[Monday Wrap] From a 13-year-old's courier service to healthcare at your doorstep - your startup fix to start the week

Starting up young just got a new benchmark. Meet the 13-year-old who harnessed Mumbai's dabbawala network for his courier service. Tilak Mehta, a Class 8 student at Garodia International School in Mumbai, started Papers N Parcels to help Mumbaikars courier their things around the city for same-day delivery at the cheapest rates. The business is self-funded, with his family putting in the initial funding; Tilak intends to pay it back once the company is profitable.

Virtual currency may be on the RBI radar, but we tell you why Singapore-based Alluma is betting big on global crypto trade. Founded by Akash Agarwal in 2017, the crypto exchange brings together robust compliance processes, an advanced yet easy-to-use platform and UI, and a tight security framework. The startup still does peer-to-peer transfers and maintains accounts with banks globally as it is registered in Singapore.

What if the doctor could come home when you were unwell? Udaipur-based Medhola brings medical services to your doorstep and has tied up with service providers across the city of Udaipur for non-critical and non-emergency issues like fever, cold, small injuries, etc. Founded by Gaurav Dhakar in 2016, the healthtech startup is particularly useful for the elderly or dependent segment of the population.

When Manish Mehta, a CA, and Alok Khandelwal a journalist, decided to start up, they thought of building a product that served society. They realised that despite the profusion of digital healthcare platforms, there wasn’t a single point that brought together all stakeholders in the healthcare system. Enter Jaipur-based MeraPatient, which aims to bring more offline pharma stores online.

Foodtech giants like Zomato and Swiggy can come to your rescue if you are hungry in the city. But what if you are on the outskirts of a small city? Meet CampusKhana, which is driving away students' hunger pangs in Indore's colleges. Launched in December 2015 by Amit Ranjan and Monica Dua, this foodtech aggregator started its journey by delivering food to IIM Indore. In the last couple of years, it has diversified into fruits and grocery delivery, and reportedly delivered more than 16,000 orders.

Founded by Ashish Agarwal, Pinku Agarwal, and Manu Saxena in 2016, Jaipur-based HR-tech startup WorkNrBy helps you find job opportunities close to home. The platform is tapping the hyperlocal employment opportunity and focuses on small and medium businesses spread across a city. It is free for job seekers, and even for employers in the initial stages.

In a world where time equals money, Saurav Jhawar and Madhuri Chalke believe on-demand concierge service is the need of the day. Their startup Obo, which works as an on-demand personalised delivery service, offers on-demand delivery, reverse deliveries, and even first and last-mile logistics. Obo’s local delivery network and logistics technology helps merchants deliver to their customers in a cost-effective way.

Sonia Asher and Rahul Anand decided to tap the huge opportunity to help consumers access their kirana store on a digital platform. Their fintech startup, Paramotor, which was launched in 2016, aims to reach POS solutions to small-town retailers. The omni-channel payment processing platform helps merchants accept payments from customers across all sales channels and devices.

The disconnect between engineers' skills and employability led Konark Singhal to found MountBlue Technologies, a startup that began operations in Bengaluru in June 2017. Now, MountBlue’s coding bootcamps are aiding entry-level tech hiring in startups. The bootcamps re-skill and upskill engineers to make them ready for employment in tech startups and various high-growth ventures. In a year, MountBlue has had nearly 100 engineers graduate in 10 cohorts.

Hyperlocal delivery is a sector where more startups have died than thrived. But Noida-based NOW Delivery turned profitable, and is expanding. Launched in Noida in January 2016 by Vivek Pandey and Bharat Khandelwal, NOW Delivery started as a bike taxi platform. Between lunch and dinner time, it would do hyperlocal food deliveries. Now, it also offers no-delay deliveries for medical needs.

Despite the ban on crypto assets, Mumbai-based WazirX believes the future is in cryptocurrencies. Founded by Nischal Shetty, Siddarth Menon, and Sameer, the idea was clear: to create India’s very own and most trusted crypto assets exchange, enabling Indians to build up their digital portfolio by buying, selling or investing in digital assets. The platform allows people to buy cryptocurrencies through peer-to-peer transfers.

Founded by Khyati Mahajan and Manish Mahajan, and based in Delaware, US, MevoLife is looking to create a holistic fitness ecosystem. The bootstrapped fit-tech startup offers a wide range of offerings spread over two categories – Power apps (over 50 specialised apps to help fitness enthusiasts meet their goals) and MevoFit gear (which comprises fitness trackers and merchandise).

Bhairavi Sagar and Col Jaidev Singh Rathore love road trips. No surprises then that their Mumbai-based, bootstrapped startup aims to change the nature of road-tripping in India. Voyages Overland puts the "overlanding" show on the road, and uses customised, off-road trucks for a travel experience that puts the emphasis less on the destination and more on the journey.

Gadhadar Reddy has an ambitious dream: being the first human on Mars. This led him to research carbon nanotubes to make lighter spacecraft, and culminated in a collaboration Robert Kelley Bradley and the birth of NoPo Nanotechnologies. Now, all roads lead to Mars for this Bengaluru-based startup, which manufactures high quality and affordable carbon nanotubes that are being tested by ISRO for their efficacy as a coating on spacecraft.

In the digital age, people put their best faces forward on social networking sites. But what about the struggles and fears that dog us? Ashish Bais, Manish Bais, and Rishita Varma decided to target this problem With YoBlunt, the next big social network that lets “you be you”. Launched in mid-2017 as an anti-Facebook proposition, this Faridabad-based startup offers a platform restricted to anonymous selfie narration videos only by using patent-pending artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

When Prasad Tataverty saw that there was no digital platform to exclusively address the requirement of sales and marketing professionals, he decided – in March 2018 - to start up with a jobs site. The Sales Talent is finding its niche in placing sales and marketing professionals. The digital platform acts as a one-stop shop for jobs, career, networking, learning, and mentoring.

Healthtech startups may be booming, but these 6 IIT alumni are working to take India towards better health. Siddharth Bidwan, Nimish Mehta, Kumar Akarsh, Piyush Singh, Harshal Jain, and Srikanth Manne launched MedLabz, a platform that offers convenient and easy access to diagnostic services; based on test results, it directs patients to specific doctors and specialists. Its predictive AI engine also helps customers adopt healthier lifestyles based on conditions, past ailments, and treatments.

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