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 Media Corridors.
The digital revolution and the growth of social media in the last few years have demanded all types of businesses to go online. The global digital population has reached 5 billion in 2022. When the customers are online, the online presence of businesses has become indispensable for sustaining the market. Building trust among customers and creating a positive brand image and maintaining the reputation becomes of utmost importance after the businesses create their online presence. Online reputation management is the best way to maintain your brand’s image. It helps in conveying the intended brand message to your target audience, developing a strong bond with your customers, and also assists in lead conversion.
Media Corridors is a global PR & Online Reputation Management Agency to help all kinds of businesses create & maintain a positive brand image and promote their brand. Read to know more about Media Corridors, its founder, services, USP, growth, and the story of its starting up.
As a Global PR & ORM agency trying to break through the clutter, the question is: how do they make their PR strategies stand out? Hence, they focus on their strengths. Media Corridor’s brand storytelling skills, combined with smart campaign planning that can help deepen the emotional connection with audiences, create a positive brand image, and deliver results that matter through the media landscape, whether traditional or digital. They BUILD campaigns and strategies, ENGAGE with the right media with a message-focused.
Media Corridors – Founder and Team
Ayushi Arora Gulyani – Founder & CEO of Media Corridors
Media Corridors was founded in 2015 by Ayushi Arora Gulyani. She is the CEO of the startup.
Ayushi has always wanted to do something more, something big and impactful. Something beyond my marketing skills.
As a Communications’ professional who has built a career in the PR media landscape after having worked with various media organizations as a Journalist and PR representative viz., Times Group, Network 18, Lintas.
Ayushi had started with a simple act of kindness, got associated with a NGO, felt their feelings. Celebrated Rakshabandhan with 100 brothers at another NGO, felt brother-sisterhood. Sold a painting made by me to raise money for the food victims in Nepal, felt humanity.
Started coaching young media students, about building a career as a Communications’ professional, some of whom still visit me and speak with much enthusiasm about the roles they have identified for themselves early in life, felt intelligent.
These simple act of kindness in her life, and her achievements as a Marketer makes her an overall happy soul who aims to leave her mark in whatever she does.
Headquartered in New Delhi, Media Corridors has worked with clients across the country and from varied industries. Initially started with business marketing projects of corporates in the technology, hospitality and auto sector and with time they bagged startups, capital investment, and angel networks along with many individual business profiling mandates.
Media Corridors is a group of Young, talented, enthusiastic and hardworking professionals. They are focused, detail oriented and professional in their approach. The agency has two teams; one deals with Traditional and Digital Public Relations and the other is associated with Content and Online Reputation Management. The team excels in supporting startups by marketing consultancy support and strategies to build the right brand image for investors and their end customers.
Media Corridors – The Idea and Startup Story
Media Corridors Logo
Ayushi started her career as a Journalist with Times Group in Bangalore, India. Her love for writing and unwrapping unheard stories through well-articulated articles started here. Later, she switched to Public Relations with Lowe Lintas’ LinOp in the same city to explore the realms of marketing and brand building in the media landscape.
Switched to Delhi as her new place of residence in 2013, secured a job with Network 18 as a Food Editor with BURRP.com and thoroughly enjoyed working towards her marketing and editorial responsibilities in the hospitality industry. Having worked with a diverse sector client portfolio from auto, technology, to healthcare, lifestyle, real estate, and more, Ayushi started to find a neat balance in her writing and communications skills and was glad PR as a career happened to her.
She took active part in startup meets, marketing conclaves and gathered some brilliant network of renowned marketing professionals and CEOs. Having gained six years of good working experience, it was about time to follow her dream of setting up a marketing PR venture of her own. Started her business marketing projects of corporates such a IL&FS Technology, InterGlobe hotels and with time bagged more retainers with startups such as Sqrrl, Moglix, Intellolabs, Propstory and more. Today, Media Corridors headquartered in New Delhi has worked with clients across the country with over 100+ clients in 7 years of our existence.
Media Corridors – Services
Media Corridors provides services for different domains:
A fastest-growing public relations and online reputation management company, engaging media influencers that connect you to your customers and investors through the art of modern dialogue so your business can grow, get highlighted in the media and prosper. The agency aims at helping brands to build an exemplary image in front of their target audience through engaging brand stories. Team Media Corridors analyze and create profiles of the companies according to their area of strength and offers the required communication roadmap respectively. After analyzing the strengths, they create a concept-based marketing plan that resonates with the brand’s USP and brand image being created or managed in front of the appropriate target audience. They BUILD campaigns and strategies, ENGAGE with the right media with a message-focused approach, so brands and businesses they work with can stand out and SUSTAIN in the ecosystem at large.
Media Corridors – Client Communication
As Media Corridors is a startup of communication professionals, keeping the client updated is one of their main concerns.
The team follows Multi-channel support, providing client support services across all the available channels like email, live chat, or phone calls. Omnichannel support allows them to deliver seamless and integrated client service across all client touchpoints.
The team believes that they are Communications professionals who create the perfect bridge between the media and the clients. Factually, this can be done by being more well-read about the industry, clients’ business, and their competition at large. This knowledge is what gives them all the confidence and become better at the job they are doing. The more you trust your own client and their business, the greater the extent to which you are willing to go.
Doing something for the greater good requires an enormous amount of effort. Sometimes you might even end up making mistakes. Having said that, however, what she has learned over the years, is that the ability to mobilise people and keep a ‘Never Give Up’ attitude helps in turning any situation around. Keeping the employees secure and content with their requirements, especially when things got tough, has helped me create a team of PR professionals who are stronger and more focussed than ever! Hence, changing goals to milestones is going to continue at Media Corridors.
Media Corridors – Recognition and Achievements
Media Corridors has been awarded many times. It got the awards listed below:
Most Promising PR Agency 2019 by Silicon India
Best Emerging Entrepreneur in Delhi – 2022, Online Reputation Management Consultancy by Business Mint
Most Promising PR Agency 2022 by Silicon India
FAQs
When was Media Corridors founded?
Media Corridors was founded in 2015 in New Delhi.
Who is the founder of Media Corridors?
Ayushi Arora Gulyani is the founder of Media Corridors.
What are the services provided by Media Corridors?
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 Mindtree.
The idea of using a computer started somewhere before the 1950s. Yes, the notion of using computer circuits and numerical calculations began some 80 years ago. All these years, the technological advancements in computing and communications indicate the progress of information technology will continue evolving.
The innovations of this extent have revolutionised society, with millions of people depending on information technology for every other thing. Thanks to the IT department who make our lives easier with their services and keeping a track of a vast array of data in a secure way possible.
You will find IT is present in almost every type of enterprise, whether it is the smallest of business, schools, and various other industries and organisations that need the help of IT for the creation, storage, exchanging, and utilising data, conversation, and forms of communication.
Mindtree is India’s leading multinational information technology services and consulting company. The company is a part of the Larsen & Toubro Group, which was founded in 1999. Mindtree engages in the services of e-commerce, mobile application, cloud computing, data analytics, digital transformation, testing, etc. As of March 2019, the company works for 309 clients from 18 countries.
Learn about Mindtree’s startup story and growth, founders and team, mission and vision, business and revenue model, competitors, and many more stuff about the company in this article.
Mindtree – Company Highlights
Startup Name
StayHappi
Headquarters
Bangalore, India
Sector
Public
Industry
IT and Consulting
Founder
Subroto Bagchi, Krishnakumar Natarajan, Rostow Ravanan, N.S. Parthasarathy, Ashok Soota, Scott Staples, Anjan Lahiri, Kalyankumar Banerjee, Janakiraman, and Kamran Ozair.
A part of the Larsen & Toubro Group, Mindtree was founded in 1999 with its headquarters in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The group took over Mindtree in 2019 with a 61.08% stake in the company.
There’s no person who is not familiar with Mindtree, after all, it is India’s one of the leading multinational IT and consulting companies. The company has offices not only in India but in other locations outside the country too. It is present in both South and North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.
Mindtree deals with services related to the IT and consulting lines. From conception to completion, the company provides services for digital transformation and technology.
Under its vision ‘Born Digital‘ the company aspires to offer customized solutions that are rightly developed using an agile and collective methodology throughout the whole digital value chain.
If any person is looking to run an efficient business, then Mindtree offers the best solutions to grow their revenue with its deep expertise in infrastructure and applications management.
Application Development and Maintenance, Data Analytics, Digital Services, Business Process Management, Engineering R&D, Enterprise Application Services, Testing, and Infrastructure Management Services are all areas in which Mindtree operates.
Other than these services, the company is also engaged in Research and Development Services. The range of research and development services are Bluetooth Solutions, Digital Video Surveillance, the MindTest integrated testing methodology, the MWatch platform for managing IT infrastructure, the Atlas application management service, SAP Insurance, and OmniChannel.
There are hundreds of people working for Mindtree who are contracted to provide support for Microsoft Azure (a cloud computing service by Microsoft).
In 2006, Mindtree became a public company and got listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange.
Mindtree has also left its foot in developing a sustainable approach toward society and people. The company strongly adheres to cater sustainability in the way they do their business. The pillars of the Mindtree sustainability framework are three things: Ecological Sustainability, Governance Advocacy, and Workplace Sustainability.
Mindtree – Industry
There is absolutely no denying that the Information Technology industry is rapidly growing. This industry is constantly changing and improving businesses, which need support to have the best possible output to reach their goals.
As per sources, the IT industry is expected to reach Rs 14 billion by 2025. In 2019, the value of the Indian IT industry reached nearly Rs 8 billion. Furthermore, experts believe that a CAGR of over 10% will be made between 2020 and 2025.
Mindtree – Founders
Mindtree was founded by a bunch of Indian entrepreneurs, Subroto Bagchi, Krishnakumar Natarajan, Rostow Ravanan, N.S. Parthasarathy, Ashok Soota, Scott Staples, Anjan Lahiri, Kalyankumar Banerjee, Janakiraman, and Kamran Ozair in 1999.
Subroto Bagchi
Subroto Bagchi, co-founder of Mindtree
Born in Patnagarh, Odisha, Subroto Bagchi is one of the founders of Mindtree. Subroto is a graduate of Utkal University in Political Science. He started his career as a clerk in the Industries Department of the Government of Odisha.
Soon after working there for one year, Subroto worked as a management trainee in DCM for five years. After gaining a lot of exposure in the computer industry, Subroto ended up as the Chief Executive of Wipro’s Global R&D.
Subroto Bagchi loves to write books and has many published books that tell a lot about his life story making him one of the best-selling business authors. The book called ‘Go Kiss the World: Life Lessons For The Young Professional’ is one of his autobiographies. To name a few, ‘MBA at 16’, ‘High-Performance Entrepreneur’, ‘On Leadership and Innovation’, and ‘Sell’ are some of his best-selling books.
Subroto Bagchi is married to Susmita Bagchi, who is an Odia author.
Krishnakumar Natarajan
Krishnakumar Natarajan, co-founder of Mindtree
Krishnakumar Natarajan is one of the co-founders of Mindtree. He is an alumnus of XLRI, Jamshedpur, and a Mechanical Engineer graduate from the College of Engineering, Chennai. From 1982 through 1999, Krishnakumar worked at Wipro where he began his career and held several important positions. He was among the top 50 highest-rated CEOs by Glassdoor in 2013. After 23 years at Mindtree, Krishnakumar Natarajan is now the Managing Partner at Mela Ventures.
Rostow Ravanan
Rostow Ravanan, co-founder of Mindtree
Before co-founding Mindtree, Rostow Ravanan held the position of Business Value Manager at Lucent Technologies, where he was in charge of long-term strategic planning at the Bell Laboratories product realisation centre in India. An alumnus of Harvard Business School, Rostow began his career at KPMG Corporate Finance and focused on mergers and acquisitions and strategy consulting for a range of businesses. Additionally, Rostow Ravanan oversaw Mindtree’s successful IPO in 2007 while serving as the CFO for more than ten years.
Currently, Rostow Ravanan is the Chairman and CEO of Alfahive Inc. He also happens to serve as a senior advisor on Asia TMT opportunities and is a member of Chartered Accountants of India and the Insititute of Company Secretaries of India.
N.S. Parthasarathy
N.S Parthasarathy, co-founder of Mindtree
N.S Parthasarathy is also among the founders of Mindtree. He began his career in Wipro’s R&D department, where he worked in a variety of technical capacities. He graduated with a master’s degree in Mathematics in 1983 from BITS Pilani. In 1984, he graduated with an MTech in computer science from India’s IIT Kharagpur.
For 20 years, he served as co-founder, president, chief operating officer, and board member of Mindtree Limited. N S Parthasarathy has received the Distinguished Alumnus Award by his alma mater, BITS Pilani in the Category of Entrepreneurship for his extraordinary contributions to society. Presently, he is the Managing Partner at Mela Ventures.
Ashok Soota
Ashok Soota, co-founder of Mindtree
Ashok Soota is the co-founder of Mindtree. At 79 years, Ashok is planning to push his newest venture Happiest Health to the initial IPO list. One of the early figures in the Indian IT sector, Ashok Soota, is very well-known. He has an MBA from the Asian Institute of Management in the Philippines and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Roorkee (now IIT, Roorkee).
Scott Staples
Scott Staples has over 30 years of experience in the IT service sector. He held the positions of president of the Americas and director of vertical markets at Mindtree. He has even accumulated a reputation as a “growth entrepreneur” and was honoured as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (2015) in Technology Services.
Scott graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts in English and from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey with a Master of Business Administration.
Anjan Lahiri
Anjan Lahiri, co-founder of Mindtree
An alumnus of BITs, Mersa, Anjan Lahiri is among the founders of Mindtree. He has worked as a Global Information Services Executive in the US, London, and Bangalore. Assuming global responsibility for Mindtree IT Services segment as president from 2008 to 2013, he established the company throughout Europe, the US East Coast, Silicon Valley, and other locations. The Young Presidents Organization, a global peer network of CEOs and business leaders, counts Anjan Lahiri as a member. Since 2020, Anjan Lahiri is serving as the CEO of Navikenz.
Kalyankumar Banerjee
Kalyankumar Banerjee founded Mindtree in 1999. He holds a Mtech degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Kalyan served as the Senior Vice President at Mindtree for almost 13 years before he co-founded Klorofeel Foundation in 2016. Presently, he looks after the Klorofeel school in Brahmapur, Odisha.
