How incubators are disrupting the Indian agri-tech startup landscape.

Technology has changed the way that businesses behave today. The Indian economy is home to over 56,000 startups with about 450 plus in the agri-tech space alone. There are government regulations and incentives to help these startups grow and sustain, but the dynamics are skewed towards the incubators and accelerators who drive exponential growth.

The agri-tech segment is growing at a phenomenal rate of 25% year-on-year. The fund inflow has been over $250 million in 2019 alone. The future is bright, and experts view the agri-tech innovation industry as the primary driver of agricultural economics by 2020. The multi-billion sector has a massive scope to change the face of the Indian economy. Incubators are not only funding, but also mentoring, and guiding the very fragmented businesses leading towards a cohesive structure.

The agriculture industry is fragmented and unorganized in India. There is a need to harness the potential that the sector offers to harness the growth and make it sustainable. The need for technological innovation to find solutions to everyday problems is the need of the hour. Frugal innovations in the agri-sector will help the economy grow in the long run.



The pressure points plaguing the agriculture industry is the dearth of market linkages, services, and networks that can be tapped as a cohesive whole. The experience of incubators have helped agri-tech startups to channel funds, groom entrepreneurs, provide on-ground pilot testing facility, and maximize business opportunities. The boot camp activities of the incubators facilitate the back-links to market, help in driving networks to reduce wastage, create sustainable logistics systems to promote marketing initiatives, and help agri-tech startups scale up.

The formal incubator-accelerator organizations have disrupted the Indian agricultural startup scenario over the past a few years. Incubators seed the potentially disruptive ideas of the agri-preneur intending to create a viable business model. The startups gain co-working space, structured funding, mentor-ship in the technology and financial domains as well as in-depth knowledge of the industry itself. Incubators also help to mitigate the challenges and risks in the delicate scale-up process.

Incubation is the bedrock of innovative disruption. The idea is to foster growth and ultimately commercialization of the innovation. The incubators have stepped into the gap between a good idea to a viable business. They provide necessary infrastructure, feedback, and correction advice to firm up the innovation. The hand-holding process includes mentor-ship, identification, and firming up of collaborations for the agri-preneur. Intellectual resources and advice can make or break the pattern of growth and scalability.

The role of incubators is crucial in the wider business ecosystem in India. They are integral to the shaping up process of the Indian startup network. The role of the incubator is well beyond the corporate startup office. They add value to the entire business-scape of the start-up community. The exponential growth of India as a start-up hub has opened up the potential of incubators to nurture creativity and disrupt the way traditional business works. The mentoring of the start-up will help agri-ventures transform and catapult itself to the next level.

Agri-tech startups have a vast scope to enhance livelihood opportunities in rural India. Intervention in sustainable agricultural processes, livestock management, skill development, market linkages, effective network of logistics infrastructure, sustainable pricing conventions, and robust market linkages will contribute tremendously to rural economic development and food security goals in the country. Incubators are set to disrupt the Indian startup landscape in a big way.


Disclaimer: Following article source is ET

Is there really a way of failure-proofing something as a startup?

Corporates today are not worried about what the other corporates are doing. They are instead worried about what startups are building in garages and hence, after trying to do everything to keep up with their pace, are now funding them.

In the highly interactive session, Stressed on what startups should focus on and where they are going wrong.

Customer co-creation

“Instead of focusing solely on the product, startups should think about doing other fundamental things right from the idea stage. This can be summarised in six points, namely co-creation, pricing relevance, ease of use, market acceptance, identifying customer needs, and tech-friendliness.”

Startups know what they are building and desperately want to sell it but what they need to know before anything else is why they made it. Believing in why you did what you did is pivotal.

Products have rationales and customers have emotions; tap that! If you think rationally in business, you will have a hundred people doing the same thing, but if you capitalise on emotion, you will be different.

If you are building a startup, there are certain questions which you need to ask yourself. They include:

* What need are you addressing?
* Are you satisfying a REAL need?
* Is your product impacting the lives of your customers?
* What is your competition doing?



Investor Co-creation

Most startups toil for years together, build a product, and then begin hunting for investors. This is a flawed method.

“You know how important an investor is to your startup. So, why wait for him? Involve investors from the idea stage so they know what you are doing from the start. People like to do business with who they are familiar with. Also, interacting with investors from the start gives you a lot of additional insight on what’s happening in the ecosystem and lets you understand what exactly they are looking for.

Traction: This is not about how much you have made but how much you are likely to make.

Mentor creation: People who can bridge the gap between customers and investors with their experience.

Their own passion is important, but obsession is not. Understand, if it has to be a commercial enterprise, it has to solve the problem of customers.

But what after a successful launch and a few great years of operations? How does a startup continually do well?

It’s not about getting it right at once. As long as people keep evolving, you cannot stop working. Every day is a new day.

While we are all aiming at achieving success and avoiding failure, They are both results that are not under our control. However, what we can control is our actions, and the more the precision with which we carry them out, the further we go in avoiding failure.

Disclaimer: - Following article come from YourStory

Startups, guide your way to cloud.

Isn’t this such an exciting time, when so much is happening in the startup arena? Technology-based startups bet on their ideas and work towards giving life to their dreams over a period. Ideas which are given shape via technology and placed on the tarmac as a pilot roll-out are tested for their relevance and acceptance from the consumers and businesses. This is where the idea of a public cloud comes across as a boon for tech startups that are either testing the waters with their beta products or productionising their solutions. A public cloud offers unprecedented compute and is the perfect platform for startups to take off. It is just not about compute boxes but capitalising on unique offerings that matter the most to them from a solution standpoint.

At the time when these pilots are rolled out (with ‘beta’ or ‘trial run’ tags), there is no sense of scale or directional indicators on compute capacity. Some may invest in market studies leading up to forming an opinion on the way forward, but at best they are ballpark and based on one’s awareness of the domain. Often, the question is about the pilot creation, where the pilot travels a certain distance, but is now being challenged for it longevity while the business leaps to garner bigger deals. This is the time and phase where startups go back to the drawing board, to assess how they can stand up to the upside they are witnessing on their businesses.

