CXO Outlook – September-October 2020 – India Edition – 10 Most Inspiring Startup Founders Special

SEPT-OCT 2020

INSIGHTS. IDEAS. INSPIRATIONS

Gautam Madhavan

Sonia Mehra Agarwal & Pulak Agarwal

Founder, MAD Influence

Co-founders, Inchpaper.com

Laksh Bucha

Shivjeet Ghatge

Founder & CEO, Growthxo

Co-Founder & CEO, StepSetGo

Dr Nikhil Sikri

Vinod Kumar

Co-founder and CEO, Zolostays

Founder, Naturally Yours

Rabindranath A

Vivek Saxena

Founder, LeapCurve

Co-founder, Wishonary

Raunak Sharma

Amit Lakhotia

Founder, Fyool App

CEO & Founder, Park+

INDIA’S MOST INSPIRING STARTUP

FOUNDERS

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CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

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CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Sept-Oct 2020

Vol - 1 Issue - 4

India’s Most Inspiring Startup Founders Special (Indian Edition) Editor in Chief

Dr. Manoj Varghese

Managing Editor Sarath Shyam

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Consultant Editors

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Dubai Focus Innovation Technologies FZE P.O. Box 48299, Dubai Silicon Oasis Dubai, UAE

Dr. Johny Andrews Anjana K Anna Elza

Navya Venkatesh Stanly Lui Emma James

Art and Design Ajay K Das

Sales & Marketing

Jyoti Kumari Hanna George

Arati Waghmare George Abraham

Bangalore Connecta Innovation Pvt. Ltd. Carlton Towers, Old Airport Road, Bangalore - 560008 India

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CXO OUTLOOK May 2020

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Innovators Defying the Pandemic

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019 was an exciting year for Indian tech startups. According to research firm Tracxn, startups in the nation raised $14.5 billion in 2019, beating their previous best of $10.6 billion.

Tech startups in India participated in 1,185 financing rounds — 459 of those were Series A or later rounds — from 817 investors. The same year, 128 startups in India were acquired, four got publicly listed, and nine became unicorns.

After steady growth in 2018 and 2019, expectations of Indian entrepreneurs and investors were high in 2020. However, the pandemic played spoilsport. As per the responses gathered by The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) as part of its nationwide survey 'Impact of COVID-19 on Indian startups,' an alarming 70 per cent of startups across the country have been impacted by COVID-19 while as many 12 per cent have had to halt operations altogether.

The report also showed that 96 per cent of investors believe their investment in startups has been impacted by the pandemic.

On the other side, we also witnessed sprouting of many innovative startups across the county that leveraged the opportunities offered by the COVID-19. Many of them were developing solutions for COVID-19 applications in the areas of prevention, detection, disruption management, and operational efficiency. In this issue, we celebrate the success of those startup founders who have converted adversity into an opportunity. We present you, '10 Most Inspiring Startup Founders in India.'

Enjoy Reading.

Sarath Shyam

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

ADVISORY BOARD

Dr. Kuldeep Nagi, Ph.D, MBA, BSc. Program Director of Ph.D, Recipient of Fulbright Fellowship Award & Dan Evans Award for Excellence and Writer columnist.

Mr. Amulya Sah, PGD PM & IR, PG Diploma in PM&IR (XISS Ranchi) Senior Director HR. Former Head HR group Samsung R&D Institute India,Transformative HR Leader, Change agent, Digitization facilitator, Engagement architect, Trainer and Diversity champion.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Dr. Varughese K.John, PhD, MBA, MPhil, MCom, LLB. Program Director, MS in Management Program, GSATM - AU

Dr. Ajay Shukla, Ph.D, MBA, BE. Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Higher Education UAE

Mamta Thakur Former CEO (ASEAN), Arc Skills

Mr. Sreedhar Bevara, MBA, B.Com Senior General Manager: Panasonic Middle East & Africa, Thought Leader, Speaker & Author of ‘Moment of Signal’ (Amazon’s International Bestseller)

EARN MONEY WHILE YOU BUY ALL KINDS OF FUELS & GAS CYLINDERS

Raunak Sharma, Founder, Fyool App

34 DELIVERING STATIONERY AND OFFICE SUPPLIES TO THE DOORSTEPS

Sonia Mehra Agarwal & Pulak Agarwal, Co-founders, Inchpaper.com

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MOST INSPIRING

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STARTUP FOUNDERS IN INDIA

THE TEENAGER WHO BUILT A MODERN BRAND MANAGEMENT COMPANY

Laksh Bucha, Founder & CEO, Growthxo

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ACCELERATING CAREERS WITH ADVANCED ANALYTICS

Rabindranath A, Founder, LeapCurve

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MAKING HEALTHY EATING FUN, TASTY AND NUTRITIOUS

Vinod Kumar, Founder, Naturally Yours

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REWARDING TO BE PHYSICALLY FIT

Shivjeet Ghatge, Co-Founder & CEO, StepSetGo

CONNECTING COMMUTERS TO SAFE, SECURE AND DIGITIZED PARKING SPACES

Amit Lakhotia, CEO & Founder, Park+

Reinventing Fashion Retail in the New Normal

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Top Five Challenges Businesses Will Face in Their Digital Transformation Journey

Deepak Bansal, Director, Cantabil

Nishtha Satyam, Deputy Country Representative, UN Women, India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka at United Nations

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38 From Constituent to a Requisite; the Upswing of Sustainability

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Jakob Friis Sørensen, Managing Director, APM Terminals Pipavav

Building a Stronger Business Through Simplified Identification and Authentication Omkar Shirhatti, Co-founder and CEO, Karza Technologies

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Is it Time for Telcos to Buy a Tesla?

Emerging Trends in Residential Real Estate

Pravin S Bhandarkar, Founder and CEO, RtBrick

Rahul Grover, CEO, SECCPL

80 Post-COVID Cloud Data Platform to Play a Major Role in the Financial Services Vimal Venkatram, Country Manager, India, Snowflake

Zolostays: Giving you the feeling of ‘Home’ in a New City

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Dr Nikhil Sikri, Co-founder, Zolostays

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Envisioning a Better India

How a 24-Year-Old is Creating an Industry for Influencer Marketing from a MAD Idea

Vivek Saxena, Co-founder, Wishonary

Gautam Madhavan, Founder, Mad Influence

12 Post-COVID-19 Era: Co-working will be the New Normal for Workspaces Manas Mehrotra, Chairman, 315 Work Avenue

IN MY VIEW

IN MY VIEW

Post-COVID-19 Era: Co-working will be the New Normal for Workspaces

Manas Mehrotra, Chairman, 315 Work Avenue

Manas Mehrotra is the Chairman of

315Work Avenue, a leading co-working company. Manas is also the Managing Director of NestaVera Group of Companies, a well-diversified

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group having businesses spread across several sectors and verticals like education, real estate, co-working, trading, and Angel Funding. He has been an investor in real estate since the early part of his career.

Portfolio of Manas consists of various commercial projects and residential projects across the country.

He is also a Trustee at Greenwood High International School. Manas is also a Director at Darshita Exim - a company involved in International Trading business, which has exposure in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Manas Mehrotra

Dubai, and the USA.

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he past few years have witnessed an unparalleled success for the coworking juggernaut in India. This accelerated growth has stemmed from the revolutionary shift in the Indian traditional workspace to a more flexible, accessible and affordable co-working space. The present disruption due to Covid-19 is seen as temporary as the co-working industry is expecting a resurgence as the economy emerges out of lockdown. However, medium- to long-term fundamentals remain sound as corporate occupiers seek out alternative options to reduce costs and capital expenditure. As a result, even the most conventional occupiers

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Flexible workspaces are a practical choice as companies rise up to face the new normal

are now seeing the merit in co-working. The post lockdown scenario is set to bring in a wave of new opportunities for the co-working players. There will be a lot of focus on distancing measures and communication protocols to ensure a safe working environment.

Flexible workspaces are a practical choice as companies rise up to face the new normal.

The key aspect that will favour this segment post-COVID-19 apart from the premium facility management is de-densification. The segment will also see the adoption of high levels of hygiene and other measures that will attract businesses. It will also attract companies previously not exposed to co-working and its benefits. Co-working segment is best placed to cater to these flexible demands.

With the impact of the pandemic taking effect during Q2 2020, a decline in absorption was seen across all the markets. As per a recent report, while the five major cities of Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata saw absorption of approximately 4.42 million sqft office space during Q2 2020, depicting a steep decline of 54% over the absorption observed in Q2 2019. However, notwithstanding the crisis at hand, Bengaluru continued to lead the way with 45% share of the total absorption in these five cities.

There are many important factors that explain why co-working will bounce back post-pandemic:

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Work from home has its own challenges While work from home model would have worked well in the lockdown, many companies however, may not want it as a culture. Many business verticals and functions still require employees to work in an office setting. The overall ecosystem needs to be conducive for an employee to be productive while working from home. While WFH may

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

As the professional world returns to normalcy, traditional offices owing to their rigidity will not be equipped to address the new normal

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look appealing as a concept initially, yet, in due course, it may impact operational efficiencies and productivity as managing work-life balance for employees might emerge as an area of concern. Work from home may co-exist, but office space will not lose its importance as a strategic tool for corporate culture development and a source of competitive advantage.

Large enterprises will seek smaller spaces Another win for flexible workspaces will also come from the fact that companies will have to practice social distancing within their campuses, which means they might have to station some employees in different locations.

Companies will strive to be agile and prefer to build more flexibility into their real estate portfolios. The current situation will also see larger enterprises seeking smaller spaces to ensure synergised business continuity in the near future. There’s now a lot more interest in taking dedicated and secure private offices, which is the big shift in the flexible office space industry. As large enterprises look to curb capital expenditure or long-term commitments on office property, co-working spaces will see a surge as they offer flexible infrastructure solutions and also set precedents for safe and healthy practices.

Co-working spaces offer flexibility As the professional world returns to normalcy, traditional offices owing to their rigidity will not be equipped to

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

address the new normal. Many companies, even prepandemic, have had to deal with the burden of longterm, lock-in leases with heavy security deposits, which take away the 'business cashflow' ability to respond to changes in the economy quickly. Now, more than ever, flexibility is crucial. Hence, co-working spaces, with their natural flexibility and inherent readiness to add value, are best positioned to adapt and redefine the future of work and workspace. As companies look to resume business, redesigning and restructuring of existing real estate will pose yet another challenge, however, co-working spaces will be able to respond to design changes required postCOVID-19 quicker and more efficiently than traditional office spaces.

Consolidation on the cards We can expect more mergers and acquisitions among operators soon as the smaller ones will find it difficult to survive as it is a capital-intense industry. The market, certainly, cannot accommodate hundreds of operators and large firms will hold sway and garner a larger portion of the market. Smaller players may be absorbed in mergers or will alternatively have to close down operations.

Co-working faster at innovation COVID-19 has also accelerated the digitalisation of workspaces. An innovative technology ecosystem provides flexible and on-demand places to support

More about

Manas Mehrotra Manas is a qualified member of Institute

of

Chartered

Accountants

of India. He has completed Law from Mumbai and possesses an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Babson College (USA). He has earlier worked with Ernst & Young as Global Tax Advisor. Quite early in his life, Manas’ leadership qualities were evident, which found their manifestation in his emergence as an entrepreneur par excellence, with a vision for the betterment of society. He drives his workforce with a strong emphasis on inculcating faith and building long-term strategic relationships with both clients and employees.

convenience, functionality, and well-being. To avoid the transmission of germs at workspaces, coworking companies have enabled comprehensive contactless technology and robotic technology that has attracted clients. The traditional desk will likely be non-existent in the coming years with wearable technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning and Internet of Things taking over co-working spaces, causing massive disruption and transforming them into autonomous workspaces. Smart access, meeting rooms and receptions have already forayed enabling cloud-based access system, facial recognition and real-time security monitoring.

A complete solution, not just a space provider The pandemic has evolved brands from just being workspace providers to becoming a fully integrated workspace solution platform for their clients which offers products to the entire spectrum of work requirements including co-working, enterprise solutions and remote working. Co-working players are curating unique experiences and engagements by providing state-of-the-art amenities like gyms, cafĂŠs, creches and managing the complete building ecosystem by bringing alliances, events and community focus to the occupants.

The inherent flexibility to adapt and adopt, and its ability to foster a strong community spirit determined to win in these trying times will augur well for the co-working industry. The COVID-19 pandemic and the prolonged lockdown have made both employers and employees realise some great benefits of remote work, which has potentially changed the dynamics of workplace usage forever. As the Indian economy is slowly getting back to a 'new normal' following the Covid-19 outbreak, each industry is re-inventing its business model to adapt to a post-COVID -19 era.

Sometimes, a crisis also presents an opportunity to make decisions that would be hard to make in more business-as-usual times. Despite the disruption, the focus would remain on managing revenues and increasing productivity and flexible workspaces will play an even more important role in rationalising costs and maintaining financial agility. Co-working space providers are in a unique position to leverage the opportunity and make the segment more attractive for its consumers. Hence flexible workspaces can fit the bill and address the gap with the right blend of safety, sustainability, and cost optimisation for any business to grow and change with the current scenario.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

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INSPIRING

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Zolostays: Giving you the feeling of ‘Home’ in a New City Co-founded by Dr Nikhil Sikri, Zolostays is India's first one-stop destination for individuals looking at shared accommodation options.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

eople migrate to cities every single day in search of jobs, education, and better lives. And when they do, one of the significant challenges that they face is finding decent accommodation.

