5 best pitches at the MobileSparks – what India’s new-age startups are up to

Entrepreneurs were invited to pitch their startups and ideas at MobileSparks. We have listed below, some of the interesting pitches made at the event.

With diverse range of innovations and new-age startups rising in the mobile sector, the sixth edition of MobileSparks focussed on The New Billion, a representational phrase for the next wave of mobile adoption in India.

The event witnessed an influx of startups, entrepreneurs, students, and other audience members interested in understanding the trends, innovations, and discourses in the fast evolving mobile-based ecosystem.

The panel discussions at the event focussed on smartphones as credit cards for the new billion, the rise of languages and lite apps, and how startups can profit from effective marketing, advertising, and analytics.

Additionally, interesting speaker sessions were organised on topics which included how smartphones can empower SMEs, usage of data to understand the new billion users, and the emerging trends in UI/UX for mobile design.

As part of the event, entrepreneurs who were among the audience were also invited to pitch their startups and ideas. We have listed below, some of the interesting pitches made at the event.

CAMP

Annapurna Sreehari, from Centre for Advanced Mediation Practice (CAMP), was present at MobileSparks. She spoke about the work her startup has done in collaboratively resolving disputes. “We help disputing parties find collaborative solutions to their disagreements with minimal time and cost investment. We facilitate negotiations by trying to understand the underlying needs and interests of both parties and unhinge them from their positions in the disputes,” she said.

Founded in 2015, CAMP has resolved family disputes, divorce cases, business disputes, commercial disputes, founder disputes, disputes between joint venture partners, among others. “When parties are genuinely interested in resolving disputes, they can do so, and in many cases, enjoy enhanced business relationships too,” Annapurna added.

BAIF Institute for Sustainable Livelihoods and Development

Ram Prasad works with BAIF (Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation) Institute for Sustainable Livelihoods and Development, an NGO that mainly works in the sectors of livestock breeding, agro forestry and natural resources management.

Having completed its golden jubilee, this Pune-based non-profit is now expanding into tech-based initiatives in multiple sectors like solar energy, clean drinking water, among others.

As part of their ICT efforts, they have partnered with TCS and run an app called Godhan Seva which records all the data related to livestock breeding. “We also deal with AI — not artificial intelligence but artificial insemination. The Godhan Seva app stores all information such as when the artificial insemination was done, when was the calf born, what’s the yield etc… The app is used by around 4,000 artificial insemination technicians in 14 states. We have also developed a PWA version of this app,” says Ram who works as an Associate Programme Manager with BAIF Development Research Foundation.

“I’m at MobileSparks because of my curiosity to understand more about the working of different apps. Our organisation is also involved in conducting various digital financial awareness programmes in rural areas where we promote the use of apps like BHIM, PhonePe, and Paytm. Since we have a touch point in 80,000 villages across India, we are in a position to disseminate useful app-related information among rural masses better,” he adds.

Wed Mojo

Syamala Prasad, Co-Founder of Wed Mojo, discussed how he and his wife Andal Durbha are in the process of building a one-stop solution for weddings. “Andal has worked as a wedding planner for seven years now and I am into strategy planning.”

“The engagement app is going to help brides, bridegrooms, and their families get utility work done. This includes invitation, RSVP, finding venues, GPS navigation, etc.” he said. The app also plans to integrate mehndi, haldi, sangeet and other forms of guest engagement, such as uploading photos and videos of the event, building selfie booths at the wedding venues, among other things.

App Acchi

Founded by Pradeep Soundararajan and Avinash Nishant, App Acchi works in the app performance testing space. “Our startup helps test apps in real user conditions. For example, the working of an app differs from how it works when your mobile has 90 percent battery to when it has 40 percent battery. We add value to various apps by testing their efficiency under a range of different user conditions,” says Vaishakh, a team member. App Achhi already uses artificial intelligence (AI) powered bots to test data and performance of apps.

Having sustained themselves through bootstrapping efforts, three-year-old App Acchi is now working with big clients like Myntra. “I’m at MobileSparks to connect with potential customers who can benefit from the services of App Achhi,” says Vaishakh. He adds, “We plan to cover the entire mobile space and even go global in our efforts in future.”

JustPushPlay

The startup's objective is to be a brand consultant for various brands in the industry, selling different type of products. Ashwin Rao, Founder of JustPushPlay, wants to use storytelling as an avenue for this. He wants to create a story around the unique selling point of every product that the brands sell, and make visual content out of it.

A brainchild of his own, Ashwin bootstrapped his startup in November 2017, and now has four clients in fintech, healthcare, and online real estate.

(With inputs from Amoolya Rajappa and Sampath Putrevu.)