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<ul><li>The <keyword id="11924074" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shark-tank-india" source="Orion">Shark Tank India</keyword> judge says gatekeepers of the app ecosystem – Apple and <keyword id="19902762" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="google" source="keywords">Google</keyword> – are the new East India Company and they operate with complete arrogance and impunity.</li><li>Just as startup founders are coming under pressure, venture capitalists and auditors too need to be held accountable for their behaviour.</li><li><keyword id="20225195" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shark-tank" source="keywords">Shark Tank</keyword> India has become a catalyst for driving entrepreneurship and giving it legitimacy. </li></ul> <keyword id="127971" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="anupam-mittal" source="Orion">Anupam Mittal</keyword> is India’s original internet entrepreneur, who is the founder and CEO of People Group. Way before platform economy became a buzzword, Mittal built a platform for Indians seeking life partners. And even today one million Indians find their partners on shaadi.com every year. Call him the OG of startups or a serial entrepreneur, he is a man who does not mince words. In a free wheeling chat with Business Insider’s Malini Bhupta, Mittal talks about unfair trade practices of Google, his investment in Ola’s Bhavish Aggarwal and what he thinks is the biggest achievement of Shark Tank India. Edited Excerpts: With some high profile startups like Paytm and Byju’s coming under lens, what do you think is wrong with the startup ecosystem? I think the Paytm issue is a little different. There are two issues there in my view – one is valuation. The company came out with its IPO at the height of the unicorn boom and as a result, their valuation was corrected when the pvt. market corrected. This is part of the pricing game and one can hardly blame them for it. Eventually, they would have grown into their valuation is what I believe. However, the second issue which is regulatory in nature is far more serious. Whether it is justified or not I don’t know. I think there is a little heavy-handedness here as what you are talking about is a payments bank KYC stuff being the reason to shut them down, which could be seen as over-reach since they are not a significantly important lending institution. Talking about what is wrong with India’s ecosystem and why founders are behaving badly is a common issue that occurs when there are high levels of greed. When there is massive liquidity in the system people think they can take advantage of the situation. In the US you have seen Theranos, crypto frauds and an industry that was created around SPACs. Billions of dollars have been lost on that. What is happening in India is a small reflection of that. Greed manifests in two ways – one is the founders who are ambitious who see the ecosystem celebrating unicorns and that gets weaponised. Over time a few start with minor refractions and very soon they start fabricating revenues and manipulating auditors to keep up with the image that has been created. They are riding tigers they can't get off. The venture capitalists too want to see their investments being marked up as their future fund raises depend on the portfolio's net asset value and so they play along and at times actually drive the founders at a velocity that is unsustainable. I think they need to be held accountable by their LPs. Auditors have a very important role here and are perhaps the ones who need to pay the highest price through government censures. They are market participants who have been entrusted with a certain job for which they get paid hefty fees. When they start looking the other way, the system breaks. You have been waging a pitched battle against the unfair trade practices of Big Tech companies in India. What, in your view, are the steps that need to be taken by the government to prevent such unfair practices by large global players? Fundamentally the experience of the internet is through apps – two companies control the entire app ecosystem Google and Apple. Both operate with complete impunity. Two years ago the CCI passed an order against Google around <keyword id="963171" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="google-play" source="Orion">Google Play</keyword> Billing System (GPBS). Now they have changed the name to User Choice Billing. If you look at the order CCI says there will be no discrimination at all. Being on the App Store means nothing unless you advertise on Play Store. Startups spend anywhere between 10-50% of revenue on advertising on these platforms already. Essentially, the app store is worth nothing if you don’t have content. What choice does a company have but to adhere to their unfair practices… Now they say that any transaction that happens on apps downloaded via the store will be subject to 15-30% tax/commissions. What this means is that they want 50% of the revenues of the startups. It is the new East India Company and they operate with complete arrogance and impunity. The problem is in getting these companies to comply. Their strategy is to stretch out the legal process and tire the system. Our government and regulators have the right intent but sometimes democracies are messy. As a government, we have to ensure that nobody becomes the gatekeeper to our economy which is what these companies are trying to do. There should be penal provisions for anybody who abuses the law or twists