Tag: 📄Company Profiles

  • Spur Corporation: Consistent Restaurant Franchising at Its Best

    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 the organization it is based on.

    The restaurant industry is highly competitive, with numerous companies competing for customers’ attention and loyalty. One company that has made a name for itself in this crowded space is the Spur Corporation. The Spur Corporation is a South African company that operates several restaurant chains, including Spur Steak Ranches, Panarottis Pizza Pasta, John Dory’s Fish Grill Sushi, and RocoMamas.

    Spur Steak Ranches, which is one of their most well-known chains, offers a range of meals that include combinations of meat meals, fresh salads, and a variety of desserts. Additionally, it is known for its pleasant atmosphere, which is ideal for families, and for its excellent customer service.

    The foundation of Spur Corporation’s strategy is consistency, which gives the business its dependable track record in the cuisine it delivers, the atmosphere of its restaurants, and its outstanding financial success.

    However, as the sector’s rivalry heats up, sustaining its pace will be challenging. The company knows that finding the correct sites and handling transportation is important, but creating the ideal flavor profile to appeal to new clients is also crucial to the success of the company’s overall development.

    In this article, we will explore the story of Spur Corporation, including how it started, its business and revenue model, and more.

    Spur Corporation – Company Highlights

    Company Name Spur Corporation
    Headquarters Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
    Industry Restaurants
    Founder Allen Ambor
    Founded 1967
    Website spurcorporation.com

    Spur Corporation – About
    Spur Corporation – Industry
    Spur Corporation – Founder and Team
    Spur Corporation – Startup Story
    Spur Corporation – Name, Logo, and Tagline
    Spur Corporation – Mission and Vision Statement
    Spur Corporation – Products or Services
    Spur Corporation – Business Model
    Spur Corporation – Revenue Model
    Spur Corporation – Funding
    Spur Corporation – Acquisitions
    Spur Corporation – Competitors
    Spur Corporation – Future Plans

    Spur Corporation – About

    A major multi-brand restaurant franchisor, Spur Corporation is the owner of several of South Africa’s most recognizable restaurants with its corporate headquarters in Cape Town. It is traded on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s travel and leisure market. It operates through the following subsidiaries:

    • Spur Group (Pty) Ltd
    • Spur Group Properties (Pty) Ltd
    • Share Buy-Back (Pty) Ltd

    The eight brands (Spur Steak Ranches, Spur Grill & Go, Panarottis Pizza Pasta, John Dory’s Fish Grill Sushi, RocoMamas, The Hussar Grill, Casa Bella, and Nikos Coalgrill Greek) of Spur Corporation have a unique environment and positioning strategy, deliver high-quality meals at reasonable prices, and give consumers a warm, family-friendly dining experience.

    Over 600 outlets operated by franchisees of Spur Group can be found throughout South Africa, Mauritius, Australia, and the Middle East. Additionally, the group directly owns and operates 5 “retail” restaurants in South Africa. Additionally, Spur Corporation controls central purchasing for South African franchise stores and runs a sauce production facility.

    A Walk Through Spur Steak Ranches

    Spur Corporation – Industry

    The restaurant industry of the economy involves preparing food and drinks that are served to customers directly or through curbside pick-up services, catering, or banquets. It refers to a sector of the economy that concentrates on providing food services in establishments like bars, restaurants, and cafés. If a company permits consumers to walk in, place an order, and dine there, it belongs to the restaurant sector.

    According to Square, 58% of restaurant owners are currently worried about the future of their business, down from a startling 92% the year before. According to the National Restaurant Association, 40% of owners think it will take the industry more than a year to recover. Another 17% of restaurant owners claim that following the COVID outbreak, business conditions at their restaurants may never return to normal. The good news is that restaurants are utilizing new technology and pandemic insights to satisfy consumer demands.


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    Spur Corporation – Founder and Team

    Spur Corporation was founded by Allen Ambor in 1967.

    Allen Ambor

    Allen Ambor - Founder, Spur Corporation
    Allen Ambor – Founder, Spur Corporation

    Allen Ambor is a renowned entrepreneur from South Africa. He is the founder of Spur Corporation, which has grown to become one of the country’s most successful and well-known restaurant brands. Ambor is known for his innovative approach to restaurant management and his commitment to providing high-quality cuisine and excellent customer service.

    The board of directors comprises of:

    • Val Nichas – Chief Executive Officer
    • Cristina Teixeira – Chief Financial Officer
    • Kevin Robertson – Chief Operations Officer
    • Mike Bosman – Independent Non-Executive Chairman
    • Dr Shirley Zinn – Non-Executive Director
    • Cora Fernandez – Lead Independent Director
    • Andre Parker – Non-Executive Director
    • Jesmane Boggenpoel – Non-Executive Director
    • Lerato Molebatsi – Non-Executive Director

    Spur Corporation – Startup Story

    Allen Ambor, the Golden Spur’s founder and executive chairman, launched the establishment on Dean Street in Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa, in 1967. With R2,000 of his own money, R4,000 from his father, and R5,000 from a partner who was subsequently bought out, Ambor invested a total of R11,000 in the first restaurant. The eatery first opened its doors on October 24, 1967. In the 2000s, the original restaurant relocated to a new spot near the intersection of Dean and Main Road before closing in 2020.

    Soon after the 1967 debut, a second Spur—the Seven Spur—opened in Sea Point, Cape Town. Following the second Spur’s success, Ambor planned to use a franchising system to help the restaurants proliferate across the nation. Spur International, Spur Steak Ranches, Panarottis Pizza Pasta, Captain Dorego’s, The Hussar Grill, RocoMamas, Spur Grill & Go, Nikos Coalgrill Greek, and Casa Bella are all part of the Spur Group. There are presently 569 locations for it across the world, including restaurants in different regions of Africa, Mauritius, the Middle East, and Australia. Spur Corporation sold Captain Dorego’s in March 2018.

    Spur Corporation – Name, Logo, and Tagline

    Spur Corporation Logo
    Spur Corporation Logo

    Spur Corporation’s tagline says, “Leading For The Greater Good.”

    Spur Corporation – Mission and Vision Statement

    Spur’s mission statement says, “Bringing people together over great food.”

    Vision statement, “Passionate people growing great brands.”

    Spur Corporation – Products or Services

    • Franchisees are given the tools by Spur Corporation to continuously produce high-quality goods in accordance with each brand promise. Group marketing, a professional customer support center, and training are some of these offerings.
    • Facilities management, executive, personnel resources, export, information technology, finance, and legal are some of its centralized corporate services that help the company achieve its goals.

    Spur Corporation – Business Model

    The business model used by Spur Corporation is one built on franchises, with individual restaurants owned and operated by independent, business-minded franchisees.

    The company develops strong relationships with its franchise restaurants via the exchange of knowledge, expertise, support services, and infrastructure.

    As a condition of their franchise agreements, franchisees must pay for the development costs of new restaurants as well as relocation and renovation expenses within predetermined timeframes.

    Spur Corporation – Revenue Model

    The revenue model of Spur Corporation can be understood under the following aspects:

    Franchise and Retail Outlets

    The majority of the group’s franchised restaurants, which are spread throughout its brand portfolio and are all based in South Africa, are managed by independent, business-minded franchisees who are in charge of the daily operations management of the restaurants. The firm provides franchisees with continuous assistance through skilled brand-and region-specific operations teams. Through routine visits, Spur provides operational support to franchised restaurants by evaluating food safety, product, and service standards, and group and regulatory requirements.

    Additionally, the company provides restaurant development through the committed administration of new franchises, moves, and renovations. Site selection, project management, and shop openings fall under this category. Spur Corporation is intimately involved in the day-to-day operations of one RocoMamas and four The Hussar Grill locations in South Africa.

    Purchasing, Producing, and Distributing

    With the company’s contracted logistics provider, suppliers, and franchisees, Spur Corporation upholds sustainable supply chain connections. In exchange for a procurement fee depending on the number of commodities moved via its outsourced distribution network, our procurement function guarantees food safety, quality, and a consistent supply of things acquired centrally. Additionally, the company runs a facility that makes sauces, which it uses to distribute some of its proprietary sauces to franchisees. Major South African merchants sell various goods directly to customers, including sauces, ribs, and hamburgers, which are made elsewhere under license.

    Spur Corporation – Funding

    Date Round Amount Lead Investor
    Mar 24, 2015 Post-IPO-Equity

    Spur Corporation – Acquisitions

    Acquiree Name About Acquiree Date Amount
    RocoMamas RocoMamas owns and operates a fast-food restaurant. RocoMamas is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mar 31, 2015
    Hussar Grill With over forty-nine years of history and experience, the multiple award-winning Hussar Grills embody the very finest of Grillroom Dec 13, 2013
    John Dory’s Franchise (Pty) Ltd. John Dory’s Franchise (Pty) Ltd. operates restaurants on a franchisee basis. Jan 1, 2004

    Spur Corporation – Competitors

    Grill’d, Wimpy, FGF Brands, Mugg & Bean, HyLife, and Papa Murphy’s are some of the rivals of Spur Group.

    Spur Corporation – Future Plans

    “Even with this success, we are never complacent because the company faces formidable competitors in the eating-out space,” said the ex CEO, Pierre Van Tonder in an interview.

    Numerous quick-service eateries that provide pizza, chicken, burgers, and sandwiches are indirectly staking the company’s claims. The company’s success has mostly been attributed to its excellent capabilities, the power of its franchised brands, a booming market, and a desire for further expansion.

    It also helps that it is situated nicely. Most developers now see it as an anchor tenant. As a result, the company is more likely to expand into cities and towns that fit its demographic profile. In order to ensure that it receives an even larger share of consumer spending, it has also tried many new categories. The company runs frequent marketing campaigns and discounts to keep customers coming back.

    FAQs

    Who founded Spur Corporation?

    Allen Ambor is the founder of Spur Corporation.

    When was Spur Corporation founded?

    Spur Corporation was founded in 1967.

    Who is the CEO of Spur Corporation?

    Val Nichas is the CEO of Spur.

    Which brands are under the Spur Corporation?

    Spur Corporation’s eight brands include Spur Steak Ranches, Spur Grill & Go, Panarottis Pizza Pasta, John Dory’s Fish Grill Sushi, RocoMamas, The Hussar Grill, Casa Bella, and Nikos Coalgrill Greek.

  • airSlate: Single Solution for Automating Document Workflows

    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 airSlate.

    Are you finding it time-consuming to create a document? Document creation and inputting all the correct data and that too without errors and omitting anything can be a challenging task. It is when document automation comes into the picture.

    Document automation involves generating documents in a digital platform or automated workflow software. By digitalizing and automating document workflows, companies can eliminate the need for manual data entry, printed paperwork, email reminders, etc.

    airSlate is cloud-based legal document automation software. Read further to know more about airSlate- its startup story, mission, founders, funding, products, partners, and more.

    airSlate – Company Highlights

    Company Name airSlate
    Headquarters Brookline, Massachusetts, United States
    Sector Software Development
    Founders Borya Shakhnovich, Vadim Yasinovsky
    Founded In 2006
    Revenue $1B (2022)
    Website Airslate.com

    airSlate – About
    airSlate – Founders and Team
    airSlate – Startup Story
    airSlate – Mission and Vision
    airSlate – Business Model
    airSlate – Revenue Model
    airSlate – Products and Services
    airSlate – Challenges Faced
    airSlate – Funding and Investors
    airSlate – Mergers and Acquisitions
    airSlate – Patents and Trademarks
    airSlate – Growth
    airSlate – Partners
    airSlate – Awards and Achievements
    airSlate – Competitors
    airSlate – Future Plans

    airSlate – About

    airSlate is a no-code platform that empowers companies to create powerful documents and automate their document workflows. From simple tasks, such as editing PDFs, creating forms, and eSigning. It can create, integrate, and automate the document workflow via a single control point.

