GSF Launches 'M-Accelerator', A Specialized Program For Mobile Startups In India

Gurgaon-based technology startup accelerator GSF global accelerator has lately launched a specialized accelerator program called 'M-Acceleratr' for mobile startups in India and plans to launch more specialized vertical programmes going forward.

Through M-Accelerator GSF will train and fund 10-15 Indian mobile-first startups beginning next year across two batches annually. Functioning as a "super-accelerator" by design, GSF M-Accelerator offers founders four months to make the kind of progress ordinarily accomplished in six to eight months. The selected batches will spend time in India, the Silicon Valley, New York and Singapore.

GSF M-Accelerator will invest $40-$50k at 8-9% equity into the startups inducted into the Global Accelerator program. GSF also does follow-on rounds of up to $500,000 into a few select startups after the program.

GSF M-Accelerator is created in the image of a hackathon. Products pivot several times as teams go through intense, often grueling Q&A sessions with mentors and entrepreneurs in residence. The result of this accelerator is an ecosystem created by the startups for the startups: a challenging, risk-taking of product focuses teams, innovating in areas of mobile marketplaces, mobile apps and mobile commerce.

Since its inception GSF Accelerator had funded 33 startups across three batches including Little Eye Labs, which was acquired by Facebook earlier this year.

The four-month 'M-Accelerator' program will start in February next year. A typical week at GSF M-Accelrator consists of three key elements: Mentor Hours, Workshops and Visits.

GSF Mentors include Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, LinkedIn, Zynga, Evernote, Uber, Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, Matrix Partners, Canaan Partners, Accel, SoftBank, Intuit, Lyft, Spotify, InMobi, Nokia, MIT University, Stanford university, Makemytrip, Ixigo, Zomato, Slideshare, PayTM, Savaan, Hungama, Ola cabs, etc.

Snapdeal & Ola Refuses Softbank's Buy-out Offer

As SoftBank, the Japan based Internet and telecom giant, was busy locking its funding deals with taxi aggregator Ola and e-commerce giant Snapdeal last month, it apparently also gave them an offer of buying out the share of their angels and early venture capital investors. And, if some sources are to be believed, most of them bluntly denied the offer.

It must have been a really difficult decision on the part of the investors but most of them at this point of time have returns of hundred times their investment on paper and they see this value growing further.

"I haven't sold any shares so far. If someone is offering a valuation which I expect the company to reach in the next two years, then I can think about it," said Anupam Mittal, founder, People Group in a statement to the Economic Times.  People Group is one of the early investors of Ola. He further added, “Investments like Ola come once in a lifetime”.

Early capital investors holding on to their winners in the risk capital business has now become like a norm. According to data available from VCCEdge, a financial research platform, since the year 2011 the Indian ecommerce and online business has had over 694 investments totaling about $5.56 billion. But during the same period of time, there have only been 45 exits worth $295 million.

Ola, the taxi aggregator, is a four year old startup whose valuation has increased by more than 10 times in the past one year. The company was valued at $180 million in July this year when Steadview Capital, a Hong Kong based hedge fund, led a funding round. The latest investment from SoftBank has skyrocketed the company’s valuation to a whopping $650 million. These figures clearly explain why the early investors are holding on to their bets in these companies.  Ola’s early backers include Snapdeal co-founders Rohit Bansal, Kunal Bahl, Rehan Yar Khan and Powai Lake Ventures.

On the other hand, the early venture capital investors in the ecommerce giant Snapdeal are sitting on at least 8-10 times the capital invested. The latest funding round valued Snapdeal at $2 billion and its investors believe that the company has a potential of reaching $5-10 billion in the near future.

Snapdeal & Ola Refuses Softbank's Buy-out Offer

As SoftBank, the Japan based Internet and telecom giant, was busy locking its funding deals with taxi aggregator Ola and e-commerce giant Snapdeal last month, it apparently also gave them an offer of buying out the share of their angels and early venture capital investors. And, if some sources are to be believed, most of them bluntly denied the offer.

It must have been a really difficult decision on the part of the investors but most of them at this point of time have returns of hundred times their investment on paper and they see this value growing further.

"I haven't sold any shares so far. If someone is offering a valuation which I expect the company to reach in the next two years, then I can think about it," said Anupam Mittal, founder, People Group in a statement to the Economic Times.  People Group is one of the early investors of Ola. He further added, “Investments like Ola come once in a lifetime”.

Early capital investors holding on to their winners in the risk capital business has now become like a norm. According to data available from VCCEdge, a financial research platform, since the year 2011 the Indian ecommerce and online business has had over 694 investments totaling about $5.56 billion. But during the same period of time, there have only been 45 exits worth $295 million.

Ola, the taxi aggregator, is a four year old startup whose valuation has increased by more than 10 times in the past one year. The company was valued at $180 million in July this year when Steadview Capital, a Hong Kong based hedge fund, led a funding round. The latest investment from SoftBank has skyrocketed the company’s valuation to a whopping $650 million. These figures clearly explain why the early investors are holding on to their bets in these companies.  Ola’s early backers include Snapdeal co-founders Rohit Bansal, Kunal Bahl, Rehan Yar Khan and Powai Lake Ventures.

On the other hand, the early venture capital investors in the ecommerce giant Snapdeal are sitting on at least 8-10 times the capital invested. The latest funding round valued Snapdeal at $2 billion and its investors believe that the company has a potential of reaching $5-10 billion in the near future.

Delhi Based Startup Cloudlibz Helps Writers Collaborate Work

Dharmendra Jadon & Ramesh Reddy, Founders - CloudLibz

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Cloudlibz is a social collaborative platform for the readers and writers. Users can write books, articles and magazines and can sell/publish directly and make their work reach higher audience. It is a social collaborative platform where people can get together and write books, articles in magazines etc. "We believe that collaborating and working as a team brings out most efficient products," says the founder Ramesh Reddy. Hubord is a company which works on developing the innovative products (Hardware and Software). Cloudlibz is their first product.

Ramesh is a student of computer science and engineering at Lovely Professional University, Punjab. He is currently pursuing his 3rd year in college. He started up Hubord this year with his batch mate Dharmendra Jadon. They are a 3 member core team. While Ramesh and Dharmendra take care of the web development, they have a graphic designer, Sreenath on their team from Kerala. Dharam and Ramesh started learning things online from 2012 and without any official training, developed Cloudlibz. Our strong passion towards work and ability to work hard and learn fast has helped us a lot," says Dharmendra.

The company started in Oct 2013. Cloudlibz aims to be a social collaborative platform specially designed, developed and maintained for Readers and Writers. They are providing a wonderful platform. Authors, Writers and Editors act as service providers. Readers act as service takers. It benefits readers and writers in the following ways:

1) Benefits for Book Writers

• Collaborative workspace


• Easily used and Flexible tools.


• Time saving


• Cost Effective


• Automatic conversion between different file types.


• Easy to sell, publish and reach higher number of audience.


• Unique Identification.


• Easy to update and maintain.

2) Benefits for Magazine Writers

• Wonderful inbuilt designs of cover pages.


• Easy to choose between different layouts.


• Reminders to get remind you about the new volume publishing time.


• Great graphics designed by great graphic designers.

3) Benefits for Readers

• Read Books.


• Subscribe Magazines.


• Download in different formats.


• Buy Books and Give your comments and reviews.

They aim to be the biggest platform for writing books and magazines with writers collaborating on their platform. They have currently developed the platform on the web, and plan to develop it for mobiles, tablets as well. Once Cloudlibz is out in the market, they have 3 more products in the pipeline which they will start working on. The company now runs from the hostel room of Lovely Professional University and they plan to move out of there after passing out and establish an office in Bangalore, the startup hub of the country.

The company is bootstrapped and consider the internet to be the biggest teacher of all. As a message for future entrepreneurs, they Ramesh says, "Have strong belief in yourself and be passionate about what you are doing. If you are capable of doing hard work nothing can stop you." To this Dharmendra says, "Your hard work is directly proportional to your luck, believe in yourself, work hard and it will definitely bring you good luck."

MadPiggy - Now Find Best Deals In Your Local Area

Madpiggy ('Money-Ads-PiggyBank') is a marketing platform for brick and mortar retailers as well as e-commerce retailers, to publish their deals and run a calibrated marketing campaign around there deals. Madpiggy tries to create a unique ecosystem between retailers and consumers, to create a win-win situation for both of them, by helping retailers post their deals and spread their marketing and helping users to be a part of direct marketing. It has many useful features, which basically solves one problem, to ease information between consumers and merchants. Madpiggy's is available as website and also available as an android app and team is developing the IOS version.