and turns it while violating the very spirit of it. Non-compliance with judicial orders is contempt of court and so there is an opportunity to send a very strong message. These bullies need one arm chopped off in the form of penalties, a rap on the knuckles will not work as they are too big to care about a couple of hundred million in penalties. What is the biggest achievement of Shark Tank, which has now become a huge hit in India? In life timing is everything. Shark Tank’s first season was in December 2021, which was the peak of the startup hype cycle, and it demystified the whole conversation around startups and funding. Shark Tank has become a catalyst for driving entrepreneurship and giving it legitimacy. India is a land of entrepreneurs with every second person running some small business, many from home. A decade ago, if you told someone you are an entrepreneur, you would be told to come back when you get serious. The show has played an amazing role in celebrating entrepreneurship and the startup ecosystem. A lot of companies have done very well. About 8-10 companies that got funded in Shark Tank are doing very well out of 180 companies that came to the show. This is an early stage game and will play out the same way. When you invest in 100 early stage companies, 4-5 will do very well and help recover the investments and some will become very big. A majority will fail. What I found amazing was that the companies that came to the show were not the elites who came from IIT or IIM. These are small businesses founded by housewives and family members. Entrepreneurship is not the reserve of the few. The next decade will be defined by Indian entrepreneurs globally and so there is no better time to be an entrepreneur than now. Shark Tank has put belief in every Indian that they can do it and that changes the game. Many of the founders that come to Shark Tank can do even better than the founders who have come from an IIT or an IIM. I believe that these people understand commerce and ‘dhandha’. The elitist founders are used to being served everything on a platter. Many professionals who come out of large companies or consulting firms cannot start without large funding. Out of the 100 unicorns we have, many will spectacularly fail in 2024 as they were built on the wrong foundations. These companies were built on a template of Ivy League founders and old school networks and so they got funded. Of the businesses that come to Shark Tank, what sectors can do well and stand a better chance of being funded? Indians now have the same aspirations as people in other parts of the world. Anybody who comes in and can bridge the gap between aspiration and affordability will do well especially in lifestyle. For example - Companies in the clothing and jewellery space will do well if they can deliver high aspiration at a value pricing. Last year a company called Snitch came with a revenue of Rs 60 crore and is now doing Rs 250 crore in sales. A company called Skippy, which makes ice pops was funded on Shark Tank too and has a run rate of Rs 50 crore from a few lakhs before ST. I funded a company called Sharmaji Ka Atta which has a revenue run rate of Rs 20 lakh a month in less than 12 months from less than 1 lakh. Another one called Whatsapp Wellness just got funded by HUL. Fundamentally, companies that can build premium products but don’t break the bank on affordability in categories like fashion, lifestyle and food will do well. People read labels now and the young generation is focused on what they are eating. Beauty and wellness products will do well as a secular trend for most of our history Lakme meant beauty, that’s how unbranded we were. Do you feel Shaadi.com is still relevant after Tinder and other dating apps came about? Let’s understand why Tinder is used, it is for hookups and is struggling to grow its revenue in India. Shaadi.com is not an arranged marriage platform. Shaadi.com is a planned marriage platform. Indian culture has four stages of life and marriage is one of the life stages. When you are planning to marry you look for compatibility and it is not about a chemical reaction. On Shaadi.com the family and parents collaborate to find a partner. The old community networks are now dying and we replace those networks. We are bringing together people in the same life stage to find a like-minded partner. The hook-up sites don’t do that and don't understand the Indian ethos. They are applying the same global model to India which does not work beyond a certain point. You were the original internet entrepreneur with a disruptive product. Why did you not create a large business that went on to become a decacorn or a unicorn? It depends on how you define success. If the definition is labels such as decacorn and unicorn, then that's not the game we are playing. Those are vanity labels that I would rather not pursue. Our definition of success is value creation and we are long-term compounders, much like Berkshire &amp; LVMH, so in a sense our ‘overnight’ success story is still waiting to become obvious to the world. From that lens, our ROCE is perhaps the best in the industry we have only ever raised about $20 mn but created several billion in value between our operated and invested cos. Our investee companies employ thousands, have raised over $20 bn and will go on to create $100 bn in value over time, in the bargain generating tremendous wealth for the country and hopefully for us too. We boast an IRR of 52% consistently for more than a decade which is extraordinary by any standards and a testament to our approach