Tag: startups

How Startups Can Leverage Influential Marketing Effectively?

Influencer marketing for startups can help you enhance your business reach and connect with your potential customers. Ready to leverage influencer marketing for your startup?

Being a startup business, your current focus with marketing goals should be getting your name out there and being noticed by the right people. But, due to the limitations of the budget, you are unable to fulfill your goals.

If you are in the same situation, then Influencer marketing being a highly-efficient and cost-effective marketing method is the perfect opportunity for you.

Influencer marketing for startups can help you enhance your business reach and connect with your potential customers.

Ready to leverage influencer marketing for your startup?

We will discuss everything about it in this blog. Before that let’s take a look at the different types of influencer marketing collaborations you can explore for your startup growth.

Types of Influencer Marketing Collaborations To Deal With

It’s better to understand what are the possible methods for an influencer marketing collaboration for your startup on the basis of your requirements. Here are the different types of collaborations you can deal with.

  • Sponsored Collabs

The oldest and most effective way to carry forward an influencer marketing campaign for your startup is by doing sponsored collaborations. Under this type of collaboration, you can share a photo, video, or reel created by the influencer, where the influencer is responsible for promoting your offer or products in a natural way so that the customers don’t feel like the influencer is selling something.

A study by Influencer Marketing Hub stated that micro-influencers are playing an exceptional role for startups and businesses. Even though their followers are fewer than macro or mega influencers, the micro-influencers audience is more engaged and action-taking.

  • Affiliate Link Strategy

Startups can also develop a unique affiliate link for various influencers, which the influencers can promote using their channels. This directly helps the startup in enhancing its reach and sales. Affiliate links can be helpful for influencers as well, as they can get around 10-15% of every sale made through their unique affiliate link.

  • Giveaways

You can collaborate with influencers to give a giveaway to his/her audience. By developing a giveaway-based influencer marketing program, you can easily create a buzz around your startup’s name.

You can also develop a 2-3 step content for the audience, which the audience would have to fulfill to take part in the giveaway.

  • Brand Ambassadors

If you are looking for long-term influencer partnerships, who can help you create your regular social media content, then Brand Ambassador based campaigns are the perfect option for you.

A number of businesses create macro and micro-influencers as their brand ambassadors which enhances their reach and generates sales. If you are unaware of the right ways to leverage influencer marketing for your startup, then make sure to follow the upcoming section.

Effective Ways To Leverage Influencer Marketing For Startups

Year Number of Users in Billions
2019 3.4
2020 3.6
2021 3.78
2022 3.96
2023 4.12
2024 4.27
2025 4.41

More than 90% of marketers suggest investing in influencer marketing and that’s because they understand the potential influencer marketing holds.

Currently, there are more than 3.5 billion active users of social media platforms and by investing in influencer marketing for your startup, you can tap into them easily.

Let’s understand the ways that can help you leverage influencer marketing for your startup.

1- Search For The Right Influencer:

The first step in building an influencer marketing campaign for your startup is to search for the right influencer for your brand. Finding influencers manually is the perfect way to do so. As it gives you a better idea about their engagement rate, the audience following them, how effective their previous influencer marketing campaigns were, and many more.

Working with the right influencer is a key factor behind the success of your campaigns. The influencers who are relevant, highly engaging, authentic, and resonate with your brand values can contribute exceptionally to your influencer marketing campaign.

Factors to consider when selecting influencers for your startup are as follows:

    • Audience:

The major reason behind selecting the right influencer is that you are able to reach your target audience. Hence, it’s important to work with influencers that have a relevant audience for your startup.You can take advantage of the audience demographics feature offered by influencer marketing platforms and tools to identify which influencer has an audience from your target location, age, and gender.

    • Engagement Rate:

Engagement rate is one such metric that shows how well the audience responds to the influencer’s content. To check out the engagement rate on a post of an influencer, you can add likes and comments on a post of the influencer, divide the total by the number of followers the influencer has, and multiply the final result by 100.

You can also use tools to find out the engagement rate of influencers online.

    • Relevance:

Make sure to work with influencers who are a good fit for your startup. For example: If you are a real estate startup, you would not want to collaborate with influencers from the food blogging industry.

By collaborating with relevant influencers for sponsored posts, you will have an enhanced ROI.

    • Content Quality:

By working with an influencer you give them complete freedom to create the best possible content for your sponsored posts. Hence, the content quality of the influencers will be representing your startup.

That’s why select influencers create high-quality content that is a perfect fit for your brand image.

    • Frequency of Content:

When you are looking for the right influencers it’s important for you to keep an eye on how often the influencers publish content. Select influencers who post their content with a perfect balance between normal and sponsored posts.

You should also check out the comment section of the sponsored posts of influencers. If there are negative comments it means the influencer must be promoting a lot of brands/products.

    • Values:

More than 60% of consumers trust influencer recommendations, you just need to check if the values of your brand resonate with the influencer. To learn more about an influencer’s values, you should check out their bio, post captions, and stories as well.

By having a look at these factors you can get a good enough idea about their likes and dislikes. This evaluation process would be highly effective for you to select an influencer with the right values for your startup.

2- Work on Creative Ideas

One factor to integrate into influencer marketing campaigns for your startup is “Creativity” as it will help you in attracting the attention of your target audience. Your campaign should be both informative and entertaining to create a buzz.

Make your influencers understand everything about your startup and the goals you have in your mind regarding the campaign. Along with that, you should also provide influencers the freedom to work on creative ideas, as they know their audience better than you.

You can offer suggestions to the influencers around the content for a better output.

3- Set SMART Goals

The SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) foundation works effectively for startups and business growth. If you are able to understand the framework of setting SMART goals, then there are high chances of your campaign succeeding.

For an influencer marketing campaign, it’s important to set SMART goals before launching. Startups should have a clear idea about what they want to achieve.

Some common goals startups should consider for their next influencer marketing campaign:

  • Enhance brand awareness
  • Fetch more followers
  • Build a loyal community
  • Generate more leads

There are a lot of startups that create unrealistic goals and they are never able to achieve even 1% of them.

Hence, by setting SMART goals, you can push yourself further, give yourself a sense of direction, and help you achieve your goals effectively.

4- Focus on Micro-influencers from your niche

In a Linqia Survey, it was found that more than 89% of marketers prefer working with micro-influencers because they have a better grip on their audience and their audience is more action-taking.

Hence, you can expect a better ROI by finding micro-influencers from your niche. Startups and micro-influencers are the perfect combinations, these influencers build personal connections with their audience, which can lead to a better impact.

Some benefits of using micro-influencers from your niche are:

    • Higher Authenticity:

If you have a look at the journey of most of the micro-influencers, you’ll come across they have built their following from scratch by focusing more on their content quality and relation-building with their audience.

Although they have few followers, those followers listen to the influencer, which can directly enhance your campaign’s ROI by dealing with such influencers.

    • Cost-Effective:

When you have a look at the per-post pricing of macro or mega influencers, they charge thousands of dollars. On the other hand, micro-influencers charge between $150 to $550 for a single influencer marketing campaign, which can help startups save a lot of money.

    • Better Conversion Rate:

Whenever micro-influencers say something about a startup or a brand they are heard by their audience and their opinion plays an important role in the life of their audience, which later can help in generating better conversion rates.

5- Barter Collabs

Influencer marketing for startups can be a challenging task, firstly because it’s a bit difficult for you to choose the right influencer, and secondly, most influencers charge a lot of money for sponsor posts.

Hence, to solve this issue you can move forward with influencers who are ready to work with your startup for free products or services from your end.

This type of influencer collaboration is called the Barter Collaboration. In this way, you create a win-win situation for both the startup and the influencer.

We hope these tips must have given you an amazing idea about how to leverage influencer marketing for startups.

6- Content & CTAs

Another important and effective way to leverage influencer marketing for your startup is by focusing on the content and CTAs that are going to be in the sponsored post.

Although you can offer complete creative freedom to the influencer, to make the content more effective and to the point you can integrate the best copywriting tips and work on the intent of your content.

Top Influencer Marketing Trends To Follow in 2023

In 2021, more than $3.6 billion dollars were spent on influencer marketing in the US and these stats are increasing exceptionally with every passing year. Till now we have discussed how we can leverage influencer marketing effectively for startups.

Another way to leverage influencer marketing is by focusing on the top influencer marketing trends.

Some of those trends are as follows:

    • Brand Leveraging Micro-Influencers The Most

Micro-influencers are social media personalities or accounts with followers ranging between 10,000 to 1,00,000. Launchmetrics found out that micro-influencers have the higher Media Impact Value (MIV).No matter if these influencers have a lesser following, their audience engagement is higher, even better than a few celebrities or mega influencers.

    • Repurposing Influencer Marketing Content on Social Media

Another trend that is being followed by brands is to repurpose influencer marketing content for different social media platforms. In this way, brands are able to carry forward cross-platform promotions without spending any extra money.

Most brands will be opting for influencers who can use storytelling marketing strategy for promotions of startups/brands, and later the companies can repurpose their content on various platforms.

    • More Video Content Will Be Pushed

It has been noticed that video content is loved by the audience, as it is easy to understand, and that’s why most social media platforms are pushing video content over static posts.VideoWise did a study and concluded that brands/startups were able to add 999+ hours on time site per month just by adding influencer videos to the product pages.

Final Words

Startups have a lot of issues to tackle on a daily basis and a limited marketing budget is one of them. By leveraging influencer marketing effectively for your startup you can overcome marketing limitations and achieve your goals of better brand visibility and higher conversions.

Jessica Robinson loves to write interesting and knowledgeable blogs regarding business management, education and life to satiate the curiosity of her lovely readers. Currently, she is serving as a content manager at the ‘Speaking Polymath’. Every piece of content that she writes demonstrates her immense love and passion for her profession.



5 Top Countries in Europe for Startups

Here is a look at some of the leading countries in Europe for startups, in no particular order, as it may depend on what specific incentives or business landscape you are searching for.

It can make a huge difference as to where in Europe you decide to start a new business. Some countries embrace people with an entrepreneurial flair more than others and there are huge differences between borders when it comes to aspects of running a business such as taxes and incentives.

If you search for company registration Ireland, for example, you will quickly discover that it is a country that is geared towards encouraging startups. That could make it a suitable venue for registering your business, and it would be among one of the top 5 in Europe.

