Featured Archives - Startagist https://startagist.com/category/featured/ Stop Thinking, Start Building Mon, 10 Oct 2022 14:03:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.0.9 https://startagist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/cropped-Startagist-Logo-2-96x96.png Featured Archives - Startagist https://startagist.com/category/featured/ 32 32 Oddr raises $2M for its AI-powered invoice-to-cash platform for law firms https://startagist.com/oddr-raises-2m-for-its-ai-powered-invoice-to-cash-platform-for-law-firms/ https://startagist.com/oddr-raises-2m-for-its-ai-powered-invoice-to-cash-platform-for-law-firms/#respond Mon, 10 Oct 2022 06:54:38 +0000 https://startagist.com/?p=5482 India- and Silicon Valley-based legal tech platform Oddr has raised $2 million in a seed round led by Saama Capital and Twin Ventures. The round also saw participation from angels in the US, Singapore and Germany. The funds will be used to build the flagship product AI-powered invoice-to-cash platform for professional services (law firms, accounting […]

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India- and Silicon Valley-based legal tech platform Oddr has raised $2 million in a seed round led by Saama Capital and Twin Ventures.

The round also saw participation from angels in the US, Singapore and Germany.

The funds will be used to build the flagship product AI-powered invoice-to-cash platform for professional services (law firms, accounting firms, consulting firms, and financial services firms).

Started in 2022 by Milan Bobde, Sumit Garg, and Saurabh Mehra, Oddr aims to automate the billing process, which is primarily manual today. The manual process leads to invoice delays, higher write-offs, payment delays and high overhead costs for collections for professional services firms.

Oddr is gearing to launch its services in North America, the UK, and Australia, with an R&D centre in India.

Oddr has entered into a strategic partnership with key industry product companies in the professional services vertical to accelerate MVP and customer acquisition.

Milan Bobde, co-founder CEO of Oddr, said: “Invoice-to-cash process in professional services firms today is manual, fragmented, and cumbersome resulting in high days sales outstanding (DSO), high write-offs and painfully high operating overheads. Oddr helps firms streamline the invoice to cash processes through AI, automation and data-driven approach. As we enter international markets, we aim to touch an ARR of $1 million in the next 18-24 months.”

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Sequoia, Surge infuse $2.3M seed funding into ML startup TrueFoundry https://startagist.com/truefoundry-raises-us2-3m-seed-funding-sequoia-surge/ https://startagist.com/truefoundry-raises-us2-3m-seed-funding-sequoia-surge/#respond Tue, 20 Sep 2022 07:55:21 +0000 https://startagist.com/?p=5421 TrueFoundry, a machine learning (ML) developer platform, has secured $2.3m seed funding led by Sequoia India and Southeast Asia’s Surge. Other participating investors include Eniac Ventures, AngelList co-founder Naval Ravikant, Deutsche Bank Global CIO Dilip Khandelwal, Head of GitHub India Maneesh Sharma, Greenhouse Software CTO Mike Boufford, and Kaggle Founder Anthony Goldbloom. The new funding […]

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TrueFoundry, a machine learning (ML) developer platform, has secured $2.3m seed funding led by Sequoia India and Southeast Asia’s Surge.

Other participating investors include Eniac Ventures, AngelList co-founder Naval Ravikant, Deutsche Bank Global CIO Dilip Khandelwal, Head of GitHub India Maneesh Sharma, Greenhouse Software CTO Mike Boufford, and Kaggle Founder Anthony Goldbloom.

The new funding will be used to expand TrueFoundry’s specialised technology team and further product development.

TrueFoundry, based in the US, was founded in June 2021 by Abhishek Choudhary, Anuraag Gutgutia and Nikunj Bajaj. During their time at Facebook, they recognised that smaller companies in the market required a significantly longer time to build and deploy ML models than big techs.

This led to the founding of TrueFoundry, which automates repetitive tasks in the ML pipeline to accelerate ML deployment and live endpoint monitoring.

