The insights shared by these industry stars were nothing short of fascinating, especially for a marketing enthusiast like me. The moderator's questions and the engaging Q&A session kept us hooked for an event that stretched two hours beyond schedule! 🕒
From Koushik "Babu" Koganti's journey from the streets of the USA to Harvard and then to the bustling streets of Hyderabad, to Samrat Reddy transformation of Drunken Monkey from a brand to a lifestyle, each story resonated deeply with the entrepreneurial spirit. 🌟
Neehar Bisabathini from Churroltto captivated us with his eloquence and straightforward explanations, leaving us eagerly anticipating more of his wisdom in the future. Stay tuned! 🎤
Faisal Tayabali's journey with Euphoria, from corporate life to becoming the "Bald Brownie Baba," showcased the power of entrepreneurial freedom.
Sandeep Balasubramanian from Hashi shared his eureka moment and the enduring value of strong employee relationships during challenging times like the pandemic. 💡
And let's not forget Suharika Karri from Swiggy Hyderabad, whose insights on dark kitchens and boosting sales were nothing short of guru mantras for startups in the HoReCa industry. 🍕
Contributing to streaming conversations around marketing in #Surat is a great delight and also the need of the hour. We've all witnessed events centering around startups, funding, finance, art, textile, auto, energy, and various other sectors but one pivotal factor "Marketing" still remains overshadowed & undervalued.
There's clear lack of education on marketing, both from the standpoint of brands and marketers themselves. It's time we marketeers collectively come together, uplift the significance of marketing in our ecosystem.
Let's ensure every voice in #Surat is equipped with ample knowledge and tools to harness the potential of marketing.
Had an amazing time attending the event last Saturday evening hosted by eChai Ventures and LOGICWIND 🚀 It was an incredible opportunity to connect with amazing founders, exchange ideas, and gain insights into the latest trends shaping our industry.
🔍 To establish client connections and nurture them, keep the approach very personalized based on the client. This results in better client conversion and retention.
📞 Quick responses to client queries play a major role in client satisfaction. It's not just about great numbers and results; it's about being attentive and responsive.
💼 As a founder, having an authoritative or strong point of view of what you bring to the table and what results you can help achieve is crucial.
🚀 Confused about when to start marketing for your product? The answer: even before the product hits the market. Start by sharing free resources and insights for your target audience to identify the first adopters for your product.
Thanks to Manoj Adwani for making this event possible. It was an enriching experience, and I'm excited to be part of more such upcoming events.
The eChai Ventures AI Social was a truly great experience.Yesterday, I had a pleasant time discussing various AI topics. The conversation with folks was enlightening, and I learned more about AI applications. Thank you, Jatin Chaudhary and GVFL Limited, for hosting such a wonderful social gathering.
Where do we all use AI nowadays? Be it in presentations, content creation, scanning interviews, job searches, education, on LinkedIn, reviewing documents, scanning documents, in e-commerce businesses using photography, or applying it to other skills.
The discussion on fantastic use cases was enlightening; there's a saying that a lot can happen over a cup of tea. Such great discussions are not always about showcasing who we are but often about understanding where the world is heading. The interaction with a few folks was great, and I'm looking forward to meeting and connecting with you again soon.
The discussion of AI's beautiful use cases across various domains—be it driving AI Nisarg Pandya, AI-driven interviews Vinit B Yadav, the education sector Niraj Harlalka, or the creation of mobile apps through AI—highlights its transformative power and versatility.
Nowadays, we often see blogs and posts from AI, and you can feel the difference between personally written and AI-generated content. It was also noted that sites using AI-generated content will be penalized, and the day may come when you have to credit your article as being generated by AI as thoroughly pointed out by Dipti Parmar.
Great mission of Ekta Shah founder of Biziverse is to empower Indian MSMEs to become world-class. Also discussion with VIKASH RAJPUROHIT founder of VastraApp, which is Vertical SaaS for the Textile Industry, was truly fruitful.
The clever integration of personal website visibility in the background during a concise two-line pitch adds a personalized touch that blends professional presentation .The commendable speed at which these tasks are executed is truly impressive Jatin Chaudhary.
In In the world of finance, as a qualified CA and CISA-certified professional, I look forward to more such use cases in the field, but along with ensuring data privacy and personal privacy. So, to conclude, AI is a companion, and we should use it wisely, not blindly. It can never replace humans but definitely saves time.
Curious about what went down at the eChai Startup Social with GVFL on March 14, 2024? Get ready to dive into a whirlwind of insights and takeaways straight from our participants themselves.
