The 18 Innovative Startups to Watch in 2018

www.insightssuccess.in July 2018

18 Innova ve THE

Outstanding Startup

STARTUPS TO WATCH IN

2018

GuruQ Minal Anand CEO & Founder

Transforming the Ed -Tech Sector by Innovative Practices

The Apollo World of Care Assuring. Advanced. Accessible WHEN IT COMES TO THE HEART TRUST APOLLO www.apollohospitals.com

Editorial

I

dea, Creativity, Innovation, Startups, and Entrepreneurship, are not just words that fill the peoples’ minds nowadays. These are the building blocks of tomorrow. These are today's brick stones that will give strength to tomorrow’s foundation. These words are often buzzing in the heads of the young college pupils, late high school students, and early graduates. But not many dares to take the risk, sacrifice peaceful, sleepy nights, a settled and well-earning career, friends, enjoyment and leisure time. As a renowned startup investor Ron Conway once stated, “Any time is a good time to start a company.”

An Idea Can Actually Change the Lives of People

A real hardcore fact about startup was once said by Guy Kawasaki, a recalled Entrepreneur, as “Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.”

Similarly, the Chairman and CEO of Dell, Michael Dell also said, “Ideas are commodity. Execution of them is not.” It is a known fact that excuses lead to nowhere but to self-destruction and that is why many aspiring entrepreneurs start their journey but give up before making it to the end. May it be money, time, inspiration, motivation, or luck, only a few become successful on its way through the hurdles and pebbles. So the CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieh says, “Chase the vision, not the money, the money will end up following you.”

Every big company which exists today was once a startup; maybe not by the parameters that are being used today, but factually it does. No matter which sector it is, these startups are taking significant efforts and leading the industry a step ahead. These organizations are driving people to an extra mile which old and traditional companies could not do earlier. Their ideas which are unique and new yet straightforward are changing the lives of people. If you still think, that startups are not bringing any change into the society, then think once again.

Even a few years back, who could have imagined that you can call a cab at your doorstep with just a gesture on your smartphone?

Alternatively, who could have thought to get one’s favorite food from the favorite restaurant chain to be served at your dining table at any time of the day? Facing a medical emergency, and don't know what to do, these emerging entrepreneurs have emerged with a solution for that too. These startups have even come up with solutions which can also feed one's financial needs. If you are planning to go for a movie but having an empty pocket, some companies are ready to pay for you whom you can pay later when your pocket is filled with pennies.

No matter what time it is, how the weather is, what the situation is, these startup companies are coming up with ideas which will not blow your mind but will change your life. While the number of employment opportunities is falling daily, the number of startups is increasing daily.

Moreover, the first step towards pitching such a startup idea is best explained by Walt Disney, Co-Founder of Disney, and that is, “The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing.”

Rajarshi Chatterjee

™

Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Senior Editor Shraddha Deshpande Managing Editor Rajarshi Chatterjee Executive Editor Shweta Priyadarshini Contributors Rahul, Devasish Urvasi, Sayali Art & Design Director Amol Kamble Co-designer Karan Gaikwad Picture Editor Alex Noel Art Editor Shweta Ambilwade Visualiser Shweta Shinde Business Development Manager Akansha Garewal Marketing Manager Dhruv Apte Business Development Executives

Ashwini, Tejaswini Research Analyst David Circulation Manager Vivek Bangade Database Management Prashant Chevale Technology Consultant Swapnil Patil sales@insightssuccess.com

July, 2018 Corporate Ofces: Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd. Off. No. 513 & 510, 5th Flr., Rainbow Plaza, Shivar Chowk, Pimple Saudagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411017 Phone - India: 020- 7410079881/ 82/ 83/ 84/ 85 Email: info@insightssuccess.in For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.in

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Cover Story

GuruQ:

08 Transforming the Ed -Tech Sector by Innovative Practices

Outstanding Startup FlexiLoans: Embracing Technology to Deliver Key Financial Solutions

20

Editor’s Pick

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26 Interview With Insights Success HospitalSoftwareShop.com Pioneers in Delivering Innovative Services for the Medical Industry

30 IWORKTECH Delivering Innovative Blockchain Solutions

Article Expert’s viewpoint

Chalk Talk

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All You Need to Know Before Stepping Into the World of Startup Business

Era of Bio Tech

48

An Insight into the Present Biotechnology Startups Scene

40 Policybazaar.com Technologies That Are Embraced By Startup Companies

Cooey: Revolutionizing Next Gen Medical Solutions and Services

24

FitMeIn: Unloading Calories through All-Inclusive Fitness Solutions

Flochat: Connecting People, Innovating Life

36

38

Go4Cabs: Providing Private Ground Transportation Service around the Country

44

Gramco Infratech: Empowering Farmers and Innovating Agri- Infrastructure Solutions

46

52

54

60

Hug Innovations: Delivering Smart IoT Devices for the Next Generation

myFin Advisor: Providing Path-breaking Services in Financial Advisory Market

Rentickle: An Innovative Company Redeď€ ning Lifestyle

WayCool: 62

Delivering Curated Portfolio of Branded Food Products

18 Innovative Startups – Building Blocks of Tomorrow

P

ioneering and believing an innovative idea can be quite challenging at times, however re-inventing a standard way of doing things is what has made the startup industry to flourish and stand tall amongst the existing business conglomerates. Inherently innovative, being agile, and adaptive are the marshals that shield a young startup company to sustain the initial period and prosper with time.

Keeping in mind the importance of innovative solutions, we introduce some of the most prominent startups in the industry who have outclassed others and have contributed significantly in the recent years. We bring you “The 18 Innovative Startups to Watch in 2018”. This edition aspires to help the organizations to connect the right innovative partners who can deliver smart solutions and scalability with industry-leading operating models. Exclusiveness, uniqueness and a wide range of diversification are the virtues based on which we have shortlisted the best innovative startups for this July edition.

We have showcased GuruQ as the cover story edition for this magazine. Aiming to deliver a seamless solution by connecting the students and teachers, this comprehensive online platform has a truly innovative approach. As the ‘outstanding startup’ we have highlighted FlexiLoans. Embracing technology, this financing online lending platform has been a forerunner in eradicating the issues related to financial assistance required to enhance the business.

Alongside, we have encompassed various startup companies who have performed exceptionally well and have excelled in the market. Starting from Cooey, an IoT enabled mobile-based augmentation layer over an existing EHR that assists to collect, store, and analyze the health records of a patient. FitMein is an online multi-studio fitness startup providing access to the best fitness studios and gyms across locations in Delhi/NCR region. Flowchat is amongst the most evolved ‘Multimessaging’ platform that continues to develop tech-enabled applications.

Go4Cabs is one of the renowned one-stop cab rental providers in the country which offers supreme quality, convenience along with having the highest level of dependability. Gramco Infratech Pvt Ltd is the perfect answer to the farmer’s needs for modern and efficient agriculture. Hug Innovations endeavors to bridge the gap between humans and technology through innovative wearable products which are quite essential and useful in the modern-day society. Josh Talks aims to bring along speakers and giving a platform to deliver motivational speeches and having interactive session. Koinex is India’s most advanced digital assets exchange and a prominent player of blockchain technology in India. myFin Advisor is a one-stop destination for all financial needs – from Advisory to Execution. Qbera offers instant personal loans to the needy and is head quartered at Bangalore. Rentickle is an innovative lifestyle solutions provider offering trendy lifestyle products on a rental subscription basis. Sparkt delivers innovative and unique solutions in the fields of digital marketing, digital media, and social media marketing to name a few. Volga Infotech delivers software development services in the field of healthcare, education, manufacturing and e-commerce. Waycool, which organizes India’s farm-to-fork supply chain, to deliver cleaner, fresher and better products to consumers, generate higher returns for farmers, and reduce wastage and inefficiency. Zenatix embraces advanced machine-learning based models and builds innovative solutions to save energy. To conclude, among many others, we have ZiffyHomes, a pioneer in innovating technology-driven solutions in the Indian rental marketplace offering an array of unique services.

Our expert editors have penned their opinion on themes that put the limelight on the relevance of innovative startups.

Additionally, the magazine has ‘Articles’ shared by some of the most prominent business leaders who share their insight on the top industry trends.

Flip the pages of the magazine and explore the insights of the Most Innovative Startups, presented to you in the most elegant way!

Transforming the Ed Tech Sector

by Innovative Practices

“

BEST DIGITAL PLATFORM THAT CONNECTS STUDENTS WITH THE RIGHT TUTORS

T

INDIA’S

he education sector in India is a never-ending sphere, and is currently growing at a brisk pace. The widening/broadening of courses and changing trends have forced students and their parents to stretch themselves to the limit.

Although educational institutions have taken sincere efforts in improving the quality of education, the imbalance of the student-teacher ratio is a major hindrance to meet the objective of imparting quality education.

Independent researchers suggest that more than thirty-five percent of India’s 1.2 billion populations is presently

under the age of fifteen. Providing adequate teachers stands to be the biggest and the most ignored issues in the country’s education system today.

Over the last few years, with the advent of technology and innovations, EdTech are becoming viable options to revive the education sector. It has become a key sector for investment and entrepreneurs are not shying away from the opportunity. GuruQ is one such online platform, which promises to make a significant contribution towards the Indian education system.

GuruQ is designed to address the need

for a single, simplified and cohesive ed-tech solution that caters both online and offline tutoring. It’s a digital platform where tutors can connect and teach students; earning recognition, whereas the student gets quality teachers who can deliver as per/according to the needs of the students. The ultimate objective is to bring convenience and ease into the process of selecting tutors. With a fusion of new age methodologies and technology, GuruQ has a vision to build a 21st century model for education.

THE LEADING LIGHT OF GURUQ

GURUQ FIRMLY BELIEVES THAT IT'S THE VIGOR & COMMITMENT OF ITS PEOPLE THAT DRIVES A COMPANY TO SUCCESS

Minal Anand, a modern independent woman started GuruQ with an aim to improve the level of education, which in turn drove her to explore the ed-tech sector. A graduate in Business Administration from Boston University, she is the CEO and Founder of GuruQ. Prior to GuruQ, she has worked with prominent multinational companies like Franklin Templeton, Citigroup and HPL Additives. Working on several eclectic assignments and gaining experience in the areas of ďŹ nancial planning, fundraising, organizational design and structuring, and people management gave a major push to Minal’s innovative thought process. Minal witnessed a huge disconnect between the Indian students and their counterparts across the world. The absence of innovative teaching methodologies cemented her quest for doing something constructive for the existing education sector.

An Inspirational Journey GuruQ is the pioneer in providing quality-certified and user-rated tutors.

Revolutionizing the home schooling concept, GuruQ equips tutors with the latest teaching methodologies and keeps them updated with international trends and techniques in contributing to better learning. Founded in 2016, this digital platform was created with a mission to revamp the EdTech sector and to bring significant improvements in the overall process. As an advisory partner, KPMG provided valuable insight of the sector along with the need-gaps and opportunities available.

The trends and analyses backed by market research assisted GuruQ to showcase themselves as the facilitators for tutors in providing their expertise, and as enabler for the students to get the right tutors. It further helped to establish themselves as a significant player in this sector and play a dominant role in standardizing the benchmarks, ensuring quality services and be an inspiration for other entities in the sector.

Inspite of the ‘home-work’ and strategies, the initial journey was not smooth; however GuruQ took every challenge as an opportunity to perform better. The valuable lessons assisted them to strengthen their path of revival. Once they had the right digital infrastructure backed up by streamlined operational processes, the performance trajectory improved steadily. In the present scenario, GuruQ have evolved into a matured organization and are in the process of raising the next round of funding for the expansion of their business.

Processes which make the Difference Learner-centric approach, techpowered platform, quality driven service, unmatched convenience, and tutor oriented database are the components of this unique platform.

Incorporating best standard practices and embracing cutting-edge technologies, GuruQ manages to align proficient tutors with students. The core concept of GuruQ is to connect students and their parents with the

most suitable tutor, and assist tutors in providing students as per their feasibility, location and budget. A customizable dashboard is available for students and tutors to input their specific needs. Tutors are selected and cross checked on parameters like their ratings, reviews, their availability and tuition fees. The biggest plus is that this platform has bought in more reliability and transparency to the process. Parents, students and teachers find it a lot easier and convenient to interact and find the best option that fulfills their needs.