On Madpiggy, users can leverage the power of direct marketing from retailers and earn direct rewards for being part of campaign, writing reviews, posting the deal on social media. Users can also build their own social network of ‘Madpiggy application users’ and multiply their earnings.

Besides a strong business model, the application also provides some cool features for any user to see sale deals running in the vicinity. Users can open map view to see deals, drive through the deal directly, call the merchant to query on specifics and do number or similar activities. There is a local e-commerce option also, which enables merchant and users to communicate directly for a home delivery-cash collection kind of e-commerce model.



Co-founded by Abhishek Kumar (IIT-Roorkee and ISB Hyb. alumnus), who happens to have a work experience of over 10 years in various sectors of the market and is a proficient programmer and a technology lover, brings on board a blend of technology and business and works as a bridge to convert an ambitious business idea into a wonderful IT product. He says "Madpiggy is completely in-house product developed by the team. We have worked with lot of other companies like IBM, HP, and Ericsson for solutions development, implementation and delivery and have expertise in Java/JEE enterprise solutions and Android/iOS mobile app development. The company also holds expertise in developing hybrid mobile apps using technologies such as IBM work light and Cordova."

Deepak Chauhan (Co-founder), who is a complete technology geek, explores various technologies and devises solution architecture. He says "The technology employed at the backend, the algorithms, the UI, the features, all have been carefully designed to win hearts of its users and we sincerely believe, that the business model of Madpiggy combined with the great user experience and features, will make it a grand success."

"The Company wants to keep growing in its services business, to keep its product plans intact. Further, the company wants to launch Madpiggy across India. Madpiggy has signed up more than 100 retailers from Gurgaon and is building its user base in Gurgaon. As it is a C2C product, it is important to launch it city after city. We plan to launch in National Capital Region, Delhi before end of calendar year, 2014 and further, based on its story in NCR, launch the product to other metro cities across India by H1-2015 and then take it to other cities of India quite rapidly.”, says Manoj Syaroliya, who is the marketing head of the company. Being aware of the marketing budget constraints a start-up faces, he adds "The Company is managing on the fund generated from its services business and we believe that we will be able to market Madpiggy in NCR with its existing resources. However, once the NCR launch is complete, it would be an opportune time for us to get VC funding and their expertise to take the venture to other metros and non-metro cities of India really quickly."

Currently with total of 25 members in their team based out of Gurgaon, their team is highly inspired by Steve Jobs and Sachin Tendulkar (what better possible combination anyone can come up with!?) and believes that there is a lot which can be done to bring IT penetration in India at par with other countries. Manoj adds "There is a lot of opportunity, which can be tapped by Indian start-ups, as nobody would understand India better than we, ourselves can. One has to keep faith in his idea and observe perseverance. Sustainability of the product is one thing that can prove to be tricky at times due to various reasons and hence we are of the idea to remain in agile mode and rediscover ourselves at every opportunity."

The State Of Online Cab Booking In India [Infographics]

The car rental space in India is making its presence felt online by offering cab booking straight from website and mobile apps of online cab service providers. After e-commerce, the taxi booking space is seen as the next big thing by investors also.

Leading providers of online cab booking service in India are Olacabs, Merucabs, TaxiForSure, TaxiGuide and BookCab who offer mobile apps for different platforms including Android, iOS and Windows Phone which makes cab booking a breeze requiring just a few touches of your fingers.

We can categorize online cab booking service providers in two categories - Cab Operators and CaB Aggregators, where cab operators are - MeruCabs, EasyCabs, MegaCabs, in 'Cab Aggregators' falls online service providers like OlaCabs, BookCab, Savaari,TaxiForSure and TaxiGuide.

With recent $210-million investment from Japan-based SoftBank Corp, online cab aggregator Ola (earlier known as Olacabs) has made aggressive plans to spread its wings across the country

BookCab gives an interesting insight over online cab booking market in India which includes their geographical coverage in India as follow:

MyEnterprise - First Non-IT Startup Focused Incubation Hub

Kerala on Friday saw the launch of an IT initiative which will work towards mentoring of non IT entrepreneurs, right from just an idea to a successful business venture. The initiative was launched by a technical consultancy firm KITCO.

The IT initiative is called 'MyEnterprise' and will cover areas like waste management, fisheries, ayurveda, biotechnology, fashion technology, agriculture and food processing. KITCO managing director Cyriac Davies and associate principal consultant K.C. Chandrashekharan Nair were present at the time of the launch.

KITCO was established by Industrial Development Bank of India in association with other state and national level financial institutions, seven public sector banks and the government of Kerala in 1972. It was established with an aim of rendering services to government departments/PSUs, entrepreneurs and local bodies.

Under 'MyEnterprise', KITCO has decided to provide the entrepreneurs with space, shared resources, business infrastructure and training market access. The initiative is open to anyone and everyone who is passionate enough to work hard towards fulfilling their dreams of owning a successful business.

“We plan to incubate, mentor, and handhold about 10 startups in the first year and we have a special focus on encouraging women entrepreneurs”, said Davies at the launch.

KITCO is also in the midst of setting up a KITCO Innovation fund, which is a crowd funding initiative. The KITCO innovation fund will work towards providing support to emerging startups. It will be formed with the help and support of successful businessmen, organisations and institutions based in Kerala who are eagerly interested in innovation and entrepreneurship development in the state.

Nair, the associate principal consultant at KITCO will spearhead the IT initiative ‘myenterprise’. He has also headed Kerala’s first incubator Technopark TBI.  According to him, “We intend to provide the youth with seed capital, marketing and professional assistance besides enable the aspirants to meet the experts in the industry and masters of trade.”

MyEnterprise - First Non-IT Startup Focused Incubation Hub

Kerala on Friday saw the launch of an IT initiative which will work towards mentoring of non IT entrepreneurs, right from just an idea to a successful business venture. The initiative was launched by a technical consultancy firm KITCO.

The IT initiative is called 'MyEnterprise' and will cover areas like waste management, fisheries, ayurveda, biotechnology, fashion technology, agriculture and food processing. KITCO managing director Cyriac Davies and associate principal consultant K.C. Chandrashekharan Nair were present at the time of the launch.

KITCO was established by Industrial Development Bank of India in association with other state and national level financial institutions, seven public sector banks and the government of Kerala in 1972. It was established with an aim of rendering services to government departments/PSUs, entrepreneurs and local bodies.

Under 'MyEnterprise', KITCO has decided to provide the entrepreneurs with space, shared resources, business infrastructure and training market access. The initiative is open to anyone and everyone who is passionate enough to work hard towards fulfilling their dreams of owning a successful business.

“We plan to incubate, mentor, and handhold about 10 startups in the first year and we have a special focus on encouraging women entrepreneurs”, said Davies at the launch.

KITCO is also in the midst of setting up a KITCO Innovation fund, which is a crowd funding initiative. The KITCO innovation fund will work towards providing support to emerging startups. It will be formed with the help and support of successful businessmen, organisations and institutions based in Kerala who are eagerly interested in innovation and entrepreneurship development in the state.

Nair, the associate principal consultant at KITCO will spearhead the IT initiative ‘myenterprise’. He has also headed Kerala’s first incubator Technopark TBI.  According to him, “We intend to provide the youth with seed capital, marketing and professional assistance besides enable the aspirants to meet the experts in the industry and masters of trade.”

Online Health Startup Qikwell Raises Rs.18 Crore

Qikwell Technologies, which is a healthcare startup, has been successful in raising $3 million (Rs. 18 crore approx) in a Series A funding round. The round was led by SAIF partners, which is a venture capital and private equity firm. This $3 million funding is after the startup had recently raised Rs. 1.2 crore in an angel round from more than half-a-dozen investors. The investors included the likes of Alok Mittal, Amit Somani and Sunil Kalra.  The startup had raised its first angel round in October, 2013.

“This is our first investment in the healthcare startup space,” said Rohit Jain, principal at SAIF Partners.

Qikwell Technologies was founded by Raghavendra Prasad TS and Krishna Prasad C in the year 2011. It runs an e-healthcare website which allows the users to search and choose doctors based on their needs.

Using the e-healthcare site by Qikwell, the users can view availability of doctors’ online, book instant appointments with them, view appointment status from time to time and get alerts incase of any delays in the appointment timings.

The patient relation management startup has been successful in booking more than 1 million appointments so far. The startup also has seen more than 1 lakh patient-doctor engagements per month.

