Twitter is testing a new Tip Jar feature globally including in India where iOS and Android users can send money directly to their favourite accounts with substantial followers. At the moment, only a small group of people including non-profits, journalists and creators around the world who use Twitter in English will be able to add Tip Jar to their profile and receive tips. The company is also working to bring Indian payment providers to Tip Jar, along with the ability to Tip in multiple languages. Currently, Tip Jar supports a variety of payment options and links like Bandcamp, Cash <keyword id="235499" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="APP">App</keyword> (owned by <keyword id="688028" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Square">Square</keyword>, a <keyword id="265395" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jack-Dorsey">Jack Dorsey</keyword> company), Patreon, <keyword id="6357940" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="paypal">Paypal</keyword> and <keyword id="2546268" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="venmo">Venmo</keyword>. The micro-blogging platform is using those services' external payment processors for transactions. "Now you can do more to support the many amazing voices who add to the conversation on Twitter  send them tips," <keyword id="6807506" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="twitter-support">Twitter Support</keyword> said in a tweet on Friday. "You can send someone a tip through several payment services by tapping the new Tip Jar icon on their profile, testing on Android and iOS," it added. Everyone using Twitter in English can send tips or cash gifts to a limited number of accounts. Turning on Tip Jar adds an icon next to the Follow button on your profile page, You will also be able to toggle the Tip Jar feature. Android users will be able to send money in Twitter's audio chat app Spaces. "We're updating our tipping prompt and Help Center to make it clearer that other apps may share info between people sending/receiving tips, per their terms," Twitter said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/yes-bank-shares-are-cheaper-than-what-they-were-a-year-ago-and-what-could-revive-the-investment-if-at-all/articleshow/82448509.cms">Yes Bank shares are cheaper than what they were a year ago — and what could revive the investment, if at all</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/heres-why-zomato-is-reportedly-cutting-a-300-million-cheque-for-grofers/articleshow/82450062.cms">Here’s why Zomato is reportedly cutting a $300 million cheque for Grofers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/there-will-be-three-flights-from-india-to-australia-starting-may-15-for-the-estimated-9000-people-looking-to-return/articleshow/82450220.cms">There will be three flights from India to Australia starting May 15 for the estimated 9,000 people looking to return</a>

Twitter is testing Tip Jar feature to let you tip your favourite accounts

Goa will impose a "strict, state-level" curfew, from May 9 to May 23, to counter rising Covid-19 cases, Chief Minister <keyword id="864632" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pramod-Sawant">Pramod Sawant</keyword> said on Friday. Stores selling essential items, and grocery stores will be open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Medical stores will also be functional, Sawant said, adding that restaurant kitchens will be allowed to stay open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Travel and <keyword id="2634382" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tourism-stakeholders">tourism stakeholders</keyword> in Goa have urged Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to impose an immediate <keyword id="91743" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="lockdown">lockdown</keyword> for 21 days in the state due to the "ferocity" of the Covid-19 pandemic, in order to avert further loss of life. In a letter to Sawant, the <keyword id="175493" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Travel-and-Tourism-Association-of-Goa">Travel and Tourism Association of Goa</keyword> (<keyword id="160006" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="TTAG">TTAG</keyword>), which comprises stakeholders of the two industries has also urged Sawant to make a Covid-19 negative certificate mandatory for those entering Goa. "From our own experience last year, we know that it was your brave decision of implementing the total lockdown that actually helped us in controlling the virus from spreading. This time around, we have concentrated more on the economic revival and livelihoods and rightly so, as an unprecedented number of our citizens have been reduced to poverty due to job and income loss," the TTAG said in the letter. "This has resulted in them being robbed of their dignity and self worth.However considering the ferocity of the pandemic which was unable to be predicted the situation calls for an urgent and immediate lockdown," it also said. The <keyword id="6356105" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="association">Association</keyword> has however urged Sawant to give a five-day notice, before announcing a lockdown. "While we appreciate the various measures taken by the state administration to overcome the crisis, it appears that measures like partial lockdowns and restrictions are not showing the desired results and there is a growing concern in the minds of the citizens of Goa," the letter also said, adding that a lockdown would stabilise the increasing number of Covid cases, fatalities and give the health industry workers and the overworked health infrastructure a breather. In its list of suggestions, the TTAG has also urged Sawant to make a Covid-19 negative test mandatory for entering Goa. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/yes-bank-shares-are-cheaper-than-what-they-were-a-year-ago-and-what-could-revive-the-investment-if-at-all/articleshow/82448509.cms">Yes Bank shares are cheaper than what they were a year ago — and what could revive the investment, if at all</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/heres-why-zomato-is-reportedly-cutting-a-300-million-cheque-for-grofers/articleshow/82450062.cms">Here’s why Zomato is reportedly cutting a $300 million cheque for Grofers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/there-will-be-three-flights-from-india-to-australia-starting-may-15-for-the-estimated-9000-people-looking-to-return/articleshow/82450220.cms">There will be three flights from India to Australia starting May 15 for the estimated 9,000 people looking to return</a>

