From Dehradun to San Jose

Good morning!

Growing up, not many of us knew what we wanted to do in life. But Ashish Garg, who grew up in a middle-class household in Dehradun, always wanted to become an engineer and start his own company. 

Learning the spirit of entrepreneurship and perseverance from his father, he graduated with a degree in Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering from BITS, Pilani.

But the turning point came when Hotmail, founded by BITS alum Sabeer Bhatia, got sold to Microsoft for $500 million. Ashish thought, “If he can do it, why can’t I?”

He decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge, let go of the interview calls he had got from all IIMs, and flew to the US. 

In 2013, he co-founded Eltropy, a global software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup that enables businesses to connect with their customers on SMS (short messaging service) and text messaging apps. Within 18 months of launch, the startup landed a million-dollar deal. Read more.

The Interview

While India has always been building application-based solutions, but recently, there has also been an emergence of startups in the systems in the hardware space such as manufacturing UAVs and automotive solutions. Olivier Sappin and Eric Bienvenu of Dassault Systèmes talk about the impact of COVID-19 in the product lifecycle management (PLM) space, and how people design, innovate and simulate.

Editor’s Pick: The Turning Point

When Devendra Sharma was an 18-year-old engineering aspirant, he had been searching for a place to stay in Kota when his father collapsed. This incident made him think about the problems other students might be facing in finding suitable accommodation. One year later, he founded Ole Rooms, an online marketplace for renting flats, paying guest houses, and hostels without brokerage for as low as Rs 199 a day. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

Bhagalpur-headquartered Saptkrishi helps farmers reduce produce wastage

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, 40 percent of horticultural produce worth $8.3 billion is wasted every year. To solve the problem of inadequate logistical support, lack of refrigerated storage, etc, Nikky Kumar Jha launched Saptkrishi in 2019. The startup's first product — Preservator — a low-cost, IoT-enabled chamber-cum-storage that can be used to extend the shelf life of horticultural produce. Read more.

News & Updates

• BharatPesurpassed its full-year target of lending Rs 1,000 crore of loans, and now expects to end the fiscal disbursing over Rs 1,250 crore. So far, it has given loans to over 1.1 lakh merchants across 75 cities.

• India's GDP for the October-December quarter (Q3) grew by 0.4 percent after two consecutive quarters of contraction. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) says that though this marks an exit from a period of recession, the GDP for the entire financial year 2020-21 (FY21) is seen contracting by 8 percent.

• The Home Ministry said the existing COVID-19 guidelines will remain in force till March 31. MHA said that while there has been a substantial decline in COVID-19 cases, there is a need to maintain surveillance, containment, and caution.

• NASSCOM said the new rules for social media, OTT, and digital media players aim to address concerns like grievance redressal, fake news and online safety, but will require the right implementation. The government on Thursday had announced new rules to curb the misuse of social media platforms.

• Maruti Suzuki India has partnered with the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) to nurture 26 startups in the mobility sector. The incubation programme is aimed at helping the startups become large-scale businesses and also help the industry with technology-led solutions.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“If you look at the positive side of every event and people, there is always a story inside. And there is hope.”

— Sudha Murty, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation

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