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Now buying your favorite designs online is going to be easier than ever. With the <keyword id="2936403" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Computer-Vision-feature">Computer Vision feature</keyword>, you’ll get more apt search results while shopping online. As per a report appeared in The Economic Times, India’s growing ecommerce sites <keyword id="635221" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Craftsvilla">Craftsvilla</keyword> and <keyword id="2253218" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Voonik">Voonik</keyword> are looking forward to a feature in which image search would be used instead of textual inputs provided by the user. 
 Craftsvilla co-founder and CEO <keyword id="172932" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Manoj-Gupta">Manoj Gupta</keyword> said, "If the customer likes a color or pattern, they'd want to be shown a similar kind of product and this feature is incredibly useful." 
 India’s leading ecommerce sites including <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> and <keyword id="1153436" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yepme">YepMe</keyword> had already been using the feature. While Flipkart introduced this last week to its consumers, YepMe had launched it even earlier. 
 Computer vision, the newest technology in the <keyword id="2936404" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-eCommerce-space">Indian eCommerce space</keyword>, is a growing discipline of computer science where computers are enabled with massive computing power to recognise images. Tech giants <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword>, <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword> and <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> have invested heavily in this technology. 
 
Sujayath Ali, co-founder and CEO of a Chennai-based fashion retailer Voonik, says, "That might work for other categories like electronics or books. But for fashion, visual search provides a clear advantage." 
 The firm offers image search to many of its users. "We decided not to look at aggregate data and decided to get more personal with the user right from the first," said Ali, a former <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> executive. 
 
While Voonik gets close to 2 million unique visitors per month, Craftsvilla gets close to six lakh visits a month through its website and mobile application, using the image recognition technology supplied by Chennai-based computer vision startup Mad Stree Den.

Retail therapy to soon become visually appealing

<ul><li>Elon Musk’s Tesla is all set to foray into the Indian market next year. The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, confirmed Tesla’s plan to “start operations” in India in early 2021. </li><li>According to ET Auto, the automaker has already sealed plans to resume bookings and start delivery by the end of the first quarter of 2021-22. </li><li><keyword id="2470415" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="tesla-model-3">Tesla Model 3</keyword> is among the most affordable models of Tesla till date. </li><li>The car was first rolled out in 2017 and has emerged as the world’s best selling all-electric car.</li><li><a href="https://www.carandbike.com/tata-cars/nexon-ev" data-type="tilCustomLink">Tata’s Nexon EV</a>, priced at ₹13.99 lakh, owns a massive 63% market share of the EV segment and sold over 2,500 units last year.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Check out the latest news and updates on Business Insider.</a> </li></ul>Elon Musk-led Tesla is all set to enter Indian markets in 2021. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/business/nitin-gadkari-confirms-tesla-coming-to-india-in-early-2021-7123238/">confirmed</a> Tesla’s plan to “start operations” in India in early 2021. Gadkari said that the company will first start operations in the country with sales only and will later consider establishing any assembly and manufacturing plants, depending on the response its electric cars get from the buyers. This comes after Musk earlier in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/tesla-will-sell-its-electric-cars-in-india-in-2021-for-sure-elon-musk-said/articleshow/78450070.cms">October this year</a>, said the electric car maker is finally ready to enter India next year. Reacting to a tweet by Tesla Club India that there is an India team working on the next year for sure scheduled Tesla entry, Musk said: “Will release order configurator probably in Jan”. <div type="twitter" handle="elonmusk" handlename="Elon Musk" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1295975423654977537/dHw9JcrK_normal.jpg" favoritecount="7532" retweetcount="1307" status="@TeslaClubIN @WholeMarsBlog @MKBHD Next year for sure" createdat="1601623922000" id="1311931936261263360"></div> Tesla to debut in India with Model 3 Sedan In 2016, Elon Musk announced on Twitter that the company would debut in India with its first car, Model 3 Sedan. According to ET Auto, the automaker has already sealed plans to resume bookings and start delivery by the end of the first quarter of 2021-22. The Model 3 sedan is expected to be priced at about <a href="https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/passenger-vehicle/cars/etauto-exclusive-knock-knock-this-is-tesla-here/79962040">₹55-60 lakh</a>, and reports indicate that the bookings will resume in India from next month. This is the second time that the company is reopening booking. Earlier, the bookings had opened in 2016. However, the debut was delayed citing infrastructure issues. Vishal Gondal of wearable and fitness technology company GOQii, Sujayath Ali, CEO of online fashion platform Voonik, and Paytm founder Vijay Sekhar Sharma were among the few corporate stalwarts that booked Tesla in 2016. Specifications of Tesla Model 3 Tesla Model 3 is among the most affordable models of Tesla till date. The car was first rolled out in 2017 and has emerged as the world’s best selling all-electric car. Tesla will import the vehicles as completely built units, with the capability of charging in 15 minutes. The Model 3 offers up to 500 km of range and a top speed of 162 mph. Tesla’s Model 3, along with Model Y, accounted for nearly 89% of Tesla’s total sales in the third quarter of 2020. The company has reportedly been exploring options to set up a plant in India. Unlike other markets, the company has no plans to appoint any dealers and will be selling directly with a strong focus on digital sales. Tesla's Model 3 is yet to launch in India but there is a lot of anticipation already. Local giants like Tata and Mahindra are hoping that they can beat Tesla's edge in technology by keeping their EVs affordable. <a href="https://www.carandbike.com/tata-cars/nexon-ev" data-type="tilCustomLink">Tata’s Nexon EV</a>, priced at ₹13.99 lakh, owns a massive 63% market share of the EV segment and sold over 2,500 units last year. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/house-passes-bill-to-increase-600-stimulus-checks-to-2000/articleshow/80001571.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">House passes bill to increase $600 stimulus checks to $2,000. It now goes to the Senate.</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/most-vaccine-skeptics-are-persuadable-and-will-get-the-covid-19-shot-says-a-nobel-prize-winner-who-studies-vaccine-hesitancy/articleshow/79995460.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Most vaccine skeptics are persuadable and will get the COVID-19 shot, says a Nobel prize-winner who studies vaccine hesitancy</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/bitcoin-mining-stocks-surge-after-the-cryptocurrency-passes-28000-for-the-first-time/articleshow/79996286.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Bitcoin-mining stocks surge after the cryptocurrency passes $28,000 for the first time</a>