Goa to impose state level curfew from May 9 to May 23, says CM

Celebrity couple <keyword id="6357860" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="anushka-sharma">Anushka Sharma</keyword> and <keyword id="6354486" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="virat-kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword> have started a <keyword id="6388631" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="fundraiser">fundraiser</keyword> <keyword id="6359590" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Campaign">campaign</keyword> to help people deal with the Covid crises at hand. The couple has collaborated with crowd-funding platform <keyword id="2953722" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ketto">Ketto</keyword> for the campaign #InThisTogether and has donated ₹2 crore for this initiative. They aim to raise 7 crore for Covid relief in India Talking about the same, <keyword id="376" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anushka">Anushka</keyword> said: "India is going through an extremely difficult time and the second wave of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic has pushed our country to a state of crisis. It is time for all of us to come together and do our bit for our fellow countrymen who are in serious need of support. "Virat and I have been hugely pained looking at the inexplicable suffering that people are going through and we hope that this fund will aid in our fight against the virus that we are all helplessly witnessing. We are praying for everyone's safety. We hope that you join us in our prayers to save as many lives as possible because we are all in this together." Virat said: "We are going through an unprecedented time in the history of our country and our nation needs all of us to unite and save as many people as possible. Anushka and I have been shocked to see humans suffering since last year. We have been working towards helping as many people as possible all through the pandemic and now, India wants our support more than ever. "We are starting this fundraiser with the confidence that we will be able to raise substantial funds to aid those in dire need. We are confident that people will come forward to support fellow countrymen in crisis. We are in this together and we shall overcome this." #InThisTogether will run for seven days and the proceeds raised will be directed to <keyword id="8994605" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ACT-Grants">ACT Grants</keyword>, the implementation partner for this campaign. "Having strong voices like Anushka and Virat help drive fundraising efforts will go a long way towards helping us realise this goal. On behalf of India's startup ecosystem, ACT Grants is truly grateful to have them join this mission," said Gayatri Yadav, spokesperson ACT Grants. "We are delighted to collaborate with Virat Kholi and Anuskha Sharma for their philanthropic endeavour to support our Covid relief programme," said Varun Sheth, CEO &amp; co-founder, Ketto.org. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/yes-bank-shares-are-cheaper-than-what-they-were-a-year-ago-and-what-could-revive-the-investment-if-at-all/articleshow/82448509.cms">Yes Bank shares are cheaper than what they were a year ago — and what could revive the investment, if at all</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/heres-why-zomato-is-reportedly-cutting-a-300-million-cheque-for-grofers/articleshow/82450062.cms">Here’s why Zomato is reportedly cutting a $300 million cheque for Grofers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/there-will-be-three-flights-from-india-to-australia-starting-may-15-for-the-estimated-9000-people-looking-to-return/articleshow/82450220.cms">There will be three flights from India to Australia starting May 15 for the estimated 9,000 people looking to return</a>

Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli donate ₹2 crore as they kick start a campaign to help Indians deal with the COVID-19 crisis

<ul><li>IndiaMart’s CEO Dinesh Agarwal highlighted that almost 80% of Indian MSMEs have such low turnover that they are not eligible to register for GST.</li><li>BharatPe’s group president Suhail Sameer said that the system also needs to change to stop benefiting large businesses at every step of the way.</li><li>People who need credit can't, unfortunately, be underwritten according to Sameer.</li></ul> Many have termed 2020 as the watershed moment for the Indian micro, small and medium enterprise (MSMEs) that will accelerate their business growth with the digital transformation. However, the segment still continues to struggle with the traditional system set in place to offer support to them. On the second day of Business Insider’s two day event ‘<a href="https://vconfex.com/site/msme-exchange-2021/1125">MSME Exchange 2021</a>’, several politicians, business leaders, bankers and investors joined in to discuss how to not only support, but enable the <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>n <keyword id="6358354" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="MSME">MSME</keyword> segment better. One thing that was repeatedly highlighted was the fact that India needs to change its strategies and bring in different solutions for the MSME sector. Dinesh Agarwal, chief executive officer (CEO) of ecommerce platform IndiaMart, highlighted that almost 80% of the Indian MSMEs have such low turnover that they are not even good and services tax (GST) registered and their needs are going to be really different from the fractional MSMEs with more than ₹50 lakh as revenue. Notably, MSMEs need to have a turnover of at least ₹50 lakh to register for GST. Meanwhile, a company is considered MSME based on its investment and turnover. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td colspan="3" style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Updated MSME Definition </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Type of enterprise </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Investment </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Turnover </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Micro </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹1 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹5 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Small </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹10 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹50 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Medium </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹50 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹250 crore </td></tr></tbody></table> He noted that there needs to be a different approach that needs to be taken in order to cater to the needs of each one of them. Meanwhile, fintech firm BharatPe’s group president Suhail Sameer added that the system also needs to change to stop benefiting large businesses at every step of the way. “People who don't need credit get all the credit. People who need credit, even though they are willing to pay a higher rate of interest, unfortunately can't be underwritten,” he said. He also notes that the banks have to solve for it, as the government has already done its bit by reducing the interest rates on the loans given the MSMEs. He noted that a lot of entrepreneurs start a <keyword id="6359222" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Small-Business">small business</keyword> bank because they can’t get a universal one. “What are you eventually underwriting [a loan] on the back of? If you are underwriting on the back of CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau of India Limited) score, you're underwriting on the back of five years financial numbers. You're no different from a universal bank and I don't necessarily see what you will lend, they can’t lend with a lower cost of capital,” he said, meaning that small finance banks need to set up different criterias to lend to MSMEs. BharatPe.will soon be taking over Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) bank in a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/pmc-bank-will-have-a-new-owner-in-centrum-and-bharatpe/articleshow/83639668.cms">consortium</a> with Centrum. Sameer added that given their history of lending to small merchants over the three years, they understand alternative forms of data to judge these borrowers on. “Banks would look at the recollection behavior and sort of make a judgment three months out, versus I [BharatPe] can see how the economy is moving based on the transactions and then take some of these judgment calls sooner [compared to banks]. On one side, we're talking about credit slowing down. On the other side, we [BharatPe] have seen the loans we have helped disburse grow from like ₹15-20 crore a month, just at the beginning of COVID’s first wave (March 2020), to disbursing ₹300 crore a month at the start of COVID wave two (April 2020),” Sameer said. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/business-insider-panelists-discuss-the-reasons-why-indian-banks-shy-away-from-lending-to-msmes/articleshow/83925209.cms">India’s banks still shy away from lending to small businesses -- Business Insider’s MSME Exchange panelists debate the reasons</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/one-year-of-chinese-apps-ban-indian-alternatives-take-over-tiktok/articleshow/83943865.cms">One year of Chinese apps ban — Indian alternatives take over TikTok</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zomato-reportedly-invests-120-million-in-grofers/articleshow/83951631.cms">Grofers becomes a unicorn after Zomato reportedly invests $120 million</a>

India needs to bring different solutions for MSMEs -- Business Insider’s MSME Exchange panelists highlight why