and story. Many people build businesses but we were fortunate to create entire industries such as online matchmaking via Shaadi.com, which we still run; proptech company Makaan.com which we sold to NewsCorp very handsomely; India’s first &amp; still the largest digital ad agency, Interactive Avenues, which we sold to IPG at a benchmark price that is yet to be crossed; India’s first mobile gaming company, Mauj Mobile which spawned a massive industry. So, whether it is our customers, employees, shareholders, the country or society at large, I think we have already impacted 10s of millions and while we don’t have a market listed entity like Jio or TCS to show for it, we have delivered massive national and global level impact. Keep in mind that we are most often the first to check into investee cost and every company we have founded has been the first in its industry. Our innovations have generated billions of dollars in wealth and given rise to innumerable founders and entrepreneurs who have learnt at our companies and gone on to build massive companies of their own. Further, I am still very young and the Indian opportunity is only now unfolding. In the next couple of years, you will see some of our other bets in space exploration, mobility real edtech, &amp; sustainable fintech come into the limelight besides something very special we are building on our own. So, in short, I still remain the OG and if you force me to use your labels we have birthed not one or two but several Unicorns &amp; Decacorns and that too with very limited capital. It is perhaps one of the most spectacular untold stories of value creation in the digital economy. Ola is one company that is headed for an IPO and you own 2% in the company. How did that happen? When we invested in Ola, there was not much of a concept of venture funding and the company did not have any suitors so we were able to get in at a very attractive valuation and hold an extremely healthy minority stake which obviously has been diluted over time. I think the network effects are so large that it is hard for others to get into it. I am still a shareholder and looking forward to the initial public offering. I invested in 2012 and when I met Bhavish first, I did not understand the problem he was solving as I live in Mumbai where cabs are available. So I did not think there was a problem. A few days later when I was in Delhi and needed a cab, I was told that they would call a taxi stand. After I came back from Delhi, I realised there was a problem everywhere. And I used to call the call centre and Bhavish used to answer the call centre, which showed me his commitment and reminded me of myself when I had started and so I invested.

Anupam Mittal hits out at Google — 'Tech bullies need one arm chopped off in the form of penalties'

'<keyword id="1417364" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shark-Tank" source="Orion">Shark Tank</keyword> India 2' judge and <keyword id="12758425" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shaadi-com" source="Orion">Shaadi.com</keyword> founder <keyword id="127971" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="anupam-mittal" source="Orion">Anupam Mittal</keyword> said that it is never justified to humiliate anyone for their business idea even if it doesn't sound appealing. Without taking any name he pointed toward the <keyword id="7349800" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="bharatpe" source="Orion">BharatPe</keyword> founder Ashneer Grover, who once on the show asked an entrepreneur to make a mop of the clothes she was selling as they were not up to the mark according to him. However, <keyword id="2288" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="anupam" source="Orion">Anupam</keyword> asserted that there is a proper way to criticise someone and one cannot insult anyone in a rude manner. He also added that this won't be happening in the second season of the show. In an interview given to Film Companion, he said: "I'm not going to talk about specific sharks but as a team, we gave a lot of leeway to people in a lot of pitches last year. This year, you might see that change a little bit." He added that giving suggestions is one thing but humiliating a person is altogether a different matter and even if the person is presenting a business idea that is not so good, it is not going to make the person 'bad'. He added: "I think there is a difference between being critical and insulting someone. You might have a bad idea or a bad business or a terrible business plan but that doesn't make you a bad person." "So I, and I think everybody, draws a line at criticising your business and your idea and your plan and to give you a reality check and to show you the mirror because this is season two. Humiliating somebody is not acceptable and anybody who does that does not deserve a seat on 'Shark Tank'," he concluded. 'Shark Tank 2' is starting from January 2 on <keyword id="11908357" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sony-entertainment-television" source="Orion">Sony Entertainment Television</keyword>. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/shilpa-shetty-kunal-bahl-promoters-to-sell-stake-as-mamaearth-parent-goes-in-for-an-ipo/articleshow/96594970.cms">Shilpa Shetty, Kunal Bahl, promoters to sell stake as Mamaearth parent goes in for an IPO</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/mukesh-ambanis-son-anant-ambani-engaged-to-radhika-merchant-in-rajasthan/articleshow/96598326.cms">Mukesh Ambani's son Anant Ambani engaged to Radhika Merchant in Rajasthan</a>

