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Startup

Startup India Seed Fund Scheme To Support Startups and Domestic Entrepreneurs; Here’s How the Scheme Would Help Businesses

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New Delhi, April 20: Startup India seed fund scheme would support domestic entrepreneurs and their business ideas that often cannot take off due to the absence of critical capital at an early stage, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said. The Startup India seed fund scheme was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January to support startups and help budding entrepreneurs pursue innovative ideas. The Minister said that good ideas often get bought out by international venture capitalists at throwaway prices.

While launching the scheme, Goyal said that the idea behind the scheme is to ensure adequate availability of funds, particularly to startups with good ideas in different fields. “I do hope that this scheme will support our domestic entrepreneurs and their business ideas that often cannot take off due to the absence of critical capital at an early stage,” Goyal added.

The scheme will be implemented from April 1, 2021. The Rs 945 crore corpus will be divided over the next four years for providing seed funding to eligible startups through eligible incubators across India.

Here’s how the Startup India seed fund scheme would benefit the startups:

  1. The scheme will secure seed funding, inspire innovation, support transformative ideas, and facilitate implementation of those ideas.
  2. Smaller towns are often deprived of adequate funding and this scheme will create a robust startup ecosystem in Tier 2 and Tier 3 regions of India.
  3. The government has constituted an Experts Advisory Committee(EAC) which will be responsible for the overall execution and monitoring of the scheme.
  4. Over 7,500 new startups are incorporated every year and it is essential to provide seed funding to startups with innovative ideas to conduct their ”Proof of Concept”.
  5. The scheme is being launched by DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) to support this early-stage startup funding.
  6. It would provide financial assistance to startups for Proof of Concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization. The scheme aims to support an estimated 3,600 entrepreneurs through 300 incubators.

Reports inform that the online portal created by DPIIT for the scheme will allow incubators to apply for funds under it. Also, grants of up to Rs 5 crore shall be provided to the eligible incubators selected by the EAC. The selected incubators would provide grants of up to Rs 20 lakh for validation of Proof of Concept, or prototype development, or product trials to startups. According to eports, an investments of up to Rs 50 lakh will be provided to the startups for market entry, commercialization, or scaling up through convertible debentures or debt-linked instruments.

 

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Startup

Startup India Scheme: What Qualifies a Startup Under This Scheme? Here’s How Can One Register a Profile Online on startupindia.gov.in

Startups (Photo Credits: Pexels)

The Startup India initiative launched by the government on January 16, 2016, aims at fostering entrepreneurship and promoting innovation by creating an ecosystem that is conducive to the growth of startups. In India, as many as 44,534 startups have been recognised by the department for the promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT).

What qualifies as a ‘Startup’ under Startup India Scheme

An entity shall be considered as a Startup:

1. If it is incorporated as a private limited company or registered as a partnership firm or a limited liability partnership in India

2. Up to 10 years from the date of its incorporation or registration

3. If its turnover for any of the financial years since incorporation/registration has not exceeded Rs 100 Crores

4. If it is working towards innovation, development or improvement of products or processes or services, or if it is a scalable business model with a high potential of employment generation or wealth creation

It must be noted that an entity formed by splitting up or reconstruction of a business already in existence shall not be considered a ‘Startup’.

How Can I register a profile online on the Startup India website:

  1. Visit the Startup India website startupindia.gov.inand click on ‘Register’ at the right side of the website where the profile photo box appears on the screen.
  2. Fill in the details as required in the registration form.
  3. An OTP will be sent to your registered email address, post submitting which your profile will get created.

 

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Startup

Startup India Initiative Gains Momentum, Total 44,534 Startups Recognised by DPIIT So Far, 339 Startups Granted Income Tax Exemptions

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New Delhi, March 12: Under the Startup India initiative launched by the government, as many as 44,534 startups in India have been recognised by the Department for the Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The numbers have been updated as of February 24 this year, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said in the Parliament on Wednesday. Startup India is a flagship initiative of the Government whoch aims to build a strong ecosystem that is conducive for the growth of startup businesses, to drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities.