ML offers immense business opportunities, yet the development and launch of ML models is a time-intensive and complex process for software engineers, engineers and data scientists. As a result, almost 90 per cent of ML models do not end up in production.

For the models that make it to deployment, 50 per cent fail due to the absence of monitoring systems. About 30 per cent have to be reverted due to scaling and latency issues often overlooked during the data training stage.

While large companies can bridge this gap by deploying large, high-end ML platform teams to design and launch ML models, it is less feasible for smaller companies and startups to commit such high investments while building their companies.

TrueFoundry aims to transform the process by automating parts in the ML pipeline that can be automated and empowering ML developers to test and launch models in production quickly and with as much autonomy as possible.

To schedule a demo with TrueFoundry, visit https://www.truefoundry.com/book-demo.

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Daalchini raises $4M to take affordable snacks, home-style meals to customers  https://startagist.com/daalchini-raises-4m-to-take-affordable-snacks-home-style-meals-to-customers/ https://startagist.com/daalchini-raises-4m-to-take-affordable-snacks-home-style-meals-to-customers/#respond Wed, 07 Sep 2022 07:59:13 +0000 https://startagist.com/?p=5388 Retailtech startup Daalchini has raised US$4 million in a Series A round led by Unicorn India Ventures. Existing investors, such as Artha Venture Fund, Ajay Kaul (ex-CEO of Dominos India), and VSS Investco ( the investment vertical of Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma), also joined. A large part of this funding will be deployed to […]

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Retailtech startup Daalchini has raised US$4 million in a Series A round led by Unicorn India Ventures.

Existing investors, such as Artha Venture Fund, Ajay Kaul (ex-CEO of Dominos India), and VSS Investco ( the investment vertical of Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma), also joined.

A large part of this funding will be deployed to expand Daalchini’s industry footprint and further its tech capabilities. The company wants to make its solutions asset-efficient and accessible to 10 million retail points in India and 450+ F&B D2C brands.

Founded in 2017 by ex-Paytm colleagues Prerna Kalra and Vidya Bhushan, Daalchini takes affordable snacks and home-style meals to its customers through technology-efficient models, such as automated kiosks, mobility retails, and smart vending machines. The firm provides many food and beverage options, available 24×7 and accessible without delivery charges or long wait times. 

Daalchini has tied up with leading companies like Reliance, Aditya Birla Group’s Hindalco, Vodafone, GE, Genpact, NITI Aayog, Housr, MX Player, Samsung, Paytm, Snapdeal, Byjus, EY, OLX, OYO, Loreal and VIVO, among others. Its vending machines are installed in corporate and co-working spaces, educational institutes, hospitals, and railway stations, offering food and beverage products from over 160 brands.

Providing a high-return customer acquisition platform for D2C brands, Daalchini has collaborated with more than 160 brands like Sleepy Owl, The Whole Truth Foods, Open Secret, Yoga Bar, Slurrp Farm, BRB, Cremica Opera, Cravova, Millet Bowl, Yogapulp as well as industry giants like Dabur, Nestle, Mars.

Daalchini’s Retail-as-a-Service platform enables these brands to grow in hundreds of physical stores while tracking real-time insights digitally.

Currently, the Daalchini app has more than 200,000 monthly active users.

Daalchini claims it has grown 300 per cent in the last 12 months. It generated INR 12 crore revenue in FY2022. More than 90 per cent of its vending machines are EBITA positive.

Daalchini aims to clock INR 50 crore in revenues with a GMV of INR 130 crore in 12 months.

The company intends to grow from 850+ to over 5,000 smart and autonomous retail points in the next 12-18 months.

Kalra said: “Daalchini aims to establish its footprints at every 200 meters of habitable area with its autonomous smart stores and vending machines. Today, our country has just a few thousand vending machines, while the US or Japan has more than one autonomous store for every 200 people. We are far from the true potential of this kind of retail.”