    With over 100 million users worldwide, the company offers 40+ integrations with popular apps and CRM systems. airSlate has a global reach with 5 offices in different locations.

    airSlate – Founders and Team

    Borya Shakhnovich and Vadim Yasinovsky are the co-founders of airSlate.

    Borya Shakhnovich

    Borya Shakhnovich graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a BS (Computational BioPhysics) and a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology from Boston University. He worked as an assistant professor and post-doc fellow at Boston and Harvard University, respectively.

    In addition, he held the role of CEO at Orwik and PDFfiller.com. Presently, he is working as a co-founder and CEO at airSlate.

    airSlate Co-founder and CEO - Borya Shakhnovich
    airSlate Co-founder and CEO – Borya Shakhnovich

    Vadim Yasinovsky

    Presently, Vadim Yasinovsky is the airSlate’s founder. Before working as a Chief Product Officer at airSlate, he was President and CEO at Clear Software, Inc. Moreover, he was the owner of clearweb.com and CEO of PDFfiller.com.

    airSlate Co-founder and Chief Product Officer - Vadim Yasinovsky
    airSlate Co-founder and Chief Product Officer – Vadim Yasinovsky

    airSlate currently employs over 1,000 employees, with Drew Zalkind as the COO.

    airSlate – Startup Story

    When Borya Shakhnovich was the founder of Orwik, he came up with marketing technology. He contacted Vadim Yasinovsky, his investor who was running PDFfiller, to apply this marketing technology to the company. And Yasinovsky suggested Borya build the marketing technology with him. It is how the idea of airSlate was born.

    At that time, PDFfiller was a small company, and using Shakhnovich’s technology, the company’s customer base grew. After several years, Borya became the CEO, and the company expanded its product offering only to establish as airSlate in 2018.

    The company developed the first version of the PDF editor, and it went live in 2008. In 2013, it launched the eSignature product, and in 2015, it expanded into software integrations for CRMs and apps. airSlate acquires US Legal Forms in 2019.

    airSlate – Mission and Vision

    The company aims to build digital solutions that innovators can use to unlock their potential and execute higher-priority organizational goals. It believes innovating document workflows can immediately impact the company’s bottom line by providing top-notch customer and employee experience.

    airSlate – Business Model

    airSlate Business Cloud allows businesses to digitize and automate processes at varied scales within a single holistic ecosystem. The platform is the end-to-end solution that grows with the organization’s business automation roadmap.

    Companies need to start by digitizing simple document workflows before they configure airSlate to automate their complex requirements. Clients can configure and automate at about 1/10th of the cost of other related systems.

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    airSlate – Revenue Model

    airSlate offers four packages to the clients- Starter for $19/month, Growth for $79/month, Enterprise for $399/month, and Automation Suite for $799/month.

    airSlate – Products and Services

    The company offers several products– contract management, document generation, contract negotiation, US legal forms, electronic signature, robotic process automation, web forms, workflow automation, PDF editing, analytics, drag-and-drop flow creator, payments, and world-class features.

    airSlate - Products
    airSlate – Products 

    The company also has airSlate Academy, which offers many courses- covering the basics of automation to expert certifications demonstrating ways to transform a business digitally.

    airSlate – Challenges Faced

    The platform is acquainted with multiple flows, including bot failure, downloading slates in bulk for a flow, and complicated mass export of flow data.

    airSlate – Funding and Investors

    airSlate has undertaken 4 funding rounds and has raised $181.5 million. Its latest funding round – Series B Round, was conducted on June 16, 2022, and raised $51.5 million. 6 investors fund the company, of which 3 are the lead ones. Some investors are G Squared, UiPath Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank, Horizon Capital, and Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital.

    Date Round Number of Investors Money Raised Lead Investor
    June 16, 2022 Series B 2 $51.5 million G Squared
    February 17, 2021 Debt Financing 1 $50 million Silicon Valley Bank
    January 12, 2021 Series B 3 $40 million Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital
    July 1, 2017 Series A $40 million

    airSlate – Mergers and Acquisitions

    airSlate acquired 1 company, i.e., DocHub, on July 28, 2022.

    airSlate – Patents and Trademarks

    The company has registered 17 trademarks, and the most popular class is ‘Scientific and technological services.’

    airSlate – Growth

    The estimated annual revenue of airSlate in 2022 is $120.1 million per year ($177,088 revenue per employee). Moreover, the company’s current valuation stands at $1 billion as of June 2022.

    The employee count grew by 4% last year. The monthly visits to the website increased to 418,246, with a site growth rate of 31.36%.

    Build Workflows Step by Step with airSlate

    airSlate – Partners

    The company has several partner collaborations and some of these are:

    • Amazon Web Services
    • Inc. (AWS)
    • Microsoft
    • Samsung
    • SoftwareONE
    • Xerox

    airSlate – Awards and Achievements

    Recently, the company collected many prestigious awards and achievements. These are:

    • Included in the FT ranking of America’s Fastest-Growing Companies 2022 list by the Financial Times
    • Ranked among the top firms in the Boston Business Journal’s exclusive 2022 Fast 50 list
    • Two-times winner of the 2022 American Business Awards
    • Collected a Gold Stevie for “Technical Innovation of the Year”
    • Collected a “Silver Stevie for Company of the Year”

    airSlate – Competitors

    Some of its main competitors are:

    • DocuSign
    • Nintex USA, Inc.
    • PandaDoc
    • Kissflow
    • Airtable
    • JN Projects, Inc.

    airSlate – Future Plans

    As for the future, the company plans to train a million people over the next five to ten years to elevate their efficiency and value to the business. Moreover, airSlate aims to help an employee who earns $40k to $50k and turn them into a professional who is critical to the company.

    FAQs

    What is airSlate and how does it work?

    airSlate is a no-code platform that empowers companies to create powerful documents and automate their document workflows. From simple tasks, such as editing PDFs, creating forms, and eSigning. It can create, integrate, and automate the document workflow via a single control point.

    What is the pricing structure for airSlate?

    airSlate offers four packages to the clients- Starter for $19/month, Growth for $79/month, Enterprise for $399/month, and Automation Suite for $799/month.

    What are the products and services offered by airSlate?

    The company offers several products such as contract management, document generation, contract negotiation, US legal forms, electronic signature, robotic process automation, web forms, workflow automation, PDF editing, analytics, drag-and-drop flow creator, payments, and world-class features.

  • Aircall: An Ultimate Integrated Phone System for Smarter Conversations

    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 Aircall.

    In this globalized corporate market, the significance of effective communication has increased to a great extent. Businesses need to communicate internally with employees and management and externally with clients, suppliers, and customers.

    Telecommunication platforms have emerged as an ultimate solution for modern businesses. Annually, around $145 trillion is spent on telecommunications globally. Telecommunication technology enables companies to communicate directly with customers, access real-time information, create relationships, and stay competitive.

    Aircall is a 100% cloud-based telecommunication platform enabling companies to make national and international calls. Let’s uncover everything from Aircall’s startup story, founders, funding, and growth to partners, investors, and competitors.

    Aircall – Company Highlights

    Company Name Aircall
    Headquarters New York, United States
    Industry Telecommunications
    Founders Olivier Pailhes, Jonathan Anguelov, Pierre-Baptiste Bechu, Xavier Durand
    Founded In 2014
    Valuation $1B (2022)
    Website Aircall.io

    Aircall – About
    Aircall – Founders and Team
    Aircall – Startup Story
    Aircall – Mission and Vision
    Aircall – Business Model
    Aircall – Revenue Model
    Aircall – Products and Services
    Aircall – Challenges Faced
    Aircall – Funding and Investors
    Aircall – Growth
    Aircall – Partners
    Aircall – Awards and Achievements
    Aircall – Competitors

    Aircall – About

    A cloud-based call center and phone system, Aircall meets modern businesses’ communication needs. This voice platform can seamlessly integrate with popular productivity and helpdesk tools for sales and support teams. The call center makes phone systems easy to manage, transparent, accessible, and collaborative.

    Founded in 2014, Aircall is based in New York and has multiple branches in Paris, Madrid, Sydney, London, Singapore, and Berlin. The platform integrates with 80+ major CRMs, marketing software, help desks, chatbots, eCommerce platforms, and more.

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    Aircall – Founders and Team

    Olivier Pailhes, Jonathan Anguelov, Pierre-Baptiste Bechu, and Xavier Durand founded Aircall in 2014.

    Olivier Pailhes

    Graduated from HEC Paris with a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Economics, Management; Olivier Pailhes is an Angel Investor in Entocycle, Regroop, and Nelson. In addition to co-founding Aircall, he is a board member of French Tech Madrid and an Advisor at Metomic.

    Aircall, Co-founder - Olivier Pailhes
    Aircall, Co-founder – Olivier Pailhes

    Jonathan Anguelov

    Jonathan Anguelov graduated from ESCP Business School with a Master’s in Finance, General. He co-founded Aircall and is working as its CSO. Moreover, he is the co-founder of Aguesseau Capital and Hotel Maison Barbes.

    Aircall, Co-founder, and CSO - Jonathan Anguelov
    Aircall, Co-founder, and CSO – Jonathan Anguelov

    Pierre-Baptiste Bechu

    Pierre-Baptiste Bechu has completed his Masters from Ecole centrale de Lyon in Computer Engineering and is the co-founder and VP of Aircall. He also worked as the co-founder and CTO of ClickJob.fr till 2014. In addition, he is a Partner(Digital IV) in 50Partners and a self-employed Angel Investor.

    Aircall, Co-founder, and VP - Pierre-Baptiste Bechu
    Aircall, Co-founder, and VP – Pierre-Baptiste Bechu

    Xavier Durand

    Xavier Durand was the technical co-founder of Aircall and worked with the company until 2020. At present, he is the co-founder of Regroop company.

    Aircall is currently working with more than 800 employees.

    Aircall – Startup Story

    The idea of setting up Aircall was born at the eFounders studio in Paris in 2014. Founders- Olivier Pailhes, Jonathan Anguelov, Xavier Durand, and Pierre-Baptiste Bechu recognized that a telephone system is complex and costly enough to set up. It is when the co-founders took the challenge of revolutionizing corporate telephony.

    After the first few weeks, they developed an MVP: an easy-to-use phone system named Aircall to get numbers worldwide and share calls across the team. With this product, the company got a handful of customers.

    On June 1, 2014, the company charged firm time for the service for $19 per month. Davy Kestens was Aircall’s first angel investor, who invested $5,000. In 2016, the company’s growth accelerated, hitting $210K MRR. And in 2022, it raised funding of $132 million.

    Aircall – Mission and Vision

    According to Aircall, conversation is the most powerful way to communicate with colleagues, customers, prospects, and candidates. Therefore, the phone system enables delightful moments of human connection.

