In construction, project delays mean only two things: more interest payments and irate customers. The process of tracking projects and their various elements to make sure things don’t go off the rails would be made much easier and streamlined with the use of technology.
To facilitate project managers and contractors to take to technology and data science to manage projects, startup Tracecost was founded in 2019.
Tracecost, a Delhi-based startup, is the brainchild of Prabh Paul, Madhvi Walia, and Sunny Vohra. Each of the co-founders brings with them two decades of deep exposure and expertise in the fields of project management, architecture, and construction.
“Through our decades of experience in the infrastructure and construction domain, we observed that project owners around the world are increasingly demanding timely delivery of their projects from engineers and contractors. And, this demand is forcing the global infrastructure and construction industry, in turn, to re-engineer its conventional processes and embrace technology,’’ says Madhvi.
She adds that the infrastructure industry in India has not adopted automation as per global standards and still sticks with manual processes. This is the primary reason for the innumerable project delays and resultant margin and profitability pressures for infrastructure and construction companies in India.
The founders believe that their solution will prove to be indispensable for the construction industry. Among other things, it addresses workflow fragmentation, which, especially in large projects, leads to workers spending more time searching for and aggregating information than actually working.
‘’Having worked in the same industry for dozens of years, we have worked out the key reasons for the Indian real estate industry to not adopt technology in line with the global trends. The reason is because they are happy to work with excel sheets and not capture real-time in flow of data,’’ says Paul.
The team
The trio met through common friends and found a common love for entrepreneurship. That is when they began to discuss ideas of starting up a business.
Madhvi is an alumnus of IIM Lucknow. As the CEO of the startup, she is responsible for setting the company’s vision and translating it into an executable strategy that can truly transform the fast-growing construction industry in India. A certified banker, her current passion is to build a seamless link between artificial intelligence and human resources in the construction industry.
Sunny comes with experience in technology from his stints in global companies including in Canada, France, and Singapore. As the CTO, he is responsible for ideating and implementing advanced technologies that will enable Tracecost’s customers to aggregate all their financial information, understand and better manage their finances, and get access to relevant and timely information via the mobile app. Equally passionate about providing disruptive solutions for the Indian infrastructure ecosystem, he led the ramp-up of implementation processes for Alstom in Libya, Dubai, and Paris.
Paul, the COO of the startup, drives operational excellence while balancing an optimal amount of process, reporting, and structure. Paul brings extensive operations experience to the table with a global understanding of the infrastructure industry. He has closely worked with P&G, Nissan, EY, Siemens, Huawei, Bosch, Credit Suisse, Marriott, HP, Walmart, and Renault, among many other enterprises, as well as with ministries of the Indian government in their construction projects.
The goal of the startup, which is currently a 400-plus-strong design and engineering organisation, is to provide technology solutions covering all the domains of the design and construction industry.
The solution
Today, management of large construction projects involves multiple rounds of stakeholder feedback, quality control tests, and inputs from various members of the project team. In fact, communication is one of the trickiest areas for a project manager to master.
Tracecost addresses all of these areas. A cloud-based project management solution, it helps a construction project’s stakeholders, such as the engineers and contractors, get updates from the team, generate key reports, and raise triggers and alerts when problems are detected.
With the help of the Tracecost software, project owners can unobtrusively collect metadata and look at how different team members are doing their jobs. A number of predictions can be made by analysing the habits, the communication, the focus, the time spent on a task, and other attributes of the person responsible for a job.
The Tracecost app integrates specialised algorithms to help identify potentially problematic phases and improve the accuracy and integrity of stakeholder communication. It also mitigates the need for multiple and disparate software.
At present, teams use one software application to manage project tasks and resources, a second application to communicate updates and share documents, a third to track project time and expenses, and yet another to perform quality control checks. Stakeholder feedback is typically sent via emails or messages.
Teams are responsible for aggregating all these disparate pieces and considering all the stakeholder feedback to effectively move the project forward.
Tracecost combines all these tasks and processes on one single, cohesive platform that automatically resolves complex issues with simple, easy-to-use solutions. It also solves a critical problem for the infrastructure and construction industry: reducing errors by reliably offloading manual work conventionally done by a human to a machine.
The goal is to reduce the quantum of time-consuming, repetitive, and routine work, and to maximise the repeatability and predictability of results.
The business
The company works with project managers in Tier I and II cities.
‘’We are fortunate to have been well-accepted by our peers and the infrastructure fraternity. Getting sales was never a challenge in our mind; it was always about building a great product that could solve complex problems with a simple and effective solution,’’ says Madhvi.
The company, powered by a Rs 1-crore investment from its founders, has so far worked with two clients and is expanding its market. Competing with FalconBrick, a startup in the same industry, Tracecost operates on a pay-per-use model. Its current model is geared for the B2B industry, and will evolve into a B2B2C model.
Sunny explains that this vision is embedded in the core functionality of Tracecost – it helps get all project stakeholders on board. Therefore the end users, or the project owners, will also get added to the B2B model.
The market and the future
According to IBEF, the real estate sector in India is expected to reach a market size of $1 trillion by 2030 from $120 billion in 2017, and contribute to 13 percent of the country’s GDP by 2025. Retail, hospitality, and commercial real estate segments are also growing significantly to build the much-needed infrastructure for the country's growing needs.
Commercial office stock in India is expected to cross 600 million sq ft by 2018-end, while office space leasing in the top eight cities is expected to cross 100 million sq ft during 2018-20. Sectors such as IT and ITeS, retail, consulting, and ecommerce, in particular, have registered high demand for office space in recent times.
Gross office absorption in top Indian cities has increased 26 percent year-on-year to 36.4 million sq ft between January and September 2018. Coworking space across the top seven cities has increased sharply in 2018, expanding to 3.44 million sq ft by September, compared to 1.11 million sq ft for the same period in 2017.
The monies involved are big, and this startup is in the right industry, although real estate has slowed over the last five years.
“We have keenly studied some of the government of India’s marquee projects such as Digital India, Make in India, Smart Cities, and Housing for All and initiatives such as RERA that have truly benefitted from automation in the infrastructure industry. We are therefore betting big on the future economic and infrastructure growth of our country and are committed to growing together with India’s infrastructure industry,’’ says Sunny.
Today marks the end of another decade, which has been nothing less than a roller-coaster ride with various technological and economic advancements.
The saying, “Data is the new oil” defined the year as chatbots, cloud computing, and blockchain became buzzwords, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) became the cornerstone technology for a myriad of industries.
This year also witnessed some major events, both at home and across the world. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched its second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2 with homegrown technology.
While competition got fierce in the smartphone sector with foldable phones launched by Samsung and Huawei, the startup ecosystem too got competitive.
India is now the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world, after the US and China. According toYourStory’s nine-month funding report, homegrown Indian startups raised $7.67 billion in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, down by about four percent from the comparable period in 2018. As far as the number of deals goes, startup funding deals were just three deals short of the total 606 deals seen in the comparable period last year.
While an economic slowdown has subdued the fundings in startups, this has not stopped entrepreneurs from chasing their dreams. 2019 also saw nine startups getting into the coveted unicorn club - BigBasket, Delhivery, Ola Electric, Druva Software, Icertis Software, Dream11, CitiusTech, Lenskart, and Rivigo.
At YourStory, we introduced new series such as The Turning Point, Behind the Scenes, which showcased never-heard-before stories of startups and entrepreneurs.
As we wrap up this year, as well as this decade, and bid our goodbyes, we will take you through some of the trends we witnessed and some of our top stories.
In 2019, in what can be described as truly a step towards embracing the future, digital storytelling reigned strong across every domain of media publishing. As a medium dedicated to bringing to you some of the most powerful, impacting, and inspiring stories of businesses, women, leaders, and changemakers, YourStory ensured the storytelling was in sync with global standards. With the year coming to a close, here’s a look at 10 video stories that you – our readers and viewers – loved the most.
From Dimple Parmar who launched ‘Love Heals Cancer’ to raise awareness about the disease after she lost her husband, to acid attack survivor Lakshmi Agarwal whose story of strength and perseverance has inspired the nation, SocialStory brings you our top 10 picks from our Monday Motivation series of 2019.
In a bold and far-reaching move, India’s electric vehicle goals are set to flourish as Niti Aayog, the government’s thinktank brandishes the emobility mantra. Of the 26 million vehicles sold in India, even if 10 percent were to go electric by 2022, the vision for a cleaner, greener country would be on its way to realisation.
Around the year, SMBStory covers the inspiring stories of SME entrepreneurs who have not only contributed to the Indian business ecosystem but have also seen growth by implementing a sustainable business model. These entrepreneurs have surely set an example for current and future generations by showing just how essential it is to build businesses that last. Here are some of their stories.
2019 did not prove to be a great year for the auto industry. But several players took on the market by launching affordable motorcycles with a sticker price of less than Rs 2 lakh (ex-showroom).
Phones users in Delhi-NCR who lose their handsets will now have some respite, with the government launching a portal that will enable blocking and tracing of stolen or lost mobile phones.
The initiative was launched in Mumbai in September this year, and has been rolled out for Delhi-NCR now. It will be extended to other parts of the country in 2020.
The launch of the portal, www.ceir.gov.in, for Delhi-NCR subscribers will facilitate requests for blocking of stolen or lost mobile phones by customers, blocking of such mobile phones across various mobile networks, allowing services to other existing customers having mobile phones with the same International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, sharing of traceability data with police authorities, as well as unblocking of recovered phones.
The project is backed by the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) system, which was undertaken by the telecom department for addressing security, theft and other concerns including reprogramming of mobile handsets.
Launching the initiative, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said safety and security of phones are crucial given the country's technological strides and digital prowess.
"While we make optimum use of technology for development, there are equally smart criminals who abuse technology for their own ends," Prasad said.
The latest initiative is expected to benefit 5 crore mobile subscribers in Delhi and adjoining areas.
"Delhi telecom subscribers whose phones get stolen or those who lose their phones can log into the web portal from today... they can go to the portal and register their complaint, along with which they will also have to upload the police complaint and their own ID proof. Based on this, the lost mobile will be blocked. Also if someone uses it, the same can be traced based on the tower signals so the police can also recover the device," Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash told reporters.
Explaining this further, Prakash said the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is the unique identity of a mobile phone devices. IMEI number is programmable and miscreants and criminals reprogramme the 15-digit unique number, which results in cloning of IMEI. The result is multiple phone devices, at times even hundreds of numbers, with same IMEI number.
If such IMEI is blocked, a large number of mobile phones stand the risk of being blocked (as they are handsets with the same IMEI number) causing inconvenience to genuine customers. The software that has been developed now allows an individual phone to be blocked even if it is on a cloned IMEI number.
Moreover, because of the centralised nature of the register or database, all the operators can block the particular stolen or lost device across the country even though the phone is being serviced by one particular operator.
"This will also reduce the market for stolen phones," Prakash added.
Asked about the progress of the initiative in Mumbai, where it had been announced a few months back, Prakash said as many as 500-600 complaints were logged in Mumbai. "In 50 per cent of the cases in Mumbai, traceability information has been handed over to the police. Also remember, much depends on whether the phone is being used after it has been stolen... If someone does not use it, it cannot be traced, but it can certainly be blocked. They won't be able to sell it," he said.
YourStory is proud to announce the launch of its annual 100 Emerging Voices of 2019, powered by Amazon Web Services. It is our compilation of emerging thought leaders, whose thoughts and opinions mattered to our readers in 2019, and whose voices, we believe, will gain prominence in 2020 and beyond.
Every year, YourStory, India’s most credible media company for Indian entrepreneurs and changemakers, brings its readers thousands of inspirational, insightful, and impactful stories of entrepreneurs who have defined and continue to shape the narrative of the Indian startup ecosystem. Along with these stories, we also bring you the insights and opinions of expert voices from various fields, whose writings go beyond the world of startups and businesses and delve into pertinent political, social, gender, and environmental issues.
We’ve published in-depth articles and opinions by experts and influencers on YourStory, as well as on our different properties, including HerStory, SocialStory, and SMBStory.
To compile the list of YourStory’s 100 Emerging Voices of 2018, we scoured through thousands of articles contributed by specialists in various fields, carefully selecting those that garnered the highest engagement from our readers, using measures such as the number of page views, time spent per user, likes, comments, and shares.
The top 100 Emerging Voices of 2019 includes entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, activists, healthcare workers, journalists, authors, and bloggers from across India and the world, who have contributed high-quality, insightful and engaging content for our readers. But among these experts, we have found that every year, there is always a crop of emerging thought leaders whose thoughts and opinions resonated with our readers and are worth watching out for.
Apurva Purohit, President, Jagran Prakashan, tops this list, followed by Kavin Bharti Mittal, Founder & CEO, Hike; Nisha Holla, Technology Fellow, C-CAMP, and; Mihir Dalal, author of the Big Billion Startup, among others.
We’re proud to present YourStory’s 100 Emerging Voices of 2019, our recommendation of experts whose voices will matter in the year 2020 and whose writings, we believe, you should watch out for to stay informed and inspired in the year ahead.
Apurva Purohit is one of India’s most powerful women in media and business. She is the President of Jagran Prakashan, one of India’s largest media houses that has a presence across print, radio, digital, and outdoor. A staunch supporter of gender diversity in the workplace, she has authored books on the subject.
An IIM-B alumnus and media industry veteran for over three decades, Apurva manages a $800 million multimedia conglomerate. She is also credited for the successful IPO of Radio City FM in 2017. This year, it was recognised as one of the Best Places to Work for Women.
Prior to Jagran, she set up Lodestar, one of India’s most prominent media buying agencies, and also had stints at Times Network and ZEE Entertainment Enterprises. Apurva has also been listed among India’s most powerful women in business by Fortune magazine.
What she writes about
Apruva is a leading advocate of gender diversity in corporate India, and has authored national bestsellers, including 'Lady You’re Not a Man!' and 'Lady, You’re the Boss!'
She’s stressed upon the need for men to become allies in the fight for gender equality, and also highlighted the need for organisations to have more women in the boardroom.
She’s even cited research to establish that if women work at their full potential, it could add up to $28 trillion to the global GDP by 2025. Yet, women don’t constitute even half of the global workforce. The situation is bleaker in India.
Apurva has also outlined steps to tackle invisible gender bias in the workplace, and called for women to be more assertive about their professional achievements.
Another area of her writings focuses on “mindfulness” and the need to occasionally disconnect from a tech-obsessed world. She urges us to find beauty in the simple and mundane things of life.
Kavin Bharti Mittal is one of India’s youngest billionaire entrepreneurs. The Founder and CEO of Hike, a cross-platform instant messaging platform, has built his startup into a $1.4 billion corporation.
The Delhi-based startup was launched in 2012, and reached unicorn status in just four years. In 2016, Hike became the 10th Indian startup to cross $1 billion in valuation. It is backed by some of the most prominent global investors, including Tencent, Foxconn, Tiger Global, SoftBank, Bharti Enterprises (the promoter of telecom major Bharti Airtel), and other angels. Hike has raised more than $260 million in funding so far.
Kavin, who’s had prior stints at Google and Goldman Sachs, believes that he’s building a “new social future” for Indian millennials who are obsessed with communication.
What he writes about
Kavin is a prominent voice in the world of Indian social tech, and has consistently shared deep, meaningful insights on behavioural patterns of online consumers.
He has written on myriad subjects, including the meteoric rise of instant messengers in India, the millennial obsession with emojis (which prompted Hike to launch HikeMoji in November), the rising need for language integration, the emergence of newer revenue models, and the advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and more.
Kavin believes that changing social behaviour will dictate business models for consumer tech startups in the future. He’s particularly pleased with Hike’s “wise decision” of pulling the plug on payments this year. It had rolled out peer-to-peer payments on the Hike app in mid-2017.
Even though payments scaled fast in terms of users, growth had to be driven with incentives like cashbacks. “And this was going to be a big capital sink,” Kavin says.
Hike could, in fact, set a precedent for several homegrown startups chasing ‘superapp’ dreams without figuring out a business model to support such ambitions.
Nisha Holla is a computational physicist and researcher. She graduated from Pennsylvania’s Carnegie Mellon University in 2013.
She served as a product development engineer at Bay Area-based Applied Materials, the world’s leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer. As part of a specialised team, she offered guidance on hardware design and process improvements.
In 2017, Nisha moved back to India and joined Biomoneta Research as Engineering Co-Founder. At Biomoneta, the team works towards changing the paradigm of global infection control by implementing decontamination solutions.
Since 2018, she has also been a Consulting Editor with YourStory Media, and has authored pieces on the Indian economy and technology. She led the development of an exhaustive report on India’s deep science ecosystem, covering the most innovative startups in the sector.
In 2019, Nisha joined Bengaluru’s Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms as a Technology Fellow.
What she writes about
Nisha has written about how startups can rewrite India’s economic roadmap and lead the country’s march towards $5 trillion GDP. She notes that startups have already re-engineered how Indians earn, save, spend, and transact online.
She has also pushed for stronger policy decisions by the government to maintain a high growth rate for the next five years. She is of the opinion that knowledge-driven fields can accelerate value addition and drive GDP growth.
She has dwelled on India’s current job crisis, and highlighted that not enough high-paying jobs are being created for graduates. Most jobs recorded in the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) are low paying ones in the Rs 25,000-30,000 bracket.
She’s also explained that several states in India have a significant number of graduates, but not enough job opportunities, which is leading to higher migration towards other cities such as Bengaluru, Mumbai, etc
Mihir Dalal has spent over a decade in business journalism, first as an assistant producer at CNBC TV18, India’s largest business television network. He later went on to cover equities and consumer retail at Reuters before joining Mint, one of India’s leading financial dailies, as a staff writer in 2012.
It was at Mint that Mihir rose through the ranks, became widely read and emerged as a critical commentator on India’s rapidly evolving startup ecosystem. Today, he leads startup coverage for the newspaper.
His first book, 'Big Billion Startup - The Untold Flipkart Story', chronicles the journey of India's online retailer Flipkart.
What he writes about
Mihir is well-known for his coverage of the Indian startup ecosystem and has produced several analytical pieces on the state of Indian entrepreneurs and emerging businesses. He has also broken stories on some of India’s leading startups including Flipkart, Ola, Paytm, InMobi, Snapdeal, and more.
Additionally, Mihir has covered large developments across global consumer tech giants such as Amazon, Alibaba, and Uber, and traced their fascinating journeys in India. Some of his notable coverage include Amazon’s tax troubles and controversial joint ventures, Flipkart’s momentous $16 billion sale to Walmart, challenges and downsizing of Snapdeal, funding slowdown across the startup ecosystem, Redbus’s sale to Naspers, illegal deep discounting done by top online retailers, and more.
In 2019, Mihir published his first book, 'Big Billion Startup - The Untold Flipkart Story', which garnered significant praise for its definitive account of Flipkart, a company that not only rose from a modest two-BHK flat in Bengaluru to become a giant, multibillion-dollar corporation, but also transformed the way Indians shop online, thereby paving the path for a startup revolution in the country.
Sidu Ponappa has worked in the Indian IT industry, both services and products, for about 12 years. During this period, he held two jobs and co-founded four startups. Sidu has worked as an engineer, product manager, salesperson, recruiter, marketer, CTO, and CEO. He has failed more times than he can count. His most recent startup was acquired by Gojek, an Indonesian unicorn in 2015. He serves as the India Head for the company.
What he write about
Sidu mostly writes about technology. But is also often found penning his thoughts about leadership, growth, life lessons, and motorcycles.
One of his interesting observations revolves around how a Super App, which fits in many apps within an umbrella app, can make it easier for the next billion users to adapt to mobile phone usage. Sidu’s bet is based on the fact that a Super App is an operating system that reduces clutter, increases productivity, and adds user experience (UX) elements.
Anand Anandkumar is the CEO and Managing Director of Bugworks Research, a startup that aims to discover novel treatment options for resistant bacterial infections. Anand was previously the Chairman and Managing Director of Cellworks Research India Pvt. Ltd, a company that pioneered the use of systems biology and semiconductor technologies in creating directed therapies in cancer care. He is a member of Eta-Kappa-Nu and Tau-Beta-Pi international engineering honours societies and is the co-inventor on patents ranging from satellite communication, pharmaceuticals to clean energy.
What he write about
Anand has written about how the unregulated use of antibiotics has given rise to superbugs – a bacteria that can resist antibiotics. He has detailed how as a community, India has abused antibiotics by overusing them without prescriptions, filling its protein food chain with them, and then dumping pharmaceutical waste from antibiotic plants into the country’s water streams.
He is a passionate scientist and a humanitarian at heart. Anand believes that for science and scientific innovation to be at its best, it must be driven by the values of compassion and humanity.
Amplifying the impact of impact investing in India
About the author
Geeta Goel manages the strategy and implementation of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation’s work in India in two key areas – education and family economic stability. Leveraging a suite of funding tools – grants, contracts, and programme-related investments – the foundation has committed over $150 million in India and has over 50 active projects in the country.
Geeta has represented the foundation on several boards of its investee companies, including Ujjivan, Janalakshmi, Swadhaar, Arohan, and Micro Housing Finance Corporation. She is also on the investment committee of India Educational Investment Fund and Education Catalyst Fund.
What she write about
Geeta writes extensively on impact investing in India. As an insider to the country’s impact investing scenario for more than a decade now, she has an in-depth understanding of the subject.
According to Geeta, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is always looking for “white spaces” or areas with high impact potential where the market doesn’t appear to be addressing the needs of the people. In such areas, their experience in working closely with the grantees/investees, paired with their sectoral research and diagnostic studies, helps in identifying the roots of a problem – and the likely disruptions that will catalyse a market-based model.
The foundation is inching close to the $100 million mark in impact investments and has impacted the lives of over 12 million families living in poverty in urban India.
Shripati Acharya is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Priven Advisors, advisory to Prime Venture Partners. Prime is one of India's premier early-stage funds focussed on creating disruptive, category-creating technology companies out of India, for local and global markets.
He was the Co-founder of Ezetap – a leader in mobile PoS, that helped in changing the payment landscape in India and beyond. He also worked with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UID) to create and execute a framework for authentication and application development. He is an IIT engineer, a Stanford post-grad, and a Harvard MBA degree holder.
What he writes about
Shripati writes on investment, entrepreneurship, and technology. According to him, sometimes, shutting down a startup when things are not working out, can turn out to be one of the best decisions an entrepreneur could take. The biggest benefit is that the founders get to make a fresh start and try their hand at another roll of the dice on the startup table, believes Shripati.
He also addresses common dilemmas faced by young people on whether to stick to their jobs or start-up, through his writing. Shripati believes that doing a startup early in the career makes the decision more reversible. If you haven’t taken a lot of personal financial risk in the first one, you can start another company down the road, the investor elaborates.
Sameer Dhanrajani is a well-recognised analytics and data sciences leader who has come to be known for his deep knowledge and topical understanding across all genres of analytics and data sciences. His penchant for global analytics trends is apparent in the various thought pieces and the best-selling book he authored, titled AI and Analytics: Accelerating Business Decisions.
When not penning down his thoughts, Sameer spends time consulting with Fortune 500 enterprises, Indian corporations, GCCs, and startups, helping them drive AI-led strategic transformation strategies. His TEDx talks are an absolute treat for those who are passionate about tech and everything futuristic.