Mitesh Shethwala
, Founder, Currently
- For Graphics and Videos -
Midjourney, ChatGPT, Adobe AI,
You can use AI to replace lots of operational tasks and be more efficient.
For our edtech business. AI can be a great contributor for learners and content creators both. Apart from the most common use case of creating AI chatbot.
We are planning to utilize AI tools in Content Discovery, Development and Delivery. Which include Voice & Chatbot based content search on our platform, Video Creation, Text Generation & Summarization (Building Synopsis & Flash Cards), Voice Over, Making a lot of Text Learning more fun through animated videos etc.
I don't think we are looking at answers, mostly it's matter of implementation for us.
Nikita A Macquinn
AI for resume scanning and candidate shortlisting
Fresh team & Jobscan
AI solutions for training content build and e-learning content for LMS integration
Also I observed that AI for emotional health and intelligence assessment for hiring of critical roles and leadership is not there
Jimish Kapadia
AI for Startup Deal Evaluation AI for adding one strong point as an evaluation parameter for StartUp Founder
We are into fund raising for the startup and invest in early stage startups Evaluation is a critical aspects for any early stage startups as you have limited financials.
Looking for some innovative AI driven algorithm/parameters to implement in our evaluation process.
Tarjani Shah
We use various tools in our office for graphics, images, and presentations, including ChatGPT-4 and its plugins and DALL-E, as well as Microsoft Copilot. We also utilize software that leverages AI in the backend for tasks like GST reconciliation.
I recently shared a use case and a story titled "A Tale of Technology: AI's Impact on GST" on LinkedIn. You can find it here: https://l1nk.dev/Esd6Z.
See all those consumer products behind us. What if I told you that all these can be created using AI?
Imagine a world where products are no longer solely developed based on intuition and market research, but rather a world where AI becomes the driving force behind the creation of consumer packaged products. This idea is not a distant dream but a reality taking shape as we speak and Ai Palette is at the forefront of it.
At Ai Palette, we are passionate about leveraging the power of Generative AI to transform the traditional CPG Industry and drive innovation. With this recent investment, we are poised to take our disruptive technology to new heights and expand our reach into exciting new verticals.
🌟 Entering the Beauty and Personal Care Sector: Building on our success in disrupting traditional CPG markets in F&B, we are thrilled to announce our expansion into the dynamic world of Beauty and Personal Care. This move represents a strategic leap forward as we continue to push boundaries and deliver cutting-edge solutions to meet evolving consumer needs.
💡 Transforming the Industry with AI: Our proprietary Generative AI technology enables us to create unique, data-driven insights and develop personalized products that resonate with consumers on a deeper level. By harnessing the power of AI, we are unlocking new possibilities in product development, marketing, and customer engagement, setting new standards for innovation within the industry.
As we embark on this exciting new chapter, we remain committed to our vision of shaping the future of the CPG landscape on a global scale. With our innovative approach and strategic partnerships, we are well-positioned to drive meaningful change and create value for consumers, brands, and investors alike.
Thank You to all our well-wishers and supporters: None of this would be possible without the unwavering support of our customers, investors, and dedicated Paletteers. We are immensely grateful for your belief in our vision and your commitment to our success.
Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to disrupt and innovate in the CPG industry! Together, we are shaping the future of consumer goods with AI-driven solutions that inspire, delight, and transform.
I am back from SaaSBoomi Annual 2024, held in Chennai 😎
🔹Not long ago, Chennai struggled to attract Investors.
🔹Fast forward to 7th Mar 2024 - Investors from all over globe flew to Chennai, eager to see what SaaS Founders are building and offer them help, guidance and capital
Together, we explore innovative pathways for transforming schooling in our digital era as we dive deep into education, entrepreneurship, innovation, and reschooling. Stay tuned for real insights and inspiring stories!
🇮🇳 #India: It's been a FUN week in the world of #entrepreneurtourism! March is my favourite month of the year. It's a celebration of life and being on many levels: from birthdays to my gender, driving movements for gender equity, etc.
Last week on a panel with Moina, Shruti, Maithreye, Charu, we discussed launching startups, challenges in the entrepreneurial world, and on a less conventional topic of support systems to tide through hurdles, we dived deep and personal over a closeknit roundtable.
The journey can be lonely (sometimes more so as a woman), but how do we navigate that?
It is heartening to hear that support systems for these empowered women range from families and supportive partners, communities, micro-communities, to having access to like-minded peers in the same business social circles, alongside professional networks such as Women in Investing Network and Women in VSEA.
Earlier that day, I caught up with Aashraya who's one of the few #web3 founders in #Hyderabad – we shared a panel on network states and virtual nations last year in #Bangalore. We discussed ambitions and future plans for Illuminated.
