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<ul><li>The pandemic and lockdown period has brought many new learnings for all businesses, and e-commerce has undoubtedly been one of the sectors with the biggest takeaways.</li><li>As we enter a new year, we reached out to e-commerce platforms to understand what role it would play in 2022.</li></ul>The e-commerce segment has been witnessing a good growth over the last few years and has been showing no signs of slowing down in India. And why would it? Hasn’t shopping become so much easier now? We can buy anything, from groceries and perfumes to expensive jewellery, from the comfort of our homes. The pandemic further brought fundamental and long-term changes in the way people shop and make their purchase decisions. It has accelerated the industry’s growth in the country as historically offline shoppers also downloaded ecommerce apps onto their phones to shop from within the safety of their four walls. The past year and a half has brought millions of new e-commerce users, including from smaller cities and towns who now are comfortable with buying online. The industry has witnessed an uptick of 77% between 2020 and 2021 and Tier II, III cities are transacting more than ever, said a recent report by Bobble AI. This trend has pushed e-commerce platforms to embrace a wide range of regional brands and local sellers, which offer a compelling value proposition to consumers. With increasing internet penetration, e-commerce players are expecting new growth from Tier II, III and beyond, which will cumulatively contribute to $150 billion of e-commerce as per RedSeer Consulting’s report. The Indian market is expected to surpass the US to become the second-largest e-commerce market in the world by 2034, revealed another <a href="https://www.ibef.org/industry/ecommerce-presentation">report</a>. It is poised to reach US$99 billion by 2024 from US$30 billion in 2019, expanding at a 27% CAGR, with grocery and fashion becoming the key drivers of this incremental growth. As we enter a new year and e-commerce further expands its presence deeper into the country, we speak to a few e-commerce platforms to discuss what lies ahead, where would the second phase of growth come from and trends that would dominate the industry. Here’s what they had to say: <keyword id="1922572" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="manish-taneja" source="Orion">Manish Taneja</keyword>, Founder and CEO <keyword id="1688931" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="purplle-com" source="Orion">Purplle.com</keyword>: The year has witnessed major growth in the beauty ecommerce industry, ushering in the next year with great potential. In 2022, the emergence of virtual reality tools will fuel the industry. Offering virtual beauty experiences that seamlessly merge with an omni-channel approach will be the norm. Over the next year, we at Purplle will invest heavily in technology and data science advancements to further personalize customer experience. Natural, transparent beauty products, effortless shopping with shorter delivery times, data-based product development, and value-driven experiences, are some of the other trends that will emerge in 2022. Bharati Balakrishnan- Country Head and Director, Shopify India: The Indian ecommerce market will continue to evolve in 2022, with D2C brands taking centrestage, driven by growing consumer demand and local brands increasingly making ecommerce a priority. On the one hand, the new shopping habits formed over the past 18 months will become an important factor: consumers have embraced online shopping and are actively choosing small, independent brands. This means that D2C brands are here to stay, and we anticipate the emergence of a new generation of proudly Indian brands across food, fashion and lifestyle. Simultaneously, traditional brands and retailers who dominate offline are evolving to meet the demands of the new consumer - they are building to provide a consistent experience to their consumers across online and offline, and would like to use their own online stores to truly extend their brand promise to existing and new customers. It’s an exciting time to be a consumer brand in India Amit, CEO, <keyword id="9798181" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="olx-autos-india" source="Orion">OLX Autos India</keyword>: Rise of the prosumer: The many faces of personalisation With the majority of buyers now clearly preferring online shopping over the traditional format of in-store purchasing, the new trend is inclined towards the forward-thinking, influential and proactive prosumer. Personalisation of the products according to customers preference will be key in 2022. E-commerce marketers will need to integrate personalizing products through advanced technologies in order to provide tailor made and seamless customer experiences. In a cookie-less world, contextual marketing has reared its head in a big way. Targeting consumers has come of age - from category, to keyword, to semantic contextual targeting, now. Many more trends like crypto payments, and dynamic pricing will grow for pure-play retailers. But it is personalization for the prosumer that will chart the way forward. <keyword id="2227756" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prabhkiran-singh" source="Orion">Prabhkiran Singh</keyword>, Founder CEO, Bewakoof: Live video commerce, Virtual trial rooms (or AR/VR driven fit assists), customized lifestyle products and 3D animated UX interactions are the key trends we expect to disrupt shopping experience in the coming year. Video or content commerce would be largely driven by influencer or user generated content. To drive scalability, there will be multiple SAAS companies launching solutions to simplify handshakes between brands and influencers in content acquisition, ingestion and performance driven payments space. Early movers in the space are Myntra Studio, <keyword id="8861782" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="trell" source="Orion">Trell</keyword> and Bewakoof Bshots. With large VC investments going into the Web 3.0 and metaverse space, a lot of the product cataloging problems around accurate sizing or fit assessment would become more trivial. We will see brands launching virtual trial rooms, 3D product shoots and fit assistants to bridge the gap between online and offline shopping experience. 3 out of 10 customers who shop on our platform would like to customize their product design and sizing. We see this as a growing trend that multiple brands will adhere to in the coming year. 3D and animated content will become a UX trend in the consumer internet industry. Animations used to be a hindrance to many designers and developers as they may slow the loading speed of websites or apps and it is data consuming. With 5G scaling up and 4G becoming a norm across the country, designers will chose to use more animations. Kashyap Vadapalli, Chief Marketing Officer &amp; Business Head, <keyword id="864887" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pepperfry" source="Orion">Pepperfry</keyword>: ‘MarTech’, which essentially means amalgamation of marketing with technology, is the future of commerce where brands will run marketing in a digital and connected ecosystem to offer an immersive experience to their customers. With the advancement of technology in marketing, consumers are constantly looking for an enhanced buying experience. Thereby meaning, from 2022 onwards we will witness more technology integrated experiences like development of offline Virtual Reality shopping rooms for consumers. Since VR offers an immersive 360-degree perspective, products in virtual design, especially big-ticket items like furniture can be easily a luscious offering for customers who want an interactive experience with the product before making the decision, therefore, simplifying the buyer’s journey. Going forward, I believe, Martech will play a dominant role in the strategic priorities and investments of brands, pushing marketers to embrace digital operations and integrated customer experience. <keyword id="12792513" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shubh-darpan" source="Orion">Shubh Darpan</keyword>, VP- BI &amp; Analytics, Cashify: From the trends we have seen over the past couple of years, we at Cashify believe that the demand for refurbished mobiles is here to stay. It started with the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns when having a mobile became a necessity. Refurbished devices such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, etc. were seen to be preferred by the Indian consumer. Mainly because of the economic aspect of it, the refurbished market has seen an upward motion in India. Moreover, with the shortage of chipsets, there have been fewer smartphone launches in recent times. This too has been a factor in pushing consumers towards refurbished mobiles. Refurbished smartphones offer an optimal and sustainable solution to today's tech-dependent world and we can see it going a long way. Gitanjali Saxena, Business Head - Global Luxury, Tata CLiQ Luxury <div type="image" title="Gitanjali Saxena, Business Head - Global Luxury, Tata CLiQ Luxury" msid="88446509" hostid="261"></div> Inherently, shopping is a social experience. As people continue to spend an increasing amount of time online and on social media, online shopping, which witnessed a huge boost because of the pandemic, is now also becoming social. Social shopping, which is already booming in countries like China, has been gaining momentum in India and will be a leading trend in the coming year. Engaging and immersive formats of selling, such as live commerce, will be at the forefront. In addition, AR and VR will play a crucial role in enhancing the online shopping experience, enabling more personalization, and targeting niche customers. Some of the biggest brands in the luxury fashion and beauty industries are working closely with social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat to leverage their capabilities of live streaming, in-app shopping, and augmented reality to offer an experience that every luxury customer desires. Snapchat has harnessed the power of technology and introduced an augmented reality lens that allows for a virtual try-on of products. Convenience, personalization, and a sense of community are some of the drivers fuelling the growth of social shopping. The advancement of technology is unlocking a slew of exciting opportunities in social shopping, including user-generated content, virtual product try-ons, direct interaction with brands and peers, and instant gratification. E-commerce platforms will reimagine their strategy to integrate social shopping elements by introducing innovative and engaging formats to bolster their reach and engagement with customers. With social shopping, e-commerce platforms can revolutionize the way people shop on their platforms by presenting a new way of shopping.