Humiliating somebody will not be tolerated in Shark Tank says Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal

<ul><li>Nashik-based EV startup <keyword id="14083003" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="revamp-moto" source="Orion">Revamp Moto</keyword> received an investment of ₹1 crore from <keyword id="158171" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="aman-gupta" source="Orion">Aman Gupta</keyword> and <keyword id="127971" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="anupam-mittal" source="Orion">Anupam Mittal</keyword> in Shark Tank India.</li><li>Ashneer Grover also claims to have invested in Revamp Moto after the show.</li><li>The company recently launched the RM Buddie 25, which it claimed to be the country’s first <keyword id="15986770" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="transformable-ev" source="Orion">transformable EV</keyword>.</li></ul>Revamp Moto, a Nashik-based EV startup, became popular after getting an investment of ₹1 crore from boAt co-founder Aman Gupta and Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal during Season 1 of Shark Tank India. The electric vehicle market in India has become highly competitive, with brands like Ola, TVS, Ather, and others competing for market share. While many options are available if you are looking for electric scooters, the market does not offer much for hawkers, vendors, delivery executives, and other workers. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Revamp Moto – founders and product" comment="subhead" text="Revamp Moto – founders and product">Revamp Moto – founders and product</cmsannotation> Revamp Moto was founded by Jayesh Tope, Pushkaraj Salunke and Pritesh Mahajan. The trio showcased the Revamp Mitra, a modular EV that comes with ten attachments, at the show. During the show, the company also spoke about the RM 25, a prototype at that time. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Shark Tank deal" comment="subhead" text="Shark Tank deal">Shark Tank deal</cmsannotation> Revamp Moto appeared on Shark Tank seeking an investment of ₹1 crore for a 1% share at a valuation of ₹100 crore. After a close fight between BharatPE cofounder Ashneer Grover and the duo of Aman Gupta and Anupam Mittal, Revamp Moto accepted the offer from Gupta and Mittal. The duo invested ₹1 crore in the company for a 1.5% stake at a valuation of ₹66.67 crore. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Ashneer Grover invests in Revamp Moto" comment="subhead" text="Ashneer Grover invests in Revamp Moto">Ashneer Grover invests in Revamp Moto</cmsannotation> Despite losing the deal to Gupta and Mittal during Shark Tank, Grover invested in Revamp Moto after the show. During an interview with Raj Shamani, Grover revealed that he was approached by the founders of Revamp Moto for an investment. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Revamp Moto raises $1 million" comment="subhead" text="Revamp Moto raises $1 million">Revamp Moto raises $1 million</cmsannotation> Revamp Moto raised $1 million (approx. ₹8.3 crore) in a pre-seed funding round led by Veda VC and Venture Catalysts. The round also saw participation from angel investors such as Ashneer Grover, Peyush Bansal, Deven Bhandari, Aman Gupta, and Anupam Mittal. In addition, there have been reports that the company is planning on raising an additional $3 million to ramp up production. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="RM Buddie 25 – first transformable EV in India" comment="subhead" text="RM Buddie 25 – first transformable EV in India">RM Buddie 25 – first transformable EV in India</cmsannotation> Revamp Moto finally launched the RM Buddie 25 in December 2022. To recall, the scooter was showcased as the prototype RM25 during Shark Tank India. <div type="image" title="RM Buddie 25" msid="96790904" hostid="261" sizebytes="30026" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;RM Buddie 25&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The RM Buddie 25 was launched with a price tag of ₹66,999 and was dubbed as “India’s first transformable EV” by the company. The company has started accepting bookings for the scooter for ₹999 and deliveries are expected to begin in April 2023. The company is manufacturing the scooter at its facility in Thane. During the Shark Tank pitch, the company claimed that 90 to 95% of the vehicle is made in India. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="RM Buddie 25 attachments" comment="subhead" text="RM Buddie 25 attachments">RM Buddie 25 attachments</cmsannotation> The main highlight of the RM Buddie 25 is its attachments. The company is currently offering the following attachments – <ol><li>Base rack</li><li>Carrier</li><li>Child seat</li><li>Insulated box</li><li>Saddle stay and bag</li></ol><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="RM Buddie features" comment="subhead" text="RM Buddie features">RM Buddie features</cmsannotation> The RM Buddie 25 comes with a range of 70 km on a single charge and offers a top speed of 25 km per hour, which means the vehicle does not require any registration as per government guidelines. Similarly, the rider is not required to have a license. Revamp has claimed that the RM Buddie 25 can be fully charged in 2 hours and 45 minutes. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/ottobot-yeti-an-unmanned-delivery-robot-that-can-deliver-products-even-when-you-are-not-at-home/articleshow/96784804.cms">Ottobot Yeti, an unmanned delivery robot that can deliver products even when you are not at home</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/after-iphone-14-android-phones-will-soon-support-satellite-messaging-starting-with-qualcomms-snapdragon-8-gen-2-chip/articleshow/96756368.cms">After iPhone 14, Android phones will soon support satellite messaging, starting with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/the-oneplus-11-5g-may-be-cheaper-than-the-oneplus-10-pro-in-india-price-specs-and-india-launch-date/articleshow/96734971.cms">OnePlus 11 5G may be cheaper than the OnePlus 10 Pro in India – price, specs, and India launch date</a>

