Who would have thought that tech giants Microsoft, Adobe or Yahoo would have security bugs in their websites? It took two teenagers from India to point out bugs that could potentially have led to a hacking attack and caused financial loss to these behemoths. For their amazing intrusion detection abilities, Shikhil Sharma and Ananda Krishna, then 19, received a cheque for $1000 from Yahoo, spurring them to burn the midnight oil and create a Intrusion Detection Software, Astra, while pursuing a 4-year residential program at NIIT University’s sprawling campus in the Aravali ranges, 90 kilometres from Delhi. The duo launched a start up Czar Securities (www.czarsecurities.com) to sell their product. Astra secures websites of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and e-commerce portals from attacks by sneaky hackers who have the devious ability to override standard security software on websites. What started as a hobby for Shikhil Sharma and Ananda Krishna, who are both 21 now, was strengthened by technology grounding as part of their BTech Computer Science program at NIIT University (NU). Now in their final year of studies at NU, Shikhil and Ananda value the amazing support they got from their alma mater - a dedicated development area and mentoring by faculty and industry mentors. “NU’s committed and well-networked faculty and industry counsellor helped us create a product that is used by dozens of paying SME users. We’ll further enhance Astra by leveraging advanced intelligent algorithms, machine learning concepts and web intelligence,” says Shikhil. The crowning glory for Shikhil and Ananda was winning the Top Technology Innovation award at “6th All China University Software Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition, hosted at Wuxi, China” where students from over 300 universities from Asia demonstrated their Tech Innovations. “After several rounds of evaluation with diverse industry judges over three months we were confident of winning the award when the organisers decided to underwrite our entire trip to China to make a presentation to a packed auditorium of over 2000,” says Shikhil adding that a handsome cash award was an icing on the cake for their fledgling start-up, Czar Securities. Ananda Krishna’s scores at Delhi Public School RK Puram and continuing excellent academic performance at NU have earned him a scholarship for the entire duration of the program. When questioned if they considered themselves as geniuses, Shikhil and Ananda look embarrassed before Shikhil says that two of their batch-mates were selected to the prestigious ‘Google Summer of Code’, and five of them presented research papers in Singapore and China. A similar number went on to pick up Inter University Sports medals in Football, Snooker and Cricket. “Well, we are unique because we are the only ones to launch a start-up while studying at NU,” adds Ananda who is part of the 4th batch of the University that offers BTech programs in Computer Science & Engineering, Electronics & Communication Engineering, and Biotechnology. The duo acknowledges the insights they got from their mentor Dr Kamlesh Bajaj who served as CEO of Data Security Council of India supported by NASSCOM and NU’s academic leaders and founders. (BW Online Bureau)
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Paramita Chatterjee The contours of funding in India have changed over the past few years with the investor focus shifting largely to the startup community. The rise in innovative ideas and entrepreneurship in the country is not only garnering the attention of risk capital funds and domestic HNIs, but is also attracting eyeballs of overseas investors.
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"A friend had committed suicide in IIT Guhawati hostel. The reason was anxiety. She anticipated she’ll not get a good job during the on-campus placement," says Richa Singh, co-founder of Bangalore-based mental wellness startup YourDOST.
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By Neeraj Jain Working in a hyperlocal start-up is not at all easy, your work frame is totally different and the interaction with the public is totally different. Not just the customers participation we want on our platform but a huge retail oriented platform is what we are offering to many local retailers who are in tough competition with other traditional e-commerce players. Looking forward to what one can learn and earn from the same can include many points. And if we see we all learn and earn from business. For Learning from Hyperlocal startups points to kept in consideration 1. One has to build tech solutions for merchants who are not very tech savvy. It is very different from building solutions for consumers or tech savvy audience. 2. Scalability: Scalability issues are very different in hyperlocal startups. One has to think very innovatively to make the business very large. For Earnings from Hyperlocal startups points to be kept in consideration 1. Charge commission to retailers/service providers to drive business 2. Charge a fix subscription or listing (discovery) fee 3. A Combination of both can help with the Earnings. (The author, Neeraj Jain, is CEO & Co-founder, Zoppar)
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LabGo is the first-ever online directory for searching laboratories across India, providing e-commerce platform for testing and calibration services in the Indian market. The idea behind this venture is to bring laboratories and its potential customers closer by providing them a platform for convenient communication. Rahul Gupta, founder and CEO, LabGo, takes pride in providing B2B solutions to over 1400 NABL and ACCAB accredited labs across India. He talked to BW|Businessworld's Haildar Ali Khan on his plans for the Indian market ExcerptsTell us about LabGo and its inception?LabGo.in is a search and discover portal for testing and calibration laboratories in India. It includes details about parameters, products for which testing facility is available, accreditation status and validity, contact information of the laboratory. It was launched in Sept 2015. The idea behind this venture is to bring laboratories and its potential customers closer by providing them a platform for convenient communication. How do you operate?We provides a very simplified user search experience by providing product based and parameter based search directly from search bar on home page. It further provides filters to further narrow down the search results as per location. This online directory will answer the requirements of purchase managers, research analysts, directors, quality professionals etc. As a part of the company's first stage of operations, we take pride in launching 12 categories in the space of testing. Some of these popular categories include water-testing, food, textile, metal, construction, pharmaceuticals (medicines), automobile, petroleum, automobile, forensic laboratories, calibration laboratories etc. The amount you have invested in and the current size of LabGo?The LabGo team comprises an IT Team supported by content writers and digital marketing professionals. As most of the development and other IT functions have been taken up in-house, project investment is reasonably low at Rs 25 Lakh. The testing in calibration market is around Rs 10,000-crore-strong and LabGo is all set to create a niche in this vertical of operation. What are the challenges you face?As this is the first of its kind of portal, we faced a few challenges in understanding the user’s mindset while searching for services and bringing them closer to the services provided by laboratories. My bent of mind enabled me to venture into commercial testing and calibration laboratory setup. From 2009, I acted as a consultant for setting up of calibration and testing laboratories in Sigma Test and Research Centre. I also founded the Instrumentation Division of SGM Labs Solutions which deals in laboratories equipment’s and labs setups. Having that experience in mind, I understood the industries lacking point to target the end consumers, getting them under one platform and the LabGo journey began. Tell us about your revenue model (Sharing)?LabGo is free for its users and the revenue model would focus more on the B2B market. The company takes pride is associating with over 1400 NABL and ACCAB accredited labs across India. We will charge from these testing labs across India while listing them in our search engine and will be offering premium services to the listed laboratories like call connect, star listings and sponsorship banners to generate revenue. What are the plans for the future? Do you have any plans in the pipeline?In future, we intend to provide online sample booking facility through LabGo, where customer can make online test requests to various laboratories. We are looking forward to grow in online marketing field as e-commerce is booming these days keeping in mind the convenience it will provide to the users. What do you have for the general public?It’s a free search platform for general public, providing e-commerce platform for testing and calibration services in Indian market. Though the portal is primarily B2B, it will cater to the need of masses for basic testing requirements like drinking water testing, food adulteration tests or construction material testing.
