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Devita Saraf – A Business Leader, a Role Model for Future Entrepreneurs

Samantha Mascarenhas
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Devita Saraf – A Business Leader, a Role Model for Future Entrepreneurs

With her unconventional and creative thinking, a woman changed our perception of television as an ‘idiot box into a Smart-Television equipped with the trending technologies. A business leader and a role model for future entrepreneurs, she is Devita Saraf – founder, CEO, and design head of VU Technologies, a luxury television brand. She is also the founder chairperson of the young Bombay forum – BCCI. Devita was born on 25th July 1981 in Mumbai. Her father, Raj Kumar Saraf is the founder of Zenith Computers Ltd, a computer manufacturing company, and her mother, Vijayrani Saraf is an economics professor. She completed her schooling at Queen Mary School, Mumbai, and pursued further studies at HR College of Commerce & Economics. She pursued her graduation in Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Southern California.

Being born and brought up in a business family, Saraf was interested in business management from a tender age. She started attending business conferences at the mere age of 16. Under the guidance of her father, she started her career in Zenith Technologies. She was named Director of Marketing when she was 21. She was incredibly passionate about leadership and gained a lot of experience while working in her father’s company.

At the age of 24, Devita founded her first company, VU Technologies, in 2006, which sold high-end LED Televisions. VU is currently the 4th largest selling brand in India which has sold more than 1.6 million televisions to date and has around 300 employees across its 11 offices. Before manufacturing televisions, VU studied its customer lifestyles – their needs, demands, requirements and after gathering all the information, it started manufacturing its televisions. Significant attention is paid to every detail, such as inspiration, design, aesthetics, to technology. The prime focus of the company is to manufacture unique products only for Indian millennial consumers. The brand has constantly been working towards ensuring premium products in the market suited for the millennial lifestyle. The company has a brighter future and potential because of its very strong reach and a huge millennial audience within the country.

Initially, Devita had to face many challenges because manufacturing televisions was predominantly believed to be a man’s occupation, and there weren’t many women who worked in the manufacturing industry. She believes that being in a tech business, one has to be incredibly innovative since the industry is customer and trend-oriented. The youth of our country has the potential to build products that enhance your lifestyle and work style. 

Devita advises the young women entrepreneurs of our country to – 

  • Aim Big. Don’t settle for less.
  • Be the CEO of your own life. Design your life the way you want it to be. Be a risk-taker and solve the problems you face on your own.
  • Always do it for your country. Strive to bring about a change in society. Move your society towards a modern level where women are seen to be business leaders and risk-takers.
  • Women have to be leaders. They have to be imaginative, intuitive as well as inclusive while working with people.
  • In the modern era of Artificial Intelligence, creativity plays a very important role, and that woman has a very inclusive and creative sense of leadership and power.

Devita was awarded Zee TV’s Young Woman Achiever Award and IT People Women Leadership Award in 2008. She was named as Indo-American Society’s Most Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur in 2010 and Business Woman of the Year – India Leadership Conclave in 2016. She also made it to the list of Fortune India – Top 50 Most Powerful Women in India and GQ 50 Most Influential Indians in the year 2019.

Anjali Sud – A journey to the CEO of Vimeo

Samantha Mascarenhas
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Anjali Sud – A journey to the CEO of Vimeo

A woman who faced rejection from every single investment bank, who was once told that she doesn’t possess the personality to be a banker, went on to become the CEO of Vimeo – the world’s largest ad-free open video platform out there. She is none other than Anjali Sud. Sud was born in 1983 in Michigan as a daughter of Indian immigrants. She graduated with a degree in B.Sc. in Finance and Management. Later on, she went on to pursue MBA from Harvard Business School.

During the initial days of her career, she tried everything from being a toy buyer, marketing diapers online to investment banking, after which she found a job at Vimeo as a Marketing Director in 2014, and later, went on to become the Head of Global Marketing in 2015 and finally CEO in July 2017.

Her journey after becoming CEO wasn’t easy; it was a pretty challenging and pivotal journey as the market was flooded with many competitors for Vimeo. She brought about some radical changes in the first 90 days after becoming the CEO. Vimeo primarily worked with creators of high maintenance and was more focused on content creation. But as the content price rose from millions to billions, it became difficult for Vimeo to compete with big giants; thus, it decided to change its business model to Software-as-a-Service (SAAS), whose market value exceeded $76 million by 2020. Thus, Vimeo transitioned from a video company that invested in content to becoming a technology company that invested in creators following an acceleration in the company’s growth.