Staying in apartments turns out to be difficult since most people cannot afford to pay the high deposits that landlords expect. And the only option left for them is PGs - which are often crowded, not very hygienic, and do not have essential services like Wi-Fi. "Akhil, Sneha & I wanted to change this status quo. People should not have to struggle for basic needs like a safe and comfortable home. With this thought in mind, we set out to start Zolo”, says Dr Nikhil Sikri, Co-founder, and CEO, Zolostays.

A co-living company that provides people with safe, comfortable, and hygienic homes with modern amenities and services like housekeeping, at a reasonable price, Zolostays helps people lead comfortable and stress-free lives, helping them focus on bigger and better things.

Inspired by the word ‘Zeal’, Zolostays aspires to help their customers rediscover their zeal for life. Creating beautiful living spaces with an option to personalize, Dr Nikhil points out, “We are not just a business; we are a family. This strong sense of belonging that Zolo gives to its customers and employees, is what makes us stand out and keeps us going every single day”.

A Doctor Turned Entrepreneur Having studied MBBS from AIIMS, where Dr Nikhil worked as a residential doctor, he also worked as a psychiatrist at the Institute of Mental Health, Singapore. “From medicine, I moved on to pursue an MBA from ISB, after which I worked in the corporate sector with Deloitte and Cerner Corporation. I have over ten years of experience in everything from medicine to management consulting, sales to startups”, says Dr Nikhil.

Amid his corporate career, Dr Nikhil had an overwhelming urge to do more with his life.

He recalls, “I had an overwhelming urge to do more with my life. I felt that I was capable of achieving a lot more than

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I do not dictate orders to my employees, but instead involve them in the problemsolving process

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what I was doing at the time. This feeling is probably very common in the corporate world today, and a lot of times could just be delusional thinking on the employee’s part. But I decided to take the plunge to resolve this dilemma for myself and test my beliefs. It was this need to understand my capabilities better that led me towards entrepreneurship”.

Having been greatly influenced by Jeff Bezos and his principle-based leadership, Dr Nikhil was inspired to create a set of 16 principles for himself and his organization as well. An inclusive leader, Nikhil believes in grooming and nurturing his team so that they can take on bigger challenges. He says, “I do not dictate orders to my employees, but instead involve them in the problemsolving process”. Zolostays aims to provide safe housing to people in these difficult times and doing their part to revive the nation’s economy. “My approach, right now, is to do our best to keep our customers safe, to tweak our services to suit the needs of our customers, and to provide them with the flexibility that they need at this time”, adds Dr Nikhil.

Reminiscing about the lessons he learned in his journey, Dr Nikhil says, “One of the biggest lessons that I still draw inspiration from were my mother’s words, ‘It

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

does not matter when you reach, what matters is where you reach. Good things take time, patience, and energy’. This stayed with me and pushed me to aim higher, even if they didn’t give me immediate results”.

Softening the Blow of COVID19 During the Pandemic Outbreak, Zolostays started an initiative, Zolo Care, which provided hundreds of present and past customers, who lost jobs, rent-free stays to help them out during these difficult times. “I was overwhelmed by the gratitude and love that we received from our customers because of this small gesture on our part. For me, this was a milestone that was most meaningful in my entrepreneurial journey”, says Dr Nikhil.

Despite the COVID-19 Pandemic, Zolostays has remained strong as a company. Ramping up their hygiene protocols and working hard to provide their customers with safe and hygienic living spaces. Dr Nikhil remarks, “The pandemic has impacted our business in the short run, owing to customers going back to their hometowns.

But our experience in the last few months has led us to believe that the co-living industry might be pandemicproof. The increased focus on hygiene will encourage more and more customers to pick co-living players like

During the Pandemic Outbreak, Zolostays started an initiative, Zolo Care, which provided hundreds of present and past customers, who lost jobs, rent-free stays to help them out during these difficult times Zolo instead of traditional PGs. The personalization, flexibility, levels of hygiene, and the community that Zolo provides makes it a very appealing option for customers, and we are excited about the future".

A Journey of Growth A fast-paced organization, Zolostays moves quickly and evolves every day. “We are more about attitude than ability or pedigree. In our organization, employees are not limited to their domain and are free to contribute to

different areas of the company.

This makes Zolo an exciting place to work in”, quips Dr Nikhil. But at the same time, Zolostays has a very demanding work culture and is not for the fainthearted. He opines, “When we decide to do something, we are all about getting the best version of it out, and that makes the work-life at Zolo extremely demanding and challenging as well”.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

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Zolostays' success has been primarily because of word-of-mouth. We have gained demand and traction, because of their superior services which led to a lot of customers recommending Zolostays to others.

"Although we could not run our business without technology. Being a startup, we relied heavily on digital marketing to grow our business, to spread the world about Zolo and that has worked wonders for us”, opines Dr Nikhil.

Today, co-living is more relevant than ever. In uncertain times, co-living provides people with a community that they can turn to and rely on, while also

giving them freedom and flexibility to live life on their terms, without anything holding them back. Looking forward to growing the company achieving 80-100% growth in the coming years, Dr Nikhil says, “We aspire to make managed living a default option for the world, Zolostays wants everyone to enjoy safe, comfortable, and stress-free living”.

Entrepreneurship is a long-game. It is all about delayed gratification. Many a time, people are attracted to entrepreneurship for the wrong reasons like money or a glamorous lifestyle. But the truth is, these things are very superficial, and if these are what motivate you, you will not be able to face the rigour that startup life requires. Advising budding entrepreneurs, Dr Nikhil concludes, “Focus on the right things and start for the right reasons. And when you do start, pay attention to your customers, listen to what they are asking for and constantly reinvent”.

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Want to find Investor for your Startup?

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CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

EXPERT OPINION

Reinventing Fashion Retail in the New Normal

Deepak Bansal, Director, Cantabil Deepak Bansal is a Whole-Time Director of the company. He is a graduate

in mathematics from Delhi University. As a director, Deepak is responsible for the expansion

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and diversifying of the retail market and business of the company. He actively looks after the complete preparedness of marketing strategy. Deepak has an immense interest in finding the newer and upcoming markets & setting up retail footprints of the company there. He has an overall experience of 13 years in Retail Apparel Industry.

Deepak Bansal

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he COVID-19 pandemic has posed a prolonged uncertainty for most of the sectors of the world economy. Among the worst hit is the retail industry, as the aftermath of this pandemic has exposed the industry to an array of challenges that are impacting economy and livelihood.

Before the pandemic had hit the world, our retail industry accounted for 10% of India’s GDP and employed 8% of the workforce. While India ranked 63rd in the world for ease of doing business, the Indian retail industry stands to be the 5th largest global destination in retail space and 73rd in UN Conference on B2C Trade and Development in 2019.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

As the demand begins to rise, brands are seriously integrating their supply chain processes via digital technology

However, the big money drivers, the malls, markets, and shopping complexes, were amongst the first to be shut down in the COVID19 era, even before the official announcement of the lockdown. While the demand for essentials soared, fashion retail suffered greatly.

As the lockdown was implemented, Fashion retail lost on the non-discount fresh merchandise period of sales. Furthermore, the supply chain broke and manufacturing halted. The migrant labour crisis left a huge deficit on the workforce, and a major drop in demand followed. Owing to gradual unlocking of the economy, as per the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the overall retail industry suffered a loss of over Rs 5 Lakh Cr by May and Rs 15 Lakh Cr by mid-July .

Even in unlock 4.0, the challenges of lockdown remain, with various states implementing lockdowns suddenly and randomly, which is further causing disruptions in operations. These factors have majorly contributed to the big brands to reinvent their fashion retail strategy and leverage technology.

Extending end of season announcements. Contrary to popular belief, fashion retail is perishable. The goods may have a life to last years, but fashion does not. Hence, the brand new clothing line of this season gets old in a few months. Most retailers and brands had lost the peak of the season. Normally, the end of season sales are announced slightly early to push more purchases; however, this year many major brands have postponed the end of season sales dates between August and October to buy more time and push sales before the festive season.

Measured discount strategy. Mostly core brands like the apparel departmental stores went heavy on discounts during the sale period. However, not every brand is going berserk on sale discounts. Heavy discounts help to drive volume, which can

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Staying in touch with the customers at the time of crisis is critical to retain customer loyalty

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

justify the freebies by making more from the thin profit margin.

However, in light of low demand, job losses, and reverse migrating population, many brands are not expecting demand to drive heavy sales by volume. Therefore, brands are opting to maximize value for sales by giving measured discounts.

Launches. The pandemic hasn’t deterred the brands from going forth with launches. Despite the uncertainty, many brands have gone ahead with the launch of new clothing lines and stores, sticking to their 2020 goals and keeping the excitement high.

Automating supply chain. Brands are leveraging technology for a number of objectives. As the demand begins to rise, brands are seriously integrating their supply chain processes via digital technology. The adoption of these technologies is adding greater visibility and data insights, which is helping brands comprehend the customer journey. Brands are leveraging enterprise resource planning technologies across stores, fostering end-to-end automation, from the purchase of raw materials to sales.

Omnichannel Approach: For fashion and apparel segment, physical stores are still more important in India. It is very important for an average consumer to feel the clothes or products they want to buy. However, COVID 19 has further pushed the already shifting behavioural change towards online purchases. E-commerce, which accounts for 5% of total retail and is primarily led by electronics (48%) and apparels (29%), has received a boost in the COVID era. Consequently, brands have fast-tracked upgrading to omnichannel retailing, extending to consumers a unified experience through an integrated eCommerce system, from brick and mortar to online marketplace, pushing offline and online sales. The industry is getting a good response from hyper-local, retail sales, and all D2C online initiatives.

Enhancing the customer experience. Staying in touch with the customers at the time of crisis is critical to retain customer loyalty. The industry is trying various measures to stay connected with confidence building communications, informing customers about safety protocols adopted at stores, and alerting them of discounts. Added to that, customer loyalty benefits are being enhanced through points and cash backs.

There is indeed customer reluctance to explore markets, and it is rightly so. The risks of contracting an infection cannot be ignored. However, the fear that COVID 19 can only be defeated by staying at home is partially counterproductive. In the recent past, more densely populated economies have contained the disease better by following the precautions actively while stepping out. If those microcosms of human habitat can perform better, then it is in India’s interest that we reinvent our strategies like the apparel retail and create a macrocosm of several such microcosms and allow the economy to revive.

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INSPIRING

IDEAS

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Envisioning a Better India Co-founded by Vivek Saxena, Wishonary is a collaborative community of social workers, grassroots organizations, meaningful companies, and conscious individuals, who come together to create and deliver the most effective and befitting social innovations and solutions to the last mile communities.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

n a country having more per capita NGOs than hospital beds — around four NGOs for every 1,000 people in urban areas and 2.3 NGOs for every 1,000 population in rural areas — non-profits admittedly have a vital role to play in India's development activities. With people realising the importance of social ventures and NGOs in our daily lives, the help that NGOs have extended to the Lower segment of our population is appreciated by everyone today.

Many entrepreneurs and employees will seriously consider starting or working for NGOs in India.

"I feel NGOs in India will play a major role in training, enabling market linkages for local and small production units", opines Vivek Saxena, Cofounder, Wishonary.

An amalgamation of Wish and Visionary, Wishonary is a platform that enables social visionaries to solve larger societal problems by moving one step closer to creating meaning. A Social Network for Change Makers, Wishonary was started with an idea of enabling sharing across multiple stakeholders and NGOs in a social space. “The Pandemic brought in a lot of chaos, with people not knowing what to do and how the situation was going to be in the future.

Many NGOs were playing their part in helping people at the bottom of the pyramid, especially migrant labourers. In our interaction with multiple NGO, we discovered that while every NGO was trying to do whatever they could, there was little resource & knowledge sharing, which made me start Wishonary”, quips Vivek.

A Passionate Social Worker Having completed his postgraduation diploma in Social Entrepreneurship, Vivek was associated with an NGO run by his teacher that works on women and children empowerment during his 10th grade. He adds, “My experience of working with the people in the NGO made me passionate about solving social problems, and exploring how collaborations across stakeholders can unlock value and create meaningful social initiatives”. Playing a pivotal role in shaping his life, Viveks' parents

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My experience of working with the people in the NGO made me passionate about solving social problems, and exploring how collaborations across stakeholders can unlock value and create meaningful social initiatives

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taught him the value of ethics in life and teamwork. His parents always told him about the importance of working together as a community and how problems can be solved as a team rather than trying to do things on our own.

“My dad has always supported me in everything that I do and has always taught me to stay strong and face all the challenges that may come along the way”, says Vivek.

Having always wanted to start some initiative that could provide visibility to grassroots level organisations and help them raise resources, the lockdown due to the pandemic outbreak gave Vivek an insight on what he really wanted with his life. "The spread of COVID19 made me realise that we should not keep postponing our dreams and should move towards fulfilling our goals as

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

soon as possible. The need to share and seek knowledge on various aspects related to Covid19, motivated me to craft Wishonary”, recalls Vivek.

