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Innovations taking place at the intersection of <keyword id="6" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="fashion">fashion</keyword> and technology in the recent years are profound. In many respects, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=fashion+industry&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">fashion industry</a> today bears little resemblance to itself from the decade past, and is likely to undergo further transitions until its metamorphosis is complete. 
 
Fashion today is not just about visual appeal; it is a blend of functional relevance and utility, and technology has accelerated this transformation. This explains why fashion brands need to genuinely re-engineer their approach vis-a-vis design, manufacturing, channel strategy, communication &amp; other marketing to match the needs of a discerning consumer. 
 
There are 3 main forces driving fashion to couple with technology more than ever before, leading to an industry wide disruption. These are also the factors that essentially determine the course of consumer journey and his/her brand experience. 
 
1. The customer today is highly discerning, so aggregation by itself is insufficient to meet their unique needs. Therefore, personalization on multiple levels : 
 
· Product personalization - It’s almost the same as creating a skeleton and then giving it multiple faces &amp; features as it is unnatural for any two to look the same. The most essential component of personalization in context of fashion is FIT as every individual is unique and it is therefore imperative for fashion brands to devise a mechanism that allows them to achieve perfection of fit across body types. Understanding different body types and working meticulously towards creating the right silhouettes can actually go a long way for any apparel brand. 
 
· Customer service personalization- The concerns of every individual are unique and would therefore require a unique solution. It is critical for brands to be intuitive and pre-empt issues in the customer journey, and data is going to be the key currency to enable service to be personalized. 
 
· Communication personalization- Today’s informed consumer is not interested in engaging with a corporate robot. She is instead looking to converse with agents equipped to resolve her questions with tact and efficiency. So every single interaction with the consumer will need to be highly personalized, while allowing for a wider bound of exploration and discovery. 
 
With growing need for personalization also grows the importance for standardization. This would ensure that a consumer experiences consistent and quality service throughout their interaction with a brand. Systems needs to be designed around customer journeys that are multi-variant and provide for several degrees of freedom, while being bound to standards on quality and accuracy. Standardization would therefore help brands create a clear differentiation and also benchmark their service. 
 
2. Digitization is enabling brands to utilize data analytics to their advantage, irrespective of the industry. “The Psychology of Dress”, written by J.C Flugel back in 1930, inspired companies to look into the minds of their customers and understand it. We have, naturally, come a long way since! 
 
Brands today rely heavily on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=data+analytics&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">data analytics</a> to identify problem areas and challenges in the consumer journey. Working backwards from the ideal paths helps brands to inform their backend processes and supply chains as well, all the way to tweaking design and campaigns for the next season. This feedback loop is only possible by a tightly coupled digital strategy. 
 
Popular fashion houses such as Burberry, Prada, Bulgari, Nordstrom, and Ralph Lauren are known to incorporate data in their core designing process to enhance the consumer experience. Interestingly enough, EDITED, through its possession of 53 million data points, has been cited as the driver for a 33% increase in ASOS sales. 
 
3. Agility is indispensable to the fashion industry, given it is mercurial and trend-driven. It is also an indirect but essential tool for customer retention as backend process always have a ripple effect on the finished product/end consumer experience. 
 
· Automation is the backbone of agility as instant results with accuracy cannot be derived without the help of technology. This also means that manual methods have to be discarded and replaced with new ones to ensure both speed and efficiency. 
 
· “Process re-engineering” at every level becomes critical to bridging the gap between what’s available and what’s desired. It is therefore necessary to closely monitor all aspects of the business and tweak processes that can no longer sustain in the new scenario. 
 
· Training and team alignment for vision articulation and mapping progress is at the core of any business/industry looking to transform itself. Tracking MIS reports and KPIs on a weekly basis is crucial to ensure a progressive graph. 
 
Technology has penetrated into the lifestyles of savvy consumers such that it is not only aiding business efficiency but also proving to be the most effective tool for brands to establish a connect with them and make it sustainable. 
 