Following are some of the critical lessons Anjali shares which she learned during the first 90 days of becoming a CEO:

  • Rip off the Band-Aid: Don’t be afraid to do the right thing even if it’s unpopular or not accepted easily. By making tough and sometimes uncomfortable decisions, ensures your teammates will respect you in the longer run. Everything starts with vision and values. It helps the company and individuals focus on a common goal.
  • Look where others aren’t looking: Have a passion for your work and prove yourself as a leader.
  • Own your shortcomings: Being self-aware and vulnerable is a sign of strength and not weakness. Find solutions for your inadequacies proactively, which can help you and your company grow leaps and bounds.
  • Lead with Mission. Execute with focus: Stay committed to your organizations’ mission even in the most challenging times. Turning your competitors into partners has been a prevalent and differentiated strategy.
  • Failure is essential to success: Failing early and often can be difficult but can be empowering. It would be best if you were comfortable acknowledging mistakes.

Anjali firmly believes that change is an inevitable part of any business, and every business and business owner must accept change indecisively. The world is moving too fast for us not to move with it.

Anjali Sud is featured on Fortune’s 40 influential young business leaders under 40 list. Sud was honored with a Muse Award by the New York Women in Film & Television along with Gloria Estefan and Ann Dowd in December 2019. She is a classic example of how failures and rejections should not demotivate one but instead learn from them, adapt to the changes and strive to succeed in your career!

The Unstoppable ‘Miss Fixed’ of TCS: Aarthi Subramanian

Himanwita Mazumdar
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The Unstoppable ‘Miss Fixed’ of TCS: Aarthi Subramanian

Aarthi Subramanian is a name to reckon with in the corporate world. She became the first woman to make it to the 18 billion dollar company board- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Her journey is the one to inspire all of the young generations.
Aarthi Subramanian did her schooling at Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP)-run school. Her father served in the Bhilai Steel Plant and was opined as a very hardworking, sincere man. His daughter, Aarthi, seemed to have imbibed these qualities in the truest sense. She was headstrong in whatever she did. After completing her schooling, she pursued a BTech degree in Computer Science from the National Institute of Technology, Warangal. She also holds a master’s degree in Engineering Management from the University of Kansas, USA.

Ms. Subramanian started her career as a graduate trainee in TCS in 1989. She became an analyst and project manager and then moved from Account Management to a Senior Executive role in TCS. She has worked in diverse roles in India, Sweden, the US and Canada, gaining rich experience in consulting engagements and large-scale technology programs and operations. Aarthi was the head of Delivery for seven years with the TCS Retail & CPG Business unit, where she was responsible for several strategic accounts and significant clients. She led the team to achieve excellence in customer service through relentless customer focus, rigour in service delivery, and proactive value addition focus. Aarthi also had a stint of over five years with Informix Software. After becoming Executive Director, one of her most challenging assignments was the Passport Seva Project for the complete makeover and digitization of the passport issuing process.

In 2015, She was appointed as The Executive Director, global head of delivery excellence, governance, and compliance of TCS. In addition, Ms. Subramanian serves as Non-Executive Director of the Company. Since 2017.

She is called ‘miss fixed’ by her colleagues, as she has her readymade answers for any challenge. She is a person with solid core values. Not only that, but she is a Bollywood movie buff and a fitness fanatic person. On a poor day, she walks 6 kilometers, but her normal distance is roughly 10 to 12 kilometers. Aarthi Subramanian is noted for her refusal to accept anything less than the best. She is a woman who represents a small sample of many influential female business leaders.

Flipkart: Startup that changed our shopping habits

Himanwita Mazumdar
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Flipkart: Startup that changed our shopping habits

It is difficult to believe that a single small business can radically alter our shopping habits; Flipkart, though, has done precisely that. In 2007, e-commerce was still seen as a separate business category, and most Indians shopped offline. However, the internet was taking over the world, and Steve Jobs had just released the world’s first iPhone, which was about to revolutionize the smartphone market in the coming years.

Sachin and Binny Bansal, two Indian software engineers from IIT, noticed the shifting dynamics of technology and recognized the potential of E-commerce. While there were only 50 million internet users in India, they understood that with the introduction of smartphones, it would only be a matter of time before more Indians were online. So they aimed to take advantage of this opportunity to create an online shopping platform that would elevate India’s buying experience.

