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<ul><li><keyword id="847170" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="chumbak" source="Orion">Chumbak</keyword> to open over 50 retail stores in various cities of India in the next 2-3 years.</li><li>As the company will be opening new stores, it will be hiring more people across the country.</li><li>Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the home-grown brand had to close down around 17 of its offline physical stores located at multiple locations in India.</li></ul>Chumbak, which is a Gurgaon-based home and lifestyle brand, is planning to expand its offline footprint by opening over 50 new stores in various cities of India. The company is looking forward to opening stores in tier 2 cities and states like Jaipur, Tamil Nadu, and Northeastern states. “As things are now getting back to normal, we will also resume our expansion, maybe, in the next quarter or by this financial year, probably by re-expanding our retail stores. We need to go to at least 100 plus stores in the next 2-3 years,” told Vasant Nangia, chief executive officer at Chumbak to Business Insider in an interview. As the company will be opening new stores, it will be hiring more people across the country. “As we open more stores, we will be needing more people as store managers, merchandising staff, product staff and many more. And we will also be filing the small gap that we are left within the digital side as well,” Nangia highlighted. Nangia further told Business Insider that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the home-grown brand had to close down around 17 of its offline physical stores located at multiple locations in India. The number of retail stores came down from 70 to 53, which were majorly located in tier 1 cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. “We went back to the landlords (during COVID-19 lockdown) and had discussions with them. We asked them how do we bear the burden of closure and low traffic. Some landlords of large stores as well were not so understanding, so we were unfortunately forced to close because it wasn’t viable,” Nangia added. However, in the online segment, the company claims that it grew exponentially throughout the pandemic because most of its target audience is online. “For us, it was a big surprise and the only good thing, which kept us going was that the online sales really picked up during the pandemic,” he said further. Nangia also told Business Insider that in the last two years the company has also expanded its product categories by entering the beauty and home-decor space as well. “In the last two years, we have introduced a lot of new product categories to complete our offering and now we believe that it is fully complete in terms of categories,” he said. Other than that, the company will soon be raising another round of funding as part of its expansion plans, however, Nangia did not disclose the funding amount as the company is still in talks with investors. “We are looking for funds for expansion and our people have just started going out in the market to talk to investors regarding funding in the next couple of months maybe.” SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/partners-association-tells-zomato-to-see-delivery-executives-as-human-beings/articleshow/90376406.cms">Partners’ association tells Zomato to see delivery executives as human beings</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/explained-here-is-how-zomatos-10-minute-delivery-would-work/articleshow/90376193.cms">EXPLAINED: Here is how Zomato’s 10-minute delivery would work</a>

