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Startup

5 Venture Capital Firms that Provide Easy Funding to Start-Ups

Funding
Funding (Representational Image) (Photo Credits: Pixabay)

Bangalore, November 19: The start-up ecosystem in India has been growing manifolds over the past few years. It is widening the ambit and entering newer industries every day. From tech to hospitality, entertainment to education, automobile to consultancy, start-ups are increasing in both online and offline space.

However, most start-ups miss out on one of the most crucial aspects of a business – The Seed Capital and fall prey to financial distress that eventually leads to winding up of the firm. Financial soundness is necessary at all life stages of business.

It ensures that the operational cycle runs smoothly without any blockages’ or stagnations because of lack of funds, hence resulting in the efficient functioning of the business.

One of the biggest challenges a start-up faces is the adequate procurement of funds at low cost and easy payback terms. Various venture capitals, private equity firms, corporate investors, in the past few years, have become progressively interested in putting their money in potentially viable start-ups. Unlike old times, a viable idea sells better than the brand or company name in the financial markets. Many blue-chip companies including Tata, Wipro, RIL have also been investing and promoting the newbie’s in the market.

Here are Five Venture Capitals that have been increasingly showing faith in start-ups and investing heavily in them:

1. Accel Partners:

Headquartered in California, Accel Partners is one of the oldest and most successful venture capitalists in the markets. It has invested in more than 1,460 firms through its 29 funds. It
provides funding to start-up at entry, growth and maturity stages. In India, Accel Partners have closed around six funds, including a recent worth $550 Million.

It’s one of the main investors of Flipkart and Swiggy. Other important investments include Freshworks, BlackBuck, Bounce, BookMyShow, etc. It mostly invests in infrastructure, mobile & software, internet and consumer service firms.

2. Blume Ventures:

Blume Ventures is an early stage and seed stage tech-focused venture fund founded in 2010. It launched its first micro-VC fund in 2011, becoming the first institutionalised early-stage investor at that time. Blume Ventures have closed four funds till now, with around $225 Million under-investment. It closed a fund worth $102 Million in April 2020, before the COVID-19 lockdown started. It has invested in more than 60 startups including, Dunzo, Unacademy, Instamojo, Procol, HealthAssure, Milkbasket. It mainly invests in online platforms across sectors.

3. Matrix Partners:

It is a US-based private equity firm that funds start-ups for seed capital as well as early-stage requirements. It has invested in around 549 firms across the world and has investment worth $4 Billion as an asset under management. The PE firm entered India back in 2006. It had closed its last India-focused fund at $300 Million in January 2019, eight years after it raised its second fund. Its notable investments include Avail Finance, Vogo, DailyNinja, Stanza Living, MoEngage, among others. The firm mainly focuses on the following sectors entertainment and media, consumer internet, SaaS, e-commerce etc.

4. Nexus Venture Partners:

It was founded in 2006 and is estimates to have $1.5 Billion as an asset under management. The firm makes investments in early-growth stage companies with an average ticket size of $500K-$10 Million. It raised $100 Mn in its first fund and closed its fifth fund at $450 Million in May 2019. It has invested in start-ups from different sectors including, WhiteHat Jr, Delhivery, Rapido, Unacademy, Druva, Jumbotail, Bolo App, Pratilipi, Zomato. The firm focuses mainly on online ventures.

5. Tiger Global Management:

It is one of the biggest players in the market and invests money heavily in both private and public sector ventures. It provides fund at growth, maturity and post-IPO stages. The company is said to have invested in nearly 442 companies across the globe through its seven designated funds. It has invested in more than 90 start-ups in India. In the first half of 2019, Tiger Global Management has invested nearly $300 Million in India across 13 companies. Its major investments have been in Urban Company, Flipkart, Moglix, OPEN, Ninjacart, Razorpay. The firm mainly invests in the following sectors- internet, software, consumer,financial technology.

A regular and adequate source of finance is highly crucial for a start-up to sustain and grow and in the present age, the market offers different kinds of funds and plans. A start-up can easily look for a reputed VC and ensure regular flow of money for business development.

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Startup

Microsoft Launches New Programme to Help Health Tech Startups in India, Recover From COVID-19 Pandemic Blow

Microsoft
Microsoft (Photo Credits: Twitter)

Bangalore, November 18: Microsoft launched a dedicated programme to give a boost to health-tech startups in India amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to an IANS report, for this purpose, Microsoft has collaborated with startup incubator Social Alpha to accelerate the growth of participating startups.

