Tag: Start-up

10 Super Useful Apps to Help Manage a Startup

As apps become more prevalent and powerful, entrepreneurs and small business owners are relying on these savvy tools to help their businesses grow and run more smoothly. Some of the apps in this arsenal will help you get a lot done with minimal personnel, since things are just starting out and human resources may be limited at this point.

We are listing top 10 apps to get you organized, connected, visible and will likely contribute to your start-up’s success.

1. Slack

Slack provides you with real-time messaging, archiving and integrations to other tools, such as Google Docs and Trello. This means less internal email communication and keeping things quick and on the go. Using Slack would mean no one will miss out on anything, and everyone is clear on what’s happening on each project. The app comes with a feature which allows you to be notified when certain terms or words are used by the team, meaning you are always on top of the urgent things.

2. Zendesk

If your business targets for excellent customer service then Zendesk is one app that’ll help you take over the entrepreneurial world. It is vital to understand what your customers need and like everything in this world, each person has a varied requirement. In such a scenario, you need to keep a check where you are standing in comparison to all your competitors. Zendesk helps you do all this and much more.

3. Salesforce Sales Cloud

Salesforce is the industry standard for CRM, and it’s a great starting point for your new business. Salesforce effectively primes your customer-interfacing business channels for sales. What’s more, due to its wild popularity, Salesforce Sales Cloud is also among the most compatible apps on the market.

4. SurveyPocket

SurveyPocket helps you put together mobile-friendly surveys. It helps get to know your target customers better than by surveying them – before you invest time, money, and effort in the wrong endeavours. SurveyPockets lets you get feedback from your audience, and it’s an app that is especially capable of mobile surveying.

5. ZohoDocs

In the course of running your new business, you’re going to generate tons of documents day one onward. Zoho Docs help you safely dump proprietary, sensitive documents that you can’t afford to lose, as well as accounting and tax reporting-related documents that you’ll need to store for years. Zoho Docs is a great place to start with online file storage that adds user access control to an otherwise intuitive set of features.

6. SureDone

It one of most relied upon online selling solutions. It allows you to easily sell from your e-Commerce website, as well as from marketplaces like eBay, Amazon, and Google Shopping. If your startup plans to offer any type of products, SureDone is the perfect choice to help you reach the widest market possible, easily.

7. HootSuite

HootSuite is a social networking app that reduces the time it takes to manage your startup’s social media presence. Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are requisites at this point. HootSuite not only lets you automate posting and sharing, but it tracks brand mentions and inquiries and reports them to you, all from a convenient dashboard.

8. Expensfy

Expensify, an app that keeps track of business expenses and mileage, while letting users scan and upload receipts. Users can even sort file receipts by trip and submit expense reports to employers with the click of a button. Founded by David Barrett, the app has exploded to almost 1 million users and processes over $2 million in expenses daily.

9. TrackMaven

TrackMaven streamlines your ability to monitor data on your competition, without going through the hassle of consulting multiple sources. Filter the marketing activity you want alerts for and erase all the extra white noise.

10. TimeStation

Timestation is an app extention of popular employee managment website called Bizimply. It turns your iOS device into a cloud-based time and attendance system. Using our Fast-Scan technology, employees can punch In and Out in less than a second. The best thing is that TimeStation runs in the cloud, so there’s no software or servers to maintain. Managers can see who’s in and run time and attendance reports anytime, anywhere. TimeStation is the perfect solution for small and medium businesses looking to track time and attendance without the usual costs and overhead of traditional systems.

June 4, 2015
Flipkart Backer Accel Partners Announces $305 Million Fund to Support Indian Start-Ups

In the past few years, technology sector has seen an upward graph. Many e-commerce websites like Flipkart, BookMyShow, Myntra, and CommonFloor came into existence recently and soon became top-tier consumer markets. One of the major support systems that led to the establishment of these firms, were companies such as Accel Partners, a global venture capital firm. The firm has now launched Accel India IV, a $305 million (Rs. 1,900 crore) fund dedicated to empowering Indian start-ups.

The fund launched by the company this time is double the amount raised by Accel Partners last time. The company provided $155 million in 2011 as a part of Accel India III and $60 in 2008 in Accel India II. The California-based growth equity firm aims at solidifying consumer, enterprise software, and mobile sector along with the healthcare division through the recently raised fund.

According to Subrata Mitra, an official from Accel –

While there is more competition (investors) and more start-ups, some of the better companies have begun to accelerate a lot faster and get a lot bigger. So, yes, we do expect to help build many large companies.

In past few years, the number of smartphone users in the country has increased tremendously. This has stimulated to the growth of many internet-related ventures; hence, making India a marketplace where investors are ready to invest their money.

Many global players have made huge investment in the Indian start-ups. Softbank invested $210 million in Ola Cabs and Housing.com, and on the other hand Alibaba contributed $575 million in One97. The favourable conditions for seed ventures in the nation are attracting financiers to invest in the start-ups. It’s a good proposal for the emerging companies and will help them to establish on a larger scale.