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Once the tutor is fixed/selected, a student has the option to personalize the study structure. They can select the mode – online or offline, individual or group along with location and time of their choice. Additionally, they can change their modes and learning type depending upon urgency and requirement like exams, doubts or revisions to name a few. This platform allows parents to monitor the performance of their child through checking assessment results, taking feedback from tutors and even discuss the strategy to enhance the progress of their kids. The idea behind this concept is to enable quality learning provided through a digital platform. GuruQ plans to add innovative features in the platform which can assist students to be in total control of their learning.

This secure platform is revolutionizing the tutor market and the growing capabilities are the perfect answer to the ever-growing ed-tech industry.

GuruQ asserts that a quote by popular American entrepreneur, John Rohn “Don’t let your learning lead to knowledge. Let your learning lead to action” describes their venture very well.

Client Relationship For GuruQ, every client plays a key role in improvising the digital platform by their reviews and feedback. In their endeavor to provide the best services, staying in touch with the clients assists them to enhance the overall experience. The features on the application highlight the empathy and

Core objective of

GuruQ is to bring convenience and ease the process of selecting tutors for students while simplifying the work life for thousands of tutors

the understanding of the diverse expectations of the clients. As a responsible organization GuruQ is actively involved in promoting various social welfare initiatives wherein they receive direct and spontaneous reviews from the beneficiaries. The initiative includes – ‘GuruQGyaan’ – free behavior and functional skills training for students ‘Knowledge Pyramid’ – book donations for the under privileged ‘Hum Badlenge India’ – video contest on how children can make better India

game changing features for students, tutors and parents. As a solution provider entity, it ensured an easy, effective and efficient learning platform for everyone. GuruQ firmly believes that it’s the vigor and commitment of the people that drives a company to success. Employees, partner companies, vendors, advisors and stakeholders are the various factors which have helped to strengthen and motivate GuruQ to attain new heights.

Future Prospective GuruQ holds a positive outlook of the future. It believes in creating an employee-centric environment as it values the pivotal role played by the employees in its organization. It invests time and takes sincere efforts to create employees who will be an asset to the business. With such a pragmatic roadmap, GuruQ is committed to work in the area of imparting quality education for everyone in India.

‘CRY Cyclothon’ – Raised funds for child development The positive response received from the initiatives has given them the motivation to go beyond the limits to embrace all those who really deserve to learn and grow.

Analyzing the Key Challenges While GuruQ faced challenges in various areas like processes, technology, design, people and management, integrating the internal systems and increasing operational efficiency has resulted in creating a world-class ed-tech platform. Hiring employees, media content, content development, and fixing the promotional strategies are some of the other common issues faced in the edtech industry. Exploring and experimenting different business ideas, the journey of GuruQ is just splendid.

Within three months of launching the platform, they started revamping the entire digital infrastructure including the website and dashboard to make it even more user friendly.

Attributes to Success GuruQ understands the dynamics of the ed-tech sector. The idea to create a business blueprint after a comprehensive market analysis assisted GuruQ to identify the real issues faced by the target audience.

Taking clue from the blueprint, they came up with twenty-one distinct and

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GuruQ has evolved into a matured organization and are in the process of raising the next round of funding for the expansion of their business

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Phone - India: 020- 7410079881/ 82/ 83/ 84/ 85 USA: 302-319-9947 Email: info@insightssuccess.in

Company Name

Management

Brief

Cooey cooey.co.in

Manu Madhusudanan CEO

Cooey is an IoT enabled mobile-based augmentation layer over an existing EHR that allows its users to collect, store, analyze their health vitals for recurring care needs.

FitMein fitmein.com

Nidhisha Varshney CEO and Co-founder Vishesh Goel Co-founder

FitMeIn is an online multi-studio fitness startup providing access to the best fitness studios and gyms across locations in Delhi/NCR.

FlexiLoans flexiloans.com

Abhishek Kothari, Co-founder Manish Lunia, Co-founder Deepak Jain, Co-founder Ritesh Jain, Co-founder

FlexiLoans is an online lending platform started with an endeavor providing solutions to SMEs in accessing quick, flexible and adequate funds for growing their Businesses.

Flochat flochat.in

Prateek Lal Founder

Flochat is the most evolved ‘Multi-messaging’ platform ever created and continues to develop tech-enabled applications.

GO4cab go4cabs.com

Gauraav Dalal Founder

A one stop cab rental solution, striving to provide the most dependable and highest quality of services, as per the convenience, at anytime and anywhere.

Gramco Infratech Pvt Ltd gramco.in

Raman Singh Saluja Founder

Gramco Infratech Pvt Ltd an answer to the farmers needs for modern and efficient agriculture.

GuruQ guruq.in

Minal Anand CEO & Founder

A digital platform that connects students with the right tutors, to create an enabling environment to impart quality education.

Hug Innovations huginnovations.com

Raj Neravati Founder & CEO

Hug Innovation constantly endeavors to bridge the gap between humans and technology through innovative wearable products.

Josh Talks joshtalks.com

Supriya Paul Director & Co-founder

Josh Talks aims to bring along speakers and giving a platform to deliver motivational speeches and having interactive session.

Company Name

Management

Brief

Koinex koinex.in

Rahul Raj Co-founder & CEO

As a pioneer to India’s most advanced digital assets exchange, Koinex as evolved as prominent player in bringing the magic of blockchain technology in India.

myFin Advisor myfinadvisor.com

Peeyoosh Agrawal Managing Partner & Founder

myFin Advisor is a one stop destination for all financial needs – from Advisory to Execution.

Qbera qbera.com

Aditya Kumar Founder & CEO

Embracing technology to offer instant loan for the needy has been the motto of Qbera. Headquatered in Bangalore, it provides hassle-free personal loans.

Rentickle rentickle.com

Vineet Chawla Founder Amit Sodhi Founder

Rentickle is an innovative lifestyle solutions provider offering trendy lifestyle products on rental subscription basis.

Sparkt sparkt.in

Shazeb Shaikh Chief Creative Officer & Co-founder

With a vision to mount an extraordinary creative workforce for the present and the future, Sparkt delivers innovative and unique solutions in the fields of digital marketing, digital media, social media marketing, and mobile apps to name a few.

Volga Infotech volgainfotech.com

Jayesh Bajaj Managing Director & Founder

Delivering effective software development services, Volga Infotech stands tall in catering to diverse range of market segments - healthcare, education, manufacturing and e-commerce to name a few.

Waycool WayCool.in

Karthik Jayaraman Co-founder Sanjay Dasari Co-founder

WayCool Foods and Products organize India’s farm-to-fork supply chain, to deliver cleaner, fresher and better produce to consumers, generate higher returns to farmers, and reduce wastage and inefficiency

Zenatix WayCool.in

Vishal Bansal Co-founder

Zenatix is a data-driven company embracing advanced machine-learning based models and build innovative solutions to save energy.

ZiffyHomes ziffyhomes.com

Sanchal Ranjan Co founder & CEO

ZiffyHomes is a pioneer in innovating technology-driven solutions in the Indian rental marketplace. Offering an array of unique services at miminum prices has been the mainstay of the company.

Outstanding Startup

Embracing Technology to Deliver Key Financial Solutions

F

lexiLoans.com was incorporated in February 2016 to offer quick, hassle-free and flexible working capital financing options to small and medium sized businesses. The company concentrated on building ‘industry-first’ technology along with differentiated credit underwriting techniques that helped to process MSME loan applications with great speed, superior quality and better repayment methods.

After 6 months of sustained growth using its own capital, the company raised funds from Marquee bankers like Sanjay Nayar (CEO: KKR-India), Anil Jaggia, Vikram Sud worth Rs. 100 Crores. It was a turning moment for the young start-up and was incidentally one of the largest seed stage round raised by a FinTech startup in Asia.

FlexiLoans.com has so far served over 3000 underserved and unserved small businesses in 400+ cities pan India and is a leader in Data led credit decisioning and financing. It has consistently ranked as a leading Digital partner for Ecommerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart and many others and works extensively with 80+ National partners.

Market Trends Leading to the Inception of Flexi Loans In early 2015, the entire business environment was marred

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Financial access at a click for Indian SMEs is what describes Flexi Loans

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with NPA gloom and lackluster funds availability for business growth. While serving the industry, FlexiLoans.com witnessed the progress of numerous players in advanced markets like the USA and Europe that influenced and supported millions of businesses using Data based lending post the sub-prime crisis shook these countries. These players lent at differential/ higher rates but based on cash flow statements– which were missing in India in the formal sector. It began ideating about FlexiLoans.com after witnessing the progress of Jan-Dhan, Aadhar and Mobile penetration that were shaping the Digital DNA of the country.

80% of SMEs in India (~30M in number) don’t have access to formal credit due to insufficient credit history or a complex process. FlexiLoans.com aims at using new-age technology to provide quick, fast and transparent funding access to these deserving small businesses.

The Righteous and Tenacious Team Founded by 4 friends from Indian School of Business (ISB), Abhishek, Deepak, Manish and Ritesh are seasoned banking, financial services, start-up and technology professionals with a deep interest in adding value to the economy by the path they have chosen. What sets them apart is the vintage and combined experience of over 50 years working globally in senior positions in corporations like Citi, Tata group, Aditya Birla Group, Axis capital, Barclays and Fractal analytics.

Abhishek Kothari - MBA from ISB, B.Tech from IIT Bombay Abhishek is an IIT Bombay alumnus with over 13 years of experience in data science and machine learning. Having built big data strategies for over 20 banks across the world, he has an in-depth perspective on customer lifecycle across the lending landscape. For the last 6 years, he was in the heart of FinTech in London witnessing the growth of payments and lending ecosystem. Post that, he moved back to India to bring his experience to build FlexiLoans.com July 2018

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Ritesh Jain Co-founder

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Abhishek Kothari Co-founder

Deepak Jain Co-founder

Fast,

Manish Lunia Co-founder

Flexible &

paperless loans ”

Deepak Jain - MBA from ISB & Chartered Accountant Deepak has over 12+ years of experience across Investment Banking and Management Consulting with Axis Capital (Enam) and JSW Ltd. Raised over USD 10 Bn across 40+ deals across sectors with over 10 deals in BFSI sector. He maintains strong relationships with top Indian corporates, private equity and capital markets investors.

Manish Lunia - MBA from ISB (Dean’s List) & Chartered Accountant (Rank holder) Manish is a Financial Services Professional with ~13+ years of experience in M&A, NBFC, Wealth Management, and Telecom. Performed holistic business evaluation and diligence for some of India’s largest M&A deals and restructuring at Aditya Birla Group, Tata Teleservices.

Worked in 3 start-up growth phases of leading Indian companies and in CEO’s Office during Indian NBFC's transformation of 10x growth.

Ritesh Jain - MBA from ISB (Dean’s List) & Chartered Accountant Ritesh carries 14 years of experience in startups, finance and technology domains. An Ex- CFO at housing.com and ™

July 2018

Implemented and integrated 12+ IT systems at Tata Teleservices- including Fraud management, SAS, Cognos, CRM and Business intelligence tools. Banking & International stints with Citibank and Starwood Hotels. He has built, scaled and managed teams of over 100 people.

Diverse Range of Leading-edge Products FlexiLoans.com is changing the lending paradigm by providing Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) with Loan products that can be accessed without visiting a branch over mobile, web, chat, and Email with the below features: • Minimalistic documentation for KYC and Credit assessment • No collaterals • Loan sanctions within 48 hours • Servicing over 400+ cities Pan India • Flexible ticket sizes of Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 50 Lacs • Loan tenures ranging from 6 months to 36 months The products suite services customers across the MSME spectrum: • Working Capital Term Loans and Line of Credit – For

21

Business expansion/ Seasonal Inventory Loans • POS (Point of Sale) Loans – for Retailers with high retail growth/ short-term requirements • Supply Chain Finance- Vendor Financing for Large and Mid-size corporates Through these products, the company aims to create a pure form of FinTech lending company which embodies the digital DNA and utilizes data to its smartest form. While the market is huge, and differentiation is not a guarantee to succeed, below are a few mentionable aspects of the products that are unique: • The only full-spectrum FinTech lender to serve all financing needs of an SME through technology based assets. The company has 4 mature financial products to offer which is an industry first.