S Janakiraman
S Janakiraman, co-founder of Mindtree
S Janakiraman is the co-founder of Mindtree and an alumnus from NIT, Trichy. He quit the company after serving as the CTO for 15 years. Janakiraman spent nearly two decades working for Wipro before founding the new business and is credited with developing the product engineering services division at Mindtree.
Kamran Ozair
Kamran Ozair served as the Executive Vice President and ex-co-founder of Mindtree. His role was to look after the development of technical expertise, technological direction, the formation of important collaborations, and the budgeting for Mindtree’s Technology Practices for IT Services. Ozair has a Bachelor of Arts degree in computer science and engineering from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and a Master’s degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin in Madison on artificial intelligence.
Mindtree – Mission and Vision
Mindtree follows three values in which they carry out their services.
The three values are:
Having a collaborative Spirit – the company encourages a collaborative atmosphere where all viewpoints are valued and open discussion is expected.
Expert Thinking – The company aims to draw on expertise that has been demonstrated to their clients by providing recommendations and offering knowledgeable counsel.
Unrelenting Dedication – The company aims to solve clients’ problems through hard work and determination.
The mission of Mindtree says, “We engineer meaningful technology solutions to help businesses and societies flourish”.
Mindtree – Name, Tagline, and Logo
Mindtree Logo
Mindtree goes by the tagline, “Welcome to Possible”, which rightly defines the company’s powerful expression of delivering technology.
The logo of Mindtree is like a multi-stranded, centre hub like a mind that is meant to symbolise the fusion of technology and thought.
Mindtree – Business Model
Mindtree is a part of the Larsen and Toubro group, which was founded 22 years ago. The business model of the company is mostly based on B2B (Business to Business).
The focus of Mindtree’s operations is on clients from industries like banking, capital markets, consumer electronics, packaged goods, independent software vendors, manufacturing, insurance, media & entertainment, retail, semiconductors, travel & hospitality, and the real estate sector.
Mindtree operates its business by providing several services to these aforementioned clients.
Mindtree Key Services
Blockchain
The company has strong expertise in the field of blockchain. The company has developed integrated blockchain-based products by utilising its connections with top suppliers and the convergence of technologies like AI/ML, IoT, RPA, and AR/VR into current corporate systems.
Some of its blockchain services are:
Requirement analysis
Selection and Design
Transformation and Integration
Implementation Roadmap
Digital Marketing and E-commerce
The company’s digital marketing and e-commerce services offer personalised content and frictionless commerce creating and realising outcome-driven experiences for its clients.
The company provides consumer-centric commerce solutions like:
Marketing and commerce platforms
Direct-to-consumer commerce
Mobile app development services
Emerging channels
Digital asset management
Intelligent marketing, commerce, and IT operations
Measurement
Mindtree has alliances with companies like Big Commerce, SAP Partner, Salesforce, Sitecore, etc.
Design and Innovation
To link consumer behavior to business results, Mindtree’s design and innovation services combine applied design thinking skills with distinctive creative qualities. They offer their clients top-notch revolutionary solutions because of its high-impact team of strategists, researchers, and designers, and reinforced by best-in-class experience techs.
Mindtree’s experience design and innovation services are:
Experience Strategies
Design Systems and standards
Studio and Production
Product Engineering
Product engineering from Mindtree aims at the delivery and consumption of technology products and services that have undergone several changes as a result of rapidly shifting consumption habits and increasing client expectations.
Below are some of Mindtree’s product engineering service offerings:
Platform and Device Engineering
Product support and operations
R&D lab operations
Product Quality Engineering
Data and Intelligence
The company is also involved in providing analytics solutions through artificial intelligence to convert most of the data into actionable insights. Its data and intelligence services are:
DataOps and Management
Mindtree has services in the Dataops and management, that is by offering AI-infused, platform-led data supply chain management, including data structure management and cataloguing.
Data Modernisation
Under this service, Mindtree restructures clients’ data ecosystem into a single platform to create a cutting-edge data supply chain.
Data insights and action
These services are provided to analyse insights from clients’ data to help them augment business decisions.
Cloud Services
Going with their strategy of “Why cloud” rather than “What Cloud can deliver”, Mindtree offers cloud services that are designed in a way to enable end-to-end automation for data migration.
As of 2022, the revenue of the company was reported to be Rs10,520 crores ($1.3 billion). As per sources, Mindtree’s revenue has gone up to 31% in the fiscal year 2022.
Mindtree – Challenges Faced
In 2019, Mindtree went through a major challenge as it was going to be taken over by the L&T group. The decision was not supported by Mindtree as it was a hostile bid. Mindtree used to compete with the L&T group, which is why it didn’t want its stake to go to its rival company.
But sadly, the group took over Mindtree in June 2019, which is what is called the biggest and first ever hostile takeover in the IT industry.
Mindtree – Mergers and Acquisition
Mindtree has made a total of eleven acquisitions as of today. Here’s the list of acquisitions by Mindtree:
Acquiree name
Year
Amount
Magnet 360
2016
$50 million
Relational Solutions Inc
2015
$10 million
Bluefin Solutions Limited
2015
£42.3 million
Discoverture Solutions LLC
2015
$15 million
7Strata
2010
$7.2 million
Kyocera Wireless India Pvt Ltd
2009
$6 million
Aztecsoft
2008
$40 million
TES-Purple Vision
2007
$6.55 million
CoSystems
2005
–
Linc Software Services Pvt Ltd
2005
$7 million
ASAP Solutions
2004
–
Mindtree – Awards and Achievements
Take a look at the number of awards won by Mindtree in the last few years:
2022
Mindtree is “Great Place to Work-Certified™ in India for the second consecutive year
Ranked Among Asia-Pacific’s Top Ten Companies
Golden Peacock Award for Risk Management 2021
Recognised as Global Emerging Service Provider Partner of the Year
‘Silver Shield’ for Excellence in Integrated Reporting from ICAI for 2020-21
Platinum Award at the League of American Communications Professionals’ Annual Report Competition for 2020-21
Mindtree was listed in the FTSE4GOOD Index Series
2021
‘Special Recognition’ at the SHRM HR Awards 2021 for Excellence in Talent Acquisition
Winner of Best in Biz Award 2021 in North America
Ranked among the top 5 IT services companies and among the top 10 NSE 500 companies across industry sectors in India for its overall ESG performance.
Recognised as among the UK’s top companies in customer satisfaction according to the 2021
Was named as the Leader in ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant Report on Salesforce Ecosystem Partners 2021 (US)
2020
“Best Employer for Women” by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)
Ranked amongst Global Leadership League in Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) 2020 Climate Change world ranking
Ranked as the Leader in ISG Public Cloud Solutions and Service Partners Archetype Report 2020
Mindtree – Competitors
Mindtree competes with the following companies:
TCS
Infosys
HCL Tech
Wipro
Tech Mahindra
MphasiS
Oracle Fin Services Software Ltd.
Persistent
COFORGE LTD.
Mindtree – Future Plans
Mindtree currently has its operations in cloud computing, data and intelligence, and digital marketing and e-commerce across the globe which helps the company generate its maximum revenue.
Mindtree says about its future, “We continue to see very strong traction across all our verticals – Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance, Technology, Media and Services, Travel and Hospitality, Retail, CPG and Manufacturing. Some of the engagements we have been executing for our clients are path-breaking for their respective industries. We also have a strong recognition in the marketplace owing to our partnerships with Cloudera, AWS and Azure, content management with Adobe, etc.”
FAQs
Who is the founder of Mindtree?
Subroto Bagchi, Ashok Soota, Krishnakumar Natarajan, Anjan Lahiri are the founders of Mindtree.
Who is the CEO of Mindtree?
Debashis Chatterjee is the CEO of Mindtree.
What is the revenue of Mindtree?
The revenue of Mindtree is US$1.4 billion as of 2022.
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 Zilingo.
Like that of so many other sectors, fashion and apparel’s digital transition has advanced dramatically under COVID. This has influenced not just how people engage with brands and merchants, but also how the market runs within, including inventory management, prices, and logistics, as well as production and product design.
A sector that has always (and continues to be) centred on the foundation of ideas, creative, and innovative expression is now incorporating more technology into the equation, implementing innovation to new levels.
Zilingo is a B2B technology platform that provides innovative manufacturing, sourcing, and trading technologies to the global clothing distribution chain. It was formed in 2015 to make an interconnected and accessible supply chain approachable to all.
Here’s the success story of Zilingo that covers all about Zilingo, the Startup Story and Growth of Zilingo, Zilingo Competitors, Zilingo Revenue, Zilingo Business and Revenue Model, and more, you can check ahead!
Zilingo is a B2B platform that connects all parts of the fashion industry’s supply chain, from raw material suppliers to merchants to buyers. They offer a wide range of technical help, including data science, online platforms, and other virtual services, as well as company sourcing and finance.
When a small localised store tries to move online or attract more people, they are confronted with several challenges. Funding, technologies, accessibility, and rivalry from more prominent, more established companies also impede them.
Although their commodities may have unrealised potential on the global market, many merchants find it difficult to make a profit in that environment. When seeking to sell to a statewide or worldwide audience, small businesses sometimes have to go through multiple intermediaries and incur numerous costs. They are losing money because their margins are being stretched. Zilingo focuses on this problem, assisting small enterprises in receiving their due.
Zilingo is a comprehensive, adaptable platform that helps small businesses increase efficiency and revenue. This service is available to merchants in a variety of nations and brings together a large number of producers and manufacturers.
Simultaneously, the design, production, and other parts of the final product remain decentralised. Small vendors may be independent and true to their style without paying a listing fee, which Zilingo does not charge its manufacturing workers.
Their varied staff, decentralised culture, technical innovation, and devotion to assisting smaller businesses set them apart from the competition. They offer a wide range of items obtained from many countries and providers, all of which are supported by this platform. This enables small companies to deal directly with a bigger market, such as brands or other clients, over the internet.
Products of Zilingo
Zilingo operates as a technology platform that is empowering the global supply chain. It provides innovative products and trade services to power brands, wholesalers, retailers, distributors, factories and more. Zilingo offers:
Z Trade – This vertical helps Zilingo to extend the facilities of sourcing custom-made apparel, fabric, yarn and more.
Zilingo Trade
Z Factory – This Zilingo vertical helps Zilingo to let the factories optimise their operations.
Zilingo Factory
Z Connect – Z Connect of Zilingo offers omnichannel, inventory management and marketing solutions as services.
Zilingo Connect
Zilingo Services
Zilingo services are:
Z Marketing – Zilingo offers marketing solutions to help brands maximise their sales. This is done by the in-house experts that Zilingo houses.
Z Fintech – Z Fintech uses the transaction data to offer companies and individuals better access to capital for the growth of their businesses.
Z Logistics – Zilingo offers the optimisation services of logistics costs and provides others with the facilities of flexible payments.
Zilingo – Industry
From the development of the needle and thread to the emergence of e-commerce, fashion was always at the leading edge of innovation. Fashion, like technology, is forward-thinking and progressive.
The fashion industry has been one of the world’s largest, with a market value of more than $3 trillion expected by the end of the decade. Fashion technology is evolving at a quicker rate than ever before. Fashion firms are working with technology suppliers, buying startups, and even developing their technologies to expand their streams of income and marketing strategies.
Similarly, the sector is re-evaluating operations across the supply chain in a drive to reinvent itself as it confronts a long-overdue confrontation with its social and environmental consequences.
With organisations and businesses growing into new sectors of the fashion business, there is a clear trend toward adopting technology to improve the consumer experience. New fibres and mixes are emerging as manufacturing methods improve, allowing for greater product diversification. The fashion industry’s retail sector is putting a lot of emphasis on making the consumer’s buying experience easier and more enjoyable.
Collaborations are resulting in fascinating new goods by combining the talents of several sectors to develop something efficient and innovative. With a constant stream of new and interesting propelling the fashion industry forward, these unlimited possibilities have more room to grow.
Zilingo – Name, Logo, and Tagline
Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor founded “Zilingo” in 2015, the name being a spin on the term “zillion,” which also means ‘Gift of god.’ Bose got the idea for Zilingo while on vacation in Bangkok and realised that many SMEs lacked an online footprint. Dependability, freshness, and expressivity are all symbolised by the word Zilingo.
Zilingo Logo
Zilingo’s tagline says, “Dare to be Bold”.
Zilingo – Founders and Team
Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor founded Zilingo in 2015.
Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor – Founders of Zilingo
Ankiti Bose
Before establishing Zilingo, Ankiti spent three years in management consulting and venture capital at Sequoia Capital and McKinsey & Company. She focused on digital commerce possibilities on digital devices at Sequoia. She worked on strategy and operations in a variety of sectors at McKinsey & Company.
Ankiti graduated from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai with a Bachelor of arts degree in Maths and Economics. Ankiti adds a wealth of experience and expertise in the mobile e-commerce market to Zilingo.
She takes a hands-on, analytical approach to operations and strategy decisions, and she was heavily involved in all the elements of strategic and operational decision-making of the company. She was the CEO of the company before she was ousted from her role in April 2022. Ankiti Bose was associated with financial irregularities of the company and was eventually suspended from her duties for 51 days, and after this suspensation, she was finally terminated.
Ankiti Bose again has quit the Zilingo board, as of June 30, 2022. She has stated the same from her Instagram handle, adding that the board even failed to show her the reports from Kroll and Deloitte. The firing of Ankiti Bose from the CEO position and this resignation that she brought in to quit the Zilingo board, has two faces. Here, while the board is citing financial irregularities under Bose, Ankiti has brought up harassment complaints to the investors and claims that these were the reasons that changed the board’s mind against her. However, the Zilingo board denied all the allegations of any wrongdoings whatsoever.
Dhruv Kapoor
Dhruv Kapoor is an IIT Guwahati alumnus and is known as the CTPO of Zilingo. He worked at the gaming company Kiwi Inc., as a software engineer, before joining Zilingo. Kapoor was a Software Engineer at Yahoo before that.
Aadi Vaidya, the Zilingo COO, quit Zilingo after 7 years of being with the firm, as of July 30, 2022. Along with talking highly of his tenure with the company, where he learned too many things to sum up in words, Vaidya stated that he is geared up to meet with interesting people, read, travel and re-prioritise. Aadi is now looking to embrace his next adventure.
The resignation of Aadi comes after Ankiti was separated from the firm in May 2022, and Ramesh Bafna, the CFO of Zilingo, stepped down in the same month. Besides, Naushaba Salahuddin, the head of PR and communications, also quit the beleaguered company in the meanwhile.