Raghavendra Prasad TS, who is the co-founder and CTO of the startup, has been a computer science engineer in the past and worked with Honeywell Technologies for a long period of 13 years. Prasad has almost a dozen patents to his credit. “We are trying to help the healthcare eco-system in India become more efficient by increasing the number of patients a doctor can see by 15 percent, which is huge for our country that has one of the poorest doctor to patient ratio in the world.”

Krishna Prasad, who is the co-founder and CEO of Qikwell, is an IIT Bombay graduate who has previously worked at IBM Research. He also worked at Yahoo as a senior scientist for almost six years before starting Qikwell.

Online Health Startup Qikwell Raises Rs.18 Crore

Qikwell Technologies, which is a healthcare startup, has been successful in raising $3 million (Rs. 18 crore approx) in a Series A funding round. The round was led by SAIF partners, which is a venture capital and private equity firm. This $3 million funding is after the startup had recently raised Rs. 1.2 crore in an angel round from more than half-a-dozen investors. The investors included the likes of Alok Mittal, Amit Somani and Sunil Kalra.  The startup had raised its first angel round in October, 2013.

“This is our first investment in the healthcare startup space,” said Rohit Jain, principal at SAIF Partners.

Qikwell Technologies was founded by Raghavendra Prasad TS and Krishna Prasad C in the year 2011. It runs an e-healthcare website which allows the users to search and choose doctors based on their needs.

Using the e-healthcare site by Qikwell, the users can view availability of doctors’ online, book instant appointments with them, view appointment status from time to time and get alerts incase of any delays in the appointment timings.

The patient relation management startup has been successful in booking more than 1 million appointments so far. The startup also has seen more than 1 lakh patient-doctor engagements per month.

Raghavendra Prasad TS, who is the co-founder and CTO of the startup, has been a computer science engineer in the past and worked with Honeywell Technologies for a long period of 13 years. Prasad has almost a dozen patents to his credit. “We are trying to help the healthcare eco-system in India become more efficient by increasing the number of patients a doctor can see by 15 percent, which is huge for our country that has one of the poorest doctor to patient ratio in the world.”

Krishna Prasad, who is the co-founder and CEO of Qikwell, is an IIT Bombay graduate who has previously worked at IBM Research. He also worked at Yahoo as a senior scientist for almost six years before starting Qikwell.

Co.Lab.Orate Is Hyderabad's First Community Co-Working Space For Startups

Co.Lab.Orate, Hyderabad's first community co-working space based out of Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, was established in October, 2014. They named it Co.Lab.Orate because there is a lot of collaboration that would happen in their space. However, it has a deeper meaning. 'Co' stands for co-working, 'Lab' stands for use of computers and laptops and 'Orate' stands for speaking and networking! Although, there are a few shared spaces and plug and play office which operate under the name of co-working, catering to the real needs of an entrepreneur like networking, interfacing, events and workshops is still not up to the required standards.

Co-working isn't a new idea and is prevalent in the West. Even in India, the other metros have a fair share of really wonderful spaces! However, Hyderabad is still in the nascent stages. Hence, the need for something like Co.Lab.Orate. was felt by Raghuveer Kovuru, Vinay Peddinti and Anurag Parepally; the 3 Co-founders ; who have come together from diverse backgrounds of engineering and business management and are each having a work experience of more than couple of years.

On asking what prompted them to start this company, Raghuveer, an avid blogger, mentor, speaker who is the community animator at Co.Lab.Orate, says "In the world of start-ups, success is supported by positivity, networking, perseverance and the much needed capital. Several wonderful start-ups lack the above attributes. Especially, capital places a crucial role in determining the fate of a company. In the era of high establishment costs, rising real estate, cut throat competition and lack of appropriate guidance, entrepreneurship is like entering the Padmavyuha. Co-working is a style of working that facilitates people from diverse backgrounds to work together usually in a common space. These people, also called co-workers, are not necessarily employed by a single organization. The group also comprises of freelancers, travellers, start-ups and entrepreneurs. In co-working, people share values and are interested in the synergies that can happen from working with like-minded people in the same space. Imagine the idea bounce and interactions that would happen between people from different domains!"

"At Co.Lab.Orate, we do not sell space but rather we facilitate community. We are established on the values of openness, sustainability, collaboration and accessibility. There are and will be instances when we would not be able to accommodate too many people from one domain. For example, if there is already a set of people from IT in the space, we do not accept any more requests from the IT domain. The idea is to create knowledge collective." added Raghuveer.

Vinay, administrator at Co.Lab.Orate and the founder and president of an NGO by the name 'The Social cause' adds "We are wildly different from shared offices, executive suites and plug and play offices as the latter have a very formal setup and force one to work in relative isolation. We have a very casual and informal environment at Co.Lab.Orate. We provide bare minimum facilities and do not focus on fancy interiors, air conditioning, cubicles etc. Rather, these unnecessary additions are replaced by a wonderful community, access to venture capitalists, meeting co-founders and the list is endless."

Currently in talks with several L&D organizations, NGOs, Entrepreneurial foundations around India for partnerships, the company is looking for the right kind of leverage.

Anurag, who is the space evangelist at Co.Lab.Orate, says "We are presently focused on the Hyderabad market. We definitely would love to move to other cities where we sense a bustle of entrepreneurial activity. Vizag is one city where there is lot of movement and we have it next on our minds. The start-up is bootstrapped from our own pockets. We have no investors as of now. Once the idea takes flight, we might take the VC path."

"We always had our apprehensions about Hyderabad accepting our idea. It was absolutely about our strength to surpass all hurdles personally, professionally and financially that brought us here. Because, in Hyderabad, it was more about finding a cheap space and working it out on your own rather than finding the right mentor, or people to exchange ideas with. With Co.Lab.Orate, we want to break that barrier. And we have garnered a lot of interest." added Anurag.

With Alex Hillman of Indy Hall, the guru of co-working spaces as their mentor and the idea that they are going to meet someone new and start off an absolutely impossible and new venture at Co.Lab.Orate, the team is all in readiness with great zeal for the upcoming challenges. We wish them all the luck they need.

Amitabh Bachchan Join Hands With Worldoo.com To Help Transfom Internet Use For Children

Worldoo.com is first-of-its-kind website in India that aims to create a responsible environment for children to learn, express & play and an online portal aims to make the internet safer for children. India's superstar Amitabh Bachchan has joined hands with the website to endorse Worldoo's latest feedback campaign for children called 'Let's Build'.

The feedback campaign, inaugurated with Mr. Amitabh Bachchan's backing, will invite parents, kids and educators across the country to speak up and be heard, in what they would like to see in a whole new world!

Speaking about his association with worldoo.com, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan said - "The internet space is constantly evolving and has proved to be an exciting tool of communication. Today, children are born with technology in the palm of their hands, immediately preferring tablets to teddy bears!"

"In such a scenario, it is important for parents to embrace the role that Internet plays in their child’s life instead of shying away from it. They need to collaborate and communicate with their kids to welcome them to the online world. The future is here." added Mr.Bachchan.



Users can sign in on worldoo.com, as parent, child or educator, and send in their thoughts to this unique initiative which also has a feedback campaign that will run across online and offline platforms.

Worldoo.com has associated itself with many partners such as Cartoon Network, National Geographic, Jeff Corwin, Designyard, Sentosa Tourism, Zapak, Miniclip, Pidilite, Asian Paints, Sony Pictures and many other kid brands.

Founded in 2013 by Mr. Monish Ghatalia, Worldoo.com is the 3rd most viewed kids site in India and aims to increase its reach and awareness across the globe and aims to become the largest kids platform by 2015. Worldoo team is also working towards global launches in South East Asia, Middle East, UK, US in the years to come.

Worldoo.com is a completely bootstrapped/self-funded project and does not seek an external funding for now.

Flipkart Raised $500-600 Million, Now Valued At $10 Billion

India's very own e-commerce giant Flipkart has closed a $500-600 million fresh financing round led by its existing investors. On November 11 we reported that Flipkart is about to raise mega-funding and the funding could make Flipkart valuation close to $10 billion and now that Flipkart has finally raised funding much early than what speculated earlier, Flipkart's pre-money valuation has calculated at more than $10 billion today.

In this latest round of funding Tiger Global, South Africa's Naspers and Yuri Milner's DST Global, along with others, have pumped in $50-100 million each in the new round with a new investor chipping in a nominal amount.

The latest round of funding is the third fund-raise this year for the seven year old company.

