Being there with Kavita Singh

Posted on by

 [Kavita Singh is the founder of Beenthere.in , a leading E-Commerce portal which brings you contemporary products and souvenirs inspired from monuments and cities of India. Kavita started the venture in the incubation centre of her alma mater Indian School of Business. Kavita has rich experience in apparel retail industry of 11 years with leading brands like Levi's Strauss, Lee Cooper, Wrangler]

 

Sagar : Kindly throw some light on your start-up Beenthere.in. How did it start?

Kavita : I started working on the idea during an entrepreneurship paper at  my MBA from Indian School of Business. Having worked for many years in the apparel retail industry I had toyed with the idea of starting out on my own for a while. The incubation centre at ISB gave me an opportunity to do this. I submitted the idea and it was chosen for incubation. I had to sign out of placement but that was fine since I planned to take this up for good.

Sagar : What is the underlying idea and the concept?

Kavita : At Beenthere we are trying to tell a story through modern souvenirs. Most souvenir shopping in India is about handicraft items. Often these products may not tell you much about the place. I have picked up the same silk stole from Janpath in Delhi and a beach in Kovalam, Kerala ! So there is an unexplored opportunity for contemporary products that have contextual value. We create products like mugs, tees, bags and bookmarks that carry art, graphics or text inspired from monuments, history or culture. We love to use hand sketches and art as a medium to tell a story. The ceramic mugs we create are unique because they are printed with art. Each product carries information or trivia that can educate the traveler or the culturally inclined about a city. In fact all products are designed around a destination. These have true souvenir value. As Indians we live with so much history and heritage around us that we stop taking note of it. ‘Beenthere.in’ is an endeavour to remind us of it. It is ‘a little piece of history’ that we carry back from a place we have been to. It’s a great way to remember that we have ‘been there’.

 

Sagar :  How good is the blend of Travel & Tourism industry with E-commerce in today’s growing economy? Is that the future?

Kavita : Well Travel and Tourism forms the largest chunk of the e-commerce industry so it’s here for good. The model has worked well in developed economies and India with a huge population that has access to internet is bound to see growth in this segment. Apart from the biggies in ticketing I see a huge growth in smaller/medium businesses that cater to niche travel experiences.  Whether its firms who curate stays at boutique resorts/villas or those who promise an adventure-led experience, this segment  is seeing a lot of exciting activity.

 

Sagar :  When was the company founded and where?

Kavita : Oh well I kinda dread this question.  I mean firstly it’s a one-woman show out here at this point. It makes me feel like a real outlier amidst the gazillions of tech startups with teams of 3 or 4 or more engineer founders. I wish I could say that at such and such point 4 of us got together and ‘founded’ this firm. To come back to the point after the rant, I run this thing with my spouse who is from the retail industry but has a day job elsewhere. It’s somewhat a joint venture though I am the one full time on it. I passed out in 2011 from ISB and began work on this. We got our first order in that year but got our official registrations done early last year and began retailing offline and online in the 2nd half of 2012. So you decide the ‘when’. And we are Bangalore based.

 

Sagar :  Where all in India is it currently operating? Do you plan to go global as well?

Kavita : We don’t have a branch office, but we sell all over India.

We think India specific souvenirs should have a global market. There are India lovers all over plus the NRI’s who would like a déjà vu about their favorite Indian cities/destinations. Recently a customer from Malaysia got in touch. He had travelled to India many times and loved our mugs. We stretched ourselves to ship a superfast consignment to his colleague who was travelling from Delhi to meet him.

We are present on sites that ship international but we are far from having tapped the market well. It will take a greater fine-tuning of logistics and we will take some time to get there.

 

Sagar :  What are your plans on the scaling up of Beenthere.in?

Kavita : We are expanding into traditional retail stores. We are present at Mother Earth store in Domlur, Bangalore and will be getting into their other stores in Bangalore. We sell through DCube in Hyderabad. We have already shipped to some stores of Central, Future Group. We do set up stalls at Flea Fairs etc. Online, we sell through our own site, beenthere.in. Plus we sell through Shopo.in, SimplySizzl.in, GiftingNation.com and very soon we will be selling through Flipkart.