<ul><li>India’s early tech companies like online travel aggregator platforms MakeMyTrip and Yatra, had listed in the <keyword id="6357328" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="nasdaq">Nasdaq</keyword>, years ago owing to the US’ friendly moves for technology companies.</li><li>Now, <keyword id="35210" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="sebi">SEBI</keyword> may want to replicate the success of the American exchange, with India's Innovators Growth Platform.</li><li>The easing of listing regulations have come at a time when a whole host of Indian <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups">startups</keyword> like Zomato, Delhivery, Nykaa are headed for <keyword id="6354763" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ipo">IPO</keyword>.</li><li>Check out the latest news and updates on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Business Insider.</a></li></ul>With the Innovators Growth Platform (IGP), India’s stock market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) may be trying to replicate the success of Nasdaq. The American exchange played an important role in helping technology startups, at the time, like Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Netflix among others, to become the giants they are today. India’s early technology companies like online travel aggregator platforms MakeMyTrip and Yatra, had listed in the Nasdaq, many many years ago owing to the US’ friendly moves for technology companies. Even now, companies like ReNew Power and <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/grofers-listing-grofers-in-talks-with-cantor-fitzgeralds-spac-for-nasdaq-listing/articleshow/81181364.cms">reportedly</a> Grofers, are headed for the US public markets through a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). There are other companies like Zomato, Delhivery, and Nykaa plan their initial public offering (IPO), SEBI has initiated a bunch of measures, much like Nasdaq, that would make it easier and, therefore, encourage startups to make their market debut in India. "Everyone’s eager that the IGP can actually become like the Nasdaq of India,” Siddarth Pai, founding partner at 3one4 Capital and co-chair of the regulatory affairs committee at the Indian Venture Capital Association (IVCA) told <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/newsletters/morning-dispatch/indias-nasdaq/articleshow/81698790.cms?UTM_Source=Google_Newsstand&amp;UTM_Campaign=RSS_Feed&amp;UTM_Medium=Referral">ET</a>. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Here are some of the changes introduced by the SEBI" comment="subhead" text="Here are some of the changes introduced by the SEBI">Here are some of the changes introduced by the SEBI</cmsannotation> – The holding period for pre-issue capital has been brought down from the existing two years to one year. This step will allow startups to make a discretionary allotment to eligible investors—a facility available to companies that list on BSE and NSE. – It has allowed for startups, that are headed for an IPO, to allocate up to 60% of the issue size to any eligible investor with a lock-in of 30 days on such shares. This is important as currently an issuer company isn’t allowed to make discretionary allotment. – An investor’s pre-issue shareholding can be considered for 25% of the pre-issue capital, instead of the current 10% limit. – It has also officially allowed Differential Voting Rights for listed companies in its board meeting which was held today. With Differential Voting Rights, companies whose promoters hold skill and talent to run the business can sell shares giving away their control in the company. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="A great idea waiting for the execution test" comment="subhead" text="A great idea waiting for the execution test">A great idea waiting for the execution test</cmsannotation> Market participants are excited about the potential of this new platform. “Sebi is finally giving cognisance to the fact that IGP is going to be a mainstay for more sophisticated investors and hence [needs] a more light-touch regulation," Pai added. But the new platform still has to go through the test. “Bankers and potential issuers will scrutinise this route at more length before deciding to take this route, as currently, most startups focus is to list on the mainboard. The feasibility and traction of the IGP platform are yet to be tested and the benchmark for the same will get established by the first couple of contenders who chose to go through this route,” said Ankur Bansal, Co-founder and Director, at BlackSoil, an investment firm. Madhur Singhal, Managing Partner &amp; CEO, Praxis Global Alliance believes that the new rules will encourage startups to consider local listing, especially startups that are profitable and are already accessing the public markets and reaping success as shown by the recent IPO of Nazara. But still, there’s a long way to go. “While it is a step in the same direction, we are still far away from where US bourses are. We need a comprehensive framework for listing businesses that might still not be profitable. Several friction points like the ESOP framework and Angel investor tax treatment still need to be addressed for SEBI's vision to be fully realized,” Singhal told Business Insider. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/byjus-may-be-worth-15-billion-in-another-week/articleshow/81689880.cms">Indian edtech startup BYJU’S may be worth $15 billion in another week</a>

India is trying to create its own Nasdaq as whole host of startups get ready for IPO

<ul><li><keyword id="143842" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mobikwik">Mobikwik</keyword> has elevated its Senior Vice President of <keyword id="6359540" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="payments">Payments</keyword> Chandan Joshi to be the third co-founder.</li><li>Joshi’s elevation to co-founder aims at improving the financial performance of the startup and getting the company in shape for an Initial Public Offering (<keyword id="6354763" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ipo">IPO</keyword>) in 2022.</li><li>As the lockdown began in March, the startup said it recorded huge numbers with net revenue of ₹38 crore for the month. </li></ul>Indian digital payments platform Mobikwik has elevated its Senior Vice President of Payments Chandan Joshi to be the third co-founder. With this, Joshi joins the original founding team of Upasana Taku and Bipin Preet Singh. Joshi, who joined Mobikwik right after demonetisation, has earlier worked as a financial trader in global markets with Credit Suisse in London &amp; Hong Kong. Interestingly, Joshi’s elevation to co-founder is aimed at improving the financial performance of the startup and getting the company in shape for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2022. While the company continues to remain in the red, its finances have significantly improved as it prepares for an eventual listing. Mobikwik: Financial snapshot <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Year </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Revenue </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">EBITDA loss </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY20 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹ 379 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹8.5 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY19 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹162 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹98 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY18 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹86 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹199 crore </td></tr></tbody></table> As the lockdown began in March, the startup said it recorded huge numbers with a net revenue of ₹38 crore for the month. Currently, digital payments drives 75% of its business. Some of Mobikwik’s clients for payment gateway <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Uber </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">IRCTC </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Dream11 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Zomato </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Grofers </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Delhivery </td></tr></tbody></table> However, it’s not going to be an easy path. Mobikwik faces tough competition in the payments sector from leaders like Google Pay, Paytm, Razorpay, PhonePe and others. The entry of WhatsApp Pay will be another challenge for the 11-year old startup. In its recently released annual report, Mobikwik had said it has 120 million users and 3 million retailers on its platform. So far, the startup has raised over $100 million in investments from the likes of Sequoia Capital, Bajaj Finance, American Express and Net1. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/airmeet-indias-alternative-to-zoom-raises-12-million-from-sequoia/articleshow/78126391.cms">‘Had to say no to investors now,’ says the founder of Airmeet, India's alternative to Zoom, after raising $12 million from Sequoia</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/tencent-joins-alibaba-and-bytedance-in-making-singapore-its-new-headquarters-after-india-ban-and-tensions-in-the-us/articleshow/78125459.cms">Tencent joins Alibaba and Bytedance in making Singapore its new headquarters after India ban and tensions in the US</a>

