Category Archives: Money Matters

Interview with @NexusVP, the most active tech Venture Capitalists in Pune

March 5, 2014Featured, Interview, Money Mattersfunding, nexusvp, startups, VCNavin Kabra

Venture Capital firm Nexus VP, with 8 investments in Pune, is not only the VC firm with the largest presence in Pune, but conversely, they also seem to love Pune, with more investments here than any other city, including everyone else’s darling Bangalore.

Recently, Sandeep Singhal wrote this in a tweet:

Pune has the most product oriented culture. With 8 investments plan to spend more time there.

and soon after that, Nexus held an event in Pune showcasing 3 of their portfolio companies. With this much invested in Pune, and more activities planned, we decided to talk to Jishnu Bhattacharjee of Nexus to find out more about their Pune love affair.

How many companies have you invested in Pune? Can you name them?

Currently 8 of our companies have offices in Pune : Pubmatic, Druva, Sedemac, Helpshift, Uniken, and 3 others that will be announced in time

What attracts you to Pune? What would you say about the Pune start-up ecosystem, in comparison with other cities?

We consider Pune as a key technology hub in India. We find very high quality start-ups in Pune. They are either starting up in Pune or are setting up engineering offices here very early on in their life cycle to tap onto the superlative engineering talent in the city.

What are you plans for 2014-15?

We plan to continue / increase our focus in Pune, hope to interact and partner with many more exceptional entrepreneurs in Pune in coming years.

What technologies do you see as most exciting for the next few years?

We expect that exciting startup opportunities will be unearthed at the intersection of different technology trends like mobility, cloud and big data, applied to all facets of life spanning but not limited to health and wellness, education, enterprise IT, retail, home automation, industrial automation, agriculture, etc. That said, rather than being thesis driven, we are fundementally bottoms up investors looking to partner with passionate entrepreneurs who create category defining companies.

What would your top-3 recommendations (advice) be for an entrepreneur?

Instill the sales DNA in yourself. No matter what your background might be, as an entrepreneur you would always need to sell : to your customers, to your prospective hires and employees, to your investors.
Always look to hire better than yourselves.
Less is more. It’s much more important to figure out what features your product should Not have than what features it should have. Start-up that thrives does One thing right and better than anyone else, that addresses one key pain-point felt by a big enough target set of users / customers.

According to you, what is the #1 mistake that most first-time tech startup founders make?

Point #3 above. Tech start up founders have the propensity to start building out the technology / product, without really understanding that key One thing that is needed in their target market, that they have a competitive advantage one. Achieving product – market fit is quite different than developing the technology. Key is focus and saying ‘no’ to features much more than saying ‘yes’.

Pune’s Pubmatic gets $13MM funding; preparing for a $1B IPO?

February 11, 2014Money Matters, Newsfunding, ipo, pubmatic, startupsNavin Kabra

Pubmatic, a software product company with solutions in the cloud and mobile advertising space, which is fully developed out of Pune, has just received $13 million in funding from Nokia Growth Partners, along with existing investors. This takes the total amount of funding raised by Pubmatic to $76 million.

Excerpt:

The company plans to use the investment raised to improve its platform and for International expansion. PubMatic CEO and co-founder Rajeev Goel is also quoted in the press release as saying this investment will improve its ”direct market access by plugging into the global NGP (Nokia Growth Partners) and Nokia presence.”

The more interesting, and speculative, report comes from the Wall Street Journal article, which claims that Pubmatic is getting ready for an IPO, and are hoping for a valuation in excess of $1 billion.

We have been hoping for a Pubmatic IPO for a couple of years now ever since they hired a CFO who specializes in IPOs. However, it appears to be taking a little longer than expected.

Let’s hope that Pubmatic soon becomes Pune’s first software product IPO.