Ecommerce: The trends to watch out for in 2022

<ul><li>Indian short video apps are fighting tooth-and-nail to fill the void that TikTok has left behind since it got banned in India. </li><li>The top free apps in the Google Play Store are dominated by the likes of ShareChat's Moj, <keyword id="2368386" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Roposo">Roposo</keyword> and Trell. </li><li>Business Insider reviewed all three to weigh the pros and cons of the new short video platforms.</li></ul>Ever since TikTok was banned in India, people are rushing to local alternatives to fuel their need for short videos. In the Google Play Store, Indian apps are currently battling it out for the top spot. The only catch is they’re not exactly at the same level as TikTok when it comes to functionality and user interface. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="76696132" title="List of 59 Chinese apps banned in India by Indian government" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> The likes of ShareChat's Moj, Roposo and Trell among the top five free apps on the Google Play Store. Likee Lite also makes an appearance, even though its parent app — Likee — was among the 59 apps banned in India. <div type="image" title="googleplaystore" msid="76869510" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Top five free apps in the Google Play Store right now&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Review of ShareChat’s Moj short video app ShareChat’s Moj is currently ahead of the rest and it even has a 3.9 star rating on the Google Play Store. It made its debut on June 29 and amassed 10 million downloads within a week. Due to security measures, Moj doesn’t allow users to take screenshots. However, in our review of the app, the pixels in the top right corner seem out of order for every single video. <div type="image" title="moj" msid="76869469" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The top right corner of Moj app is stretching pixels&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> It also auto-pulled the one-time-password (OTP) without getting clearance from the user for access. Using your phone number is the only way to sign up. However, you can use the app to view content without logging in at all. Unlike TikTok, Moj also doesn’t allow for editing, music tracks or adding special effects to videos. Users report being unable to sign in or post videos from time-to-time. Many comment that there’s a dire need for more features like being able to post comments, create a user profile, save videos to your own gallery — and just make it more user friendly, overall. <div type="image" title="Moj review" msid="76869525" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Reviews of Moj since its launch&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Developers do plan to introduce new features such as video editing, filters, stickers and ‘magical’ emoticons for selfies in the near future. Review of Roposo short video app Akin to Mojo, Roposo also auto-pulls the OTP without getting clearance from the user for access. On the plus side, the user interface is clean. When uploading videos, the app allows you to edit videos within the platform and even add filters and effects, much like TikTok. It also allows users to collaborate with other user’s videos. <div type="image" title="roposo" msid="76869576" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Roposo includes TikTok-like filters and effects&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Roposo has over 50 million downloads. However, the app’s reviews on the Play Store reflect some users complaining about excessive data consumption, prolonged buffering time, and bugs while searching for other users’ profiles. <div type="image" title="Roposo reviews" msid="76869591" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Roposo reviews since India banned TikTok&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The one big hurdle with Roposo is that signing up is a must — and your phone number is the only way to do it. Review of <keyword id="9543757" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="trell-short-video-app">Trell short video app</keyword> Install the app is a breeze, but when it actually comes to opening it up for the first time — it refuses to load. Once it finally opens the interface is very user friendly and it allows you to sign up using your phone number, Facebook, Google ID or WhatsApp. As compared to the other two apps, the explore interface is much better. You can switch between tabs — like Travel, Reaction Videos, Food and others — to choose the kind of content you want to see. <div type="image" title="trell" msid="76869762" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;Trell interface is user friendly&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> When uploading a video you can choose from pre-recorded clips on your device or shoot something new. What’s lacking is the fact that you can’t edit or add special effects to any of your videos within the app. And, I’m not sure if you can truly call it a ‘short video’ app if users can upload videos that are up to 5 minutes long. <div type="image" title="Trell reviews" msid="76869777" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The ratio between negative and positive reviews for Trell is the lowest as compared to its peers&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> With a rating of 4.6 stars, Trell has the lowest number of negative reviews as compared to its peers. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/russian-scammers-are-conning-senior-executives-into-giving-away-2-7-million-by-impersonating-real-ceos-and-lawyers/articleshow/76849870.cms">Russian scammers are conning senior executives into giving away $2.7 million by impersonating real CEOs and lawyers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/tinder-bumble-and-ok-cupid-banned-by-indian-army-to-keep-soldiers-from-being-honey-trapped/articleshow/76866610.cms">What is a honey trap ⁠— the reason why the Indian Army banned Tinder, Bumble, and OK Cupid</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/checkout-the-list-of-89-apps-banned-for-indian-army-soldiers/articleshow/76865942.cms">List of 89 apps banned for Indian Army soldiers</a>