What he writes about
More often than not, topics such as artificial intelligence, algorithms, and data and analytics are regarded as complex, not-for-the-masses subjects. But with his simple, lucid, and relatable style of writing, Sameer Dhanrajani has managed to break it all down, even complex jargon, for the reader’s pleasure.
From tracing the top AI trends to analysing the power that this re-emerging tech has on traditional market segments such as banking and retail, the archive of Sameer’s thought pieces are extensive and elaborate. In fact, in one of his recent pieces – titled How Artificial Intelligence Is Changing the Face Of Banking in India – Sameer makes a bold comparison between traditional banks and upstart fintech firms leveraging advanced technologies.
In what he calls the “second machine age”, Sameer even goes on to make a suggestion on how banking corporations need to embrace AI as part of their business strategy to maintain their competitive edge.
Besides this, the renowned AI advisor has also detailed his thoughts on the transformation of the retail industry and the impact of AI on engineering and construction industry.
A vocal advocate of the coworking juggernaut, Sumit Lakhani is the Chief Marketing Officer at Awfis Space Solutions. He takes an active interest in decoding, what he calls, the millennial mind.
Sumit came onboard Awfis, the Mumbai-based coworking space operator, right around the time of its inception. Today, he is a part of the core management team, serving as the Chief Marketing Officer and overseeing the demand and supply side function at Awfis. His key responsibilities include sales, marketing, real estate acquisition, fund raising, and strategy.
Asides from his deep knowledge of the changing office space segment in India and the rise of the coworking culture, Sumit has also garnered an intriguing understanding of the new-age workforce, ranging from millennials to Gen Z. With over 10 years of prior work experience in investment banking, private equity, and IT services, he contributes towards the changing narrative around the ecosystem of workspaces in the current scenario.
What he writes about
At the start of this decade, if there’s one trend that took hold of businesses across the world, it was the wave of collaborative workspaces. These coworking spaces not only disrupted the office space segment, but also introduced easier, flexible, collaborative, and cost-effective processes into the workforce. A trend that was widely reported and voiced by Sumit Lakhani, the man at the helm of many marketing initiatives at Awfis.
Being at the centre of all the action at Awfis, Sumit was able to foresee the key coworking trends, while predicting the nature of competition and demand around this space. Some of his top findings include the foray of coworking into coliving, the impact of deeper technology integration, the rise of work-near-home programmes, adoption of flexible and mobile solutions, holistic enterprise solutions, and more.
However, of all these interesting trends and prediction, one thing that stands out in particular is Sumit’s view of the position of the office worker at the heart of all office space solutions in the future. After all, the way technology and work culture has shaped the coworking scenario, ‘the office worker’ theory indeed seems to be a reality of the hour.
Roopa Kudva, in her career spanning over nearly three decades, has held many a key roles, including those entailing leadership functions. She was the CEO & MD of Crisil, India’s leading analytical and research company, for close to seven years. She led Crisil’s evolution from a leading Indian rating agency to a diversified global analytical company, with clients ranging from the largest investment banks of the world to tens of thousands of small businesses spread across India.
While the time at Crisil provided Roopa with rich exposure to a wide range of industries, she wanted to be able to bring about a larger societal impact. At the age of 50, Roopa Kudva made her move to Omidyar Network, a US-based investment firm.
As the Partner and Managing Director of Omidyar Network, she is responsible for the firm’s overall investment strategy, operations and portfolio development. This is in addition to her role as member of various boards in corporates like Infosys, Nestle, and Tata AIA Life Insurance Co.
What she writes about
With a background in operations, portfolio management, and business and strategies, and a vast experience as a member of several policy-level committees relating to the Indian financial system, Roopa Kudva has an expert’s view of the Indian financial services sector.
In her insightful opinion pieces, the Managing Director of Omidyar Network has spotlighted many an issue plaguing the financial lives of Indians, especially the ones comprising the “next half billion”.
From accessing the multitude of factors limiting MSMEs potential as a powerful growth engine for the Indian economy to providing an insight into the usage of formal financial services, her writings have covered the length and breadth of the sector.
An outspoken champion of women entrepreneurship, Roopa has spoken boldly on the various challenges blocking the rise of women in leadership roles. In her opinion, women still hesitate to ask for a seat at the table. She believes, if women can deal with self-belief (or its lack) in doing the top jobs, there’s nothing stopping them from climbing the ladder of success.
A management graduate from the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, Anuj Kapur counts more than two decades of experience in sales, distribution, marketing, B2B business development, and country management. This is including nine years of IT background and over 20 years of telecom experience, working with the likes of HCL, PCL, Fujitsu ICIM, Motorola, Samsung, Alcatel Lucent, and Ericsson.
But this was before Anuj had dabbled in the domain of cybersecurity. In 2017, he came on board Lucideus, which is a pure play cyber security platforms company incubated out of IIT Bombay and backed by former Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers.
In his present role, Anuj’s extensive experience, leading businesses for large organisations in India and growing them significantly, helps him enable multifold growth for a startup.
What he writes about
That a cybersecurity-oriented approach is the cornerstone of an organisation’s reputation, and more importantly, that of its business’ success, cannot be emphasised enough. Especially in the current scenario, where cyberattacks are imposing a significant threat due to their frequency, magnitude, and impact.
But as is the case more often than not, startups, in the race to clock big revenue and achieve prestigious milestones and the ticket to the unicorn club, tend to overlook the need for cybersecurity. Anuj Kapur, in his in-depth pieces on startups and cybersecurity, spotlights this very issue, highlighting the urgency as to why organisations should start treating data breaches and other threats with utmost seriousness.
As someone with the technical know-how, Anuj illustrates his concerns with relevant examples – the account on how tech giant Yahoo lost $350 million in valuation due to a data breach – and intriguing stats that not only draw attention to the need of cybersecurity but also forge much-needed conversations around it.
Kabir Jeet Singh is the CEO and Co-founder of Burger Singh. He has to his credit a master’s degree in financial strategy from University of Oxford and an MBA from University of Birmingham.
He enjoys experimenting with burger flavours, and what started off as a pastime became an entrepreneurial venture. Kabir has expertise in identifying locations, and launching and managing operations and supply chains to the last mile.
After opening 28 outlets and notching up Rs 26 crore in turnover, he remains hungry for more.
What he writes about
Kabir’s fervour for the food industry is visible in his writing. He writes about trends that are picking up pace in the industry and predicts the scope of Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs).
His article gave people insight into how food deliveries will find their next target market in Tier II and III cities. Apart from sharing his insights on the growth of the food industry, Kabir familiarises his readers with commonly used terms in the field (QSR, hyperlocal marketing, and ghost restaurants).
Dr Ramesh Byrapaneni is the Managing Director of Endiya Partners. A cardiologist-turned-venture capitalist, he invests mainly in digital health and medical devices. Entrepreneurship and innovation always spurred Ramesh, leading him to be the President of TiE Hyderabad.
He is also the Founding Director of Hyderabad Angels. With his rich experience of 23 years as a cardiologist, he endeavours to be a part of the healthcare innovation story.
What he writes about
Ramesh likes to write well-informed and detailed pieces on innovative health technologies.
With his extensive analysis of electronic health records, he yearns to mitigate ignorance around digitising healthcare and to spread awareness about the same.
He strongly believes that data collection in the health industry is insufficient if it cannot be shared or put to use by health professionals. He has also shed light on the National Health Stack (NHS) through his pieces.
Siddhartha Gupta is the CEO of Mercer | Mettl. He has a proven track record of successfully growing IT behemoths like HP and SAP in India.
A strong team player with a collaborative leadership style, he has led many teams from scratch to scale. He focusses on using acquisition and development to help companies build winning teams.
What he writes about
Siddhartha uses his understanding of employees to write on how to enhance the skillset of the team. He shares tips to curate and administer assessments to measure knowledge, skills, behaviour, and personality regularly.
His target audience is HR Managers, and his writing is aimed at using workforce analytics efficiently. He believes that there’s a need to optimise employee experience to boost company productivity and profitability.
Ashish Fafadia is the Chief Financial Officer at Blume Ventures. His career has taken many turns - from being a chartered accountant at SBI to heading managerial positions at Times Group and becoming Partner and later CFO of Blume Ventures. During his initial days at Blume, he was instrumental in executing a platform-driven approach. Now, he manages growth and portfolio companies.
What he writes about
A trained finance professional, Ashish writes about the basics of starting up and seed funding. His articles drive home the point that investor support should be at par with the startup’s capital. His interesting take on the benefits of the 2019 Union Budget for the startup economy prove his passion for extending help to founders. Through his writings, he emphasises that not planning for success is like planning for failure.
Consumer, Fintech and SME has a new champion in Harsha Kumar who has been a part of Lightspeed for three years. She is a board observer at Udaan and several other companies. She loves building teams, products and companies and she has been fortunate to be a part of some of the most interesting organisations like Ola. She is also excited by scale and forever chasing growth
About the author
She created and led the product organisation, a team of 40, at Ola cabs. She remained part of the core team at Olacabs and scaled the organisation from 3,000 rides a day to a million rides a day. She has designed, launched and scaled multiple products at Ola - consumer app, driver app, internal rides management and accounting platforms, Ola Money wallet, Ola's B2B solution (Ola Corporate), Ola Auto, Ola rental/outstation and Ola's Support Platform.
She also launched Ola's worked at Zynga and turned her expertise towards gaming where she drove quarterly revenue, managed daily active users and retention programmes for two flagship games. She formulated the go to market strategy for Dell’s cloud offerings in the APAC region. She setup the game development lab at Persistent Systems and planned the investment budget and formulated the growth strategy.
What she writes about
She loves writing about SMEs and startups. Her favourite topics are always about strategy and growth. The Instead alumnus writes on medium.com among others. From how entrepreneurs make good leaders to or demystifying employee stock options, her body of work has insights on strategy, product innovation and investment.
An entrepreneur with a connect with GenZ India, his startup monitors all kinds of rollouts and sprints. The podcast king turns his expertise on how content can pave the way for growth stories, from scratch
About the author
At a very young age, Gautam found his own personal and professional salvation in audio content. He practices what he preaches, and consumes audio content for more than 14 hours a day.
While eating, driving or during daily chores, his pillowcase always has a set of speakers. The ease and simplicity of audio content consumption incrementally led to the creation of India’s largest podcasting and audio on-demand company for Gautam.
The Mumbai-born lad who grew up in New Delhi, graduated from Shri Ram School after which he went on to pursue an Economics Honours at Delhi University. Barclays Bank PLC came next where he was a senior risk analyst. This cemented his decision to start Hubhopper as a platform that works towards making the consumption of online audio content as easy as possible.
He has been recognised as a member of the Forbes 30 Under 30 in Asia for media and technology (batch of 2018) and has been nominated on the Economic Times 40 Under 40 list. Under Gautam’s leadership, Hubhopper has grown massively and has been widely recognised for innovative leaps resolving the diverse problems pervading the online content creation and distribution industry.
He was also awarded Entrepreneur of the Year for 2018 by Entrepreneur Magazine. Three years into the creation of Hubhopper, it now stands as India’s largest platform of its kind with over a million hours of audio content spread across 15 vernacular languages and 8 consumer and creator centric products and services.
What he writes about
He writes about how podcasts are redefining Indian culture. His twitter ID emphasises on how content is never easy, and his youtube videos highlight how podcasts can create stack.
Anna Chandy is a columnist, author, counsellor, speaker, mentor, and coach to senior leaders, executives and individuals. She has been deeply involved in the mental health domain in India for more than 25 years.
She is the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of The Live Love Laugh Foundation (TLLLF), a charitable trust founded in 2015 by actor Deepika Padukone, to give hope to every individual experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression. Previously, she has worked with survivors of the Gujarat earthquake and the victims of the tsunami in Sri Lanka and India in psycho-socio rehabilitation work.
What she writes about
Anna's body of work encompasses counselling individuals from various walks of life, including social influencers, entrepreneurs, and business families; training and mentoring counsellors; and leading important strategic interventions aimed at driving systemic change in the country’s mental health ecosystem.
She has pioneered changes in the counselling profession in India, advocating international standards of practice and an ethical and relational approach to counselling.
As a philanthropist and a widely acknowledged thought leader in the mental health sector, she now partners with social influencers to create a community support model that addresses the mental health needs of a societal ecosystem.
An innovator who propagates the use of design as a tool for social impact
About the author
Ishita Jain has a master's in design, with skills in ethnographic research, facilitation, UX, mapping complex systems, data visualisation, social entrepreneurship, and leadership. She works at Autodesk Foundation, where she uses her skills to support entrepreneurs and innovators creating innovative design solutions to the
world's most pressing social and environmental challenges.
What she writes about
Ishita wants designers to find their sweet spot in execution. But the question is how do designers find these opportunities? Not enough design schools and institutes are urging students to think about the potential impact they can have in the world through their work. Also, most people, designers included, think that solving social problems is for governments, non-profits, and CSR institutions, and often don’t think about this as a career opportunity. Ishita wants to make an impact and help designers change and structure their approach.
Serial entrepreneur and investment professional Abhishek Tiwari is betting on micro-mobility becoming the next wave of urban transport in India
About the author
Abhishek Tiwari is a serial entrepreneur who has founded companies in the education, fashion, and hospitality sector. He founded apparel brand Salsa Tees and network group Indian Student Identity Solutions, and helped create and launch India Hostels, one of the country’s first branded hostel chains.
He has also worked as an investment professional at Kalaari Capital, venture partner at Astarc Ventures, and advisor at education startup Edugild. Abhishek takes pride in being an active catalyst in the Indian startup ecosystem, engaging with early-stage companies and helping them build products and teams to gain early traction.
What he writes about
Abhishek is excited about new ideas and solutions that can impact millions, and has written about micro-mobility (bicycles, skateboards, skates, mini-scooters, e-bikes, small electric vehicles) becoming the next wave of transportation in India. He believes micro-mobility is much more than just a short-term concept. His writing explains why the cost-effective mode of transportation could be one answer to the urban transportation crisis.
Abhishek uses examples of Ofo, launched in partnership with Paytm, Yulu Bikes, Zoomcar’s Pedl, Vogo, Bounce, and other players in the space to build his case. He maintains that large pools of capital will be poured in to drive demand and invest in supply and product, and solve India-specific problems. He writes that global behemoths such as Ant Financial/Alibaba, Uber, and Didi, who have been active investors in global scooter companies, are still on the sidelines, waiting to find the right partner and time to get a piece of this pie.
Retail software expert Kumar Vembu redefines transformation and how retailers can ride the wave and capture increasing market opportunities
About the author
Kumar Vembu, CEO and founder of leading ERP software company GoFrugal, is a retail domain expert who initially started as a project associate at IIT-Madras. He then worked as a software engineer for HCL and Qualcomm. He started software product firm Vembu Systems in 1995, and was also President and COO at AdventNet (now ZOHO Corporation).
He started GoFrugal in 2014 in an attempt to address the organised and unorganised retail market with premium quality, affordable solutions. He is also a coach, angel investor, motivational speaker, and fitness enthusiast.
What he writes about
Kumar has written about customers and competition driving transformation in retail. In this context, he questions how the word “transformation” is used by companies that speak of riding a transformation wave. Kumar asks the question: what is this wave and why should one ride it?
In answering this, he explores the drivers responsible for increased market opportunity in retail today, and what businesses must do to spot the right wave and ride it. He writes about how retail companies can provide a frictionless experience in shopping, continually improve operational efficiency, and adopt new technologies and tools in an agile manner.
He maintains that consumers are increasingly becoming digital today, and that increased competitiveness is another driver for opportunity in retail today.
Kumar recognises that retailers today know that to drive consumers to the store needs more than just enabling a transaction; they need to provide something that is not available online, it must be about offering the best experience.
Skill gaming expert and Junglee Games founder Ankush Gera believes online games are the next leading destination for VC investments
About the author
Ankush Gera started Junglee Games in San Francisco with backing from top tier investors. He had previously founded Monsoon, a boutique software company that was acquired by Capital One.
Ankush is a limited partner in funds Metastable, Upshift, Fearless.vc, Tandeme, Kae Capital, and a Venture Partner at Unshackled. He is on the board of Kunai, Kintohub, and Rainfactory, and an active angel investor in startups Lottery.com, SVAcademy, Back to the roots, Cloudability, 15five, Devoted Health, Wunder, Lift Aircraft, Quorum, Jetpack Overflow, Biscuit Labs, Fynd, Roomify, Inkbox, and the Gravity Group.
What he writes about
Ankush writes about a range of topics, right from the skill gaming industry and tips for startup growth to the different ways startups can kick-start their business. As the founder of a skill gaming startup, his writing on the gaming industry revolves around the meteoric rise of online games and how it augurs glorious prospects for the skill gaming industry in India.
He writes on how skill gaming is going to be the next leading destination for VC investments, now that the sector is commanding the same interest and recognition as other verticals. Ankush also writes on consolidation in a space that has nearly 300 online gaming startups and companies.
Ankush believes that as gaming companies continue to mature, top-level talent that would have otherwise knocked at the doors of Amazon or the ilk is now joining gaming companies.
Startup ecosystem expert and TiE Delhi Executive Director Geetika Dayal voices her opinion on how SEBI’s proposed guidelines can galvanise tech startup growth
About the author
Geetika Dayal, as Executive Director TiE Delhi- NCR, is among the set of people who helped lay the foundation of the startup ecosystem in Delhi 18 years ago. From taking over her father’s business to heading TiE Delhi-NCR, she has played a role in energising activities for startups and entrepreneurs to bridge the gap between them and policy makers, academicians, corporates, and investors. She does this through TiE Delhi-NCR’s programmes. Geetika was proprietor at Magnus Consulting from 1991 to 1996.
What she writes about
Geetika writes how SEBI’s proposed guidelines and DVRs can translate into hyper-growth for tech startups, despite there being an astounding year-on-year drop of 78 percent in the number of IPOs in the country between Q4 2017 and Q4 2018.
She writes about the lack of depth in the capital market, inflexible regulations, and a few catches in the IPO process that have been restricting the transition of Indian unicorns into publicly-listed companies.
Geetika explains how SEBI has made the scenario more conducive for startups eyeing IPOs by proposing relaxed regulations for listing of startups on the stock exchanges.
It has defined a Differential Voting Rights (DVRs) framework that can favourably upturn the game for tech startups to raise funds without diluting control over their business, she writes.
The framework allows only the founders, promoters, and those holding executive positions within the company the eligibility to be its superior shareholders, and have superior voting rights (SR).
A flag-bearer of early-stage startups that are creating financial solutions for lower and middle-income segments
About the author
Akanksha Mittal is the Portfolio Manager at CIIE, the top entrepreneurship centre at IIM-Ahmedabad. An MBA from IIM-A herself, Akanksha has had a wide array of expertise in companies like Centre for Civil Society, Accenture Strategy, International Innovation Corps, and now at CIIE. Here, she focuses on supporting early-stage startups involved in creating financial solutions for lower and middle- income segments.
She has also been key part of the Bharat Inclusion Initiative set up by CIIE. Her focus is on solving some of India’s toughest problems, such as skilling, livelihood generation, financial inclusion, and healthcare.
What she writes about
True to her focus on financial inclusion and healthcare, Akanksha has written on how startups can solve the most critical patient pain-point of the insurance process, and healthcare access for the gig economy.
She believes that the healthcare sector, which is projected to grow to $280 million by 2020, can get a fillip with new startups catering to the needs of customers harassed by unpaid claims while building trust in a sector rife with problems.
Her articles outline that if a trusted B2C brand is built in the healthcare insurance sector, the target market size is only bound to grow with app usage. Moreover, data collected by a startup is useful for insurers to design better insurance products, helping the startup develop a more defensible revenue stream over time.
Sunil Kumar has been a flagbearer of climate change, and has been urging corporates to step up efforts to tackle global warming
About the author
N Sunil Kumar brings two decades of strong experience across communications, public affairs, business strategy, and sustainability in the forest sector and climate change. For the past 20 years, Sunil has worked with the corporate sector, government institutions, and international organisations.
In his previous stint, he worked with NABARD, and has served on the board of Regional Rural Banks, National Biodiversity Authority’s Senior Expert Group on Access Benefit Sharing, and was part of the MP Tiger Foundation Society. Apart from this he has also volunteered time for strategy and done field work with NGOs.
What he writes about
Sunil is a prominent voice who talks about climate change, and has consistently shared his thoughts and insights on why corporates should step up efforts and focus on climate change and global warming.
He mostly writes about how global warming will have devastating effects on human life, health, food, housing, and water. He believes this will usher in a higher frequency of storms and cyclones with higher energies, droughts and altered weather patterns resulting in crop loss, a spike in disease-bearing vectors, and pathogens. Small island nations and coastal regions are under the threat of submergence, he says.
Sunil has expressed his view that this is a frightening scenario and calls for urgent action by the community of nations and businesses from across the world to come together in coordinated efforts to bring in commitment, technology, knowledge resources, and sharing of responsibilities to address the situation.
Himanshu Chawla brings in the power of technology to gifting
About the author
Himashu Chawla is the Director of FlowersAura, the online florist and gifting portal offering a range of flowers, cakes, gifts, plants, chocolates, and bouquets for all occasions. Spearheading strategy and technology, Himanshu had joined the company as a marketing trainee during his internship. But his ability to juggle multiple projects - creating digital campaigns, content or even operational work, saw him growing fast within the firm.
He believes that the online gifting industry is going to be one of the core contributors to the growth of Indian ecommerce space and is set to take a larger pie in the overall market in the coming future.
What he writes about
Focussing on the ecommerce industry, Himanshu writes about how the Indian online gifting industry is poised for growth. He believes that the online gifting industry is one of the contributors to the growth of Indian e-commerce space and is set to take a larger pie in the overall market in the coming future. The global gifting market is estimated to be $475 billion, and India is expected to emerge as one of the most influential contributors by 2024.
He adds that India is set to jump from the current online gifting market of $65 million to $84 billion by 2024. The long-term growth perspective for India’s online gifting market remains robust. He opines that the emergence of newer players, innovation in the environment as well as a change in mindset will help online gifting take centre stage in the coming years.
A problem solver and a believer in women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship
About the author
Sneha Choudhry is the Co-founder of Zolo, one of the largest co-living startups, is a gold medalist from IIM Kozhikode. Genauth Integrated Solutions became her second entrepreneurial stint, when Sneha co-founded the edtech startup in January.
A problem solver, Sneha believes in getting the job done and is focussed on sales and customer experience at Zolo. A strong proponent of the saying the devil is in the detail, Sneha is a believer in work-life balance and writes on topics like fund raising for women entrepreneurs. Having founded two companies, Sneha believes an entrepreneur’s lifestyle requires a specific mindset, strong determination, and robust resilience.
What she writes about
Focussed on work-life balance and women’s entrepreneurship, Sneha believes that being an entrepreneur brings in responsibility and commitments towards organisation, its employees, and investors.