(The article has been authored by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=KAARYAH&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">KAARYAH</a> Founder &amp; CEO, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Nidhi+Agarwal&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Nidhi Agarwal</a>) 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

Evolution of Fashion - From Art to Science

<ul><li>His latest investment is into Tork Motors — an electric vehicle startup. </li><li>Before this, Tata invested in taxi aggregators, e-vehicle makers to jewellery lines. </li><li>And, he has made good bets too, as the valuations of all the startups he backed, have zoomed. </li></ul>After heading the $100 billion Tata Group — India’s largest conglomerate — for 24 years, <keyword id="6360722" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ratan-tata">Ratan Tata</keyword> has turned a serial investor. The 81 year old invested his private wealth in 30 startups, and is constantly adding to the list. His latest investment is into <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/ratan-tata-to-invest-in-tork-motors/articleshow/71580081.cms">Tork Motors </a>— an electric vehicle startup. Tork Motors will introduce its flagship motorcycle, T6X in the coming months. Tata is among the world’s most influential industrialists. He set up a RNT Associate in 2009, three years before retiring from Tata Sons. Since then, Tata invested in taxi aggregators, e-vehicle makers to jewellery lines. And, he has made good bets too, as the valuations of all the startups he backed, have zoomed. "The thing that I am intrigued by first is a start-up that has an interesting concept which excites me. If it doesn’t excite me, I really don’t need to make an investment in that company," said Tata. Being associated with the Tata name also brought the much-needed endorsement for other investors into these ventures. "His involvement is really inspiring when it comes to existing employees and even attracting top talent,” says Nidhi Agarwal, founder of startup Kaaryah who also managed to bring Tata on-board, as an advisor. Here are some of the startups he invested in: 
	<div type="Slideshow" msid="71592841" hostid="261" title="One of India's oldest billionaires is a serial investor in startups" firstImageMsid="71592843" slideCount="7"></div>

One of India's oldest billionaires is a serial investor in startups

<keyword id="6360722" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="ratan-tata">Ratan Tata</keyword> has acquired a stake in a fashion portal for women's wear- <keyword id="2741894" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="KAARYAH">Kaaryah</keyword>. 
 
The quantum of value of stake is unknown and Tata has invested in his personal capacity. 
 
"We are honoured by Ratan Tata's investment in Kaaryah. This validation from Tata is an endorsement, of the highest order, of our vision of creating a world class brand," Kaaryah Founder Nidhi Agarwal told news agency PTI. 
 
Tata had retired as the head of over USD 100-billion conglomerate in December 2012 and is presently the chairman emeritus of Tata Sons. 
 
The news agency reported Tata has already made personal investments in homegrown e-Commerce players like Snapdeal, Urban Ladder, Bluestone and Cardekho.com. 
 
He has also invested in Paytm, wind energy start-up Altaeros Energies and Xiaomi. 
 
Fashion portal for women's wear, Kaaryah, has a presence across leading online marketplaces and also serves through Kaaryah.com. 
 
"It is the only brand, globally, that offers western wear in 18 sizes, compared to a global average of 12-13 sizes," Agarwal told PTI. 
PTI stated that the Indian market for western non-casual wear for women, which is estimated to be Rs 10,000-15,000 crore, is poised double in the next three to four years. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

After Snapdeal, Paytm, Ratan Tata invests in fashion portal Kaaryah

<keyword id="6360722" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="ratan-tata">Ratan Tata</keyword>’s investment in fashion portal for women's wear- Kaaryah- has highlighted how business tycoons are showing keen interest in start-ups and backing ideas and designs. 
 Nidhi Agarwal, founder of <keyword id="2741894" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="KAARYAH">Kaaryah</keyword>, said she had sought Tata’s investment after her father advised on it. 
 
It was only after her father pointed to a newspaper report about Tata funding eCommerce start-ups that Agarwal e-mailed on Tata's address. 
Three months on, her online fashion retail got the good news. 
 
So what does investment by Tata mean for her? "To begin with, your newspaper is calling me," the former Bain &amp; Company consultant told Economic Times, referring to media attention. 
 
She is one of the 10 entrepreneurs in India's fast growing start-up ecosystem who have received backing from Tata. 
 
Tata first invested in March 2014 in Altaeros Energies, a wind energy start-up founded by graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 
 
“While instant fame is one of the advantages of having the 77-year-old former chairman as an investor, the aura of the Tata name can rub off on startups that need to stand out from the crowd,” Rajiv Srivatsa, cofounder of online furniture retailer Urban Ladder, told ET. 
 
Srivatsa’s company received an investment last November and since then Tata has discussed everything from furniture design to supply chains and customer experience in three half-day sessions. 
 