• Data-First approach with a dedicated computer vision team - 4 Patentable tech assets and algorithms that have been able to reduce the TAT dramatically to sub 48 hours, the lowest in the Industry.

• One amongst very few micro business loans provider starting from as low as Rs. 50,000 and average ticket size of sub 10 lacs for tenures as low as 3 months accessible in over 400 locations Pan India with a plan to disburse in over 1000 locations within this year.

Eclipsing Challenges and Rising to the Occasion Every company has ideas but translating those ideas into a tangible product offering is what separates doers from thinkers. In the journey of conceptualizing access of Business funding to millions of Indians who were not able to get funds from Banks and NBFCs, FlexiLoans too had to face their share of dejections, frustrations and slow down.

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Within 6 months into operations, most businesses in the country got impacted by Demonetization. One of the premier E-commerce lending platform scaled downs operations heavily that resulted into a heavy drop of business volumes. All these events within a launch of a year have been tough but the entity witnessed a thick silver line in the road ahead powered by more data, more transparency and better ways to do good business.

Attributes to Success “Being true, transparent and clear to the customer who subscribes to your product is the key to our philosophy” There are a few values that guides the way a FlexiLoans.com operates. Innovation, Agility, Ownership of one’s task, and Respect. There are times when the core founding members disagree, however collaborating together has helped to achieve results. This has further assisted in taking unanimous choice on managing the key aspects of the company.

The Propositions for Future The company strongly believes that it is present at the right time and in the right space which is supported ably by a Strong Founding team (B-school friends), Marquee Banking investors and Industry first technology.

Exclusive features like 100% Branchless model, dream Founding, passionate employees and proprietary data science and technology backed application processing and underwriting have made FlexiLoans.com to create benchmarks and take the company to new milestones in future.

July 2018

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YOUR RECOVERY IS ALL THE REWARD WE NEED www.sanchetihospital.org

Cooey: Revolutionizing Next Gen Medical Solutions and Services

Cooey is revolutionizing medical help to give medical support to an overwhelming number of patients. With Cooey’s innovative solution, now patients can minimize their visits to hospitals or labs and still can get personalized insights into their medical condition while staying connected with their doctors. Health IT includes Hospital Information System (HIS) and other products/apps for the sake of a better service and thus empowering them to make informed decisions regarding their medical condition. Cooey stands out with its smart voice assistant Maya, which simplifies routine health monitoring tasks with simple voice commands, and there are Alexa skills incorporated for bed-side assistance as well.

The Stalwart – Delivering Ultimate Service Cooey works as the third platform for chronic patient

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,

M

odern life and its complexities are too much on human survival and the endurance in today’s world is a lot of struggle. While the fast pace is taking all the attention and time of human life, the condition of those who cannot sustain the struggle and pace suffers the most. The ill and the old are the biggest sufferers of this wild speed, and there comes the extraordinary help and support from Cooey, to serve the old and the unwell that go through a tough time.

Manu Madhusudanan CEO

,

Dedication, teamwork and workplace synergy is the only way to stand tall amid crucial competition

July 2018

™

health management system and it is engaging patients in the system and is providing targeted services to them. It is an IoT enabled mobile-based augmentation layer over an existing HER, which allows its users to collect, store, analyze their health vitals for recurring care needs. It focuses on senior care, home healthcare, chronic disease management, and other health conditions where there is more emphasis on recurring care needs.

Cooey provides a cloud-hosted, white-labeled mobile platform, MyCooey, with different mobile applications for caregivers, patient & family members that synchronizes on a real-time basis. An administrator can monitor remotely the activities on a web portal. The platform is configurable to suit the respective business segment and style of functioning. Thus, the features can be customized. The solution helps its users to enable remote data capture, adherence and ensures ongoing collaboration amongst physicians, caregivers, patients, & family members.

Leaders with a Benevolent Mind The vision of creating something which is the ‘need of the moment’ always works and Cooey is the eminent example of it. The brand was established in June 2015 by Manu Madhusudanan and Prabhakaran T.P. after their firsthand experience of what many chronic patients have gone through in India and realizing the deplorable health care condition in India.

Manu Madhusudanan, the CEO of the company, is a technology leader with over 14 years of senior management experience. Architected and developed Ad management system for Yahoo and Microsoft, and built engineering team of NowFloats, he has a great knowledge to deal with the healthcare venture.

walk. Cooey has gone through a lot, to bring out the best in them to stand tall amid the ocean of different business venture and start-ups. The key challenges this organization faced in the initial stage include cultural fit, especially between Singapore requirements and the US requirements and along with regulatory compliances, and telecommunication infrastructure.

Additionally, there was lack of professionals with right skill sets, high costs of analytics solutions and operational gaps between the stakeholders are the major factors that are hindering the progress of adoption of analytics. Cooey achieves its “One-Stop Solution” for capturing, storage, retrieval, processing, and data analytics services, through constant engagement and continued support system. The story of success of Cooey is the reality check for those who want to endeavor in such a competitive field.

The Aspiring Future Cooey is working in a niche area of remote monitoring of health vitals and information that is known for latest technology adoption in healthcare solution. It would project that how data analytics can transform every individual and healthcare organization resulting in benefits to the user. From, the chronic disease management companies which are assisting the humanitarian crisis, to the in-home care facilities, and long-term care organizations, there are the areas in which merit technology with monitoring opportunities are working well. The goal of the organization is to hit that ground and to come up with the best medical support to the every Indian as per the requirement without being blindly and solely dependent on hospitals. Cooey is working relentlessly to achieve the rank to be the forerunner of healthcare revolution.

Prabhakaran T.P. is the COO of Cooey. He is a tenacious professional with more than 22 years of experience in Healthcare IT and has an immense knowledge and understanding of the complex global healthcare industry. He was earlier the CEO and founder of Pradot Technologies & XScire Technologies and Chairman of GroupOne Health Source. He drives the sales and marketing initiatives of Cooey.

Obstacles They Overcome To reach the zenith of a complex venture is not a cake

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HOSPITALSOFTWARESHOP.COM Pioneers in Delivering Innovative Software for the Healthcare Industry

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ospitalSoftwareShop.com is a unique online platform offering innovative medical software for the healthcare industry which is primarily being used by the globally renowned hospitals, radiology centres, pathology labs, and doctors. In a conversation with the CEO – Amit U Jain, he talks about the whole idea of creating this online platform along with explaining the current trends, and challenges of the healthcare startups in India.

Technology (HIT) Startup – HospitalSoftwareShop.com engaged in providing probably the widest range of Software for the Healthcare Domain – Hospitals, MultiSpecialty, Super-Specialty, Clinics and Diagnostic Centers. He is an astute professional with over 24 years of qualitative experience in Healthcare Information Technology, Consulting, Quality Management and Business Development.

His Core Competencies Encompass:

1. Kindly brief us about the company.

HospitalSoftwareShop.com is The World's First Online Shop for buying software for Hospitals - MultiSpecialty & Super-Specialty, Eye Hospitals, IVF Clinics, Doctors’ Clinics, Pathology Labs & Radiology Centers. HospitalSoftwareShop.com is an ISO 9001:2015 Certified Company, active in providing software for the healthcare industry globally. The software has been licensed to numerous Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Doctors’ Clinics, Pathology Labs and Radiology Centers. HospitalSoftwareShop.com provides the widest range of products for the Healthcare Vertical. HospitalSoftwareShop.com has been listed amongst India’s 20 Most Promising Healthcare Software Companies.

2. Please tell us something about your Founder/CEO and his/her contribution towards the company and the industry: Amit U Jain is the Founder of a Healthcare Information

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ü Healthcare Information Technology (HIT) ü Information Security Management Systems: Qualified LA: ISO 27001 ü Six Sigma Implementation (Six Sigma Black Belt Certified Professional) 3. How are the healthcare startups revolutionizing the Indian healthcare?

Healthcare Start-ups help bridge the gap between healthcare service providers and end-users through applications, Internet of Medical Things, Robots, Artificial Intelligence and state-of-the-art technologies.

Indian Healthcare Sector at a Glance: ü GDP Contribution: 6% ü Global Disease Burden: 21% ü Doctor-Patient Ratio: 1:1681 ü Hospital Beds-Population Ratio: 0.5:1000 ü Out of Pocket expenditure: 62% of total healthcare spending July 2018

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Interview With Insights Success

Amit U Jain CEO

Considering all these challenges, coupled with the growing healthcare requirements of the country and huge inaccessibility & unaffordability of healthcare services for the majority of the population, there is dire need for out-ofthe-box, tech-driven, innovative, scalable and low-cost solutions.

AND The encouraging news is that healthcare startups have already been setup to bridge this gap, e.g.

HospitalSoftwareShop.com provides innovative solutions in the fields of Telemedicine, TeleRadiology, and TelePathology besides Internet of Medical Things (IoMT).

4. Kindly describe in detail about your services and products.

HospitalSoftwareShop.com provides the following software solutions; both server-based as well as cloudbased.

1. Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) 2. Hospital Software: supports multiple branches 3. Eye Hospital Software: supports multiple branches 4. IVF Software 5. Laboratory Information System (LIS) 6. Radiology Information Systems (RIS) 7. PACS 8. Telemedicine Solutions 9. TeleRadiology Solutions 10.TelePathology Solutions 11.Ophthalmologist Software ™

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12. Consulting Physician Software 13. Cardiologist Software 14. Gastrologist Software 15. Dialysis Center / Nephrologist Software 16. Andrologist Software 17. Pediatrician Software 18. Dermatologist Software 19. Gynecologist Software 20. Optician Software 21. Pharmacy Software 22. Panic / Duress Button Software 23. Blood Bank Software 24. Agent Management Software 5. How is technology helping you or how technology has impacted the Indian healthcare?

Technology is helping the Indian Healthcare sector in a big noticeable way, by bridging the gap between the healthcare providers and patients. Telemedicine, TelePathology, TeleRadiology and Internet of Medical Tings (IoMT) are the prime movers.

Here are a few illustrations of how HospitalSoftwareShop.com has used IoMT in penetrating the roots of Indian Healthcare: Instance I: (Tier II Indian City): An elderly person in the family had fluctuating glucose levels, a round strip (like Band-Aid) was stuck to his arm and we could see the graph on our smartphone. Based on the graph, the Diabetologist adjusted his insulin dosage.

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Instance II (Tier I Indian City): A fitness freak friend uses a smartphone app to measures his calorie intakes every day when he has taken excess calories during a meal, the app warns (alerts) him to reduce intake of calories at the next meal.

Instance III (Rural India): In the interiors of South India, patients are connected to Super-specialists of a Tertiary Hospital, their vitals being captured and transmitted in real time through telemedicine.

Instance IV (Electronic Prescription Pads): Doctors have been using electronic prescription pads for the last 7-8 years. An electronic prescription pad is an A4 sized letter pad, on which the Doctor writes the prescription / advice. The image is stored in the internal memory of the pad and synced with the patient database.

6. Explain the industry challenges in terms of current trends, market players and cost?

Despite the rapid economic growth, India has witnessed an increase in diseases; communicable as well as lifestyle. The size of Indian Healthcare Industry is expected to be US$ 280 Billion by 2020. But, due to factors like; Inadequate spend on healthcare, Rural v/s Urban divide, Poor Health Infrastructure, Very low level of Health Insurance, the industry still faces challenges in serving 1.3 billion population.

7. What are the key areas where healthcare startups have made the maximum impact?

The key areas where healthcare startups have made the maximum impact are Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), Telemedicine, TeleRadiology and TelePathology.

8. What is the USP of your startup? Mention the idea which led to this startup, distinctive features and highlights.

The USP of HospitalSoftwareShop.com is to provide the widest range of easy-to-use, affordable, out-of-thebox and state-of-art technological solutions to the Healthcare Industry.

quality healthcare facilities. We then decided to setup a state-of-art telemedicine center in South India where specialists remotely connected to patients in Africa for diagnosis and prognosis.

