent to the driver for the ride. A driver has the option of either accepting or neglecting the ride request based on their judgments.
Completing A Ride
When a ride is accepted by the driver, basic details are shared on both the sides by Lyft Application. Along with that real-time tracking is enabled for higher safety. Once the ride is completed, the Lyft application automatically calculates the payment based on multiple factors and displays them on the screen.
Payment and Ratings
A rider needs to pay up a shown amount to the driver. Once the whole process is complete, a driver can rate their riders on a scale of 1 to 5.
Lyft – Revenue Model
Lyft gets its revenue mostly from the bookings made through it. Bookings stand for the completed rides done through Lyft Application. Lyft takes a commission from each of those rides. 80% of each completed ride goes to its driver whereas 20% is taken by Lyft.
In the year 2020, Lyft earned its revenue of approximately $2.3 billion.
Lyft generates its revenue from multiple sources.
Commission From Bookings
This is the majorly constituting source of revenue. As explained above, Lyft cutes 20% of the total payment made by riders after completion of their rides as its commission.
Supply And Demand-Based Fare
Lyft has its prices hiked at certain periods of the day. This is done at the time of traffic, high demand for rides, and similar situations. In this model, Lyft hikes its price temporarily and earns extra profit through each ride.
Availing Subscription Plan
The subscription program of Lyft is called Lyft Pink for riders. Lyft allows its users with the subscription plan of paying $19.99 per month or $199 per year to avail of various benefits such as 15% off on rides, a few additional discounts, and many others. This model also earns Lyft a good source of revenue.
Multimodal Business Plan
Lyft is not confined to a single ride-sharing platform, it has a few different similar services on hand too. Lyft is an on-demand ride-sharing platform giving out four different options for rides. They have scooters and bikes, public transportation, ridesharing service, and a self-driving facility.
Amongst them all, users can easily select their preferred options such as for shorter distances, one can prefer bike and scooter or for some specific reason, one can go with the option of the self-driving vehicle. All this has also contributed to the revenue collected by Lyft.
DOOH
Digital-Out-Of-Door stands for the method of advertisement in a ride. This method is used by Lyft itself also to advertise for the self. Apart from that, Lyft also gives out advertisements to others in exchange for certain fees.
Lyft – Employees
Lyft has its headquarters in San Francisco. Apart from that, it has its offices set up in various locations. The total count of locations is 31 different located offices covering the parts of 6 countries.
As of 2021, Lyft was calculated to be having 4369 employees working for it.
Lyft provides its employees with several facilities as per their job positions. Some of the facilities given by Lyft are Insurance of different types, retirement plans, maternity and paternity leaves, paid holidays, etc.
Some of the key people of Lyft are:
Logan Green- CEO of Lyft
John Zimmer- President Of Lyft
Anthony Fox- Chief Policy Officer, Senior Advisor to President & CEO
Brian Roberts- Chief Financial Officer
Kristin Sverchek- President of Business Affairs
Eisar Lipkovitz- Executive Vice President, Rideshare and Engineering
Lyft has a total of 79 investors and 13 lead investors investing on its platform.
Date
Transaction Name
Money Raised
Lead Investors
Mar 1, 2019
Secondary Market
–
–
Jan 25, 2019
Secondary Market
–
–
Sep 20, 2018
Secondary Market
–
–
Jun 28, 2018
Series I
$600M
Fidelity Management and Research Company
May 4, 2018
Secondary Market
–
–
Mar 16, 2018
Corporate Round
$200M
Magna International
Dec 6, 2017
Series H
$1.1M
–
Dec 5, 2017
Series H
$500M
CapitalG, Rakuten
Oct 19, 2017
Series H
$1B
CapitalG
Sep 15, 2017
Secondary Market
–
–
From the time of its start till now, Lyft has participated in 27 rounds of funding and has received the amount of $4.9 billion. Their latest funding was raised on March 01, 2019.
Lyft – Acquisitions
Lyft has a total of 11 acquisitions with an investment of around $342M.
Kamcord
Leo
Cherry
YesGraph
Halo Cars
Flexdrive
Blue Vision Labs
Motivate
Hitch
DataScore
Lyft – Growth
Lyft was launched three years after Uber. Uber is considered the largest and most trusted ridesharing service in the United States. Earlier, Lyft was started as a ride-sharing company for long distances. But with time, they gave out different options for short distances too.
With this initiation, Lyft came out to be the biggest competitor to Uber. Uber was a well-settled company at that time, yet the growth seen by Lyft in its expansion was commendable. Lyft expanded roughly from 60 cities to 300 cities by the time of 2017.
Another thing that worked in the favour of Lyft was the anti-Uber Campaign in 2017. The campaign allowed Lyft to make its name by eating up Uber’s popularity. The market share earned by Lyft increased from 22% to 33% in the year 2018.
Lyft – Advertisement and Social Media Campaigns
Lyft uses multiple methods to advertise its brand. Lyft is known to take help from social media influencers for its typical advertisement of itself.
Some of the celebrity endorsers of Lyft are LeBron James and Nigel Sylvester. LeBron James is the celebrity influencer used by Lyft for its advertising strategy, whereas Nigel Sylvester is a YouTube content creator, helping them to reach a wider range of users.
Apart from this, Lyft also takes the help from passionate influencers having the ability to reach heights and advertise their platform.
Another common method used by Lyft for its advertisement is in the form of Digital-Out-Of-Home (DOOH). This means advertising a platform within a ride. Lyft also advertises itself by using this method. Lyft also uses Google Ads for socializing its platform.
Each brand keeps on introducing different campaigns to gain the attention of users. The two most successful campaigns launched by Lyft are:
Riding is the new driving.
How to Human.
Riding is the new driving– It was launched in 2016 with a one-minute message showing the traffic drive with a heart vibe.
How to Human campaign was launched in 2019 to normalize the world after a long fight with the COVID pandemic. Even though at that time, the pandemic was not over, few things were coming back to normal. During this campaign, Tinder also teamed up with Lyft for this campaign to avail free rides for the customers as an effort of easing the concept of socializing and dating.
Lyft – Online and Social Media Presence
Lyft has an active Social Media Presence across different platforms. Lyft uses social media platforms as a way of advertising itself. Along with that, it also uses different platforms for announcing new steps.
Social media platform
Followers
Twitter
289.3k
Instagram
180k
Facebook
658k
Lyft – Competitors
Lyft has about 30+ competitors in the market. The top three amongst them are:
Uber Technologies Inc.
Gett.
DiDi.
Uber
Uber is the biggest competitor of Lyft. It was launched in 2009. Uber Technologies Inc. is an American-based mobility service providing company. They serve 72 countries with approximately 10,500 countries. Services given by Uber include, ride-hailing services, food delivery services under the name of Uber eats, package and courier delivery, renting a vehicle, etc. Uber is the leading ride-sharing platform in the United States acquiring about 71% market share of rides sharing as noted in Jan 2022.
Gett
Gett, previously known as GetTaxi, is an Israeli-based transportation provider founded in 2010. Gett mainly focuses on Corporate Ground Transportation Management (CGTM). Areas served by Gett are Israel, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. Services provided by Gett are corporate fleet, taxi, ride-hailing, and providing limos to their customers as per their request.
DiDi
Didi Chuxing Technology Co. is a Chinese vehicle for hire company launched in 2012. The company deals with application-based transportation services. DiDi provides services to 400+ cities. Common services given by DiDi are Taxi, Express, Premier, Bus, Designated Driving, Enterprise Solutions, Bike Sharing, Car Rental, food delivery, etc.
Lyft – Future Plans
“Now more than ever, we need to work together to create cleaner, healthier, and more equitable communities,” said John Zimmer, co-founder, and president, of Lyft.
Lyft plans to reach 100% electric vehicles on its platform by the time of 2030. This move will help in decreasing the harmful emissions to the environment. Lyft plans to use 100% electric vehicles in 10 years. All the vehicles used on the Lyft platform will be either eligible as electric vehicles or will be reliable to zero-emission technology.
To fulfil this dream, from the year 2017, Lyft was known to work towards the development of electric cars. However, Lyft sold its self-driving unit to Toyota’s unit Woven Planet in 2021.
This step might seem like a hurdle for the future vision of Lyft. But on the better aspects, both the parties are bound in a contract to share data. This allows easy sharing of work between both the companies.
