ENTREPRENEUR/STARTUP SPECIAL...LESSON NO.10 FROM REAL EXAMPLES
MOHAMMED IMTHIAZ
Co-founder, Y2CF Digital Media Mobile Push for Local Merchants
It was Mohammed Imthiaz’s passion for all things mobile that led him to start Y2CF Digital Media in 2010. Y2CF launched location-based rewards and check-in service, hoppr, in May this year. Prior to launching Y2CF, Imthiaz spent seven years at Bharti Airtel, where he most recently held the role of Head-Value Added Services and Incubation. “I realised there was a large opportunity in hyper local mobile-location service,” says Imthiaz, who was joined by co-founder Kabeer Biswas soon after the venture’s founding in 2010. Imthiaz and Biswas spent the past two years developing the service and building relationships with brands and telecom networks. They wanted to make hoppr device-agnostic and so have created an SMS-based service that is delivered through mobile networks. A consumer can “check in” to a location by sending an SMS to a common number and in turn receives coupons and deals from merchants and brands located in the vicinity. “Location-based services are most relevant to local merchants,” says Imthiaz. “Brands also want the lastmile connection to customers when they are closest to the stores.” In October 2011, Bharti Softbank, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Japan’s Softbank Corporation, acquired a 49% stake in the startup. Bharti Softbank, which focuses on mobile internet, was launched in 2011 and the team wanted to understand the mobile environment in the country. Imthiaz made a presentation to the team. “We found common ground over mobile internet,” says Imthiaz, who adds that having a product ready and having tie-ups with a number of networks helped speed up the investment. Today, the company works with Airtel, Aircel, Idea, Reliance, Tata Docomo and Vodafone. Imthiaz says the challenge now is to make hoppr, which is available at over 3,000 locations in the country, more widely used. The team has decided to keep the marketing simple and focus on instore branding for now. The company also plans to expand revenue channels. At the moment, the company has a revenue share agreement with telcos for the special coupons downloaded by users. “Our focus is to make hoppr a habit for both users and merchants,” says Imthiaz.
3 TIPS TO RAISE MONEY
Go beyond an idea and create a product. Bootstrap for as long as you can. It will make you a better entrepreneur
Ensure you have the right partner in your investor.
Co-founder, Y2CF Digital Media Mobile Push for Local Merchants
It was Mohammed Imthiaz’s passion for all things mobile that led him to start Y2CF Digital Media in 2010. Y2CF launched location-based rewards and check-in service, hoppr, in May this year. Prior to launching Y2CF, Imthiaz spent seven years at Bharti Airtel, where he most recently held the role of Head-Value Added Services and Incubation. “I realised there was a large opportunity in hyper local mobile-location service,” says Imthiaz, who was joined by co-founder Kabeer Biswas soon after the venture’s founding in 2010. Imthiaz and Biswas spent the past two years developing the service and building relationships with brands and telecom networks. They wanted to make hoppr device-agnostic and so have created an SMS-based service that is delivered through mobile networks. A consumer can “check in” to a location by sending an SMS to a common number and in turn receives coupons and deals from merchants and brands located in the vicinity. “Location-based services are most relevant to local merchants,” says Imthiaz. “Brands also want the lastmile connection to customers when they are closest to the stores.” In October 2011, Bharti Softbank, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Japan’s Softbank Corporation, acquired a 49% stake in the startup. Bharti Softbank, which focuses on mobile internet, was launched in 2011 and the team wanted to understand the mobile environment in the country. Imthiaz made a presentation to the team. “We found common ground over mobile internet,” says Imthiaz, who adds that having a product ready and having tie-ups with a number of networks helped speed up the investment. Today, the company works with Airtel, Aircel, Idea, Reliance, Tata Docomo and Vodafone. Imthiaz says the challenge now is to make hoppr, which is available at over 3,000 locations in the country, more widely used. The team has decided to keep the marketing simple and focus on instore branding for now. The company also plans to expand revenue channels. At the moment, the company has a revenue share agreement with telcos for the special coupons downloaded by users. “Our focus is to make hoppr a habit for both users and merchants,” says Imthiaz.
3 TIPS TO RAISE MONEY
Go beyond an idea and create a product. Bootstrap for as long as you can. It will make you a better entrepreneur
Ensure you have the right partner in your investor.
Valuation should not be the only consideration; you should
be able to work well together
Radhika P NairET120706
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