9. Kindly share us with your Vision and Mission of your organization.

Vision Statement: HospitalSoftwareShop will provide an unparalleled experience as the most trusted partner for Healthcare Information Technology (HIT).

Mission Statement: HospitalSoftwareShop will strive to bridge the gap between healthcare providers and patients by providing out-of-the-box-technology driven solutions, thus improving the Patient Care Cycle.

10. How do you portray the future of healthcare startup industry and how are you preparing yourself for that?

Healthcare startups are redefining the healthcare industry in terms of healthcare delivery and bridging the gap between healthcare providers and patients.

They also help in improvising the patient care cycle.

HospitalSoftwareShop.com is looking forward to increasing reach in terms of geographies, not only in India, but also in Africa, ASEAN and GCC. Our solutions are HIPAA-compliant, so we are also looking forward to server the US and Canadian Healthcare markets.

11. How the corporate sector impacts or supports the healthcare startup industry?

The corporate sector supports the healthcare startup industry by providing mentoring, funding and networking.

12. Kindly provide a quote which describes your company.

One-Stop Healthcare IT Solutions Shop

During my visit to an African city, I found that despite high income levels, people did not have access to

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Tech Talk

IWORKTECH – Delivering Innovative Blockchain Solutions

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he advent of a blockchain started a movement. In our country currently it is getting discussed in the context of crypto-currency, it’s usage in government to bring in more transparency in operations.

Transition to anti-corruptible and anti-censorship is going to bring changes which are catastrophic. It has become a word, which is getting used to my fear, as a solution to every problem.

The blockchain evangelists also referred to it as Web3.0.

I am sure that this technology is going to facilitate the decentralization of the World Wide Wed. It is going to create an opportunity to equalize control and ownership from the grasp of the profit-hungry organization.

By now, it’s ecosystem consists of over 3000 crypto coins and over 900 decentralized apps or Dapps. Even though the technology is at its a nascent stage, the market valuation has already exceeded beyond 800 billion.

Social Networks Today, the content published on the social can compromise by the app company.

It has started a revolution which is aptly described by Matteo Zago (Chairman @ The Internet of Blockchain Foundation, Founder@Essentia.one) in one of his blogs.

According to him, this technology goes to prove that a more liberated, egalitarian, and fraternal internet. It’s going to bring “torrent of disruption” to the established tech giants.

In this article, I share new startups which have a potential to turn into big. I have taken blockchain technology as a base.

To improving understanding, I am comparing them to current centralized technology companies and their application. I am referring theses companies as, Web 2.0.

File storage Web 3.0 is pushing to reduce cost and improve securities.

The idea is to trade unused storage capacity across desktops, servers and storage devices.

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Messaging With Web 3.0, content remains in the hands of the user.

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Video streaming A common issue raised by content generators about videos are inconsistently and unjustly demonetized. Web 3.0 hopes to resolve it.

About the Author

Music streaming One Web 2.0, the current middleman fees cut deep into artist’s pocket. The Web 3.0 will make to remove intermediaries and enable advertisers, viewers, and content creators to engage directly with each other.

Atul Gunjal is the CEO of IWORKTECH which is a well-known provider of IT solutions and specializes in delivering custom cloud, mobile, and enterprise applications tailored to perfection.

Atul works with a determination to establish the entity as one of the most respected outsource product Development Company. He manages the overall vision and business strategy, including expansion into new markets, high-level technology direction, and operations.

More and Summary Decentralisation is making inroads. I tried to cover some verticles. I hope it gives you some idea of new startups which are operating in a blockchain environment. ™

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Chalk Talk

to Know Before STARTUP BUSINESS C

ultivating innovative thinking starts at the top. Leaders can foster a culture of innovation by encouraging creativity and experimenting with a new idea- Lynne Doughtie

Since the evolution of mankind, inventions and innovations have been an integral part of the human ecosystem. Be it the discovery of fire, electricity or how water can be harnessed to generate electricity, they all have been major innovations that started off as just a thought in someone’s head. With a population of 7.6 billion people and rising, the world has more innovators and thinkers than before and this can make a major difference in the way the world moves ahead. And it can only be done when the thoughts are given a proper platform to be turned into innovations.

A plethora of ideas has evolved over the last few years which have made a significant difference in the lives of people.

Innovations such as 3D printing are now being used to digitally print basic objects that even we can use, like vases, measuring cups, bottle openers etc. It is also used in hospitals to print outcasts and prosthetics for patients. Brain mapping is another such idea which neuro-scientists have been using for a better understanding of how the brain functions.

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Startups and Reclaimed Ideas The constant emergence of ideas needs to be steered in the right direction. Only then can it be put into action. And that is where startups come into the picture. Startups encourage the exchange and implementation of new ideas. When an idea comes up, its pros and cons are weighed in. There is a lot of research that goes into it and is given a thorough check. Only if it’s useful to the world and is something that hasn’t been done before, it’s implemented into the big plan.

In the Indian perspective, independent reports suggest that the total funding in Q1 2018 reached up to a staggering 1.17 billion USD. As compared to Q4 2017, it has witnessed a growth of over twenty percent. While Fintech as a sector received the highest funding, Bengaluru recorded the maximum funding deals.

The concepts may not have worked in the past but with the world constantly transforming, implementing the same thought with a few changes can be the first steps towards founding a startup. For example, if the idea of food delivery using an app was thought of as impractical in the past, a couple of years later, it is now one of the leading sectors of the food industry. This shows how one opportunity can probably make a difference.

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Uniqueness in Startups Startups have a very different way of functioning. When an idea is nowhere close to becoming a part of reality, startups work towards making the impossible, possible. And the world has its share of innovations to push through. The most unique ideas have a way of grabbing even the common people's attention. An exemplar of novelty is a delivery service for food and other essentials. The catch here is that this service delivers anything in the middle of the night. Another example is a company that recycles cigarette butts to make new items such as key chains, soft toys etc. The fact that social gatherings create a lot of waste in the form of cigarette butts was the catalyst for the startup.

Building up a startup: Modern day innovators Looking back into the past, there was a lot of encouragement was given to the discovery of new ideas. But to put it into action it required a lot of time, resources, effort and even the necessary finances. And the past is less advanced than today; it posed a major challenge to anyone who wanted to create a wrinkle in the norm. In the past, anything new was thought to be something bizarre. But the neoteric world is one that accepts advancements with open arms.

For a startup to be a part of the minds of people, it needs to give them a reason to notice. This requires a copious exchange of ideas, knowing if the concept matches the target audience and mainly how the organization will be funded.

But along with this process, a startup comes with its own set of challenges. In the Indian scenario, the policies created by the government for the startups aren’t really the friendliest. It requires a lot of effort. Even after the entire process is done and the company is set up, there are a lot of restrictions that weigh down the progress of the company. Another situation that usually arises is talent. Individuals who have brilliant skills tend to prefer a corporate which in a way can be justified with regard to the amount that is offered. This directly speaks of the main challenge being, funding. Startups have a tough time trying to invest a particular amount as they're constantly low on funds. This leads to a reduction in facilities, pays, lack of proper equipment etc.

Even with a sober picture, it’s reassuring to know that since 2017, the Silicon Valley has its eyes set on the Indian startup scenario. The move of the Indian government of implementing GST has given startups the freedom to pay taxes only when the turnover is 20 lakhs. Finally, startups have been getting into mergers and acquisitions which have intrigued other investors to invest in Indian startups.

Workability and future prospects of innovation and startups: The world is a Pandora’s Box of ideas, opportunities, and people who bring up these concepts. When you focus on a particular idea and envision it to be a success, it is bound to be exactly that. In a world where innovation is the way to growth and development, startups have the upper hand. They bring forth the belief that an idea can grow into an organization. As per reports, there will be more than 11,500 startups in the country by 2020 which will, in turn, create jobs for the needful. With a promising future ahead, this source of novelty is bound to attain greater heights of success and operational excellence.

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FitMeIn: Unloading Calories through All-Inclusive Fitness Solutions

One such innovative startup pursuing more flexible ways to keep up with the fitness routines is FitMeIn. It is a curated web and mobile platform that connects users seeking fitness and wellness services with nearby Wellness coaches and Wellness centers. The company holds the right combination of cutting-edge technology and prominent services.

FitMeIn is backed by a Singapore based startup accelerator Green House Ventures and the largest AI driven digital health company of Japan – FinC along with seed funding.

“We exist to help our community make healthier choices and improve their physical, mental and spiritual state of being”.

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Vishesh Goel Co-founder

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D

ays are getting vanished when health-based startups were providing diagnostic, enterprise, and medicine delivery solutions, etc. Today, the new and innovative breeds of health-tech startups are emerging with solutions transforming consumer lifestyle, mental stress, and early diagnosis of genetic disorders. They are even going to the extent of reducing the after effects of critical processes such as chemotherapy. The companies are every day working with the vision to create an ecosystem that would facilitate a better and faster healthcare environment. As the saying goes “health is wealth”, these startups are assisting to bridge the gap between the doctors and patients and secure the human health in the coming future.

Nidhisha Varshney CEO & Co-founder

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Work, sweat and achieve that’s what we stand for and believe in

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Meet the Vibrant Leaders Nidhisha Varshney is the Co-Founder and CEO of FitMeIn. Nidhisha has completed her undergraduate degree in finance from CBS, Delhi University. She is a fitness freak and also a professional Kathak dancer since the age of fourteen. Vishesh Goel, the other co-founder is a Chartered Accountant and business consultant turned entrepreneur. The core team also consists of seasoned entrepreneurs Supriya Mamgain and Lalit Singh, who has run their technology-enabled startups in the wellness space.

In the early years of inception, this team was unable to cope up with the fitness regime due to the stressful corporate environment. They recognized that this problem is being faced by more than seventy percent of their colleagues trying to pursue their regular fitness routine. Being avid sports players, the trio decided to establish a health-tech startup with a vision to build a fitter workforce that can fuel India's economic success and GDP growth. They transformed their idea into reality and founded FitMeIn. Under the leadership of the core team, the company has transformed itself and expanded its operations over more than twenty-five cities with more than twenty-five thousand service partners, impacting over one million lives.

A Unique Platform Providing Innovative Services and Benefiting Clients FitMeIn is making a robust fitness eco-system in India by creating an innovative technology-driven platform. This platform is bringing thousands of fitness service providers and lakhs of fitness users under a common roof. It has democratized fitness services for individual users through its trademark currency FitCoins. It provides its customers with the flexibility to explore and book more than thirty workout styles like gymming, yoga, zumba, dance, swimming, spinning, kick-boxing etc. These workout styles are made attainable to the customers at fitness centers near their office or residence, via the FitMeIn web portal and app. This aids avoiding the expensive annual gym subscriptions and helps the customers to keep purchasing and refueling FitCoins as they progress. Additionally, FitCoins help businesses to promote proactive health and wellness. It can also engage employees at the office premises to drive a healthier workforce.

Furthering its commitment to organizing the eco-system, FitMeIn’s AI-powered SaaS platform provides wellness centers and coaches with dynamic real-time insights to better manage, sell, and grow their services.

Strategizing Success through Risks Finding the right blend of technology and services was the biggest challenge for FitMeIn. The organization experienced major risks at its embryonic stage as a pure marketplace that was relying on the supply partners.

Though fitness was still a nascent industry (i.e.85% sector being unorganized with less than 1% Indians as active users), the company focused on its idea that ‘personal wellbeing and fitness is the right of every individual’. It was a daunting task for FitMeIn to develop itself in the fitness and health tech sector where the count of individual footprints is less than one percent.

The company overcame the challenges by building a platform amongst supply partners with newer and disruptive ways of engagement with the potential users.

FitMeIn stayed lean, operated efficiently, and strategized a successful pathway through crests and troughs.

Furthermore, the team believes that with the right kind push through policy making, for more individuals to take up fitness and wellness services as career options, India is all set to see the next boom in the Fitness sector, and FitMeIn will be at the forefront leading the charge of building the fittest workforce on the planet.