The objective of the programme will be to help entrepreneurs with technical support as well as resources for co-selling and co-building tech tools to achieve better outcomes across healthcare.

The programme will focus on enabling these companies to fast track their progress with some of the best technology resources and accelerate their innovation pathways.

Some of the benefits which the Microsoft programme offers are:

Qualified Seed to Series C startups can boost their business with Azure benefits (including free credits), unlimited technical support and go-to-market resources with support for Azure Marketplace onboarding.

Startups which are looking to create healthcare solutions also have access to Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare.

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Business motivation

5 Steps to Help You Become a Successful Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur (Photo Credits: Pixabay)

Mumbai, November 18: Being an entrepreneur is not as easy as it sounds. Most people want to start their own company because it gives them a sense of freedom and empowerment. You can take your own decisions and implement them for the wellbeing of your own company.

However, even though, it sounds fancy, but there is a huge responsibility that comes the moment you start your own business.

Here are a few steps to follow in order to become a successful entrepreneur: 

Trust yourself: The first and foremost quality which an entrepreneur is required to have is to have great trust in one’s decision and capabilities. However, this shouldn’t be confused with overconfidence.

Believe in the people around you: It is very important to stand and believe in the people around you, like your colleagues, workers and others who are the pillar of your company. You should always believe in them, this gives immense confidence to their belief and they will stand by you, even when times are not good.

Be Passionate: You should be extremely passionate about what you are doing. The moment you love your work, everything falls into place.

Take Risks: Taking risk is another quality which entrepreneurs should have. If you have launched your own company, you need to make decisions sometimes without worrying about failure.

Identify your weakness: It is very important to identify your weakness and this will be the base where you can work on and improve. Listen to complaints and understand what the customer is saying. Try to be in their shoes and then analyse the problem.

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Startup

Amazon Opens ‘Made-in-India’ Toy Store to Help Local Manufacturers to Take on the Deluge of Chinese Toys in the Indian Market

Toys
Toys (Representational Image) (Photo Credits: Piqsels)

Bangalore, November 18: Giving a further push to PM Narendra Modi’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat, Amazon India on Wednesday launched a toy store. This store will give an opportunity to sellers from 15 Indian states to showcase unique toys across categories like traditional, handmade and educational.

According to an IANS report, the launch of the “made in India” toy store will thus help the local manufacturers to fight against the huge competition from the Chinese toys which have entered the Indian market.

Amazon informed that these toys will be inspired by Indian culture, folk tales as well as toys that encourage scientific thinking and innovation. This will surely boost the homegrown emerging Indian brands and also help local artisans to accelerate their business.

Here are the 3 sections under which one can sell their Made-in-India toys: 

Traditional Indian section: This will showcase toys like Chowka Bara, Pitthu/Lagori, Lattu (wooden spinning tops) and more.

Handmade toys section: This will showcase handmade toys and dolls from karigars of various states like Channapatna, Thanjavur and Varanasi, to name a few.

Innovative and educational toys: This section will feature DIY (do-it-yourself) Microscope, 4D Educational AR (augmented reality) game, science experiment kits and more.

All these toys have been manufactured by homegrown Indian brands like Smartivity, Shumee, Skillmatics, Shifu, Einstein box.

 

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Business motivation

5 Steps You Can Take to Get Your Business Off the Ground

Startup Growth
Startup Growth (Photo Credits: Pixabay)

Mumbai, November 17: Starting a business can be a daunting task and more so amid the coronavirus outbreak. There are several things which one needs to take care of, from the right idea to proper marketing, everything needs to fall in place for a business to take off.

The process of starting a business is always filled with challenges. Therefore, it is very important that you should be prepared before you take the final leap. The success of a business is never guaranteed, but there are few changes which you can do to reduce the risks and improve the chances of your business in being successful.

We have curated a list of 5 steps which you need to take before you get your business off the ground:

1. Think of a unique and a great idea: Think of a unique idea for your business and ask yourself how will my product be different from thousands of products which have already cluttered the market. Try to offer the customers something which they haven’t experienced before. Also, the product should solve the customer’s problem and then only will they be able to relate with your product.

2. Define your business: This is another critical step. Before you start a business, it is very important to understand how much time (and money) you’re willing to devote to your new venture. Also, a few other questions which you need to answer is that will you have a brick and mortar store or only have an online presence.

3. Study the market & competition: Do extensive study before launching a product in the market. Try to understand if there is a demand for your product. Never underestimate your competition. Always learn from their strength and also be aware of their weakness and understand the space where your product will be able to enter.