“We quickly expanded our network to 11 states and 23 cities with 850+ stores. We will continue leveraging our unique tech and supply chain for fresh and packaged food to reach 50+ cities,” she added.

According to the Kearney India Retail Index, the retail industry, dominated by the food and groceries sector, will grow at a 9 per cent rate from $779 billion in 2019 to $1.4 trillion in 2026 to $1.9 trillion in 2030. Despite the pandemic, research finds that the industry has and will continue to grow on the back of value e-commerce and an unprecedented reach across Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. These trends align parallelly with Daalchini’s growth trajectory and plans, which will help unlock growth opportunities in untapped markets of the country.

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Merak Ventures launches $100M fund for early-stage startups in India https://startagist.com/merak-ventures-debuts-100m-fund-for-early-stage-startups-in-india/ https://startagist.com/merak-ventures-debuts-100m-fund-for-early-stage-startups-in-india/#respond Mon, 29 Aug 2022 11:44:30 +0000 https://startagist.com/?p=5353 Delhi-based Merak Ventures has announced the launch of its early-stage VC fund with a target corpus of $100 million. Merak will invest in seed-stage B2B and emerging technologies companies creating sustainable business models and utilising new technologies to help solve real problems and create large-scale impact. While the fund will remain sector-agnostic, some investment themes […]

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Delhi-based Merak Ventures has announced the launch of its early-stage VC fund with a target corpus of $100 million.

Merak will invest in seed-stage B2B and emerging technologies companies creating sustainable business models and utilising new technologies to help solve real problems and create large-scale impact.

While the fund will remain sector-agnostic, some investment themes it will proactively chase include climate-tech (encompassing agritech, mobility, carbon, climate finance, and digital solutions), insurtech, and SaaS.

The VC firm plans to invest in 18-20 startups over the next three-four years.

Manu Rikhye, Partner of Merak Ventures, said: “There are passionate founders who want to solve real-world problems, and we want to empower them, not just with capital but as a mentor-partner. At Merak, we firmly believe businesses who solve authentic problems will always make for a sound investment.”

Merak’s Founders and Partners Rikhye and Sheetal Bahl are successful fund managers who have been investing in the Indian ecosystem for a decade now, of which the last six have been sharply focused on B2B and deep/ emerging tech. growx Ventures Fund I, which they continue to manage, has had a portfolio of 16 investments, including Cynlr, Pixxel, and Progcap.

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Webnyay raises seed money for its dispute resolution, grievance redressal platform https://startagist.com/webnyay-raises-seed-money-for-its-dispute-resolution-grievance-redressal-platform/ https://startagist.com/webnyay-raises-seed-money-for-its-dispute-resolution-grievance-redressal-platform/#respond Tue, 23 Aug 2022 01:48:33 +0000 https://startagist.com/?p=5336 Webnyay, an online dispute resolution and grievance redressal platform in India, has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures, with participation from SucSEED Indovation Fund. The funds raised will be utilized towards scaling up the products, building AI, machine learning, and NLP capabilities. A portion of the money will go […]

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Webnyay, an online dispute resolution and grievance redressal platform in India, has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures, with participation from SucSEED Indovation Fund.

The funds raised will be utilized towards scaling up the products, building AI, machine learning, and NLP capabilities. A portion of the money will go into strengthening the platform’s security and enhancing the capability for resolving disputes in open networks like the Account Aggregator, ONDC, and OCEN networks.

Additionally, Webnyay will develop a go-to-market strategy.

Founded in 2020 by Vishwam Jindal and Ishita Jindal, Webnyay has developed an easy-to-use technology system for grievance redressal and dispute resolution. It allows users to draft legal documents for arbitration without an advocate or external legal help.

Webnyay is available in multiple languages and has been used to resolve grievances and disputes in numerous sectors, including media and entertainment, banking and fintech, healthcare, and e-commerce.