    Aircall – Business Model

    Aircall uses VoIP technology to integrate with the company’s CRM systems and Helpdesk solutions to sync information. By setting up Aircall, companies can make calls using computers or mobile phones and monitor individual and team metrics in real-time. In addition, the platform allows companies to enhance productivity by creating new numbers, teams, and workflows.

    The call center has many additional built-in features, like smart routing, sorting calls into call queues, live call monitoring, callback, warm transfers, call whispering, and more.

    Aircall – Revenue Model

    Aircall charges a subscription fee for its products and services. The company offers three subscription plans- Essentials for $30/user, Professional for $50/user, and a custom plan. Its pricing is estimated at $360 per year.

    Aircall – Products and Services

    The company offers several solutions, including Sales, IT & Operations, Customer Service & Support, and the whole company. Moreover, it provides the Aircall Phone app for Desktop, Aircall Phone App for Mobile (iOS and Android), and Aircall Browser Extensions.

    Aircall – The phone system for modern business 

    Aircall – Challenges Faced

    After 2017’s New Year’s Eve, it was a war-like situation for Aircall, named ‘The Quality War.’ The company’s product was broken as nothing was working as per plan. Calls may or may not come through, and Aircall couldn’t attract new customers. The management decided to stop the entire company. This crisis lasted for around three months.

    Furthermore, six months after building the first US team, Aircall faced a challenging situation again. The company was finding it difficult to achieve its goals, and it wasn’t working as a team. Aircall rebooted and restarted with a much smaller team.

    Aircall – Funding and Investors

    Aircall has undertaken 10 funding rounds and has successfully raised $225.6.5 million. Its latest funding round – Venture Series Unknown Round, was conducted on February 23, 2022, and raised $300 million. The company has over 27 investors with 6 lead investors- HubSpot Ventures, NextWorld Capital, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, DTCP, and others.

    Date Round Number of Investors Money Raised Lead Investor
    February 23, 2022 Venture Round 1 Hubspot Ventures
    June 23, 2021 Series D 8 $120 million Goldman Sachs Asset Management
    May 27, 2020 Series C 9 $65 million DTCP
    May 15, 2018 Series B 7 $29 million Molten Ventures, NextWorld Capital
    July 1, 2017 Venture Round 1
    September 15, 2016 Series A 7 $8 million Balderton Capital
    June 25, 2016 Seed Round 2 $2.8 million Balderton Capital
    December 24, 2015 Venture Round 1
    June 2, 2015 Seed Round 7 $800K
    June 1, 2014 Seed Round 1

    Aircall – Growth

    With the company’s annual revenue estimated at $161 million per year ($199,951 per employee) in 2022, its current valuation stands at $3 billion.

    Aircall’s employee figure increased by 18%. Moreover, the monthly website visit growth rate is 3.69%. The Aircall app has more than 9,130 monthly downloads.

    Aircall – Partners

    Aircall has collaborated with many partners, some of these are:

    • SnapCall
    • Klaus
    • Gorgias
    • noCRM.io
    • Re:amaze
    • Plecto
    • Segment
    • Aroma
    • Zendesk Sell
    • JobAdder

    Aircall – Awards and Achievements

    Aircall is recognized as one of the leading, tech-savvy call centers in the United States. And the company has garnered multiple prestigious awards in its lifetime. Some of these are:

    • RemoteTech Breakthrough Award for “Business Phone System Innovation of the Year”
    • Ranked no. 1 call center in GetApp Analysis
    • GetApp Analysis declared Aircall a Call Center Software Leader

    Aircall – Competitors

    Some of its main competitors are:

    • Dialpad
    • RingCentral
    • Twilio
    • Nextiva
    • Talkdesk
    • OpenPhone
    • CallRail
    • YodelTalk
    • Aloware

    FAQs

    What is Aircall and what does it do?

    Aircall is a cloud-based phone system that helps businesses manage their phone communication with features like call forwarding, call recording, and IVR. It integrates with other tools and improves customer service, sales performance, and collaboration.

    Can Aircall integrate with other tools and software?

    Yes, Aircall can integrate with a wide range of other tools and software, such as CRMs, helpdesk software, and team messaging apps.

    What pricing plans does Aircall offer?

    Aircall offers three pricing plans:

    1. Essential: starting at $30/user/month
    2. Professional: starting at $50/user/month
    3. Custom: tailored pricing for enterprise-level businesses

    What type of businesses can benefit from using Aircall?

    Businesses of all sizes and industries can benefit from using Aircall. It is particularly useful for businesses that rely heavily on phone communication such as customer support teams, sales teams, and call centers.

  • Sidecar Health Success Story – Insuring Lives at Affordable Prices

    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 Sidecar Health.

    With the rising cost of healthcare, having a health insurance policy has become a necessity rather than a choice. Health insurance is what provides financial protection to individuals and families against the high costs of medical treatments and services.

    In today’s time, having access to quality medical care without incurring significant financial burdens has become critical. Given the increased demand for health insurance among people, many new insurance companies are emerging to provide the best possible solutions to individuals and businesses.

    Sidecar Health, an American health insurance company based in El Segundo, California, is one such company. In this article, learn about Sidecar Health, its founders, startup story, business model, and more.

    Sidecar Health – Company Highlights

    Company Name Sidecar Health
    Headquarters El Segundo, California
    Sector Health Insurance
    Founder Patrick Quigley, Veronica Osetinsky
    Founded 2018
    Website sidecarhealth.com

    Sidecar Health – About
    Sidecar Health – Industry
    Sidecar Health – Founders and Team
    Sidecar Health – Startup Story
    Sidecar Health – Mission and Vision
    Sidecar Health – Name and Logo
    Sidecar Health – Business Model
    Sidecar Health – Funding and Investors
    Sidecar Health – Growth
    Sidecar Health – Competitors
    Sidecar Health – Future Plans

    Sidecar Health – About

    Sidecar Health is a personalized health insurance platform that strives to make health care more transparent, personalized, and affordable. This American company is headquartered in El Segundo, California. Its plans cover employees through employer-sponsored coverages, families, and individuals. Apart from covering the treatment requirements from consultation to medical billing, it also provides insurance claim assistance solutions. With a well-rooted health insurance plan integrated with a tech-forward approach, Sidecar Health equips users to make smart decisions and helps them provide a seamless experience and excellent care to its clients.

    Sidecar Health – Industry

    Sidecar Health belongs to the US health and medical insurance industry which is the largest of its kind in the world. As per the reports of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, more than 68% of health care coverage is being provided by various private insurance programs. With increasing medical inflation, employment, and health awareness, the health and medical insurance industry will continue to grow in the years to come. Further, the increasing popularity of individual and employee-sponsored health coverage will also contribute to this growth.

    The global health insurance market was valued at approximately $2.10 trillion in 2021, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.50%, and is anticipated to reach over USD 3.619 trillion by 2028.


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    Sidecar Health – Founders and Team

    Sidecar Health was founded by Patrick Quigley and Veronica Osetinsky to tap the sparsely tapped market of health insurance in Texas.

    Today the team is led by Patrick Quigley as the Chief Executive Officer, Veronica Oestinsky as the Chief Operating Officer, Rodney Barlow as the Chief Technology Officer, Alex Coonce as Chief People Officer, and Monica Auciello as the Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Compliance & Risk Officer,

    Patrick Quigley

    Patrick Quigley - Chief Executive Office, Co-founder, Sidecar Health
    Patrick Quigley – Chief Executive Office, Co-founder, Sidecar Health

    Patrick Quigley is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Sidecar Health. With more than 20 years of experience in marketing, product, and engineering, Quigley has employed all of his expertise to fuel the growth of his brainchild. He worked as the Chief Executive Officer of Katch apart from being a part of the founding management team at QuinStreet which is a consultant at McKinsey & Company.

    Veronica Osetinsky

    Veronica Osetinsky - Chief Operating Officer, Co-founder, Sidecar Health
    Veronica Osetinsky – Chief Operating Officer, Co-founder, Sidecar Health

    Veronica Osetinsky is the Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder of Sidecar Health. Veronica leads the company with attention to even the smallest details ensuring that the ideas cascade into reality. She played a significant role in a key leadership position at her previous workplace – Katch- where she helped the company grow from its nascent stage to become one of the significant businesses in the area of Katch in over 5 years. She had also worked with QuinStreet, Bank of America, and Paramax Capital.

    Other prominent team members of Sidecar Health are:

    • Rodney Barlow – Chief Technology Officer
    • Alex Coonce – Chief People Officer
    • Douglas Lynch – Chief Actuary
    • Monica Auciello – VP, General Counsel, and Chief Compliance & Risk Officer
    • Chris Bussard – VP of Product
    • Jason T. Delimitros – VP of Insurance Operations
    • Chris Patton – VP of Channel Sales
    • Emily Porter – VP of Government Affairs
    • Meghann Seidner – VP of Marketing

    Sidecar Health – Startup Story

    Sidecar Health was founded in 2018 by Patrick Quigley and Veronica Osetinsky who were working in Katch (formerly Vantage Media). They initially opened only in Texas to provide affordable insurance to the uninsured. With their innovative strategies and intuitive approach, they were able to build a niche of their own in the industry. They ensured that their plans and processes are not only user-friendly but also transparent. Sidecar’s simple policies and transparent approach were a breath of fresh air for the commoners. Health insurance ceased to be a mystery to them. Further, the customers were able to avail of services at prices 40% lesser than the rest of the insurance companies. From being a small insurance company in Texas, Sidecar Health has expanded its services to 18 states in the US today.

    Sidecar Health – Mission and Vision

    The company works towards its mission to make healthcare affordable and accessible to everyone across the United States of America. It also aims to ensure transparency for its clients, so that they are aware of all the transactions and processes involved.

    Sidecar Health Logo
    Sidecar Health Logo

    The idea behind the company’s name seems to represent its mission to provide an additional layer of support to traditional health insurance.

    The logo of Sidecar Health appears to represent protection and security, while the cross in the center represents the idea of health and healing.

    Sidecar Health – Business Model

    Sidecar Health has a flexible insurance model that offers policies at varying costs depending on factors such as age, location, and health status. This flexibility has made it a popular choice among the more than 30 million uninsured people in the country. It allows its customers to pay their bills directly through the Sidecar Health payment card which helps them get the best deals that are 40% cheaper than traditional health insurance companies. Thus, reducing the overhead for care providers.

    It has various products that will cater to the needs of different strata of society. However, its prime focus is on those individuals who earn more than $45,000 and less than $75,000 a year.

    Sidecar Health has a cash pay model where it has also earned a popular reputation amongst the people for its extremely transparent functioning which further attracts more members to Sidecar Health.