Here’s how much a Tesla model-3 might cost in India

If you have a brilliant business idea and don’t know where to pitch it, <keyword id="6442381" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="BITS-Pilani">BITS Pilani</keyword>’s international student-startup challenge is for you. The college is back with its 13th edition of <keyword id="4377674" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Conquest-2017">Conquest 2017</keyword>, which serves as a launchpad for your startup and entrepreneurial dreams. 
 
Conquest offers one-on-one mentoring sessions with industry leaders, investing and fundraising opportunities, networking sessions with corporate moguls, equity-less funding and resources worth $1 million. 
 
Last year, Conquest 2016 saw over 1200 applications from startups all across Asia during which people got a learning opportunity. 
 
Nilesh Kothari, co-founder at Trifecta Capital, who was a jury member in Conquest 2016 said, “Every year, I’m quite impressed by the quality of the teams and startups present here. It gives youngsters an opportunity to engage and learn new things. I think it’s... really great.” 
 
Conquest 2017 seeks to assist startups from tier 2 and tier 3 cities and provides them an opportunity to be at par with ventures across the globe. This year, Conquest also eyes startups overseas, gearing up to help them with its vast inventory of resources and opportunities. 
 
Over the years, Conquest has produced some of the best startups in India, including Gamezop, iTraveller, PosterGully, GharPay (Acquired by Delhivery), Social Cops, Voonik, etc. 
 
Gamezop, the runners up for Conquest 2015, raised a funding of $350,000, and the founders were featured in Forbes 30 under 30 in 2016. Social Cops, a Conquest 2013 participant, was among the 35 start-ups from India selected for the first India-U.S. Startup Konnect at Silicon Valley. 
 
Here’s how you can apply for Conquest 2017 
1. Participants have to fill a form on the Conquest website. Registrations close on April 20. For registering, visit www.conquest.org.in. 
 
2. The Conquest Jury, a panel of entrepreneurs and investors, will screen the applications based on various parameters gauging the start-up performance. 
 
3. The semi-finalists would get personalized mentoring across five major cities in India, wherein the teams will be offered to choose their own mentors. Finally, a networking lunch with industrialists and a pitching opportunity to Indian VC firms will commemorate the Grand Finale.