4. Check your finances: It is very important to track your finances from the get-go. Spend wisely and only on things that are required. Every business takes time to start off. The initial few days to a year might be full of struggles, so save your finances for tough times ahead. Keep an eye on your finances, so that midway, you don’t have to wind up your business and exit the market.

5. Keep Your Plan B Ready: Always keep a plan B ready before you start your business. One can never predict the challenges which can crop up and pose a hurdle in the path of growth. For e.g. no one could predict that coronavirus could get the world to a grinding halt. Several businesses shut due to the lockdown and thousands were left jobless. However, the ones which had a plan B ready could sail through the crisis period.

We hope that these steps will come in handy when you are thinking to get the business off the ground.

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Startup

Mobility Startups Like Bounce, Vogo & Others Working to Increase the Electric Vehicles Market Space And Ensuring Green Environment

Electric Vehicle
Electric Vehicle (Photo Credits: Pinterest)

Bangalore, November 7: There has been a surge in mobility startups like Bounce, Vogo and Rapido, which are increasing the share of the electric vehicles (EVs) space. In fact, the Indian government is emphasising on the sale of only electric vehicles by 2030 or having a larger percentage of EVs on the road by then.

According to a Livemint report, scooter rental startup Vogo aims to turn 70 percent of its fleet into EVs over the next five years. Similarly, Bounce raised capital to invest in transitioning a significant portion of its fleet to EVs.

The EV market currently makes up less than 1 percent of total vehicle sales in the country and experts said that this has not helped to bring down the cost of batteries, which account for almost half of the vehicle’s cost.

More than 90 percent of all EVs in India comprise of low-speed electric scooters. Experts believe that the induction of more EVs will help to bring down the operating costs for mobility startups, which were affected due to the pandemic and amid the nationwide lockdown.

As per reports, in the past two years, more than one million electric vehicles (EVs) hit the road in India. Talking about numbers, over 350,000 units were sold in FY18 and 750,000 units were sold in FY19. This shows that the government and startups are going all out to up the electric mobility game to ensure a clean and green environment.

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Startup

Planning to Start a Clothing Business? Here Are 5 Creative Ideas You Can Consider Before You Start

Clothing Business (Photo Credits: Pexels)

If you have always been fascinated with opening up an apparel store or starting up with a venture related to clothing and you have a good taste of colours, go for it! Opening an apparel store is serious business. If you are so confident of your style that you need to share that good taste with the community, clothing business is the thing for you! It is a business that will never lose its essence as people will always be in for fashionable outfits. Also, once you have made a brand identity of your product, your clothing business will prosper and attract more people during the festive season.

As clothing is everyone’s basic need, the business related to it will never be out of fashion. If you start a clothing business with a right business plan, you can manage to mint money in no time. The most important thing that you need to consider is, which type of clothing business can benefit you the most and find ways to explore the business by targeting the right target audience. There is always a demand for clothes and if you are determined enough and have good contacts, the business can prosper and flourish in just a few years.

5 Ideas to Start Clothing Business

  1. Readymade Garment Store

Decide what niche is your focus. It should be something that interests you, so you have enough passion for your clothing business. Readymade clothing store can be a really good option, if you are looking to start a clothing business. The most beneficial thing in opening a retail store is that you can keep clothes as per your choice. If you open a clothing store in a busy market, you are bound to make a lot of profit. You can keep clothes in your store according to season and fashion trends.

  1. Online Clothing Business

Like we all know, the clothing business functions online. In times of the pandemic that we are reeling in now, online clothing business can prove really beneficial as there is no chance of physical contact with anyone. Online shopping is now becoming popular and is a common trend as people look for things online. People also have a lot of options to choose from among a variety of things. You can create your own website and start the online clothing business.

  1. T-shirt Printing

If you are creative and you think of putting your creativity into use, you can start the business of printing t-shirts. Printed t-shirts are always in trend. While some prefer plain t-shirts, most people like wearing printed ones. The t-shirt printing business can be beneficial as people are always attracted by abstract designs and decent prints for daily use. There are many ways of printing T-shirts but training is required to learn these methods.

  1. Rental Clothes

You can always opt for the business of renting clothes, which is also very beneficial. You can also start this business from a small level. There are many clothes that people do not like to buy forever, that is why people think of rental options. Rental clothes are also becoming a trend during marriage functions and other events as people don’t really want to spend a lot of money buying designer wears for a day. You can always rent out the same dresses to different people and make profit. It would be a one-time investment for the buyers, as he will have tp buy the outfit once and then rent it out to people who look for it.