TikTok alternatives⁠— reviews of the top three short video apps on Google Play Store

<ul><li>The Indian founders had earlier called the ban on Chinese apps as the atmanirbhar moment for India’s entrepreneurs.</li><li>To handle the surge in users and traffic, the startups are now also aggressively hiring to better their offerings. </li><li>Here are all the openings in short-form video apps in India.</li></ul>On June 29, TikTok got banned in India along with 58 other Chinese apps. And since that very moment, India’s rival apps of the Chinese giant have seen their user base jump up by millions. The Indian founders even called this the atmanirbhar moment for India’s entrepreneurs."This is the digital atmanirbhar moment that most Indians have been rooting for,” said Naveen Tewari, founder and CEO of InMobi Group which owns Roposo. Indian entrepreneurs believe with this, ‘Made in India’ apps will get a boost as they won’t be fighting with Chinese companies, who have the cash to spend and build a userbase. “The move can be hugely beneficial for Indian companies considering the potential Indian startups have in terms of creating our own TikTok, We Chat, Baidu. Many others are all poised to make it big with the scale our country provides and absence of Chinese competitors with deep pockets,” Sandeep Singh, founder and president, Khabri. But to handle the surge in users and traffic, the startups are now also aggressively hiring to better their offerings. Here are all the openings in short-form video apps in India Chingari Chingari has got over 16million users in just 25 days and was trending in the top apps on the Google Playstore. The team needs 10-15 people right away to help with the surge in traffic – UI/UX designers, engineers and more. <div type="twitter" handle="adityakothari" handlename="Aditya Kothari" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1181273690819817472/ylFghAkJ_normal.jpg" favoritecount="109" retweetcount="37" status="Looking for a docker/kubernetes/backend architect for @Chingari_IN . If you're looking to build a backend infra, an… https://t.co/BBQtJ4Rl8C" createdat="1594502330000" id="1282061813891227649"></div> Bolo Indya Bolo Indya – which works as an infotainment app, was another to build on success after TikTok’s ban. “There was a huge jump in user increase in first 24 hours of the ban, and we saw over 2.5 lakh installs, with 87% of these signing up and creating videos and 1.27 crore videos were created in June,” said Varun Saxena, Co-Founder, Bolo Indya. The company said that it has continued its hiring activities even during lockdown and 3 new members have joined during lockdown phase while 2 more will be joining next month. Simultaneously, the company has aggressive hiring plans in technology teams across Android, AI and ML roles with remote interactions. “We took lockdown and its consequences as an opportunity to interact with some extraordinary talents and explore the synergies to join us on our mission to enable Bharat to transform social capital to financial independence through short videos in regional languages. We did not do a single lay off, and continue to strengthen the team with the right fits who share the same passion, ambition and motivation,” said Saxena. The company currently has 15-20 vacancies. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> Interested candidates can apply by writing to hr@boloindya.com Mitron TV The app which shot to fame even before TikTok was banned, is also aggressively hiring. The app’s co-founder Anish Khandelwal took to LinkedIn to share that the company is currently looking for android developers and backend developers with over two years experience. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> Interested candidates can apply by writing to career@mitron.tv Khabri Khabri helps users create podcasts and also caters to the Hindi-speaking market in India. The company said that it already had 40,000 influencers on the platform, and with the ban on TikTok it got 5000 new influencers in two days. The company is currently <a href="https://angel.co/company/khabriapp/jobs/671317-product-manager-growth">hiring </a>a product manager among other roles. Trell Another TikTok rival app in India – Trell has now crossed 45 million downloads with 5 million daily active users, claims the company. “We are very excited to see the regular developments on the platform and the increasing interest from users and content creators. With this opportunity, the Indian Internet startups can grow faster and build a superior experience for the consumers in the long run which was being capped by the established players earlier,” said Pulkit Agarwal, Co-Founder, Trell. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/therapy-and-mental-health-is-important-for-startup-founders-to-survive-the-near-death-moments-in-business/articleshow/76931948.cms">This Indian entrepreneur started going to therapy and recommends it to startup founders to survive the ‘near death’ moments in business</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zomato-journey-from-a-weekend-project-to-a-3-billion-company/articleshow/76901180.cms">Zomato turns 12 – from a weekend project to a $3 billion company, here’s the startup’s journey over the years</a>