References:
– Medianama
– Wall Street Journal

@PersistentSys acquires @CloudSquads – Pune/California based enterprise social media startup

February 6, 2014Featured, Money Matters, Newscloud, funding, persistent, social-media, startupsNavin Kabra

Pune’s Persistent Systems has just acquired CloudSquads, a Pune and San Francisco based startup that builds social apps for the enterprise market.

After cloud-computing and mobile, the new hottest trend in the industry is SMAC (Social, Mobile, Analytics, and Cloud), and CloudSquads is smack in the middle of this trend. CloudSquads builds products that help companies like E*Trade, GE, Autodesk to use social media for customer support, sales, marketing. In addition they build apps that can be used for providing private social networking features within the enterprise.

From the press release:

CloudSquads helps companies develop a strategy for engaging with the modern social customer across all customer facing functions including brand, marketing, sales and support. The company implements platforms which provide rich capabilities that transform these interactions into healthy communities and then integrates those platforms with companies’ internal systems allowing them to better know and serve their customers.

and also:

“Social communities are the natural next step in the evolution and enhancement of external systems of engagement with customers, following the 1-800 number and corporate web presence,” said Ashish Seth, Co-Founder of CloudSquads, Inc. “CloudSquads helps global brands unlock the power of social to realize dramatic increases in employee productivity, double digit improvements in marketing and sales effectiveness and dramatically lower support costs, said Henry Bruckstein, Co-Founder of CloudSquads, Inc. “Combining the global reach and broad technology capabilities of Persistent Systems will allow us to multiply the transformative impact in the market.”

Why is Persistent buying CloudSquads? According to Ranga Puranik, President of Persistent:

“CloudSquads complements our software product development and SMAC (Social, Mobile, Analytics, Cloud) technology expertise with consulting, IP connectors and implementation services around social community platforms and is perfectly aligned to better serve our ISV and enterprise customer base.”

Persistent had recently reported that it had created “Persistent Venture Fund”, a venture fund to invest in early stage startups, mainly in the SMAC domain. Persistent Venture Fund’s first investment was in US-based ustyme, a free video call app for the iPad.

According to Anand Deshpande, CEO of Persistent, the fund will only invest in startups that are strategically interesting to Persistent’s business.

“We consider two aspects for selection. First is the technology area of the start-up and its similarity to our interests, and second the customers that it needs to align with our customer eco-system,” he added.

Pune based enterprise security firm Uniken raises investment from Nexus Venture Partners

January 23, 2014Featured, Money Matterscloud, cryptography, entrepreneurs, funding, pune-shining, security, startupsNavin Kabra

Pune-based enterprise security software company, Uniken, has just raised a round of funding from Nexus Venture Partners, reports the Economic Times. The amount of funding has not been disclosed, but the internet is claiming that it is around $4.8 million. This is Nexus’ second major investment

Uniken’s main product is the REL-ID platform which allows enterprise software to be accessed from remote clients (i.e. mobiles, laptops, or home computers of customers or employees) in a secure way, in spite of the fact that the client is connecting to the server via an untrusted internet connection.

Imagine a bank, which is able to give its customers a “secure” mobile app that connects to the bank servers over the internet, but then uses REL-ID’s “private communication circuts” to establish a secure connection between the app and the server. Similarly, imagine an the sales database of a company being accessed by one of the salespersons on the road using a laptop. REL-ID PCC can be used to secure the connection between the laptop and the enterprise app without requiring laptop to be on the company network, and without requiring a VPN.

So, how is Uniken’s solution different from using an SSL or IPSEC based VPN?

According to the company’s website, REL-ID PCC is based on the concept of App-to-App tunneling. VPN’s on the other hand are based on TCP/IP Tunneling technology. VPN’s are installed as virtual network adapters and need administrative rights on the client machine in order to install them. VPN’s do not come with in-built mutual authentication and encryption technologies, for that one has to additionally invest in 2-way SSL or IPSEC technologies, increasing the total cost and complexity of the solution. These solutions are not viable when it comes to roll-out to large number of users.

