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<keyword id="913964" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Krishnan-Ganesh">Krishnan Ganesh</keyword>, needs no introduction as a serial entrepreneur and now his Growth Story does not seem to end. Over the past two decades, <keyword id="6356252" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ganesh">Ganesh</keyword> and his wife Meena have created, and exited from, four ventures and stuck to the India-domestic consumption story even as others rubbish the e-commerce as a viable business in the country. 

 

 

 

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 Ganesh describes himself as a dreamer— focussing on networking, business strategy and looking at new business opportunities with investors and entrepreneurs. Meena, his wife is more of a technical person exploring how to hire, identifying operational glitches, how to scale up and so on. “We have incubated new companies in the internet and e-commerce sector that address Indian consumer challenges. In our country, there is a huge opportunity in every sector because there is a problem in every sector due to the sheer size of the population. We have been working hard to create solutions specific to India where we push the technology to solve the problems,” Ganesh told Business Insider talking about successes like Big Basket, Freshmenu, BlueStone and Portea Medical, the latter headed by his wife. 

 

 

 

 <div type="embedgroup"> <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="58292743" title="Exclusive: K. Ganesh Made BigBasket and Portea Medical Blockbusters in India, and This is his Unique Life-story" rank="1.0" kind="RELATED" publishDate="Apr 21, 2017, 12:00 PM" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div></div> Ganesh believes that the last nine months have added fuel to the Indian start-ups, “Events like the launch of <keyword id="6354504" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword>, Demonetization and recent round of <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> funding shows that the trust in internet companies in India have been increasing. Reliance Jio got the next 100 million online but we still have a long way to go. India needs internet companies as we lack infrastructure and can’t afford to keep a extensive range of products at one place.” His latest bet are in B2B companies like GrowFit which is a healthy food and diet platform and Social Frontier which is a SAAS platform for managing social media for companies. 

 

 

 

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 This seasoned entrepreneur knows how to start-up and create a growth story and you can get in touch with him on Twitter at @ganeshk03.

Exclusive: K Ganesh's Growth Story with Start-ups is Never-ending and Here’s the Next Chapter

Krishnan <keyword id="6356252" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ganesh">Ganesh</keyword>, has played a lot of roles in his life; from an engineer, to an entrepreneur, to now a venture builder, and his life has been nothing short of an trial. While his shoes have been too big to fill and as they keep changing, he is currently pioneering a unique model with Growth Story in India, which is probably only made popular by Rocket Internet in the country. GrowthStory is the venture-builder platform that Ganesh and his wife, Meena set up in 2011 which has promoted some of India's most disruptive start-ups including Portea Medical, Big Basket, Fresh Menu, Home Lane, AcadGild, HouseJoy, Social Frontier and many more. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This model is unique due to the fact that while Ganesh and Meena come up with entrepreneurial ideas, they hire executives to pull it off. It is not primarily "investment" only, but where GrowthStory is the "promoter," but where the Partners are often the originators of the idea, work to get a founding team in place, drive fund raising early in the game, work closely with founders to scale the venture, guide strategic direction et al. This ‘express’ entrepreneurship that the power couple pull through is extraordinary and the back- story to it is a roller coaster that, you can’t forget. Early life and career Ganesh’s father died in an accident when he was just nine years old and as the eldest of three siblings, he felt the need to set an example. His mother was a hard-working government servant and bought them up to the best of her capabilities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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So Krishnan, became a mechanical engineer passed out from Delhi College of Engineering, and even got a post graduate degree from IIM before realizing that he didn’t want to be an engineer or just an MBA graduate. Ganesh credits his entrepreneurial trials to <keyword id="44903" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shiv-Nadar">Shiv Nadar</keyword>, under whose guidance he experienced different business function, “I worked for five years in various functions and also as executive assistant to Shiv Nadar. My first venture started in 1990, a company called IT&amp;T where me and my friends pooled in money to get it started,” he told Business Insider. He ran the company till 1998 and remained the largest shareholder and director of the company till 2003 when it was sold to iGate. He went back to the corporate life but after two-years stint went back to entrepreneurship with his second business venture called CustomerAsset with Meena and another partner. It was later acquired by ICICI Bank in 2002 and Ganesh made $ 20 million for his stake in the company.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In 2003 he stumbled upon an innovative new company called Marketics which was started by IIT and IIM graduates. Ganesh was approached for investment, mentoring and guidance. This company was also sold off to WNS, for $65 million where only half a million dollars were invested in this business without venture capital funding. Then Ganesh again started his own business with TutorVista in 2006 which was bought out completely by Pearson for Rs. 1000 crore. His multiple hits have led him to be where he is, but that isn’t without the missus by his side. When the the last acquisition happened, Ganesh and Meena decided to take the hard road and continue their entrepreneurship journey albeit this time, differently. "Only 5 per cent of start ups succeed and Ninety-five per cent end up failing. I see still young entrepreneurs after starting a company against all the odds. I'm addicted to fueling that until I can," says Krishnan when asked about why his family still makes risky businesses instead of just ‘settling down’. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Perfect Pairing When it comes to Meena and Krishnan Ganesh, their complementary skill sets have given fuel to the train that is Growth Story. Professionally, Meena is more lauded as the CEO of <keyword id="6398216" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tesco">Tesco</keyword>,No.2 at <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> and now CEO at Portea, but Ganesh is the visonary that knows they can achieve so much together. As co-founders and life partners, they know that team work is the key to making a venture start and keep it running.