INTERVIEW: Chumbak to open more than 50 stores in the next 2-3 years

<ul><li>Chumbak recently onboarded <keyword id="823990" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sara-Ali-Khan">Sara Ali Khan</keyword> as its <keyword id="5955" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Brand-Ambassador">brand ambassador</keyword>. </li><li>The campaign features Sara Ali Khan moving into a Chumbak home and what unfolds thereafter #WithChumbak.</li></ul>Chumbak, announced Sara Ali Khan as their first brand ambassador for its home &amp; watch categories. Established in 2010, Chumbak started its journey as an India-inspired souvenir &amp; accessories brand. Over the last decade, the brand has transformed into a leading multi-category retailer with a dominating online presence along with 70+ exclusive brand stores. Today, the brand features an impressive portfolio of home &amp; lifestyle categories such as décor &amp; living, bed &amp; furnishing, kitchen &amp; dining, watches &amp; accessories, among others. Chumbak released their 1st ever celebrity brand campaign with Sara Ali Khan today. The campaign features Sara Ali Khan moving into a Chumbak home and what unfolds thereafter #WithChumbak. The film is created by The Script Room. The stills and mood films were created by Verrocchios Workways. The media strategy is handled by <keyword id="5968693" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="wavemaker-india">Wavemaker India</keyword>. The campaign follows a story telling strategy, with each of the 3 films unfolding a day in the life of Sara Ali Khan when she moves in #WithChumbak and here’s the first film from the series. <div type="Youtube" id="STeamJO5aAc" title="Make it Yours #WithChumbak - 1/3" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/STeamJO5aAc/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Speaking on the brand campaign, Shazia Zafar, Head – Marketing, Chumbak, said, “Chumbak has always been well- recognized for its warmth, wit and connection to its customers. With this campaign, we are hopeful that our audience will realize how our brand is a joyful addition to every moment of their lives. Sara Ali Khan brings the idea of #WithChumbak alive and we are confident that it will be loved not only by our ardent brand supporters but also a larger audience. It was a delight collaborating and co-creating the campaign with The Scriptroom &amp; Verrocchios Workways” Adding to that, Rhea Budhiraja, Brand Manager, Chumbak, said, The focus with this campaign is to strengthen the role of the brand both from an emotional &amp; a rational point of view. Chumbak has always been known for its vibrancy &amp; warmth and Sara Ali Khan brings that alive seamlessly. Our vision with the brand idea of #WithChumbak is to build a way of life, a sensibility that is instantly recognizable. We are extremely excited about the release; the campaign story telling is organic, relevant and we hope it resonates with the consumer”. On the collaboration with Chumbak Rajesh Ramaswamy, Founder – The Script Room, said, “As a brand Chumbak is loved by its consumers and it’s quite personal to them. Interestingly it also means many things to many people. The whole idea of the campaign is to bring all of it together as a lifestyle choice, aesthetic sensibility and a kind of an outlook. To make this come alive we have managed to recreate Sara’s living space with Chumbak and capture charming stories from her everyday life. We’re delighted with the opportunity to work on a brand like Chumbak. They are such passionate people. And also so creative in their thinking and approach. It was truly a great collaborative process - starting from the idea to scripts and final execution. And with Akanksha Seda, and her sense of art, design and storytelling, we are very happy with the way the campaign has turned out.” On the association, Kishankumar Shyamalan, Chief Growth Officer, Wavemaker India and Office Head, South, said, "Chumbak stands for design excellence and a unique brand personality. We are excited to bring alive these aspects of the brand through a very special digital-first campaign. Working with the that I'm sure will be loved, since the media strategy was specifically created keeping our audience &amp; platform in mind."