As no developing company would like to work on two aspects together. It is better for Lyft to work towards its main business of ride-sharing and for Woven Planet to work solely on the development part rather than taking interest in the ride-sharing business. With this assumption, we can look forward to having a better and clearer environment through the efforts of Lyft.
Lyft plans to fulfil its dream of establishing 100% autonomous vehicles but with a slight change in the actual plan by mainly focusing on its B2B branch.
Lyft – FAQs
Who is the founder of Lyft?
Logan Green and John Zimmer are the founders of Lyft.
What is Lyft?
Lyft is a ride-hailing service founded by Logan Green and John Zimmer.
Who is the CEO of Lyft?
Logan Green is the current CEO of Lyft.
When was Lyft founded?
Lyft was founded in 2012 by Logan Green and John Zimmer.
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.
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.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Coolberg.
In the Indian market, there hasn’t been much creativity in the soft drinks industry, and it has grown somewhat antiquated. Coolberg was created to provide a quality and creative soft drink substitute. New flavours and fashionable items are required in contemporary India. According to a recent poll, more than 80% of customers want to try alternatives to Colas. As a result, Coolberg, a drink for everyone, was developed.
Non-alcoholic beer can be made using a variety of methods. Some of which involve restricting the fermentation process and others require evaporation of alcohol from an ordinary beer. Coolberg uses the former method and keeps the fermentation of its beverages to a minimum.
Know more about the company profile, startup story, business model, founders, etc., of Coolberg by reading this article further.
Coolberg Beverages Pvt Ltd is a firm that makes non-alcoholic drinks. It is an Indian company that manufactures non-alcoholic beers to establish a new drink genre that is trendy, contemporary, and appealing.
The company’s beers are made with natural ingredients including herbs and barley malt and are available in a wide variety of flavours, giving drinkers and beverage fans a selection of interesting mocktails and beers to pick among.
Coolberg’s Malt Zero Alcohol Beer has a beer-like flavour, and its other malt-based drinks, such as Cranberry, Strawberry, Peach, Ginger, and Mint, provide a pleasant and fresh punch. The company’s goods appeal to a wide range of clients, including many who enjoy Coca-Cola and those who crave the flavour of the beer.
Coolberg – Industry
During the projected timeframe, the non-alcoholic beverage market is expected to grow at a rate of 4.7 per cent (2021-2026). COVID-19 is having a significant influence on the worldwide non-alcoholic beverage category, which is implementing numerous safety regulations, measures, and quality control to increase customer confidence.
Such initiatives have raised sales of items with functional advantages, such as immunological health, which are projected to have a favourable influence on the market; demand for high-sugar carbonated drinks has decreased both in off- and on-trade venues.
In 2020, the pandemic changed the package size scenario, with customers opting for larger pack sizes and multipacks since they are more cost-effective and eliminate the need for further regular shop visits.
The non-alcoholic beverage sector in India has experienced tremendous growth. Expanding middle-class populations, increased urbanisation, and rising disposable income are all contributing to this expansion.
Furthermore, with a population of 1.3 billion people, India is one of the world’s largest consumer marketplaces. It is also one among the youngest in terms of demographics, with over half of the population under the age of 25 and around 65 per cent under the age of 35.
According to an analysis, the Indian bottled non-alcoholic drinks industry is expected to rise at a rate of 16.2% from 2017 to 2030. Furthermore, because more individuals switch to packed beverages, the industry is expected to expand to USD 20.4 billion by the end of the projection period.
Coolberg’s slogan says, “Non-Alcoholic Beers Never Tasted So Good Before.”
Coolberg – Founders
Founders of Coolberg – Pankaj Aswani and Yashika Keswani
Coolberg was founded by Pankaj Aswani and Yashika Keswani in 2016.
Pankaj Aswani
Pankaj is the CEO and co-founder of Coolberg. His name was also included in Forbes’ list of the top 30 under 30 people in the world. He is a CA and a former banker.
Yashika Keswani
Yashika is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Coolberg Beverages Pvt. Ltd. She previously worked at MTLB as a Verbal Communication Expert, where she was responsible for content writing for print advertisements, idealising, designing posts for social media websites, managing pages on social media websites, blog writing, radio jingles, and content writing for brochures, visiting cards, and menu cards, among other things.
Coolberg – Startup Story
Pankaj and Yashika, a couple, established Coolberg in 2016. Pankaj is a teetotaller who does not drink alcohol, although he enjoys partying with his buddies. So many of his pals drank beer or other alcoholic beverages, but Pankaj preferred to consume Energy Drink or Apple Juice discreetly.
The trick was that both the options seemed to be beer in the glass, and friends didn’t push him to consume more alcohol. In several instances, he rescued himself. The greater problem was that there weren’t a lot of alternatives for non-drinkers, and Pankaj didn’t use to buy expensive mocktails with a lovely curled straw.
Pankaj and Yashika visited Australia and New Zealand after their marriage in early 2016. Pankaj had the same difficulty at many of the restaurants and clubs, that is where they discovered the non-alcoholic beer alternative.
Pankaj ordered Non-Alcoholic Beer right away and fell madly in love with it. This was the epiphany moment when a doorbell rang in both of their heads, and they tried to launch non-alcoholic beers in India, 12,000 kilometres away from the home.
When Pankaj and Yashika returned to India, they began working on the formulas and spent several months perfecting the formulation and putting in place all of the necessary equipment.
Coolberg was formed after a huge amount of work, and their idea of developing a non-alcoholic beer subcategory in India became a reality, and it is now on its way to being a great success.
Coolberg currently sells not just in India, but also in Africa, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, and other nations.
Coolberg aspires to be India’s biggest beverage firm in the premium non-alcoholic beverage sector. The Coolberg family has grown to over 300 members and is rapidly increasing.
Coolberg was formed, and their vision of establishing a non-alcoholic beer category in India became a reality, and it is now on its way to becoming a huge success.
Coolberg – Employees
Pankaj Aswani – Founder & CEO
Yashika Keswani – Co-Founder & COO
Sumanta Sarkar – Director of Sales Marketing
Aejaz Patel – Business Development Manager
Bhavin Rajde – Business Development Manager
Biman Kar – Business Development Manager – HORECA
Brijesh Gupta – Area Sales Manager
Dharmesh Kundaliya – Market Development Manager
Kapil Baviskar – Business Development Manager
Milan Das – Area Sales Manager
Coolberg – Business Model, and Revenue Model
“Coolberg was conceptualised looking at the needs of non-alcoholic consumers, I being one of them. There was a demand and it was met by imported stuff. We saw an opportunity in non-alcoholic beer segment and entered this business. We are increasing production every month,” Aswain said.
Coolberg is a millennial-oriented brand. It’s designed to have the optimum flavour, consistency, and scent, as well as youthful and colourful packaging. The product is now accessible in over 30 major cities and is supplied at over 2000 commercial outlets, the majority of which are cafes and restaurants.
The products are priced at Rs 109/- MRP and fall into the luxury segment. Coolberg has carved out its position in the marketplace, catering to customers who aren’t interested in alcoholic beverages.
When non-drinkers are socialising with friends and seeking a more grown-up option to the juice and soft drink alternatives present in the market, it also provides a fresh perspective.
Coolberg – Funding, and Investors
Coolberg has raised $3.5 million in two rounds of financing.
Date
Round
Amount
Lead Investors
Nov 13, 2019
Series A
$3.5M
RB Investments Pte. Ltd.
Aug 1, 2018
Seed Round
–
Anirudh Agarwal, India Quotient, Sanjay Mehta
Coolberg – Growth
Coolberg is a millennial-oriented brand. It’s designed to have the optimum flavour, texture, and scent, as well as youthful and entertaining packaging. The products are now accessible in over 30 major cities and are supplied at over 2000 retail touchpoints, the majority of which are restaurants and cafés.
The products are priced at Rs 109/- MRP and fall into the premium category. Coolberg does have its own place in the industry, catering to those who aren’t searching for alcoholic drinks.
When non-drinkers are socialising with friends and seeking a more grown-up alternative to the soft drink and juice alternatives available on the market, it also provides a fresh experience.
Coolberg is now accessible in 25,000 retailers across India, 4 years since its inception. Supermarkets, grocery shops, cafés, restaurants, colleges, airlines, and online mediums, all distribute it.
Pankaj, a Chartered Accountant, is in charge of marketing and statistics, while Yashika is in charge of organizing and advertising. According to Statista, sales in the soft drinks industry in India is estimated to reach $4,932 million by 2022, with the market growing at a 9.0% annual rate (CAGR 2021-2025).