Startup India, a flagship initiative of the government launched on January 16, 2016, aims at fostering entrepreneurship and promoting innovation by creating an ecosystem that is conducive to the growth of startups. “Since, the launch of Startup India initiative, a total of 44,534 startups have been recognised by the DPIIT as on February 24, 2021,” he said.

Reports inform that as many as 339 startups have been granted income tax exemptions till January 2021. The recognised startups are eligible for several benefits under the Startup India initiative. They avail tax exemptions besides other support measures. Prakash said that startups are eligible for an 80 percent rebate in patent filing fees and 50 percent on trademark filing fees.

Giving details about the startups in India, the Minister informed that so far, 5,253 applications for patents have been filed by startups under the SIPP (startups intellectual property protection) Scheme, out of which 514 patents have been granted. Till November 2020, a total number of Trademark applications filed – 12,264.

Under the Startup India initiative, the Government aims to empower startups to grow through innovation and design. Several programs have been undertaken since its launch in January 2016 with an aim to contribute to his vision of transforming India into a country of job creators instead of job seekers. These programs have catalyzed the startup culture, with startups getting recognized through the Startup India initiative and many entrepreneurs availing the benefits of starting their own business in India.

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Startup

5 Ways You Can Prevent Your Business From Joining 90% Failed Start-Ups

why startup fail

According to Forbes, 90% of Start-Ups fail within one year of beginning their business. The statistic stands quite opposite to the dreams of most entrepreneurs to start and build a business that makes its mark in the market. The failures start-ups fail are majorly due to the organizations’ inability to identify the factors that might result in the downfall of their business. Below is a guide to the reasons due to which start-ups fail, so that you can read and avoid facing the same in your start-up:

Hear Out the MarketStart-up owners often do mistakes related to the market, including difficulty in understanding marketing trends, not understanding the right customer for the product and poor marketing. Organizations need to understand their market and its needs and cater to their services and products accordingly. This can range from products or services that are already out-of-use or too advanced to be accepted by the current market.

1. Is the Product Worth Selling
Start-ups often launch the product without even checking their importance and demand in the market. This often leads to the product being launched at the wrong time or not meeting the quality expectations. A good example of this scenario can be products that are suitable for specific seasons or occasions. A rather funny example of this could be selling woolen clothes in the summer season. While the product might be bought by customers willing to travel to colder places, but their count would be very less for a business to survive.

2. Focus on the Pocket
Money is as important to meet the customer’s budget, as important, it is for a startup to earn revenue. Sometimes start-ups end up delivering products or services that are way beyond the customers’ budget to be worth purchase. Reasonable pricing is a crucial factor for not only a product but also the brand to maintain its place in the market. Apart from the customers, start-ups also fall short of money in their beginning years. Take care that the product is unique and sustainable enough to convince your investors to provide some financial aid in need.

3. Your People Take You Ahead
As the saying is “Any Company’s Greatest Assets are its People”, people in any company play a vital role in both rising and fall of any company. It thus becomes crucial for start-ups to have the right people with the right mindset i.e., Skilled people with great conviction towards the brand and its products and services.

4. Know Your Customer
Once a product has reached the market, it is most essential to not only hear but also understand and work on what the customer has to say about the product or service. Focus on both the good and bad: work on delivering the good factors even more and eliminate the bad. Your customer has the power to take your product to unimaginable heights or toughest ends, depending on how you treat your customers.

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National Startup Awards 2021: A Great Opportunity for Young Entrepreneurs to get Recognition & Why Should you apply?

Startup Awards 2021

The National Startup Awards 2021 are back to recognize the contribution of another group of startups. Indian startups whose innovations have created a positive social impact by spurring innovation while being profitable will be rewarded.

The Indian startup ecosystem, which defied the odds during the pandemic has created record 12 unicorns. According to Economic Survey 2020-21, the startups in India have the potential to act as a catalyst in the growth in the medium to long run.

