December January| 2020 | 2021
In conversation with
Kuntal Malia ( The Co-founder of StyleNook. ) Artificial Intelligence | Fashion | Personalisation
Google Earth VR | Taha Sherif. 10 | How to write an effective cover letter | Pg. 28 |
Salesforce buys Slack in a $27.4B deal. | Pg. 14 |
1 | Techfastly | January 2021
Ways AI Can Be Used in Marketing Anjali Prabhanjanan | Pg.55
Google Earth VR
In Pg.18 Conversation with Kuntal Malia The Pros and Cons of Self Drivinvg Cars | Pg. 31 |
Taha Sherif | Pg.10
Difference Between Aggregators And Platforms | Pg. 35 |
How to Write an Effective Cover Letter
Tesla hits a $500 billion market cap | P. 39 |
Zoya Lakhani | Pg.28
How Do Venture Capital Companies Work? Anjali Prabhanjanan | Pg.4
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Brave Browser Might Dethrone Chrome | Pg. 43 | WhatsApp’s New Shopping Button for Business Accounts | Pg. 51 | Salesforce buys Slack in a $27.4B deal. | Pg. 14 |
A note from the editor
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Email: mail@tecfastly.com
Dear readers I’m glad to present you with Techfastly’s latest new year edition. To begin with, I wish you a great year ahead. At Techfastly, we have been working really hard to ensure that we keep bringing you articles and interviews that are rich in concepts, analysis, and insights. This edition is no different to our previous editions in that regard. We have published an article that deeply delves into the sudden rise of Tesla’s and how it has achieved an astounding $500 billion market cap. We have another article on WhatsApp’s new shopping button for businesses: what it means, how it can be leveraged by businesses, and this feature’s strategic importance. Our featured interview is with Kuntal Malia, cofounder of StyleNook, a personalized recommendation fashion service for the Indian Woman.We discuss how StyleNook leverages AI, Augmented Intelligence, and human stylists to suggest personalized clothes and accessories to choose from. It was an empowering discussion. Here is your edition. Do read it, enjoy it, and nourish in the knowledge. And again, a very happy new year to you. Sincerely, Srikant Rawat
Chief Operating Officer Techfastly
3 | Techfastly | January 2021
1 How Do Venture
Capital Companies Work? Anjali Prabhanjanan 4 | Techfastly | January 2021
What is VC? Where do VC firms get the money to Invest? A venture capitalist (VC) is a private equity investor that provides funds or capital to startups and companies exhibiting high growth potential in exchange for an equity stake. It could be funding startup ventures or supporting small companies wishing to expand but doesn’t have access to equities markets. Venture capitalists are willing to risk investing
in companies as they earn a massive return on investments (ROI) if these companies are a success. The VCs experience high rates of failure because of the uncertainty involved in unproven and new companies. Usually, the Venture Capitalists are formed as limited partnerships (LP) wherein the partners invest in the VC fund. Usually, the fund has a committee that is tasked with making investment decisions. Once the promising emerging growth companies have been identified, the pooled investor capital is deployed to fund these firms in exchange for a sizable stake of equity. Contrary to public opinion, VCs don’t usually fund the startups from the onset. Instead, they seek to target the firms, which are a stage where they are looking to commercialize their idea. The VC fund will buy a stake in these firms to nurture their growth and look to cash out with a substantial ROI. Some renowned venture capitalists include Peter Fenton, an investor in Twitter, Jim Breyer, an early Facebook investor, 5 | Techfastly | January 2021
Jeremy Levine, the largest investor in Pinterest. Peter Theil, the co-founder of PayPal and Facebook’s first angel investor, turned a $500K cheque into over $1 billion in cash. Tim Draper is an example
of a VC who built a great fortune by investing early in risk companies in modern tech and social media giants such as Skype, Twitter, and Ring. Venture capitalists look for a unique product or
service with a strong competitive advantage, a strong management team, and a large potential market. Also, they look for opportunities in industries that are familiar with and have a chance to own a large percentage of the company that can influence its direction. What are the different types of Financing? There are three principal types of venture capital:
6 | Techfastly | January 2021
1. Early-stage financing It has three sub-divisions: 1) Seed financing is a small amount that an entrepreneur receives to be eligible for a startup loan. 2) First stage financing is for companies that have spent all their starting capital and need finance to begin business activities at full-scale 3) Startup financing is given to companies to
finish the development of products and services. 2. Expansion financing It is categorized into three sub-types: 1) Second-stage Financing is provided to companies to begin their expansion. 2) Bridge financing is provided as a short-term interest-only finance option as well as a form of monetary assistance to companies employing the
Initial Public Offers (IPO) as a major business strategy.
which everyday people interact with, such as apps, instead of funds that invest 3) Third stage financing in power plants. Venture or mezzanine financing is Capital firms fund different provided to help a company businesses, including expand in a great way. dotcom companies, biotech, and peer-to3. Acquisition/buyout peer finance companies. financing Generally, they open up a fund, take in the money It is categorized into from high-net-worth acquisition finance and individuals, companies management or leveraged seeking alternative buyout financing to help a company acquire certain parts or an entire company. The management or leveraged buyout financing helps a management group to obtain a particular product of another company. The Portfolio Approach Recent advances in technology make VC more accessible and cheaper to start new businesses that have helped increase funding opportunities. Additionally, they invest in startups, 7 | Techfastly | January 2021
investment exposure, and other venture funds. Then they invest the money into numerous smaller startups known as the VC fund’s portfolio companies. Diversification is a technique that involves reducing the risk by allocating investments across several industries, financial instruments, and other categories. It