CATEGORIES

Decoding Design

We are now witnessing an ‘entrepreneurial economy’ characterized by DICE – Design, Innovation and Creativity-led Entrepreneurship. Our chosen few companies’ primary focus has been to deal with products which are extremely high in design and innovation. The ensuing pages will take you across three sets of people. The most creative people like Dilip Chhabria, Anita Dongre and Raseel Gujral, who were probably born to be designers. The other set is people who drive design and innovation as part of a family business. Here, we capture the stories of brands like Park Hotels, Cremica, Da Milano, Amrut Distilleries. Our third set includes the creators, who have built a name for themselves, including our very own Chota Bheem, Good Earth, Massive Restaurants and the upcoming start-up Naapa Dori. One thing common among all these brands is they have managed to retain Indianness still finding a global fit, owing to which they belong everywhere. 

Empowering Rural India With bank-in-a-box

Starting with a predominant share of corporate banking business, IDFC Bank received a universal banking licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in July 2015 and started operating from October 1, 2015. Being a start-up in itself, the Bank expects its initiative, ‘Bharat banking’, a rural banking unit, to become a Rs 15,000 crore business in five years. In a bid to instil entrepreneurial qualities among the youth, the Bank has started various programs for start-ups. Entrepreneur caught up with the founder and CEO of IDFC Bank, Dr. Rajiv Lall, to know more about their initiatives to promote the start-up culture in India.

Pick Up the Damn Phone

We see you hiding behind text and emails. Yeah, you. Stop it. Here’s why.

What's your problem? Get Back, Chargeback!

Can a small-business owner ever win the battle against credit card companies?

How To Build A Successful Business Model From Scratch

I discovered the entrepreneur in me, quite accidentally.

The Comeback Specialist

Rise, Fall, Bounce Back... Repeat! Our Munna Bhai Aka Sanju Baba Has Made This Phrase a Neo-normal. But, for This Man the Cookie Doesn’t Crumble! 

Batting Away The Blues

Yuvraj Singh, Cricketer, Investor and Entrepreneur

Acquiring The Killer Instinct

New age technology businesses are silent killers. Major chunk of the start-ups that were gobbled over last few years are buried gradually or left almost lifeless to accelerate inorganic scale of the company. That may come even at the expense of a growing product before it gets sucked in. The rise and fall of the digital payment app FreeCharge is aligned with that thought. Such dead ends for start-ups are result of poor planning by acquirers or there is more to this than meets the eye?

Top 9 Mantras to Become a Successful Hotelier

As Seth Godlin said, “Be genuine, be remarkable, be worth connecting with.”

First Comes Love, Then Comes Launching A Business

Cofounders often joke that their relationship is as complicated as a marriage. Three coping techniques for when your cofounder is your better half.

The Cashless King

The Man Who Wrote the Slow Death of Cash.

What's Choking India's Rise in Ease of Doing Business?

India’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) ranking slingshot to 131 last year from 142 in 2014, thanks to the immediate reforms kicked in by the Modi government, after coming into power. However, as the dust of the economic euphoria settled down, despite a barrage of new initiatives pressed into action over last 12 months, it has failed to translate the impact onto the rankings this year.

The Head-And-Tail Of Bitcoin Bubble

Bitcoin’s valuation is currently frothier than your morning hot cup of coffee. It ain’t like any other bubble in the past, claims the global economists. In definitive terms, in a fraction of time it obliterated even the year 2000 dot-com bubble (biggest in recent history) by spiraling more than twice its value. That’s what market pundits have been saying vociferously and freaking out over looming danger of financial doomsday. But the young industry players continue to see only real coffee and no froth at all.

Do You Have It In You? The Illogical DNA

As an Ivy League educated investment banker in the US, life couldn’t have been better. The high life of working and partying hard, and spending even harder was all too consuming.

Revolutionizing Satiety In A Bar

Back in 2014, when Anindita Sampat was in New York, working with Ernst & Young, and her younger sister Suhasini was pursuing an exchange program at Wharton Business School, they became obsessed with trekking.

The Wind Beneath Her Wings

Tulsi Tanti had built a company that was then the market leader in the renewable energy space. But to hold that position with the changing times required the current generation to bring in new energy and get people to buy into it. As they say, it’s easy to create a new setup but the difficult part is to bring in changes to that existing setup. For Nidhi, it wasn’t easy to find her place in the business but it was her grit and persistence that didn’t let her lose focus.