Chumbak launches their first celebrity brand campaign with Sara Ali Khan

<ul><li>Established in 2010, <keyword id="847170" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chumbak">Chumbak</keyword> started its journey as an India-inspired souvenir and accessories brand.</li><li>Over the last decade, the brand has transformed into a leading multi-category retailer with a dominating online presence along and 70+ exclusive brand stores. It features homes and lifestyle categories such as home décor items, accessories and apparels.</li><li>We talk to <keyword id="2146982" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vasant-Nangia">Vasant Nangia</keyword>, CEO, Chumbak about the brand's journey so far and goals for FY22.</li></ul>Chumbak was born when Co-founders Vivek Prabhakar and Shubhra Chadda casually looked at their fridge full of magnets from different countries. They were quick to identify that India needed a brand that gave a glimpse of the whole country in the shape of small souvenirs and travel products -- reflecting on its rich heritage and tastes. By integrating desi art into a forgein concept of souvenirs, Chumbak’s main purpose was to instil national pride and celebrate India’s diverse culture and vibrant colours. Officially launched in 2010, the brand has grown exponentially since its inception. It is a family to 150+ employees and has 70 retail stores. It sells home décor items, accessories and apparels. Chumbak on-boarded <keyword id="823990" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sara-Ali-Khan">Sara Ali Khan</keyword> as its first brand ambassador earlier this year to convey how it is now becoming a home and lifestyle brand and dominating offline and online presence. After launching a digital <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/brands/news/chumbak-launches-their-first-celebrity-brand-campaign-with-sara-ali-khan/articleshow/80586366.cms">campaign </a>with a Bollywood star, the brand is now aiming to increase its turnover by 100%. “We plan to double our turnover by the end of this year, our overall marketing spends are definitely increasing significantly. We are also reaching out to our loyal customer base and building up our digital presence including social media, and we plan to resume our in-store marketing once footfalls are back to pre-pandemic levels. We believe there is a strong overlap between the celebrity’s followership and our potential audience,” said Vasant Nangia CEO, Chumbak. For a brand that has grown purely on word-of-mouth, Chumbak will continue to reach out to its loyal customers base. Nangia said, “For 2021, we’re optimistic about pre-pandemic offline footfalls and hence building our offline business while continuing scaling online on our own as well as third-party platforms. We aim to invest in customer-centricity to allow for optimal journey mappings, repeat and loyalty interventions.” Since the COVID-19-induced lockdown last year, a majority of employees have been working from home. The furniture category moved from being a want to becoming a need. As a result, Chumbak also witnessed an increase in demand for its furniture and home decor. On which category brings in the lion’s share and COVID’s impact on the brand, Nangia said, “Our business is a clean 50:50 between our home and lifestyle ranges. However, given COVID-19 and its impact on our audience, we’ve seen a strong uptick in our home categories. As people spend more and more time in their house, they are developing new hobbies, be it gardening or cooking. Our pots and planters, silverware and crockery range is their preferred choice of purchase.” In 2019, Chumbak opened its 50th store and after COVID-19, it has been focusing on building an omnichannel presence. It is now planning to scale its online reach and partner with more third-party platforms. Nangia said, “In 2019, we opened a store a week landing at a total of 50 new stores so our offline growth trajectory was looking very strong. With the lockdown and store closures, we devoted more time and attention to scaling our online and back-end tech capabilities. We launched omnichannel in October last year which has allowed us to better manage our inventories and last-mile deliveries.” “We have witnessed rapid growth in e-com-enabled digital sales. In terms of revenue from each, it is close to 50:50 between the two channels. As walk-ins in offline continue to inch towards pre-pandemic levels, we’re hoping for a robust growth in next FY metrics,” added Nangia. During the lockdown, Chumbak also launched a new brand identity to stay in tandem with the global design language and trends. Telling us the idea behind this shift, Nangia said, “This change was a part of the shift in the positioning of the brand. We want to be represented as a globally inspired home and lifestyle brand which represents the growth not just the brand but also our customers have had in the last decade. We have received an overwhelming response from our ardent brand lovers and community.” This fiscal, Chumbak will increase its marketing spends, continue to focus on digital marketing and increase its in-store marketing.

Chumbak plans to double its turnover by the end of FY22 by doubling down on marketing

<ul><li><keyword id="847170" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chumbak">Chumbak</keyword> changes its <keyword id="413002" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Brand-identity">brand identity</keyword>. </li><li>Its <keyword id="240527" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="new-logo">new logo</keyword> is designed to work effortlessly across the brand’s digital and physical channels. </li></ul>Chumbak, a design-led lifestyle brand, unveiled its new logo today. Here is what the new logo looks like: <div type="image" title="Chumbak logo" msid="76896185" hostid="261"></div> As per the company statement, the new logo is designed to work effortlessly across the brand’s digital and physical channels. It uses a simple serif typography that mirrors the brand pillars of wit, warmth and authenticity. It also brings to the forefront, the beloved Chumbak owl that is known and recognised by its growing community of consumers and community. The design was developed with the in-house brand team and Delhi-based design consultancy, Bull Design. The logo will be rolled out across brand touchpoints in the months to come. The new logo aims to reaffirm Chumbak’s positioning as a lifestyle brand. Speaking of which <keyword id="2247761" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vivek-Prabhakar">Vivek Prabhakar</keyword>, co-founder of Chumbak, said, “When we launched Chumbak ten years ago, the logo was designed to reflect the quirky, young brand positioning. At the time, the logo enabled us to stand out in a serious retail landscape. It worked perfectly with the initial product range that was India inspired. Over the years, we’ve not only expanded our product range but also presented an evolved, globally relevant design language. The new logo represents &amp; establishes that shift.” Vasant Nangia, CEO of Chumbak, added, “In the last ten years, Chumbak has successfully diversified its product portfolio and scaled to appeal to audiences across the country. The new brand identity reflects our mission to be an evolved and globally relevant, design-led lifestyle brand.” Chumbak was founded in 2010 by <keyword id="9552624" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="shubhra-chadha">Shubhra Chadha</keyword> and Vivek Prabhakar with the idea of designing fun souvenirs &amp; collectibles inspired by India. Since then, Chumbak has grown into a design-led lifestyle brand, creating joyful products in categories across home décor, fashion, accessories and personal care.