Just yesterday, Deeksha from Anthill Ventures was passing through #Bangalore. Coincidentally, me too! So we couldn't pass on the opportunity to catch up in person at Draper Startup House in #koramangala and explore collectively driving progress in the startup community. It's always cool to meet a fellow woman in VC – i always have something to learn from them.
💫 On a personal note over birthdays and wishes, I hope that people continue to be the progress they want to see in this world.
The future belongs to the dreamers and visionaries who believe in the beauty of their dreams, and I'm always grateful and humbled by the community that shows me, without fail, everyday:
Extending heartfelt thanks to Malav Warke and eChai Ventures for the gracious invitation to join the panel alongside Deepa Bhowmick from Daisy Life at the recent D2C startups meetup in Pune.
It was an incredibly insightful experience, filled with enriching discussions and valuable networking opportunities. Your dedication to cultivating collaboration within the D2C ecosystem is truly inspiring!
Madhukar Sinha and Anand Lunia took us through some interesting insights on how India is evolving 🙌 and the trends coming up.
✅ With single kids and nuclear families in tier 1 cities, the spending of families have changed.
✅ Traditional Markets have matured to become specialised
✅ Online Retail started from Metro cities but #growth comes from Tier 2 & 3.
✅ Phygital Services coming up like Utsav App, where #technology is used to bridge the digital world with the physical world with the purpose of providing a unique interactive puja experience for the devotees. (Mentioned in Page 86)
Recently in a eChai Ventures Meetup one of our speakers Dr. Vidhi Bhanushali mentioned a term called Cockroach Startup🪳. Unlike a beautiful and elegant unicorn, a cockroach can survive in the worst of situations, even without a leg or arm! Cockroaches are creatures that have also survived the mass destruction of dinosaurs.
In the mass destruction of funding drought, VC Crisis in USA and bankruptcy news coming out everyday,, startups are increasingly focusing on becoming a cockroach startup than a unicorn 🦄!
How are you preparing your startup to be a cockroach?
Writco : a multilingual social writing and reader rewarding community-driven platform
Writco is a Multilingual Social Writing & Reader Rewarding Community-Driven Platform that Connects Readers & Writers around the Globe!
About the team
Atul Purohit (Founder & CEO), a renowned expert with a decade of experience in the book publishing industry. He own traditional book publishing house - Write India Publishers. With an impressive portfolio of over 1000+ published books, Atul' s passion and commitment to the literary world is evident.
Vicky Salunkhe (Co-founder & CTO) , a full stack developer with Top 1% on StackOverflow and a proven track record of success in the technology industry. His innovative thinking and drive for excellence have played a crucial role in shaping the direction of Writco and its technology solutions.
Eureka moment
Our journey at Writco has been filled with eureka moments that have left us with goosebumps. One such moment was when we acquired our first one lakh users in less than a year. It was a remarkable achievement that highlighted the impact and value of our product.
But that wasn't the only highlight of our year. In the very same year, Writco was recognized as the 'Best Personal Growth App of 2020' by Google Play. This was a proud moment for our team, as it validated the hard work and dedication that we put into developing our platform.
These moments have been a source of inspiration for us, driving us to continue pushing boundaries and achieving even greater success.
Business model
It's important to wait for a solid business model and revenue strategy before implementing any monetisation strategies. However, here are some potential ways to generate revenue for a literature-related platform:
1. Premium Subscriptions: Offer exclusive content and additional features to users who pay for a premium subscription. This could include early access to new releases, personalised book recommendations, and access to a community of readers.
2. In-App Currency: Allow users to purchase books and subscriptions using coins that they can add to their wallet. Users could also earn reward coins for completing certain actions on the platform, such as leaving reviews or recommending books to friends.
3. Licensing and Partnerships: Sell book rights for screen adaptation to movie or TV production companies. This could generate a significant amount of revenue, as well as increase the visibility and popularity of the original book.
4. Selling Products and Merchandise: Sell physical and digital products related to the books, such as e-books, diaries, t-shirts, frames, and gift articles. This could include both original content and branded merchandise.
5. Advertising & Sponsorship Deals: Offer sponsored content, display ads, workshops, and events to businesses that want to reach book lovers. This could include partnerships with publishers, authors, and other book-related organisations.
6. Affiliate Marketing & Consultancy Services: Offer book editing, publishing, and marketing services to authors and publishers. This could include affiliate marketing deals with other book-related businesses, as well as consultancy services to help authors and publishers promote their work.
Traction
We are thrilled to share that our platform has achieved impressive traction, boasting over 8,000 daily active users and 65,000 monthly active users. With a total user base of 220,000+ individuals, we take pride in the fact that all of our users have been acquired organically and without spending a penny on advertising, online or offline.