Core Strengths and Futuristic Vision FitMeIn’s greatest strength is the willingness and ability to adapt to an ever-changing and dynamic Industry.

Standardizing the process of discovery, selection, pay, and service delivery through technology in an unorganized industry is also a strong point of the company. Over the last fifteen months, the company has built a strong network of channel partners and distributors which has tripled the market penetration for FitMeIn. With a futuristic vision to transform the health tech sector in India, FitMeIn is planning to leverage this 15x to fuel aggressive growth in the near future.

With a growing user base of fitness enthusiasts, the company has also launched a proprietary IVR helpline by which the customers can an expert diet coach anytime, to better accomplish their wellness goals. ™

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Flochat: Connecting People, Innovating Life

,

A

s the GDP of India’s economy continues to swell with market-friendly policies and measures, startup industry moves forward to witness a boom in the recent times. One of its key contributors is the mobile application industry – as India becomes the fastest growing market for mobile apps in the world! Analysts and experts forecast that the market has earned over 400 million USD as revenues in the last one year itself. As the ‘consumptionclass’ in India increases at a substantial rate, the mobile application industry is poised to rule the market along with expanding its footprints in the unexplored territories.

Prateek Lal Founder & CEO

We at Flochat believe that the ‘Flo’ of conversations should never break and

Massive funding, evolving technologies, consolidation activities, and burgeoning domestic market trends are the factors driving the startup eco-system in India. The startup India campaign launched by the Government is also a significant step to dominate the global startup market. As the country gears up for a surge in this sector, the Indian app entrepreneurs are concentrating more on developing m-commerce, digital-healthcare, artificial intelligence apps to cater to the market.

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work” – Thomas A. Edison Talking about innovative startups, Flochat stands out to be the first ‘super-messenger’ of India with a first in the world technology called ‘Teleport’. It allows users to click a picture with someone who is not physically present with

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hence we have built an ecosystem that

,

not only enables smart and quick communication but also a highly personalized experience. With 'Teleport', in particular, we want to do away with physical limitations and allow people to connect and create memories no matter where they are through a simple picture

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them. This unique feature bundled with other applications is designed to meet the diverse needs of every Smartphone user. Founded in 2016, the proficient team has grown up to fifteen professionals and has already got about 600,000+ downloads on android and iOS. Flochat is a hybrid chat platform which lets the user connect to their social circle as well as giving the liberty of browsing & sharing content from other apps right within their chat screens. As the pioneers of launching India’ first ‘Super messenger’app, it stands out to be the first step in the future of conversations.

Personalized chat, challenge & teleport features are some of the path-breaking features which are driving the growth and expansion of the company to untouched markets. The USP of Flowchat is that it seamlessly integrates numerous lifestyle apps within in messenger so that the ‘flo’ of conversations never break. Planning with friends, books, and sharing without leaving the chat screen is the biggest advantage.

A Stimulating Frontrunner As the Founder and CEO, Prateek Lal is a young, pragmatic business leader who has been the driving force of Flochat. He carries a futuristic vision of embracing technology to change the way of communication and create a disruption in the current messaging market space. Prior to his entrepreneurial venture, he has a professional experience of eight years. He was associated with renowned MNC’s in the Banking and Financial sector.

His experience in managing diverse roles in the areas of strategic planning, product development, and digital initiatives has given him the confidence and exposure to rise to new heights.

Right from the beginning, Prateek is focused and determined to understand and fulfill the requirements of the customers, rather than relying on historical data. From the inception, he had students from school and colleges on board to brainstorm ideas, find out what would they enjoy in their messenger and then develop the app accordingly.

Most of the features in Flochat are a result of continuous primary research with students. He did his Master's in Business Design which further enhanced his knowledge and expertise in grasping an in-depth understanding of 'humancentered design’.

the globe to develop a technology that allows taking a picture with someone, who is not physically present at the same location. Naming it ‘Teleport’, Flochat has patented this technology and this unique offering has been the USP of the organization.

Another exclusive feature is Flochat's cheeky and sarcastic chatbot called’Floda’, it can assist the user in performing day-to-day tasks like booking tickets, impressing friends with smart quotes or even planning a favorite holiday. It’s highly interactive and interestingly, it offers sarcastic replies whenever a user irritates it with a volley of questions.

Innovation and evolution are the core virtues of the entity which is driving the business at a steady pace. Flochat has also built a multi-functional chat platform which aims to simplify and enhance the overall experience of chatting.

Flochat embeds leading service and content providers across verticals & delivers a seamless personalized chat, challenge & teleport experience to the users without even breaking the flow of conversations. Partnering with renowned online lifestyle solution giants like Zomato, Uber, bookmyshow, and Ola – to name a few has given the edge to the company to evolve as a major player over the years.

Factors Attributing the Success of the Company The key differentiator which helps the company to stand ahead of the other players is the ability to think ahead of time. Focusing on building a prospective future has helped Flochat to carve out its own elite niche market space and a loyal customer base. With sheer determination, it continues to progress forward by embracing innovative technology to be amongst the numero uno in the mobile app industry.

Streaming Towards a Positive Future As the surge in the global app industry continues to disrupt the economies of several countries, Flochat crafts its futurepath in the best possible manner. Offering a bunch of trending features, the organization is all set to transform the app industry with more improvised and new technologies that will surely engulf the mind of the users.

Teleport – Flochat’s Patented Technology Developing innovative ideas and technologies has been the forte of Flochat since inception. It is the first company in ™

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TECHNOLOGIES That Are

Embraced By

STARTUPCompanies N

ot long before Blackberry went bust it was named

by Fortune as the fastest growing company globally and valued at more than USD 55 billion.

Similarly, Yahoo during its heydays touched a peak valuation of USD 140 billion before its market share and subsequently the estimation hit rock bottom. Now, what is common between the two enterprises apart from its dramatic slump? Both were market disrupters of their era and used tech innovation to introduce platforms, which were unique and revolutionary in nature. In fact, whats app is often considered to be an evolved version of blackberry messenger and Google search engine as-well-as mail is akin to what Yahoo was in the 90’s and early 2000’s. However, the inability of the two tech giants to transform with the curve ultimately spelt doom for them.

Nonetheless, it seems that the startup businesses in the present scenario have learned their lessons from the past and are embracing new technological tools to serve the unique needs of their esteemed customers. Startup ventures, often strapped for finances are leveraging the benefits technology has to offer to keep their costs down and acquire as well as retain customers, which in turn is fueling their growth. While the nature of technological adaption for these ventures is determined by numerous factors such as the ecosystem it functions within, and the amount of investment needed to integrate it with the company’s operations, some prominent innovations to gain universal appeal are: Chatbots Start-ups with their customer-centric approach have redefined the levels of customer experience in India and globally. One of the prominent innovations being embraced by these ventures are AI-Chatbots because of the inherent benefits this tech innovation offers in augmenting customer centric capability of business ventures by facilitating quick redressal of queries. One of the core benefits of this technology, which has contributed to its surge and makes it the queen bee of innovations with global appeal, is their unique ability to create a seamless customer experience by

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understanding their query in detail and navigating the conversation to provide a quick and relevant response.

Therefore, combining the advantages of virtual and human assistance has assisted to deliver a differentiated customer experience.

Blockchain Data protection and privacy are the buzzwords for consumers and businesses today. Before the arrival of this technology consumer data or historical footprint could easily be tampered with. However, Blockchain technology has a complex network of interwoven e-records, having multiple replications making it extremely secure and hackproof, therefore emerging as a safe custodian of records.

Many startups are embracing this tech to position themselves as a differentiated entity and increasing levels of data transparency will only further popularize this tech.

Thus, Blockchain has the potential to enhance the quality of service delivery while improving confidentiality. In fact, 2018 has been touted as the year of blockchain technology.

Big Data Big data has emerged as an integral technological tool to offer personalized services to the consumers and are being extensively adopted by startups. Through insights collected due to the application of big data, startups are able to segment customers on the basis of demography, preferences, behaviour etc. thereby facilitating a seamless customer experience, which augments their operations and build a loyal client base. As businesses understand the value of learning from the insights provided by data, the application of this tech is set to grow phenomenally.

To conclude, while there are other emerging technologies in the industry landscape, which facilitate business and are being increasingly deployed, the focus of any business entity, start-up or otherwise is to achieve growth by acquiring a customer base and retaining it through a customer-centric approach in a cost-effective manner. It is here that AI-chatbots, blockchain and big data is clearly gaining ground.

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Expert’s viewpoint

About the Author Ashish Gupta is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Product Officer (CPO) at Policy Bazaar, India's largest online insurance aggregator and is committed to building awareness among every individual before buying an insurance cover for their loved ones. He has been instrumental in driving the revenue through market research, product marketing, and content marketing.

Prior to joining PolicyBazaar, Ashish served as VicePresident and CTO at HealthKart and was the CEO of online coupon-search portal CouponVoodoo.com.

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Go4Cabs: Providing Private Ground Transportation Service around the Country

Based in India, Go4Cabs was founded in the year 2014 by Gauraav Dalal. It has come in existence for providing the highest quality service to local corporate, SMEs, overseas business and leisure travelers visiting India. As the world's most important economic development region and with a huge number of the world's population, India is a primary travel destination for business, trade and tourism.

Aggregator of Cab Rental Solutions Imagine millions of drivers out on the roads, working together towards a common goal which is to outsmart traffic and get everyone with the best route to their work location

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ntrepreneurship is a game of patience, persistence, and diligence. While every idea finds its way through the initial issues pertaining to space, expansion, and investments; startups today are immensely blessed to have amazing opportunities to network. Stories of success inspire the youth to act and work to bring their own ideas to fruition. The e-commerce industry been directly impacting the micro, small & medium enterprises in India by providing means of financing, technology and training and has a favorable cascading effect on other industries as well. The idea of co-working spaces or incubators, to accelerate the start-ups by providing monetary and infrastructure support has given a good push to the system. Start-ups are making good use of the facilities available and are showing a sign of good times.

Gauraav Dalal Founder

We are exploring more opportunities

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and back, every day. Go4Cabs enables widespread renting of vehicles and is a leader in online cab booking. With own office, it has a proven partner focused network of online car rental services. It has enabled clients in more than 65 cities to avail the car hire services which has made the company outperform the competition and stay ahead of the innovative services.

Persistent and an Ardent Entrepreneur Gauraav Dalal, a B.Com Graduate with MBA degree in Marketing from Pune University, has 14 years of corporate work experience in India and Overseas, including companies like ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co Ltd; in Mumbai, India, Damac Properties LLC, and Landmark Retail LLC in Dubai, UAE. GO4Cabs idea was formed based on the problem faced by the personal & professional people during their travel frequency to Mumbai & Ahmedabad from Dubai between 2007 till 2010. Getting a cab or taxi at Mumbai airport and back home in Ahmedabad was a daunting task.

The e-commerce has transformed the way business is done in India. Gauraav always had a passion for e-business since the very beginning of his career and after evaluating three businesses, Gauraav finally zeroed down on GO4Cabs – A cab aggregator model, PAN India, having good prospects and its own challenges and hence GO4cabs was established in June 2014.

Picking the Car that Fits Ones Need Go4Cabs caters to all segments (airport/station transfers, local, outstation, 1waycab, luxury cabs, coaches & buses, staff transfers, cabs on monthly contract) and provides standard size cars as well as large cars according to the choice of the client, as per the budget. From Sedan to SUV's the Luxurious BMW, Go4Cabs provide customized services by the virtue of its large fleet of cabs PAN India.

Working with various cab operators, Go4Cabs believes that a responsibility also needs to be extended beyond business.

The Easy to Go, Go4Cabs has overcome ubiquitous problem in India for the people to get a good quality car at affordable rates for their outstation or full day city travel plans. With wide choice of cabs in all segment & categories ranging from Sedan economy, Sedan Mid-Size, Sedan premium, Sedan luxury, SUV, Coaches and Buses it has established strong customer relationship which makes the clients to use the services repeatedly.

