🇮🇳 #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:

The future is here 🚀

Incredible insights on how to build your SEO engine by Rakesh Patel

Tons of takeaways and sharing one of his videos that he shared, you’ll find more on YouTube.

Kudos to the folks at Accel in India atoms for putting this together

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?

Embracing the power of #SaaSBoomi in Chennai!

Attending events like this fuels our journey at AllEvents, propelling us to dream bigger and set new milestones.

Don't miss out on the chance to learn, connect, and supercharge your entrepreneurial spirit. Every event is a catalyst for growth, inspiration, and lifelong connections.

Seize the opportunity to elevate your journey—because a happening life is a life well-lived!

#StayHappening

Grateful for the opportunity to participate in the three-day event hosted by the Royal Academy of Engineering London, for the LIF fellows at Taj West End at Bangalore.

The program, featuring training, networking, and pitching sessions, was truly enriching and insightful. It was a pleasure connecting with fellow entrepreneurs and exchanging ideas.

Looking forward to applying the knowledge gained to drive innovation and growth.
 
Aditya Shukla ♻️🌏 Himmat Singh

Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship Progam: Link

Hey Manoj, what do you do?
.
.
.
I had never thought, that this simple question can be so difficult to answer. Here is how my answer to this question has changed in last 3 years.

• Until Feb 2021, before I left my Corporate job - I am a Technology Risk Manager at Barclays, Singapore 👜

• From Mar 2021 to July 2022 - I am Founder of Bizsomia ⚽

• After we stopped working on Bizsomia - I found myself grappling with an Identity crisis as I struggled to define my professional narrative 🌶

• Between Aug 2022 to Dec 2023 - Though I was doing various things such as Consulting, Running Course and Hosting podcast, still I had no definite answer 🤐

• Jan 2024 onwards - I am Director at WebOsmotic and Co-Founder at narad.io 🚀

Transitioning from a Corporate job to the Startup world isn't just about starting something new; it's about persevering through the challenges and maintaining your sense of identity along the way.

P.S : Today marks my 3 year anniversary in Startup Ecosystem and I am proud of my journey 😎

This is what we live for @cricheroes #Cricket

Thank you GUSEC for this felicitation and recognition. I cherish my association with your esteemed incubation centre since the time of its inception.

These years have helped me groom myself as a mentor and I am pretty sure I could contribute a little in the growth and success of those early stage #startups that approached me for mentorship and guidance. 

Looking forward to further this relationship and nurture more entrepreneurs in the times to come!

Going forward apna will be the official partner of AICTE to help all Engineering and Management graduates find a job and help them in career discovery. Honoured to exchange an MoU with AICTE, led by esteemed Prof. Sitharam T.G, Chairman of AICTE.

“There is no dearth of jobs, we just need to connect students with opportunities. We are thrilled to announce that Apna and AICTE will make this happen for all India’s Engineering and Management College students.”

The ceremony was graced by the august presence of Union Minister of Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan-ji, Secretary Higher Education Shri K Sanjay Murthy, UGC Chairperson MAMIDALA JAGADESH KUMAR, NCVET Chairperson Dr. Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi IAS (retd), and other dignitaries whose guidance and blessings make this journey even more meaningful.

Inspired by Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi-ji's words, “The energy of the youth and their passion for development are what drive a nation forward.” It is a privilege to work alongside such visionary leaders and dedicated institutions in our shared mission to nurture and equip India's youth for the opportunities of tomorrow.

The collaboration envisions to unlock job and career discovery, provide AI-powered support for building resumes & interview preparation and set up a community platform for all-round professional development of students, ensuring they step into the professional world with confidence and the right opportunities at their doorstep. All Engineering and Management students graduating from AICTE-affiliated colleges will be benefitted by this initiative.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in making this a reality. Karna Chokshi Shuvajyoti Ghosh Kathak Mehta, PhD and the entire team at apna, and Hiranmay Mahanta. 
Together, we will be nurturing a skilled, competent and confident generation ready to lead India's growth.

Photo courtesy: AICTE

Exciting times ahead! 🚀 Get ready for some incredible events coming your way at Draper Startup House Tallinn, in collaboration with our fantastic partner, eChai Ventures! 🌟

Step into the magical world of unicorns, where we bring together passionate entrepreneurs, a vibrant community, and seasoned founders and speakers ready to share their stories, insights, and experiences.
Our mission is to empower the ecosystem with top-notch entrepreneurs and pave the way for more unicorn success stories! 🦄✨ Stay tuned for an unforgettable journey of learning, networking, and growth! 🌐

Welcome to “Kal Ke Krorepati” chhote sheher, Bade sapnein - Bharat ka Apna show.