India now has over 620 million internet users, with considerable growth in people purchasing online. What began as a two-person ambition to create India’s most trusted online shopping platform has grown into Flipkart, the country’s largest e-commerce site, with 150 million products, over 80 categories and over 200 million customers.

In 2007, after quitting Amazon, both Sachin and Binny Bansal pooled 0.4 million together and founded Flipkart. They chose to offer books on their platform because they found it easier to list, ship, and find vendors than other categories such as electronics or apparel, which might have costed them a lot of money.

People still didn’t grasp the internet, and doing business online wasn’t very common; therefore, most vendors were initially skeptical and distrustful of their business plan. However, the duo persisted and established their website in October of 2007 after persuading vendors. By the end of October, they had received their first order from Telangana. However, their delight over their first order quickly turned into a matter of concern when their vendors informed them that the book was out of stock. After frantically searching Bangalore for the book, the duo finally got their hands on it and delivered their first order successfully. With that, Flipkart was now officially open for business.

Within six months, the Bangaluru-based company was profitable, and by the end of 2009, Flipkart had sold 40 million worth of books. Flipkart received a $1 million investment from Accel Partners, a well-known investment firm, in 2009. The company had over 150 workers and three offices across India by the end of 2009.

Tiger Global joined as a new partnership in 2010, with the first investment of US$ 10 million.

Flipkart was able to take the next step now that it had established itself as India’s preferred marketplace for book enthusiasts. Flipkart was able to enter the electronics industry due to the new partners and increased investment. As a result, they began selling mobile phones in 2010.

Flipkart had still established enough influence among its clients to earn that level of trust. The founders were pushed to think in new ways as a result of this challenge. And that they were prepared to come up with a brilliant solution to implement Cash on Delivery. Flipkart was one of the first E-commerce companies to offer customers the option of paying with cash on delivery. The founders were utterly focused on establishing trust among Indian consumers. They doubled down on their goal by implementing a no-questions-asked return policy, followed by a replacement policy. They were willing to put client happiness ahead of growth.

Sachin served as the CEO of Flipkart for nine years. Binny Bansal took over the position of CEO in 2016, with Sachin becoming executive chairman. And in 2017, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, a former executive of Flipkart investor Tiger Global, was named CEO of Flipkart.

In 2014, Flipkart paid $300 million for online garment store Myntra, and in 2016, it paid $70 million for another fashion retailer, Jabong. In 2016, it acquired the payment startup PhonePe. eBay agreed to invest $500 million in Flipkart in exchange for an equity share and sell its eBay.in the company to Flipkart in 2017. Walmart purchased a 77 per cent share in Flipkart for $ 16 billion in 2018.

In 2016, Flipkart surpassed the 100 million customer mark, and Sachin and Binny were named to TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people list.

Seattle poses the greatest challenge to Flipkart with its e-commerce major, Amazon. Over $6.5 billion has been invested in the South Asian market by the American e-commerce company. Despite heated competition from archrival Amazon, the corporation has remained successful despite numerous fundamental leadership changes in recent years. Walmart’s $16 billion investment has proven to be a watershed moment, even if it resulted in co-founder Sachin Bansal’s departure. The Big Billion Days are outperforming their competition in terms of revenue.

Looking at India’s indigenous e-commerce company Flipkart’s journey, it’s evident that it never lost faith in its investors and customers. A success story like this doesn’t come too often. Flipkart has a lot of potential for continued growth and will be remembered for many years to come. Moreover, their success is a source of encouragement for young Indian entrepreneurs.

The undisputable significance of Startup Accelerators

Himanwita Mazumdar
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The undisputable significance of Startup Accelerators

There has been a well-publicized rise in startups and venture capital in recent years, corresponding with the emergence of new players in startup ecosystems. Startup accelerators have gotten a lot of interest but little exploration. Furthermore, they are sometimes confused with other early-stage startup assistance institutions such as incubators, angel investors, and early-stage venture capitalists.

Unique ideas can be used to address an issue, target a certain market niche, or even start a successful and profitable company. The execution, on the other hand, is just as vital as the concept. The path between a concept and its realisation frequently contains flaws that are only apparent in the long run. While investors assist companies in navigating obstacles, there is always a need for institutions that assist businesses with a structured strategy in their early stages of existence. Incubators and accelerators have been in high demand as a result of this requirement.

