Enterprisers.in

Ratan Tata, the one-man venture fund capitalist, has invested in a total of 22 start-ups till now. The former Chairman of Tata Sons, who retired from the company in 2012, still remains its chairman emeritus.

Here are the things you must know about Tata’s spate of investments:

Tata started investing in start-ups in 2014 and in over two years has invested in as many as 22 start-ups till date.
Within a month of start of the year 2016, Tata has invested in four companies, namely cashback and coupons site CashKaro, Tracxn, Dogspot and baby care platform FirstCry.
In 2015, Tata invested in about 14 startups, including UrbanClap, CrayonData and Paytm.
His first investment was in a US-based wind energy start-up Altaeros in 2014.
Snapdeal was the first Indian start-up in which Tata invested in.
The investments by Ratan Tata are valued by the start-ups not for its monetary value but more for the brand name and recognition it brings along with it. It is seen more as a stamp of approval to the business model of the start-up by the industry veteran.
The amounts of investment in the start-ups have mostly been discreet but are said to be relatively small amounts.
Most of the investments by Tata have been in the digital and e-tailing space. From furniture curator Urban Ladder, jewellery online retailer Bluestone, car comparing and selling portal Cardekho, PayTM, women’s clothing portal Karyaah to Sabeer Bhatia’s communication company Sabse technologies and bitcoin company Abra, clearly substantiate Tata’s faith in the growth of technology and online space.
Investments in the social sector: With Tata Group known for its philanthropy efforts, he invested Rs 2 crore in Swasth Bharat, a venture for healthcare facilities for the poor. He also invested undisclosed amount in Grameen Captial’s debt fund.
Other major investments: The only smartphone company to get investment from Tata turned out to be Chinese handset maker Xiaomi. Amongst the various taxi aggregators, Tata chose Bhavish Aggarwal-run Ola to invest in.
http://www.businesstoday.in/buzztop/buzztop-corporate/10-points-on-tata-sons-ratan-tata-spate-of-investments-in-startups/story/228415.html

Motivations, Startups

Startup India scheme

19/01/201612/03/2017 yazdi

The benefits for startup India includes self-certification and a three-year exemption from inspections, an online portal and mobile app, an 80% in the patent application fee and a single-point hub for hand-holding

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched the “Start-Up India Action Plan” that aims to enable an eco-system to promote and nurse entrepreneurship across the country. What exactly is the plan and the details of the scheme?

So what exactly is Startup India?
Startup India in an action plan to develop an ecosystem to promote and nurture entrepreneurship across the country. This is based on an action plan aimed at promoting bank financing for start-up ventures to boost entrepreneurship and encourage startups with jobs creation. The campaign was first announced by Prime Minister Modi in his 15 August 2015 address from the Red Fort.

What is a startup?
A startup is an entity, private, partnership or limited liability partnership (LLP) firm that is headquartered in India, which was opened less than five years ago and have an annual turnover less than Rs25 crore. To be eligible for considering as startup, the entity should not be formed by splitting up or reconstruction and its turnover should not have crossed Rs25 crore during its existence.

What are the advantages?
Under the Scheme, no inspection would be carried out on start-ups for three years regarding labour laws. In addition, environment law compliance is required only post-self certification.

Are there financial benefits?
In patent costs, the startups can claim an 80% rebate. That means, if a startup applies for a patent, the government will fund the defence of the patent, and give rebate of 80% in the fees. The government will also pay fees of the facilitator for helping the startup obtain the patent. Faster patent registration and protection for Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) is provided under the Scheme. Patent filing procedures to be simplified. Significant reduction in fees for filing Patents.

What are the advantages for startups regarding registration?
The government is launching a mobile app on 1 April 2016 and a portal that will allow companies to register in a day. In addition, there would be a single point of contact for Start-up India hub. In addition, there will be single window clearance for clearances, approvals, and registrations.

What is the government’s role in boosting start ups?
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) and the Department of Science and Technology have agreed to partner in an initiative to set up over 75 startup support hubs in the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) and National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs).

What are the special benefits for startups in public procurement?
Startups in the manufacturing sector are exempted from the criteria of prior ‘experience/ turnover’ without any relaxation in quality standards or technical parameters in public procurement (by government).

How much funding is available for this scheme?
Rs10,000-crore fund for new enterprises, equal opportunity in government procurement, a Rs500-crore credit guarantee scheme and easier exit norms. Japanese Softbank, which had already invested $2 billion in Indian startups, has pledged total investments of $10 billion.

What are benefits under the provision on Income Tax?
Under the Scheme, Income Tax exemption is available for first three years. However, the startup will be eligible for tax benefits only after obtaining certificate from the Inter-Ministerial Board, setup for this purpose.