From Chingari to Mitron TV – TikTok clone apps in India are now aggressively hiring to handle the user surge

Mumbai, Mar 3 () Lifestyle products focused mobile app 'Trell' on Tuesday said it has raised USD 4 million in funding led by Sequoia Capital India's Surge, Fosun RZ Capital and KTB Network.The money raised will be utilised to strengthen machine learning and artificial intelligence efforts, expanding the community to newer cities and languages, an official statement said.With this infusion, the total amount of funds raised by the company now reached USD 5.5 million.The app, launched in AUgust 2017 by IIT-Bombay and NITIE alumni, to enable users to share and discover product reviews across lifestyle interests, and has 15 million downloads and 5 million monthly active users.The company claimed in January 2020 that its community of 5,00,000 content creators published 1.2 million content pieces in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, English, and Hindi."Trell solves for the discovery of lifestyle choices for the next half billion population coming online. It is the largest platform in India growing at 25 per cent month-on-month with strong engagement metrics," Fosun's executive director Krishna Vinjamuri said. AA BALBAL

Lifestyle app Trell raises $4 million from Sequoia Capital, others

More than 32,000 tech workers have been laid off in the US till July this year, including at Big Tech companies like <keyword id="10387" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="microsoft" source="Orion">Microsoft</keyword> and <keyword id="399907" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="meta" source="Orion">Meta</keyword> (formerly Facebook) and the worst has not been over yet for the tech sector that has seen massive stock sell-off. According to the data compiled by Crunchbase, more than 32,000 workers in the US tech sector have been laid off in mass job cuts, as of late July. "We've included both startups and publicly traded companies that are based in the US. We've also included companies based elsewhere that have a sizable team in the United States, such as Klarna," the analysis said. The layoff includes ride-sharing platform Uber, <keyword id="128682" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="netflix" source="Orion">Netflix</keyword> and several cryptocurrency exchanges and lending platforms. Robinhood, <keyword id="4522875" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="glossier" source="Orion">Glossier</keyword> and Better are just a few of the tech companies that have trimmed their headcount this year. Since April 1 this year, more than 43,000 workers from 342 tech companies/startups have been laid off across the world and over 13 per cent are from <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>, according to latest data compiled by layoffs.fyi, a website that tracks layoffs in startups. In India, more than 25,000 startup workers have lost jobs since the pandemic began -- and more than 11,500 have been fired this year. The layoffs in India are dominated by edtech platforms like Unacademy (1,150 employees), BYJU'S (550 at Toppr and <keyword id="8080458" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="whitehat-jr" source="Orion">Whitehat Jr</keyword>) and <keyword id="2016957" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="vedantu" source="Orion">Vedantu</keyword> (624), along with ride-hailing platform <keyword id="6354720" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="ola" source="Orion">Ola</keyword> (nearly 500), healthcare startup MFine (600) and pre-owned cars platform Cars24 (600), among others. The other Indian startups and unicorns that have laid off employees are Meesho, MPL, Trell and Blinkit (now owned by <keyword id="830092" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="zomato" source="Orion">Zomato</keyword>), among others. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/amazon-great-freedom-festival-date-announced-sale-starts-august-6-onwards/articleshow/93268050.cms">Amazon Great Freedom Festival date announced - sale starts August 6 onwards</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/swine-flu-resurfaces-in-keralas-wayanad-first-time-in-kannur/articleshow/93267832.cms">Swine flu resurfaces in Kerala's Wayanad, first time in Kannur</a>