 

Sagar :  What are your thoughts on the E-commerce industry in India and its potential in the near future considering the Indian demographics and the shopping preferences.

Kavita : Its here to stay but what is worth watching out for is not how the discount segment will work but how sites operating in niche segments will build their customers and credibility.

 

Sagar : Did your rich experiences with premium brands like Levi’s, Wrangler or Lee Cooper  in the apparel retail sector and the intensive MBA course at ISB help you in setting up this venture?

Kavita : Yes definitely. The apparel industry is very fast paced and entrepreneurial (not very streamlined, rigorous planning required, everything that can go wrong does and execution is key) in nature. I have seen many entrepreneurs get made in the industry. People who started from scratch and worked their way up to build a great product or brand in a span of 5-6 years. Those guys were very inspirational. They are sharp, were up to date with latest trends, well travelled, worked hard like crazy and knew their market. It was a pleasure to know them and work with them. I worked on the product side in apparel brands which was very satisfying creatively and gave a great exposure to the end-to-end process of creating and marketing a product.

ISB was great because we had these killer assignments…the kind we thought we will never get through (clue : I am not an engineer) but somehow we got through the grueling schedule and managed much more than we had imagined we could. It got me to trust in my abilities a lot more than earlier. I miss the teamwork of those days especially since I am a solo founder. The incubation at the Wadhwani Center worked well because initially I did not have the confidence to put my own money in the business. I was too apprehensive. They helped me with initial funds. Now ofcourse I am self funding/bootstrapping it.

 

Sagar :  What would you recommend the budding entrepreneurs about the potential sectors of tomorrow? Do you see any particular niche getting created out of nowhere?

Kavita: There are many sunrise sectors like healthcare, education, apps, renewable energy, QSR etc and e-commerce still. But my general advice to budding entrepreneurs irrespective of sectors would be ’Follow your gut and the earlier the better because there is no right time’.

 

P.S. : Few rockstars are building India’s Biggest Fan merchandising store at www.bluegape.com ! Check them out.

 

Critical Analysis with Mayank Shekhar

Posted on by

[Mayank Shekhar is an Indian film critic, journalist and author.He has been a film critic and a national cultural editor with Hindustan Times. He previously worked under Mumbai Mirror and Mid Day. He also has a blog, Fad For Thought at Hindustan Times  website.Currently, his reviews appear on his website www.thew14.com and also at Daily Bhaskar  in different languages]

Below are the excerpts of the exclusive interview he gave to Sagar Gupta.Mayank Shekhar

Q. Being a film critic, what are your views on the quality of movies of today?

There are bad films and good films. As a film critic, you would always go watch each movie. Considering the huge number of films being released by the industry, we can always safely assume that around 10% of the movies are worth going to the theatres and watch them.

Q. Do you think the Indian Cinema is getting better than the earlier era?

With economic boom and expansion in the consumer base, putting all the things and not just films, we have increasingly varied number of choices which we didn’t have in the 80s or even in the 90s. While you would have Dabbang 2, in the same area you would have Gangs of Wasseypur. Also you would have Delhi belly, in the same genre you would have Golmaal .They are so diverse and this has been the best thing to happen to Indian films. Indian Cinema is for sure growing better both in terms of quantity and quality.

Q. What are the parameters you take into consideration while doing a critical analysis on a movie?

Any film review of mine is my individualistic point of view. The difference between what I think and what I write should ideally be zero.There is no prediction, second guessing, no control other people’s mind involved here, it is merely having explained my experience having watched something.  A viewer would watch the movie and comment it then and there, while a reviewer’s job starts right after the movie ends. Why I liked the movie, what I felt about it , the response to what the film is about and the dynamics of a film are some of the notable points in the reviews. I think in a may, the movie itself writes a review about itself during the experience.

Q. Do you prefer any particular genre or language while doing the film critic?

Not really. I work on all kinds of films.

Q. How difficult is it to avoid the bias factor? Have you ever been pressurized for positive reviews?

To some extent, it’s a personal opinion, so personal biases cannot be ruled out, while you do are also aware of the sub-conscious of the people involved in the movie. None of the private likes and dislikes get in to the way of the review.  It is very easy to handle such biases as you would hate yourself if you ever give biased reviews.