Among other features, Webnyay has developed a document management system tailored for lawyers, automated creation of electronic hearing bundles in document-heavy and complex disputes, and a sophisticated messaging and video conferencing solution that supports online (and hybrid) court and redressal proceedings.

Businesses, lawyers, and arbitrators from numerous countries have used the platform for managing disputes and conducting their arbitration and mediation proceedings.

CEO Vishwam Jindal said, “We are building the justice delivery ecosystem for the internet. We want to help businesses and government bodies resolve grievances and disputes speedily and cost-effectively. Our mission is to use technology to increase access to justice and enable ease of business. We are building AI and machine learning algorithms for faster and automated resolution of grievances and disputes.”

Its users include a retired Chief Justice of India, former Supreme Court judges, and arbitrators from across the world.

Vinay Bansal, Founder and CEO of IPV, said, “Tech startups in the last decade have demonstrated how technology can be used to solve real problems from cab-hailing to grocery delivery within minutes. Judiciary in India too leveraged tech from the pandemic’s start to deliver justice. The comfort and trust to use tech-enabled platforms for Dispute Resolution remain an untapped market largely because of obvious challenges. Webnyay is making a bold move in this segment as a pioneering legal tech platform built in India with global relevance in Grievance Redressal and Dispute Resolution.”


In India alone, dispute resolution costs result in over $56 billion in yearly losses. 

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Exponent Energy raises $13M to provide rapid charging solutions for EVs https://startagist.com/exponent-energy-raises-13m-to-provide-rapid-charging-solutions-for-evs/ https://startagist.com/exponent-energy-raises-13m-to-provide-rapid-charging-solutions-for-evs/#respond Thu, 18 Aug 2022 13:19:49 +0000 https://startagist.com/?p=5314 Exponent Energy, a startup simplifying energy for electric vehicles (EVs), has announced a $13 million Series A capital raise led by Lightspeed India. Existing institutional investors, such as YourNest VC, 3one4 Capital and AdvantEdge VC, also participated. The amount will be utilised to scale up the startup’s e^pump network to 100 location points per city, […]

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Exponent Energy, a startup simplifying energy for electric vehicles (EVs), has announced a $13 million Series A capital raise led by Lightspeed India.

Existing institutional investors, such as YourNest VC, 3one4 Capital and AdvantEdge VC, also participated.

The amount will be utilised to scale up the startup’s e^pump network to 100 location points per city, starting with Bengaluru, besides streamlining e^pack production and delivering more Exponent Energy-enabled EVs.

This is Lightspeed India’s first investment in an Indian EV.

Founded by Arun Vinayak and Sanjay Byalal, Exponent Energy has built a battery pack and charging station called the e^pack & e^pump that together unlock a zero to 100 per cent rapid charge within 15 minutes for EVs with any number of wheels. It also provides a 3,000-cycle life warranty, all while using regular Li-ion cells to make rapid charging affordable and scalable.

Harsha Kumar, Partner at Lightspeed, said, “The need for enhancing EV battery performance, sustainability and most of all access and affordability has never been more pressing. With its drive and innovation, this team has made rapid EV battery charging possible in just 15 minutes. We are confident that the technology is a real breakthrough, allowing EVs to become ubiquitous.”

Arun Vinayak, Co-founder & CEO, Exponent Energy, said: “Our technology already delivers a seamless charging experience, and with our vehicle partnership in place, we’ll scale-up our production and network presence to 100 e^pump location points per city to deliver freedom and flexibility to our customers. This funding now allows us to execute even faster and make 15-minute rapid charging the new normal.”

Earlier this month, Exponent Energy partnered with Altigreen to make rapid charging a reality for eCVs on Indian roads. They together unveiled a fast-charging electric 3-wheeler that rapidly charges from zero to 100 per cent within 15 minutes.