Chumbak has changed its logo and we miss its earlier style and colour

<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.

BI Investigation: Business models akin to Amazon and
Uber’s aren’t working for Indian startups

(<keyword id="32299" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vikas-Agarwal">Vikas Agarwal</keyword>, General Manager, <keyword id="2613562" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="OnePlus-India">OnePlus India</keyword> with <keyword id="7856" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Laila">Laila</keyword>, the Chief Happiness Officer) 
 
 
Living all by yourself in a city while being a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=pet+owner&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">pet owner</a> can be quite a stressful experience especially when you have to leave your furry friend behind as you leave for work. 
 
Sure, a lot of people would argue that ‘work from home’ can be a probable solution to this problem, but what they forget to consider is that most often than not, that is a temporary affair. 
 
However, if the number of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=indian+startups&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Indian companies</a> that are embracing the pet-friendly outlook so prevalent in the West is anything to go by, it’s safe to say that this separation could well be a thing of the past. 
 
Yes, letting your pet accompany you to your workplace is something that companies across the country are including in their list of ‘perks’ in order to make the work environment not only more inclusive but also stress-free. 
 
“One of the downsides of having long work hours is the fact that people are unable to give enough time to pets. And, there’s no better way to solve that problem but by allowing employees to bring their pets to office so that they’re stress-free.” said Vikas Agarwal, general manager of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=one+plus+india&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">OnePlus India</a>. 
 
 
(The Human-Dog Interaction at <keyword id="164941" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="inMobi">InMobi</keyword>) 
 
By allowing employees to bring their pets to work, an increasingly number of workplaces are quietly ensuring greater productivity from their employees and shattering the age-old perception that such an arrangement could hinder regular work-flow. What more, this move also benefits pets since they get to interact with other dogs and are with their owners the whole day. 
 
Though <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=pet-friendly+office&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">pet-friendly offices </a>are a relatively new phenomenon in the country, for One Plus, it is a part of their work-culture. “Pets have been a part of the OnePlus company ethos since we started off in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=china&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">China</a> two and a half years ago. The in-house dog called Una also went on to become the company mascot and our very own happiness specialist. The idea was to recreate this very culture in our office in India,” added Agarwal. 
 
Staying true to their word, the OnePlus India team adopted Laila nine months ago and christened her their Chief Happiness Officer. But being a pet-friendly office also comes with its sets of responsibilities. 
 
“The OnePlus India office has no cubicles or partition. We have kept it an office so that dogs can roam around the entire space freely as opposed to having just a designated area for them.” he informed. 
 
 
(InMobi's Chief Cuddling Officer Becky) 
 
 
Similar is the story of another <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=bengaluru&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Bengaluru</a>-based <keyword id="138263" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="startup">startup</keyword> that decided to go down the pet-friendly route. As of today, Becki, a white Persian cat is as much as a regular fixture at the office as is any employee replete with a designation- Chief Cuddling Officer. Becky belongs to Rebecca D’leema, a senior manager with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=inmobi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">InMobi</a>. And, she’s not alone. Accompanying her is 25 odd employees who regularly bring their pets to work. 
 
Taking their belief in a pet-friendly environment a notch higher, just last month the company hosted a Human-Dog Interaction project where they brought a professional trainer and her dog on board to help employees overcome the fear of dogs and teach them how it’s possible to co-exist. The result was an incredibly happy office which saw people touching a dog for the first time in their lives amidst echoes of ‘Aww’ resonating throughout. 
 
 
(<keyword id="847170" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Chumbak">Chumbak</keyword>'s in-house dog Hugo) 
 
 
At <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=chumbak&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Chumbak</a>, on the other hand, even customers of the brand are allowed to get their pets to their <keyword id="6357350" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indiranagar">Indiranagar</keyword> studio which boasts of a vast terrace. Employees are also seen taking a break to play with the in-house Labrador Hugo. 
 
