This article has been contributed by Aarul Malaviya, Founder, AI enabled – Zamit.
Internships serve as invaluable opportunities for students to gain practical experience, explore career paths, and develop essential skills for the professional world. Excelling in internships requires a strategic approach and a commitment to learning and growth. To make an informed decision thorough research is required which would eventually lead to paving the way to one’s desired career.
Let’s dive right into the key considerations that students should keep in mind to make the most out of their internships:
Set Clear Goals: While internships come with guidelines, it’s essential to have a clear plan for what you want to achieve. Identify specific skills you’d like to acquire, aim for stellar reviews, or focus on anything that will further your career.
Be Proactive and Take Initiative: Take initiative and seek out opportunities to contribute to projects or tasks. Don’t wait for tasks to be assigned to you; instead, volunteer for assignments and demonstrate your enthusiasm and willingness to learn. If you identify areas where you can add value or improve processes, don’t hesitate to propose ideas or solutions.
Build a Robust Network: Build relationships with your colleagues, supervisors, and other professionals in your field. Networking can open doors to future opportunities and provide valuable insights into the industry.
Seek Feedback and Treat Mistakes as Learning Opportunities: Request feedback on your work regularly to gauge your progress and identify areas for improvement. Use constructive criticism as an opportunity to grow and refine your skills. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; instead, view them as learning opportunities.
Stay Curious: Stay curious and open-minded throughout your internship. Be willing to explore new ideas, technologies, or methodologies that can enhance your skills and knowledge. Don’t hesitate to ask questions if you’re unsure about something. Asking for clarification or guidance shows your interest in learning and your commitment to doing a thorough job.
Don’ts
While embracing the aforementioned one should take great care to avoid the following pitfalls while navigating the internship landscape:
Don’t Forget to Follow Up: After completing a task or project, it’s essential to follow up with your supervisor to ensure that you’ve met expectations and to seek feedback for improvement. This demonstrates your commitment to excellence and your willingness to learn and grow.
Don’t Neglect Your Professional Development: Your internship presents a valuable opportunity to invest in your professional growth. Take advantage of this time to develop new skills, expand your knowledge, and hone existing competencies. Seek out learning opportunities, whether through formal training sessions, shadowing experienced professionals, or taking on challenging projects.
Don’t Burn Bridges: Even if your internship doesn’t lead to a job offer later, maintaining positive relationships with your colleagues and supervisors is crucial. Building and nurturing these connections can open doors to future opportunities, whether through referrals, recommendations, or networking.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of Soft Skills: Focus on developing soft skills like communication, teamwork, and problem-solving during your internship. Practice effective communication, collaborate with colleagues, and approach challenges with creativity. These skills are crucial for success in any professional setting and will make you a valuable asset to future employers.
Don’t Forget to Express Gratitude: Expressing gratitude is a simple yet powerful way to leave a positive impression and build goodwill with your colleagues and supervisors. Take the time to thank them for the opportunities, guidance, and support they’ve provided during your internship.
Important Aspects Internship Students have Learned
Takeaway
Excelling in internships necessitates a proactive attitude, a dedication to continuous learning and development, and maintaining professionalism. Students can optimise their internship experience and establish a strong foundation for a successful career by following the aforementioned guidelines. By embracing these principles, interns can make meaningful contributions, gain valuable experience, and position themselves for future opportunities in their chosen fields.
StartupTalky presents Recap’23, a series of in-depth interviews where we engage with founders and industry leaders to explore their growth in 2023 and their predictions for the future.
EdTech, or education technology, is booming. Thanks to the pandemic, companies are creating cool tools like online courses, fun learning games, and AI tutors. It’s making education more personalized, breaking down distance barriers, and making learning super interesting.
The EdTech industry is projected to experience phenomenal growth in the coming years, with estimates suggesting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.2%, potentially reaching a market size of over $605 billion by 2027 (Research and Markets).
In our recent interview for Recap’23, we connected with Aarul Malaviya, Founder of Zamit. We talked about how Zamit is making waves in the EdTech industry. We covered challenges, strategies for reaching customers, future plans, and more.
StartupTalky: What service does Zamit provide? What was the motivation/vision with which you started?
Aarul Malaviya: We help students prepare for tomorrow today! Zamit, a UK-based organisation, specialises in Skills and Knowledge Integrated Learning for students and Teaching Excellence and Relevance Management for Teachers. Using its unique Measure, Improve, and Monitor model, it offers AI-driven Learner Analytics and an impactful ‘iSKiL’ program for students, nurturing over 70 important skills for academic success. The company’s innovative ‘ZQ’ (Zamit Quotient), the world’s first AI-driven, measurable indexing system, replaces traditional standardised tests to focus on the future readiness of students. Our ‘iTERM’ program supports teachers with Continuing Professional Development on over 80 skills, including classroom resources and CPD programs. Furthermore, Zamit collaborates with various schools to deliver customised iSKiL and iTERM programmes and offers international certifications in line with UK standards through Qualifications and Assessments International in the UK, providing educational content of world standards.
StartupTalky: What new services have been added in the past year? What is/are the USP/s of Zamit?
