🚀 Medial Secures Investment on Shark Tank India - Fueling the Future of Professional Social Networking. 🔥
Login

News on Medial

Related News

Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl’s VC fund Eternal Capital rebrands to ‘Sadev Ventures’

EntrackrEntrackr · 5m ago
Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl’s VC fund Eternal Capital rebrands to ‘Sadev Ventures’
Medial

Eternal Capital, the early-stage venture capital fund founded by former BharatPe COO Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl, has announced its rebranding to Sadev Ventures. According to the company, the rebranding to Sadev Ventures aligns the fund’s identity with its family office name that has long represented its core values. The fund will now operate with this new identity and plans to double down on its India-first strategy, enabling many of its portfolio companies to expand overseas by leveraging global LPs and strategic partners. “As our vision goes deeper into India’s entrepreneurial fabric while simultaneously tapping financial, social & intellectual capital pools across borders, it’s the right time to scale under an identity that has resonated with all our longstanding stakeholders. It also shifts the focus away from a ‘capital-only’ play and reinforces our commitment to enabling ventures that can become generational institutions,” said Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl, founder & managing partner of the fund. Launched in mid-2024, Sadev Ventures is sector-agnostic and stage-focused, backing startups between seed and pre-series A with cheque sizes of Rs 2-6 crore. The fund has deployed about half of the corpus, with investments in 20 startups. Some of its portfolio ventures include Asaya, Cleevo, Cookd, Gladful, Hypergro, Bidso, and Liquide, with a corpus of Rs 120 crore and a greenshoe option of an additional Rs 120 crore. As per Sadev Ventures, the fund will continue to invest in post-product-market-fit startups, with an eye on profitable revenue trajectories and long-term potential. It will also maintain its operator-led structure, offering what it calls the “colour of money”—blending financial capital with deep founder empathy, and access to high-impact networks.

BluSmart drivers face uncertainty amid company troubles, founder issues

EntrackrEntrackr · 8m ago
BluSmart drivers face uncertainty amid company troubles, founder issues
Medial