Over 32K tech workers fired in US, more than 11K in India this year

Another <keyword id="1464841" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="edtech" source="Orion">edtech</keyword> startup <keyword id="4248184" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="udayy" source="Orion">Udayy</keyword>, backed by <keyword id="80004" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="info-edge" source="Orion">Info Edge</keyword>, has shut shop, laying off all 100 employees as schools, colleges and physical tuition centres reopen. Udayy's co-founder <keyword id="6553566" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="saumya-yadav" source="Orion">Saumya Yadav</keyword> said that the startup was witnessing the post-pandemic world for the first time as "as the kids went back to school, we faced roadblocks in growing the original model of online, live learning". "After a lot of deliberation, we decided that it's better to shut down the business than to spend more time and capital on it,a Yadav said. The development was first reported by startup news coverage portal Entrackr. The startup has paid employees severance packages and helped them find new jobs. "We are returning the remaining capital, around $8.5 million back to our investors," Yadav was quoted as saying in media reports. The live-learning platform catered to students from Grades 1 to 5. The platform raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round led by Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI), managed by <keyword id="4675626" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="falcon-edge-capital" source="Orion">Falcon Edge Capital</keyword> and <keyword id="12772224" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="infoedge-ventures" source="Orion">InfoEdge Ventures</keyword>. Udayy is the second edtech startup after Lido Learning to completely shut operations. Led by the edtech platforms, over 8,000 start-up employees have been recently hit by layoffs In India. This includes more than 1,000 employees at WhiteHat Jr, over 600 at Unacademy, over 424 at Vedantu and over 150 at Lido Learning. Another edtech firm FrontRow laid off nearly 150 full-time and contractual employees earlier this week. The Bengaluru-based non-academic upskilling startup fired almost 30 per cent of its workforce, owing to fund crunch and the market downturn. Apart from edtech firms, startups that have laid off employees in the past few months include social commerce platforms Trell (more than 300) and Meesho (150), used cars platform Cars24 (More than 600) and digital health platform Mfine (more than 500), among others.

Edtech startup 'Udayy' lays off all 100 employees as schools, and colleges physically reopen

Brands, influencers and celebrities who violated ASCI Guidelines for Influencers Advertising

<ul class="summary-list"><li>VC firm <keyword id="13647765" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sequoia-capital-india" source="Orion">Sequoia Capital India</keyword> has spoken out about fraud allegations at multiple <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="startups" source="Orion">startups</keyword> it's backed.</li><li>The firm said it was difficult to conduct due diligence on early-stage businesses.</li></ul><keyword id="11904329" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sequoia-capital" source="Orion">Sequoia Capital</keyword> India, a major investor in Southeast Asian startups, has said due diligence on early-stage startups is tough as four of its portfolio companies face fraud or misconduct allegations.<a href="https://india.sequoiacap.com/build/corporate-governance-the-cornerstone-of-an-enduring-company/">In a blogpost not attributed to a particular author</a>, the firm said: "Recently some portfolio founders have been under investigation for potential fraudulent practices or poor governance. These allegations are deeply disturbing."The post added: "It is easy to think of this issue as ascribed to poor due diligence. But let's remember that when investments are made at seed or early stage there is hardly a business to diligence. Even later stage investors can face negative surprises, post investment, if there is willful fraud and intent."<keyword id="12116150" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sequoia" source="Orion">Sequoia</keyword> didn't name check any firms, but one of these negative surprises has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zilingo-ceo-suspended-accounting-probe-singapore-startup-report-2022-4">Zilingo</a>, a Singapore-based fashion e-commerce startup first backed by Sequoia in 2015 and estimated to be worth $970 million. <keyword id="13616941" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="zilingo" source="Orion">Zilingo</keyword> earlier this month suspended its cofounder and CEO Ankiti Bose amid a financial probe into its accounting practices. A lawyer acting for Bose called her suspension "unfair" in <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-14/sequoia-s-singh-leaves-zilingo-board-amid-accounting-probe">a statement to Bloomberg</a>.Sequoia and another backer, Temasek, raised their concerns with Zilingo's board. Sequoia's Shailendra Singh subsequently resigned as director of Zilingo's board, Bloomberg reported.Three other Sequoia-backed startups are also under scrutiny.In mid-March, Indian news media reported that EY India was investigating social e-commerce platform <a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/trells-founders-under-scrutiny-for-financial-irregularities/">Trell</a> for alleged financial irregularities. The same month, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/tax-officials-raid-zetwerks-offices-founders-homes-suspecting-tax-evasion/articleshow/90293975.cms?from=mdr">Zetwerk Manufacturing</a> was reportedly raided by Indian tax officials over alleged tax evasion concerns. Also in March, financial platform <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ashneer-grover-loses-singapore-arbitration-bharatpe-probe-to-continue/articleshow/89887218.cms">BharatPe's</a> cofounder Ashneer Grover was <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/01/bharatpe-founder-ashneer-grover-siphoned-off-money-fintech-startup-says/">accused of misappropriating funds</a> by the firm and quit as CEO. Sequoia in its post called for better "guardrails" for the startup ecosystem, such as agreeing new rules around corporate governance, and said startup "boards can only work with the information shared with them" to uncover wrongdoing.Sequoia's post highlights the risks of investing in early-stage startups, where <keyword id="11897927" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="venture-capital" source="Orion">venture capital</keyword> firms plow cash into unproven companies, often trusting in a founder's vision more than the solidity of their business model. The firm wrote that a startup's board "is not responsible to investigate on an ongoing basis" for potential bad behavior unless it's explicitly flagged up.But some regional investors shot back at suggestions that the wider ecosystem was at fault."Sequoia India, caught with their pants down with 4 portfolio companies. Decides to blames the 'eco-system,'" wrote Sam Gibb, managing partner of Singapore-based fintech investor Resolution Ventures, <a href="https://twitter.com/samngibb/status/1515837214499827714">on Twitter</a>. He said that bigger investors encourage a "growth-at-all-costs" mentality at startups, leading founders to step "over gray lines" to hit metrics."The interests of career VCs (where a bulk of remuneration is fixed) diverge from founders as status is more important to them than building lasting economic value," he wrote.Sequoia could not be reached over the phone for further comment.