Exclusive: K. Ganesh Made BigBasket and Portea Medical Blockbusters in India, and This is his Unique Life-story

<ul><li>While festivals will still be celebrated either virtually or in small groups this year, consumer sentiment has already shown early signs of improvement due to recently concluded Ganesh Chaturthi.</li><li>With a steady monsoon, plump harvest so far and IPL returning, <keyword id="34612" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="advertising-industry" source="Orion">advertising industry</keyword> is hopeful that the ongoing <keyword id="36208" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-season" source="Orion">festive season</keyword> will bring in cheer and serve as a respite from the pandemic-associated slumber. It will help the ad world bounce back to normalcy.</li></ul>India is the land of festivals and every festival is celebrated with great pomp and joy in this country. While the recently concluded festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, which is otherwise known for its fanfare and grand celebration, was affected due to the pandemic, it has brought in early improvement in consumer sentiment. According to Axis My India report, 42% of families said they will shop more or the same as compared to last year. This gives an indication that there is a sense of cautious optimism and the pent-up demand or degree of revenge shopping that happened last year might not be the same this year. This expected increase in spends is higher among private and government service employees. The spends increase on essentials like personal &amp; household care is at 47%, an increase of 4 percentage point over last month. Consumers are spending a little extra money to spruce their homes now to welcome Maa Durga and then prepare for India’s biggest festival, Diwali. Ergo, brands are pinning a lot of hopes on the festive season this year to help them bounce back. They have started working on their advertising campaigns in full swing to win back consumer trust and help shape the market sentiment. The progress of the advertising industry has always been in tandem with consumer sentiment and about 40-45% of the annual ad spends in India happen between Raksha Bandhan and New Year. In many ways, advertising is a lag and lead indicator for our country -- if the country's GDP is growing at 8%, advertising grows at 12%. If GDP falls, ad revenue falls even lower. In 2020, when ad revenue had reached as low as -60% in April, a lot of hopes are banking on the festive season this year for industry’s overall revival. Mohit Joshi, CEO, Havas Media Group India said, “With the increase in the vaccination numbers and positive market sentiments, the festive period is poised for a stronger, and better recovery from 2020. It is estimated that the festive season will generate advertising upwards of INR 7000 Crore, which is approximately 12-15% higher than last year’s festive season and is expected to provide big support to the growing economy.” This Indian festive season is coupled with IPL, which is a gigantic festival in itself that drives advertising industry’s revenue and holds the power to alter market sentiment. Joshi said that the return of IPL 2021 and a slew of high-impact properties like the ICC T20 World Cup coupled with reality shows like the KBC 13, Bigg Boss 15, Dance+6, and several mega OTT releases will make it a festive bonanza for all stakeholders. Hari Krishnan, CEO, Mullen Lintas is also optimistic about seeing a better recovery than 2020. He said, “Last year, it was cautious optimism. This time around, there seems to be a lot more confidence post-vaccination and the optimism appears to be a lot more reassured. That apart, there are two big cricketing events and that’s definitely going to bring a lot of eyeballs back to television. It’s a great reach platform and something that brands would be eager to be a part of. There’s every chance that this festive season could see a lot of pent-up shopping happening which different categories could benefit from.” Experts said that digital will lead the game as advertisers have been shifting their monies from traditional to virtual platforms. Sahil Shah, Managing Partner, WATConsult said, “I reckon it will be a 60-70% jump in certain categories who will go even more aggressive. And compared to pre-covid levels, overall spends should be 15-20% higher. I think digital invariably will see the maximum percentage-wise growth followed by TV and then other mediums. From a marketing point of view, data-led communication will gain more importance and so will eCommerce investments. Also, marketers are experimenting with newer ways of reaching the consumer through innovative content and experiences which is an area that the overall <keyword id="618493" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-marketing" source="Orion">digital marketing</keyword> industry will surely move towards.