Indian startup ecosystem provides an excellent platform for entrepreneurs who dare to take an off-beat path when it comes to conceiving innovative products. Launched in 2020, the National Startup Awards aim to reward the startup ecosystem enablers, who are contributing to creating job opportunities, wealth creation, and have a measurable social impact.

These awards were first launched virtually on October 6, 2020, and the winners were facilitated by Piyush Goyal, the current Railways & Commerce Minister.

In the second edition of these awards, the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) will recognize startups, accelerators, and incubators in 49 sectors. There are also other eight special sectors.

The government is also considering promoting sectors via National Startup Awards to bolster the country`s manufacturing sector under its ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ scheme. The finalists who will receive the awards will serve as role models for the upcoming entrepreneurs who are struggling to make a name for themselves.

The award recognition will be conferred to sectors like agriculture, animal husbandry, education, fintech, and space. These categories are further divided into 49 sub-sectors. Apart from these traditional sectors, startups that are led by women and those impacting rural areas with their grit and innovation will also be recognized for their positive contribution.

One more category is also dedicated to startups that excel in content delivery in Indic languages. Fields such as detection, prevention, and monitoring of COVID 19 will also get recognition for inducing innovation.

The winner will be eligible for a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh each. A winner also is selected in each sub-sector of every category and would win a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh. DPIIT has started accepting applications for the second edition of the National Startup Awards. The last date for the application is February 10, 2021. If you want to participate, you can go to the website: https://www.startupindia.gov.in/awards

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Business motivation

Startup India Scheme: 69 Startups Registered in J&K With an Aim To Enable Startup Ecosystem and Foster Innovation in the Region

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Startup (Photo Credits: Pixabay)

Srinagar, February 10: The Startup India Scheme, which is an initiative by the Government for generation of employment and wealth creation, is gaining momentum. The goal of Startup India is the development and innovation of products and services and increasing the employment rate in India. In Jammu and Kashmir, as many as 69 startups have been registered in Jammu and Kashmir under the Startup India scheme, officials said. These startups aim to promote and boost start-up ecosystem across the region.

According to data from the Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI), 69 startups have been registered in the Union Territory. At present, the J&K government is focussing on several sectors including food processing, agriculture, renewable energy, handicrafts and handloom for promoting startups.

In a bid to enable the startup ecosystem and create awareness, outreach, and scouting of startups, Startupjk.com has also been made live. To foster the growth of startups in the region, the Central Government has announced a Rs 945-crore Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS). This will be operational from April 1, 2021, to 2025. In the same light, the Jammu & Kashmir administration is working to encourage startups and foster innovation, thereby creating jobs and boost economy.

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Startup

Govt. of India Free Online Learning Program for Start-Ups

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The Govt. of India initiative known as Start-up India is offering new businesses an incredible opportunity to learn the ways to establish, strengthen and grow their business. Its learning program is enabling thousands of startups to learn the skills to make their companies last for the long run in the highly-competitive market.

What is Start-up India Learning Program?

Start-up India, an initiative by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Govt. of India, provides a free online learning program for entrepreneurs. The motto of this initiative is to take start-ups of India to the next level with the help of structured learning.

Who initiated the program?

Start-up India scheme is an initiative by the Government of India that has been helping newly-started businesses to establish themselves in various ways. These include measures such as setting-up online portal and hubs to enable registration, grievance-handling, etc., and increasing the pace at which government procedures such as patent acquisition and registrations are done. The online portal of Start-up India has over 4 lakh users. Start-up India loan, another part of the initiative helps women entrepreneurs along with other underprivileged sections of the society such as SCs and STs with financing.

What does the program offer to aspirants?

The program consisting of 69 courses offers small and medium business enterprises with scope to boost their knowledge in a vast field of various business aspects such as technology, sales, security, management, and finance. It takes the learners on a journey of how the top 40+ founders of India started their businesses.

How can one register?

One can register for the 4-week training program by registering for it on the online platform of Startup India. The course aspirants have to fill a form asking for details such as name, email id, phone number, etc. along with the language they wish to pursue the program in.

