Earlier this month, when Ratan Naval Tata (RNT) invested an undisclosed sum in Ola Electric, this was the second time he was backing the fledging electric vehicle (EV) business. He had first invested in Mission: Electric as the experimental programme by Ola was then termed, for deploying EVs and infrastructure, in 2017. Till date, Tata, also chairman-emeritus at Tata Sons) has invested in 43 start-ups. These include high-growth companies such as Ola, Paytm, Lenskart, UrbanClap and Urban Ladder. Nearly half of these have gone on to raise follow-on funding, a key measure of success.

Publication : Business Standard

Date : May 29, 2019

As the e-commerce sector matures in the region, production will become a key area for businesses to get right in order to achieve quality at scale, save on cost, and improve output. Enter the cost-effective consultant. Hire in-house, save money, ramp up productivity, and keep continuity flowing through each project. Once upon a time, I could see how this was the most effective way to run a business; growing talent internally rather than outsourcing to consultants or freelancers, often considered the pricier alternative.

Publication : Entrepreneur

Date : May 29, 2019

Online home design startup Livspace raised an undisclosed amount from Ingka Group, the franchise partner of Swedish furniture giant Ikea, besides picking up a minority stake in the company. We plan to use the funds to develop new home interior solutions and products while expanding our offline presence, Livspace said in a statement. Ingka Group, which operates 367 Ikea stores worldwide, including the Hyderabad store in India, made the investment through Ingka Investments. This is Ikea’s first investment in India. Livspace received around under $15 million, one person privy to the development told BloombergQuint requesting anonymity.

Publication : Bloomberg Quint

Date : May 29, 2019

Building an Amazon Store helps drive shopper engagement with a customized destination to help customers learn more about your brand. This is a free, self-service option that was introduced in 2017, and Amazon has been releasing new features and capabilities since its launch.We often tell our clients that it’s a no-brainer when it comes to having an Amazon Store for their brand. The main benefits of an Amazon Store include: (i) Ease of creation and use, (ii) A multipage experience for shoppers to learn more about your brand and products, (iii) Integrated promotional features.

Publication : Entrepreneur 

Date : May 29, 2019

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has proposed to formulate a national retail policy to support growth of domestic trade, an official said. This proposal is part of the 100-day action plan prepared by the department, under the commerce and industry ministry, for the new government. “A national retail policy will be formulated to support development of the sector that would benefit 65 million small traders,” the official said. In February, the subject of domestic or internal trade was shifted to DPIIT from the consumer affairs ministry, which was earlier the nodal agency for regulating the fast-growing sector.

Publication : The Hindu Business Line

Date : May 29, 2019

The startup bug has bitten India and the country is well on its way to become the next global innovation hub like Silicon Valley. Already the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, India has a thriving pool of 49K startups. Hungry to create the next big thing, thousands more are joining the wave every year. But most startups cannot cope with the frenzy of fund-raising, securing deals and acquiring customers; 90% of Indian startups are failing in the first five years.

Publication : Inc.42

Date : May 29, 2019

This week saw an exciting variety of news in the business and political world weave in the news channels and newspapers. The 17th Lok Sabha elections saw landslide victory of the BJP. Not only have they made a thumbing comeback but have also given India a start to the next five years which seem more hope-filled than ever. BJP’s comeback in India and how the way will be paved for the Indian start-up ecosystem is something that must be left on the mercy of time.However, the future remains full of possibilities. The last five years saw a mega transformation in the way the Indian start-up community is perceived.

Publication : Entrepreneur

Date : May 29, 2019

Another wave of consolidation has hit the Indian ecommerce industry as smaller etailers struggle to stay afloat. After collectively racking up around $400 million in investor capital, in the past few months a clutch of smaller online marketplaces such as Shop-Clues, Craftsvilla, Voonik, Wooplr and Elanic are shutting shop, pivoting their business model or opting for outright sale.Most of these web retailers were targeting non-metro shoppers and selling wares from smaller merchants. But with the growth of the Indian ecommerce market slowing and Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart dominating the industry, the second tier of etailers is now faced with an existential crisis.

Publication : The Economic Times

Date : May 29, 2019