Is there any exemption in capital gains tax?
Yes. If the money is invested in fund of funds recognised by the government, the investor can claim capital gains tax exemptions. In addition, existing capital gain tax exemption for investment in newly formed MSMEs by individuals shall be extended to all startups.

What is the eligibility for startups?
To become eligible as a startup and get a green signal from the Inter-Ministerial Board, the entity should be the one which aims to develop and commercialise, a new product or service or process or a significantly improved existing product or service or process that will create or add value for customers or workflow. Products, services or process, which do not have potential for commercialisation or is undifferentiated or have no or limited incremental value will not be considered under the Scheme. To be considered as eligible as startup the entity, should be supported by
a recommendation (with regard to innovative nature of business), in a format specified by DIPP, from an Incubator established in a post-graduate college in India an incubator, which is funded (in relation to the project) from GoI as part of any specified scheme to promote innovation a recommendation (with regard to innovative nature of business), in a format specified by DIPP, from an Incubator recognized by GoI or be funded by an Incubation Fund/ Angel Fund/ Private Equity Fund/ Accelerator/Angel Network duly registered with SEBI that endorses innovative nature of the business or be funded by GoI as part of any specified scheme to promote innovation or have a patent granted by the Indian Patent and Trademark Office in areas affiliated with the nature of business being promoted.

http://drugguardians.com/devices/gm-ignition-switch/

http://www.moneylife.in/article/all-you-wanted-to-know-about-startup-india-scheme/45034.html

Mentoring, Motivations

Microsoft Interested in Working With Indian Entrepreneurs: Nadella

28/12/201528/12/2015 yazdi

Microsoft is interested in working with entrepreneurs on building last mile technological connectivity with India’s rural areas, CEO Satya Nadella said on Monday.

Addressing a gathering at T-Hub, a technological incubator promoted by the Telangana government, Nadella advised the start-up community to learn from the failures.

“Whatever technology you use, like white space technology, it is important to get the last mile connectivity to rural areas. We are interested to work with entrepreneurs in that space. The idea should have marketability,” he said.

Microsoft recently launched a pilot project in Kenya to deliver low-cost, high-speed wireless broadband and create new opportunities for commerce, education, healthcare, and delivery of government services across the African country.

It is the first deployment of solar power-based stations together with TV white spaces, a technology partially developed by Microsoft Research, to deliver high-speed Internet access to areas currently lacking even basic electricity, Microsoft had said.

Nadella said people celebrate failures only when they learn lessons from them and correct mistakes.

“Failure plays an important role as it gives an opportunity to learn from it. Celebration of failure comes only when we learn lessons from it,” he was quoted as saying by a government official in an interactive session where media was not allowed.

Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka, Nasscom Chairman B V R Mohan Reddy and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories CEO G V Prasad were also present during Nadella’s visit at the T-Hub.

T-Hub is a technology incubator with collaborative efforts from Indian School of Business (ISB), International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-Hyderabad) and NALSAR University of Law besides various other organisations.

An entrepreneur, who was present during the interactive session, said it was a great inspirational and thought provoking speech by Nadella who said concept, capability and culture are the mantra of success.

“When we asked about the focus of Microsoft, Nadella said they would focus more on product development rather than services,” he said, adding that entrepreneurs should come up with ideas which will have marketability.

A senior government official said Microsoft would help build a start-up ecosystem in Hyderabad.

A senior official had earlier said that Nadella was expected to unveil some government policies, like IT Policy, during his visit on Monday. However, it could not take place as the election code of conduct is in force in the state.

Nadella’s visit was kept a low profile affair as his tour was strictly personal.

Earlier in the morning, he met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the latter’s residence.

http://gadgets.ndtv.com/others/news/microsoft-interested-in-working-with-indian-entrepreneurs-nadella-783126

Innovation

Forget Wi-Fi. Meet the new Li-Fi Internet

28/12/2015 yazdi

What if we could use existing technologies to provide Internet access to the more than 4 billion people living in places where the infrastructure can’t support it? Using off-the-shelf LEDs and solar cells, Harald Haas and his team have pioneered a new technology that transmits data using light, and it may just be the key to bridging the digital divide. Take a look at what the future of the Internet could look like.

Harald Haas

Innovation

Pruthvi – the Intelligent Innovation

22/11/201530/05/2017 yazdi

A Bengaluru based startup called Saankhya Labs has cracked the code for making the Modi’s government much ambitious project ‘ Digital India’, a reality. They have recognised that in order to make the project successful, they will first have start with the country’s rural population.

In order to convert India into an Internet haven, the startup has designed a postage stamp sized chip, called Pruthvi. The tiny chip holds the potential to power a system which makes use of television’s wasted spectrum bandwidth or White Spaces— to beam internet to a number of rural households.