While Vivek takes care of Sales and Marketing, Mr Varun Chandra handles the overall execution. He passion for commercialisation of technology ventures and 8 years of experience in technology and policy advocacy has played a considerable role in helping Wishonary grow. He adds, “Wishonary would have been incomplete without another pillar of our team, Sharmila Ronanki, who brought 4+ years of experience in handling operations of multiple NGOs. We are also very grateful to Mr Vijay Mahajan, CEO and Founder of BASIX, who supported us throughout our journey".

Getting Through the Unpredictable Pandemic The fact that Wishonary was started during the lockdown was one of the biggest challenges for Vivek. The vulnerability and unpredictability created by COVID was another challenge in itself. Vivek quips, "despite being far off from each other, We had to validate, collaborate and co-create the complete business”. Helping more than 600 NGOs in sharing their knowledge and bringing them together, Wishonary has also launched Managed Fundraising Campaigns for Waste Warriors, Kayakalpa, Head Held High Foundation, Cancer Association, and many more. With the Pandemic outbreak and the subsequent lockdown, there has been an unprecedented increase in job losses, making people unable to meet their daily needs. “Our peers in the society need to understand that all of us are an integral part of the society and equally important to the wellbeing of our overall society”, opines Vivek.

Started off with helping NGOs with crowdfunding and marketing support, Wishonary is moving towards becoming a social network for NGOs to help them with resources and people sourcing. Although generating development has been the responsibility primarily of the government, since the scope of development now includes not just economic progress but also promoting social justice, gender equity, education and the quality of life issues, non-profits both within India and abroad, especially those directing their voluntary work and funds towards India, are generally seen as partners in the country’s development in some, if not in all cases. Doing his bit of helping the society develop, Vivek concludes, "We want to be the one platform where every NGO ask and seek help and support in their endeavour to create change. We want to be the catalyst for the growth of the social sector".

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

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CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

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few years back, Indian startups were primarily focused on creating e-commerce solutions and reproducing concepts that worked in western markets.

Now, the tables have turned. The young and innovative entrepreneurs in India are covering a broad spectrum of industries to find solutions that have not been attempted in any other market. The fearless to innovate has helped them to attract many investors to their businesses. According to a report published by Tracxn, since 2016, when tech startups accumulated just $4.3 billion — down from $7.9 billion the year before — the flow of capital has increased significantly in the ecosystem. In 2017, Indian startups raised $10.4 billion.

However, in the first six months of 2020, startup funding dropped by 29 per cent to $4.2 billion compared to $5.9 billion in the corresponding period last year, due to the impact of the COVID-19. According to data by venture capital industry tracker Tracxn, only 443 startups were funded in the January-June period this year against 725 in H1, 2019. The report says that 2020 put the spotlight on specific sectors like alternative lending, payments and test preparation tech and generated a lot of interest and funding from investors.

Despite the hiccups caused by the pandemic, a few startups have managed to raise significant funding this year. More importantly, many entrepreneurs have started their business amidst the pandemic. In this issue, we have identified '10 Most Inspiring Startup Founders in India’ who have challenged odds and found success in the murky waters. We hope our efforts to feature their stories would inspire the young generation of leaders in India.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Name

Designation

Company

CEO & Founder

Park+

Founder

MAD Influence

Founder & CEO

Growthxo

Co-founder and CEO

Zolostays

Co-Founders

Inchpaper.com

Rabindranath A

Founder

LeapCurve

Raunak Sharma

Founder

Fyool App

Shivjeet Ghatge

Co-Founder & CEO

StepSetGo

Vinod Kumar

Founder

Naturally Yours

Vivek Saxena

Co-founder

Wishonary

Amit Lakhotia

Gautam Madhavan

Laksh Bucha

Dr Nikhil Sikri

Pulak Agarwal & Sonia Mehra Agarwal

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

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CXO OUTLOOK July-August 2020

Raunak Sharma, Founder, Fyool App

Earn Money while you Buy all Kinds of Fuels & Gas Cylinders 34

Raunak Sharma is not a technocrat or management student with any high-profile degree where startups are being embedded in the curriculum. But he is a heterogeneous mix of talent, innovation and hard work. Raunak thought of taking an audacious move to do something different and innovative with a touch of technology and moreover, which should connect people and their needs.

This innovative mobile application FYOOL will provide additional relief to the people in the form of additional purchases to save their hard-earned Money spent on petrol, diesel, CNG & booze that too in a scenario where the economy has severely slowed down.

My journey so far as an entrepreneur and the problems I tried to solve through FYOOL App First, let me give you a background of my entrepreneurial journey. I started at a very young age. When I joined my family business, I was only 14 back then!

I believe it is your zeal and hard work that helps you achieve your milestones. I was able to add value and take my family’s hardware business to new heights. But somewhere I always wanted to do something more. Where I am more connected with the people and the market trend.

And finally, I came up with an idea and decided to give it shape as I felt the time was right.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Basically, the core idea to develop this the app is to lower the burden of the unnecessary hike that customers are facing in the current economic scenario. Lockdown period and unexpected event occurrence such as the COVID-19 pandemic made me think in this direction and come up with this intelligent and smart solution.

Hence bridging the current gap, the Fyool App is created to help guard people from a hike in fuel prices.

It gives access to people to save their hard-earned Money rather than spending on petrol, diesel, CNG that too in a scenario where the economy has severely slowed down.

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Raunak Sharma

Being a founder has its own challenges as the onus is on you. But that also feels hugely motivating.

- Raunak Sharma

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

The founding story of the FYOOL App and the challenges I faced Although I hail from a non-IT background but looking at the customers need, I decided to fill in. It was during the lockdown period and unexpected event occurrence, basically the COVID-19 pandemic, which encouraged me to come up with this solution. While the jobs were drying, salaries were being cut, a lot of firing of employees and no salary hikes yet we were left to face the rising prices of fuel. It felt unfair, that too in a situation where we all were already in a tight spot!

So, once I knew the solution I was going to bring forth, I networked with a group of people, formed the core team, and we set off to build something new, something exciting and something that was much needed!

But being a Founder has its own challenges as the onus is on you. But that also feels hugely motivating. The fact that you are self-driven and confident about launching a product which has its own USP that is untapped!

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Raunak Sharma

Unique services that FYOOL App offer today Fyool App targets each person who wants to save Money. The app is simple, user friendly and works everywhere, with its services the user can save up to 50% of the amount which they are currently spending on petrol, diesel, CNG and Alcohol (any kind of wine and beer) which leaves many with no savings. And this is our USP, and we are confident that the app will create its own niche in the market. With FYOOL Apps, smart solution users can use the Money for their family needs, outing with family, gifts for their kids etc.

The team that helped to build the organization that I have today We are a very small team of 12 people based in Delhi. My core team is extremely proactive and a heterogeneous mix of talent. We support and complement each other well as we share the same underlying philosophy, that is, to connect with peoples need and market trend; and that’s where the efficacy seeps in. To us, growth means adding more value to the customers, as we are a very customer-centric app, and our vision is intact- to help users save Money.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

The most unexpected lesson I learnt We have recently launched and right now only productfocused. But our growth and success are both linked to happy customers as there is no satisfaction beyond that.

The fact that you can connect with your customer and solve their problems, offer a smart solution and in sync with the market trend is what growth means to our company.

Milestones as an entrepreneur As I hail from a business background and having the comfort of joining my family business, I thought of venturing into this startup. So, this has been the biggest milestone during these years of my journey as an entrepreneur. I strongly believe in connecting with peoples need and market trend; hence I went ahead. I invested my savings, connected and formed the right network and team to build my dreams.

To us, growth means adding more value to the customers, as we are a very customer-centric app, and our vision is intact- to help users save Money

My education and life as a student Like I already mentioned to me more than education, it has been work experience as I set off to work very early in life by joining family's hardware business. So, for me, it was learning while earning. Every decision I took, I was confident as I have always been dedicated to my work, I understand my customers need and believe in adding value. So, when you know you want to make it happen, you will make it happen. Even today, I come from a non-IT background, but I am very confident that FYOOL APP will create its own niche. You need to understand your customer and simply connect with them, success will follow.

Who influenced me professionally?

To be very honest, it has been my own experience as I had joined my family business at a very young age, I was only 14 back then! I believe it is your zeal and hard work that helps you achieve your milestones. I was able to add value and take my family’s hardware business to new heights. But somewhere I always wanted to do something more. Where I am more connected with the people and the market trend. And finally, I came up with an idea and decided to give it shape as I felt the time was right. So, to me, time and experience have been the biggest influence in my life!

My plans for the FYOOL App Right now, the focus is on the product, its existing offerings and marketing it right.

In the next five years, we are hoping to add more services for our customers and further lower the costs on other products such as LPG cylinders and education which is a pinching factor and help increase more savings for our customers.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

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EXPERT OPINION

From Constituent to a Requisite; the Upswing of Sustainability

Jakob Friis Sørensen, Managing Director, APM Terminals Pipavav Jakob Friis Sørensen, Managing Director

at APM Terminals Pipavav, is an industry expert with immense experience in the global logistic industry. A Danish national, Mr Sørensen has

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been a part of A.P. Moller Maersk Group since 1987.

During his career with Maersk, Jakob has performed a range of roles in both the shipping and logistics side of the business, as well as performing country and area management roles.

Deepak Bansal

“R

ather than striving for a perfect picture, dive in pragmatically" - Patrick Verhoeven. In words of Mr Verhoeven, with varying contexts, nevertheless; sustainability has become a common global language. If there is a common cord that the world is in-sync with right now, its sustainability.

There is much spoken and written about sustainability. We see it implemented across industries, sectors, regions and countries.

Sustainability in business is no more a textbook concept, it has transcended from simple conversations to the strategical deployment of tactics and achieving a sustainable business environment. It has

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Ports sector being major contributors to international trade; has a primary responsibility towards its associated stakeholders’ community

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been an underlying fact which has been overlaid by several other pillars of business operations; however intact and an underlining one. Sustainability today is not just discussed in boardrooms but is enacted and performed as a crucial part of a healthy functioning business.

This year indeed has brought the world to a pause, it is making us rethink our lives, amidst not only the pandemic but otherworldly events. All of this has now lead to sustainability, becoming the new business reality. Sustainability is not only essential in today’s world but also when we think of our lives in the future. In today’s age, the organizations have to integrate sustainability in their daily business operations and prepare a strategy that supports business objectives and ensure meaningful contribution to UN Sustainable Development Goals.

When the United Nations launched ‘The World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP) in 2018’ they aimed at contributing to the sustainable development of world ports in line with their sustainability agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The mission was to demonstrate global leadership of ports in contributing to the SDGs. For organizations today, it is pivotal to understand the initiatives undertaken by WPSP and come forward and contribute to their and the sector’s sustainable business development. According to a new study by Earth’s Future, a peer-reviewed scientific journal focusing on climate change and future sustainability, seaport

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

footprints will need to expand by approx. 3,700 sq. km globally in the next three decades to cope up with the combination of sea-level rise and increasing demand.

In such a scenario, the need for sustainability is all the more pronounced.

In the process, we need to realize that there are implications of activities that an organization undertakes which connects all stakeholders; internal and external.

The aim of WPSP is to empower the port community to engage with stakeholders such as business, government and society and create sustainable added value for the local communities surrounding the port. However, it is the responsibility of an organization to pay attention to developing trends and realities of the changing environment. This ultimately needs to be adapted and

practised with an eventual aim of attaining sustainability and cohesive partnership between the present-day actions and the expected future results.

Ports sector being major contributors to international trade; has a primary responsibility towards its associated stakeholders’ community. As a part of HSSE (Health, Safety, Security & Environment) policy, Ports have to ensure activation of a number of initiatives such as safe disposal of bio-medical waste, reusing treated wastewater etc. Tree plantation is a crucial factor in curbing carbon emission. This is a long term and continuous process that enables greener and healthier planet and gives a massive push towards achieving the sustainability norms. Ports need to act to strengthen resilience and adapt their infrastructure and relevant operations to the changing climate. In sync

More about

Jakob Friis Sørensen Over the years, Jakob Friis Sørensen has

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held various positions within the Group in Maersk Line, Maersk Logistics and Damco in countries like Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and India. His long history of delivering high performance in developing markets of Asia makes him an ideal choice to lead APM Terminals Pipavav into the next stage of its development journey.

With a vast experience in spearheading operations in APAC nations, Mr Sørensen has an in-depth knowledge of the SCM (Supply Chain Management) processes. He holds an MBA from Henley Management College, London and has attended several Executive Management courses at IMD, Lausanne, Penn State University in the US. During his free time, he enjoys sports such as football and swimming and exploring history while travelling in various countries.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Today, the initiatives undertaken by an organization have to be in sync with the global objective of integrating sustainability in daily business activities

with our global objectives of integrating sustainability in all of our operations, APM Terminals Pipavav also has undertaken ‘Gujarat Green Gateway’ initiatives through the philosophy of ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ that aims to enable inclusive trade through advanced infrastructure, technology and digitization; thereby improving the livelihood of communities around the port through initiatives like skill development, women empowerment etc.