    Using Sidecar Health Payment Card at an ER

    Sidecar Health – Funding and Investors

    The funding details for Sidecar Health are listed below:

    Date Funding Round Money Raised Lead Investors
    Jan 26, 2021 Series C $125M Drive Capital
    Jul 23, 2020 Series B $20M Cathay Innovation
    Aug 6, 2019 Venture Round $18M GreatPoint Ventures, Morpheus Ventures

    Sidecar Health is funded by the following investors:

    Investor Name Lead Investor Funding Round Partners
    Tiger Global Management Series C
    Alpha Edison Series C
    GreatPoint Ventures Series C
    Drive Capital Yes Series C Molly Bonakdarpour
    Bond Series C Noah Knauf
    Menlo Ventures Series C Steve Sloane
    Cathay Innovation Series C Alexandre Lazarow
    Cathay Innovation Yes Series B Alexandre Lazarow
    Comcast Ventures Series B
    Anne Wojcicki Series B

    Sidecar Health – Growth

    Sidecar Health grew popular because of the unique ways in which it addressed the existing gaps in the market. It focused on people who are not eligible for a government subsidy but cannot afford the cost of traditional plans either. The platform tailored its plans to open up affordable health insurance plans, which inadvertently got them millions of customers who were otherwise left out by the traditional plans.

    It was launched in Texas in 2018 and soon expanded to Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina by the end of the year. Today, it operates in 18 states across the United States of America, namely Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.


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    Sidecar Health – Competitors

    Sidecar Health is a recent endeavor that has garnered widespread support. It competes with other health and medical insurance firms like Oscar, Devoted Health, Clover Health, PaySpan, and Friday Health Plans, among others. They all have well-integrated technological systems wherein they try to deliver the best plans for the clients.

    Sidecar Health – Future Plans

    On 1st January 2023, Sidecar Health announced a new plan for its Ohio employers where in they can choose one plan that covers those services that are frequently availed without any cost-sharing. These include primary care provider visits, Telehealth visits, specialist provider visits mental health provider visits, and generic Rx drugs. Very well anchored to its plan to offer better access and better coverage, Sidecar Health hopes to further reduce administrative costs without cutting down benefits. It is also on its path to achieving its goal – to provide affordable and accessible healthcare services to everyone in the US.

    FAQs

    What is Sidecar Health?

    Sidecar Health is a personalized health insurance platform that strives to make health care more transparent, personalized, and affordable.

    When was Sidecar Health founded?

    Sidecar Health was founded in 2018.

    Who founded Sidecar Health?

    Sidecar Health was founded by Patrick Quigley and Veronica Osetinsky to tap the sparsely tapped market of health insurance in Texas.

    Who are the competitors of Sidecar Health?

    Sidecar Health competes with health and medical insurance firms like Oscar, Devoted Health, Clover Health, PaySpan, and Friday Health Plans, among others.

  • Airbyte: An Open-Source Data Integration Platform

    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 Airbyte.

    In the past few years, almost every industry has transformed digitally. And digital transformation is the primary reason every company focuses on accumulating more and more data via different software. Valuable insights into business data help companies make the best decisions and, thus, create a competitive edge.

    However, with an increased data volume, managing it becomes more difficult. It’s when Airbyte comes for help. The company integrates its clients’ data while maintaining its quality.

    Read further to uncover all vital details about Airbyte- its startup story, founders, acquisitions, funding, investors, growth, and more.

    Airbyte – Company Highlights

    Company Name Airbyte
    Headquarters San Francisco, California,
    Sector Software Development
    Founders Michel Tricot, Jean (John) Lafleur
    Founded In 2020
    Revenue $1.5B (2021)
    Website Airbyte.com

    Airbyte – About
    Airbyte – Founders and Team
    Airbyte – Startup Story
    Airbyte – Mission and Vision
    Airbyte – Business Model
    Airbyte – Products and Services
    Airbyte – Funding and Investors
    Airbyte – Mergers and Acquisitions
    Airbyte – Patents and Trademarks
    Airbyte – Growth
    Airbyte – Partners
    Airbyte – Awards and Achievements
    Airbyte – Competitors
    Airbyte – Future Plans

    Airbyte – About

    Airbyte is an open-source data portability platform that uses ELT connectors to synchronize data from applications, databases, and APIs to data warehouses, lakes, and other destinations. The company believes that an open-source approach covers the long tail of integrations. Moreover, teams can adapt pre-built connectors to their requirements.

    More than 25,000 companies are syncing data with Airbyte’s 300+ pre-built, no-code connectors. Machine Learning, Technology, and Artificial Intelligence are the top industries that use the company for data integration.

    Airbyte – Founders and Team

    Airbyte was founded in January 2020 by Michel Tricot and Jean (John) Lafleur.

    Michel Tricot

    Co-founder and CEO of Airbyte, Michel Tricot, has also worked as a founding member and director of engineering at rideOS and LiveRamp and software engineer at Rapleaf and Murex. He graduated from EPITA with a degree in Master of Science (M.S.) and Computer Science.

    Michel Tricot, Co-founder and CEO of Airbyte
    Michel Tricot, Co-founder and CEO of Airbyte

    Jean (John) Lafleur

    Jean (John) Lafleur has studied MPhil in Technology Policy from the University of Cambridge and a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Technological Innovation from Ecole Polytechnique. In addition to co-founding Airbyte, he co-founded Anaxi and StreamNation. He also held the role of COO at CodinGame and Anaxi. Currently, he is working as COO of Airbyte.

    Jean (John) Lafleur, Co-founder and COO of Airbyte
    Jean (John) Lafleur, Co-founder and COO of Airbyte

    When it comes to the company’s team, Airbyte works with a team of more than 110 employees.

    Airbyte – Startup Story

    Michel Tricot and Jean (John) Lafleur came up with the idea to help companies exchange data. They thought of building a customer portal for data providers that enable clients to evaluate and pull data however and wherever they desire. Moreover, they applied to YC W20 (January to March 2020) with the same idea.

    However, during their time at YC, they came across a data unblocking product. This product allowed website owners to get 100% of their customer traffic data for further analytics, despite visitors using ad blockers. It is during Covid-19 that the demand for this product reduced drastically.

    During this time, Michel and John met several companies and discussed their data problems. They understood the pattern and decided to return to their roots, i.e., making it easier to move data and address the data integration problem.

    From July to September, Airbyte built its MVP with 6 connectors and made customer delivery calls with customers of the leading ETL/ELT tools. The company discovered that the data integration’s future is open source. Moreover, the founders decided to build the firm as a new self-hosted, open-source data integration platform during this period.

    Airbyte – Mission and Vision

    Airbyte aims to give its clients’ infrastructure superpowers to collect and move data seamlessly, regardless of the tools they use. All this is done by anticipating the coming changes and respecting clients’ users’ rights for data security.

    Airbyte – Business Model

    An open-source data pipeline platform, Airbyte builds and maintains connectors while fostering the users’ community who benefit from each other’s custom connectors. The company’s connectors run in Docker containers that allow for independent operation.

    Clients can easily monitor their connectors, refresh them when required, and schedule updates. The firm certifies each new connector to ensure they are ready for production. Airbyte offers self-hosted, cloud, and cloud enterprise experiences to sync data.

    Airbyte – Products and Services

    Airbyte is famous for offering a wide range of products and solutions. Its product offerings include Airbyte Open Source, Airbyte Cloud, Airbyte Enterprise, and Free connector Program.

    When it comes to solutions, they constitute database replication, marketing analytics, product analytics, sales & customer analytics, engineering analytics, and finance & Ops analytics.

    Airbyte Products and Solutions
    Airbyte Products and Solutions

    Airbyte – Funding and Investors

    Airbyte has undertaken 4 funding rounds in which it has raised a total of $181.2 million funding. Series B Round is the latest funding round and was conducted on December 17, 2021, and raised a total of $75 million. Presently, 23 investors have invested their stakes in the company, with 4 lead investors, and the recent ones are Altimeter Capital, Coatue, Benchmark, and Thrive Capital.

    Date Round Number of Investors Money Raised Lead Investor
    December 17, 2021 Series B 7 $150 million Altimeter Capital, Coatue
    March 25, 2021 Series A 11 $26 million Benchmark
    March 2, 2021 Seed Round 11 $5.2 million Accel
    March 1, 2020 Seed Round 1

    Airbyte – Mergers and Acquisitions

    Airbyte acquired one company, i.e., Grouparoo, on April 7, 2022.

    Airbyte – Patents and Trademarks

    Airbyte has registered 2 trademarks that fall under the ‘Scientific and Electric Apparatus and Instruments category.’

    Airbyte – Growth

    Airbyte is daily offering its products and services to over 3,000 active companies. With 600+ contributors, more than 900 TB of data is synced monthly.

    Its estimated annual revenue as of 2021 is $13.3 million per year ($119,107 per employee). The monthly visits growth rate of the company’s website is -30.3%. Moreover, its employee count increased by 129% last year.

    Sync your data anywhere with Airbyte Cloud

    Airbyte – Partners

    The company’s ecosystem of technology and consulting partners constitutes the:

    • Dremio
    • Databricks
    • Perfect
    • Dragster
    • AWS
    • Google Cloud
    • Fortisoft
    • Habitat
    • Joon
    • Labonoras Tech
    • Bitstrapped
    • Snowflake

    Airbyte – Awards and Achievements

    Within the short frame of its journey, Airbyte has garnered a few prestigious awards. Recently, the company won the ‘Overall Open-Source Data Solution of the Year award in Data Breakthrough Awards 2022

    Airbyte – Competitors

    Airbyte is presently competing with 32 competitor data integration tools. Some of its main competitors are:

    • New Relic One
    • Azure Data Factory
    • SAP Data Services
    • Salesforce Connect
    • Talend
    • Informatica Cloud
    • Informatica PowerCenter
    • Apache Camel

    Airbyte – Future Plans

    The Airbyte roadmap specifies its future plan. It includes ELT pipeline orchestration, ELT custom DBT transformations, ELT streaming connectors, Enterprise Dev & prod environments, an early-access program, simplifying self-service onboarding, and more.

    FAQs

    Who are the founders of Airbyte?

    Airbyte was founded in January 2020 by Michel Tricot and Jean (John) Lafleur.

    What does Airbyte do?

    Airbyte is an open-source data portability platform that uses ELT connectors to synchronize data from applications, databases, and APIs to data warehouses, lakes, and other destinations.

    What problems does Airbyte solve?

    Airbyte is a solution for simplifying the integration process by utilizing an open-source approach and streamlining connector creation.

  • Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd Success Story – Redefining the Dental Industry

    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 Smilexone Educare Pvt. Ltd.

    Have you ever thought of getting a beautiful smile in the comfort of your home without multiple visits to dental clinics situated in faraway cities? Yes. It can be done with the help of advanced digital technology. That is what Smilexone Educare Pvt. Ltd.’s business model is all about: integrating advanced digital technology and keeping in mind the paying capacity of Indian patients.

    In this article, let’s take a glance at Smilexone Educare Pvt. Ltd., its products and services, business model, startup story, and more.

    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Company Highlights

    Company Name Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd
    Industry Healthcare, Dental
    Headquarters Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
    Founder Dr Prasant Tripathy, Dr Manasi Tripathy
    Founded 2018

    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – About
    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Industry
    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Founders and Team
    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Startup Story
    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Products/Services
    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Business and Revenue Model
    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Startup Launch and Marketing Strategy
    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Challenges Faced
    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Achievements and Recognitions

    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – About

    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd is all about getting advanced digital technology to Indian patients.