But it’s not as rosy as it sounds. Having a pet-friendly environment also comes with numerous challenges, the chief being an agreeing landlord. According to Agarwal, a supportive infrastructure, dry cleaning the office every week and having a doctor on call are some of the prerequisites for any company that’s thinking of going pet-friendly. 
 
But, all this going the extra mile makes sense when one notices the effect a pet-friendly office has on its employees. According to Agarwal, the employees of OnePlus India are more productive, absolute stress-free and happier.

Meet the new-age pet-friendly Indian offices

<ul><li>BSE had sought <keyword id="6357120" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="paytm" source="Orion">Paytm</keyword>’s clarification over the steep fall in the company’s share price.</li><li>The company has emphasised that its business fundamentals remain robust.</li><li>The value of Paytm’s share price has eroded nearly 75% since its IPO in November.</li></ul>BSE on Tuesday sought clarification from One 97 Communications — the parent company of digital payments giant Paytm — on the steep fall in the company’s share price. In a response to the query, One 97 Communications emphasised that Paytm’s business fundamentals remain “robust” as demonstrated in the company’s last earning release dated February 4, 2022. “We would like to reiterate that the company is committed to comply with the listing regulations and any information/announcement, likely to have bearing on the price/volume of the shares of the company would be disclosed, from time to time, to the Stock Exchanges within stipulated timeline,” the company <a href="https://www.bseindia.com/xml-data/corpfiling/AttachLive/f2cb4f30-64e8-41ea-bdbb-40fc08bf8a5f.pdf">added</a>. Notably, the value of Paytm’s share price has eroded nearly 75% since its initial public offering (IPO) in November. The company had raised its IPO at ₹2,150, but its shares are currently trading at close to ₹545. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> Its market cap has also fallen from $19.9 billion to $4.6 billion on Wednesday, March 23. This is much lower than other listed new age tech firms like Zomato and Nykaa, which were valued significantly lower than Paytm in the private market. Paytm’s shares were trading at ₹544 at 10:02 a.m. on March 23, after witnessing a marginal increase of less than half a percent. <div type="image" title="Paytm says its fundamentals are robust - market cap now below $5 billion" msid="90389763" hostid="261"></div> Last week, global investment bank Macquarie further reduced financial payments firm Paytm’s target price to ₹450, citing “tough times ahead”. The report highlighted that the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/paytm-says-that-restrictions-on-payments-bank-wont-hamper-its-business/articleshow/90215959.cms">recent curb</a> on Paytm Payments Bank has reduced the company's chances of getting a small finance banking licence, “thereby impeding its ability to lend”. Even Indian stock brokers — like Manoj Dalmia of Proficient Equities, Ravi Singh of Share India, Anuj Gupta of IIFL Securities — had expected Paytm to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/paytm-share-price-can-fall-further-to-500-levels-say-analysts/articleshow/90268437.cms">hit ₹500-₹550 </a>mark, which the company did this week. SEE ALSO <a class="tout-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/could-the-days-of-mooching-off-netflix-accounts-come-to-an-end-in-india-heres-what-experts-say/articleshow/90372447.cms">Could the days of mooching off Netflix accounts come to an end in India? Here’s what experts say</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/infosys-adani-ports-iocl-hpcl-bpcl-and-other-hot-stocks-on-march-23/slidelist/90388486.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Infosys, Adani Ports, IOCL, HPCL, BPCL and other hot stocks on March 23</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/chumbak-to-open-more-than-50-stores-in-the-next-2-3-years/articleshow/90377751.cms">INTERVIEW: Chumbak to open more than 50 stores in the next 2-3 years</a>