Manpower is indispensable. Hence, employees and human force in and around a functioning business prove not only to be a crucial asset to your business but also are a business’s prime responsibility. Ensuring their wellbeing and support is as crucial as attending to a financial matter of an organization. Reduced usage of carbon footprints and utilizing the resources in the best way through the philosophy of ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ helps in boosting the work ethic and livelihood of the employees and the surrounding communities. Apart from paying attention to the basic needs and requirements of the society, being able to provide inclusive trade through advanced infrastructure, technology and digitization that improves the livelihoods of the community through initiatives like skill development, women empowerment etc. is another contribution we can mark.

Well, before the pandemic arrived, more and more businesses were rousing to the powerful opportunities between sustainability and innovation. The closer that product teams can collaborate with the sustainability

team to launch products that customers are increasingly demanding; the better. In times of crisis, innovation becomes even more critical to assist businesses to prevail, and attention on sustainability can make sure that this innovation is unleashed to serve the greater good because innovation in and of itself isn't inherently sustainable or deployed for the greater good.

Technology will play an exceptional role in change. The internet, big data, artificial intelligence and blockchain are at the heart of companies’ digital transformation. They are also vital to sustainability, permissive data acquisition, storage and curation, insight, analysis, trust and accountability that companies need to evaluate their compliance with environmental, social and governance standards. Today, the initiatives undertaken by an organization have to be in sync with the global objective of integrating sustainability in daily business activities. This further should be integrated towards commissioning of continued commitment to all stakeholders as a responsible partner. Sustainability is no more just a differentiator; it has become a business requirement. In the forthcoming years, businesses will need to adapt and adjust to a host of new environmental, social and governance risks; if they don't wish to face extinction. It is no longer a question of whether it is "necessary or not" to launch sustainable business practices, but rather how long will it take before consumers, investors, or governments punish businesses that do not.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

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Laksh Bucha, Founder & CEO, Growthxo

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The Teenager Who Built a Modern Brand Management Company Growthxo is a modern brand management company spearheaded by a teenpreneur, Laksh Bucha.

At the age of 17, Laksh is the Founder & CEO of Growthxo, which delivers brand solutions to several clients in India and the US. A Kolkata based startup, Growthxo is two years old organization which started off as a dream project of Bucha, who is otherwise a digital marketing ninja. His journey of starting off a multi-crore business in his teens is indeed a very inspiring one. In a conversation with CXO Outlook, Laksh shares his motives, company’s unique offering, plans and much more.

My motive behind taking up entrepreneurship during the college days Being from a Marwari family, they say, business run in our veins. The ‘galla and hisaab' are some typical terms every Marwari household will immediately connect to, and this is I guess what led to the awakening of the entrepreneur inside me in my early teens.

Our families are all into a business, and the easiest way could have been to join and grow what they built, but I had a different plan. From a YouTuber to a Domain Investor to Digital Marketer, Digital Ads Expert and a Communications Professional, I have learnt everything

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

only through experience. You see, I have just finished my 12th and have no degrees to prove my expertise in these areas besides client case studies (on a lighter note) I have been and still am an average but an inquisitive student. Technology had always been my personal favourite topics, and I am an avid follower of everything tech-related. And as one would guess, my interest in technology and the magic it creates drove me towards my core business objective. The objective to create awareness and offer services on how tech can successfully transform and grow each business – small or big, making India stronger.

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Laksh Bucha

Entrepreneurship is a beautiful journey of winning, losing, laughing, crying, yet not leaving - Laksh Bucha

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Entrepreneurship, to me, means the realization of one's own self. It is not a title but a journey of finding which mutant you are? What do you do the best? What services are you meant for? What do you see differently? Why you want to do it? To conclude it, in short, Entrepreneurship is a beautiful journey of winning, losing, laughing, crying, yet not leaving.

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My journey so far as an entrepreneur A typical answer to this question would be that it was a roller coaster drive, full of adventure, failures and so on. However, to me, so far, the journey has been no less than A-Amazing.

From unveiling the not known to learning from one’s own mistakes and not giving up in the name of destiny, this Amazing journey has taught me like a mother.

I started off at the age of fifteen as a Youtuber, thereafter a domain investor then dealing with cryptocurrencies, hours and months in stock trading, digital assets building and digital marketing, followed by my current project - Growthxo.

Being a modern brand management company, At Growthxo our aim is to provide support and advisory to brands helping them create an indomitable presence (within media, stakeholders, target audience - regional, national and International) For more info you can check us at www.growthxo.com We have the biggest network of re-sellers in India as our niche is to get International media presence for brands. Our team compromises of senior professionals from diverse industry, and we practice the most ethical and transparent operations to provide successful and measurable results.

The founding story of the Growthxo My co-founder Souvik Rooj and I founded Growthxo in late 2017. Before laying the foundation for Growthxo, I had worked on five different businesses, and all were painful.

The journey is a full-on drama series consisting of episodes like friend’s betrayal for money, significant losses in stock trading, cheated of money while link building, dealing in cryptocurrencies, digital marketing and so on.

As a digital marketer, I saw an impressive potential in the market and started expanding the portfolio. That’s when Souvik and I joined hands to create a dynamic communications firm that can help brands fill in the gaps of hiring various professionals for different markets.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Today at Growthxo, our clients don’t have to look further whether its PR, Digital Marketing, Web Development or Advertisement. We are a full-service integrated agency.

Unique services that Growthxo offers today Growthxo is a new-age multi-specialist and a modern brand management company which aims at unlocking a brands potential in the era of digitalization. We have an array of services categorized under four main heads – Public Relations, Digital Marketing/PR, Advertising and IT Development.

Our uniqueness is the simplicity, transparency and innovative thought with which we present our ideas to bring in measurable results for our clients. Till date, we have had not even one upset/unsatisfied client.

Managing studies and company operations simultaneously To be very honest, I rarely open my books. (laughs).

Well, my parents make sure that I keep a balance between the two.

Significant milestones during my journey as an entrepreneur My learnings are my biggest and most valued assets till now.

These years have trained me like a pro through practical experiences and real-life case studies.

About my education and life as a student I’m no genius. An average student like many others I pray all year to score just good enough (smiles) People who influenced me professionally My Dad, My brother and Mukesh Ambani. I love the way they operate things, and I want to adopt their sharp skills and implement it my way.

Plans for the Growthxo Short-term: We are coming up with a lot of exciting stuff straight from our PR Board and in a longer vision, we are developing our Growth umbrella with a dominating group of products covering the Digital, Marketing and Advertising, Public Relations and Communications, Social, Development (IT), Fintech, LegalTech, and Human Recourses sectors.

And we’d love to keep our plans as granny’s recipe for now.

My advice to student entrepreneurs who are starting out Just mark three things, Patience, smart working and risktaking. Be a hustler!

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CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Sonia Mehra Agarwal, Co-Founder & President

Pulak Agarwal, Co-Founder & CEO

Delivering Stationery and Office Supplies to the Doorsteps 46

Founded in June 2020 by young entrepreneurs and stationery lovers Sonia Mehra Agarwal and Pulak Agarwal, Inchpaper aims to provide a full range of stationery items starting from eraser to various teaching-learning material for school, colleges, students, and parents, along with catering to the needs of working professionals and offices, at large. Currently, Inchpaper.com is delivering the products in over 50 Tier I & II cities and towns like Delhi, Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Bangalore, Pune, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Indore, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Dehradun, Surat, Patna, Ranchi, Trichy, Udaipur, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh. Inchpapers aims to add new products and services regularly.

Our journey so far as entrepreneurs and the problems that we are trying to solve through Inchpaper.com We (Sonia and Pulak) have been on the journey of being entrepreneurs for nearly two years now. Hailing from the education sector, stationery items were always of interest to both of us. Our love for stationery followed us even during our travels exploring the world. So, during the pandemic of COVID19 when parents, schools, working professionals were facing a grave challenge of buying stationery products directly from the market, Inchpaper

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

was launched. Everyone is hesitant to step out of their homes.

Inchpaper wants to be a solution provider for all stationary requirements to each age group and aims to deliver all kinds of stationery items at the doorstep.

Inchpaper provides a full range of stationery items starting from erasers, pens, activity books, whiteboards etc. to various teaching-learning material for school, colleges, students, and parents, along with catering to the needs of working professionals and offices, at large.

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Pulak Agarwal

Sonia Mehra Agarwal

We have always been intrigued by colours, designs, patterns, concepts revolving around stationery products

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

The founding story of Inchpaper.com Founded by two stationery lovers, we believe that stationery shopping brings solace. Everywhere we travelled, stationery shops were always a part of their itinerary. We (Sonia and Pulak) have always been intrigued by colours, designs, patterns, concepts revolving around stationery products. This led to the birth of Inchpaper in June 2020, with a thought of spreading the wave of happiness which one experiences while shopping for stationery. We also observed that there are hardly any places online and offline, which could be a one-stop solution for all your stationery and books and where people can get a discount. Textbooks and notebooks, which are required every year by students, are not available with discounts in one place. Parents either must buy them from different places or buy them from one place without any discount. Inchpaper solves this problem for them.

One of the major challenges for us has been supply chain management. There are not very many pocketfriendly and trustworthy options available in the market.

We are continuously working towards tying up with various such logistics partners to ensure timely and efficient delivery to our customers.

Unique services that Inchpaper.com offer today The product range of Inchpaper includes all types of schools and office stationery, notebooks, textbooks of various brands, and promoters. Inchpaper is also planning to start the personalised and customised stationery. Inchpaper attends the specific needs of customers with procuring items that may not be available on the website like a schoolbook set or birthday party favours or hampers directly thru direct emails or phone calls.

One of the USP of Inchpaper is that customers get many options to select at one place while sitting at home and secondly our quick home delivery system, especially in Delhi NCR. Also, we are selling almost everything at a discounted price, and the percentage of discount ranges between 10% to 50% so that clients can feel happy and satisfied shopping from Inchpaper.

The core team that helped us to build the organisation Our core team members have expertise in handling various aspects of e-commerce platforms. We as cofounders have been in the education sector for over a

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Sonia Mehra Agarwal Pulak Agarwal

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

decade to understand the stationery item’s needs and requirements by parents and schools.

Our work ethos strongly advocates in walking the talk. Our top management has always believed in being hands-on with their training of the team members. Be it finalising of packaging, handling customer inquiries, complaints, or even personalised requirements, our leaders believe in being a part of each process. We constantly engage in hackathons with our team members to devise solutions for our issues. This has always helped our team to know that their suggestions are valued and are heard upon.

The most unexpected lesson in leading for growth Over the past 2 months, the journey has been more or less smooth as far as our operations have been concerned. Our major learning has been in handling not only customers but also vendors who provide us with our stock. Ensuring that they follow our procedures of procurement has been a curve block for us. Most of these places are family-run businesses, who still follow a haphazard way of handling demands. Our team has worked tirelessly to maintain our processes along with ensuring all our vendors feel comfortable working with us.

Our milestones during as entrepreneurs There is nothing more exhilarating than being your own boss. But with this comes an important lesson and that is to learn to be responsible for each and every action that

you take. Any step that you take not only affects you but also jeopardises the livelihood of the people working for you. So being a new organisation, building trust amongst school management, staff, parents, office going people and even teachers has been one of the most important tasks for us as an organisation. Even with many years of experience to back your work, you must ensure to prove yourself time and again. One of the most rewarding outcomes from this has been the 100% renewal rate for all the contracts signed in the first year, even in the case of a pandemic.

Our plans for the Inchpaper.com Inchpaper houses everything from basic stationery to the top of line products. Any stationery item other than the ones listed on the website can also be procured by contacting on our email id. InchPaper understands the need for perfect stationery and works relentlessly to make sure the customer receives exactly what they want.

Our current and short-term goal is to increase our line of products to ensure each basic stationery item is covered across brands.

By the end of the year 2021, we aim to ensure that Inchpaper expands its services in more towns, especially tier II & III towns across India. Inchpaper also intends to venture into its personalised stationery at competitive prices.

Anytime anyone wishes to buy stationery, we want their first thought to be Inchpaper.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

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EXPERT OPINION

Top Five Challenges Businesses Will Face in Their Digital Transformation Journey

Nishtha Satyam, Deputy Country Representative, UN Women, India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka at United Nations

Nishtha Satyam was appointed as the Deputy Country Representative for UN Women, the

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entity of the United Nations that is dedicated to working towards Gender Equality and Woman’s Empowerment, in India in January 2018. She is the youngest Deputy Country Rep for the Entity of the UN across 193 countries. She formerly managed Strategic Partnerships, Policy Impact and Public Relations for the UN Women Multi-Country Office for India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Nishtha Satyam

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

I

n the 21st century, companies in every industry need to embrace new business methodologies and techniques to stay relevant. Organizations that were specifically born before the technological age need to transform themselves digitally to stay afloat. They need to welcome this digital wave to stay ahead of the competition and enhance customer interactions. However, very few companies have actually embarked on this trend. This is because most of them have a very sceptical attitude towards technology, along with the mindset that it’s either too difficult for them to change to this degree or they feel comfortable with the monogamy of it all. These companies should realize that digital transformation isn’t just about using new technologies—it is about transforming processes and changing people’s mindsets. By staying

In a data-driven era, it is common knowledge that the more businesses get to know their consumers, the more they are bound to grow

away from such a transformation, businesses will remain ignorant about the opportunities they can receive. On that note, here are the five major challenges businesses can face in their digital transformation journey:

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1.Technological Governance Technology governance is the process of exercising administrative, economic and political authority in the development, diffusion and operation of technology in societies. It can be a major barrier to enabling emerging technologies because, for some businesses, Governance is too complex and arduous. For others, governance systems fail to protest basic human rights, which can lead to mistrust in technology. For still others, Governance cannot produce the necessary alignment of technology development with larger human goals.