Startup accelerators provide education, guidance, and funding to early-stage, growth-oriented businesses. Startups enroll in accelerators for a set amount of time and as part of a cohort. The accelerator experience is a process of intensive, quick, and immersive education aimed at shortening the life cycle of nascent creative businesses by compressing years of learning-by-doing into only a few months.

How do the accelerators impact the startups?

  • It aids startups with defining and developing their early products, identifying viable client segments, and securing resources such as finance and people. Accelerator programmes, in particular, are short-term programmes (usually three months) that assist startup cohorts with the new venture process. They normally offer a small amount of startup money as well as office space. They also provide numerous networking opportunities with peers and mentors, successful entrepreneurs, programme graduates, venture capitalists, angel investors, or even corporate executives.
  • To promote the development of early-stage growth-oriented company ventures, Incubators and angel investors aim to assist startups during a vulnerable point in their development. Many of their qualities overlap with those of accelerators.
  • In a time-constrained format, it accelerates the learning cycle. In this way, founders can condense years of learning into just a few months. Finally, when an accelerator programme is in operation, it concentrates a lot of activity in a certain community in one location, creating a buzz around innovation and exposing multiple ecosystem actors to one another in a dynamic setting.
  • Compared to other major early-stage investors, such as leading angel investment groups, accelerators can have a beneficial impact on the performance of the firms they work with. This conclusion, however, is not uniform. Positive effects have only been attributed to major accelerators thus far. Aside from that, the impact of participating in an accelerator may be uncertain, if not downright bad.
  • Accelerators may significantly draw seed and early-stage funding and additional investors to a community, including outside of the accelerated firms. This could have a positive impact on the area economy as a whole.
  •  Accelerators that attract startup capital to a region have a favourable effect on overall job growth and entrepreneurship.

Planning a Business Startup? Choose the best Revenue Model

Himanwita Mazumdar
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Planning a Business Startup? Choose the best Revenue Model

The Bureau of Labor Statistics data says that around 20% of small businesses fail during their first year. 30% of startups fail within the second year. And by the end of the fifth year, half of them fail. One of the most typical blunders made by startups is a flawed revenue model or monetization plan. Choosing the finest revenue models for startups, among other things, is an absolute must when running a business!

“What is the monetization plan?” – is one of the essential questions on which investors base their decisions. The stability of a startup’s revenue model is critical to its long-term viability. This article covers top revenue models for startups and how to pick the right one for your company.

Transactional Revenue Model

Transactional Revenue Model is one of the numerous revenue models for startups generally used by organizations that provide a transactional service. For startups, the Transactional Revenue Model is pretty straightforward. To earn money, you must sell services and products. 

The issue with this concept is that it is dependent on the branding of your company. The number of users that buy or consume your services determines the long-term viability of your business or startup. 

E-commerce enterprises like eBay and crowdfunding organizations like Kickstarter are examples of transactional revenue models.

Affiliate Revenue Model

Startups that rely on the Affiliate Business Revenue Model make money by promoting links to other businesses’ products and services. It entails providing a service/product distribution solution online in exchange for a commission – either a percentage or a predetermined amount. Affiliate Revenue Model companies function as middlemen among the several revenue models for businesses, facilitating a common platform for merchants (or service providers) and customers (or clients).

The good news is that if your firm is exclusively built on the Affiliate Revenue Model, you won’t need to have your services or products. One of the disadvantages of the Affiliate Revenue Model for startups is that it will not sustain itself in the long term unless the service or product you are recommending has a significant number of customers. 

Awin.com is an example of an affiliate revenue model. 

Sales Revenue Model – Direct, Indirect, and Web

Among the various forms of revenue models for startups, the sales business revenue model is the most frequent. It entails your customer or clients purchasing your goods or services – whether directly, indirectly, or via the internet. Like when a customer visits your website and purchases your merchandise. 

Direct Sales: Your customer places an order for your products or services over the phone or in person. Alternatively, your customer may purchase your product or subscribe to your service through a face-to-face transaction with your representative.

Indirect Sales: Resellers selling your products/services are known as indirect sales. 

One of the most significant benefits of the Sales Revenue Model for startups is how easy it is to present to investors. It’s a well-proven revenue model. 

The disadvantage of this paradigm is that it needs the support of a highly experienced workforce. A team of highly talented web and mobile app developers is required for web sales. For selling your product/services directly to your customers/clients, you’ll also require a team of well-trained sales experts. 