The employee strength of Zilingo now ranges between 201-500 employees, as per its LinkedIn profile.
Ankiti was once on a vacation trip to Bangkok with her pals. The majority of the sellers at Thailand’s Chatuchak market came from distant communities miles away. They were unable to market their products on the internet. The main reason is that they lack both technical and economic expertise.
She chose to do business in Thailand because it could benefit over 8000 small businesses there. She founded Zilingo, one of Southeast Asia’s most popular online platforms. By developing the right customers throughout the world, particularly merchants, obtain larger advantages in their product range.
Ankiti earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai in 2012. In 2014, Ankiti met Dhruv Kapoor during a house party. They shared the same talents and abilities, as well as the desire to establish a business by permitting a more inventive technique.
Dhruv worked as a software developer for a well-known gaming firm, while Ankiti worked as an analyst for Sequoia India. During the party, Ankiti and Dhruv established a deal that allowed the two of them to leave their jobs and start their own business. Both of them quit their jobs within four months to work on Zilingo, a fashion e-commerce technology company.
Two of them put their resources and savings of around $30,000 into the Zilingo startup concept. The Sequoia company also put money into Zilingo. With its innovative and open-minded founders, Zilingo has had more success. Eventually, Ankiti became the CEO, and Dhruv the CTPO of the company.
Zilingo – Mission
Zilingo’s mission is “to provide a platform where thousands of fashion merchants could sell and become part of the digital economy.”
Zilingo – Business and Revenue Model
On the back of its robust business model, Zilingo had geared to revolutionize the clothing and accessories industry by assisting small firms in bypassing intermediaries on their journey to a massive internet market. It decided to provide traders with an end-to-end cloud-based platform that not only connected but also provided technical and financial assistance to numerous independent participants.
The company operates as a B2B platform in the fashion industry that offers small businesses the resources, networking, financial, and technical help they need to interact with other small businesses and their larger client base. To grow their firm, a small retailer or designer can now acquire raw materials from suppliers, manufacturers, and even tech help.
Zilingo has raised over $347 million in funding and had almost closed in terms of valuation to become one of the Indian unicorn companies, but that didn’t happen ultimately. However, it aspires to become a big player in fashion by building symbiotic connections with small merchants and enterprises since they are committed to enabling small firms in the sector. It wants to become a platform that enables small brands to band together and continue growing, in rivalry with multinational companies.
The Zilingo revenue model primarily depends on the business-to-business operations that Zilingo does, of matching brands with suppliers. In 2019, the same operations successfully contributed to 80% of the revenues that Zilingo received.
Zilingo has received 7 funding rounds in total as of June 20, 2022, which might receive yet another funding round worth around $8 mn in equity in tranches to prevent the voluntary liquidation of the company, as stated by the letter that the founders of the company have forwarded the board, according to reports dated June 20, 2022.
Date
Round
Amount
Lead Investors
Jul 1, 2021
Debt Financing
$40M
–
Dec 5, 2019
Venture Round
–
–
Feb 11, 2019
Series D
$226M
Sequoia Capital India
Apr 4, 2018
Series C
$54M
Burda Principal Investments, Sequoia Capital India, Sofina
Sep 12, 2017
Series B
$18M
Burda Principal Investments, Sequoia Capital
Sep 5, 2016
Series A
$8M
Sequoia Capital, Susquehanna International Group (SIG), Venture Capital
Nov 9, 2015
Seed Round
$1.9M
–
Zilingo – Acquisitions
Acquiree Name
About Acquiree
Date
Amount
nCinga
nCinga is offer an all-encompassing solution for the apparel, manufacturing and telecommunication industries.
Dec 17, 2019
$15.5M
Zilingo – Growth
Zilingo has achieved quite a growth since it started. The company has powered innovation for 20,000+ companies worldwide. It even chased the unicorn valuation and reached $970 mn in net worth before the outbreak of the Covid-19 disease. The customers of Zilingo include reputed brands like Flipkart, FirstCry, Myntra, Wrogn, Nykaa, Aditya Birla Group, Radnik, Dressmen, Redwolf and more. Zilingo went from being a company that was all set to raise millions of dollars to one that needs to fight for its survival. Remarking on the same, Ankiti Bose, the Former Founder, CEO, and Board member, said “hundreds of employees and customers are also in a state of limbo and do not have any clarity on their future: just like me.”
Numerous media reports stated that the Zilingo company is all set to liquidate in order to pay its creditors off, while Bose has opposed this decision of the board, mentioning that would result in unsettling numerous employees.
Zilingo’s issues began with disorganized management and a lack of transparency in expenditures and quickly escalated into a violent ideological battle between founders Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor, which risked swallowing the company whole.
Lack of Proper Software
In the early days, the capital-intensive B2C vertical and the lack of a software platform for B2B operations led to overpaying on marketing, staff committing fraud, and more.
The Covid-19 Onslaught
Zilingo was once a company that was a soonicorn, the value of which neared $970 bn in 2019. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, revenues started dipping and layoffs followed. The revenues dropped to 1/3rd of what it was prior to the pandemic period, which was roughly estimated at around $40 mn. Even the Former Co-founder-CEO, Ankiti Bose also took a 30% pay cut as a result.
Legal action against the co-founder and the sack of CEO Ankiti Bose
Ankiti Bose is believed to have taken legal action against co-founder Dhruv Kapoor and is attempting to purchase back Sequoia’s 26% stake in the firm, notwithstanding her suspension.
Ankiti Bose and Sequoia’s Shailendra Singh had a personal spat about the direction of the business, capital burn, and the absence of a route to revenue gains, all stemming from the company’s concentration on a rapid expansion that began in 2018. And that unfolded as conflicts between Bose and Dhruv Kapoor, the other co-founder, grew.
There have also been claims that Kapoor and other top workers at the business concealed sexual harassment reports. Bose is reportedly considering suing Kapoor as well as buying back Sequoia’s investment in the firm.
It was more like a jigsaw puzzle, with concepts and tactics that lacked practical vision and preparation. In the early years, the digital platform was mostly absent, and Zilingo burned through millions of dollars marketing and promoting the B2C fashion vertical. Founders argued over various ideas and even alleged practises of sexual harassment in the workplace throughout all of this. But now the case against Zilingo is that he committed deliberate fraud. At least, that’s what the board says, but we don’t know what the fraud was, how it happened, or how it escaped the notice of the board and key VCs like Sequoia, Burda, Temasek, Beenext, and others.
The Zilingo board was already looking forward to a voluntary liquidation of the company, but the founders Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor have joined hands to make a management buyout offer of the company, as per reports dated June 20, 2022. The letter that was issued by the Co-founder and CTPO of Zilingo Dhruv Kapoor, mentioned that the new investor will infuse $8 mn in equity in tranches. According to this new offer, if the deal comes through, “pursuant to Singapore’s Insolvency, Restructuring, and Dissolution Act, Zilingo will be transferred to the ownership of a newly incorporated entity.”
A look at how the events unfolded and the firing of the company CEO and Co-founder Ankiti Bose
If you are wondering how Ankiti Bose was fired all of a sudden, then here’s a look at all the events that happened and led to the eventual firing of the Zilingo CEO Ankiti Bose:
April 12, 2022 – Ziling shareholders discovered financial irregularities and suspended Ankiti Bose until May 5th. Bose was first called to a meeting dated March 31st, 2022, and was briefed about serious complaints against her, and all about financial discrepancies and mismanagement. Bose, in turn, called the company’s actions a “witch hunt”.
April 14, 2022 – Shailendra Singh, Sequoia Capital MD stepped down.
April 19, 2022 – Zilingo Board discussed replacing Ankiti Bose, and talks of the company CFO Ramesh Bafna to be elevated as the CEO circulated.
May 4, 2022 – The Zilingo Board appointed Deloitte to launch a probe after Ankiti Bose claimed that sexual harassment was an issue after she was suspended. Dhruv Kapoor also penned a note to the employees where he defended the company.
May 20, 2022 – Zilingo fired Ankiti Bose, and stated that it can also take legal action against her.
FAQs
What does Zilingo do?
Zilingo is a B2B technology platform that provides innovative manufacturing, sourcing, and trading technologies to the global clothing distribution chain.
Who founded Zilingo?
Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor founded Zilingo in 2015.
When was Zilingo founded?
Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor founded Zilingo in 2015.
Is Ankiti Bose still the CEO of Zilingo?
The former CEO-Co-founder, Ankiti Bose was fired by Zilingo on May 20, 2022. So, she is no longer the CEO of Zilingo.
Why was Ankiti Bose fired by Zilingo?
Ankiti Bose was sacked by Zilingo board because of financial irregularities noticed in the company in relation to Ankiti Bose.
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 Times of India.
Many years ago, there was no broadcast facility that happened to land directly at people’s homes. All the news or information was passed down from word of mouth during that time.
It’s quite interesting to imagine how people used to live without newspapers before it even was invented. Thanks to the political and economic chronology of India led to the development of newspapers. Furthermore, the consequences of globalisation and modernisation in the world are what pushed the need for printing news.
We can still see newspaper’s importance and dominance in homes today with our older generation hooked on reading the newspapers. From discussing the type of advertisements on our mini tables at home to becoming a part of hot discussion till late at night, newspapers remain an integral part of our lives and society at large.
As a matter of fact, newspapers have also evolved through these years with the quality of writing, type of news and articles being published and also digitising and the platform where they publish or more commonly known as e-newspapers.
We have seen or read this newspaper since we were born, ‘The Times of India’, which is the second-oldest newspaper in India, and the largest English language selling daily newspaper in the world. That’s quite the achievement the newspaper has maintained till now.
The Times of India also goes by the abbreviation TOI and is owned and managed by the Times Group. TOI came into existence with its first publication in 1838 making it the oldest English language newspaper in India. It is said that the TOI is given an alternative name called ‘The Old Lady of Bori Bunder’, for being the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation.
If newspapers and media are one of your areas of interest, here’s more about the Times of India, how it started and what led to its growth, the key people involved and about its owner, ‘The Times Group’, business and revenue model, challenges faced, competitors, funding and investments, and much more in this article.
Founded in 1838, the Times of India is an English Language daily newspaper and digital news in India. The newspaper publishes various news happening around the world, and articles on the latest issues written by prominent writers in the industry.
Times of India is owned by the ‘The Times Group. The Times Group is the trade name of the company, Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited (B.C.C.L), which is owned by the Sahu Jain Family. With headquarters in Mumbai, Times Group is a multi-media company with products like publishing, broadcasting, radio, films, entertainment, and so on.
TOI claims that every day, one of its 13 editions is read by more than 13.5 million readers. As of 2019, 2,880,144 daily newspapers were circulated as per reports.
The owner of TOI, The Times Group, which includes this business along with its other subsidiaries, also publishes the following publications: Ahmedabad Mirror, Bangalore Mirror, Mumbai Mirror, and Pune Mirror; Economic Times; ET Panache (Monday through Friday in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore; Saturday in Pune and Chennai); Ei Samay Sangbadpatra, a Bengali daily; Maharashtra Times, a Marathi daily; Navbharat Times (a Hindi daily)
Times of India – Industry
Belonging to the media and printing press industry, the Times of India has put itself at the highest rank for selling the English Language daily newspaper in the world.
Today, Indian print media is also dominating alongside digital and television media. According to reports, it is recorded that the Indian newspaper revenue touched Rs 220.5 billion in 2021. At this rate, it is assumed that the growth of the print media industry is only going to go upwards.
Times of India – Key People
Times of India, which is managed by the Times Group is directed by Samir Jain, who is the Vice-Chairman of the company.
Samir Jain
Samir Jain is the Vice-Chairman of the Times Group which manages ‘The Times of India’. He is an Arts graduate from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. Samir Jain’s parents are Ashok Kumar and Indu Jain. His mother Indu Jain became the Chairperson of Times Group after her husband, Ashok Kumar died.
It was in 1975 when Samir decided to join the family-owned business and started working as a junior executive at the media group Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
It was because of his leadership skills, that the Times of India regained its potential and made it the world’s largest circulating English newspaper.
Times of India – Name, Logo, and Tagline
The tagline of Times of India, “Let the Truth Prevail” rightly defines the company’s idea about telling stories and giving out information to its readers.
As you can see the logo of the Times of India has two elephants facing each other with a shield in the middle of them. The shield has the petals of a lotus flower and leaves and below them are three sailing ships placed in an inverted triangular shape.
Since TOI originally began as the Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce during the British Raj, Britishers were inspired by the elephants, which are carved at the Ajanta Caves. They wanted to target the Indian audience, which is why they used elephants as they play a very important role in the Indian culture.
Times of India – Startup Story
Started as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce
The history of TOI begins 183 years ago as ‘The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce‘ under the leadership of Raobahadur Narayan Dinanath Velkar. He was a Maharashtrian social reformer, who collected news from the world, as well as the Indian Subcontinent and Britain.
TOI’s first-ever editor was J. E. Brennan. After a few years, Robert Knight, who was an English editor and a critic of the British empire acquired the Indian stockholders’ shares in 1860, merged his publication with his competitor Bombay Standard, and founded India’s first news organisation – Bombay Times and Standard.
After a year, The Bombay Times and Standard were once more united with the Bombay Telegraph & Courier, and it was given the new name The Times of India. That’s how where it began for the ‘TOI’ daily newspaper.
With many struggles, Robert elevated the newspaper to a position of importance across the country by fighting for the freedom of the press against government restrictions. The newspaper gained a lot of appreciation and was widely read in India and Europe. The newspaper employed approximately 800 employees and produced 3000 copies per day in 1890.
Under Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd
After gaining so much importance, TOI was acquired by Thomas Bennett and Frank Morris Coleman. They started through their joint-stock company Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. During this ownership, Sir Stanley Reed served as The Times of India’s editor from 1907 to 1924, and played a significant figure in Indian media in early 20th-century Indian journalism.
Post-Independence TOI’s ownership went to Dalmia
The Times of India (TOI) was acquired by Ramkrishna Dalmia of the illustrious industrial Dalmia family after India gained independence from British rule. The deal was closed at ₹20 million, which equals ₹2.4 billion or US$30 million in 2020.
Ten years later, it was found that Ramkrishna Dalmia was caught in legal complications surrounding the acquisition that led to a conviction following which he gave his son-in-law Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain administration of the company.
TOI ownership was, again and again, being transferred due to wrong leadership which happened with Sahu Jain as well.