She calls it a ‘24X7 lifestyle’ that needs resilience, determination and a specific mindset, and one needs to be willing to throw out the rulebook and make their own set of rules. Sneha opines that while entrepreneurs do not have the conventional work-life balance, they can develop their own way of balancing their work and personal life so that they can bring joy to others and have a successful and happy stint as an entrepreneur.
It is important to not be apologetic about managing your time as per your convenience. Sneha urges entrepreneurs to set up their activity log that helps them analyse and track their time at work and home.
She advocates that, for instance, if you think that attending a weekly staff meeting consumes all your time and adds little value to your work, you could consider asking your colleague or employee to take notes on your behalf. If your child’s recital is important then you can reschedule a meeting that suits your time frame.
The leadership coach who is bringing ‘self-awareness’ to India Inc
About the author
From financial institutions like Citibank, Credit Suisse, and Barclays to consulting giants like Ernst & Young and BCG as clientele, Ashu Khanna over the past 14 years, has provided leadership and coaching to the top brass of various multinationals. Through her insightful style of coaching, she has been able to deepen self-awareness and create sustainable behaviour change for business leaders to design a life of success and happiness.
She has also published her learnings across three books - ‘I Am Freedom, Live Life with Awareness’, ‘I Am…Life Is…Live Life with Mastery’, and ‘To That…with love and reverence’. Ashu has also coached business families on interpersonal and succession related issues. An explorer at heart, Ashu has also learned and sometimes practices - Pranic Healing, theatre, yoga, and Vedic scriptures.
What she writes about
Regarded as a thought leader on ‘leadership and coaching’, Ashu, through her writing, focusses on mentorship and development of leadership of senior management teams. She writes about the best practices to follow as a leader and propagates the importance of ‘self-awareness’ in leadership styles.
The business coach who helps Indian founders scale and build their next leadership pipeline
About the author
Rajiv Talreja, a business coach and serial entrepreneur, at present, runs three successful businesses. His earlier two businesses failed and shut down.
Learning from his failures, Rajiv today is on a mission to enable business owners in building their business, so it can grow without them on self-sustainable processes and teams.
His unique leadership style has impacted over 500,000 people through his business coaching and engagement programmes across 150 corporate organisations, and to over 5,000 business owners across five countries.
Rajiv’s track record of creating tangible, meaningful, and measurable business transformations has given him the name, the ‘ROI Man’. He is also is the author of an international bestseller and Amazon bestseller book, titled – “Lead or Bleed.”
He is also supporting a project that funds the education of over 600 children from the slums of Bengaluru.
What he writes about
Rajiv Talreja’s articles focus on leadership and how entrepreneurs can build businesses that continue to grow without their presence.
His bestselling book, ‘Lead or Bleed’, talks about why entrepreneurs and corporate leaders often find themselves in a fire fighting mode because their next line of leadership team either lacks competence, confidence, commitment, or ownership.
It also talks about how these leaders can engage better with their teams to accelerate their business performances.
Shyamal Parikh is the CEO and Founder of SmartTask, a project management tool that helps companies increase their productivity, as much as 40 percent through online collaboration.
What he writes about
As a ‘productivity activist’, Shyamal Parikh is helping organisations optimise their growth through better productivity. And that continues to be his favourite point of discussion in his writings, where he busts myths which are considered to be countering productivity and guides the way forward.
The entrepreneur who is bringing the English language to rural India
About the author
Sanjay Gupta is a seasoned business leader and global CEO of an edtech startup, EnglishHelper. He commenced his professional journey in finance in the early 1980s, working across a range of companies in India including the Tata Group, Eicher – Mitsubishi, Pepsi, and Motorola.
By 2010, he was the Senior Vice President and Head of the India Leadership Team at American Express, before starting on his entrepreneurial journey with EnglishHelper.
Sanjay is also a guest faculty at the Duke University, US.
What he writes about
Sanjay Gupta focusses his writing on India’s education infrastructure and how technology can augment learning experiences for the country’s schools.
His favourite being the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to support a child’s learning growth and upping the ante on bringing digital capabilities to government schools.
Today his startup – EnglishHelper’s RightToRead programme hopes to reach 20 million government students by 2020.
A tech geek who is an entrepreneur at heart, drawn to the world of finance
About the author
Ashish Anantharaman has an experience of a little over two decades in technology, across companies and domains. For Ashish, the world of finance has been the biggest draw as it is the most demanding segment in terms of technology innovations. His main strength is building teams to bring order, innovation, and passion to the chaotic world of technology. After living abroad for a considerable period of time, Ashish decided to come back home to explore the exciting possibilities in India. For the last four years, he has been on a rollercoaster ride running ZestMoney along with his two co-founders.
What he writes about
The segment of fintech startups in India has witnessed a sort of gold rush. While the world of financial services is big enough to absorb the entry of new firms, the key differentiation will be the simplicity of the product. Ashish delves into this in his writings with a special focus on the buzzword, artificial intelligence (AI). He lucidly explains in layman terms what is AI and the kind of impact it could have on the world of fintech. The key goal of any fintech startup is to provide crucial credit to that class of people who are generally ignored by the financial services industry, and Ashish cogently draws up an argument on how AI can deliver on that goal. Finally, Ashish makes a crucial point: keep all the complexity of technology in the background and make the product, as in the hands of a user, very simple to use.
A multi-faceted entrepreneur with a passion for agriculture and teaching
About the author
Sathya Raghu V Mokkapati is a number-driven man, i.e., a chartered accountant who is passionately moved by the plight of the farmers, especially the small landholders who struggle to make ends meet. His startup is focussed on providing technology tools and services so that small and marginal farmers can aspire for conditions of steady income, which still remain a distant dream. Sathya also has another venture which creates the supply chain of fruits and vegetables for the farmers with the intent of eliminating wastage of produce. It does not stop just at farming; he also coaches CA aspirants.
What he writes about
Passionate about uplifting the economic status of farmers, Sathya seeks a practical solution to this issue. Given the gigantic nature of the problem statement, with millions of farmers still surviving on subsistence income, Sathya believes intervention is needed through the combined efforts of multiple actors – government, research bodies, NGOs, and startups. For him, slogans will remain mere words unless it is followed up with concrete action. Sathya understands that improving the standard of living of farmers is a complex exercise as it is not just a case of raising the purchase price of their produce. Sathya is a strong advocate of listening to the voices of the consumers, in this case the farmers. He believes the participants cannot attempt to solve this problem by having pre-conceived notions; instead, he suggests an exploratory mind will help develop highly innovative products or services more attuned to the needs of the farmers.
The legal eagle with an eye for detail, on a mission to bring about a change in the Indian legal system to better the life of the common man
About the author
Dinesh Jotwani has nearly 25 years of experience in policy, law, technology, litigation, and government relations, especially in software, trade, IPRs, internet law and cyber crime. He believes India will be economically prosperous if its legal system provides for justice and equality. Dinesh has had a ringside view of the functioning of the Indian legal system and knows its pitfalls. His body of work encompasses the political, social, and economic frameworks of India. He also provides keen insights on corporate law and intellectual property rights through seminars, articles, and creating awareness among the general public, especially among the student community.
What he writes about
Startups have emerged as the new force to reckon with globally and are disrupting every known business model. This has led to a situation where they face formidable competition from the more established players who are stronger in size and finances. With the biggest weapon startups can have being their innovation capability, Dinesh advocates that startups strengthen their legal framework by adopting intellectual property rights which will lead to patent protection. This not only gives them legal strength but also helps commercially. He provides examples of organisations and businesses having grown exponentially by just patenting their product or service.
His clear explanation of how this helps in the long run is a valuable lesson for all startups that are serious about making a big impact in the ecosystem. As Dinesh succinctly puts it: Unless a startup protects its intellectual property rights, its rivals can copy them and steal market share.
Tanmay Modi straddles the worlds of communication, brand building, and filmmaking. His clear thoughts on how brands need to communicate and connect with consumers have resonated among corporates and businesses. Tanmay has always sought to drive home the message that brands need to understand their consumer better and the messaging has to be kept simple. Though easier said than done, Tanmay believes that there is the need to have a rigour and discipline that can ensure continuous communication between the brand and consumer. He also believes in harnessing the power of technology to bring about that connect.
What he writes about
In a fast-changing world where it is easy for companies or brands to lose their relevance, Tanmay espouses a constant nurturing of the communication between the consumer and the brand. He believes that this can happen in multiple ways, but there are a few fundamentals which need to be always kept in mind. One of the key points is that brands need to have an indepth understanding of their consumers and employ various methods to communicate with them. This can be in a few words, a single image, or creating that unique design experience which resonates with the consumer. Behind all this lies the art of storytelling. Tanmay believes brands need to have a compelling story to tell and this needs to be communicated effectively. He also has a word on how brands need to keep themselves updated with the latest technology as interactive content forges deep and meaningful relationships.
ElsaMarie D’Silva has a voice and she is making the most of it as an entrepreneur, a feminist, and an individual
About the author
ElsaMarie D’Silva is the Founder and CEO of Safecity that crowdmaps sexual harassment in public places, and is a 2015 Aspen New Voices Fellow. Her focus has been on women and youth empowerment in the area of gender violence. She is also a trained counselor in directive and non-directive techniques.
She is also a board member of the Red Dot Foundation Global, Red Foundation, X Prize, M.A.D.
What she writes about
ElsaMarie writes about women's safety, gender violence, and safety in public spaces. As an entrepreneur working in the field of gender violence, she also writes on subjects and topics that touch upon the large themes of gender- including gender bias, and other social issues impacting women.
As a leader and an entrepreneur, she brings her own experiences to her writing, be it leadership or the imposter syndrome that women often face.
Abhishek pursues leadership excellence and believes that a company can grow from good to beyond
About the author
Abhishek Chakraborty, Executive Director of DTDC Express, leads the Business Transformation Program, managing the operations with India as his core focus. He also leads the DTDC Retail business on behalf of the DTDC Board and spearheads strategic drive for its ecommerce logistics business under the umbrella brand DOTZOT.
What he writes about
Abhishek writes about the logistics industry and its players. Focussing on this industry’s transformation from a conventionally-run one dominated by small players, he writes about how technology has been disrupting this space.
Sanjay Mehta has an intuitive understanding of the internet space after starting and running multiple startups
About the author
Sanjay Mehta is the Joint CEO of Mirum India, a digital media agency, and the co-author of If I Had To Do It Again. He started and ran an internet venture, Homeindia.com, from 1998 to 2007 and then, as COO, managed an 800-member team at Compare Infobase Ltd, another internet company.
In 2009, he launched Social Wavelength, a social media management brand of Social PR outsourcing. It was acquired by WPP Group in 2014.
Sanjay has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from VJTI, University of Mumbai, and an MS in electrical and computer engineering from University of Southern California, US.
What he writes about
Sanjay writes about the world of internet, business building, use of vernacular, and brand building exercises by companies in the day and age of the internet. He focuses on digital India and how brands can stand out in the digital age.
Driven by the need for green, earth-friendly solutions and for promoting the environment’s protection
About the author
Anitha Shankar is the Founding Partner of Astu Ventures, started in 2015 and focussing on manufacturing, trading, and researching eco-friendly products.
Her primary focus has been the need to develop eco-friendly products and social entrepreneurship.
She has a BSc degree from Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru, and an MBA in Marketing from TA Pai Management Institute.
What she writes about
As it is commonly acknowledged, plastic is slowly destroying the world and affecting its inhabitants, and it is this global concern that Anitha focusses on. Through her writings, she critically looks at the tonnes of plastic waste generated in the world and educates people about the need to understand the pressure these place on human life and the earth. She also writes to raise awareness about living an eco-friendly life.
Viral Chhajer has a deep vision that straddles marketing and analytics, and is reshaping the real estate juggernaut
About the author
Viral Chhajer might have a BBA in finance from Christ University, yet his expertise spans the whole startup spectrum. He started his career as a business analyst at Goldman Sachs before co-founding Bribe Me, a flash sale marketplace for brick and mortar stores.
He then turned on his intuitive marketing brain at Runnr, a food ordering and delivery platform, as the head of marketing. His ability to strategise and understand marketing challenges has given him an edge that he continues to embellish at Bengaluru-based co-living design and technology real estate company StayAbode, which he co-founded.
Under his leadership, StayAbode is providing urban millennials uber shared living centred around community and flexibility, and has also raised pre-Series A funding.
What he writes about
As the co-founder and business development expert, Viral has written about co-living and its relevance in today’s millennial powered society and how it is changing real estate as we know it. His understanding of the trends in real estate and co-living are primarily focused on millennials. For instance, in a recent article in Outlook Money, he highlighted the trend of millennials open to spending money for access over ownership.
The young entrepreneur stresses on the need for state-of-the-art co-living as the future of real estate even as he adds analytics into the unicorn sector.
Hansi Mehrotra brandishes financial literacy with her popular blog TheMoneyHans, while leading investment rhetoric with incisive and much-needed expertise on finance
About the author
A financial consultant who went from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh to enter the august halls of finance, if anything, Hansi was determined to crunch numbers.
Today, with 20 years of experience, her financial services include setting up online tools for investment research and consulting on wealth management. Hansi has a certificate on private wealth from Wharton/Institute for Private Investors (IPI) and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter from CFA Institute.
She has set up and led the wealth management segment for Mercer’s in Australia, the Investment Consulting business based in Australia and Singapore, and was a consultant on the National Pension System.
It’s her inexhaustible urge to consume the intricate world of finance that led her, early on, to ask 10 CEOs out for tea, to pick their brains. One agreed and three responded, and she is the wiser. Today, Hansi has gone on to create her niche as a reputed financial advisor.
What she writes about
Knowing the inner workings of investment and stocks might be ‘Greek’ to many, but for Hansi, it was what she excelled in, and has since made it her goal to post, write, and podcast to educate others on the finer aspects of investment. Her partnership with Franklin Templeton led to the podcast series Meri Pyaari Saheliyan, and with Yahoo, it led to a video series #AskHansi on personal finance and investing. With simple language, she empowers women and guides and mentors through her platforms - be it what she learnt from her girlfriends about money management or for that matter on the L&T mutual fund.
As a regular on LinkedIn and the twitter verse, she was TopVoice and PowerProfile for India in 2018, and LinkedIn PowerProfile for Finance in India in 2017. “Be MoneyConfident, Ladies,” she says, as she embarks on busting myths and creating financial literacy.
Kushal Nahata waxes eloquent about the power of logistics in sustainable businesses as he transforms companies with his startup’s tools that add a smile to the last mile
About the author
Kushan is a logistics strongman. In fact, there are very few individuals under whose aegis a company achieves a 300 percent growth rate. Yet, that’s only numbers. The real Kushal comes into action when driving vision, strategy, and growth at FarEye, a company he co-founded which enables digital transformation of logistics.
A BTech in Electronics and Telecommunication from Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, he was the team lead at Learnics.in, where he strategised on the design, marketing, and planning of a training division for 10,000 engineering students. Later, he was head of business development and strategy for Roboticwares after which he started up with FarEye to transform logistics.
Learning has been a tool Kushal exemplifies, as he is a Microchip embedded and RSCA certified trainer. A people person, his warmth coupled with his exhaustive knowledge creates a well-rounded leader. From trip management and passenger information system for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation or the Android solution for outbound logistics for Rocket Internet, etc, he has successfully rendered many projects.
What he writes about
From trend on logistics that he rightly predicted in 2017 of blockchain, delivery of choice, elastic logistics, drones, and smart glasses, etc, Kushal’s aptitude for logistics’ solutions is unequivocal. Asking the right questions might be immaterial if the knowledge is circumspect, and Kushal has written extensively on how logistics in supply chain can be enhanced for different players… always ready to share insights and predictions.
His article on India’s B2B boom and why logistics is the darling of investors on YourStory was highly regarded. A person who tweets regularly, he has written for the logisticsmiddleeast.com on autonomous vehicles and the future of doorstep deliveries. His article on LinkedIn about logistics and sustainable growth apart, he is also a guest lecturer and a storehouse of logistics subject matter. He starts one article, eloquently. “Logistics is executed in magical ways…” talking about hornbills and nature, and therein lies the sheer power of a sector Kushal writes deeply and passionately about.
Karthik Raghupathy has turned the digital payments ecosystem into a goldfield of opportunities and scale with PhonePe when it comes to ‘pay’ ing it forward
About the author
Karthik Raghupathy is an alumnus of IIT-Madras and Cornell University, following his calling in deep tech. It was only apt for this brilliant brain to find his footsteps to The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he took his engineering expertise and added an MBA in finance.
Degrees and accomplishments might tell a tale of his learning path, yet, it’s Karthik’s depth of fintech that makes him stand out as a mentor, leader, and motivator.
Having over 18 years of experience, currently, Karthik is the Vice President - Strategy and Business Development at PhonePe. Earlier, he worked with the United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) as an Executive Director, and Process Excellence in Singapore, where he spearheaded productivity improvements.
His earlier stints include Standard Chartered Bank as Head - Planning and Projects, Retail Banking COO Office, where he achieved $20 million in cost savings through multiple efficiency initiatives, Dell, and McKinsey & Company.
What he writes about
In an age where digital payments have changed the fabric of the way we do business, Karthik is an encyclopedia into finance, which he brandishes with his articles. In an article in YourStory, he wrote incisively on, how digital payments will accelerate into every Indian’s payment mode. His business intelligence and in-depth aptitude for analytics make him a voice on the financial landscape.
Tailoring solutions based on the need of retailers, Karthik is a storehouse of knowledge on the finance spectrum with an edge on technology that he calls on in his articles. He has published Curve Tracing and Curve Detection in Images, which was published by Cornell University during his time there as a student.
A self-confessed tech geek, Sudeep Singh is on a mission to develop a mature ecosystem of entrepreneurship, by breaking the barrier of information, technology, access, and investment
About the author
Sudeep Singh’s core expertise is centered around devising lucrative business strategies, juggling with numbers, and sharp business acumen. His addiction to the world of technology made him spearhead the business development vertical for a top-notch IT firm on Wall Street in New York and magnified the business to more than 200 percent year-on-year, before eventually closing a successful sell-off deal of the venture to a private firm.
In 2014, he set up a growth platform for startups in India via Startup Grind – an independent startup community founded in Silicon Valley. His aim was four-pronged – helping startups start, survive, sustain, and scale. As the Country Director – APAC for Startup Grind, Sudeep’s target is to grow this community to 500,000 entrepreneurs over the next three years.
What he writes about
Sudeep Singh writes on the shared economy or coworking industry on LinkedIn and different media portals, including YourStory.
Earlier in February 2019, he predicted that the future of coworking in India will be shaped by consolidations and buyouts. Then, in July 2019, SoftBank-backed hospitality unicorn OYO Hotels and Homes announced the acquisition of the Delhi-NCR-based Innov8 for Rs 220 crore and made its entry into the coworking space.
According to Sudeep, as Tier II and III cities grow more in prominence, both in terms of talent acquisition and market opportunities, coworking spaces are expected to serve as a popular way of operation establishment in these areas.
With extensive experience in real estate, construction, and business operations, Neetish Sarda is focussed on not just building communities, but also ensuring that member employees are productive in the workplace at all times
About the author
Neetish Sarda’s expertise has been in building sales and design capabilities, driving innovation, building high-performance teams, and scaling operations. With a degree in business from the Krannert School of Management, Purdue, and Singapore Institute of Management (UniSIM, Singapore), Neetish, instead of joining the family business, chose to become an entrepreneur and founded Smartworks in 2016.
Under his leadership and vision, Smartworks has garnered an impressive footprint of 2.1 million sqft across nine key cities including the Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune, catering to more than 600+ organisations across large enterprises, SMEs, startups, and freelancers in India.
What he writes about
Neetish writes about the coworking industry on various media portals including YourStory. He predicted that coworking spaces will disrupt the traditional work environment today, witnessing a massive growth in the last five years. The demand continues to gain momentum across India so much that about 13 million people are expected to work out of coworking spaces by 2020, Sarda added.
According to Neetish, the industry has reached Tier-II cities in the past couple of years, and he believes this trend will continue. While Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru have the maximum number of coworking spaces in India, cities such as Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Indore, and Jaipur will see the swanky agile spaces mushrooming this coming year, he added. With office rents continuing to move up across India, the total area leased by co-working spaces in Tier I and Tier II cities could touch six to 10 million sqft by 2020, he highlighted.
Leading client relationships with patent attorneys, R&D teams of technology companies, and law firms, to provide technology scouting, licensing, patent prosecution, enforcement, and litigation support
About the author
With a Bachelors of Law degree with a specialisation in intellectual property rights, a master’s in management, and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, Amit Aggarwal has 16+ years of experience in the IP domain. He has worked with leading multinational and regional corporations in patent strategy, business planning, operations, patent infringement, prior art searches, patent litigation, and enforcement support services. He has undergone extensive training in US, EU, and Indian patent law and received certifications from WIPO, IP Central, GIIP, Lee & Hayes, and Microsoft.
Currently, he counsels and provides end-to-end intellectual property and business and market research support.
What he writes about
Amit Aggarwal has tremendous experience in portfolio analysis, technology scouting, and shortlisting of best patents (gems) for licensing, and has also worked on standard essential patents. He writes on LinkedIn and various media portals including YourStory on the topics of trademark registration, patent and legal operations, business development, branding, process improvements, and finance and accounting, among others.
While writing on the importance of trademark registration for tech startups, Amit stated that the strength of one’s trademark depended on the category being used and that it was important to design trademarks that offer stronger protection.
With a proven leadership track record of leading transformation, delivery, and consulting programmes in MNCs like Shell, Societe Generale, and Wipro, Arvind Rathore is responsible for providing best-in-class engineering solutions to the industry
About the author
Arvind Rathore’s global industry experience spans across the telecom, retail, insurance, banking, and energy industries, and he has worked with clients in the US and Europe. His LinkedIn profile says he has vast experience in handling large global programmes - operating with multi vendors from diverse geographies, and also worked extensively in all IT areas - IT delivery, consulting, operations, and business development.
He has a Bachelor’s of Engineering Degree from Pune University, and PGDBM (Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management) from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM). He is also a member of the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP).
What he writes about
Arvind mostly writes about the technology trends in the IT industry, and has been featured in media publications like YourStory, Economic Times, CIO.in, etc. In one of his articles on YourStory, Arvind discussed the most-awaited tech trends which gained momentum in 2019 including API economy and microservices, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and data security, automation and increase in cloud adoption and cloud computing.
“With innovation knocking the doors of every industry, technology has now become a basic need for survival of the business and the society at large. Be prepared to see a convergence of them across different applications to create an unimagined future for humans,” Arvind said.
An award-winning social entrepreneur, Deep Bajaj is the founder of PeeBuddy –India’s first portable, disposable, and design patent protected FUD - Female Urination Device, and Sirona - Modern Menstrual Hygiene Products
About the author
Deep Bajaj calls himself an entrepreneur at heart, solving “unaddressed” intimate and menstrual hygiene issues faced by women with award-winning, category defining products. His objective is to launch high impact products for women and focus on issues that have been hitherto neglected or not explored.
Using PeeBuddy (India’s First Female Urination Device), women can stand and pee/urinate in all dirty, public, unfriendly and unhygienic toilets. Recommended by best of doctors (for use during pregnancy/arthritis), Peebuddy is available at leading stores like Mahindra Babyoye, Dabur NewU, Religare, 24x7, Guardian, Health & Glow, Apollo, Medplus, Le Marche, and online portals like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon, Ebay, etc.