Shark Tank S1 winner Revamp Moto launches an EV that lets you add a child seat, freezer box and more

<ul><li>In our latest interview series, we talk to brands to understand how they are coping with the new normal and their strategies towards navigating these difficult times.</li><li>While the wedding industry has come to a standstill due to the lockdown, <keyword id="127971" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anupam-Mittal">Anupam Mittal</keyword>, Founder &amp; CEO, <keyword id="260777" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="shaadi-com">Shaadi.com</keyword> tells us how they are ensuring the <keyword id="6454941" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="matchmaking">matchmaking</keyword> industry doesn't impact too much for the lockdown.</li><li>Mittal talks about all the things the organization is doing to ensure its seamless functioning while also innovating to bring people together in the midst of a lockdown.</li></ul>It's been over a month since we have been locked up inside our homes, venturing out only if absolutely essential. It has changed the way we lived our lives, went about our professional lives and it is bound to have a far-reaching impact on how we live in the future too, in the post-Covid world. Despite the obvious cons that the pandemic brought with it, there has been a silver lining to the entire situation. Most organizations have been thrown into the middle of a crisis and it is proving to be a trial by fire. Businesses have had to put their thinking caps on and innovate, to be relevant in a world where consumers are stuck at home and a lot of them are doing a good job, testing their own agility and adaptability. While there are some segments that haven’t been impacted as badly as a few others, there are some segments, like the live events space, cinema, retail etc, that thrive on human presence and have been majorly impacted. Another segment that has been obviously impacted is matrimonial sites. For a business that thrives on bringing people together so that they can meet up, get to know each other and eventually decide if they want to live their lives together, making all this happen while under a lockdown has been a challenge. However, Shaadi.com took up this challenge head-on and has been coming up with innovative solutions to make sure that people on the lookout for love and a life partner aren’t left stranded. We recently caught up with Anupam Mittal, Founder &amp; CEO, Shaadi.com to understand how they are sticking to their idea of togetherness in times of social distancing. He also tells us about their marketing campaigns and the steps they are taking to ensure that the consumer experience on their platform remains seamless. Edited excerpts: Q) The past few weeks have been very difficult for the world in general and businesses have had to rethink how they do business. For an organization like yours, what have been the functional challenges? The impact of this pandemic has truly been unprecedented and some of our biggest challenges revolve around the radical changes we are seeing in human behaviour. For one, consumer habits have changed overnight, and we’ve had to reorient towards the new consumer in a very short period of time. What was once a smart business decision, could now be seen as one lacking empathy. Relevance, empathy and compassion have taken centerstage in this large-scale humanitarian crisis. We are working extensively on employee wellbeing and have a dedicated team driving this. We have made 3 services available to employees for free – counselling, medical services and fitness training. We have also put an empathy fund in place that employees facing economic hardship, can draw down upon. For our users, we have added the lockdown days as free days to their subscription. Working from home also comes with its own set of challenges. While it might be comfortable for a lot of us, there are several people who live in small homes and don’t have access to the most reliable internet connections. Providing them all the necessary tools to perform their duties seamlessly has been fairly challenging. Q) 'Weddings from Home' is an interesting and innovative concept. What was the thought behind it? What kind of reception has it seen so far? This initiative finds its roots in our promise of togetherness, and in times of social distancing this is our way of delivering on the promise. We wanted to do something contextual and we felt WFH hit all the right notes – <ol><li>In India, weddings are a major production that are planned way ahead of time. So, there was the practical consideration for people having to reschedule their wedding.</li><li>It also demonstrated a victory of the human spirit of sorts by cocking a snook at the Corona Virus. Saying, in a way, come do your best but I will not succumb.</li><li>Finally, it sent a strong social message that if some can get married from home, the least others can do is stay at home and save human lives.