BITS Pilani’s international startup challenge ‘Conquest 2017’ is back. Get ready to be mentored by experts, funding of $1 million on offer

<div type="image" msid="58062255" hostid="261"></div>

 
 
Sanjay Mehta has been a ‘full-time investor’ since the past four years before quitting his last entrepreneurial venture. He loves entrepreneurship for its process, “I really enjoy ‘proxy entrepreneurship’, which means that I can enable many people to start their ventures and help them create a stable business,’’ he says. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/exclusive-ace-angel-investor-sanjay-mehtas-true-life-experiences-that-makes-his-investments-in-startups-fool-proof/articleshow/58061818.cms">ALSO READ: Exclusive: Ace Angel Investor Sanjay Mehta’s true-life experiences that make his investments in startups fool-proof</a> 
 
Mehta is excited about the business building process and thinks that the best part about starting a business is seeing it grow from seed stage to $2-5 million businesses where you enjoy the journey of creating something that has its own identity. He also believes that this is the hardest part, “Their sheer enthusiasm rubs off on me and I learn a lot by listening to their ideas. I get personal gratification by seeing them give in to their belief and giving up the best years of their lives,” he says, at peace. 
 
With 66 start-up portfolio companies namely Zippr, Box8, WowMomos, AdstringO, UnBxd, Consure Medical Device, Oyo Rooms, PrettySecrets.com, Letsventure.com, MechMocha, Faballey.com, PayTunes, LogiNext, RepUp, Adsparx, Ecosense, PeeBuddy and more; Mehta is a regular target for aspiring founders and more so after his successful exit from Oyo Rooms whose founder Ritesh Aggarwal, became famous for being a 21-year old founder. 
 
From an exit perspective, Oyo was the biggest exit for any Indian angel investor at 280 x of the investment made which was last year. He is very practical with his investments and thinks that a 100 x exit from a start-up is successful but that’s not why he does it; he sounds like a proud parent when he talks about his investments. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/exclusive-voonik-is-redefining-fashion-e-commerce-for-indian-masses/articleshow/58044307.cms">ALSO READ: Exclusive: Voonik is Redefining Fashion E-commerce for Indian Masses</a> 
 He is very practical in his outlook for the start-up ecosystem, “In terms of <keyword id="3003094" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Startup-India">Startup India</keyword>, I don’t think the government has done enough especially to ease the pains of doing business. I’m appreciative of this government because not only have they started a dialogue in the country, they have also started adopting new technologies made in India, at a state and national level which is a supportive move, ”he beams. 
 
Mehta as an investor is bullish about Crypto currency, Universal utilities, FMCG brands that sell online, Medical devices, Pharma, Ed-tech, Media, and entertainment, as sectors and believes that India is on the cusp of innovative products and this is just the beginning. 
Sanjay has a good eye for innovation and thinks product start-ups like Freshdesk and Druva have already started the start-up revolution that is driven by innovative products that will propel India to be world’s start-up destination. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/the-stayzilla-fiasco-is-an-ugly-heads-up-of-the-future-of-the-indian-startup-ecosystem/articleshow/57689230.cms">ALSO READ: The Stayzilla fiasco is an ugly heads-up of the future of the Indian startup ecosystem</a> 
 
 You can reach Sanjay Mehta on Twitter- @mehtasanjay or on LinkedIn, where he writes regular opinion articles on the start-up ecosystem.

Exclusive: An Angel investor whose Midas touch with Crypto-currency is redefining the future of start-up investments

The founding team is the be-all and end-all of a budding startup. However, most founders end up looking for hustlers in all the wrong places - recruiting sites, LinkedIn, Job boards and what not. Fine sites as these might be, people here may not always look forward to your grind. 
 Enter <keyword id="3261177" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Prabhakar-Sunder">Prabhakar Sunder</keyword>. He has had seven years of experience at <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword>. He worked closely with <keyword id="705865" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Bansal">Mukesh Bansal</keyword> to shape the company, which was then sold to Flipkart at over $300 million. Besides finance, Sunder also headed the commercial and legal functions at Flipkart, with responsibilities including handling the strategic and corporate finance. The guy has over 9 years of experience with audit firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte. 
 
“I was in the Big 4, a comfortable corporate setup for 8-9 years. It took me a while to realize that while the money was good, I wasn’t growing”, Sunder smiles today. He is a true blue hustler, heading finance for online marketplace Voonik. He’ll also help them raise funds. I ask him what to look for if you want to hire a hustler. 
 