  1. Make Baby Clothes

Baby clothes never go out of fashion. They are always in trend. Baby clothes make us coo with adoration. The baby clothing business is constantly in demand strand of the fashion market is crying out for creative designers to bring us more adorable baby clothes.

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Startup

Startup Hub in Odisha to Be Set Up by March 2021, Aims to Create Employment Opportunities for Youth in State

Startup

Bhubaneswar, November 16: With an aim to give a major fillip to startups in Odisha, the Naveen Patnaik government in the state has decided to set up a startup hub. The hub, comprising of common facilities and will be set up by March 2021 and aims to create employment opportunities for youth in the state.

An official aware of the development said that the government has also given its in-principle approval to provide financial assistance to five startups and four incubators. “With the completion of the new startup hub by March 2021, it would be a centre of excellence with co-working space, laboratory and common services under one roof,” the official said.

According to reports, the decision for setting up the hub was taken at a State Startup Council Meeting chaired by Chief Secretary AK Tripathy in Odisha on November 13. During the meeting, the state government gave its in- principle approval for providing financial assistance of around Rs 2.88 crore to five startups and four incubators, the official added. Tripathy also directed officials to make a third-party assessment on the outcomes of the financial assistance to these units.

In Odisha, the number of startup ventures have gone up to 774, which created 6,000 employment opportunities. Moreover, a financial assistance of over Rs 15 crore has been provided to 196 startups and incubators, he added. The chief secretary also asked them to strengthen the startup eco-system in Odisha through a strategic partnership and policy intervention. “The council recognised the first startup in June 2017. The number has increased to 774, including 250 women-led units, by November 2020,” the official said.

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Finance Sales Startup

Diwali 2020 Shubh Mahurat: Auspicious Time and Dates to Open New Shop, Office and Factory This Festive Occasion

Shubh Mahurat (Photo Credits: File Photo)

In Hinduism, when we start something new, be it a new business, office, or any new venture, it is to be done on an auspicious occasion or ‘Shubh Mahurat’. The five-day Diwali festival started on November 12 under the shadow of COVID-19. Traditionally, the ‘auspicious time’ by Hindus is being valued since time immemorial as it is believed that starting something during the auspicious time provides many benefits and help the business flourish. It is believed that any business, office, shop or factory that is started at a ‘shubh mahurat’ always open up new business opportunities for the entrepreneur.

If one starts the business at an ‘shubh’ time, the business will become a great success with speedy growth. Let us see when are these auspicious days in November 2020 according to astronomy.

November 12, 2020 (Thursday): Dwadashi Tithi and Hast Nakshatra falls on this day and it is a good time to start a new office.

November 13, 2020 (Friday): Chhatra Nakshatra falls on this day and is the best time to start any new business on the day of Dhantrayodashi.

November 15, 2020 (Sunday): This is an auspicious time which will open up new avenues as Amavasya and Anuradha Nakshatra falls on this day.

November 19, 2020 (Thursday): This is also an auspicious time for setting up and anew business as Panchami Tithi and Uttarashada Nakshatra fall on this day.

Other auspicious dates in November 2020:

Any shop or factory or new office can be inaugurated on November 12 and 13. Both the days are the best date to start a new shop or office.  Amritasiddhi is an auspicious time which is formed by the special combination of war, date and constellations. This shubh time is very auspicious and fruitful. Any work that has starts at this mahurat will reach new height and will proper and flourish in the years to come.

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MSME

MSMEs Show Signs of Recovery, All Eyes Now on Diwali 2020 to Bailout the Stressed Sector

Startup Growth
Startup Growth (Photo Credits: Pixabay)

Mumbai, November 3: The coronavirus pandemic has been extremely difficult on every business, and India’s MSME sector is one of the worst-hit. The sector which has about 70 million enterprises and employs around 110 million people is battered due to the lockdown.

From factories being shut down, and freeze in the production, it is the small companies who are facing the heat of the pandemic. All eyes are now on Diwali 2020, from which they expect the sales to recover and help them to bounce back.

With the ease in the lockdown restrictions and with the economy opening up, business is taking place. According to a Financial Express report, retailers in majority sectors are yet to recover back to the year-ago level, and businesses in consumer durables and electronics seem to be scaling back relatively faster.

Some of these sectors like- sports goods, furniture, jewellery, footwear, food and grocery have still not managed to hit October 2019 level growth, according to the survey done by the Retailers Association of India.

While all hopes are pinned on the Diwali season, but according to reports, the demand continues to be low as people are sceptical of going to shops and making their purchases. On the other hand, customers are extremely careful in terms of spending as well.