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uEngage aspires to be Shopify for restaurants in India

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
uEngage aspires to be Shopify for restaurants in India
Medial

If you’re a new restaurant owner, you will probably get your joint listed on Zomato and Swiggy at the earliest. The listing helps with instant discoverability in the operational area and access to the delivery fleet among other benefits. The catch, however, is the steep commission charges restaurant owners have to pay these food aggregator platforms. This is one of the reasons why you see different pricing on Zomato and restaurants’ own menu cards. Chandigarh-based uEngage is looking to fix this exact problem for restaurant owners in the country. The startup offers a wide range of services such as Edge (which lets you start your own ordering app), Flash (which helps manage deliveries and riders), and Prism (which helps automate marketing). The startup is also active on ONDC, enabling businesses to join the open network for digital commerce. We spoke to uEngage CEO and founder Sameer Sharma to learn more about his platform, what it is trying to accomplish, and future roadmap. Here are the edited excerpts: What are the key problems that uEngage is trying to address? When Zomato, Swiggy, and other aggregators entered the picture, we couldn’t understand why they kept increasing commissions and pressuring merchants. Initially, it was 14%, which seemed high. Now, it’s beyond 22% for a major list of merchants, with some newer brands facing rates up to 32-35%. But that’s just the beginning. Beyond base commissions, there are additional costs like payment gateway charges, marketing click payments, often without clear, and cancellation charges without go ahead from the merchant. Recently, I met a leading Zomato-listed restaurant in Chandigarh. Despite generating sales worth Rs 30 lakh, they received only Rs 14.91 lakh, over 50% of their revenue. This has been happening for a while, and this is why we started uEngage. While aggregators offer great technology, demand generation, and modern logistics, there are downsides. Merchants lose control over brand positioning, customer relationship and face significant financial constraints. While aggregators aren’t necessarily evil, there’s much at stake for restaurants in the given circumstances. Please touch upon how the platform works, and how your growth has been so far? uEngage is Like Shopify for restaurants. Being a food-specific platform, we have been able to go deeper and offer extensive plug n play solutions to our restaurant partners. Initially launched as digital ordering platform for restaurants, uEngage has extended the platform into 3 different products covering: Direct Ordering (Mobile Apps, SEO First Websites, WhatsApp Ordering and KIOSk Ordering) – uEngage EDGE Customer Marketing and Omni Channel Loyalty – uEngage PRISM Last Mile Delivery and Tracking (Self Delivery and 3PL) – uEngage Flash At one end we have integrated industry leading POS and Billing Players like Petpooja , POSIST, Urban Piper, TM Bill, etc. to make life simpler for outlet staff, on the other end, we work closely with leading logistics players such as Dunzo, Zomato Xtreme (Zomato’s B2B service), Shadowfax, Loadshare, and Rapido. Together, they form a comprehensive Direct Ordering stack, including commerce, marketing, and logistics components. This ecosystem enables us to provide a holistic solution to our clients. As far as our financial growth goes, last year, our revenue stood at Rs 5.7 crore. This year, we anticipate closing it around Rs 13 crore to Rs 14 crore. This year, we’re projecting a GMV of around Rs 310 crore rupees for our brands. Orders from partner platforms to our revenue; they belong to the respective brands. However, they contribute to the GMV we generate for them. Our focus as a bootstrap company remains on profitability, and we’ve been profitable for more than two years now. Regarding our partnerships, we currently work with close to 4,000 outlets for our Direct Ordering Business and overall 15000+ Outlets for all our offerings including ONDC. What are your plans for the ONDC network? The ONDC is still at a nascent stage but a significant contributor to our revenue. Currently, we have around 15,000 outlets. Our target is to reach 50,000 outlets within the next three to four quarters.