“Focus on a person’s inner personality. It’s very difficult to change a person upside-down”, Sunder says. Look for people who have the emotional and mental blueprint of a hustler. This type of person typically doesn’t want to do a 9 to 5 job and earn a fat cheque for nothing. They usually have other goals and aspirations in life. 
 
 
Help them view the job at your startup as a step that’ll bring them closer to achieving their long term goal/s. Several startup hustlers have founder aspirations. 
 
Sunder thinks that’s an absolute necessity. “There needs to be some entrepreneurship spirit. You can further nurture it as the person grows in their career. The most important aspect is the ability to take risks. If the person is very risk-averse, startups aren’t the right place for them.” 
 
Give them a chance to grow in your organization with their natural ‘hustle power’, and they’ll come. It’s also important to be coachable, i.e. willing to listen and learn, and willing to try new methods. 
 
Sunder says it’s important to be able to handle critical feedback. “You need to see failure as a stepping stone, and not a full stop. It’s all about learning from mistakes.” 
 
These are the key questions you need to ask yourself: 
· Are they ambitious? 
· Are they entrepreneurial? 
· Are they willing to do what it takes? 
· Do they enjoy communicating? 
· Can they handle rejection well? 
 
The most critical question - where do you find startup sales hustlers! 
The best place to look for these people is always your inner network - friends, family, acquaintances or fellow founders. 
 
Last word, hire for attitude, not experience. 
 
BI Tip: The good ones are too good to be out of work.

Myntra ex-CFO Prabhakar Sunder’s guide to hiring the hustler for your start-up

<div type="image" msid="58061915" hostid="261"></div>

 
 
Sanjay Mehta is popularly known as an angel investor and acts as a mentor to many entrepreneurs, but little is known about how Mehta became the go-to angel investors for many. 
 
He was born in a middle-class Gujarati joint family in Mumbai, and calls himself a ‘first-generation entrepreneur’. He was the first person in his family to take the leap into starting his own business but credits his family for teaching him the art of nurturing relationships with diverse people. 
 
He studied engineering from Mumbai University in 1993 and he was adamant about being an industrialist. 
His first company was Bespoke Software Consultancy, while he was interested in IT, he didn’t want to sell computers, he wanted to sell the software inside them. 
 
The entrepreneur that failed and started again 
 
His first venture was successful, but Sanjay felt the need to get out of the country like his peers albeit it was a short trip. 
 
He went at a time when the dot-com bust was about to happen and his exposure to trending e-commerce at the time propelled him to start a B2B commodity trade portal which failed and he returned in 1999. “I lost everything as investors backed out on the term sheet. I had to start from scratch. I realized that this was going to be a rollercoaster ride,” recalls Sanjay. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/exclusive-voonik-is-redefining-fashion-e-commerce-for-indian-masses/articleshow/58044307.cms">ALSO READ: Exclusive: Voonik is Redefining Fashion E-commerce for Indian Masses</a> 
 Mehta came back to India in 1999 and went back to the grind and started another ahead-of-its-time company which too shut down. Undeterred he started again with <keyword id="4390649" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="udyog-software-india-ltd">Udyog Software India Ltd</keyword> which was a taxation product company in the year 2000. This third-time-lucky charm turned around things as Sanjay sold the venture to an Indian owned US company in 2004. 
 Mehta started his last company <keyword id="4390651" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="maia-intelligence">MAIA Intelligence</keyword> in 2007 which dealt with business intelligence software and analytics which he sold to Datamatics in 2015. While he was reaping the benefits of the two exits, he invested in real estate which was just in time for the boom. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/the-stayzilla-fiasco-is-an-ugly-heads-up-of-the-future-of-the-indian-startup-ecosystem/articleshow/57689230.cms">ALSO READ: The Stayzilla fiasco is an ugly heads-up of the future of the Indian startup ecosystem</a> 
 Equipped with new found wealth, he decided to look for other areas of investment and entered venture funding with Aditya Birla <keyword id="34499" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="private-equity">Private Equity</keyword> Fund as an LP. He joined Indian Angel Network which was the first angel network and then decided to be an ‘angel’ full time. 
Since the past four years, as a full-time investor, Mehta always wanted to either be an entrepreneur or support one and it all started with him watching his father’s hard work. “My father has always been in the corporate sector and he toiled really hard all his life but he never owned anything. If I’m building something, I thought that I should be the one owning it. That’s why I never applied for a job.” 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/i-stayed-at-tajs-first-property-in-amritsar-and-heres-what-i-experienced/articleshow/58028999.cms">ALSO READ: I Stayed at Taj's First Property in Amritsar and Here’s What I Experienced</a> 
 
He shares one instance wherein 1993, as a young lad, he wanted a PC to start his own business that cost up to a Lakh rupees and went to my grandfather to ask for a loan. He suggested visiting a bank, and all the financial institutions shooed him away after which his relatives helped in undersigning for the loan. 
 