Yesterday, Team Iroller achieved a “milestone” in the startup ecospace by bringing this show to fruition.

Last year we felt the need to explore this space. The show wouldnt have been possible without the unconditional support of GVFL Limited Saswat Sundar Sushil Sharma Sushanto Mitra Pranav Chaturvedi Marmik Shah Gautam Pai Kamal Bansal i-Hub Gujarat Neha Sharma Lead Angels Network Naveena Reddy Favcy Venture Builders Iroller Capital Pvt Ltd Jadeblue Lifestyle India Limited Karnavati University (KU) RITESH HADA Abhinav Kapadia PDEU Innovation and Incubation Centre Viral Shah M Nagarajan DevX Umesh Uttamchandani Jaimin Shah Jignesh Patel

27 startups, 9 funds, 1 show - Kal Ke Krorepati, Chhote sheher, bade sapnein.

This show is focussed on the innovators and entrepreneurs from Tier2 and Tier3 cities. Its not just another funding show. The objective of this show is to create more awareness and strengthen our startup ecosystem and provide the startup founders, not only with investments, but also venture building, scaling, cross border incubation and mentoring support.

As we embark on our journey to showcase this show on the national platform very soon, we sincerely thank Mr Suniel Shetty Sir who blessed us with his gracious presence and gave us immense strength to keep going. This not only validates our efforts but also strengthens our will and intent to mobilise the startup ecosystem.

Presenting our first chapter - Gujarat

Thank you Team iroller Jignesh Vasavada Hemendra Jadeja Shivani Thakkar CA Pratik Shah Prakash Chandwani Shoeb Bhojani Sidharth Doshi Arpita Chalishazar.

News coverage:

 

We are proud to serve schools across the nation. 

Today, with a wide network of 5,000 schools spread across 27 states and 250 cities, every member of Saarthi Pedagogy is committed to helping schools and students improve their learning outcomes.

 

dhandha chota ho ya bada dhandha hota hai, the use of #smallbusiness around women entrepreneurs is something I have never related to!

No dis but have you ever seen a man calling whatver they’re doing small? From thinking to start, to actually believe in your product, showing up everyday despite financial, operational impediments it takes confidence to step up. And none of the anxiety and tremors one goes through ain’t small.

Confidence sometimes come from within but as human we are vicarious learners. It’s not a sob story that I put forward but rather a perspective - no effort put in business is small.

Unlike businesses set by experienced consultants, bagging funding on nothing businesses run by women from home are frugal and community based.

Giving labels and comparing is not the goal.

Let’s just not call women run businesses small? #notsosmallbusiness

Today was a beautiful day in Bhopal’s Upvanam,as it’s been 6 months of regularly doing eChai Ventures Breakfast Social and seeing my goal become reality is just IT.

Meet my entrepreneur comrades, 3 of 7392 present today!

Isha , Founder Ithiha Gifting
Shuchika, Co-Founder Koozagari
Soumya, NES Studio

Loved how everyone came to support and shop!

It is true, it takes a community for a woman to succeed ✨ cheers to all

#notsosmallbusinesses

One image, answering many questions 🙂

1. Because mein aap karte kya ho?

2. What does a day at Because look like?

3. What does outsourced CMO look like?

I believe Valentine's Day holds special significance for every individual, as it's a day dedicated to love and spreading affection. Everyone assigns different values to Valentine's Day. Here's why it's meaningful to me: I found my calling on February 14th, 2022.

It was the day when I took the first step toward Hummingbird. I had been associated with Cadila, and on that day, I resigned from the company. After resigning, as I made my way home, I passed numerous flower shops and realized that after making that decision, it was fitting to treat myself to a bouquet on Valentine's Day. I love roses like crazy, so I asked the cab driver to wait for five minutes while I gifted myself a bouquet :D

Journey from the office to my flat was very difficult and I was feeling “ Aaj ghar kyun nahi aa raha hai” . I questioned myself, wondering if I had made the right decision or not but Abhi to decision le liya tha. I was feeling quite emotional that day as I went to meet everyone. Some of my colleagues seriously started crying and were saying, 'What is this nonsense? Why are you making such a stupid decision but boss samjh to aaya us din ki insaan to apan ache hai Harsha Bhurani :D

I decided to spend quality time with myself when I reached home. The first person I called was Sumita Sharma and I shared the entire scenario with her. It was challenging for her to accept, as she, along with my colleagues, knew I was expecting a significant appraisal after months of hard work. However, she supported me nonetheless.