Invest4Edu makes education planning easy for parents

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Invest4Edu makes education planning easy for parents
Medial

Not everyone can afford to pay for high-quality education for their children. Whether it’s about studying in a premier institution in India or colleges abroad, it’s expensive. The complexities of accessing education loans have also been a significant pain point for parents. Of late, quite a few startups have begun working in this space. For instance, GradRight helps make higher education abroad accessible and affordable. Other notable names are Leap Finance and Propelled. Another startup trying to tap into this space is Invest4edu. Based in Mumbai, Invest4Edu aims to address common anxieties around the rising cost of education, college planning, and long-term payment. We spoke to the company co-founder and CEO Peeyush Agrawal to learn more about the ‘ed-fintech’ startup, how it operates, and more. Here are the edited excerpts: What are the key challenges in the industry that have not been addressed yet? And how do you plan to address them? There has been a surge of edtech and fintech companies, and all of them are doing a great job in their respective horizons, but we have found that India still lacks tech platforms offering comprehensive education financial solutions. Only partial solutions are being offered by existing Edtech and Fintech companies. There is a lack of focused unified solutions in the market, and an absence of education goal-based planning leading to insufficient funds for education. Less than 30% of parents use money for their child’s education from dedicated education savings. Inadequate planning leads to insufficient funds for education, restricting a child’s ability to achieve their real potential. Two out of three Indian parents cannot plan for retirement due to the higher education financing needs of their children. With smart AI-based tools, we want to empower parents and students to discover and plan their education goals. Early planning with mandate-based early savings and great career-building services will help Indians manage education inflation and fulfill their commitment to quality education. We are offering an array of education services to help students and parents discover ideal career paths in the increasingly changing environment. What are the key highlights of your platform? We at Invest4Edu offer an AI-based education journey, essentially a digital toolkit aiding parents in crafting career-centric education goals from nursery to university. The toolkit is aimed to simplify learning requirements, skill development, assessments, and counseling with precise expense details. There is also a free planner that ensures holistic education. Subscription plans offer services like career counseling, skill-building, and financial investment guidance for achieving goals. We also have a College cost calculator, EduAbacus, which helps deliver informed decisions on future education costs. Subscriptions or standalone services from this tech-driven platform streamline education planning for parents and students. How do you generate revenues? Invest4Ed offers a unique blend of educational and financial services to B2C and B2B2C markets. We have an annuity-based revenue model with high customer retention. The revenue is generated from commission on financial products like MF, FD, Insurance along with fees from educational solutions and subscription plans. What are your short-term and long-term goals in terms of product and business expansion and diversification? Over the next two years, our company aims to spearhead a transformative initiative in education planning that prioritizes and enhances while ensuring accessibility for a diverse student population of more than 2 Lakh students. Our long-term goal is to create 1.5 Million User Base and 0.5 Million Families Empowered In this endeavour. We will be building a $250 Million Mutual Fund AUM & Monthly SIP Book of $60 Million. We have recently expanded our core team aimed at launching our global business.

Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [07 - 12 Oct]

EntrackrEntrackr · 11m ago
Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [07 - 12 Oct]
Medial