Here is a look at some of the leading countries in Europe for startups, in no particular order, as it may depend on what specific incentives or business landscape you are searching for.

Ireland offers tax incentives

It is widely considered that Ireland has a very favourable tax regime. It offers a comparatively low corporation tax rate of 12.5%, and it also offers some potentially advantageous double tax agreements.

It is worth noting that this generous tax regime is also a positive aspect when your business becomes profitable. If you are looking to sell your startup once it has become established the tax incentives in Ireland could make it a very attractive acquisition target.

Estonia is regarded as the digital capital of the world

Estonia has deliberately positioned itself as a digitized economy and has made it very easy to obtain a work and entrepreneurial visa.

You can even become an e-resident of Estonia so that you can manage your Estonian business remotely.

As you would expect, it has a highly favourable corporation tax framework. If you are an IT startup, Estonia is definitely a country that should be on your radar.



Great Britain is open for business

The capital city of London is well established as a startup-friendly environment that is considered unrivaled anywhere else in the world, outside of Silicon Valley.

Some of the other major cities in Great Britain, such as Manchester and Birmingham are competing for startups. That means you can often get great deals and incentives on business premises, plus access to a very competent and skilled workforce.

Sweden has proved to be a good breeding ground for startups

You only have to look at some of the success stories coming out of Sweden to appreciate that this is a great country to found a business in.

The country seems to pride itself on encouraging entrepreneurs who are successful in disrupting established industries by using digital technologies to make their mark.

If your startup was based in Sweden you would be amongst good company.

Finland ticks a lot of boxes

Finland is a country that definitely punches above its weight. It offers a very work-friendly environment and hosts a plethora of very successful tech companies.

In addition, Finland is renowned for welcoming startups. It even has a local ecosystem that tracks the progress of the top 100 startups. The government is also proactive with grants and loans available.

All of these venues offer attractive terms and conditions if you are a startup. They also provide a great place to live as well as work, so making your choice could be a hard decision.



Contracts You Need to Set Up Before Your Startup Opens for Business

If you are not careful with your startup, you could fail out of the gate. One thing you need to do is to set up the right contracts before you open for business.

Many startups have gone on to become multi-billion dollar companies. This includes companies like Netflix, Uber, Instagram, and Square, among many others. However, if you are not careful with your startup, you could fail out of the gate. One thing you need to do is to set up the right contracts before you open for business. Below are just some of the examples.

Operating Agreement

While it is indeed possible to found a startup company without a legally binding contract on paper, doing so would be extremely foolhardy and introduce your company to a host of different problems. One contract you should have from the beginning is an operating agreement. Whether your company is an LLC, corporation, or some other legal entity, an operating agreement will explain who owns what percentage of the company, how decisions are made between owners, and how disputes will be resolved. It may even explain how founders can leave the company. Overall, it’s the basic framework your startup needs to operate.

Employment Agreements

Founding a startup typically requires hiring staff to get your project up off the ground and transform it into a fully functional business. As such, you’ll need to draft employment agreements with different hires to ensure that the best interests of your company and your employees are attended to. Contracts should also be carefully drafted for independent contractors. These contracts should outline how payment works and what will be expected of workers while on the job. It can help to have some templates set up before you start hiring.



Intellectual Property Agreements

One of the most important legal aspects of a startup, or any business for that matter, that needs to be protected via legally binding contracts is that company’s intellectual property. Intellectual property agreements will specify that any ideas, concepts, or other work product created within the scope of work for the company will belong to the company. The wording of such contracts should protect your property rights so employees or contractors cannot claim later that they own your intellectual property.

Confidentiality Agreements

Protecting your company also means protecting trade secrets. This is why confidentiality agreements are so important. They will help prevent the secrets you have developed that will give your company a strategic advantage from falling into the hands of your competitors. Without such an agreement, you can’t trust that these secrets won’t leave with your employees to another company.

While you can find many contract templates online, it’s always a good idea to consult with a business lawyer, like those at the Carter West business law firm. They can give you information specific to your situation and company needs. That way, your contracts will cover all of your bases.

Startups have a high risk of failure. One way to lessen that risk for  your new company is by having the right contracts in place from launch. The examples above are only a starting point. Discuss what contracts you need to create with a seasoned business attorney.



What should you know about key convertible debt terms for your start-up?

There are some basic terms in convertible debts that you need to understand for receiving quick financing with minimum risks. Here are a few convertible debt terms defined for you.

When it comes to start-up funding, seed financing is the most famous avenue to raise investments for the founders. In recent years, though, convertible debts have become a favored choice due to several reasons. They bridge the gaps to find early investments, create the product, and get running.

Unlike priced equity rounds, there are no unending hours to work out the details or hefty legal costs for negotiating or drafting the equity structures. However, there are some basic terms in convertible debts that you need to understand for receiving quick financing with minimum risks. Here are a few convertible debt terms defined for you.



Understanding the Maturity Date

You can comprehend the maturity date as a deadline for a preferred round during which the convertible note can be changed into equity. It is determined at the time of creating the note and is applicable for two years after signing it. If the debt does not convert automatically after the maturity date, investors can demand their money.

Similarly, if the conversion notes accrue interest, it provides incentives for investors to wait because equity will be more significant once the founders can find a financing route.

Understanding the Qualifying Financing Round

When a company issues shares in return for investor’s money, it creates a qualifying round. A qualifying round should have a predefined size to become a conversion event.

For example, the company may set a minimum of $100,000 as a total investment for the event. It is a predefined amount negotiated when creating the debt instrument and sets the limit of the amount within the next equity financing event.

If the money received is more than the qualified financing event, your debts will convert into equity. It also offers protection to the investors against the rounds where the company can’t raise hefty capital and restricts the investors from collecting the interests.

On the other hand, the company and founders can earn significant capital in the equity round without any complications of additional share issues.



Understanding the Valuation Cap

The valuation cap is one of the critical convertible debt terms defined by the experts. It offers protection to the investors against dilution in the start-ups having high-growth funding rounds.

When you have a valuation or conversion cap, you can put limitations on the company value so that the note conversion wouldn’t happen at more than the agreed limit. It sets a threshold for convertible notes where investors may bag a substantial stake in the company.

For example, after a million-dollar investment, if a start-up gets valued at $100 million, the investors will get nearly ~1% in the company.  If it has a $10 million valuation cap on the convertible note, the investors will get about 10% of stake in the company.

Understanding the Conversion Discount Rate

The convertible debts may also have a discount rate mentioned in the terms. This rate is beneficial for the investors as it values the shares at a lower price when converting the notes into stocks.

For example, an investor purchases a note of $500,000 with a 20% discount, and the company issues shares at $10/share during a round. In this scenario, the investor has to pay only $8 for each share to receive nearly 62,500 shares, instead of 50,000 shares you would’ve bought through participating in the round.

These are some important convertible debt terms defined for investors putting their money in a start-up with a promising future.



25 potential billion dollar startups

This list represents the 25, in alphabetical order, that we think to have the best shot of reaching a billion-dollar mark.

Forbes has teamed with TrueBridge Capital Partners for the sixth year in a row in search of the country for the 25 fastest growing venture-backed up startups the valuation of which is most likely to reach $1 billion. On one hand, Forbes reached to more than 100 startups directly and on the other hand true Bridge has asked 300 venture capital forms to nominate those companies that they think will most likely become unicorns. Then came the deeper look, as we analyzed finances for roughly 140 of them and interviewed founders. This list represents the 25, in alphabetical order, that we think to have the best shot of reaching a billion-dollar mark.

1. Acorns

  • Founder(s): Jeff Cruttenden, Walter Cruttended
  • CEO: Noah Kerner
  • Equity Raised: $257 million.
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $50 million.
  • Lead investor(s): Bain Capital, e.ventures, Greycroft, NBCUniversal, PayPal, TPG Capital

Malta Cruttenden formerly ran the E-trade investment banking arm and his son Jeff established fintech Acorns in 2012. the idea was to roundup customers’ extra change from debit and credit card purchases and invest them automatically. The focus is on ETFs, build an algorithm taking help from Nobel Prize winner economist Harry Markowitz. In 2014, this duo brought in and launched a 42-year-old serial entrepreneur as Noah Kerner as CEO. Acorns, charges $1 a month for investments which have 7.7 million users and $2.3 billion of assets under management. Acorns offer retirement and checking accounts too for $3 a month. Acorns saw its biggest gush of new customers in a day on March 18, 2020, as the S&P 500 dropped 5%. Kerner says, “Every downturn has ended in an upturn.”

2. Algolia

  • Founder(s): Nicalas Dessaigne, Julien Lemonie
  • CEO: Bernadette Nixon
  • Equity Raised: $184 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $50 million.
  • Lead investor(s): Accel, Alven, SaaStr Fund, Salesforce Ventures

Checking out and online class on Coursera’s website or looking for an NPR for your favorite radio show? Unknowingly you might be using Algolia’s software. To increase the online engagement and revenue those companies and the likes of Twitch, Under Armour, and Slack are amongst 9000 businesses that completely rely on Algolia power search boxes on their sites. With the help of San Francisco- based firms help visitors make 3 billion searches a day. The startup is now also offering to personalize websites automatically for every visitor and provide analytics of what happens after a search like whether it leads to a purchase. Dessaigne, 43, a co-founder says, “The bar of expectations of a great experience is a set by Google Netflix Facebook and it’s only getting higher.” “99.9% of companies can’t Bridge that gap between what they could do internally and expectations of the users that’s where we fit in.”

3. Andela

  • Founder(s): Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Ian Carnevale, Nadayar Enegesi, Jeremy Johnson (CEO), Brice Nkengsa, Christina Sass
  • Equity Raised: $181 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $50 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, CRE Venture Capital, Generation Investment Management, Spark Capital.

Andela works from its headquarters in NewYork to solve the shortage of tech workers in the United States. This is done by identifying and training software developers in Africa. After the training, they are embedded in the remote engineering teams of companies like Facebook, Google, and Microsoft. Two months after taking his first startup, an online education firm 2U, Johnson, 36, confounded the company, public in 2014. He says, “We have become the primary pipeline connecting the technology ecosystem across Africa with the US.” the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly slowed down Andela’s plan for expansion as the companies freeze the hiring, over the long-term it will increase companies comfort with hiring workers thousand miles away Johnson urges.