R Venkataramanan, a close associate of Tata who advises him with startup investments, did not reply to Economic Times for this story. 
 
Venture capital investor as Prashanth Prakash, a partner with Accel, told the financial daily that Tata's willingness to back entrepreneurs boldly stands out, and he is also able to fill the existing gaps in the industry. "It's really not about the money - he is willing to be upfront about associating with startups he picks, risking his own brand," Prakash who is a co-investor with Tata in online jewellery retailer Bluestone, told ET. 
 
So, what does it feel like to be making a pitch to Tata? ET reported that proposals are vetted by Venkataraman before they reach Tata, who usually has two questions to ask start-ups seeking an investment, the risk, and the opportunity. Founders usually have 30 minutes to make a pitch and a successful one will be valued as per the last funding round. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

If you want Ratan Tata to invest in your start-up, just ask him! Your wish might just get answered!

When the country is experiencing an entrepreneurship boom in the market, for big industry tycoons if there is a perfect time to invest in <keyword id="428085" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="start-ups">start-ups</keyword>, it is now. With start-ups going on a crazy funding spree, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/If-you-want-Ratan-Tata-to-invest-in-your-start-up-just-ask-him-Your-wish-might-just-get-answered/articleshow/47551786.cms">Ratan Tata stands out as the most important investor</a>, saving many just when their bank balance was down to the last few zeroes.
	 
	
		From ecommerce to auto, Tata’s investment portfolio is as varied as it can get. There cannot be a better way to spend your retirement. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Know-whats-keeping-Ratan-Tata-busy-and-happy-post-retirement/articleshow/47721497.cms">After his retirement</a>, he said young innovators should be encouraged and he stands true to his words. The list is becoming longer, with investments in 10 start-ups in this year alone.
	 
	
		Here’s a complete guide to the start-ups who went on to become some of the greatest in the space after his investments.
	 
	
		 
		 
		1. Altaeros Energies- Boston-based Altaeros was founded in 2010 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to commercialise the world's first airborne wind turbine. Operating up to 2,000 feet (600 metres) above ground, the Altaeros BAT generates over twice the energy of similarly-sized tower mounted wind turbines.
	 
	
		When: Early 2014
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		2. <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>- Snapdeal got its funding from Tata when their bank balance was down to the last $100,000. Tata is believed to have invested less than Rs 5 crore, buying 256 shares from Snapdeal's angel investors including Kenneth Glass
	 
	
		When: August 2014.
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		3. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Ratan-Tata-Bets-Big-On-Indias-e-commerce-Sector-Invests-In-Bluestone/articleshow/42258863.cms">Bluestone</a>- The online jewellery retailer was founded by IIT graduate Gaurav Singh Kushwaha and Vidya Nataraj. <keyword id="255703" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bluestone">Bluestone</keyword> was valued at Rs 135 crore when it raised funding from Kalaari Capital, when Tata also co-invested. 
	
		When: September 2014
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		4. <keyword id="6368309" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Urban-Ladder">Urban Ladder</keyword>- The online furniture etailer was founded by IIM-Bangalore MBAs Ashish Goel and Rajiv Srivatsa in July 2012.
	 
	
		When: November 2014
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		5. Swasth India- The Mumbai-based healthcare startup provides medical services to low income population. The company was founded by former consultants and IIT Bombay graduates Sundeep Kapila and Ankur Pegu
	 
	
		When: Invested Rs 2 crore in December 2014 
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		6. <keyword id="1945738" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cardekho">CarDekho</keyword>- The Jaipur-based online auto classifieds player was founded in 2007 by Amit and Anurag Jain, both IIT Delhi alumni. The company also runs other portals like BikeDekho and PriceDekho.
	 
	
		When: February 2015
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		7. <keyword id="182468" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Grameen-Capital">Grameen Capital</keyword>- This is a Mumbai-based investment advisory company.
	 
	
		When: March 2015 
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		8. One97 Communications (<keyword id="6357120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="PayTM">Paytm</keyword>)- The Noida-based Company has successfully transitioned from a value-added services player to an online wallet Paytm.
	 
	
		When: March 2015
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		9. <keyword id="874458" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Xiaomi">Xiaomi</keyword>- Founded by serial entrepreneur Lei Jun, the Chinese smartphone maker, launched in India last year, became an instant hit in the market with their products.
	 