The Mumbai-based investor was made to feel the importance of money from the beginning as he paid his own loan installments and it taught him a lot about financial discipline. That’s why Sanjay credits his business learning to his family and his father notably who worked with Fevicol and struck up a business building chord that stuck with him with only one hard and fast rule- ‘Do not innovate in Legal and Finance’.

Exclusive: Ace Angel Investor Sanjay Mehta’s true-life experiences that make his investments in startups fool-proof

Some of the biggest names from the startup ecosystem are in the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=IIM+Bangalore&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">IIM Bangalore</a> campus today, either giving speeches in the auditoriums or judging competitions and providing mentorships within closed doors to startups and students from across the country, as the ninth edition of their National Annual <keyword id="107737" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Entrepreneurship">Entrepreneurship</keyword> Summit ‘Eximius’ kickstarts. 
 
The summit themed ‘The Time Is Now’ has names like P Chidambaram, Kunal Kapoor, Devdutt Patnaik among others associated with it, and this extravagant show has been put up by The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Cell in association with the NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=IIM+Bangalore&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">IIMB</a>. 
 One look at the array of events shows that like every year, this year too Eximius USP of holding the event is to get the biggies under one roof and encourage students from across the country with failed start-ups or who aspire to have startups, to be able to meet investors like <keyword id="720079" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="IvyCap-Ventures">IvyCap Ventures</keyword> and Shark Tank during competitions or mentorship sessions. The exchange of ideas will enable these students to be better prepared before they take on the entrepreneurship journey. The competitions will have participants solving a range of problems faced by start-ups and entrepreneurs in marketing, operations, finance, sustainability and fund-raising. Several online and on-the-spot events such as quizzes and simulation games mark the event. 
 
Eximius is featuring at least 150 start-ups and in over 30 events, and Business Insider is in the campus to cover some of the best sessions. Here’s a sneak peek into what is unfolding at the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=IIM+Bangalore&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">IIM-B</a> campus: 
 
Speaker List: Eximius 2016 will host eminent speakers including P Chidambaram (former Finance Minister of India); Duvvuri Subbarao (former RBI Governor); Dr Jacob Crasta (Prime Minister's SME Council); Dr P Namperumalsamy (Padma Shree Awardee, Chairman, Aravind Eye Care); Dr <keyword id="160324" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Devdutt-Pattanaik">Devdutt Pattanaik</keyword> (bestselling author); Shradha Sharma (Co-founder YourStory); Sujayath Ali (Co-founder CEO Voonik); Kunal Kapoor (actor and co-founder Ketto.Org); Mukesh Singh (co-founder &amp; CEO Zopnow); Piyush Mishra (actor) and Anshu Gupta (founder Goonj). 
 
Flagship events 
Bzzwings: Bzzwings, the business plan contest, encourages individuals to conceptualise, ideate and take the plunge. Winning teams will get incubation at IIMB’s NSRCEL. Prizes worth Rs. 40 lakh will be given away in this contest. 
 
Fast Forward: Fast Forward is targeted at business ideas built around information technology that can impact millions and start a revolution. It offers exclusive mentorship to selected teams. The winners of Fast Forward will get prizes worth Rs. 2.5 lakh. 
 
The Other Incentive: The event is aimed at promoting and supporting social entrepreneurship. This is for ideas where revenues and bottom-line profits are hygiene factors and social impact is the key measure of success. The event is being organised in association with Villgro, a leading social incubator. Social entrepreneurs could win an incubation opportunity of up to Rs. 65 lakh from Villgro and prizes worth Rs. 80,000. 
 
The Game of Clicks: The event bridges the gap between students and start-ups. In this marketing challenge, teams compete in real-time for digital marketing. It gives students the opportunity to collaborate with start-ups to develop their marketing strategies. Each student team works closely with a start-up to develop and implement its digital marketing strategy over a period of three weeks. The winning teams get a chance to win prizes worth Rs. 50,000. 
 