BluSmart suspended its operations in April in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, and Bengaluru, asking its 10,000 driver-partners to return their vehicles. The move has left several drivers scrambling to find new sources of income. Rajesh [name changed], a 35-year-old man in Gurugram, secured a driving job with a heavily VC-funded electric vehicle cab hailing company which once aimed to take on the duopoly of Ola Cabs and Uber in India. An average income of Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month, Rajesh admits, was not much for his family but managed to pay bills. Though, Rajesh, who also is a father of two young children, put in 10 hours to 12 hours daily - to reach the estimated monthly income. With his company now pausing the services, Rajesh has no source of earning, and does not know how he will pay his kids’ education fees. "... Now, I don’t know how I’ll manage. I missed my kids' school fees this month. My family depends on me, and I’ve never felt so helpless,” a visibly stressed Rajesh told Entrackr. One of the things that is agonising Rajesh the most is the deceptive way his employer pushed them out. “On Wednesday (April 16th), we [drivers] received a message saying the car needed to be submitted to the hub for a breakdown. We thought it was just a minor technical issue. When we got there, they told us it was a failure and we’d be informed later. But there was no word from the company after that. We just had to go home. We were left in complete shock," says Rajesh as his voice strains, reliving the fateful moment. Rajesh says he was among the first lot of employees, when the company had just 50 cars. Like many others, he too bought the company’s promise of stability. “Now, it feels like we’ve been left out to dry,” he said. “I’m considering working with Uber or Ola… I’m looking for something else, maybe a different field altogether. But BluSmart was my livelihood, and I’d go back in a heartbeat if they reopened. It was my only source of income,” he added. Rajesh’s story resonates with another thousands of drivers who are now scrambling to find new sources of income after BluSmart’s sudden suspension of its services. Entrackr has reached out to BluSmart seeking responses on how they plan to compensate the affected drivers. In case they respond, we will incorporate their inputs. Staging the protest On May 4, a group of BluSmart drivers raised their grievances at Jantar Mantar, a historic site for protests. They pressed for demands for alternative income avenues as well as called for crucial policy reforms to prevent similar abrupt dismissals. Additionally, they also sought a government intervention. Tajinder Singh, president of Parivahan Morcha Athavale and also among those spearheading the protest, told Entrackr that women drivers of BluSmart were among those bearing the brunt the most as other taxi companies refused to recruit them. He further said that some drivers were working on a per day basis as and when required but asserted that this was not a long-term solution. “We are demanding compensation for affected BluSmart drivers. We have also sought government intervention so that the drivers can continue to earn their livelihood,” Singh said. Singh also claimed that hundreds of BluSmart employees working at charging hubs were affected by the company’s sudden suspension of its services. A business model that promised to be different than rivals Even as ‘sustainability’ remained the headline grabber, BluSmart also deployed a rather different business model compared to rivals Ola Cabs and Uber. The company used a full-stack B2C model wherein they owned and managed the vehicles whereas Ola and Uber work with independent drivers. The model allowed BluSmart to have a better control on the quality of cars, maintenance, and subsequently better customer service. For drivers, the company offered a fixed salary along with incentives. An assured income was a big factor why a lot of drivers showed interest in joining BluSmart. Ola and Uber, on the other hand, operated on a familiar commission-based system, also common with several gig working-reliant service providers. Singh also highlighted this stark difference between BluSmart and its rivals. He said that the job of driver was to pick and drop the passenger and earn a regular income (per day payout and incentives). They needed to work 10 hours to 12 hours a day. Other things like maintenance and documentation was taken care of by the company, giving drivers a more relaxed environment to operate. Blusmart has raised over $180 million to date, including its $50 million series B round in January this year. Though, it received only Rs 61 crore out of $50 million. That said, a heavily-funded BluSmart juggernaut appeared unstoppable, until it did. Earlier this year, reports emerged that BluSmart delayed salary payments to cash crunch. It had also shut down operations in Dubai and also saw an exodus of top management employees, including CEO, CBO, and CTO. A month later, SEBI published findings of its probe into Gensol Engineering, BluSmart’s partner and EV lessor. The SEBI order highlighted misuse of funds, and also barred promoters Anmol and Puneet Singh Jaggi from accessing the securities market and holding key positions in Gensol Engineering. What next for BluSmart drivers BluSmart drivers facing joblessness due to the shutdown can go for legal remedy and urgently demand clearance of any unpaid dues and better severance compensation, if not given already. The legal course, which may take a relatively long time, may also help them investigate if BluSmart violated the contract by sudden halting of their services and returning vehicles. Moreover, they can also seek intervention from regulatory boards. Singh, however, did not appear enthusiastic about taking the legal course. “Companies like these make such contracts that they keep them protected in such incidents and don’t have to own any responsibility towards people working so hard for them,” he said [loosely translated from Hindi]. As far as the future of the company goes, it’s hard to predict considering the massive VC money riding on the company. Despite the major dent in public image and also several legal troubles, it’s likely that the company may stay afloat with a rather new management and new board - a few known steps troubled companies often take to course correct. It’s worth noting that quality of drivers and cabs were the top highlight of the platform, and if it resumes, it should continue with that. With the ongoing protests and lack of communication between drivers and management, it seems unlikely that the company will enjoy the same level of trust from its network drivers.

Cygnet aims to drive business process digital transformation through specialized offerings

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Cygnet aims to drive business process digital transformation through specialized offerings
Medial