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Digital media to take lead, followed by TV and print" text="Digital media to take lead, followed by TV and print">Digital media to take lead, followed by TV and print</cmsannotation> Rishabh Mahendru, AVP, Client Servicing, AdLift is expecting to see ad revenue grow by 10%-15% this year. While digital is likely to get the bigger chunk of the pie, he said that Facebook (Instagram), OTT and YouTube will be in lead within that sector. He also said if there’s another lockdown, e-commerce will still continue to flourish. “Time was more uncertain last year, still the e-commerce industry saw a growth of more than 50% festive orders. This year, we should see same or better results,” said Mahendru. On the other hand, Unmisha Bhatt, Chief Strategy Officer &amp; Director, India and MENA Region at Tonic Worldwide said that brands will explore LinkedIn this year. She said, “Innovative campaigns will be seen by brands on LinkedIn considering the rise in engagement by professionals on LinkedIn. High Reach/Awareness platforms like TV and Outdoor will remain a part of the integrated pie and will see the same demand as earlier. However, the platform which will see the most growth over the previous years is digital since its gained relevance.” Sharing a few other trends which we could see in digital marketing, Bhatt added, “Video commerce and live stream shopping is one of the new trends that we will see coming up soon. And remember teleshopping? We will soon see the rise of that on digital too! Seamless user journey and functionalities will emulate the retail environment to ensure consumers don’t miss the retail experiences. This means, technology-based experiential marketing with AR/VR and Mixed reality to ensure consumer recall, as well as engagement, will see a rise too along with experience commerce which enables sales. Conversation commerce will also pick up in the form of chatbots as it leads to faster responses for the impatient consumer.” Digital adoption accelerated by the pandemic has drastically changed the way audiences consume media. This has also paved the way for content creators, bringing them into the spotlight. Prachi Bali, National Head Client Partnerships &amp; Business Head (North), FoxyMoron (Zoo Media) said, “Besides the usual engagement platforms of FB, IG &amp; YT, regional and nano influencers are seeing a great deal of interest. Also, regional and smaller content/publishing platforms are finding their way into media plans. Brands want to build a stronger consumer connect by making the content work harder, multiplied by language and platform, rather than making stand-alone traditional pieces of content. Consumer-facing technologies that drive engagement such as filters, interactive ads, shoppable videos are the trends we will see brands adopt as they all encourage social commerce. ” While brands and advertisers are extra cautious this year to commit big monies on media after 2020 and will be looking at ROI from their media investments, they still want to make hay while the sun shines. Prasad Shejale, Founder and CEO, Logicserve Digital said, “Advertisers will tend to focus on all the possible mediums and attract more and more audiences. I am positive that they will scale up equally across different mediums now and hence, all the mediums are sure to grow. With such a focus, I foresee even the bottom-funnel channels to grow. Looking at consumer behaviour and preferences over the past few months or years, I feel video channel will witness a huge growth as there is a dire need to break the clutter nowadays. When I say video, it will be video in every way whether it is video on demand or on social media or OTT. Having said that, while we know that the advertisers will try to make the most out of the festive season and explore different formats or platforms, a lot of them are also focusing on the right measurement infrastructure that helps them understand the impact properly and also provides useful insights to plan for future activities.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Auto industry, e-commerce and travel to be the big spenders" text="Auto industry, e-commerce and travel to be the big spenders">Auto industry, e-commerce and travel to be the big spenders</cmsannotation> As per the data from Gipsi, (Tonic’s AI and HI research arm), search queries have risen by 3x across categories like online shopping, travel, automobile (specifically SUV’s segment), fashion, and gadgets over 2019. Experts also opined that auto will see a boom because consumers are now avoiding public transport. Other categories that popped up in our discussion were EduTech, E-commerce, OTT and travel. “People have begun travelling, offices are slowly opening up. Traffic is back on the roads and the restaurants are filling up slowly. This year, fashion &amp; accessories, FMCG, Durables, EdTech, FinTech and most of the new e-commerce/online brands should be active. We could see some action from auto sector as well,” said Krishnan. Joshi also shared his optimism about spends from the auto and e-commerce industry. He said, “Automobile, gaming, education, beverages, FMCG, cement, tyres &amp; consumer durables are some of the categories that will re-activate their marketing plans in H2. Given the advertising clutter during the festive period, brands will need to drive awareness and stay top-of-mind throughout the consumer’s purchase and consumption journey.” Apart from these obvious ones, Shejale highlighted that the travel industry, which suffered the most during 2020, has finally started picking up. He said, “Firstly, I am sure travel will revive and has already started picking up. As the travel industry flourishes, the hotel and hospitality will grow too. Apart from these, retail (online as well as offline) will also recuperate and continue to grow.” Trends so far have only indicated that consumer sentiment is improving, which is more likely to continue growing during the ongoing festive season.