More information about the product is here and here.

The Economic Times reports:

The firm has filed three patents and expects to file 12 patents in next one year. “Uniken is disrupting the digital security space with this platform that provides military grade security with rich digital experience,” said Sandeep Singhal, managing director at Nexus.

So, in the last few days, we’ve made two additions to the list of Pune companies that have raised funding in recent times (and that is even without counting the 3rd round of funding for FirstCry, because that was already on the list.) Is any company missing from our list? Please let us know.

Pune’s LinguaNext, a localization software company, raises Series A funding from Helion

January 15, 2014Featured, Money Matters, Newsfunding, localization, products, startupsNavin Kabra

LinguaNext, a Pune-based company that provides a “langauge management platform” for software products, has raised a round of funding form Helion Venture Partners, reports VCCircle.

LinguaNext creates software products that allow enterprise software to be “localized” to one or more languages without requiring any change in the source code of the software.

What is Localization?

Most software in the world first gets written with English as the language of interfacing with the user. The menus are in English, and the messages, and labels on forms, and user interface buttons are all in English. If the same software needs to be used by a Japanese person who does not understand any English, she will either have to memorize the meanings and locations of the various English menu options and buttons, or the software needs to be modified such that all the English in the interface is replaced by Japanese. The same thing needs to be repeated for every major language in the world (where the company has customers).

This process is called Localization

Why is Localization Hard?

All the places in the source code of the software where English might be embedded, and all the images used in the user-interface need to be replaced. This is a huge task, because often, enterprise software contains millions of lines of code.

And this has to be done for dozens of languages, if not 100+.

And this can’t be done just once. Because every time the original software is updated, the various localized versions need to be updated.

Sometimes, the source code of the software might not even be available, or it might be too difficult to change.

What does LinguaNext do?

LinguaNext has products that allow their customers to localize the software they sell without having to modify the source code of the software. They can attach themselves to running programs, and modify the user interface screen of the software on the fly, and replace the English text with the appropriate text from the target language. Similarly, with web-browser based software, they can modify the HTML/JavaScript that gets generated by the software and do the language replacement before the webpage is sent to the user.

How LinguaNext Works — This is how LinguaNext works. Note that the original application (in blue) is not modified at all. Instead, when the original app is sending data to the screen (technically, the screen buffer), or to the printer, LinguaNext intercepts it, replaces the English Text, and sends the modified data to the screen. (Click for full-size image.)

This is excellent for the customer. Being able to localize a software without having to modify the source code is a dream of the marketing department (which, otherwise has to deal with the tech guys before they start selling any version of any software in a new country).

But, there are lots of little problems that need to be solved to make this a reality. For example, consider this tricky problem: what happens if the space on the screen (in the menu dropdown, or on a button) isn’t wide enough for the new word that they want to put there. i.e. if the Hindi word that replaces a particular English word is very long and it won’t fit. They solve this problem by having language experts who are able to suggest alternative words that are smaller, or by developing special narrow fonts to fit in words like these.

Although technically LinguaNext was started only in 2010, the core technology for LinguaNext, and the CTO of the company (Rajeevlochan Phadke), both come from an earlier company called Image Point that was around – doing similar software – since 2002. In other words, they have been developing, fine-tuning and selling this software for a dozen years.

They do this with Oracle or SAP Applications, HR Applications, Cloud Apps, Windows Desktop Apps, and now Mobile Apps are the next big target. LinguaNext already has customers such as SBI (State Bank of India), Punjab National Bank, and sofrware maker SAP.

What will they do with the funding?

According to the press release, they will use the funding to “expand in international markets, hire talent and scale up its mobile platform.” Going to Japan and Europe is likely to be one of their major priorities. India has lots of local languages, and lots of need for localization, but really, Indian companies don’t really like paying for software. Japan and Europe has the non-English speaking people who pay lots of money for software. And of course, as any website owner will tell you, mobile apps are taking over the world, and soon, localization of Android and iPhone apps is likely to be a huge market.