Mobikwik gets a new co-founder – the startup is getting IPO ready for 2022

<ul><li>India’s investors are raising more funds even as they look for the next big startup that emerges from this pandemic.</li><li><keyword id="6891457" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="chiratae-ventures">Chiratae Ventures</keyword> announced its latest funding of $10 million from CDC Group, the UK’s publicly owned impact investor.</li><li>Earlier Lightspeed Ventures and <keyword id="563136" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia-India">Sequoia India</keyword> too had announced the closure of their funds.</li></ul>The biggest crises lead the way for the biggest of opportunities. At least, that’s what India’s Venture Capital (VC) firms seem to be counting on. From turning cautious during the early days of the pandemic, to actively hunting for ideas and innovations now - these VCs have come a long way. India’s investors are adding fresh capital infusion to their funds as they look for the next big startup that rises out of the coronavirus pandemic. Chiratae Ventures Today, Chiratae Ventures announced its latest funding of $10 million from CDC Group, the UK’s publicly owned impact investor. Chiratae has invested in 85 <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups">startups</keyword> over the last 14 years, through four funds. “We look forward to working closely with our new partner to invest in technology differentiated companies solving for challenges faced by India using technology as a disruptor, enabling them to scale in India and go global,” said Sudhir Sethi, Founder and Chairman, Chiratae Ventures. Top startups backed by Chiratae <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Flipkart </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">PolicyBazaar </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Cure.fit </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Lenskart </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Firstcry </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Myntra </td></tr></tbody></table> Target sectors: Consumer media and technology, Software/SaaS, HealthTech, Fintech Lightspeed Venture Partners Earlier this week, yet another prominent investment firm Lightspeed Venture closed its third fund – <keyword id="2590446" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lightspeed-India">Lightspeed India</keyword> Partners III – for $275 million. The fund, which has been investing in India for 13 years now, has so far invested $750 million into Indian companies, including unicorn startups. Lightspeed’s biggest bets in India <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">OYO </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Byju’s </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Udaan </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sharechat </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Innovaccer </td></tr></tbody></table> Target sectors: Sector agnostic Sequoia India Meanwhile, Sequoia India also closed $1.35 billion for two new funds: a $525M venture fund and an $825M growth fund. Sequoia India’s managing director Shailendra J Singh believes that ironically enough, the COVID pandemic has already catalyzed a massive change in almost every startup’s trajectory. “Our markets are deepening, our founders are world-class, our tech talent is formidable - but we need to hold ourselves to a higher bar. It’s time to aspire for massively large and profitable companies. It’s time to build more products that can compete globally on quality, not just on price,” he had said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fork-road-shailendra-j-singh/?published=t">in a note.</a> Some of Sequoia’s starry portfolio <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">BYJU’s </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Zomato </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Unacademy </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ola </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">CRED </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Grofers </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Druva </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">OYO </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">BankBazaar </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Razorpay </td></tr></tbody></table> Target sectors: Sector agnostic SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/heres-why-makemytrip-oyo-lemon-tree-and-likes-may-reap-the-most-out-of-the-long-term-recovery-in-hotels/articleshow/77670756.cms">Here's why MakeMyTrip, OYO, Lemon Tree and likes may reap the most out of the long-term recovery in hotels</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tcs-420-million-punitive-damages-ruled-excessive-by-us-court-to-be-reassessed-for-a-second-time/articleshow/77670645.cms">TCS' $420 million punitive damages ruled 'excessive' by US court — to be 'reassessed' for a second time</a>

India’s unicorn backers are shoring up their funds as they hunt for the next big startup

<ul><li><keyword id="11534552" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="10club">10club</keyword> has closed its seed funding round at $40 million, which is one of the largest seed financing rounds in the South Asian market. </li><li>India currently has only 285 startups led or co-led by women entrepreneurs, according to an industry report. </li><li>Before founding 10club, <keyword id="3286032" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bhavna-Suresh">Bhavna Suresh</keyword> built brands like Lamudi Philippines and women’s wear on-demand rental service StyleBank.</li></ul>Even as India has climbed up to be the <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/what-economic-survey-2020-21-says-about-indias-startup-ecosystem/articleshow/80586774.cms#:~:text=India%20currently%20houses%20the%20world's,by%20the%20Covid%2D19%20pandemic.">third-largest startup ecosystem</a> in the world, the contribution of female entrepreneurs does not make the headlines so often. There are many reasons behind it, ranging from lack of opportunities, investor apprehension and more. But on Tuesday (June 29), a woman serial entrepreneur Bhavna <keyword id="9999" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Suresh">Suresh</keyword> closed India’s largest seed round for her nine-month-old startup 10club. 10club has closed its seed funding round at $40 million, which is one of the largest seed financing round in the South Asian market. This round was co-led by consumer brands-focused Fireside Ventures and an undisclosed international investor. San Francisco-based marketplace accelerator Heyday, PDS international, Class 5 Global, Secocha Ventures led by Sanket Parekh, and boAt founders Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta also participated in this seed funding round. Suresh founded 10club last year, along with Joel Ayala and Deepak Nair. It is an e-commerce player that will acquire small merchants and brands listed on <keyword id="18635" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> marketplace. After the acquisition of Amazon seller’s businesses, the brand will scale them up. The biggest player in the segment is New York-based Thras.io, with a presence in the US, and has acquired more than 100 third party sellers or fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) businesses. The 10club workforce is a 20-people team, with people from several enterprises and digital businesses like Amazon, <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, Udaan, Reliance, Coca Cola and others. According to a State of Women in Tech Entrepreneurship in India 2020 <a href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/women-founded-tech-startups-india-see-24-decline-funding-h1-2020-136503">report</a>, there has been a 11 times increase in the number of women entrepreneurs in the last decade (2010-2020). Yet, the number of female-founded and co-founded tech startups in the country stands at 285, as of last year. Between 1990 and 2010, only 26 startups had at least one female founder. About 75 startups added at least one woman founder by 2014 and 180 jumped by 2019. In an ecosystem with such a scarcity of women entrepreneurs, the recent milestone hit by the nine-month-old startup 10club is is a milestone for the women-led startups in the country. Even from this small pool of female entrepreneurs, many have overcome several challenges to be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/meet-the-women-behind-some-of-indias-very-successful-startups/articleshow/74532871.cms">role models in tech</a>. This includes Nykaa’s Falguni Nayar, <keyword id="143842" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mobikwik">Mobikwik</keyword>’s Upasana Taku, Sheroes’ Sairee Chahal, Zivame’s Ruchi Kar, Yatra.com’s Sabina Chopra and others. Before founding 10club, Suresh has built brands like Lamudi Philippines (2016) and women’s wear on-demand rental service StyleBank (2014). She completed her education masters in business administration (MBA) in management strategies in HEC Paris in 2015-2016. Lamudi Philippines is a real estate startup that enables its customers to buy, sell and rent property in the Philippines. The company had raised $56 million from Asia Pacific Internet Group, Axel Springers and others. It was <a href="https://kr-asia.com/bayut-and-zameen-parent-empg-acquires-lamudi-global-to-expand-into-the-philippines-indonesia-and-mexico">acquired</a> by digital classifieds groups Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG) last year. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepak-nair-9586b21/?originalSubdomain=in">Nair </a>has had quite an extensive entrepreneurial journey as well. He had previously founded digital marketing agency 22feet Tribal Worldwide in 2019 and an independent advertising network White Canvas Communications in 2006. Notably, Suresh had worked as a business development manager at 22feet Tribal Worldwide between 2012 and 2014. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-ayala-375b3269/">Ayala</a>, on the other hand, has been a serial investor and has founded venture fund Class 5 Global in 2018. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/apple-is-spearheading-the-revival-in-personal-computers/articleshow/83943818.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">OPINION: Apple is spearheading the revival in personal computers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zomato-reportedly-invests-120-million-in-grofers/articleshow/83951631.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Grofers becomes a unicorn after Zomato reportedly invests $120 million</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/oneplus-nord-2-renders-specs-launch-date/articleshow/83946158.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">OnePlus Nord 2 renders give us the best look yet at the upcoming affordable smartphone</a>