Its basically the nature of the job, and after 10 years, if you have not pissed off anybody, you haven’t done your job well. It’s not a popularity contest. It is all about sheer professionalism at work.

Q. What do you like doing when you are not busy in the film-autopsy?

I like reading a lot, I like chatting and conversations. I like going out, talking to people. I also like to debate a lot. I am also a big movie buff. I would watch a lot of movies even when I am not reviewing them.

Q. Which artist do you admire the most in Bollywood?

I feel I can’t see any work for the artist in bollywood. The same artist can do varied works at different points of time.  Ram Gopal Varma who made Company, Rangeela and Satya , the same Ram Gopal Varma also made Aag, 26/11. It is too collaborative a medium to give a person the entire credit of the film. The best of actors can be a part of really bad films. Even veterans like Naseerudin Shah, Irfan Khan, who have shown their caliber in really fine films, have done terrible films as well. But for those particular flicks, how can you not love their work in some of the finest films.

 Q. Can you name a few flicks which showed green after your scanner and you said “It deserved it”?

Some of my personal favourite apart from the famous ones and which did not get their deserved share of the pie are Manish Jha’s Maatrubhoomi, Sabiha Sumar’s Khamosh Pani, who should have got a wider audience. I am sure there are  many more of them.

 Q. What do you think about the copyright policies and piracy that has penetrated deep into the Indian markets?

I cant speak for the world. Personally, I would like buying movie DVDs or youtubing it. By and large, if I can access a DVD, I would go for it. I am a big believer in watching the movies on the big screen,only which can give us that experience. Its more than a moral issues, it is synonymous to a gratitude towards the movie and the artists.

Q. What do you think about the timing of release of certain movies? Taking the case of Ra. One, what do you think went wrong as speculations were that Indian audiences are not yet ready for Ra. One?

The time of release of the movies certainly has an impact. Taking the genre of Super-Hero Sci-Fi flicks, if you see Hollywood, the successes of Spider-man, Iron Man, Avengers, Super man etc can be attributed to the marvel comics or other franchise comics or novels on which these movies are based on. Essentially, the audiences there grew up with these images in mind, and they went on to see these super-heroes and not the actors. Where Ra. One failed was it could not build up the concept. Ra. One didn’t exist in our comic books. A good case study would be Krish which succeeded on a big scale . We should be asking the audiences whether they liked Hrithik Roshan or Krish.If they liked Krish, it was a better movie in that respect and this could trigger the growth of Krish franchise.

Mayank Shekhar

Q. When exactly do you review a movie?

A general rule is I publish the review only after a movie has become a public property.  If I watch a movie well before its release and go on giving reviews, then I am essentially a part of advertisement which is not the basic purpose of a critic.

 

Q. How fast is bollywood catching up with Hollwood?

A. With respect to the Visual style, panache and presentation, Bollywood not far behind. But its far behind in terms of ideas and concepts. Taking the risks and pushing the envelopes is the need of the hour. A film-maker here in Bombay would give up with a movie like The Prestige, The Momento or Inception by Christopher Nolan. We don’t dream big. The imagination is curtailed. But, I am sure it will catch up with Hollywood some time soon.

P.S. : Few rockstars are building India’s Biggest Fan merchandising store at www.bluegape.com ! Check them out.

In Conversation with – Allia Al Rufai

Posted on by

[Meet Allia Al Rufai , Fashion Stylist and consultant. After completing her Masters in Marketing & Management she started off her career from being an assistant stylist in the movie ‘Fashion’ and then moved on to work with ‘Harper’s Bazaar India’.  After working with India’s leading Celebrities, Models, designers and Photographers she has now moved on to Fashion Consulting and aims in providing a Complete & a True Fashion offering.]

Here is a Candid Conversation with the super chic stylist …

Q.    Please tell INK readers a little bit about your story and how you got into fashion styling?
I’m been travelling from a very young age and I found my self inspired by the way people were dressed around the world. I have been  an avid reader of vogue since I was 9 years old. I remember watching my first DKNY fashion show at the age of 15 (I still have the line sheet !!) Simply put I was obsessed with fashion.
Q.    It’s no hidden story that the fashion industry is a tough business to break into, what was your big break?
Though I’ve been passionate about fashion since a very early age, I think my big break was working as a stylist and assisting Rita Dhody, the style director of  the movie ‘Fashion’ (Priyanka Chopra Starer).
 