Currently, the brand works with over 250 distributors that provide to a variety of retail outlets. Also, it sells directly to consumers through a range of online platforms.
Coolberg – Competitors
Counter Culture Coffee, Budweiser, Heineken, Kingfisher, Funkin, Boxed Water, and INCASUR are among Coolberg’s main competitors.
Pankaj Aswani, Founder of Coolberg Beverages Pvt Ltd, said, “Coolberg was conceptualised looking at the needs of non-alcoholic consumers, I being one of them. There was a demand and it was met by imported stuff. We saw an opportunity in the non-alcoholic beer segment and entered this business. We are increasing production every month.”
Coolberg Beverages Pvt Ltd intends to increase market dominance in terms of reaching out to several clients. The firm’s offerings, which include the manufacture and marketing of zero-alcohol beer, are currently accessible in 30 major locations across India. Such items were available in 2,000 outlets, including stores and restaurants. Coolberg now intends to increase its reach by ten times.
As of 2019, “This year our target is to make products be made available at 20,000 outlets, which is a 10 times growth in market expansion. We want to penetrate deep into the markets we are already in. It helps in better distribution and an efficient supply chain. Once we stabilise our operations in these markets, we will expand to new markets,” Aswani added.
Coolberg – FAQ
What does Coolberg do?
Coolberg Beverages Pvt Ltd is an Indian startup that makes non-alcoholic drinks.
Who founded Coolberg?
Coolberg was founded by Pankaj Aswani and Yashika Keswani in 2016.
When was Coolberg founded?
Coolberg was founded in 2016.
Which companies do Coolberg compete with?
Counter Culture Coffee, Budweiser, Heineken, Kingfisher, Funkin, Boxed Water, and INCASUR are among Coolberg’s main competitors.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by SFarmsIndia.
‘Buy land, they are not making it anymore’ a quote by Mark Twain, emphasizes the importance of Agri-Realty and its immense value. Agriculture as an asset class falls under the broad investment category of real assets which are physical in nature and provide hard tangible ownership. Agricultural land has become an attractive investment destination for several reasons. Most important of all being the strong market fundamentals in support of the sector on both the demand and supply side. Increasing population, changing demographics, reductions in arable land, fast urbanization, and climate change have led to the increased demand for agricultural lands. Agriculture lands have outperformed most asset classes throughout history, particularly on a risk basis when considering volatility. The NCREIF (National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries) Index which is the world’s agriculture benchmark has yielded an annual return of 13.69% since 2000 with a standard deviation of only 7.58%. This far outperforms equities, bonds, and other asset classes. Performance is expected to improve further over the next decade due to strong demand-supply fundamentals.
Owing to this high potential of agricultural land as an investment option, many HNIs in India are interested in investing in agricultural land as an alternative asset but are facing difficulty in finding/searching these lands. Again people from the mid-income group, though they want to invest in agricultural land, are not able to do so due to the lack of financing facilities. Besides, the farmers and agri-realty developers are also facing difficulties to sell agri lands due to lack of liquidity.
At present, there is no liquidity platform to buy/sell agri lands as most of the existing reality portals are focused into listing urban properties or houses/flats. The entire market is untapped and most of the transactions happen through agents reaping huge commissions and margins. To solve these problems and tap the market, SFarmsIndia- India’s First Agri Land Marketplace has created a liquidity platform to buy/sell agriculture lands, estate lands, eco farms, and farmlands.
Read more about SFarmsIndia Business Model, Founders, Revenue, Funding, Competitors, Growth, etc., here in this article.
SFarmsIndia is an online web application with two core functions; listing and fraction trading. These two functions work together creating a tellable synergy.
Listing Platform: On the listing platform buyers can find/search agricultural lands and sellers can list/post the agriculture lands for sale/lease. The seller has to sign up on the platform and choose the category of agri land that needs to be listed. Once listed, the buyer can search the agri lands based on the selected category and contact the buyer directly. It, therefore, creates liquidity for buying and selling of agri lands.
Based on the land type and functionality, SFarmsIndia categorizes the lands into four types which are as follows:
Agri Lands – Agriculture Lands, Non-Cultivated Lands, and Fruit Farmlands
Estate Lands – Coffee, Tea, and Rubber Estate Lands
Eco Farms– Ecological Sustainable Farms and Farmhouses
Collective Farms– Cooperative farms and Group farms
Fraction Trading Platform: SFarmsIndia’s main USP is that it makes an agreement with the seller (agri-realty developer) to issue fractions by digital land contract against their lands. The sellers/Agri reality developers can liquidate their big land parcels utilizing these fractions. Each agri land is assigned with a digital contract and divided into 2000 fractions per acre, thereby enabling medium to small income groups to acquire lands easily. Once the fractions are issued, they will be credited to the agri-realty developer’s wallet on the platform, and the developer can sell directly through the trading platform. Buyers can place orders to buy the fractions for whichever price they feel is right. The trade engine will automatically match their order with another customer’s orders of the opposite nature (BUY vs. SELL). All orders are displayed through the site’s interface. Users can either use the site via the web interface or connect through the API to access the trading platform. The trading platform uses a proprietary trading engine that is automated and manually overlooked.
Buyers are flexible to buy the smallest trade-able fractions of the agri land, and buyers can contact directly to the sellers hence no commission. Sellers can list and liquidate their agri lands very easily by issuing fractions. It’s a peer-to-peer platform; hence, no middlemen are involved.
Technology is the core of SFarmsIndias’ business operations. Using technology, they intend to create an effective and efficient platform for agri lands that can eliminate the middlemen who inflate the prices. SFarmsIndia has been taking one step at a time in building reality out of its vision. By doing so, SFarmsIndia aims to systematically engage in so far untapped agri realty market by changing the way agricultural land is transacted across India.
Agri Realty Industry Details
India presently has one of the lowest lands holding per capita, lower than the global average. According to the Agriculture Census, the total number of operational holdings in India numbered 138.35 million with an average size of 1.15 hectares per capita. Of the total holdings, 85% are in marginal and small farm categories of less than 2 hectares.
India is currently the second most populated country in the world but with a small land area, smaller than China with a similar population. In such a situation, farmland has gained prominence and hence difficult to acquire. The value of land has increased from 3-fold to 100-fold rise since 2000.
There has been a countrywide spike in the price of agricultural land due to a variety of reasons. All of India’s farmland was valued at over $2 trillion in 2010, and today it has grown to be valued at around $10 trillion. To put this figure into perspective, it is larger than the value of all the gold ever mined.
SFarmsIndia targets buyers and sellers of agri lands across India. Middle class to high net worth investors looking to invest in agri lands are considered an alternative asset class. According to the World Bank, India’s middle class is about 300 million and about 40 million people make up the higher middle class. Their average disposable income has grown year after year, leading into investment in agri realty. The size of agri land market in India is around $15 billion, which is untapped due to lack of liquidity and lack of financing facilities.
Around 3 million transactions (changing the property rights from one person to the other) happened in FY18-19, and 95% of these transactions took place via middlemen. However, with increasing digitalization trend is set to change, and the shift from middlemen to web platforms is inevitable.
Kamesh Mupparaju is the founder and CEO of SFarmsIndia.
Kamesh Mupparaju, Founder of SFarmsIndia
Kamesh Mupparaju is the founder and CEO of SFarmsIndia. Mupparaju has a B.Tech degree in Electronics and Telecommunications, followed by an MBA in Finance from Osmania University. Starting with Reliagre Commodities as a Research Analyst, Kamesh served many key leadership roles across companies including Padmakshi Financial Services Ltd., where he served as the Manager of Commodity Operations and Analysis; True Infotech, where he was a Sr Research Analyst. He then moved on to become an FX Analyst and Dealer at Six Capital, SGX Centre 1. Mupparaju finally decided to nourish his entrepreneurial abilities and founded ETHEXIndia (India’s first market place for Ethereum Tokens), after he served as a founding Board member of BTCXIndia (first Bitcoin exchange in India) for over 4 years. He also served as the Advisor of Blockonomics before founding SFarmsIndia.
SFarmsIndia Team
SFarmsIndia currently works with a well-knit team of employees.