Examples of Direct Sales Revenue Models are Buy.com, Amazon, and Etsy are just a few examples.

Subscription-Based Revenue Model

One of the greatest forms of revenue models for startups is the subscription-based business revenue model, which companies adopt worldwide. In exchange for your services or products, your customers are required to pay a recurring cost. It could be for a week, a month, a year, or even a lifetime.

The advantage of a subscription-based revenue model is that it allows for ongoing revenue. Once you have a good number of seed subscribers, your firm will develop faster if your products/services are good enough. However, the long-term viability of this revenue model is contingent on the number of members you have and their rate of increase over time.

Publishing organizations like Fortune.com and Medium.com use subscription-based revenue models, as do OTT apps like Netflix and CRM software like eWay CRM.

Ad-Based Revenue Model

The Ad-based Business Revenue Model is, in many ways, a subset of the Affiliate Revenue Model. It essentially asks you to place advertisements for other companies services and products on your website. You earn money each time a user completes a goal after clicking on an ad on our website. The goal could be as simple as clicking (Pay-Per-Click), subscribing to a channel/publication, making a purchase, and so on. 

The aim behind this approach, which is similar to other income models for businesses, is to strategically place adverts on your website that are more likely to be clicked by visitors without interfering with their user experience.

The Advertising Business Revenue Model has the virtue of being simple. To make money with your startup, you don’t necessarily have to sell your product.  However, for this income model to be viable for your company, you must increase visitors/users. 

Advertising Revenue Models Examples are Google, Youtube, and other search engines; Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms.

Freemium Revenue Model

You must have come across services/tools that offer a free basic version yet charge a fee for the premium version. On the other hand, these enterprises rely on a different best revenue model for startups: the freemium company revenue model.

The Freemium Revenue Model’s central premise is to get enough customers hooked on your services/tools to pay for the premium version. It allows businesses to grow their user base and market penetration while also earning money.

One of the benefits of this strategy is that it allows you to promote your services/tools while also expanding your startup’s user base. The Freemium Revenue Model necessitates a financial investment and still leaves you in the dark. 

Social Networking Channels – LinkedIn Tools – Flicker, MozBar, Evernote, Semrush are all examples of freemium revenue models.

Peer-to-Peer Revenue Model

A Peer-to-Peer model is one of the best revenue models for companies since it provides a platform that benefits both customers on opposite sides. Upwork is a well-known example of the peer-to-peer revenue model. This site essentially acts as a marketplace for entrepreneurs to find and hire freelancers and freelancers to find customers.

Upwork is a platform that allows startups and clients to engage with freelancers. On the other side, the website allows freelancers to take talent tests to demonstrate their competence and attract additional work. For this revenue model to operate, your firm must serve both end-users of the platform and clients and freelancers, just as Upwork does. 

Airbnb and Upwork are two examples of peer-to-peer revenue models.

As a result, selecting the suitable revenue model for a startup is critical when designing a company. Instead of relying on a single revenue model, many companies nowadays use various revenue models for their startups.

Start your business with little to no money, here’s how

Allwyn Mathew
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Start your business with little to no money, here’s how

You want to establish a business, but a lack of funds is precluding you from doing so? We have excellent news: there are several methods to get started without becoming a millionaire right away!

Money should not be the reason a brilliant concept is shelved, but unfortunately, a lack of funds is frequently the primary reason why entrepreneurs put their plans on hold. It’s easy to believe that the only way to get a firm off the ground is with big investment or the capacity to raise outrageous sums of money, but this isn’t always the case. 

Richard Branson’s story is likely to be one of the most motivating for any entrepreneur. With only £300 from his mother, he launched his magazine ‘Student,’ which served as the impetus for the whole Virgin Group. He is now worth more than 5.1 billion dollars.

The three founders of Starbucks took up their concept, having pooled $8,000 of their own capital and taken a loan, and nearly ten years later turned it into a billion-dollar enterprise.

Source Cash In Creative Ways

Innovative entrepreneurs devise a mechanism to obtain the funds they require when bank loans, pitching to investors, and other funding options are unavailable. Begin by considering what you currently have, such as savings, investments, or retirement money, and only invest what you can afford to lose. Don’t worry if you don’t have any money to draw on; there are plenty of inventive methods to raise the funds you require.

Airbnb’s two founders raised $25,000 for their company by purchasing cereal in bulk and packaging it with a catchy label. They sold their Obama O’s for $40 each at a Democratic National Convention and raised enough money to launch the now-billion-dollar enterprise.