Q.    How do you define your personal style?
My style is cool classic and contemporary
Q.    Who is your style inspiration? Are there in particular any stylists or Individuals that influence your work?
I thoroughly admire Miroslava Duma , Christine Centenera & Coco Chanel for being way ahead of her time.
Q.    In your opinion how stylish are we as a country?
We are not a very stylish country  yet , but we are evolving and people are definitely starting up to be fashion conscious  
Q.    Three Wardrobe essentials that every woman should own?
A pair of nude high heels ,  a timeless dress and  a stylish jacket
Q.    What should one keep in mind while accessorizing their outfits?
Never go Over-The-Top , draw attention to a cleaner space On the garment so that you can create a stand out look. Opt for statement accessories. 
 
Q.    Here are some Rapid fire Questions for you:
a.       Your Favourite designers:  Among international designers – Alber Elbaz , Tom Ford and Olivier Rousteing in India I love Rohit Gandhi, Rahul Khanna and Manish Arora.
b.      Your Favourite fashion trend:  Keeps changing with the season , this season I think my favourite trend for spring summer is  mono chrome and the 60’s silhouettes.
 
c.        B-town Actor/Actress you’d like to style: I think Farhan Akhtar  is really cool.
d.      The most stylish film according to you is… ‘Hors de’ Prix’ . I also adorned Angelina Jolie in ‘The Tourist’ , every frame in that movie is just über stylish
 
e.      Brands you swear by : H&M , YSL (Yves Saint Laurent) , Zara
 
Q. Here are some choices:
a.       Shoes, clothes or bags what do you splurge the most?  Shoes !!
b.      Pick your Vibe: Fancy princess, cute teenager, sexy, bombshell or bold. Sexy
c.       High end brands or street shopping? I’m a sucker for high fashion but I l also quite love street and vintage shopping . I kinda mix them up well together .
Q. Who according to you is the Best and the Worst styled celebrity in Tinsel Town?
To be honest I’ve generally noticed the ones that are well dressed and that includes Sonam Kapoor and Jacquline Fernandis.
Q. Okay. So what advice would you give to a not-so-well dressed up person ??
You can never go wrong with classics so if someone wasn’t so well dressed I’d advice to start with classics.
Q. Describe one look you think can never go wrong.
Wear black head to toe , there is something very chic about it 
Q.  Any style advice for our readers.
 Keep things current ,  reinvent your self , add a twist to classics and most importantly be individual.
PS:  You can follow Allia on twitter at  @AlliaAR . Keep it stylish !!

P.S. : Few rockstars ae building India’s Biggest Fan merchandising store at www.bluegape.com ! Check them out

Filling the RupeeBag – with Dipesh Khetan

Posted on by

[Dipesh Khetan is the founder of Rupeebag.com , a leading online shopping portal with discount,cash-back options. Dipesh started the venture while pursuing his MBA in Entrepreneurship from the prestigious Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai]

Below is the conversation he had with Sagar Gupta.

Q. Please tell us something about your Start-up RupeeBag.com.

A. The Idea for this startup came to my mind when I was preparing for my MBA. It took me 4 months to work on the Idea. With limited funds (Savings from my salary while I was working in a software company) things were difficult. Getting all the data, legalities etc took time. Pursuing MBA was equally important.  So I decided to opt for MBA in Entrepreneurship, as it will help me in various ways to bring my Idea into reality.

Soon the development started. My friend, Nikita Goyal, was a perfect person to execute in various areas. So we both became partners. She made the hand sketched design of the website while I was designing the backend.

Due to budget constrain the development started from home.  Then we outsourced the work to Zero Martix solutions. Things were not easy but we needed to bring our idea into reality. And the day came 9th Nov 2012.

Q. Please tell us something about the founders.

A. We are 2 founders, Dipesh Khetan & Nikita Goyal. We did BCA together from Christ University, Bangalore. Then Nikita did her MCS from St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta. I have worked in Qwest Software services as software engineer for about 15 months before I joined NMIMS where I am pursuing my MBA.

