Edureka – A Startup Wonderkid to Watch Out For!

Lakshmi Rajan — Tue, 28 Feb 2017 11:00:11 +0000

Lovleen Bhatia, a software engineer himself who went on to head the R&D of DbyDx Labs, probably came across this dilemma and that lead him to co-found Edureka , a live and interactive e-learning platform. Since its inception in 2011, Edureka has up-skilled 3,50,000 learners across the globe and is no mean feat. Edureka has 75+ courses across segments; Big Data, Analytics, Mobile development, Programing languages, cloud computing, among others. With a pool of 800+ instructors who are themselves an industry practitioner and an in-house syllabus designed with inputs from the industry, Edureka has positioned itself in an envious position. Every Edureka course culminates in a live real-life project after which the learner is awarded an Edureka certificate. So far the platform has 50,000+ hours of live classes. So what makes Edureka an interesting platform for working professionals? Foremost, it offers flexibility to learn at their own time and location, even from their mobile devices. With my interaction with Loveleen Bhatia , what I really liked about the Edureka model is that you can come back at any point of time even after your completion of your course and get yourself refreshed on the subject and also future proof yourself on the later developments in the subjects you have joined. Edureka doesn’t bind you to particular course duration but allows you to drop in any time later and stay abreast in the new developments in the course you opted for. So where does Edureka stands now? In a span of 6 years, Edureka has up-skilled 3,50,000 learners across the Globe with 80% of the learners having 2-8 years of experience. Out of this 55% are from India, 45% from rest of world. An interesting fact is that many of the joiners are through word of mouth referrals from other learners which reflect the positive patronage the platform has gained. At a time where we witness increasingly floundering start-ups who fail to translate the ambitious business plans into a money spinner, Edureka has a remarkable financial story to share. Started with an initial capital and angel funding of $250,00, it stamped an astounding 2768% growth during its first 3 years. It continues to grow at 30% MoM in India and 20% in overseas markets and expects annualized revenue of $50 million by 2019 up from the current revenue of $12 million. With a firm business model and a positive growth story and a thumps up from the Industry, Edureka is a silent start-up making the right moves. If you are a start-up tracker, keep this guy in close radar!]]>

Axis Bank sets up ThoughtFactory, an innovation lab to nurture FinTech startups

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 07:01:31 +0000

Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank today announced the launch of ‘Thought Factory‘, an innovation lab facility aimed at accelerating and nurturing the startup community in the banking sector. In the process, the bank gets to be the first bank in India to setup a dedicated innovation hub. The facility launched in the startup capital of India, Bengaluru will house an in-house innovation team and an accelerator programme and will work closely with the startups and give them the required backup and resources. The Bank is experimenting with emerging technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, mobility, and cloud to bring about disruptions across functions including Credits, Deposits, Wealth Management, Mobile Payments, and Security etc. The ThoughtFactory would typically push three aspects to help the startups flourish – in-house incubator, accelerator program and social engagements with industry leaders for productive engagement to culminate the idea into workable solutions. The accelerator program would be a three-months initiative to collaborate closely with the high potential startups to see through the ideation and take it forward to get it funded and product realization. The Bank is also working with NASSCOM 10k, tech partners, various VC partners, global banks, and academia to develop a vibrant ecosystem. “We hope the startups will come up with technology-led solutions for payments and customer experience as well as risk management in microfinance space. We also hope that they will be using augmented reality, artificial technology and blockchain technology and create something disruptive,” said Rajiv Anand, executive director of Axis Bank. To help the startups come up with better solutions and deal with real-life scenarios and roadblocks, Axis bank has tied up with Amazon and global cards and payment company Visa, OCBC Singapore to give their insights regarding cloud technology and payments process. Three startups – Jacota, JusPay and Vymo who are engaging with Axis bank shared the glimpse of their products in the opening day of the ThoughtFactory which was attended by various Industry leaders and media. The panel discussion on the role of innovation in Fintech gave a lot of insights into the industry in the current scenario and road ahead in the Fintech space in India. At the ThoughtFactory inauguration, Axis bank also unveiled an unique one-of-a-kind product, AxisActive fitness band they have co-developed with GOQII. The fitness band could be availed by the bank customers and one can make NFC payment via the band. The company has already made over 1 lakh point of sales devices across the country that would work with the band. In addition, the bank also offers a reward program based on the fitness points. The AxisActive fitness band blends Fintech with Healthtech in a very innovative way. For more information, visit:

http://www.axisbank.com/thoughtfactory/

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Startup – Tech Raman

Edureka – A Startup Wonderkid to Watch Out For!

Axis Bank sets up ThoughtFactory, an innovation lab to nurture FinTech startups