Getting access to public cloud is comparable to getting access to a theme park with unlimited rides. But it all depends on how they are utilised and perceptions are formed on the basis of ones’ tryst with specific rides.  Startups look for quick ways to deploy and get their solutions/services up and running. This article presents some of the field learnings from a technology standpoint in the form of recommended practices startups should keep in mind when they begin their journey in the cloud.

* Adapt a universal component designThis is one area architects and designers need to think through. A typical approach taken by a startup is not get tied to a specific platform. Depending on factors indicated under #4 (‘Cloud credit management and cost optimisation’) below, you tend to move your workloads from one cloud platform to another. Migrations or move-overs are not easy and come with certain costs (time and effort). At times, having used native services on specific cloud platforms might make the movement harder. If you have taken a stance not to use platform native capabilities, it might work in your favour during migrations, but at the cost of not capitalising on the power of cloud beyond pure boxes (hosting workloads in VMs).

This is where the need to make your workloads universal comes in handy. What does ‘universal’ mean in this context? It is about realising the core capability (main business function) by way of using certain peripheral native services (storage, integration, and data services) to complement the core functionality. When you take this approach, the core remains independent of a cloud platform and it can only be called complete by leveraging peripheral services. So when you move from one cloud platform to another, you take the core, which is at the heart of your solution, and wire it up with required peripheral (managed) services. This is true heterogeneity in the context of public cloud. In hindsight, it is also important to establish basic know-how of at least two cloud platforms to realise this model.

* Time to market — building vs buying (adopt managed services)

At times, it is fashionable to say that we have built it all in-house instead of using any readily available solutions. While it is important to demonstrate technical prowess leading to intellectual property creation, you have to balance it to address ‘time to market’ (TTM). TTM is very important for tech startups in view of competition and this is where ‘Managed Services’ or ‘PaaS’ comes in handy. Why waste time when someone has already done it the hard way? You are better off using it and moving on with stuff which is far more important to your business than going the route of reinventing the wheel.

Don’t get bogged down and stay on the trail of demonstrating technical prowess, but demonstrate agility by using proven frameworks and softwares that are out there. PaaS offering lays out services which can be readily consumed. Hence, if you are grappling with multiple ideas, you are better off realising them sooner in your efforts to test the waters.

* DevOps

This is the most talked about but less adopted stream in the startup world. A sense of urgency is at the centre of any startup and an essential ingredient for them to compete. Down the line, you may realise the aspect of disciplined approach to execution, and the lack of it in your effort to release something quickly. As your business grows, you will realise that TTM is increasing and you lack agility in the process followed. This is where the need for DevOps is felt and an essential ingredient in the overall SDLC. The sooner startups bring in this culture, the better would be their road ahead when it comes to scaling their systems and being responsive to business demands.

* Cloud credit management and cost optimisation

Major public cloud vendors provide usage credits to help startups jumpstart. It may last for a while, and is considered a major cost saver in the startup world. However, one should be mindful of the fact that these credits have an expiry and at some point, they must shift this cost into their routine burn rate. One crucial recommendation for startups here is to leverage these credits and invest in experimentation. You have to invest time to explore ways and means to scale, secure, grow, and instil value into your overall offerings.

In addition, the experimentation should also lead you into discovering the most cost-effective way to run your solution. This is critical to address the reality when credits run out and you have to pay from your pocket, because you are assured that you have the most economical solution in place.

* Minimise tech breakdowns

 Cloud provides more than one solution to a problem. Hence choose the one that justifies the cost as well as meets your performance requirement. Be it B2B or B2C, your differentiator may eventually be ‘availability’ and ‘responsiveness’. Hence it is important to build your system considering they would fail. Transient failures are evident and ensure you know the failover or recovery path in times of crisis. Your systems should carry the tag of ‘fail safe’, since factors like ‘availability’ and ‘responsiveness’ have a direct impact on the perception your users will have of your product and the reputation.

Cloud is evolving and so should startups. Cloud platform vendors are offering innovative solutions and a great amount of effort is going into democratising the software for application developers. Startups face a plethora of challenges and have to ensure the boat sails with certain stability. Based on my observation of the field, startups need to give thought to the above described areas. It is always desirable to do it right the first time, though learning from failures gives great insights on the way to success.

Disclaimer: - Following article come from YOURSTORY

How Entrepreneurs Made A Comeback After Business Failure.

Sydney entrepreneur Laura Moore came back from disaster to launch a successful health coaching business.
Running a small business can be one of the biggest, and most rewarding, challenges you can take on.

Imagine then, pouring your heart, time and life savings into developing, launching and growing your business, only to watch it either come close to failure, or worse, go under.

"I put on weight, was experiencing extreme fatigue, constant bloating and poor digestion, brain fog and erratic moods, which was seriously affecting my performance both personally and professionally," she said.

"To the world, it was business as usual, but behind closed doors I was battling with trying to exit the franchise, constantly worrying about my team and clients and how I could ensure they were impacted as minimally as possible, and struggling daily with my health. I now realise there was still a big part of me that felt like a failure."

Moore said she now uses what she learned during that dark time to help others through her new performance and health coaching business, Uppy.

"I learned how to manage and overcome the thoughts and behaviours that had led me to that point in the first place -- perfectionism, unrelenting standards, self-sabotage, fear of failure, fear of not being good enough, procrastination, over-working," she said.

"I've always wanted to run my own business and this setback wasn't enough to kill that dream.

"The fire was kind of a blessing because it allowed me to get amazing insight very early on into my business career, so I now know the key areas I need to improve on (or delegate!) in order to make my new and future businesses run efficiently and successfully, and in a way that serves me personally too.


"I'm sick of seeing people struggle because they've been misinformed or they don't know there's another way, so I created Uppy as I believe everyone has a right to the knowledge and support that can help them live more."