    • Smilexone is empowering general dental practitioners to embrace specialized dental treatments. Then ultimately, these specialized treatments that are normally available in big cities or towns would also be catered to in small towns or villages.
    • Rather than importing the products from developed countries, Smilexone Educare would be in a position to export its products, as it is more economical in comparison to other international brands.
    • The team at Smilexone Educare is working on a patentable technology to develop a product. If it succeeds in that, then it would be a game changer for the dental industry. Smilexone could compete with imported products, which are available in the price range of 12–30 lakhs, with its indigenously developed products at a fraction of that price.
    • Smilexone Educare is providing a 360-degree solution for the correction of irregular teeth.

    “We firmly believe, out of the box ideas and with the help of technology, we can address the existing gap of demand and supply thereby making the treatment affordable and accessible” Says Dr Prasant Tripathy, Founder, Smilexone Educare.

    Smilexone Educare Pvt. Ltd. Certificate of Recognition

    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd - Certificate of Recognition
    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Certificate of Recognition

    Smilexone Educare is recognized as a startup by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Trade, Government of India.

    Smilexone Educare is also recognized by Odisha State under its Odisha Startup Policy – 2016.

    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd - Certificate of Recognition by Odisha State
    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Certificate of Recognition by Odisha State

    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Industry

    The dental industry is an essential part of the healthcare sector, which focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of oral diseases and conditions. With the increasing awareness of oral health, the demand for dental services has grown significantly over the years. The dental industry encompasses a wide range of services, including general dentistry, orthodontics, oral surgery, and cosmetic dentistry. The global dental market is expected to grow 7.4% during the forecast period, from USD 38.84 billion in 2022 to USD 63.93 billion in 2029.

    Founders of the Smilexone Educare believe that 5 years down the line it would be a great Startup company in the dental industry.


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    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Founders and Team

    Dr Manasi Tripathy, Dr Prasant Tripathy - Founders of Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd
    Dr Manasi Tripathy, Dr Prasant Tripathy – Founders of Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd

    Dr Manasi Tripathy and Dr Prasant Tripathy are the founders of Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd.

    Dr Manasi Tripathy, Managing Director, and Dr Prasant Tripathy, Director, of Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd, are successful and well-known dental surgeons from Odisha.

    Immediately after their graduation from one of the prestigious government dental college in Odisha in 1999, they started their private practice. Right now, they are managing a chain of premier dental clinics under the brand name Smilexone and a state-of-the-art dental academy under the name Odisha Dental Academy.

    They intend to add a dozen dental clinics with the same brand name in different cities in eastern India.

    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Startup Story

    Dr Manasi Tripathy and Dr Prasant Tripathy started their careers in a small town in Odisha. They felt the need for correcting the teeth’s alignment and achieving a beautiful smile was a pre-requisite among semi-urban as well as rural girls and boys.

    But due to the lack of proper infrastructure and training among general dentists, this couldn’t be made possible. So, this inspired the couple to think of a strategy that would help dentists boost their income and people belonging to rural and semi-urban areas obtain world-class treatment. In addition to that, the treatment would be in the comfort of their areas without having to visit cities for treatment, at a very nominal cost!

    Who doesn’t want a beautiful smile? Is it really affordable and accessible to the people at large? No.

    Considering the fact that in a vast country like India, there are only a few orthodontists who are responsible for the correction of irregular teeth whereas the number of people in need of this treatment is in the crores. From this simple math, Manasi and Prasant decided to build this unique business model.

    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Products/Services

    In the initial days, Smilexone Educare intends to train general dental practitioners in Fixed Orthodontic Treatment from its center at Bhubaneswar.

    “When doctors started coming down from faraway places like Andaman and Nicobar, Imphal, Jamshedpur, we decided to take this program to different cities of India” Says Dr Prasant.

    Smilexone Educare has been operating in Odisha, Assam, and Chhattisgarh. As a blessing in disguise, the lockdown period gave the team an ample amount of time to think and develop –

    • Ortho Initia: A learning initiative that provides on-site and online training to general dental practitioners to assist them in providing irregular tooth correction to their patients.
    • OrthoKonnect: With an aim to bring on board lakhs of general dental practitioners, who are capable of providing specialized dental treatment under the remote guidance of orthodontists, OrthoKonnect was developed! Smilexone’s mobile and desktop application “OrthoKonnect” would act as a bridge to connect general practitioners with specialists anywhere in the world.
    • Aestheticalign: A clear and transparent dental aligner made in India with technological collaboration from Germany & the USA. It would be the most cost-effective dental aligner system.
    • EZ Braces: Another product meant for doctors. This product would be able to make the task of the doctors in providing conventional braces to their patients.
    • My Smile My Rules: A patient-centric web portal www.mysmile.in for patients looking for correction of their irregular teeth through Orthodontic treatment. Doorstep treatment service can be provided through the portal.

    Its other initiative is to indigenously develop high-end dental equipment and dental software under the mentorship of the Software Technology Park of India. One of its ideas involving AI technology has been shortlisted out of hundreds of applicants for “NEURON”- An STPI CoE in AI, Data Analytics, IoT & Audio-Visual Gaming Open Challenge Program (OCP).

    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Business and Revenue Model

    Smilexone Educare has a robust business model. It doesn’t believe in making huge investments in the initial days and waiting for the return to come. “We feel the business model should be self-sufficient,” says Dr Prasant

    “When we realize one segment of our business started making profit then only, we decide to venture into another segment. First it was the training program then we ventured into developing products” adds Dr Prasant

    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Startup Launch and Marketing Strategy

    Founders’ experience and track record of 22 years helped Smilexone Educare win the trust of patients.

    Initially, the concept had been planned for Odisha. But when people started traveling from far-away places like Imphal, Andaman & Nicobar, and Jamshedpur, the idea was launched pan India.

    “During the early days, our focus was on training. But Pandemic and the Startup India platform gave us the opportunity to strive for more. We entered into developing some dental products and software” says Dr Prasant, Founder of Smilexone Educare.

    After a while, the team decided to launch its program in the East & North East states of India along with Bangladesh. It has tied up with some clinicians from different cities, who are the partners for arranging the course in the city.

    A better understanding of market needs helped the team devise a successful marketing strategy. “The tagline of our campaign My Smile My Rules is appealing to everyone. Another tagline of our Brand “Aestheticalign”, Not Only for Class but for Mass is also rightly addressed to targeted clients” adds Dr Prasant.


    Digital Marketing Strategy for Dental Clinic
    By making a brand name of your dental clinic, you can easily reach out to more patients. Read to know some marketing strategy for dental clinics.


    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Challenges Faced

    Even with over 20 years of experience in the industry, developing software and dental products was a major challenge.

    “We are lucky to have a team of efficient software professionals who have been working with us for the development of the applications. Simultaneously, we got a lot of support from our overseas partners in manufacturing of the dental products.” says Dr Prasant

    Smilexone Educare – Competitors

    • For products like Aestheticalign, its competitors are Invisalign by Align Technology, ClearCorrect by Straumann, DentCare Aligner by Dentcare Lab.
    • For training, it has competitors like Orthomania and Smile Train.

    Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd – Achievements and Recognitions

    “Besides being registered in both Start Up India and Start Up Odisha, both the promoters have received The Times Health Icon Awards and our dental hospital has ranked as the No1. dental care Centre consecutively for 3 years in a row” adds Dr Prasant

    FAQs

    Who are the founders of Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd?

    Dr Manasi Tripathy and Dr Prasant Tripathy are the founders of Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd.

    What are the major products/services of Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd?

    The major products/services of Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd include Ortho Initia, Ortho Konnect, Aestheticalign, EZ Braces, and My Smile My Rules.

    Who are the competitors of Smilexone Educare Pvt Ltd?

    For products like Aestheticalign, its competitors are Invisalign by Align Technology, ClearCorrect by Straumann, DentCare Aligner by Dentcare Lab. For training, it has competitors like Orthomania and Smile Train.

  • RedBus – Enjoy a cozy and comfortable bus travel with RedBus!

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

    With all the buzz that the millennials have with traveling and easy bookings, we had to have online booking portals that are easy as a button. Today, from airfare booking to bus booking, we have all arrangements for easy and fast online booking. One such company that revolutionized the bus travel industry is RedBus. In August 2006, Phanindra Sama, Sudhakar Pasupunuri, and Charan Padmaraju launched RedBus which is a multi-million-dollar startup.

    Now, traveling might be a necessity, but the aim varies from the need of delight to professional to adventure and many more. The available avenues for transport are many starting from airplanes to trains to metros and autos. But the foremost commonly used mode of transport remains to be BUS. While traveling from one city to a different city, private buses are operated by bus operators under the supervision of travel agents. With this arrangement there are certain hardships that the consumer faces, this can range from limited seats particularly within the seasons of festivals. But with online ticket booking, this is a completely new and effortless experience for the customer. Initially, we just had an online booking for trains and airplanes, which are now too predominant in the market. But the good news is that now we have several players in the market offering easy and efficient bus booking facilities to the consumer. However, the first and now the top bus ticket booking platform is RedBus.

    Company Name RedBus
    Headquarter Bangalore
    Sector Ticketing
    Founders Phanindra Sama, Sudhakar Pasupunuri, Charan Padmaraju
    Founded 2006
    Website redbus.in

    RedBus – About and how it works
    RedBus – Founders and Team
    RedBus – How did it start?
    RedBus – Name, Tagline, and Logo
    RedBus – Startup Challenges
    RedBus – Funding and Investors
    RedBus – Growth
    RedBus – Acquistion
    RedBus – Campaign
    RedBus – Awards and Recognition
    RedBus – Competitors

    RedBus – About and how it works

    RedBus is a web ticket booking platform that facilitates comfortable and affordable traveling to millions by providing a dynamic and efficient online ticket booking system. RedBus was envisioned to make traveling for Indians a very convenient and cozy experience. Hence RedBus offers a dynamic range of services which include the following:

    • Multiple Travel Options Across Thousands of Routes
    • Excellent Customer Support for solving travel issues
    • Low-cost and affordable tickets
    • Extra benefits like discounts, deals, and festive offers, etc.
    • M-ticket, E-ticket, and Counter ticket
    • Luxurious hotel services
    • Bus hirings
    • Pilgrimage tours

    The users can book tickets using the application and also customize the choices using the RedBus ticket booking application. Ticket booking across various bus types is available at this portal. It also facilitates users by providing exciting bus coupons, festival offers, etc. Other important features like availability of buses, seats, sort of bus and selection of the bus are available within this application.

    Also, the RedBus team developed a software package named BOSS for bus operators. This software provides smooth access and thorough knowledge of buses and seating allotments to the customer. And a seat seller which furnishes the knowledge to the agency.

    There are several other products at RedBus that make bus travel easier for Indian customers. Each product fuels the opposite and growing one product also leads to the growth of the others. At RedBus, they have call centers, an internet site and franchisees in Mumbai. With all of these arrangements in place, RedBus has been on the top of a highly fragmented bus industry and also taken on to shape it by aggregating information and centralizing.

    RedBus – Founders and Team

    The founders of RedBus are Phanindra Sama, Sudhakar Pasupunuri, and Charan Padmaraju.

    Phanindra Sama Co-Founder of Redbus
    Phanindra Sama Co-Founder of RedBus

    Phanindra Sama

    RedBus was co-founded by Phanindra Sama. He was employed at Texas Instruments and ST Microelectronics prior to joining RedBus. He has been employed by RedBus for around eight years. He completed his Electrical and Electronic Engineering BE with Honors from Bits Pilani.