Operating on a similar motto to make the country’s start-ups, SMEs and MSMEs reach another level of success through organized learning, Bada Business offers courses for companies, professionals, and students. Their Problem-Solving Courses namely “How to Start a Start-up” and “How to Scale a start-up” guide start-ups through the process of establishing and bringing growth to their business. Visit their website https://bit.ly/3c1ZyxT

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Startup

Amazon Partners With Startup India and Others To Help Startups Reach Global Audiences; Here’s All You Need To Know About the Startup Accelerator Programme

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In a bid to help early-stage startups take their brands to global audiences, Amazon has partnered with Startup India, Sequoia Capital India and Fireside Ventures. The collaboration, announced on January 19, will launch an accelerator programme to help and guide the startups. As part of the Startup Accelerator, Amazon has constituted a mentorship board consisting of Amazon leaders from India and across the world, VCs and senior leaders from Startup India. The application process will be open for about three weeks, following which 10 startups would be chosen for the accelerator.

Here’s How the startups will benefit from the Startup Accelerator

  1. Amazon will provide the support for these startups to launch their products worldwide through its exports programme – Amazon Global Selling.
  2. These startups will then get an opportunity to showcase their business proposition to partner VC firms – Sequoia Capital India and Fireside Ventures and three of them will get a chance to win a total equity free grant of USD 50,000 from Amazon.
  3. Amazon will also host open virtual mentorship sessions focused on peer learning by inviting veteran entrepreneurs and members from its mentorship board for startups, to network and learn from their existing ecosystem.
  4. Abhijit Kamra, Director – Global Trade at Amazon India, said that the programme will feature a six-week 1:1 mentorship module for the shortlisted participants where they will get to interact with Amazon leaders from India and worldwide and get firsthand knowledge on building and scaling up exports business through e-commerce.

The Amazon Global Selling Propel (AGSP) programme has been designed to support early stage startups (raised funding in post seed to pre-series A stage, if funded) in the consumer products space to launch in international markets and create global brands from India through Amazon’s Global Selling programme.

Deepak Bagla, MD and CEO of Invest India, said that the adoption of technology and digital transformation has paved the way for India to be at the forefront of innovation, giving rise to some of the best startups in the world. He said there are many promising, emerging brands that have the capability to become big and go global. Bagla said that his is a timely initiative by Amazon which can prove to be a big stepping stone for startups to build their business and get access to global markets.

Launched in 2015 with about 100 exporters, Amazon Global Selling today enables more than 70,000 Indian exporters to sell ”Made in India” products through its 15 international websites and reach customers in countries such as the US, the UK, UAE, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey, Brazil, Japan, Australia and Singapore.

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Startup

Mastercard`s Swipe makes this Indian Startup Nation`s First Unicorn Company in 2020

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In January 2020, India received its latest entrant into the unicorn club- Pine Labs, a startup valued at over $1 billion. After 22 years, since its inception, Pine Labs was the first to join the unicorn companies in India in 2020.

Pine Labs raised an undisclosed amount from New York-based financial services major Mastercard at a valuation of approximately $1.5 billion. Although the details related to the transaction were not disclosed, the funding round is estimated to be at $100- $150 million.

Founded in 1998 by Rajul Garg, Lokvir Kapoor, and Tarun Upadhyay, Pine Labs was initially launched as card-based payments and loyalty solutions provider. However, it was in 2009 that Pine Labs` real journey was started.

The founders of this Noida-based startup realized that the merchants were looking to find solutions to enhance their customer engagement during the payment process. Thus, they ventured into the traditional payments space intending to provide solutions to merchants by providing a point of sale (PoS) machines.

Pine Labs is not a brand that resides in your pocket. However, the chances are that you might have come across a point-of-sale (PoS) machine from Pine Labs while making a payment. It acts as a gateway to data that every merchant or business owner likes to store about their customers to understand them better.