4. Benchling

  • Founder(s): Ashu Singhal, Sajith Wickramasekara (CEO)
  • Equity Raised: $114 million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $21 Million.
  • Lead investor(s): Alkeon, Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark, Menlo Ventures, Thrive Capital, Y Combinator

To help the scientists, the CEO, Wickramasrkara came up with this idea of a cloud-based Crispr design tool. He was an undergrad at MIT back then. Regeneron, Gilead, and hundreds of other companies used are collaborative R&D software 8 years later. Benching is on call as needed and has stopped those software updates to those whose projects require complete lockdown as many customers come up with vaccines and treatments for Covid-19.

5. Capsule

  • Founder(s): Eric Kinariwala (CEO)
  • Equity Raised: $270 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $100 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Glade Brook Capital, TCV, Thrive Capital

Kinariwala had to wait in a line nearly for an hour at his Duane Reade to get medications for his sinus infection only to find it was out of stock nearly 5 years ago. this experience which he had provoked him to start Capsule, New York city-based which offers pharmacy services by app or text at your doorstep within 2 hours and free courier charges. At the time of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Kinariwala says, “(Capsule) went from something that was convenient to essential.” The CEO, Kinariwala, 37, is an MBA from Stanford and was formerly working as a retail and healthcare investor. having achieved success in the New York City market and with cash inflow, Capsule is now planning out future expansion. Kinariwala says, “We’ll be everywhere in the next 18 months. We’re not going to launch one at a time. There will be a bunch of places.”

6. Coalition

  • Founder(s): John Hering, Joshua Motta (CEO)
  • Equity Raised: $125 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $27 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Hillhouse Capital, Ribbit Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital.

Coalition, cybersecurity Insurance firm helps companies in the recovery of losses from extortion, fraud, security breaches, and ransomware attacks up to $15 million. it helps in preventing those losses by scanning the internet detecting vulnerabilities and allows users to potential threats as well. The 36-year-old CEO, Joshua Motta, who formally fought against cyberspace adversaries at the CIA joined hands with Herring, 37, former CEO of Lookout a mobile cybersecurity Unicorn to launch San Francisco-based firm. Motta says, “When I was walking for the government there was no mandate to protect companies. With Coalition we can protect American business is particularly those that are big enough to afford comprehensive cybersecurity technologies.”

7. Cockroach Labs

  • Founder(s): Ben Darnell, Spencer Kimball (CEO), Peter Mattis
  • Equity Raised: $195 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $5 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Altimeter, Benchmark, Bond, GV, Index Ventures, Redpoint

Basically, cockroaches are extremely tough to be killed, they are notorious. The 46-year-old entrepreneur of Cockroach Labs, Kimball likes the analogy of his startup. He says, “Companies run of the startups’ cloud-based relational databases is more resilient shielded from outrageous or system failures. You’re not doing post-mortems.” Cockroach Labs, the New York-based start-up, has built a splendid clientele, of nearly 100 clients which include Bose, Comcast, and Netflix. The company raised $87 million in May valuing it at $850 Million. Kimball says,

“We’ve brought the category into the cloud era.”

8. Expanse

  • Founder(s): Tim Junio (CEO), Matt Kraning, Shaun Maguire
  • Equity Raised: $136 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $30 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Founders Fund, IVP, New Enterprise Associates, TPG Capital

While serving as consultants to Darpa, the Department of Defense’s research, coFounder(s) Junio and Kraning came up with the idea for Expanse. The San Francisco-based startup provides customers such as CVS and PayPal, an overview of the internet-connected assets including domains, IP addresses, and cloud infrastructure which allows them to monitor online vulnerabilities and cyberattacks. Junio, 36-year-old Cofounder says, “I realized that with the declining cost of computation, bandwidth and data storage startups could now index the internet for exposures the same way government with huge budgets could.”

9. Fivetran

  • Founder(s): Taylor Brown, George Fraser (CEO)
  • Equity Raised: $60 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $15 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Andreessen, Horowitz, CEAS, Matrix Partners, Y Combinator

The co-Founder(s) of Fivetran’s, Fraser and Brown, initially launched an automated data integration company in 2012, saw little interest from the investors. As time passed, the value of data integration has become clear. 36-year-old CEO, Fraser, who was previously a scientist at Emerald Therapeutics says, ‘It is a really valuable form of infrastructure if you could do it well, like coming out of a wall.” Fivetran, a name which is a play on IBM’s 1950s coding system, Fortran, centralizes an organization’s data from siloed sources. So that the data is complex data analytics, it uses prebuilt connectors. To date, Fivetran has built more than 130 automated connectors two data sources which include Salesforce Oracle and Dropbox. The customers included are Square, DocuSign, and ClassPass.

10. Gong

  • Founder(s): Amit Bendov (CEO), Eilon Reshaf
  • Equity Raised: $133 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $30 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Battery Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Sequoia

A user’s communications with customers are scanned and ingested by Gong’s software automatically. Be emails, phone calls, or video chat which detects who is at risk of closing the account or who is ready for an upgrade. CEO Bendov says, “The time savings make the Big Brother-like the discomfort of being so closely tracked an easy trade-off. It’s like having Google versus a human-curated dictionary.” Bendov, 55, who was previously a CEO of business-intelligence software setup SiSense who teamed with a 48-year-old, Eilon Reshef, who formerly co-founded software firm WebCollege to launch Gong in 2015. due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, some businesses have struggled as workers prefer to stay home but San Francisco based Gong is benefited. Bendov says, “Trends that we thought would take years, for people to work more remotely, are happening in weeks.”

11. Homebound

  • Founder(s): Jack Abraham, Nikki Pechet (CEO)
  • Equity Raised: $53 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $10 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Atomic, Fifth Wall, Thrive Capital

After the wildfires devastated California’s wine county in 2017, (where both the Pechet and Abraham each have homes), these two co-founders started Homebound to help other homeowners rebuild, to manage each step from building permits and insurance claims to design and construction in nearby Santa Rosa. CEO, Pechet, 38 says, “As we watched people try to navigate the process and complexity of everything they had to do to rebuild a home, we knew there were really simple technology tools that were used in other industries that could make the process simpler.” Presently, Homebound is rebuilding 150 homes that were lost in the fires.

12. Ironclad

  • Founder(s): Jason Boehmig (CEO), Cai GoGwilt
  • Equity Raised: $84 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $10 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Accel, Sequoia, Y Combinator

Co-founder of Ironclad, Boehmig says, “Contracts are the atomic unit of business but they’re slow, inefficient, and uninteresting to make.” Ironclad steps in there. The software of this San Francisco-based startup allows businesses to process share, edit, and refer contracts with ease. including MasterCard, Staples, and Reddit customers work closely with Ironclad’s team of legal engineers to customize Ironclad for their needs. GoGwilt, the 31-year-old Chief technical officer is an ex- Palantir engineer who owns three degrees from MIT; Boehimg, the 38-year CEO, was an investment banker and corporate lawyer previously.

13. Lyra Health

  • Founder(s): Dena Bravata, David Eberdman (CEO), Bob Kocher, Brayn Roberts
  • Equity Raised: $176 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $50 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Glynn Capital, Greylock Partners, IVP, Meritech Capital, Tenaya Capital, Venrock

Every year in the United States, about 50 million people suffer from mental health issues and the biggest obstacle is not the treatment of mental illness but it is its access. In 2014, Ebersman, 50, quit his job as the chief financial officer at Facebook, handle the problem. Lyra’s solution is to offer help to companies to help their employees with mental health benefits. Around 40 companies are already on board which includes Pinterest Starbucks and eBay. More than a million people are getting access to Lyra’s 3000 coaches, physicians, and therapists. The presently ongoing coronavirus pandemic is stressing Americans and getting mental health into the limelight. This year, the Burlingame California-based company is expecting the revenue to double to $100 Million. Ebersman says, “Today more than ever, companies are aware this is an important part of the puzzle.”

14. Mirror

  • Founder(s): Brynn Putnam
  • Equity Raised: $72 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $45 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Leree Hippeau, Point72 Ventures, Spark Capital

Mirror was launched 2 years ago by Putnam, 36, previously a ballerina and founder of boutique fitness studio Refine Method. It’s $1495 tech-enabled mirrors serve as home gyms. Customers later pay another $39 for unlimited exercise classes for a month including everything from cardio and strength to yoga. It was fast growing before the gyms were closed and workers were sent home due to the coronavirus pandemic. New York city-based Mirror is “seeing Christmas in April.” she says

15. Moveworks

  • Founder(s): Jiang Chen, Vaibhav Nivargi, Bhagvin Shah (CEO), Varun Singh
  • Equity Raised: $105 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $10 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Bain Capital, Iconiq Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed

Using natural language processing the company automates IT support with the help of AI so that tasks such as adding colleagues to email groups or unlocking accounts can be resolved technologically rather than with the help of an actual IT person. CEO Shah says, “On average, it takes at least three days for an IT ticket at a large enterprise to get resolved which is not fast enough for a modern economy. With Moveworks’ natural language processing we can resolve these same issues in minutes or even seconds.” California based startup the Mountain View launched in 2016. it’s custom-built an I was able to resolve just 5 to 8% of companies’ IT tickets 2 years later. Thanks to sophisticated machine learning, the number has raised up roughly 40% gaining customers including Broadcom and LinkedIn today. A positive-year-old serial entrepreneur Shah is now hoping to expand beyond IT to human resources, legal, marketing, and finance now.

16. Rippling

  • Founder(s): Parker Conard (CEO), Prasanna Sarkar
  • Equity Raised: $100 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $10 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Initialized Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Y Combinator

Founder Conard resigned under pressure, four years after Zenefits’ controversial, he comes back with Rippling. This startup’s software manages benefits, employee’s payroll, application, and hardware all under one place also make sure onboard employees are going on smoothly, saving small and medium-sized businesses with timely administrative work.

 

17. Shipwell

  • Founder(s): Gregory Price (CEO), Jason Traff
  • Equity Raised: $47 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $30 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Fifth Wall, First Round Capital, Georgian Partners

Traff, 37, a serial entrepreneur learned about shipping with the previous startup Copycat paintings, Hong Kong based art reproduction business. He recalls, “We dealt it with extortion, one kidnapping, and blackmail. We solve all the problems except for shipping.” He teamed up with Prince, in 2017 a 38-year McKinsey consultant previously, who focused on supply-chain issues, to start Shipwell. Texas-based Sleepwell offers to track freight and analytics that improves efficiency and saves customers like Premier Packaging and Crystal Geyser millions of shipping costs. “With the global pandemic, companies realize the supply chain is no longer back-office. It is mission-critical.” Traff says.