Paytm says its fundamentals are ‘robust’, market cap now below $5 billion

<ul><li>In a difficult year, <keyword id="5968693" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="wavemaker-india">Wavemaker India</keyword>'s performance, according to its CEO, <keyword id="4337750" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ajay-gupte">Ajay Gupte</keyword> has been A+, and understandably so. In a year when many agencies are struggling, <keyword id="3313068" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Wavemaker">Wavemaker</keyword> India has won new businesses worth Rs 700 crore.</li><li>In a conversation with Ad &amp; Media Insider, Gupte discusses the year almost gone by and also looks back at the last 3 years, on the agency's 3rd anniversary.</li></ul>The year 2020 has been a difficult year for not just the advertising industry but the world in general. A recent report by KPMG stated that India’s media and entertainment (M&amp;E) sector will take till 2022 to recover from its current levels. However, there are a few organizations and agencies that took the challenge head on. They innovated, acted with agility and made the most of an otherwise challenging year. It’s been 3 years since GroupM merged its agencies MEC and Maxus into Wavemaker. Since its inception, Wavemaker has been able to win an enviable roster of clients that include <keyword id="6398864" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mondelez">Mondelez</keyword>, Vi and Mother Dairy, among many others. Moreover, the agency also clocked in new businesses worth Rs 700 crore. Some of the newly won accounts included Sun Pharma, Chumbak, <keyword id="10247458" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="religare-healthcare-insurance">Religare Healthcare Insurance</keyword> (now Care Health Insurance), Lido learning, Glance and Supr Daily. On the agency’s 3rd anniversary, we caught up with Ajay Gupte, CEO – South Asia, Wavemaker who took over the reins after Kartik Sharma moved on from the agency early this year. It’s been an eventful year for both him and the agency and he walks us through all that happened at Wavemaker and how the agency managed to win Rs 700 crore worth of new business in such a tumultuous year. Excerpts: Q) Let's look back at what has been a very difficult year for the world in general. How has Wavemaker fared during this adverse year? Yes, it has been a very difficult year for all of us. The year has been tough on business and on our people. No one has ever experienced being in such a lockdown before, so everyone is trying to grapple with this phenomenon in the best way possible. We’ve made concentrated efforts to take advantage of adversity to accelerate on the journey to achieve our ambitions. In many ways, Covid-19 has brought the future closer. The consumer journey has been altered. Digital plays a much more integral role from brand discovery to purchase. This has enabled us to bring into play the investments we have made in better understanding the consumer journey, in delivering meaningful engagement with the consumer and in effecting purchase. I am hugely proud of the team for showcasing great agility and acclimatizing to the changes. The year wouldn’t have been easy without the support and trust shown by our clients and partners. Despite being such a tough year, Wavemaker India has managed to clock in new business worth Rs 700+ crore. What more could we ask for! Q) You took the reins as the CEO of the agency in one of the most challenging years in recent times. What were your key focus areas and your strategies that helped minimize the impact of the pandemic on the agency's numbers? I do like to look at things positively. Looking back at the year, I think I’ve achieved what I couldn’t otherwise achieve in the normal scheme of life. I was able to meet a large number of our clients (although virtually) within these 6 months. It would have otherwise taken me more than a year to meet our entire client roster. I’ve regularly interacted with our team across the country, which would have been otherwise very difficult, had we to do this in person. So I would say we have been able to make the most of what was dished out to us. As Wavemaker, we believe in investing in capabilities to build tools which will help us and our clients grow. Automation, analytics, data &amp; technology, digital are some of the key areas where we have been investing continuously. These investments have proven effective as 2020 has altered the consumer journey to a large extent. However, we were able to navigate through these changes and offer appropriate solutions to clients to engage with the consumer along their purchase journey. The work we have done in this year has helped us add that much more value to our clients, thereby strengthening our relationship with them. Q) There has been a lot of movement when it comes to the leadership team in Wavemaker. Kishan Kumar MS, Premjeet Sodhi, <keyword id="2932055" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vishal-Jacob">Vishal Jacob</keyword> and Mac Machiach have taken over key roles. What are your expectations from this power-packed team? You have rightly termed the team as power-packed and I’m quite fortunate to have such a great team. A highly experienced leadership team is the biggest asset of any agency and I am glad we have the best minds leading Wavemaker. The mandate given and expectations are very clear – keep, growing by positively provoking ourselves, our