Government of India’s involvement
A new board of directors was established under the government in 1969 on the authority of the Bombay High Court as a result of numerous misdeeds and business abnormalities. The government finally returned ownership of the newspaper to Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain’s son Ashok Kumar Jain in 1976, during India’s Emergency.
After going through a series of misfortunes, it was finally like a new dawn for TOI in the 21st century. The Times Group expanded with new publications aimed toward a contemporary readership.
The Economic Times and Maharashtra Times began publishing in the 1960s, while The Navbharat Times was established in 1946. The Vijay Karnataka daily was founded in 2006 when Vijayanand Printers Limited was acquired.
Bangalore Mirror debuted in 2007, and Mumbai Mirror did so in 2005. The Bengali daily Ei Samay was first published in 2012, while the Gujarati-focused Nav Gujarat Samay started publishing in 2014.
Times of India – Business and Revenue Model
A newspaper’s development story is inextricably linked to its advertisements. Ever since its inception, TOI earned its money through subscribers and advertisers. The business model of the Times of India is to print news and sell it to the consumers and other is by advertising. It can be safe to say, the TOI business model is Direct-to-Consumer and Business-to-Business.
Early advertisements targeted the upper class, but as time went on, TOI became to represent the average person, and advertisers began to use the company’s advertising services to connect with their target demographic. With editions available throughout India, advertising in the Times of India has become one of the most successful forms of advertising for both private individuals and corporations.
Today, TOI continues to advertise on its digital platforms as well. The company earns a big chunk of revenue from advertising agencies.
In the fiscal year 2019, the company reported a revenue of Rs ₹6,986 crores. However, in 2020, the company declared a loss of net income of ₹451.63 crores for the fiscal year.
Times of India – Funding and Investors
Over the course of two rounds, The Times Of India secured $17M in fundraising. Their most recent funding came from a Venture-Series Unknown round, which was raised in 2006.
Here’s the list of investors of the Times of India.
Date
Funding Round
Amount
Investors
June 29, 2006
Venture Round
$10 million
Sequoia Capital
September 29, 2004
Series A
$7 million
Sequoia Capital India
Times of India – Mergers and Acquisitions
In their entire journey of doing business, The Times Of India has acquired two organizations.
IS Integration was their most recent acquisition, made on 20 September 2006. For $37M, they bought IS Integration. The other one is KeyLabs, which the company acquired on the 25th of April, 2005.
Times of India – Competitors
Here’s the list of top competitors of Times of India:
The Hindu
The Hindustan Times
Deccan Chronicle
Verse
Dainik Bhaskar Group
One India
The Indian Express
Tribune Papers
HT Media
Times of India – Social Media Presence
Having been in the media industry, TOI has not left the social media space for increasing its brand awareness and spreading information through digital mediums. To follow the company’s latest updates and interesting news, you can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Times of India – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
Times of India has played a crucial part when it comes to advertising and running campaigns. While there are several campaigns organised by the company, it ran a social media campaign called the #WantMyPaper campaign in 2020 that highlights the importance of newspapers in today’s times.
The ‘Want My Paper’ campaign launched by the company aimed at Indians to make them realise the importance of the authenticity of daily newspapers. They emphasised through the campaign how crucial it is for media outlets to support the establishment of accountability through sharp reporting.
Newspapers, unlike digital media, do not restrict people’s access to news categories by applying filters, but instead, they put daily information from a variety of genres directly in the hands of the readers, giving them the chance to be notified without unnatural and fake barriers.
Here’s what Sanjeev Bhargava, Director of the Times of India said, “Newspapers are the guardians of democracy – they keep the public well informed about the important goings-on, and help shape public opinion on key ongoing issues of national interest. With growing scientific evidence that newspapers are safe, and that there’s really no risk of catching an infection from them, our #WantMyPaper campaign is aimed at nudging our ardent readers about what they’re missing out without their trusted newspaper in their hands.”
Times of India – Future Plans
As of now, it is hard to say what the Times of India is planning for the future. The company is the third-largest English Language selling newspaper in India in terms of circulation. After serving the nation for 180 years with the latest news, the company claims itself as still young and energetic, and not as an old and outdated company.
FAQs
When was Times of India founded?
Times of India was founded on 3 November 1838.
Who founded the Times of India?
Ramkrishna Dalmia, an industrialist founded the Times of India.
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 Hero Moto Corp.
Imagine walking for more than 100km? Imagine you have to reach a place immediately but don’t have a transportation system? Well, thanks to the automotive industries for coming up with motor vehicles. Automotive industries started in the 1860s with many manufacturers beginning manufacturing horseless carriages.
Most of the automotive industries began rising in Europe, and Asian parts, are also contributing to a large extent to the development of this industry.
This Indian multinational motor vehicle manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp Limited is one of the largest two-wheeler manufacturers in the world. Popularly known as Hero Honda changed its name to Hero MotoCorp in 2010. This automotive industry is 38 years old and has its headquarters in New Delhi.
Learn all about Hero MotoCorp’s startup story and its growth, founders and team, business model, revenue model, challenges faced, and future plans.
Hero MotoCorp engages in the manufacturing of motorcycles and scooters. Basically, the company is more into two-wheeler manufacturing, which makes them the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer as well as in India.
It boasts of providing its customers with varieties of two-wheelers that are not only comfortable but are aesthetically appealing. The company has eight production sites, including six in India (Dharuhera, Chittoor, Gurugram, Haridwar, and Gujarat) and one each in Colombia and Bangladesh.
As the biggest and greatest bike manufacturer in India and the “World No. 1” two-wheeler firm in terms of unit volume sales in a calendar year, the company earned the most coveted recognition in 2001 and continues to remain till now.
Hero MotoCorp – Founder and Team
The Hero Group, the parent organisation of Hero MotoCorp is founded by Brijmohan Lall Munjal.
Brijmohan Lall Munjal
Brijmohan Lall Munjal, Founder of Hero
Brijmohan was born in Kamalia in 1923, in a district of present-day Punjab, Pakistan. After moving to Amritsar, Brijmohan started selling bicycle parts with his three brothers. After a few years, he transferred to Ludhiana, where he started manufacturing bicycle parts under Hero Cycles Limited.
Quickly, he got the license for manufacturing bicycles from the Government of India with a financial capital of Rs 6 lakhs. He is a recipient of the Padma Bhusan Award by the Government of India in 2005.
He has also received the Lifetime Contribution Award by the All India Management Association in 2011, and the Forbes India Leadership Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2014.
Brijmohan was 92 when he died due to a brief illness on 1 November 2015. He was married to Santosh and has four sons and one daughter.
Brijmohan’s popular quote is, “DON’T DREAM IF YOU CAN’T FULFILL YOUR DREAMS”
Dr. Pawan Munjal
Pawan Munjal, Chairman and CEO of Hero MotoCorp
Dr. Pawan Munjal is currently the Chairman and CEO of Hero MotoCorp. He is one of the most qualified, and corporate leaders who have left his marks on socio-economic growth and technological innovation.
Due to his expertise in the field of leadership quality, he made the company achieve the coveted title of World No. 1 two-wheeler company in 2001 and has successfully retained this position to date for almost 20 consecutive years.
Dr. Munjal holds executive roles in important Indian industry organisations, including the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, in addition to serving on the boards of other corporations (SIAM).
Besides, he also serves on the Board of members in many other companies namely, Munjal Acme Packaging Systems Private Limited, Pan Mining Private Limited, Indian School of Business, Hero Future Energies Global Limited, Rockman Industries Limited, and Bahadur Chand Investments Private Limited.
Hero MotoCorp – Startup Story
Hero MotoCorp’s history may be traced back to the idea of an independent, mobile India propelled by its two-wheelers.
Initially, it began its operations as a joint venture between Hero Cycles of India and Honda of Japan, which gave birth to the company under the name Hero Honda.
As mentioned, Brijomohan started manufacturing bicycle parts after getting the license from the Government. Soon after, the company got the status of ‘Large Scale Unit’ by making an annual production capacity of 7,500 cycles at that time. The company had grown to be the biggest bicycle manufacturer in India. In 1986, Hero Cycles was listed as the biggest bicycle manufacturer worldwide in the Guinness Book of Records.
After the success of Hero Cycles, Brijmohan decided to establish a two-wheeler company called Hero Majestic Company. Right after the establishment, the company started manufacturing Majestic scooters and mopeds.
Brijmohan entered into a contract with Honda, the largest automaker in Japan, in 1984. This was the beginning of a great partnership as the company set up a factory in Dharuhera, Haryana, alongside Honda. As a result of this, the first Hero Honda motorcycle, ‘CD 100’, hit the market on April 13, 1985.
By 2002, 16,000 motorcycles were produced on a daily affair and about 8.6 million Hero Honda motorcycles had been sold. This is how the company grew by reaching the hearts of millions of people.
Fate took its turn when Hero Group decided to split its ways from the Honda of Japan. The Munjal brothers decided to rename the company Hero MotoCorp in 2011. Even after the renaming, it was reported that the Hero Group would pay out royalties to Honda Company so that it can keep using its name Hero Honda till 2013.
The split was planned in a phased manner. The decision was planned in a way that – Honda’s 26% ownership investment in the JV Hero Honda would be acquired by The Hero Group.
As per reports, in locations of Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, Hero Group was not entitled to export under the joint venture; the termination would allow Hero Group to resume exporting. The Hero Group has always gotten its technology from its Japanese partner Honda.
After going through a lot of rift and differences between the two companies, Hero Group is now free and acts as an independent company. The company is also able to export to other countries like Latin America, Africa, and West Asia.
Hero MotoCorp – Mission and Vision
Hero MotoCorp’s goal now is to become the top two-wheeler firm worldwide by setting standards for design, functionality, and technology.
The company is very clear about its vision and that is “Be the Future of Mobility”.
The mission of Hero MotoCorp is to “create, collaborate, and inspire”. The company is quite firm about its mission to create and set benchmarks in the industry and inspire its co-workers to push the company to a global level.
Hero MotoCorp – Name, Tagline, and Logo
Previously, Hero MotoCorp was named Hero Honda Motors Limited after exiting the joint venture with Honda of Japan in 2011.
Hero Logo
The logo of the newly formed brand was designed by the British firm Wolff Olins.
Hero MotoCorp’s new tagline says, ‘Hum Main Hai Hero’ which means ‘There is a Hero in Every one of us’.
Hero MotoCorp – Business Model
Hero MotoCorp is a public company with a market capitalisation of ₹59,600 crores (US$7.8 billion) as of 2021.
Hero MotoCorp has a business-to-consumer (B2C) model as they manufacture motorcycles and scooters along with their parts.
The company is mostly involved in the design and development of technologically cutting-edge motorbikes and scooters for users worldwide.
Hero MotoCorp leads the path in the manufacturing world: and aims to be ‘A Global Brand’
It boasts of having over 100 million customers worldwide and persists to be on the top by bringing socio-economic progress and empowerment through its range of products and services.
Hero MotoCorp Key Products are:
Motorcycles
Xtreme 200S
Xtreme 160R
Xpulse 200T
Xpulse 2004V (Latest Edition)
Xpulse 200
Splendor+ Xtec
Splendor Ismart
Splendor+ Black and Accent
Splendor+
Passion Xtec
Passion Pro
Super Splendor
Hf Deluxe
Hf 100
Glamour
New Glamour
Glamour Xtec
Scooters
Pleasure+ Xtec
Maestro Edge 125
Maestro Edge 110
Destini 125 Xtec
Destini 125
Hero MororCorp has launched ‘Vida’-, which is an in-house electric vehicle brand of the company. In March 2022, the brand unveiled the electric vehicle to focus more on ‘Green’ sustainability.
The Chairman and CEO of Hero MotoCorp, Dr. Pawan Munjal says,
“Vida means life, and the brand’s sole purpose is to create a positive impact on the world and take us forward in meaningful ways. We believe the name is perfect for what we are building for our children and the next generation.”
The brand has also come up with an official Hero merchandise business.
Hero MotoCorp also indulges in providing service and maintenance for their customers. The company takes good care of its customers’ two-wheeler repair and maintenance through its extensive network of more than 6000 dedicated dealers and service outlets located across the country. The company offers continuous work to uphold its mandate of providing the best level of customer satisfaction.
The company also has workshops that have well-defined standards for servicing two-wheelers, a fully functional infrastructure, a staff of highly skilled service technicians, and quality precision equipment and pneumatic tools.
Hero MotoCorp provides free services for all its two-wheelers. However, for customers to use these free services they have to use them within the allotted time frame or mileage range, whichever is shorter, starting from the date of purchase.
Once the customers have used the free services, they have to continue using premium services following the suggested service schedule after the expiration of the free services or the period during which they were offered.
The foundation of Hero MotoCorp’s manufacturing facilities is sustainable development, as the company is committed to supporting the highest environmental standards.
The company has eight globally benchmarked manufacturing facilities, including six in India and one each in Colombia and Bangladesh.
Hero MotoCorp – Revenue Model
Hero MotoCorp saw a gain of profit of Rs 885 crore in the January-March quarter during the 2020-21 fiscal period in their annual report. However, its revenue from operations saw a decline to Rs 7,497 crore from Rs 8,690 crore in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2021. There was also a decline in their net income, which is now ₹2,982 crore (US$390 million).
Hero MotoCorp – Investments and Partnerships
Hero MotoCorp has the majority of investments in synergies. The company has partnered with International and national brands like:
Iconic American motorcycle brand Harley-Davidson
World’s largest battery-swapping network and EV maker Gogoro Inc.
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), India’s leading fuel distribution network.
At a Venture Funding round, Hero Motorcorp recently invested Rs 550 crore in Ather Energy on September 4, 2023.
Hero MotoCorp – Acquisitions
Hero MotoCorp has acquired a UK-based transmission technology firm called Hewland Engineering. The details of the sum are still undisclosed.
With this acquisition, Dr. Pawan Munjal says, “This investment represents a significant strategic inflection point for us in the transmission product segment. By combining Hewland’s comprehensive design and analysis capabilities with our ability to support high-volume manufacturing we are strongly positioned to offer full-stream transmission solutions to global OEMs and Tier One suppliers.”
Hero MotoCorp – Challenges Faced
Although Hero MotoCorp is a leading manufacturer of two-wheelers, it still poses tough competition from other competitors both in international and national markets.
One of the biggest challenges for the company is to come up with new products with unique designs. As per a report, Hero’s weakness lies in its lack of innovation that is, most of its products are designed similarly with no knack for new features or designs.
