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Tech Startup Awards launched by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge launched the Tech Rocketship Awards 2016-17, held in Mumbai.

With the intent to identify and support some of India’s best and brightest start-ups, the initiative will assist them to scale globally.

techieThe Tech Rocketship Awards – an initiative by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) in India – provides top Indian startups with expert business advice and support from leading professional services companies in the UK. This year the competition gets bigger and better: the ten most promising start-ups from the competition will win a week-long business trip to the UK; where they will get access to venture capitalists, experienced industry leaders and entrepreneurs that can help and guide them to set a firm business footing in the UK.

Kumar Iyer, British Deputy High Commissioner Mumbai and Director General of UK Trade and Investment in India said:

“We are delighted to have The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge launch the Tech Rocketship Awards today. We’re looking for the next batch of leading Indian entrepreneurs that will probably change the world through their technology. Some of the young entrepreneurs Their Royal Highnesses met today already have some truly amazing innovations.”

Four innovative and young entrepreneurs showcased their products to a panel of business leaders and iconic figures in the entrepreneurial world – Anand Mahindra; T.V. Mohandas Pai, of Aarin Capital; Saurabh Srivastava of the Indian Angel Network and young entrepreneur Shradha Sharma of YourStory a leading tech media platform.

Mr. Anand Mahindra said: “The UK is a hotbed of technology and we need to deploy that know-how in India. The Tech Rocketship Awards is exactly the platform that can give young Indian entrepreneurs access to the UK’s prowess in this sphere. Mahindra group drives various initiatives to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship both within and outside Mahindra and we are creating a start-up ecosystem that allows it to leverage its strengths and create value for entrepreneurs. I am looking forward to judging the entries for the competition this year”.

Applications are open to entrepreneurs under 40 in India who have been operating a company created from the year 2000 onwards. One winner will be selected from each of five categories – Cleantech, EdTech, Fintech, Medtech and smart manufacturing – and a further five winners will be selected in the ‘Judges Awards’ section, from any sector. The winners will be announced at the UK-India Technology Summit in New Delhi, in November 2016.

The UK provides an excellent platform for Indian companies to grow their businesses overseas, with world leading financial and professional services and a burgeoning technology sector.

Further information

  • Tech Rocketships website
  • GREAT for Collaboration: Launched by Prime Ministers Modi and Cameron, the campaign celebrates and drives trade and investment partnerships between India and the UK, and showcase the great things the UK and India can do together. The two PMs and ten of the countries’ most senior business leaders appeared on a video to launch the campaign.
  • UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is the government department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy and offers professional, authoritative and personalised assistance to help companies in India locate and expand in the UK.
    • the UK has been a popular destination for Indian investments for over 100 years.
    • with low tax and a talented workforce, Britain is one of the easiest places to grow your business.
    • it takes only 13 days to set up a business in the UK, compared with the world average of 35 days.
    • the UK is ranked 6th globally for Ease of Doing Business. According to World Bank’s report (Oct 2015), the UK has become an easier place to do business in the past year after reforms to red tape and corporate tax
    • in 2014-15, the UK won a record number of inward investment projects and maintains position as top investment destination in Europe.
    • India emerged as Britain’s third biggest job creator in 2014 as the country saw a 65% increase in foreign direct investments (FDI) from India. In 2014-2015 Indian investments in 122 FDI projects created 7,730 new jobs and safeguarded 1,620 jobs in the UK. (Source UKTI)
    • the total number of people in the UK employed by Indian companies has increased by 10%: from 1,00,000 in 2014 to nearly 1,10,000. (Grant Thornton)
    • ICT, advanced engineering and life sciences are among key sectors for investment from India.
    • the UK offers the lowest corporation tax rate in G20, and is a gateway to Europe and the world

 

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SIX INDIAN COMPANIES EMERGE AS WINNERS OF GREAT TECH ROCKETSHIPS 2016

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) India and iSPIRT announce the winners of the Great Tech Rocketships Initiative 2016 (GTRS)

The 6 winners are:

  1. Wigzo – A machine learning engine that understands user attributes, and allows marketeers to personalise and engage each user 1:1 onsite, and on communications
  2. Tydy – Employee Onboarding & Engagement Software. With automated & paperless data collection, a process built on best practices, customized workflows based on teams, groups or locations and a complete feedback management system – tydy makes onboarding a really seamless part of building a successful organization
  3. Silver Push – A platform which measures true ROI of TV ads, by mapping TV ad spots with digital performance, backed by 15 patents (pending) and real-time TV ad tracking technology
  4. SayPay – Provides voice biometric authentication solution that eliminates hardware tokens/OTPs used by financial institutions for wealth management & corporate clients.
  5. Project Mudra – Technology for Braille-based education for visually impaired people and innovative solutions for non-visual data delivery to meet the growing accessibility needs of smart urban spaces.
  6. FT Cash– A mobile app that allows micro-merchants to come on-board in less than 5 minutes and allows customers to make payments electronically through credit/debit cards, mobile wallets and PayPal.