Experts are hoping to see the advertising industry generate around Rs 7000 crore, 12-15% higher than last year’s festive season

<ul><li><keyword id="31174" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="brands">Brands</keyword> have seen early signs of recovery during <keyword id="126295" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Akshaya-Tritiya">Akshaya Tritiya</keyword> and <keyword id="6385850" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Raksha-Bandhan">Raksha Bandhan</keyword> and their businesses are approaching normalcy. </li><li>After surviving the storm during the lockdown, brands have a lot of hope resting on the festive season to bring in cheer and profitability in their businesses. </li><li>With Ganesh Chaturthi around the corner, we decided to speak to a few brands across categories on how they are preparing for the festive season and what kind of expectations they have pinned on the latter half of the year for recovery. </li></ul>Brands are pinning a lot of hopes on the festive season this year to help them bounce back. They have started working on their advertising campaigns in full swing to win back consumer trust and help shape the <keyword id="29547" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Market">market</keyword> sentiment. The festive season, which begins in August and continues till January, often results in a disproportionate increase in demand of goods and services, marking an important period for most consumer brands. However, the pandemic this year has made consumers frugal and the current market unrest has taken a sharp toll on the total spends. As per Madison’s report, AdEx collapsed by as much as 65% because of COVID-19 in Q2, indicating how badly the economy has been performing so far. Last year for Television, the Indian Premier League (IPL), ICC World Cup and Elections in Q2’19 contributed around Rs 3,000 crore (34% to the TV AdEx in Q2’19). However, the pandemic removed both these money-spinners from the AMJ quarter this year, which has added to the decline. This year, brands are trying to come up with innovative solutions to reach out to their consumers at their door steps and are optimistic about seeing a stable growth in the next few months. Fashion e-commerce giant Myntra has seen early signs of recovery and <keyword id="1549018" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="consumer-sentiments">consumer sentiments</keyword> picking up during Raksha Bandhan as it witnessed a surge in demand for women's ethnic wear, men’s occasion wear, kids wear, and accessories such as watches, handbags. It also saw 3.5 million customers shopping during the June edition of EORS, a testimony of how consumer sentiments are getting back on track. “The festive season, followed by winter, is the most exciting quarter for Myntra. This year we are expecting a massive scale and growth in festive buying as consumer sentiment continues to be strong. Myntra is already operating at a pre-lockdown scale, and this upcoming festive season will definitely help us in boosting our growth further. Our focus will continue to be on enhancing customer experience by providing high-quality merchandise in a curated and personalized store, along with safe and fast delivery. Our new customer acquisition is at an all-time high and we are ensuring we help them in all their lifestyle needs. We are witnessing a spike in our Tier II and Tier III customers and orders as well,” said Ayyappan Rajagopal, Head of Business, Myntra. Another new-age brand Melorra that specializes in modern jewellery, has managed to avoid the losses incurred by various other businesses during the pandemic months. It saw a 400% growth in the last financial year, and is confident of matching that level of growth with a strong performance in the upcoming festive season. “The festive season this year is expected to be even more impactful than the past for Melorra. Firstly, the lockdown that started in March slowed down the jewellery purchase due to disruption in the delivery logistics, and most of the people are looking to buy jewellery now that the deliveries have resumed. Given the pandemic, all festivities in the first 2 quarters of the FY was a washout, hence there could be a trend reversal during festive season – but not at the previous levels. Since the prices are also at an all-time high, customers would opt for lightweight and trendy gold jewellery that is not only stylish but also easy on the pocket. Melorra caters to women who live in the moment and do not keep gold stacked away in lockers like before. Hence, it is definitely a key period for the brand and the jewellery industry at large,” said Sharat Krishnan, Head of Marketing, Melorra. The festive season has always been the most important part of the year for the jewellery business. Titan has already seen 80% recovery because people are celebrating their milestones with their families at home. It has a campaign and launch of a new collection lined up for October. Ajoy Chawla, CEO Jewellery Division, Titan Company Ltd sees no reason why the festive season shouldn’t be as good as last year. “It would be as good as last year or slightly lesser. The most optimistic expectation is that it should be as good as last year. Even if it is 90% or 80% close to last year’s performance, that’s good. We’re currently seeing 80% recovery and this is my best estimate. We’ve seen this recovery because people are still celebrating milestones like anniversary, birthdays, etc. They understand that the reality is grim but how long can you keep your life on hold? They want to feel good. Also, Q3 is wedding season but the festive season is delayed this year so the season may start a little slower unless there are massive rebound cases. Some markets also take two steps forward and three steps back, there is always some fluctuation. However, after October, we are hoping to see more stability. We will also launch a new collection and campaign around October,” shared Ajoy Chawla, CEO Jewellery Division, Titan Company Ltd. On what the consumer sentiment would likely be this festive season, Nidhi Sinha, Head of Content, Mintel India said, "One of the most important things people are