Exponent’s e^pack on the Altigreen neEV HD is built using regular LFP cell chemistry, making this the first rapid charging solution that’s affordable and scalable. Customer deliveries of Exponent Enabled NeEV HD will begin from October 2022.

Previously Exponent Energy has raised $6 million in seed and pre-Series A round from prominent investors such as the family office of Pawan Munjal, Chairman and CEO of Hero MotoCorp; Motherson Group, a leading global supplier of automotive components; and YourNest VC, 3one4 Capital, AdvantEdge VC and a few angels.

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The Healthy Company lands pre-Series A financing https://startagist.com/the-healthy-company-lands-pre-series-a-financing/ https://startagist.com/the-healthy-company-lands-pre-series-a-financing/#respond Thu, 21 Jul 2022 11:23:22 +0000 https://startagist.com/?p=5236 Health and wellness platform, The Healthy Company, has bagged an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures. The company will use the funds for marketing, R&D, and channel expansion. Founded in 2018 by Devansh Jain Nawal and Ackshay Jain, The Healthy Company offers products (green teas, granola bars, muesli, plant-based proteins, […]

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Health and wellness platform, The Healthy Company, has bagged an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures.

The company will use the funds for marketing, R&D, and channel expansion.

Founded in 2018 by Devansh Jain Nawal and Ackshay Jain, The Healthy Company offers products (green teas, granola bars, muesli, plant-based proteins, etc.) and services (personalized nutritionist consultation through EVA application) to cater for the customer wellness journey. It claims to have shipped close to two million superfoods to date.

It says it has helped customers across India lose over 120,000 kilos naturally with over 94 per cent success rate in healthy reduction of Body Mass Index.

Its AI-powered coaching service called EVA helps people easily manage their lifestyle while continuing a healthy diet plan. This has helped thousands of customers to lose weight naturally and have a taste of a fit lifestyle. Their products have seen adoption among all ages ranging from the 20s to the late 60s.

The products are sold through its portal and other top marketplaces, including Amazon, Flipkart, and Nykaa.

In addition to expanding its customer base via Tier 2 & 3 focused marketplaces, it plans to expand its offline presence via collaborations with gyms, wellness clinics, and health centres.

Vinay Bansal founder and CEO of Inflection Point Ventures, said, “Healthy choices are now a way of life, and it cuts across age segments. THC’s offerings have helped consumers to enjoy being on a diet and achieve their weight loss and fitness goals. We understand this segment quite well and can provide insights to the team on scaling their business. The organic synergy between IPV and THC has led to closing this round with the company.”

The weight loss and weight management diet market size were valued at 192.2 billion USD in 2019 and is projected to reach 295.3 billion USD by 2027, registering a CAGR of 7.0% from 2021 to 2027. The Asia-Pacific region would exhibit the highest CAGR of 8.6% during this period. With at least 20% of the Indians facing one or the other lifestyle disorder, there is a need for focused wellness products. Focusing on the 108 Mn+, and increasing, health-conscious users in India, THC is on a mission to maximize human health and wellness through technology and bioscience.

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Bdiapers introduces India’s First Hybrid Cloth Diapers with Disposable Inserts https://startagist.com/bdiapers-introduces-indias-first-hybrid-cloth-diapers-with-disposable-inserts/ https://startagist.com/bdiapers-introduces-indias-first-hybrid-cloth-diapers-with-disposable-inserts/#respond Fri, 04 Dec 2020 16:48:16 +0000 https://startagist.com/?p=3833 Bdiapers is a labor of love by Amrita Vaswani, a mother of two boys and a passionate proponent of natural parenting. Currently she runs this brand alone with her team. Amrita completed her MBA from Australia and has over 10 years of consumer marketing experience from companies such as Colgate Palmolive, Microsoft and American Express. […]

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Bdiapers is a labor of love by Amrita Vaswani, a mother of two boys and a passionate proponent of natural parenting. Currently she runs this brand alone with her team. Amrita completed her MBA from Australia and has over 10 years of consumer marketing experience from companies such as Colgate Palmolive, Microsoft and American Express.