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"Directors Insurance" is an assurance from the founders that the business will be conducted in due consultation with their fund managers. This stands to kill the spirit of startups.
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Simar Singh Sometimes there’s that suspicious rash creeping up. Should you be concerned? You could go to a doctor but there's no time. But you’d rather get an expert opinion. That’s where DocsApp wants to step in, right in your palm, guaranteeing a specialist opinion within half an hour. Created by two IIT Madras graduates, Satish Kannan and Enbasekar D., DocsApp is a mobile-based application available for download on both the App Store and Play Store, that connects patients with specialist doctors, moving the entire process of consultation online. Its services are available across five departments - Gynaecology, Dermatology, General Medicine, Paediatrics and Psychiatry. “DocsApp is like the WhatsApp for patients and doctors,” Kannan jokes. The duo always had an interest in the healthcare space and knew that they wanted to do something in it. Kannan joined Philips Healthcare in Pune and to walk on cardiac and orthopaedic related technology, while Enbasekar worked at the Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre for a year, only to quit to develop DocsApp. The startup’s tagline—No Appointment, No Travelling, No Waiting, perfectly explains what it essentially does and why people should use it. “We essentially have three types of customers — people who are too busy to physically make it to the doctor’s, those who are seeking privacy and those in smaller towns who do not have access to specialists who are generally city based,” he says. According to research, 72 per cent of health issues are common illnesses which do not require a physical examination and 97 per cent of specialist doctors are concentrated in the top ten cities in India. One time consultations cost Rs 150 and the app connects patients with the relevant specialist who is nearest to them. This can be followed up through chat or call. In case a doctor suggests a physical examination and the consultation is not completed, the money is reimbursed. Doctors, too, have a good incentive to hop onto the platform. Kannan says, “To grow their practice, doctors have to visit more clinics. Most doctors visit three clinics a day. DocsApp provides a platform for them to grow and also offers more publicity, without all the travelling.” However, not just any doctor can be on DocsApp. There’s an intensive screening process and all doctors need to have at least five years of experience. It's like recreating the multi-super speciality experience online, the first consultative part at least. As of today, DocsApp has serviced 25,000 patients and over 150 doctors registered across Delhi, Mumbai and home ground Bengaluru. Kannan hopes to expand this base to at leat 1000 doctors and facilitate a million consultations in the next one year. Apart from, the on-mobile consultations DocsApp also provides at-home diagnostic services and medicine delivery. The startup has ties with over a thousand labs across the country. The medicine delivery service is limited to Bengaluru at the moment, but Kannan expects this to be rolled out to other cities over the next few months. The startup was incubated by IIT Madras and Rajesh Sawhney (who is also an investor in the company) led GSF Accelerator. The company has engaged in a larger round of funding but has withheld the details for now.
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Simar SinghLetsVenture, an online startup funding facilitator, announced that it had brought on Ratan Tata and Mohandas Pai as advisors. The two corporate heavyweights have also invested an undisclosed amount in the company’s Series A round of funding. Founded by Shanti Mohan and Sanjay Jha in 2013, LetsVenture provides a platform for entrepreneurs to meet investors, simplifying the fundraising side of things. CEO Shanti Mohan said that having Tata and Pai on was an endorsement go the company as a trusted platform for investors and entrepreneurs. Reportedly, LetsVenture has around 750 startups and 1,200 investors registered across 20 countries. Around 375 of these are India. To date, LetsVenture has raised around $17 million for 53 startups and should be able to close 35 funding deals by the end of the year. Since his retirement, Tata has been actively involved in the Indian startup scene as a venture capitalist. His portfolio includes taxi aggregator Ola, furnishings portal Urban Ladder, marketplace Paytm and Car Dekho, to name a few. LetsVenture’s Series A round which was conducted last week saw the participation of many high profile investors including Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, Wipro’s director Rishad Premji and Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal.
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