PeeBuddy has won multiple awards. Their mother brand ‘Sirona’ offers interesting modern intimate and menstrual hygiene products for women.
What he writes about
Deep Bajaj writes on subjects related to menstrual hygiene and health, and how menstrual cups will redefine how we look at menstrual heath.
Harnish Shah is Co-founder of 3 Minds Digital, one of India’s fastest growing design and marketing consultancies
About the author
Harnish Shah is has a bachelor’s degree in design and communication and seven years of experience in the graphics and UI/UX space. He also co-founded another company, Design Pitch Deck, which has grown to be one of Asia’s biggest players in the corporate/investor presentation design space.
What he writes about
Harnish writes extensively on brand building and how to make your brand a recognisable one. He outlines some of the key factors that determine the persona of a buyer. These include gender, age, education, lifestyle and income.
He believes a branding strategy has to be devised keeping in mind the core values of the company. He says this serves as an elaborate plan that clearly defines what one is trying to accomplish, and ways that can help one achieve one’s goals without being swayed by challenges in the way.
Nidhika is the international bestselling author of the book The Queen of the Comeback. She is also an entrepreneur, motivational speaker, strategic interventionist, and celebrity life coach
About the author
Apart from being a best-selling author, Nidhika is also an entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, and a celebrity life coach. She is a teacher and speaker with The John Maxwell Team, an Internationally Certified Success Coach, Master SPIRIT Life Coach, Theta Healing® Practitioner, Access Bars® Facilitator, Clearing Practitioner, Internationally Certified Master Facilitator and NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming) Master Practitioner, Certified Ho’oponopono Practitioner and Transformation Coach.
What she writes about
Nidhika writes on a variety of topics, including how women can be in control of their finances. She lists the important lies that women tell themselves regarding finance.
As a life coach, Nidhika says she has met a number of women who are anxious about financial planning and the consequences on their retirement. They are worried about their lack of knowledge and experience, as well as how these concerns hold them back in reaching their highest potential.
She believes one of the biggest things couples fight about is money. Also, she believes what you want to spend your money on (and when) reveals critical things about your values and priorities. For example, when someone values safety and security, they may want to keep their savings account at a certain level, stick to a budget, and avoid excessive debt.
An expert in product management, Abhinav is passionate about working on consumer products with an analytics-driven approach
About the author
Abhinav Tyagi is the CEO and Founder of Petdom, an application to adopt a dog and buy a subscription box called PaWish for their dog. He has three years of product management experience with companies like TIL and CarWale.
Abhinav is currently working on B2B and B2C digital payments for delivering the hassle-free payment to consumers and retailers.
His key areas of interest include product conceptualisation, development, implementation and performance analysis. He has the ability to drill down complex problems and has extensive functional experience in consumer internet.
What he writes about
Abhinav writes on diverse topics that include the future of retail in an increasingly O2O commerce world, chatbots, and the efficiency of the Swachh Bharat Mission.
His thoughts on ‘How to build your own messenger bot’ is an example of how the author combines single language and business acumen to build a bot for almost any kind of service content, or product-based business. For instance, Facebook Messenger, Slack, Telegram, text messages, etc.
He also believes online-to-offline commerce, or O2O, is a business strategy/model that finds consumers online and brings them into the realworld to make purchases in physical stores. One aspect of the newer O2O initiatives is the ability to pay online and then pick up a product in a physical location.
Nandita Bhatt is a well-known civil society practitioner, with more than 25 years of experience in the space of gender inclusion and prevention of sexual harassment against women
About the author
Nandita Pradhan is the Director of Martha Farrell Foundation. She is responsible for programme delivery and management of the Foundation. She also heads the gender programmes in PRIA.
She has over 25 years of experience with promoting gender inclusion in organisations, governance and development programmes, gender mainstreaming, gender sensitisation and prevention of sexual harassment of women in the organised and unorganised sector in India.
Nandita has personally trained more than 20,000 employees across more than 40 national and international organisations, including Airports Authority of India (AAI), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Mitsui India Pvt. Ltd., HDFC Bank, British Council Management Services.
What she writes about
Nandita writes about women’s safety, prevention of sexual harassment, and legal provisions surrounding sexual harassment.
She has written about the tendency of workplaces protecting the accused when it comes to dealing with cases of harassment in the organisation, and the need for any organisations to set up an internal complaints committee where grievances can be appropriately addressed.
She has also written about a study that Martha Farrell Foundation conducted in 655 districts across India about setting up a local committee—only 29 percent of respondents said they have set it up.
She questions political parties on whether women’s safety and prevention of sexual harassment is part of their manifestos, and when they will take it seriously.
In one of her stories, she has suggested five ways to ensure gender equality in the workplace, which include assigning job responsibilities based on competence, not gender - most places are biased towards men, paying equal wages and benefits, setting up clear criteria for hiring, raising awareness among employees about stereotypes, and the need for organisations and leaders to be accountable for their actions.
With nearly two decades of professional experience in solutions, capabilities building, corporate strategy, and a host of other domains, Sanjay Pathak is adept at understanding the changing face of technology, and analyses trends with ease
About the author
Sanjay Pathak has expertise across fields like management consulting, business analytics, process automation, user interactions, systems gap analysis and product building/implementation.
He also specialises in digital and customer experience strategy, and newer channels like voice and chatbot technology. He has in depth knowledge of various software, and is proficient in industry compliances like HIPAA and BAA.
Previously, Sanjay Pathak headed the healthcare and insurance solutions and GTM at ITC Infotech, was the Principal Consultant at NTT Data Corporation, and was the Senior Business Analyst and Consultant at HP. He is also an alumnus of IIT Delhi.
What he writes about
Sanjay Pathak writes about newer and developing technology like artificial intelligence. In the article he has written for YourStory, he talks specifically about how artificial intelligence can change the healthcare industry.
He covers an array of advantages of integrating artificial intelligence with healthcare, such as being better equipped to diagnose ailments, assisting care providers in taking extra precautions, planning surgery with accurate measures, assisting doctors with running tests and making transcripts, using chat bots to help answer health-related queries, managing assets and emergencies, and lowering the cost of healthcare in rural areas.
He also addresses a few challenges, like accountability during a negative event, regulation and compliance, overcoming initial hiccups, and the lack of skill to adopt new technology.
A veteran in the digital media domain, Dushyant Kohli has helped both emerging startups, as well as, established companies, to create and expand their digital footprint
About the author
Dushyant Kohli, a hands-on leader and business growth specialist, has expertise in understanding digital marketing trends and OTT platforms. He has in-depth knowledge about AI, digital education, gaming, enterprise mobility solutions, SaaS, ecommerce, online content production, and other similar innovations.
Previously the Country Manager - India for Wamba, a social discovery network, he also headed the digital marketing at HT Media and was the Head of Zapak Live.
What he writes about
Dushyant writes about digital marketing trends and OTT trends. He dives into domains like artificial intelligence and machine learning, live-streaming, 360 videos, seamless inter-connectivity, emphasis on good quality original content on OTT platforms, blockchain-powered content protection, and how OTT platforms can go beyond entertainment.
Specialist in recruitment, strategic planning, managing high-growth company, change management, and strategic HR
About the author
Aditya Mishra was previously the president of staffing at Randstad India and the vice president at Ma Foi Randstad. He is an alumnus of Jadavpur University, where he did his MBA.
What he writes about
Aditya Mishra writes about how businesses can hire optimally, especially startups who struggle to keep track of their resources. He emphasises establishing a work culture, taking the right leadership steps, and building a strong brand.
A believer in blockchain and its many use-cases, Abhishek Pitti is a big endorser of the technology
About the author
Abhishek Pitti has his expertise primarily centred around blockchain, and how it can help businesses enhance their customer experience and subsequent insights.
Abhishek did aerospace engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and dropped out from finishing his MBA from Harvard Business School to start Nucleus Vision. Before starting up, he worked as an aerospace engineer at FedEx Express and Gulfstream Aerospace.
After co-founding Lorven Softech, an IT consulting company, he moved on to Blackstone Capital to become an investor. He went to Harvard to do an MBA, where he discontinued to start Nucleus Vision.
What he writes about
Abhishek pens down his writings on several platforms like Medium, Quora, and YourStory, especially on the blockchain technology. He predicts that decentralised applications (dApps) are going to be the answer to cyber-criminals stealing user information from centralised databases, that typically run traditional applications.
As a distributed ledger technology, Abhishek thinks that blockchain guarantees enhanced security, greater transparency, increased efficiency, improved traceability, and reduced costs. He says the technology will reinforce existing solutions that are built on artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT).
A hardcore product guy, Hemanth is now busy bridging supply chain and intelligence with Blockchain’s traceability capability
About the author
Hemanth Kota has his expertise primarily centered around supply chain management and building scalable products with the help of Blockchain technology.
With a Bachelor’s of Engineering degree from PES College of Engineering, Bengaluru, Hemanth went on to do his MS in Industrial Engineering from The University of Texas at Arlington.
After working at companies like Hewlett-Packard, Snapdeal, and Tesco, Hemanth co-founded Trailchain, a blockchain-based technology company that provides traceability and intelligence products for supply chains, along with Deepthi Singh Sharma. He manages Product at Tesco while also working on his own startup Trailchain.
What he writes about
Hemanth likes to write about how important the time is for product managers to create better growth opportunities for themselves, and how data science can accelerate it.
Being a seasoned leader with 16 years of experience in product management, he says this role has offered everything an ambitious professional aspires for - exposure to senior stakeholders from technology as well as the business domain.
Even more, he says it offered him a strong mandate to travel to where the action is happening, and ensure they are rightly exposed to challenges and opportunities in running any business at a global scale.
An industry leader in technology, Vinodh Kumar believes that laziness and boredom are the mothers of innovation
About the author
Vinodh Kumar has expertise in search, ranking, and machine learning. He worked as a software engineer at Cisco, Infinera, and Google, before working as the Chief Technological Officer (CTO) at BloomReach. Currently, he heads the technology team (CTO) at Belong.co. He was also a product and technology mentor at Microsoft Accelerator, for a while.
A computer science graduate from Anna University, Vinodh did his Master’s in Science (MS) from the Indian Institute of Science.
What he writes about
Vinodh is a big observer of the machine’s impact on the human mind, and the subtle conflicts one can have while trying to train a machine’s intelligence.
He once admitted that he had a mild guilt-trip when he questioned himself if he had learned enough for his own learning after the machine learning wave entered the industry. He ponders over the fact that, if the interrupt-driven functioning of our human brains is conducive to learning.
Considering that a scarce-attention situation is currently making ‘deep’ human learning hard, he recommends that we all should be adhering to good old human learning to survive in the world of machine learning.
An entrepreneurial evangelist, Pavan Soni is enthusiastic about how one can be smart about acing the game of business strategy and sales
About the author
Pavan Soni’s expertise largely lies in strategic acumen, design thinking, and consulting. Apart from being an Adjunct Faculty at ISB Hyderabad and IIM-Bangalore, he had engaged with companies like Reliance, the Tata group, ITC, Flipkart, and Novartis, among others. He is a mentor for NSRCEL at IIM-Bangalore, the Founder Institute, a columnist at HT Mint, YourStory, and People Matters.
What he writes about
Pavan Soni writes about multiple subjects like leadership, customer experience, sales, trends in innovation, and market opportunities.
His thought leadership article on crafting one’s go-to-market strategy, stresses on how even seasoned entrepreneurs wait for too long before crafting their GTM strategy. He foresaw this key trend in advance and offers a simple solution, that companies ought to sell the problem first before they sell the solution. He recommends that startups should craft some unique value propositions for every segment they operate in.
Kazim Rizvi is using public policy to start a revolution of ideas and drive India’s development-oriented narrative
About the author
Kazim Rizvi is a public policy researcher, entrepreneur, and Founder of The Dialogue, an emerging policy think-tank. Based out of New Delhi, he is also the Co-Chair of Public Policy at Indian National Bar Association.
Prior to this he was the Strategic Engagement and Communications Advisor of the Energy Climate and Growth Unit at the Foreign Commonwealth Office. At The Dialogue, Kazim has delivered multiple research projects and public discourses around technology policy. He is also a prominent speaker at stakeholder consultations and roundtables organised by various civil society institutions in India. Previously, he worked in the office of the BJP’s Jay Panda and then as Lead Energy Policy Communications, at the British High Commission, New Delhi.
What he writes about
Citizens are finally realising the value of data and recognising the need to have laws and institutions to safeguard these data. Kazim Rizvi focuses on this and writes about data privacy and data protection. He says that while data is considered the new oil, unlike oil, it is infinite in nature and should be thus, treated by the government. Kazim explains how the government can work with corporates and startups to make the most of available data insights.
He further highlights the global challenges in the functioning of data protection authorities. Data protection authorities need to be provided with resources and space by countries to bring cyberspace security as envisaged in data protection acts to fruition. Constant government interference and overburdening appointed data protection authorities will lead to greater security breaches, and a reduction in cross-border flow of data.
Shobhit Bhatnagar is going beyond the metros to explore what it takes to deliver quality coaching for competitive exams, online
About the author
Shobhit Bhatnagar is the Co-founder and CEO of Gradeup, a Noida-based competitive examination preparation platform. At the community-based mobile learning platform, Shobhit oversees the integral marketing and content development function while also being actively involved in hiring and building talent.
A graduate of IIM Calcutta, Shobhit was a Consultant at Ernst & Young before taking the entrepreneurial plunge. Prior to that, he worked as an Associate at Opera Solutions, where he optimised the procurement strategy towards marketing services for a Fortune 100 financial services company.
What he writes about
Shobhit Bhatnagar mostly writes about edtech beyond the metros – in the Tier II and III cities, for competitive exams. While students in the metros have access to leading coaching institutions to prepare for competitive exams like JEE, NEET, GATE, SSC, and banking, students residing in the non-metros have to face challenges like lack of competitive study materials and tutorials.
With almost 25 lakh students appearing for JEE and NEET entrance exams, only up to 25 percent of them can afford the cost of offline coaching classes. Moreover, relocating to a metro to avail these classes is not just challenging but also another expensive affair.
Shobhit explains there is a growing demand for online sources that is prevalent in smaller cities, the trend of ‘live’ classes, and the cost aspect of online coaching.
With more than 18 years of experience, Balasubramanian M is skilled in strategising, establishing operations, and directing major initiatives from concept to execution at scale
About the author
Balasubramanian M is a Policy leader Fellow at the School of Transnational Governance, EUI Florence, Italy. He holds an MBA and has a sustainability partnership specialisation from University of Cambridge. Currently the Senior Head at National Skill Development Corporation, Balasubramanian was previously the Chief Operating Officer at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP.)
At the UNDP, Balasubramanian led the policy and programme implementation of Government of India’s employment linked Skills Development Scheme DDUGKY, aimed at skilling youth and women globally relevant workforce.
His expertise lies in systematic private sector development approaches like CSR and sustainability, M4P, Investment climate, social expertise, impact incubation, and investments of inclusive and sustainable businesses.
What he writes about
With the unemployment rate at a 45-year high, and peaking at 7.6 percent in April 2019, Balasubramanian has mostly written about how the Indian government should take a cue from the successful European Union’s blueprint - ‘Youth Guarantee’ framework, which addresses the high unemployment rate and offers services to enhance and engage the economic and educational engagement of the youth.
Balasubramanian gives an overview about how the potential India’s Youth Guarantee programme would look and work. He says that the Youth Guarantee could be a public-private partnership arrangement at the district-level, managed by district magistrate or at the municipality-level, governed by the Commissioner.
Furthermore, for the Youth Guarantee programme to work, it needs the full cooperation of the national, state, and local authorities, as well as public employment services, skills training providers, education actors and participants from business and third sector.
An entrepreneur and angel investor, enthusiastic about startups, technology, and innovation. Standing for the belief that the future of the Indian gig economy is bright with the prospect of an upward swing
About the author
Rahul Aggarwal, Co-founder of graphic design platform Designhill.com, envisions the evolution of the design industry through the introduction of technology. He has over a decade of industry expertise in various fields including business management, real estate, mining, and information technology.
A graduate of The University of Manchester and Cass Business School, Rahul is also an angel investor and member of Mumbai Angels and India Angel Network. He has invested in DailyNinja, BookYourGame, Vahdam Teas, and MyAdvo.in, among other companies. He has served as the director of companies such as UA Group, Privue Group, and Reloable eSolutions.
What he writes about
Rahul Aggarwal writes about freelancing and the gig economy and how factors like internet penetration, digitalisation, and advancement in information technology have transformed the way the global economy works. His writings also highlight the idea that millennials are more focussed on job satisfaction over other parameters while choosing a job.
Rahul is of the opinion that unconventional work approaches, the emerging startup culture, hiring of people on contract basis, and the rise of freelancing platforms and blockchain-based payments are contributing to the ever-increasing popularity of the gig economy.
Shirin Salis leads human resource strategy and direction for Ingersoll Rand in India
About the author
Shirin Salis is the Vice President of the Human Resources Department at Ingersoll Rand, India. With over 23 years of experience in the HR sector, she is a constant advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Shirin has worked with various organisations, including GE Bayer Silicones, PRS Group, Agilent Technologies India, and Ingersoll Rand.
What she writes about
Being in the HR sector for over 23 years, Shirin has gained expertise in the field and has been trying to make workplaces diverse. She focuses on how inclusion and diversity in the workplace can benefit any company and help compete at a global level.
According to a 2018 study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) increasing the diversity of leadership teams leads to more and better innovation, and improved financial performance. At Ingersoll Rand, Shirin says, the aim is to build and sustain a corporate culture that fosters values of mutual respect, cross-collaboration and inclusion, all of which is perceived as a shared responsibility that drives growth and innovation, and enhances operational excellence while making a positive impact in the lives of customers and communities.
The Founder of AhaPitch.com offers a library of ready-to-use, data-driven chart templates to track key metrics of any startup
About the author
Anand Kulkarni is a seasoned business analyst and product manager, with over 19 years of work experience. An MBA graduate from Pune University, he has served some of the best known Fortune 500 companies across India, the UK, and the US. As the Founder of AhaPitch.com, Anand helps startups with his library of professional, ready-to-use, data-driven chart templates for every use case to deliver quick online support.
What he writes about
Anand explains the key metrics that investors look for in a particular startup when they invest. With his expertise in providing chart templates to professionals, Anand maps out different formulas that startups can use in their daily operations, to maintain a balanced balance sheet.
He feels that while monthly investor updates are a good frequency, they may be overwhelming for a very early-stage startup, which may not have enough to report each month. The metrics reported should depend on the stage of the startup, company size, revenue, and next funding requirement. In fact, the startup and investors can agree on the most important three to five metrics that they would like to see, he says.
Vineet Taing heads India's first premium business centre service provider, and has expertise in the hospitality domain
About the author
With over 18 years of experience in the hospitality sector, Vineet has helped the Vatika Business Centre expand to 17 centres spread across New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune, covering over half a million square feet of area in the country.
At present, it is facilitating over 5,000 seats, with over 1,000 seats under development. Backed by exponential growth numbers and cashing on the opportunities to expand, VBC aims to open 42 centres by the end of 2020, including going overseas with centres in Singapore, Dubai, and Hong Kong.
What he writes about
Since the emergence of coworking spaces, many real estate firms have adopted the concept. And, many are doing well. The coworking scenario has witnessed global expansion in recent years due to the several viable benefits offered. With such niche workspaces evolving, it is easier for businesses of similar interest to network and find the right fit, Vineet writes. Thus, many businesses join hands and work as strategic partners to take on the competition.
Dhiraj Khare is a passionate sales leader and coach, with expertise in various digital platforms and open-source technologies
About the author
Dhiraj Khare manages the worldwide relationship with global system integrators at MongoDB Inc. A computer science graduate and an IIM-Bangalore alumnus with more than a decade of experience in and around various digital platforms and open-source technologies, he has worked in various roles over the past several years. These include sales & alliances, general management, advisor to digital and open-source forums and startups, customer advocacy, product management, etc.
What he writes about
Having served various management roles in sales and marketing for over 11 years, Dhiraj claims to have expertise on providing the best customer experience through business planning, product development, strategy, and execution of growth plans. He believes that every startup strives to succeed, and technology and customer experience are the keys. It is imperative for small businesses to provide good customer experience, and open-source software can help businesses achieve this objective.
Sumeet studies emerging technologies and is looking at a future to see what technology can do for individuals, business, our country, and the world
About the author
An engineer by background, Sumeet holds an MBA from Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, USA. After founding Calculus, an edtech startup, and selling it in 2012, he joined 99labels.com as Chief Operating Officer. He also worked with NASSCOM for about four years, where he studied emerging technologies and the related policies and initiatives that can be promoted to achieve an overall positive outcome and impact on our lives. Sumeet is now with QNu Labs as its Head of Business Strategy.
What he writes about
A tech enthusiast, Sumeet recently wrote an article in YourStory about Fourth Industrial Revolution, Industry 4.0 and Globalization 4.0. He explained how the fourth Industrial Revolution has the unique characteristic of blurring the lines between humans and machines, with technology working side by side, and in many cases becoming embedded within societies and the human body. He also wrote about the flip side of technology and said: “The speed at which AI is developing might one day result in machines being able to think about their thinking, and hence be able to control their own surroundings, including us humans”.
Deepak Anand is changing the way millennials live with his mega coliving brand, Housr.in
About the author
Deepak Anand is the Co-founder and CEO of Housr, a coliving startup. He is also the founder of Smartlease. Before his entrepreneurial venture, he worked for HDFC, HSBC, and HT Media. An alumnus of Delhi University and National Institute of Sales, Deepak also holds a degree in General Management and Leadership from INSEAD. The Gurugram-based startup Housr is backed by leading real estate developers Abhishek Lodha and Pirojsha Godrej.
What he writes about
Working in the property tech space, Deepak loves to write about millennials and coliving, the new way of living. He believes that millennials are putting an end to housing woes by opting for coliving spaces, which offer the ease of living and a vibrant community with like-minded people. He writes that the fact that there are hardly any ideal options in the traditional rental housing system has led to the new trend of coliving.
An engineer by background, Prashant Shah writes about technology and blockchain
About the author
Prashant Shah passed out from Nirma Institute of Technology in 2011. Post that he worked with companies like HCL Infosystems and Cognizant before jumping into the startup bandwagon in 2014. His LinkedIn profile shows he has co-founded four startups - Digikonn Technology, Vegavid Technology, Mkonn, and Laggagedeals.
What he writes about
Prashant has written mostly about blockchain technology and its use in different sectors like fintech, supply chain, and others. In one of his articles, he explains that “Fintech is disrupting the financial industry and the blockchain development companies in the sector have a major advantage going forward. The speed and scale of this disturbance will depend mostly on users adopting this new economy. People have already given their verdict – they are tired of black boxes and want to determine how they pay for data and financial transfers”.