Aarul Malaviya: Zamit stands out in the industry by providing unique programmes to guide teachers and students towards greater success, including portfolio-building services, English language assessment, internships, scholarships, and research grants. Moreover, our services align with India’s National Education Policy 2020. For schools, alongside ZQ assessments, Zamit offers teacher development resources, safe recruitment solutions, a marketplace, news, webinars, curated content, ambassador programs, promotions, and awards. We recently added programs such as ‘iTERM’ for teachers and ‘iSKiL’ for students; both programmes are aligned to the Common International Framework of Reference for Future Readiness or CIFR, a gold standard.
StartupTalky: How has the Edtech industry changed in recent years, and how has Zamit adapted to these changes?
Aarul Malaviya: Recently, the EdTech industry has undergone a significant transformation fuelled by the latest technological improvements and evolving academic methodologies. This shift has led to the emergence of online platforms that offer flexible learning, personalised education through AI, immersive learning with the integration of Virtual Reality tools, and a renewed emphasis on practical, real-world skills. In response to these developments, Zamit has overhauled its platform to prioritise user-friendliness. The company is now leveraging adaptive technology for personalised learning experiences, integrating Artificial Intelligence algorithms to actively engage students, using machine learning software to analyze data, and assisting teachers and institutions in integrating the required technology. The need to adapt is now crucial for success in the rapidly changing world of education and technology.
StartupTalky: How do you stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in the Edtech industry?
Aarul Malaviya: Keeping up with the rapid changes in the educational market requires proactive involvement in industry events like conferences and seminars to directly engage and witness emerging trends and insights. Additionally, our research team consistently dives deep into newly released credible publications and research papers, extracting invaluable data from expert case studies. Moreover, cultivating partnerships with academic experts and international and national educationists provides Zamit with access to relevant and current innovations in the field.
StartupTalky: What key metrics do you track to check Zamit’s growth and performance?
Aarul Malaviya: For a startup, monitoring key metrics is essential to gauge overall growth. In EdTech, user engagement and retention rates gauge Zamit’s impact on students’ long-term learning. Conversion rates and acquisition costs reflect the efficiency of our marketing campaigns while assessing student assessments and completion rates to evaluate content effectiveness. Analysing user feedback through data analytics guides us in making anticipated platform improvements for sustainable company growth.
StartupTalky: What were the most significant challenges Zamit faced in the past year, and how did you overcome them?
Aarul Malaviya: This year, the EdTech world encountered major hurdles amid swift changes in the global academic sphere. While many companies scrambled to adjust to remote learning needs, Zamit made required enhancements to accommodate more users, boosting server capacity and upgrading internet capacity to ensure a seamless experience. Adapting to new-age requirements of teachers and students alike are as important in education as they are involved the rapid development of interactive and compelling digital content. Moreover, improvements in customer support and tutorials aided the transition to remote learning, enabling us to uphold our dedication to delivering high-quality education.
StartupTalky: Good service is something everyone is talking about in the service industry. How does Zamit ensure that their clients are happy?
Aarul Malaviya: Delivering top-notch service and ensuring client satisfaction in any other industry. It means actively gathering feedback from principals, teachers, and students through surveys and direct interactions to understand their needs. These insights drive refinements that align with changing learning patterns, shaping the platform accordingly. Additionally, cultivating a community via online forums nurtures a collaborative environment for the whole industry.
StartupTalky: What are the different strategies you use for marketing? Tell us about any growth hack that you pulled off.
Aarul Malaviya: Zamit operates on a comprehensive marketing strategy using multiple communication channels. Content marketing, such as blogs and webinars, highlights our academic expertise, engaging both teachers and learners. Social media amplifies this by sharing informative content and success stories, fostering a robust community. Targeted ads on social platforms not only acquire users but also enhance our visibility through word-of-mouth.
StartupTalky: Foreign clients – this is what most of the service-based companies are looking for. What has been your experience?
Aarul Malaviya: Partnering with global institutions such as Qualifications and Assessments International, UK broadens Zamit’s platform to cater to diverse learning needs, embracing cross-cultural exchanges for excellent and up-to-date academic content. Our international presence in UAE drives growth, motivating us to seek strong partnerships and aspire to become a top global educational tech provider.
StartupTalky: What are the important tools and software you use to run Zamit smoothly?
Aarul Malaviya: The combination of tools helps us take a comprehensive approach to managing both customer interactions and internal processes. Some of the important tools and software used to run our business smoothly include ZOHO for CRM, campaign management, social media management, ticketing, etc. In addition, we use Sales IQ, Knowlarity, WhatsApp, and Forms for customer interaction. Additional tools such as uKnowva and Asana are used for internal HRMS and project management. Other technical tools include Adobe, Invideo, StreamYard, etc. All these help us gather data and stay ahead of the market.
StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in the Edtech industry in India and the world?
Aarul Malaviya: With a booming population and wider internet access in India, there is ample room to enhance the accessibility of education, especially in underserved regions. Therefore, online platforms offer flexibility to meet this academic gap. Additionally, AI and machine learning algorithms are poised to elevate student engagement experience. Worldwide, the move towards lifelong learning, driven by job market shifts, is propelling the growth of the EdTech industry.