Even experienced entrepreneurs can face failure. Entrepreneur Pawl Cubbin had to completely re-think his marketing plan when his Canberra nightclub started to flounder

Pawl Cubbin, serial entrepreneur and founder of advertising agency ZOO Group, also faced the burn of a failing business 12 years ago when the shine wore off his Canberra nightclub Academy 11 months after opening.

"It was a massive endeavour to get it going: Canberra's not a big place and we opened this nightclub in an underground cinema," he told HuffPost Australia.

"It had heaps of atmosphere and the novelty value was big, so it went well for the best part of 12 months -- everybody came and it was a big deal. We killed it.


"But after 12 months the novelty wore off; everybody had been multiple times and even though it was unique in Canberra, it was reduced to a certain demographic and that wasn't enough to sustain it."

Cubbin said the business floundered for three months before he could come up with a plan to save it.

"It was an expensive project ... we'd invested too much to close it," he said.

"It did too well too initially for us to close it. You've got to identify what you're doing wrong -- you've got to take some blame.


"One of the guys I worked with said 'I think this is the demographic we want, let's put that out there and promote that' and we did. And it was the right thing at the right time, so we were lucky."

Disclaimer: - Following article come from THP

The Richest Entrepreneur Under 40 in Hurun's India Rich List for 2016.

BENGALURU: Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma's wealth surged by 162% in the past one year, making him the richest entrepreneur under 40 in Hurun's India rich list for 2016.

Sharma is worth about Rs 7,300 crore, up from Rs 2,824 crore a year earlier. The rise in wealth can be attributed to Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba investment in the company and subsequent funding rounds that have raised Paytm valuation. Sharma holds about 21% stake in the company.

After Sharma, Indigo co-founder Rakesh Gangawal has seen the biggest increase in wealth of more than 150%. His wealth stood at Rs 15,900 crore, thanks to the share price performance of the airline post its IPO last year. 

Anas Rahman Junaid, MDIndia of Hurun Report, a monthly magazine that focuses on high net-worth individuals in China and India, said subdued investor interest in e-commerce and online businesses had reduced valuations of e commerce unicorns in 2016. Several mutual funds with holdings in Flipkart have lowered the valuations of those stakes in the past few months 

Bhavish Aggarwal of Ola, the youngest in the list at 30, is worth Rs 3,000 crore, up from Rs 2,385 crore in last year's list. His co-founder Ankit Bhati is no longer in the list, which looks at those with wealth of Rs 1,600 crore and more. Last year, Bhati's wealth was exactly the same as Aggarwal's. Hurun's Junaid said Bhati does not have as much stake as Aggarwal does at present.

Disclaimer: - Following article come from ET

Business on a Budget: 5 Money Saving Tips for Every Startup Entrepreneur.

The failure rate of startup businesses is not news to anyone in the world of entrepreneurship. And it's equally sad to know that if you sift through the carcasses of these dead businesses, you will definitely find startups that were founded on great business ideas.

You may wonder why businesses built on brilliant ideas still fail. The answer is usually fairly simple. Having an idea for a business and having an idea about how to run a business are two entirely different things. The reason most startups fail centers around two things -- management skill and financial skill. A dearth of any of these two can kill your business.

I want to focus on the latter reason, financial skill. Let's say your capital base is robust enough to deal with all your business expenses. If you do not know how to be disciplined and frugal with spending, the amount of money you have in your business’s kitty will not do you any good.

If you are a startup entrepreneur, here are a few tips to help ensure that you maintain your capital base, and enhance your profit margins as soon as possible.

1. Postpone personnel rewards.
Starting and running a business is already a herculean task on its own. Think of how much worse things will be if you start dolling out exorbitant amounts of money on unnecessary employment benefits and expensive salaries. You can avoid depleting your capital by avoiding these practices. Set your employee salaries reasonably and augment it with performance bonuses.

If you must have employee benefits, limit them to only those that are critical to motivating employees to achieving the set goals and objectives. Beyond helping you save money by breaking even and turning profit sooner, this practice will help you develop a culture of frugal and disciplined spending in your business.

2. Keep personal and business finances separate.
You are the founder of your business. This implies that you own the business. The problem comes up when you mistake this to mean that you are the business. No  successful business can be run with such a mindset.

Always keep your personal and your business finances separate. Money made from the business is for the purpose of maintaining and growing the business. If you do not separate these two, you will soon find yourself dipping your hands into the business’ coffers for reasons that are only of personal benefit.

It helps to have you on the payroll of the business like every other employee. This ensures that you are making money from your business while also preventing you from depleting business funds.

3. Spend cheap with coupons.
Don't ever buy stuff because you can afford to. Having enough money to make a purchase does not mean that you should make it. Develop the habit of looking around while shopping -- especially online -- to ensure that you get the best possible deal.

One way to spend cheaply is by using coupons. You will be amazed how much you can save. I have always used coupons whenever available for important business purchases. When I purchased the first set of PCs for my ecommerce startup, I was able to save a good amount of money by using the coupon codes I got through Promocode watch. The fact is, coupon codes have remained one of the main reasons some businesses have been able to start up and stay afloat.

4. Skip the real estate.
You do not need a corner office to run a successful business. Many businesses that are successful today started in awkward locations. Just ask the founders of Google.



Do not spend money on real estate that will not directly benefit the business. You can turn part of your house or any other free space you have into an office. From there, you can run your business with your small band of employees.

Let the business grow and expand organically so that when the time to spend on real estate comes, you will know about it and better still, you will be able to afford it without putting a financial strain on your business.

In essence, drop off whatever won’t be missed if they are taken out. You can start cheap, and scale up later. I started my first six figure ecommerce business on free WordPress themes. I scaled up from there.

5. Purchase key person insurance.
In every business, you will find that there are certain people who are invaluable to its success. One way to protect your business is to purchase key person insurance on such a person. As a business owner, you certainly belong in that category.