18. Signal Sciences

  • Founder(s): Nick Galbreath, Zone Lackey, Andrew Peterson (CEO)
  • Equity Raised: $62 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $30 Million
  • Lead investor(s): CRV, Harrison Metal, Index Ventures, Lead Edge Capital, OATV

As developers, all the 3 Founder(s) met each other at Etsy. At Etsy, for The E-Commerce operations of the site, they designed cybersecurity. The Los Angeles-based Signal Sciences which was founded in 2014 protects companies’ web apps from cyberattacks. There is huge demand as the work that happened on intranets now happens over open web employees work from home. CEO Peterson, 36-year-old is expecting the remote work trend to fasten in future.

19. SmartRent

  • Founder(s): Lucas Haldeman (CEO)
  • Equity Raised: $102 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $35 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Bain Capital, RET Ventures, Spark Capital

SmartRent gets technology home making it a smart home for example thermostats and smart locks to multi-family properties. The charges of this Scottsdale, Arizona start-up for installation and hardware are up to $1000, per month charges being $5 to $10. A service that is most expected during this pandemic is self-reliance and the smart locks allow prospective tenants to take a private self-guided tour of the vacant apartments. SmartRent has tied up with nearly 100 owners which includes Essex Property Trust (an investor as well) to get home-tech in almost 90,000 units and by the year-end, a goal to hit 300,000. 42-year-old CEO Haldeman, who was formerly chief technology officer at Colony Starwood Homes (now Invitation Homes) knows the pain property owners go through. He says, “We’re really operators. We are not tech guys. We are not in the Bay Area.”

20. Solugen

  • Founder(s): Gaurab Chakrabarti (CEO), Sean Hunt
  • Equity Raised: $80 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $12 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Fifty Years, Founder(s) Fund, Y Combinator

Both 31-year Founder(s), to turn corn sugar into chemicals that are usually made by breaking down oil, the duo has developed strains of gene-edited bacteria with an enzyme. Biologically, the Houston outfit can produce ingredients for clean-up wastewater and hand sanitizer. CEO plans and hopes to develop fertilizers for farmers which are sustainable.

 

21. Superhuman

  • Founder(s): Conrad Irwin, Vivek Sodera, Rahul Vohra (CEO)
  • Equity Raised: $51 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $20 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Andreessen Horowitz, First Round

G-mail and iPhone users pay $30 per month to Superhuman claims that it helps users to get through the emails twice as fast in the activity of “inbox zero. “Inbox Zero is an inbox clear of messages requiring a response. In 2012, the Founder(s) sold their plug-in, Rapportive their former startup to LinkedIn.

 

22. Tally

  • Founder(s): Jason Brown (CEO), Jasper Platz
  • Equity Raised: $92 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $20 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Andreessen Horowitz, Cowboy Ventures, Kleinee Perkins, Shasta Ventures

Brown, 40, a serial entrepreneur has been thinking about helping people overcome debt, ever since he was a teenager in a household where money was tight. He says, “Especially among the educated elite in America, there’s a big lack of empathy for people who don’t reach their financial goals.” He never thought that giving people the context and tools to handle debt was enough to solve the problem. With Platz, 40, he founded Tally, in 2015 an automated application that helps which helps people pay off their credit card debt. With the help of Tally, users take photos of their credit card and in case they qualify (they must have a FICO score of 660 or higher) then Tally offers a new line of credit for them. The algorithm determinants a lump sum monthly payment and prioritizes payments based on the interest rates. The debt of credit card is expensive (with 15.05% as an average according to the Federal Reserve last year) and Tally says it can typically save users 5 percentage points on their rates. This San Francisco-based company presently manages $500 million of debt, and as the consumers’ debt mounts, this number will grow too.

23. Tray.io

  • Founder(s): Dominic Lewis, Alistair Russell, Richard Waldron (CEO)
  • Equity Raised: $109 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $15 Million
  • Lead investor(s): GGV Capital, Meritech Capital, Mosaic Ventures, Spark Capital, True Ventures

Workflow automation tools in Tray’s help businesses to generate marketing leads and process payments. In London, 2012, British ex-pats Russell, Lewis, and Waldrom started Tray and bootstrapped for 5 years (sometimes reselling who is on eBay to raise cash) before they got substantial funding from investors and then relocated to San Francisco. Including Zendesk and GitHub, now customers pay $595 and more for a month. Tray aids marketing by integrating applications through a graphical interface, automatically generating, and contacting leads sparing the IT Department from hours of slogging through boilerplate code. CEO, Waldron, 35 says, “We’ve written Tray to allow people to get ahead.”

24. Trusted Health

  • Founder(s): Matt Pierce, Lennie Sliwinski (CEO)
  • Equity Raised: $25 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $28 Million
  • Lead investor(s): Craft Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Founder Collective

Trusted Health matches the hospitals and the nurses that need them. Founder(s) Sliwinski and Pierce 33 and 32, respectively. They met at Hired where they learned about marketplaces and adopted knowledge of nursing, spurred by Sliwinski’s mother’s knowledge, a nurse. even before the coronavirus pandemic three-year-old company’s business was growing. The US faces a shortage of nurses. then San Francisco based Trusted has been keeping up with the demand. “We’ve seen an unprecedented increase in the signups and a threefold increase in open roles on our platform (at the pandemic’s peak),” says Pierce who has noted that 1500 hospitals have signed up on the site. This year is for meeting the demands in nursing and in the long-term Trusted figures the business model that could be adopted to other Healthcare workers

25. Weave

  • Founder(s): Clint Berry, Brandon Rodman (CEO), Jared Rodman
  • Equity Raised: $152 Million
  • Estimated 2019 revenue: $50 Million
  • Lead investor(s): A.Capital Ventures, Catalyst Investors, Crosslink Capital, Lead Edge Capital, Tiger Global Management

Recall Solutions was started by Brandon Rodman in 2008 to help dentists schedule appointments over the phone and very soon he realized texting could be much more efficient. Rodman, 39 says, “The phone is still super important [but] nobody has made it more powerful.” Rodman decided to start Lehi, Utah-based Weave in 2011. At first, his focus was on dentists then added clinics, optometrists, veterinarians, and other professionals as well. The majority of whom $595 per month for its products which includes VoIP phones. They pay terminals and two-way texting. Weave has also added a “curbside waiting room” which lets businesses respond when they are ready and lets the patient text when they have arrived.

VC firm Antler kicks off in India, aims to build over 150 startups within 4 years

Antler aims to invest in up to 40 startups within its first year in India and to build more than 150 startups in the next four years. Initially, the plan will begin with Bangalore and, further will expand to other major cities in the next 3 to 5 years. Rajiv Srivatsa, co-founder of Urban Ladder, is joining Antler as Partner and will lead the Indian operations.

On Monday, the global early-stage venture capital firm Antler had made an announcement of launching itself in India to empower more entrepreneurs to establish startups through their platform, support, and global reach. Antler aims to invest in up to 40 startups within its first year in India and to build more than 150 startups in the next four years.

Initially, the plan will begin with Bangalore and, further will expand to other major cities in the next 3 to 5 years. Rajiv Srivatsa, co-founder of Urban Ladder, is joining Antler as Partner and will lead the Indian operations.

In the second half of 2020, the inaugural India program will commence in Bangalore. The Antler Program will be in two 2 phases and it will be covered within 6 months. The first phase will be of ten weeks which is about forming a right team with adept co-founders. After this, Antler will invest in the strongest teams in order to move in the Second stage basically to build and scale the startup.

Founder and CEO of Antler, Magnus Grimeland, stated, “We believe the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem has massive potential. We want to lower the barriers for exceptional people to start a technology company, regardless of their background or geography. Over the next 5 years, India is expected to be the third largest market and grow into a 5 trillion-dollar economy, fuelling a much higher growth for the digital economy. In addition, we want to provide India originating startups with Antler’s global platform to ensure startups from India can expand, scale, succeed and tap into expertise on a global level.”

Additionally, Rajiv said, “Antler will collaborate with VCs, angels and work closely with corporate partners and functional specialists as mentors, to power the Indian startup ecosystem.” Antler is a Singapore-based firm which has presence in 11 locations worldwide. Antler has become one of the world’s largest early-stage investment platform by investing in over 160 technology-firms.

Startups facing biggest challenges, 70% have less than 3 months of cash runaway

NASSCOM Survey reported that 70% of travel and transport startups have faced 40% revenue decline, 50% of fintech and logistics startups have seen a similar dip whereas 14% of edtech and health tech startups expect revenue growth amid coronavirus crisis.

The Indian Startup sector is hanging by a thread. National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) conducted a survey to study the impact of coronavirus crisis on Indian Startups.

Survey statistics

The survey showed the biggest challenges for Indian Startups as;

  • 90% registered a decline in revenues
  • 70% have less than 3 months of cash runaway
  • 30-40% have suspended their operations

Survey also reported that 70% of travel and transport startups have faced 40% revenue decline, 50% of fintech and logistics startups have seen a similar dip whereas 14% of edtech and health tech startups expect revenue growth amid coronavirus crisis. Infact, B2B startups have seen lesser revenue drops.

Another report conducted online over 250 startups across sectors by ‘Start-up Pulse Survey’ showed 92% decline in revenue for about 34% of such startups.

Worst-hit segments

Nasscom survey revealed that early and mid-stage business are the most affected segments, especially in B2C (Business to consumer) space. It also found that around 60% of B2C startups were facing closure as revenues plummeted to near-zero levels after businesses were forced to shut for nearly 2 months into the nationwide lockdown in order to curb the spread of the virus.

However, India continues to be 3rd largest tech startup ecosystem in the world with over 9,300 technology startups. They are rebounding with 54% respondents as they were looking to spindle their business.

Service startups are looking at different ways to survive. Infact, they are growing due to increasing utilization of Artificial Intelligence, blockchain and IoT.

President Speaks

Debjani Ghosh, president of Nasscom, stated, “However, it is not all doom and gloom; more than half of the start-ups are looking to pivot to new business opportunities, diversify into growth verticals like healthcare, and enhancing focus on emerging tech like Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud.”

