Do whatever it takes to be in the playground

It’s been a year of the pandemic, but every one of us vividly remembers the panic, anxiety, and isolation the lockdown had brought upon us. On March 25, 2020, as India went into a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19, most of us had to confine ourselves at home. 

But frontline workers — doctors, nurses, and other healthcare staff — never had that luxury. They had to endure long shifts, donning personal protective equipment (PPE), in the harshest of conditions, with a constant risk of catching the virus. And through it all, they remained resilient and saved precious lives. 

HerStory spoke to some doctors and nurses about their experience on the frontlines during the last year. 

Throughout this past highly “unprecedented” year, YourStory has been speaking to a lot of startups and entrepreneurs. Stories of uncertainty. Of strength. Of learnings. Of losses. But mainly, stories of resilience and of rising to an unforeseen challenge. Every day. Without fail. One of the biggest learnings has been that when you enter the playground (of entrepreneurship or for that matter anything important in life), it’s not about hitting fours and sixes but of making sure you don’t get thrown out of the playground. 

What matters is staying put in that playground. Doing whatever it takes to stand your ground. 

At YourStory, even during the pandemic, we have been able to launch new content series, like the award-winning Money Matters with Shradha Sharma: Build & Grow series powered by HSBC, to new formats such as podcasts and WhatsApp chat series. 

We’ve also launched new tech products like YourStory Connect, new certificate courses on YourStory Education, and our community-oriented subscription platform, YourStory Club. 

Just this week in fact, we launched our premium subscription platform – The CapTable – for deeply reported stories on India’s new economy. With The CapTable, YourStory’s impact will extend beyond enabling startup discovery and empowering entrepreneurs. It means YourStory will help top decision-makers across the world to make informed decisions about India and its new economy.

Click here to read more on the one year of lockdown.

The Interview

One of the ways to combat air pollution — one of the biggest social issues today — is to shift towards cleaner sources of energy, moving away from heavily polluting fossil fuels. However, renewable or clean energy sources are just more expensive and do not make economic sense. Today, however, that argument falls flat. 

ReNew Power’s Founder, Chairman, and Managing Director Sumant Sinha points out that “on a pure commercial basis, renewable energy today is 30 to 50 percent cheaper than coal-based power. And because it is cheaper, therefore, people don't want to buy this (coal) energy.” 

Editor’s Pick: Story of D2C brand Lifelong Online

In 2015, Bharat Kalia quit his management consultancy job and started Lifelong Online in Gurugram, joined by Varun Grover and Atul Raheja. The trio launched with a small seed capital to make the first product – a mixer grinder. Over five years, they added a wide range of products in the home, kitchen, grooming, and lifestyle categories, and built Lifelong Online into a fast-growing, digital-first consumer durables brand. Today, the 60-member team sees Rs 40 crore revenue in the peak months, Bharat claims. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

Operating on an online marketplace model, Zingbus encompasses all aspects of bus travel, says Co-founder and CEO, Prashant Kumar. This includes finding the right bus, booking a ticket, providing the boarding and departure times, taking care of the customer experience during the journey, and adhering to safety norms. Read more.

News & Updates

• Five Star Finance has raised $234 million in a round led by existing investors Sequoia Capital India, with participation from Norwest Venture Partners, as well as new investors, led by KKR with participation from TVS Capital. The investment values the company at $1.4 billion.

• Serum Institute of India (SII) is hopeful of launching Covovax, a second vaccine for COVID-19, by September 2021. Covovax is being developed in partnership with American vaccine developer Novavax.

• The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed retaliatory trade actions against six countries including India, that have imposed or are considering equalisation levy/digital services tax on ecommerce companies.

• The United Nation’s premier global body fighting for gender equality called for a sharp increase of women in global decision-making in a hotly debated final document that saw continuing pushback against women's rights and a refusal to address issues of gender identity.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“I think that’s very important for founders to get into areas where they’re so personally vested and passionate about that they just won’t give up for like five years.”

— Harsh Jain, Co-founder and CEO, Dream11

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