Take the risk - your startup fix for the week

Mark Zuckerberg said, “The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” 

The founder and CEO of Facebook started his venture from his college dormitory with his roommates. And it paid off. At 23, he became the world's youngest self-made billionaire. Today, he is worth over $50 billion, while Facebook clocked revenue of more than $55 billion in 2018.

Closer home, we have a similar story. Meet Rehan Netarwala and Mihir Lunia. The childhood friends decided to start up and bootstrapped their startup Savage and Palmer in 2017 with just Rs. 5,000, after completing their MBA course.

Today, the team of over 150 claims to be profitable and the company is targeting $1 million in sales in FY20. The co-founders also say that Savage and Palmer has been witnessing 5x revenue growth since its second year.

Inspired enough? We also have a series of startup stories to boost your Monday!

From trading coffee to building a commodity management startup

Be it agriculture or manufacturing, mining, energy, and metals, commodities trading requires taking a lot of timely risk management measures to absorb market volatility. Seeing the need for tech intervention in the commodities trading space, Manav Garg, a coffee trader, started Eka Software, a commodity management software solutions firm, in 2004.

GetToWork faster and cheaper with MoveInSync’s commuting service

Did you know that an average Indian spends around seven percent of their life just commuting to work? Thanks to congested roads, a difficult public transport system, and no available cabs. Studies say that it takes about 53 minutes to reach your workplace, especially in large metros. This is where Bengaluru-based tech startup MoveInSync comes in. Its new service ‘GetToWork’ attempts to lower the hassles of daily commutes.

Inside Delhi-based govtech startup CivilCops

Ashish Sharma believes that tech can boost government efficiency and responsiveness, and increase citizen trust. CivilCops, his social intelligence startup, aims to empower citizens and help authorities make public service delivery more effective.

Rapawalk wants to get a foot in the door with handcrafted shoes

Online shoe startup Rapawalk is bringing the world to Indian men’s feet. In a conversation with YourStory, Co-founders and IIM alumni Kashif Mohammad and Aravind Madireddy reveal why they launched a range of handcrafted, Italian leather shoes, and the path they want to traverse now.

AV Organics makes India’s first bottled black alkaline water

Founded in 2018 in Vadodara, Gujarat, the startup launched its first product Evocus - bottled black alkaline water - this June. The first-of-its-kind in India, this kind of water already has many takers world over, claim the founders. But what is so intriguing about water being alkaline? 

Finnable wants to make credit available to SME employees in a minute

Furniture, appliances, vacations…our “wants” keep increasing with every paycheque. But often, it’s not possible to have it all in a salary. Enter Bengaluru-based fintech startup Finnable, which aims to make personal and consumer loans available in less than one minute.

Former ISRO scientists want to privatise space with their startup

Among the many solutions offered by spacetech startups, Skyroot Aerospace is sending small satellites weighing less than 500 kg into space in a short time. While customers need to wait for six to 24 months to get a seat on a launching vehicle to send their satellites into desired orbits, Skyroot Aerospace can do it in a week.

Use Amazon Alexa for cooking, thanks to AI startup Klove Chef

Rajan Anandan-backed conversational AI startup Klove Chef’s connected cooking platform guides users right from the meal planning stage to the finished dish - all through Amazon Echo or Google Home devices, and soon smartphones too.

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