During the week, 32 Indian startups raised around $134.42 million in funding. These deals count 4 growth-stage deals and 22 early-stage deals while 6 startups kept their transaction details undisclosed. Last week, 21 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised over $92.63 million in funding. [Growth-stage deals] Among the growth-stage deals, 4 startups raised $55.8 million in funding this week. Industrial robotics maker Haber spearheaded with $38 million funding round. SaaS platform for physical therapy professionals Spry Therapeutics raised $15 million followed by aerial intelligence platform Aereo and pharmaceutical packaging startup Sorich Foils with $1.8 million and $1 million in funding, respectively. [Early-stage deals] Further, 22 early-stage startups secured funding worth $78.62 million during the week. D2C diaper brand Bumtum (Millennium Babycares) led the list followed by EV firm UrjaMobility, vacuum and process solutions provider Economy Process Solutions, space-tech firm XDLINX, and dental care platform Dezy among others. Meanwhile, Jivi, Suraasa, Adloggs, Humm Care, A4 Hospital, and Deftouch also raked in funding but did not disclose the transaction details. For more information, visit TheKredible. [City and segment-wise deals] In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Bengaluru-based startups led with 11 deals followed by Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Coimbatore, et al. Segment-wise, Healthtech startups are on the top spot with 5 deals. SaaS, E-commerce, Fintech, Media and entertainment, Edtech, and Robotics startups followed the list among others. [Series-wise deals] During the week, seed funding deals are on top, with 18 deals followed by Series A, pre-Series A, Series B, and pre-IPO deals among others. [Week-on-week funding trend] On a weekly basis, startup funding went up 45.11% to $134.42 million as compared to around $92.63 million raised during the previous week. The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $358.15 million with 28 deals per week. [Fund launches] D2C Insider, a community of D2C founders, launched the Super Angels Fund with a corpus of Rs 25 crore. LC Nueva Investment Partners launched the LC Nueva Momentum Fund with a target corpus of Rs 150 crore. Northern Arc launched the Finserv Fund with a target corpus of Rs 1,500 crore. [Key hirings and departures] The startup ecosystem witnessed 17 notable hirings this week. Evenflow onboarded Priyesh Singh, Aparajitha Vijayaraghavan, Prashant Agarwal, and Ruchi Shaikh at different leading positions. Oyo also welcomed Sonal Sinha, Rachit Srivastava, Shashank Jain, Pankhuri Sakhuja, and Ashish Bajpai to fill different roles. Meanwhile, Orios Venture Partners’s CFO & CEO Gaurav Bindal, Zomato’s Independent Director Gunjan Soni, and Menhood’s Compliance Officer resigned. [Mergers and Acquisitions] This week, three notable acquisitions took place in the Indian startup ecosystem. Ozonetel acquired CloudConnect Communications, eBikeGo purchased Varcas Automobiles, and Exicom took over Tritium. [ESOP buyback] Whatfix, a digital adoption platform (DAP), has introduced a $58 million liquidity program for its employees and investors. Online gaming startup Winzo has also announced the completion of its fourth round of employee stock options plan (ESOP) liquidation. [Shutdown and layoffs] Plug-and-play platform Toplyne is shutting down operations and returning capital to investors. While two-wheeler marketplace BeepKart reportedly fired another 60-70 employees. Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights. [New launches] Fintech startup Jar forays into the D2C jewelry space with the launch of Nek Blinkit to launch ‘Cafe’ for quick snack deliveries IPO-bound Swiggy rolls out large order fleet in Gurugram Ranveer Singh-backed Bold Care ventures into women’s wellness Innov8 launches Managed Office Spaces vertical ShareChat launches social media app ‘Vibely’ [Potential Deals] D2C fashion brand Zouk set to raise $10 Mn led by Aavishkaar Capital Prosus to double down on Urban Company in a secondary deal Amazon-backed ToneTag in talks to raise $50 Mn [Financial results this week] Servify posts Rs 755 Cr revenue in FY24; cuts losses by 59% Kuku FM reports Rs 88 Cr revenue in FY24; spends Rs 100 Cr on marketing Pine Labs India posts Rs 1,384 Cr revenue in FY24; losses jump 3X DCGpac hits profitability as revenue nears Rs 100 Cr in FY24 Leegality turns profitable with 87% revenue growth in FY24 boAt cuts losses by 47% in FY24, revenue holds steady at Rs 3,122 Cr Your-Space posts Rs 142 Cr revenue in FY24; losses up 20% Info Edge revenue touches Rs 1,230 Cr revenue in H1 FY25 [News flash this week] Ola, Uber, and Porter score zero in Fairwork India Ratings 2024 Ola Electric faces show-cause notice amid rising complaints Magicpin becomes the largest food delivery seller app on ONDC Govt. eyes action against e-commerce firms for dark pattern violations Zetwerk begins talks with JP Morgan and other bankers for an IPO Physics Wallah selects four investment bankers for $500 Mn IPO BlackBuck gets SEBI nod For Rs 550 Cr IPO Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal exits, Titan Capital’s Kunal Bahl joins Shark Tank India [Conclusion] After a dip in funding last week, the weekly funding surged over 45% $134.42 million this week. The week saw three startup-focused fund launches namely D2C Insider (Super Angel Fund), LC Nueva Investment, and Northern Arc (Finserv AIF Fund). The Indian government is poised to take action against e-commerce companies that have been accused of flouting dark pattern regulations during the festive season sales. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) is investigating complaints alleging that these companies have used deceptive design elements to trick consumers into making purchases. Dark patterns, such as creating a false sense of urgency or misleading customers, have become a growing concern as e-commerce has boomed in India. To address this issue, the government introduced guidelines last year to regulate the use of dark patterns and curb deceptive practices by e-commerce companies. Around tech IPOs, Zetwork and Physics Wallah are in talks with investment bankers for their respective IPOs while logistics firm Blackbuck has received SEBI’s green signal for the public listings. Kunal Bahl, the founder of Snapdeal and Titan Capital, is joining Shark Tank India as a new shark. His addition comes after Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal stepped down from his role as a judge due to Swiggy’s sponsorship of the show. A new report by Fairwork India has ranked Ola, Uber, and Porter lowest for working conditions for gig workers in India. The evaluation assessed 11 platforms and found that while BigBasket, Swiggy, Urban Company, and Zomato performed well, no platform fully met all five principles of fair labor standards. The report emphasizes the urgent need to improve conditions for gig workers in the country’s rapidly growing platform economy.