The idea came to her when she had her first baby in the US. Being a child prone to diaper rashes; she was tired of chemicals in disposable diapers and while she was committed to cloth diapering, she missed the convenience of disposables. “I looked around for a disposable diaper that was healthy, easy to use, eco-friendly and affordable but I couldn’t find one that would fit the bill”, she says.

Bdiapers Hybrid Cloth Diapers
Bdiapers Hybrid Cloth Diapers

Amrita started the business in 2013 bringing the first Modern Cloth Diaper in India under the brand name “Bumchum”. But soon she realized that mothers like herself were finding it difficult to commit to cloth with all the washing, airing, soaking and other works that came with a small baby. She then started the design of Bdiapers with a home machine and a tailor and they relaunched as Bdiapers in 2019, with a cloth cover and a chemical free disposable insert. The entire range is completely made in India. The first lot of Bdiapers were made with matching T-shirts to make these as complete pieces of clothing. We had a lot of success initially with new moms and our first set of customers were very excited about the concept. Our first channel partners were Firstcry, Amazon and Flip.

Bdiapers introduces India's First Hybrid Cloth Diapers with Disposable Inserts

The product/service

Bdiaper is India’s first and only hybrid cloth diaper that can hold a disposable (or washable) insert. These work in a patented 2-part system with a cloth shell and a removable waterproof pouch that holds the insert pads. The cloth shells come with matching T shirts, headbands and bandana bibs to complete the look, and make for comfortable and stylish clothing for the baby. While the disposable inserts are fragrance, bleach and dye free, they are hypoallergenic and do not cause a rash. The cloth shells are  also sized and the brand offers a complete range of healthy diapering solution for conscious, green parents.

Bdiapers covers do not need to be washed until soiled, and the same diaper can be used with a simple change of insert.

Bdiapers Hybrids are the healthiest, most eco-friendly diapers available in India. These diapers help keep the convenience of disposables and the health of cloth in a diaper that is affordable, leak proof, rash free and convenient. These diapers are great for moms who are tired of painful rashes caused by chemicals in disposables and want to break the cycle of exposure to chemicals on their baby.

Bdiapers Hybrid Cloth Diapers
Bdiapers Hybrid Cloth Diapers

Vision and mission

In the short term we are looking to create knowledge around our concept of Hybrid Diapers and create awareness about the hazards of using single use disposable diapers on the babys health and her environment. We wish seek feedback on our new system of diapering and work towards a completely green (i.e. Biodegradable) product in the future. Our long-term vision is to disrupt the diaper category and create options for mothers like myself who are tired of chemicals in disposable diapers.

Our core belief is that mothers deserve the option to choose what they feel is convenient and healthy for themselves and their babies. We wish to incorporate modern convenience in traditional products that are healthy, affordable and eco-friendly.

Market/industry details

The Indian diaper industry is pegged at 5Bn growing at 5.8% CAGR. With Covid-19 awareness parents are getting conscious about the choices they make in products that impact the health of their children and the world they will grow up in. With the rise of the Make in India campaign, several new brands have emerged in the baby space that have propelled growth within the category.

How did you come up with the name, tagline, and logo for your Company?

How we became Bdiapers is a story of serendipity. We started back in 2015 as Bumchum Diapers however due to a personal tragedy, I was unable to further the business that time. We restarted in 2019, as Bdiapers where the “B” is an integral part of our philosophy. The “B” stands for ‘the state of being’ we want to give parents. The “B” signifies respect for a mother’s choice, her judgement and her decision to raise her child to with knowledge, health and happiness. We support every mother in being who she wants to be, in her parenting journey.

Business Model and revenue model

Bdiapers is mostly available online through B2B ecommerce channels and through the company website. They also sell through some retail stores in Nagaland through a distributor. Everything is in the price range of Rs 199/- – Rs1399/-and we cater to an entire range of healthy diapering solution which includes rash balms, baby wipes, diaper bags and other accessories apart from our Hybrid Diapers. 