    Sudhakar Pasupunuri Co-Founder of Redbus
    Sudhakar Pasupunuri Co-Founder of RedBus

    Sudhakar Pasupunuri

    RedBus was co-founded by Sudhakar Pasupunuri. His education was completed at BITS Pilani.

    Charan Padmaraju Co-Founder of RedBus
    Charan Padmaraju Co-Founder of RedBus

    Charan Padmaraju

    RedBus was co-founded by Charan Padmaraju. His education was completed at BITS Pilani. He was employed at Honeywell before joining RedBus.

    RedBus – How did it start?

    If you’re wondering as to how the idea of such a mind-boggling thing struck to the founder, Sama, then here is the story of how RedBus was actually born! All of this started when the founder Phanindra Sama was trying to travel from Bangalore to Hyderabad for Diwali vacation in the year 2005. And it so happened that he could not get a bus ticket to travel to his hometown. He wandered all around Bangalore city for a ticket that could take him home for the festival. But unfortunately, he didn’t get a single ticket. That very day, he came to know the disorganization in the system and the huge and unending communication gap between the two tiers of the whole system namely, bus operators and travel agents. Apparently, there was absolutely no transparency on the available seats and price of the ticket with regards to the date of journey, time and all other related variables. And everything related to the bus booking was done through phone calls, and if one wanted to do something with a ticket, they had to go all the way back to agents every time to book a new ticket, cancel, refund, or do a hundred other things.

    When he went through the same issues with ticket booking, Sama felt it was extremely clumsy and time-consuming. And after thinking about it, he came to believe that this could be solved by taking this whole process online. After discussing this new-born idea with his friends, three of the founders decided to enter the realm of the entrepreneurial ground even though they didn’t have entrepreneurial bugs initially. And that’s how RedBus was born.


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    RedBus Logo
    RedBus Logo

    The name “RedBus” is supposedly taken from the color of the Virgin brand, which was started by Richard Branson. This was because of the mastermind behind this venture, Sama was immensely fascinated with his autobiography. And so he wanted to have a color for his business. And because the color of the Virgin brand is Red, they were mutually fiddling on this name for the firm. There’s one more reason to name it RedBus that it is an online-based brand and for the common man’s convenience, the founders wanted an easy and at the same time, catchy name for their startup. So, finally, they named it RedBus!

    RedBus – Startup Challenges

    All the startups have their fair share of milestones that they have to cross before becoming number 1 in the industry. Similarly, RedBus had its own set of challenges. The challenges that they had to face to take RedBus to where it is today are as follows:

    1. Payment gateway issues for providing easy checkout facilities to the customer
    2. Propagating a similar working environment, culture, and value system across offices in different countries

    RedBus – Funding and Investors

    To date, RedBus has raised $10.1 million over the span of 14 years.

    Date Stage Amount Investors
    Sep 30, 2013 Angel $45.6K Danan Christadoss
    Mar 14, 2011 Series C $6.5 million Helion Venture Partners, Seedfund and other unnamed investor
    Jun 30, 2009 Series A $2.5 million Seedfund, Athera
    Jul 31, 2007 Seed $1 million Seedfund and other unnamed investor

    RedBus – Growth

    • Globally, RedBus has 8+ million customers,
    • 2300+ bus operators
    • 100 million trips are booked worldwide using the RedBus application
    • RedBus sold its stake to Ibibo for $135 million.
    • RedBus has operations across various countries besides India which are Colombia, Indonesia, Peru, Malaysia, and Singapore.
    • It currently sells around 220 million tickets/year(contract carriage buses).
    • RedBus is providing access to nearly 40,000 travel agents across the country
    • Also, the overall sector is growing at a CAGR of 35-40% per annum.
    • RedBus enjoys a huge network effect
    • Also, it witnesses high trust from bus operators because they are stuck to standard commissions and never asked for an increase based on increased volumes.
    • RedBus is recognized as an organized travel company in the country because it ensures a viable online presence by having call centers as well as franchisees.
    • RedBus is also very excited about BOSS installations in Bangladesh and Malaysia.

    RedBus – Acquistion

    On July 11, 2016, RedBus acquired one company, Busportal, for an undisclosed amount.

    RedBus – Campaign

    Redbus Campaign

    In order to position itself as the hub of intercity bus travel during the impending holidays and celebrations, RedBus debuted its first digital-first brand campaign on September 27, 2022, alongside its brand ambassador, Icon Star Allu Arjun. Bringing your loved ones and dreams closer with RedBus is the theme of two ad films that the world’s largest online bus ticketing company has released as part of the campaign.

    RedBus – Awards and Recognition

    The awards and achievements that RedBus backed in its journey of 14 years are as follows:

    • Phanindra became the second entrepreneur from India to join Endeavour.
    • The most innovative company from the business-standard.
    • The most trusted brand from the brand trust report.
    • Mobile innovation award from the eye for travel.
    • Phanindra Sama placed under “40 under 40” by Fortune India in 2014.
    • Phanindra was appointed as the CIO (Chief Innovation Officer) of TSIC (Telangana State Innovation Cell) on 10th November 2017.
    • Top 5 startup in 2010’ by Forbes magazine.

    RedBus – Competitors

    Though RedBus is the pioneer in the industry when it comes to online booking for buses, today it faces intense competition from other predominant market players. The top competitors that directly or indirectly pose cut-throat competition to RedBus are Trabol, TicketGoose, MakeMyTrip, Travelyaari, AbhiBus, My Trip Zone, Ibroad, Simplotel, Purebus, and OYO. Though it sold its stakes to Ibibo, the competition is better faced with combined resources and upgraded technology.


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    FAQ

    Who are the Co-Founders of RedBus?

    Phanindra Sama, Sudhakar Pasupunuri, Charan Padmaraju are the Co-Founders of RedBus.

    How is ticket cancellation done in RedBus?

    The majority of tickets are canceled online. Nevertheless, certain tickets can only be canceled by calling the call center.

    Who are the competitors of RedBus?

    Competitors of RedBus are Trabol, TicketGoose, MakeMyTrip, Travelyaari, AbhiBus, My Trip Zone, Ibroad, Simplotel, Purebus, and OYO.

  • Morgan Stanley Success Story – Leading the Way in Global Investment Management and Financial Services

    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 the organization it is based on.

    One cannot ignore the fact that money doesn’t impact us. Banking and financial services are our everyday affairs. Today, companies that offer financial services have a broad category that can include many different types of businesses. Generally speaking, a business can be categorized as a financial services institution if it deals with finances, investment banking, and money management.

    With its headquarters in New York City, Morgan Stanley is American multinational financial services and investment management company. In this article, we will learn about Morgan Stanley, its founders, its startup story, its business model, its investments, and more.

    Morgan Stanley – Company Highlights

    Company Name Morgan Stanley
    Headquarters New York, USA
    Sector Financial Services
    Founders Henry Sturgis Morgan, Harold Stanley
    Founded 1935
    Website morganstanley.com

    Morgan Stanley – About
    Morgan Stanley – Industry
    Morgan Stanley – Founders and Team
    Morgan Stanley – Startup Story
    Morgan Stanley – Mission and Vision
    Morgan Stanley – Name, Tagline, and Logo
    Morgan Stanley – Business Model
    Morgan Stanley – Revenue Model
    Morgan Stanley – Challenges Faced
    Morgan Stanley – Mergers and Acquisitions
    Morgan Stanley – Investments
    Morgan Stanley – Growth
    Morgan Stanley – Awards and Achievements
    Morgan Stanley – Competitors
    Morgan Stanley – Future Plans

    Morgan Stanley Growth Over the Years

    Morgan Stanley – About

    Morgan Stanley is a financial services company that provides advice, capital origination, trading, management, and distribution for organizations, governments, and individuals through its affiliates and subsidiaries. The firm is divided into three main business sectors: Securities issued by institutions, wealth management, and investment management.

    Morgan Stanley raises money to assist organizations, institutions, and people around the world in achieving their financial objectives. As a global financial services provider, the company has a presence in more than 40 countries, serving clients like governments, institutions, corporations, and individuals. Through proper dedication and continuous delivery of first-class service, Morgan Stanley has remained a consistent industry leader over many decades.

    Morgan Stanley – Industry

    The largest and most liquid financial markets are found in the United States. The financial services industry in the US has grown at an exponential rate in the last few years. Along with this, global economic growth is also being influenced by the US finance and insurance markets. Furthermore, the global financial services industry is going to increase at a CAGR of 6% from 2020 to 2025, increasing its value from $20.49 trillion to $28.53 trillion.


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    Morgan Stanley – Founders and Team

    Morgan Stanley was founded in 1935 by Henry Sturgis Morgan and Harold Stanley.

    Henry Sturgis Morgan

    Henry Sturgis Morgan - Co-founder, Morgan Stanley
    Henry Sturgis Morgan – Co-founder, Morgan Stanley

    Henry Sturgis Morgan was born on October 24, 1900, in London, UK. He joined J.P. Morgan & Co. in 1923, the same year he received his Harvard degree, and worked there from 1928 to 1935 as a partner. He and Harold Stanley co-founded Morgan Stanley in 1935 as the Glass-Steagall Act forced the division of investment banking from commercial banking.

    Henry was married to Catherine Frances Lovering Adams, who was the daughter of the U.S. Secretary of the Navy, Charles Francis Adams III.

    Henry served as the Chairman and President of The Morgan Library & Museum. Along with this, he also served as a board member of J.P. Morgan & Co., General Electric, and Pullman Company. In addition, Morgan served as an OSS agent and a commander in the Naval Reserve during World War II.

    Henry Sturgis Morgan passed away on February 8, 1982, at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York.

    Harold Stanley

    Harold Stanley - Co-founder, Morgan Stanley
    Harold Stanley – Co-founder, Morgan Stanley

    Harold Stanley was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in 1885. He got his degree from Yale University in 1908. Harold Stanley’s career began in 1916 when he was appointed vice-president of the Guaranty Trust Company of New York’s bond division. Eventually, he spun off the department into the Guaranty Company, a separate and subsidiary securities company, where he collaborated with J.P. Morgan, Jr. Dwight Morrow, who was appointed the US Ambassador to Mexico, was replaced by Morgan’s invitation for Stanley to join his company as a partner in 1927.

    Apart from all of this, Harold Stanley was also a member of the Yale Club, the National Golf Club, the Racquet and Tennis Club, and the Links Club of New York. He served as the director of numerous organizations, including Shell Caribbean Petroleum Corporation.

    Harold Stanley did a lot of philanthropic activities. He oversaw the New York fundraising effort in 1940 to raise $1.5 million (or $29,013,000 in 2021) for the United States Commission for the Care of European Children, a non-profit that assisted young war refugees.

    James P. Gorman

    James P. Gorman - CEO and Chairman, Morgan Stanley
    James P. Gorman – CEO and Chairman, Morgan Stanley

    James P. Gorman is a prominent business executive who currently serves as the CEO and Chairman of Morgan Stanley, a leading global financial services firm. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Melbourne and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

    Prior to his current role, Gorman worked at McKinsey & Company and Merrill Lynch. He joined Morgan Stanley in 2006 as the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Global Wealth Management Group (GWMG).

    In January 2010, Gorman was appointed as the CEO of Morgan Stanley, and in 2012, he assumed the additional role of Chairman, where he continues to provide leadership and strategic direction to the company.