Hero MotoCorp – Competitors
The automotive industry, especially, the two-wheeler segment is one of the most expanding industries today.
The following are the top competitors of Hero MotoCorp are:
Baja Auto
TVS Motor Company
Honda motorcycles and scooters in India
Atul Auto
Hero MotoCorp – Awards and Achievements
Hero MotoCorp has received various awards and recognition.
Awards won by the company in the last few years are:
2020
Motorcycle of the year- Exhibit Auto Tech Awards 2020
Tourer Bike of the Year(up to 250cc) – Flywheel Auto Awards 2020
Business Leader of the Year Awards
Scooter of the year – Bike India
Bike of the Year up to 200 cc – Bike India
2018
Best launch – Two-wheeler at the CNB Auto Expo Awards for Excellence 2018
Highest Ranked Executive Motorcycle In Initial Quality – Hero Super Splendor
Bikesport award of the year – Times Auto Awards
2017
Hero Glamour – Commuter Motorcycle Of The Year – NDTV Car and Bike awards 2017
Indian MNC of the Year by All India Management Association (AIMA)
Manufacturer of the year – NDTV Car and Bike awards 2017
Hero MotoCorp – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
In October 2021, Hero MotoCorp launched an ad with a song, “Khushiyon Ko Do Raftaar”. The aim was to spread the message that the customers love to take that extra mile to make someone happy and that Hero MotoCorp is proud to be its customer’s trusted partner.
Hero MotoCorp – Future Plans
Even after having launched new products and taking the green initiative seriously, Hero MotoCorp is doing quite well in the industry by maintaining its status of World No.1.
Here’s what the CEO of Hero MotoCorp says, “This year will see Hero MotoCorp claim its position in the exciting clean mobility space in a bold avatar. Hero MotoCorp will transform its leadership in the internal combustion engine (ICE) market into the electric vehicle space globally.”
The company has also shared that in the FY 2022-23, the company’s recent launch of ‘Vida’ its first in-house Electric Vehicle (EV) will break the market shortly.
The company will develop and build a line-up of EV products, to offer mobility solutions to a diverse customer base around the globe. Hero MotoCorp will continue to invest in capability building, both in-house and through partnerships with global players, to capitalise on their unique strengths, and pave the way for expeditious adoption of sustainable mobility solutions over the coming years.
The company also plans to develop mobility solutions for a broad consumer base around the world. They wish to capitalise on their specific strengths and open the door for a swift uptake of sustainable mobility solutions over the coming years and will continue to engage in capability creation, both internally and through collaborations with global actors.
FAQs
Who is the founder of Hero MotoCorp
Brijmohan Lall Munjal founded Hero MotoCorp in 1984.
What is the revenue of Hero MotoCorp?
The revenue of Hero MotoCorp is US$4.2 billion as of 2021.
What is the business model of Hero MotoCorp?
Hero MotoCorp is a two-wheeler vehicle manufacturing company that manufactures two-wheelers like bikes and scooters.
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 IRCTC.
It can be safe to say, the need for catering services is constant throughout the year. The catering industry provides services to millions of customers worldwide through its variety of channels designed to cater to the customers’ needs. Even though event catering is likely the most well-known form of channel, it is not the only one available.
In India, the catering business is tremendously huge and growing. It is not only about weddings and birthdays, but we are talking about the catering services on railways which is also a thing that grabs one’s attention.
Nowadays, the Railway catering services are managed by both the government and some private licensed contractors. IRCTC is the largest government-owned catering service in India today.
IRCTC, the short-form of Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited, is a Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Railways, Government of India that provides services such as ticketing, catering, and tourism services for the Indian Railways.
The company was founded in 1999 as an extended business of the Indian Railways to look after the catering and hospitality department at railway stations, in general.
In this article, discover all the information about IRCTC, its highlights, startup story, its business and revenue model, challenges faced, and much more.
Termed the Mini Ratna (Category-I), IRCTC comes under the ownership of the Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Railways, Government of India. The company was incorporated with the aim to take over all the catering and hospitality services at every station, and train by creating low-cost accommodations, unique tour packages, informational and promotional materials, and global reservation systems for the development of local and international tourism in India.
IRCTC has its main administered office in New Delhi along with ten regional offices situated at Lucknow, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Bhopal, Ahmadabad, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Ernakulam, and Bangalore. The tourism and ticketing offices are located in New Delhi.
IRCTC is mainly involved in the following activities:
Catering and Hospitality
E-Ticketing
Travel and Tourism
Packaged Drinking Water (Rail Neer)
Currently, IRCTC has its operations located in the following manner,
Fourteen Rail Neer manufacturing plants at
Nangloi (Delhi)
Danapur (Bihar)
Palur (Tamil Nadu)
Ambernath (Maharashtra)
Amethi (Uttar Pradesh)
Parassala (Tamil Nadu)
Bilaspur (Chhatisgarh)
Hapur (Uttar Pradesh)
Sanand (Gujarat)
Mandideep (Madhya Pradesh)
Jagiroad (Assam)
Maneri (Madhya Pradesh)
Nagpur (Maharashtra)
Sankrail (Kolkata)
Eleven Base Kitchens setups at
New Delhi
Howrah
Ahmedabad
Patna
Mumbai Central
Mumbai CST
Ballarshah
Nagpur
Balasore
Sealdah
Kharagpur
Five Zonal Offices at
New Delhi
Mumbai
Kolkata
Chennai
Secundrabad
Additionally, IRCTC also has its services extended globally. They provide hassle-free tour packages to foreign destinations like the USA, Australia, Europe, Russia, Nepal, Macau, China, Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka.
IRCTC – Industry
IRCTC belongs to the Catering and Hospitality industry. It was during the 19th century, that the network of railways began in the country. During that period, traveling was slowly picking up pace as many people started to travel from one part of the country to another, who needed food and drinks for the journey.
Ever since then, the catering and hospitality industry is increasing at a significant rate with the increase in travel by many tourists.
Compared to US$28.9 billion in 2018, the Indian tourism and hospitality industry expects to generate US$50.9 billion in traveler exports by 2028.
IRCTC – Leadership
IRCTC is headed by Smt. Rajni Hasija. She is the Chairman and MD at IRCTC.
Smt. Rajni Hasija
Smt. Rajni Hasija is a science scholar with an M.Phil from Delhi University. A postgraduate in Human Resource Management and a degree in Law, Smt. Rajni Hasija is the whole-time Director of Tourism & Marketing at IRCTC. Along with this role, she also happens to be the Chairman and Managing Director at IRCTC.
Smt. Hasija has over 29 years of experience in Indian Railways and has also worked in many managerial capacities as well as various public sector undertakings. She played a pioneering role in the creation and growth of the railroads’ www.irctc.co.in website for online ticketing facilities.
Smt. Hasija has also successfully completed many time-constrained projects for IRCTC, ranging from planning and executing the dynamic online cum counter ticketing platform for the Commonwealth Games 2010 to international marketing of the Maharajas’ Express Luxury Tourist Train.
She was able to pull this off because of her strong technical knowledge, organising and planning skills, and ability to communicate with her peers and team.
IRCTC – Startup Story
The story of IRCTC began in 1999 when the company was incorporated with the aim of the Ministry of Railways. IRCTC was initially entirely owned by the Government of India, but in 2019 it has been listed on the National Stock Exchange, with the Government still maintaining majority ownership. The government owns about 67% of ownership in IRCTC.
IRCTC is the only enterprise that is authorised to supply specific services to the Indian Railways. They are allowed to offer services such as online ticket booking, catering, and selling of packaged drinking water on trains and at railway stations. It was classified as a Mini Ratna public corporation in May 2008, which gave it some monetary independence.
IRCTC – Mission and Vision
Being in the catering and hospitality industry, IRCTC has developed many CSR activities.
They truly believe in doing for the society, for which their CSR vision is, “To be the leading provider of high-quality travel, tourism, and hospitality related services, for a range of customer segments, with consistently high level of customer satisfaction.”
IRCTC – Name, Tagline, and Logo
IRCTC means the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited. The name rightly tells us the work they do that is providing catering and hospitality services to every railway station across India.
The tagline of IRCTC says, “Lifeline of the nation”
The logo of the IRCTC displays a combination of blue and grey symbols, which means pan-India connectivity of railway networks.
IRCTC – Business Model
IRCTC business is divided into four main services – hospitality and catering, online ticket booking for flights, trains, and buses, tour packages for both national and international places, and providing packaged drinking water under the label Rail Neer.
Here’s an in-depth dig into the business operations of IRCTC:
IRCTC boasts of being one of the largest hospitality and catering companies in the county. The catering business of IRCTC scatters across every passenger train in India, railway stations, and in and around the station premises.
The hospitality and catering business is split into three parts:
Mobile Catering Business
IRCTC oversees all of the Indian Railways’ onboard catering operations in more than 460 passenger trains with pantry cars, including the Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Gatimaan Express, Mail/Express, and recently introduced Vande Bharat Express, and Tejas Trains.
In all of these trains, the pantry carriages are installed from which they get their onboard catering services.
Other Catering Services (OCS)
Under this service, its business is divided into two categories:
Static Catering Businesses
Under this business, IRCTC has static catering businesses as well. It’s amusing to know that IRCTC also indulges in managing Train side vending (TSV) on Mail/Express and Superfast trains that do not have the option of pantry cars.
With the help of TSVs, the onboard merchants take orders from the customers who have been offered with the menu chart. After the prescribed order is confirmed, the food is then picked up by vendors at the designated “meal pick-up places”, and it is then given to the passengers.
Base Kitchens
Another static business of IRCTC is Base Kitchens. The Ministry of Railways upgraded a total of 46 base kitchens with the object of producing high-quality meals for every one of its customers on trains.
These kitchens are in process and will be equipped with modern technology. Furthermore, the Ministry of Railways is soon going to activate CCTC cameras for live streaming in the public domain along with QR code facilities on meal packets.
Besides these two static businesses, IRCTC is also involved in other ancillary business activities. They have Food Plazas, fast food units, cell kitchens, and refreshment rooms.
Other Hospitality Businesses
IRCTC has also introduced other hospitality businesses like:
Executive Lounge
The idea is to provide and cater to the demands of the mid-segment and high-end passengers. It wanted to build a comfortable place inside the railway stations to dining in hygienic surroundings. The company took inspiration from airport lounges, it has already opened eight Executive Lounges in the Railway Stations mainly at the New Delhi (Paharganj Side & Ajmeri Gate side), Agra Cantt, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Madurai, Sealdah, and Varanasi. Some of the other facilities provided at these lounges are wifi services, reclining sofas to relax, shower facilities, etc.
Retiring Rooms
IRCTC has already established retiring rooms at 19 railway stations. Furthermore, there are many rooms, which are under construction right now. The concept of these rooms is to enhance the accommodation facilities for the travelling passengers.
Rail Yatri Niwas/BNR hotels
At present, there are two Rail Yatri Niwas at New Delhi and Howrah railway stations and two BNR Hotels at Puri, Odisha, and Ranchi, Jharkhand.
E-catering Business
The most recent expansion of IRCTC’s catering and hospitality operations is E-Catering. This new business by the company is a combination of technology and cuisine.
With the help of a smartphone application, customers can order food from participating restaurants and food outlets using this internet-based service while riding a train. The passengers’ seats or berths are where food is delivered. To enjoy the service, customers have to book in advance.
Online ticket or Internet Ticketing
IRCTC launched its internet ticketing facility in 2002, and ever since then, IRCTC has made the lives of many travellers easy and convenient.
As per data and survey, there have been 15.88 lakh e-tickets booked as of 21st March 2022.
This proves that the company has emerged as one of the largest e-commerce websites not in India but also in Aisa Pacific.
Tourism business
Apart from just catering and hospitality business, IRCTC has put its benchmark in the tourism department as well. The company has played a majestic role in the development of rail tourism in India.
With its website www.irctctourism.com, the company offers a myriad of options Rail based Packages, Hotels, and Railway Retiring Rooms to provide the users with a one-stop solution to all their travel needs.
By 2015, IRCTC started giving tour packages that include flight booking, hotel accommodation, sightseeing, etc. These packages are meant for both national and international trips.
One of the most unique services provided by IRCTC is the Land Packages. These packages are meant for those customers who are interested in visiting temples for darshans, more commonly for teertha darshan.
It also offers air ticketing, and bus ticketing and has now also ventured into cruise bookings targeting both domestic and international markets.
Packaged Drinking Water
Another major business of IRCTC is manufacturing packaged drinking water known as Rail Neer. Rail Neer is the company’s own branded packaged drinking water.
Presently, the company has fourteen operational manufacturing plants of Rail Neer. These are located at Nangloi, Danapur, Palur, Ambernath, Amethi, Parassala, Bilaspur, Sanand, Hapur, Mandideep, Nagpur, Jagiroad, Maneri, and Sankrail. In addition to this, the company is planning to set up six other plants to increase the production capacity of 18.40 lakh bottles per day in FY 2021-22.
IRCTC – Revenue Model
IRCTC’s most of its earnings are through its internet ticketing facility. The company has reported that a total amount of Rs. 38178.32 crores was collected as ticket fare from the users of E-ticketing during the year 2021-22. It has also been shared by IRCTC that the total number of tickets booked was 4174.49 Lakhs, which is 140% of the previous year.
IRCTC gets 63% from e-ticketing, 22% from the catering business, 8% from Rail Neer, 7% from tourism, and the rest from State teertha.
IRCTC – Challenges Faced
In 2016, there was a case against the IRCTC by the Mumbai police for not maintaining its customers’ data. The allegation was that the company was involved in leaking the private data of its 10 million customers.
The company also faced criticism that there were data breaches and exposures, and there are worries that the government may have utilised passenger information to transmit targeted advertisements.
Another challenge faced by IRCTC was during the 2020–2021 Indian farmers’ protests. The company was criticised for sending emails without its customer’s content.
The email advertised the benefits of government policies to Sikh farmers who are protesting under the subject “PM Modi and his government’s special relationship with Sikhs”. Later, it was found that these emails were sent to promote government messages.
IRCTC – Partnerships and Collaborations
Earlier this year, IRCTC announced that it has partnered with Paytm to digitise its ticketing system for customers through its Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVM) installed at every railway station. Its online ticketing system now has QR code digital payment solutions.
On 21 February 2022, IRCTC collaborated with the Bank of Baroda to launch IRCTC BOB Loyalty Cobranded Credit Card on the RuPay platform.