Flipkart had in July this year raised $1 billion in funding - biggest ever by any Indian startups, by its existing investors Tiger Global and Naspers, with participations from GIC, one of the two sovereign wealth funds of Singapore, besides Accel Partners, DST Global, ICONIQ Capital, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Sofina. The July funding has mad founders of Flipkart - Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, as rich as Infosys co-founders

As per sources, the latest move was part of Flipkart's regular fund-raising plans till it readies itself to go public on the US stock market in the next 36 months. As reported by TOI, the e-commerce startup could raise anywhere between $2 billion and $3 billion within this time frame.

Flipkart claims that it had hit an annual revenue run rate of $1 billion in February this year and now it seeks to reach between $3 billion and $4 billion of sales in the current fiscal year.

Flipkart's rival Amazon is already invested $2 billion in its India operations whereas Japan's SoftBank recently invested more than $800 million in India. SoftBank's investments include Flipkart rival Snapdeal, the second-largest Indian e-commerce company, which raised $627 million in October.

15 #MadeInIndia Software For Billing & Invoicing

The articles was originally published in ProductNation (iSpirt) by Ankit Dudhewala, co-founder of SoftwareSuggest.com.

There are plenty of billing & invoicing software available and as per trends most of them are SaaS based unlike to India's own billing and invoicing software 'Tally' which was carrying an image of being poster boy of India's very own billing software since ages and then came Zoho, India's very own SaaS app which is way beyond then just a billing & invoicing software. These are two names you might already knew but infact there are plenty  of  'Made in India' software in billing and invoicing category.

Below are list of 15 #MadeInIndia Billing & Invoicing software available to you, use them and encourage India made products and believe me they are no less then products made by some silicon valley based company.

AccountingGuru - A Web based billing, inventory and accounting software

AccountingGuru has a primary focus on the Indian market. It has almost all the features one will look for in a web based accounting software. The software starts from Rs 1800 per year and goes up to Rs 5000 per year for standard editions.

Busy – An Installation based accounting software with ease of usability and focusing on Indian Business

Busy is a complete accounting and inventory management software. It has a clean design and can be operated with basic training which makes it increasingly popular. The software has a basic package price of Rs 6500 which allows smooth invoicing and billing.

SleekBill - An invoicing and billing software specially designed for Indian businesses, SleekBill sends professional invoices to your clients and automated reminders for payments. It also supports GST.

Crave – An Installation based software made for Indian Business

The basic pricing for Crave India starts from Rs 2500 and goes up to Rs 10000. The full version of the software offers a complete Accounting Software.

Hyper Drive- An Installation and Web based POS Software focusing on Indian Business

Hyper drive is a complete ‘Point of sales’ software which can take care of invoicing, accounting & Point of sale functionality. The software has a clean interface, allows cloud based synchronization and boasts of deep analytics.

Invoicera - A Web based software made by a Delhi based company for the International Market

The basic version of Invoicera is priced at $20 per month and goes up to $100 per month. The software boasts of Recurring billing, Timesheets and API access.

JusBill – A web based invoicing software for Indian market

Besides the invoicing functionality, JusBill also allows its users to fill e-returns on the click of a button. JustBill can be used free for up to 50 customers and the most popular plan costs Rs 999 per month.

Marg Billing- An Installation based software made for the Indian Market

Marg is a complete retailing software and one of the most popular one in the country. The company has more than 300 distributors and partners spread across the country to support its users. The pricing starts at Rs 10000.

OnlineBiller – An Installation & Web based billing software for Indian market

Though the name says OnlineBiller, it has both online and offline billing and invoicing software. The online version of the software is completely free and the offline version can cost from Rs 3000 to Rs 10000. The software has multi-user support, multi language support and in-depth reporting.

Profitbooks- A Web based complete accounting software for the Indian Market

Though Profitbooks is a complete accounting software, it can very well be used for billing and invoicing as well. The pro version is available at Rs 10000 per year (Less than Rs 1000 per month).

ReachAccountant- A Web based accounting software for Indian Business

Reachaccountant is an end to end web based accounting software which can fit in manufacturing, retailing or distribution business. The basic version of the software can full fill the billing and invoicing needs.

Saral Billing- An Installation based software made for Indian Business

Starting from Rs 6000 this software can be used for retailing and wholesale but doesn’t fit for manufacturing companies.

Shimbi MyBilling- A Web based software made by Pune based company for international market

One can use Shambi free for up to 5 customers and for pro version with unlimited customers one has to pay up to $15. The software allows estimate creation and claims design superiority.

Tally- An Installation based software and the most popular software in India

Though Tally is popular for its accounting feature, it is also used for billing and invoicing. The software is priced around Rs 18000 and offers around 40% discount if you are a Chartered Accountant.

ZipBooks - A Web based software for small businesses

ZipBooks is by an Ahmedabad based company named Accusol. The software is a new entry to the indian market and is designed specifically for Small Indian Business.

Zoho Invoice- A Web based software made by Indian company but focuses on the International Market

Bangalore Among 4 Fastest Growing Startup Cities In The World

All the Asian countries have a reason to rejoice. According to new data compiled by CB Insights, a research firm, four Asian cities which include Bangalore, Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo have occupied the top four ranks in terms of the rate at which the VC deals are being made in them. This new accomplishment by the Asian cities validates the point that Asian cities are in fact the fastest growing technology startup hubs in the whole wide world.

The research firm compared tech deals made in the twelve month period ending last month with those in the previous twelve months. Cities which had twenty or more deals were only considered by the research firm.

Beijing saw a 165 percent growth, with the deals increasing by three times, while Tokyo saw a 126 percent growth. The number of deals increased by 81 percent in Shanghai, and Bangalore on the other hand saw a 66 percent rise in its deals.

India saw its three other cities also making the cut into the top 25 positions. Gurgaon, Mumbai and Delhi made it to the top 25 proving the fact that the startup ecosystem and activity is spreading with full force in the country. This accomplishment by the Indian cities also backed a recent study which stated India as the fastest growing startup ecosystem in the world. According to the study, around 800 startups sprout in the country on an annual basis.

The report by CB Insights gives more importance to the growth in the number of deals that the total amount of the investments, as it often gets distorted by a few mega deals. But even if we go by the dollar terms, four Indian cities still made it to the top 20, with Gurgaon sitting at number 5 and Delhi at number 6, all because of the humongous funds inflow by Softbank to taxi app Ola and ecommerce site Snapdeal.

Bangalore acquired the 11^th position on the funding growth list, while Beijing was 20^th, Shanghai 22^nd and Tokyo came in at 27^th position. The list was topped by St. Louis in Missouri, America and followed by Cincinnati, Munich and Los Altos.

With such great number of startups sprouting in the region, Asia can soon turn into the next Silicon Valley of the world.

Bangalore Among 4 Fastest Growing Startup Cities In The World

All the Asian countries have a reason to rejoice. According to new data compiled by CB Insights, a research firm, four Asian cities which include Bangalore, Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo have occupied the top four ranks in terms of the rate at which the VC deals are being made in them. This new accomplishment by the Asian cities validates the point that Asian cities are in fact the fastest growing technology startup hubs in the whole wide world.

The research firm compared tech deals made in the twelve month period ending last month with those in the previous twelve months. Cities which had twenty or more deals were only considered by the research firm.

Beijing saw a 165 percent growth, with the deals increasing by three times, while Tokyo saw a 126 percent growth. The number of deals increased by 81 percent in Shanghai, and Bangalore on the other hand saw a 66 percent rise in its deals.

India saw its three other cities also making the cut into the top 25 positions. Gurgaon, Mumbai and Delhi made it to the top 25 proving the fact that the startup ecosystem and activity is spreading with full force in the country. This accomplishment by the Indian cities also backed a recent study which stated India as the fastest growing startup ecosystem in the world. According to the study, around 800 startups sprout in the country on an annual basis.

The report by CB Insights gives more importance to the growth in the number of deals that the total amount of the investments, as it often gets distorted by a few mega deals. But even if we go by the dollar terms, four Indian cities still made it to the top 20, with Gurgaon sitting at number 5 and Delhi at number 6, all because of the humongous funds inflow by Softbank to taxi app Ola and ecommerce site Snapdeal.

Bangalore acquired the 11^th position on the funding growth list, while Beijing was 20^th, Shanghai 22^nd and Tokyo came in at 27^th position. The list was topped by St. Louis in Missouri, America and followed by Cincinnati, Munich and Los Altos.

With such great number of startups sprouting in the region, Asia can soon turn into the next Silicon Valley of the world.

Govt. To Create An IoT Industry In India Of USD 15 Billion By 2020

The internet of things (IoT) seems to be gaining huge popularity in India. From insurance companies looking out to offer better premiums to the transportation based companies to various state governments looking to control the theft of iron ores from the mines, the internet of things seems to be increasing its ground in the country day by day.