looking forward to once the restrictions of the pandemic are lifted is meeting friends and family. However, according to research from Mintel’s Global COVID-19 Tracker in August, 42% of Indian consumers are looking forward to meeting family and friends in person compared to 34% of consumers in early July. This desire has accelerated due to the onset of the festive season." Mintel's research data indicates that consumer sentiment is improving and there is more willingness to spend on luxury items and good brands in the market. Sinha added, "Ganesh Chaturthi, which is round the corner, would be one such important festival that would entail celebrations in a different way so as to be in line with the pandemic protocols. As people continue to be under restrictions due to the pandemic, this festival is expected to be low key compared to regular times. However, Mintel research highlights that 30% of Indian consumers are planning to spend more on clothes and accessories, presenting an opportunity for brands. This is indicative that people are planning to spend on indulgences despite a negative economic outlook. Brands like Gemini oil, Ferns and Petals and Cadbury have been very agile in talking about the changing face of the festivities and how it is an opportunity for people to spend such festivals at home with their loved ones.” Festive season is an important period for the retail industry. It is a time when consumer spending is at an all-time high. One of the leading sportswear brands PUMA has multiple new launches planned throughout the season to cater to increasing demand. Telling us how the consumer sentiment changed in retail, Abhishek Ganguly, General Manager, PUMA India and Southeast Asia said, “As we’re witnessing right now, online channels will continue to be a convenient option for consumers to shop. Given the precautions around health and safety, we are seeing people shop online or go to a store where they are confident about the hygiene measures being implemented. Having said that, as lockdown continues to be relaxed across the country, we are seeing a steady week-on-week increase in footfalls with consumers visiting our stores to buy fashion essentials.” On festive expectations, Ganguly added, “Over the last 3-4 months, we have been seeing steady growth across both our offline and online channels. The conversions have increased substantially from pre-Covid times as people exactly know what they want to buy and are shopping with a clear intent. Given the trend of how things are continuing to improve compared to the previous months, we are very hopeful of a strong September and October. We hope this trend continues through the festive season and beyond.” Electronics giant Philips has launched a few new products like Smart Hair Dryer, Eyebrows Trimmer this month to ride on the improving consumer sentiment due to the festive season. Gulbahar Taurani, Vice-President, Personal Health, Philips Indian Subcontinent, Philips India, said, “The trends indicate that this is going to be a good season. We will have our challenges in terms of supply chain, partial lockdown, movement of products because the number of COVID cases are going up. From a demand standpoint, we see a very positive sentiment. I believe that this is going to stay, which will drive the festive season. As a part of the festive season, we had a couple of new launches last month itself.” The furniture segment, which was on complete halt during the lockdown as it did not fall under essentials, is also gearing up for the festive months. Given that individuals are spending more time at home due to the lockdown, home-grown brand Pepperfry witnessed an uptick in demand for WFH furniture and décor. In fact, Pepperfry is already at 100% of its pre-lockdown sales volumes. Kashyap Vadapalli, Chief Marketing Officer &amp; Business Head, Pepperfry is now anticipating to see this trend boost their sales further as people continue to focus on making their home spaces better equipped for everything. The brand is upping its digital media game and has launched a new campaign called ‘Swadeshi is Great’. “Given that household products and celebrations at home play such an important role during the festive season, consumers are constantly looking to revamp/renovate the space such that the home category witnesses a natural upswing in demand during festivals. With this combination of consumer adaptation and brand innovation, we are positive about the consumers’ outlook and demand for categories like home décor and furniture. As consumers have become apprehensive with regards to shopping offline or even stepping outside, they are increasingly adapting to buying online. Our online business is already at 120% of pre-COVID levels. As we move along, we plan to keep innovating with digital tools to enhance our consumers’ buying experiences,” said Vadapalli. The sudden outbreak of the pandemic brought a lot of businesses to a standstill. However, one of the few sectors that have seen an upturn amid the nationwide lockdown is EdTech. Now, to evolve with changing times and to prepare for the upcoming festive season, upGrad is looking at altering its marketing strategy. It is shifting its spends towards TV as consumers would want to spend more time together, while supplementing it with digital. Telling us what kind of changes EdTech has gone through lately, Arjun Mohan, CEO-India, upGrad said, “Given the current scenario, consumer priorities are being re-calibrated. They are now undergoing a behavioral shift which is directly reflecting on their spends. Unlike earlier, individuals today have ample time and money to spend on upskilling options, which otherwise, was parked for a later date. upGrad has seen a big behavioral shift in the mindset of parents too towards learning online, as they have seen their kids benefiting from it in real-time. This is one of the major drivers that has created a massive demand for our specialised online programs, which not only enhances the domain knowledge, revise skill sets, etc. but also help professionals achieve desired career outcomes.” All brands voiced their confidence that the worst has passed, and the markets will only move towards normalcy hereon.