Interview with Vaultize: Pune based Enterprise File Sharing and Sync Service

July 10, 2013Interview, Money Mattersbackup, cloud, enterprise, file-systems, funding, storageNavin Kabra

PuneTech has just learnt that Pune-based Enterprise file sharing and sync (EFSS) startup Vaultize has just received funding from Tata Capital Innovations Fund.

Vaultize builds cloud-based solutions for enterprise endpoint (i.e. laptop/desktop/mobile devices) sync, backup, encryption, security, and anytime/anywhere access to corporate file servers – all of this in a way that is visible to, and under the control of administrators in the company.

Through Vaultize’s endpoint encryption, sensitive corporate information remains encrypted on endpoints ensuring protection against unauthorized access and potential data leakage from lost or stolen device. In addition to on-disk protection, Vaultize’s patent pending encryption technology used in file sharing and backup ensures that the data is encrypted or decrypted only on endpoints – guaranteeing end-to-end protection

Vaultize, which so far has a presence only in India (with some sales outside via channel partners) will use the funding to scale up its expansion across the world, with immediate plans to establish operations in the US and Europe in conjunction with channel partners. The company will also use the funds towards building up its sales, marketing and engineering teams, and to enhance its global partner program.

PuneTech spoke with CEO and co-founder Anand Kekre. Here are some excerpts from the conversation:

Question: Another Pune startup in the storage and backup space, Druva.com, has been in the limelight in the last few years. How is Vaultize different?

Actually, we are not in the same market as Druva. Druva is more of a backup solution. Also, while they do have cloud-based backup, their focus traditionally has been on on-premise backup.

By contrast we are in what Gartner calls the EFSS (Enterprise File Sync and Share) space. We are more concerned with providing access to enterprise data from any device, from any where, without compromising on security. We ensure the enterprise data can be accessed from any device – including personal mobile devices – while at all times ensuring that the data is encrypted at all times, whether it is being sent over the network, or when it is stored on the disk in the device.

There are two major things we do that are unique to our solution. First, all the data that is being shared, synced, or in general being moved around via Vaultize is encrypted at source. This ensures that the data is never at risk once it leaves the device. Specifically, any data going over the network, or stored on Vaultize servers is always encrypted and the encryption key is only available at the endpoints (i.e. devices). Second, we do data de-duplication at source. That is, if the speed/latency and network bandwidth consumption is greatly improved by detecting whether the Vaultize servers already have a copy of the data that needs to be sent/synced (for example, same attachment being shared by various people), and only sending across the unique content. And this is achieved without losing the benefits of encryption-at-source, using patent-pending technology.

Question: So, your software can ensure that use of mobile devices with enterprise data is secure?

Across the world, there has been a proliferation of consumer file sharing and Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) trends, and this has resulted in an increase in data loss, security and compliance risks.

There are two different aspects to ensuring security for BYOD devices. First, the enterprise needs to ensure that it is safe to allow a mobile device to connect to the enterprise network – i.e. it is an authorized device, and it only has authorized applications, and more specifically, does not have viruses and malware. This area is called Mobile Device Management (MDM). Vaultize does not deal with this issue.

Once a device has been allowed to connect to the network, Vaultize ensures that the data on the device is safe and secure by encrypting all the sensitive data on the disk, by being able to sync data across various devices, and geographies, and by providing secure (via encryption) access to the data from anywhere, in a way that compiles with all the enterprise security policies.

And it does all of this in a way that can be easily managed and controlled by the enterprise IT administrators.

Question: What is your team size currently, and how are you planning on expand
ing it?

Currently, we are about 15 people, all in India. Over the next year, we hope to expand our team to about 30-35 people. We will be looking to expand not only in the area of sales and marketing, but also engineering, QA, and support.