    Morgan Stanley – Startup Story

    In 1935, the original story of Morgan Stanley began with J.P. Morgan & Co, which served as its foundation. It was when the Glass-Steagall Act was passed, firms could no longer combine their commercial and investment banking operations under a single holding company. The Glass-Steagall Legislation, a part of the United States Banking Act of 1933 describes that commercial and investment banking companies should run separately. Due to this, J.P Morgan & Co. decided to go with the commercial banking business. Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, among others, left J.P. Morgan & Co. as a result, joining other Drexel partners to launch Morgan Stanley. This is when the new story for Morgan Stanley began.

    It was on September 16, 1935, when the company officially began operations at 2 Wall Street in New York City, right next door to J.P. Morgan. For the United States Steel Corporation, which served as the lead underwriter, the company distributed 1938 US$100 million in debentures. In addition, the company earned the distinction of serving as the lead syndicate in the 1939 U.S. rail financing. To facilitate greater activity in its securities business, the company underwent a new strategy for reorganization in 1941.

    After many years around 1997, the company merged with Dean Witter Discover & Co., the spun-off financial services business of Sears Roebuck. Within a year, the company’s name was changed to “Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.” To prevent hostility between the two businesses, the original name was chosen as a combination of the two predecessor businesses. For reasons unknown, “Dean Witter” was removed entirely in 2001, and the company’s name changed to “Morgan Stanley”.

    The combined company started expanding its international operations around 1999. John J. Mack, who was the company’s president and Chief Operating Officer, established a joint venture in India with a Mumbai-based financial services group, JM Financial.

    It is reported that Morgan Stanley was the largest tenant of the World Trade Center complex. It had offices spread across 35 floors of buildings 1, 2, and 5 of the complex. Sadly during 9/11, the firm lost over 13 employees. However, the other 2500+ employees were vacated safely.

    The company made acquisitions in the 2000s that allowed them to widen its financial operations. As part of a larger initiative to promote investment in initiatives that support economic, social, and environmental sustainability, Morgan Stanley announced in November 2013 that it would invest around $1 billion to help enhance affordable housing.

    Through many years, the company has invariably delivered top-notch financial services. Today, the company claims of having offices in more than 40 countries.

    Morgan Stanley – Mission and Vision

    Morgan Stanley’s mission statement is, “Morgan Stanley is dedicated to providing first-class service to our clients, in a way that reflects our commitment to creating a more sustainable future and fostering stronger communities around the world. In each line of business, we strive to demonstrate our belief in the power of transformative thinking, innovative strategies and leading-edge solutions—and in the ability of capital to work for the benefit of all society.”

    They have core values that they follow passionately: do the right thing, put clients first, lead with exceptional ideas, commit to diversity and inclusion, and give back. These values serve as the foundation for everything Morgan Stanley stands for.

    Morgan Stanley Logo
    Morgan Stanley Logo

    Morgan Stanley was known as “Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co” in 1997, as it was merged with the company Dean Witter Discover & Co. However, the company’s name was again changed to Morgan Stanley in 2001. The reason for changing the name was never revealed.

    Morgan Stanley – Business Model

    Morgan Stanley is a financial and investment banking company that offers services such as sales & trading, investment banking, investment management, prime brokerage, research, institutional consulting, wealth management, and private wealth management. Moreover, the company’s business segments are divided into three segments:

    Wealth Management

    Stockbroking, brokerage, and investment advisory services, market-making activities in fixed-income securities, financial and wealth planning services, annuity and insurance products, credit and other lending products, banking, and retirement plan service are offered by the global wealth management group. Under this segment, the company offers financial and wealth planning services to individuals and small to medium-sized businesses and institutions.

    Institutions Securities

    This segment by Morgan Stanley offers investment banking services like capital raising including underwriting of debt, and equity, and financial advisory services like mergers and acquisitions advice, reorganizations, real estate and project finance, and corporate lending activities and credit products. The clients include corporations, governments, financial institutions, and high-to-ultra high-net-worth clients. Institutional securities at Morgan Stanley is the most thriving industry.

    Investment Management

    Services like traditional asset management, including equity, fixed income, liquidity, alternatives and managed futures products, and merchant banking and real estate investing are provided by this business segment.

    Morgan Stanley – Revenue Model

    One of the most profitable business segments of Morgan Stanley is institutional securities. Other than this, the investment banking division of the company makes money by charging fees for advisory services like mergers and acquisitions and restructurings. In both mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings (IPOs), the firm ranks highly on a global scale. In 2022, the company made a revenue of $53.7 billion.

    Morgan Stanley – Challenges Faced

    Just like any bank, Morgan Stanley faced challenges during the 2008 financial crisis. The firm lost more than 80% of its market value between 2007 and 2008, with its share price sliding by 57% in just four days. Despite these difficulties, Morgan Stanley has since recovered and remains a major player in the global financial services sector.

    Morgan Stanley – Mergers and Acquisitions

    Morgan Stanley has made many acquisitions since its inception. The most recent acquisitions are:

    Date Acquiree name Amount
    December 5, 2022 blooom
    January 19, 2022 Fusion Connect
    October 8, 2020 Eaton Vance Management $7 billion
    February 20, 2020 E-TRADE $13 billion
    March 3, 2019 Microlife Corp $302 million
    February 15, 2019 KSH Infra $49 million
    February 11, 2019 Shareworks
    October 2, 2017 Mesa West Capital
    October 9, 2015 CoAdvantage
    September 12, 2014 NEWSTAR $8.1 million

    Morgan Stanley – Investments

    Morgan Stanley has made various investments throughout the years. The most recent investments are:

    Date Organization Name Funding Round Money Raised
    March 2, 2023 Delhivery Post-IPO Secondary ₹9.5 billion
    Feb 2, 2023 Syngene Post-IPO Equity ₹11.9 billion
    Jan 9, 2023 Athulya Senior Care Private Equity Round ₹770 million
    Jan 5, 2023 Netskope Convertible Note $401 million
    Jan 4, 2023 HYNN Technologies Series D
    Dec 19, 2022 CyberCube Series C $50 million
    Nov 20, 2022 OPTT Health Pre-Seed Round $1.2 million
    Oct 21, 2022 Emler Swim School Private Equity Round
    Sep 29, 2022 Intersect Power Debt Financing $2.4 billion
    Sep 27, 2022 Vital Thin Film Materials Series B CN¥4.5 billion
    Sep 6, 2022 Clip Credit Facility $50 million

    Besides this, there are a few more diversity-based investments made by the company, the details are:

    Date Organization Name Funding Round Money Raised
    Aug 11, 2022 Stimulus Seed Round $2.5 million
    Jul 21, 2022 TomoCredit Series B $22 million
    Jun 2, 2022 Hourwork Series A $2.5 million
    Mar 28, 2022 Hourwork Series A $10 million
    Mar 24, 2022 Lillii RNB Seed Round $3.7 million
    Mar 23, 2022 Stimulus Seed Round
    Jan 27, 2022 NVISIONx Seed Round $4.6 million
    Dec 23, 2021 MedTrans Go Seed Round $1.5 million
    Nov 17, 2021 Cohesion Series A $15 million
    Aug 1, 2021 Presagen Seed Round $2.2 million

    Morgan Stanley – Growth

    Morgan Stanley has come a long way and evolved through many decades. The company was a pioneer in assisting blue-chip clients to access public markets to finance expansion and innovation throughout the 1950s and 1960s. It was in 1962, the firm claims to have developed the first practical computer model for financial analysis, ushering in a new era for the discipline. Later in the 1990s, the company went overseas by expanding its operations in countries like India, China, South Africa, and Russia.

    After the financial crisis during 2007-2008, the company struggled and faced quite challenges. In 2008, the company changed its status by becoming a bank holding company. In addition, the firm also made a deal with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (Japan). The group agrees to invest $9 billion for a 21% stake in the company. This gave both companies to expand on a global scale.

    At present, the company is one of the top financial and investment banking companies in the USA and of, course internationally as well.


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    Morgan Stanley – Awards and Achievements

    Morgan Stanley has received the following awards and recognition:

    • Morgan Stanley was ranked among the top innovative workplaces in 2020 and 2021 by Fast Company.
    • Morgan Stanley was recognized by the Times which ranked the company fifth among the top 20 large companies.
    • Great Place to Work Institute, Japan based on the opinions of the employees and the corporate culture, ranked Morgan Stanley as the second-best company to work for in that country in 2007.
    • In 2004, Working Mother named Morgan Stanley as one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers.
    • Morgan Stanley also achieved the Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality in 2016.
    • Euromoney magazine recognized Morgan Stanley with the Best Global Investment Bank Award in 2015.
    • Morgan Stanley was named the Bank of the Year by IFR in 2020 and the best global investment bank by Euromoney in 2021.

    Morgan Stanley – Competitors

    The top competitors of Morgan Stanley are:


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    Morgan Stanley – Future Plans

    With a revenue of $53.7 billion, Morgan Stanley is undoubtedly one of the leading global investment banks, employing more than 80,000 employees. The company plans to be more optimistic in terms of the stock market. It further aims to come up with a better business strategy in the areas of wealth management and investment banking. Its long-term goal is to amass $10 trillion in client assets.

    Morgan Stanley – FAQs

    Who started Morgan Stanley?

    Morgan Stanley was founded in 1935 by Henry Sturgis Morgan and Harold Stanley.

    Where is the headquarters of Morgan Stanley?

    Morgan Stanley’s headquarters are in New York, US.

    Who are Morgan Stanley’s top competitors?

    The top competitors of Morgan Stanley are Goldman Sach, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Raymond James, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, and Merrill Lynch.

    Who is the CEO of Morgan Stanley?

    James P. Gorman currently serves as the CEO and Chairman of Morgan Stanley.

  • A24 – A Champion of Storytelling on Screen

    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 the organization it is based on.

    Entertainment has always been an integral part of everyone’s life and movies, web series, and television shows have emerged as the main source. The entertainment industry has changed significantly in the last few decades.

    In the early days, people used to visit theatres to watch news clips of the war and now to watch different genres of movies- from action to romance and comedy. Moreover, streaming platforms allow people to watch movies in the comfort of their homes.

    In 2021, the global movies and entertainment market size was valued at $90.92 billion and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% during 2023-2030. With such a huge market size, the industry offers lucrative opportunities for companies to thrive.

    A24, originally a small independent movie distributor, has quickly captured a huge market share in the entertainment industry. Despite launching merely 10 years ago, it has managed to secure itself a fanatical fan following.

    This article will help you know everything about A24 – from its startup story and founders to funding, growth, achievements, and partners.

    A24 – Company Highlights

    Company Name A24
    Headquarters New York City, United States
    Primary Industry Entertainment
    Founders Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges
    Founded In 2012
    Revenue $123.3M (2022)
    Previously Known As A24 Films (2012-2016)
    Website www.a24films.com

    A24 – About
    A24 – Mission and Vision
    A24 – Founders and Team
    A24 – Startup Story
    A24 – Products and Services
    A24 – Funding and Investors
    A24 – Subsidiaries
    A24 – Partners
    A24 – Growth
    A24 – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
    A24 – Awards and Achievements
    A24 – Competitors
    A24 – Future Plans

    A24 – About

    Formerly known as A24 Films, it is now globally recognized as A24. Set up in 2012, it is an American independent entertainment company that produces films and television shows and distributes films. In addition, it publishes books based on the scripts of its films.