Festive Marketing: Brands are optimistic that improving consumer sentiments will help them bounce back and bring in profitability

​The growing proficiency of Indian technology companies in building innovative products is drawing a great deal of attention from global corporations eager to acquire fresh ideas and skilled workers. 
 
Applications that help ease online payments, offer security for data stored on multiple devices as well as those that help drive greater advertising revenue on mobile devices are some of the technologies on the shopping list of multinationals scouting for the right startup. In the next five years, experts say at least 40 technology ventures in India could be bought over by large corporations. 
 “Couple of them (startups) will be valued at over $1 billion (Rs 6,200 crore),” said Ravi Gururaj, an angel investor who heads the software product council at industry lobby <keyword id="6372077" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nasscom">Nasscom</keyword>. He expects about half a dozen technology ventures to be valued at around $500 million (Rs 3,100 crore) while <keyword id="818790" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="the-rest">the rest</keyword> will likely fetch a price of between $15 million (Rs 93 crore) and $50 million (Rs 311 crore). 
 A handful of such acquisitions has already set the ball rolling. Last November, Japanese engineering and electronics maker <keyword id="69870" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Hitachi">Hitachi</keyword> acquired Prizm Payment Services, in a deal estimated at $250 million (Rs 1,547 crore). In mid 2013, South African media conglomerate Naspers bought online bus ticketing firm red-Bus for about $100 million (Rs 618 crore), giving it access to not only the large <keyword id="47445" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Indian-market">Indian market</keyword> but disruptive technology as well. 
 “Multinational companies primarily look for talent and <keyword id="388837" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="intellectual-property">intellectual property</keyword> that can compete at global level,” said Prashant Gupta, group manager at Microsoft India (R&amp;D). “There are early signs in India that such companies are emerging that can meet these demands, especially in cloud-driven application lifecycle and big data,” he said. 
 
The global software maker runs an accelerator programme in India for technology startups that has graduated 22 ventures so far and is poised to make its first venture investment this year. 
 Interest from <keyword id="6355311" type="COUNTRY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Japan">Japan</keyword>ese corporations too is growing. Apart from the Hitachi deal, others such as NTT too have been active buyers. In 2012 Japan’s <keyword id="913532" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="NTT-Communications">NTT Communications</keyword> bought a majority stake in technology firm <keyword id="423557" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Netmagic">Netmagic</keyword> for about Rs 900 crore. “India is becoming the laboratory for products and services for the world,” said Krishnan Ganesh, <keyword id="36740" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="founder">founder</keyword> of online tutoring company TutorVista that was bought by the UK’s <keyword id="152222" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Pearson">Pearson</keyword> group at an enterprise value of about Rs 1,000 crore. 
 
