The week that was: a techie's view on healthcare to the best apps of 2020
This week, we bring you the tech journey of Gaurav Parchani, Co-founder and CTO of Dozee, all that happened at Facebook’s maiden Fuel for India event, and the tops apps of 2020.
Five years after Gaurav Parchani started Turtle Shell Technologies with Mudit Dandwate, he still codes as he did on day one.
“I have always loved solving puzzles and problems. I believe that coding every day gives me the agility to look at problems and find solutions.
The best part about coding is the independence it gives you. "Something as complex as WhatsApp was built by 18 developers. In fact, most big and successful products start with limited resources and the grit to code,” he says.
But that doesn’t mean that Gaurav doesn’t let his team code. He does his bit while his team that works on building the core product every single day. Their product, Dozee, a contactless device that tracks sleep patterns, heart, respiration, and stress levels, is now being used to take the fight to coronavirus.
[LtoR] Mudit Dandwate, and Dandwate, Dozee Co-Founders
At Facebook’s maiden Fuel for India virtual event, Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri said, "At Instagram, we see ourselves as a place where we push culture forward. We focus on young people since culture always gravitates towards young people...We see a massive shift in power from organisations to individuals across industries. And creators are at the forefront of that shift."
Centring on this idea, Facebook brought together the Instagram global head and one of India's leading Instagram influencer Kusha Kapila to address some of the major questions that Instagram creators have today.
Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram; and Kusha Kapila, Instagram influencer at the Facebook Fuel for India 2020
The year 2020 led to nine new startups joining the unicorn club, and even saw the birth of a decacorn, BYJU’S, which followed in the footsteps of OYO (2019) and Paytm (2018).
"Before COVID-19, we were happy with a $0.5 billion outcome for a company at a $20-50 million valuation. But what used to be a half a billion to the one-billion story has very easily started to look anywhere between a two to three-billion dollar story to me.” COVID-19 has changed the dynamics of operation for startups across the globe.
The story is no different in India, says Pankaj Makkar, Managing Director of Bertelsmann India Investments, in a recent interview with YourStory.
Last but not least, we focus on why India became the world’s biggest app download market, accounting for over 20 billion downloads, in 2019, or more than 10 percent of global app installs.
While the numbers for 2020 are not yet out, it is estimated that India will continue to lead other countries in terms of app downloads, riding on its enormous smartphone population and increasing internet penetration.
Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta
