Startups Corner

2018 was a year of unicorns. India added eight unicorns to its kitty, the highest in a single calendar year. Swiggy, OYO, Paytm Mall, Udaan, Policy Bazaar, Zomato, Freshworks and Byju's were the eight startups that crossed $1 billion in valuation.   In the most recent example, Swiggy executed definitive agreements for a $1 billion funding round led by Naspers and saw new investors -- Tencent, Hillhouse Capital and Wellington Management Company coming on board.   The unicorns are also...

Lyft CEO John Zimmer admits that a few years back he got depressed when he realized that Uber had 30 times more cash than his company.     "I didn't know what to do ... I got overwhelmed with the things I couldn't control," Zimmer told CNN's Laurie Segall. During that period, he said, he was "slow to lead." Zimmer eventually came out of his funk. And Lyft not only survived, it filed plans just last week to go public. But Zimmer's experience of feeling defeated at a critica...

When Jamie Beaton and Sharndre Kushor were seeking investors for their business, the fact that they were teenagers caused some confusion. "We'd sit down in these boardrooms, and everyone would be triple our age, lots of white hair and beige," says Jamie, now 23. "We'd turn up and they'd think we were the assistants or the interns." Thankfully for all concerned, boyfriend and girlfriend Jamie and Sharndre were not there on work experience, or to pour the coffees. The New Zealand coupl...

Western cultures place an emphasis on being individualistic rather than collective. As a result, people pride themselves on being original. But when was the last time that you made something completely original? Jim Jarmusch, an independent American film maker claims that: “Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination.” Copying is an innate human skill that we need for survival. Albert Bandura, an American psychologist, coined the so...

Is it in your control as a business owner to increase the number of referrals you receive on a monthly basis or is it luck of the draw? Alignable recently completed a survey of 7,500 small-business owners in North America and asked participants a single question -- what's the best way to acquire local customers? The results? 85 percent said word-of-mouth referrals. 2 percent said radio ads. 1 percent said newspaper ads. 9 percent said Google/Facebook ads. 2 percent said direc...

The majority of the employees are feeling to quit the job and start a startup. Why?, Let me explain five reasons why employees want to turn as entrepreneurs at 40 age. Earned enough money: You might have started your career at 22 (ideal case) worked more than 15 years of experience in the corporate well :). You got own house, car and bank balance, decided that it is the right time to start a startup so you can be on your own, don’t need to work for someone else’s success. It is nice to hea...

According to a recent study, over 94% of new businesses fail during first year of operation. Lack of funding turns to be one of the common reasons. Money is the bloodline of any business. The long painstaking yet exciting journey from the idea to revenue generating business needs a fuel named capital. That’s why, at almost every stage of the business, entrepreneurs find themselves asking – How do I finance my startup? Now, when would you require funding depends largely on the nature and typ...