Key person insurance is a fancy way to describe life insurance on you, co-founder or key employee on whom the continued successful operation of your business depends. The business is the beneficiary under this policy. This insurance coverage is important because it ensures that if anything should happen to the key person, rendering him/her incapable of working, the business will have other options available to them besides filing for bankruptcy.

The business will be able to use the insurance payoff to cover operating costs and pay off debts until they can find a replacement for the key person.

The ability to adequately align your business with strict budget discipline is critical to its survival. Since finance is the life-wire of most businesses, every startup entrepreneur should focus on how to efficiently manage his/her business budget.

Disclaimer: - Following article come from Entrepreneur

Investing in a Startup Isn’t as Dumb an Idea as People Say It Is.

Are you thinking about investing in startups, but are hesitant because of all the fear mongering around startup investing out there? I’m sure you know what I am talking about. There are plenty of people out there who will tell you things like:

“When you invest in startups, expect to lose all your money.”

“Your returns as an angel investor are typically negative, so don’t bother.”

“Angel investing is stupid… don’t do it (even though I made 5X returns angel investing).” And I quote this from an actual conversation.

If startup investing is so risky and so dangerous, why do you hear about so many Silicon Valley millionaire and billionaires getting rich doing it? And why are these typically the same people telling you not to bother getting involved?

The answer is simple: they have learned to do it the right way, and they don’t really want anyone else infringing on their turf. Why is that? Well, it’s because they want to keep the secret intact. The secret to investing in startups the smart way.

If you want to get involved in startup investing and actually generate out sized returns, you need to work at it. That means taking the time to educate yourself completely about this highly complex and variable asset class. You need to get up to speed on how to perform due diligence, how to evaluate a term sheet, how to understand different deal structures, and just to have an overall awareness of current trends and developments in the startup market. It can really be a full time job. This is why venture capitalists exist and are often handsomely paid.

You need to develop relationships, help people who can do nothing for you, offer tons of free advice, make introductions, accept coffee meetings, read everything, and most importantly, get to know A LOT of people. During that time you will probably meet a few who are special. It’s almost like they vibrate at a higher frequency. Once you get used to knowing what to look for, you’ll get pretty good at spotting them right away. These are the folks you want to invest in.

So what things do we look for when selecting companies for investment on 1000 Angels, the company I co founded? Here’s a short overview:

— Stellar founder. If you don’t feel something that excites you when you get to know the founders, they are probably not the right person to invest in. The reason you have that special feeling is because this person has some really unique skill, vision, or vibe that is seriously impressive, and you are subconsciously aware of it. Listen to your heart.

— Attractive market. A market that has relatively few competitors, and in which the founder can establish some sort of competitive insulation or advantage is key. I shudder inside when I hear someone has invested in the 20th “me-too” company in a particular space. Recipe for disaster.

— Traction. What has the team actually accomplished? If they are just coming to you with an idea on paper or a binder-thick business plan, run for the hills. Invest-able companies are those who have proven they can acquire customers, provide value, and maybe even generate revenue. Your investment dollars are hopefully being used to fuel growth of a tested business model, not to make costly mistakes.

— Deal structure. Uncapped convertible note? Forget it. $15 million pre-money for a company that has no traction? Run the other way. There are a million reasons deal structure can torpedo a deal, and learning about all of them usually involves experience, and doing your homework. There have been plenty of cases where investors have bet on companies that resulted in multi-million dollar exits, but no return for early investors who took a ton of risk. You could write a whole book about these cases. Maybe I will…

These are just a few important tips on how to make smart startup investments that can be a great addition to your portfolio. And while I won’t tell you should should invest your child’s college funds in a startup portfolio — and you should realize you could lose all of your invested capital — if you are careful, diligent, and leverage the resources available it’s not outrageous to expect a decent return on your investment. The goal of startup investing is to build a portfolio and develop wealth over time through smart investing in people that you trust and believe in.

There are a lot of resources out there that can help you get started. Startup investment groups and platforms, blogs, webinars, and masterclasses can point you in the right direction. And don’t forget, diversification is key to this strategy. You can’t just invest in one or two companies and hope they work out. It’s really hard to pick the winners, but with some careful attention, you can try to avoid the losers. And avoiding the losers is a key part of making sure that your diversified portfolio performs well.

Disclaimer: - Following article come from FORTUNE

Indian startups lack the scale and depth to make another Silicon Valley

As I write this article, I had a chance to meet with and learn about some of the entrepreneurs shaping India’s startup ecosystem.

As I compare our entrepreneurial ecosystem with others, I am reminded of the three pillars that characterize thriving startup ecosystems: breadth, scale, and depth. By breadth, I mean how many sectors of the economy does the ecosystem span. By depth, I mean how many players in each sector. And by scale, I mean how large are the companies in each sub-sector. Thriving startup ecosystems like Silicon Valley are characterized by amazing breadth, depth, and scale.

How does India stack up?

E-commerce, cab aggregators, and food delivery startups hog the limelight, perhaps leading casual observers to question the breadth of India’s startup ecosystem. But the most striking observation from my visit relates to the big breadth of sectors covered by India’s startups. Their range includes biotech companies like Mitra Biotech, software as a service (SaaS) startups like Freshdesk and Postman, medical devices companies like Forus Health, digital media companies like The Viral Fever, fintech companies like Zerodha, and many more. Whatever your sector of interest, you will likely find activity in that space.

But what the ecosystem offers in terms of breadth, it takes away in terms of scale.

Even some of the larger and more prominent companies in many sectors have barely reached around $10 million (Rs67 crore) in annual revenues after spending much more. Enterprise SaaS companies struggle to sell to Indian corporations making the domestic market virtually non-existent. Selling globally from India isn’t easy either. Similarly, in biotech, the domestic market has been a hard nut to crack. Most biotech startups are yet to achieve reasonable scale despite raising tens of millions of venture dollars. In consumer markets, there is scale in terms of number of potential users but the average revenue per user is low. Scalability remains the biggest missing piece of the Indian startup puzzle.

Moving on to depth, you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of startups in each sector. The lack of depth is partly due to the lack of scale. It is hard for a market to support lots of players unless there is scale. In addition, one doesn’t see enough specialists across multiple sub-sectors in India. If you just looked at advertising technology (ad-tech) in the US, you could break that market down into multiple large sub-sectors including ad exchanges, ad servers, demand-side platforms, supply-side platforms, etc. Other sectors are no different. The market will have to mature considerably for such specialists to emerge in India.

So what can an entrepreneur do to address these scale and depth issues?

These problems are structural and innovations are needed to address the lack of widespread broadband availability and the inadequate access to digital payment platforms, for instance. The government and large corporations will have a major role to play in this. The success of services such as Reliance Jio, which seeks to roll out a pan-India 4G network, and the unified payments interface will be crucial. The tailwinds are certainly in India’s favor given the many initiatives launched in the past 12 months.

The next few years will tell us whether India can list itself alongside US and China as a startup nation.

Disclaimer: - Following article come from Quartz

The UAE entrepreneur who draws inspiration from other female leaders

ABU DHABI // Souad Al Hosani is an exemplar of an Emirati women who is at the top of her chosen profession.

Born and raised in Abu Dhabi, her entrepreneurial outlook has taken her to the presidency of Nexus Business Services, which provides start-up and operational support for companies; the managing directorship of its Nexus Agencies element, and a member of the board of directors at Safetic International Safety and Security consultancy.

She is 28.

"Sometimes, when I work hard and feel exhausted, I feel like taking a break to refuel myself and be ready for the upcoming days, but I am a workaholic," she says. "I love people and I love business. I can never have a break."

A graduate in human resources management from the Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi, Ms Al Hosani has worked as a diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mubadala Development Company, the British embassy in Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Amwal Holdings.

Be Someone, That People Start Admiring To Be Like You

Having completed a training programme for women entrepreneurs, she also received a United Nationals Industrial Development Organisation certificate, while being honoured with a Young Achievers Award by the American Chamber of Commerce in Abu Dhabi. Last year, she was named best female service provider in the UAE.

"After seven years of being in business, I have learnt and enriched my knowledge a lot, with the support of my family, friends, and the community," says Ms Al Hosani.

"My different experiences in the public and private sector have helped me develop, nurture and maintain significant and valuable business and government contacts.

"These opportunities have allowed me to network with professionals around the world, giving me a clear picture of what foreign investors are aiming to achieve by relocating abroad."

Her world is a non-stop one, a whirlwind of meetings and events. But it has allowed her to become a truly global citizen as she promotes the UAE, and gauges the overtures of companies looking to invest in the country.

"I try to switch off at weekends, but I am still available when needed," she says.

The rewards, she explains, are the smiles on her clients’ faces – and the knowledge that her efforts may empower other Emirati women.

"Being a strong female entrepreneur and sharing my experience with people inspires me," she says. "Our leadership has always supported women and encouraged women development on a personal and business level.

"I am so proud about the number of Emirati female leaders we have nowadays – especially our Minister of Youth, who is 22 – and I am proud to be Emirati."

Disclaimer: Following article come from THENATIONAL

Dubai Government Seeks Blockchain Projects for Startup Fund

A technology initiative backed by the Dubai government has launched a $275m startup investment fund (1bn AED) organizers say will likely back blockchain projects.

Announced last week, the Dubai Future Foundation officially opened the Dubai Future Accelerators initiative, a 12-week startup program based in the United Arab Emirates that will seek to encourage innovation in "strategically important" sectors.

A partnership with global investment firm Dubai Holding, the effort is centered around promoting the development of business ideas around six "challenges" in areas like transportation, law, education and public utilities.

The program is now accepting applications from companies seeking to prove a product-market fit for their ideas. Approved applicants, in turn, will spend three months developing pilot projects that are then eligible for additional funding.

Organizers said initial applications include efforts centered on smart meters, smart cities and business process improvements using blockchain.

The move is the latest that finds the Dubai Future Foundation promoting blockchain development. The agency has been among the more active government agencies globally to begin examining blockchain technology, most notably through the Global Blockchain Council (GBC) overseen by its Museum of the Future project.

Earlier this summer, the GBC unveiled seven pilot projects built by prominent area businesses and startups.

Disclaimer: - Following article come from CoinDesk

Fortune Just Launched a Startup Edition of Its Tech Newsletter.

Today’s startups could be tomorrow’s Fortune 500 stars.

Happy Tuesday, dear readers. No, you’re not hallucinating—this is an extra edition of Data Sheet.

Starting today, we’ll be publishing a Tuesday edition. In keeping with our weekend tradition, it will have a theme: startups.

Yes, startups—those fledgling companies building or using technology to create new products, services, or even categories. Startups continue to fascinate us with their ability to turn an idea into an industry. Startups can mint millionaires overnight and topple incumbents just as quickly. They can captivate an entire generation with a simple social app.

Fortune has traditionally focused on covering the world’s largest companies because of their outsized impact on industry. But readers of this newsletter know that today’s startups are tomorrow’s Fortune 500 companies.

Throughout the week we’ll continue to bring you the latest news about Apple, Google, and the rest of the mega caps—not to mention the mega unicorns. But on Tuesdays, we will use this newsletter to showcase genuine up-and-comers whose products could be the next big thing.

After all, even Apple (No. 3 on the Fortune 500) was once just a few guys tinkering with computers in a garage.

We hope you like this new Startup Tuesday edition of Data Sheet.

Disclaimer: - Following article come from FORTUNE

Success Is Not A Matter Of Luck — It’s An Algorithm

How does someone like Jack Dorsey go from a 14-year-old computer science nerd to serial entrepreneur, the co-founder and CEO of Twitter and Square? How does 3M consistently innovate, developing simple but iconic products like post-it notes? It's not a matter of luck. It's an algorithm.

So what exactly is ENGAGE?

ENGAGE is a six-step process for discovering what drives you and using it to succeed in your career. Many people's careers stall because they see strategic, high-level thinking, like knowing what their purpose is or what values drive them, as a "soft skill." They don't prioritize it. But that kind of thinking is exactly what enables entrepreneurs to launch successful startups, executives to get promoted and politicians to be elected. You can progress in your career without following this model, sure. But you'll eventually plateau.

If you want to be not just good, but the best, ENGAGE is for you.

E: Explore your meaning
Whether you think you can, or you think you can't — you're right. — Henry Ford

What's the first step explore your meaning? Identify your top three core values, then define steps you can do each week to embody that value. You value creativity? Set 15 minutes aside to doodle. You love adventure? Visit one new place every week.

N: Narrow your goals
Life is short, fragile and does not wait for anyone. There will NEVER be a perfect time to pursue your goals.

What's the first step to narrow your goals? Even more important than identifying your smart goals and writing them down is knowing the things that you will NOT do. Learn to say no. One key to achieving your goals is being selective with your time so that the bulk of your energy goes to what counts.

G: Generate a plan
A goal without a plan is just a wish. — Antoine de Saint-Exupery

What's the first step to generate a plan? Business executives spend 90 percent of their time in meetings and answering emails. Set aside time to center your efforts on the people who matter. Find the one person who can help you accomplish a goal and create a plan on how to reach out to them.

A: Anticipate roadblocks
Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth. — Mike Tyson

How do you start anticipating roadblocks? Break down your goals into steps. Want a promotion? Then you need to 1) complete an important project and 2) bring in new clients. Go over what can go wrong in the process: missed deadlines, only finding one new client, etc. Now remember that even if that happens, it's not the end of the world.

G: Gain persistence
If you want something you've never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done. — Thomas Jefferson 

How do you gain persistence? When you feel like giving up, switch things up instead. Do something totally out of your wheelhouse — it doesn't even have to align with your goal. Are you struggling to get recognized at work? Learn how to cook a new recipe, change the route you take on your commute, try a new sport, or simply spend your lunch break with someone you haven't met before.

E: Elevate yourself
To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. — Eleanor Roosevelt 

How do you start elevating yourself? Start by acknowledging one person who helped you get where you are or who positively shaped your life. Showing respect inspires others and builds influence.


E.N.G.A.G.E. will help you design experiences that promote "successful thinking". However, the formula doesn't work unless you do. Your potential is there waiting to be discovered!

Disclaimer: - Following article come from CNBC

GITEX 2016 launches new startup movement.

GITEX Technology Week will launch and host GITEX Startup Movement, a startup gathering which will host over companies from 30 countries, bringing together entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, mentors and buyers for the first time in Dubai.

The GITEX Startup Movement will convene over 400 startups and more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, investors and mentors from the global startup ecosystem. The exclusive set-up will highlight the most innovative startups around the world and provide them a platform to sell, form partnerships and attract investors. Participants will also be able to pitch for prizes, attend an interactive conference to address challenges faced by entrepreneurs and meet leading industry figures. The initiative has already garnered interest and momentum from supporters across the globe including Business France, Cross Trade agency in Singapore, Digi Robotics in the UAE, Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), Japan’s Jetro agency, Marco Trade Export in Morocco, Star Systems agency in Iran and STC from KSA.

Amjad Shacker, Corporate Communication GM, STC, said, “InspireU is an STC initiative to promote, support and develop digital startups and nurture and consolidate the startup ecosystem in the MENA region and create sustainable value. We believe that “to inspire is to empower” and we do that by providing the directions and tools to budding entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams. STC strongly supports the launch of the GITEX Startup Movement and is proud to co-present the top tier prize of the event to the best global startup.”

“The need for local and regional startup ecosystem consolidation, learning from global best practices, and exposure to global investment network, is imminently evident. STC considers GITEX Startup Movement addressing this need; it will help regional players to learn and mature as well as expose them to the global buyers and investors. STC will showcase the achievements of InspireU by showcasing its incubatees, connect them to the broader network, attract future deal flow and share the roadmap for the future. STC is participating in the Global Startup Movement to inspire and be inspired,” said Shacker.

Keep Calm
And
Get Your
Startup
On

The Arab world has a burgeoning youth demographic. More than 60 per cent of the 350 million population is under the age of 25. Young millennial Arabs are online, mobile, using technology and becoming entrepreneurs with the strong support of government initiatives.  The UAE leads the way in the region on revolutionary smart cities transformation and diversification of economies. Across Middle East and Africa, entrepreneurs are at the heart of the digital revolution as ICT spending increases across the region.

“Startups from all over the globe, women, youth and Arab entrepreneurs are a very real force of change that is making a positive impact in our society. They need supportive ecosystems to nurture and enable their growth and success. GITEX Technology Week has a strong legacy as one of the leading international tech events and is uniquely positioned to turn the spotlight on startups. With a force of 146,000 technology professionals and 22,000 C-suite executives at GITEX, Startups gain immediate access to a powerful industry network and massive technology marketplace, entry into growth markets in Middle East & Africa, and can future-proof their business plans, products and services.” said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice-President, Exhibitions and Events Management, Dubai World Trade Centre.

“The Tesla Foundation is proud to be a part of the GITEX Startup Movement. The foundation is focused on building the bridge between private and public organizations to create new technologies and companies and the Middle East & Africa presents a unique opportunity. We have been graced with the strength of government support and the burgeoning entrepreneur scene that is in the region. As a science and technology Foundation focused on robotics and automation, “Cyber-Physical Systems,” GITEX enables us to expand our network by connecting with innovators, entrepreneurs, and companies to include in the Tesla STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Farm System,” said Keith Kaplan, CEO Tesla Foundation.

The public sector in the UAE is already committed to facilitating a conducive environment for entrepreneurship through its AED 2 billion knowledge fund, which is part of the country’s National Innovation Strategy, and aims to accelerate the startup movement towards a sustainable knowledge-based economy.