How was SFarmsIndia Started
Kamesh, coming from a farmers’ family, had primary insights concerning the agricultural sector in India. He observed his father, a farmer by occupation struggle to sell his agricultural land. Kamesh realized that it was really challenging to sell his land since the land is located in the village, and the potential buyers were not aware of the sale. The same situation has been observed with some other farmers in the village. Besides, brokers are a hindrance in transactions due to non-transparency. Taking all these into account, it occurred that there should be a system in place that helps people like Kamesh’s father.
Kamesh started his journey of ideation by going through most of the property websites across India. From such intense research, he concluded that there is little or no focus on agricultural land and that there is no platform exclusively for agricultural lands. Nevertheless, in contrast to traditional property websites, the agri reality market is bigger in terms of valuation. As the research proceeded, Kamesh found that in Telangana alone, for FY 18-19, the agricultural land market size is Rs. 15,000 Cr (registration value), and the market value would be somewhere Rs 50,000 Cr. The area of the transacted land is 3.2 Lakh acres. This is only in Telangana and considering pan India he understood agri realty is a very big untapped market in India, hence figuring out the solution.
Going ahead, Kamesh decided to launch the web application, which consists of listing and fractional trading functionality. For the same his 12+ years of trading experience and functional experience of trade engine designs, proved helpful in designing and developing the trade engine and the listing platform. After rigorous testing, he launched the beta version of the listing platform on July ’18 and launched the beta version of fractional trading on Jan’19.
SFarmsIndia Launched the live fractional trading by Feb’19 with an MVP of 1.48 Acres. The physical land was divided into 2960 fractions ( 1 Acre= 2000 fractions) and delivered successfully. The company is in negotiations with agri- realty developers to launch big land parcels. SFarmsIndia went out of beta on May ’19 for the listing platform and moving forward with good traction.
Once Kamesh developed an understanding of the status and the existing gaps in the agri reality industry; he discussed the idea with a group of farmers at his village. Though there was some reluctance at the beginning due to apprehensions about the online system, they eventually like the idea. Farmers’ increasing frustration with the middlemen and the delayed process led farmers to associate with a platform that avoids middlemen and also provides effective prices for the land. As few transactions closed more farmers joined the platform.
SFarmsIndia – Name, Tagline, and Logo
SFarmsIndia Logo
Most of the big land banks/land parcels in India are barren lands or non-cultivated lands and most of the farmers in India hold small farms, which are cultivated not like those in the western countries. The small farms are productive in nature, and SFarmsIndias’ main objective is to convert barren lands into produce lands. Hence, the name SFarmsIndia, which means Small Farms in India.
As SFarmsIndia ventured into a unique and untapped market, the tag line was decided as ‘India’s First Agri Land Marketplace‘
The Logo colors refer to: “S” color – Sunlight “Farms” color – Land “India” color – Trees.
SFarmsIndia has a Freemium Model. It charges Rs 2000 for a pro account with three months subscription and Rs 5000 for a pro plus account with three months subscription. Besides, it also has a Fraction Trading Fee, which is capped at 0.5%, as a transaction fee on both buying/selling of the fractions.
SFarmsIndia – User Acquisition and Growth
Initially, SFarmsIndia has created the home page with three simple text lines; SFarmsIndia- India’s First Agri Land Marketplace, More details coming soon!! and Notify Me. Using the ‘Notify Me’ section, they have managed to collect emails of a few early adopters.
Later, Kamesh directly reached out to buyers via agri land meetups, agri tech launch pads, agriculture events, etc. where he shared his thoughts and ideas about the product and requested them to register for the beta launch. He then went to his village to get interested sellers onto the platform through direct contact.
I have researched the information of the interested sellers and created a preliminary database on the website. Ideally, the first 100 users came from these channels.
As SFarmsIndia attained a decent number of seller/property listings on their network, it reached out to potential buyers (who are early adopters and provide the email for notification) through email notifications, promotion in the WhatsApp groups, and social announcements.
In order to retain its customers, SFarmsIndia arranged a beta launch party in an eco-farm in Hyderabad after it reached 100 signups points. For the party, the company invited all its contacts, early signup customers, etc. It was a kind of meetup, where SFarmsIndia collected decent data of the available agri lands. Further, it also opened a customer service desk and did outbound calls for listings. Simultaneously it started promoting through Google Ad network, SMS network, and through social media. SFarmsIndia has spent around 2 million INR on marketing and promotions.
SFarmsIndia – Startup Challenges
Most of the farmers and Agri Realty developers are not technology literates to list their listings on the web platform directly. Hence, SFarmsIndia has faced challenges in terms of getting sellers onto the platform. In order to overcome this, the company has created a WhatsApp listing.
For this, we provided a customer care number on WhatsApp for the sellers to talk to our team in their language of choice and get assistance in listing their property on the platform. Our content editors would list on behalf of the sellers. This helped overcome the listing problems, and slowly the listing numbers started picking up.
SFarmsIndia – Funding and Investors
SFarmsIndia raised pre-seed funding worth $50k in July 2018.
Date
Stage
Amount
Investor
July 5th 2018
Pre-Seed
$50k
FFF
SFarmsIndia – Advisors and Mentors
Advisors at SFarmsIndia include: 1. Linus Lindgren, advisor for business strategy. 2. Siva Sitamraju, Mtech(IIT-D) is an advisor for technology.
SFarmsIndia – Awards
Super Agridigital Solutions Pvt. Ltd, the company behind SFarmsIndia, is recognized as a Start-up by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Govt of India under Start-up India initiate.
SFarmsIndia has gained traction with over 5000 signups, over 1300 listings and over 200 deals changing hands. Added to this, over 2960 fractions equivalent to 1.48 acre have been traded and delivered. It is the only platform in India exclusive for agri lands where agricultural lands can be listed and traded. Therefore, SFarmsIndia has the opportunity to tap at least 10% of the estimated $15 billion Indian agri realty market.
In the short term, SFarmsIndia envisions to get the highest number of listings in their listing platform for Agri-Realty and create a unique market: an intersection of Agritech, Agri-Realty and Online Marketplace for buying and selling Agri lands. Over the long-range, SFarmsIndia aims become the most respected and trusted brand for on-demand trading/liquidity solutions in Agri-Realty market and tap at least 10% market share in Agri Realty.
Buyers and sellers already love our listing platform. SFarmsIndia is an early-stage startup with good traction in place. We hope the future is bright for us since investment in agri lands is a good alternative asset class – Kamesh Mupparaju says
SFarmsIndia – FAQs
Who founded SFarmsIndia?
Kamesh Mupparaju and Linus Lindgren founded SFarmsIndia in 2018
What is SFarmsIndia?
SFarmsIndia- India’s First Agri Land Marketplace has created a liquidity platform to buy/sell agriculture lands, estate lands, eco farms and farmlands.
What is the main function of SFarmsIndia?
SFarmsIndia is an online web application with two core functions; listing and fraction trading. These two functions work together creating a great synergy.
What is the tagline of SFarms India?
As SFarmsIndia ventured into a unique and untapped market, the tag line was decided as ‘India’s First Agri Land Marketplace‘
We all know Marvel. The world’s biggest and most celebrated Superheroes Fiction producer, but it is more than just that. If we peek into its history, it is as big as it gets. Starting from a pulp fiction comic producing name, it has travelled a journey that is not spoken much. This is an article covering that journey. From almost bankruptcy to producing an enormous Cinematic Universe and huge fandom. The journey, that is heroic in every sense.
Marvel came into existence in 1939. When a comic book publisher named Martin Goodman thought to make some cash from the growing market of comic books. The title was “Timely comics” under which the first comic was published as Marvel One. Comics were short books with an average of 32 pages and at that time were just starting out. They showcased some superheroes, with their usual work of fighting the bad and re-establishing peace in the world. Superheroes like the Human torch and submariner turned the air in the town. As the comics were making their cult, More superheroes came to uplift the ground for marvel. The most important was Captain America who made a debut in 1941 as a fighting soldier. That was an outbreak almost instantly.
Timely Comics logo
That era, now called the “Golden Era” of comics, was the beginning of Comics celebration and Marvel. If we look back to the history of ‘how comics have travelled through time’, we can map several ages depending upon their types and traits.
The Era of World War Two. The era in time when heroes like Superman, Captain America, Wonder Woman, and Batman came in their debut. These were patriotic heroes, fighting the evil and inaugurating peace. Many times Heroes could be seen fighting real world bad guys like Hitler in the comics. The time couldn’t be perfect, the heroes struck a chord and people loved them. It laid a strong base of love for Comics as well as Super Heroes. Even in the aftermath of the traumatic times, comics were seen as a way for children to ease up their fear of war, and to neutralise their anxiety.