That day was simply amazing, still, I can recall spending a peaceful evening, enjoying the sunset with a cup of tea, and dinner at my favorite Pav Bhaji place near IIM, Vastrapur.
Eventually, till that time, I gathered the courage to inform my parents about this news. My father was initially shocked but he asked if I was okay, which meant the world to me. I reassured him, saying I was celebrating my day with Pav Bhaji. And then, I concluded my day with a brownie, and you can see the sheer joy reflected in this picture:D

After a brainstorming session with myself, writing three different Harsha on sticky notes and pasted them on my wall. I decided to go with 'Harsha Pro', who wanted to start her own business.

Feeling unsure of my next steps, I called Jatin Chaudhary for guidance and asked if I could meet him, and he suggested meeting half an hour before eChai event at IIM later that evening. I was extremely excited to meet him because I never thought that day would come that soon. So when I met Jatin I said , “Abhi resign to daal diya hai immediate basis par, entrepreneur hi banna hai but pata nahi iske baad kya karna hota hai?

He explained various aspects of HR, training, and development, providing valuable insights and references.

And so began my rollercoaster journey with Hummingbird, which continues to this day. It's been a journey filled with challenges, triumphs, and failures, and I'm ready to build HummingBird whatever it takes.

Bangalore Really Works.

I just joined my team in person in Namma Bengaluru on 1 February. The energy of the city is awesome. I attended some stellar startup events such as eChai Ventures and connected with amazing people, and now more excited about the business.

Building a Software Development Agency here feels like unlocking a treasure of opportunities. The work culture, diverse talent pool, and openness to trying new things are amazing.

Compared to remote/smaller cities, the mere dynamism of Bangalore accelerates the development process and opens doors to a myriad of possibilities

If you want to build websites and apps, let's Chai and Chat!  Contact me at [email protected] or check out our work at Curl Crafters. Let's craft digital experiences together!

10 days of Shark Tank India Season 3, Episode 6 and that is how it changed my life!

-First of all, with the love and support of India, our sales have increased! We can see 3x-3.5x additional sales on marketplaces and on our website.

-Getting great organic reach and awareness of our brand, that is helping is to minimise our marketing cost. It is now much lower than 54% as stated by us in the episode & we are really happy about it.

-100s of proposals for business development and marketing services received. We are discussing future collaborations and distributions. Crossing our fingers!!

-Opened our doors for international market. Got call from Sell on Amazon International team as well. As we are having required documentation to go overseas, and soon we will be available in US market.

-Being approached by many events, colleges and talks. Such offline branding will surely help us to move forward. Can't thank enough everyone for providing bringing in such opportunities!

-We can see the enthusiastic and tirelessly working team to fulfil the demand. Feeling loved and cared by our small yet efficient team. Kudos to team Nabhi Sutra.

-The way I keep replying emails and messages, by working online for extra hours, switched from Nabhi Sutra healthy hair belly button oil to Eye care belly button oil to protect my eyes from dryness :) Well, such routines cannot be avoided at any stage of life. :) :)

The most important and my favourite, going for sleep every night with a big smile on face. Yes, success looks somewhat like this to me.

With lots of love!!
Swati Vakharia

For the first time, BabyOrgano | India's First Dedicated Ayurvedic Baby Care Health and Wellness Brand went for the campus placement!!

This is something that I had on my bucket list forever. In a world, where every company is asking for some experience, we are willing to be the one who gives experience to the young talent.

My Co-founder, HR and our Digital Marketing Manager went to St Kabir Institute of Professional Studies, Ahmedabad and let me tell you, it was a great experience.

I never expected students to be so aware of marketing, business and startup culture. We had some good conversations with some of the smartest students I have ever met.

We learned a lot about Gen Z’s professional behaviour and their expectations from the corporate world.

All in all, it was a day of learning!!

We have met some talented individuals and we will be hiring some of them for the required roles.

We are excited to welcome them to our BabyOrgano | India's First Dedicated Ayurvedic Baby Care Health and Wellness Brand family and help them grow their skills and careers.

We believe in nurturing young talent and giving them the opportunity to work on innovative and impactful projects.

Also, we are grateful to the St Kabir Institute of Professional Studies for hosting us and being so welcoming and supportive.

So aaj baat karte hai Sales ki , Sales kya hai and jo bhi hai that is according to me. We can agree to disagree. (This is not AI generated :D )

So I was fired from my job in 2007 for being the worst salesman, as my sales for 6 months was ZERO. That was my first sales job as well.