StartupTalky: What kind of difference in market behaviour have you seen between India and the world?
Aarul Malaviya: The EdTech markets in India and globally showcase distinct behaviours. India sees a high demand for affordable coaching and skill development for competitive exams, driven by a large population that aspires to illustrious colleges and jobs. Globally, there’s a wider emphasis on long-term skill-based learning, aligning with industry needs. At the same time, both embrace online learning platforms; global trends favour personalised, tech-driven experiential learning, while Indian students lean more towards fundamental content. Nonetheless, both markets are swiftly adopting digital learning avenues to address learning requirements.
StartupTalky: What lessons did your team learn in the past year, and how will these inform your future plans and strategies?
Aarul Malaviya: The company has been conducting extensive research to identify the gaps in the market regarding future readiness skills for students and teachers. Based on the information gathered, we identified a need for a framework that is standardised, measurable, personalised, and modern and that would guide students and teachers towards greater success. Basis this understanding, Zamit’s proprietary model of Measure-Improve-Monitor was developed. The Zamit programmes are founded on this M-I-M model.
StartupTalky: How do you plan to expand the customers, service offerings, and team base in the future?
Aarul Malaviya: Our expansion plan revolves around customer outreach and diverse service offerings. Targeted marketing will help us penetrate new markets and fortify existing ones. Prioritising focused assessment and improvement programmes for emerging skills remains advantageous, alongside continuous improvements to our platform and user experience. Based on the encouraging response from the market, we have aggressively begun to expand our team in select cities across India and the UAE. We have a plethora of cloud-based solutions that will help us upscale in regard to technical assistance required for team management while keeping pace with expansion. Some of the tools include ZOHO CRM, Asana, and Odoo.
StartupTalky: One tip that you would like to share with another Service company founder?
Aarul Malaviya: Our advice to fellow founders is to always hone your adaptability skills. Education and tech are dynamic, so staying ahead of the curve is crucial in staying relevant. Be flexible in your strategies, be the first one to adopt the latest tech, and constantly keep improving your services based on user feedback, as these aspects will define your future success.
StartupTalky extends its gratitude to Mr. Aarul Malaviya for dedicating his valuable time and generously sharing his insights with all of us.
The COVID-19 pandemic has effectively brought normal life to a halt in whole world. Social distancing, work from home and a lockdown are the only ways to stop the spread of this virus. Situation is not different in India too. The Indian government has done the smart thing by implementing a 21-days lockdown along with an international and domestic flight ban, and a stoppage of the railway service. But, this lockdown, work from home will impact Indian economy.
Transportation has stopped, manufacturing units are closed, shops which sell non essentials are closed, so this will affect economy for sure. One of the biggest potential impacts to India’s employment and economy could be the shuttering of manufacturing plants and assembly lines in the tech sector. So, this will affect startups too.
MyGate is India’s leading security and community management solution for gated premises. MyGate helps residents to manage guest entries and delivery executives. We talked to Vijay Arisetty, Co-founder & CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
Quick access to medical expertise and credible information, particularly in the era of social media, is extremely important in the fight against coronavirus. We are very keen on raising awareness on the matter and ensuring the availability of qualified medical advice for our 1.5 million+ users, and found strong partners in digital healthcare platforms DocsApp and mfine who promptly agreed to offer online consultation via their nationwide doctor network. Their doctors were kept busy over the weekend, with 2800 consultations completed over the last weekend alone, at no cost to our users.
Rising Sun
Inatur Ayurveda & Aromatherapy manufactures Organic and Natural skin, hair care and wellness products. These are safer, eco-friendly, and more effective skin care products. We talked to Pooja Nagdev, Founder and CEO,on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
We have taken the following steps to ensure the safety of all our customers, our partners & most importantly our employees.
Our manufacturing facility, office and retail stores are being disinfected regularly.
All employees have been given complimentary gloves, sanitisers & masks which are to be used at all times, without fail.
Strict measures are taken against anyone working in an unhygienic way.
Zamit
Zamit- a one-stop platform that networks & supports school ecosystems to be future-ready. It is an information, engagement and interaction platform that networks schools, students, teachers, parents, and school service providers. We talked to Aarul Malaviya, Founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
The various steps taken by the company are as follows-
Our HR has created a ready-to-refer document and shared it with every employee of the company which contains all the information related to the virus and preventive measures to be taken. (The information is taken from verified sources)
Hand sanitizers are being placed at every entrance of the office and in all cabins/rooms of the office. The employees are asked to wash their hands at regular intervals and only enter the office premises on washing your hands using waster or Hand sanitizers.
The employees have been asked to communicate using various communication platforms like slack, hangouts etc. as much as they can to maintain social distance.
All the employees are being given strict instructions to clean and sanitize their stuffs like laptop, bags, mouse & mouse pads, phones etc. using Antiseptic Wipes which are placed in every room/cabin of the office.
The cleaners are instructed to clean the office using an antiseptic liquid throughout the day in equal intervals of time.
Disposable gloves are being provided to the cleaners and the people managing the pantry. The gloves will be worn every time they are serving any food item to anybody in the office.