Meet Bhavna Suresh ⁠— a serial entrepreneur who just raised $40 million in seed funding for her startup 10club

<ul><li>Hyperlocal delivery startup <keyword id="3275685" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="dunzo">Dunzo</keyword> has just raised $11 million in venture debt fund from Alteria Capital to move on the path of profitability. </li><li>Dunzo registered a loss of ₹168.9 crores in FY19 for a wafer thin revenue of ₹76.59 lakh.</li><li>The competition is only increasing in the segment, with JioMart too entering grocery delivery.</li></ul>In 2019, multiple startups in India posted massive losses. From Paytm, OYO, Zomato, Swiggy to Dunzo, startups had a tough time managing losses in 2019 and now, most of them are trying to turn their business around. Hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo has just raised $11 million in venture debt fund from Alteria Capital that will help it move to profitability. “From the early stages of Dunzo, we’ve always focused on building a sustainable business model. Profitability has always been the barometer of success and we’re seeing it manifest across several of our micro-markets. As we deploy this playbook into other cities, we’re extremely conscious of what our consumers want,” said Kabeer Biswas, CEO &amp; Co-Founder, Dunzo. Biswas added that as certain markets turn profitable, they are able to fuel growth with debt while having a significantly higher return on investment for customers and stakeholders Dunzo registered a loss of ₹168.9 crore in FY19 over a wafer thin revenue of ₹76.59 lakh. Its losses have grown eight times over, whereas its revenue even with a five-fold increase is still minuscule compared to its losses. Dunzo, Google’s first direct investment in India, raised $45 million in a series D round from Lightbox, 3L Capital and others in 2019. But the hyperlocal delivery market is also heating up in India. From <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword>, <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> turning to grocery delivery, to JioMart entering the market, it has many bigwigs competing. Swiggy too launched <keyword id="8016811" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swiggy-Go">Swiggy Go</keyword> in early 2019, while startups like Grofers and MilkBasket have reported profitability for certain markets. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/these-are-the-top-startup-investment-deals-that-got-vcs-interested-in-2019/articleshow/74204065.cms">These are the top startup investment deals that got VCs interested in 2019</a>

Dunzo raises $11 million to fend off losses in a market crowded with Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy and more

<ul><li>The top five sectors which are under investors’ radar are <keyword id="6354851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="retail">retail</keyword>, <keyword id="2461546" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="FinTech">fintech</keyword>, energy, enterprise applications and auto tech, according to Tracxn. </li><li>In 2019, seven <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups">startups</keyword> joined the unicorn club taking the number of total <keyword id="2023017" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="unicorns">unicorns</keyword> to over 30. </li><li>As many as 50 startups are lined up as soonicorns or soon-to-be unicorns. </li></ul>Over the decade, Indian startups have grown and how. Not only did they bring in innovative ideas and disrupted many sectors from retail to transport, they also changed the way angel investors and VCs view Indian entrepreneurs. From Paytm to Ola, to Oyo and Zomato, there have been many that also grew beyond the boundaries of India. This year alone, seven startups joined the unicorn club taking the number of total unicorns to over 30. And, 50 more lined up as soonicorns or soon-to-be unicorns. Interestingly, these startups come from various different sectors. The startups that received the most funding in the decade are Paytm, Ola, Oyo, Swiggy, ReNew Power Ventures, Grofers, Byju’s, BigBasket, Udaan and Delhivery. Over the last decade, the top five sectors to receive investor attention are retail, fintech,energy, enterprise applications and auto tech, according to data intelligence platform Tracxn. The retail sector tops the list with 1,856 rounds of funding amassing a total of $19.96 billion. In the previous decade (2000-2009) the sector was still in infancy with just 58 rounds. The growth of Flipkart and similar others fueled the sector’s funding. Fintech comes second with 1,222 rounds of funding in the last ten years. 
 