In another article writing about the safety of mobile apps, he said, “Safety of mobile apps is a major criteria since the information stored in the app can be endangered if adequate security controls do not apply during the desired operation. A mobile app development company’s vulnerabilities have also risen significantly owing to the mass use of applications in today’s world. Nowadays, hackers target portable apps to access and malfunction through a customer’s private data. Throughout the construction of the iOS and Android applications, designers must be extra careful”.
With diverse global experience in the business and mobile value-added sector, Victor Choi aims to make a mark in emerging economies
About the author
Victor Choi holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Korea University. He also holds an MBA degree in market research and marketing from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. He was a sergeant in US Army from 1998 to 2001. After his stint in US Army, he worked for different companies, including LG at various positions before joining Balance Hero India as its CEO.
What he writes about
Working for a fintech company, it is natural that Victor Choi’s heart lies in fintech and financial services. He believes that the biggest roadblock for people of rural India, which prevents them from fully coming under the umbrella of financial inclusion, is lack of awareness and education about what fintech is and how it can change their lives for the better. He believes that financial technology can play a huge role in changing the way people live in rural parts of India.
N Ravi Shankar has steered some of India’s largest brands to success through his guidance and expertise
About the author
N Ravi Shankar has an MBA and two PG diplomas—one each in journalism and marketing—to his credit. He kicked off his career at FCB-Ulka, an advertising firm in Mumbai. A few years later, he stepped onto the role of Vice President – Strategy at brand-comm, a communications consultancy. He has steered a slew of brands to success in his 19 years of career, some of which are Future Group, Mindtsree, Columbia Asia Hospitals, Oracle, Café Coffee Day, and Wipro.
Today, as the CEO of Aim High Consulting, he has driven the company to become a sought-after PR agency for both early-stage and well-established startups in India. His areas of specialisation range from entrepreneurship to new-age businesses, and startups in India. Ravi’s passion for teaching and writing is reflected in his engagement with the public speaking circuit.
What he writes about
N Ravi Shankar is known for his word play when it comes to entrepreneurship and all the risks and rewards that are attached to it. He has also written pieces about the role of new-age technology in businesses. Ravi has been a popular columnist in several Kannada dailies like Udayavani, Times of India (Kannada), and Usha Kirana. Ravi is presently engaged in writing ‘Olanota’, the Sunday lead column for Kannada daily Vijayavani.
Rini Dutta is known for her insightful advice on branding and marketing for startups
About the author
Rini Dutta is the Founder of Centric Brand Advisors, a firm that helps companies define their brand's positioning based on customer insight. Rini is a graduate from IIM Calcutta who loves handling dynamic situations and challenges in the world of business. Having worked with large organisations like Titan, MetLife, and Unilever, her expertise lies in sales and marketing and branding. She believes that strategy is redundant without proper execution and hence her motto is to help companies with last-mile execution support.
What she writes about
Rini Dutta has penned down her thoughts and opinions on a wide range of topics –brand strategies, marketing channels, scaling and growth of startups, etc. She has carved a niche for herself when it comes to offering real-world business knowledge and contemporary consulting expertise. Her stories have been published on media platforms like The Entrepreneur, Business World and The Hindu Business Line.
Pearl is an advocate of CSR campaigns and has been voicing out the role of corporates when it comes to societal welfare
About the author
Pearl Tiwari completed her post-graduation from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and then went on to pursue an executive programme at Harvard Business School. She has worked as a development professional for the last 30 years and is presently leading team of 500 people as part of Ambuja Cement’s CSR wing. She loves the entire process of planning, implementing CSR initiatives and, in turn, adding to the betterment of the society.
What she writes about
Pearl shares a lot of her insights about the importance of having CSR in place, and also the strategies that can be pursued by companies to contribute to the community. She has mainly published her articles as part of journals and research studies. Pearl has also written about the multiple areas in the social sector in which corporates can make an impact – including agriculture, health, education, and rural upliftment.
As the Chief Internet Saathi, Neha is on a mission to build a sustainable model of livelihood for women across rural India through technology
About the author
Neha Barjatya is the Chief Internet Saathi at FREND, a foundation supported by Google and Tata Trusts to enable rural women in India to access technology. After completing an executive programme at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, she dived into taking up a post-graduate diploma course from Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad. Neha covers a wide arena of topics like rural sustainability, innovation, and women empowerment in her writing.
What she writes about
Neha Barjatya has penned down her thoughts surrounding rural development and livelihoods. In her article on India’s gig economy, she has written about how the market offers a huge potential for women owing to digitisation. In her stories related to participation of women in workforce, she has pointed out all the factors that limit the female counterparts from contributing to the GDP of the nation and about how the Internet Saathi initiative is tackling this using education and technology.
A former 'corporate jagran’ turned social activist, training the leaders of tomorrow
About the author
Hailing from a corporate background, Anu Prasad is Founder-Director of India Leaders for Social Sector (ILSS). In terms of her experience, she has served as the founding Deputy Dean of the prestigious Young India Fellowship (YIF) programme and is a founding member of Ashoka University, India’s first liberal arts university. Before joining the social sector, Anu held leadership roles at multinational companies such as American Express (Amex) and TNT. At Amex, she led the implementation of the global financial re-engineering as part of launching Amex Financial Resource Centre in India. At TNT, she was head of finance for the company’s North India region.
What she writes about
Anu’s articles are mostly centered on leadership traits and the solutions to revolutionise the non-profit sector in India. She has spoken extensively about how the sector lacks the required talent, and nurturing leadership is one of the many solutions to address this gap. According to her, the non-profit sector has been vastly ignored with regard to its talent pool and potential. She has stated that the time is ripe for greater focus on honing leaders who can help the social sector flourish on the world index.
Believing in the power of innovation and technology to drive development and growth and empower the farmer
About the author
Rajesh Aggarwal is a well-known motivational speaker, business thinker, and personality development trainer in India with a single-minded focus on the Indian agriculture sector. He has vast knowledge about the sector, from understanding the obstacles and causes that hamper the growth and profits of Indian farmers to helping them with innovative solutions to tackle the same.
What he writes about
Focussing on the agriculture sector, Rajesh has been writing about exports, the state of Indian farmers, and government initiatives to tackle the issues inherent to the sector. According to him, agriculture exports accounted for 44 percent of the total exports in 1960, fell to about 31 percent in 1980, and then declined to 15 percent in 1993. He has stated that, if the income of farmers is to be doubled, the agricultural growth in the country must be export-driven.
He also believes in and writes about reinventing agriculture products. He has expressed the idea that Indian farmers must move up the value chain to fetch better prices for their products and to double their income.
Leading a venture in the field of healthcare and raising a voice against the dire state of rural healthcare
About the author
Savitha Kuttan has been working in the field of healthcare for more than a decade now, and with her experience in the field of pharmacy she has shown keen interest in understanding the primary healthcare sector. She specialises in continuous medical education, digital enablers, content marketing, digital marketing, marketing, and pharma sales.
She has been heading the commercial operations in emerging markets of Mylan Laboratories Limited since 2010 and comes with years of experience in the field of healthcare solution implementation. Besides, she strongly believes that, in order for India to become an economic superpower, the country needs to focus on the state of its healthcare sector.
What she writes about
Savitha has been vocal about the issues in the Indian healthcare sector, from expressing how the rural sector needs to be relooked at to training for primary healthcare doctors. She has also raised concerns on the technological advancements required in the field of healthcare to help train doctors much faster and with more ease.
Her articles highlight how most doctors, both private and government, avoid working in non-urban centers citing lack of medical infrastructure, safety, and sanitation.
In addition to the need for leveraging technology to train doctors, Savitha also believes that blockchain technology can be used to share healthcare data in a transparent manner and to protect it from manipulation. According to her, the technology greatly reduces the risk of data fraud as every transaction carried out with blockchain is time-stamped and immutable.
Focussing on improving the Indian education system through the provision of elementary skills and making students ready for tomorrow
About the author
With a bachelor’s degree in law, Ritesh Rawal has expertise in the education sector, with a specific focus on transformation. His view of education systems encompasses innovative and disruptive solutions that can bring change across all sections of society. For years, Ritesh has been following one mantra: ‘Transforming education differently’ – which has been integrated as a core value in all his initiatives.
He believes in the concept of self-awareness over that of comparison, and for him every one has the unique potential of doing things differently in life.
What he writes about
Ritesh writes about how the Indian education system can be lifted in more than one way. According to him, the focus areas for transformation range from elementary skills like listening, speaking, reading, and writing, to improving the overall standard of rural education.
One of his most prominent takes has been on the increasing need for the latest technology in education. He has highlighted that the teaching process is placing a greater emphasis on learning through mediums like audio-visual. According to him, integration of technology in education to help rural students develop elementary skills would empower them to better deal with challenges in their daily lives. He has stated that, to improve the overall standard of rural education, it is crucial for a higher degree of focus on the development of the four major elementary skills.
Spotlighting unknown rural stories, and working to benefit small farmers
About the author
Ashok Kumar is Director, Farm Prosperity at Transform Rural India Foundation, and is working to bring prosperity to small and marginal farmers. He has a master’s in plant pathology. During his time at Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN), he helped in integrating agriculture with Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM) Programme, thereby contributing in the implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goals through research and practice. He specialises in community managed micro-lift irrigation, Women’s Self-Help groups, and anchoring research programmes with international organisations.
What he writes about
Ashok’s main interest is in educating people on the many fields mushrooming within agriculture. From writing about the growth of agripreneurs, how farmers look beyond subsistence farming, and agro-eco-tourism as a popular trend in the tourism industry, Ashok covers a variety of important topics on agriculture. His writings reflect the need to rethink farm prosperity.
Kanika Gupta Shori, the Co-founder and COO of global real estate advisory consultancy Square Yards, strongly believes in the women-helping-women ideology
About the author
Kanika Gupta Shori is the Co-founder and COO of Square Yards, India’s largest and fastest growing proptech aggregator. An alumnus of Wharton Business School, she is also a CFA Level 2 candidate. She has over 11 years of experience in banking and entrepreneurial ventures in the diverse backgrounds of event management and entertainment. Kanika is also linked to women empowerment and children welfare initiatives. She has won many accolades, including “Young Achiever of 2014”, “Woman Icon of 2017”, and more.
What she writes about
Kanika’s writings question the glass ceiling effect and women conformity to non-entrepreneurial stints. She boldly calls out to women to dream beyond one’s imagination and carve a niche for themselves. When she wrote that the rules of failure are the same for men and women but the rules of success differ, there seems to be a ring of truth to it. Most importantly, she writes to assert that the rise of Sheroes in India is a reality.
A “student for life”, Gaurav Gupta is a highly experienced finance professional, and uses his business acumen to come up with solutions
About the author
Gaurav Gupta is the Co-Founder and CEO of Myloancare.in. An MBA graduate from IIM-Calcutta, he has had a strong career, going from being an engineer and finance professional to an entrepreneur who co-founded one of India’s top five online B2Cloan marketplaces. Gaurav loves teamwork and enjoys discovering his own ignorance. He believes work should not be a burden; it should mean excitement.
What he writes about
Gaurav weaves his writings with his expertise as a finance professional to help people know the tricks in effective banking practices. He writes to affirm that disciplined usage of credit cards is a must. His article gives us a peek into the dos and don’ts of using a credit card. His word of advice that every credit card user must know how and when to redeem points to reap maximum benefits resonates well.
Tejas Goenka, MD of enterprise resource planning software provider Tally Solutions, believes that understanding key financial aspects is the way to climb up the business ladder
About the author
Tejas Goenka is the Managing Director of Tally Solutions. An alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania, he trained to be an engineer. He was inducted into Tally Solutions right after graduation and has been committed to positively impact a billion lives. Tejas spearheads the Research, Engineering, Product management, Strategy and Business Development functions at Tally. He confidently addresses business challenges and finds ways to benefit the people.
What he writes about
Equipped with the know how’s of administering a business, Tejas writes to share his knowledge. He effectively garners the attention of all entrepreneurs when he writes that to become a successful entrepreneur, one must understand key financial aspects and draw beneficial conclusions. His writings emphasise on the need to rightly invest in inventories and to treat payables as equally important as receivables to manage an efficient cashflow in a business.
Effectively working to incorporate social change across India, with 10 years of leadership and management, and by creating a platform that connects NGOs and donors
About the author
Vidya Shah did her MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and her BCom from RA Podar College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai.
Earlier, Vidya was the CFO of Edelweiss Group, and had worked with ICICI, Peregrine, and NM Rothschild India as an investment banker.
She serves on the board of prominent organisations including Edelweiss, helping with sustainable solutions.
She was awarded the ‘Financial Inclusion Award by CNBC TV 18’ in 2016, the ‘Woman Achiever of the Year’ by ABP BFSI Awards in 2017, and ‘India’s Top 100 Women in Finance by Association of International Wealth Management of India (AIWMI)’ in 2019.
What she writes about
Striving to bridge the gap between the corporate world and the social sector, Vidya writes mainly on philanthropy and social issues that she strongly identifies with. She has written for a number of publications including YourStory, Mint Lounge, and HuffPost India.
The topics she generally explores include women and children welfare and security and equal rights and opportunities for women, with a strong focus on feminism.
In an article titled ‘Measuring the Social Poverty of Women’, she discusses how women experience poverty more acutely and differently from men.
In an article in She the People titled ‘Women need to challenge and disrupt norms’, Vidya talks about how women in teams and groups need to come together to change the way their roles are perceived in society.
Further, she states that unless women come to the forefront to challenge existing norms they will continue to be dominated and experience stagnated growth.
A first-generation, self-made serial and social entrepreneur, angel investor, educationist, and motivational speaker, with the goal of getting affordable luxury housing within the reach of the common man
About the author
Agnelorajesh Athaide has interests in real estate development, education, and sports. He is a trustee of NGO International Development and Welfare Foundation that provides free education and medical aid. He also supports missingpeopleinfo.com that helps families find missing relatives.
At the age of 17, he was an English teacher to a 45-year-old student, and this taught him that learning and teaching have no age limits.
After his 12th grade, Agnelo Rajesh started his own business of door-to-door sales. This phase strengthened his ability to understand people’s decision-making process. He also recognised the importance of people management, quality, and good selling skills.
What he writes about
Agnelo Rajesh primarily writes about overcoming challenges despite the cards one is dealt in life. He is currently writing a book about his life journey, which highlights living in poverty and coming out to make a way for him and his family. It talks about the obstacles he faced on the way to become a self-made entrepreneur and aims to motivate youth.
Apart from this he has written for publications on tips for entrepreneurs, given motivational advice through his YouTube channel, ‘Inspiring Business Fundas’, his mobile app, ‘Inspiring Conversations’, and through keynotes.
He has previously written for YourStory on ‘How professional networking platforms can be a boon for micro-entrepreneurs and MSMEs’.
He has also written about how social media and networking is vital in this day and age and how it is important to create a steady online presence.
Steering Realme’s fortunes in a constant endeavour for the customer and turning around India’s smartphone industry for the better
About the author
Madhav Sheth is the CEO of Realme, a smartphone that is one of Oppo’s sub-brands, and has been in the mobile industry for over ten years. He studied in Xavier’s College and the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies and received his master’s in business administration and management.
What he writes about
Madhav usually writes about smartphones and the smartphone industry.
In a YourStory article titled ‘Outlook towards the evolution of the smartphone industry in India and the road ahead’, he had highlighted the present condition of the industry and how India is one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for smartphones.
In his writing, he has pointed out that, while Indian smartphone companies face stiff competition from domestic and international players, the sector is in a state of constant growth.
He talks about how the market remains abuzz with launches, each packing in superior features to predecessors and counterparts.
In an article in The Hindu BusinessLine titled ‘Realme believes in taking tech to the masses’, Madhav talks about how the company wants to be in every price segment. He speaks about how they are constantly trying to up their game to satisfy the Indian consumer and the growing market.
A motivational TEDX Speaker with incisive insights on leadership strategies and best practices for CEOs
About the author
Vikash Mittersain has 38 years of management experience in various industries. He is the Founder and President of the India Business Group, a non-profit organisation focussed on furthering Indian businesses’ interests.
An electronic engineering graduate from Walchand College, Vikas joined his father’s business, Madhav Nagar Cotton Mills, in Sangli, Maharashtra. With an extensive network in the business and political spheres of Maharashtra and New Delhi, he is also well known in the expats and consulate circles of Mumbai.
What he writes about
In his 2018 book, YOUCEO, Vikash Mittersain talks about how, to lead others successfully you need to be able to lead yourself first. The book presents insights gathered through exclusive interviews with nine of India's leading CEOs.
He has written articles for leading publications on the need to effectively grow startups and businesses.
In a YourStory article, ‘How Indian MSMEs can overcome current challenges in government policy and finance’, he points out that small businesses in India are often one-person shows and rely on government bodies, banks, and financial institutions to run.
In another article titled ‘5 steps start-ups need to remember to start and grow their business’, he discusses successful startups such as Paytm, Ola, Oyo, Flipkart, and RedBus and what makes them stand out. He also talks about what startups are lacking and how to fix these issues. He provides solutions and examples on growing a startup.
A management thought leader driving change for businesses
About the author
Pravin P Daryani, Chairman and Managing Director of A&A Group of Companies, is a renowned Indian entrepreneur.
He holds a master’s degree in management studies from Mumbai University, and heads companies across several industries from business consulting, entrepreneur coaching, FMCG, BFSI, to franchising and distribution solutions. Some of his ventures are leading companies in the industries they function in. He provides leadership to more than 200 people who work across his various ventures, and his goal is to hit the Rs 10,000 crore group turnover mark by 2025.
For his outstanding contributions towards entrepreneur development, Pravin has been awarded by many distinguished institutions. His awards include Captain of Industry – 2015, Award for Outstanding Contribution to Education in 2016, and ABP News’ Visionary Leader Award, Bharat Jyoti Award.
In 2016, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Excellence Award for outstanding individual achievements and distinguished services to the nation.
What he writes about
Pravin P Daryani has empowered Indian entrepreneurs with critical business skills to achieve success; that has been the driving force behind his rise as a management thought leader.
Blending fundamental business concepts with practical viability, he has brought progressive changes in the ways businesses function. He has successfully completed multiple certifications in leadership and human psychology programmes, and contributed thought papers on entrepreneurship in leading trade and business publications.
Jayati is the Global Head of Marketing at Tally Solutions Pvt. Ltd, a leading software product company. A seasoned marketer and entrepreneurial leader, Jayati brings with her 18+ years of experience in the field of sales and marketing focused on both B2B and B2C, new product and category launches, business development, right from incubation to in-market launch.
She started her career with P&G India, working across customer business development, market strategy, and planning. Prior to Tally, Jayati was associated with BRITA India Water Solutions as Marketing Director and also had previous assignments with Usha International and Philips India Ltd.
Specialised in new product development, P&L management and professional marketing, Jayati adds a new dimension to Team Tally.
What she writes about
Being immersed in marketing efforts for over 18 years, Jayati’s focus remains on studying consumer trends patterns and their decision making power on marketing. She also contributes to product category creation.
Jayati has a keen interest in writing about trends in business growth/development, market strategy, and planning, especially in the digital marketing space.
Since social media is a primary aspect of the digital marketing space, she advocates how it is important for businesses to make the most of it to stay at the top of their game. With digital marketing changing the entire landscape of advertising, marketers are investing most of their time in marketing campaigns and building a brand for their product.
Jayati emphasises on studying social media trends and creating awareness about incorporating it into the business for multifold growth.
Boosting the financial lives of merchants of underserved MSME segment
About the author
Piyush Khaitan is a seasoned operating executive who has successfully founded a number of companies, and built and operated them to high levels of success. He was the Managing Director of Venture Infotek until its divestment in 2010 and had established DEI, India’s largest secure card personalisation bureau,
which later merged with Venture Infotek.
He has also worked closely with card networks, the RBI, and Indian Banks’ Association to frame policies and provide direction to the card payments industry in India. He was Founder Chairman of the ‘ePayments Focus Group’ of the Smart Card Forum of India (SCAFI) from 2000 through 2005. PK has a degree Mumbai University and has undergone Small & Medium Enterprises Programme (SMEP) at IIM, Ahmedabad.
What he writes about
Piyush Khaitan is an avid reader and keeps himself abreast with the latest technological developments around the world.
He has created a channel for smooth financing across SMEs in India by leveraging technology to increase the growth of India’s SME lending ecosystem and is keen on revealing how the small and medium business in India can make use of technology for their growth.
Across India, the MSME lending landscape is now shifting, with formalisation and digitisation driving the market toward disruption. The biggest challenges concerning this segment in accessing traditional finance are long processing times, lack of transparency in timelines, and insufficient loan sizes.
Piyush Khaitan finds value in educating MSME entrepreneurs through his research and writes on the flexible payment modes a small business can opt for, and how digitisation in lending is a key to unlocking the growth of SMEs.
Finance expert on his way to unlocking the potential of MSMEs
About the author
Manish Sinha is the Managing Director of Dun & Bradstreet, India. Prior to joining Dun & Bradstreet, Manish Sinha was the CEO and India Country Leader at Equifax, responsible for the Bureau and Analytics Business in India.
Manish holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata, and BTech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.
Earlier in his career, Manish worked with HSBC India within the retail banking business as Head of Consumer Assets and then was Head of Customer Value Management.
Manish was also employed with London-based Barclays Bank for seven years and was responsible for leading the group credit strategy initiatives, launching the Barclays business in India as the Chief Credit Officer and executing the growth strategy of Barclaycard International. He has also worked in mergers and acquisition departments for globally renowned companies McKinsey & Company and Arthur Andersen.
What he writes about
Manish Sinha has been closely engaged with MSMEs for several years and the library of responses he has compiled now covers thousands of MSMEs, but the problems they cite have not changed.
The major problem for MSMEs lies in the access to finance, and through his research, Manish focuses on writing how this problem can be solved. He also stresses on the core challenges that MSMEs requiring external finance face and why due to such factors the micro-enterprises are unable to scale up to reach the small or medium level.
Manish also writes about his experience in other countries that have developed a strong MSME sector.
Focus on digital transformation for improved profitability and revenues
About the author
A seasoned and accomplished IT leader with sales, business, and leadership experience, Sundar Balasubramanian has previously worked with EMC, Microsoft, and IBM.
Balasubramanian holds a bachelor’s of technology degree from IIT Mumbai and an MBA in finance and marketing from IIM-Kolkata. He began his career with IBM as a product manager in 1993. He then worked in Malaysia for three years in a key marketing role, followed by eight-plus years at Microsoft India, in different strategic roles from 1999 to 2007.
Prior to CheckPoint, he led the commercial business sales team at VMware, Bengaluru, across four regions and key verticals. During his five-year stint with EMC, he held the roles of senior director, global servicer, and director and general manager, strategy and business productivity.
Balasubramanian has been deeply involved in new business creation, sales, emerging markets product development, classic product management, partnerships, channel management, and service delivery models.
What he writes about
An IT specialist, Sundar Balasubramanian’s writing focuses on how digital transformation brings improved profitability and revenues. He points out that, contrary to popular opinion, India is not at par with the rest of the world in the digital transformation journey; it is ahead of the world.
He writes that this massive country of a billion-plus people is still going online with more people discovering the internet or operating a smartphone for the first time every second.