Time slots have been given to each department of the office for lunch in the pantry to avoid employee’s exposure to crowded areas.
Face masks are made available in the office for every employee. Whoever feels the need, someone who is coughing, sneezing, running nose or symptoms of COVID-19 will have access to the mask.
Lastly, info graphics, posters are set up across the office as a way of encouraging the employees to eat food & adopt practices which will help in immunity building of the human system.
CASA EXOTIQUE
The company has been exploring the depth of Interior Designing and Styling with the help of a remarkable team of professionals who takes each and every turn to make your vision come to life. We talked to Ms. Bhawana Bhatnagar, Interior Stylist, Founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
After consulting with experts in the field, we have adopted a number of routines to ensure that the risk of any possible outbreak is minimized.
The workplace is routinely cleaned and sanitized to provide a safe working environment for our employees.
Travelling, especially overseas, has been restricted and is permitted only in urgent or exceptional cases.
We have also employed a temperature gun at the office so that in case anyone contracts the sickness, it could be detected at the earliest. This would help prevent the disease from worsening and would also prevent the infection from spreading.
We have also asked sick employees to stay at home and we’re providing flexible leave policies as well. The alcohol-based sanitizer has also been made mandatory at the workplace.
121 Experiences
121 Experiences specializes in experiential brand communicating solutions to drive behaviour changing consumer habits. We talked to Aniket Sharma, Co-founder & CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
Following policies have been implemented starting this week –
Office will be open from 11am to 4pm Monday to Saturday.
No visitors will be allowed within the office premise.
All employees who have laptops need to work from home; also they need to be available on phone calls and emails during office hours.
For those who cannot work from home, a rotational cycle for attendance will be applied.
Avoiding non-essential local travel.
Domestic and international travel must be prohibited.
In their endeavor to create the most authentic and memorable fan experiences across the world, MyStarHub provides a platform where fans can book personalized video shoutouts from their favorite celebrities. We talked to Swapnil Mahajan, Founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
The safety of our employees is of utmost importance for us, and understanding the seriousness of the situation, we have been constantly tracking the turn of events.
We have been maintaining the highest hygiene standards within the office premises and communicating detailed guidelines for personal safety and hygiene.
Initially, we started by restricting travel and face-to-face meetings to only urgent ones. But as the coming few days are crucial for India to control the spread of Coronavirus, we have declared work-from-home for all our employees since March 18.
Sify Technologies
Sify is the largest ICT service provider, systems integrator, and all-in-one network solutions company on the Indian subcontinent. We talked to Praveen Krishna, Investor Relations, Public Relations & Corporate Communications, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
At Sify we have taken certain precautionary measures to safeguard the employees like daily mailers on hygiene, use of santizers, awareness through WHO videos, reporting colleagues who might be coughing or sneezing inordinately, no physical contact with each other, etc – Specifically, these are the is what is being implemented.
People
Stipulation that everybody should sanitise their hands a minimum of 4 times in the day.
Report anybody who is coughing or sneezing inordinately.
No shaking hands
Hydrate with warm water regularly.
Precautions
Daily mailers on maintaining hygiene.
If in doubt, get it checked at the nearest designated hospital.
Recommended home quarantine for 14 days on the advise of a medical practitioner.
In the event of co-habited work space, they have to have sanitisers on the desk.
WHO videos on best way to avoid and if contracted what to do.
Videos on fundamentals, for e.g. how to wash hands, how to wear a mask when out in public, what to avoid etc
All events, offsites etc have been cancelled.
Travel
If carpooling, recommended to exercise caution and not drive other’s vehicles.
International travel has been completely barred.
Domestic travel is also being monitored with hot spots like Delhi, Hyderabad and now Bangalore not recommended.
Quarantine
Anybody who has internationally travelled in the last 30 days is quarantined for 14 days as a precaution and a report is shared with the travel and health authorities.
Team Pumpkin
Team Pumpkin is a 360 Degrees Marketing & PR agency commenced its operations in 2012 with a clear mission to help brands win in the Marketing and PR space. We talked to Ranjeet Kumar, Co-founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
We were one of the first few offices to declare WFH for all our teams.
We had taken a note right from the beginning and have been preparing to tackle the situation.Initially, we created a COVID-19 response plan and shared it across teams to keep them aware of the probable actions according to the corresponding situations. This was shared along with detailed information about the transmission of the virus and guidelines to ensure safety.
Sensing the seriousness of the situation we had limited travel only to the critical ones and restricted in-person interviews and meetings at all our offices.
The use of the biometric machine has been completely stopped and attendance management is being done through the partner app.
75F provides Internet of Things (IoT) hardware & software building products that makes office building more energy efficient, controlled and comfortable. We talked with Mr. Deepinder Singh, CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
75F Technologists and Sales Teams is working remotely to provide troubleshooting, ongoing training, best practices, and guidance to its customers.
Their Facilisight are fully operational through which customers can monitor, manage, and control buildings remotely through their desktop, tablet or 75F apps to lower set points, power down building lighting, or bring down unused zones or floors selectively to conserve costs and equipment.
75F warehouse are fully staffed, and their flexible cloud-based infrastructure will ensure minimal disruption to the business.