Meet Beyoung, Udaipur-based D2C fashion brand that’s eyeing Rs 650 Cr GMV

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Meet Beyoung, Udaipur-based D2C fashion brand that’s eyeing Rs 650 Cr GMV
Medial

Independent fashion brands have come a long way in recent years. While the offline segment is still dominated by legacy players and franchises, the rise of social media and e-commerce has facilitated the growth of quite a few D2C brands. Moreover, the over $14 billion Indian e-commerce fashion market has helped brands like Bewakoof, Rare Rabbit, and The Pant Project to gain traction. One of the popular names in this space remains Beyoung. Founded in 2018, the startup claims to have delivered over 20 lakh online orders. The company recently announced accelerating its offline expansion by 300 stores across India and growing GMV two-fold to Rs 650 crore by 2027 We spoke to the company founder Shivam Soni to learn more about Beyoung, its history, growth, and lots more. Here are the edited excerpts: How did you come up with the idea of Beyoung? We always wanted to enter the essentials market, and the idea to start Beyoung was initiated with this thought. At one point, we recognized a significant gap in the market for aspirational yet affordable fashion options in tier 2, 3, and 4 cities across India, which we refer to as the ‘Real Bharat.’ While many brands were focusing on niche segments, we aimed to serve the mass market. We chose to focus on Kapda from the essentials ROTI, KAPDA, MAKAN (clothing), offering branded products to consumers in these underserved regions, providing both aspirational choices and value for money. What are the key challenges in the industry that still need to be addressed? And how do you plan to address them? Catering to diverse target audiences with varying buying power across regions is challenging. It’s crucial to adapt products and marketing to different regional preferences and cultures, as what works in North India might not work in South India. Managing an efficient supply chain and ensuring timely delivery adds to the complexity. Additionally, attracting and retaining skilled talent in a Tier 3 city like Udaipur is difficult. To solve these problems, we have leveraged technology and data-driven marketing campaigns. We analyze behavioral patterns and channel our efforts toward solving our audience’s pain points. While staying headquartered in Udaipur posed some challenges, it has also helped us address the challenges of tier 2, 3, and 4 cities in understanding their pain points and solving their problems How has your startup performed since its inception? Since its inception, Beyoung has shown significant growth and achieved notable milestones. Some key performance statistics highlight our progress: we have successfully built a robust customer base of 5 million, underscoring the strong demand and engagement with our brand. This growth reflects our ability to connect effectively with our target audience. Recognizing the potential and spending power in the men’s fashion segment, we have strategically made it our primary focus. This decision has paid off, as 90% of our revenue comes from male customers. In the last financial year of 2023, we achieved an impressive annual recurring revenue (ARR) of 200 million. This reflects our ongoing efforts to expand our market reach, enhance our product offerings, and improve customer engagement. What are your short-term and long-term product and business expansion and diversification goals? Our short-term and long-term goals for product and business expansion and diversification are driven by the evolving ways users interact with brands and the significant growth potential within the Indian fashion industry, projected to reach 289.6 million users by 2029. We aim to be the top choice for customers by offering trendy styles and great value for money. Our focus will be on efficiently engaging with and serving the mass market, both domestically and internationally, to become a part of their everyday wardrobe. Over the next three years, we plan to expand our presence by establishing physical stores in various neighborhoods across India. This will complement our existing online platform and provide a seamless shopping experience. Our long-term vision is to extend our reach beyond India and establish a global presence. We aspire to make Beyoung a recognizable and trusted brand worldwide, serving customers across different countries.

Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [19 - 24 Aug]

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [19 - 24 Aug]
Medial

During the week, 21 Indian startups raised around $144.46 million in funding. These deals count 5 growth-stage deals and 13 early-stage deals while 3 early-stage startups kept their transaction details undisclosed. During the previous week, 25 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised $432 million in funding. [Growth-stage deals] Among the growth-stage deals, 5 startups raised $91 million in funding this week. D2C water purifiers and air conditioners manufacturer Livpure spearheaded its $28 million worth Series C round. D2C ice cream brand Hangyo raised $25 million followed by online lending platform Axio, MSMEs-focused fintech lender FlexiLoans, and D2C luggage brand Uppercase with $20 million, $9 million, and $9 million in funding, respectively. [Early-stage deals] Further, 13 early-stage startups secured funding worth $53.46 million during the week. Healthtech care startup Even led the list followed by equity investment platform InvestorAI, D2C spice brand Zoff, cricket league featuring senior cricketers Legends League Cricket (LLC), and fintech startup TransBnk among others. As many as 3 startups that did not disclose the funding amount raised are; PadelPark, NxtQube, and TailBlaze. For more information, visit TheKredible. [City and segment-wise deals] In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR-based startups co-led with 7 deals each followed by Mumbai, Mangalore, Chennai, Raipur, and Nashik. Segment-wise, Fintech startups are in the top spot with 7 deals. E-commerce, Sportstech, Agritech, AI, Aquatech, and Dronetech startups followed this list among others. [Series-wise deals] During the week, Seed funding deals are on top with 7 deals followed by 5 Series A, 2 pre-Series A, 2 Series B, and 1 Debt deal. Pre-seed, pre-Series B, Series C, and Series G deals are next on the list. [Week-on-week funding trend] On a weekly basis, startup funding slipped 66.57% to $144.46 million as compared to around $432 million raised during the previous week. The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $225.36 million with 26 deals per week. [Fund launches] Titan Capital Winners Fund, backed by Snapdeal co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, has raised its target corpus of Rs 200 crore. This fund will focus on follow-on investments in standout companies from its seed portfolio, with Bahl and Bansal serving as the largest investors. Meanwhile, Volt VC has launched its first fund, Volt VC Fund-1, aimed at closing the gap in pre-seed funding for startups across India. Additionally, Arka Investment Advisory Services has completed the final closing of its Arka Credit Fund I, a sector-agnostic, diversified credit fund that supports mid-market corporates. Edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah has introduced the PW School of Startups (SOS), backed by a Rs 100 crore fund, to nurture entrepreneurial skills and support 100 startups over the next five years through training, mentorship, and capital access. [Key hirings] Brij Bhushan, co-founder and former COO of Magicpin, has joined Prime Venture Partners as a full-time venture partner. In this role, he will be deeply involved in the firm’s investment strategies, portfolio management, and fundraising efforts, contributing his extensive experience in building and scaling startups. Sachin Bansal’s Navi Finserv onboarded former RBI executive Anil Kumar Misra as their non-executive chairman at the board. In other leadership updates, Perfios has appointed Rajesh Kini, formerly with Infosys, as their new CFO, while the Veefin Group has named Shantanu Bairagi as CEO of Veefin Capital, focusing on MSME supply chain finance. Additionally, Zapcom Group Inc. has appointed Prasanth Nair as CTO to lead their engineering initiatives, leveraging his expertise in global team management. [Mergers and Acquisitions] Zomato, the leading food delivery platform in India, has announced the acquisition of Paytm’s