Early this year, he highlighted the “Bharat” trend, writing that new and first-time users are joining the online world and becoming an opportunity - not for big companies, but for SMEs and all consumer-facing companies.
Jasminder Singh Gulati co-founded NowFloats, a Hyderabad-based startup which focuses on empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by helping them go online easily, without spending a fortune.
A TedX speaker, he has brought more 130,000 businesses online whose websites account for five percent of the overall traffic generated by Indian SMBs. His motto now is to turn every business in India digital by 2022.
During his corporate stint at TCS, he built India’s first global software product for the financial services industry. His longest stint was at Microsoft where he worked for more than 11 years and headed multiple roles - from being a technology evangelist to heading global sales for countries in Europe, Middle East, Africa, APAC, Japan, and China.
What he writes about
Jasminder writes about how SMBs need to have a digital footprint, create a custom domain name, and develop a strong presence online to truly compete in today’s marketplace and stand out. He likes to substantiate the trends with reports and market studies.
His writings reflect a great blend of storytelling and analysis of the SMB sector and technology to empower the untouched segments in the country. With a billion people expected to join the digital ecosystem, he feels the scale and opportunity for businesses to go online is unprecedented.
Jasminder asserts that adopting an online and mobile presence as part of an omni-channel strategy for growth is imperative for Indian SMBs.
Vidya Ramakrishnan has a decade of experience in content management, marketing, corporate communication, and client servicing. She aims to “deliver customer delight” with an eclectic mix of skills that she has picked over the years. She is fascinated by next-gen digital technologies and has spent many curious years reading, understanding, and writing about them.
An alumnus of IIM-Lucknow, her work spans various sectors, focusing on IT and healthtech.
What she writes about
Vidya is passionate about how modern technologies work and can influence lives in the future.
She feels that the major barrier in accepting machines as co-workers comes with a lack of training and set guidelines, and that organisations must implement and offer dedicated skill set training, technology upgradation, increased cost of deployment, and so on.
Apart from technology, she also writes about gender disparity in the corporate world. Her writings reflect the need to change and evolve the current scenario for uplift and improvement of the ecosystem.
Addressing entrepreneurial challenges through 'wisdom of the crowd'
About the author
Vinay Dora is the Founder of Crowd Product, which helps conference organisers, attendees, and sponsors to get much more out events, workshops, and other offline engagements. Vinay loves innovation-led communities, the crowd economy, open source, and distributed ledger technologies, all which he believes help people solve problems better.
He has more than 14 years of experience in events in roles such as organiser, exhibitor, moderator, speaker, panelist, media, sponsor, and online facilitator. He has worked with crowdfunding pioneers and investment platforms, helping them with networks, knowledge, market access, and resources. He has even pursued crowdfunding research at Stockholm School of Economics.
In his spare time, he plays squash and indulges in standup comedy.
What he writes about
Vinay has a global perspective and is up to date on emerging trends in the world, as well as the challenges that they present.
In his writings, Vinay advocates the 'power of the crowd' and how people can leverage it better to get much more out of everything. He extensively shares his takeaways from ecosystem events for those who missed them or could not become part of. For instance, he shared what India witnessed during Chandrayaan 2’s hard landing on the lunar surface. He gave readers a glimpse of the spirit at ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, during the Startup Yaan summit.
He also likes to write about how collaboration of various players in the startup space can lead to mutual growth.
This NGO founder is working to ensure the safety of every child
About the author
Suparna Gupta is the Founder of Aangan, a non-profit that works for child safety in vulnerable districts known to have a high incidence of child harm or exploitation, including child marriage, child labour or trafficking. Her organisation operates across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Jharkhand.
Suparna had previously started a programme to monitor conditions and care for child harm survivors in government-funded shelter/rescue homes. This was India's first standards of care assessment system, which was introduced by state authorities in 600 rescue/shelter homes across the country.
She has also co-authored reports on institutionalised children and ground-level staff. In 2014, she designed a child harm prevention programme for districts where the incidence of child harm is high. Suparna is an Ashoka Fellow and an Edward S Mason Fellow from Harvard Kennedy School.
What she writes about
Suparna Gupta draws on her experiences of working towards child safety in India’s vulnerable districts. She is the voice of adolescent girls, giving insights into what children have to say about risk, gender-based violence, and the experience of reporting to police. She hopes that an Aangan survey that attempted to capture recommendations of young girls can help add perspective to policy and programme design around girls’ safety.
Rusha Sen has worked with think-tanks, international innovation hubs, tech ventures, and media firms. She completed her graduation from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and finished her post-graduation from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata.
A bibliophile, Rusha is also a fervent writer having contributed to 'The Economic Time' and 'Hindustan Times'.
What she writes about
Women’s safety is still a very debatable topic in our country. Through statistics and figures, Rusha has tried to establish the situation of women, especially on the safety factor, while they travel in India.
She not only just stated the problem but also wrote some suggestive measures to tackle them. For example, in her articles she has explained how women could contribute to the GDP of the country if the unpaid work they do is valued and compensated in the same process as paid work.
One of her articles also focussed on how a woman can get equal opportunities as her counterparts. Rusha’s opinion and thoughts in the article conveyed the same.
Helping corporates create ethical and compliant workplaces
About the author
A law graduate from National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, Antony Alex has worked as the Managing Director of Legal Services in Pangea3. After starting his career with ICICI Bank, he was bit by the entrepreneurial bug, and in 2001, he moved to set up Kochhar & Co’s Mumbai office. He established Kochhar & Co as a premier firm in Mumbai’s competitive law firm landscape.
He is currently the CEO of Rainmaker, an organisation which provides online anti-sexual harassment training courses and workshops.
What he writes about
Antony’s articles mostly focuses on women in workplace. While in one article he writes about the representation of women in leadership roles, the other article focuses on the sexual harassment they face at workplaces.
He says, even though the gender diversity at the Board level has improved in the last few years, it still has a long way to go for equalisation in terms of representation at the top. He further talks about the factors responsible for this disparity, and has given solutions to them.
On the other hand, in the light of ‘me too’ movement, Antony wrote about the sexual harassment at workplaces, and how it can be dealt with. Through his article, he gave an insight into the various things that can be done if one faces sexual harassment at workplace, including the awareness on various committees set up to deal with the issue.
Giving a voice to the neglected field of special education
About the author
Apra Mathur is an experienced special education teacher with a history of working in the field of special education management. She specialises in managing children with various disabilities. As a special educator, she has designed several Individualised Education Programmes (IEPs), which can be customised as per case specific needs.
After finishing her graduation in Psychology (Hons) from Delhi University, she went on to complete her masters in (psychology) and has a diploma from Rehabilitation Centre of India (RCI) in the field of Special Education and teaching individuals with mental retardation.
She is also an accomplished singer and was trained at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in New Delhi.
What she writes about
Apra mostly writes about special kids and how they react to normal situations. Through her articles, she tries to bring light to special kids and their conditions, which are often neglected. She justifies them with statistics and data.
Her articles give an insight into the characteristics of special kids, and takes us through stories of different kids to make the readers understand about their condition better. She also brings out the solution in terms of what to do if a child has a particular special condition.
Change is the only constant. the Indian startup ecosystem has so enthusiastically embraced this adage that young firms are on the constant lookout for the next new opportunity. On this path is Gympik, the Bengaluru-headquartered online marketplace for fitness centres and gyms, which has expanded its scope of offerings in the software space.
Since the launch of its services in 2015, Gympik has built a network of 15,000 fitness centres and gyms across the country with more than half a million visitors on its site every month contributing to 10,000 leads per day. However, this marketplace aggregator sniffed out a lag on the fitness centre side; it was not able to capture the full business potential of the leads generated from Gympik.
Amaresh Ojha, Founder & CEO, Gympik, says, “We saw that despite the leads generated from our platform for fitness centres, whether in the form of calls, emails, or SMS, they were typically lost. That is when we decided to build a SaaS platform.”
This March, Gympik created its own software platform, called Traqade, which is focused on the requirements of the fitness industry and works on the software as a service (SaaS) model.
Amaresh says he noticed that existing software platforms or packages were either too localised or expensive for fitness centres.
“We decided why not we fill this gap where our software can address all the pain points of the fitness centres and, more importantly, is available at a competitive price point,” he says.
Gympik’s Traqade performs three key functions: first, it allows for automatic flow of data so that fitness centres do not lose any of their leads, which come in various ways and forms; second, it allows for deeper customer engagement, which creates higher stickiness; and lastly, it also focuses on customer retention through mechanisms like automatic renewals, remainders, etc.
Traqade has been built in such a fashion that both single-owner fitness centres and big chains can use the dashboard. “Our software caters to multiple use cases and multiple logins, which may include the owner, front desk, trainers, and members,” Amaresh says.
Increasing revenue, sales
Traqade looks at all aspects of operations, be it sales, marketing, memberships, staff, personal training schedules, billing, online booking, promotional campaigns, loyalty, and reporting.
“Our system provides the entire information on a dashboard. Much of the work that was done manually earlier is reduced,” Amaresh says.
Gympik offers Traqade at an annual subscription rate of Rs 18,000. Amaresh claims that many other established companies that provide similar software charge around Rs 20,000 per month.
Today, Gympik claims around 500 customers for Traqade, all of them having come through the inbound sales route without any aggressive marketing. Majority of the customers are from India; a few are from Bangladesh and the Gulf region.
“After installing Traqade, our gym saw a threefold increase in our monthly revenue while our sales doubled,” says Varun, Manager, YC Fitness, Bangalore.
A bright future
The fitness industry in India is a Rs 8,000 crore market, and has been growing at 20-30 percent every year.
With more than 25,000 clubs and 22 million club members across the Southeast Asian region, Gympik aims to grab its own share of the fitness industry software opportunity poised to be more than $373.5 billion by 2023.
The startup has set a target of on-boarding 2,000 fitness centres and gyms onto the Traqade platform by the end of the 2020. “I am very optimistic that this will be a big market. This is a niche segment and we would like to go deeper into it,” Amaresh says.
Gympik now wants to take Traqade beyond Indian shores, and is targeting three key markets next: Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It already has a presence in these markets as an online discovery site; Traqade will be an extension of its offering.
“We will get into these markets by March next year and already have our sales team in place.”
As of now, Gympik does not have any plans to raise additional rounds of funding. Amaresh says the startup has raised around $5 million till now and is looking to become cash flow-positive by the end of 2020.
India will not bar any equipment suppliers, such as China's Huawei, in the upcoming trials for 5G, with Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday saying the government will allocate airwaves to all telecom service providers for conducting trials of super-fast speed 5G networks.
Huawei rivals western equipment makers, such as Ericsson, and is banned in the US. Many countries, however, have allowed telecom service providers to use Chinese gears. And now, India has also indicated its unwillingness to keep any company out of 5G trials.
The government has decided to give 5G spectrum for trials to all operators in the country, Prasad said on Monday on the sidelines of a telecom event.
This implies that all operators, backed by equipment vendors they have decided to partner with, will be able to participate in the upcoming 5G trials in the country, and the stance is expected to spell a relief for Chinese gear maker Huawei.
"The age of 5G is coming... We have taken a decision to give 5G spectrum for trials to all the players," Prasad said.
An in-principle decision has been taken in this regard, Prasad said adding that the telecom department will work out the details.
"I would like new innovations by Indian players in 5G. 5G is future, it is speed. Therefore, we will encourage new innovations in 5G," the minister said.
Asked specifically about the status of Huawei as the government has decided to allow all telecom operators and equipment makers for 5G trials, the minister said, "All players mean all players".
When contacted, Huawei India CEO Jay Chen said in a e-mail statement that the company firmly believes that only technology innovations and high-quality networks will be the key to rejuvenating the Indian telecom industry.
Thanking the Indian government for their continued faith in the company, Chen said,
"We have our full confidence in the Modi government to drive 5G in India. We have our full confidence in Indian government and industry to partner with best technology for India's own long-term benefit and also for cross-industry development."
Huawei is committed to India, the company said.
The 5G trials are widely-expected to begin in the last quarter of the current financial year. Sources had recently said the government has received seven applications for 5G trials and added that all operators and vendors (including Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, ZTE and Samsung) are keen to participate.
In September this year, Huawei had said it is hopeful that the Indian government will treat all foreign investments "fairly" and had urged the world's largest democracy to make an "independent decision" on permitting 5G trials in the country.
At that time, the Chinese firm had also sought to assure the Indian government that the company is fully compliant with regulations in India, and of addressing concerns around cybersecurity.
Earlier this year, the US had banned Huawei, the world's leader in telecom equipment and the number two smartphone producer, over concerns of security and Washington had been pressuring other countries to restrict the operations of the Chinese telecom firm.
The US President Donald Trump-led administration had placed Huawei and its affiliates on a blacklist, a move that banned the Chinese telecom equipment company from purchasing parts and components from American firms without the US government approval. However, it had subsequently relaxed some of the restrictions, to reduce disruption for its customers.
Drawn from our comprehensive coverage of India’s startup ecosystem, we present 85 quotes on how to accept and cope with the inevitable challenges in the entrepreneur’s roller-coaster journey.
Mistakes and errors are part of the startup journey, and show the path to success ahead. A mindset of resilience, reflection, and resolve are key to bounce back from challenges. Learning from the mistakes of others and asking for help when down and out are useful practices as well.
YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).
YourStory wishes all founders, innovators and changemakers a Happy New Year ahead, and all the best for success and scale in 2020!
You may not succeed 100 percent, and people tend to scrutinise your failures than remember your successes. But only when you fail, do you realise the actual value of success. – Anil Kumble
Success and failure are just relative terms. Take failures in the same spirit as success. It is a part and parcel of growing every day, for every day is a challenge. – Shikha Suman, Medimojo
The inevitability of setbacks and failures
There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period. – Brene Brown
No matter how much clarity you have, things keep changing. One has to be agile because nothing goes as planned. – Shalini Prakash, Epic.One
Setbacks are a part of the entrepreneurship journey and resilience in dealing with them sets apart successful entrepreneurs from others. – Roopa Kudva, Omidyar Network
Never stop creating, irrespective of success or failure. Whatever the circumstance, never stop creating. – Varun Rao
You have to celebrate successes, right? You also have to support failures. – Ananth Narayanan, Medlife
There will be failures, stumbling blocks, but if you have the confidence, the resilience, and perseverance, you can succeed against all odds. Sometimes, you create phobias around you that are non-existent. – Shalini Warrier, Federal Bank
Be honest about how you approach failure. Don't just be critical of yourself, because that can be self-serving. – Megan Rapinoe
Be open. Be a sponge and absorb everything. Work hard — and for free if you have to — when following your dreams. Keep at it, don’t let failure stop you. – Bobbi Brown, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics
We need to be prepared to take risks — risk to fail, to make mistakes, not to be accepted, or even to be ridiculed. – Roopa Moudgil, IPS
You have to develop strong resilience and the ability to get back up after a failure. – Akash Saxena, Hotstar
We will fall and fail many times, but eventually, we’ll find the ability within ourselves to build, create and empower. – Mubina Rattonsey, Zero Gravity
Pick your strength and work towards the goal. Fear of failure will never take you anywhere. – Esha Gupta
Never stop experimenting, have a bindass attitude and come what may, don’t give up. – Sonali Mullick, Bayroute
What ultimately matters is your ability to bounce back and stay focused on achieving your goal. – Ghazal Alagh, Mamaearth
If you have talent, grit, persistence, the virtue of hard work and the faith to be patient, you will survive not just hiccups, but heartbreaks too. – Prashantt Guptha
Failure is a feeling long before it becomes an actual result. It’s vulnerability that breeds with self-doubt and then is escalated, often deliberately, by fear. – Michelle Obama
Toxic co-founder relationship is one of the top three reasons for failures of startups. You can't sidestep the hard work that it takes to make a relationship work. – Sidharth Rao, Dentsu WebChutney
Five of the most common cognitive biases that impact an entrepreneurial trajectory are as follows: overconfidence bias, fundamental attribution error, confirmation bias, sunk-cost fallacy, and bandwagon effect. – Pavan Soni, Inflexion Point
Building a business brings lots of unexpected twists – people quit, products fail, you burn out. It’s not about getting it right the first time but getting it right eventually. – Beth Malatji, ReBeth Wines
It is okay to make mistakes as long as it does not make a huge impact on the overall company, on the value of the company, and you realise and correct it as soon as possible. – Manu Kumar Jain, Xiaomi
In entrepreneurship, the rules of failure are the same for both men and women, but the rules of success differ. – Kanika Gupta Shori, Square Yards
There is no failure in art. Everything which didn’t turn out the way you want teaches something and there is always the chance of a beautiful accident. – Suvidha Bolar
Never be afraid to show your vulnerable self. We all have those unseen parts and there is no shame in sharing them. – Nidhi Bala, Tanzeb
Keep honest critics who will always tell you what is going wrong with you. – Rajkummar Rao
Rejection is a thing you learn first in entrepreneurship. Nobody prepares you for rejections. The biggest thing about entrepreneurship is to deal with rejection on a constant basis and then still come out of it all right. – Naveen Tewari, InMobi
Asking for help is the hardest, but the best thing you can do for yourself. – Autola
A bruise is a lesson… and each lesson makes us better. — Arya Stark
Never take any shutdown as a failure; it is a journey. One needs to enjoy this journey. Be curious and become a problem solver. – Thirukumaran Nagarajan, Ninjacart
You should not repeat the mistakes. Entrepreneurship is like going to uncharted territories, whether mines or gutters, you don't know. – Naveen Tewari, InMobi
Stories about the struggles and challenges you have had to overcome can become powerful ways to connect people to you and your brand. – Gabrielle Dolan, 'Stories for Work'
Even if there is one percent chance to do something, you should always go for it because that one percent can change your life. – Priyanshi Choubey, Instacar
Fluidity is the key to conquering life. – Abhigna Kedia
Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. – Marilyn Monroe
If winning is God’s reward, then losing is how he teaches us. – Serena Williams
You win some and lose some. It's all part of the game. You have to take it in a very positive way. – PV Sindhu
YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).
The Indian startup ecosystem has seen significant growth in the past decade, with many of India's homegrown startups developing innovative solutions that have gone on to disrupt the industries that they operate in and take on established players across the globe.
And this trend -- experts and Indian startup industry observers say -- is poised to continue in the new decade too.
As we step into 2020 and usher in a new decade, the Indian startup ecosystem has much to look forward to, and there's a palpable sense of enthusiasm and optimism for the year ahead, albeit mixed with a tinge of anxiety as concerns over the impact of a macroeconomic slowdown weigh.
Even as the year 2019 saw the creation of around nine new unicorns, with the Indian startup ecosystem attracting investments of close to $12 billion, the later part of the calendar year was marred by controversy surrounding WeWork and a slowdown in the domestic economy.
However, industry observers believe these trends from the latter half of 2019 are unlikely to have a significant negative impact on Indian startups, particularly given the fact that India's entrepreneurial ecosystem emerged as one of the shining stars of the Indian economy.
In fact, 2020 paves the way for a new decade that could well see the country move up from its current third rank in the global startup ecosystem and continue to attract capital and create new unicorns.
Flipkart, Ola, Paytm, Swiggy, and Freshworks -- the brightest stars of the Indian startup ecosystem -- have now become household names, with more startups being added to this group in 2019, particularly with the emergence of new unicorns like Delhivery, Bigbasket, Dream11, and Druva to name a few.
As industry observers say, the startup ecosystem in the country will go through a course correction during this year, but the spirit of entrepreneurship is bubbling with energy.
V Balakrishnan, Chairman, Exfinity Ventures, says, “Actually, India could become the second largest startup ecosystem in the world, and it will continue to attract more capital. We will see the emergence of more unicorns, especially in the B2B segment. Overall, it is going to be an interesting year.”
Global appeal
Today, Indian startups, by solving huge challenges faced by the country, are also becoming role models for global companies.
This has resonated across the world with Google even writing a letter to the US Fed Reserve asking them to look into the strides made by Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and how the world’s largest economy could learn from it.
This, in fact, is a testimony of the strides made by the startup ecosystem in India.
“We see India as a place where we can find deep tech startups. It is no longer an emerging market for us where you see startup clones,’’ says Courtney Powell, COO of 500Startups, which is headquartered in San Francisco.
The startup ecosystem in the country has also evolved over a period of time. If the business to consumer (B2C) was the flavour of the season at one point of time, it turned towards fintech, especially the revolutionary changes emanating from digital payments, and now it has moved into the world of software as a service (SaaS).
Continuous evolution
This evolution will continue, and the startups will continue to address the needs of those segments of the population, which fall outside the ambit of the typical English-speaking crowd residing in the metros.
“India has only 100 million English language speakers. Imagine the services that could be built for the rest of the population with tech. I see many Indian startups having a social cause when they set up a company,” says Michael Siebel, CEO at Y Combinator.
Amidst all this is the continued investor interest in Indian startups. The year 2019 saw Tiger Global, the leading venture capitalist and private player, coming back with vigour by investing in numerous startups, and others like Sequoia, Lightspeed, and Accel matching up to the tempo.
This looks like more or less compensated for the kind of hibernation that SoftBank went through in 2019, where it just invested in one startup – Lenskart.
There were 134 exits last year, and most of these exits remained undisclosed. According to YourStory research, Bengaluru regained its top spot in funding in 2019, especially after Delhi-NCR narrowly beat the city in 2018. The silicon city of India raised $4.3 billion with 273 deals, when compared to Delhi, which raised only $1.3 billion in 2019 with 73 deals.
However, the total funding dropped from $11.30 billion in 2018, to $11.10 billion in 2019. In 2017, a total of $12.34 billion was raised by startups in India. The fall in funding is not significant. In fact, the global cues about India are all positive when it comes to investing in startups.
Paytm, Udaan, and Delhivery were the top funded startups in 2019 beating Swiggy, Oyo and Byju’s, which were the top companies in 2018. Only Paytm had $1 billion investment in 2019.
The good news is that in 2019, Series B, Series C, and Series D rounds were good, and have all crossed more than $1 billion in total funding, unlike 2018, where only Series C saw a billion dollars in total funding.
Course correction
Last year saw some rumbling within the startup ecosystem globally with very tepid listing of Uber and Lyft, followed by the WeWork fiasco, which was one of the brightest stars globally.
Balakrishnan says,
“It is a good thing all this happened as this was a result of irrational capital coming into the system. Hopefully, this year, startups will focus more on things like profitability, efficient business models, and unit economics.”
Fintech became the number one funded sector in 2019 by raising $2.5 billion. It was followed closely by the transportation and logistics industry, which raised $2.05 billion. Ecommerce remained third. Interestingly, Software-as-a-Service, which has never figured in the top ten funded industry for the last three years, entered the top ten.
Agriculture or Agritech saw the biggest rise since 2018, from just $64.5 million raised in 2018, the funding doubled to $177.9 million in 2019. Sectors like gaming, IoT, and AI continue to see a drop in funding over the last three years.
Interestingly, the food processing industry increased its appetite, and has more than doubled since 2017. From just $60.2 million raised in 2017 and $77.09 million in 2018 to $144.90 million in 2019, the industry captured the consumption story in India.