Big-name investor Sequoia says startup due diligence is hard as 4 of its Asian portfolio companies face allegations of fraud or misconduct

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Tina Knowles-Lawson recently spoke to Insider about the impact of <keyword id="11893536" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="racism" source="Orion">racism</keyword> on her family.</li><li>She said her famous daughters, Beyoncé and <keyword id="13182560" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="solange" source="Orion">Solange</keyword>, have "absolutely" been affected by stereotypes.</li></ul>Tina Knowles-Lawson recently opened up about the struggles <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/beyonce">Beyoncé</a> and <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/solange">Solange</a> have faced as Black women in the <keyword id="11898471" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="music" source="Orion">music</keyword> industry.In an interview with Insider last week, the native Texan said she has "absolutely" seen racial bias affect her daughters' careers."Many times," she said. "You don't want to sound like a broken record, but you think, 'My goodness. Why do you think that they can't do this?' Or, 'Why do you think that this is not possible for them?'"Knowles-Lawson said she's had to deal with similar skepticism as a businesswoman and philanthropist."I know without a doubt that they would not say that to a white counterpart, but it's something we've always had to deal with," she added.<div type="image" title="Tina Knowles Solange" height="1818" width="2424" msid="89604452" hostid="261"></div>Knowles-Lawson is the executive producer of "Profiled: The Black Man," a new four-part docuseries that premiered on Saturday. The show is dedicated to debunking stereotypes and telling positive stories about the Black community. The first episode, titled "Black Men Are Dangerous," <a href="https://www.insider.com/tina-knowles-lawson-jay-z-beyonce-ignorance-defense-interview-2022-2">focuses on the media's harmful portrayals of Black men in particular</a> — but after raising two daughters in the public eye, Knowles-Lawson has seen how this phenomenon transcends gender and status."It affects every area across the board. It doesn't matter what profession you're in, the stereotypes follow us, unfortunately," she said. "And hopefully we can make a little tiny dent in that and change perception."Knowles-Lawson got involved in the project when Trell Thomas, her friend and co-executive producer, confided his frustration about the portrayals of Black men in film and TV."He really was looking for content that he could feel really good about — something that would make him feel good as a Black man," she told Insider. "And I said, 'If you don't see it, then you should create it.' And he did."For his part, Thomas said the project was "born out of a need more than anything.""You don't have to look far to find many negative stereotypes about Black men, and honestly, I was just tired of seeing it," he told Insider."We created this to humanize a race of people who don't often get that luxury," he continued. "And I'm so grateful that I have a mentor, a mom away from mom, and a friend like Mrs. Tina who really came to the table and inspired me to actually go through with the process."The second episode of "Profiled: The Black Man" will air on Saturday, February 19 on <a href="https://www.discoveryplus.com/show/profiled-the-black-man-us">Discovery+</a> and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

Tina Knowles-Lawson says that racism has 'absolutely' affected Beyoncé and Solange: 'The stereotypes follow us'