</li></ol>Based on above, we decided that it was time for the Big Fat Indian Lockdown Wedding. The interest amid users has been overwhelming. We’ve got a bunch of people reaching out to us, thanking us for what we’re doing. We have already done two weddings, one on the 14th &amp; 19th April and we have another one finalized for 8th May. We are receiving about 4 -5 requests every day. Q) The wedding industry has now come to a complete standstill and it might affect you as an organization too. Even if the lockdown is lifted, it might still take a long time for things to get back to normal. What plans do you have in place to minimize business impact on your organization? We are in the matchmaking business, so not directly or as significantly impacted. Our registration and platform engagement metrics continue to hold well and we expect them to do so in the time to come. Having said that, we expect some parts of the business to stay muted and in anticipation of this we’ve taken some important steps as an organization. <ol><li>Avoid predicting the future – Stay agile and operate with short term cadence </li><li>Move to a Zero Based Budgeting approach – Trim out all the unnecessary fat in expenses and invest in aspects that drive growth </li><li>Keep your ears to the ground. Stay connected with the consumer and keep pace with their changing habits. </li><li>Act with empathy and compassion across the board, be it employees, partners or consumers. </li></ol>Q) How is the 'Wedding from Home' benefiting small-scale wedding industry vendors? April and May is the wedding season and is one of busiest times for all wedding vendors. However, due to the lockdown and by virtue of weddings getting postponed indefinitely, a lot of small vendors are at risk of going out of jobs. Initiatives such as Weddings From Home can prove to be instrumental in giving them a livelihood despite the lockdown. For instance- Prius Sharan Tripathi, the priest conducted the wedding via video calling, while Mumbai-based makeup artist Chriselle Baptista has been roped in to help with makeup through tutorials and Faridabad-based singer and performer Vanita Sharma was hired to play the dhol during the sangeet. While the scale of impact is limited at this point in time, every little bit of support counts. Q) Are there any innovations that you introduced during the lockdown period to help matchmaking from home a seamless experience? Yes, we introduced some and a few are in the pipeline. In fact, one of the first things we did was to actually waive off membership fees during the lockdown period for premium members. This has played a pivotal role in improving the matchmaking experience for many since it ensures lesser friction in the process. Our tech team is also working round the clock to deliver some tech interventions that can materially improve the matchmaking experience of our members. We expect these to play out in a week or two. Q) What have your key learnings from this experience been so far? <ol><li>Agility over Experience: Your years of experience are largely nullified in such exceptional times and staying agile drives a lot more value for the business </li><li>Togetherness is a sentiment that is timeless and all the more relevant in a crisis </li><li>Communicate constantly and clearly – Be transparent with your team, with your members and with the people at large. And talk to them at regular intervals, it alleviates some of their anxiety. </li></ol> Q) When it comes to communicating with consumers during a period of crisis, it is extremely important to make sure your brand communications don't come across as opportunistic or insensitive. How have you ensured that during these past few weeks? We’ve always had our ears to the ground and our orientation towards compassion and empathy have held us in good stead. One of the first thing we did was to ready a document that would reflect our Brand Purpose in the times of Covid-19. Every single employee was asked to imbibe these values and it had to reflect in their approach, regardless of their function. We’ve also taken the route of staying optimistic and communicating positive human stories in an otherwise morbid world. Powerful human stories are proving to be invaluable in driving positive sentiment and if your brand can be the creator of positive human stories and drive genuine community impact, it will be remembered by the people long after this is behind us. Some of our campaigns such as Weddings From Home or Dil Toh Mil Hi Sakte Hai are a reflection of these amazing human stories. Q) How large will the impact of the lockdown be on the overall wedding industry? Do you see things picking up in the later half of the year, if things slowly start getting back to normal? If Covid-19 is entirely behind us, then yes, I expect there to be a strong resurgence in the wedding industry. The question that looms large is, will this be entirely behind us? Will we be allowed large scale gatherings once again? No one really knows. On an average, a wedding in India employs 200 people, many of which are small-time businesses. It’s going to be incredibly challenging for them to survive this downturn though. I’ve been reading reports about how several people in this industry are moving out of the business and are opening kirana stores or other such businesses which aren’t as badly impacted by the pandemic. While the big wedding planners might survive this, it is going to be incredibly hard for the small-time decorator or mehendi artist to make ends meet, solely on this business for the next few months. Post 6 months, we expect the business to revive.