Spirit is high
Despite these changes in the startup ecosystem and the looming threat of an economic slowdown in the country, the spirit of entrepreneurship remained very much vibrant.
Jyoti Bansal, Co-founder, Unusual Ventures, says, “I’m very bullish about the Indian startup ecosystem as it has gone through multiple waves.” He explains, the first came from the IT services segment, followed by consumer tech, and now the emergence of SaaS has created an opportunity to sell software products to the global markets from India.
As the startup ecosystem enters a new decade, it is likely to see new business models emerge, different breed of entrepreneurs will come to the fore, and there will be a different kind of or unique challenges to be solved.
Already, there are some early signs showing with the emergence of deep tech startups, which are not looking at some transactional services, but diving deep to solve issues at the core.
“The spirit of entrepreneurship is very strong in India and the economic slowdown will not impact Indian startups. We will continue to attract good quality capital,” says Balakrishnan.
Rajeev Tamhankar is the Founder of TBS Planet, a content studio that also sells comic books online. Hailing from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, he went to IIT Roorkee for his under-graduation and put in the hard work to earn a silver medal.
While working with the likes of Flipkart and Xiaomi, he lived in Bengaluru, a very expensive city for a young founder with a fledgling entrepreneurial effort on his hands. The cost-of-living situation is pretty much the same in any other big city or metro in India.
Expenses and lifestyle choices are inevitable, and Rajeev noted that he spent a sizable amount on rent, groceries, food, transport, and other personal spends every month.
Taking stock of the mounting bills and what was turning out to be an unsustainable beginning for a new startup, Rajeev made the bold decision to move to his hometown Jabalpur and bootstrap his startup.
We call the move bold as he did what most of his peers didn’t: take the hard decision to move away from Bengaluru, the startup mecca that has entrepreneur hopefuls making a pilgrimage to the land that holds great promises of resources, capital, talent, mentorship, and networking opportunities.
The move paid off. Rajeev now spends Rs 5,000 on office rent, instead of an easy 6x more amount at a swanky location in Bengaluru. A medical checkup for a simple cough or cold now costs him Rs 50, which would be Rs 300 in metro.
Rajeev said, “Who will spend Rs 10,000 on a round-trip flight just to get a 100-book deal from a bookstore chain in Delhi? When I moved to Jabalpur, I could travel to Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bhopal, Indore, and Nagpur to tie up with over 120 bookstores in 10 cities, in just three months.”
There is also a trend that has an interesting intersection with the popular phrase ‘If you build for India, you can build for the world’.
Many startups have given overcrowded cities teeming with competition a pass and homed in on gaps in smaller towns that have not received much tech intervention.
Sangita Dey, a 25-year-old MCA student from Tripura, built a student accommodation startup Dealz Expert, out of Phagwara in Punjab. An alumnus of Lovely Professional University in Phagwara, she did not have to do much apart from building a marketplace to accommodate students and faculty members near the university campus after she graduated.
Today, Dealz Expert has on-boarded 22 paying guest accommodations with 1,200 rooms, and clocks an annual revenue of Rs 2 crore.
“I am looking to expand into the markets of Delhi, Chandigarh, and Kolkata in the coming months, and into my hometown in Tripura in the next two years,” she says.
Shivram Choudhary, an MIT graduate and Founder of Euro International School and Fanusta Global, started Codevidhya out of Jaipur in 2016. Codevidhya is a bootstrapped edtech startup. His aim? To convert classrooms in Indian schools into programming powerhouses. Since 2017, Codevidhya has onboarded over 25 schools, leading to a growth in revenue from Rs 36 lakh to Rs 1 crore.
Smita and Sandesh Gawande of Nagpur run Torana Inc., which builds an agile rules engine, named ‘iCEDQ’, to automate ETL testing, data migration testing, and big data testing. The problem statement? He found that there was no way to ensure the success rate for data migrations within large databases, nor did there exist a platform that automated testing for extract, transform, and load (ETL), and data migration.
Torana now has 63 employees in Nagpur and 18 in Connecticut, with clientele including the likes of the New York Stock Exchange, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Nomura, and Great American Insurance Group. Bootstrapped since day one, the startup now clocks $5 million in annual revenue.
Ankit Dudhwewala, Founder of Ahmedabad-based CallHippo, found inspiration to go the bootstrapping route from none other than Sridhar Vembu, the Founder of the bootstrapping success story Zoho Corp. What started as Vembu Software out of a small Chennai apartment is now a SaaS company with a multi-billion-dollar valuation.
Ankit’s bootstrapped SaaS startup wants to be a Zoho for cloud telephony. Though it is premature to assume that CallHippo is taking on the likes of Zoho, Salesforce, and Freshworks, it does clock monthly usage from companies like Infosys, Airtel, and IndiaMart.
Despite operating out of Gujarat, a state that has seen a lot of VC activity in recent times, Ankit is stubborn that he will never take outside funding.
“We knew early on that we needed customers, and not VCs, to fund our business,” Ankit tells YourStory.
According to YourStory’s nine-month funding report, homegrown Indian startups raised $7.67 billion in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, down by about four percent from the comparable period in 2018. As far as the number of deals go, startup funding deals were just three deals short of the total 606 deals seen in the comparable period last year.
In 2019, startups outside major startup hubs have had a great run, having raised $165 million across 18 deals.
But bootstrapping is increasingly becoming a pattern, with customer focus taking the front seat, while VC-funded startups both in metros and outside focus on product and user acquisition.
Padmaja Ruparel, President and Co-founder of Indian Angel Network (IAN), believes that startup founders from smaller cities tend to be more tenacious, and have the drive to make things work. She’s certain that these startups have the potential to serve the global market, and not necessarily just the US.
“A global market isn’t restricted to one or two places. A lot of these startups can test and try out markets in Africa, Southeast Asia, parts of Europe, and South America. They also have an understanding of the market that possibly an entrepreneur from Bengaluru, Delhi, or Mumbai wouldn’t.”
Typically, many small-town startups are building SaaS products on the premise of localised problems that also find addressable markets outside of India.
Coimbatore-based RFPIO automates requests for proposals (RFPs) and conventional tenders to ease the bidding processes for enterprises by reducing tedious manual documentation. In 2019, RFPIO claims to have had 40,000 users using the platform from 100 countries. With an office in Oregon, the startup now serves the likes of Google, Microsoft, Adobe, and Siemens.
Barring SaaS, entrepreneurs from small towns are largely venturing into sectors like edtech (Jaipur-based Standyou), mobility (Ahmedabad-based Mybyk), agritech (Alwar-based Tractor Junction), and multiple marketplace models, just like any other metro-based ecosystem.
The diversity also goes to show that these startups are not just confined to agritech but spread across major sectors ripe for disruption.
Rainmatter, a Bengaluru-based fintech fund and incubator, which was created by online stock trading startup Zerodha, has invested Rs 2 crore seed funding in online tax planning and filing platform, Quicko.
“We are very excited to partner with Zerodha to simplify tax filing for traders. We would like to help traders file their Income Tax returns simply by importing Tax P&L from their Zerodha account.”
Quicko has already helped 11,000 traders file their income tax returns in the past one year.
“In India, traders are generally confused about their tax calculations. Taxes on Trading can get tricky sometimes as the rules vary depending on the asset class such as real estate vs equity vs derivative, nature of trading activity (speculative vs non-speculative), turnover limits and applicability of tax audit. We can now offer our customers a simpler way to file taxes with Quicko.”
Quicko has also set up a platform, learn.quicko.com, to inform and educate taxpayers on important tax matters such as Income Tax Forms, Due Dates, Penalties and Refunds.
Incorporated in 2015, Ahmedabad-based Quicko is a complete tax filing platform for Income Tax, GST, and TDS filing. Individuals and businesses in India can plan, prepare and file ITR, GST and TDS returns on Quicko for free.
The startup said that salaried individuals can upload Form 16, review and file ITR in minutes. Quicko also helps stock traders figure the right ITR forms, the applicability of tax audit, due dates, and file Tax Returns including P&L and Balance Sheet.
In the tax filing space, Quicko competes with the likes of ClearTax which received $50 million led by Hong Kong-based investment firm Composite Capital, in October 2018.
This July, Rainmatter also took part in a $1 million seed round in commodity procurement platform Procol Tech Pvt Ltd, in participation with VC firm Blume Ventures.
For the past many years, the healthcare sector in India has faced multiple challenges such as availability, access, affordability, tech optimisation, and data management. Added to this is an aging population, rising prevalence of chronic diseases, and higher labour costs.
However, the need of the hour for healthcare systems is to work towards a future where the focus is more on the prevention and early intervention, than the treatment itself.
The industry is about to witness significant changes over the next few years, as many leading healthcare companies are set to redefine themselves with digital transformation applied to their main functional areas with a customer-centric approach.
The smartphone and internet penetration in India has allowed people not just living in urban areas but even the rural parts of the country to gain access to healthcare, online.
According to an IBEF report, The hospital industry in India is forecasted to increase to Rs 8.6 trillion ($132.84 billion) by FY22 from Rs 4 trillion ($61.79 billion) in FY17 at a CAGR of 16 to 17 percent.
“The prominent reason why people are moving towards online consultation platforms is the lack of time and the fact that 70 percent of primary healthcare issues can be solved without the physical presence of the doctor,” says Satish Kannan, Co-founder and CEO of DocsApp.
Bengaluru-based DocsApp gives patients the choice of making video calls and voice calls to doctors, with an in-built chat application. Claiming to have over 5,000 specialist doctors registered on the platform, DocsApp provides consultations across 15 specialities including gynaecology, paediatrics, dermatology, psychiatry, sexology, weight management, and general medicine.
It lets the user even order medicines and book diagnostic tests online. The startup claims to have a user base of over six million people across metro cities and smaller towns.
DocsApp is just one example that represents how India saw healthcare before and after technology and venture capital accelerated it. There are other healthtech players like CureFit, Practo, HealthifyMe, and FitMeIn among others, which are disrupting the space.
According to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the country’s healthcare industry is reportedly one of the fastest growing sectors and is expected to reach $280 billion by 2020.
India saw the healthcare industry not just experiment but effectively move towards artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. Globally, there has been a high level of interest and solid outlook, with investments in AI healthcare going up from $1.6 billion in 2017 to $3 billion in 2018, according to Tracxn.
The sharp rise in investment in AI healthcare solutions illustrates the strong outlook and high level of interest in this space. Globally, investments in healthcare AI have gone up from $1.6 billion in 2017 to $3 billion in 2018, according to Tracxn.
Anjana Sasidharan, Principal at Sequoia Capital, said,
"In addition to traditional healthcare players like GE Healthcare, Philips, and Samsung, even global majors like Facebook and Google are investing across disease monitoring and prevention, diagnostics, robot-assisted surgery and solutions that leverage existing healthcare EMR data to automate workflows and virtual nursing."
According to a Frost and Sullivan Survey, in 2018, AI for healthcare (IT application) market is expected to cross $1.7 billion by the end of 2019 and projected to achieve a CAGR of 68.5 percent by 2022.
Thanks to data, the sector now has ample playground to investigate the viability of treatments across verticals like drug utilisation and self-care to even treating chronic illnesses with customised plans and subscriptions.
The healthcare sector in India has been growing at a brisk pace, thanks to its improved services, coverage, and effective usage of technology.
However, with more exposure to data and technology comes the vulnerability to cyber threats as well. The beginning of 2019 alone witnessed more than 4.1 billion data records exposed in known data breaches. Out of which, 89 percent of the organisations belong to the healthcare industry.
All said, the expenditure in this sector has been lukewarm, with the country spending 3.66 percent of GDP for the sector in 2016. It was further reduced to 1.4 percent during the last year.
Pavan Kushwaha, CEO and Founder, Kratikal said, “Healthcare industry suffers from the highest number of ransomware attacks, which are estimated to quadruple by 2020. One can foresee that an increasing number of companies will start investing in cybersecurity solutions that will ensure data security with 51 percent agreeing on investing in advanced technologies that will make data secure during data transfers.”
The healthcare industry in India also found itself acquiring the necessary tools, exposure as to when to cross its boundaries, and leverage on big data and manage it efficiently. Researchers have found that the adoption of big data is projected to touch $34.27 billion by 2022 globally.
Within the frameworks of artificial intelligence, machine learning is expected to show scope to create an impact across the spectrum, and not just limit itself to risk analytics and drug discovery.
Dheeraj Jain of Redcliffe Capital says artificial intelligence and machine learning can open up several opportunities for predictions, and it is going to be a gamechanger if the predictions occur at the pathology stage itself.
He said that he had seen these trends lead to the birth of healthtech unicorns in the United States, and it is soon arriving in the emerging markets.
“I think it’s a combination of many things – the market is big, diagnostics is a Rs 55,000 crore industry, and molecular is fairly a small sector in India compared to the Western market, and so we believe the ventures we are backing could be large success stories.”
The VC factor
Gaurav Gupta, Co-founder of Navia Life Care, believes the sector will grow significantly in 2020, and go on to replicate that of the fintech sector.
“There were many VC-PE funds in the healthcare sector this year. We believe that this momentum is going to continue for a while now, and the sector will grow significantly in the coming year, replicating Indian Fintech sector growth.”
In June this year, Bengaluru-based health and fitness startup Cure.fit closed a total of $120 million in its Series D round. The startup had raised $75 million in April 2019 and an additional $45 million later. In total, the Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori founded startup raised around $294 million in funding, and is estimated to be valued at more than $580 million.
Overall, Mumbai-based PharmEasy raised more than $320 million in seven funding rounds, Bengaluru-based Practo over $180 million in 7 rounds, and Gurugram-based 1mg over 130 million in 11 rounds.
Mukesh Bansal said, “Health habits of consumers has changed over the past few years and the need for a new tech-driven approach is the need for a much better consumer experience.”
Overall, the bullish behaviour from the venture capital fraternity and effective placement of emerging technologies have brought in more efficiency in the healthcare ecosystem. This has also positively impacted smaller neighbourhood hospitals as well.
Across the ecosystem, hospitals became more open to innovative solutions to improve patient experience and patient outcomes. In 2020, the adoption of innovative solutions by hospitals are expected to increase even further, apart from big data, cloud computing, Blockchain, and innovative insurance models for preventive healthcare.
According to IBEF, by 2020, India is expected to rank amongst the top three healthcare markets in terms of incremental growth. By 2022, the diagnostics market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.4 percent to reach $32 billion from $5 billion in 2012.
We are now officially in 2020 – a new year, the beginning of a new decade – with fresh memories and success stories, new opportunities, new goals or a chance to finish the old ones, revel in new joys, and so much more.
But, new beginnings can also be a frightening prospect for some. If the last one year – or 10 – did not feel like you achieved a lot, don't worry because it is never too late.
First impressions, great beginnings and the right first step, while wonderful, can also be terrifying. Trust us, we know. Even the slightest chance of failure can shatter a lot of people, and so, many of us choose to not take chances and to stick to 'what we know'. But this year, take a leap of faith!
If it doesn't work the first time, or the second, or even the third, trust us, it will work once. After all, once is all you need. Just take one step at a time, and remember, 2020 can be your year.
This year, YourStory Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma conducted a series of high-impact interviews, where entrepreneurs and industry leaders stressed on a few things. While it is a great time to be an entrepreneur in India, it is also important to learn from your mistake and move forward.
YourStory is proud to announce the launch of its annual 100 Emerging Voices of 2019, powered by Amazon Web Services. It is our compilation of emerging thought leaders, whose thoughts and opinions mattered to our readers in 2019, and whose voices, we believe, will gain prominence in 2020 and beyond.
Prashanth Susarla, Co-founder and CTO of Unilodgers
In this week’s Techie Tuesday, we tell you about Prashanth Susarla and his journey, including stints at OATSystems Software, Andale, and Microsoft. Now, as the Co-founder and CTO of Unilodgers, he helped PayU grow from a Rs 12,500 crore business to a Rs 60,000 crore business.
In a series of high-impact interviews this year conducted by YourStory Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma, top execs from these enterprises explained why there is an increasing focus on empowering employees.
Indian startups are fast creating disruptive tech-based solutions and looking to scale their business in their addressable markets. They are stressing on product innovation, utilisation and defensibility, market potential, scalability of the solution, clarity of the revenue models, and more.
Founded in 2019, Delhi-based startup Tracecost’s cloud-based automated project management solution helps stakeholders to ensure faster delivery of projects. With the help of the Tracecost software, project owners can unobtrusively collect metadata and look at how different team members are doing their jobs.
Design guru Stephen Bayley and advertising expert Roger Mavity have co-authored an informative and entertaining book, How to Steal Fire: The Myths of Creativity Exposed, The Truths of Creativity Explained. Their earlier book was Life’s a Pitch.
Their new book spans 230 pages, and the chapters are written alternately by each co-author. The material is witty and humorous, and cites a number of sources from the worlds of art and literature. The authors show that there are no definitive answers on exactly how to be creative, and there are many contradictions and balances that need to be weighed.
“Ideas are what move civilisation along, giving it point, style, and meaning,” Stephen begins. “Creativity is as essential to our lives together as a pulse to our bodies,” Roger affirms. “It is our creativity that has separated humanity from the beasts,” he adds.
Creativity has appeared not just in the arts but also in the invention of shoes that use Velcro instead of laces, the sandwich, and the highway, Roger explains. Creativity involves an element of originality, but not all acts of creation are intended to solve problems, as seen in some examples of abstract art.
An intense creative desire to improve and innovate has led to path-breaking changes over the centuries. “No inventor ever tried to find a better way of doing something unless they were dissatisfied with present methods,” Roger explains.
“It is discontent with how things are today that inspires the mind to seek a better route for tomorrow,” he adds, pointing to Henry Ford as an example. “Essential to creativity is a ferocious dissatisfaction with the status quo,” Roger emphasises.
This dissatisfaction has led to successive ways of artistic movements, for example. These include realism followed by impressionism. Impressionists like JMW Turner wanted to show not just what a storm looked like, but what it felt like. Constant dissatisfaction with his own work led him forward in his artistic journey.
Oskar Barnack had a passion for photography but was, unfortunately, an asthmatic. That led him to tackle the problem of bulky and heavy cameras by inventing the portable Leica camera.
Michelangelo and Einstein are regarded as some of the most iconic innovators. Many such creative minds are “able to reveal things that others cannot even imagine”, Stephen explains.
Foundations
“The uses of creativity may be pragmatic or they may be cerebral, even spiritual,” Roger explains. Creativity may involve objects and images that already exist, but are combined in different and original ways, eg. iPhone. “Creativity is connecting things,” Steve Jobs has said.
Imagination and fantasy play an important role in creativity, as well as a certain amount of imitation followed by improvement. Creativity involves skills in pattern recognition, and being able to see things or see wider and deeper than others.
Creative people are variously described as contrarian and centrifugal in nature; some are social, others are loners. They are able to see things from the outside-in and inside-out. They are also willing and able to buck herd instinct.
They are “bored by tedium and dismayed by mediocrity”, Stephen explains. Over time, others have agreed. “Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible,” in the words of Frank Zappa. “Creativity is an endless struggle against the status quo,” according to Nietzsche.
The first stage of creativity is curiosity and external inputs (“conception”). The second stage is growing that inspiration internally into a creative work (“gestation”), Roger explains.
From external sponge to internal imagination, these two stages are fundamentally different in character. “Writing involves observation as well as imagination,” he adds. This also leads to lightbulb moments in the case of many innovators.
Technical skills are needed to bring this vision to reality via execution. This helps create new things, or make existing ones better or cheaper. But not all creative acts are planned down to the last detail, as seen in the world of jazz music.
All creative acts are also not moral or ethical, the authors caution. As examples, they point to the tobacco industry as well as uses of technology for mass destruction during wars.
Obstacles to creativity
There are a number of obstacles to creativity, such as the comfort zone of existing habits, fear of the unfamiliar, lack of open-mindedness, complacency, and mediocrity. Many times, creative people face obstacles like writer’s block.
There are external obstacles as well, such as rejection by peers, important stakeholders, critics, and society, eg. the first 12 publishers who rejected JK Rowling’s work. There are times when a work has been judged as creative, correct, or successful only much later, eg. Vincent Van Gogh, Franz Kafka, Galileo Galilei, and Oscar Wilde.
Too much knowledge can also lead to biases and preconceived notions. Empty and unconstrained minds can wander more and find new inspiration and insights, Roger explains.
The role of stimulus and communities
Hard exercise, holidays, and even a sense of risk or danger can be stimulating. So are sexual desire, alcohol and drugs, but there are limits, the authors caution. Deep immersion and exploration in the problem space can help unearth the solution, Roger explains.
Contacts, connections, and crowds can help build a diverse pool of resources, but there is also much to be said for solitude and isolation in the creative process. Many artists have formed colonies, but several authors have preferred to work alone (“solitary genius”).
Creative connections can result from serendipitous activity and open-mindedness as well. Creative sparks arise from community clusters, “weak ties”, chance encounters, random discussions, and spontaneous acts, Stephen explains, pointing to Silicon Valley as a great example.
“A swelling of interesting people and opportunities has now made the area around San Jose the most prosperous place on earth,” he observes. Orderliness may help, but so does turbulence and chaos, as seen in cities like Liverpool and Mumbai.
There are times to plug into broader networks, but there are also times for innovating in stealth mode, Stephen explains. Lockheed’s Skunkworks is a notable example, with a string of products spearheaded by Clarence Johnson, eg. U2 spy plane, Blackbird ram-jet, and NightHawk.
Much has been debated about the merit of group activities for creativity, such as brainstorming. But with a lack of diversity, short duration, tendency for groupthink, and no real ownership of the problem, such offsite corporate activities merely create the “consensual illusion of a good result”, and only benefit the hotel industry, Roger jokes.
Many forms of creativity do indeed involve collaboration, and complementary skillsets and mindsets help cross-fertilisation in this regard. For example, ad agency teams have people with verbal and visual skills; many successful bands combine lyrical and musical skills. Diverse people bring different ideas and attitudes into a team.
Creativity also needs commercial support to succeed. Examples include the rich families of Venice and Florence who supported many inventors and artists during the Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci stands out as a unique combination of scientific and artistic thinker.
Interestingly, pressure, discomfort, and adrenaline from looming deadlines can also spur creativity. Some successful people have been systematic and regular throughout their creative process, while others deploy “creative procrastination”.
Family problems and social trauma have led to inner turmoil and depression in many cases – and also some extraordinarily creative outputs, as seen in the works of Van Gogh and Beethoven. Unfortunately, suicides among creative people are not uncommon, Roger laments.
Measuring creativity
It is hard to quantify creativity, Stephen explains. Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers claims that 10,000 hours of practice are needed to become an expert in a field. But it is hard to show how this applied to the Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper album, Stephen jokes.
However, a certain amount of deliberate practice is important for creativity. There is balance between “disciplined structure and intuitive mysticism”.
Calculating the worth of artworks can be a particular challenge. Weight, area, amount of time, and technique used to create a painting are not always accurate or appropriate measures of price, Roger cautions.
He suggests: “The only question is: how good is it?” He also jokes that some advertising professionals do not reveal how quickly they came up with a solution, so that they can bill a longer time for the contract.