A lack of technological Governance can also perpetuate gender inequality in businesses. This is because when there' a lack of legal rules and regulations that must be followed, an artificial intelligence (AI) system operates on—and learns from—the data given. When that data is generated by and collected from humans, it carries all the biases that humans have, including those pertaining to women. This results in companies developing technologies that reinforce equality. For instance, Facebook was sued for withholding financial services advertising, from older and female users.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

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2. Consumer Education In a data-driven era, it is common knowledge that the more businesses get to know their consumers, the more they are bound to grow. However, online channels are not completely risk-free. When today’s tech-savvy generation encounters a weak digital experience, they’re much less likely to go through with that transaction—even if the business is a market leader. This means that no organization can sit back and wait for customers to chance upon their business/products.

However, consumer education in technology remains biased toward women. All marketers and product designers know they must target women, considering that women control an estimated $20 trillion in annual consumer spending worldwide.

Nonetheless, the tech industry still remains maledominated due to its culture of lightning-speed product development—which means that tech companies don't really take the time to understand women, their needs and their lifestyles. This results in USB cords painted with daisies and sparkly clutches that hide wireless speakers. Therefore, in order to truly avoid the pitfalls of creating a product for and marketing it to women, companies need to put women in charge of the process.

3. Archaic Knowledge Management Systems Knowledge management systems refer to the ability to collect, organize, manage and retrieve valuable information. An organization with good knowledge management processes are at a distinct advantage due to their ability to retrieve information at an exceptional speed. However, one of the biggest obstacles to a good knowledge management system is obsolete technology. As technology is continuously evolving, older systems that rely on decentralized architecture creates a situation where no one knows whether the information is stored on a network drive, in the cloud or one of several databases. In this confusion, businesses are not able to reap the benefits of a good knowledge management system as much as they should.

There are some strong indicators that Knowledge Management (KM) discipline has a significant gender quality problem. For example, in Stan Garfield's comprehensive list of KM Thought Leaders, just 16% are women, and the Women in Knowledge Management LinkedIn group has been

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

More about

Nishtha Satyam Nishtha has also served as the Private Sector Partnerships Specialist with the Office of the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations and UNDP. Before her career with the UN, Nishtha worked with leading firms such as KPMG and American Express as an Economist. As a futurist and feminist, she is an advocate of the urgency to mainstream women across

the

marketplace,

workplace

and community.

Nishtha has authored several studies on the business value of inclusion and continues to be excited about using her multi-sectoral experience to inform the interplay of policy, politics and people to foster lasting change for the most marginalized. Nishtha holds a Master’s Degree in International Business from the

University

of

Nottingham,

UK

and a Bachelors in Economics from Delhi University.

established "for women who are in a field [which is] often … male-dominated." Ensuring this equality in the KM discipline will only ensure better decision making and problem-solving.

Going digital can be difficult for an organization of any size as it needs to consider a combination of different skills, jobs and competencies inside and outside the company

4. Employee Pushback No business can achieve its goals without the support of the entire organization. While employees are often the reasons for change, they can sometimes be a drawback as well. A significant concern for most companies considering a digital transformation is that some of its old-fashioned employees might feel that their job is being threatened by it—which is not good for morale or productivity. Moreover, there is also a major skill gap when it comes to this type of a transformation— primarily because all its skilled employees are already occupied with other tasks and can’t be entrusted to teach with skills to those lacking in the same.

On the other hand, the organization’s female employees could benefit from such a transformation as they get more flexible hours, allowing them to juggle work and domestic duties seamlessly.

5. Lack of a Clear Vision and Plan Going digital can be difficult for an organization of any size as it needs to consider a combination of different skills, jobs and competencies inside and outside the company. Starting a transformation journey without benchmarking and then forming a plan for each step will result in failure. To prevent the digital transformation from becoming a simple project task and to keep in mind the reasons for exiting the project, long-term planning for the adoption of digital intelligence is necessary.

In this transformation, companies also need to keep their female employees in mind. Women earn more higher-education degrees than men and start new businesses at a faster rate than men. Their earning power is slowly exceeding that of men's and more half of Twitter users, and Facebook subscribers consist of women. If a company truly needs to involve digitally, it needs to ensure an equal number of men and women in the decision making and execution of this digital transformation.

While these are the most common challenges companies may face during a digital transformation, there are many others. Organization need to essentially remember to build a solid foundation that delivers a wide range of results to its businesses, employees and customers. In doing so, all the profits of a digital transformation could be within reach.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

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Rabindranath A, Founder, LeapCurve

Accelerating Careers with Advanced Analytics 54 Founded by Rabindranath A, LeapCurve is an online career advisory site using complex assessment tools presented in a user-friendly fashion. It will provide assessors interface, link options to skill-up and give jobs to the seeker. “Over some time employees often feel if they are in a right place, position or company-wise or if they are still ready to move up in the ladder. LeapCurve is a unique site which is easy to navigate and provides quality, simplified answers to all career questions,� says Rabindranath.

LeapCurve even encourages an assessor's interface and has relevant job-listings as well. It provides sound advice on skilling-up after understanding the needs. The platform is managed by experts, using sophisticated, well-researched tools supported by a strong database from over 500 companies and presented in easy to understand actionable reports. In a conversation with CXO Outlook, Rabindranath discusses the unique offering of LeapCurve, his plans and much more.

The problems I try to solve through LeapCurve This is an idea that has taken a long time to develop. In all the years of consulting, have realized that employees face a huge information asymmetry with respect to job or career change. Moreover, most career decisions are made in extreme privacy, which further restricts the ability to seek advice.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

We decided to first collect and develop solutions rather than use the 'develop an MVP and market to collect data' approach. Such an approach would have been expensive and unsure. Our approach meant that we would be slow, but sure.

So, the challenge was to create a place where data, analytics and advice can be provided in privacy. Each of

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Rabindranath A

We had multiple false starts, and now we have a cracking team that can handle anything that we can throw at them - Rabindranath A

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Trying to push service was akin to boiling the ocean with a candle (that’s all we could afford!). We retreated quickly and moved into the learning space these aspects was a challenge – we collected over 480k data sets on jobs and roles and developed algorithms around it.

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The founding story of LeapCurve Having handled such projects several times earlier as a consultant, the methodology was not a challenge, but the challenge was on ensuring the companies from where we received data that the data would remain private.

Subsequent challenge was identifying the right technical talent. We had multiple false starts, and now we have a cracking team that can handle anything that we can throw at them.

Developing the product on a shoestring budget is a challenge, we are unable to move at the pace we would like to.

Unique services of LeapCurve Allow professionals across industries and functions to explore, plan, learn and seek to advise on managing their own careers in complete privacy. This is supported by a backend that can automate this entire process- including assessing ‘my current competencies’.

The team that I work with We have a good mix of experience and youth. The most important aspect is that brings to the table a deep experience of knowledge of the HR systems at work and ability to handle a large amount of data, data science and ability to create complex apps to make life simple.

Our team is a from XLRI, IIM Cal and ISB & IIT Delhi and Mumbai, with experience ranging from 5 years to 25 years.

Mistakes I made and the most unexpected lessons The biggest mistake we made was to get into recruitment services. While our product is ideally suited to this, and this service is easy to get in to, we realized that this industry has no standardization of process at any level.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Trying to push service was akin to boiling the ocean with a candle (that’s all we could afford!). We retreated quickly and moved into the learning space.

The bonus we received was an invitation from the Government to help them architect the solution. This helped us validate the different workflows and algorithms and puts us in place to mine humungous amount of data.

Milestones I achieved 1. Collecting data and arriving at the Career Level algorithm to benchmark oneself easily against a whole set of attributes 2. Forming the right team to help create the products 3. Workflow and concept tested in the government environment 4. Technical competency documentation covering over 40 industries and multiple functions with associated proficiency levels All of the above makes our product unique and ready for use in a very short period People who influenced me professionally During all the consulting have heard many incredible stories, real ones. I have had the opportunity to hear Dr Reddy of Apollo, Sreedharan from DMRC and have seen how they planned the picture and kept at it for a long time, built the businesses bit by bit. Also, many civil servants who have had a really lasting impact.

My plans for the LeapCurve The immediate need is to code the workflows and make available our services.

Get users to test out our automation products – interview, case studies and more different assessment methods.

Learning the curation algorithm also needs deployment.

The market is now ripe, thanks to COVID and the restart will not be the same as earlier- large tech component so micro-learning and just-in-time learning will be essential and is already being asked for.

Want to Sell or find Investor for your Business?

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CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

EXPERT OPINION

Building a Stronger Business Through Simplified Identification and Authentication

Omkar Shirhatti, Co-founder and CEO, Karza Technologies

Omkar Shirhatti is the Co-founder and CEO at

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Karza Technologies, a state-of-the-art banking and business intelligence solution provider, set out to create cutting-edge products that empower lending institutions and corporations with cloud-based solutions for informed and intelligent decisions.

Omkar, in his current leadership capacity, spearheads the research and development and product development aspect at the organization.

Omkar Shirhatti

T

he Coronavirus pandemic has spurred a transformation in the way businesses operate, with government-mandated restrictions on travel and movement, and social distancing norms resulting in a limitation on staffing at banks, corporates and other businesses. Given the new reality the world finds itself living in, digitization has become a requirement for continuing to do business. Digital solutions are accelerating the revival of economic activity, and have been found to be convenient, cost-effective, efficient, and are increasingly becoming a mainstay of the recovering economy.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Digital identity authentication solutions are more robust, efficient and cost-effective than traditional methods and are free from the problems of human bias and error

Micro, Small and Medium enterprises, which collectively constitute over 30% of India’s GDP, appear to be among the worst affected by the pandemic, with low internet penetration and a reliance on traditional models making these businesses highly dependent on a large workforce and thereby unsuited to the sudden shift to a primarily digital economy.

They also have limited access to credit, Identification and Authentication serve important roles, both, as a means of ensuring credit availability to businesses that have been hit hard by COVID, and as regulatory compliance for certain services offered by companies in specific industries.

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Services Sector: VideoKYC and digital processes are the new normal Industries such as Banking, e-commerce, insurance, Financial services, virtual marketplaces as well as shared-economy services rely heavily on the validation and Authentication of customer submitted information. Previously, verification of this data was performed through manual processes and in-person visits where information was collected.

Fortuitously, the Reserve Bank of India amended its guidelines for KYC procedures earlier this year, to permit VideoKYC as a fully digital onboarding mechanism. The RBI acknowledged the growing demand among financial and other service providers to streamline digital authentication procedures while realizing its potential vis-à-vis India’s digital inclusion agenda. Further to this, the replacement of OSV procedures with VideoKYC addresses some of the biggest challenges faced by companies when it comes to onboarding ‘new to credit’ customers.

Digital identity authentication solutions are more robust, efficient and cost-effective than traditional methods and are free from the problems of human bias and error. The

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

More about

Omkar Shirhatti As an adroit chartered account professional, Omkar Shirhatti holds a prolific experience over 12 years in the fields of fraud investigations, background checks, he utilizes the knowledge of 500+ information sources and learning from 1500+ fraud cases that allow him to fuel the intelligent system that analyses available financial information with the institutions, and trawls the Internet for lurking signals that will raise a red flag about the borrowing outfit. He supervises the company's efforts in combating rising NPAs and Loan Frauds with big data analytics, business intelligence and machine learning to carry out background checks, assesses the creditworthiness of borrowers not just on their track record but also on their future potential and intent to repay loans.

60 adoption of digital onboarding and identity verification solutions has also significantly reduced the incidence of Identity fraud, a problem that has plagued the Indian economy, and could not be fixed through manual processes alone.

Financial Institutions will now be able to offer a diverse range of lending options to the ‘new to credit’ customer base, owing to the high levels of accuracy achieved through digital KYC procedures.

Making Credit Accessible The total addressable MSME Lending gap in India is estimated to be a whopping Rs. 25.8 Trillion. With the rise of alternate lending in India, the reason for the lack of credit to MSME’s is not so much that institutions are unwilling to lend to MSME’s, but rather that they lack the access to data and intelligence that would enable lending to these underserviced, new-to-credit customers.

This lack of access to credit has hindered the growth of India’s MSME’s, which contribute significantly to India’s GDP, consequently hindering India’s economic growth as well. Recognizing the issue of a lack of credit, several startups have developed innovative solutions

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

using alternate data points, including statutory registration and compliance information, GST and ITR report to give Financial Institutions access to authentic data and a framework in which they can assess the creditworthiness of a business. This will be further complemented by the soon to be launched Account Aggregator ecosystem, which will significantly reduce the credit risk when loaning out to sole proprietorships, partnerships, etc. by merely allowing access to credible and intelligent information through a single, unified portal, enabling access to authentic data.