	
		When: April 2015
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		10. Kaaryah- <keyword id="6360722" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="ratan-tata">Ratan Tata</keyword>'s latest investment is a women's non-casual wear is Kaaryah, founded Nidhi Agarwal Kashyap. 
	
		When: June 2015 
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		11. Holachef- Launched in 2014 by Saurabh Saxena and Anil Kalra, this is a food-tech start-up where amateur and professional chefs can come together and sell their meals.
	 
	
		When- September 2015
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		12. <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword>- In less than three months after Ola announced a $400 million funding round, led by Russian investment firm DST Global, Tata announced its investment in the online car services company, which valued the company at $2.5 billion.
	 
	
		When- July 2015
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		13. Infinite Analytics- Founded in 2012 by MIT graduates Akash Bhatia and Purushotam Botla, this is a US based predictive marketing and Analysis Company. The company deals with deep machine learning and predictive analytics by merging data from multiple sources to create a 360-degree view of the user.
	 
	
		When- August 2015
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		14. <keyword id="1517554" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="ampere">Ampere</keyword>- Ampere sells electric vehicles, cycles, trolleys and scooters. It also sells vehicles for differently-abled. It was founded by Hemalata Annamalai.
	 
	
		When- July 2015
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		15. <keyword id="2798697" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lybrate">Lybrate</keyword>- Healthcare communication start-up, Lybrate connects doctors with patients anonymously throughout India anywhere and anytime. They raised $10.2 m in Series A funding from Ratan Tata, Tiger Global, Nexus Venture Partners.
	 
	
		When- July 2015
	 
	 
	
		(Image credits: Indiatimes, cardekho, kaaryah, bluestone, swasth india, twitter, cupoworld)

Ratan Tata’s magical startup investment portfolio

The first woman entrepreneur I knew was my neighbour who started a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papadum">papad</a> manufacturing business in the early 90s. I remember my mother being in awe of her and did her best to help out the budding entrepreneur. 
 
But that was the 90s and these entrepreneurs were never glorified or talked about in the media. Even the choices for women in India were limited – most enterprising women built home-based businesses. 
 
Over the turn of the millennium, a lot of businesses based on the distribution model were popularized, and empowered women too. Every other person you met was either an Amway or Oriflame distributor. 
 
Fast forward a few years and we have women rocking the proverbial boat by trying their hands on so-called “male-dominated” businesses. 
 
Let me introduce here six phenomenal ladies who rule the Indian startup scene with their disruptive ideas. From software developer to recruiter, from a woman who travelled alone for days on end surveying small city hotels to one whose mission is to pamper other Indian women, they have been there, done that and aren’t slowing down anytime soon. 
 
Of course, we’ll talk about their work (and companies), which speaks for itself. 
 
<a href="http://www.posist.com/">POSist</a> 
POSist is a Cloud-based restaurant management software that automates almost all restaurant operations, including online reservation, inventory management, and billing. It covers every single need of all types and sizes of food outlets. 
 
 
 
The idea for POSist came to Sakshi Tulsian when she and her husband couldn’t find good software for their own restaurant venture. As most good business ideas are designed to fill a void, POSist too was conceived to fill the demand-supply gap for decent hotel management software. 
Thanking her family for supporting her in realizing her dreams, Tulsian says that women in our society are expected to be all-rounders and create a balance between social and professional life, unlike men. This is the toughest part of being a woman entrepreneur. 
Our next entrepreneur too struggled with work-life balance after her first child was born. 
 
<a href="http://www.designnbuy.com/">Design ‘N’ Buy</a> 
Design ‘N’ Buy provides high-end ecommerce software solutions for B2B and B2C companies such as print service providers, trade printers, and distributors. Remember the time you got cool personalized messages on a t-shirt or mug? Design ‘N’ Buy builds web-to-print software to empower corporate websites to automate that. 
 
 
 
You can get a tailored web-to-print solution to design caps, t-shirts, banners, posters, greetings, mobile covers, and much more. Phew! You just need to plug in this printing and designing software to your website and you’re set. 
 
The idea behind Design ‘N’ Buy came to Nidhi Agarwal, a quintessential small town girl who overcame all obstacles, from learning English to mastering open source technologies, to actualize her dream. Today she is heading a 30+ team with over 500 projects to her credit. 
Design ‘N’ Buy is already ruling the personalized merchandise scene in the US with 80% of their clientele coming from California, Texas, Florida and New York. Nidhi has built a woman-centric team, because early in the game she understood the women’s potential and ability to multi-task with ease. 
 