Cygnet is an Ahmedabad-based SaaS startup that aims to help organizations achieve business process digital transformation with its specialized offerings in compliance, digital and quality engineering, enterprise modernization, data, AI and analytics, hyper-automation, test automation, digital signature, and a myriad of other offerings. We spoke to the company founder, Niraj Hutheesing, to learn more about the startup, how it works, the growth of cloud and automation in the context of new-age AI, the future roadmap, and much more. How has the cloud and automation industry evolved with the arrival of new-age AI? How do you plan to make the transformation? The cloud and automation industry has evolved significantly with the advent of AI, enhancing capabilities in data processing, predictive analytics, and process automation. Our AI solutions excel in cloud monitoring and developing self-healing scripts, reducing Service Level Agreement (SLA) breaches through consolidated alerts. Additionally, AI-driven FinOps optimizes cloud infrastructure costs, while business process automation delivers real-time insights to operations teams. As pioneers in business prediction, we use AI to nullify data gaps, empowering businesses to enhance data-driven decision-making with accurate forecasts and strategic advantages. Do you also offer cyber security solutions? If yes, please explain them. If no, please help understand your point of view on adding a security layer to yourservices given the increasing risks. Yes, Cygnet offers comprehensive cyber security solutions under our ‘Security as a Service’ portfolio. Our approach is to implement ‘security by design’, ensuring all controls are implemented as a regular practice rather than add-on activities. Cygnet, certified on ISMS and SOC 2 Type 2, ensures overall compliance with industry standards for products and services provided. We also cater to our client’s needs in performing specific security practices, including Network Security assessment, Application Security assessment, Cloud assessment, documentation, Compliance reviews, etc., to help them achieve the required security posture. Cygnet also ensures the ‘Single Source of Truth’ concept using a data warehouse is implemented product-wide to ensure data reliability and integrity are maintained. Our approach includes compliance automation, ensuring adherence to industry standards and regulations. We implement infrastructure automation to maintain robust security protocols across all systems. Our applications support regulatory-required User access management modules, which ensure appropriate authentication, authorization, roles, rights, and logging are performed and stored in a secured format for future reviews. There are a bunch of companies operating in your space, with some well-established ones too. How do you stand out from the competition? With a couple of decades of robust experience in providing solutions to multiple organizations globally, Cygnet understands the need for agile deliveries and challenges occurring in a dynamic environment. The ability to adapt to changes and implement a solution or product tailored specifically for the client helps us to stand out from our competitors. Be it on critical integrations with legacy systems on the tax tech or fintech side or modernizing decade-old applications without incurring major downtimes. Cygnet is a CMMi v2 L3, SoC 2 Type 2, and ISMS-certified organization that helps us provide our clients with prompt and secure solutions. We also have a 24/7 support model for functional, process, and technical aspects to ensure client support is not hampered. With a process-driven approach, we have specific delivery teams that ensure client requirements are met in a cost-effective and efficient manner. Which are your key markets? Please explain what makes India different from other developing and developed markets? Cygnet’s key markets include India, the Middle East, America, and Europe. In India, we have a significant presence, managing one-fifth of the country’s e-invoicing traffic through our portals. India’s market is distinct due to its decentralized and distributed systems, emphasizing the importance of data integrity and integrated systems. Unlike other regions, India’s regulatory environment and digital infrastructure necessitate robust, scalable solutions tailored to diverse requirements, making it a unique and dynamic market for our product solutions. What is your roadmap for increasing your local and international footprint? Cygnet’s roadmap for increasing its local and international footprint involves leveraging its unique COSMOS Digital Transformation Framework, based on co-ideate, co-innovate, co-create, and co-evolve pillars, ensuring a collaborative and innovative environment. This strategy fosters strong client relationships and delivers tailored solutions. By partnering strategically and offering holistic service offerings for BFSI, Manufacturing, and Healthcare industries, Cygnet aims to achieve a robust global footprint. As a core thought leader in tax, compliance, and data understanding, Cygnet excels in transforming financial processes across local and global markets. Please help understand your growth trajectory in terms of users or clients or any other metric you use. And also share your future projections and measures to achieve them. Our growth trajectory has been impressive, scaling our client base and securing multi-million dollar deals across 1000+ Enterprise accounts globally. We’ve successfully retained 90%+ clients and expanded our valued clients during global economic downturns, strengthening our position as a trusted partner in driving sustained growth. Amongst all the proprietary platforms, we have more than half a lac user base globally. Wherein one of the platforms, Cygnet Tax, processes 19% of India’s E-invoicing volume. Over the past year, our product vertical grew by 45%, with a projected 50% growth this financial year. Amongst solutions provided to our clients for their Go-To-Market, we have achieved 97% client satisfaction & 65% referral-based business. Looking ahead, we plan to achieve vertical growth through cross-selling services and horizontal expansion with global e-invoicing solutions to address compliance challenges for MNCs.

Download the medial app to read full posts, comements and news.