Q. What do you think about the online shopping behavior of Indian consumers? Is it witnessing any transition?

A. Yes. With time more Indian consumers are opting for online transaction as they now understanding the benefits of online shopping better. The market is witnessing high growth rate of online shopping since last few years. E-commerce in India is expected to touch 34 billion by 2015.

Q. What are the various challenges you faced?

A. Well, there were a lot of challenges we faced. Initially we had to do all the research on whether giving cash back to users was allowed or not from the stores.  We applied and got the approval after which the development started but release got delayed by few months. Then later in September 2012, Govt of India banned bulk SMS due to which we had to make changes in our system to verify the phone number. But we overcame all the challenges and we successfully launched our website.

Q. Is establishing your own supply-chain a better option than outsourcing it?

A. We do not deal with buying or selling of products. We just promote the E-commerce companies and provide Cash Back and coupons to the users.

Q. How difficult was it to move into the segment of cash back online?

A. This market is very challenging. With huge number of websites in the market of only coupons, it is little difficult to explain users about cash back vs. coupons. Rupeebag is based on a concept where user just needs to visit our site before shopping and click on their favorite store, and we will credit them the cash back. They don’t need to search for coupons etc. They will find everything on a single page.

Q. What are your long term plans and what is your strategy of scaling up RupeeBag.com?

A. We want to reduce the payment period from 12 weeks to just 1 week in future. Also we are planning to develop a mobile version with better tracking system to track the sales.

Q. What do you think of Cash-Back as a customer engagement strategy? Is it long-sustaining?

A. We do not provide any entertainment or news. It is just one stop before shopping online. Yes it is long-sustaining because no one would mind getting discounts, free coupons & Cash Back. Will you mind?

Q. What are your views on the E-Commerce industry in India today?

A. E-commerce industry is growing drastically in India. In our country the credit card penetration is much lower than US and UK but with Cash on Delivery (COD) which is the preferred mode of payment for about 50-55% of online transactions, E-commerce is set to grow. Now even travel portals have started selling air tickets with COD facility.

P.S. : Few rockstars ae building India’s Biggest Fan merchandising store at www.bluegape.com ! Check them out

Exclusive Interview With GRAPHICURRY

Posted on by

[Graphicurry is a Bangalore based art store and design studio and was founded in March 2010. It aims to become the one-stop design firm for both the online and offline design space. Graphicurry is the brainchild of Prasad Bhat, who grew up with inherent skills of drawing and eating food. Engineer by academics, an artist by nature and a true Melomane at heart.Before starting up he was actively part of the Bangalore metal scene and had his own bands as well.  ]          

                                                                                                                                                                              

Here are the excerpts from the conversation he had with komal sagar

Q. Please tell us something about Graphicurry.

A. Graphicurry, is an Art store and Design studio based out of Bengaluru which is now turning three years old in March 2013. We have  a very active fan page and community on Facebook at www.facebook.com/graphicurry and our web address is www.graphicurry.com

Q. Why the name Graphicurry?

A. I coined this name when I was brainstorming on a name that could just be a unique domain name on the net. But when I chanced upon it, I fell in love with it.


Q. what made you jump from singing into making caricatures?

A. I wouldn’t say I have made the jump. I am still very much of a melomaniac. I’m just an artist from within, be it one form or the other. Just that I have been fortunate enough to have one of my passions as my livelihood.

Q. How much time did it take you to put together ‘graphicurry’?

A. Graphicurry is still growing. It is far from where I want it to be. But it has definitely come far from where I started. We have a growing distribution base and international clientele as well now. Our online store is on the cards in near future. Our new ranges of artwork series are planned to be launched this year.

Q. please tell us your success story so far.

A. I am an engineer by academics but the allure of the engineering tag didn’t last for long as my heart lied in arts. After 2 years of working with design firms, I realized I wanted to be my own boss. Graphicurry was born after deciding to give a formal name to the design services I chose to provide.My subject of art is mostly music classics, movie legends or famous sitcoms. Our patrons include some of the world-famous names too. Vijay Mallya, Lucky Ali, International artists like Lamb of God, Snoop Dogg, Slayer, Children of Bodom have come to appreciate and pick up my artworks.