movies and ticketing business. This strategic move will allow Zomato to expand its offerings beyond food delivery and cater to a wider customer base. The acquisition is valued at Rs 2,048 crore ($244 million) and includes two of Paytm’s subsidiaries, TicketNew and Insider, along with their 280 employees. Zappfresh, an online retailer of fresh fish and meat, has acquired Bonsaro, a Mumbai-based company specializing in the online delivery of poultry, goat, and seafood. This acquisition marks Zappfresh’s second strategic move, following the acquisition of Sukos Foods-owned Dr. Meat in July 2023. With Bonsaro, Zappfresh aims to expand its operations in the western region and enhance its brand presence. [Shutdown] Kenko Health, a Mumbai-based healthcare startup, has shut down operations due to a financial and operational crisis. Despite raising over $13.7 million and achieving significant revenue growth, the company faced mounting losses and failed to secure an insurance license. The startup’s offices have been closed, leaving employees without pay for months. Founders Aniruddha Sen and Dhiraj Goel admitted the firm ran out of funds and was taken to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) by investors. Attempts to secure further funding or investor support failed, leading to the company’s collapse. Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights. [Financial results this week] MobiKwik posts Rs 875 Cr revenue and Rs 14 Cr profit in FY24 [News flash this week] Ola Electric market share drops more than 30% in last two months Baron Capital values Swiggy at $14.7 Bn How Fampay’s Rs 200 Cr bet on fintech for teenagers fell flat Paytm proposes to cut directors’ remuneration Swiggy eyes $15 Bn valuation for its $1-1.2 Bn IPO RBI imposes Rs 4 Cr fines on LenDen Club and LiquiLoans NCLT approves slice and North East Small Finance Bank’s merger IPV announces full exit from Fashor with 33% IRR Mitron TV, TrainMan co-founders set to launch AI startup Callmatic [Conclusion] The weekly funding again dwindled 66.57% to $144.46 million this week. Meanwhile, four startup-focused funds launched this week namely Titan Capital (Winners Fund), Volt VC, Arka Credit Fund, and PW School of Startups. Ola Electric, which recently went public, has seen a significant decline in its market share in the electric two-wheeler segment over the past two months. According to a report by Jefferies, Ola’s market share dropped from 49% in Q1 FY25 to 39% in July, and further to 33% in August. Meanwhile, TVS has regained some ground, increasing its market share to 19% in August from 15% in Q1 FY25. Despite this recent decline, Ola Electric has maintained its dominance in the market, with its market share having grown from 21% in FY23 to 35% in FY24. US investor Baron Capital has valued Swiggy at $14.74 billion as of June 2024, reflecting a slight decrease of 2.6% from its previous valuation of $15.1 billion in March. This dip is attributed to rupee depreciation. The valuation update comes as Swiggy prepares for its $1.25 billion initial public offering (IPO), for which it has already received shareholder approval and reportedly filed confidential papers with SEBI in May. Paytm has proposed reducing the remuneration of its independent directors as part of an effort to enhance corporate governance. The annual compensation for independent directors, currently up to Rs 2.07 crore, will be capped at Rs 48 lakh from April 2024, with a fixed portion of Rs 20 lakh and the rest tied to their attendance and contributions. Meanwhile, Fampay, a fintech startup that initially targeted teenagers, raised $38 million in 2021 but faced setbacks after losing its payment partner, IDFC Bank, in February 2023. This led to a pivot towards becoming a UPI-focused app, but the company still reported significant losses of Rs 120 crore in FY23. Despite entering the top 10 UPI apps by late 2023, Fampay’s future remains uncertain, with a potential selloff being a plausible outcome as it struggles to achieve profitability.

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