She also added, “to ensure that the Indian start-up movement and its growth trajectory is not derailed, coordinated support from key stakeholders is the need of the hour. Some of our key recommendations to the government include access to working capital, easing compliances and fiscal policy and funding support.”

Time to wake up

The study was analysed on various parameters like growth stages, revenues, employee strength, revenue verticals and lots of more. This focussed on the need for integrated central-state initiatives on procuring Made-In-India startup products and solutions.

This is because many startups were forced to undertake severe cost-cutting measures, such as laying off staff, slashing salaries, and ceasing all expansion plans and projects, in a bid to preserve cash and have a longer runway in an uncertain operating environment.

Government eases Company Act, big relief for startups

Government’s Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package on 17thMay, 2020, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the decision to bring in an Ordinance to decriminalize various sections of the Companies Act which was approved by the Cabinet in the first week of March. This reform lowers the stress on National Company Law Tribunal which is presently over-burdened.

While unveiling the last tranche of government’s Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package on 17thMay, 2020, the Union Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman announced the decision to bring in an Ordinance to decriminalize various sections of the Companies Act which was approved by the Cabinet in the first week of March.

Section 447 of the Companies Act says, “Without prejudice to any liability including repayment of any debt under this Act or any other law for the time being in force, any person who is found to be guilty of fraud shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine which shall not be less than the amount involved in the fraud, but which may extend to three times the amount involved in the fraud.”

Minor technical and procedural defaults will be decriminalised which include shortcomings in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) reporting, inadequacies in board reports, filing defaults and delay in holding AGMs (Annual General Meetings). The government has also decided to drop seven compoundable offences and five will be dealt under an alternative framework through the ordinance mode. The compoundable offence can be tried under internal adjudication mechanism rather than going to courts and this will free up spaces in the criminal courts and National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

This reform lowers the stress on National Company Law Tribunal which is presently over-burdened. It also reduces the timing compliance cost for smaller companies as it used to take long time to get rid of minor violations. Experts and investors said that the amended Company Act will help local startups and entrepreneur in raising funds and attracting more risk-averse capital. Otherwise, the criminality of minor offences and non-compliance under the Act was hurting valuations during fundraising and deterring risk-averse local investors from backing companies.

Atul Pandey, partner at law firm Shaitan& Co. welcomed this move from the point of view of a startup because many companies have been facing hindrance due to existing non-compliances and ensuing criminal liability, which was also having an impact on the valuation of such companies. Pandey believed that It would weed out minor non-compliance issues and abet in raising funds from the domestic market, specifically from investors who have a low risk appetite.

SiddarthPai, managing partner at 3one4 Capital, said, “As a startup, the first couple of rounds of funding which are pre-institutional investors, there’s usually some sort of errors that happen and those get caught later. Valuation of startups have gone down significantly because of accumulated fines, penalties which keep on compounding.” He believed that this move would result in better governance of startups as investors would be willing to take director seats and startups will also be able to attract higher quality independent directors. In return, this would encourage more domestic money to come into India’s startup sector.

Union Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman also said publicly listed companies in India will be allowed to list directly in foreign jurisdictions, and private companies, which list their non-convertible debentures on stock exchanges, will not be regarded as listed companies. So, the move to allow private companies to list debentures on stock markets will assist startups in the NBFC space — which usually raise capital from other NBFCs or banks — in tapping public markets for debt.

The importance of a positive work culture in a startup

In addition to offering a unique service or product, startups also need to create their culture in the spirit of innovation, belonging, and team spirit.

With digital nomadism, entrepreneurship, and home-based endeavors on the rise, companies today need to offer more than just fancy offices and brand-new laptops to their workers if they plan to inspire and retain their loyalty. In fact, earning employee loyalty and trust has become a challenge more difficult to overcome than ever before, with companies failing to boost retention due to their competitors, but also internal issues. One of the key reasons so many workers hurry towards new work opportunities includes the office culture of their current employers.

For startups, this is an issue that is even more vital than other, less-competitive companies out there. Startups need to represent that innovative edge, and they need to do so in more ways than one. In addition to offering a unique service or product, they also need to create their culture in the spirit of innovation, belonging, and team spirit. Investing more effort into creating, cultivating, and refining a positive work culture in your startup is more than essential, and here are a few reasons to keep you on the right track.

Reduce employee turnover

One of the main issues startups face nowadays revolves around keeping their workforce happy and devoted. With so many employment opportunities out there, competitors poaching your workers under your very nose, and limited funds at your disposal, your culture becomes your greatest asset in ensuring loyalty when your salary isn’t enough.

After all, modern-day employees are often more interested in the kind of environment they’ll work in as opposed to filling their bank accounts while they feel abused, overworked and burnt out. Research confirms this idea, as a study has shown that 56% of workers will put culture above salary when choosing their employment. You want to make sure employees stay by your side? Invest more in building your startup culture.

Attract top talent

Your idea may have been the catalyst behind your startup, but it’s certainly not the only, or even the most essential ingredient for its success. The complex interplay between different factors often has startup owners forget about the culture and its impact on startup success. Absolutely, your ability to source and impress investors, your negotiation skills, your expertise, all of these factors help you become the success that you are. However, your employees will make or break your business based on how proud they are to work under your wing. Will they recommend you as a good employer? Will they send qualified, talented people your way?

Employee reviews have become the standard by which brands earn the attention and interest of top talent, and businesses such as PostcardMania exemplify how the use of these public reviews can make all the difference. Their hiring decisions paired with their employee treatment inspire employees to feel proud to belong to that particular brand and that team. Consequently, they’ll gladly boast the brand’s culture online, and when the time comes for any potential employee to research the business, they’ll come across words of praise. Isn’t that precisely what you want, exceptional people eager to work along your side?

Improve services and productivity

Sure, high-quality equipment such as the latest laptops, the finest printers, the most advanced graphic design gadgets, and the most cutting-edge software all play a role in how you run your business and how seamlessly your office works. However, if your employees are unhappy on Monday mornings, take their breaks eager to escape their work, and stare at the clock to strike number five on Fridays, you have a more important problem on your hands.

In all fairness, few offices can be as exciting as Google’s, but you can do so much to improve the atmosphere and the mood of your workplace. When you do that, you’ll be surprised how the productivity of your team will increase naturally, with no interventions needed. People who thrive at the office, feel appreciated and valued, and people who genuinely enjoy the work they do will gladly do it well. As a result, your products and services will only get better, and your team will be proud of the work they do, allowing them to give it their best every time they come to the office simply by enabling them to love their job and the environment in which they perform their tasks.

Build your business reputation

One of your most valued assets and a notion that’s too easy to overlook when building a business, your startup’s reputation heavily depends on the kind of culture you establish. Of course, most businesses will focus on the service or product they create, as this particular segment will also play a huge role in how the target market and potential investors perceive your business. In the same manner, your company culture, how you treat your employees, the kinds of relationships you foster, and the atmosphere you enable will ultimately form the public opinion, as well.

Any startup needs to work hard to earn its reputation as one of being professional, trustworthy, and innovative. However, being all of that fails in comparison to being a member of the community, and a business that puts its people first. If you achieve to do that, and you can do so only with the right mindset in your office, you will build the kind of reputation that will become your legacy as much as your unique offer does.

Startups fail for many different reasons, from poor financing opportunities, overwhelming competition, all the way to a lack of innovation. Don’t let the lack of company culture wreak havoc on your startup and its success. Build and establish your business purpose among your team members, nurture their bonds, and you’ll slowly create a culture of belonging and encouragement that will only add to your success.


Infographic Provided by Halock Security Labs

4 Ways you can outsource work at your startup

Setting your startup up for success is made possible with helping hands.

Setting your startup up for success is made possible with helping hands. It’s for this reason why many budding business owners are keen to outsource some of their work. If you’re considering this avenue, here are four savvy ways that you can streamline your operations by collaborating with service providers.

Payroll

One payroll blunder could be the kiss of death for your company. In fact, some small businesses have paid billions attempting to correct false payroll information. To ensure that you avoid this unfavorable reality, outsource your payroll activities. With guidance from an industry professional, you’ll find peace of mind in knowing that your employees are receiving the money they’re entitled to. What’s more, you’ll evade the long arms of the law in the process.

IT Services

Information technology can be a daunting realm to a layman. With that said, it’s prudent to enlist the help of a managed services provider. They’ll oversee the digital infrastructure of your business, ensuring that your operations are up to snuff. When partnering with an IT service provider, you’ll reap the benefits of having cutting-edge technology at your disposal. In essence, their goal is to govern, maintain, and support your IT systems.

Marketing

Advertising plays an instrumental role in the success of a startup. While marketing may sound like an easy trade to master, it’s anything but. Connecting with the right audiences demands a diligent approach and industry insight. If you lack either, your marketing efforts will be in vain. The only surefire way to generate sales and convert leads is to work with seasoned marketing consultants.

Customer Support

When a disgruntled customer expresses their discontent with your services, it’s imperative to take immediate action. Otherwise, their negativity is bound to spread like wildfire. Fortunately, virtual assistants can step in to address concerns and field questions. Without adequate customer support, your startup will be doomed from the jump. For the sake of appeasing your clients, consider outsourcing your customer support. Not only will this absolve you of the responsibility of having to speak with a dissatisfied patron, but it’ll keep the client happy as well.

Though many have deemed outsourcing as a lazy approach to business proceedings, it’s an exceedingly sensible and viable alternative. If you’re looking for ways to bolster your startup while it’s in its infancy, the above outsourcing options will do the trick.

Why every start-up should consider digital identity verification

One of the key solutions you can invest in is a digital identity verification service.

As a start-up, you will need to invest in a couple of digital solutions to improve the efficiency of your business, reduce costs, boost productivity and keep your company safe. One of the key solutions you can invest in is a digital identity verification service. As the name suggests, this is a service that will help in identifying whether a customer is really who they say they are. Investing in a digital identity verification solution is essential for the following reasons.

Prevent Fraud

Companies lose millions of pounds every year due to fraud, and fake customers are among the key sources of fraud. ID verification is one of the steps businesses can take to avoid falling for fraudulent customers’ scams. It’s one of the preventive measures you should take if you don’t want your company to suffer financial losses. Preventive measures against fraud are also essential for the sake of your company’s reputation. Most consumers translate fraud cases as incompetence or lack of seriousness. Thus, it can be hard for people to trust you if you are always dealing with fraud cases.