The Comic Age
Marvel – Silver Age (1956-70)
Then came the silver age when comics with a strong base became the mainstream source of entertainment among Americans. This was the time when the golden age heroes lost a little of their shine. Heroes were tailored with time, and then we had Spiderman and The Fantastic Four. These were more into the area of mystery and horror genres.
Silver Age Representation
Marvel – Bronze Age (1970-85)
This was more commonly known as the continuing age, when the heroes from the past (Most famous), that is from the golden era continued to showcase some past issues like poverty and drug abuse.
Marvel – Modern Age (1985-present)
The time after 1985 is the modern age of comics that is still continuing, when superheroes from comics are taken from the books, to a new genre of Movies and Series and Spin Offs. The deep dive into the world of Science Fiction.
Later on, after the inception, Martin saw a surge in readers as commissioned writers like Stan Lee and Jack Kirby started to write for the comics. They made the heroes more personal and neighbourhood friendly than ever. Heroes like Spiderman and Fantastic Four were a hit with this hack. With these characterisations and stories connected and rooted to normal life, These writers were a hit and they pioneered the time of young new talent of writers. Writers like Jim Steranko, who introduces Nick Fury (A Fictional Secret Agent) added in the wind’s direction. Revitalising of X-Men based on comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and recurrence of Captain America as a patriotic soldier was a fad.
The Marvellous Story
Marvel Comics and superheroes
After the golden age of comics and the success of heroes like Captain America, Martin changed the title to Atlas Comics. That experimented with new genres. Again in the 1960s, the comic producer changed its name to Marvel Comics after DC (Another Comic producer and their largest competitor) entered the market in the silver age. They both were the top players at that time. Soon Marvel got bigger and bigger and went public in 1991. As it got huge, management issues crept in and the company went almost bankrupt in 1996 and surprisingly sailed through the bankruptcy and got up again in 1998. Soon out of the pit, they started diversifying into digital comics and Marvel Cinematic Universe under the name of Marvel Studios. Which eventually was bought by Walt Disney in 2009.
As Marvel diversified, They started to work on movies. In 2012 they dropped The Avengers, A film starring Iron Man, Captain America and Thor. All these characters were already hit and now a film starring all these was a recipe for success. In the 21st Century, Marvel saw that the most profits are from Toys and Video games of famous Heroes and merchandise of blockbuster releases.
Dissecting the growth of Marvel
(and How it managed to scale heights)
I Hate Sequels. They are never as good as the first book – Connie Wills (American Writer)
Ed Catmull, Pixar’s CEO, describes movie sequels as a form of “creative bankruptcy”
It is evident with our personal experience too that, there is very little chance of a sequel doing better among fans than the original movie. But Marvel has kept redefining it again and again for over a decade now. If it happens once or twice, it’s luck but Marvel seems to have somehow found a formula for back to back blockbuster releases. Some of the key aspects that we can notice are –
Equality to Flow and Renewal
Marvel is trying (and succeeding) to follow initials and future growth. That means the comic giant is good in the continuity of its characters and the customer retention that comes with it. They are good at managing the past flow. Another thing is that Marvel is also in parallel renewing its ideas around superheroes to experiment.
Exceeding Predictions
Ask any Marvel fan, every movie is prediction proof. Marvel knows how to violate expectations in a fun way. Let us take an example of a famous franchise, Thor. The first part is super classic and establishes a good overview of the character, The second part is totally different in tone and the third is a comedy mixed with Hulk. This adds some suspense feel to Marvel releases.
Rollercoaster tone
This observation is more of an addition to the last mentioned step. If we pinpoint tones used in movies in the original order then we will find a graph that is a nice ZIGZAG figure. Showing the roller coaster of emotions or tones used in creating these movie masterpieces.
Marvel knows how to retain its fans and that is how it has managed to create a Universe of Fandom out of comics.
Lesser Known Facts about Marvel
During the early 90s, Michael Jackson tried to buy Marvel Comics. The reason behind it was that he wanted to star as Spider-Man in his version of the movie.
During Marvel’s boom in 1984, the head of Warner Communications’ publishing approached former Marvel editor Jim Shooter for licensing the publishing rights to the entire DC Comics universe.
DC refused the offer and continued to publish comics. Later on, DC became a hit with readers as Marvel hit bankruptcy in 1996.
Venom was created by a fan in 1982 in a contest held by Marvel Comics. Randy Schueller submitted a concept art for a storyline that involved Spider-Man upgrading his suit to all black for stealth purposes.
A character named Jihad was introduced eleven days before the 9-11 attack. Jihad was introduced as a character bent on world destruction and conquest. However, due to the sensitivity after the historical event of 9/11, the character was written off.
The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley’s trademark haircut was based on the Marvel superhero, Captain Marvel Jr.
The Men in Black is owned by Marvel. Originally owned by Malibu Comics, Marvel bought the rights for The Men in Black in 1994. This would mean that all films, shows, and video games have been produced by Marvel.
FAQs
When was Marvel comics founded?
Marvel Comics was founded on 1939 in New York.
Who was first Marvel superhero?
Sub-Mariner was the first Marvel Superhero.
Who is the most popular Marvel superhero?
Some of the most popular Marvel superheros are:
Spider-Man
Iron Man
Captain America
The Hulk
Thor
Wolverine
Ant-Man
The Wasp
Black Widow
Captain Marvel
Who is owner of Marvel Studios?
The Walt Disney Company is the owner of Marvel Studios.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verifiedinformation ondifferent startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by PokerDangal.
One great aspect of digitization is the fascinating online games that are taking on the world at a skyrocketing speed. It’s literally like being in this global village of the dream world. To make the online gaming zone more interesting and taking it on the edge, this group of four brilliant entrepreneurs namely Varun Mahna, Varun Puri, Karan Gandhi and Shashwat Jain launched PokerDangal in the year 2017.
PokerDangal is an Indian online poker gaming platform. It is the flagship product of Xeta Networks Pvt Ltd, an online gaming company from Hatu, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The game, as goes its title, is a poker game, developed with an aim to redefine Poker in India. PokerDangal was founded in 2017 by Varun Mahna, Varun Puri, and two other co-founders, Shashwat Jain and Karan Gandhi. PokerDangal is currently registered in Kolkata and headquartered in New Delhi. It also has small offices in Kolkata and Chennai as well.
On www.pokerdangal.com, the users can opt to play a range of exciting tournaments and cash games in a safe game-playing environment.
PokerDangal is available for desktop users, along with the users of Android and iOS, where they can play three variations of poker:
Texas Hold’em Poker, the most popular of the variations in the world
Four card pot limit Omaha
Five card pot limit Omaha.
Though the four card pot limit Omaha was already there even before PokerDangal, the five card pot limit Omaha was first introduced by PokerDangal, which has gone on to become the most favourite variation of poker on the platform now. The fast speed and the wide range of probabilities and possibilities are some of the factors that distinguish the five card variation from the rest.
“It appeals to the statistical and analytical abilities in people,” said Varun.
While playing any of the three variants of the poker matches in PokerDangal, the players can choose to play individual cash games or get involved in a tournament. Emotional control, analytical ability and strategy are 3 important characteristics that define a good player from the other players.
The online is at par with the physical game in nearly all thinkable aspects. However, there are only a couple of differences that exist between a physical game and the online PokerDangal. For instance, a player can change his/her strategy when playing a physical game of poker based on the observations from the other players. Another point of difference is that while on a physical game of poker an individual can concentrate only on one game whereas on online PokerDangal he/she can play multiple games together.
The guiding principle of PokerDangal is to enrich the online gaming industry in India along with extending a safe, reliable, and fun ecosystem for the players of the country.
The online gaming industry is a brilliant example of a flourishing industry. With the emergence of fantasy gaming platforms and other gaming brands offering a wide range of games of varied nature to the audiences, the gaming industry looks at a bright future ahead.
The Indian online gaming sector has already reached $1.027 billion in 2020, which stood at around $543 million only in 2016, thereby showing a growth of ~17.3%. The current trajectory that it is exhibiting now would make the industry climb to $2 billion by 2023. Furthermore, the number of online gamers in India, which currently stands at 360 million, is estimated to grow to 510 million by 2022.
The online poker games, holding the hands of PokerDangal, have already started to disrupt the online gaming industry of India with huge potential.