Marketing in the times of Covid-19: Shaadi.com

<ul><li>The company wants to get deeper into the matchmaking prospect by launching two more products in the upcoming year.</li><li>Even though the casual dating industry is expected to record nearly half a billion revenue in 2021, <keyword id="12758425" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shaadi-com" source="Orion">Shaadi.com</keyword> wants to stay away from it.</li><li>The company also launched wedding preparation guide ‘Wedding From Home’ and video calling feature ‘ShaadiMeet’ last year.</li></ul>One of the biggest matchmaking platforms in India, Shaadi.com, is on a hunt for new business opportunities in order to further enhance its business, the company’s founder and chief executive Anupam Mittal told Business Insider. No, it has nothing to do with casual dating. The company wants to get deeper into the matchmaking prospect by launching two more products in the upcoming year. “We are planning to launch something in January, which will tilt the entire industry on its head and open up a lot of avenues for us. This is a completely new way for finding a match,” Mittal said without revealing further details. Mittal also told Business Insider that the company will be looking forward to entering the matchmaking arena for the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community or people living abroad. “We see ourselves as a platform for companionship and matchmaking…That could mean for different markets, different regions, different countries, different sexes. We don’t have a problem with that. But we will significantly expand the kind of things that we do from a matchmaking context,” Mittal said. The development comes <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/live-section-377-verdict-all-eyes-on-indias-top-court-to-scrap-law-criminalising-homosexuality/articleshow/65697010.cms">four years after the Indian Supreme Court</a> decriminalised same sex relationships in India. Even though the casual dating industry has been booming and is expected to record<a href="https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/eservices/dating-services/online-dating/india"> nearly half a billion revenue</a> in 2021, Shaadi.com wants to stay away from it. “Anything we do, we have to do with serious dating, finding a companion or finding a life partner. Not for finding a date tonight or finding the right partner. That’s not a business we are in or we want to be in,” Mittal added. He noted that there are too many players in the space already and they are doing a good job. Founded in 1996, Shaadi.com also runs a retail network of matchmaking centres as well. Besides this, the company also has another matchmaking platform called Sangam, which matches people based on their community. The company also launched wedding preparation guide ‘Wedding From Home’ and video calling feature ‘ShaadiMeet’ last year to enable more users to find their matches online during the pandemic. The company claims their revenue grew nearly 25% in the last fiscal year. However, the numbers were not as high as the company had first expected. The number of enagemements (people engaging with each other) went up by 50%, but the number of transactions did not grow at the same rate as people could not meet online. The company competes with BharatMatrimony and InfoEdge-backed JeevanSathi.com in India. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/amazon-future-deal-cci-clears-the-way-for-reliance-acquisition-by-revoking-2019-deal/articleshow/88343227.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">CCI clears the way for Amazon-Future deal by revoking Future Coupon’s three-year-old deal with Amazon</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/grofers-founder-explains-why-he-rushed-to-rebrand-the-startup-and-his-plans-seem-ambitious/articleshow/88320706.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">INTERVIEW: Grofers founder explains why he rushed to rebrand the startup and his plans seem ambitious</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ola-raises-half-a-billion-dollars-in-debt-to-fuel-its-food-delivery-and-quick-commerce-dream/articleshow/88314624.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Ola raises half a billion dollars in debt to fuel its food delivery and quick commerce dream</a>

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