Wipro Earthian Sustainability Quiz: Governments, organisations and leaders across the world are thinking about sustainability. Eximius 2016 will present the Earthian Sustainability Quiz in association with Wipro, based on sustainability and the environment. Prizes worth Rs. 1.1 lakh are to be won. 
 
Bootcamp Kiosk: Early stage start-ups can showcase their business models and company goals at the Startup Bootcamp. The bootcamp will give start-up founders the chance to demonstrate their vision to a captive student community of future business leaders and entrepreneurs. Additionally, start-up founders will get a chance to imbibe key lessons from industry veterans and investors. 
 
Workshops: This year the bootcamp workshops will be conducted by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=IBM&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">IBM</a>, Greg Maron (co-founder <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Zoomcar&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Zoomcar</a>) and HeadStart Network, India’s leading community for start-ups. The workshops will cover diverse themes such as innovative business models, leveraging start-up ecosystems, start-up marketing, scaling and building an empowered venture. 
 
<a href="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/insideiim/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/26020014/IIM-Bangalore.jpg">Image Source</a>

IIM Bangalore unveils 'Eximius' with some of the biggest names from the startup industry

<keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, the poster child of the Indian startup ecosystem, was devalued for the seventh time in January 2017, by <keyword id="4205639" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="fidelity-partners">Fidelity Partners</keyword>. At a $5.56 billion valuation, Flipkart’s shares were valued at $52.13 in November 2016, down by 36.1 percent from $81.55 per share as of August 2016. The domino effect hit the cab aggregator <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> next with the US-based investment firm <keyword id="4205636" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="vanguard-world-fund">Vanguard World Fund</keyword> marking down Ola by over 40 percent. 
 According to their regulatory filing with the <keyword id="108474" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="US-Securities-and-Exchange-Commission">US Securities and Exchange Commission</keyword>, the current valuation for Ola is now $3 billion, with its shares dropping from $311.27 per share in the previous quarter to $182.70 apiece. During their peak, Ola had raised $500 million at a valuation of $5 billion. 
 That’s not all. According to reports, e-commerce giant <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> is reportedly looking at raising funds at a lower valuation of $4 billion. At their last fundraising round, they raised $200 million at a valuation of $6.5 billion. 
 
Valuations are normally decided according to a company’s market share, its gross margins, and its rate of growth, among other factors, but is anyone talking about the elephant in the room? Does a number decide a company’s worth or does the mettle lie someplace else? 
 
What’s The Big Deal about Valuations? 
 
While Valuations and devaluations are part of the game, they are a mix of market environment, risk appetite, a fund manager’s biases, hot new trends, fear of missing out, the multiples comparable are commanding, and of course, expected cash flows and margins. 
In 2015, we lauded the entry of Flipkart, Ola and Snapdeal in the Unicorn club. The first quarter of 2015 saw over $1.7 billion funding in start-ups and all we hear now are downturns with reality hitting the magic creatures to the ground and forcing them to compete in a horse race for fund-raising. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/heres-how-uber-is-letting-you-earn-from-its-platform-uberdost/articleshow/57083396.cms">ALSO READ: Here's how Uber is letting you earn from its platform 'UberDost'</a> 
 
While there were muffled concerns of profitability and unit economics, the dynamics took a harder turn when in the middle of 2016 the world economic dynamics shifted. 
 
Suddenly, the pouring funding started slowing down, news of firing rounds, internal tiffs, and investor involvement began to cloud the startup skyline. 
 
Now the lauded valuations started to seem bloated and overhyped, and the cost-cutting started and it doesn’t seem to end. 
 
 
 
 
The secret is in the Business Model 
 <keyword id="824043" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Business-Insider">Business Insider</keyword>, while digging deeper into factors ailing the startup ecosystem in India, realized that business models had to be one of the core ingredients to a startup’s success or failure. So, we got in touch with key players, notable investors and successful companies that had a say in the functions of the industry. 
 
What clearly emerged was that there were mainly three business models that most start-ups and unicorns, followed in India- 
 
1) Cut prices to gain industry share and chase profit later 
2) Set up person-to-person exchanges 
3) On-Demand Model 
 
Now we break down the models to see why Indian start-ups think they’d work and why they haven’t succeeded yet. 
 