Even during the COVID 19 pandemic, Pine Labs has recorded almost a 67 percent jump in monthly merchant onboarding due to digital transformation. From 12,000 every month to 20,000 merchant- onboarding in the last few months, Pine Labs has witnessed rapid growth.

Given that Pine Labs is over two-decade-old, many might say Pine Labs is not a start-up. However, the founder of the company thinks a little differently. According to Executive Chairman & Former CEO Lokvir Kapoor, Pine Labs still has the DNA of a startup because of the innovative measures and the agility it has always demonstrated.

Lokvir took over as CEO after Tarun Upadhaya and Rajul Garg left Pina Labs. He then spent the next 10 years taking the organization into the fintech world.

He stated, “there was a time when banks offered a counter sales terminal to merchants and the transactions carried out over a phone line. There was a gap in terms of what the merchants and the market needed from a payments technology solution, and what the banks were able to offer”.

To cater to their customers` needs, Pine Labs zeroed in on this gap by becoming a technology partner for several banks. It began providing merchants with PoS devices. Banks, in return, started referring Pine Labs to merchants.

Pine Labs has a versatile list of clients, which also includes the Future Group and Shoppers` Stop as its earliest clients.

Want to read about more success stories of Indian startups that have become unicorn companies in 2020? Then visit www.news.badabusiness.com.

If you need expert guidance to establish your startup, learn about our ‘Everything about Entrepreneurship’ course, which is designed specifically for upcoming entrepreneurs. Visit https://www.badabusiness.com/?ref_code=ArticlesLeads now!

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Success Story: How this Indian Discount Brokerage Firm Joined the Elite Unicorn Club 2020

zerodha success story

Trading and investments are the two terms that appeal to everyone. However, due to insufficient knowledge, brokerage charges, hefty commissions, and a reluctance to take the market risks are a few reasons why people refrain from testing the rivers.

When the world was facing the biggest global financial crisis during 2008 and 2010, the stockbroking companies experienced a downfall. While this challenge was faced by almost every broker in India, Bangalore-based discount broking firm, Zerodha was born during the same year.

Founded by the brothers Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath, Zerodha is India`s first discount brokerage firm. This decade-old bootstrapped startup emerged as one of the unicorns in India in 2020.

Considered one of the most valued online stock trading solutions in the Indian fintech ecosystem, Zerodha`s journey started with a team of five people. Today, it has more than 1,300 employees.

What makes Zerodha different from other full-service brokerage firms?

Zerodha is a discount brokerage firm that does not offer research services such as buy and sell recommendations to its client. This helps them save the cost of having a research team. Hence, it passes on the profit it makes by saving funds.

“In today’s day and age, it’s no more about the big beating the small – it’s about the fast beating the slow,” Nithin says.

“The foundation of any financial services business is built out of creditability and trust. The process was time taking and it took around eight years for the company to reach where it is today. In our first year, we opened 3,000 accounts and when the cost of the product is less, people tend to be suspicious about the quality”, Nithin said.

“Luckily, we have managed to build a community around us that strives on trust, and that eventually helped us in the long run. Even today, we don`t spend money on the advertising”, Nithin, CEO & co-founder of Zerodha added.

Earlier in June 2020, the company announced an ESOP buyback plan at around 5X the booking value, thereby putting its valuation at $1 billion. According to Harun List, shared in August 2020, Zerodha was evaluated at $3 billion.

In FY19, Zerodha recorded a net profit of Rs.350 crore on a revenue of Rs.850 crore. Over the past five years, the total client base was increased by nearly 40X to 2.8 million. Even during the pandemic, it has witnessed its average monthly user addition to be increased by double.

 

Zerodha has also launched an incubator fund Rainmatter in April 2019. The fund was created to invest in early-stage startups. The fund has invested in more than 14 startups.

Zerodha has four registered entities: Zerodha securities, Zerodha Commodities, Zerodha Broking, and Zerodha Capital.

“If you try to be the best, you will be number One, but if you try to be unique, you will be the only One”. With a firm belief in this statement, the founder-siblings are aiming to add 5-10 million new Indian investors in 2021.

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