Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on mindfulness in entrepreneurship; Helping brands convert visitors to customers

Hello,

The world’s largest chipmaker has a message for naysayers: the AI boom is still alive and kicking.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is putting money where its mouth is, raising its revenue growth target for the year in a show of confidence in continued AI hardware demand.

In fact, its chief executive believes the demand is here to stay for many, many years.

When there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, how can investors resist? Wall Street’s S&P 500 and Dow indices touched intraday record highs soon after the results. TSMC’s optimism even spilled over to other AI and chip stocks, including Nvidia, Broadcom, and Intel. 

Meanwhile, there’s a storm brewing on the telecom front. 

Even Bharti Airtel is tagging into what is now a full-blown battle in India over allocation of satellite spectrum, with billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal on one side and Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos on the other.

With any luck, Starlink could be one of the biggest challengers to Reliance, which has dominated India's telecom sector for years. 

Lastly, if you think a runway is the only place you could find Prada couture, think again. The luxury group has its sights on the moon, teaming up with Houston-based startup Axiom Space to unveil the design of a spacesuit that will be used for NASA's Artemis 3 mission to the moon planned for 2026.

The new Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU), as the suit is known, was showcased at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan. The suit is made to withstand extreme temperatures at the lunar south pole and the shadowed regions for at least two hours. Astronauts will even be able to perform spacewalks for at least eight hours.

Well, if you’re out to make history, might as well do it in style!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• A spiritual perspective on entrepreneurship
• Helping brands convert visitors to customers
• Bridging the gap in mental healthcare

Here’s your trivia for today: Which famous singer’s real name is Farrokh Bulsara?

Interview

A spiritual perspective on entrepreneurship

In today’s cutthroat world, success extracts a heavy cost. Long and unreasonable work hours, punishing schedules, the relentless pursuit of growth at all costs, and high levels of stress have resulted in physical and mental health issues for founders and employees alike. 

At the core of these issues is a disconnect between our physical and spiritual selves, says spiritual and humanitarian leader Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who founded the Art of Living Foundation, in an exclusive conversation with YourStory. 

Food for the mind:

• “Life is a combination of free will and destiny. Some things are within our control, while others are not. It's important to accept the things we cannot change and take action on the things we can,” he says.
• Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar reminds us that competition is healthy, but low self-esteem is destructive. While it's natural to feel a sense of competition, it's important to avoid self-doubt and negative self-talk.
• “To manifest something, you must first connect with your inner self. When your mind is calm and focused, it becomes powerful, like a laser beam. This focused intention is the key to manifestation,” he adds. 

Funding Alert

Startup: Wrogn

Amount: Rs 75 Cr

Round: Equity

Startup: Simplismart

Amount: $7M

Round: Series A

Startup: Buddy.bot

Amount: $4.2M

Round: Seed

Startup

Helping brands convert visitors to customers

In the competitive world of digital commerce, customer acquisition is one of the biggest challenges for small and mid-sized brands. 

Gurugram-based marketing automation platform Nitro Commerce seeks to help small ecommerce brands and businesses boost their engagement with users, help them acquire loyal customers, and address high customer acquisition costs.

All about the customer:

• Nitro Commerce provides a suite of tech-driven SaaS solutions aimed at ecommerce and D2C brands, focusing on privacy compliance, affiliate marketing, and AI-enhanced customer engagement. 
• The startup offers three solutions: Nitro X, Nitro Collab, and Nitro Store. All these solutions are geared towards optimising user experience and encouraging/nudging them to buy, thus converting visitors to customers. 
• Nitro Commerce has a diversified revenue model: a subscription model with monthly and annual plans; percentage commission based on clients’ ad spending and campaign performance; and a revenue share model tied to the incremental revenue generated by clients. 

Woman Entrepreneur

Bridging the gap in mental healthcare

In 2021, Apeksha Sharma, along with her husband, started a mental health startup, Mindfuel Healthcare. 

Mindfuel Healthcare offers telehealth therapy services, catering to individuals and couples. In addition to therapy, it provides workshops, events, and training sessions. The startup is also planning to expand into in-person centres soon.

Beautiful mind:

• Mindfuel Healthcare offers therapy sessions to individuals in aspects such as grief, trauma, and relationships. It also provides workshops in corporate stress management, seminars, and support circles for employees.
• “There’s a significant gap between the population in need of mental health support and the number of qualified professionals available. We need more people in this space,” says Sharma.
• Most of Mindfuel Healthcare’s clients are between the ages of 20 and 40, but there has been an increasing number of clients in their 60s and even 80s.

News & updates

• Roadblocks: Nestle on Thursday said shopper “concerns around the election” in the United States are putting further pressure on demand in its biggest market by creating consumer uncertainty.
• Top earner: Blackstone Inc posted an increase in third-quarter profit as its credit arm, boosted by an influx of investor cash, became the firm’s biggest business by assets.
• Supporting growth: The European Central Bank lowered interest rates for the second meeting in a row to 3.25%, speeding the pace of rate cuts to support an economy flashing increasing signs of weakness.

Which famous singer’s real name is Farrokh Bulsara?

Answer: Freddie Mercury.

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