Previously, it has also collaborated with SBI to come up with a travel credit card called IRCTC Rupay SBI card. The credit card gives access to various benefits like railway lounges, travel offers, rewards, and many other benefits.
IRCTC – Mergers and Acquisitions
As per sources, the Central government is planning to merge the six public sector undertakings (PSUs) by the end of 2023.
The companies which are likely to be merged are Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) with Indian Railway Construction Limited (IRCON), RailTel Corporation with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), and Braithwaite and Co Limited with Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES).
The Ministry of Railways hopes to get better funding and boost the overall value of these PSUs with this merge.
IRCTC – Social Media Presence
The IRCTC does strong advertising and branding on its social media profiles. The company does seem to be quite active on its social media channels by posting various interactive and informative posts regarding its services.
You can follow the company for its latest updates on its Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn page.
IRCTC – Competitors
The tourism and hospitality sectors are swarming in the Indian market, which of course, gives rise to tough competition between these companies. IRCTC is not alone in the catering business, many other companies give a tough fight. IRCTC competes with the following companies:
Interglobe Aviat
Delhivery
Indian Hotels Co.
Blue Dart Expres.
Devyani International Ltd.
Easy Trip planners Ltd.
Westlife Development Ltd.
Sapphire Foods
TCI Express
Chalet Hotels
Restuarant Brand
Lemon Tree Hotel
NIIT
Mahindra Holiday
Thomas Cook
ITDC
SpiceJet
IRCTC – Awards and Achievements
Throughout its journey, IRCTC has come a long way in receiving many achievements or milestones to take its catering and tourism services to newer heights.
Some of the achievements of IRCTC are:
IRCTC launched a new e-Ticketing Website & Mobile App for the booking of online Railway Ticket (2020)
A payment wallet named iMudra provides an easy way to book railway tickets, and pay, send or withdraw money. (launched in 2019)
Launched the first semi-private Train ”Kashi Mahakaal’ inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi (2020)
Launched second semi-private train ”Tejas” between Mumbai and Ahmedabad (2020)
Launched Tejas Express from Mumbai CST to Karmali, Goa (2017)
IRCTC – Future Plans
IRCTC has shown great results in the stock market. Many experts believe that the company is planning to grow exponentially. It is expected that stocks would grow from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 stock level. As of 2021, the market capitalisation of IRCTC is Rs63,726 crore.
From the looks of this tremendous growth, the future of IRCTC seems bright. It is also assumed that with the rise of internet usage, the company will see a growth in its online ticketing business at a CAGR of 17% in the coming years.
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 Facebook.
In the world of digitalisation, there are only a handful of people who are not on this social media platform, Facebook. Although the company, Facebook, began as a social network for particular college students, it has now evolved into an important tool for day-to-day socialising and business professionals.
As a small company owner, Facebook may be precisely what you need to find potential workers, get new clients, or see what your competitors are up to. And doing so – browsing content on Facebook– does not need creating your new Facebook profile.
Facebook is an American online social networking website owned by Meta Platforms. Mark Zuckerberg, along with other three Harvard University undergraduates, launched Facebook in 2004. Facebook is free to use, yet ads on the platform provider for the bulk of the gross profitability. Members may establish accounts, upload photos, join established communities, or start their own.
Facebook’s popularity stems in part from creator Mark Zuckerberg’s insistence from the beginning that members be truthful regarding who they really are, as phoney pages are just not permitted.
According to the company’s business, transparency is necessary for developing interpersonal relationships, exchanging information and recommendations, and strengthening society as a whole. It also noted that the bottom-up, peer-to-peer networking of Facebook users makes it easier for businesses to connect with customers about their services and goods.
Know more about the Meta-owned company, Facebook, and how it is helpful to us, its business model, startup story, and much more by reading this article further.
Facebook – Company Highlights
Startup Name
Facebook
Parent
Meta Platforms (formerly known as Facebook, Inc)
Headquarters
Menlo Park, CA
Industry
Social Media Platform
Founders
Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew McCollum, Chris Hughes, Dustin Moskovitz, and Eduardo Saverin.
Facebook, a US-based online social media and social networking website is owned by Meta Platforms. The site’s features include Timeline or wall, a section on the user’s homepage where users can post content and friends can send messages, Status, which allows users to notify friends of their current location or set of circumstances, and News Feed, which notifies users of changes to their friends’ statuses and profiles.
Through Facebook, the users can communicate with one another and send and receive messages. Besides, they can also signal their approval for posts and comments on Facebook using the Like button, which can also be seen on many other websites.
In 2006, Facebook allowed anybody above the age of 13 to join, expanding its enrolment beyond students. Advertisers were able to develop new and successful consumer connections, just as Zuckerberg expected.
In October 2021, Facebook announced that its parent business will be renamed Meta Platforms. The name change signalled a shift in focus to the “metaverse,” an augmented reality realm in which people would participate. The Meta Platform now includes Facebook, the social networking platform.
Facebook – Industry
Customers can engage, produce, and share material and information through the social media market, which is made up of sales by entities (organizations, single traders, or partnerships). Social media platform users can exchange photos, videos, and audio clips.
This market generates revenue from advertising sales and other services provided through social networks. Advertising on social media and social media subscriptions are two different segments of the social media business.
The worldwide social media industry is predicted to increase at an annual pace (CAGR) of 39.7% from $159.68 billion in 2021 to $223.11 billion in 2022.
Businesses are reforming their operations and recovering from the effects of COVID-19, which had previously culminated in restrictive measures such as social distancing, the closure of commercial firms, and remote work, all of which caused operational challenges. Growing at a CAGR of 39%, the market is estimated to reach $833.50 billion in 2026.
With 46% of the global social media market in 2020, Asia Pacific was the most important region. The 2nd-largest area, North America, accounted for 32% of the worldwide market. Africa was identified as the fastest-growing region in the social media market between 2020-2021.
Facebook – Name, Logo, and Tagline
Facebook Logo
According to David Kirkpatrick’s book The Facebook Effect, the name Facebook was picked because every Harvard student was given one of these, which held images of their classmates and were referred to as Facebook.
A majority of the American university students received face book directories, which consisted of individuals’ names and photos and were distributed among the university students to help them know each other. This is where the name “Facebook” came from, the sole aim of which is to connect people with their friends and family via its social media platform. The small F sign on Facebook’s site is considered to represent the name Facebook.
Facebook’s tagline used to be, “It’s Free and Always Will be” which was changed to, “It’s Quick and Easy.” It was changed silently between 6th and 7th August 2019, and Facebook didn’t clarify the reason why.
Facebook – Founders and Team
Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew McCollum, Chris Hughes, Dustin Moskovitz, and Eduardo Saverin.
Co-founder and current CEO of Facebook – Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg is an American businessman, media personality, and philanthropist. He is best known as the co-founder of Meta Platforms, Inc. (previously called Facebook, Inc.), where he currently serves as chairman, CEO, and dominant shareholder. He is also a co-founder and board member of Breakthrough Starshot, a solar sail spacecraft development initiative.
Andrew McCollum
Andrew McCollum joined Philo, an entertainment-focused OTT streaming service, as CEO in 2014. Philo debuted countrywide in November 2017. Andrew was on Philo’s board of directors, supervised the company’s co-founders, and was one of the company’s early investors before becoming CEO.
Andrew was a member of the founding team of Facebook before joining Philo, and he has a long-standing interest in the social design of products. Following Facebook, Andrew worked as an Entrepreneur in Residence at New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Flybridge Partners, two of Philo’s investors. He is still an active angel investor and counsellor in the early stages of a company’s development.
Chris Hughes
Chris Hughes (November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur who co-founded and served as spokesperson for the online social networking and directory site Facebook with his Harvard companions. He was the editor-in-chief and publisher of The New Republic from 2012 until 2016. As of 2019, Hughes is a co-chair of the Economic Security Project.
Dustin Moskovitz
Dustin Moskovitz is the CEO and Co-Founder of Asana. He co-founded Good Ventures and the Open Philanthropy Project. He is also one of the co-founders of Facebook.
Eduardo Saverin
Eduardo Saverin is a B Capital Group co-founder and partner. Saverin is a co-founder of Facebook and the initial investor. Saverin is eager to put money into the next wave of technical developments. He has counselled and worked closely with an array of firms of different kinds and stages as a technology investor and supervisor, all of which share one consistent theme: a love for people-centric technology, as well as a mobile platform lean with pan-global ambitions.
The Facebook team last registered 71,970 full-time employees in December 2021.
Facebook – Startup Story
Facebook, a social networking website, was established on October 28, 2003, as “FaceMash” before rebranding as “The Facebook” on February 4, 2004. It was established by Mark Zuckerberg and his Harvard University classmates. The website’s designers initially limited membership to Harvard students.
Nonetheless, it was gradually expanded to include additional Boston-area colleges, the Ivy League, and finally most universities in the United States and Canada, businesses, and, by September 2006, everyone over the age of 13 with a valid email account.
In September 2004, the Wall was added to a Facebook user’s online profile. This widely used feature allowed a user’s friends to post information to their Facebook wall, and it rapidly became an important part of the social aspect of the network. Facebook had gained one million active members by the end of 2004. However, the firm was still lagging behind Myspace, the top online social network at that time, with five million users. Nevertheless, in the long run, MySpace failed to compete against Facebook.
2005 was a momentous occasion for the company. It was then that the idea of “tagging” people in photographs posted to the site was born. Tags were used to identify themselves and others in photos that were viewable to other Facebook friends. Facebook users can upload an unlimited amount of photos but the facial recognition feature of Facebook, which tagged the persons on the photograph earlier, is not there anymore now.
Outside of the United States, high school and university students were allowed to join the ‘Facebook army’ in 2005. By the end of that year, it had six million monthly active users.
Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.
Based on the company’s social media service offerings, Facebook’s corporate vision statement is “People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, discover what’s going on in the world, and share and express what matters to them.”
This corporate vision demonstrates that the company is more than just an online social networking service. Rather, the firm aids in the gathering of information and meaningful dialogue among individual customers.
Facebook – Business Model and Revenue Model
Facebook makes money largely through showing commercials from businesses on its Facebook and Instagram apps. Ads contributed to 98% of Facebook’s $86 billion revenue in 2020. The remaining 2% of profits came mostly from Oculus and Portal device sales, as well as development payment fees.
Facebook’s business strategy is centred on providing its products and technologies to billions of users for free and then generating money by enabling businesses to show advertisements to Facebook’s consumers. Advertisers pay Facebook auction-based pricing depending on supply and demand.
This implies that the individuals who consume Facebook’s services (users) aren’t the people who are paying for them. Small companies who advertise on Facebook’s collection of applications are the real clients. With the launch of Facebook Shops, the initial iteration of Facebook’s e-commerce capabilities, the company’s focus on small companies became much more obvious.
Notwithstanding its history and present problems, Facebook is doing incredibly well. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, sales increased by 22% to $86 billion in 2020. It had a profit margin of 38% and a net income of $29 billion.
Facebook – Funding and Investors
Facebook raised a total of 16 funding rounds to date, as of July 12, 2022, which helped the organisation raise over $16 bn. Here’s a look at the Facebook funding table:
Date
Round
Amount
Lead Investors
Oct 20, 2014
Post-IPO-Equity
$13.8B
–
May 10, 2011
Secondary Market
–
–
Mar 4, 2011
Private Equity Round
–
–
Jan 21, 2011
Private Equity Round
$1.5B
DST Global, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners
Jan 1, 2011
Secondary Market
–
–
Jun 28, 2010
Secondary Market
$120M
Elevation Partners
May 26, 2009
Series D
$200M
DST Global
May 1, 2008
Debt Financing
$100M
TriplePoint Capital
Mar 27, 2008
Series C
$60M
Horizons Ventures
Jan 15, 2008
Series C
$15M
Global Founders Capital
The Facebook investors include Elevation Partners, DST Global, Horizons Ventures, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners and more.
Facebook – Investments
Facebook has made 44+ investments in total to date, as of July 12, 2022. Here’s diving into the most recent Facebook investments:
Date
Organization Name
Round
Amount
May 27, 2022
OlaClick (YC W21)
Seed Round
$4.4M
May 4, 2022
Ami
Seed Round
$3M
April 6, 2022
VerSe Innovation
Series J
$805M
Jan 1, 2022
PlayCo
Corporate Round
$40M
Nov 8, 2021
Inworld AI
Seed Round
$7M
Oct 5, 2021
echo3D
Series A
$4M
Sep 30, 2021
Meesho
Series F
$570M
Aug 3, 2021
Formaloo
Grant
–
Jul 5, 2021
Helpmum
Grant
$55K
May 3, 2021
Obviously AI
Seed Round
$3.7M
Apr 5, 2021
Meesho
Series E
$300M
Jan 1, 2021
FEMCA Financial Services
Pre-Seed Round
–
Dec 24, 2020
ArtyOwl.com
Grant
₹100K
Dec 4, 2020
Com Olho
Grant
–
Facebook – Acquisitions
Facebook has acquired a total of 95+ companies to date. The last acquisition of Facebook is presize.ai, which the company acquired on April 14, 2022.
Here’s a look at some of the recently acquired companies of Facebook:
Acquiree Name
About Acquiree
Date
Amount
presize.ai
Presize is a Germany-based company that is fuelled by the Computer Vision and Deep Learning technologies to develop the most accurate body scanning software
Apr 14, 2022
–
ImagineOptix
ImagineOptix is a US-based company that manufactures optical thin films to help the production of small, affordable, battery-efficient video projectors
Dec 21, 2021
–
Within (VR/AR)
Within is a virtual reality and augmented reality media and technology company.
Oct 29, 2021
–
AI.Reverie
A leading provider of synthetic data to train machine learning algorithms.
Oct 12, 2021
–
Unit 2 Games
Unit 2 Games is a game creation and sharing platform designed to develop video games
Jun 4, 2021
–
Kustomer
Kustomer is an omnichannel Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) CRM platform specializing in customer service
Nov 30, 2020
$1B
Lemnis Technologies
We set a new standard for visual fidelity in VR/AR head-mounted displays, opening new opportunities for professional users.
Sep 22, 2020
–
Mapillary
Mapillary has built a street-level imagery platform that uses photos which have been uploaded by members of the public.
Jun 18, 2020
–
Giphy
Giphy is an online database and search engine that allows users to search, share, and discover GIFs.
May 15, 2020
$400M
Sanzaru Games
Sanzaru Games is an independent console video game development studio.
Feb 25, 2020
–
Scape Technologies
Scape is a computer vision startup, building the localization engine for city-scale augmented reality.