Investors’ Point of View 
 <keyword id="262067" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mahesh-Murthy">Mahesh Murthy</keyword>, Co-Partner, Seedfund, one of India’s most vocal investors told us what’s wrong with the Indian startup ecosystem,”The problem is that we are idolizing businesses that are not ‘New’. There is nothing elusive or different about the companies we look up to, they are just copycats.’’ 
 Seedfund, which is an early stage VC firm has invested in companies like Redbus.in, Chumbak, Carwale, and Voonik. “Real businesses need little or no marketing. The cost of acquiring a customer shouldn’t be higher than your investment in your product which is what is happening right now’’<keyword id="20148" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="murthy">Murthy</keyword> comments on the viability of the business models of India’s best-known <keyword id="6362513" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Startups">startups</keyword>. 
 “Innovation for the sake of innovation is useless. Most consumers prefer the companies that are competitors to Flipkart, Snapdeal, and Ola and that speaks volumes. We are just looking for great service coupled with great value for money and <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> and Uber give us that while the other companies don’t hit the mark while getting celebrity endorsements with full-page ads.’’ 
 “Rule Number 1 of business: Never lose money. Rule Number 2: Don’t forget Rule Number 1,” said <keyword id="71133" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Warren-Buffet">Warren Buffet</keyword>, probably the most popular investor in the world. 
 <keyword id="542474" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reid-Hoffman">Reid Hoffman</keyword> from <keyword id="28120" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Linkedin">LinkedIn</keyword> and now a VC says that as a VC, you should be able to put your money into a startup and walk away from your investment and at the most, you are best placed to understand a sector if you have built a business in it or at the very least, worked in it. For Indian start-ups, we see the opposite happening with Flipkart who recently appointed <keyword id="6379357" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kalyan-Krishnamurthy">Kalyan Krishnamurthy</keyword> as CEO, who is an ex-employee at Flipkart’s key investor, Tiger Global. 
 
What is a business model? 
 
A business model explains which consumer pain a startup chooses to relieve, why your solution works better than competing ones and how big a wedge a company can drive between what customers are willing to pay and the costs. 
 
Breaking down the Business Models 
 
There are broadly the following business models at play when it comes to start-ups that hold the public eye in India: 
 
1. Cut prices to gain an industry share and chase profit later: Target a huge market and sell a product at the lowest price with fast delivery and great service. As the company grows, expand the product line, negotiate volume discounts with suppliers, invest in technology, customer response time and cut waste from the operations. Then deliver the lower costs to customers in the form of lower prices. 
 
This was Amazon’s model which is still one of the fastest growing companies in India and the world. Although it was founded back in 1994, Amazon didn’t actually make a profit until 2001. Amazon has some profitable projects, but the money made from them is typically used as investments to fund other Amazon businesses and ventures. The company invests its profits in new lines of businesses and uses them to expand. In short, Amazon seems to value growth over profits. 
 
 
 
​ <keyword id="8589" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="padmaja">Padmaja</keyword> <keyword id="980938" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ruparel">Ruparel</keyword>, President, Indian Angel Network doesn’t believe in this model simply because she thinks that Indian consumers are flighty, “There is a constant need to lure the consumer to stick with you which is tricky when you’re not the only player in the market. Your focus here is on how quickly you can grow the market and not on your business strategy.’’ Ruparel believes in investing in a much more stable business model, “We are old-fashioned for sure as our focus is on businesses building a top-line and a bottom-line. We ascertain a business by unit economics and even though the cycle might be slightly longer, B2B start-ups create a sustainable business.” 
 
“The consumer is surely attuned to buying online which was their aim, but only some players will remain in this market. Consolidation is inevitable as loss-making businesses can’t stay afloat for long, but only time will tell who will remain the top dogs here,’’says Padmaja when asked about the future for consumer-centric start-ups. 
 
India’s perspective: “E-commerce companies like Snapdeal and Flipkart are following a similar model to that of Amazon in India. The difference is that Amazon can afford to lose money in India as it is profitable in other markets. The former players are just playing in India where they’re losing money trying to compete with Amazon,” comments Mahesh Murthy. 
 
2. Set up person-to-person exchanges: A house owner in a town has a huge house that has idle rooms that aren’t occupied. The young professionals living in the city need accommodation in different towns to work flexibly but they don’t want to own a house or live in expensive hotels. It seems to be working for <keyword id="719382" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airbnb">Airbnb</keyword> which doesn’t own any inventory and millions of people have taken advantage of these services, and Airbnb now has a market value estimated at $30 billion—roughly the same size as the <keyword id="183920" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Marriott-International">Marriott International</keyword> hotel chain. 
 