March 25, 2015
How the Union Budget Affects Tech in India

The Finance Minister of India, Arun Jaitley, today unveiled the Union Budget for the year 2015-16. This budget was even called the make or break budget for India. There were a slew of initiatives offered to boost the growth of the tech sector in India and to promote job creation amongst the youth. The present government is known to be tech savvy, and so we look at how the budget affects the tech sector.

For the Consumer market

Mobile tariff’s may increase following increase in service taxes.

The budget decreased custom duties on a variety of consumer goods including refrigerator parts, telecommunication grade optical fiber cables and LCD/LED TV panels. Duties on components of solar water heaters, tablets, and LED lights have also been slashed.

On the other hand, the mobile phone rates will see an upwards trajectory as the government has raised the service tax from 12.36% to 14%.

Fuel For Startups

The Indian IT sector employees a massive number of people. In his speech, the finance minister stated that the sector employs 40 lakh people and has garnered revenues worth US$119 Billion. The sector has seen a proactive growth in new startup companies that are formed by young entrepreneurs. The government has recognized the potential of this market to transform young people from job seekers to job creators, and so it has allotted Rs.1000 crores to boost startups. According to the Economic survey of India, has become the fourth largest force in the startup market and is home to 3100 of such budding companies.

The 1000 crore will go towards establishing a mechanism called Self Employment and Talent Utilisation(SETU). It will be a techno-financial, Incubation and Facilitation Program to support all aspects of start-up businesses and encourage cutting-edge innovation.

To get India’s massive youth population ready for 21st century economy, the government will be launching National Skill Mission.

Boost for Hardware Manufacturers

Indian hardware makers appreciated the removal of Special Additional Duty (SAD)

The Finance Minister’s announcement of the removal of Special Additional Duty (SAD) on IT products was well appreciated by the industry. This move will benefit the Indian hardware makers. There has also been a decrease in the tax for technical services that will also help the manufacturing industry in the country.

Renewable Energy

There is a proactive approach in the budget towards renewable energy.

The government also stressed on green renewable energy and has set a target of 1,75,000 MW from green sources by 2022. Out of this, a massive share of 1,00,000 MW will be derived from solar power from the current 3,000 MW. At present renewable energy sources contribute 5.6 percent of all the electricity, which will be raised to 12 percent in the coming three years. The boost in investment in renewable sector will also lead to a lot of jobs in the green energy space in India.

Digital India Governance

The Digital India program that was unveiled last year got a mention this time around. It is 1.13 lakh crore project to make India a connected nation. This project will make it easier for the citizens and their government to connect and get access to various services. The project is expected to attract massive investments and create a massive amount of jobs in the country. The Finance Minister said in clear words that

Overall the budget is said to be a progressive one that is expected to give a push to manufacturing and growth in India. It will be making many consumer goods a bit expensive, but the growth in the tech and other major sectors can create the revenues that can bring the costs down, in the long run. Let’s hope it’s the year of growth for India, Jai Ho!

February 28, 2015
From Fish Poop to Plant, Right in Your Drawing Room with Ecofarm

The human population is massive. It is currently estimated to stand at 7 billion. Environmentalists state that the optimum number of humans on the planet should have been 2 billion; we are a resource intensive species. Unlike the animals, we are used to a regular supply of food and water apart from clothing and other resources. Providing food for all of us is a massive affair. Our fertilizer induced lands have lost most of their natural nutrients, and they are overburdened. In these times, it is necessary to find farming alternatives that can help to bring a sustainable change in our food production mechanisms. One such method is Hydroponics.

Hydroponics is a plant growing technique which produces plants using limited water. The technique is so efficient that it saves almost 90% water in comparison to traditional farming methods. It is also space saving so you can get maximum growing potential out of a tiny place.

The makers of Ecofarm

Now a Dutch startup called Ecobird has brought a Kickstarter campaign for their Ecofarm. Ecofarm is a mini-loop ecosystem in which the nutrients from a Goldfish’s excrements are used to grow plants in the grow tank above. As the fish poop is extracted from the water, the water is cleaned too. All that needs to be done for the fish is to feed it.

The triangular shaped Ecofarm’s grow tank will allow you to grow small herbs like basil and thyme. You can also grow small tomatoes in the Ecofarm. The makers claim that the Ecofarm is capable of providing enough nutrients for these plants to grow.

This is a good start and hopefully will engage more people to come up with similar products that will expand their capacity. Hopefully, someday your septic tank will be capable of fueling your food garden making you self-sufficient as well as saving you money for important things in life like beer.

The campaign has a goal of 125,000 Euros which is a big sum. The developers have gotten 13,520 Euros till the writing of this article with 16 days to spare. The idea of the Ecofarm is great, it also shows how a symbiotic relation with nature can help us clean the evil from the world that is hunger. As Charlie Chaplin said in The Great Dictator, “In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful.”

Inventions like the Ecofarm if supported and taken further by the people will help to make a society free from menace like world hunger. It will also help us concentrate on undertaking more intellectual adventures like a self-sustained space colony.

September 12, 2014