Q. what according to you makes ‘graphicurry’ unique from the other graphic designing firms?

A. We have two verticals to Graphicurry, the Artwork Store and the Design Studio. On the art front, I specialize in vector pop art. We’re the only artwork store in India and in fact perhaps in the world that offers intricate Vector Based Caricature art. The feature that has struck a chord with most is the amount of detailing that goes into these light hearted illustrations, which almost never fail to put a smile on anyone’s face. The design studio has catered to some of the trendiest branding projects in recent times.

Q where do you see ‘graphicurry’ in another 10 years time?

A. I envisage Graphicurry to be a brand name synonymous to uniqueness. I want Graphicurry Artwork Store to be a city landmark!How to get there? I’m still working on it.

 

Q. which is your personal favorite caricature out of your own collection?

A. That would be definitely Seinfeld. Even now if I look at it, I ask myself how I had the patience to create something like that.

Q. so hand drawn digital caricatures, logos, website designs, what’s next?

A. Art has many changing forms and styles. I encourage myself to experiment with various styles with coming times.

Q. What is the biggest hurdle you have faced or are still facing?

A. My biggest hurdle was initially dealing with payment etiquettes in our context. Especially when you’re not a big brand name, you can encounter some difficult clients. But, these are all experiences that help you grow and mature. Every company should establish their protocols and stick to it no matter whom they are dealing with. If your vision in business is clear, your clients will come to respect you for the same.

Q. What one piece of advice would you give to someone starting up?

A. People, friends and even family sometimes may start doubting your capabilities, but if you have the faith in yourself there is no stopping you. But at the same time, you need to know when your passion is not really your skill. That realization is your best critic.

 

P.S. : Few rockstars ae building India’s Biggest Fan merchandising store at www.bluegape.com ! Check them out

Sociopreneurship with Shantanu Gupta

Posted on by

[Shantanu Gupta is a Corporate-to-Social  Entrepreneur and Founder of YUVA foundation. After  reaching heights in the Corporate life in his top-notch job as a consultant and setting new limits for others to follow , Shantanu followed his intrinsic desire to work for the society. The University of Sussex alumnus moved into the social sector and offered service to many NGOs and eventually founded YUVA foundation which is dedicated to the bring happiness and prosperity to the people through economic, political and social freedom]

 

Here are the excerpts from the conversation he had with Sagar Gupta.

 

Shantanu Gupta

Q. Please tell us something about yourself.

A. I belong to a very simple and real background. After completing schooling, I put in my efforts to get into the prestigious G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology to pursue my engineering degree. I did masters from  Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, UK After working for sometime in the corporate, I switched to social sector and now I run my own NGO YUVA Foundation.

 

Q. How was your experience in the corporate life?

A. After the college I landed in the professional world of Business consulting and Information Technology and worked in many different domains like manufacturing, publishing, automobiles, telecom, finance and insurance. I got the opportunity to work with organizations like Mercedes Benz, Amdocs, Quark, Wipro and Credit Suisse over years. Working in India, Israel, Cyprus, Hungary, Egypt and Switzerland gave me an immense understanding of the international dynamics of governments, cultures, religions, history and most importantly the prevalent development issues in various countries.

 

Q. With such hectic schedule, how did you manage a good work-life balance?

A. It was difficult to strike a balance between the work and the family life in the competitive world of consulting. But my regular discipline of practicing yogasana and meditation helped me to keep my balance.

 Shantanu Gupta

Q. What was the main motivation for you to shift from corporate culture to Social sector?

A. Coming from a small city in India, I was happy to enjoy my professional growth clubbed with national and international exposure. But I want to confess that the cause of social contribution, social service, justice and national issues always pulled me more than my work. So to quench my thirst for what I call a “real work”, I kept myself engaged in lots of volunteering activities for the betterment of the society.

 

Q. Kindly throw some light on your work in the social sector.

A. Initially, I involved myself in various random volunteering opportunities such as conducting theatre plays in Bangalore for fund raising, spending time with street children trying to learn through plays in Punjab and organizing car washing camps for fund raising in Cyprus. Since last one and half year I am engaged with an NGO named ‘Asha-Zurich’ as an active volunteer.

In addition I am also involved in many online and virtual volunteering assignments available through United Nation Online Volunteering service, Devnet, Volunteermatch, Idealist and Ashoka.