clients and our partners. Investing in the right talent, nurturing the existing talent along with providing cutting edge solutions to our clients to help them grow is the focal point of our business and offerings. The team needs to keep this at the essence of everything they do. Q) Wavemaker completed 3 years. What have some of the agency's biggest milestones been so far? We have had many milestones in this last 3 years. Right from winning Agency of the year in 2018 at Emvies and winning client of the year for Vodafone for 2 consecutive years in 2017 and 2018 at EMVIEs have been one of the most memorable moments for us. We also launched the Content Effectiveness lab with Ogilvy, launched the first-ever influencer marketing offering ‘Thrive’. We created some great analytical tools like Athena, the budget optimizer tool created by our analytics team for L’Oréal which has been highly appreciated by the client and our global teams. Q) Give us a report card for Wavemaker in 2020. How would you rate your performance so far, in terms of new account wins, the quality of work and overall performance? If I have to rate the performance of Wavemaker in 2020, I would rate it A+. We have brought our capabilities in data, analytics, content and Technology to the fore by doing some fantastic work for our clients. Very happy with the way the teams have been able to rally together for our clients bringing in learnings from all over the world and using our tools with insights and recommendations to support our clients in this time. Additionally, winning new business worth Rs 700+ crore in an exceptionally tough year like this has been a phenomenal performance. We’ve bagged new accounts like Sun Pharma, Chumbak, Religare Healthcare Insurance (now Care Health Insurance), Lido learning, Glance, Supr Daily and many more. We have also won the e-commerce mandate for Mondelez. Additionally we’re hoping to hear some more positive news in the last 2 months of 2020. I couldn’t have asked for anything more than this in a year when the world is grappling with challenges and trying to keep business sentiments high. Q) Tell us about some of the work done this year so far that you are proud of. We have been extremely proud of the work we have rolled out in this year. Creating engaging content campaigns for our clients was one of the highlights and we have done it exceptionally well. Some of our noteworthy campaigns are ‘Maa ka Haath Ka Khana’ with the famous stand-up comedian <keyword id="10247459" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="zaakir-khan">Zaakir Khan</keyword> for Mother Dairy, Thank You campaign for <keyword id="570619" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cadbury-Dairy-Milk">Cadbury Dairy Milk</keyword> Silk, Myntra Fashion Super star, Iss Saal Har Ghar Pandal for Gemini Oil to the latest <keyword id="6399124" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="cadbury">Cadbury</keyword> Celebrations to help the local businesses which suffered during the pandemic. Also we are hugely proud of the amazing work done for the launch of Vi! All these great pieces of work have been pulled off successfully while the teams were working remotely. Q) In today's environment, what does it take to become an agency of the future? In today’s VUCA world, it’s difficult to always predict the future but we can prepare for it. 2020 has been a real test of agility and collaboration. Investing in data and technology to deliver effective solutions with the consumer at the centre is key. Also absolutely essential is the investment in automation to ensure that the basics of implementation and reporting are efficient and error-free, allowing talent to focus on brand requirements. Q) The lockdown also led to some great innovations. How have you as an agency innovated in the past 7 months to ensure you have an edge? Our digital and tech teams have been constantly working on devising newer modules for clients that will help them connect better with their consumers. The initial phase of the lockdown got us all thinking and reassessing our business plans and we have sharpened our capabilities in data and analytics and technology. We have implemented several path-breaking innovations for our clients too. One such innovative product we launched for one of our clients was an online platform to allow the client to train and equip their on-ground support team across the country. The product was developed within 10 days and implemented by the client at a lightning speed as that was the need of the hour. Q) As we inch towards 2021, what will your key focus areas be as a leader? Our focus will always be on our clients, our people and our product. We will remain<a name="_GoBack"></a> to build on our capabilities while we will continue to positively provoke ourselves, our clients and our partners. Upskilling our capabilities and training our talent will be a high focus area. We will continue to invest and enhance our capabilities in e-commerce, content, data, analytics, technology and measurement. In early 2020, we announced Positive Provocation as our proposition and backed it with our Operating system which consists of three major aspects – Unlock, Transform and Maximise. We will ensure every Wavemaker is equipped to Positively Provoke our clients to maximise growth.

You Searched For "chumbak ad" and got 8 results

INTERVIEW: Chumbak to open more than 50 stores in the next 2-3 years

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