Business through Referrals Despite being a relatively new market, rental cars get an ™

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upper hand over personally owned ones when it comes to being pocket-friendly. This commuting option is cost effective, allowing customers to save a lot of money, while also enjoying a hassle free experience. Started with a very small customer base of friends and family, Go4Cabs started growing through referrals like corporate referrals and retail referrals. GO4Cabs relationship with each corporate client is quite deep rooted and personalized by contacting good referral programs.

Courteous Chauffeurs A chauffeur’s elegant title suggests that he’s more than the guy behind the wheel. A consummate professional, who not only offers you a safe ride, but also adds elegance to the ride. At Go4Cabs, Chauffeurs are highly efficient, polite, well-mannered, smart and experienced in handling corporates and foreign clients, who are known for their round the clock services. If you feel like grabbing a cup of coffee before heading to the airport, a Go4Cabs chauffeur will take you to the best café in town, or he'll pop over to a fast food joint, if you'd prefer. The ultimate choice is always with the client.

Aiding Clients with Mobile-friendly Services Go4Cabs provide the extended services to customer's pocket-friendly rates. Renting a car is now at ease in any city (65 cities) PAN India with just a click away at Go4Cabs. One can sign up through the website or through mobile app and book the car of their choice & interest, instantly. Car for the unexpected situations are also available with GO4Cabs. Most of the car rental that one hires put forwards the problem like hidden costs or unnecessary breakdown in the middle. But, with Go4Cabs this dilemma is unimaginable, as GO4Cabs has taken extra precaution while registering a vendor or a vehicle. There are strict policies and processes which have been kept which the vendors and vehicle owners need to follow. Also, GO4Cabs back office team takes care of the vehicle allotted for the trip. The team speaks to the allotted chauffeur and takes the details about the vehicle/s and also instructs the chauffeur about the process which are being followed.

Accelerating into a Bright Future Go4Cabs has grown leaps and bounds over the years due to a rising demand for better and sustainable modes of transportation among its growing urban population. Driven by a hunger to experience vast avenues, coupled with an innate fear of missing out on certain opportunities, the millennial youth of India is gradually becoming the force that is fueling the growth of the car rental industry.

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Gramco Infratech Empowering Farmers and Innovating Agri- Infrastructure Solutions

A Seasoned Entrepreneur Having Multi-Faceted Excellence Gramco Infratech Pvt Ltd– A Rural Company is the brainchild of Raman Singh Saluja to address the needs of the farmer community in India. As the Founder of Gramco, Raman has been a pioneer in setting up an integrated farming services and agricultural infrastructure. After completing his graduation and Master’s in Business Administration, entrepreneurship came naturally to him. His expertise and business acumen led him to be an integral part of various key ventures before he finally conceptualized Gramco in 2009. Prior to Gramco, He was also appointed as the

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he agricultural sector has been one of the mainstays of the Indian economy both in terms of its contribution to GDP as well as a source of employment. As the third-largest agriculture producer by value – the industry has witnessed numerous changes over the past few decades. Along with the Government’s initiatives and programs, the emergence of private players has fuelled the pace of agricultural growth in India. Agri-tech startups have taken the center-stage and are disrupting the Indian agricultural economy in unexpected ways. Entrepreneurs are building innovative solutions to indigenous problems and are surviving the stiff competition by being absolutely real.

Raman Singh Saluja, Founder (Invitee Mentor, Startupindia, MOA)

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Nodal Officer for the state of Madhya Pradesh by MANAGE, under the Ministry of Agriculture. He has very diverse business knowledge as a result of his past ventures varying from wind power, exports of agricultural commodities and being involved in families steel business. He is the Founder- curator of the ‘Global Shapers Community’, Indore Hub, – which is an initiative of the World Economic Forum. Failure and success is a part of every voyage and Raman’s professional journey is no exception to that. His sheer determination to conquer the challenges and create opportunities has made him stand ahead of the league today. Raman asserts ‘if you believe you are offering a viable alternative which has a commercial potential, you have a possible business potential’.

services and higher income. The company has transformed itself into a full-fledged farming services, product and infrastructure entity – a complete solution provider for the rural sector. Agri inputs and nutrients, warehousing, collateral management and warehouse receipt finance, procurement, value-addition, and contract farming & seed multiplication programs are the key services offered by the company. It continues to develop business models and launch services which are effective and helpful for the farming fraternity. The trust and confidence of the farmers have driven the company to date and that's the utmost satisfactory experience it has acquired over the years.

Journey Fostering Creativity and Innovation Gramco is derived from the word ‘gram’ which means a village in Hindi language and ‘co’ refers to the short form of company. Raman’s previous entrepreneurial ventures like the export of potatoes and‘grammandi.com’ – an online agri e-commerce/ market intelligence platform- are the key attributes which led to the formation of Gramco. He analyzed that having a close proximity to farmers and establishing a meaningful relationship with them is the critical first step towards bringing a radical change in the agricultural sector and operating a rural venture. His observation and a detailed study of rural business backed by the interactions with the farmers assisted him to point out the gaps in the hugely fragmented and unorganized industry. Being ahead of the curve, Raman saw a business opportunity to build something meaningful and contribute by taking it to a level where he could manage and deliver better results.

The agricultural sector has come a long way since independence; however, a lot is still to be done.

Samriddhi Fund managed by SVCL, invested Rs15 crore in 2014 to help scale up infrastructure and geographic expansion. As the face of the rural domain, Gramco too has faced tough challenges and obstacles during the initial years. Human resource, rural connectivity, and ‘over-regulatory’ measures adopted by the government are some of the examples. Additionally, technology and capital are the two indispensable components which need to be looked upon to minimize the challenges in the industry. Continual improvement and embracing technology keeps Gramco ahead in the market, the company has conducted pilot projects with IoT & precision agtech and is soon launching high value agtech solutions.

Astounding Services of Gramco Infratech If not the only one, Gramco stands to be one of the forerunners of introducing farmers to ‘outsourced farming’ – a new concept in the Indian agricultural eco-system. It offers world-class facilities in rural areas of the country and caters to different needs of the farmers under a single roof. It closely works with the farmer community and provides solutions and guidance in the areas of agriculture advisory, input supply, post-harvest storage, automated cleaning/grading/ packing, and market linkages. Over the years, Gramco has evolved and has benefited thousands of farmers with qualitative

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Industry Challenges – Ray of Opportunity

Marching towards the Horizon As the agricultural sector is on a steady trajectory of growth, Gramco is determined to cement itself as a formidable, FARM TO FORK & FACTORIES TO FARMS, player in the years to come. Attributing his family’s support as the main success factors, the company looks to hold a positive outlook for the future.

It is confident that the business model and its guiding principle of ‘farmer first’ will assist Gramco to create milestones as well as giving a tough competition to the best in the industry.

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Era of Bio Tech

An Insight

into the Present

Biotechnology S t a r t u p s “

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think the 21st century will be at the intersection of biology and technology. A new era is beginning,”

— Steve Jobs.

Biotechnology is the amalgamation of biological sciences with technology, to produce a solution to real-world disease and environmental issues. Over the years it has made major contributions towards making the world more sustainable, resourceful and environmentally friendly. It has helped us set up sustainable industries, by allowing us to design more efficient industrial production processes. Currently the biotech industry is valued at about $370 billion in 2017, according to the reports of market analyst Grand View Research, it is predicted that the global biotech industry may possibly grow to $727 billion by 2025.

Nonetheless, progress in technology, is not adequate to incorporate biotechnological methods into various industrial value chains. This integration should be widely accepted by society. The general public and decision-makers should accept these integrations, for the future expansion and commercialization of industrial biotechnology. Both are nurtured by the acuity and awareness of the economic, social and ecological benefits of industrial biotechnology. The last three years have seen a balanced development in the quality and numbers of startup movements, in India’s science and technology. Indian companies today have become pioneers in the plethora of domains, such as computer science, engineering, medicine, drug discovery and agriculture. This has led them to move briskly beyond their comfort zone of e-commerce ventures.

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Many diverse bunches of entrepreneurs are setting up businesses for new methods of drug delivery, regenerative medicine, novel biocompatible materials, sustainable energy, molecular diagnostics, agriculture, and nutrition.

over CAGR of twenty percent to reach USD 100 billion, by 2025. It has the second highest number of USFDA-approved industrialized plants outside the US; having more than 53 USFDA certified drug manufacturing facilities.

India a Fertile Ground for Biotechnology Startups

The Indian biotech industry is divided into five major segments, namely bio-informatics, bio-pharma, bio-agro, bio-industrial, and bio-services. Out of these the biopharmaceutical and bio-services account for the largest amount of shares, amounting to 64% and 18% of the total revenues and market shares respectively. Clinical trials, contract research, and manufacturing activities are the driving force behind India becoming a leader in the bio- services sector.

Twenty years ago when the first generation of Biotechnology startups arose, India lacked experienced personnel in the field. The earlier biotech startups industry was mostly service oriented, due to the lack of funding available to set up a product-oriented business. India wasn’t a big market for biotechnology then, making venture capitalist least interested in funding startups here. It lacked the infrastructure and experienced personnel for biotechnology research and development (R&D). However, the past few years have seen a drastic positive change in this scenario. The present generation of entrepreneurs has the zeal and courage to attack these problems head-on, with the financial backing provided by the government programs.

“I’m an investor in a number of biotech companies, partly because of my incredible enthusiasm for the great innovations they will bring.”

—Bill Gates India has now become a biotech growth catalyst. Currently, it is one of the top 12 destinations for biotechnology in the world.

Approximately, three percent of the global investment is currently invested in India. Comprising of about 800 companies, the biotechnology industry in the country is estimated to grow

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India being agriculture based country; it has always invested a major part of its resources into the agriculture development. The Bio-agro sector accounts for 14% of the biotech industry. On the other hand, the remaining market is catered by bio-industrial and bio-informatics; having 3% and 1% shares respectively.

In the past few years, there has been a lot of development in the biotech sector, thirty bio-incubators and biotech parks have been reinforced and established in India. The future of the biotech startup industry in the Indian subcontinent looks bright and promising.

Lacunae that need to Addressed India may be moving fast towards development in this sector, but there are few key points that need to be addressed before it is able to leap to the zeal directly. A key issue that the Indian biotech startup industry faces is the link between the academia research

and industries. There is a huge gap between the development of the technology and making it robust enough to implement in an industrial setup, and eventually bring to the general public. The research being carried out in institutes and universities is unique and outstanding, without doubt; but it never finds its way to the masses. The bond of startups to the industrial network also requires severe attention to the risk capital deficit in India.

The Propositions for Future A substantial attention that has raised the eyebrows is the flow of scientific ideas to fuel startups. The advancements that take place daily in the sciences must reach the innovative process required for startups. Without this, India’s startup ecosystem will not be able to challenge global contenders efficiently. This will limit India’s innovations to reverse-innovating, and reverse-engineering.

Providentially, India’s scientific institutions are capable enough to deliver, as they are built on strong fundamentals. There is no contest that people of amazing talent do graduate from India’s institutions and in substantial numbers across various scientific fields. This is proof that high-quality research is being carried out in best universities and research institutions in India; putting this to good use is all that needs to be thought about. The future of India becoming the forerunner in the Global biotech startup scene cannot be denied. With the government initiating various programs to help biotech startups fund their ventures, they now have a powerful financial backing to realize their dreams.

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Hug Innovations: Delivering Smart IoT Devices for the Next Generation

One such prominent name in the emerging field of IoT market is Hug Innovations Corp. It is a next-generation wearable and IoT platform company with expertise in the fields of advanced gesture recognition, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. HUG Innovations uses consumer technology from factors like a smartwatch, smartphone, IOT devices, and handheld remotes to port its gesture control experience which is based on relative motion detection. ‘Gesture recognition’ technology uses a combination of MI, AI, cognitive science, and contextual intelligence to deliver an unparalleled interactive experience with connected devices. The company has been selected as one of the “Best 50 Startups to work for in 2017” by the Silicon India Magazine.

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merging applications and business models supported by standardization and affordable device costs are driving the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT market has taken the center stage and has become one of the widest ecosystems in the market today. As per the analysis by independent researchers, between 2016 and 2022, IoT devices are expected to increase at a CAGR of twenty-one percent. It further adds that around twenty-nine percent connected devices would be in the market by 2022, out of which around eighteen billion are related to IoT. Embracing innovative software and aligning technological elements, businesses are creating a comprehensive solution which has set the right trajectory for the IoT market.