Teaching creativity
“We are born with a natural gift for play and fantasy – two forces that are at the heart of creativity,” Roger explains. Children have more of a fun and “why not” attitude than adults. “But these gifts are drilled out of us as we grow up,” he warns.
The authors also cite research that shows that there is no simple correlation between IQ and creativity. Many school dropouts have gone on to become successful artists and entrepreneurs.
A major problem with the modern education system is the way science and arts are treated as two utterly different ways of thinking, Roger laments. “The arts are at the bottom of the heap, almost regarded as an inconvenience,” he cautions. The educational focus is more on exams, degrees, jobs, and careers, and not on true fulfilment and purpose in life.
Practical and imaginative ways of thinking are unfortunately seen as separate worlds. But outstanding scientists are cerebral as well as imaginative, as seen in the case of Charles Darwin.
Dealing with failure
The prevailing attitude of “show up, keep up, shut up” in many companies constrains creativity, Stephen warns. Experimentation, critical feedback and learning from failure should be encouraged.
“In failure, there is something noble and beautiful,” he explains. This is not the same as being a loser, but being proud of having experimented and being able to learn from mistakes. Creative people have no fear of failure and embrace errors as the “portals of discovery”, in the words of James Joyce.
“Success depends on error,” Stephen affirms. Tolerance of mistakes should be encouraged, rather than stigmatising them. Unfortunately, in fields like politics, accepting criticism and making a U-turn are regarded as a sign of failure.
Digital threat – and opportunity
The rise of social media, AI, and targeted advertising has posed serious challenges for the earlier creativity model of traditional advertising. Earlier forms of ads are seen as boring, intrusive, and irrelevant.
But creativity matters even more in a “data-driven, collectivised, faceless culture”, Stephen explains. While online crowdsourcing opens up new frontiers of creativity, this does not entirely rule out private spaces and even solitary eccentricity, he adds.
The road ahead
The creative world holds power to account, Roger explains. Some of Picasso’s paintings have vividly exposed the horrors of war, and Aldous Huxley and George Orwell have warned of dystopian political worlds. Unfortunately, authoritarian regimes tend to crack down on independent media, critical artists, and dissenting citizens.
The book also touches on the importance of reinterpreting boredom as a launchpad for a sense of purpose or excitement. “The New Boredom” can help overcome the noise of conflicting signals in an over-busy world.
Creativity also has an interesting relationship with a sense of dread, repulsion, and phobia, as seen in the creation and appreciation of horror movies. The use of obscenities, foul language, and creative insults in literature, movies and comedy draws mixed responses as well.
The book ends with a call to keep heeding what may seem absurd at first. For example, the bicycle may look inherently unstable, but remains a popular form of transport. There are humble but outstanding examples of innovation all around us, such as the paper clip and Post-it notes.
There are also unintended but delightful consequences of some innovations. For example, suspending fish in hot smoke was an early form of preservation, but it also led to a new kind of flavour popular in different forms today as well.
“Creative thinkers enjoy – and exploit – fluency of thought,” the authors sum up. “Creative thinking never stops,” they sign off.
Reliance Retail, part of Reliance Industries, has launched its online grocery delivery portal JioMart, which will leverage the power of its stores and kiranas to deliver goods to consumers.
For Reliance, being a home player, getting in the grocery delivery area will be easy as it will have no problems with FDI rules.
Amazon, on the other hand, has to watch out for changing FDI rules as the central government can turn around and change its stance in order to protect the interests of the small retailers, aka kiranas, across the country.
In its pilot stage, JioMart is only going to available in Thane, Kalyan, and Navi Mumbai, and has a portfolio of more than 50,000 grocery products.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, called this venture “new commerce”. With JioMart, Reliance wants to connect with 30 million offline retailers and reach at least 200 million people. This was announced at the Reliance Industries' 42nd annual general meeting (AGM) in 2019.
Reliance Retail has started taking pre-registrations for JioMart, which will offer free home delivery to its customers irrespective of the value of their cart, no-questions-asked returns, and express delivery.
The company website refers to JioMart as "Desh Ki Nayi Dukaan" (India's new store). It sent pre-registration invites to Jio customers, say media reports, to kick start the business.
“Our beta trials with thousands of merchants across multiple locations in the country established the premise of New Commerce with significant increase in sales and improvement in margins for the participating merchants. We are now getting ready to roll out the platform at a larger scale,” Ambani said while addressing the 42nd AGM earlier this year.
The JioMart website claims that the company is looking to launch Android and iOS apps in future to allow users to place orders directly from their phones.
In 2018, Krishna Kumar was working in New York and had to send an important courier to the Bangalore office of the MNC he worked for. But, at the courier agent’s office, he realised that his official travel card limit has been exceeded.
“I reached out to the travel card support desk at the business-class hotel in Manhattan that I was put up, but they could not help as they needed approval from the senior management who were located in a different continent,” says Krishna.
While a few local contacts managed to help him out, this incident made him want to explore the travel space. Krishna spoke to various travel agents and realised that about 1.2 million of them were on the verge of closure due to the rise of online travel booking applications.
“Most travel agents were not using the latest technologies and there was no common online platform for them to sell their products. They did not have enough market intelligence to understand the requirements of their customers. On the other hand, travellers were desperately in need of having a personal connection in unknown destinations,” says Krishna.
This led to the birth of TravelSpoc in January 2019 by Krishna and his wife Kavitha Somasekharan. The startup is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based ecosystem that makes the best travel experience available to travellers – sourced from multiple travel agents.
What does it do?
Headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram, TravelSpoc has a team of 14. It is a collaborative common platform for tour operators and travel intermediaries across the world to showcase their tour packages and travel products, and sell online in their brand and identity.
Using the platform, users can make their own customised travel plans and get it booked by an agent on TravelSpoc. They can also compare packages from different agents before they purchase it.
“The platform solves problems faced by agents and travellers alike. For the agents, we built a SaaS-based traveller management platform to help them manage and analyse customer bookings and its data to improve business relations with customers, assisting in customer retention and driving sales growth. For the traveller, we help them get the best deals in a single click,” says Krishna.
The process involves bringing both travellers and trusted local and expert travel specialists on a single ecosystem. Since it is a self-sustained ecosystem, tour operators can sell their unique and best deals to travellers by understanding their requirements.
TravelSpoc has an AI-based based bot that understands a traveller’s profile and creates unique packages from different agents.
“The agents in the system are evaluated through a 360-degree stringent evaluation process to ensure the best quality and experience. Travellers have the choice of creating their own custom itinerary with the offers from different agents and pay at a single time through the system. The system will escrow between travellers and agents and provides a hassle-free system,” explains Kavitha.
Krishna has a PhD in Management from IIMC and more than 19 years of experience in management across top MNCs in the IT industry. Kavitha, on the other hand, is an entrepreneur and technocrat with more than 14 years of experience in the IT industry, building full-fledged travel and healthcare marketplaces.
The founders claim to have around 35,800 registered users in the platform until now. It has tied up with 200 registered travel agents globally.
Within one year, the team claims to have served over 1,500 users with their travel plans in India and abroad.
According to Statista, the travel and tourism industry is expected to grow at an annual rate of 5.7 percent from 2019, resulting in a market volume of $15,629 million by 2023.
TravelSpoc considers companies like Travel Triangle, TourRadar, and Thrillophilia as its competitors.
However, Krishna says,
“In the current scenario, tour operators create packages using their experience and exposure. TravelSpoc provides the tour operators business intelligence to create custom packages as per the current trend. It also helps agents to take up target marketing to the right travellers who need it.”
Between January and December 20, 2019, the startup claims to have made revenue of over Rs 1 crore with a 100 percent month-on-month growth in its customer base, booking, and revenue.
Initially bootstrapped with Rs 60 lakh for the product development and initial marketing of the product, the startup later received Rs 12 lakh in a grant and Rs 10 lakh in seed funding from the Kerala Startup Mission.
TravelSpoc was also selected in the first tourism startup competition by United Nations World Tourism Organisation. Also, GITEX Dubai and Innovfest Unbound at Singapore brought the product accolades for the innovativeness and uniqueness.
Talking about the future plans, the Krishna says,
“Our immediate plan is to expand the business to all major cities of India and have maximum travel agents associate with TravelSpoc in selling their experiences. We plan to associate us with various MNCs, NGOs, and others to onboard them to this new travel ecosystem. We will also be discussing plans of associations with various organisations in the Middle East, Singapore and the US.”
The startup is also working towards creating one million new job opportunities in the travel industry by 2025.
“We would like to provide opportunities to disabled people, women, and school and college-going students to set up their unique travel business at their native or home and sell through our platform. This can bring a huge social transformation,” says Kavitha.
In the past ten years, the Indian startup ecosystem has grown significantly to become the third-largest startup ecosystem, second only to the US and China. In the last decade, many homegrown startups have succeeded in developing innovative solutions that have disrupted the industries that they operate in and take on established players across the globe.
Reliance Retail, part of Reliance Industries, has launched its online grocery delivery portal JioMart, which will leverage the power of its stores and kiranas to deliver goods to consumers. In its pilot stage, JioMart is only going to available in Thane, Kalyan, and Navi Mumbai, and has a portfolio of more than 50,000 grocery products.
While metro-based startups are chasing VC funds and focusing on products, their counterparts from Tier II and III cities are chasing customer satisfaction, solving for Bharat, and clocking steady growth.
With more than 25,000 clubs and 22 million club members across the Southeast Asian region, Gympik aims to grab its share of the fitness industry software opportunity poised to be more than $373.5 billion by 2023.
From India's visually impaired chess champ to changemakers and social entrepreneurs who are making the world a better place, here are 10 stories that inspired us in 2019.
In 2019, the Indian healthcare sector saw technology change the way it was perceived. While it is surpassing its challenges one after the other, 2020 is expected to be an optimistic year in terms of adopting technologies faster than before.
From customised vacations and hostel facilities to bridge the gap between travel agents and suppliers, these 10 Indian startups are disrupting the travel space.
Emerging technological solutions have transformed logistics, a sector that was marred by inefficacies for decades in India. 2019 saw the fast-growing sector increasingly focus on B2B and last-mile augmentation.
Gaurav Munjal, Co-founder and CEO of Unacademy, calls himself one of Shah Rukh Khan’s biggest fans. Incidentally, he met King Khan at a shoot for Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) in 2001, and gave him a note.
It read, "Gaurav would be so big one day that the star actor would want to meet him," and SRK responded with a smile.
He also recalls that he once told his parents that he would build a company as big as Microsoft and they smiled at him in response.
Gaurav Munjal
Gaurav says, when he started Unacademy, his objective was very clear – to build the largest educational platform in the world.
He says, “Maybe I will achieve these. Maybe I won’t. But I’ll always aim higher. I’ll always dream big. Remember, you will never achieve more than you aim for.”
The builder
Gaurav graduated from NMIMS University, Mumbai, with a Computer Science degree.
At the age of 12, Gaurav created a quiz similar to Amitabh Bachchan’s Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), which was demonstrated among his classmates and in his school. Many years later, he created another quiz similar to KBC, which was again demonstrated in his school.
A builder since the beginning, in 2013, Gaurav started Flat.to, a real estate platform for college students and bachelors in India, which later became FlatChat and got acquired by CommonFloor in 2014.
In 2015, he co-founded Unacademy, which was originally a YouTube channel. Today, Unacademy is one of the largest edtech startups in India, which gets more than 140 million views every month on all its distribution channels.
Founded by Gaurav, Roman Saini, and Hemesh Singh in 2015, the platform currently has more than 10,000 registered educators and 13 million users.
Siddhartha Ahluwalia, Head of Community at Prime Venture Partners, caught up with Gaurav Munjal in this episode of 100x entrepreneur podcast, a series featuring founders, venture capitalists, and angel investors.
Tune in to listen to Gaurav in conversation with Siddhartha:
“Every single mistake that entrepreneurs do, 99 percent of that is already documented somewhere,” says Gaurav.
He uses the word 'obsession' consistently in the conversation, which is one of his leadership principles. He calls himself an obsessive founder when it comes to building something and that it gives him an edge over his rather relaxed counterparts.
The negative side is that he has trouble sleeping on most days because he is too worried about everything. But the positive side, according to him, is that the startup is effectively moving towards reshaping the industry.
Most of Unacademy’s competitors are worried about – What will Unacademy do next? Will they come in our segment or not?
But it’s not particularly something Gaurav wants to be proud of, but he and his team are proud of helping reshape the industry in general. He says every other edtech player is taking some pages from Unacademy’s playbook, like the subscription model.
“It makes me happy because we are changing the industry. I feel great companies are built on obsession and paranoia. It’s not needed if you just want to build a successful company. But if you want to build a successful company, which also creates a dent and moves the industry forward, you need to build that. Andy Grove, the guy who invented OKRs as we know, wrote that only the paranoid survive,” says Gaurav
Pressure of having an elite board?
Siddhartha asks Gaurav the reason behind consecutive fundraises when Unacademy clearly did not need that kind of money.
In context, the startup raised $50 million in Series D round in June 2018. The round saw participation from Steadview Capital, Sequoia India, Nexus Venture Partners, Blume Ventures, Haptik CEO Aakrit Vaish, and Udaan CEO Sujeet Kumar.
In response, Gaurav says, “If I’m getting a great partner on the board, why not? These people will help me reach where all of us want to reach, and that is why we raised funding in quick succession.”
He further says he does not have any pressure while in it because it makes the game all the more challenging, and that is when real growth happens.
“That’s how you evolve. That’s how your team evolves. I mean, if anybody is given a bigger opportunity, why would a person not take it and shoot for the moon? My life’s principle was always to choose the more difficult path, always,” he says.
Gaurav mentions that one of his most helpful mentors has been Kunal Shah, Founder of Cred and FreeCharge.
Gaurav calls Kunal one of the most candid mentors, for he had always given brutal feedback, which helped him improve as an entrepreneur.
“It’s also an advice to other entrepreneurs. Please have mentors who tell you the reality when nobody else can. Because very few people will be honest and brutal. And if they are, don’t take it personally and don’t get offended by their brutal feedback,” he says.
The steady rise of the startup ecosystem in India comes along with the need to secure safety measures. Enter safety officers, who ensure that employees comply with company policies and adhere to the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) guidelines.
The duties of a safety officer entail providing safety management, monitoring safety policies, conducting risk assessments, and enforcing preventive measures periodically.
They implement and maintain health and safety standards. There is a variety of positions among the safety officers, each one having a different specialisation.
YourStory has curated a list of jobs for safety officers.
The company is looking for a detail-oriented candidate who is ready to act in emergencies and strictly follows the OHS guidelines. They should be conscious and farsighted and work towards strengthening preventive measures. They must review existing policies and update them according to legislation. Initiating and organising OHS training of employees will also be their responsibility.
The site safety manager must be an effective communicator, who sends concise and consistent messages. They will be responsible for executing company safety policies and ensure employee compliance. They should identify best safety practices and incorporate these into the company policies and standards. They should know excellent safety programmes, and have environmental and ergonomic knowledge.
The company is on the lookout for enthusiastic fire and safety officers, with great analytical and organizational skills. They will be responsible for maintaining the correct operation of fire detection/protection system. They will have to carry out fire drills and supervise fire inventory. They should conduct the standard test of existing firefighting equipment.
The company is searching for a diligent Safety Engineer who can maintain and improve the safety policies of the company. Successful candidates should review plans and specifications for new machinery and equipment. They will have to identify and correct potential hazards by careful inspections. They should ensure that their product or building complies with the health and safety regulations. Evaluating the effectiveness of the mechanisms and installation of safety devices is their duty.
The company is looking for a Safety Officer to facilitate compliance with OHS guidelines. They should create, enact and update safety programmes for employees. They should advise on measures to minimise safety hazards at the workplace environment. They should oversee installations, maintenance, and disposal of substances. Assessing risks and possible safety hazards and stopping unsafe acts or processes would be their primary responsibility.
The year 2020 will not only usher in a new year but also a new decade – a new era filled with new ideas, goals, and stories.
In the past decade, YourStory has distinguished itself as the champion of the startup ecosystem, chronicling and celebrating the journeys of entrepreneurs, innovators, changemakers, and visionaries.
As a team, we’ve taken great pride in the kind of impact we’ve been able to create this past decade, through consistently telling positive stories that inspired people to innovate and, in doing so, have helped ignite the fire of change that shaped the narrative of the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Now, as we stand poised to step into a new decade, we want to continue to ignite change and help shape the future of the new Indian economy. For this, we understand that YourStory must stay relevant and bring you stories that matter.
And here’s where we want to hear from you.
As someone who has been with YourStory, celebrating the milestones – big and small – of the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem, we want to have your participation in the next leg of our journey by telling us what you want to see more from us.
To do this, we have put together a brief questionnaire for you to answer.
Tell us what you expect from us at YourStory in the next decade. And join us as we continue to harness the power of storytelling to enable positive change.
India witnessed a steady rise in the emergence of unicorns in 2019, across segments like logistics, grocery delivery, B2B, and mobility. The nine unicorns born this year include Delhivery, BigBasket, Ola Electric, Druva, Icertis, Dream11, CitiusTech, Lenskart, and Rivigo.
But will this trend continue into 2020? Will the valuations grow? And will startups continue to raise more funding?
We asked investors what they think lies ahead for the Indian startup ecosystem and their forecast is that 2020 will be a year where everyone will be 'cautiously bullish' and there will be a bigger focus on more capital-efficient business models.
Cautiously bullish: push towards a path to profitability
Sanjay Nath, Managing Director, Blume Ventures says, “(If you look) at the numbers, everyone is going to be cautiously bullish this year”.
“While companies and startups need to grow, there is going to be a push towards creating a positive business,” he says, adding that business models will be scrutinised more deeply.
And despite the global economic slowdown, capital flow into venture and private equity will continue as it runs in a seven to 10-year period. But Alok Goyal, Partner, Stellaris Ventures, cautions that there might be some distinction between early and late stage startups.
The first year of the new decade is likely to put a stronger focus on India versus global, while SaaS and core technology companies that target markets outside India continue to scale.
Sanjay believes B2B SaaS segment will continue to grow as these startups have cracked the capital-efficient business model and also have a global reach.
“There is money in the market but as investors, we are cautious in deploying; we have a sharper focus on sectors and spaces we want to invest in. Investors are also investing with a little more scrutiny,” Sanjay says.
Later-stage funding may slow
This makes it important for startups to put defensible business models and plans in place. An investor might bet on a company based on the sector, but the business model needs to be completely in tune and the founder must specify how the funds will be deployed, investors say.
Naganand Doraswamy, Managing Director, Ideaspring Capital, believes that while SaaS and B2B models are in focus, later-stage funding is still going to be slower. “You may need both on-premise and SaaS models, but you can’t get away without a SaaS strategy,” he says.
Alok agrees that later-stage funding will see a slowdown.
“Sectors like manufacturing and logistics will experience slower growth in the later stages. Essential services like healthcare and education will be evergreen, as long as people offer a strong value proposition. However non-essential sectors such as furniture may experience a funding crunch,” he says.
The key factors investors are betting on are growth in mobile internet users, explosion of data consumption, pervasive 4G coverage, and the expected rise in disposable income, driven by increasing GDP per capita.
India has over a billion consumers with unique problems to be solved in every sector. While funds like Accel have already closed their funds, deployment is more likely during earlier stages. This may also be the WeWork effect, with the industry feeling the need for course correction.
A maturing and growing ecosystem
Speaking of how 2019 fared, Tarun Davda, Partner and Managing Director, Matrix Partners, says, “2019 has been a record year for the Indian VC ecosystem, and a very active year for us at Matrix with over 20 new investments in the year.”
Tarun believes three key trends stood out in 2019:
Backing repeat/seasoned entrepreneurs, as seen with Matrix’s recent investments in FPL Technologies, Mosaic Wellness, DealShare, and others.
A strong deal flow at early stages (seed and pre-Series A). The year saw a significant increase in the number of early-stage investments.
Deep internet penetration in Tier II and Tier cities in India has opened up the market with monetisable/investable opportunities. Awaaz, YeLo, and DealShare are some of Matrix’s recent investments under this theme.
Sanjay Nath of Blume Ventures adds that 2019 saw the comeback of some large hedge funds that had been dormant in the market, especially in SaaS and Fintech.
Most investors agree that this is an incremental theme every year. It was more apparent in 2018 and 2019, which saw several second-time entrepreneurs.
Alok Goyal of Stellaris Ventures says there has been a strong stratification of the venture ecosystem as well.
“There was a dearth of capital across stages, especially later ones. Now, you have funds across stages, with a focus on sectors.”
Sameer Brij Verma, Managing Director, Nexus Ventures, says 2019 was not just “stellar in terms of the investments made”, but also because there was a vast “increase in the quality of entrepreneurs”.
“I could see the startup ecosystem maturing. The average entrepreneur today is stronger, and more mature focused as compared to a few years back,” Sameer says.
He adds that the past two years have been “interesting for Indian startups”.
Alok agrees, adding that the year saw a lot of second-time entrepreneurs who came with experience in building for scale and helped grow younger startups.
“Also, the underlying friction of starting companies has reduced. Flipkart had to build its own logistics system, payments, etc, but today underlying barriers have significantly decreased. We are seeing a new wave of businesses because of large platforms that have reach,” Alok says.
Recurring themes: digitisation of SMEs, financial services, and education
What stood out in 2019 for Sameer of Nexus Ventures? Education, financial services, digitisation of SMEs and the B2B segment.
“We’re increasingly gravitating towards large profit pools and large markets. We're seeing that in healthcare, education, in some forms of financial services. We continue to look at the main theme around digitalisation of the economy. And that's a very large macro theme,” he says.
Sameer adds that the SME segment will continue to grow in the New Year.
Tarun, of Matrix Partners says 2019 saw the emergence of DINVIB (digitally native vertically integrated brands) consumer brands, social commerce, and fintech (neobanks) as strong sectors.
“We expect markets to deepen within each of these spaces in 2020 as well. We also expect increased activity and deal flow in growth-stage investments for 2020,” Tarun says.
Increased focus on financial inclusion, social entrepreneurs, and agritech
The year 2019 saw Tiger Global investing in NinjaCart and others like DeHaat raising funding. And 2020 is likely to put the spotlighton agritech and impact-driven startups.
Deepak Menon, Chief Programme Officer, EMEA at Village Capital, agrees.
“I think it's a global trend…maybe more so in Southeast Asia, India, and the Middle East. Founders are looking to solve quality-of-life issues and socio-economic disparities,” he says.
He explains that startups are trying to solve hard problems on ground. Citing an example, Deepak says that a lot of people in the financial inclusion space that they work with have a professional background in financial services, banking, or insurance. They have dealt with clients, seen challenges, and are keen to solve them.
“They're trying to build business models to address some of these problems. The shift that we are increasingly seeing involves more people looking at business, getting these things right, and building non-profit models around impact,” Deepak says.
Avnish Bajaj, Founder and Managing Director, Matrix India, in conversation with Rajinder Balaraman, Director, Matrix India, in a recent podcast said,
“I think the biggest change that has happened is this growth-at-all-cost mindset has gone away. I think if people don’t recognise that… my advice to any founder out there would be please recognise that.”
All in all, 2020 is going to be a cautiously bullish year.
