Startup booster Techstars sets up shop in Bengaluru

Startup booster Techstars sets up shop in Bengaluru [ad_1]

BENGALURU: Techstars, one of the world's most successful startup accelerators, has opened its first centre in Asia in Bengaluru. The initiative is in joint venture with Ansr, a company that has been focused on bringing MNC captive centres to India and running corporate accelerator programmes. Techstars may open a second location in Hyderabad soon.

Techstars co-founders David Cohen and David Brown told TOI that the plan is to do a lot more in the country than it has done so far, including bringing city-specific accelerators and investing in Indian startups. The institution, founded a decade ago, has seen more than 1,000 startups go through its accelerator programmes and has invested in more than 1,200 companies so far.More than 5% of the US startups that get Series A funding have gone through Techstars. Less than 1% of startups that apply to its programmes get selected.

10 popular startups backed by Ratan Tata

​10 popular startups backed by Ratan Tata

Putting his faith in fresh talent across various industries, former Tata Sons chairman Ratan N Tata has invested in over 30 startups in his personal capacity. Among these, there are several technology-based startups too. Here's a list of 10 popular technology startups that have secured funding from one of the India Inc's stalwarts ...

Paytm

Without a doubt, Paytm is among the most popular mobile wallet services in India. It allows users to pay via the app (using QR codes) and send money to digital wallets tied in to mobile numbers. Paytm has a limit of adding up to Rs 20,000 per month. However, the limit can be increased for users who are KYC-verified. There’s a lot more one can do on Paytm like getting mobile recharges done, paying utility bills, booking movie tickets and more. The startup secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Ratan Tata in March 2015. Tata picked up a stake in One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm. With the funding, he also took up the role of an advisor for the company.

Ola

Ola Cabs is India’s answer to Uber. Much like Uber, the app allows users to hail a taxi with just a few taps on their smartphone. Ola provides cab services across all price segments, ranging from economic to luxury. The company began operations in 2010 and secured funding from Ratan Tata in July 2015. The chairman emeritus of Tata Sons invested in the company in his personal capacity. Tata's venture capital firm RNT Capital Advisors also made an investment of Rs 400 crore in Ola a few days back.

Xiaomi

Did you know that Ratan Tata is the first Indian to buy a stake in Xiaomi? It’s true, even though the amount Tata invested in the Chinese tech giant was not disclosed. For those who don’t know, Xiaomi is an electronics company based in Beijing and is the best known for its affordable smartphones that are hugely popular in India. Other products that it makes include laptops, air purifiers, tablets and more. Although Xiaomi started its operations in China in 2010, it came to India in 2014. After getting the funding, a few senior executives from Xiaomi were quoted as saying that they would seek Tata's advice on how to expand to international markets.

Snapdeal

Snapdeal is the first e-commerce company that Ratan Tata invested in. He is believed to have picked up a 0.17% stake in Snapdeal in August 2014, when he invested less than Rs 5 crore. Tata bought 256 shares from the e-commerce company’s angel investors, including Kenneth Glass. The news came right after Snapdeal tied up with Tata Value Homes to sell apartments across five cities (Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai and Ahmedabad). The company started out as a daily deals platform in 2010, but expanded to become an online marketplace in the very next year.

Zivame

Founded in 2011 by Richa Kar and Kapil Karekar, Zivame is an online lingerie selling platform. The startup gained popularity with their quirky campaigns and today, it has become a recognized brand in itself. Zivame raised a funding from Ratan Tata in September 2015. However, other details about the investment weren’t disclosed. Later, the company reportedly said that it planned on using the money to develop technology and strengthen its customer base.

Urban Ladder

Urban Ladder is a popular furniture selling platform based in Bengaluru. It is currently present in 12 cities around India. The online furniture retailer secured funding from Ratan Tata in November 2015. After Snapdeal, it was Tata’s second personal investment in an e-commerce firm. Like most of his other investments, the amount wasn’t disclosed, but Urban Ladder issued a statement saying that Tata’s inputs and guidance would be very valuable for them.

CashKaro

Cashkaro is a website where users can find cashback schemes and coupons. The Gurgaon-based company was founded in 2013 by Swati and Rohan Bhargava, and raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Ratan Tata in January 2016. The company reportedly said that it intended to use the money for building its technology, entering the international markets, as well as for brand awareness and hiring senior-level talent.

UrbanClap

Services marketplace UrbanClap raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Ratan Tata in December 2015. For those unaware, UrbanClap allows users to book services online. These include everything from plumbing to electrical work.

Lenskart

Lenskart, the popular online retailer that sells eyewear such as sunglasses, eye glasses, contact lenses and more, secured funding from Tata in April 2016. However, an official from the company reportedly said that Tata’s role was more of a mentor/advisor rather than a financial investor.

Cardekho

Ratan Tata’s list of investments also includes Cardekho, an online marketplace where users can buy and sell both new and used cars. The business tycoon picked up shares of Jaipur-based GirnarSoft, parent company of CarDekho.com, BikeDekho.com and PriceDekho.com portals. Like most of Tata’s deals, the amount invested by him wasn’t disclosed. That said, it was reported that Tata had bought a minority stake for himself in the venture. (Disclaimer: Times Internet is an investor in Girnar Software Pvt Ltd, which runs auto portal CarDekho.com)

"We can connect India in a greater way to the rest of our network. We want to bring more capital. Our model has worked financially so far and we find enough opportunity to succeed in India," said Cohen. Brown acknowledged that the startup ecosystem around the world was witnessing a downturn, but noted that Techstars itself was founded during a downturn. "There are ups and downs, but over the long term, it's a sustained movement in the upward direction," he said. In India, Techstars has been involved in organising entrepreneurship encouragement programmes like Startup Weekends. The plan now is to significantly increase the engagement. Unlike rival Y Combinator, Techstars has a big focus on corporate accelerators, where it brings together startups and big corporates that want to work with each other. It runs a financial tech focused accelerator for Barclays, a mobility focused one for Ford, and an AI (artificial intelligence) focused one for Amazon.

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Lalit Ahuja, co-founder of Ansr Consulting, said, "With the proliferation of global in house centres (GICs), these large corporates are looking at a startup-led innovation model in India. Our desire is to dominate this market. Techstars has the network and money."



Ansr Consulting already runs corporate accelerators for Target, Lowe's, L Brands, Swiss Re, JCPenney and Novartis in India. Ahuja said discussions are on with Techstars on creating an India-focused fund to invest in startups.



Techstars, which started in Boulder City, Colorado, is spreading itself around the world, unlike Y Combinator that focuses on Silicon Valley startups. Today, it has 30 accelerators across the globe in 26 cities. Cohen said, "We believe that an entrepreneur can come from anywhere. The future is going to happen in Toronto or Berlin or Bengaluru and not necessarily in the Valley." Techstars startups have raised $3.5 billion so far and have a cumulative valuation of $10 billion.

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