How to earn money from online poker games in India
PokerDangal – Founders and Team
Varun Mahna, Varun Puri, Shashwat Jain and Karan Gandhi founded PokerDangal in the year 2017.
The Xeta Networks and PokerDangal founding team.
Varun Mahna, Founder & CEO – Varun pursued his MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur and graduated in B.E Computer Science from BITS Pilani. Before PokerDangal, he was in the position of HR Lead at Star Sports.
Varun Puri, Founder & COO – Varun Puri holds a bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering from BITS Pilani. This is not his first time being an entrepreneur. His first venture was Neevtech India which is a leading exporter of agricultural machinery to Europe.
Shashwat Jain, Co-Founder & CTO – Shashwat did his Engineering from IIT Dhanbad and has headed the position of VP Analytics for quite a few ventures like Box8, Amazon, Mu Sigma, etc.
Karan Gandhi, Co-Founder – Karan holds a degree in B.Com from Delhi University and has previously worked in big brands like Zomato and NDTV.
Currently, PokerDangal has a team of 25 people with the key members being Manan Sobti, Sahil Parakh, Anurag Upadhyay and Akshat Bharadwaj. This team is a close-knit unit with zero attrition in the last 2.5 years.
How was PokerDangal Started?
Varun Mahna, the founder of PokerDangal, was a student of BITS Pilani when he was first introduced to poker in 2005. Varun and his friend Varun Puri joined various poker groups and enjoyed playing poker during their university days.
Varun next joined XLRI Jamshedpur, where poker was again a favourite. With the passage of days, Varun’s love for the game only grew. He then went on to join Star Sports and this is the first time when his attention was drawn towards online poker.
Varun soon found his interest in online poker and switched to the online form of the game. Online poker was yet a new concept back then but had the potential to disrupt the gaming industry. To leverage this opportunity, Varun decided to found his own company along with his engineering batchmate Varun Puri, Shashwat Jain, Karan Gandhi under the name Xeta Networks, the parent company of PokerDangal, which eventually gave rise to the latter.
The founders and co-founders together invested close to Rs. 30 lakhs from their personal savings and initially started working from a friend’s house.
PokerDangal – Name, Tagline and Logo
PokerDangal logo
The PokerDangal team wanted a catchy name and the one that signified high octane action. The founders turned to be big fans of Bollywood and the movie Dangal inspired them to get an apt name for their gaming startup. There’s a line in the movie that says that “Dangal is not only a physical battle but also a mind game where one has to out-think their opponent.” That is what stayed with the founders and that’s how they decided to call the platform PokerDangal, as it is a mental duel.
The tagline of PokerDangal is ‘Where Skills Meet Fortune’, which is built with an endeavour of redefining Poker in India. Besides, they also use #AbDangalHoga, which is again inspired by Dangal.
The logo is a thoughtful mixture of acute sumo who is ready for a battle. It is coloured in a mixture of blue and white and is ingeniously crafted where a silhouette of a sumo wrestler is embedded on one of the chips of poker along with containing the initials of PokerDangal “PD”.
PokerDangal – Startup Launch
“We provide an online poker platform available on iOS, Google Play Store and Desktop versions for the users. A user can download our app, create their account, complete their KYC and profile and start playing at a time and place of their convenience.” says the founder proudly.
Interestingly, users can also deposit and withdraw money in their bank accounts. The business of online gaming is differentiated on customer acquisition, customer retention and customer engagement. With PokerDangal’s core strengths of understanding user behaviour, data analytics, and operational excellence, the tea was able to outpace the market on each of these 3 levels. The prime success in this business depends on how well is the CAC: LTV optimized.
Since its inception, the team has made major changes to the product and the way they conduct business. The product has been upgraded multiple times post the feedback from the users. Also, they have consistently integrated the feedback to create a better product and this is an ongoing process.
“From a policy point, we made a big change in April 2018 when we introduced instant cash-out on the platform. A user can withdraw their money 24/7/365 and the money hits the bank account in less than 10 seconds,” said Varun Mahna.
PokerDangal – USP and Innovation
The USP of PokerDangal lies in the fact that the platform takes an interest to popularise poker in India and serves as a safe, interesting, and rewarding gaming platform for the existing poker players of the country.
PokerDangal was the first platform to introduce the five card pot limit Omaha. Furthermore, it also serves as a platform that allows the players to play at multiple tables simultaneously.
PokerDangal – Business Model and Revenue Model
PokerDangal has mainly 2 revenue streams.
The first revenue stream is from the tournaments the platform conducts. They charge a 10% service fee on the entry fee for a tournament.
The second revenue stream is from the cash tables, where the platform charges a 3-4% service fee on the amount wagered by the users on the tables.
The toughest part for PokerDangal was for them to sustain the concurrent traffic on the platform. To make this happen, they came up with a brilliant “refer a friend” program which fueled the traction and incentivized players to refer their friends to play on the PokerDangal platform. Poker as a game is typically learned and played in a group and hence each user on the platform had a circle which the team leveraged to its benefit with this campaign.
So ideally PokerDangal made its users its brand ambassadors where they were getting tremendous value to refer their friends as well. Refer a friend as a marketing tool has multiple benefits – it is relatively cheap and it creates a very positive brand image for the consumers being referred. For the initial months, spends on this campaign were very limited but the team did a lot of strategic tie-ups to ensure that they are reaching out to the target consumers most effectively. As a part of the plan, they also tied up with some of the top B-schools and Engineering colleges in the country and promoted PokerDangal during their annual festivals and meets. Interestingly, those partnerships are still in place and PokerDangal is now the official gaming partner for colleges like XLRI, MDI, etc.
Also, one of the most challenging parts was when PokerDangal was just 6 months old and wanted to raise some funds to scale the business operations. The founder team identified that to sustain in the industry it is important to hasten their user acquisition which in turn required a significant spend. So they decided to reach out to a few angel investors to understand the sentiments about the industry and they got a lot of positive responses from the people whom they reached out to. And they were finally funded by an angel investor in July 2018.
PokerDangal’s biggest success was successfully implementing instant cash-outs which allows the users to withdraw their winnings in just 30 seconds to their bank accounts 24/7. This strategic shift was a huge change in the way the team conducted the business operations.
PokerDangal has raised a total of Rs. 7.30 crores in its latest funding round. The funding stabilized PokerDangal and helped in scaling the operations optimally.
Date
Deal Type
Amount
Jan 2021
Series A
Rs. 7.30 Crores
Aug 2018
Angel Investors
–
PokerDangal – Acquisitions and Mergers
In the first year, PokerDangal acquired a struggling poker platform named PokerMet. The team acquired PokerMet’s user base, assets and merged its operations with PokerDangal.
PokerDangal – Competitors
Some of the big players in this segment are Adda52, Pocket52, and PokerStars. The sector is very cut-throat and one has to be on their toes to stay competitive. The focus on providing a delightful customer experience is a key differentiator for this online gaming business. The users need a platform where they have complete faith and hence it is important to be transparent in the policies and actions. PokerDangal is amongst one of the firms to have the best customer support system and that was the key to their growth. Also, this was the first company in the country to introduce instant cash-out and 5 cards PLO which are hugely popular with the user base.
PokerDangal – Growth
The registered user base of more than 2,00,000 players.
A monthly deposit of more than INR 4.9 Crores.
The business saw a 14x growth over the last 12 months.
The average monthly turnover is INR 60 Crores.
The monthly revenue clocked in October 2019 was INR 2.5 Crores.
Tagged as an EBITDA positive company.
Amongst the top 4 real money poker sites.
PokerDangal is about to enter the fantasy/rummy business.
PokerDangal – FAQs
Who are the Founders of PokerDangal?
Varun Mahna, Varun Puri, Shashwat Jain and Karan Gandhi founded PokerDangal in the year 2017.
What does PokerDangal Offer?
PokerDangal offers a plethora of exciting tournaments and cash games to the players who want to put their skills to test in online Poker.
How much is PokerDangal Funding to date?
PokerDangal has raised a total of Rs. 7.30 crores in its series A funding round.
How much is PokerDangal’s Turnover?
A monthly deposit of more than INR 4.9 Crores. The business saw a 14x growth over the last 12 months. The average monthly turnover is INR 60 Crores. The monthly revenue clocked in October 2019 was INR 2.5 Crores.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Onsitego.