The Government of India came out with its very first Internet of things policy document in the earlier part of this year. According to the document, the government plans on creating a $15 billion internet of things market in the country by next five years (2020). The initial steps towards the fulfillment of this plan have already been taken both in the private and public sector.

The term ‘internet of things’ (IoT) is basically used to describe a world in which sensors are put on machines and then the resulting data from these sensors is used to track and improve their performance.

The objectives of the draft IoT policy document by the Department of Electronics and Information are as follows:

1) To create an IoT industry in India of USD 15 billion by 2020. It has been assumed that India would have a share of 5-6% of global IoT industry.

2) To undertake capacity development (Human and Technology) for IoT specific skill sets for domestic and international markets.

3) To undertake Research and development for all the assisting technologies.

4) To develop IoT products specific to Indian needs in all possible domains.

Tata Motors, which is the largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in India, has already started putting sensors into its trucks. The company has also come up with a service model which will help owners having large fleet of trucks get a better insight into the functioning and usage of their vehicles and even predict any potential breakdown. Tata has a large and efficient analytics team that will crunch the data from the vehicles and then present it to its customers.

“You can monitor driver behavior or fuel theft- so while the fuel level is constantly being monitored, any sudden move up or down is tracked. Sudden breaking can also be detected, so you can build algorithms inside the black box in the vehicle or you can build that as part of your system, which makes sense of this data”, said Jagdish Belwal, chief information officer, Tata Motors in a statement to the Economic Times.

Govt. To Create An IoT Industry In India Of USD 15 Billion By 2020

The internet of things (IoT) seems to be gaining huge popularity in India. From insurance companies looking out to offer better premiums to the transportation based companies to various state governments looking to control the theft of iron ores from the mines, the internet of things seems to be increasing its ground in the country day by day.

The Government of India came out with its very first Internet of things policy document in the earlier part of this year. According to the document, the government plans on creating a $15 billion internet of things market in the country by next five years (2020). The initial steps towards the fulfillment of this plan have already been taken both in the private and public sector.

The term ‘internet of things’ (IoT) is basically used to describe a world in which sensors are put on machines and then the resulting data from these sensors is used to track and improve their performance.

The objectives of the draft IoT policy document by the Department of Electronics and Information are as follows:

1) To create an IoT industry in India of USD 15 billion by 2020. It has been assumed that India would have a share of 5-6% of global IoT industry.

2) To undertake capacity development (Human and Technology) for IoT specific skill sets for domestic and international markets.

3) To undertake Research and development for all the assisting technologies.

4) To develop IoT products specific to Indian needs in all possible domains.

Tata Motors, which is the largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in India, has already started putting sensors into its trucks. The company has also come up with a service model which will help owners having large fleet of trucks get a better insight into the functioning and usage of their vehicles and even predict any potential breakdown. Tata has a large and efficient analytics team that will crunch the data from the vehicles and then present it to its customers.

“You can monitor driver behavior or fuel theft- so while the fuel level is constantly being monitored, any sudden move up or down is tracked. Sudden breaking can also be detected, so you can build algorithms inside the black box in the vehicle or you can build that as part of your system, which makes sense of this data”, said Jagdish Belwal, chief information officer, Tata Motors in a statement to the Economic Times.

Tripda, A Ride-Sharing Marketplace Enters India

US-based ride-sharing marketplace Tripda has entered India as its new consumer ground. Tripda is a ride-sharing community for long-distance travel and a marketplace connecting drivers and passengers. Tripda is backed by Rocket Internet. Tripda has launched it services in India with online address - Tripda.in.

According to the Tripda website, passengers can create accounts through their Facebook ID to Tripda's website. Afterwards, they enter their pickup location, destination, and date of departure. Drivers, meanwhile, must register their vehicle with Tripda by providing the company with its brand, model, number of seats available and level of comfort. Tripda then matches drivers and passengers looking to travel on the same route, and sets a suggested price for drivers to charge each passenger. Once the ride is completed, drivers and passengers can rate one another.

Tripda will operate in India through its headquarter office in Gurgaon, a city near to Delhi.

Tripda operates through its website and mobile app (iOS & Android) where anyone can post a ride and then carpool irrespective of their location. In India, Tripda will operate initially in Delhi, Mumbai/Pune and Bangalore although anyone outside these cities can use the service as well such as Nagpur or Gurgaon.

Additionally, in India tripda also offer the 'Ladies Only' option to make female drivers and passengers feel more comfortable and safe. If you’re a female driver or even passenger and want to offer a ride to other females only or looking for a trip only with females in the car you will find the option 'Ladies Only' when you create a trip. When you select this option, only females will accompany you for ride.

In India, Tripda will be competing with Ola Cabs and Uber who are already competing with each other in highly competitive cab market of India. Founded by four co-founders Adi Vaxman, Pedro Meduna, Joe McFarlane and Eduardo Prota, Tripda operates in ten countries including the US and India.

Tripda is similar to the French venture BlaBlaCar which recently raised $100 million from venture capital firms Index Ventures, Accel Partners among others. BlaBlaCar plans to use its funding to grow its business and expand to markets like Turkey, Brazil and India.

India is fourth country in south-east asian region as in September Tripda had already launched its services in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Toshiba Glass Is Another Google Glass-Like Wearable But More Affordable

Toshiba is all set to enter the smart glasses market. Owning a smart glass that lets you interact with your phone has been almost everyone’s secret dream but the only thing holding us back in fulfilling our dream has been its humongous price. Toshiba, it seems, has taken a note of this problem and come up with Toshiba glass, which is rumored to be much cheaper than the market leader Google glass.

The $1500 Google glass which is currently leading the wearable face computer space works by putting the guts of your Android Smartphone on your head so that it can project pictures, graphics, texts and videos etc. on a small prism just above the users eye.

Toshiba has showcased a prototype of the Toshiba Glass at the Ceatec trade show that was held in Japan in October this year. The Toshiba glass will have a tiny lightweight projector clipped onto one of its arms near the lens. The projector is central to the working of the glass as it displays an image that reflects off the inside of the lens to provide an augmented real type display. Toshiba glasses can be expected to hit the markets anytime in 2015.

Toshiba glass might not able to edge Google glass out of the market but it will surely give it a run for its money. The Toshiba glass works on almost the same principle as the Google glass, as both of them have in-built projectors but unlike the Google glass, the Smart glass by Toshiba don’t come with a prism over the lens to reflect the image into the eye. Instead, the glasses lens in Toshiba glass itself comprises of a series of narrow, vertical prisms. They are not at all visible when one looks straight through the lens of the device, but an image from an angle gets reflected back into the eye.



The Toshiba glass is impressive but it is still a several miles away from its competitor Google glass.  First of all, the glasses are not wireless and needs to be connected to your Smartphone in order to function. According to Toshiba, this is because a separate battery for the projector would have made the glasses very heavy. Wearing a device with a cable connected to it 24/7 can act as a huge deal breaker for the Toshiba product. The second reason where Toshiba glass fails is that it isn’t a full blown computer. It works just as a display system that connects to your Android phone.

The glasses let the user interact with smartphone apps in a way that they might have only imagined but never thought would be possible. For example, you could get directions while driving, view health data while using fitness apps and view instructions while working in the field.

The Toshiba Glass will offer three types of frames-sporty, standard and industrial. The industrial frames will be like the goggles that one wears in a laboratory.

Toshiba Glass Is Another Google Glass-Like Wearable But More Affordable

Toshiba is all set to enter the smart glasses market. Owning a smart glass that lets you interact with your phone has been almost everyone’s secret dream but the only thing holding us back in fulfilling our dream has been its humongous price. Toshiba, it seems, has taken a note of this problem and come up with Toshiba glass, which is rumored to be much cheaper than the market leader Google glass.

The $1500 Google glass which is currently leading the wearable face computer space works by putting the guts of your Android Smartphone on your head so that it can project pictures, graphics, texts and videos etc. on a small prism just above the users eye.

Toshiba has showcased a prototype of the Toshiba Glass at the Ceatec trade show that was held in Japan in October this year. The Toshiba glass will have a tiny lightweight projector clipped onto one of its arms near the lens. The projector is central to the working of the glass as it displays an image that reflects off the inside of the lens to provide an augmented real type display. Toshiba glasses can be expected to hit the markets anytime in 2015.