Additional ways to get money:

Angel Investors: These are affluent individuals who make investments in return for a stake in a firm.

Crowdfunding: If you think your concept is good enough, why not take it to the public and try to get financing for it?

List Your Connections

It’s not what you know; it’s who you know, a phrase used so frequently in business because it’s unquestionably true. Begin by compiling a list of contacts and considering how they may benefit you. Do you know someone with whom you might trade skills? Perhaps you know someone who might create a website for free or expose you to their network of business connections in exchange for your expertise on one of their projects. You might also think about selling your services to make money.

Start Small

Simplify your plan and begin small rather than establishing a business with a complete product or service offering. It not only relieves a lot of stress, but it also saves money in the beginning by focusing on one product or service. Offering a single service or product at first allows you to focus on a specific target group and grow from there as the concept evolves.

Be Creative

Make something that you can sell on the internet. If your product is great, markets like Flipkart and Amazon may perform the marketing and sell for you. If you do not have your own items, how about reselling others’? This idea drives some of the most popular fashion e-commerce companies, curating and selling products to their communities. If you have a talent or a speciality, all you need to start a service business are the tools of your trade; this requires very little investment and is a fantastic way to start small in your local region.

Stop Procrastinating

Fear of failure is one of the facts that preclude brilliant ideas. Don’t wait for everything to be perfect before launching your business, and don’t let a lack of funds prevent you from creating something that might pay off in the long term.

BYJU’S, making millions fall in love with learning

Allwyn Mathew
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BYJU’S, making millions fall in love with learning

To make millions fall in love with learning.

This core tenet is the driving force of the Edutech Powerhouse known as Byju’s. The company is one of the few in the world to achieve DECACORN status. In business jargon, a DECACORN is any company valued at over $10 billion. A start-up, started as a bit more than a dream by a couple with a passion for teaching and education has grown into a powerhouse valued at over 2800 crores. The story of Byju’s is surprisingly similar and can be familiar to almost any youngster in the country. You create a start-up, invest your time and money in it, and hope for it to succeed. But what differs in Byju’s and the thousands of other start-ups in India is its colossal growth. This article examines how Byju’s began and why is its success so relevant even in today’s Pandemic dominated world and market

Founded by Byju’s Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath in 2011, Byju’s is educational technology, or Edutech company mainly focussed on providing Mathematical, scientific, and English-Language related instruction to students across India. It started as Think and Learn, an app providing video-based learning programs for children from the k-12 demographic and competitive entrance exams. In 2012, the company entered the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 India and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific ratings, specifically recognizing the fastest-growing tech companies in India and Asia. 

 In August 2015, nearly four years post-launch, the company launched the App it later became synonymous with. Byju’s, named after the owner Byju Raveendran, aimed at conceptual and visual learning, which was and still is a revolutionary concept for many Indians, whose entire education is based on rote memorizing and learning for exams. Raveendran believed that if children are engagingly taught basic math and science, they can absorb and grasp it easily, rather than mug up concepts or formulae. Learning is an intrinsic process, according to Raveendran, and spoon-feeding anyone is not going to help them grasp the skill 

The subject is trying to teach. Making children consider their lessons to be enjoyable rather than an obligation will instill a love for the subject in children, which will help them in the future should they choose to pursue a career in the subject. This was the philosophy that Raveendran followed and built on, and it worked. The success of Byju’s proves how an innovative idea and an innovative approach to something rendered tedious in today’s times can make even the simplest ideas into Multi-billion dollar companies.

Born in a small town called Azhikode located on the coast of western Kerala, Byju Raveendran was born to a family that prioritized education. His mother is a physics teacher, and his father is a maths teacher. Like any small-town boy, he grew up, causing trouble and playing cricket, Table tennis, and soccer. His natural aptitude in Mathematics and the Sciences inculcated a love for engineering in him, and his sporty persona crafted his competitive side.

In time, he gained enough skill in mathematics that he began tutoring his friends for the CAT, the eligibility test for the most prestigious business schools in India, the IIM’s. For curiosity’s sake, he decided to take the exam himself, and to his immense surprise scored the 100th percentile. Considering it to be a fluke, he took it again and again, got the 100th percentile.