This is an important lesson for all startups, not only in India, but across the world. Keep your workforce talent as diverse as possible by hiring people across ages, genders, races and backgrounds. 
 
<a href="http://vtestcorp.com/">VTest</a> 
VTest provides software testing services accompanied by detailed test reports and a digital certificate. Their business is restricted only to testing, a niche software development pain point. 
 
Director and COO Almas Khan started out in the recruitment field, but grew increasingly interested in tech. In the middle of a few life changing scenarios and a break from work, she found herself sitting at home, doing nothing. Initially, she did testing pro-bono for a friend. Soon, she realized this was what she wanted to do, and VTest was born. With her USP of focusing on “what not to do” VTest has made major inroads towards becoming a major player in the app testing business. 
 
<a href="http://www.vistarooms.com/">Vista Rooms</a> 
Vista Rooms is a niche business that offers low-cost luxury accommodation in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across India. Launched in April 2015, their website now offers stays in more than 70 cities and over 500 hotels. 
 
 
 
Theirs is a budget business model; so, they are leveraging existing platforms instead of making heavy investments unlike competitors. For instance, instead of creating a standalone app, they created a complete app experience on Instagram that allows everything from browsing to booking, to sharing reviews. 
 
Co-founder Ankita Sheth travelled for one and a half month to various small cities and experienced the true horrors of bad hospitability. Slowly but surely, she and her partners put together a plan for offering standardized hospitality and making pleasant budget travel a reality in India. 
 
Entrepreneurs can take two lessons from this startup. First, instead of hiring people to do research and listening to second-hand reports, devote time to check the ground reality on your own. Secondly, in the initial years, try to make your startup as lean as possible by cashing in on existing platforms as opposed to building new ones. 
 
<a href="http://www.sugarbox.in/">Sugarbox</a> 
Sugarbox is a gift subscription service, a first of its kind service in India that allows women to indulge themselves (hint, hint, husbands). All you need to do is subscribe, and you’ll get gifts – which could be fashion, beauty, lifestyle and gourmet products – handpicked by in-house stylists every month. That’s not all, you don’t know what your box contains is until it is delivered. Every month, Sugarbox has a new theme for the goodies. 
 
 
 
It’s been barely over a year since Niharika Jhunjhunwala started Sugarbox, but the business is doing pretty well with 30-40% month-on-month subscription growth. 
 
Niharika feels extremely happy about being able to spoil women, and now that she has cornered the market in metro cities, she is looking forward to capture a slice of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. 
 
<a href="http://www.alwayswithyou.co.in/">With You</a> 
Although the idea of this startup is a little morbid, it is beyond doubt one of the most disruptive ideas in a very long time. A website to leave a message for your loved ones after your death, in a country like India, seems as strange to us as the idea of snake charmers to the west. 
 
Nevertheless, Vedika Goel went on and gave shape to this thoughtful idea, and created With You. So many things happen today – heart attacks, accidents, etc. – that snatch away lives and worlds in a fleeting moment. With You allows you to leave messages for your loved ones – it might be a secret that you don’t want to take to your grave, a financial will, or just that “I love you” that you never got around to saying. 
 
Vedika calls it the insurance of emotions; saying that her venture takes care of the emotions of people that are left behind when someone passes away. 
 
The most important lesson to learn from the last two startups is to pursue your dream, no matter how disruptive, small or whacky it may seem at the outset. 
 
All In All, 
If you’re a male entrepreneur, look to your female counterparts to inspiration and how to walk the tightrope of work-life balance. Further, 
· Keep your workforce as diverse as possible 
· Make a “not-to-do list” 
· Keep your startup lean 
· Think different, think disruptive 
If you’re a female entrepreneur, Kudos to you! 
 
(This article is written by Rohan Ayyar, who is a startup-focused marketer involved in creative content strategy, web analytics, and conversion optimization at E2M, a premium digital marketing firm. He’s also an avid writer in the business and tech space, with articles featured on Fast Company, Entrepreneur Mag and The Next Web. Follow him on Twitter @searchrook) 
 
(Image: Thinkstock)

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