New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) The ban on 59 Chinese apps has given homegrown app developers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create world-class products across chat, short videos, and photo/video sharing segments and led by ShareChat, desi apps are now scouting for fresh finds to invest intelligently into scaling their platforms and handle the upcoming rush. In a country where nearly 300 million people are on Facebook, another 400 million on WhatsApp and over 120 million on Chinese app TikTok -- not to forget the millions who are hooked to Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat -- there has not been a single social media platform to date with its roots in India that has created headlines globally. The time is ripe to rise to the occasion and show that Indian programmers can build top-notch social media apps right here, without going to the US or other countries. The regional language social media platform ShareChat is changing the way in which the next billion users will interact on the internet. With over 1 billion monthly Whatsapp shares, users spend more than 25 minutes daily on the platform. ShareChat has a user base of over 60 million monthly active users spread across the country and available in 15 languages including Hindi, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Odia, Kannada, Assamese, Haryanvi, Rajasthani, Bhojpuri and Urdu. The Bengaluru-based regional language social platform has become so popular that even Twitter came onboard when the four-year-old company raised $100 million in its Series D round of funding last year. "ShareChat is silently leading a social media revolution with a strong focus on regional outreach keeping its Bharat connect pristine," said Berges Y Malu, Director, Public Policy, ShareChat. "We welcome the move from the government against platforms that have had serious privacy, cyber security and national security risks. We expect the government to continue their support for the Indian startup ecosystem," Malu added in a statement. Public is a video-only social platform and has already registered 50 million users, with more than one million videos being created every month. According to Azhar Iqubal, Founder and CEO of Public, we have immense talent and resources in India and the vacuum created by this ban is a great opportunity for Indian app makers to launch products that have the potential to do well globally. "It will also make users more vigilant in checking what permissions they have given to apps as smartphones store sensitive information," said Iqubal. Public is currently available in five Indian languages: Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil and Telugu, and aims to have over 100 million users by the end of the year. Roposo is another leading homegrown short-video making app with more than 65 million downloads in the country. TikTok users, including influencers with huge fan followings, have started switching to Roposo in large numbers after the ban. "We have built Roposo as a clean and ethical platform. The unique idea of channels in Roposo provides every talented Indian with an opportunity to grow rapidly," said Mayank Bhangadia, co-founder of Roposo. Indians have rushed to download social app Chingari, a desi alternative to Chinese TikTok, which is witnessing nearly 1 lakh downloads and over 2 million views per hour since the government banned 59 Chinese apps over national security concerns. Already downloaded over 3 million times, the app which was founded by Bengaluru-based programmers Biswatma Nayak and Siddharth Gautam last year, was trending at the top spot on Google Play Store. "As Chingari is setting new benchmarks, a lot of investors are showing interest in our app. We are holding crucial discussions to get a good investor(s) on board so as to scale up our free-of-cost social platform," informed Nayak. Launched in October 2017, Khabri is another fastest-growing digital audio platform providing content in the regional language. "We urge Indian corporate leaders to come forward and reclaim the country's business ecosystem and consumers through supporting/investing in Indian startups," said Sandeep Singh, co-founder and president, Khabri. "Since the word spread that Indians now have a homegrown and more entertaining alternative to TikTok, we have been recording traffic beyond expectations on our app," said Nayak. Lifestyle community commerce platform Trell has witnessed more than 1 million downloads after India banned Chinese apps. With over 30 million downloads and 9 million monthly active users on its app, Trell has witnessed a 25 times growth within one year. "We welcome all the Tiktok and Chinese apps content creators with open arms to come and engage on Trell. As the largest Indian lifestyle social app, we will continue to ensure that the privacy and data of users will be protected," said Pulkit Agarwal, Co-Founder, Trell. --IANS na/in

Homegrown social media apps turn restless for big leap

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Tina Knowles-Lawson recently spoke to Insider about her new series "Profiled: The Black Man."</li><li>She recalled an encounter with a white woman, who called her son-in-law Jay-Z a "gangster rapper."</li></ul>Tina Knowles-Lawson may be the matriarch of the most powerful family in <keyword id="11898471" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="music" source="Orion">music</keyword>, but she has still seen the dangers of <keyword id="11893536" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="racism" source="Orion">racism</keyword> first-hand.During an interview with Insider last week, the fashion designer and philanthropist opened up about a disturbing interaction with an "older white woman," which she recounted in the first episode of her new series, "Profiled: The Black Man."Knowles-Lawson said the woman asked her, "Oh, your son is a gangster rapper, right? How did you let him marry your daughter?"Of course, the rapper in question is Jay-Z, one of the best-selling and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jay-z-net-worth-2018-9">most influential hip-hop artists in history</a>. He is married to Beyoncé, one of Knowles-Lawson's two famous daughters, with whom he shares three children.Knowles-Lawson clarified to Insider that this encounter happened "years ago," when her son-in-law was in charge of Def Jam Recordings.Jay-Z was <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/jay-z-named-def-jam-presidentceo-65356/">appointed president and CEO of the label</a> in 2004, the same year he made <a href="https://www.insider.com/jay-z-and-beyonce-together-love-story-cheating-2017-6">his red-carpet debut with Beyoncé</a>. The couple got married in 2008.<div type="image" title="jay z and beyonce" height="3052" width="4082" msid="89602288" hostid="261"></div>"She was either a good actress or she just was so ignorant to how things were that she could say something like that to me, but I didn't get the feeling that it came with any malice," Knowles-Lawson explained to Insider. "She was literally in her twisted thinking — thinking that was a compliment in some way.""And I just immediately said to her, 'No, my son-in-law is actually a CEO and he's a brilliant businessman, he's a good person, he helps people,'" she continued. "I just ran it down to her. And she was so incredibly shocked. And she apologized. She said, 'I'm sorry. I just hear that term.' And I said, 'Yeah, you just automatically put it on my son-in-law.'"Knowles-Lawson said she made a point to "educate" the woman because she felt the media's portrayals of Jay-Z were to blame."It was hurtful, but I took it with a grain of salt because that was just her ignorance," she said. "Hopefully I educated her that day and she could move on from that thinking."She also said that witnessing this kind of "ignorance" was part of her motivation to "debunk those stereotypes" on a larger scale.Knowles-Lawson is the executive producer of "Profiled: The Black Man," which premiered Saturday.The four-part docuseries aims to break down harmful biases against Black men. The first episode, titled "Black Men Are Dangerous," features interviews with an array of Black educators, activists, music journalists, and public figures, including "Pose" actor Billy Porter, rapper Papoose, and radio personality Sway Calloway.Co-executive producer Trell Thomas said he hoped to create an "inclusive" vision of Black men with a wide-ranging list of contributors."We are not a monolith. We come in all shapes, sizes, mindsets, all the things. So we were very intentional when we picked people like Billy Porter and Papoose, because of his beautiful relationship with his wife, and Sway, who could speak specifically to the media and its effects and what he'd seen," he told Insider. "We also wanted to give hope, and we wanted to show everyday Black men who are defying the stereotypes that often get placed on them unfairly," he added. "We don't see this docuseries as a solution, right? It's not like you go there and you have the answer. But we hope that it starts the conversation."The second episode of "Profiled: The Black Man" will air on Saturday, February 19 on <a href="https://www.discoveryplus.com/show/profiled-the-black-man-us">Discovery+</a> and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