Improve Customer Experience

Customers appreciate fast and efficient services. A digital solution eliminates most of the manual processes and this allows businesses to serve customers fast. Most solutions will return results within seconds, and you don’t need to key in a lot of information to get your results. You can use Cognito which you can easily get started with the phone number. Cognito offers growing companies advanced tech to make consumer and business identity verification easier.

KYC and Other Due Diligence Compliance

As a business owner, it is your responsibility to verify customer identities so as to prevent fraud and other crimes. Investing in the right solution can be helpful in achieving some of the due diligence you require to keep your business safe and stay away from trouble with the laws. For instance, if you are dealing with goods or services that have an age limit, by using age verification solutions, you can avoid selling to customers who lie about their age.

Save Money

One of the key benefits of using digital solutions in your business is that they save both time and money. With the right solution, you can eliminate some manual processes and this will save money for your business.

Increased Profitability

Digital identity verification solutions can boost the profitability of your business in two key ways; one – they save time, and thus your output can increase since you have more time to focus on other business processes; two – the solutions can improve the customer experience. This will in turn boost conversion rates and increase profits.

Identity verification solutions are easy to use. You don’t require a lot of technical know-how to use these solutions. Getting started is also easy since all you need is integration. Hence, don’t be afraid to give them a try for fear of complexity. Secondly, there are so many companies offering identity verification APIs. Thus, it is easy to get an affordable one for your startup as long as you take time to do the comparisons.

Why every startup CEO needs a coach

If you’ve successfully created your own company and want to have better insights and external assistance in managing tasks, hiring a CEO coach would be your best choice.

If you’ve successfully created your own company and want to have better insights and external assistance in managing tasks, hiring a CEO coach would be your best choice. Wait, CEO’s have coaches? Well yes. Even the most successful CEO today has worked with a coach to achieve the results that they have right now.

If even the most successful CEO’s are hiring one, then shouldn’t you too? A startup CEO coach is an excellent investment for your company. A coach can offer various services and could get you from having zero profits to being a money-making sage in a short amount of time.

What are the Benefits of Hiring a Startup CEO Coach?

● CEO Coaches have invaluable experience in the field of startups. Having a coach to teach you the in’s and out’s of your industry is worth the investment. A great coach will assess your current skill level and knowledge to craft the perfect program for you so that you will get better faster. Remember that improving your skills as the CEO is directly proportional to improving your company.

● A coach helps you ask the right questions. This one is the difference between a coach and a consultant. For consultants, they will give you the best answers. Coaches, on the other hand, will help you ask the best questions, making it easier for you to go for the best solution.

● A great coach assists in overcoming problems and challenges. A startup CEO coach also helps in assisting you to overcome daily challenges for your startup company. Having a coach will make your life easier, and you’ll learn how to overcome challenges as a CEO of a startup.

● A great coach will make you an innovative leader. The goal of a startup CEO coach is to mold you into the best version of yourself and make you a better leader. They will push you to your fullest limits and will help you overcome it consistently.

● A coach focuses on your growth, learning, and knowledge. Having someone who is focused solely on your growth will accelerate your learning process. A startup CEO coach will also track your progress so that you’re staying on track and becoming a better version of yourself.

● A coach is always ready for professional advice whenever you need it. Hiring a startup coach will help you make sound and reasonable decisions that are on-par with the company’s mission and goals, whether it is short-term or long-term.

You wouldn’t want your business to lose traction mid-way and miserably crash and burn. Hiring someone who is knowledgeable and knows what the best action moving forward is an excellent investment that would bring more profits in the future. Investing in a startup CEO coaching for oneself is a long-term accomplishment. That investment will aid you not only in business but also in your personal life as you acquire valuable life skills throughout the journey.

10 innovative transport aggregator startups in India

With the advent of cab aggregator giants like Uber, Ola and Meru in the market, travelling has got easier. But the story does not end here.

With the advent of cab aggregator giants like Uber, Ola, and Meru in the market, traveling has got easier. But the story does not end here. Ever since these big brands revolutionized the transport industry, new and innovative transport aggregator startups are popping up every now and then. And some already existing transport aggregator startups are getting popularized as well. There was a time when commuting to a place was difficult with inadequate buses, taxis and autos but now with these app-based services, you don’t need to chase cabs anymore. So let us check out some of the very innovative transport aggregator startups in India

SheTaxi

The first transport aggregator startup is the 24X7 SheTaxi project which is initiated by Gender Park, under the Social Justice Department, the government of Kerala. Therefore, the service is offered solely in Kerala. This transport aggregator startup is an initiative where you will find cabs driven only by women. This entrepreneurship driven model aims to bring about social and economic empowerment of women. The service guarantees the safety and security of fellow women passengers and tourists.

Women On Wheels

This is another transport aggregator startup with an initiative of women driven cabs. This service is available in Bangalore. Women On Wheels is an initiative of R2R Ventures LLP. All the drivers are highly skilled and trained in self-defense and thus ensure complete safety of the passengers.



ApnaCabs

ApnaCabs is a government licensed cab aggregator startup based in Mumbai. The company was launched by Srikanth Lingidi in 2015. Their cabs are decorated in the classic yellow and black combination and therefore are called the “kali- peeli” taxis. At present, it has a network of over 1,600 Kaali Peeli taxis and Cool Cabs in Mumbai.

AUTOnCAB

Vinti Doshi is the co-founder of AUTOnCAB. She decided to start this transport aggregator startup when she realized the problems of transportation in Gurgaon for the common fellows. Vinti says that AUTOnCAB is focussed on the needs and demands of both the auto-drivers and commuters. “We don’t treat autos as just another vehicle of commute. It’s a strong business driver for the auto community as well,” adds Vinti. This is a one stop service for autos. You can download their app and ask for a ride whenever you need one.

Jugnoo

Jugnoo was founded in November 2014, by a handful of IITians. This transport aggregator startup was launched as a small organization and now it has grown into a very popular and well connected on-demand auto rickshaw app, which connects passengers wishing to travel from one point to another within a particular city.

Savaari

Savaari Car Rental is an online cab booking aggregator that provides affordable and safe outstation taxi services to travelers. They operate across 60 cities in India including Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune & Delhi. Savaari happens to be the largest car rental company in terms of geographical reach. Savaari provides competitive Intercity Taxi Booking Service, cabs for outstation travel as well as intracity local cabs. You can travel unlimited kilometers for 8 hrs – 10 hrs without any restriction on the kilometers traveled.



AHA Taxis

AHA Taxis (a division of WAAH Taxis Pvt Ltd) is India’s leading online aggregator for outstation travel. They offer online taxi booking to customers for one-way fares, return journeys and multi-city booking. This transport aggregator aims to provide freedom of choice to the customers worldwide for traveling safely where they wish to while saving costs and at the same time benefit the taxi drivers with increased profits.

Baxi

Baxi is India’s first on-demand motorcycle Taxi Company. The service of this transport aggregator startup is available in Gurgaon and Faridabad. So with Baxi you can travel swiftly to your destinations. Baxi provided trained drivers and insurance for both the passenger and driver. They have an SOS service in case of emergencies as well. So with Baxi you need not to worry about getting stuck in traffic for hours.

One Ryder

One Ryder is a unique approach towards transportation. With One Ryder you can actually transport yourself in a scotty-taxi. This transport aggregator service is for the people who want to travel swiftly but in a more cost-effective way. One Ryder is made exclusively for busy cities with terrible traffics. Traditional transports like rickshaws, auto, buses, and taxis take a lot of time. But One Ryder will drop you to your destination faster than all the other options. So, open the app, find the nearest Ryder and reach to the desired place on time.

Shuttl

Shuttl is an app based office bus service that is committed to making traveling to office easy and stress-free bucks for fuel & shared cabs. The startup provides cashless travel, real-time tracking, and reserved seats. Shuttl is available in Delhi.

If these services are available in your city and you did not know about them then try them out soon. Experience hassle-free traveling experiences which are safe and secure. So gone are the days of waiting hours for a bus or being refused by a cab or auto. Let us know which one of the startups you found the most innovative!





How to trim down the startup cost

In order to profit, every business needs to keep trimming down costs in mind.

In order to profit, every business needs to keep trimming down costs in mind – the expenses are just as important as the income. This entry will not deal with increasing your startup’s income, but rather the ways you can cut the costs down; this is especially convenient and useful for those on a shoestring budget; and as a startup, we know that you are always looking to save up.

Cloudsourcing

No more than 10 years ago, an independent career of a freelancer wasn’t attainable for the majority of people. The dream of being your own boss has never been more tangible than it is today. Using freelancing websites such as Freelancer or iWriter, professionals can post their CVs and portfolios and try earning money by offering their skills for a limited period.

This internet-based type of outsourcing is called “cloudsourcing”, and its very essence is allowing business teams to hire experts in certain fields on non-permanent positions. These professionals are perfect for temporary business position requirements, like a graphic artist and website designer. Why keep someone you only need temporarily?

When it comes to planning and cutting down costs, cloudsourcing means a ton of flexibility.

Related Post: 10 things to know before you launch your startup

Temps and interns

On the other hand, even cloudsourcing can mean wasted money. How come? Well, make no mistake, although hiring someone temporarily for finishing certain tasks and covering your business’s temporary needs is definitely preferable to going full-time, freelancers are still professionals – they are experts that will charge you heftily.
Now, if you want to make sure that the job is done in a perfect way, as a top priority, going with cloudsourcing might be your best bet, but the fact of the matter remains that not every position is equally important. In other words, you don’t need guaranteed competence for every single task regarding your startup.

Temps are a perfect solution for simple tasks, such as ordering and bringing food to other employees, putting a paper into the printer and helping out with simpler work-related things. Using temp agencies for hiring does come with a fair share of downsides, but it will doubtlessly save you money.

If you want to hire for nothing or next to nothing, go to local colleges and hire interns – in some cases, they will require nothing but a recommendation for their portfolio!

Related Post: How to start a startup?



Storage space efficiency

As a startup, you always need to deliver. Yes, “deliver”, proverbially meaning distributing a good product, but also meaning actually making sure that your customers are satisfied with your deliveries! It might seem ridiculous, but they will appreciate efficient deliveries so much, that they will disregard any occasional mistake that you might make. This means a lot for an up-and-coming business.