Raj Neravati Founder & CEO

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Delivering quality wearable products with enhancing the safety and security of people

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Insightful Leader at Hug Innovations Three attributes which make Raj Neravati a true business leader – technocrat, pragmatic, and visionary. As the Founder and CEO, Raj has been instrumental in taking Hug to new heights with his business acumen. In his professional career spanning over eighteen years, he has managed global teams with companies like Cigniti Technologies and AppLabs in the roles of COO and Senior VP respectively. He has travelled to over sixteen countries and this global exposure has assisted him to understand the customer perspective in a much better way.

Initial Journey Instead of having a business idea, the journey started with an emotion which deeply impacted the mindset of the people in many ways. The need to address the safety of women became the utmost priority and that’s when the idea of developing a holistic solution paved the way. The idea was to create a solution which can integrate with a smartwatch, mobile application, cloud platform, analytics, and a lot more without even touch of a button. As a complete solution provider, Hug invented a technology which can trigger SOS using simple hand gestures. With this path-breaking innovation, Hug Innovations cemented its identity as a matured player in the IoT industry.

The Key Innovations Which Makes the Difference The solution is a result of a vision to empower the women with safety and security when it's needed the most. The company has been successful in creating a comprehensive gesture platform with possibilities of controlling computer, drones, and music on a smartphone. Hug Innovations proudly term this as a disruption in the technology world and have already filed a patent on the technology. In a short span of three years, the company has successfully launched four commercial products in the market.

Hug Smartwatch: Inspired by the classic wristwatch, this modern wearable smartwatch comes with a bundle of features related to safety, fitness, health and many more. The cuttingedge technology of the watch empowers a person to express, interact, control, and play without any interference. The watch can be preset to react to threat situations and send a distress signal to the family members and alerting the nearby emergency services. This feature can either be manually activated or it works by providing hand gesture when in trouble.

can also connect with the community through which the user can add participants and take on group-targets to maximize their fitness objectives.

Hug Fit: Targeted for the fitness enthusiasts, this is a waterproof device which has health, fitness, and sleeping tracking features. In India, this device is marketed by Reliance Digital and is available across all Reliance stores.

My Buddy: Keeping the safety and security of the kids while they are out of their homes or not with their parents, the company has developed a child-safety tracker. This tracker has features like SOS, geo-fencing, 24/7 monitoring and much more. The organization has developed this tracker for ‘Eurokids Private Ltd’ to address child safety needs beyond the school perimeters.

USP of Hug Innovations The company is a pioneer in developing gesture recognition without camera combined with machine learning and artificial intelligence. Additionally, the gesture connectivity and developer platform offer new possibilities in VR-based applications. Embracing the fitness applications into the enterprise healthcare platform can assist in tracking overall health data, suggest preventive actions, and provide insurance guidelines for the corporate world.

Key Challenges – Rising To the Occasion The advent of technology and abundance of players in the IoT market made it extremely tough for the company to survive the initial journey. Finding the right mix of designers, and developers for a hardware startup was another crucial area to work upon. The scarcity of investors was another major obstacle which pushed the company at crossroads at one point. However, with sheer determination and the zeal to succeed, Hug Innovations overcame the challenges with their persistent hard work.

Future Perspective As the Indian IoT industry moves forward to play a pivotal role in boosting the economy, Hug Innovations has conceptualized key strategies which can take them ahead of their competitors in the long term. The company firmly believes that ‘a penny saved is a penny earned’. They are confident that the ‘gesture platform’ technology will assist them to grow faster and create an array of opportunities for developers who like to cross skill and grow in the emerging markets.

Hug Elan: This fitness tracker is equipped with a multi-sports mode which can identify seven different fitness activities. It ™

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myFin Advisor : F

inancial services segment has been a major contributor to the Indian economy over the last few years. Banking, insurance, mutual funds, capital market and equities are some of the key constituents of this vast sector. Independent researchers have anticipated a fivefold growth in assets segment making it a 1.47 trillion USD market along with growing the investor's accounts to nearly 130 million by 2025. Often consumers are stuck in a similar conundrum regarding the key logics and analysis which can assist them to invest wisely and avoid huge losses. This is a point where a proficient financial advisor or a financial consulting firm can help the customers to be well-informed about the current financial market and the future trends.

However, to attain these milestones, investors also need proper guidance and corrective actions so that their investments are not scattered.

One such prominent company which has evolved into an influential financial consulting firm is myFin Advisor.

Founded in 2011, the company is one of the pioneers in India for e-Financial advisory services, catering to the B2B and B2C market segments. The company focuses on advising, consulting, and planning wealth for Indian residents, non-residents, expats, and corporates. Retail investors and Customer Consulting are the two primary domains under which the company offers individual advisory and complete financial planning solutions. With years of expertise, the company provides authentic and

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Providing Path-breaking Services in Financial Advisory Market

Peeyoosh Agrawal Managing Partner & Founder

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myFin Advisor is spearheading the movement for the public to invest in nancial planning and teaching them its importance

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viable solutions in the sectors of insurance, equity shares, mutual funds, and financial planning. Additionally, they also assist customers in filling of the income tax returns, retirement plans, and other concierges' services.

An Ingenious Mind As the Managing Partner and Founder of myFin Advisor, Peeyoosh Agrawal is an invigorating frontrunner. After completing his graduation from IIT Bombay, he has been investing and managing his family portfolio since 2002.

Prior to commencing his entrepreneurial venture, he has extensively worked for the Indian payroll system under the IT sector. In his professional career spanning over two decades, he has amassed wide knowledge and proficiency in the areas of taxation and corporate finance.

Initial Journey – Turning Hurdles into Opportunity Peeyoosh's professional journey is nothing less than a roller-coaster ride. His rough experience with a financial advisor who was hired by his family gave birth to the idea of venturing into the financial advisory market. A software engineer by profession, Peeyoosh carried the financial portfolio from his father in 1992. He closely observed the financial advisory market and felt that the penetration was lacking desperately among the citizens, which was mainly due to unawareness among the people. In 2011, the financial services market was fragmented and the majority of the people were interested in endowment plans instead of investing in shares, mutual funds, or 'pure' insurance.

However, with sheer determination and the zeal to succeed, Peeyoosh floated his venture during the economic slowdown. He concentrated on the B2C customers and provided consultations on savings and mutual fund investment.

Astounding Services of myFin Advisor The company has designed a structured service portfolio which aims to cater different segments. Evolving as a 'onestop-shop' for all financial requirements, the company offers advisory services in three different formats.

Retail Investors Retail investors are of utmost importance for myFin Advisor and constitute the majority of the client base.

Comprehensive financial planning is all about innovating and refreshing investment strategies to the clients. Expertise ™

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in deep investment knowledge backed by structured, datadriven approach assisted the company to devise 'de-risked' investment strategies for the customers. They also follow a systematic approach to answer the queries by their customers. Providing neck-deep analysis of the market and sharing the best industry practices helped the firm to win the trust and confidence of the clients.

Corporate Investors The company has been a preferred choice for the corporate world due to its ability and agility to fulfill the requirement of the corporate sector. The company offers soft loans, mortgage and non-mortgage loans, and capital for initiating projects along with arranging funds from different investors across the globe. It also provides help in getting venture capitals for the startups. Additionally, myFin Advisor also files ITR, corporate forms, alongside assisting the firms to create and audit their balance sheets.

Non-Resident Indians The company also extends its services to NRIs, PIOs, and Expatriates by providing consultation and guidance towards investing in mutual funds, equities, and Government bonds. myFin Advisor has been imperative in trying to bring foreign investment to India in the form of assisting foreign clients to invest in real estate sector.

Attribute to Success Embracing cutting-edge technologies, professionalism, ethical practices, and continuous learning are the values that make the company stands ahead of its competitors.

Persistence, Perseverance, and Patience are the virtues which result in gaining the confidence of their esteemed customers. The will-power to keep moving forward and staying focused has assisted myFin Advisor to stand against the tough times and evolve as a matured player in the market.

Marching Towards the Horizon The organization holds a very enthusiastic view of the future financial advisory business. Having cemented its position in the market over the years, myFin Advisor has plans to acquire smaller companies which can help them in increasing their market share and revenue.

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Vipul Jain is a serial entrepreneur who specializes in spotting business opportunities in the inchoate stages.

An MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, Vipul established Advancells in 2013. The research-based company focuses on providing cutting-edge Stem Cell Therapies for patients with life threatening diseases and also targets lifestyle diseases with anti-aging technology.

Extending the family business of garment exports, Vipul started his career in 1999 by establishing a fabrics import enterprise. In 2002, he established Mirage Animation which produces television-quality animations for clients such as Warner Brothers, Disney, Channel 5 etc.

The very next year he identified another exciting opportunity in the Medical Tourism space which he CoFounded and was known as PlanetHospital. This soon became the world's largest medical tourism company and was listed on NASDAQ in 2011. After this, Vipul exited PlanetHospital to establish his own Medical Tourism business by the name of Mirage Medserv which focuses on countries such as Russia, Africa and the Middle East. Mirage Medserv is today one of the largest facilitators of patients of almost all major hospitals in the country. As an extension of his proactive demeanor, Vipul is also a part of Round Table India and various other social organizations.

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Editor’s Pick

WHAT ARE STEM CELLS? Undifferentiated cells that are able to differentiate and transform into any type of cells of the body when and where needed. They have an enormous potential to repair, heal and regenerate. Stem cells come from blood, bone marrow, umbilical cord blood and adipose tissue.

TYPE OF STEM CELL THERAPY Autologous stem cell therapy: Patient receives stem cells from his/her own body Allogeneic stem cell therapy: Patient receives the stem cells donated by another individual Autologous stem cell therapy is better than allogeneic stem cell therapy as chances of

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mismatching are not there and they pose the minimum risk of immune rejection. Also, no side effects or adverse effects are seen as a person’s own blood cells are used. They start the healing process immediately in a natural way.

WHAT IS STEM CELL THERAPY? The usage of stem cells to cure or treat a disease or repair the injured tissue is defined as stem cell therapy. Stem cells can be obtained from the bone marrow, adipose tissues etc.

Due to their tremendous potential to prevent and to treat various health conditions and to repair the injured tissues global research investigation is continuously being done as to explore the maximum advantage of these cell lines.

The best example of the stem cell treatment is seen in the patients suffering from restoring the vision of the damaged eyes, grafting of the skin in severe burnt conditions. Stem cell treatments for brain or neural diseases like Parkinson and Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, preventing heart strokes, curing diabetes, kidney disorders, autism, and spinal cord injuries are progressively making their way.

WHAT ARE THE SOURCES OF STEM CELL? Depending upon the disease different stem cell source can be used in a specific condition. The procedure may involve the extraction of stem cells from adipose tissue-derived stem cells with the combination of PRP (Platelet-rich plasma) or can be obtained from bone marrow that can differentiate into the progenitor cells that differentiate into various other tissues which can help in the therapy.

PROCEDURE OF STEM CELL THERAPY The stem cells are isolated from the bone marrow or the adipose tissues followed by their processing and enrichment under sterile conditions. These activated stem cells are placed back into the patient’s body at the target site for repairing the damaged tissue. It is necessary that the stem cells are injected in the specific area of injury as only then the desired results will be achieved. Adipose stem cells are preferred over bone marrow stem cells as they are easy to isolate and contain a higher number of stem cells.

STEM CELLS INJECTIONS The stem cells injections are gaining much of the interest because it is devoid of the painful procedure, takes less time in comparison to a surgery, there are no host and recipient rejections as stem cells are harvested from the patient's body itself and a targeted delivery system is available.

The stem cells obtained are processed in a sophisticated stem cell lab and after activation are inserted back into the host with the help intravenous, intramuscular, intra-arterial, intradermal, and intrathecal injections as per the requirement of the treatment process.

