Hottest startups claim eyeballs, mindshare and heartshare
New-age entrepreneurs are betting on consumers — whatever the industry whether entertainment, hospitality or healthcare — and opting to be in the B2C segment. Clearly the underserved consumer in India is attracting a great deal of attention.
This was apparent after six weeks of nominations, when the first phase of TATA NEN Hottest Startups closed in November. Five hundred eighty eight high-potential startups from across India were nominated for the awards, of which over 60 per cent had a clear customer focus.
Otherwise, the industries were somewhat as expected: A large chunk — almost 35 percent of the startups — belonged to IT/Internet/software sector. The media/entertainment sector seems set to become the next hot trend — 10 percent of startups are exploring this segment. Closely trailing are the mobile/telecom startups who claimed 7 percent of the pie. Startups belonging to varied fields like robotics, sports, defence and infrastructure also made their presence felt in the list. Twenty six percent of the startups chose to be safe — working on products and services that have close substitutes in India or abroad.
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This information derives from what is the largest collection of startups in India to date. A testament to the willingness of entrepreneurs to participate in an entirely new format of Awards — one not without risk. For the first time, entrepreneurial awards were launched on an open platform, where the shortlist was selected based on online votes and expert rating. The goal was to provide value to all the participants, not simply the handful of winners. The question was: Would it work? Would this open platform provide value for the entrepreneurs in a way that traditional awards do not?
To participate, startups had to expose their ideas to the outside world; deal with public reviews made by industry experts; and allow strangers to comment on their labour of love. Jay Shah, founder of The Sports Gurukul, a sports development and training company, describes his concern, “While an online platform gives lots of visibility, it also increases the chances of losing original ideas as their ideas and efforts are now open for anyone to duplicate.”
Despite these concerns, nominations poured in steadily from across the country — by the end, topping 500 companies, from more than 40 cities, representing over 30 industry segments.
The results to date, as shown by examples from around the country are clear — the visibility provided by such an open platform does, in fact, benefit the participants.
Jay Shah admits that the Hottest Startups platform has been a blessing for entrepreneurs exploring unique ventures like them. “By participating, our startup has received visibility across India, including the media. We were not only featured on UTVi News, but were also invited to participate at their annual event on entrepreneurship. It was a wonderful experience to present our story to the management gurus of tomorrow — and show them that thinking differently can make all the difference,” he said.
| TATA NEN Hottest Startups enters Phase II |
| It’s time to vie for the top five slots in Hottest Startups. Thirty companies with the highest ranking in Phase I have been shortlisted for the final round. After a month of extensive campaigning, five startups with the highest number of online votes will be declared as winners. Voting for the top five will be on till December 22. To learn more on Hottest Startups and to cast your vote, visit www.hotteststartups.in |
Tunespray, a year-old telecom startup nominated from Kolkata, got two investors from Delhi and Chennai so excited that they promised to bring in not only funds, but also customers to support the venture. Tunespray managed to woo a famous Chennai-based singer as well, who is interested in using their technology to promote her music. “Hottest Startups has provided us the confidence to canvas for votes, showcase our application and get feedback. We reached out to several people who had never heard of us before, and today they have become our supporters, giving us suggestions on how we can improve our technology. They have also voted for us so that we can be among the top 30 shortlist,” shared Rahul, the man behind the startup that allows one to create and deliver multi-media messages to mobile phones in a single download.
Sanjeev S, founder of Medsphere, a teleradiology solutions provider, was approached for VC funding after being featured in Hottest Startups. He admitted that “it is a good feeling that, if ever we are in need of money, companies like Sequoia Capital would be willing to look at us seriously.”
Increased visibility helped Ashutosh Sharma of Tukka.in by way of enhanced profit margins. “Thanks to our growing popularity, it has become easier for me to sell advertisements at a premium,” said this 29-year-old entrepreneur whose startup in Ahmedabad helps even Internet-illiterates find relevant websites easily.
Laura Parkin, Executive Director, National Entrepreneurship Network is enthused by the response. “We are delighted by the response of the entrepreneurial community. The basic premise seems to be working — together we are creating a platform to showcase Indian startups. We look forward to working with the community to strengthen, improve and build the platform in the future,” she said.
More articles on www.nenonline.org.
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