If successful, with Pruthvi, the Benagluru based startup might be able to beat Silicon Valley heavyweights like Facebook, Google and Microsoft.

Notably in 2013, Google, under its ambitious Project Loon, has tested giant balloons that beams Internet to earth below it which company claims could bring web-surfing to rural and remote corners of the world.

Facebook, on other hand, had recently launched Aquila – a solar powered unmanned plane that beams down internet connectivity while in the sky to provide the luxury of Internet to even the remotest of the remote parts of the world, as part of Facebook’s Internet.org effort.

Recent times have seen these big corporations launching various programs in order to boost and support the Indian government’s Digital India initiative.

Saankhya Labs has gone one step ahead of Google and Facebook by successfully developing a chip which it has named – Pruthvi. This Pruthvi-chip powered system called Meghdoot can utilise the existing TV White Space bandwidth available in the country to provide wireless broadband to remote, rural areas.

TV White Spaces is a term technically used to define the unused spectrum (50 – 860 MHz) between active TV channels that are usually used for over-the-air transmission using rooftop antennas and TV towers. In India, this is mainly done by Prasar Bharti.

According to the company, TV White Space Communications is the most preferred wireless alternative for long distance communication. A single base station can reach households that are as far away as 10km – 30km depending on antenna height.

A single 8 MHz channel can provide a data rate of 30 Mbps which can be shared by about 15 users (2 Mbps bandwidth per user) simultaneously. As the number of users increase, additional base stations with directional antennas can be used or more frequencies can be assigned. Additional bandwidth per user can be configured by software. In the future, channel bonding/aggregation techniques will be used to increase the data speed beyond 30 Mbps or to increase the number of users that can be served by one base station. The time to put up the TV White Space network is also shorter compared to other options.

(Left) Antennae with customer premises equipment(Right)SLB802ODU is a White Space Base Station Platform

Left – Antennae with customer premises equipment
Right – Saankhya White Space Base Station Platform

Since the Meghdoot product line matches the Wi-FAR standard, The company is also contemplating conducting trials in the US, the Philippines and Singapore along with a few partners.

The Meghdoot product consists of two things, a base station and a user-side modem that makes use of the TV White Space spectrum from 400 to 800MHz in order to provide Wireless Rural Broadband.

Table comparing the various wireless networks.

When choosing the best indoor tv antenna keep these things in mind. By not requiring the line-of-sight, the technology ensures longer range, and can serve up to a radius of 10-15km depending on the transmit power and antenna tower height. The range can further be increased with the help of more taller and powerful antennas. Whole Pruthvi and customer base platform has low operative cost comparing to other internet providing platform such WiFi, 3G and what has been tested by facebook or Google.

Saankhya Labs is founded in the year 2007 by Parag Naik, Hemant Mallapur and Vishwakumara Kayargadde, is currently gearing up to conduct trails all across the country. It has collaborated with esteemed Indian institutions like IIT-Hyderabad, IIT-Delhi and IIT-Bombay for the same. Further, there are also in the midst of discussions with technology giant, Microsoft to carry out field trials at Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh.

saankhya_puthvi

Technology

7 things small businesses should know about accepting mobile payments

18/11/201518/11/2015 yazdi

While mobile payments are still not nearly as commonplace as Apple and other players may have hoped, they are becoming more popular. The majority of retailers offering mobile payments are big businesses, with roughly only 32% of small to medium-sized businesses (SMB) currently using them.

But SMBs are always behind large enterprises when it comes to using technology, and for many small and local retailers it’s just a matter of time – and consumer demand – before they get on board with the budding trend.

That time should be coming sooner than later considering the soaring growth trajectory of mobile in general, which pretty much nobody can argue. What’s more, mobile payments make life a little easier for many customers who appreciate the security and convenience of the system.

If you’re looking to roll out mobile payments in your business, here’s a list of must-knows.

1. Meet the players
The emerging marketplaces is filling up with newcomers, but some of the heavy hitters in the mobile payments space right now are PayPal Here, Google Wallet, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay. There’s also Dwolla, Venmo, Stripe, LevelUp and Square Cash. It may seem like a headache to go about sorting out the differences between each company’s offering, but it’s incredibly worthwhile to do your homework. Keep in mind that while it’s tempting to go with whichever seems the most popular, consider your business’ category and needs. What works for a fancy restaurant that expects hefty payments most likely won’t work as well for a 99-cent store that deals more in smaller transactions.

2. Prepare for the cost
Are you one of those businesses that discourages costumers from paying with a credit card because of the added expense the credit card company serves you? Well, get ready for another expense! Most mobile payment companies don’t charge a monthly fee, but charge “around 3% for most cards,” said Marc Prosser, co-founder of Fit Small and Fit Biz Loans. “Some providers will discount for a monthly fee [which] is typically only a good deal if you’re doing $2k or more in mobile transactions.”