As soon as I completed my dissertation thesis on Right to Education, I was offered a position in Naandi Foundation, to head their flagship program, ensuring children learn (ECL), in Hyderabad (India). Then I worked for UNICEF for some time, and then I founded my own social enterprise, named YUVA (meaning Youth in Hindi).

 

Q. What is the key vision and thought behind YUVA?

A. Young United Voluntary Action (YUVA) Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the bring happiness and prosperity to the people through economic, political and social freedom. YUVA Foundation aims to bring holistic development in India through youth lead reforms in education, livelihoods and governance.

Its vision is to bring happiness among people of India through economic, political and social freedom lead by youth by bringing holistic development in India through youth lead reforms in education, livelihoods and governance.

 

P.S. : Few rockstars ae building India’s Biggest Fan merchandising store at www.bluegape.com ! Check them out

Interview with Rochak Bhatnagar

Posted on by

[Rochak bhatnagar, a young author, a storyteller, a voracious reader and an IT student. His debut novel ‘Love happens only once, rest is just life’ was a national bestseller. His female fans drool over his chocolate boy looks. His love tales will mesmerize you. Yet he aspires to make it big in the IT industry]Rochak Bhatnagar

 

Here are the excerpts from the interview he gave to Komal Sagar.

 

Q. What inspired you to start writing?

A. Well I think many things have influenced me to write. I just wrote the incidents that came to my mind randomly. I got my inspirations from everything around me,all the people around me, almost everything I saw and observed. I apprehended everything around me and let my pen run loose.

 

Q. Which genres do u love writing in?

A. I like Romantic Fiction and Contemporary Fiction. I would never hesitate picking up books by Dan Brown.

 

Q. Your debut novel was a national bestseller, how are you handling the success?

A.Firstly, I would like to thank all my lovely readers for their acceptance and support. Thanks for making ‘Love happens only once’ a National Bestseller. It is always exciting to see your name as an author on a book and your work being read by the world. Isn’t it? And the icing on the cake is to see the Bestseller Tag! Book has completely turned my life to 180 degrees. My friends treat me like a mini- celebrity.My email is filled with feedbacks, and facebook has become a bit crowded. In the end, it feels really good.

 

Q. Are your stories based on your real life incidences?

A. Now that’s a tough question! Well its part true, part fiction.

 

Q. Tell us a book that you would like to rewrite and why?

A. I would like to re- write “The Notebook” by Nicolas Sparks. Though the story is more than perfect but, there are some incidents which need to be updated or changed.

 

Q. Who are your favorite authors and what do u love about their books?

A. Well taking up the name of any one particular author is a bit difficult. But, I never hesitate picking up books by Dan Brown and Sydney Sheldon.

 

Q. Your second novel was launched recently, tell our readers something about it?

A. The male protagonist Rishi Sinha finds himself in a dilemma. On one side is ‘Ananya’, the love of his life and on the other side is ‘Pragya’, a dying and needy friend. On one side is his most ruined past, while on the other his present, his future. He has to choose between the two. So to sum it all, ‘One Life, One Love’ is a tale of ‘Love’ and ‘Friendship’ along with some social issues like ‘Prostitution’, ‘Mafia’, ‘Live in’ and ‘Gambling’ which we talk and read about daily but never realize how intense they are.

 

Q. Is there a third one in pipeline?

A. Yes it is. But, talking about it now would be too early!

 

Q. what keeps you busy when you are not writing?

A. Reading and listening to music.

 

P.S. : Few rockstars ae building India’s Biggest Fan merchandising store at www.bluegape.com ! Check them out

Interview with Sathish Balakrishnan – Founder of Sociorent.com

Posted on by

[Sathish Balakrishnan is the founder of Sociorent.com, India’s leading Textbook renting company. He is an Engineer from NIT Durgapur and has worked with Amazon for four years. Sociorent.com is India's leading Textbook renting company especially for Engineering and Management education. It is based in Bangalore,India and was launched on December 15,2012. Its student community and registration base is growing at a fast pace]Sociorent.com

Here are some of the excerpts of interview with Sathish Balakrishnan.

