‘Whatever it takes’ - your startup fix for Monday

Monday April 22, 2019 , 4 min Read

Last week, it was Game of Thrones. This week, only one thing is awaited with the same level of feverish excitement. The Avengers Endgame by the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Our surviving heroes are ready to do “whatever it takes” to reverse the damage caused by Thanos in Infinity War.

And as the Avengers bandy together to save the world, we take a look at some lessons they taught us. Let’s begin with the “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” Tony Stark. “Heroes are made by the path they choose, not the powers they are graced with,” he says.

Superheroes are human too, and they teach us that it’s important to face your fears and fight your battles, every single day. As Peggy Carter says in Captain America: Winter Soldier, “The world has changed. None of us can go back. Sometimes, the best we can do is start over.”

Inspired to start over on this sunny Monday? We suggest you find more motivation in our list of startup stories before starting out.

Delhi startup SportsFlashes wants to be the Amazon for sports

Last August, a little-known sports startup from India acquired the audio broadcast rights of the EPL until 2022. India’s first internet sports radio, SportsFlashes also acquired global audio rights to the ICC Cricket World Cup, IPL, and all international cricket matches to be played in India for the next five years. SportsFlashes claims it has 25 million unique listeners with a cumulative reach of over 500 million for its audio broadcasts.

Thrissur-based startup wants to make wheelchairs better than that of Stephen Hawking’s

Stephen Hawking was the first adopter of augmented and alternative communication. Inspired by him, two entrepreneurs from Kerala set up Desintox Technologies to help differently-abled Indians lead a normal life. Desintox Technologies currently has four products - EasyMover, Hoist, Smartmotive, and electric wheelchair, now working on an autonomous wheelchair that is planned for 2020.

Three former Ola employees are building an 'Ola for home automation providers'

Mumbai-based Habitro Labs wants to make home automation more accessible to the masses. Bootstrapped so far, it is looking to raise Rs 10-15 crore in 2019. The startup claims to have generated revenue of about Rs 75 lakh already. Most of it has been driven by B2B customers, including co-working spaces like OF10, and WorkSquare, and realtors like Tridhaatu, and others.

'Our Democracy' wants to revolutionise Indian elections

Former journalist Bilal Zaidi and socio-political campaigner Anand Mangnale are quietly working towards revolutionising the electoral process through startup OurDemocracry.in. Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani, contesting as an independent candidate (with the support of the Congress), raised Rs 19 lakh from the platform. Former JNU student leader and CPI Begusarai candidate Kanhaiya Kumar raised Rs 70 lakh from 5,582 supporters.

Mumbai-based Transport Hub uses IoT to serve various business needs

Transport Hub is taking automation in logistics to the next level. The company helps you avoid unauthorised usage of a vehicle as well as immobilise it remotely. You can get instant alerts on call and email if there is an emergency and no GPS signal is available.

This startup wants to be a complete marketplace for organic produce across India

Ramaraju and Suribabu Lakkamraju set up GoFarmz in 2016 in Hyderabad as a platform for farmers growing organic produce to sell it online. It also lets customers buy products from the website or the app on a weekly basis. 3,000 customers are registered, and 15-plus farmers on-boarded till now. Every week, the startup clocks an average of 100 orders, at Rs 500 per item, with an average basket size from six to eight kg.

This SaaS startup helps SMEs conduct transparent operations by digitising the supply chain

Founded by Dipti Singla and Sriram Subramanian in 2018, Mumbai-based Bnext has raised $300,000 from angel investors, and is working to simplify the interaction between manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and resellers. At present, Bnext has around 2,000 clients, working across the fashion and lifestyle sector, including apparel, jewellery, and footwear.