For more information about Vaultize, see http://www.vaultize.com

Founders of @firstcryindia @dhingana @sokrati to talk at @SAIFPartners Ignition Event

June 17, 2013Events, Featured, Money Mattersentrepreneurs, saifpartners, startups, VCNavin Kabra

SAIF Ignition is a startup event by Venture Capital firm Saif Partners. The event is divided into two sessions:

Session 1 will have some startups sharing their learnings on go-to-market strategies on sales and customer acquisition. In addition, we will have Supam Maheshwari from FirstCry, Swapnil Shinde from Dhingana and Ashish Mehta from Sokrati share their learnings on how they scaled their ventures.

Session 2 – Startups pitch to the SAIF Team: Startups who would like to pitch to the SAIF team may send their pitches to saifignition@saifpartners.com.

Saif will shortlist 7-8 pitches. Please try to answer the following questions in your pitch

Market you are going after and the problem/pain point that exists currently
Explain the product and how it is solving the problem
Team behind the startup
Initial traction, if any
Funding requirement

You can look at a sample presentation here for reference.

Following is the detailed itinerary of the event

9 – 9.30 AM – Registration
9.30 – 10 AM – Networking over coffee
10 – 11 AM – Panel discussion with Ashish Mehta (CEO & Co-founder, Sokrati), Supam Maheshwari (CEO & Co-founder, FirstCry) and Swapnil Shinde (Co-founder, Dhingana)
11 – 1.30 PM – Problem solving session with startups (3-4 startups will present on their go-to market strategy)
1.30 – 2.15 PM – Lunch
2.30 – 5 PM – Pitch session with SAIF Team

In case of any queries or clarifications, please feel free to reach out to rohit@saifpartners.com or call Rohit at +91.98111.09541.

Fees and Registration

This event is free and open for anybody to attend. Please register here

Pune’s @TastyKhana get’s $5 million strategic investment from @DeliveryHeroCom

June 13, 2013Money Mattersecommerce, internetNavin Kabra

Pune’s TastyKhana, an online food ordering service, has just received $5 million in strategic investment from global online food ordering and take-out service DeliveryHero.

TastyKhana, which started in Pune as an online table booking service and then pivoted to food delivery, and is now mainly a food ordering service (the delivery is mostly handled by the restaurants themselves), expanded to Bombay in 2012, and is now is 7 different cities, serving 3000 restaurants.

Some interesting points:

DeliveryHero had earlier made a small investment in TastyKhana in 2012. Since then TastyKhana has grown 400%
Trak.in estimates that TastyKhana is currently valued at $16-18million
TastyKhana is the only Indian food ordering service with apps on 3 platforms – Android, iPhone and Blackberry
Last month, TastyKhana hit over 1000 restaurants in Mumbai alone

For more details you can read the news on TastyKhana’s blog, or a more detailed article on trak.in.

Building world-class technology companies – Helion VC – 24 April

April 23, 2013External Visitors, Featured, Money Mattersfunding, POCC, VCNavin Kabra

Helion VC, TiE Pune, POCC, and YourStory.in have organized a panel discussion on “Building world-class technology companies” on 24th April, from 5pm-8pm at Le Meridien Pune. A panel discussion on Scaling Technology Companies will have these panelists:

Sanjeev Aggarwal, Co-Founder Helion and Daksh
Nitin Kulkarni, COO, Persistent
Sanjay Katkar, Co-founder & CTO, Quick Heal
Rajeev Goel, Co-founder & CEO, Pubmatic

Another panel discussion on Raising Venture Capital will have these panelists:

Ritesh Banglani, Director Helion
Swapnil Shinde, Co-founder and COO, Dhingana
Vishal Gupta, Founder and CEO, Seclore

This will be followed by a networking session over cocktail.

About this Event

This event is free open to all. Register here

The event is from 5pm to 8pm on Wednesday 24th April, at Le Meridien.

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