Toshiba glass might not able to edge Google glass out of the market but it will surely give it a run for its money. The Toshiba glass works on almost the same principle as the Google glass, as both of them have in-built projectors but unlike the Google glass, the Smart glass by Toshiba don’t come with a prism over the lens to reflect the image into the eye. Instead, the glasses lens in Toshiba glass itself comprises of a series of narrow, vertical prisms. They are not at all visible when one looks straight through the lens of the device, but an image from an angle gets reflected back into the eye.



The Toshiba glass is impressive but it is still a several miles away from its competitor Google glass.  First of all, the glasses are not wireless and needs to be connected to your Smartphone in order to function. According to Toshiba, this is because a separate battery for the projector would have made the glasses very heavy. Wearing a device with a cable connected to it 24/7 can act as a huge deal breaker for the Toshiba product. The second reason where Toshiba glass fails is that it isn’t a full blown computer. It works just as a display system that connects to your Android phone.

The glasses let the user interact with smartphone apps in a way that they might have only imagined but never thought would be possible. For example, you could get directions while driving, view health data while using fitness apps and view instructions while working in the field.

The Toshiba Glass will offer three types of frames-sporty, standard and industrial. The industrial frames will be like the goggles that one wears in a laboratory.

Man Ordered Pen Drive Thrice From Flipkart Got Empty Boxes All Three Times

Are you a huge fan of online shopping? Well, this article might end up changing that forever.

Online shopping has become a rage nowadays. The range of products it offers, competitive pricing and quick delivery makes it all more attractive for the consumers. Nowadays whether you want a Smartphone or a small thing as a facewash, you can get it all delivered to your doorstep enjoying the comfort of your house. But what if one day you order a pen-drive and what gets delivered to you is an empty box, yes an E-M-P-T-Y Box. Sounds unbelievable? Ask Adarsh Anandan from Mysore about it and he will narrate you an ordeal that will change your views about online shopping forever.

When Mysore's Adarsh Anandan ordered a pen-drive from the e-commerce giant Flipkart's website, little he would have thought that a thing as small as a Rs.550 pen-drive will make his life so miserable.  In the past, there have been instance where online retailers have sent soaps, bricks or some lose papers instead of the real product that the customers ordered but Flipkart went a step ahead and gave this man an empty box, not once, not twice but thrice. Yes, you read it right, three times. This man was treated by an empty box instead of a pen-drive by the ecommerce giant Flipkart.

The first time that he ordered the product, its delivery took like forever but Anandan must have thought his wait will reap him sweet benefits but little did he knew what would be delivered to him would be an empty box of perfectly wrapped air. He took this issue to Flipkart and the ecommerce giant known for addressing its customer grievances promptly assured him with the delivery of a fresh product along with a monetary compensation of Rs. 55 with it. The second time the product arrived, Anandan wasn’t at home and his mother took the parcel on his behalf but when Anandan returned and opened the box, he was treated with shock again as the box was empty for the second time. But, this time when he took the matter to Flipkart, they refused to accept that there was any mistake on their part and in fact they indirectly suggested that Anandan must have kept the pen-drive and was creating a ruckus for no reason.

Frustrated by his experience, Anandan decided to place a fresh order for the product so that he can at least have the product that he has gone so much trouble for but this time he decided to video record the delivery. When the package arrived, Anandan received the ultimate shock as the box was empty for the third time but this time he had a video proof to prove his claims.



Here is the first person account of Mr. Anandan's ordeal:

When I ordered a simple pen-drive from Flipkart, I never thought that it would take them forever to deliver it, and a simple purchase will turn into a never ending nightmare.

On 24th October 2014 I placed the order but got an empty box delivered to my house. I took up the issue with Flipkart and they assured me a monetary compensation of Rs. 55 with the product. I asked for an apology letter with the product, however ever I never got one. I thought that it's only human to err, but was in for a shock when I was sent another empty box. I was not at home and my mother took the order.

I was furious and once again I took up the matter with Flipkart. This time they didn't accept that the fault was on their part, on the contrary, they indirectly started suggesting that maybe I have kept the pen-drive and making a ruckus just for no reason. They had my money and were not ready to resend the product.

Already having spent so much time and energy on this I thought that I should rather have the product now, so I placed a fresh order.

After receiving empty boxes the first two time, I thought that it will be a good idea to video record the order delivery and open it in front of them.

So when the package arrived I got one of the delivery guys to open the box for me. Since the product was Cash on Delivery I had to pay first to get the box opened. And for the third time I was stunned to see an empty box.

I am not looking for compensation, I have come out with this video proof because I want such Online Shopping stores to realise and repent their mistake, and stop taking the customers for granted.

When this issue was raised on a Facebook Page, Flipkart did replied and below is Flipkart's response :



Earlier Flipkart was criticized for its Big Billion Day Sale in October  this year when prices were deliberately hiked and then given discounts which was still higher even after discounts. Although, next day Flipkart did apologized and gave their part of stories and clarifications.

Man Ordered Pen Drive Thrice From Flipkart Got Empty Boxes All Three Times

Are you a huge fan of online shopping? Well, this article might end up changing that forever.

Online shopping has become a rage nowadays. The range of products it offers, competitive pricing and quick delivery makes it all more attractive for the consumers. Nowadays whether you want a Smartphone or a small thing as a facewash, you can get it all delivered to your doorstep enjoying the comfort of your house. But what if one day you order a pen-drive and what gets delivered to you is an empty box, yes an E-M-P-T-Y Box. Sounds unbelievable? Ask Adarsh Anandan from Mysore about it and he will narrate you an ordeal that will change your views about online shopping forever.

When Mysore's Adarsh Anandan ordered a pen-drive from the e-commerce giant Flipkart's website, little he would have thought that a thing as small as a Rs.550 pen-drive will make his life so miserable.  In the past, there have been instance where online retailers have sent soaps, bricks or some lose papers instead of the real product that the customers ordered but Flipkart went a step ahead and gave this man an empty box, not once, not twice but thrice. Yes, you read it right, three times. This man was treated by an empty box instead of a pen-drive by the ecommerce giant Flipkart.

The first time that he ordered the product, its delivery took like forever but Anandan must have thought his wait will reap him sweet benefits but little did he knew what would be delivered to him would be an empty box of perfectly wrapped air. He took this issue to Flipkart and the ecommerce giant known for addressing its customer grievances promptly assured him with the delivery of a fresh product along with a monetary compensation of Rs. 55 with it. The second time the product arrived, Anandan wasn’t at home and his mother took the parcel on his behalf but when Anandan returned and opened the box, he was treated with shock again as the box was empty for the second time. But, this time when he took the matter to Flipkart, they refused to accept that there was any mistake on their part and in fact they indirectly suggested that Anandan must have kept the pen-drive and was creating a ruckus for no reason.

Frustrated by his experience, Anandan decided to place a fresh order for the product so that he can at least have the product that he has gone so much trouble for but this time he decided to video record the delivery. When the package arrived, Anandan received the ultimate shock as the box was empty for the third time but this time he had a video proof to prove his claims.



Here is the first person account of Mr. Anandan's ordeal:

When I ordered a simple pen-drive from Flipkart, I never thought that it would take them forever to deliver it, and a simple purchase will turn into a never ending nightmare.

On 24th October 2014 I placed the order but got an empty box delivered to my house. I took up the issue with Flipkart and they assured me a monetary compensation of Rs. 55 with the product. I asked for an apology letter with the product, however ever I never got one. I thought that it's only human to err, but was in for a shock when I was sent another empty box. I was not at home and my mother took the order.

I was furious and once again I took up the matter with Flipkart. This time they didn't accept that the fault was on their part, on the contrary, they indirectly started suggesting that maybe I have kept the pen-drive and making a ruckus just for no reason. They had my money and were not ready to resend the product.

Already having spent so much time and energy on this I thought that I should rather have the product now, so I placed a fresh order.

After receiving empty boxes the first two time, I thought that it will be a good idea to video record the order delivery and open it in front of them.

So when the package arrived I got one of the delivery guys to open the box for me. Since the product was Cash on Delivery I had to pay first to get the box opened. And for the third time I was stunned to see an empty box.

I am not looking for compensation, I have come out with this video proof because I want such Online Shopping stores to realise and repent their mistake, and stop taking the customers for granted.

When this issue was raised on a Facebook Page, Flipkart did replied and below is Flipkart's response :



Earlier Flipkart was criticized for its Big Billion Day Sale in October  this year when prices were deliberately hiked and then given discounts which was still higher even after discounts. Although, next day Flipkart did apologized and gave their part of stories and clarifications.