Fir koi job nahi de raha tha to I started on my own, apporached 200+ customers for my services and finally I got it. It's not the subject of classroom learning but the subject of Action. Do 100 cold calls and you will know and you can see the difference between your first cold and call and 100th.

Then to sharpen my skills, I started learning Sales Techniques and Psychological techniques but at the end Click wahi hua jo hona chahiye tha, today I consider myself a good salesman. My learnings in this journey are

- You don't need techniques but you need authenticity

- Sales is not about processes, openings and closures but It's about People , Understanding people is the key.

- Instead of selling, focus on value creation (waise ye sab pahele bhi 100 baar sun ya padh chuke honge )

- If you have empathy , connection , authenticity, Integrity then you understand your customer , team members , partners far better way and that's the key to sales.

- Last is face your fear. Cold calls are most difficult for many people but once you pick up the call and talk like a human , you will realize that person on other side is same and you can have a good talk at least.

Photo story : I am doing what I love doing most, Sales.

DevX Coworking Raises $ 7 Mn Funding

DevX, Gujarat’s largest Managed Office Space provider, today announced that it has raised funding of $ 7 Million with a mix of equity & debt split equally. Family offices such as Urmin family office, Gala family office, Bidiwala family office already on captable participated in the equity round, which showcases testimony to the growth model, alongwith HNIs like Ajay Patel, Mitesh Patel and Soham Mehta; while Debt funding was provided by Banks & NBFCs. 

Gujarat’s leader in the Managed office space segment, DevX is a co-working space cum accelerator founded in September 2017 by 3 entrepreneurs. The company was envisioned as a Startup Accelerator focussed on nurturing innovative startups by providing them with all requirements. Positioning DevX as an equal partner in growth, the company supports through their allied strategic partnerships and services. The different initiatives of DevX are thus structured to build synergies, enabling crosspollination of ideas as a means of collaborative growth and development. The company’s initiatives address different requirements across the value chain. 

Speaking on the funding, Mr Umesh Uttamchandani, Co-Founder – DevX said, “This funding comes at a time when we are bullish on growth in both the national domestic & global markets. The funds will be deployed for giving further impetus to our national and global expansion goals. For India, this infusion of funds gives us the boost to add more inventory to grow vertically across cities – signing up Assets with more than 2 lakhs sq feet. Putting in place even stronger governance practices; we plan to get listed next year and also build a Proptech solution for design & build offering. We are proud to be setting standards for the segment to aspire to; with our stated business goal of being the partner of choice for GCCs (Global capability Centres) & ODCs (Offshore Development Centres). Growthcentric corporates are increasingly opting for managed workspaces, which perfectly meshes with our philosophy of offering best-in-class work-space experiences at competitive pricing.” 

Opining on the event, Mr Devansh Majithia, Urmin Family Office said, “We are proud, yet again, to be part of this funding round. DevX’s innovative approach to providing an immersive, value drive experience for its tenants perfectly aligns with our own Investment philosophy. Their track-record of sustained growth and in-depth domain expertise have been core factors in driving our participation in this funding round”. 

As a core part of the ecosystem, DevX also provides, round the year, a platform for industry, academia, professionals and companies to hold hackathons, seminars, events etc…to address trends and issues. The company is planning further expand and thus consolidate it’s pan-India presence by 2024 end. 

I am thrilled to announce the launch of FoodGPT, a revolutionary tool in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, designed to provide powerful and unparalleled consumer insights. 🎉

"Unlocking Consumer Insights: FoodGPT" 💡

As a leading AI startup in the CPG industry, we understand the challenges of staying ahead in the competitive landscape. That's why we are proud to present FoodGPT, a specialized vertical tool that goes beyond the capabilities of general-purpose models like OpenAI's GPT-4 and Google's LaMDA, providing CPG brands with deeper and more accurate consumer insights.

🔍 How is FoodGPT Different? 🔍

📈 Unrivaled Volume & Variety: FoodGPT has been trained on an extensive dataset of over 61 Billion data points across 24 geographies in 17 languages, making it incredibly accurate in understanding global consumer preferences, habits, and desires. With this enhanced precision, businesses can make well-informed decisions and create products that resonate with their target audience.

💡 Solves Hallucination: For the same question, FoodGPT answers quantitatively with exact consumer drivers along with percentages and data points and provides reference links compared to generalized models that answer more qualitatively with no to very less quantitative information.

💬 Granularity: Generalised models create a very high-level concept since they've been trained on Wikipedia, articles, and books. FoodGPT, on the other hand, is trained on a domain knowledge base that allows the granular level answers to the F & B related questions and text generations.