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 As we step into a new decade, a set of interesting new sectors like social commerce have come into the picture. Riding on the growth of WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, India’s social commerce startups like Meesho, Mall91, W Mall are believed to hold the potential to reach out to the next 200 million users. Meanwhile, the Indian internet industry will be worth $160 billion by 2025, according to a Goldman Sachs report, which is three times its current value – bringing in more scope for investments and growth. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/india-internet-industry-goldman-sachs-investment-ideas-for-future/articleshow/72326122.cms">2020 is the time to bet on India’s internet industry which will be worth $160 billion in 5 years</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/top-10-most-funded-indian-startups-of-the-decade/articleshow/72734736.cms">These are the top 10 most-funded Indian startups of the decade</a>

These are the hottest startup sectors of the decade

<ul><li><keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> partnered with <keyword id="4410318" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="SUN-Mobility">Sun Mobility</keyword> for electric three-wheelers.</li><li>Sun Mobility with offers e-mobility solutions to companies, was founded by Chetan Maini, who had built India’s first <keyword id="46640" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="electric-car">electric car</keyword> <keyword id="51538" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reva">Reva</keyword>. </li><li>Uber had earlier also partnered with Bengaluru-based Yulu bikes for electric bicycles.</li></ul>Ride hailing giant Uber has partnered with Sun Mobility to bring electric three wheelers in India. Interestingly, Sun Mobility is founded by Chetan Maini who had made India’s first electric car Reva. It was later sold to Mahindra &amp; Mahindra. Sun Mobility offers technological solutions to <keyword id="6354973" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="electric-vehicles">electric vehicles</keyword>. With their <a href="https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/uber-and-sun-mobilty-come-together-to-deploy-e-three-wheeler-in-india-1563953667519.html">partnership</a> with Uber, Sun will offer swappable smart batteries and quick interchange stations to original equipment manufacturers who will build EVs. Uber drivers and fleet owners can then in turn buy the EVs for lesser costs without the battery. “This (partnership) is an important step forward in fulfilling our vision for creating a mobility ecosystem that is sustainable, provides cleaner air and helps build smarter cities across the region," <a href="https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/uber-and-sun-mobilty-come-together-to-deploy-e-three-wheeler-in-india-1563953667519.html">said Pradeep Parameswaran</a>, president, <keyword id="2502101" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber-India">Uber India</keyword>. Uber earlier partnered with Bengaluru-based Yulu bikes to bring electric bicycles on Indian roads. The Indian government too has been pushing for the growth of EVs in India. There are reports that the government <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/uber-ola-to-have-electric-vehicles-in-india-by-2026/articleshow/69679364.cms">could </a>ask ride-hailing giants Uber and Ola to replace 40% of their fleet to electric cars by 2026. Uber’s Indian competitor Ola has a subsidiary company Ola Electric which is wholly focussed on e-mobility. Ola Electric recently gained the unicorn status too. From ride-hailing companies to logistics or delivery companies, many entities in the country have been piloting EV projects. Uber Eats is also a part of electric vehicle freight project by the Delhi government called Deliver Electric Delhi. Others driving the EV trend include Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, BigBasket, and Grofers. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/japans-mitsui-invests-14-million-in-indian-ev-startup-smarte/articleshow/70328611.cms">Japan’s Mitsui invests $14 million in Indian EV startup SmartE</a>

Uber partners with India's first electric car maker for e-autorickshaws

<ul><li>Latest estimates from the Rhodium Group say that the emissions of greenhouse gases from China crossed that of the world’s largest polluter, the United States, in 2019 itself.</li><li>China curtailed its factories to cut back carbon emissions and despite that, its steel production broke a new record in April 2021.</li><li>If the carbon emissions from China are already worse than developed economies, it could mean more production curbs in the country in the near future.</li><li>That could result in higher prices for Indian steel makers who are trying to bridge the global supply gap.</li></ul><keyword id="6357147" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="tata-steel">Tata Steel</keyword>, one of India’s top steel makers, has seen its profit balloon nearly eight times in the last one year, and its share price four times. The story is similar for many of its peers too. The party in Indian metal stocks could continue if shareholders consider the estimated emissions from China. Latest estimates from the Rhodium Group, a think tank that watches China closely, says that the emissions of greenhouse gases from China crossed that of the world’s largest polluter, the United States, <a href="https://rhg.com/research/chinas-emissions-surpass-developed-countries/">in 2019 itself</a>. <div type="image" title="China GHG emissions 2019" msid="82451121" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Top eight emittors of greenhouse gases in the world in 2019&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Now, over the last one year, the US and Europe are in rebuilding mode as the global economy slowly opened up after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic subsided. At the same time, China curtailed its factories to cut back carbon emissions. Tangshan, in China’s Hebei province, is a large hub that produces <a href="https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2211280-imports-other-regions-fill-tangshan-steel-supply-gap">over 144 million tonnes of steel in a year</a>. Beijing has ordered to bring that down by 30% to 50% and, then, extended the cut to the end of the year. When a major producer of steel cuts back output, others, outside of China, may gain from rising prices. Despite that, China Iron &amp; Steel Association (CISA) <a href="https://www.metalbulletin.com/Article/3986184/Cisa-member-mills-crude-steel-output-hits-record-high-in-mid-April.html">data</a> showed that steel makers in China broke a new production record in April 2021. Every tonne of steel produced in 2018 emitted on average 1.85 tons of carbon dioxide according to an estimate from McKinsey, an international consulting firm. If the carbon emissions from China are already worse than developed economies, it could mean more production curbs in the country in the near future. That could result in higher prices for Indian steel makers who are trying to bridge the global supply gap. “We estimate steel margins to peak in Jan-March 2022 and moderate to sustainable levels,” said a Kotak Institutional Equities report on Tata Steel dated May 7. Shareholders of Tata Steel, which is up 300% in the last one year ⁠— and at an all-time high ⁠— may have more gains to look forward to. It is not just steel, China’s curbs on factories have helped makers of other miners and metal products too. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Stock </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Gains in the last one year </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tata Steel </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">311% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">JSW Steel </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">330.14% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Hindalco (India’s largest aluminium maker) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">230.3% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">SAIL (State-owned steel maker) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">383.27% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">NMDC (India’s largest iron ore miner) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">136.78% </td></tr></tbody></table> However, a word of caution is warranted. The same report shows that India, too, has seen a sharp rise in carbon emissions in recent years. The country had emitted more greenhouse gases than all of Europe at the end of 2019. If that was the downside to the environment due to increased production of steel in India, the rising price of steel is a big blow for sectors like automobiles, infrastructure construction, and real estate, which buy steel in bulk. Companies like Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra and Mahindra, and Tata Motors have already been squeezed between a fall in demand for cars and rising prices of key inputs. The cheer of a demand revival post the monsoon of 2020 was cut short by the second wave of the pandemic and the rising cost of making vehicles. Any further rise, without <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/maruti-will-take-on-mm-hyundai-and-kia-in-suv-segment/articleshow/82370751.cms">the ability to hike the price of cars</a>, may further squeeze profit margins. The same would hold true for makers of trucks and buses too. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Car maker </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Loss of share value in last three months </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Force Motors </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-17.1% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ashok Leyland </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-13.5% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">M&amp;M </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-12% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Maruti Suzuki </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-10.6% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tata Motors </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-3.7% </td></tr></tbody></table> Real estate developers in India have a similar problem. Rising prices of cement and steel over the last one year have compounded the problem. The increasing uncertainty over livelihoods and the future of industry and employment had already <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/real-estate-sector-hit-as-covid-disrupts-housing-sales-project-launches-1798377-2021-05-03">reduced the number of buyers in the market</a>. Companies like DLF, Godrej Properties and their peers may watch commodity prices closely in the days to come. “The sudden and continuous upsurge in prices of steel, cement and other key raw materials used in construction has massively increased the overall construction cost for developers. This is a huge burden for all players - but again, it is the smaller, cash-starved builders who are most affected,” Akash Pharande, Managing Director of Pune-based developer Pharande Spaces, said in a statement. “Unchecked construction costs ultimately impact project deliveries and result in stalled projects in many cases… Developers are challenged to incorporate the additional construction costs without adding further to the burden of their customers,” he added. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Stock </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Loss of share value in last 3 months </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">DLF </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-15.2% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Godrej Properties </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-10.7% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Oberoi Realty </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-4.5% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Phoenix Mills </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-5.6% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Prestige Estate </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-2.17% </td></tr></tbody></table> SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/there-will-be-three-flights-from-india-to-australia-starting-may-15-for-the-estimated-9000-people-looking-to-return/articleshow/82450220.cms">There will be three flights from India to Australia starting May 15 for the estimated 9,000 people looking to return</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/heres-why-zomato-is-reportedly-cutting-a-300-million-cheque-for-grofers/articleshow/82450062.cms">Here’s why Zomato is reportedly cutting a $300 million cheque for Grofers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/yes-bank-shares-are-cheaper-than-what-they-were-a-year-ago-and-what-could-revive-the-investment-if-at-all/articleshow/82448509.cms">Yes Bank shares are cheaper than what they were a year ago — and what could revive the investment, if at all</a>