Despite this score, he turned down his seat at the institute and instead began to offer his services to tutoring aspirants. His coaching classes’ popularity skyrocketed, and before long, he began to teach over-crowded venues filled with students as if to witness a concert or show, but instead of music, they were here to witness a master at work, whose innovative methods managed to make even maths a game

The gift Raveendran has is his ability to teach concepts instead of solving problems. Indeed, his students were said to have said this about him “He has an uncanny ability to teach you complicated concepts with lucid visuals that help you understand everything from a first-principles perspective.”

In his years of teaching, something like lightning struck him when he realized that many students he taught lacked foundational skills in core subjects like maths and science, as up until now, his students had only been introduced to solve problems, not to understand and dissect them. This persists as a common problem in India, where several studies have shown the lack of problem-solving skills and logical reasoning in Indian students

In his own words, Raveendran says, “Our product is built on that strong belief that when students learn on their own, where they take the initiative, whatever you call learning, that counts for 50%. Unfortunately, today it’s 100% spoon-feeding in many students’ cases, 100% learning for exams, and not the other way around. The other way around are you learning such that exams are taken care of. They are just part of the process and not the end of it,”

In his system, he and his wife Divya develop content to make learning exciting and fun rather than a chore. They also managed to break through to the parents of the children they wanted to target by making their App user-friendly and interactive, making it easy for parents to monitor the child’s progress. Another innovative approach focuses on individual learning programs and growth, and Byju does this by building a personalized learning plan for their consumer. Algorithms work by learns which concepts a student may need more practice at and adjusts learning plans accordingly.

The financial aspect of Byju’s success story is also surprisingly successful. In the words of InnoVen Capital India managing director, Vinod Murali, What Byju has done really, really well and why he is getting all this love from the market is because he cracked the commerce part of the question very, very successfully. It’s not like other people are not doing this, but they are doing it differently. Byju’s is maybe more than a year ahead in terms of business volumes, and that’s showing,”

The Founder and Manager Director of Khetal Advisors, Kunal Walia, has this to say about Byju’s: “There is deep learning and deep brand visibility that gets built when you are an offline company, to begin with. For you to transition to online, it becomes simpler because there is some recall factor there, and people view that as one of the experts in the domains. That brand elasticity of moving from offline and expanding to online is what served Byju’s considerably, along with obviously the content,”

All of this, along with the simplicity of Byju’s model, is a testament to the model’s success. It shows us that innovation can start in the simplest of places, and in doing so, can make miracles out of seemingly simple ideas. The story of a simple Engineer from Azhikode and a Bangalore techie who dreamed of bringing educational technology to the masses is a testament to how hard work and creativity can make any enterprise worth the name of a Decacorn.

Ace your startup pitch with these proven techniques

Allwyn Mathew
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Ace your startup pitch with these proven techniques

A startup’s future success is contingent upon its ability to pitch successfully. It is one of the most effective strategies for attracting investors and ensuring the success of your concept. Your pitch must be well-structured and consistent with all of your core ideas.

If this is your first time, you may be unsure how to put it together. Your business’s success may be heavily influenced by how you market it initially; therefore, you must do it correctly from the outset.

Here are some of the best suggestions to assist you in developing the ideal startup pitch for your business.

Maintain Simplicity

Keeping things simple is critical when preparing a pitch. The individuals you’re attempting to contact are almost certainly inundated with similar documents on a daily basis, so yours must stand out. This is why being precise and concise is critical.

While you do not want it to be excessively long, you also do not want it to be overly brief. Before you begin writing, create an outline of all the content you wish to include. After that, you’ll be much more prepared to begin writing and putting things together straightforwardly and fluidly.

Create a Persona for Your Target Audience

Which target demographic you wish to attract is essential to emphasize because it will assist you in simplifying things for your audience. Each business manufactures goods or services for a specific clientele. You should list some of the characteristics that these individuals will share, such as their age, gender, and nationality.

All of this demonstrates to potential investors that you have given your business idea considerable thought. As a result, because they know you’ve planned ahead of time, they’re more likely to support it. The products or services they will invest in will sell much more easily if you have already identified a buyer.

Communicate Your Brand’s Story

It is critical to discuss why you decided to begin bringing your business concept to life in your startup pitch. To persuade investors, you must demonstrate your enthusiasm for your endeavor.

Although it may take up a small portion of your pitch, you should include a few details about how it all began. Write about your business’s vision, future goals, and ideas, as well as how you envision it a year from now. By infusing your pitch with emotion, you can hopefully persuade your investors to make the right choice.