Further positive announcements such as the establishment of venture firm 500 Startups’ $30 million fund in the Middle East and North Africa, Uber’s $250 million investment in the region and home grown UAE startup, Souq.com who recently secured $275 million investment to be the highest valued internet company in the Middle East, are testaments to rising MENA entrepreneurship scene where vibrant and growing economies present untapped and unchartered opportunities.

Delegates at the event, will also have the opportunity to visit country zones and showcase pods that will feature the most exciting startups offering drones & robotics; IoT, AR, VR & AI; finance; retail; healthcare; education; energy; travel & hospitality; media & marketing; and transport & logistics, to name a few.

GITEX Technology Week is expected to attract more than 146,000 visitors from over 140 countries, including 22,000 C-suite executives and 3,500 exhibitors from 55 countries.

GITEX Technology Week will be held on 16th to 20th October 2016 at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

Disclaimer: Following article come from CNME

Startup with $10 million in funding shuts down: “From first bite to the bittersweet finale”

An on-demand private chef startup that had secured more than $10 million in funding has shut down and issued a dire warning for other tech companies operating in the food space.

Silicon Valley-based Kitchit offered a platform where chefs could visit users’ homes and cook for them, and has served 100,000 meals since its launch in 2011.

The startup raised over $US8 million in total, including a funding round it closed in December 2014.

But due to an increasingly cut-throat market and a lack of investor interest, Kitchit has shut down, another in a long line of similar startups calling it quits.

Startup Problems? Contact Us!

In a lengthy and insightful blog post, founders Brendan Marshall and Ian Ferguson detail the startup’s journey from “first bite” to the “bittersweet finale” and the reasons behind its demise.

It begins with the team’s plans to create “the world’s largest – and its first decentralised – restaurant” and their early success with these plans, with 30-40% gross profit margins.

“An accomplishment that was unrivalled by many food companies at scale, to say nothing of food-tech startups,” the founders say.

“We believed that these were the early indicators of the venture-scale business we’d been searching for.”

But it all started to come apart, with the founders saying the company’s funding runway ended just as the industry faced some troubling times.

“We’ve navigated five years and made the most of every dollar raised,” they say.

“Nevertheless, investment runways are finite, and unfortunately ours reached its end at a moment of substantial upheaval in the food-tech world.

“While Kitchit’s business fundamentals have always been strong, our scale has been too limited to outshine the tumult around us.”

It comes as several other startups playing in the food space have been forced to shutter operations, including SpoonRocket in March due to a lack of funds, Competitor Dinner Lab earlier this month and Kitchit rival KitchenSurfing.

The founders’ blog post concluded with an ominous warning for other startups operating in the space.

“So we close our doors with a mix of sadness for our customers, chefs and employees on one hand, and on the other a recognition that our market is simply not ready to sustain a venture-scale business,” the founders say.

Disclaimer: - Following article come from SC

Food Startup Flips Business Model To Cut Down Costs, Maintain Growth.

This is a case sort of belt-tightening across different startups sectors that cut across e-commerce to food-tech companies. Faasos - one of the most highly-funded food startups, which so far retailed only self-branded food from its own kitchens - around 175 odd ones across top 15 cities - is the latest one to flip strategies to keep costs down while maintaining the pace of growth. 

The company flipped its business model last year to enlarge food variety on its menu by tying up home chefs - around 100 on its rolls now.

 

The model had limitations, though. Food from home-chefs can get high-on-demand but home chefs do not have the ability to address the consistent point in order volumes. "We will be using the strength of home-chefs for bulk party orders that we started on with about a month ago," said Revant

Bhate, Head of Marketing at Faasos.

Start Your Business In Kuwait

Faasos which handles around 12,000 orders a day is now hooking on to restaurants and independent caterers to sell their best selling products to customers, in a bid to further expand its menu without bearing the cost of setting up kitchens.

"At the end of the day, it does not matter to the customer where the food is coming from," said Bhate. At present, the Faasos menu has broadly 7 to 8 segments -north Indian, biryani, signature rice, curries, wraps, pizzas, desserts, chai and snacks and all-day breakfast.

Restaurant tie-ups are aimed at getting into other cuisines such as Chinese, salads, pastas, continental and south Indian dishes. The move will help Faasos which recently completed tie-ups with 500 restaurants across metros and tier 1 cities to double up order volumes without investing big on new customer acquisition. "The idea is to move up from 3 orders a month per customer to 6 orders from the same set of customers," said Bhate who hopes to close fiscal year March 2016 with revenues somewhere close to Rs.100 crores which was the set target for the company.

The company founded in 2011 by two friends Jaydeep Barman and Kallol Banerjee counts leading venture capital firm Sequoia Capital as its early investor and had last year raised two rounds of funding -$20 million led by Lightbox Ventures and $30 million led by Russian firm ruNet which valued the firm at around $130 million.
Disclaimer: - Following article come from ET

The high cost of entrepreneurship

So you are ready to start your own business! It’s a time that is both exciting and possibly nerve-racking. But there are so many reasons to do it, right? To be your own boss. To set your own hours. To realise your dream. And most of all, to provide the kind of financial reward and security that working for someone else can rarely offer. And you are re right, of course, in principle. Successfully starting, running and ultimately exiting a business can deliver on all of these promises.

However, before jumping into the waters of entrepreneurship, there are other sides of the coin you should be prepared for as well. Upon setting out on your new venture, gone will be the safety net you may well have become accustomed to: the regular salary. If you are funding the business yourself, you will hardly be able to pay yourself a salary. And if you are seeking outside funding, the last thing investors want to see in the “use of proceeds” table is a comfortable salary for you.

Without outside employment, you now also have to consider things like health insurance. The cost of being self-insured is becoming increasingly higher. Once your company may qualify for a small business group rate, it helps. But remember, you are the company. If you have the company pay your insurance, it is still you paying for your insurance. Every dirham or dime spent, is less money you have to work with in growing your business.