State-of-the-art automated authentication mechanisms and unified data intelligence can unlock the immense growth potential of Indian MSMEs, and turnaround India's post-COVID economic prospects, just by making businesses adopt digital Authentication and verification of data.

Karza Technologies is one of India's leading KYC verification companies and VideoKYC service provider and has also launched sophisticated Diligence, GST and ITR products to provide authentic data and intelligent analytics to financial institutions, increasing their potential customer base while simultaneously minimizing the risk of fraud.

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CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Vinod Kumar, Founder, Naturally Yours

Making Healthy Eating Fun, Tasty and Nutritious 62

Founded by Vinod Kumar, Naturally Yours is a healthy noodle and pasta brand that aims to make healthy eating fun, tasty and nutritious. The company has come up with healthy noodles that are 100 per cent made of whole grains. “We believe that eating healthy does not necessarily mean boring, time-consuming and expensive. During the time of Covid-19, it is really important to eat healthy for a healthy immune system. Avoiding maida and consuming whole grains by itself is a small but significant step to adopt a healthy lifestyle,” says Vinod Kumar. In a conversation with CXO Outlook, Vinod Kumar discusses the challenges he faced during COVID-19, the founding story of Naturally Yours, the mistakes he made as an entrepreneur and much more.

Challenges for ‘Naturally Yours’ during the pandemic One of the major challenges we faced at the start of the pandemic was a disruption to the supply chain, fortunately for us, we had diversified our supply chain and stocked up well in advance. Hence the impact was not severe, and we could supply throughout the lockdown. I would say a big part of we being able to achieve this was because of my co-founder Ms Priya Prakash. It was due to her experience of over 10 years in supply chain management and industry connects that helped us secure uninterrupted supply throughout.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

The founding story of the Naturally Yours Naturally Yours began with a simple idea of providing Indians with options to eat healthy. It all started when I came back from the UK after my MBA from Cardiff business school. I was exposed to organic and health food products in the UK, and I used to consume them regularly.

But when I came back, there was almost no concept of health food, let alone organic. Also, the stores that carried had almost a negligible range. Hence, I and my wife, both being passionate about healthy food, began with a mission to solve this problem of availability of healthy food products in India.

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Vinod Kumar

I can confidently say that we would not be here today without our mistakes. Each mistake brought us to what we are today - Vinod Kumar

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Over the last 10+ years in the health food business, we have had some very hard times and near-death experience of our companies. Every time we pivoted and have moved on to become a better version of the last business model.

One thing that helped us throughout was our singular obsession of making healthy food available to our customers no matter what. This is the one thing I strongly believe helped us survive and move ahead all these years.

The products we offer today Naturally Yours today is singularly focused on changing the most favoured cuisine of Indians, Chinese & Italian.

Today almost everyone in India loves to eat Noodles and Pasta, especially kids. But unfortunately, it is filled with “JUNK” especially in the form of MAIDA (all-purpose flour). We took on this challenge and have developed a range of Noodles & Gluten Free Pasta which is 100% free of MAIDA & 100% made of WHOLEGRAINS.

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Mistake I made I can confidently say that we would not be here today without our mistakes. Each mistake brought us to what we are today. One of the biggest learning's through the years has been "Cash in Hand" and "Positive Unit Economics" these 2 metrics are the most important ones, and without this, there is no and can be not future for any business small or big. The earlier you can figure this out, the better the future of your company.

I learnt the most during my MBA stint as student t Cardiff Business School. Right from personal financial discipline to be able to articulate yourself in a foreign land.

Post that I joined a very small firm called Global Innov, which was into staffing and manpower services. Even though it had nothing to do with what I had studied (finance & strategy), I still joined them giving up an offer at an investment bank. The reason was simple, I was being given an opportunity to strategize and build a business ground up.

This was music to my 25-year self.

I learnt tons during my stint at Global Innov, right from learning how to sell services to building the first catalogue, writing the branch operations manual, I did everything I could.

I became the youngest National Sales Head the company ever had at the age of 26, with people over 10+ years of experience from the industry reporting to me. The learning curve was huge, and I have to thank my CEO Mr.Shishir Gorle to be able to see that in me and give the opportunities to a young kid with almost no experience in building a business. We grew the business from 5cr to 500 cr as a team. My 3.5 years in Global Innov set me up to run a business, and I have to thank them and my colleagues there for this.

The milestones we Achieved The biggest milestone for us was when we recently pivoted our entire business to be a "Healthy Noodles & Gluten Free Pasta brand" we were very sceptical about this, and the timing was right before the lockdown. But we were confident as we had spoken to many of our customers and they had said that this was our best range, and we should build more products around this. We grew this category by 3x from pre-covid (pre-lockdown) levels in spite of having a severe constraint in supply, manpower & cash. This, I feel, is the most significant milestone in our journey.

People who influenced me professionally There are multiple influences on me professionally.

First my ex-boss Mr Shishir Gorle, he taught a lot of things to me professionally. But one advise of this stayed with me he told me, “Vinod, in business you can hire people to do a whole lot of stuff, but one thing you cannot outsource is, thinking about your business that you have to do it yourself.”

What he meant was that you have people for sales, ops, accounts etc. but strategy and way forward has come from the founders.

Second is my Mentor, Mr Sanjay Mehta, he is an ace investor and someone who has had huge success in his business and now as an Angel investor. One thing Sanjay that I have learnt from Sanjay is "Keep your business profitable and don't be afraid to take BOLD decisions, always think of the time when you started how bold you kept that DAY 1 attitude."

My education and life as a student I am an Engineer, MBA (finance).

As a kid, I loved telling stories and was good at chess, something that helps immensely to build a strategy in business. Summers I used to love to visit my Uncles grocery store and handle the "galla”/Checkout for which I would get one chocolate a day. I didn’t mind it, selling a product thrilled me, and I think that experience stuck with me.

My advice budding entrepreneurs in India Today entrepreneurship is very fashionable, and everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, which actually is very good for a country like ours where we need more job creators than seekers.

But my advice to everyone starting up is this; when your startup doesn't just look at how much money you are going to make that gets boring really fast, think of how passionate you are about the problem? Are you ready to give a lifetime to solve it?

If yes, then go ahead, no one can stop you.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

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CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

EXPERT OPINION

Is it Time for Telcos to Buy a Tesla?

Pravin S Bhandarkar, Founder and CEO, RtBrick

Pravin S Bhandarkar is a technologist with

twenty years of experience across the product

life-cycle spectrum. He has hands-on experience in product architecture, product development,

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product management and positioning of technologies & products generating multi-million-dollar revenue.

Founded by Pravin in 2015, RtBrick has built a full value delivery system for network infrastructure operators. Its offerings include an operating system for driving bare metal network switches, a multitenant continuous integration release platform and a fully integrated cloud-based network visibility, analytics and management system.

Pravin S Bhandarkar

A

nalogies between telecoms networks and road networks are hardly a new thing - just think back to the ‘information superhighway’.

But some new parallels are emerging between the networking and automotive industries.

Cars have run on internal combustion engines for pretty much as long as they have existed. But all that is starting to change with electric vehicles. Similarly, telco networks have been built with integrated hardware and software systems for as long as we can remember. And that is also changing, as carriers become more ‘cloud-native’ and separate hardware from software.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

In ten years, we will all be driving electric vehicles, and our networks will have been disaggregated

Both these shifts have a level of momentum that makes them inevitable. In ten years, we will all be driving electric vehicles, and our networks will have been disaggregated. The only questions that remain are how, when and who will make this happen?

And these questions apply to both industries.

How: Will we move straight to pure electric vehicles, or will hybrid, or even plug-in hybrid cars prevail for a time? Will IP routing software runs on standard x86 computers, alongside other virtualized network functions, or will this turn out to be a halfway house, like the hybrid electric car? We think it’s more likely that networks will use purpose-built networking silicon in bare-metal switches, optimized for power and performance. But that is just our opinion. Our routing software runs on x86 machines too, so we like to think we have an impartial opinion on that one.

When: Is this still next year’s problem, or, like electric vehicles, are some of us already being left behind while others have moved to a new world, with all its benefits of lower cost and greater simplicity? I see plenty of Teslas on the road, not to mention the hybrids that are out there. And we are certainly involved in real-world routing software deployments today, being scaled for millions of subscribers.

Who: And who is going to lead us to the promised land? Will Ford, General Motors and Toyota be able to catch up with Tesla, or is it already too late? Will Cisco, Huawei and Nokia be able to wean themselves off their proprietary hardware businesses and start providing open software? Or will it be the cloud-native startups, like RtBrick and others, who lead the way?

We do not have all the answers yet. But one thing is certain - both industries are on a one-way road to change. Some of us will get there faster than others, but we will all get there eventually. So, next time you change your car, or your network, maybe it is worth joining the next generation of drivers.

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CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Amit Lakhotia, CEO & Founder, Park+

Connecting Commuters to Safe, Secure and Digitized Parking Spaces 68

Founded by Amit Lakhotia, Park+ is a Delhi-based start-up that wants to change the way middleclass and upper-class Indians park their cars. It provides a suite of solutions around parking and more.

With the help of Park+ app, users can discover parking, book their slot as well as other services such as car wash and pay digitally. They also provide RFID based security solutions to apartments and corporate setups. Currently, Park+ has 300+ sites where its systems are installed. In a conversation with CXO Outlook, Amit Lakhotia discusses his entrepreneurship journey, challenges he faced, his plans and much more.

The problems I try to solve through Park+ The entrepreneurial journey has been exciting and monumental. I established Park+ with the simple realization that the average individual in a big city in India spends too much time looking for a safe parking space.

Since this causes unnecessary stress and fuel wastage, I believe we can solve this problem with technology. So, Park+ was launched as a smart parking solution where individuals could book their parking slots like they book movie tickets.

Two of the marquee VCs in India - Sequoia Capital and Matrix Partners, came onboard with us with an 11mn USD funding round. Also, we got backed by key internet entrepreneurs, including Deep Kalra, Rajesh Magow, Ashish Hemrajani, Kunal Bahl, Kunal Shah, etc., to name a few.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

The founding story of the Park+ This idea germinated at Paytm office. There were limited employee parking spaces within the office. There was a Noida authority parking close by which also had few parking slots. So every employee would come with the car to the Paytm office in the morning, check with the guard if there is space in office parking. On hearing no, then he would go to Noida authority parking and check if there are slots. Again hearing no there, he would go to 2-3 more places, and in the end, he would end up parking the car on the road. Most employees would end up wasting 15-20 precious mins every day in the morning. It became more embarrassing when your office visitors struggled for parking! ' Then it looked like it is the story of most corporate employees. Was there a way to check on an app which

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Amit Lakhotia

Everything can get a bit overwhelming, but challenges are easy to overcome with passion - Amit Lakhotia

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Park+ has created a technologically advanced parking service that allows users to discover parking spaces, book their slots, and pay digitally

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tells you parking spaces availability real-time around your office and save the whole morning stress and time wastage!

There were several challenges that we initially faced.

Since we are the first company to digitize parking in the world, we did not have any global benchmarks for inspiration. This has never been done before. We are solving a real-time, on-ground problem which required us to educate customers and clients so they could trust the solution. It is a tough problem to solve since customers who book parking need it immediately. So, we needed to make sure our demand and supply were aligned before we go live.

There are also internal issues like hiring the right people, making sure concepts are turned into on-ground solutions, and people are excited about the solution.

When you just start out, there are organizational issues to address, such as hiring, performance evaluation, setting processes, and simultaneously you are also building your business from the ground up. Everything can get a bit overwhelming, but challenges are easy to overcome with passion.

Services that Park+ offer today Park+ has created a technologically advanced parking service that allows users to discover parking spaces, book their slots, and pay digitally. It is a seamless way to save

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

time on looking for parking spaces, especially in the bustling city.

We also have elaborated corporate solutions to simplify parking for employees. Finding a parking space is one of the biggest issues today an employee faces every morning.

In nearly every trip, you spend 10-15 mins figuring out parking. This is wastage of his time, fuel and builds individual stress. This is his first experience in the office in the morning, and it's bad! Most of this stuff is managed manually and inaccurately today.

Building on this, we have been working actively in Delhi NCR acquiring parking slots and cars. We digitize parking slots in the corporate buildings as well as places around these offices. We have been using a host of technologies - RFID, camera-based, sensors and handheld devices (depending upon the location) to detect the realtime availability of parking slots. This allows a corporate employee to discover real-time availability of parking space on our app within his office and its vicinity.

Right now, we have about 3,00,000 cars with tags in NCR and about 50,000 slots. Some of the biggest corporate setups like Brookfield, DLF, Spaze, Vatika, SP Infocity are already working with us. We are going live with Hiranandani and Equinox in Mumbai and with Divyashree in Bangalore. All employees of Royal Bank of Scotland across India carry our tags on their cars.

When India entered the ‘Unlock’ phase during the COVID-19 outbreak, the focus on digital, contact-less solutions skyrocketed. At this juncture, Park+ launched tech-led social distancing solutions for malls. The service helped malls to track and regulate the entry and exit of customers in malls and stores within the malls by simply scanning a QR code from the customer’s phone. Further allowing a seamless mall-going experience, the service allows customers to book their slots and plan their visit to maintain the number of people inside malls at any given time. Ticketless and contactless parking solutions were also facilitated at malls.