Shout App Gives You A Free Social Network For You, Your Neighbors And Your City

Shout App is a locality based social app which was launched as an android app across the globe in April, 2014. A Bangalore based company; Shout App is at a very initial stage and is currently in bootstrapping mode. The team is led by 4 Co-founders, who wish to remain anonymous for the time being, 3 are IIM pass out and the other co-founder is the UX and designer of this app.

One of the Co-founders says "The idea was to connect people living in same locality. It was during our various conversations related to problems people face in day to day life; we realized there is a huge barrier when it comes to reaching out to ask help. We felt there has to be a platform where you can just come and express yourself. And that lead to Shout App, an app which helps you to express out loud, ask, share, discover."

Alter Ego Shout is an anonymous social network feature of Shout App that allows people to express themselves, connect with like-minded individuals, and discover the unseen world around us. With Alter Ego, you can anonymously share your thoughts and emotions with the world, and form lasting and meaningful relationships in a community built around trust and honesty. If you have ever had something too intimate to share on traditional social networks, simply share it on Alter Ego!

"The idea of Alter Ego came up during our many user meetings. People had concerns what if they get caught while reporting a crime, or bribery. It was a very genuine request, but we decided to solve problem from a different perspective. Our app is inspired from daily life, even options like Echo; Shut up etc. derive from our day to life. After thorough discussion, we realized that each one of us have an Alter Ego, the one which is out in public display. Alter Ego helps to vent out your feelings, without getting judged. And the response which it received is phenomenal." clarifies one of the co-founder of app.



"Today, app market is very competitive but I don't think it is a stopping force in anyway. If you believe in an idea, then that in itself becomes a motivation. We started with a simple aim to bring people in a region/locality together. In fact, when we were discussing idea with users, people appreciated it but said, this idea will not work in India. People in general believe that we Indians don’t like helping others. We took up this as a challenge, and built a platform where people can come and interact. And today people are helping each other on portal. Hence this whole idea to develop ‘help culture’ in our country is been constant source of motivation for all." says one of other co-founders on asking what prompted them to start this venture.

The main difference comes from the fact that they are focused on developing this community, by taking one step at a time, because of the firm belief that helping build this community where no shout would go unanswered. This is something which will help them establish a help culture within all of us. Once the user is on board, it’s the experience which he gets from the product that would want him to come back to use it again.

With a team of 5 members, all based out of Bangalore, Shout App uses robust native graph database. Currently on bootstrap mode, the company is focussing to incorporate user feedbacks to improve the product. They would also definitely expand to other major cities in near future. Also, they are looking for experts in these fields who can mentor them, and help them to take the product to next level.

Being apprehensive about a noble social cause, the team at Shout App needs all of ours’ backing. Do go through their app link to be more informed about their product.

RailYatri Got Rs.3 Crore Funding From Blume Ventures

Noida based Stelling Technologies which owns and operates web and mobile app RailYatri.in has got funding from a funding round led by Blume Ventures and an unnamed US-based angel investor. The joint investment believed to be around Rs.30 crore.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Notably, this is the first round of institutional funding raised by the startup. The funds raised from latest round will be used to fuel the growth of the company's technology platform as well as for marketing initiatives.

RailYatri, had earlier raised an undisclosed amount from Ujama Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based angel investment firm. Started in 2011, Stelling Technologies is venture funded jointly from Ujama Ventures and R3S Ventures.

Founded by Manish Rathi, Kapil Raizada and Sachin Saxena in 2011, RailYatri is a Web and mobile-based tool that provides consumers with all rail travel-related information, including, live train status, platform locator and seat availability.

In the past, RailYatri.in is has worked with Indian Railways to power their National Train Enquiry System (NTES) and enable them to distribute train related running information through their portal at TrainEnquiry.com which provides train running information to the passengers.

"We raise funds to capitalise on the demand of our product, and accelerate the pace of product innovation. The idea is to make RailYatri.in the best platform for train travelers to plan their journey, train-related search, social sharing and commerce," said Manish Rathi, Co-founder & chief executive, RailYatri.in.

RailYatri is one stop shop for train travelers, thus its monetisation model is based on taxi bookings and allowing customers to order food on the go. It has tie-ups with taxi services firms across 30 cities and food vendors across 300 stations.

Blume Ventures is a leading early-stage seed & pre-series A venture fund based out of Mumbai, India and provides seed funding in the range of $50K – $300K to early-stage tech-focused and tech-enabled ventures.

Flipkart Founders Invests In Gaming Startup MadRat Games

Flipkart founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, have made an investment in a Bangalore-based offline games start-up MadRat Games. The startups raised about $1 million in this funding round, the other investors who have participated in the funding round includes founders of IT outsourcing firm GlobalLogic - Rajul Garg, Sanjay Singh, Manoj Agarwala and Tarun Upadhyay. Its existing investors Blume Ventures and First Light Ventures did not participate in this round.

Madrat Games will use the funds for branding, marketing and expansion. The startup use to sell its products through online sites such as Flipkart and Amazon, but these portals contribute only about 5% to its sales. Primarily, MadRat was selling through 2,000 brick & mortor stores and will now focus on retailing through 50 stores.

MadRat Games was started in 2010 by 3 IIT graduates - Rajat Dhariwal, Manuj Dhariwal and Madhumita Haider. The startup started out by launching a Hindi word game Aksharit after that launched over 70 board games, puzzles and toys. Three months back the startup got accolades when it launched Autista, an app that helps kids with Autism disease.

The startup had turnover of Rs 3 crore last fiscal. The market is large, with the Indian toy industry expected to expand to Rs 13,000 crore in 2015, according to a report by industry body Assocham.

"Innovation is at the core of MadRat's approach to disrupt the market and led by a team of very talented individuals they enjoy a strong competitive advantage in the industry," said Sachin Bansal, chief executive of Flipkart.

MadRat plans to launch its own experience store in Bangalore soon and use customer data from the retail stores for future marketing and product design.

Interview With Co-Founder of DesiDime, India's Largest Online Shopping Community

Based out of Mumbai and founded in 2010 by Mr Jimish Jobanputra and Mr Mehul Jobanputra, DesiDime claims to be India's largest online shopping community are among the top 200 websites in India with about 70K people visiting the website on a daily basis.

DesiDime.com is providing shoppers a platform not only to discover great bargain via deals, coupons and price comparison but also helping them interact with other users to discuss their shopping decisions by creating the biggest shopping community in India.

However there are plenty of coupon/deal website so how DesiDime doing things differently and how the startup manage to differentiate itself with the crod, having these questions in ming we got a chance to ask few questions to Mehul Jobanputra, CEO and Cofounder of DesiDime and below are the responses.

1). What is the source of Idea for creating DesiDime.com ?
Ans: My Cofounder Jimish while in US observed that there were shopping communities which were helping users in making a shopping decision and these where very vibrant in terms of the discussions happening. When he looked closely he found that in India there where communities for car, travel, education but there was no such community for online shopping which could be compared to our international counterparts. That is when we decided to start desidime.com. Also the Indian ecommerce industry was at a very nascent stage so we decided it was a perfect time to start DesiDime

2). What (and Whose) problem are you solving and who are your end-users ?
Ans: We are providing shoppers a platform not only to discover great bargain via deals, coupons and price comparison but also helping them interact with other users to discuss their shopping decisions by creating the biggest shopping community in India.

3). How do you differentiate from your competitors like Cashkaro, Coupondunia etc. ?
Ans: One thing which differentiates DesiDime.com from players like Cashkaro.com, Coupondunia.com is that we not only have deals and coupons listed on our forum but we also have one of the largest forum where shoppers interact with each other. We have nearly 1.6 million user comments till date right from our inception since 2010. We also have a price comparison feature on our website.

4). What makes your industry noteworthy?
Ans:
1. We contribute nearly 10% to 15% of traffic to various e-commerce sites
2. None of the e-commerce players is profitable whereas in our industry couple of players like we have registered growth and profit year on year. What is more astonishing is that this feat has been achieved even without funding.

5). What makes DesiDime.com one of the industry spokesperson in deals and coupons industry?
Ans:
1. We have the largest online forum in the deals and coupons industry with about 1.6 million post submitted till date.
2. We have been bootstrapped for last 4 years but still have registered profit and growth year on year.
3. We have helped online shoppers save more than Rs 300 crore in last 4 years.

6). What are you future plans ?
Ans: We intend to continuously add more features to DesiDime.com like the price comparison feature added recently. Our future plan is to be among the top 100 websites in India.

