STARTUP SPECIAL.... HOW I GOT MY STARTUP IDEA

HOW I GOT MY STARTUP IDEA





I REALISED SOCIAL MEDIA HAD A WEALTH OF DATA

The idea:

An AI-based customer intelligence platform for marketers

Eureka moment:

One of the things Amarpreet Kalkat discovered while working for companies like Nokia and Trilogy was that there was a lot of value in the data available on social media. “One could really understand the customers from what they talked about on these platforms.“ He started Frrole as a consumer news discovery model in 2012, but that didn't work, so two years later, he decided to look at enterprises, help companies get insights on their target customers.

Early days:

Getting access wasn't difficult.Indian companies were more than willing to work with him. He registered the company in the US to get global customers and for easier access to external funds. The company successfully raised funds from Times Internet and individual investors including Sharad Sharma and Rajan Anandan.

Now:

The company has around 20 customers including Flipkart, Ebay, Times Now, Zee News.It is planning to expand in the US.

I SAW BENGALI PRODUCTS WERE POPULAR IN DELHI

The idea:

E-commerce platform for ethnic products and food items

Eureka moment:

Promita Sengupta was a banker, but always wanted to be an entrepreneur. She first floated a social venture that built portable toilets for women in villages. But margins were low, so Sengupta wanted to start something with potentially better margins. She noticed the popularity of Bengali products. “People used to travel all across the city and be stuck in traffic for hours to reach CR Park in Delhi, the Mecca of Bengali food and products.“

Early days:

In 2015, she set up an e-commerce portal called Cre8comm, and she tied up with vendors selling just Bengali products, including sweets, raw and cooked food. She also created a Facebook page.

Now:

The platform has around ten vendors and serves customers in Delhi NCR and Jaipur.Cre8comm is planning to soon start selling products from other regions including Orissa, Bihar and Kerala. They have had around 10,000 customers and have sold 20,000 products so far.

Jul 24 2017 : The Times of India (Mumbai)