WHAT IS THE USE OF ANESTHETICS AND WHY? Usually, local anesthetics are used during a stem cell procedure to numb the area but sometimes general anesthesia is also given while extracting the stem cells from

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bone marrow. But it is necessary to find out what anesthetic your doctor uses during orthopedic stem cell treatments. A number of anesthetics have been found to kill the stem cells thus; the treatment's end result will greatly depend on the use of anesthetics. Some anesthetics very well sync with the stem cell and hence, aid in the treatment.

HOW GOOD ARE THE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES IN THE ONSITE LABS? Stem cells are to be extracted and processed in a clean room, under aseptic conditions maintaining a controlled environment. The doctor should explain the entire process and the number of viable stem cells infused into the patient during the process. Also, the precision of the injections to provide good quality of stem cells at the site of injury will help in better and faster recovery of the patient's damaged area.

DURATION AND COST OF THE THERAPY Cost of the treatment and its duration varies from one patient to another. The disease which needs to be cured, the severity, age factor, health condition, etc, define the duration of the therapy. One may respond during the treatment phase itself while the other may show results after a few sessions or weeks. Depending upon the disease diagnosed, the stem cells extracted, duration of the therapy, other adjuvants used in the process, the cost of the stem cell therapy can vary.

FOLLOW-UP VISITS It is essential that after the stem cell therapy the patient should visit the stem cell doctor for recuperation therapies.

The primary goals of such therapy is the prevention of secondary complications, analysis of recovery of motor, sensory and all the bodily functioning, psychological support/counseling for depression, mood swings or anxiety etc. and reintegration into the community.

There can be different sets of precautions which need to be followed at various steps for the recovery of the damaged tissues. The treatment and post treatment conditions may vary from person to person depending upon the disease and the severity.

SUCCESS RATE OF STEM CELL THERAPY Stem cell therapy has shown results in treating serious ailments like leukemia, grafting tissues, autism, orthopedic conditions and skin problems etc. Stem Cell Therapy has been successfully used in the treatment of around 80 serious disorders. Survival rates among patients who received stem cell treatment are significantly high, whether the cell donors are related or unrelated to them. With the ongoing research around the world, scientists are exploring new possibilities in which a number of life threatening diseases can be prevented and cured hence, the stem cells have proved to be promising in the near future as many aspects are yet to be revealed.

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Rentickle An Innovative Company Redening Lifestyle

One such innovative startup that has attracted the eyeballs of the business fraternity is Rentickle. Established as a onestop destination, Rentickle offers lifestyle products like trendy, contemporary furniture, hi end DSLR cameras, water and air purifiers, consumer electronics and home appliances on rental subscription basis.

Rentickle is a dream come true for professionals who are on the move across cities for work or for higher studies and are usually unsure about the tenure of their stay in these cities.

Many expats and young newly married couples setting up a home on low budgets also approach Rentickle for enhancing their lifestyles on rental subscription basis.

Incubated in 2015 and headquartered at Gurugram, the company has been successfully serving the needs of clients for enhancing lifestyles by providing lifestyle products on rental subscription basis. It offers a wide range of premiumquality products at affordable rentals which allow customers to enjoy trendy life style products at 2-3 percent of the buying price of these products. Add to that the convenience of ordering these on line from the comfort of one's home, with complimentary home delivery and pick up

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ndian economy is on a high like never before and researchers predict that this growing affluence will develop India as the third-largest consumer market in the global arena by 2025. Changing lifestyles, the advent of new technologies & products and emerging lifestyle solutions are the key drivers of this wave. These evolving patterns have excited a new breed of entrepreneurs who are exploring untouched territories and some innovative startup companies have been the frontrunners in this industry.

Vineet Chawla

Amit Sodhi

Founder

Founder

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We Help You Turn Your Rental House into a Home

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on tenure completion and topped with attractive promotional offers!

The whole idea is to help clients avoid the rigmarole of buying new furniture, home appliances, household products etc along with the burden of managing the logistics, delivery and installation. Further, re-selling these products at the time of leaving the city is also a highly time consuming, inconvenient and loss making proposition as the prices offered are bare minimum.

As sharing economy continues to grow by leaps and bounds, Rentickle is planning to add many more categories and will include baby product and fitness equipment among others. The company also plans to expand its services across India by the end of this year.

Amit Sodhi & Vineet Chawla, Founders of Rentickle Founded by two industry stalwarts – Amit Sodhi and Vineet Chawla, the company offers its services in Delhi NCR, Hyderabad and Bangalore and has over 10000 subscribers already.

Amit is a specialist in managing strategic partnerships, business development, and nurturing business ideas. With more than 15 years of professional experience in various leadership roles, he is an alumnus of Delhi College of Engineering and ISB Hyderabad. His exposure and familiarity in diverse sectors like M&A, corporate strategy, and engineering gave him the edge to implement and nurture his entrepreneurial skills with utmost precision.

Vineet brings in twenty-five years of professional expertise which drives the company to attain new business heights.

Prior to founding Rentickle, he was the CEO of Hong Kong Winalite Group – India and SAARC region. After completing his MBA from Mumbai University, he has been in top management roles, travelling across the globe with prestigious multinational companies like Godrej GE Appliances, Whirlpool India, Oriflame Cosmetics and Future Group.

Wide range of products, customer centricity making the key difference The organized on line lifestyle rental industry is still relatively new in India. Till a few years ago, this industry was largely dominated by unorganized players and neighborhood shops who would not offer variety, convenience or even a value for money proposition.

Rentickle has been a pioneer in delivering innovative and customized solutions and is already a prominent player in this industry. Their focus on quality, variety, convenience and customer centricity has enabled the company to establish a strong client base, both in B to B and B to C segments. ™

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With Rentickle, clients can enjoy premium lifestyle products at two to three percent of the buying price as monthly rentals. This consumer friendly and clients problem solving approach has ensured that the company is already the prime choice of the clients for lifestyle rental products.

The company’s in-house design and fabrication team is constantly endeavoring to innovate and regularly offer new, attractive, trendy designs on home furniture. For home appliances and consumer electronics, the company has tie-ups with major global brands like LG, Haier, and Livpure among others, thereby offering world class appliances along with onsite brand warranty Facing challenges and rising to the occasion As with any startup, Rentickle has had its fair share of surprises and ups and downs in a short span of three years.

However, the team’s passion to succeed and to transform the challenges into opportunities has ensured the entity outshines other competitors in the market.

The concept of renting is fairly nascent in India and the company foresees a massive growth opportunity ahead for the renting and shared economy industry. Lifestyle rental industry has just witnessed the tip of an iceberg and as the awareness and popularity grow, this will unveil a completely new way of living.

As the support and funding from global venture capitalists and private equity companies continues to grow, the industry is poised to attract huge attention from the consumers and investors alike in the coming years.

Client confidence and Investors support Customer-centric solutions, top of the line quality and aesthetics, a winning team and constant support from investors have been the pillars of success for Rentickle.

The company recently raised another fundraise of USD 4 million in equity and debt from Mr Ajay Relan of CX Partners and ThinKuvate, a Singapore-based VC firm, among others. DMI Finance, a Delhi based NBFC has extended debt line.

This overwhelming trust and confidence by the investors and clients has enabled the team further to reach greater heights. Over the next few years, the company has aggressive plans to introduce many new categories like fitness products, baby care products among others and also to have a PAN India presence.

Affordable rentals, best quality products and a customerfriendly approach have ensured that Rentickle is already the prime choice of consumers for renting lifestyle products, both in B to B and B to C segments.

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WayCool: Delivering Curated Portfolio of Branded Food Products

One such innovative omni-channel food services distribution company is WayCool Foods And Products Pvt Ltd. The enterprise focuses on working with farmers and providing them with an increased annual income. It aims to offer its customers with one-stop-shop procurement solutions while running a hotel, restaurant or a catering company.

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he major government initiatives are transforming the startup-ecosystem in India. Researchers state that the start-ups are every day moving on the upper line with the technology advancements. Besides, the Indian food sector is emerging as a high-growth and high-profit sector contributing to the world food trade. In this fragmented food industry, many tech-based and innovative food processing startups are playing a pivotal role in consolidating the front end.

Karthik Jayaraman

Sanjay Dasari

Co-founder

Co-founder

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We make it simpler to offer direct connections

WayCool recently added few feathers to its hat, receiving recognition from the various popular media organizations as one amongst the ‘Top 7 Startup in the Agri-tech field’ and Top 50 Startup across the entire country.

between customers

Journey of WayCool with Its Dynamic Duo Karthik Jayaraman is one of the Co-Founder at WayCool. Karthik has an experience of two decades across engineering, automatic, and management consulting. Being an alumnus of IIT Madras, Purdue University, and the Indian School of Business, he has great leadership capabilities and operational excellence. He majorly focuses

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on the front end

on the back end

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on sourcing, processing, and enhancing the supply chain that has paved a way for the company to achieve milestones.

Sanjay Dasari is the other Co-Founder. He is a graduate in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management from Babson College, Boston, with experience in consulting with the Boston Consulting Group. Sanjay handles strategic partnerships, marketing, digital innovations, distribution channels, and brand building for the company.

A Journey Transforming the Farm-to-Fork Supply Chain After completing his undergraduate degree, Sanjay came up with an idea of setting a chain of restaurants in Chennai.

Meeting with the multiple potential partners – chef consultants, interior designers, and even vendors from Koyumbedu Market in Chennai, he realized that the existing market setup was quite inefficient. While doing his further research on the industry, he met Karthik who was interested in pursuing a supply chain startup. They both understood the need for improvement across the supply chain and launched a company WayCool which efficiently transported and handled fresh products from farms to cities.

The company works with around twenty-six thousand farmers across fifty-one different regions from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and is successfully transforming the farm-tofork supply chain.

Providing Innovative Services is the Forte WayCool operates with the vision to back an extensive network of farmers. It provides extremely fresh, hygienic, and ethically sourced food products to its customers. It has expanded its reach to the B2C and B2B customers through its SunnyBee Retail Chain. This wholly owned brand of the company sells fruits and vegetables through multiple distribution channels spanning small local shops, modern retail outlets, and HORECA.

ensure that the manual jobs are easily performed which also assists to increase the job satisfaction security for the company. Under the leadership of Karthik and Sanjay, the company has nine different business lines operating within it that allow flexibility to custom build solutions to provide overall customer satisfaction. The company strives hard with an ideology to travel an extra mile and take the customer satisfaction to a new level.

Enticing Potential Clients with Comprehensive Strategies When WayCool was launched in 2015, it was unable to buy the complete produce of a farmer and gives them the security that they were looking for. The company was striving hard to achieve a good scaling platform in the industry where the farmers wanted to tie up with large, established, and safer companies. It wanted to overcome the challenges of leakages of goods, avoidable moisture loss, and a different set of standard operations and handling practices.

With the growing tech-based industrial scale, WayCool started embracing every considerable opportunity and constantly worked on both physical and IT tools to enforce audit procedures for greater controls. It planned its tools by using the best-in-class analytics to reduced wastage and improves transportation efficiency between the cities. It focused on farmer security and started paving a way to transform the nature of the supply chain industry. It deeply understood the market complexities and followed a culture of frugal innovations and individual accountability. The company built a team of industry veterans with the expertise to drive the Indian Farm-to-Fork supply chain.

Today, WayCool sets itself apart with its unique business model. It has the ability to give farmers a single customer to deal with, and a guaranteed sale of their entire stock along with giving the end customer a single vendor to source from.

Another offering of the company known as Origin Verified, is a brand that sources the food items directly from the farmers, produces and sells them exclusively in their SunnyBee outlets. These outlets include the tender coconuts, lychees, four types of rice, and other vegetables.

WayCool delivers prominent services that can increase the farmer's income and ROI.

Future Paramount WayCool is planning to build future solutions that would be more scalable, and yet, flexible enough to be adapted to each commodity and geography. It foresees its role of being an orchestrator of the supply chain and the game changer as well.

Taking Client Satisfactions to a New Level At WayCool, they pull through the story of why their services matter for the clients and how they can improve them. The company is heavily investing in automation to

Sanjay says “We hope to leverage an extremely strong IT backbone to help, plan and forecast demand patterns and pass this information back to farmers for crop planning purposes”

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