Feb 9, 2020
–
Packagd
Packagd is a series of app that offers new mobile shopping experience.
Dec 20, 2019
–
Facebook – Growth
Facebook is the most popular social media network in the world, with 2.91 billion active monthly users as of the fourth quarter of 2021, which went up to become 2.93 bn in Q1 of FY22. Here’s a look at the rise of Facebook’s monthly active users.
Facebook’s Growth of Monthly Active Users
The number of registered Facebook members topped 1 billion in the third quarter of 2012, making it the first social networking service to accomplish so. In the first quarter of 2021, the company said that 3.51 billion people used at least one of its key platforms on a monthly basis (Facebook, Whatsapp, Messenger, or Instagram).
Facebook initially began with only 150 people working with the same firm back in 2006. This rose and rose over the years, and was last registered with 71,970 full-time employees in December 2021.
What’s Facebook Changing to Ramp up Growth?
Facebook and Instagram both will see some changes, and many of these changes will be inclined towards altering the process of how Facebook and Instagram users share posts and videos. On this, Mark Zuckerberg announced that the platforms will make it easier for the users to control what they “see and discover on Facebook.” Here are some of the proposed changes that will take place:
Feeds will be introduced as a new tab. This will help the users see the most recent posts from their friends, groups, and Pages.
A Favourites list can be curated of the friends and Pages the users care about.
The first thing that the users will now see is Home.
According to Bloomberg, Facebook is on a mission to change the way it shows its users’ posts and videos in order to enable the users to watch content from accounts that they don’t already follow. This will, thus, help the Meta flagship product, Facebook to better compete with viral video app TikTok.
Facebook’s Annual Revenue :
Year
Revenue
2010
$1.97 billion
2011
$3.71 billion
2012
$5.08 billion
2013
$7.87 billion
2014
$12.4 billion
2015
$17.9 billion
2016
$27.6 billion
2017
$40.6 billion
2018
$55.8 billion
2019
$70.6 billion
2020
$85.9 billion
The revenue of Fb in Q3 2021 was registered at $29.01 bn, which included $28.27 bn in ad revenues and $734 mn worth of other revenue.
Facebook Begins Testing Ethereum and Polygon NFTs on Profiles
Facebook announced that it has already started rolling out NFTs for some of the American creators in a report dated July 1, 2022. A spokesperson of the social media giant mentioned that the platform has started initially with NFTs on Ethereum and Polygon and will eventually add support for NFTs on Solana and Flow as well.
According to a post by Meta Product Manager Navdeep Singh, the users’ Facebook profiles will have a “digital collectibles area”, where they can display their NFTs, which are special blockchain tokens representing ownership. Singh also mentioned that the users will also be able to link their Facebook profiles to their bitcoin wallets. Also, they will have the option to convert their NFTs into Facebook posts that may then be shared, liked, commented on, and responded to, just like any other Facebook post.
Here’s the first look shared by Navdeep:
Facebook NFTs
Face Recognition Shutdown
Face recognition will be phased out of Facebook’s social network, as announced by the company in November 2021. Its use will be limited across all products, and over a billion saved faces will be deleted, according to Meta, Facebook’s newly formed parent company.
According to a blog post by Meta’s VP of artificial intelligence, Jerome Pesenti, the action will destroy over a billion saved faces in the following weeks. The removal of such a large database signal that Meta would limit the use of facial recognition in its planned “metaverse” projects, which will involve actual people interacting in vast virtual settings, including game environments, at least initially.
“The many specific instances where facial recognition can be helpful need to be weighed against growing concerns about the use of this technology as a whole,” wrote Pesenti. “There are many concerns about the place of facial recognition technology in society, and regulators are still in the process of providing a clear set of rules governing its use,” he said. “Amid this ongoing uncertainty, we believe that limiting the use of facial recognition to a narrow set of use cases is appropriate.”
Facebook – Competitors
The top competitors of Facebook are technology giants like:
The prominence and magnitude of Facebook have prompted condemnation from a variety of quarters. Internet privacy, its face recognition software, excessive data retention, DeepFace’s addictive nature, and its function in the workplace, including access to employee accounts by employers, are all challenges.
Facebook has been chastised for its consumption of electricity, tax evasion, real-name user verification regulations, censorship, and participation in the US PRISM surveillance program.
Users of Facebook are said to have negative psychological impacts such as jealousy and tension, a lack of focus, and social media addiction. Facebook has been slammed for enabling users to post obscene or illegal content. Copyright and intellectual property infringement, hate speech, rape, terrorist incitement, fake news, crimes, murders, and live-streaming violent situations are among the specifics.
Sri Lanka suspended both WhatsApp and Facebook in May 2019 as a temporary fix to restore peace following anti-Muslim violence, the worst in the country since the Easter Sunday attack the preceding year. Between the fourth quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019, Facebook removed 3 billion fake accounts, bringing the total number of monthly active users to 2.39 billion.
The company said in late July 2019 that the Federal Trade Commission was investigating it for antitrust breaches.
Facebook Layoffs
Facebook is looking to lay off employees and has already asked the process managers to identify the low-performing employees and move them to exit, as per reports dated July 15, 2022. The company has been reportedly struggling with macroeconomic pressures and incurred hits to its advertising business.
Facebook Parent Meta Faces Trademark Lawsuit
Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook has been hit by a trademark lawsuit filed by Meta X LLC., a virtual reality-based company, in Manhattan federal court, as of the reports dated July 26, 2022. MetaX alleged that the Facebook owner (earlier Facebook, Inc.), which is now renamed Meta Platforms Inc., has stolen its name since its pivot to metaverse. MetaX also reported that Meta has infringed its federal “Meta” trademarks.
Following the renaming of Facebook as ‘Meta,’ the firm will be “metaverse first,” according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, which means you won’t need a Facebook account to access other Meta products in the future.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about our identity as we begin this next chapter,” he said. “Facebook is an iconic social media brand, but it just doesn’t encompass everything that we do.”
It also suggests that the company would divide its activities into two segments: one for its future platform efforts (Reality Labs is going to be the tag for that segment) and another for its app family.
Whilst expanding their social networking applications will remain a priority, he believes that the company’s identity will become less tied to a single product/ service over time.
In short, the metaverse will be an embodiment of the internet, according to Zuckerberg, who believes it will be the next integrated virtual media to emerge after video (which evolved from photos and texts).
Rather than staring at a screen, you’ll be able to immerse yourself in these activities. That’s most probably to be accomplished through instilling a strong sense of presence in a shared environment, which would be the metaverse’s distinguishing characteristic. This will demand hardware from the firm, such as the Oculus Quest 2 or others.
The firm is thinking about offering incentives to developers and new users to join. To boost adoption, these alternatives include cutting costs, subsidizing gadgets, or selling them at a loss.
It’s crucial to stress, though, that the metaverse of Zuckerberg’s visions is far from complete. Currently, just the fundamental building pieces work, according to Zuckerberg. In the end, technological obstacles remain—compressing augmented reality technology and sophisticated computers into a pair of spectacles, for example, is a difficult task.
Although Zuckerberg vows to encourage security and privacy on this new “social technology” network in a founder’s letter, it remains to be seen if he can persuade people to use it, particularly younger generations who have been abandoning Facebook. Many people question if a new interface would simply reintroduce the same old issues.
FAQs
What does Facebook do?
Facebook is an American online social networking website owned by Meta Platforms.
Who founded Facebook?
Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew McCollum, Chris Hughes, Dustin Moskovitz, and Eduardo Saverin.
When was Facebook founded?
Facebook was founded in the year 2004.
How does Facebook make money?
Facebook makes money primarily by showing advertisements from businesses on its Instagram and Facebook apps.
Which companies do Facebook compete with?
The top 10 competitors in Facebook’s competitive set are:
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 XR Central.
Metaverse, a 3D immersive digital reality technique that combines augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), blockchain, and IoT to create a virtual world and collaborate within it. The global metaverse market was valued at $41 billion in 2021. According to ‘Metaverse Market Report 2022’ by Grand View Research, the global metaverse market size is expected to grow to reach $678.8 billion by 2030. Extended reality(XR) are the building blocks of the metaverse. that will help in uplifting the user experience in the metaverse.
XR Central is a metaverse technology based startup that provides innovatively designed solutions for metaverse creation for a diverse array of industries. Read to know about XR Central, its founder, the startup story, growth, and more.
XR Central is a Gurgaon-based metaverse technology startup. It was founded in 2020. XR Central has a vision to democratise extended reality technology and the metaverse. This means empowering businesses and individuals to use the metaverse to solve a diverse group of problems. When they bring new technology to the masses, it always leads to a leap in innovation which benefits and impacts many industries.
XR Central – Industry
The metaverse and XR industries are expanding at a phenomenal pace. There has been a large influx of investment by private and government entities in the field, and the market is projected to grow at a rate of 57.91%. The regions where most growth is projected is the Asia-Pacific region, and they anticipate that products from this region are poised to take the lead in metaverse services globally in the next five years. In the next year or so they want to introduce MetaQube to markets in the Middle East, European, and North American sectors.
XR Central – Founders and Team
Anshul Agarwal – Co-Founder of XR Central
Anshul Agarwal, Co-Founder & Director XR Central, is a mechanical engineer and Master of Business Administration who now spearheads sales, marketing and strategy development for XR Central. He has over a decade’s worth of extensive experience in sales transformation and corporate portfolio management has driven the progression of the XRC and MetaQube brand.
Anshul has a passionate work ethic and has traveled across the globe to liaise with clients. This empowers him to work closely with individual teams to deliver quality solutions. His robust educational background, coupled with experience in the corporate enables him to meet the expansion requisites of XR Central.
Shrey Mishra – Co-Founder of XR Central
The other half of XR Central is Shrey Mishra, Co-Founder & Director XR Central – a computer science engineer who spearheads technology, operations and product development for XR Central. With 12 years of experience in storytelling and finding innovative, technological solutions to complex problems, Shrey has delivered unique concepts and driven innovation.
XR Central extends its services to the corporate and commercial segments in particular, and Shrey plays a critical role in the creativity and implementation of the concept. His flair for perfection and innovation motivates the team to experiment with unique ideas and implement them with the assistance of technological processions like Metaverse, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Interactive technology.
This passion and synergy between technology and marketing strategy has resulted in the founding of XR Central. They have a flat work structure, which means that they have no hierarchies. Each member of the team is as important as the other and all team members, from interns to engineers, can approach us, the co-founders, without hesitation. They have created an open work environment where team members can brainstorm and experiment without obstacles and deliver the kind of top-notch performance that makes a product truly unique.
Before XR Central the founder ran one of India’s largest platforms for gaming content, Gaming Central. The highly organic and sophisticated participation of the gaming community coupled with the constant output of the gaming industry made us ask ourselves a question: can gaming be used to solve real world problems? And that was the seed which has led Anshul and Shrey to conceptualise, develop and implement their DIY metaverse builder MetaQube.
They ideated and designed with a small team of passionate individuals which is growing every day, and they continue to iterate and innovate even now to ensure that their product reaches a level of quality which puts it far above its competitors.
XR Central – Products and Services
XRC is an XR (AR, VR, MR & WebGL) based interactive tech studio based out of Gurgaon and is founded and led by experienced industry experts Anshul Agarwal and Shrey Mishra.
XRC has been delivering a wide range of interactive and immersive XR solutions that have helped brands elevate customer experiences and brand recall. They specialize in metaverse creation for a diverse array of industries, as well as creating interactive design content using immersive technologies such as virtual and augmented reality (MR, VR and AR).
They are currently developing their flagship product, a powerful, game-engine-based metaverse builder called MetaQube. They provide B2B services and a forthcoming B2C product is in the final stages of development. They have worked with partners like Infosys, HCL, etc. to bring experience centres and immersive experiences to life, and are currently working with a diverse portfolio – from e-sport fan zones to building complex 3D models for training purposes in specialised fields.
Most of these experiences are run on MetaQube, which will be their B2C product. MetaQube will be a no-code world builder, where you can build a digital environment for your friends and family or at scale for thousands of people in a matter of minutes.
XR Central – Challenges Faced
The biggest challenge for them was educating the target audience and educating stakeholders about the possibility of XR. As the age of Web 3.0 arrives, XR technology is seen as the new frontier for experiencing content of all kinds.
But exposure to new technology in enterprise and wider consumer settings is very limited, and explaining and providing PoC, collating ideas, iterating and reiterating, and defining the full scope is a lengthy process which requires repeated starts and stops.
They overcame these challenges by creating their own PoCs and developing material to educate people on these new technologies. This is how they have gained the confidence of leading brands.
XR Central work for clients all over the world from its offices in Gurgaon. Their users come from a very wide selection of industries, from aviation to coating manufacturers, and they empower them to build different experiences which connect them to customers, manufacturers, and their stakeholders.
During their fun work sessions they use MetaQube, their own platform, for effective internal and external collaboration with a unique hook.
XR Central – Recognition and Achievements
They are always in the news, and have received widespread press coverage for many of their projects. For their project with India Art Fair, they were featured in Financial Express, The Print, Outlook, The Hindu, and Business Today. For their collaboration with GIGABYTE and Lucknow Super Giants XR Central was covered in newspapers all over the world. Over a hundred news and media agencies have covered XR Central’s projects, with glowing testimonials from clients.
Anshul and Shrey also write a regular column aimed at de-mystifying the metverse and XR technologies for the wider public for The Sunday Guardian.
XR Central – Future Plans
As well as the Indian subcontinent, they want to provide services to regions in the Middle East and Europe. Their work is multicultural and intuitive and they are sure they will be able to bring that knowledge to develop timeless metaverse products for a diverse set of countries and audiences.
FAQs
What is XR Central?
XR Central is a Gurgaon-based startup focussed towards metaverse creations and using AR/VR for innovative design solutions.
When was XR Central founded?
XR Central was founded in 2020.
Who is the founder of XR Central?
Shrey Mishra and Anshul Agarwal are the co-founders of XR Central.
Is XR Central funded startup?
Yes, XR Central has raised funding of $135K in a Seed Round.
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 StudioBackdrops.com.
The Photography industry encompasses a range of photographic services, includingcommercial photography and portrait photography. Photography was once classified as a hobby profession only, but it has seen unprecedented growth in the last few years. The global photographic services market is expected to grow from $39 billion in 2021 to $43 billion in 2022. There are around 2 Lakhs of the photography business in the US, which generated $10.5 billion in revenue. Indian Photographers and cinematographers lack the availability of useful tools. StudioBackdrops.com is an eCommerce photography retailer that meets the demand for tools and techniques for passionate photographers.
Read to know about StudioBackdrops.com, its founder, the startup story, products, and business Model.
StudioBackdrops.com is a D2C platform that provides curated and affordable photography and video equipment to photographers, cinematographers, content creators and production houses in India.
Their short term vision is to gather the most unique and niche photography and videography products from all over the world and make them available on its platform. They also want to create awareness about these products and educate their audience about the best way to use them.
Their long term vision is to become the biggest platform for Photography, Video and Audio solutions in Asia. They also want to be able to offer products from every possible vertical in the Imaging Industry to their rapidly growing audience. This would enable creators to buy everything they need to set up their studios directly from one place without having to jump from one marketplace or store to another.
StudioBackdrops.com was founded with the goal of giving the community of creators and creative professionals access to better tools and equipment at affordable prices. At the same time they want to create a community of creators involved with helping each other create the best content with the equipment they have. And to educate them about new types of equipment and how those can take their work to the next level and compete with the best of the best. They aim to do to the imaging market in India what Nykaa did to the beauty and personal care market.
StudioBackdrops.com – Industry
StudioBackdrops.com belongs firmly in the Consumer Electronics industry as a retailer of Photography, Videography and Audio industry related products.
The global audio and video equipment market size is expected to grow from $149.00 billion in 2021 to $158.81 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6%. The audio and video market is expected to reach $196.50 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 5.5%. The Asia-Pacific Region accounts for almost 30% of this business. In this region China and India generate the most business with 900 Million + and 600 Million + active internet users.
With the Indian creator economy growing at an exponential rate, they envision StudioBackdrops.com as the ultimate support system of these creators. Already some of the biggest creators in India swear by equipment from StudioBackdrops.com. As the number of creators and influencers grow, they will always be right alongside them offering them the exact products and equipment they need to keep their content looking fresh and at par with International standards.
StudioBackdrops.com – Founders and Team
Archisman Misra is the Founder & CEO of StudioBackdrops.com. He did his schooling at K.R.Mangalam, New Delhi followed by a B.Tech in Computer Science. After his bachelor’s he chose to follow his childhood dream of photography and established himself as a commercial photographer working for some of the biggest brands and agencies.
StudioBackdrops.com – The Idea and Startup Story
Archisman Misra had been passionate about photography ever since he was a kid. During my school and college years, he had a yearning to learn more about photography and he went to the best learning resource on the Internet – YouTube. He wanted to increase and improve his portfolio so he started looking for tools that the photography educators on Youtube were using. Many of these tools were not available in the Indian market, and the some that he did find were incredibly out of budget. While working as a professional photographer, he talked to other photographers around him and they were facing the same dilemna. This led to the birth of the idea to create a platform to provide good quality and yet affordable products to photographers, cinematographers, and other creators.
As with all his ideas, his first sounding board was my parents. He have always dreamed big and has a tendency to get ahead of himself. His parents know this and always counter his ideas with questions. When he had provided valid answers for all their questions, they gave him their blessings, hence validating his idea.
He started listing down the verticals he would start with and studio backdrops came across as an obvious choice. He started talking with local manufacturers and international brands who were experts in backdrops and at the same time christened the company as StudioBackdrops.com. He also decided to bootstrap the startup with his own savings instead of looking for investors. The journey of ideation, designing and prototyping the idea was something that he went at solo, both to save costs and because he had experience of wearing many different hats throughout the years.
In October 2016 StudioBackdrops.com went live on Amazon shortly followed by their own website StudioBackdrops.com.
StudioBackdrops.com – Products
StudioBackdrops.com Photography
StudioBackdrops.com is primarily a curated D2C platform selling niche products to the Photography and Video industry. These niche products had not been introduced to the Indian market but yet were often vital to creative processes and studios. Since starting with Backdrops as their primary focus, they kept innovating, improving, and increasing the worldwide standards of the product. I am proud to say that StudioBackdrops.com is home to the largest collection of Backdrops in the world.
StudioBackdrops.com initially started as a marketplace model of eCommerce where brands and distributors could sell their products. This was the time Amazon and Flipkart were surging in popularity and he quickly realised it would be impossible to compete with them. He immediately pivoted to an inventory model of eCommerce and started reaching out to Manufacturers and Brands and became an importer and distributor for these brands in India.
StudioBackdrops.com – Business Model and Revenue Model
StudioBackdrops.com works on an omnichannel model of Business. The website directly engages with the D2C channels whereas the business development teams handle the B2C and B2B2C channels. StudioBackdrops.com works on an inventory model of eCommerce and hence is a direct distributor of multiple brands across India and is responsible for their marketing and advertising efforts.
StudioBackdrops.com – Customer Acquisition
The first platform for the launch was Amazon, quickly followed by the D2C website. They quickly understood that social media and a great customer experience would be the biggest tools to help us acquire more and more customers. This essentially became a big part of their strategy and they mainly depended on word of mouth promotion to acquire their first 100 users. Their customers loved the products they had on offer and became vocal advocates for the brand and quality.
StudioBackdrops.com – Marketing
StudioBackdrops.com has followed a very unorthodox route when it comes to marketing. It was decided pretty early on by Archisman that SBDC would be completely bootstrapped and this meant that he needed to achieve a lot of results with the lowest spend. He brought in all the experience he had gathered over the years, shooting campaigns for brands, and being actively involved in marketing them. He was quick to realise that no amount of marketing and ad campaigns could replace solid brand awareness and customer trust. To date, a lot of their marketing still revolves around creating brand and product awareness and helping customers make knowledgeable buying decisions. This builds trust and in turn, they recommend SBDC to their closely-knit community of creators, slowly and steadily building their user base and increasing the demand for the products they have on offer.
When the country was brought to a standstill due to the pandemic, SBDC was stuck in limbo without a working supply chain and logistics partner. But during the lockdown a completely new opportunity presented itself. The lockdown made stars out of struggling content creators and brought many new ones to the centre stage. The collective creativity of the country was growing and SBDC wanted to help them unleash it.
As soon as the lockdown eased, they jumpstarted their supply chain, onboarded more logistics partners, and started shipping to 22000 pin codes across India. Their sales saw the largest ever boost once the lockdown was opened, as everyone was shifting to creating content from home. This trend has continued and StudioBackdrops.com has become the destination for content creators looking to add production value to their content and to compete with the best of the best.
StudioBackdrops.com – Funding
StudioBackdrops.com remains completely bootstrapped and has not raised any funds to date.
StudioBackdrops.com – Recognition and Achievements
StudioBackdrops.com was recently named as one of the top 500 Challenger D2C Brands from India by Yourstory as a part of their Brands of New India Initiative.
StudioBackdrops.com – Future Plans
StudioBackdrops.com intends to bring to market a whole host of niche and unique products along with popular offerings across multiple verticals. This is in line with SBDC’s goal to become the largest omnichannel destination for photo, video, and audio in Asia. Along with products, StudioBackdrops.com intends to release a wide range of educational content aimed at Content Creators, Youtubers, Photographers, Cinematographers and more. They are also planning to launch an Incubator Program to support content creators directly. The program will provide content creators with the products they need and professional advice from industry leaders to improve their content.
FAQs
When was StudioBackdrops.com founded?
StudioBackdrops.com was founded in 2016 in New Delhi.
Who is the founder of StudioBackdrops.com?
Archisman Misra is the founder of StudioBackdrops.com.
Is StudioBackdrops.com funded?
No, StudioBackdrops.com is a bootstrapped startup.
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 Ericsson.
Ericsson is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company is a worldwide leader in delivering ICT solutions. Its services include cloud applications, mobility, and broadband.
The Company offers its products and services to mobile and fixed network operators, as well as provides communications networks, telecom services, and multimedia solutions, globally.
Ericsson Corporation is a leading multinational firm of telecommunications and networking equipment, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson Inc. primarily serves network operators, transportation companies, utilities, and broadcasters in the US.
Ericsson’s growing services also offer consulting, network build-out, network optimization, and network management and maintenance services. Ericsson is one of the leading providers of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to service providers.
The company enables the full value of connectivity by creating game-changing technology and services that are easy to use, adapt, and scale, making the customers successful in a fully connected world. Its core network products are antennas, transmitters, switching systems, and other gear used to build wireless telecommunications networks.
Ericsson – Logo and its Meaning
The company prepared several variations of the stylized E. It is also called “Ericsson’s three sausages” which is actually a tilted letter ‘E’.
Ericsson’s Company Logo
To create a smoother identity, the geometry of the logo was altered to align with the pixel grid, meaning it would appear rendered on digital screens.
Ericsson – Founder and History
Founder of Ericsson – Lars Magnus Ericsson
s and undertake small mechanical engineering jobs. Once the telephone arrived in Sweden, Ericsson began being commissioned to repair and install the new invention.
He quickly realized the possibilities of the telephone and started improving and creating his versions of the device. The first telephones manufactured by Ericsson were presented in 1878. Shortly thereafter, Ericsson’s unique wall-mounted telephones would soon become known throughout the world as the “Swedish pattern”.
Today the company is leading the way in creating a connected world, one where new technologies transform the way we interact and communicate. Through its innovations and ICT solutions, the company helps transform industries and create a world of new possibilities.
Ericsson’s mission is to lead transformation through mobility. Ericsson’s mission statement says, “We empower our customers to connect people and transform industries, as well as address some of the most pressing challenges of our time like climate change, and in doing so create a more sustainable world.“
Ericsson – Joint Venture With Sony
Sony Ericsson Logo
Sony Ericsson got into the alliance on 1st October 2001 and the main objective of this joint venture is “to develop an alliance that would allow Ericsson to reduce spending on the costly development of next-generation mobile phones at a time when many European telecom companies see their inventories piling up as the world’s cell phone market is growing much more slowly.”
Joint ventures often failed because of companies not being able to build customer base products, due to which customers switched to other competitive products that provide them with more reliable and innovative products. This is also the main reason for the failure of a joint venture with Sony Ericsson.
They were providing innovative products but their marketing strategy was not as effective and they could not attract customers.
They were not providing the advanced versions of mobiles as early as other competitors of mobile phone manufacturing were providing. Their R & D was slow as compared to other mobile phone manufacturers. They were not focusing on a proactive approach, they were also not productive or reactive. So this led to the downfall of this joint venture.
Ericsson – Business Model
The company operates three reportable business segments:
Networks – Provides products and solutions for mobile and fixed communication, radio networks, core networks, IP and transmission networks, and cloud.
Global Services – Provides network rollout services and professional services – specifically, managed services, customer support, consulting and systems integration (CSI), and network design and optimization services.
Support Solutions – Provides software-based solutions for BSS and OSS, TV and media solutions, and services/solutions for the mobile commerce ecosystem.
FYI Television, Inc. (FYI) is a global TV metadata and entertainment image content expert, accumulates and distributes TV entertainment
Envivio
Sep 10, 2015
$125M
Envivio provides software-based solutions for multi-screen video processing and delivery
TimelessMIND
Apr 9, 2015
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TimelessMIND is a consulting and systems integration company specializing in operations and business support (OSS/BSS)
Ericsson – Competitors
Ericsson’s top competitors include Amdocs, Infosys, Cisco, ZTE, Huawei, and Nokia companies.
Ericsson – Challenges Faced
On 7 December 2019, Ericsson agreed to pay more than $1.2 billion (€1.09 billion) to settle US criminal and civil investigations into foreign corruption. US authorities accused the company of conducting a campaign of corruption between 2000 and 2016 across China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Kuwait, and Djibouti.
Ericsson admitted to paying bribes, falsifying books and records, and failing to implement reasonable internal accounting controls in an attempt to strengthen its position in the telecommunications industry.
Ericsson said its revenue dropped 2 percent to SEK 49.8 billion in Q1 2020 as compared with 48.9 billion in Q1 2019. Ericsson said the Covid-19 pandemic had a limited impact on operating income and cash flow in the quarter. Gross margin excluding restructuring charges improved to 40.4 percent (38.5 percent).
The revenue of Ericsson from 2017 to 2021 in billion dollars
Ericsson has successfully completed the acquisition of a cloud communication service providing company Vonage.
Malaysia is selected to be the manufacturing hub of Ericsson’s 5G equipment in Asia.
Ericsson upgraded Telstra’s optical network capacity to 400GE
Ericsson is ready to take 5G into space along with other firms like Qualcomm and Thales.
Ericsson is approached by Reliance Jio along with Nokia for 5G telecom gear.
Ericsson – Future Plans
Ericsson has its hand in the evolution of mobile networks and 5G. Their next plan is to make 5G the worldwide standard for the upcoming generation of wireless tech. The company is working with several other mobile operators AT&T, China Mobil, Deutsche Telecom, Korea Telecom, Turkcell, TeliaSonera, Verizon, and Vodafone telecom to make 5G a reality.
As we all know, IT is no longer just a support function and it needs to be redefined again and again with the changing needs, something that Ericsson has always been up to. The company’s Cloud solutions are designed as digital factories: software-defined, automated, and accessible easily.
As we move into the Networked Society, devices will become more capable and integrated into vast numbers of different applications across sectors. Ericsson takes a holistic view of the Internet of Things (IoT) by providing key solutions to make it happen like the company-managed connectivity services, applications, and systems integration activities. The Ericsson approach is to ensure that all the necessary parts exist for stakeholders and users to benefit from the Internet of Things.
Conclusion
Ericsson is a new-age ICT solution-providing company headquartered in Sweden. The company has its mission decided to empower people and create new technologies that define today’s issues with sustainable solutions.
Ericsson is a leading telecommunication and networking company that has been in a joint venture with different firms and is currently competing with companies like Infosys, Huawei, Nokia, etc. The business model and plans of Ericsson are also discussed above.
FAQs
What does Ericsson company do?
Ericsson is a Swedish technology company that provides and operates telecommunications networks, television and video systems, and related services.
Who are Ericsson’s competitors?
Ericsson’s top competitors include Amdocs, Infosys, Cisco, ZTE, Huawei, and Nokia.
Who owns Ericsson now?
The two majority owners of Ericsson have remained the same from the time of its foundation. The two owners are named the Wallenberg family and the Handelsbank Sphere.
What is Ericsson famous for?
Ericsson is famous for its service of 140 years in the industry. Since its start, it has made many revolutionary products and is responsible for some best-known products such as mobile phones, managing networks, etc.
Roshni Tamta
