BUSINESS
Small-town dreams to $1 billion valuation: How Aakash Educational Services grew wings
Byju’s is in talks to acquire Aakash Educational Services in a billion-dollar deal. But what makes this coaching-led education company founded by JC Chaudhry tick? How did it become the target of an acquisition? Read on to find out
BUSINESS
Exclusive | Want to de-link from China, be a global brand: boAt Lifestyle CEO Sameer Mehta
In an interview with Moneycontrol, Sameer Mehta, CEO of boAt Lifestyle- the headphones and audio brand talks about the importance of local manufacturing, what makes boAt different, and provides insight into one of India's hottest new consumer brands
BUSINESS
Indian startups end dependence on Chinese money
Immediately after the ban, many startups had to reconfigure funding plans and look at different options overnight, but founders acknowledge that the transition has been far smoother than expected.
BUSINESS
Endiya Partners closes Rs 500 crore second fund
Investors in Endiya’s current fund include the International Finance Corporation and the Nippon India Digital Innovation fund- an India-Japan initiative. Nippon is one of Japan’s largest life insurance players.
BUSINESS
Cred raises $81 million from DST Partners, others at $800 million valuation, buys back ESOPs
Existing investors such as Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, General Catalyst also participated in the round. New investors include hedge fund Coatue Management and Satyan Gajwani, Vice Chairman of Times Internet.
BUSINESS
Explained | Section 230: Why a social media law angers Trump and what it means for us
Donald Trump wants to abolish a 26-word law that defines the internet era, and the abolishment of which could destroy many businesses. But, the law may need reworking. Moneycontrol breaks down what is at stake.
BUSINESS
From coding to live classes, 5 young Indian ed-tech startups you should know about
As larger edtech unicorns grab the headlines, Moneycontrol looks at some of the interesting younger online learning startups.
BUSINESS
Exclusive| Billionaire Yuri Milner fund in talks to invest in Rupeek
Milner, along with other top VCs, is in talks to invest in gold loans startup Rupeek, nearly doubling its valuation in less than a year. Its current backers include Sequoia, Accel and Binny Bansal.
BUSINESS
Choose your customers, don’t let them choose you, says Zenoti CEO Sudheer Koneru
India's newest unicorn software startup Zenoti has built a billion-dollar business catering to spas and salons. CEO Sudheer Koneru tells us why he only works with big businesses, how the coronavirus pandemic has proved him right, his IPO plans and more.
BUSINESS
Wakefit raises Rs 185 crore from Verlinvest, Sequoia India
Wakefit was valued at about Rs 1900 crore, a jump of nearly 10 times from when Sequoia first invested Rs 70 crore valuing it at Rs 210 crore in 2018.
BUSINESS
Exclusive | Companies that aren’t tech-centric will be wiped out, says chief of SoftBank-backed Mindtickle
Mindtickle started in 2011 with an aim to gamify the life of boring software companies and make their internal processes more fun. CEO Krishna Depura tells Moneycontrol how the company did this, expanded to the US, pivoted, and even secured funding from Japanese investment giant SoftBank
BUSINESS
Startups look beyond IITs, IIMs for top talent
Top institutions such as the IITs and the IIMs have always been highly regarded in India’s startup ecosystem. They have produced founders who have created multiple billion-dollar companies, investors who were savvy enough to spot them early, and given employment to thousands.
BUSINESS
Shadowfax offers ESOP buyback worth $5 million, elevates two senior execs to co-founder
Employees who have been with Shadowfax for more than four years can sell up to 35 percent of their vested stock options
BUSINESS
Book review | No Rules Rules is a tight, detailed account of the inner workings of Netflix
This new book on Netflix's unique and sometimes shocking work environmnt is a fresh, new way of looking at corporate culture.
BUSINESS
Chinese products hugely popular on Amazon, Flipkart despite anti-China sentiment - here is why
There were numerous non-branded products sold on Amazon, Flipkart showcasing China as their country of origin.
BUSINESS
Explained: Quibi was supposed to be entertainment’s next big thing. Why is it shutting down?
It started as an alternative to the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime. But from the very beginning, there were doubts about its success, though it raised $1.75 billion even before it had a single live product.
BUSINESS
Direct-to-consumer brands could be a $100 billion market in 5-7 years, new report finds
The COVID-19 pandemic has also served as a catalyst to this space, as consumers were forced to ditch offline stores and order most things online. Indian D2C brands have raised about $1.5 billion in capital, with valuations of $12-15 billion in total.
BUSINESS
Digital lender Rupeeredee’s CEO steps down
Launched in September 2018, Rupeeredee helps customers source their loans online. It leverages digital Know Your Customer (KYC) norms and deep integration with lending partners to assist borrowers.
BUSINESS
Mamaearth seeks Rs 2,000 crore valuation, Sequoia may invest more
Mamaearth's valuation set to triple in barely a year, as the pandemic has boosted digital-first brands
BUSINESS
After the ban on Chinese investments, who is actively funding startups this year?
While there has undoubtedly been some impact, deals - small and large - have not stopped.
BUSINESS
Unacademy to buy back shares worth Rs 25-30 crore
About 145 current and former employees are expected to exercise their options to sell their Employee Stock Option Plans, given to early employees who join a startup as part of their salary.
STARTUP
Small-Town Startups I How a founder’s conviction about a tier-II city helped the firm raise funds
When Sibasish Mishra started Bookingjini, a software-as-a-service provider to hotels, in Bhubaneshwar in 2016, it looked like a strange choice. But now, its services are availed by 500 hotels in 5 states alone, and it has raised Rs 6 crore so far. An investor told Mishra: “I don’t know about your product, but your conviction to build it from Bhubaneswar had us sold.”
BUSINESS
Exclusive: SoftBank in talks to back SaaS startup Mindtickle, valuation to double in a year
The investment will value Mindtickle at $500-600 million, double the $250 million it was valued at in July last year, when Norwest Venture Partners led a $40 million round.
BUSINESS
Law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas unveils second batch of legal-tech startup incubator
Areas that CAM is looking for these startups to tap into include improving access to justice, making transactions more efficient, improving law firm operations, litigation competencies, accessing government programs and reforms and enabling remote workforce operations.