In order to ensure prompt and quality deliveries, you should invest in quality commercial storage solutions – do not try saving up here. When it comes to equipment, buying new is definitely more reliable, but renting is also more than a viable option. Choose based on your business’s needs.

Related Post: Financial tips for entrepreneurs launching a startup

Discounts

There is an unspoken rule in the world of business: “a good businessperson knows what to buy for their business; an outstanding one knows when and where to do so!” A true entrepreneur always pays close attention to discounts and sales, even when it comes to items they don’t think they need. Of course, suddenly becoming aware of all available opportunities is impossible, and it’s not as if a quick course in discount awareness exists. This acquirable trait takes time to develop, along with dedication and being informed. Don’t wait for the discount offers to start appearing at your doorstep – this won’t happen; show gumption, take initiative, get out there and keep your eyes peeled!

Related Post: 7 Startup culture characteristics that make them so desirable

Buying in bulk

Discounts often go hand-in-hand with buying in bulk – the retailers that offer trimmed prices often do so because they want to get rid of surplus items, which is why they will offer ridiculous per-piece prices if you want to buy in bulk. It is essential that you don’t get baited here. Here’s a rather simplified example: if your budget is $40 and someone offers you a brand-new supercar for $500, you won’t buy it – the price might be ridiculous, but your budget is still only $40.

Here’s a real-life example: say that you’ve stumbled upon a bulk discount on pens. Unless you really need a thousand pens for a ridiculous price of $500, you’re going to end up with monetary loss and an excess number of unnecessary items. Keep in mind that $500 is always $500.

We hope that we’ve shown you that trimming your costs down is just as important as increasing income. Think about cloudsourcing where appropriate, even hire temps/interns accordingly. Run an efficient storage space, keep your eyes peeled for discounts, but be careful when buying in bulk!

Related Post: 10 Rules for a great startup idea





6 Dos and Don’ts of Social Media Marketing for startups

There’s much more to social media marketing than it seems and you’ll need a lot of preparation in order to get it right.

Everyone knows that social media plays a huge role in today’s business world. Every company, big or small, needs a social media presence in order to keep going. This is the case because social media is one of the best places to market your business. So, if you’ve decided to promote your company on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, you’re on the right track. Still, there’s much more to social media marketing than it seems and you’ll need a lot of preparation in order to get it right. That’s why we’ve come up with six dos and don’ts of social media marketing for startups, you’ll definitely want to take a closer look at.

DO understand your followers

When marketing on social media, it’s very important that you understand the users who follow your pages. Fail to do this, and you’ll have no idea what kind of content to share. But how do you learn more about the people who follow your social media pages? Basically, you’ll need to do a thorough demographic research and use the data you collect to come up with ideal posts to share on your pages. An important thing to remember is that no matter who your followers are, it’s imperative that you create a strong social media presence for your business.

Related Post: The importance of social media marketing for your business

DO have a plan

If you’re trying to promote a product or service on social media, you can’t just go and share promotional posts whenever you feel like doing so. What you need instead is an entire plan for promoting your product or service. This means you’ll need to come up with a whole set of posts your followers will find interesting and create a timetable for sharing them. If you’re new to social media marketing, this is probably where you’ll want to collaborate with an expert.

DO maximize your bio

When it comes to attracting new followers to your page, they’re always going to check your bio before they actually click that “subscribe” button. That said, you’ll probably want to maximize your bio. This means you should use your bio section to provide important info about your business. We recommend writing a short description of your business and including a couple of relevant facts. Usually, you’ll have some additional space left for a picture you’ll probably want to use for your company’s logo.

Related Post: 8 ways to expand your business via social media



DON’T ignore negative comments

One of the biggest mistakes many business owners make is avoid responding to negative comments on social media. When you market on platforms like Facebook and Twitter, there will always be some negative comments and it’s critical that you respond to them as politely as possible. This will show your followers that you have absolutely nothing to hide and that you’re open to suggestions. If you receive negative comments about the product or service you’re promoting, use them to improve your offerings.

Related Post: 8 beneficial social media marketing tools every company should use

DON’T use every social media platform

Today, there are just so many social media platforms you can promote your business on. However, if you try to use all of them to promote your products or services, you probably won’t be able to make it. Instead, what you need to do is figure out which social media platforms work the best for you and stick to them. If you’re struggling to figure out which platforms do the trick for your business, turning to experts in media monitoring is recommended.

DON’T post too much

What’s the point of having social media pages for your business if you’re not going to post regularly? Only if you’re consistent with your posts will you be able to grow your social media pages and attract more people to your business. However, this doesn’t mean you should just go and post everything you come across on the web. In fact, it’s quality over quantity, but you need to make sure you post on a daily basis. One or two posts per day during the week and one per day on the weekend should do the trick.

Related Post: 6 ways in which social media can benefit startups

Social media marketing is something your business simply can’t survive without. Have all the things we’ve talked about in mind and you should be able to enter the world of social media marketing with ease.





Never told secrets of top CEOs about managing work better

Lessons from Richard Branson, Phil Libin, Jack Dorsey, and other successful CEOs.

The successful CEOs of any company try to achieve more in less time. However, not every CEO is uber-productive and successful. Some are, because of well-guarded secrets. However, we bring to you the secrets behind these CEO/Founders’ success:

1. Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin

“In Virgin’s case, we fly the same planes as our competitors and our gyms offer much of the same equipment as other gyms. What separates our businesses from the competition? Our employees.”

Related Post: From college dropout to CEO at 20: The incredible story of OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal

2. Phil Libin, Evernote

“Like everyone else, I used to just work on airplanes—I’d use that as a time to catch up on things. And I stopped. I basically said when I’m on a plane, I won’t work. I’ll read, I’ll play video games, I’ll sleep, I’ll watch movies, but I don’t work. It makes me look forward to flying. I can get off a long flight, and actually be kind of relaxed.”

3. Steve Gefter, MD of IDDS

“Serial entrepreneurs have a mindset unlike anyone else; they are entrepreneurs on steroids. A ‘get it done’ work ethic is the most essential trait. Starting a business takes a lot — financially, emotionally and physically. To start one business requires a ‘roll up your sleeves’ mentality, so imagine what it takes to start five or 10. You either have it or you don’t; and the most successful serial entrepreneurs do.”

Related Post: Meet 10 Indian-origin CEOs ‘ruling’ the technology industry



4. Adora Cheung, CEO of Homejoy

To keep things focused and brief, she has co-workers add agenda topics to a Google Doc spreadsheet before a meeting, and then she prioritizes them. “If it’s not on the Google Doc, we don’t talk about it.”

5. David Goldin, President and CEO of Capify

“You need to be constantly thinking of how to enhance and grow your business because your competitors are doing the same. Remember that losing is not an option and when you’re in stressful situations, you’ve got to figure out ways to navigate and overcome the obstacles. If it was easy to be an entrepreneur, then everyone would be one. The best entrepreneurs need to be resilient and bounce back from anything.”

Related Post: 7 skills CEOs should learn from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi



6. Beerud Sheth, co-founder and CEO of Teamchat/Webaroo

“After my first start-up, I stopped riding the emotional roller coaster inherent in the start-up journey. In start-ups, the highs are higher and the lows are lower — the emotional swings can drive you crazy. I learned to stay level-headed, even-keeled and focused on the longer term.”

7. Jack Dorsey, Chairman of Twitter

Dorsey’s secret to success is that he “themes” his days, devoting a different day each week to different types of work.

“Mondays are for management, Tuesdays are focused on product, and Wednesdays are for marketing and communication, and so on. It sets a good cadence for the rest of the company.”





Story Of Gaurav Rana, From Collecting Cow Dung To Building A Rs 11 Crore Start-Up

At just 24, he has made his name in the start-up world and comes across as a charismatic young entrepreneur.

More than talent, skills or resources, it is the willingness to keep pushing your limits which brings you face to face with success. This incredible story is about a 24-year-old who everyone thought was a good for nothing chap but the very same people today can’t stop obsessing over his success. His unconventional ideas have made him the CEO of a company which has been valued at Rs 11 crore despite a very short span of operation.

Meet charismatic Gaurav Rana who grew up in a tiny, nondescript village named Sonf in Haryana. The wealth of his father had exhausted by the time he was five years old and all that was left for him was daily struggle with poverty. His father had become an alcoholic and was suffering from mental trauma. Whatever little money came their way was from his grandfather who ran a grocery store. They managed to buy food but couldn’t afford LPG to cook it so Gaurav and his elder sister spent all day collecting wood and cow dung in and around the village. The kids would make cow dung cakes and pass them on to their mother who would then cook some food for them.

Related Post: From a delivery boy to an entrepreneur, following his passion relentlessly



To divert his attention from the painful life Gaurav started painting. Well-off children came asking him to draw for them and would in-turn give him Rs 20. While he was in STD 8 he started going to a nearby salon and learnt the art of haircut and shaving. The owner let him handle a few customers everyday and give him some commission for his help. The situation at home was still as grim as ever and the only way out seemed to be in education. In STD 10 Gaurav scored 96.9% and took admission in a deemed university in Agra where his grades dropped consistently and he couldn’t even touch 60% by the time he passed out.

“I couldn’t appear for placement interviews because I scored abysmal 58%. I pleaded with my teachers and got a chance to appear in one interview”. His low grades fetched him just one chance but he cracked it. He got a job with Eicher Motors for a monthly salary of Rs 15,000. But this good news was overshadowed by problems at home. His parents were burdened under a sum of Rs 2 lakh that they had borrowed from friends and relatives who wanted their money back.

Related Post: The journey of Rambhau, from a small gardener to an established entrepreneur in 4 years

“I had no money to go to Indore and join Eicher. There was no question of borrowing money as all our relatives had turned hostile. I was heartbroken to see how people change and decided to end our financial struggles somehow”, Gaurav recollects.

A friend’s mother helped him and he reached Eicher, Indore. He did night shifts there and worked as a dance teacher and event organizer in the day time. Gradually, he paid off all the credits his family has taken but had also realized that he couldn’t do job all his life. He was giving more and more time for organizing events which reflected poorly at his performance in his company.



“People had tagged me useless, for them I was good for nothing”, he says.

However, the perception of people changed when he did an event with FTV and the news splashed all over the newspapers. To celebrate his success he went back to him home in Haryana where his mother worked as a local beautician. She had to attend a client that day and the person was coming in every few hours to remind her of the task. Gaurav saw a gap here and thought he could fill this up with technology.