Park+ was also the first company in India to collaborate with the Government of India’s Aarogya Setu app. Through this association, Park+ leverages the individual COVID-19 safety status provided by Aarogya Setu to enhance the efficacy of its social distancing solutions created to curb the spread of the virus. Now, Park+ can deploy the open QR code technology powered by the Aarogya Setu app and all customers need to do is get their Aarogya Setu QR code scanned before entering the mall or a store.

Recently, we also launched a solution where individuals can check their challan status and set reminders when they are near the last day of payment.

This is aimed at reducing the number of challans that are occurring on roads in cities. Plus, the solution also reminds car owners about their PUCC renewals to avoid fines.

The team that I work with Most of the senior leadership at Park+ comprises of individuals who have worked with me previously and fairly relevant experience in scaling their functions earlier. Hitesh runs engineering for us. He was leading the Paytm wallet tech team and helped it scale to a few million transactions per day. Capt Apurv ran the business for us and was with me at MakeMyTrip building B2B distribution earlier. Geetika was also with me at MMT and runs HR for us now. Prasad worked on merchant acquisition at Paytm and leads alliances for us. Ankit comes from Indus Towers and runs operations for us Mistakes I made and Lesson I learnt One of the most important things I've learned is that it is crucial to hire a recruiter from day 1. We tried to make do with consultants in the beginning, but the quality of hires was not up to the mark. So, it is important to bring on board a recruiter who understands and sells your vision to candidates. Moreover, recruitment is much faster, with an in-house HR leader. Apart from this, I have learned that training every sales team member, even senior folks,

is necessary. We must set the right expectations from day one to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Milestones during the years of my journey as an entrepreneur There have been several significant milestones for us since starting out. Onboarding massive clients like Brookfield and Vatika and managing parking for all their properties is perhaps the foremost achievement for us.

We were also thrilled and delighted when we reached 1 lakh app downloads.

More recently, the amazing uptake of our social distancing solutions by major malls across India was a great accomplishment. Park+ is the first app in India to integrate Arogya Setu flow in its flow. This helped in building a lot of confidence in users coming in the malls.

Education and my life as a student I did my bachelor’s degree in computers from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology and pursued an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad.

During my computer engineering course, I took a strong liking to code and invested a lot of time on it. Today, this helps me deeply understand the technological aspects of the business and provide my input where required.

Further, I used to manage running the IIMA souvenir store and managed to turn it around from losses to a small profit within 10 months. Running the souvenir store helped me understand that I like running a business more than anything else. This way, I realized you must do what you love and do it passionately.

People influenced me professionally Deep Kalra, Founder & Group Executive Chairman, MakeMytrip – he was my first boss after my IIM stint.

He is an inspiring individual in that he believes in giving people a fair chance to make mistakes and grow. Even when I was fresh out of IIM, he allowed me to build the business. He understood that I would take some time to find my footing, but he saw the potential. Even now, he is always available as a mentor and is the first person I turn to for advice before making any big career moves.

Plans for the Park+ Our short-term goal is to help people solve their parking problems and thereby, reduce stress save time, and make them feel good. Our overarching vision, however, is to improve the parking situation in societies and entire cities to help authorities with well-planned growth. In the long term, we will continue to build new solutions to become an all-encompassing solution-provider for car owners.

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EXPERT OPINION

Emerging Trends in Residential Real Estate

Rahul Grover, CEO, SECCPL

Rahul Grover comes with a passionate journey in the Real Estate Sector and is known

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for his winning mind. Grover began his career with Siemens as a Management Trainee and since then has been climbing the ladder with some amazing companies namely, KPMG, Protiviti, Prudential PLC, Housing.com and was Founder of SnapGhar – a definitive Group Buying platform in Real Estate. He has successfully served across financial, telecommunication and real estate segments.

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t is a well-established fact that the reality sphere is a prime wing of the nation's economy. As the COVID-19 outbreak affected almost all activities, similarly it brought the real estate industry to a complete stand-still. This mammoth sector has a multiplier effect on over 250 ancillary industries and tends to provide maximum employment in the unorganised section, simultaneously playing a decisive role in churning the GDP. Any mishap witnessed by this gigantic segment leads to severe implications on multiple other businesses.

However, it must be noted that even though the real estate market faced a blow, it was the quickest to bounce back to its upward trajectory.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

With the stock markets booking all-time lows and other areas of finance grappling with this turmoil, there is no better investment than purchasing a property

The pandemic has instilled a sense of uncertainty in the minds of numerous citizens, consequently driving them to purchase a property so that irrespective of the persistent situation they have the safety of their roof to fall back. Further, the various revival measures adopted by the Government in the form of supportive subsidies and beneficial schemes have significantly fuelled the restoration of the realty avenue.

In the wake of the new normal, the industry marked the rise of several new trends and the fall of some trends that hailed from the pre-corona era. Here is a list of a few patterns which are bound to govern the real estate sector in the times to come-

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Homeownership a top priority, especially amongst millennials These indeed are unprecedented times; individuals across the board are striving to drive home feelings of safety, security, and permanency. With the stock markets booking all-time lows and other areas of finance grappling with this turmoil, there is no better investment than purchasing a property.

Further, it has been observed that majority buyers, primarily the younger generation find residential real estate as the best asset class. Millennials in India currently represent around 46% of the total workforce with a spending capacity of around $3.6 billion that will play a pivotal role in the housing market in India, according to a market survey conducted. Their notion is powered by the fact that as compared to other financial investments, property oriented investments show minimum fluctuations and are always backed by the support of Government policies issued in the public interest.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Improved demand for affordable homes With the spread of the virus, it was highly anticipated that the demand for affordable homes would dwindle, keeping in mind the limited income of the segment’s target audience and the continuous rise in unemployment. However, the pandemic had a reversed impact; the desire for the same happened to increase.

Additionally, it led to an expansion in the consumer base, as those buyers who were initially planning on buying large extravagant homes switched to the idea of affordable housing as they felt it’s unsafe to lock-in a huge sum of money during the present scenario.

More about

Rahul Grover Real estate as a whole as has been of keen interest for Rahul Grover and he continues to charm everyone around him with his knowledge of business, technology, process, client management and

people

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skills.

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has helped SECCPL in developing a thriving ecosystem and has changed many dynamics internally. His intelligence and leadership skills let him push the bar and accept challenges along with his team, giving in the capability to manage a monthly sales turnover of Rs. 300 – 350 crore. His mission is no different than that of SECCPL, which is to develop and bring a change in the real estate sector by supporting the Government's initiative of 'Housing for all.'

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Developers with least execution risk This trend again highlights the deep-rooted need for safety within the minds of customers. Homebuyers no longer shy away from paying a premium price for a property to an established developer who has a name in the market. Even though offerings from such construction houses are expensive, they bring with themselves higher degrees of confidence and trust as compared to lower-priced options provided by companies that lack a robust infrastructure, and necessary skills entail higher execution risks.

Increased interest in ready to move-in houses In the light of the coronavirus, the entire nation went under a strict lockdown which hindered the ease of working and performing activities. The loss of livelihood faced by the migrant labourers, who form the cardinal workforce in construction, forced them to return to their hometowns leaving behind an industry without anyone to carry out its operations. As a result of these developments, the projects which were due to be completed got pushed, and buyers had to bear with needless delays. To curb the waiting period and such uncertainties, purchasers are increasingly opting for options which almost completed or are ready for immediate possession.

Redefining technology and design Life in the post COVID era is going to create a shift in residential real estate specifically towards the use of technology, design, and the layout of homes itself. With the new normal bringing in need to work remotely, people are going to need more space within their homes dedicated to a home office or study. Another big change is that customers cannot physically visit a location to choose their ideal homes, which would require technological dependence to fulfil this void. From design to construction to selling and financing, technology will play a major role in the residential sector going forward.

Given all the above factors, the question remains whether investing in property is a good idea this year? The answer is definitely yes! As always, real estate remains an attractive asset to invest in and a secure one at that. With no fluctuation in prices and several discounts on home loans, the time to buy a house has never been better.

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CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Shivjeet Ghatge, Co-Founder & CEO, StepSetGo

Rewarding to be Physically Fit 76

Co-founded by Shivjeet Ghatge, StepSetGo is India’s first fitness app to reward the users for walking. While the brand is already motivating users to stay indoors and fit amidst the lockdown, with their latest offering on their app, StepSetGo is encouraging the consumer to up-skill as well by simply walking. StepSetGo is one of the market leaders in the fitness-rewarding space. The app has collaborated with leading brands like Bajaj Avenger, Apple, Boat, Skechers, Puma, and Decathlon, among others to reward its users and encourage them to stay healthy. Launched in January 2019, they are constantly focusing on encouraging their users to stay fit. In a conversation with CXO Outlook, Shivjeet Ghatge talks about his journey as an entrepreneur, challenges he faced, plans for StepSetGo and many more.

My journey as an entrepreneur My journey has been quite an interesting one right from the time I chose to be an entrepreneur. From juggling, many different ideas to zeroing down to a completely new and innovative idea was an amalgamation of a great challenge but an exciting one. With close to 8 years of experience in advertising, I always knew that I wanted to be my own boss. I wanted to build a brand that was completely conceived and nurtured by my passion for it. During my advertising stint, while working on a few projects and consulting for various medium-sized family businesses on their branding and advertising needs, the

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

idea of StepSetGo was born from a joke that simply stated: "the gym should pay me to work out!". This then led to brainstorming and thorough research. Abhay, Misaal and I went through a dozen ideas, and made five full-fledged business models, before stumbling onto, the (at that time) final version of StepSetGo that we knew, was a winner.

With fitness routines, comes a certain amount of lethargy combined with the lack of motivation which was the problem we wanted to address. I got a gym membership but was never consistent with my workouts for some or the other reason. We observed and found multiple stories where fitness became an added chore for people

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Shivjeet Ghatge

The motto is to make fitness accessible and exciting to all, and the app has successfully achieved that in a very short period.

- Shivjeet Ghatge

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to follow. We understood that we needed a concept that would seamlessly make fitness a part of people’s lives without becoming a burden. There was a huge scope to make it exciting and engaging. We wanted to get people excited about their fitness journey and instantly understood the correlation between Fitness, Gamification, Rewards, and Habit Formation.

StepSetGo is aimed to eliminate the ‘lack of motivation’ that most people face while trying to stick to a regular fitness regime. It is a free application available on your Google play store and Apple store that rewards users in the form of SSG coins (StepSetGo’s in-app currency) by simply counting the number of steps walked. The different gamification elements have kept users glued to the app. These include various individual and social challenges, level progression, and games that unlock more lives with the number of steps you take, etc. The app also gives you access to other members of the SSG fitness community where users can locate relatives, friends, family members, and colleagues to compete, encourage, and tease to stay fit together. Since its inception in Jan 2019, the app has seen a steady rise in the activity metrics of its active users that include everyone from a college student to a 60-year-old retired army general. The motto is to make fitness accessible and exciting to all, and the app has successfully achieved that in a very short period.

The Challenges I faced Our biggest challenge was making sure the application was simple enough for everyone to use. Our target market was anyone with a smartphone, so we had to ensure everyone, irrespective of age, gender, literacy, etc. could understand the concept. Making an app that caters to the general population was tough, but what happened after we finally launched the application proved that we had done a decent job. The application grew from 100 users to approximately 6 million users in less than 2 years. More than 95% of this growth has come through organic means and word of mouth publicity. We see apps spending more than they can hope to earn in marketing (post-funding). We wanted to make sure the platform worked not just on a usability standpoint but also on the business side.

All three of us believe in a simple concept, if your business is not capable of making money, it's not a business, it’s a hobby. We wanted to have enough features (other than the rewards) to engage the users after they started their journey on StepSetGo.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Services that StepSetGo offers today StepSetGo primarily rewards the user for staying fit simply by counting steps and converting your steps into SSG coins. It tracks your calories and steps walked during the day. It offers you a closed social community that is focused on one goal, i.e. leading a healthier lifestyle. The community also drives social competition which further motivates users to be active. The Bazaar section on the app is where the user can redeem the SSG coins. There’s a plethora of brands from sports, beauty, online learning platforms, gadgets, etc. to choose from. Overall StepSetGo ensures the user's fitness journey is simple, fun, social, and engaging.

StepSetGo has received dozens of success stories where people have lost a considerable amount of weight and rewarded themselves. Recently, StepSetGo has had an opportunity to applaud 8 users who dedicatedly walked towards staying fit, lost weight, and redeemed Apple iPhones.