Vikram Gupta, CEO, IvyCap Ventures, “India is not a mature market where you can write off $100 million checks to companies that are spearheaded by college graduates or in some cases, dropouts. The entire ecosystem is disturbed as new companies were getting funding at overhyped valuations. The market has started to finally stabilize and we see investors going back to the revenue as a yardstick for company’s growth instead of the GMV. The businesses are coming back to realistic valuations and while they might have money left in the bank, they are looking to reduce their cash burn rate.” 
 
 
 
India’s perspective: Companies like <keyword id="2808667" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="OYO">OYO</keyword> are trying to work with small hotels and guesthouses and have even leased their own properties but the burn-rate is consistent. With simplifying its business model and focusing on one aspect; people sharing their homes with people and minimal revamping, Airbnb has revolutionized how the world sees hotel accommodation forever. 
 
3. On-Demand Model: Smartphones have driven transformational shifts in how we consume goods and services, and many consumers have become acclimated to purchasing at the press of a button. The on-demand model allows a startup to leverage new technology while utilizing existing infrastructures. Another benefit lies in the use of freelance labor with its obvious advantages in cost cutting. 
 
Uber is a great example of the sharing economy where they connect the supply to the demand of taxis without investing in their own fleet. 
 
India’s perspective: <keyword id="6362049" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola-Cabs">Ola Cabs</keyword> is Uber’s biggest competitor in India and while both companies burn a lot of money trying to lure customers to get into a taxi, Uber is currently the world’s most valuable startup at $69 billion. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/online-cab-players-in-2016-completed-nearly-half-a-billion-rides-with-250-y-o-y-growth-in-india/articleshow/57273938.cms">ALSO READ: Online cab players in 2016 completed nearly half a billion rides with 250% y-o-y growth in India</a> 
 
Winner Speak 
 V. Krishnan, Co-founder, and Director of <keyword id="1675768" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Justdial-Ltd">JustDial Ltd</keyword> who likes to call his company an ‘18-year old startup’ says that for a successful business you don’t need an extraordinary idea, “The problem with start-ups today is that they don’t focus on profitability. To create a profitable business, you need extraordinary execution, not an idea. Giving money to people to use your services doesn’t make sense. The Indian customers are not loyal to brands, but to offers. Our goal was to create a world-class business and a world-class company.’’ 
 
For the first ten years of JustDial’s existence, the company didn’t raise any funding. The company ran on a shoe-string budget and used its own money to survive. In 2006, when internet penetration and broadband gained traction in India, the company was ready with its fully functional website to complement its telecom services. From 2-3% internet users to now 85% internet users, the company has grown to 200 Cr web searches annually, without any cashback or incentives. The company is probably one of the rarely profitable internet companies in the country today. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/65-of-start-ups-feel-indian-startup-eco-system-may-be-in-a-tech-bubble-report/articleshow/57205211.cms">ALSO READ: 65% of start-ups feel Indian startup eco-system may be in a tech bubble: Report</a> 
 
“The core business of start-ups isn’t ready but there is marketing happening. India is going to be giving you a lot of opportunities. Everyone wants to create a company, raise a great valuation and sell it off to do something bigger; the attitude is wrong," he signs off. 
​ 
Business Insider got in touch with Flipkart, Ola, Snapdeal, and Uber for this story but the companies chose to not comment on the same. 
 
​ 
 
Business Insider’s Take 
 
While popular Indian start-ups struggle to survive without additional funding coming in, we see some internet companies like JustDial and BookMyShow staying afloat, without investor-intervention. 
 
When it comes to businesses and business models, investors and successful companies agree that the tried and tested works; build a business with a strong product that you can alter as technology develops. The business of losing money can only take you so far if you don’t put it to good use. 
 
There’s a difference between investment into a product and burning money, and the start-ups better realize that before they get acquired or relinquished by the players who created the game that they’re set to lose. 
 
The market is big enough for companies that create value for customers not just for start-ups that create customers; the difference is everything. 
 
(Graphics: All figures in INR crores for the financial year 2015- 2016. Source: <a href="http://www.livemint.com/Companies/vtqiTC9VgJgnUfOAH2QdiL/Flipkart-still-Indias-top-startup.html">Mint Research</a>) 
 
**For Oyo, the result is from Apr-Dec 2015. 
*BookMyShow is the only company mentioned that has profits.

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