Related Post: 6 ways in which Alibaba is altering the internet for the better

He came back to Eicher and couldn’t stop thinking about his idea. At the company’s annual party he got to know that the VP’s wife has 25 years of experience in IT. Despite his friends warnings, he boldly approached the woman and pitched her the idea and asked if she would collaborate on this. To his utter surprise she agreed and became the initial investor for Calipso, a company that delivers beauty services wherever the customer is.



The idea was unique and has become a major hit in Indore. Calipso has tied up with OYO rooms and several beauty salons to reach out to their customers. The latest trend that Gaurav has introduced in the industry is setting up stalls at weddings. “Nobody even thought of doing this even when there was a clear need for it. Ladies now chat away while getting a pedicure at weddings while men get a touch-up down after sweating it out on the dance floor,” Gaurav says in his thick Hariyanvi accented Hindi.

Related Post: Story of Trishneet Arora, failed in 8th class and became multi-millionaire at the age of 21

On being asked about competing against other doorstep beauty servicing giants he says, “I don’t think there is any competition because no matter how much funded they are they can never take away my guts from me.”

Currently, Calipso is operating in Indore, Bhopal and Ujjain making its way to expand in metros next.

Today, Gaurav employs more than 25 people and Calipso is valued at over Rs 11 crore. At just 24, he has made his name in the start-up world and comes across as a charismatic young entrepreneur.

“My relatives who had stopped speaking with us are now cordial again. One should always remember that times keep changing and hardwork pays off, every single time”, he said.

Related Post: How a Farmer’s son and College-dropout became a Tech Millionaire





5 Things you should know before working at a start-up

Memorize these five working-for-a-start-up mantras before you electronically sign on the dotted line.

Working for a start-up is attractive—sometimes magnetically so. The job descriptions usually include phrases like “casual, fun office environment” and “room for rapid advancement.” And as you answer questions on their non-traditional job application (“If you were a reality TV show star, which one would you be?”), you imagine yourself balancing on a stability ball in yoga pants and a t-shirt, collaborating with like-minded colleagues over chai lattes.

It’s true that joining a start-up can be a fun, smart, and even life-changing move. And while not all start-ups have the ambiance (or the budgets) of sexy tech companies, and not all are run by a visionary who will put you on the fast-track to Facebook-like stock options, many new businesses offer a unique opportunity to learn the ins and outs of building an organization from the ground up.

But it’s not all fun and ping-pong games with the company next door – there are some key differences between the start-up world and every other type of company you’ve worked for. Memorize these five working-for-a-start-up mantras before you electronically sign on the dotted line.

1. You’ll need to be comfortable with change (really, really comfortable)

Unlike seasoned companies that have well-defined processes and procedures and hundreds of employees conditioned to repeat the same behaviors day after day, start-ups are able to make changes quickly. Things like job titles, desk assignments, reporting structures, and project plans are changed more frequently than the filter in the office coffee pot. At the start-up, I’ve moved offices three – yes, three – times in under six months, and had a grand total of six different desks in the process.

The constant change can be frustrating, especially when you’re just getting acclimated to the place or if you’ve come from a company entrenched in its ways. But to succeed at a start-up, you need to embrace chaos. Start-ups have their pick of motivated young professionals, and they’re certainly not afraid of personnel shake-ups. Showing that you can easily roll with the punches is one way to ensure your success.

Related Post: 6 reasons why working in a startup is a good idea



2. It’s all hands-on deck

You have to be a team player, dive right in, roll up your sleeves, and get your hands dirty – there’s an endless number of clichés to explain that you’ll be required to do pretty much everything when you work for a start-up. While you may technically have a title and a job description, your everyday activities will likely vary depending on the project du jour.

You may have never imagined a day in which you stuff envelopes, pick up pizzas for lunch, answer phones, and present a proposal to the board of directors, all within a matter of hours, but the phrase “This isn’t part of my job description” should never cross your lips. Expect that you’ll be performing a variety of tasks, both mundane and challenging, and be ready and willing to do them. Too many start-up new hires make a rookie mistake: focusing on how the start-up will help them (and their resumes) instead of how they can contribute to the company. Start-ups are well stocked with driven, eager employees, and those that aren’t willing to be flexible, or to put the company first, will be swiftly offloaded (see #1).

Related Post: 12 Signs that you need to grow up and stop ruining your opportunities for success

3. Veterans are mentors, not enemies

Most start-ups begin with a few brilliant individuals and an idea. They find some investors and surround themselves with smart, motivated (often young) people who will burn the midnight oil and turn their idea into reality. Then, when the company begins to get a whiff of success, they may bring in some experts: experienced, tenured professionals that will help take the company to the next level.

Once veterans start hopping on board, existing employees can get nervous, and even resentful. You’ve been working 16-hour days for six months (yes, you should be expecting that, too), and suddenly this grandma is going to walk in and tell you how to do your job just because she has an MBA, an outstanding track record, and an endless network of industry contacts?

Well, yes. Though you may feel threatened, remember that these experts are not your competition, they’re your potential mentors. In large companies, they’d be completely inaccessible – barricaded in an office, blocked by a receptionist and an espresso machine. But at a start-up, you’ll be able to interact and learn from them on a daily basis.

Related Post: 7 Startup culture characteristics that make them so desirable



4. The company giveth, the company taketh away

Start-ups love to reward employees for their willingness to abandon office formalities like lunch breaks and personal space. When the company is relatively small, the executives might dole out perks like weekly happy hours, catered lunches, and tickets to local events. But as the company grows, the leadership might realize that they can no longer afford, or manage, these types of luxuries.

A free drink may have once been the only respite in your otherwise hectic day – so when the freebies disappear, it can be disheartening. But fear not: The departure of these gifts usually means the arrival of more practical bonuses, like health insurance.

Related Post: 6 reasons why you should hire millennials in your startup

5. It’s your responsibility to assess the risk

Start-ups can become shut-downs very quickly. It’s one of the inherent risks in working for one. And while you may assume that, as a member of a small team, you’ll be the first to know about potential landmines, this isn’t always the case.

It’s your responsibility, whether you’re an intern or a financial analyst, to learn as much as you can about your company’s performance and trajectory. Read what the press is saying about the business and its investors (a Google alert is great for this) and ask leadership how they’re measuring their success. If things are going downhill, you don’t want to be blindsided.

You should be noticing an overarching theme: Working for a start-up will require you to adjust your conception of the workday. You’ll be putting in longer days (and later nights), your responsibilities will be fluid, and the company you devote most of your life to could blossom overnight or crash and burn. But if you accept your job for what it is (a promising opportunity to learn) and what it isn’t (a sure thing), working for a start-up can be a great way to kick-start your career.

Related Post: 5 Reasons to start a business in your 20s and 30s





Four tips to keep in mind while hiring candidates for your start-up

Hiring the right candidate for your start-up is an art because you need someone who fits into the work culture and can deliver what your actually want.

Hiring the right candidate for your start-up is an art because you need someone who fits into the work culture and can deliver what your actually want. You also want to hire someone who will be loyal to the company and help in making your end-goal a success.

Here are four tips to keep in mind while hiring candidates for your start-up:

Paint a picture of your ideal candidate in mind

It is necessary to paint a picture of the ideal candidate in your mind because then you are aware of the qualities and strengths you are looking for in a person. Based on that criterion, it becomes very easy to eliminate or select candidates. Always make sure that the personality of the candidate resonates with that of your company for a suitable match. This makes the interview process more organised.

Related Post: Things you can do to grow your business

Use the newer methods of hiring

Move away from the conventional job ad posting and referrals offline and start exploring newer medium of hiring people. Pages on Facebook and websites which allow companies to hire people are very good talent pools for finding the correct kind of person for your organisation. LinkedIn is another popular and brilliant option for finding the right kind of people for the position.



Stress interviews

Stress interviews are a great way to see how the candidate cracks or emerges under pressure because during the job, s/he will have to face some stress and it is necessary to hire someone who doesn’t give up. Also, because stress interviews are different from normal interviews, people usually reveal a lot more about themselves than they intend to which makes your decision simpler.

Related Post: Startup business mistakes to avoid

Think about the future

Other than just filling up a position, you also need to think of how the employee can contribute to the company’s future. An employee is a crucial investment which needs to be thought of and done properly in order to avoid issues in future. You also need to make sure that you have enough opportunities to keep the employee engaged.

Related Post: How to find the right business startup for you





5 Initial signs of start-up failure you need to be aware of

Nobody wants their start-up to end up as a failure.

Every successful business starts with a simple idea around which a lot of hard work and dedication is invested. Nobody wants their start-up to end up as a failure. However, to make sure that your venture doesn’t meet its doom, there are a few symptoms you need to look out for:

I. Not paying heed to the market

Your product might be a great and unique idea but if it isn’t solving any problem of the people you are looking to cater to, it might meet its doom very early. Market research is necessary to find out whether your product will have demand and buyers. Thus, by doing simple research, you can avoid making a huge initial blunder.

Related Post: 6 crucial lessons which can be learnt from failure

II. Monetary issues

Handling finances in a proper manner is an art. Many a times, start-ups receive adequate funding but do not invest it in the correct way which can prove to be harmful for the company. Hence, it is necessary to spend in the right places and curb expenses in the initial phase in order to keep pumping money back into your start-up for a steady growth.



III. Incorrect hiring

Entrepreneurship isn’t a one man show which is why you need to have a great team. Unless your team members’ views and values are in resonance with those of your company, you can never be a successful start-up. Hiring the right kind of people is very important because they are the representatives of your company and that can either break or make your image.

Related Post: How to stay motivated after a startup failure

IV. Not keeping tabs on competition

It is good to be confident and focus on yourself; however, it doesn’t mean that you become absolutely clueless about your competition. If a competitor can offer similar quality products at a lower price, you will be out of the game in no time. Hence, you need to know your strengths and keep playing up to them but at the same time know your competitors’ weaknesses and try changing them into opportunities.

Related Post: Failure – an inevitable part of success

V. Correct pricing

Pricing your product/service sensibly is very crucial as a very low price could be perceived as an indication for bad quality. Similarly, a very high price would make your customers go for the competitor which would result in very low sales. Thus, it is necessary to price your offering just right at which people are willing to purchase them in order to maintain healthy sales and a good image in the market.

Related Post: Startup business mistakes to avoid