3. Update your other tech
It would be great if you could just order some hardware from Samsung, Apple, or Google and be all set with a mobile payment system, but as Steven Aldrich, SVP of business applications at GoDaddy points out, you’ll need to be sure that you have up-to-date point of sale (POS) technology that accepts credit cards and Near Field Communications, the technology that enables customers to make payments using their smartphones in your store. NFC is a household feature for smartphones nowadays – it needs to be for any business using mobile payments.

“For SMB’s who don’t already have a point of sale capable of accepting contactless payments, the next step is to contact their bank and ask them about setting it up for you,” advised Andrew Hubbard, co-founder of Gainful Media. “Most of the bigger banks in the U.S are capable of setting up contactless payments for SMBs.”

4. Hope everyone else has updated too
We’re all well aware of the proliferation of smartphones, but not all smartphones can come with mobile wallets. In fact, only models made within the past two years have them, Hubbard points out.

“This means that initially a large percentage of your customers might not be able to use it even if you support it,” Hubbard said.

5. Master the billing
A mobile pay transaction is typically quick and easy for the consumer, and ideally for you, too. But if you’re going to be filing a ton of mobile pay invoices, you’ll want to team up with an online service so that you don’t get bogged down. “Get your business up to speed with digital finances [and] make sure to use an online service that will automate your invoices,” said Aldrich. “It will simplify following up with customers and will guarantee you always stay on top of payments.”

6. How it works
As with a credit card, a mobile payment will be accepted or declined immediately upon payment. Different mobile payment systems call for different protocol from the customer. Some will require a signature or a pin entry. “This depends on the store and transaction amount,” said Hubbard. “For Apple devices, customers must scan their fingerprint on their mobile device in order to use Apple Pay.”

7. Be mindful of security risks
Digital wallets carry far less risk that physical wallets because they have more layers of security than plastic credit cards.

“In accordance with EMV chip card readers, Apple Pay and Android Pay facilitate secure transaction through tokenization, which instantly converts sensitive card holder data into indecipherable code at the point of sale. The trio of EMV, Tokenization and P2PE work together to form the proverbial “Holy Grail” of any secure payment transaction,” said Jeremy Gumbley, CTO of payment services provider Creditcall.

But security breaches can still occur. Recently, LoopPay, a mobile wallet subsidiary of Samsung Pay, was hacked into, and while the hackers appear to have only broken into the corporate network, and did not infiltrate costumer data, the incident shook the faith of many mobile payment loyalists.

Such a massive hacking can’t really be helped at a local merchant level, but Don Bush, VP of marketing at fraud and risk protection company Kount, says businesses can do their part by “talking with fraud teams to understand both the risks and rewards [of mobile pay].”

If there is an instance of fraud, [it] is treated in the same way as your current credit and debit transactions,” said Hubbard.

It’s not quite worthy of a spot on this listicle, but another thing SMBs should do is…be excited, and show that zeal to your customers. If they use it, chances are they’re feeling psyched about mobile pay, too. And research shows that the path you’re embarking on will only become more widely traveled upon.

“Our data shows that the average online and in-store transaction amounts were greater than those on mobile devices overall until the first six months of 2015, in which purchases on the iPhone ($129.94) and iPad ($164.19) began to exceed non-mobile transactions ($106.94),” said Bush.

Source : http://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/strategy-and-management/7-things-small-businesses-should-know-about-accepting-mobile-payments/49825434

Innovation, Motivations

A breakthrough new kind of wireless Internet

07/11/2015 yazdi

Business Plans, Finance

Speed Dating with Venture Capitalists (VC’s)

24/09/2015 yazdi

Golden Opportunity to meet Investors

Thurday, October 15, 2015 from 2.30 pm to 6.00 pm

Dear Sir/Madam,

The Indian Merchants’ Chamber’s private Equity Committee has organized its annual Workshop “Speed Dating with Venture Capitalists (VC’s)” as per following details:

Day & Date     : Thursday, October 15, 2015
Time                : 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m
Venue              : Walchand Hirachand Hall, 4th floor, IMC Building, Churchgate, Mumbai

The workshop will have pre-arranged one-on-one meetings with some of India’s top early-stage investors to present your business plan, get the advice to set direction for way forward. You will get 10 minutes to speak one on one to your three preferred India’s top Investors and pitch your business idea to them.

This workshop will give you excellent opportunity to network and present your business ideas to these investors.

The registration charge for the event is Rs.2500/- only (inclusive of service tax).

To register, fill the attached registration form and send across to Ms. Andrea Fernandes at andrea.fernandes@imcnet.org or call on 2204 6633.

With regards,

Arvind Pradhan
Director General

Participants Registration Form