Dineout
Dineout is India’s largest Dining out and Restaurant tech platform, helping more than 17 million diners monthly discover new restaurants, reserve a table, pay for their bills and get offers and discounts combined with a SaaS product offering to its restaurant partners manage their operations. We talked to Ankit Mehrotra, Co-founder & CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
At Dineout, our team is our extended family, and their health and safety always comes first! When the coronavirus outbreak first hit globally, we were as surprised as everyone else however we did start taking preventive measures right from the beginning.
Rigorous office sanitisation, availability of masks and sanitisers, as well as a Self-quarantine policy was implemented under which all employees (or family) with a travel history outside India, or those who have been in contact with affected persons or even flu like symptoms were asked to self-quarantine themselves for 14 days.
We also urged our teams to cancel any work related travel, reduce visitors and fever screening through IR thermometers at the entrance for the last 2 weeks.
We also practiced social distancing at all our offices by sitting at alternate work stations and maintaining 6 feet distance at all times.
From Monday, 16th March, we implemented work-from-home policy for our teams across all cities until March 31st 2020.
Our sales teams have also been advised to focus on virtual training and virtual client support for the next two weeks. In fact our teams are also having lunch together digitally!
In such challenging times, we continue to work together to overcome operational hurdles by leveraging technologies like Google Hangouts, Slack and Google Meets to stay connected virtually and ensure continuity of work.
Huddle
With a rich pool of dedicated experts and mentors to support the growth of early-stage ventures, Huddle enables the ventures to take their business to the next stage. We talked to Sanil Sachar & Ishaan Khosla, Co-founders & CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
The current challenges due to Covid-19, act as a reality check for a lot of startups and large ventures to realize who their real customers are and how valuable their product/service is. In an environment where doing less is helpful, there is a lot of reduction in spends which is funneling out and reducing customer base, which indeed has a detrimental impact on the cash flows of a venture. For us, we have taken measures to help our ventures from day one to create businesses that have a strong back end and therefore, not only those that can sustain during such unfortunate and unexpected times.
This period of isolation and in the day and age where social distancing is important, companies will see a reduction in funding, financing of their working capital due to reduced sales or utilization of their service and product, but the gain from this ‘downtime’ is to create sustainability within ventures through offerings that can add value despite the environment. We are prepared to support our startups through infrastructure and our team, with the resources we have to help them sustain and not succumb to any of these losses. At a time like this, is when our Huddle of portfolios are standing strong together to support one another. For us, we are preparing all the measures to support our ventures. Luckily we have not seen any decline in the speed at which our companies are working, and our onboarding of newer companies, because innovation is needed now more than ever.
Zolo provides fully managed, long-term affordable stay options with a warm and homely environment. We talked to Dr. Nikhil Sikri, CEO & Co-Founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
At Zolostays, the safety and health of our residents and our employees is of out utmost priority. Since we operate a co-living model, we have come up with specific policies to tackle the spread of COVID-19 for both our employees and our residents.
For Employees
We have advised employees to ‘Work from Home’, if they are experiencing any kind of flu, cold, cough and breathlessness and have been asked to self-quarantine and get in touch with a doctor.
We have also encouraged hand hygiene by placing hand sanitizers around the offices and the commonly touched surfaces and objects are being wiped with disinfectants regularly.
We have also cancelled non-essential business trips and our efficient HR team regularly shares all the advisories released by the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs.
For Residents and HouseKeepers
We have initiated special training of the housekeeping staffs for the best practices of personal hygiene and sanitizing for COVID-19 prevention.
Personal Protective Equipment have also been provided to all our housekeeping and kitchen staffs including gloves and masks which are disposed off at regular intervals.
We have also provided hospital-grade disinfectants and cleaning agents approved by WHO for cleaning purposes.
All community activities have been suspended and a special trained support team is kept on standby to help the residents of any related COVID-19 instances.
Headquartered in Hyderabad and Singapore, Ozonetel has several industry firsts to its credit in the area of Cloud Communication. We talked to Chaitanya Chokkareddy, Co-founder & Chief Innovative Officer, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
Ozonetel has adopted Work From Home (WFH) as one of their policies with respect to the recent COVID -19 outbreak. We believe that remote working model can be as efficient as working from office if we use the right tools. And since we can offer this option for our employees, we did.
Tjori
Imbibing cultural and traditional crafts from around the globe, Tjori is a platform for treasured designs across apparel, footwear, bags, decor, and jewellery. In keeping with the essence of our brand, it also offers a range of organic and ayurvedic skin care products, using secrets whispered through generations. We talked to Mansi Gupta, Founder & CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
We at Tjori are trying our best to create awareness and precautionary measures for our Tjori family, our employees, our vendors and our customers.
The measures taken under the office premises are that of compulsory mask on everyone who enters the office, a sanitization process for our vendors and customers who walk-in for their respective needs. The sanitization process contains the simple steps of handing a surgical mask and using an alcohol derived sanitizer has that helps killing the viability of the office.
The everyday cleaning processes has amplified and now every two hours a thorough cleaning is done.
The people who are ill have been given grace leave in-order to help them recover without any stress.
Packman Packaging
Packman Packaging is one of India’s largest manufacturers of corrugated boxes, corrugated rolls, bubble rolls, bubble pouches, courier bags, POD jackets, duct tapes, e-commerce shipping bags and more. We talked to Gaurav Jalan, Director and Founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
Packman Packaging is trying what it can by implementing some of the things not just for the betterment of its employees but in a broader aspect its customers as well. Packman Packaging has already implemented certain work policies that include everyone from the workers and the management.
Packman Packaging is primarily working as a manufacturer so in the manufacturing unit, Packman Packaging has adopted a policy where the workers are being asked to work in shifts so that there will be a lesser number of attendances at a given time.
It will also ensure that every worker has a proper space to work because it is not crowded as it used to be before the pandemic days. As of now, this seems to work well.
Packman has a huge advantage because of its online store. And because of that the majority of the staff related to IT and customer service the marketing and sales teams are working remotely from their homes most of the time.
As for the senior management teams are concerned, the employees are working on a rotational basis. The management team members are working on alternate days. This way it not only helps the normal flow of work but also, ensures everyone remains safe.
The most important thing Packman Packaging has assigned its guards an added responsibility that whoever is entering the premises of the office and manufacturing unit he is making sure that everyone is getting their hands sanitized and wearing masks.
Also, there has been a floor manager assigned who is monitoring that everyone is washing their hands with sanitizer and wearing masks for every exit and entry in the respective floors.
Sick employees are advised to stay at home as much as possible.
Bridged.co
Bridged uses a combination of AI and a 13,000 strong highly skilled workforce to develop unique and vast data at scale significantly improving the quality of data models. We talked to Ashwin Chalam, CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.
We’ve educated our employees on best practices (such as washing hands often and limiting physical contact) to implement during this health crisis.
We’ve placed hand sanitizers across spaces in the office, and even requested employees to practice social distancing and avoid unnecessary travel.
We’ve implemented a work from home policy.
With these efforts, we hope to flatten the curve by reducing the probability of our employees catching the virus, which is essential to mitigating this pandemic.
Apart from being a threat to public health, COVID-19 has also emerged as a threat to the global economy. Indian Government has put restrictions on regular movement, malls, public spaces, offices. Everything except essential things has been locked down. During this time of uncertainty and unrest, small businesses have been hit the hardest.
Flight, hotel booking firms are the worst hit. Whereas, at the same time, video conferencing providers and online education companies, messaging platforms and of course healthcare & pharmaceutical companies are witnessing a boom in demand but the situation has become for worse for the startups & small scale businesses as they have limited sources and capital.
Indian benchmark indices (BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty) have fallen over 20% this month with foreign investors pulling out around Rs. 38,000 crores fearing recession Analysts predict that the impact of coronavirus in India will shave off 0.5% of India’s GDP growth in FY21. The impact on Indian trade alone is estimated to be more than Rs 34.8 crores.
These macroeconomic headwinds have already affected sale of white labelled goods which contribute half of the GMV of ecommerce companies. Retrenchments and downsizing in the startup ecosystem have started to accelerate as businesses take a hard look at steep operational costs and dipping demand in an uncertain environment made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. Oyo, Bounce, Udaan and Drivezy have begun laying off staff.
While India has taken early measures to contain the virus, there is still uncertainty around how long this pandemic might last. Governments in Europe and USA have already announced aid packages for small businesses and India might have to go down the same route to revive the economy.
How will small businesses survive during Corona Virus outbreak
We have asked few companies how small companies can survive when Corona Virus has affected the economy and so many businesses around the globe.
Rising Sun
Inatur Ayurveda & Aromatherapy manufactures Organic and Natural skin, hair care and wellness products. These are safer, eco-friendly, and more effective skin care products. Lets get views of Ms Pooja Nagdev, Founder and CEO, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak. The Coronavirus crisis presents the economy and businesses with challenges but also with some opportunities. All of us have got time now to review and reflect. This is the time to plan new strategies, check all costs and overheads. Small businesses will have to cut down unnecessary costs and expenditures in order to be profitable.
Indi Collage
Indi Collage is a Fractional Retail platform. It helps brands expand into new markets without the overheads of expensive retail spaces. We talked to Anuradha Singh, on how will small business can survive during Coronavirus outbreak. We are focusing on building a base & giving flexible options to our customers to take later tentative dates for booking their popups at our spaces.
Zamit
Zamit is an information, engagement and interaction platform that networks schools, students, teachers, parents, and school service providers. We talked to Aarul Malaviya, Founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak. Coronavirus has created a deep global recession across the world. In case of the Indian market, all the small businesses will suffer a short, serious but not catastrophic recession. Consumers should help these small businesses in any possible way they can since they’re the driving force for these businesses.
Tax relief is something which will help in relieving a major amount of pressure from these small business owners.
All the business owners need to opt for extra cost cutting in their businesses which includes- minimized travel, cancelling any non-essential subscriptions, reduce online sponsored posts, reduce or eliminate meetings to reduce expenses, pause any large costs that could be undertaken at a later stage.
They also need to set clear and realistic business plan and at the same time, motivating the employees to pull this off together as a team and irrespective of mode of working, every employee should be there to help each other as in when it is needed to keep the boat floating peacefully.
CASA EXOTIQUE
Established with an urge to deliver incredible experiences, Casa Exotique has redefined a new benchmark for remarkable interiors and exquisite finishes. We talked to Ms. Bhawana Bhatnagar, Interior Stylist, Founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak. Needless to say, this outbreak is detrimental to the economy – especially the small business firms that do not have very deep pockets to support their staff without doing business in the time of this crisis.
To survive this pandemic, there is a need to have open communication with the staff. Everyone can pitch in their ideas on how to keep the business running in such a tough time. By starting the chain of dialogue, more innovative ideas would come to light and effective plans can subsequently be put into place.
Obviously, if the situation gets worse, work from home will probably be the only option. Businesses that are based on IT infrastructure would find it easier to manage work than the ones that require fieldwork. Alternate working hours can be one option for such firms.
The time is beckoning to the employers to put contingencies and crisis management plans in action. Those who have worked out such plans would be at an advantage in the coming months in terms of managing their business.
121 Experiences
121 Experiences is India’s first ever out of the Line agency. 121 Experiences specializes in experiential brand communicating solutions to drive behaviour changing consumer habits. We talked to Aniket Sharma, Co-founder & CEO, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
All small businesses will need to learn to optimise their resources.
Maintaining transparency with the internal employees and customers can help with innovate solutions.
The spirit of survival is going to be the key, staying positive will help think straight in these times of difficulty.
Collaborating with competition instead of cutting costs will be pivotal to sail through together instead of trying to on up the other.
MyStarHub
In their endeavor to create the most authentic and memorable fan experiences across the world, MyStarHub provides a platform where fans can book personalized video shoutouts from their favorite celebrities. We talked to Swapnil Mahajan, Founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
Even though the Coronavirus has a negative influence on the market worldwide, it has also opened up doors of opportunities for smaller and unconventional businesses in the longer run.
In situations like this, the reliance of overseas suppliers will decrease and demand for local products will increase. Also with limited resources in hand, these small scale businesses, in particular, will innovate ways to survive the uncertainties and bounce back.
Besides this, the government aid and relaxations will help a lot of small businesses manage funds to keep the business going.
Dineout is India’s largest Dining out and Restaurant tech platform, helping more than 17 million diners monthly discover new restaurants, reserve a table, pay for their bills and get offers and discounts combined with a SaaS product offering to its restaurant partners manage their operations. We talked to Ankit Mehrotra, Co-founder & CEO, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak. We work with more than 40,000 restaurants in India, and the common concern right now is that since no one knows when this will end, there is no way to evaluate the potential business impact. However, it is also severely impacting the bottom line of small businesses like restaurants since their dining operations are temporarily closed.
We are advising our partners to look for ways to stay connected with their customers by means of adding flexibility in their operations. By offering a discount on take-home orders, free delivery, using popular delivery services and special discounts for its existing members opting for home deliveries.
While, no one knows how much longer this situation is going to persist, the one thing that has emerged from this crisis is the absolute need of technology! We’re working closely with our restaurant partners to support them with our B2B technology products in effectively managing deliveries.
We are also preparing for when this pandemic subsides and it’s business as usual to help our restaurant partners get back up and running powered stronger by technology.
Packman Packaging
Packman Packaging is one of India’s largest manufacturers of corrugated boxes, corrugated rolls, bubble rolls, bubble pouches, courier bags, POD jackets, duct tapes, e-commerce shipping bags and more. We talked to Gaurav Jalan, Director and Founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
No doubt coronavirus has impacted several businesses. But one needs to think about the bigger picture. Yes these are hard times particularly for small businesses. But with proper information and following certain guidelines they can survive it too.
If you take an example some markets in Mumbai have decided to work on alternate days just like an odd even program. One day markets on right and on other day the shops on left will remain open. This is a good concept and also ensures time to time income is generated. But yes cannot rule out certain degree of financial losses.
Bridged.co
Bridged uses a combination of AI and a 13,000 strong highly skilled workforce to develop unique and vast data at scale significantly improving the quality of data models. We talked to Ashwin Chalam, CEO, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
Here’s an opportunity for businesses to reassess their spending and identify areas of unproductivity. After that, businesses should direct all their efforts into ensuring that their money-making product/service keeps them afloat. Or, they might need to pivot and update their gameplan with new offerings, offerings that a coronavirus-affected market will accept.
Businesses will also have to make difficult decisions such as laying off loyal employees and scaling down on certain perks. But, until the coronavirus phase passes, they will have no other choice but to exercise monetary caution.
St. Angelo’s VNCT Ventures
With a unique approach to real estate development, SAVV Global offers value deliveries, superior design, world class amenities and infrastructure, coupled with timely deliveries and after-sales service. We talked to Mr. Agnelorajesh Athaide, Co-founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak. The pandemic is supposedly estimated to hit the economic growth by up to 50bps in FY 21, with the first two quarters slowing down at 4.4.5%, as per government sources. Although these are tough times, entrepreneurs can actually use this to effectively reflect and strategize the way forward, with a resilient attitude and a winning mindset.
Instead of spending the time counting the losses or panicking over the situation, the slowdown could actually be a boon. It is an opportunity allowing start-up founders to take stock of the situation, envision the market needs and demands after the pandemic is over, and gear up for a fresh start.
From learning new skills, conducting employee reviews, collaborating with new vendors/ chalking out an innovative product, to diversifying the business, the current lockdown can be effectively used as an opportunity by visionary and resilient entrepreneurs.
Skilfinity
Skilfinity is full service Digital Marketing & Analytics Company, with operations in Singapore & India. We talked to Ujjal De, Co-founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak. Now is the time for longevity and surviving the crisis and not trying to use the situation and health scare as an opportunity.
Build community and trust for your brand by giving back in any way possible, to ensure, when this all is over, people invest in your brand.
Evaluate the offline marketing strategy and switch to bring as many online eyeballs as possible for all business, across industries.
Keep calm, be tenacious, support other businesses in any way possible and take the necessary steps so that you come out of this disruption stronger than ever.
Grooming Naturals
Groominh Naturals owns the brand RAWNATURE which is a line of conscious beauty products that is natural, vegan and designed to work within Indian weather conditions and suited to our people. It cover products across skin care, hair care and bath and shower and cater to both men and women. We talked to Mohit Saxena, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
The key to survival will lie in managing what we can control. We will hopefully soon emerge from this crisis but even if we do, it will be far from over as the aftereffects of the COVID syndrome will stay for a while even after it is gone. Some of the areas we as a company need to be focussed on:
PRODUCT LEVEL
Look at our product portfolio and focus on what sells the most (say top 3 products). FOCUS ON OUR HERO PRODUCTS. This will help us reduce slow moving inventory risk and increase sales cycle. Also, the manufacturing will be easier as we will have only 20% of the SKUs that we will largely focus on.
Relook at what people need in this time and if we can offer that as a solution. We make grooming essentials that are natural and clean. For us introducing a line of hygiene products that are plant based and effective will be more important and a natural extension than say a line of skin care. CREATE A MUST HAVE PRODUCT LINE from our portfolio.
The consumers will be a bit wary for a while till the time the influence of COVID goes in the backburner. It will be prudent to GET MORE AFFORDABLE either by changing pack size or by offering more of the product at old price.
ORGANISATIONAL LEVEL
We will need to stay lean – Morally the last option is a lay off in these times. As entrepreneurs, we are responsible to our people and their families. Having said that, even the employees will agree that in these tough times, all hands need to be on the deck. Looking at salaries and minimising it basis seniority will be the need of the hour. Reducing manpower cost v/s the manpower itself should be the 1st priority
A complete freeze on hiring for a substantial period going ahead will also be needed. Multi-tasking, multi skilling and figuring more efficient ways of managing day to day operations using technology or even outsourcing of certain operations will become key.
PROFITABILITY and CASH FLOWS
Post COVID, the need to be profitable will be ‘urgent’. This immediately will become the new buzz word. Not growth rate, not GMV sales, not multiple markets but positive cash flows and profitability.
Plugging leaks in marketing and acquisitions drives, strategic alliances to reduce cost of sales, CRM and customer management, new markets and better GM’s on new products will be areas of focus till this financial winter thaws out.
Reduce all additional costs and go back to being a bootstrapped venture. Shut every single cost head that can be closed and rationalise/minimise the others.
FUNDRAISE
While it may sound contrary to the market sentiment, if your product and business model is solid, fundraise will happen. However, 9-12 months from now this sentiment may change in case the after effect of COVID does not subside. So, we need to get what we can and brace for a longer runway. Since our focus now will be on profitability, this runway can will be substantially longer with the same money than we expect and must be the way ahead till we see the summer again.
Emerging from this crisis will be a gradual process. It’s important to plan appropriately and find various alternate ways of sales and financing.
Hipcouch is an end to end interior design + build solutions startup based in Lower Parel, Mumbai. We talked to Pankaj Poddar, Founder, on how will small business survive when Coronavirus has affected the economy and so many businesses around the globe. Small businesses, as a first measure, have to look really hard at their expenses and trim out anything that might constitute as fat. Secondly, and equally importantly, you have to put in place a business continuity plan coupled with scenario analyses. We have never collectively faced so much disruption and uncertainty on a global level and preserving capital should be the topmost priority.
IoTfy
IoTfy is a #MakeinIndia IoT & AI cloud suite that superpowers consumer durable brands to add IoT capabilities to their device categories. We talked to Arpit Chhabra, Founder, on how will small business survive when Coronavirus has affected the economy and so many businesses around the globe.
At IoTfy we are deploying a futuristic approach to mitigate the impact of the 21 days lockdown, on the business. Given we are a products’ company, we have already started focussing on the next set of features/products that are in the pipeline. The idea is to utilise this time well and invest in future product conception and planning during this period, where most businesses are trying to focus on the recovery aspect. To that end, we have already started planning two quarters ahead and are gearing for the spike in demand IoTfy is expected to witness from the brand partners, who have suffered huge losses on account of the global supply chains being disrupted due to Covid19 outbreak.
Baishali Das Adhikari