₹100 Cr.

The #OnePlus6 has crossed Rs 100 Crore in revenue within the first 10 Mins of the first sale

Life Beyond Banking

When we met Naina Lal Kidwai at her luxuriously done farmhouse in Sultanpur, Delhi, she came across as warm, graceful, yet feisty and unapologetic when it comes to speaking her mind. Much before women empowerment became the buzzword, Kidwai was one of the iconic leaders India ever had. She was the first Indian woman to go to Harvard Business School, head a foreign investment bank and become the president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. At 61, retired from her role as a banker, she spends most of her time advocating for women issues and environment concerns. We visited her days after the release of her second book ‘Survive or Sink’. During the interaction, she spoke at length about issues which are close to her heart.

There's No Substitute To Getting The Right People

Prajodh Rajan, the Co-founder and CEO of EuroKids International, gives tips on building a successful business, especially in the pre-school sector.

The Small Town Dazzler

Small towns, simple people and their simpler lifestyle! The zing of beauty that adds that special touch of grace and class is not given much heed to in a small town, especially in the middle class families. But, with the rise of India’s urban middle class society, their aspirational needs have now grown stronger which sadly aren’t met with the adequate facilities available in a small town. Vadodara-based Mitalie Mange is among the very few wellness managers in the city who are trying to make that difference.

Incourt Legal News Like Never Before

While we cannot be very sure if Indian legal sector will ever witness an ‘Uber Moment’ but yes, we are very sure that there has been a major disruption in this section. After the start-up boom, back in 2015, ventures started off in almost every field. However, nothing major came up in the legal sector. Concepts came, ventures started but those mostly dealt with the traditional service part or providing easy database or search engines for law. There hasn’t been anything which could look at the grass root level when it comes to legal literacy of an ordinary man. There has been nothing that aims to bring change in the way legal picture is looked at in general.

Changing The World Of Ads

NAVEEN TIWARI l FOUNDER AND CEO, INMOBI

Creating History In Electric Cars With $100

PADMASREE WARRIOR l CEO, NIO US

“Competition In Lending Space Will Take Another 10-15 Years”

Digitization is set to revolutionize the lending space through various means of technology for credit assessment. Banks are already facing competition from online lending platforms that are creating marketplaces to pull borrowers and investors away from the need of a traditional bank. These lending platforms are driving revenue and growth through their website and app with data driven analysis. The technology wave in the lending sector has brought about major disruptions that seem to be just the beginning.

Bringing Transparency In Real Estate

Real Estate has always been looked upon as one of the most complex ventures with people losing their life’s savings and making wrong decisions while buying or renting houses. So, Arpit Mittal decided to break this nexus, which led him to formulate Roofpik.

Gearing The Smart Wearable Market

Today, the Indian wearable market is booming to 2.5 million units per year. With that, this market has opened up opportunity for start-ups and established brands equally. Accordingly, Anand Sundararaj founded KoDwell Technology that creates several patent products for wide range of consumers like the fashion designing toolkit for visually impaired, The Idiot Buzzosmart jackets, internet of hospitals – Anagha Monitoring System and KoMoney. Let’s find out how they did it.

Bootlegger!...Quite Legally

With benches and tables dotting the dual-level space and simple yet creative drinks, Shreyas Patel aims to bring out the old ‘Bangalore’ vibe through Bootlegger. Starting with their first venture in Lavelle Road, they have now opened their second pub in Indiranagar and planning for further expansion.

It's Never Too 'Early' To Code

Computer programmer and artificial intelligence (AI) expert Tanmay Bakshi has developed multiple apps, published a book, hosted a TEDx Talk and even spoke at IBM Watson summits across the globe. There is nothing extraordinary about it...

Actress-Producer Anushka Sharma

Making her mark on-screen and behind the scenes.

Will Indian P2P Lending Hit The Wall In The Long Run? 

The recent mushrooming of P2P lending websites in India has just made credit much more accessible to everyone, eliminating the lengthy paperwork and cumbersome process. While this is a boon for borrowers, lenders may find themselves in hot water in times very soon to come.