All of us know how difficult and cumbersome a process it is to avail of after-sale services after the manufacturer’s warranty is over. Even after a lot of follow-ups and calls, seldom is there a chance for the consumers to avail themselves of top-notch after-sale services. To provide a constructive solution to this problem, Kunal Mahipal launched OnesiteGo company in the year 2010.
Sowhat is Onsitego? Onsitego is a platform that provides hassle-free after-sales services for consumer electronics and appliances. This firm has a Pan India service with regional offices in key cities. The flagship products include Extended Warranty, AMC (Annual Maintenance Contract), Screen Protection and Spills & Drops Protection Plans.
It also provides coverage on electronics across 30+ categories and covers almost all brands of consumer appliances and devices. So the idea is to be the most customer-obsessed company in the world and the mission driving this company is to consistently deliver‘Wow’ experiences to customers.
Let’s go through the Journey of Onsitego along with knowing about the Onsitego Company Profile, How it Works, Founder, Funding, Revenue, Business Model and more
Onsitego also known as Onsite electro services private limited,provides hassle-free after-sales services for consumer electronics and appliances. It offers three plans including Extended Warranty, Spills & Drops Protection and the Screen Protection Plan. The Onsitego CEO is Kunal Mahipal, while he is also the one and only onsitego founder. The onsitego office address is located in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Extended Warranty Plan
Onsitego warranty is the flagship product. It ensures that the customers can maintain their electronic products in pristine new condition several years after the manufacturer’s warranty has expired. The customers can also avail the onsitego extended warranty. According to onsitego review, these plans cover all devices and home appliances, be they small or large purchased in India and are available for purchase on the website, Amazon, Croma and Vijay Sales stores to only name a few.
The Spills & Drops Protection Plan
It can only be purchased for mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and digital cameras, which covers all kinds of physical and liquid damage that are not covered in the manufacturer’s warranty. The onsite electro services plan ensures that any damage to your device in the first 12 months of ownership is taken care of by the platform.
The customer also gets an onsitego replacement policy, as the damaged device is picked, serviced and delivered to the customer’s doorstep, at no extra cost. The onsite go mobile insurance also helps many customers in keeping their mobiles safe.
The Screen Protection Plan
The platforms screen protection plan covers damage only to the screen of the phone or tablet. Any kind of damage to the screen can make life miserable but this plan ensures that the customers can get protection for the part of the device that is most fragile; at a lesser cost.
The onsitego service centers which are brand-authorized and partnered are estimated to be 400-450 across India, and this shows that onsitego customer care is top-notch. The onsitego protection plan ensures that devices and appliances in the extended warranty period and damage protection plans are repaired by technicians who are best equipped to handle them.
Kunal Mahipal has a post-graduate diploma in Business from IIM- Bangalore. Before founding Onsitego, he worked with firms like Edelweiss Capital, Citibank, etc. The onsitego offices are located in Bengaluru, while its headquarters are in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
The Onsitego team is a fantastic blend of people who care, very deeply, about Customer Experience.
“Coming together to launch onsite electro services private limited wasn’t easy. It took time but the most important trait that we all had was the desire to deliver the best in class customer service, which brought us together. Having an established root in the market for the last 10 years, we have gained a strength of over 300 employees across offices Pan India.” Says Kunal, Onsitego Founder
All in all, right from those who work in the call centre, to those who manage service operations, everyone here has a common trait i.e., the desire to deliver superior Customer Experiences. The company aims to provide good onsitego customer care as it relies on its customer’s feedback. It now has an onsitego app through which customers can send in their onsitego service requests.
Onsitego – Target Market Size
The target market share for Onsitego is around 23%, including device protection. The consumer device protection market is estimated to be at a $ 1.1 billion market. The overall after-sales services market is expected to be around $5.3 billion by FY24.
“It was my personal experience of receiving sub-par repair service for my mobile phone that led me to recognize the unmet need for hassle-free and reliable post-purchase services. The hassle that I had to go through just to get a device dropped and collected from a service center made me recognize the need for reliable post-purchase services.” recalls Kunal Mahipal, (onsitego owner).
It began as a B2C company for providing after-sales services to mobile phone users. It provided the service of picking up mobile phones from customer locations and delivering the devices back to their homes after the servicing is done, its onsitego service request has now become popular.
It did not take long for the team to realize that going after individual customers was not a capital-efficient model. This lead the company to pivot towards the current B2C model, where it tied up with various retailers, and acquired customers through these retailers.
Onsitego – Logo and Tagline
‘Good Things Last Longer with Onsitego’ is the Onsitego tagline. While the onsitego logo sums up the overall proposition of Onsitego.
Onsitego business model is based on offering extended warranty, annual maintenance contracts, and damage protection plans for devices and appliances by partnering with India’s top retailers, marketplaces, and consumer finance companies. Its onsitego replacement policy, screen protection plan and onsitego tracking are some of its popular services through which onsitego revenue is generated. While one can also buy its plans directly from its website.
Onsitego – Revenue
The founder-entrepreneur is expecting Onsitego revenue to grow about eight-fold in a few years by reaching INR 600 crore by 2020, INR 1,200 crore in the year after that and INR 2,400 crore in the subsequent year.
Onsitego – Startup Challenges
The challenge in the retail industry has always been awareness about useful services and the impact on a business owner’s bottom line. The team had to invest significantly in driving home the point that their services are a win-win-win for all involved, i.e. the customer gets hassle-free service without leaving their homes, the retailer drives customer loyalty and retention and Onsitego acquires the customer’s trust in its services.
The onsitego reviews were not great in the beginning, so the team has also built an effective customer engagement program through useful content that made them the preferred brand that customers kept coming back to.
Onsitego funding has raised $32 million to date. With its ongoing Series B round, it has raised $30 Million. Some of the main onsite go investors are Zodius Growth Fund and IFC. It will be using the freshly raised funds to consolidate its market position and strengthen its B2C offerings like AMC, home protection and on-demand services.
Below are the onsitego funding details
Date
Stage
Amount
Investors
2015
Series A
$2 Million
Accel Partners
February 2020
Series B
$20 Million
Zodius Growth Fund
September 2020
Series B
$10 Million
IFC
“India is one of the largest and fastest-growing appliances and consumer electronics (ACE) markets globally and the ACE protection market is significantly underdeveloped. There is a clear market need for innovative and customer-service-focused players like Onsitego to drive growth in this market.” Said Jun Zhang, Country Head India at IFC
Onsitego – Growth
The customer base of 6 million in India.
Adding 1.2 lakh customers monthly.
Targeting a revenue of INR 340 crores in FY19-20.
Collaboration with Croma, Vijay Sales, and Amazon India.
Also available at regional speciality stores like Sanket, Great Eastern and Value Plus.
Partnered with leading consumer finance companies like ICICI, Axis, HDB and Kotak Mahindra.
In 2020, OnesiteGo expanded its services with brand warranty services for international marquee brands like Toshiba and Hamilton Beach Brands as well as launched new plans like AMC, Annual Maintenance Contract for Air Conditioners and Water Purifiers, and Assured Buyback for Smartphones. While its services such as onsitego tracking, onsitego service request, onsitego replacement policy and the onsitego protection plan have increased its efficiency.
“We are a Customer Service company. We are focused on the customer and the experience we provide them. That focus is reflected in our product and process design, we are the only company that does not have a fine print for the customer. We have a ‘No Questions Asked’ policy, which means that our customers don’t have to go through paperwork or a difficult claims process. We have the highest acceptance rate of 99.4% in the industry and also the highest NPS score.”- Said Kunal when asked about the Onsitego competitors.
Onsitego – Future Plans
To launch a new business line of onsite electro services to meet the needs of those who may or may not have Onsitego’s products and can avail of repair services for a small fee.
The company is also planning to expand its coverage to customers from other lending options such as debit cards and credit cards.
As far as NPS is concerned, it has the highest customer satisfaction / NPS scores globally in the category.
It is also planning to launch IPO in the next 3-4 years.
It is the warranty in which the repair work in the warranty period is done at your doorstep.
Who is the Founder of Onsitego?
Kunal Mahipal is the Founder & CEO of Onsitego
How much is the Revenue of Onsitego?
The founder-entrepreneur is expecting Onsitego’s revenue to grow about eight-fold in a few years by reaching Rs 600 crore by 2020, Rs 1,200 crore in the year after that and Rs 2,500 crore in the subsequent year
Who are the Top Competitors of Onsitego?
OnsiteGo’s top competitors include OneAssist Consumer Solutions, Dimensional Inspection Laboratories, MoveTheDial
Who is the CEO of Onsitego?