China has broken another emissions record ⁠— and it is good news for some Indian companies

Digital payment company <keyword id="143842" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mobikwik">MobiKwik</keyword> today said its customers will be able to pay <keyword id="89728" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Toll-tax">toll tax</keyword> at 391 toll plazas using the mobile wallet. 
 After receiving the approval from National Highways Authority of India (<keyword id="49448" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="nhai">NHAI</keyword>), Mobikwik's wallet service will soon be live at 391 toll plazas in India, it said in a statement. 
 
The company has received an approval from NHAI to enable commuters across all toll plazas in the country pay cashless through its mobile wallet to avoid traffic congestion due to cash crunch, it added. 
 
"Commuters across the country can soon pay cashless at all toll plazas using their MobiKwik wallet. We have taken this step in the wake of demonetisation to avoid congestion at highways, owing to the ill effects of cash crunch," MobiKwik co-founder Bipin Preet Singh said. 
 
Post scrapping of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8, NHAI has announced no charge at all toll plazas till December 2, 2016. 
 
However, the scarcity of physical cash is expected to impact the smooth traffic at tolls after this date, given that masses are still struggling to get cash. 
 
To solve this issue, MobiKwik has been roped in to digitise toll plazas in India, the company said. 
 
At the toll plazas, users will have to open the MobiKwik app on their phone and scan the QR code on the toll plaza. After entering the amount communicated by the toll operator and the vehicle number, they can press 'pay' to complete the transaction. 
 MobiKwik has about 40 million users and is accepted at 2.5 lakh merchants, including IRCTC, <keyword id="6357823" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Big-Bazaar">Big Bazaar</keyword>, OYO Rooms, Zomato, Grofers and Big Basket. 
 Founded in 2009, its investors include <keyword id="270604" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia">Sequoia</keyword> Capital, American Express, Tree Line Asia, MediaTek, Net1, GMO Payment Gateway and Cisco Investments.

You will soon be able to pay toll tax using Mobikwik Wallet

<ul><li>The agency that started out with a simple idea of branding tea cups, CupShup is now all set to clock ₹12 crore this financial year</li><li>50% of its revenue will come from activation services, 35% from cup branding and the rest 15% from creative and digital services</li><li><keyword id="4986606" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sanil-Jain">Sanil Jain</keyword>, Co-founder of CupShup, tells us the potential a cup of tea hold, struggles of starting up a disruptive brand with low investments, and the plan ahead</li></ul>Around 100 billion cups get consumed in India every year and Chai break in an intrinsic part of our culture. People talk, discuss, debate, and analyse things over a cup of tea. Cups also cater to different social strata and have the advantage of being comfortably placed in the customer's hand for a good five to seven minutes. Hence, CupShup saw every non-branded cup as a wasted opportunity for consumer engagement. ‘It’s hard not to observe our chai cups -- because a chai is an emotion that we all love and bond over,’ says Sanil Jain, Co-founder, CupShup. And it was at a Chai Tapri that Jain and <keyword id="380793" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sidharth-Singh">Sidharth Singh</keyword>, the two Co-founders of CupShup, decided to convert ‘A Cup’ into ‘The Cup’. They were struggling to come up with an idea for their college project and that’s when they had their eureka moment. “The idea dawned on Sidharth. He asked me, 'What if we brand these plain paper cups and convert the tea breaks into discussion joints for brands?' Post that, we had a chat about movies and politics for about 15 minutes. It came to our mind that we just spent 15 minutes of our quality time which was relaxed, clutter-free, and the environment was fun-filled. This was a perfect place or medium where a brand would want to promote itself,” recalls Jain. The startup aims to convert these 10-15 minutes of tea breaks into an opportunity for brands to get attention from their target audience and be part of their daily, relaxed conversations. While Jain immediately realized the potential behind this idea, the next toughest step was testing it out with minimum investment. “Since it was very difficult to get a small number of cups custom-printed, Sidharth bought around 100 cups, added stickers of a nearby restaurant on them with an offer and distributed it to the nearby chai tapris. He later interviewed around 50 odd people at the tapris and found himself surprised by the result of the product validation survey -- it was fantastic. Almost all of the people he spoke to were able to recall the brand and the offer on the cup, when aided. Thus, we established our idea has the potential and brands will be attracted towards this unique method of promotion,” shares Jain. CupShup bootstrapped itself and used a sum of ₹1 lakh, each founder contributed a half, into hiring a team, building the infrastructure, launching an application, and establishing a distribution system. It was after its first campaign with Ola that CupShup turned into a profitable company and that opportunity spearheaded its growth ahead. Since then, CupShup has been able to grow organically to a team of 50 people -- based in Mumbai, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. Services Offered CupShup offers Cup Branding, Activations, Corporate Branding, Creative Services and Digital Marketing, among others. For the current financial year, Jain says, 50% of its revenues will come from activation services, 35% from Cup branding and the rest 15% from Creative and Digital services. So far, CupShup has seen more than 150 clients including Amazon, Uber, Ola, Unilever, SBI, Kotak, ICICI, Swiggy, Dunzo, HotStar, Marico, Coke, Zomato, OYO Rooms, Grofers, Pocket Aces, Viacom, TVF, ZEE. The agency recently concluded a campaign with Hotstar for their web-series, ‘<keyword id="94523" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="The-Office">The Office</keyword>’, for which it distributed 25 lakhs paper cups with nine humorously designed creatives, each with a witty designation aimed to strike light conversations inside offices. 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="Hotstar_For BI" msid="71534936" hostid="261"></div>







