Disrupt or run the risk of being disrupted, says YourStory’s Shradha Sharma

Delivering the opening keynote at the fourth edition of Future of Work, YourStory MediaFounder and CEO Shradha Sharma made the case for disruptive innovation in the new normal.

She said, “Today, it's our responsibility to ensure we are constantly disrupting and making sure that disruption is happening, be it in terms of technology or at startups, or even in our own lives."

The first day of India's largest product-tech-design summit brought together the best of industry minds to understand the future of work and the impact of the product, tech, and design on businesses of today and tomorrow.

Among the COVID-19 ‘disruptors’ was edtech unicorn BYJU'S. Its Chief Product Officer Ranjith Radhakrishnan, in a masterclass, discussed the homegrown decacorn’s vision behind building "transformational educational products" for India — and the world.

Rahul Chari, Co-founder and CTO, PhonePe, said one of the biggest takeaways for the fintech startup from the COVID-19 pandemic was that there is more to gain from rapidly investing across the urban and rural user base, than taking a serialised approach. 

In fact, in the ‘new normal’ where the large majority of the global workforce is working remotely, Google Workspace is enabling businesses to create a hybrid work model while supporting them with transitions, Kelly Waldher, Vice President - Marketing, Google Workspace, explained at Future of Work.

Harish Sivaramakrishnan, Head of Design, CRED, in another masterclass, busted a few myths on simplicity, design, beauty, and the right measure to build a successful product.

We have a lot more in store for you on Day 2. So, don’t forget to tune in to watch leading CTOs, CPOs, data science heads, and tech architects from India and across the world share their valuable insights on the Future of Work.

The Interview

DruvaFounder and CEO Jaspreet Singh knows a thing or two about success, having built one of the first Indian-origin software unicorns. So, when he talks about the ingredients that go into building a successful startup, you pay attention. Founded in 2008 in Pune by Jaspreet and Milind Borate, Druva has so far seen three pivots. In June 2019, it raised $130 million as part of its Series G funding to enter the elite unicorn club. Today, it is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, where Jaspreet moved in 2012.

Editor’s Pick: The Turning Point

An MBA may be a stepping stone to further one’s career for many, but for Tapas Gupta it also translated into finding a co-founder for his Pune-based automobile parts ecommerce platform SparesHub. Tapas started toying with the idea of starting an ecommerce website only for car parts, which would deliver pan-India. He soon connected with his batchmate and friend, Arijit, and given their shared interest in the automobile industry, Arijit joined the company as a co-founder. Read more. 

Startup Spotlight

Noida startup Shift Freight is making relocation easy

The Indian movers and packers industry sees around 35,000-40,000 movements every day, but it still remains a very unorganised sector for the B2C segment. Spotting an opportunity in the sector, Avinash Raghav started Shift Freight in 2020. The Noida-headquartered logistics startup is an online marketplace that aggregates vendors and connects these movers and packers with consumers to provide on-demand shifting services. Read more.

News & Updates

• AmazonIndia has announced 10 startups as finalists for its Amazon Global Selling Propel Accelerator programme launched in partnership with Startup India. The programme is aimed at supporting startups to reach customers around the world.

• Blume Ventures has closed a differentiated secondary vehicle fund at Rs 350 crore in partnership with Avendus. The Blume Ventures Fund IX is designed to allow new investors, existing Blume Fund I and allied entities’ investors to hold the top performers in Fund I for an additional four to five years. 

• Trifecta Capital announced its second venture debt fund Trifecta Venture Debt Fund. The fund, with an initial target of Rs 1,000 crore ($137 million), including a greenshoe option of Rs 250 crore, received investor commitments of Rs 1,025 crore ($ 140 million).

• Omnivore has made it to ImpactAssets' 'IA 50 Impact Fund' that curates a global database of private debt and equity impact investing funds. The list includes VCs, family offices, financial advisors, and institutional investors that deliver social and environmental impact and financial returns.

• Delhi-based logistics SaaS platform FarEye said it has acqui-hired the logistics technology startup PY Technologies in a bid to scale customer implementations as well as incubate new ideas. 

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“Make sure that the problem statement you're solving is a real problem statement, and that it is a problem that needs to be solved. And if, at any given point, you get the signals that you shouldn't be chasing this, make sure that you're ready to pivot.” 

— Rahul Chari, Co-founder and CTO, PhonePe

Now get the Daily Capsule in your inbox. Subscribe to our newsletter today!