Getting the first 100 customers for your company is a bliss! Launching Company

We launched our website in May 2020 and reached our target of 100 customers within 1 month! Since launch we have over 450 loyal customers with a good number of them coming back. However, bulk of our sales come from our ecommerce channel partners Firstcry and Amazon.

Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers/clients?

What has really worked for us is our product in itself. Being the only brand in India doing something disruptive in the diaper space has given us some much-needed visibility. There are new designs in the pipeline and we are working tirelessly to incorporate all that we have learnt from feedback from our customers over the last few months. We have also launched new prints and are working on a line of newborn diapers and accessories. But the reason we have customers coming back is because we are an affordable, healthy diapering solution in India and are completely locally manufactured.

Most challenging part and how did you overcome it?

We re-started operations in November 2019 with our webstore ready in May 2020, hence like most other startups in our stage, our biggest challenge has been covid-19. Since the start we have faced issues of factories that made our products closing down, us losing good people and several other setbacks. We have had to improvise, hustle and in a lot of places take the hit on the high prices of trims and costs of production without compromising on quality. This has hurt our liquidity and has been our biggest challenge. Also, we are completely self-funded.

Name some of your competitors

We do not have a direct competitor in India, however our biggest competitor in hybrid diaper category doing great work is in the US called Gdiapers (the similarity in name is purely a co-incidence!). In India, Superbottoms is doing phenomenal work in bringing full cloth diapers to the Indian moms. However our product is disfferent in concept and design from a complete cloth diaper or disposable diaper.

Future plans

We hope to build the category of hybrid diapers and come with a great product that will be a healthy, eco-friendly, affordable alternative to single use disposable diapers. We also hope to create more and more awareness amongst parents regarding chemicals in disposables and their harmful effect on baby’s health in the long term.

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Google to invest Rs 75,000 crore to boost digitisation in India https://startagist.com/google-to-invest-rs-75000-crore-to-boost-digitisation-in-india/ https://startagist.com/google-to-invest-rs-75000-crore-to-boost-digitisation-in-india/#respond Mon, 13 Jul 2020 15:00:20 +0000 https://startagist.com/?p=2736 The investment will focus on four areas important to India’s digitisation– first enabling affordable access to information to every Indian in their own language. Google for India event had garnered massive interest among technology enthusiasts, as it was touted to be presided by Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google & Alphabet Inc. Expectedly, Pichai made the huge […]

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The investment will focus on four areas important to India’s digitisation– first enabling affordable access to information to every Indian in their own language.

Google for India event had garnered massive interest among technology enthusiasts, as it was touted to be presided by Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google & Alphabet Inc. Expectedly, Pichai made the huge announcement that the company will be investing $10 billion (approx. Rs 75,000 crore) for Digitisation India over the next five to seven years.

“We’ll do this through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, and operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments. This is a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy. As we make these investments, we look forward to working alongside Prime Minister Modi and the Indian government, as well as Indian businesses of all sizes to realize our shared vision for a Digital India,” Pichai said.

Google to invest Rs 75,000 crore to boost digitisation in India
Sunder Pichai and Narendra Modi

Google’s investment focuses on the following four areas of Digitisation India:

Enable affordable access and information to every Indian in their own language, whether it’s Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi or any other.

Build new products and services that are deeply relevant to India’s unique needs. Empower businesses as they continue or embark on their digital transformation.

Leverage technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for social good, in areas like health, education, and agriculture. It can be noted that Google via growth equity investment fund CapitalG is supporting popular Dunzo, a 24×7 product delivery service in India.

With the massive $10 billion funds, Google will be able to help more start-ups related to fintech, AI, health, agriculture, education, and other sectors in India.