7). One of piece of advice to budding entrepreneur
Ans: "Stay Hungry Stay Foolish" one of my friends had suggested this Steve jobs quote while I was starting my first venture DesiDime.com is the best advice I have ever got.
Thanks

This Startup Made World's First HoverBoard (Skateboard that hover)

Skateboarding is fun. What if, skateboarding went airborne, won’t that just be amazing? Well, a startup named Hendo is working towards just that. Soon, you could be the proud owner of the first real and commercially marketed hoverboard that will float about an inch off the ground using magnetics.

The engineering team of Hendo has been working hard on the hoverboard for quite some time and this is their eighteenth prototype. They continue to make advances in its design week after week. The enabling technologies for the product have existed for a longtime but no one made any efforts to align them until Hendo took the task at hand. The Hoverboard works in whatever way you could ever imagine but it still requires a little more resources and time to become perfect to the T.

The hoverboard has four disc-shaped hover engines and this is where all the magic lies. These engines are responsible for inducing an opposite magnetic field in the surface substrate below that provides lift and levitates the board off the ground.



The board has been designed to be self-propelled, however, the actions which stabilize the board can be used to drive it forward by altering the projected force on the surface underneath it. The surface substrate currently needs to be a non-ferromagnetic conductor in order for the hoverboard to function properly. Hendo is currently making use of commonly available metals in simple sheets, but it is simultaneously working on new configurations and new compounds so that it can minimize the costs and maximize the technology involved.

The hoverboard comes power packed with a lot of features to provide you with one of the best experiences in your lives. Its high performance, sleek and modern design gives way for a supercharged performance. It provides effortless glide which is smoother than any ride on the wheels. Safety is of prime importance and keeping that in mind, the hoverboard has numerous integrated safeguards, from automatic power down to an interference-free ride surface.

Since the current technology of the hoverboard requires special types of surfaces to function, Hendo, therefore, is currently also in the midst of designing a hoverpark to go with their hoverboards.

"This is not the end, this is just the beginning of where this technology can go", said Greg Henderson, founder, Hendo and the man behind hoverboard.

This Startup Made World's First HoverBoard (Skateboard that hover)

Skateboarding is fun. What if, skateboarding went airborne, won’t that just be amazing? Well, a startup named Hendo is working towards just that. Soon, you could be the proud owner of the first real and commercially marketed hoverboard that will float about an inch off the ground using magnetics.

The engineering team of Hendo has been working hard on the hoverboard for quite some time and this is their eighteenth prototype. They continue to make advances in its design week after week. The enabling technologies for the product have existed for a longtime but no one made any efforts to align them until Hendo took the task at hand. The Hoverboard works in whatever way you could ever imagine but it still requires a little more resources and time to become perfect to the T.

The hoverboard has four disc-shaped hover engines and this is where all the magic lies. These engines are responsible for inducing an opposite magnetic field in the surface substrate below that provides lift and levitates the board off the ground.



The board has been designed to be self-propelled, however, the actions which stabilize the board can be used to drive it forward by altering the projected force on the surface underneath it. The surface substrate currently needs to be a non-ferromagnetic conductor in order for the hoverboard to function properly. Hendo is currently making use of commonly available metals in simple sheets, but it is simultaneously working on new configurations and new compounds so that it can minimize the costs and maximize the technology involved.

The hoverboard comes power packed with a lot of features to provide you with one of the best experiences in your lives. Its high performance, sleek and modern design gives way for a supercharged performance. It provides effortless glide which is smoother than any ride on the wheels. Safety is of prime importance and keeping that in mind, the hoverboard has numerous integrated safeguards, from automatic power down to an interference-free ride surface.

Since the current technology of the hoverboard requires special types of surfaces to function, Hendo, therefore, is currently also in the midst of designing a hoverpark to go with their hoverboards.

"This is not the end, this is just the beginning of where this technology can go", said Greg Henderson, founder, Hendo and the man behind hoverboard.

How BookCab Is Tapping Outstation Car Rental Market in India

Bookcab.in is a leading Car Rental Aggregator that specializes in Outstation Car Rental across India. Established in the year 2011 in Bangalore, Bookcab.in focuses entirely on outstation travel. Currently operating in 100 cities with a reach in all major markets like Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai, the company has managed to serve over 1 lakh customers within three and a half years of establishment. Their working philosophy of customer focus, reliable service and transparent pricing has made it the peoples' first choice in the Indian car rental space. It provides a hassle free avenue for the customers who wish to rent cars/vans for any and all travel needs. The customers can book any of the available vehicles in few easy steps without having to deal or negotiate with travel agencies or operators.

Prior to starting this company, Ashish Kumar (Director, Bookcab.in) worked in Wipro for close to four years. He completed his B.Tech from Andhra University and then went on to do masters in Management of Information systems from London school of Economics.

Ashish says, "Way back in 2011 and even today, there are hardly any car rental companies that provide quality and reliable service. There was no single reliable car rental company that could provide quality service across cities. That's when we decided to venture into this industry. The online market was picking up. More and more customers were booking trains, flights and buses online. That was the right time to bring a platform to book taxis across India. There were similar platforms in the west but not in India. Also, currently there are many players in the radio taxi segment. But the outstation taxi segment is still untapped. There are very few that offer the kind of service that a customer deserves. Bookcab.in provides a platform to search between different car rental options by comparing fares, cab operators and vehicles, so that you can make an informed and intelligent decision."

He also explains on how their venture is different from their competitors saying "We focus entirely on outstation travel and we ensure that all systems and processes are in place to provide our customers with a happy travelling experience. Every cab and every driver is closely profiled to guarantee a pleasant experience for our customers."

The company has been approached by some of the largest meta search engines for the inventory but is still working on this aspect. If all goes well, people from across the globe can have access to the remotest location in India through their website.

Currently based out of Bangalore with ten employees, Bookcab.in plans to expand into 200 cities by March 2015, wanting to provide access of the inventory to all the travel agents across the world. They also intent on opening up the technology that they use to all the car rental operators across India, acting as a technology enabler for the operators and help them to drive more business and give quality service to their customers. The company has been angel funded by Shravan Gupta of Travel tours and Anil Sivadas of Enventure technologies.

On recalling the struggles during the initial stages, Ashish says "The first three months were extremely slow. We had the product ready but did not have a strategy on customer acquisition. It took us close to six months to get the marketing strategy in place. Also, the question 'Are we doing the right thing' kept coming back to us over and over again but we didn't want to step away from our dream and kept working towards our goal. Our team has some self-motivating wonderful people who have stuck together."

With the biggest challenge being changing the mindsets of their partners and drivers as it is difficult to make them understand about the importance of customer service, Bookcab.in have been constantly trying to ensure that their customers are happy with them. We wish them all the luck they need in this journey.

Housing.com Valued At ~$250 Million After Softbank's $70 Million Investment

Mumbai based online real estate startup Housing.com valued at about $250 million (Rs 1,500 crore) with Soft-Bank acquiring a 30 percent stake for its investment of $70 million. Earlier in June this year Housing.com has raised $2.5 Million funding from Nexus Venture of which almost $1 million was used to buy the Housing.com domain name.

The sources said it is a 'pre-money' valuation, denoting that the worth of the company was arrived at before Soft-Bank's investment. 'Post money', which is after the investment round closes, the valuation would be substantially higher, they said. SoftBank and Housing. com did not reply to email queries on the development.

Japan's SoftBank has made its third investment in India in less than a month by leading a funding round of $100 million (Rs 610 crore) in realty portal Housing.com.

Other investors in this round for Housing include hedge fund Falcon Edge, Russian billionaire Yuri Milner's DST Global and the existing investors including Helion Venture Partners, Nexus Venture Partners and Qualcomm Ventures.

The funds raised by Housing.com will be used by the startup to expand operations, build new technology, increase hiring and marketing spend.

Housing.com was launched two years ago by a team of engineers from IIT-Bombay namely Rahul Yadav & Advitya Sharma and 10 more people. Short of cash and with no job in hand, the youthful team with an average age of 22 years started approaching investors in 2012. One of their first investors, former Network18 Group CEO Haresh Chawla, invited all 12 founders to dinner at his home in 2012. He loved the startup idea so much that he immediately committed to invest Rs 1.5 crore in Housing.com team.

Housing.com started with a brokerage model but the team soon realized that business needed a lot of local knowledge so they soon pivoted to a marketplace model in December 2012.

So far, SoftBank has invested $627 million (Rs 3,800 crore) in Snapdeal last month and $210 million in online cab booking service Ola, the latest deal makes it the single-largest investor in Indian startups. Softbank's ace executives in their last visit, in an official announcement, had already announced that SoftBank aims to invest $10 billion in India.