    It is currently operating under the leadership of Terry warren (CEO) and Matthew Bires (Founder and COO). Since 2013, the company is known for releasing over 100 critically acclaimed movies, web series, and television shows, including titles like Moonlight, The Witch, Hereditary, Uncut Gems, Euphoria, and Lady Bird.

    A24 – Mission and Vision

    A24 works to fill the gap where talented people could be talented. As shared by Mr. Daniel Katz in one of his interviews with GQ magazine, he felt that there is a huge opportunity to create where talented people could be talented. And their all movies are great proof of the mission. Its common goal is to tell interesting, unique stories.


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    A24 – Founders and Team

    Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges are the co-founders of A24.

    Daniel Katz

    Daniel Katz - Founder of A24
    Daniel Katz – Founder of A24

    Daniel Katz has earned a lot of acclaim among critics, industry experts, and audiences by co-founding A24. He is also a board member at Gamma, a modern media and music company.

    David Fenkel

    David Fenkel - Founder of A24
    David Fenkel – Founder of A24

    Earned a degree in BA from the University of Rochester, David Fenkel is a co-founder and partner at A24.

    John Hodges

    John Hodges - Founder of A24
    John Hodges – Founder of A24

    Co-founder of A24, John Hodges previously held the role of head of production at Big Beach Films and produced the “Jordan Vogt-Roberts” drama “King of Summer.” Now he is working as a Head of Film at Jax Media.

    When it comes to the company size, A24 currently has 480 employees.

    A24 – Startup Story

    Film veterans Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges founded the company on August 20, 2012. The name ‘A24’ was inspired by the Italian A24 motorway which was being driven by Katz when he decided to form the company. The main idea behind forming the company was to share movies from a distinctive point of view.

    In 2013, the company began its distribution of films with its first theatrical release – Roman Coppola’s ‘A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III.’ And in September 2013, it signed a deal worth $40 million with DirectTV Cinema offering A24 day-and-date release 30 days before a theatrical release. The company signed a deal with Amazon prime in the same year, stating that its distributed films would be available on Amazon Instance Video.

    In 2018, it launched a podcast – the A24 Podcast and co-founder John Hodges exited the company. Moreover, it entered into a multi-year partnership with Apple in the same year. The company collaborated with Showtime Networks in 2019, covering its film releases through November 2022.

    A24 – Products and Services

    A24 Website
    A24 Website

    The company offers 2 products – Motion Pictures and Television Programs and 3 services – Film Distribution, Film production, and Television Production.

    A24 – Funding and Investors

    A24 has undertaken 2 funding rounds and raised a total of $225 million. The latest funding round was held on 9 March 2022 – Private Equity Round, which raised $225 million. 3 investors fund the company and Neuberger Berman Group and Stripes are the recent ones.

    Date Round Number of Investors Money Raised Lead Investor
    March 9, 2022 Private Equity Round 2 $225 Million Neuberger Berman Group, Stripes
    January 1, 2013 Seed Round 1 Eldridge

    A24 – Subsidiaries

    It has three divisions – A24 Television, A24 International, and A24 All Access (AAA24).

    A24 – Partners

    The company has partnered with several companies either for a single project or a lifetime. Some of its partners are- Apple, Amazon, DirectTV Cinema, and Showtime Networks.

    A24 – Growth

    In 2022, A24’s annual revenue is approximately $123.3 million per year ($256,250 per employee) with its current valuation standing at $2.5 billion (March 2022). Moreover, its employee count grew by 33% last year and the monthly rank growth of the website is 3.49%.

    A24 – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

    A24 Twitter Page
    A24 Twitter Page

    Although A24 has fewer marketing dollars than its competitors, it succeeded in garnering articles and attention from the audience. The company always believed in leveraging experimental marketing. Social media and digital campaigns are the spines of its marketing campaign. Moreover, collaborates with other brands, influencers, and media outlets for cross-promotion.

    A24 – Awards and Achievements

    As of 2023, the films produced and distributed by A24 had received a total of 49 Academy Award nominations.

    • In 2016, films distributed by the company won 3 Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, Best Documentary Feature, and Best Actress.
    • In 2017, the company won its first Best Picture Oscar for Barry Jenkins ‘Moonlight.’
    • It won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2021.
    • It’s the most nominated studio for the 2023 awards with a total of 18 nominations.

    A24 – Competitors

    The company is successfully running in the entertainment industry even after facing tough competition. Some of its competitors are:

    • Marvel
    • Capcom
    • Hollywood
    • Imagine Entertainment
    • Jax Media LLC
    • Scott Free
    • Indiestory

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    A24 – Future Plans

    A24 is planning to release multiple television shows in the coming years. Some of these are- Dreaming Whilst Black, The Idol, happy family USA, Beef, Big Swiss, and The Curse.

    FAQs

    What was the first A24 movie?

    The first film by A24 was named “Amy”.

    Who is the A24 target audience?

    A24 films are more or less made and directed for young and active audiences.

    What is A24 highest grossing film?

    A24’s highest-grossing film of all time is Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) which made $101 million worldwide.

    Who is the biggest competitor of A24?

    Some of the biggest competitors of A24 are TVN, Zee Entertainment, IDream Film Infrastructure, Beijing Enlight Media, etc.

  • Let’s Connect India Success Story: Offering Affordable and Modern Coworking Spaces

    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 Let’s Connect India.

    The commercial real estate industry in India has experienced rapid growth in recent years due to the rise of startups and the increasing demand for flexible office spaces. Coworking spaces, in particular, have become a popular option for businesses of all sizes, offering affordable and flexible workspaces that promote collaboration and innovation.

    According to a report by JLL, the flexible space segment in India is expected to grow by more than 50% in the coming years, with coworking spaces being a major contributor to this growth. With more and more companies looking for flexible office solutions, the competition in the coworking industry is heating up, and providers are constantly striving to offer the best services at the most affordable rates.

    Let’s Connect India is one such coworking space provider that aims to disrupt the industry by offering reliable and comfortable office space at affordable rates. With a focus on creating a collaborative and community-driven environment, Let’s Connect India is quickly becoming a popular choice for startups, freelancers, and small businesses looking for a flexible workspace solution.

    Let’s Connect India – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Let’s Connect India
    Headquarters Noida, Uttar Paresh, India
    Industry Coworking Space, Commercial Real Estate
    Founder Sagar Narang
    Founded 2018
    Website letsconnectindia.com

    Let’s Connect India – About
    Let’s Connect India – Industry
    Let’s Connect India – Founder
    Let’s Connect India – Ideation Journey
    Let’s Connect India – Name and Logo
    Let’s Connect India – Challenges Faced
    Let’s Connect India – Competitors
    Let’s Connect India – Future Plans

    Let’s Connect India – About

    Let’s Connect India is a leading co-working space provider in Noida that is committed to offering reliable and comfortable office space to its clients. The company’s primary goal is to provide all the necessary services and amenities at an affordable price, making it easier for startups, freelancers, and small businesses to establish a professional workspace without the high costs associated with traditional office rentals.

    By offering flexible workspaces that are fully equipped with modern amenities and cutting-edge technology, Let’s Connect India provides an ideal solution for businesses looking for a collaborative and community-driven environment.

    Overall, Let’s Connect India’s coworking spaces solve the problem of high costs associated with traditional office rentals by offering affordable, flexible workspaces with all the necessary amenities, making it an ideal solution for businesses.

    Let’s Connect India | Best Coworking Space in Noida

    Let’s Connect India – Industry

    Let’s Connect India is a key player in the coworking space and commercial real estate industry, which has experienced significant growth in recent years due to the rise of startups and the increasing demand for flexible office spaces. The global coworking space market size is projected to grow from $16.17 billion in 2022 to $19.05 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.8%, according to a report by Research and Markets. This growth is driven by factors such as the rising demand for flexible workspaces, the need for cost-effective office solutions, and the increasing trend of remote working.

    In India, the coworking sector is expected to cross 50 million sq ft by the end of 2023, according to a report by JLL. This growth is fueled by the country’s rapidly expanding startup ecosystem, which has created a strong demand for flexible office spaces that provide an ideal environment for collaboration and innovation. As a leading coworking space provider, Let’s Connect India is well-positioned to capitalize on this growth and provide businesses with the space, services, and amenities they need to succeed in today’s dynamic work environment.


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    Let’s Connect India – Founder

    Sagar Narang is the Founder and CEO of Let’s Connect India.

    Sagar Narang

    Sagar Narang - Founder and CEO, Let's Connect India
    Sagar Narang – Founder and CEO, Let’s Connect India

    Sagar Narang is an accomplished entrepreneur hailing from Noida. He earned his Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance from Delhi University and went on to pursue a Master of Business Administration from Université de Bordeaux, France. He also holds a law degree from Indraprastha Law College in Greater Noida.

    Before founding Let’s Connect, Sagar worked as a Marketing Executive at AIESEC in Egypt. In addition to his role at Let’s Connect, Sagar is also the co-founder of PolicyWings, a Noida-based insurance brokerage.

    Let’s Connect India – Ideation Journey

    Reminiscing the ideation journey of Let’s Connect India, Mr. Sagar Narang says,

    “The idea of starting a coworking space was very spontaneous and came from a trip I(Sagar) took to Spain. Witnessing a concurrent space where people were paying to use the office, I got thrilled and wanted to try something like this in India”

    Let's Connect India Logo
    Let’s Connect India Logo

    “The idea was to connect people with new office space and people. Therefore, the name could not be simpler than Let’s Connect”, says Sagar Narang, Founder and CEO of Let’s Connect India.

    Let’s Connect India – Challenges Faced

    Speaking of challenges faced by the company, Mr. Sagar (Founder & CEO of Let’s Connect India) pointed out that Sales has rather remained a bigger challenge. And the team is working its way to achieving that goal.


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    Let’s Connect India – Competitors

    Noida, being the new commercial hub, has many coworking spaces now. So, we have a lot of people venturing into our industry who are providing the same services. However, we do not think of anyone as our competitor right now. Our model and approach are quite different than others.” said Sagar.

    Let’s Connect India – Future Plans

    Let’s Connect India has plans for the future, including expanding to new locations and adopting cutting-edge technology to enhance the customer experience. The company is looking to become more advanced, well-equipped, and secure by implementing Internet of Things (IoT) technology such as smart CCTV cameras, biometric entry and exit systems, and a digital payment system to make all transactions cashless.

    These changes will set Let’s Connect India apart from other coworking spaces in the industry. By optimizing asset utilization and reducing costs through power-saving measures and efficient energy consumption, the company will be able to offer even more affordable rates to its customers. Additionally, remote tracking and real-time tracking through IoT technology will enhance the security of the workspace and ensure the optimal utilization of resources. One of the most significant benefits of this technology will be its ability to identify trustworthy and valuable members, which will help the company build a strong community of like-minded professionals.

    FAQs

    What is Let’s Connect India?

    Let’s Connect India is a leading co-working space provider in Noida that is committed to offering reliable and comfortable office space to its clients.

    Who is the founder of Let’s Connect India?

    Sagar Narang is the founder of Let’s Connect India.

    When was Let’s Connect India founded?

    Let’s Connect India was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.