The Team that I work with If we talk about the co-founders, all three of us have taken up responsibilities based on our strengths and expertise. I look into the finances, marketing, and business development which are the areas of my core competence. Abhay Pai, Chief Technology Officer, looks after the infrastructure, development, and support of the app, and Misaal Turakhia, Chief Product Officer, handles the technical aspects of the product, design & UX, and app development. As far as qualifications are considered, I have worked for over a decade in business development and marketing, while both Abhay and Misaal come from a technical background and have had years of experience in their respective fields. We came together for this very reason. We realized that these were the three main verticals we needed to start this venture. As our organization grew, we were quick to accept that we would need to bring in a lot more people to not only grow our venture but also fill in the gaps. It was a unanimous decision that every new hire would be treated as a team member and not an employee and that every member of the company must constantly contribute to the growth of StepSetGo. We have a team of young people who work dedicatedly towards the aim of making the platform reach newer heights in the least amount of time possible, all guided and lead by a senior person with experience in that particular field. We

deliberately avoided having a strict hierarchy in place or giving designations that denote authority to ensure that all decisions are made with a discussion across the board with every single team member involved. Every aspect of our brand is considered a shared responsibility for the whole organization. We have inculcated a work culture that makes each member believe that he is part of a team that built this venture and it is this sense of ownership, responsibility, and pride that makes our business run smoothly.

The mistakes we made and the lessons we learnt Most of StepSetGo's early problems are defined by most as 'good problems' for a company to have. Because in less than 2 years, we have already established ourselves as one of the market leaders in the health and fitness space and our marketing spends has been next to nothing. So, when it comes to awkward stumbles, I would say there were things such as: 1) Three co-founders replying to support emails throughout the night because the application has a team to user ratio of 1:1,00,000. Trust me, this is not easy when the team size is 4 people.

2) Users not trusting the authenticity of the application because the app did not have banner ads.

3) Essentially, rebuilding the application because the app was built without considering how it will work when the number of downloads multiplies 10 times over a month.

The biggest and the most unexpected lesson for us was just how much attention a service that solves a problem in a new way can attract. StepSetGo's organic user growth in its first year is a testimony of this.

My education and life as a student I went to a school that was based on the teachings of J. Krishnamurti. It was a boarding school (and this is the best part) that did not have exams till the 10th grade. The school didn't believe in inter-school competition, and a lot of attention was given to self-learning. We were pushed to think for ourselves and form our own opinions rather than being told what to think. This transcends into how I manage my team. I give everyone as much responsibility as possible to approach a problem in the way they see fit. Sometimes things do go sideways, and I am more than happy to help get things back on track, but I have seen that most times the solutions brought forward by the team are more optimized versions of previously tried techniques.

Since we didn't have the pressure of exams until the 10th grade, I remember being glued to the J.R.R Tolkien's - 'The Return Of The King' just two hours before I had to go for my biology exam, I'm talking about the 10th standard ICSE board exam here. This didn't help us get the 90/100 marks that are looked at as a norm nowadays, but we fell between the 70 and 80 percentiles, and it didn't matter in the larger scheme of things. This, in itself, was an important lesson. Added stress or pressure doesn't solve problems, and overdoing anything tends to have diminishing returns. This structure is prevalent in the office. Even though there might be 100 deadlines coming up, the atmosphere is always light. As the one in charge of your team, you get to decide the tone and mood for everyone else. If you are calm, composed, and not showing signs of stress, your team will follow suit.

People who influenced me professionally I have never really been awed by the Bill Gates or the Jeff Bezos's of the world instead I have always been fascinated by people who ran small to medium-size enterprises, achieved a fabulous work-life balance, and reaped the benefits of their work. I had the fortune of witnessing a bunch of people around me, who were equally passionate about their businesses as they were for leading a good life. My uncle, who runs a construction company, did not have hectic office hours but he would always be connecting everyday occurrences to his work. For example, how an upcoming holiday should be connected to a newspaper ad. Showcasing that even though he might not be physically present at the office, he was always trying to grow his business. He also made time to travel the world and indulge in expensive hobbies, in his case sports cars. A successful entrepreneur for me meant someone who was equally successful in living his life to the fullest. Essentially what I am saying is that I believe someone is successful if they can look back at life at the age of 70 and say 'I would do it all over again if I had to'.

My plans for the StepSetGo I think being a bootstrapped company; StepSetGo has come a long way. We have been able to see the results by having the user's active engagement on the app and a series of testimonials that don't stop appreciating and acknowledging the concept that we have introduced. It is an overwhelming experience to see an idea come to life.

Going forward, we aim to create a holistic fitness brand with a consistent objective of building a community that thrives on staying healthy.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

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EXPERT OPINION

Post-COVID Cloud Data Platform to Play a Major Role in the Financial Services

Vimal Venkatram, Country Manager, India, Snowflake

An experienced executive with over 15 years

in the information technology industry, Vimal

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Venkatram is responsible for growing Snowflake's business in India. Vimal specialises in data management solutions across all verticals such as retail, manufacturing and financial services, and has a deep regional experience, especially in India and Southeast Asia. He is currently based in Singapore and will be based in Mumbai subsequently.

Vimal Venkatram

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inancial services institutions are launching digital transformation initiatives and migrating to the cloud. With growing customer demands and stringent compliance and regulatory standards, financial services institutions stand to benefit from leveraging the capabilities offered by cloud data platforms.

Organisations which adopted cloud strategies have seen significant improvement in efficiency, reduction of costs, and decreased downtimes.

With the recent disruption and large-scale lockdown measures due to COVID-19, the mobility, security and scalability of cloud data platforms further highlighted its value to the businesses. While the full extent of COVID-19's economic impact is yet to unfold, organisations are now recognising the need to accelerate digital transformation strategies to prepare for the next disruption.

From online bank transactions to insurance claims, financial services institutions generate large volumes of data

According to the National Association of Software and Service Companies' (NASSCOM) latest report, the cloud market is set to cross $7 billion by 2022.

As one of the early adopters of the technology, organisations within the financial sector have been reaping the benefits of migrating to the cloud. The report further mentions how the financial sector could offer real-time, highvolume and high-performance transactions across multiple channels by adopting cloud.

This trend can be validated by the latest 'FinTech & Digital Banking 2025' (Asia Pacific) report by Backbase and IDC that states - in India, 70% of the Tier-I and Tier-II banks will regularly access third-party data and insights, as they strengthen their efforts around offering personalised customer strategies. Now, this is a significant percentage of the projected $7 billion cloud market as reported

by NASSCOM. The additional benefit that the financial sector could benefit from migrating to the cloud is that of customer security.

As per the latest disclosure from RBI - the total number of frauds reported by scheduled commercial banks and select FIs during Financial Year 2019-20 is 84,545, and the amount involved therein is â‚š1,85,772.42 crore. The immediate solution of the hour is for financial institutions to migrate to a secure cloud data platform to ensure smoother and efficient scanning of crucial data inputs and help with accurate analysis of the same. This is a major loop that an efficient cloud service provider can fill.

From online bank transactions to insurance claims, financial services institutions generate large volumes of data. The insights that can be derived from these data has the potential to improve efficiency and security, enhance customer experience and create innovative products and services.

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More about

Vimal Venkatram Before joining Snowflake in 2019, Vimal led the retail and manufacturing businesses for Mulesoft, a Salesforce company, across Southeast Asia. He also previously held senior positions with Oracle and Citrix. Vimal has a Bachelor's degree in Economics from St. Xavier's College in Mumbai and an MBA from the Welingkar Institute of Management in Mumbai. He is also a professional Tabla player who has performed on the global stage, trained under legends Ustad Alla Rakha and Pandit Arvind Mulgaonkar.

Here are three ways financial services companies can benefit from a cloud data platform:

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1. Better Customer Experience Today's consumers are looking for unique and personalised customer experience. For some customers, personalisation can be a deciding factor whether the business relationship will continue or not. With access to a massive volume of consumer data, banks and financial institutions have the opportunity to deliver a personalised experience to customers.

For a personalisation strategy to be successful, full visibility into customer interactions in real-time is fundamental. With the help of cloud platforms, businesses can house all types of data such as clickstream, transactional and third-party data in one secure place. Also, cloud data platforms can ingest structured and unstructured data coming from various sources, including customer relationship management systems, customer transactions and the Internet of Things. With data converging on one platform, organisations can gain a 360-degree view of customer behaviour and preferences from multiple inputs.

With this capability, organisations can pinpoint highvalue customers and ensure they have a good experience at every touchpoint.

2. New Sources of Revenue Cloud data platforms offer direct and secure sharing of data without the complexity, cost and risk associated with legacy data warehouses. With simpler, enhanced data sharing, financial institutions leverage public data sets by adding new business lines of data products and services.

For instance, offering a stand-alone data product to data consumers can open new revenue streams. Financial services companies that collect tick-by-tick stock market data is an example of this. Using cloud data platforms,

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

these financial data vendors can create data projects that they can sell to hedge funds.

On the other hand, with insights derived from customer transactions, spending and payment patterns and product inquiries, banks can create new consumer products and services that address specific customer needs. By breaking through barriers between disparate data systems, cloud platforms empower companies to find new sources of revenue and expand business opportunities.

3. Mitigate Fraud and Risk Financial services organisations are under constant attack from cyber threats and fraudsters. With high costs involved, financial institutions cannot afford the risk of being unprepared. As cloud data platforms can ingest and analyse various data types, it can serve as the first line of defence against cyberattacks. With automatic and infinite scalability, per-second compute pricing, and low storage costs, financial institutions can affordably store petabytes of historical data and index all of their cybersecurity, anti-fraud, and machine- and customergenerated data. With the use of advanced data analytics, banks and financial services, institutions can use detection rules and enhanced visualisations to pick up aberrations in transactions.

Combined with high-volume data storage, In-depth finance data analytics can help detect risks quickly, often in real-time. The result is higher data security, costeffective investigations, and earlier detection.

A cloud data platform provides the foundation on which companies can build a technology stack that will deliver business agility and growth. For financial services companies aiming to deliver a unique, personalised customer experience, gain higher profitability and establish stronger security measures, having the right data infrastructure and tools is a step in the right direction.

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CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

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How a 24-YearOld is Creating an Industry for Influencer Marketing from a MAD Idea Founded by Gautam Madhavan, Mad Influence is India’s Fastest Growing Influencer Marketing Platform working with over 10000+ Influencers across India. The company brings talents, content creators, influencers and brands together to do awesome things together.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

ge doesn't equal success, and no one knows that more than the young entrepreneurs. A serial entrepreneur, Gautam Madhavan, Founder of MAD Influence, completed his education from Dyal Singh College and had founded ‘Go Dutch’, a famous reward-based crowdfunding platform firm.

Previously working in AIESEC, he had served as the Vice President at the Delhi Youth Forum, which further expanded as the India Youth Foundation.

As a student, Gautam was more inclined towards extracurricular activities when compared to studies but still managed to secure 1st rank in his college. “During my schooling, I used to organize club parties, which I consider as a start in my entrepreneurial journey”, says Gautam.

A complete 360-degree influencer marketing company, MAD Influence was started in 2018. The idea came to Gautam when he was the Director of the Global Partnership Summit 2017 of 10 speakers that had around 3000 delegates from 25 countries, out of which his department was responsible for 1500 of them. Gautam reminisces, “That day of the event I realized, if there can be 1500 odd people coming from various countries to witness 10 people just because of their Influence and impact, how about I create an army of 10000 influential people with me and impact the world? It was a Mad idea, so I named us MAD Influence".

When Gautam started MAD, he found it very difficult to source new influencers because of the lack of trust in the market, as the concept of the influencer market was fairly new. The knowledge in this market was so less that though people had been working in advertising for years, they were being hired as freshers. "Influencer marketing was not a priority for Brand Strategists, and even now it's not, but things have changed over the years drastically", quips Gautam. So, workshops around Delhi were conducted for influencers, teaching them how to create content, monetize, and grow. Apart from adding value, branding campaigns helped MAD Influence in building a community.

"We replicated this in other cities as well like Mumbai and Chandigarh. We

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During my schooling, I used to organize club parties, which I consider as a start in my entrepreneurial journey

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also help influencers with their content production, which makes them speed up this entire process of influencer marketing", adds Gautam.

Another thing that is of constant struggle in the field of Influencer Marketing is Cash Flow. Gautam points out, "We have to pay the influencers on time, but the clients end up paying the money very late because if we don't pay our creators on time, we lose credibility".

Figuring out a financial cycle, Gautam worked on a mutual agreement that eventually solved the cash flow problem for MAD Influence.

MAD Influence being completely digital, online media played a very important role in the company’s growth when it came to reaching out to the right influencers or right brands. Having served major brands like Emami Group, ITC Group, Dharma Production, TikTok, Alt Balaji, T-series, Vivo, Hotstar, Alibaba.com, HCL, Sony Music, to name a few, MAD Influence has about 10,000+ influencers with 10M outreach, serving 50+ brands across 20+ cities.

CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020

Overall a humbling experience, Gautam found it fun to work with industry leaders who have so much experience.

He recalls, “Stakeholders, in the beginning, didn't believe it when I went to them with a proposal that solves the problem as they doubted me seeing my age. Eventually, I got through with them because Talent beats any age."

Building various products for the internet to support MAD Influence, a dedicated dashboard is being built for influencers and brands, which is completely automated and makes the process much smoother and reliable, giving real-time analytics. The company is also building products that can help influencer marketing experience in the visual world through VR/AR technology. Advising aspiring entrepreneurs, Gautam concludes, “The future is Tech and Tech is the future. If you can solve a real-life problem and add value to the community. Just go for it – don’t think twice. The opportunity cost is what you forgo to achieve something big in the coming future. But be patient, because success doesn’t come overnight, it comes with hardcore work and passion”.

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CXO OUTLOOK Sept-Oct 2020