Q.Please tell us something about your Start-up Sociorent.com 

A. Sociorent.com is an Online Textbooks Rental Company for Engineering Students across India. The features are a Flat Rental Rate of   25% of the MRP for all the books, 6 months Rental Period, Free Shipping directly to the students and arrangements for picking up the books back from them. With this, Sociorent.com attempts to solve the perennial problem of textbooks for the Engineering Students in India.

 

Q. What inspired you to think of such an idea?

A. As I had mentioned, there is the perennial problem of textbooks among the students community in India. They stick to either photocopying or borrow books where the reading experience would be atrocious. We’ve faced this problem of textbooks in College and hence wanted to solve this by offering at an affordable price and in a hassle free way. Besides, our experience in the Books Industry and the relationships with the suppliers helped us too.

Q. When exactly was it launched and Where?

A. Sociorent.com went live on December 15, 2012 and the company is based out Bangalore. We wanted to take advantage of the new semester that starts by January and hence the launch of the website was timed just prior to it.

Q. Please tell us something about the founders.

A. Sociorent.com has been started by Sathish Balakrishnan and Pradeep Raman. Sathish has a B. Tech from NIT Durgapur and has worked with Amazon.com for about 4 years. Pradeep has an MBA from the University of Madras and has worked with Amazon.com and Hewlett Packard. This is their second venture and the earlier one was Jumadi which was also into the e-commerce domain.

Q. What all books and course material do you cater to?

A. As of today, we provide all Text and Reference Books for Engineering and Management courses on rent. We are shortly revamping our catalog to include books for Competitive Exams like CAT, GRE, GMAT etc. We are also working towards including books for other streams which would be launched before the next semester cycle.

Q. What kind of associations have you developed with various institutions and universities across India?

A. We have a good band of Student Ambassadors across colleges and they have helped us to spread the word about Sociorent in their respective campuses and have helped to increase our foothold during the launch phase. We are also working with a few universities to forge a relationship with them to become their books renting partner.

Q. Do you see any competition in this segment?

A. As of now, there are very few players online who offer this service only at a regional level and Sociorent.com is the only player which caters all over India. Also, there would be competition from offline bookstores inside the campuses.

Q. What are your long term plans and what is your strategy of scaling up Sociorent.com?

A. Long term plan is to see Sociorent.com emerge as the leading player in the textbook renting space. We are aiming at a subscriber base of 25000 in the short to medium term and are gradually scaling up towards that. We also have plans to provide students with quality content which is of very high use to them. That would engage our users and help us to build a strong and large community of users and thereby sustain and grow the business.

Q. When and where do you hire your resources from?

A. Sociorent.com is currently a 12 member team and most of the resources have been hired through references and people with whom we’ve worked earlier. To work in a start-up require highest levels of dedication and commitment and hence we had hired mostly known faces whom we knew would combine well with the founding team.

Q. Where do visualize Sociorent.com to fit into the ecosystem of Social media of today?

Social Media is very essential and is becoming a vital part of growing the business for Sociorent.com. We reach out to the student community through Social Networking platforms and the community in turn helps us to spread to an even larger audience. Going forward, we would make Social Media platforms as the tool to communicate with our users and as an effective medium of interaction.

Q. What are your views on the E-Commerce industry in India today?

A. Generic E-Commerce for commoditized products has been done to death and hence, I feel it’s time for consolidation with 3-4 clear leaders emerging out of this space. I also feel that there is still scope of e-commerce players in niche categories with good demand among consumers. May be for the next 2 years, we may witness only a very few new players entering into this segment and the leaders would consolidate their position among the customers.

P.S. : Few rockstars are building India’s Biggest Fan merchandising store at www.bluegape.com ! Check them out.

               

 

Calling for Student Editors at INK.bluegape.com

Posted on by

INK was launched with a vision to connect people with same Interests. INK is a platform where people can write about things that they love or are excited about. People with same interest come and interact on those posts. In last six months we have seen some really good posts at INK and now we want to take it to the next level.

We are calling for Three Student Editors to be part of INK team. Here’s the essential duties :

1) Write blog-post about current happenings.

2) Invite Guest Authors to write about things that they love or are excited about.

3) Take personal Interviews of some great personalities who have done some amazing work in their field. Continue reading →