Tina Knowles-Lawson explains how she defended Jay-Z when a white woman asked why Beyoncé would marry a 'gangster rapper'

<ul><li>The Indian government banned the popular Chinese video sharing platform <keyword id="6762469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="TikTok">TikTok</keyword> on Monday night. </li><li><keyword id="7536657" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tiktok-in-india">TikTok in India</keyword> has several rivals like Chingari, Bolo Indya, Roposo, Khabri and even the very recently launched Mitron.</li><li>Indian entrepreneurs believe with this, ‘Made in India’ apps will get a boost as they won’t be fighting with Chinese companies.</li></ul>The Indian government banned the popular Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok on Monday night. While that would have hurt the many Tiktokers and influencers in India, Indian rivals of TikTok are rejoicing. As soon as the news of the ban came in, Chingari, one of TikTok’s India rivals, started getting massive hits. Sumit Ghosh, the founder of Chingari, told Business Insider that the app was getting 100,000 downloads per hour. “This step will take India one step ahead to be an atmanirbhar economy — free from the clutches of China," Ghosh said. But Chingari is not the only one. TikTok has several rivals in India like Bolo Indya, Roposo, Khabri, Trell and even the very recent Mitron (currently under scrutiny by Google Play Store). And these apps welcomed the move from the government and the subsequent traffic on their apps. The Indian founders called this the atmanirbhar moment for India’s entrepreneurs."This is the digital atmanirbhar moment that most Indians have been rooting for. Roposo is very well positioned to lead this movement. Roposo will continue to build on the trust and love that 55 million Indian users have placed in us,” said Naveen Tewari, founder and CEO of InMobi Group. The Indian government’s MyGovIndia platform had moved from TikTok to Roposo earlier this month. Meanwhile, lifestyle community-commerce platform Trell got 1 million downloads just after the ban on Chinese apps. The lifestyle vlogging platform allows users to create 5-minute videos in their native languages. Others too tried to cash in on the loss of TikTok as a platform for the hundreds of influencers on the app. “Bolo Indya users spent more than 39 minutes per day on it before the ban on Chinese apps, and now we invite all the Tiktok stars from India to be part of the fast-growing Bolo Indya community. We are pleased to have the opportunity to positively impact the lives of millions of Tiktok stars and provide them with the platform to build on their social capital and convert it to financial independence,” said Varun Saxena, Founder, Bolo Indya. This move could be a boon for India’s entrepreneurs to build their own empires like Chinese giants. Indian entrepreneurs believe with this, ‘Made in India’ apps will get a boost as they won’t be fighting with Chinese companies, who have the cash to spend and build a userbase. “The move can be hugely beneficial for Indian companies considering the potential Indian startups have in terms of creating our own TikTok, We Chat, Baidu. Many others are all poised to make it big with the scale our country provides and absence of Chinese competitors with deep pockets,” Sandeep Singh, founder and president, Khabri. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/tiktok-has-been-removed-from-the-google-play-store-and-the-apple-app-store/articleshow/76702533.cms">TikTok disappears from Play Store and App Store soon after India banned 59 Chinese apps</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/hacks-to-avoid-tiktok-ban-and-pubg-may-be-banned-in-india-soon/articleshow/76705632.cms">There are ways around the TikTok ban⁠⁠— while PUBG may be banned via another list from the Indian government</a>

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