Make An Investment in Proofreading and Editing

Additionally, you should correct any minor spelling and grammar errors in your pitch. While these may not appear to be significant issues, keep in mind that several errors can give your pitch an unprofessional appearance. This may have a detrimental effect on their perception of you, and they may choose not to support you as a result.

You can easily find low-cost tools to assist you in editing and proofreading your pitch online. Grammarly and Hemmingway Editor are both easy to use and can help you present your pitch professionally.

Discuss The Numbers

When it comes to persuading potential investors to help you bring your idea to life, it is critical to include some numbers. This simply means that you must demonstrate how their money will be spent to get your business idea to life.

The first thing you should establish is the financial requirements of your business. Additionally, you should discuss your projected timeline for profitability as well as your initial investments. These will demonstrate to investors that you have a firm grasp on the subject and are willing to commit.

Allow Investors To Demonstrate Your Product

Finally, allowing investors to interact with your products or services is critical to developing a compelling business pitch. While it may require some financial investment to produce a few items, nothing will entice them more.

This will ensure a seamless experience and a favorable impression of your commitment. As a result, allowing these people to sample the products is critical if your presentation is to be a success.

When considering starting a new business, it is always prudent to begin with a plan. This will assist you in not only keeping track of your ideas, but also in tracking your success. The more organised you are at the beginning of your journey, the easier it will be in the long run.

The new trends and what the future holds for the Real Estate Market of Kerala

Allwyn Mathew
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The new trends and what the future holds for the Real Estate Market of Kerala

Kerala never ceases to amaze. Thanks to foreign remittance from the significant share of the NRI population and the tourism sector, the state has one of the largest economies in India. Real Estate is one of the few sectors which was not significant in contributing to its economy till the first half of the 2010 decade. However, things changed rapidly and have grown as one of India’s leading real estate hotspots. In the past few years, the colossal growth of Kerala’s business and IT sector has galvanized the sudden boom in real estate investments. Excellent Public infrastructure, outstanding conveyance facilities, and top commercial development have helped bring in investments with no qualms.

With an upward trend in the job opportunities in Kerala in many industries like IT, Education, Hospitality, Healthcare, and tourism, there is an increasing demand for urbanization and housing facilities. While the Government is investing in facilities like IT parks, Metro, Airports, public transport in major metropolitan cities like Kochi, Trivandrum, and Kozhikode; the top developers of Kerala are making sure they are building top-notch shopping malls, theme parks, commercial and residential buildings of global standards. These factors indeed helped the NRI Population, working professionals, and the affluent percentage of Keralites to invest in the Real Estate market to get a remarkable experience.

Let’s take a look at the latest trends that paved the way.

Technology

The quality of a real estate project has increased with the introduction of Technology aptitude. With digitalization, the projects are completed swiftly, allowing the builders to work on different projects simultaneously to meet the ever-growing demand. Both the construction industry and the lifestyle of people were transformed with the introduction of IoT (Internet of Things). ‘Smart’ has been incorporated into the lifestyle with the Automation of home appliances to provide the optimal user experience.   

Green Home and Sustainable Consistency

With the introduction of new policies to promote sustainable living by curbing environmental hazards and climatic change, builders focus more on eco-friendly projects, from procuring raw materials to creating the right design. The young generation is conscious about these topics and understood their importance. 

Greater importance on the security

While most properties offer security services like doorkeepers and front desk personnel, Homes and properties are becoming more innovative with technologies like smart locks and other security automation systems. CCTVs provide a sense of safety to their customers. The gated community offers swimming pools, play areas for children, gardens and health clubs, etc.

Interiors 

Interiors are planned to get sleeker and have a sophisticated look with the arrival and usage of modern technologies; investors and buyers want a sleek and stylish look as their interior design structure. Builders and interior designers are designing elegant, regal contemporary designs to attract the millennial. 

Due to the ongoing unprecedented pandemic situation, the real estate demand in Kerala reduced by 15 to 25 percentage. According to the Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai), there is a decline in NRI investments due to the Job crisis in the Middle Eastern countries. Earlier, 80 per cent of the flats bought by the NRI’s have now been reduced to just 50 per cent. However, Kerala is always known for its resilience showing signs of fast recovering from its effects. There is an upsurge in the number of inquiries received by top Real Estate developers from NRI’s of different parts of the world, hoping to close the final two quarters of the year on a high note. 

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