22 Feb, 2012, 01.16PM IST, ET Bureau

Five Indian start-ups made in economic slowdown & lessons they offer

 

The year 2011 saw close to 200 deals in early stage startups, this was the highest in the past 10 years. Ernst & Young data on deals shows that in 2010, venture funds contributed 15% in volume terms and 5% in value terms (PE plus early stage funding). In 2011, early-stage funding comprised 35% in volume and 10% in value terms.

Mentors - that's a big difference. That's what makes Silicon Valley a hotbed for startups. That's what was missing in India. But things are changing. Over the past few years, many angel investors have come up - Mumbai Angel, Indian Angel, Chennai Angel networks etc. These are groups of seasoned entrepreneurs who have money, experience and are willing to spare some time to mentor and seed young startups.

"In India we had PEs and a few VC funds. Below that, we had nothing. We were the first ones to launch," says Mahesh Murthy, founder of Bangalore-based Seedfund.


Why this is the best time to think startup in India | Where and how to find the money for your start-up | How to cut tech costs of your start-up


The rise in investor interest mirrors well the entrepreneurial talent that is entering the fray. Scores of successful executives are quitting cushy jobs to turn entrepreneurs.

There are two factors driving this trend. One, fatter pay packets in corporate India allows executives to build a financial cushion and plunge into entrepreneurship. Secondly, most have working spouses whose incomes fund the expenses of households, offsetting the risks.

There are plenty of role models too. Successful entrepreneurs like Makemytrip's Deep Kalra have made it big in a short span. Makemytrip started in 2000 and is today worth $800 million-plus. One of every eight air tickets booked in the country is via Makemytrip.

Launching a company even in the best of times is not for the faint of heart. Doing so in an inhospitable economic environment requires true grit and supreme confidence. Many Indian entrepreneurs have shown just these traits by starting companies in the middle of the worst global slowdown since the Great Depression.


Dosa Plaza: How Prem Ganapathy built Rs 30 crore empire with seed capital of just Rs 1000

TravelTriangle launched by childhood buddies & ex-IITians clocking Rs 1.2 cr revenues in just 7 months

First generation entrepreneurs, they quit plush postings at Adobe & Yahoo and took nearly a year to fine-tune their concept.

• Dosa Plaza: Rs 30 cr empire with Rs 1000
• Ankit & Prannoy's caricature-based products
• Are we now a startup country?
• Subhash Dhar & his EnterpriseNube

Src: Economictimes

15 HOTTEST Indian start-ups

15 HOTTEST Indian start-ups

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A glimpse into 15 most promising start-ups from India selected by Proto.in in association with Sequoia Capital and BSE Small and Medium Enterprises Exchange. These start-ups were selected on the basis of the people behind them, the impact of their products in solving real world problems, the future potential of the product in terms of market size, the scalability of the start-up, business model, execution and wow factor.

Proto.in is a support platform for the Indian start-up community and these start-ups have been picked up after sifting through 101 entries. Here are the hottest 15...

Company Name: Business Intelligenze

Product Name: Jumbo Analyze

Founder: Rahul Sethi

Location: Delhi

Incorporation Year: 2010
Stage of Funding: Pre-funding
Revenue Situation: Prototype

Product Summary: Jumbo Analyse is the proven technique for achieving a significant business impact in BPO -- from enhancing the top line to discovering new ways to reduce bottom line; from trend analysis to customer retention: from revenues to expenses: from analytics on.

Market Need: The BPO industry is an extremely unstructured one with a large number of data points. Jumbo Analayze seeks to use these data- points and save costs and times for BPO's.

Target Market: BPO Sector

We are at Proto.in for:  Funding, products validation.

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Company Name: Membrane Filters

Product Name: Purioin FnP

Founders: Subhash Devi, Arif Fulari, Bhushan Acharya

Location: Pune

Incorporation Year:  2010

Stage of Funding:  Pre Funding

Revenue Situation: Making revenues.

Product Summary: Product specifications

• UF Membrane based five stage water filtration system UF Membrane 5* 2 and interconnected with CPVC food grade tubing 20>1 micro multipurpose pre filter in big Blue Housing Silver impregnated post carbon in 10" Housing, all in pre coated GI sheet lockable box mounted on anti vibrating mounting Filtration capacity 1500 LPH.
• Pressure filter for removal of large particulate with three way special valve having arrangements for rinsing, drain, through flow.
• Water softer for removing temporary hardness with three way special valve arrangements.
• AISI 304, Stainless steel storage  tank storage capacity 500 liters with sanitary finish outlet valve 25mm ball valve tank mounted on steel  frame and anti vibrating mounting.
• Centrifugal Pump 1"*1", 1 HP directly coupled to PTO shaft drive of the three wheeler auto with chain drive and runs when vehicle with PTO shaft drive for running the pump.

Market need: Jaldoot can be used in remote area, waters scarcity areas, it can deliver 100% virus problem both a lack of electricity and lack of mobility in rural India.

Target Market: India's Agriculture Sector

We are at Proto.in for:  Funding.

More @  http://www.rediff.com/getahead/slide-show/slide-show-1-career-are-these-the-hottest-15-indian-startups/20110713.htm

Naresh Gulati: From candle seller to CEO of Rs 440-cr biz

Naresh Gulati: From candle seller to CEO of Rs 440-cr biz

Naresh Gulati CHANDIGARH: He used to sell decorative candles to the newly-wed couples along the roadside in Chandigarh. "I was never interested in studies, and I always wanted to do something of my own," says Naresh Gulati, who is now the owner of Rs 440-crore Oceanic Consultants Australia Group (OCA Group). From selling candles to wholesale cloth trading, to cosmetics wholesale and teaching at Aptech Computers to running a computer centre, the 39-year-old tried his hands at many things before homing in on overseas education consultancy business. The journey has not been easy for Mr Gulati who flunked in class 10 and performed miserably in college. But he is now a guest lecturer on entrepreneurship in leading Australian universities. Armed with a diploma in electronic data processing, Mr Gulati went to RMIT, Melbourne, in 1995 for a post-graduate course in information systems. However, destiny had scripted a different chapter for him. "When I reached there, I realised that I had been duped. I was promised a job in Melbourne by my immigration consultant, and that would have helped me clear the loan that I took for going overseas," recalls Mr Gulati. For the next six months, Mr Gulati came in touch with several students who had met the same fate. And this made him think about a fantastic business opportunity-immigration consultancy business. Mr Gulati came back to Chandigarh in 1996 and started Oceanic Consultants. "Chandigarh had over 110 such agencies at that time, and I was discouraged by many not to venture into this business, says Mr Gulati. "There was a time when I had to choose between two options-paying the rent or using that money for advertising. I chose the latter and the risk paid off,".

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