Kunal Mahipal is the Founder & CEO of Onsitego
What is Onsitego’s Funding to date?
Onsitego has raised $32 million to date. With its ongoing Series B round, it has raised $30 Million. Which were led by Zodius Growth Fund and IFC in Feb and Sept 2020.
In India, it is almost impossible to find a person who does not have any idea about video creating app TikTok. On its website, TikTok describes itself as “a destination for short-form mobile videos.”
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company, which has been around since 2012 and is valued at $425 billion, as of July 2021. According to the latest news dated September 28, 2021, TikTok is currently used by around 1 billion users every month. In fact, it’s generating so much attention that TikTok parent, ByteDance was recently crowned the world’s most valuable startup.
History
TikTok (formerly known as musical.ly) is a free social media platform that lets you watch, create, and share, discover short music videos — often to a soundtrack of the top hits in music, usually of 15 seconds. The app musical.ly was used by young people as a platform to express themselves and showcase their talents through singing, dancing, comedy, lip-syncing, and other activities.
Though TikTok was originally available as musical.ly in the U.S. but was rebranded when Musical.ly merged with TikTok on 2 August 2018, to create a ‘bigger and better short-video community’ when the two apps merged in August 2018. The app is now called TikTok, complete with a new logo. The app has all of the same features as musical.ly and allows users to create videos recorded in 15 seconds or less and share them across a community.
TikTok incorporates the most popular elements of both apps with a feed that highlights the users’ community. In addition to this, a “For You” feed uniquely recommends the relevant videos based on the users’ interest and viewing preferences. The video clips on the platform may only be 15 seconds long but they are having a big impact on the audience.
With more than 1 billion users, TikTok is incredibly popular, owing in part to its slick mashup of features from other kid favorites. As with the lip-synching app Dubsmash, users can watch and record videos of themselves lip-syncing to popular music and soundtracks. And just like YouTube, TikTok is an interactive world of videos that lets you connect with friends and admirers through likes, comments, and even duets.
About CEO of TikTok
ByteDance’s CEO and founder is Zhang Yiming, a 35-year-old entrepreneur. Information about Zhang is scarce as he doesn’t give many interviews but he has even created a real estate search engine. He has studied at Nankai University.
Zhang Yiming – CEO of TikTok | CEO & Founder of ByteDance
In a 2015 speech at his alma mater, Zhang revealed a few other details about himself. He is a big fan of biographies and spent a lot of time in college reading. He said he is socially awkward, precisely a “science man” who introduces himself at school reunions with “Hi, I installed your computer.” During college, he used to build websites and did tech troubleshooting for extra money. As an added bonus, it helped him meet his wife.
ByteDance is the Chinese version of Facebook. It was launched in 2012 in Beijing. It has chat apps and news apps. After acquiring an AI company, it jumped onto the video-sharing bandwagon. In 2015, it launched a Chinese video app called ‘Douyin’, which was a great hit.
In 2017, the concept of Douyin was taken further in the form of TikTok, when there was already a lot of competition from Musical.ly, a video sharing app, which was already there at that time in the market. However, ByteDance soon acquired it and merged Musical,ly’s userbase with TikTok. In December 2017, the deal was closed at $1 billion dollars.
In 2018, Softbank had invested $3 billion dollars, which raised TikTok’s worth to $75 billion dollars. There’s something special about TikTok, looking at the firms that are placing such trust in it!
TikTok has offices in many countries, including India. Surprisingly (or not), TikTok has several million users in India.
TikTok uses AI at its core. The algorithm it adopts is rumoured to be more powerful than the ones used in other social media platforms. It uses your video viewing history to populate relevant videos feed in “For You”. In this app, personalization is at its peak. If you watch these 15-sec videos completely, then its AI feature will serve you with more associated content.
The more you converse with it, the more it gets trained to provide your personalized feed. It is different from other platforms because it just shows you recommended videos or posts based on your recent activity. What’s interesting is that ByteDance has a different version of TikTok for Chinese users whereas a different version for the rest of the world, Douyin. It generates revenue in a pattern similar to that of other social media apps.
According to some reports, an average user spends nearly 52 minutes on TikTok. With over a billion users and reportedly available in 150 countries and counting, the platform for short-form mobile videos has left other social media platforms way behind. It has 1.5 billion registered users with the maximum users lying in the 15-25 age group.
The gigantic userbase has an almost equal sex ratio. 54 % of TikTok users are males and 46% are female. The visionary Softbank fund has always invested in startups that have worn the crown of most valuable entrepreneurial ventures.
TikTok is used by many Asian countries like Cambodia, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, etc. TikTok strongly influences the lower and middle classes of China and India. TikTok has recorded that around 43% of the new users of the app are from India. The app amassed a whopping 200 million+ users from India before being banned. Besides, it has also been seen that the Indian users spent over 5.5 billion hours on TikTok in 2019, according to the available data. A major credit surely goes to Jio internet services, which gave Indians instant access to these 15-sec videos with the ability to upload similar videos. The growing segment of influencers grew has a lot to do with TikTok.
How does TikTok Make Money?
ByteDance does a lot more than just run TikTok. It also owns Toutiao, a massively popular news platform with 240 million downloads, as well as products like Xigua Video, TopBuzz, and BuzzVideo.
TikTok is available in 155 countries. It’s also available in 75 languages, which helps to attract these many users. TikTok is the most downloaded app on the Apple App Store, with 33 million downloads in a single quarter of 2019. The app strongly beats out all other social media giants like YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger, which round out the top five. These numbers of downloads help earn the revenue.
TikTok offers in-app purchases of coins, starting from 100 for $0.99 and leveling up to 10,000 for $99.99. Users can give coins to their favorite creators, who can in turn exchange them for digital gifts. Mobile intelligence firm Sensor Tower reported that TikTok users worldwide spent $3.5 million on in-app purchases during the month of October 2018, which is nearly four times what they did in October 2017.
Digiday reported that agencies also may start advertising on TikTok going forward given its explosive popularity. According to the Nanjing Marketing Group, the Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, offers splash ads that can cost about $150,000 for one day and newsfeed ads for about $4 per click. Thus, many celebrities, and brands like Pizza Hut pay to run such campaigns or the promotion and endorsements.
TikTok now enjoys a monopoly in the micro video-sharing market. It’s also expanding to the news industry. It recently bought a French news company and has a stake in US-based news agencies. The use of AI is extremely high in TikTok’s initiatives. It uses an AI tool that collects various news clips and prepares articles in a few seconds.
Challenges Faced by TikTok
Though TikTok has a monopoly, the journey to date hasn’t been smooth for TikTok. It had to pay $5.7 billion dollars for violating children’s privacy in the US. India also banned this app for a few days. Mark Zuckerberg spoke about TikTok and its dominancy in US and other countries. He expressed concerns about the privacy of users of TikTok.
Yet many reports credit Zuckerberg’s reaction to fears of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp losing their grip over social media to TikTok. Recent reports suggest TikTok has already positioned itself as the topmost social media app in the market. The US government has been critical of TikTok over concerns on the national security.
When it comes to value addition, the 15-sec videos on TikTok don’t do anything big. However, they provide entertainment and comical content, a stress buster for billions across the globe. Underneath all of this, ByteDance is building an empire using millennials and having greater influence over them.
Many feel that millennials are now morally and ethically more vulnerable than ever, with attraction towards silly content in the name of entertainment as one such reason. In February, the FTC in the U.S. fined TikTok $5.7 million for violating the children’s privacy law (COPPA) and required the app to implement an age gate.
Moreover, some Indian politicians and parents also believe that the app’s content is inappropriate, particularly with regard to its use by minors. Thus, the Tamil Nadu court ruled against TikTok and banned it, saying the app could expose children to sexual predators as well.
But after all these hurdles, TikTok managed to persuade the governments by implementing some policies by restricting the app for users above 13 years. Now, parents can help children manage their screen time by selecting how much time they would like their child to spend on TikTok like 40, 60, 90, and 120 minutes per day. This feature is password-protected; when users reach their limit they have to enter a password to continue. Parents can set the password to be in total control of the screen time.
Even after facing all these hurdles, TikTok has successfully circumvented them to become the World’s Most Valuable Startup beating all other social media giants. It has set an example of how by using the power of the youth, which is revered for possessing the highest potential, a startup can excel in the market by using appropriate strategies.
Niku Mandal
