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Great news for startups as India moves to abolish angel tax

EntrackrEntrackr · 11m ago
Great news for startups as India moves to abolish angel tax
Medial

Presenting the Union Budget 2024-25, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday proposed to abolish the angel tax, meeting one of the longstanding demands of Indian startups. The angel tax, widely considered detrimental to the startup ecosystem, mandated around a 30% tax on investments from external investors, also known as angel investors. Through its budget for 2023-24, the government had proposed to include foreign investment under the ambit of the angel tax. The government had said the excess premium would be considered as “income from sources” and face taxes up to over 30%. Though it had exempted Startups registered with the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). “To bolster the India startup ecosystem, to boost entrepreneurial spirit and support innovation I propose abolishing angel tax for all classes of investors,” Sitharaman said while presenting the Budget 2024-25. Earlier this month, the buzz around the angel tax picked up momentum with the Commerce Ministry recommending the abolishment of the 12-year-old law. Unsurprisingly, the startup community, including entrepreneurs, investors, and VCs, have welcomed the proposal to abolish the tax. “Finally, it’s Good to see #angeltax abolished .#BudgetSession . Long overdue. So much harassment, headache , unwanted anguish for startup founders , angel investors. Very welcome . One less Tax terrorism avenue,” said K Ganesh, a serial entrepreneur who promoted and invested in several unicorns and startups via growthStory. India implemented angel tax in 2012 to help tackle unaccounted money raised through capital received from resident investors in a closely held company in an excess of the fair market value. Besides providing huge relief to investors, the move is likely to get interest from new investors as the taxation has now been eased out. “This will give a fillip to early-stage startup investment in the country. With removal of angel tax, entrepreneurs will be able to attract money from new asset classes, majorly residing in smaller cities,” said one of the prolific angel investors who also runs a micro-VC firm. Titan Capital co-founder and angel investor Kunal Bahl, All In Capital founder Kushal Bhagia, Capital Mind founder Deepak Shenoy and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram also took to X to express support for the removal of angel tax.

Atomic Asher takes on new-age security challenges such as QR code threats

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Atomic Asher takes on new-age security challenges such as QR code threats
Medial

Mumbai-based Atomic Asher is one of the few cybersecurity startups leveraging the latest technologies such as AI to protect common people from new-age digital threats. Founded in 2021 by Anirudh Asher, the startup offers apps like ‘QR Safety by Atomic Asher,’ which helps detect malicious QR codes and URLs. It also features a web application called’ WhatsApp Number Cleaner’, which helps users to clean up unwanted contacts for direct chatting without saving their numbers. Another offering is the ‘Anti-counterfeiting App’, which aims to assist users in distinguishing between fake and original products. We spoke to the founder and CEO Asher to learn more about the startup, how it works, and the roadmap ahead. Here are the edited excerpts: How did you come up with the idea? How do the QR safety and anti-counterfeiting platforms work? The idea was born out of identifying a critical gap in digital security with the increasing use of QR codes, increased counterfeiting of branded goods such as pharmaceuticals leading to the conceptualization of a solution to protect users and entire populations from potential threats. As far as our safety platforms go, users simply scan a QR code through the app, which then checks the code against a database of known threats and analyzes the linked URL for suspicious behavior, ensuring safe interaction. For the anti-countefeiting aspect, we have developed our own technology that takes QR technology to the next level. Please help understand how you generate revenues? Revenue is generated through a blend of premium app subscriptions, partnerships with cybersecurity firms, and tailor-made enterprise solutions, focusing on long-term value. Overall, we charge brands to help keep their customerbase safe from scams and counterfeits. What are the key challenges in the industry that have not been addressed yet? And how do you plan to address this? A major unaddressed challenge is the sophistication of digital threats. Our approach combines continuous research with technological innovation to stay ahead of threats. We also feel like there are not enough organisations focussed on building technology for the betterment of mankind and often seem to be chasing profits and get rich quick rather than doing the right thing. What are your short-term and long-term goals in terms of product and business expansion and diversification? Short-term goals include expanding our user base and refining our technology stack, while long-term objectives focus on geographical expansion and diversifying our product line to cover a broader range of security solutions. We aim to become the leading name in protecting the Indian diaspora from threats to their health, identity and digital security.