And as you no longer have someone to pass problems up to, be prepared to be the receptacle for all of the company’s problems. With the addition of employees, even good ones, you will also take on the role of parent, guidance counsellor, marriage counsellor and confessor. Which takes an inordinate amount of time.

But lest you get the idea that I am dissuading budding entrepreneurs from pursuing your dreams, I would assure you I am not. For many (myself included), the benefits mentioned in my first paragraph far outweigh the obstacles and challenges listed in the next three. But it is a decision that should be carefully considered before committing. Especially as one of the biggest changes you are likely to experience in starting your own business is one that is often the least anticipated: the change in lifestyle! In making the shift from employee to entrepreneur, you will be moving from enjoying a regular salary and the ability to budget your time and expenses in the pursuit of happiness to wondering what each new day will bring.

Let’s start with the budgeting of time. At the helm of your new enterprise, evenings and weekends become extended work hours where they used to be time for relationships and recreation. Whether it be business opportunities or operational issues, right now will always be the right time to handle them. So an unhappy client at 9pm can be a once-again-happy client at 9:30pm with a little handholding. 

But push them off to the morning when you may prefer to call them and they could well be on the way to becoming an ex-client. This weekend’s operations issue, if left to fester until the work week, could cost you far more than a few hours it may take to address it immediately. This is not to say you’ll never have free time to relax in the evening or on weekends. But your business will demand that you are always on call. Even travelling takes on a new complexion as you will undoubtedly spend an inordinate amount of your time on your email or phone handling business affairs.

Now on to the financial impact on your psyche and daily life. As an employee, you generally know how much you’ll make each month (apart from commission-based sales jobs of course). And you know your core expenses of housing, etc. So you have a reasonably good idea of how much you can place against your culinary, social and recreational interests. Well, now it is “disposable income, goodbye”!

If you are committed to building your new venture and you are placing all available resources against this goal, then discretionary funds for fun take a hard back seat. When I started my business in Manhattan, in 1999, I chose self-funding at the onset to preserve my ownership stake and to test the market before seeking outside funding. As the business started developing, I committed more and more funds. Within a few months, I had cashed in every account and mutual fund I had set aside over the years to fund operations. And all during this time without any income.

So my daily life changed significantly, in ways I struggled to cope with. Such as coming home at the end of each month and telling my wife: “No, I couldn’t take salary again this time.” After having provided very well in my past life as an employee, this was a rather bitter pill to swallow.

I also recall a conversation with my executive vice president (EVP) of sales and marketing a few years ago. When I hired him initially, he was fresh out of college, without experience and hungry to sell. We had a small team in those days, and they tended to go for lunch at one of the nearby delis in New York. 

They would often ask me to join, and I always politely declined. Now that this young salesman was an executive and had known me for several years, he spoke about the early days of lunches and said at the time that the staff thought I was being elitist in not joining them for lunch. I told him it was not at all the case.

In fact, I would have been happy to, but I could not let myself spend $10 (AED 36) a day on a sandwich when I had no income and was living on credit cards. So from my perspective, it would just be more debt. Clearly, I put a good face on it, since they thought I chose not to eat with them. But internally, I was distraught at not being able to do something my young staff took for granted.

I only point this out as an example of how one’s lifestyle can change in making the move to entrepreneur. Unless you are independently wealthy, things you once took for granted, like joining the beach club or having that expensive dinner, should suddenly be viewed through a new lens. And seldom have I seen a place as lifestyle-oriented as Dubai. Golf, beach clubs, and flashy cars are the expected norm. So preparing yourself mentally for not having the time or money to pursue these Dubai standards will be key.

So where am I going with all of this? I’m certainly not suggesting you forgo your dreams of starting your own business. The rewards are well worth the pain, as I myself discovered. But no great accomplishment comes without great sacrifice. And in the early days, the most profound area you are likely to experience in terms of sacrifice is in lifestyle. Expect to compromise in having the time and the funds to enjoy many things you take for granted currently.

And a parting bit of advice, if I may. Before committing to your new venture, make sure you discuss this at length with your spouse or partner. It’s important to have them on board with the commitments of time and funds that will be required, and the change in lifestyle that comes with it. Because it will be changing their lifestyle as well.

CITATION FROM : ARABIAN BUSINESS - http://goo.gl/9zRm6h

FASHION IN KUWAIT

Over the past many years, fashion in Kuwait had noticed a great variety in wardrobe. The lifestyles of many young Kuwaitis are changing due to Western influences. Nowadays we could see most Kuwaiti men and women wear traditional costumes whose style has changed little over the past centuries.

The fashion in Kuwaiti women is splendid than we ought to believe. Their sense of fashion had been radiant from their traditional attire and also from the western couture. Thy do sometimes stuns us in their fashion outlook apart from the principles they follow.

Talking about the traditional attire, most of them wears a long-sleeved, loose, floor length dress or called Abaya over their clothing underneath.  On religious or festive occasions, they wore it with a sheer, embroidered or sequined dress called a Thobe.  However, for daily outings, they prefer abaya as it is a silky head -to- toe black cloak. A multitude of styles and colors of headscarves, called hejab, are worn by many Muslim women in Kuwait.

Women FAshion

Some Kuwaiti women embrace a fuller face covering called the burqa, which is a short black veil that leaves the eyes and forehead exposed, or a bushiya, which is a semi-transparent veil that covers the entire face.  The same is not followed by all, however who are so fiercely proud of their right to be protected from the gaze of men.

The country's customs, laws and regulations remain closely to Islamic practices and beliefs. Kuwaiti’s attire is based on the Islamic belief of simplicity and modesty. Common sense and caution are being applied in their dressing and conduct.

Kuwaiti women prefer to wear what they like among family and female friends, however they make sure that they dress more modestly in public by maintaining a graceful and elegant look. They choose from the demure styles, the latest designs are worn, regardless of the climate or convenience. According to them, they believe what is said by Prophet Muhammad, that modesty brings nothing but to speech and behavior as well.