 While the team has worked with brands across sectors, start-ups remain their favourite. “Be it FMCG, BFSI, Entertainment, we have worked with them all. However, clients who are most receptive and open to experimenting are start-ups. While established clients make our offerings part of their 360 degree campaigns, new age brands and start-ups not just use our medium but also use our services in media planning, buying and creatives. Other than Cup Branding, they are also eager to explore our other offerings like Digital Screens and corporate activations,” said Jain. Challenges of Starting Up CupShup only had a lakh to set the ball rolling. While finding good talent was a task with limited infrastructure, convincing corporates was not a cakewalk either. “Initially, offices in corporate parks were reluctant to give us entry into their buildings as they were skeptical about the quality of paper being used by us. However, with time they are aware of the fact that we only use water based ink on our biodegradable and recyclable paper cups. This helped us understand their concerns and in accessing the office cubicles with ease,” said Jain. To spread the word around and get more attention from their client, CupShup reached out to various start-up specific news portals and networking events. Jain also sent a monthly newsletter to their client base to update them about CupShup’s work progress. Slowly, as CupSup started working with bigger brands, its communication strategy broadened to entire marketing and advertising community. Expanding its Call-to-Action Clients only look out for end results and measurable outcomes. So what kind of ROI does CupShup offer? “While most of the established brands use our medium as part of their 360-degree campaigns focused on grabbing eyeballs and building brand recalls, many new age brands and start-ups use our services to acquire new users and drive App downloads, and transactions as well. Since a tea break allows a brand exposure time of 5-7 minutes, we also use call-to action methods like QR codes, Missed Call to SMS and so on, for lead generation. But yes, this method of branding grabs attention, drives a positive ROI and triggers a conversation,” answers Jain. Plan Ahead After a smooth run in FY 2018-19 with ₹4.5 crore in Revenues, CupShup is now projected to clock ₹12 crore this financial year on the back of its strong clientele. CupShup is now scaling its network, activation services, and ramping up the creative services portfolio. It is also working on a digital product, which is slated to go live early next year. While Jain did not share the name or idea behind it, he said their product will ‘aim at revolutionising the way digital marketing is done in India.’

CupShup aims to treble its revenue to ₹12 crore by end of FY19 - 20

Because of investors tightening the ropes of their money bags, consumer internet companies are trying hard to save as much cash as they can. They were earlier used to spending their way from everything from market leadership to consumer engagement. 
 However, start-ups are now dropping popular phrases like 'growth over profit' and 'winner take all', as they look forward to adopting new ones which would help them get their 'unit economics' right and reduce the '<keyword id="3310044" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="cash-burn-rate">cash burn rate</keyword>'. 
 
Not only have investors made it hard to get money out, they are also constantly fretting about returns, making start-ups remember about the bottom line. This is why, wiser start-ups are reducing the amount of money they spend in growing their business, which is called the burn rate, and are sharpening their focus on the core business. 
 
"Across all companies both within our portfolio and outside it, it is twice as normal to see burn rate levels in January and February that are half or one-third of their peak levels," Mohit Bhatnagar, MD at Sequoia Capital told ET. Sequoia Capital has backed hyper-local delivery startup Grofers, restaurant listings service Zomato and budget hotel aggregator Oyo. 
 In a wider perspective, 'Cash burn rate' is the measure of <keyword id="663681" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="negative-cash-flow">negative cash flow</keyword> in a company. Earlier, start-ups used it as a weapon to outgun their rivals in a bid to gain the maximum market share and pump up growth. This was possible because investors were pumping in huge cash into the company. However, gone are the days of such glory. 
 
India’s e-commerce giants<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Flipkart-vs-Snapdeal-E-commerce-giants-tremble-under-investors-pressure/articleshow/51581261.cms"> Flipkart and Snapdeal </a>have already started to take this into consideration, by reducing the cash burn rate by over one-third. 
 
However, when it comes to smaller start-ups, it leads to some drastic changes, which could either mean shutting down operations in some cities or laying off staff. 
 
"The cost of running a business has to be reduced as there are innate inefficiencies that have crept in," said Sreedhar Prasad, a partner specialising in ecommerce and start-ups at KPMG. "Costs will have to be cut in areas like salaries, duplication of work within departments and reducing cost of operations." 
 
To raise more capital, companies are also monitoring costs and improving unit economics. "Focus has completely shifted from top line &amp; revenues to sustainability. Across all costs like operations, marketing and recruitment we are carefully evaluating return on investment," said Taskbob CEO Aseem Khare. 
 
Talking of online retailers, they bring down burn rates by cutting discounts, reducing dependence on low-margin categories, building efficiencies on logistics and reducing cash returns through online wallets. 
 
<a href="http://media.avvosites.com/upload/sites/1766/2016/03/empty-pockets-use.jpg">Image source</a>

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