Return Prime aims to make return management seamless for brands

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Return Prime aims to make return management seamless for brands
Medial

Bengaluru-based Return Prime provides a customer return platform which includes a business dashboard for managing returns. The company aims to make it easier for brands, specially smaller ones, to use its services through a plug-and-play model. Beyond basic returns, brands can use the Return Prime platform for automating return logistics, refunds, replacements, and more. We spoke to founder and CEO Shashwat Swaroop to learn more about Return Prime, what distinguishes it from the competition and the roadmap ahead. Here are the edited excerpts: How did you come up with this idea? I have always been extremely passionate about creating something and solving problems, building my brand which helped other people solve their challenges was always something that I intended to do. Once an eCommerce brand came to me with their return management nightmare. They were doing everything manually and it was too cumbersome. It was not only time-consuming but was impacting their customer experience too. Customers were used to a certain speed, standards, and experience, and to ensure their shoppers wouldn’t leave them, they needed a solution to cater to this. But building a whole software program was just out of reach – both financially and in terms of time! I then began researching, and my study confirmed what I suspected – there was a massive gap in the market for managing returns. Existing solutions were few and far between, and mostly focused on the US. We saw a chance to empower brands worldwide to make return management extremely seamless, one that ensures their GMV losses are minimized while customer experience is maximized, that’s what led to the birth of Return Prime. Please help understand how you generate revenues. The pricing models are quite fair and simple. This was one of the most important things for us to simplify. When we started building Return Prime, we were simplifying the complicated experience of returns for both brands and their customers so keeping everything around Return Prime simple was important. The pricing model is just based on the scale of business which is how many returns they do in a given month. One can start with the Free Forever plan if they are a small brand and pay nothing forever. They only have to choose a paid plan when they start to grow. As you grow, you can choose one of our Grow plans which starts at $9.99 a month. What are the key challenges in the industry that have not been addressed yet? And how do you plan to address this? We are working to solve the way businesses see returns. The correct solution is not to focus on reducing the returns but on figuring out how you can turn your returns into a revenue-making opportunity. Returns are simply inevitable so the merit is not in reducing it by another few per cent but in converting the majority of it into additional revenue. We are constantly working on it and on average, our brands see an ROI of 183%+ with Return Prime, which is on the cost they pay for Return Prime every month. This is going up constantly with our focused effort to turn returns into revenue. How has your startup performed since its inception? Please share statistics. We have been growing from day 1, completely bootstrapped. We grew 150% YoY in the last 3 years and this is not just India, across the globe. We serve merchants in 100+ countries today and our market share across these countries continues to increase every year. In the last 3 years, we have processed over 12 million returns for brands and customers globally. What are your short-term and long-term goals in terms of product and business expansion and diversification? From a product expansion point of view, we are focused on increasing the ROI for our brands as we believe in keeping strong fundamentals. While we do this, we will continue to increase our market share across other regions as well along with India. As consumer behaviour evolves, we are also trying to help brands offer Omnichannel returns experiences to their customers making it super easy and delightful for them. This not only helps the customer but also increases the repeat purchase and LTV for brands as this customer will trust them even more. On the other hand, we are also trying to help bigger brands solve more complex operational problems and policies which now with Return Prime is just a matter of click. We will continue to simplify complexities as we grow along with brands. In terms of geographical expansion, we will go deeper into some of the regions and increase our market share while we continue to turn returns into revenue for the rest of the world.

Zomato becomes first Indian startup to enter Sensex 30

EntrackrEntrackr · 6m ago
Zomato becomes first Indian startup to enter Sensex 30
Medial

Foodtech giant Zomato has made history as the first Indian startup to join the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex 30, replacing JSW Steel Limited in the benchmark index of India’s top 30 companies. Zomato's inclusion in the SENSEX follows its strong performance over the past year. The stock has gained 38% in the past six months, 124.79% year-to-date, and 114.29% over the last year. On Monday, following its inclusion in the Sensex 30, Zomato's stock declined by 3.15% (as of 12:28 PM) to Rs 278.70 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, with a total market capitalization of Rs 2.68 lakh crore (approximately $31.9 billion) During the second quarter of the ongoing fiscal year, Zomato achieved a remarkable 68.5% quarter-on-quarter growth in operating revenue, reaching Rs 4,799 crore from Rs 2,848 crore in Q2 FY24. The Gurugram-based company also recorded a 4.8X increase in net profit to Rs 176 crore in the quarter ending September. Its arch-rival Swiggy posted Rs 3,601 crore of revenue and a net loss of Rs 625 crore during the second quarter of the current fiscal year. The recently listed firm is currently traded at Rs 592.8 per share and has a total market capitalization of Rs 1,32,695 crore (around $15.8 billion). Zomato also secured $1 billion from qualified institutional investors (QIIs) last month. The money keeps the firm with enough powder for future investments, even as the stock will benefit from index investing now, even though the BSE Sensex remains a smaller representation of India’s investment opportunities than say, the 50 share NSE Nifty. For Zomato, the index inclusion is a massive vindication of its seemingly high risk approach, where it has simply refused to rest on laurels, always pushing the boundaries to seek a competitive edge. Be it the acquisition of Blinkit, edgy communication strategies, or the investments into other startups, the firm has done enough to justify the lofty valuations, and expectations from investors thus far. The recent fundraise has also underscored its readiness to invest and invest big where it sees a need to do so. The sensex inclusion has seemed like a logical move for the pioneering tech firm, and the big question on everyone’s minds will surely be- what next?

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