“There’s no question we are facing a diicult moment today, in India and around the world. The dual challenges to our health and to our economies have forced us to rethink how we work and how we live. But times of challenge can lead to incredible moments of innovation. 

Google to invest Rs 75,000 crore to boost digitisation in India

Our goal is to ensure India not only benefits from the next wave of innovation but leads it. Working together we can ensure that our best days are still ahead, “Pichai said about the Covid-19 situation.

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This startup can produce a 3D-printed house in 12 to 24 hours! https://startagist.com/startup-can-produce-3d-printed-house-24-hours/ https://startagist.com/startup-can-produce-3d-printed-house-24-hours/#respond Tue, 13 Mar 2018 10:01:47 +0000 http://startagist.com/?p=2346 US-based ICON has developed a method for printing a single-story 650-square-foot house out of cement in only 12 to 24 hours, a fraction of the time it takes for new construction Food, water, and shelter are basic human needs, but 1.2 billion people in the world live without adequate housing, according to a report by the World Resources […]

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US-based ICON has developed a method for printing a single-story 650-square-foot house out of cement in only 12 to 24 hours, a fraction of the time it takes for new construction

Food, water, and shelter are basic human needs, but 1.2 billion people in the world live without adequate housing, according to a report by the World Resources Institute’s Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. Today at SXSW, an Austin-based startup will unveil its approach to combat that deficiency by using low-cost 3D printing as a potential solution.

ICON has developed a method for printing a single-story 650-square-foot house out of cement in only 12 to 24 hours, a fraction of the time it takes for new construction. If all goes according to plan, a community made up of about 100 homes will be constructed for residents in El Salvador next year. The company has partnered with New Story, a nonprofit that is vested in international housing solutions. “We have been building homes for communities in Haiti, El Salvador, and Bolivia,” Alexandria Lafci, co-founder of New Story, tells The Verge.

The first model, scheduled to be unveiled in Austin, is a step toward providing shelter to those in underserved communities. Jason Ballard, one of ICON’s three founders, says he is going to trial the model as an office to test out their practical use. “We are going to install air quality monitors. How does it look, and how does it smell?” Ballard also runs Treehouse, a company that focuses on sustainable home upgrades.

US-Based Startup Builds 3D-printed house within 24 Hours
Inside the 3D-printed home | Photo Courtesy: ICON

Using the Vulcan printer, ICON can print an entire home for $10,000 and plans to bring costs down to $4,000 per house. “It’s much cheaper than the typical American home,” Ballard says. It’s capable of printing a home that’s 800 square feet, a significantly bigger structure than properties pushed by the tiny home movement, which top out at about 400 square feet. In contrast, the average New York apartment is about 866 square feet.

The model has a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and a curved porch. “There are a few other companies that have printed homes and structures,” Ballard says. “But they are printed in a warehouse, or they look like Yoda huts. For this venture to succeed, they have to be the best houses.” The use of cement as a common material will help normalize the process for potential tenants that question the sturdiness of the structure. “I think if we were printing in plastic we would encounter some issues.”

Once ICON completes material testing and tweaking of the design, the company will move the Vulcan printer to El Salvador to begin construction. ICON says its 3D-printed houses will create minimal waste and labor costs are significantly reduced. The company also intends to build homes in the US eventually. It’s a compelling solution to solving housing shortages but one that could be contentious among labor unions that represent workers.

It’s almost cliché that tech innovations happen in the high-end, for-profit segment long before they filter down to the masses, where innovation could serve the greatest social good. ICON and New Story are challenging that premise. Lafci uses the example of latency in cellphone availability to reach the African continent as the reason she believes in the endeavor. “(ICON) believes, as do I, that 3D printing is going to be a method for all kinds of housing,” she says.

But the company is already looking past the global housing crises to think about communities that will one day live off-planet. “One of the big challenges is how are we going to create habitats in space,” Ballard says. “You’re not going to open a two by four and open screws. It’s one of the more promising potential habitat technologies.”

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