🚀 Embrace the Future of Consumer Insights with FoodGPT! 🚀

At FoodGPT, we believe that understanding consumers is the key to building successful and sustainable brands. With our state-of-the-art tool, we are empowering businesses to make data-driven decisions, achieve innovation, and foster meaningful connections with their customers.

👉 If you want to gain a competitive edge and be at the forefront of consumer trends, reach out to us at [email protected] to witness the future of consumer insights!

I'm incredibly excited to announce the AICamp!  (https://x.com/shreya_gr/status/1753045008507355374?s=20)

Special Thanks to

Mehul Fanawala

  and

Dhaval Nagar

  for being early adopters and helping us in shaping the platform 🙏

AICamp allows your entire team to work together in a shared and collaborative workspace, utilizing all premium AI models(GPT3/4, Claude and many other ). Empower your entire organization with role-based access and detailed AI usage analytics.

Key features:

* Multiple LLMs in Single Interface
* Bring your own API key for any LLMs (Pay as you go!)
* Unlimited Chat History
* Share Chat/Prompt with Team Members
* Single API for entire organization / Easy to manage and light on pocket!

Currently it's for individual use and team version will be release on 10th feb.

Where I am seeking help:

* Feedback and improvement idea from folks who use AI in their day to day life.
* Any team specific feature that you might think to must have.

Where I can help you:

* Building products
* GTM
* Opensource growth

PS: please connect your paid openAI keys to see how it works (aicamp.so)

 

🇸🇬 #Singapore in peak bustle on a Thursday!

HEX's TENTH Singapore cohort of founders took the stage and pitched their businesses yesterday evening. One of the memorable demos was EduKate, promoting STEM education for girls through dolls 👧🏼♀️Pleasant surprise to bump into Remi and Benedict who were the judges, and hella proud of Jaclyn Benstead and Shirley Pham who led this program and made it epic!

Worlds colliding 🌏💥 when Jodie meets Mihaela meets HEX! The startup ecosystem welcomes everyone – innovators from all walks🚶🏼‍♀️🚶🏻‍♂️🚶 (for context: Jodie is an excellent UX researcher/designer and Mihaela is working on her phD in financial inclusion + 

I missed Accelerating Asia Ventures's demo day this week and the FOMO got to me 😢 but I'm truly glad that everyone passes through the Draper Startup House HQ whenever they're in town... (👋🏽 hi Amra 🥲)

Paying for beer in Singapore with #India rupees 🍻💰 I'm grateful for this fellow globetrotting buddy Ibrahim who recently passed through Hyderabad, and exchanging notes and insights on the city!

It's been an epic two weeks in Singapore; I'm happy to be home! ...If you think I'm taking off soon, you guessed right 😉

🔜 NEXT STOP #HYDERABAD 🔥🚀

I'll be around for a month(ish), excited to CONNECT with the entrepreneurs, founders, investors, operators, and the startup community and learn from everyone 🤩 

ASK: Who should I meet / grab chai with? 👀

First customer : (this is not AI generated story :D )

Today I am going to share how we got our first customer for 58 Miles and how our first stock was sold out in a day.

So once we were ready with our stock and we were planning many things in all directions, that online fod daalenge , Insta pe dhamaal macha lenge and give few samples to influencers and once 10-15 reviews are set , we will sell our stock in next 2-3 months with lots of learning.

As our first product is "Camera wale baba ka Jhola, to Sahil Shah ne bola , to take part in Offline photo expo in Gandhinagar, and I was convinced to give it a try. We booked last moment so got the last stall :D

At the expo, we unveiled our product, but for the entire morning, it was like a ghost town at our stall. Ten other camera bag bigwigs had set up shop before us. But then, around 1:00 PM, a lone ranger strolled in. I narrated the whole saga of Moment Camera bag by 58miles, and guess what? He agreed to pay! A whole year of hard work, and finally, someone was ready to pay for it. I was so overwhelmed that when he swiped for payment, I stopped him and said, "It's a gift from us, Sir." He couldn't believe it! With joy and excitement, he ran out, sharing the tale of our unique camera bag and how he got it for free.

and then it was like everybody was coming to our stall, we were talk of town (thought it was expo and not the town) We were sold out , all 125 bags for first stock, on the first day of expo. I could not believe it.

Photo story : The guy in black tshirt is not our first customer , Its our beloved supporter , my pakka dost Jatin Chaudhary (eChai Ventures wale bhaiya). His support to us and thousands of other startups across the globe is unmatchable. He bought the Camera bag just to support our launch.
www.58miles.com