Our team's expertise in organic marketing has allowed us to grow steadily and consistently, with our users generating over 1.3 million pieces of content in the form of stories, poems, and quotes. And the icing on the cake? We've also been able to generate more than 1 million INR in revenue over the last 18 months through our first revenue model, a subscription-based service.
We are grateful for the trust and loyalty our users have placed in us, and we look forward to continuing to provide a platform that empowers creativity and authentic expression.
Community support
we understand the power of networking and the importance of learning from other startups and founders. We believe that by connecting with like-minded individuals and learning from their experiences, we can gain invaluable insights that will help us grow and succeed.
In addition to networking, we are also planning to raise a Seed Investment Round. The funding will enable us to scale our business faster, expand our reach globally, and build an even stronger community. We are confident that with the right support and resources, we can achieve our vision of creating a thriving community of passionate individuals who share a love of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Tusker AI : No-Code AI Computer Vision Platform for Image and Video Analytics
Tusker is a NO code AI Vision platform, which helps the entire Business Community by Automating their Computer Vision project in span of just few hours instead of weeks without knowledge about AI.
About the team
TUSKER AI Co-Founders worked on similar initiatives, and they also ran a couple of Bootstrap start-ups successfully for the past decade.
They were professionals and worked in a Similar domain for the last 5 years where the computer Vision and Surveillance Industry were part of it but it Lacked Automation.
So, this leads to thinking more about Innovation and Product Automation. So, in a nutshell, they are similar tech-savvy like-minded Entrepreneurs who have been working with a similar vision for almost a decade now.
TUSKER AI’s co-founders were colleagues first, then friends, then became people having the same enthusiasm, and now a couple of innovators working on the same Vision to revolutionize and democratize AI.
Eureka moment
Well Eureka moment for me itself had a long journey and after serving in the IT sector for over a decade now the pain point for me was crystal clear and I was cent percent sure what is my next goal for my community and how I can be suitable for solving this.
As an entrepreneur for over a decade and coming from the Artificial Intelligence domain, I always wonder what more can be done to make people's lives easy.
Also, as an AI Technologist and as a business owner, I should have the liberty to experiment with AI without having core coding knowledge and generate AI models.
SAAS-based model - per camera monthly subscription) for video analytics as well as API calls(per million images) and per model creation on our platform.
Traction
200 million images processed
150+ Models trained
200+ users
100+ live streams processed
Community support
Speaking on the behalf of the whole team, it would be an honor for us if any Technologists or any AI-Market Enthusiast could be our Mentor/Advisor as we are looking for these profiles to help us achieve our targeted goals. We are looking for “Global GTM” as our vision is to empower everyone at a Global Scale with our Global Enterprise Grade-Tool-kit, therefore we need a “Global Guidance” to reflect our visibility globally.
Gallabox is a no-code, conversational commerce platform that leverages the WhatsApp Business API to help small and medium-sized businesses improve their sales conversions.
About the team
Yogesh was one of the early Engineering team members at Sulekha where he built the marketplace for Local Services, mining deep understanding of user needs and ‘matchmaking’ with SMB offers. He was also the first Engineering team member at CredAvenue where he built the fintech marketplace for debt.
Yathin created the Value Delivery function at Sulekha, a system that kept track of what’s due to paying customers and led the B2B product at Sulekha that was used by over 50,000 SMBs to keep track of their leads and deals.
Karthik helped build Sulekha’s Local Services business from ground up and built it to a Rs 100 crore ARR on the back of over 50,000 SMBs. He saw how the Internet was impacting SMBs at the dawn of the digital era while at Sify. He built the wedding services marketplace for Matrimony with users on one end and SMBs on the other.
Eureka moment
Sales is the lifeblood for small to medium sized businesses, but they lack the resources & know-how to convert their prospects and sell better.
We want to help businesses grow their sales through cutting-edge technologies channeled through easy-to-use tools - to digitize and automate their customer interactions.
How does it work?
Business model
We are a SaaS company and charge subscription for use of our product. Plans vary by features and are designed for businesses of all sizes
Traction
We now serve almost 1,000 paying customers from India and abroad, while over 12,000 businesses use our product for free.
Community support
Help us with product feedback, offer constructive criticism and brainstorm for new ideas for product road-map and for GTM.
eChai Ventures partners with select brands as their growth partner, helping them expand market reach, drive revenue growth, amplify brand visibility, and strengthen hiring efforts.
Mitesh Shethwala
Aditya Shah
Shalin Parikh
Nikita A Macquinn
Jimish Kapadia
Tarjani Shah