After the acquisition, the number of students using the services of TutorVista has tripled to four million across both the local and the US market. Pearson now aims to replicate the TutorVista model in emerging markets such as Brazil, China and South Africa. 
 
In 2013, there were 100 merger and acquisition deals across the India’s information technology industry. Of this, 31 whose value was announced were worth $1,906 million (Rs 11,807 crore), according to research firm Venture Intelligence. 
 The trigger for this growing M&amp;A activity is the range of disruptive technology startups emerging out of India. Companies such as advertising network InMobi, data analytics company Mu Sigma and online retailer <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> have achieved a scale where they are valued at over $1 billion. “This is driven by leading-edge globally competitive technologies,” said Naren Gupta cofounder and managing director of Nexus Venture Partners, an early investor in Netmagic and online retailer <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>. 
 For instance, Pune-based <keyword id="741520" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Druva">Druva</keyword> provides data security and retrieval software to customers such as US space agency <keyword id="6360409" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="NASA">Nasa</keyword>, drug maker <keyword id="44612" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Pfizer">Pfizer</keyword> and fashion brand <keyword id="5940" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Louis-Vuitton">Louis Vuitton</keyword>. 
<div style="page-break-after: always;">
	&#xa0;</div> In Chennai, Perfint Healthcare has developed robots that treat cancer by precisely inserting a needle in the affected area to burn or freeze a patient’s tumour, leaving the good tissue alone. The founders, all former employees of <keyword id="166456" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="GE-Healthcare">GE Healthcare</keyword>, quit to launch the firm when they realised the demand for such a product. For global corporations acquiring such game-changing technologies can help them enter new markets and raise barriers against competition. 
 Two years ago, when global software maker <keyword id="183292" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Red-Hat">Red Hat</keyword> bought Bangalore-based <keyword id="6373689" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Cloud-computing">cloud computing</keyword> startup <keyword id="724826" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Gluster">Gluster</keyword> for around Rs 667 crore, it acquired a storage platform technology which it offered to its customers for the first time. The cost of technology infrastructure to set up such ventures and scale them up for acquisitions has also come down drastically. 
 “A bunch of guys can now launch an application from a garage, keep the tablet or a mobile phone as the front end and the product becomes viral in few weeks,” said Anand Babu Periasamy, cofounder of Gluster. A computer <keyword id="6369183" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Engineer">engineer</keyword> graduate from <keyword id="119675" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="annamalai-university">Annamalai University</keyword>, Periasamy who now works at Red Hat is aiming to build Gluster into a billion dollar business unit. 
 
Experts hope small-size technology ventures in India will also attract the attention of larger firms. “Smaller exits are the life blood for healthy startup ecosystems like in <keyword id="6355882" type="COUNTRY" weightage="40" keywordseo="israel">Israel</keyword> and US,” said Sharad Sharma co founder of software product think-tank iSpirt. Sharma is running an active M&amp;A Connect Program at iSpirt that is curating a list of several dozen companies. 
 Some of those on the radar are retail services software maker Capillary Technologies, healthcare applications provider <keyword id="1165142" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Practo">Practo</keyword> and security software maker <keyword id="171228" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Quick-Heal">Quick Heal</keyword>. According to Sharma, many of them have shown healthy growth traction and are attractive for strategic partnerships. 
 Sharma of iSpirt is of the view that a larger proportion of bootstrapped companies is stymieing merger activity in India. “It is harder for large corporations when there is no validation from <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="venture-capital">venture capital</keyword> firms,” he said. 
 The other major problem say experts is that large Indian firms such as Infosys, <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword> and <keyword id="6357150" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="TCS">TCS</keyword> have shied away from making any such purchases, despite having huge cash reserves. Infosys has $4 billion (Rs 24,000 crore) cash reserves. 
 
“When Wipro can be in soaps and vegetable oil, why can’t they be in the Flipkarts of the world,” said Ganesh of TutorVista. “They are sitting on a huge cash reserve and not a fraction has been spent on startups. That mentality is not there.” 
 
“Over the next five years, I expect that quantity will dramatically improve and we can be optimistic about merger and acquisition activity out of India,” said Nasscom’s Gururaj.

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