In its second year, and part of the India-UK Tech Bridge initiative, the Great Tech Rocketships awards connect India’s high-potential technology companies to the business and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the UK. This ambitious initiative was launched in 2014 and this year applications opened on January 14, with a call for submissions from the most impressive emerging Tech companies in India. The competition offers the opportunity to fast-track their international growth through access to the UKs leading tech clusters.

 Kumar Iyer, Director General of UKTI in India said: “We are really excited to see the high growth potential among young Indian entrepreneurs. The competition was tough but it shows that “Start-up India” is alive and kicking, and through these awards the winners will not only be national winners but hopefully internationally successful too. We hope this is the beginning of a fantastic journey for them where UKTI is here to help and introduce them to international networks, mentors and new ideas, starting with their upcoming visit to the UK. There really are some GREAT companies here!”

The UK is an excellent platform for Indian companies to gain access to the right exposure and resources to assist them to go global. It is the number one destination for FDI in Europe, having attracted a record number of FDI projects, bringing in the largest financial value and associated jobs over the past year. Around 50% of that figure is in Tech. The UK has a vast pool of experienced industry leaders, veterans, venture capitalists and mentors that can provide the right direction to startups to establish a firm footing abroad. One of the greatest barriers new companies face in their journey is access to capital, and this is an area where the UK can help significantly.

This year’s winners get a week long fully paid trip to UK that includes:

  • Bespoke interaction with world class investors, incubation hubs and science tech parks
  • A guided tour of Tech City, Europe’s most vibrant innovation hub
  • Networking sessions with like-minded entrepreneurs, start-ups, research scholars and pioneering companies

Through this trip to the UK, the winners will get an opportunity to interact with the local technology ecosystems; meet other entrepreneurs; identify funding options and build product propositions to fit those markets.

Sharad Sharma, Co-Founder and Governing Council Member iSPIRT said: “A number of technology startups in India are now well-prepared for global markets. Through this initiative we provide high-potential companies with assistance and access to the UK market as a first step for them to go global.”

 The nationwide initiative saw 285 applications from across India. Applyifi, the program partner for this initiative curated 40 for a jury across 4 Indian cities (Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad and New Delhi). 11 startups were shortlisted in the regional rounds and were reviewed by an international jury comprising Julie Lake (Co-Founder The FinTech50 and Director FinTechCity), Sharad Sharma (Co-founder iSPIRT), Baz Saidieh (CEO TrueStart), Ian Fordham (CEO of Edtech UK), Satyam Bansal (Director, Strategic Alliances and Gift Cards), Alpesh Patel (UK Government Dealmaker, Private Equity Fund Manager, Fintech Entrepreneur) and Prajakt Raut (Co-founder Applyifi).

Further Information: 

  • UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the Government Department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. UKTI works with UK based businesses to ensure their success in international markets through exports. We encourage and support overseas companies to look at the UK as the best place to set up or expand their business.In India we do that through a network of diplomats and local specialists spanning the entire country.  Our trade and investment experts are based in the British High Commission in New Delhi and in our Deputy High Commissions in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Pune and Ahmedabad. Our sector expertise covers mass transport, financial services, infrastructure, life sciences, creative industries, energy, business and consumer services, education and skills, defence and security, healthcare, advanced engineering, aerospace, agri-tech, chemicals, automotive, smart cities and ICT.
  • GREAT for Collaboration is an ambitious and exciting new campaign showcasing India-UK business collaboration. The campaign, launched by Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Cameron, will inspire new partnerships and encourage greater awareness of the scale of the UK’s commitment to India. The overall objective is to increase business between the two countries across a range of sectors, such as energy, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, financial services and infrastructure. GREAT for Collaboration video link: bit.ly/1PS5Pag
  • iSPIRT Foundation connects and guides software product entrepreneurs and catalyzes business growth. It’s an enabler of a stronger ecosystem. We encourage buyers to improve performance by leveraging software products effectively. We advise policy makers on interventions that can set the industry on a higher growth trajectory. We are a not-for-profit industry think-tank founded by key participants and proponents of the Indian software product industry
  • About Applyifi – Applyifi is an online pitch deck & assessment report platform for startups. Applyifi guides startups in creating a comprehensive pitch deck, and provides startups and investors a 36-point scorecard and assessment report on the startup’s investment-worthiness.

 

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Tech Startups: Here Is A Chance To Take Your Rocketships To The UK

The Great Tech Rocketships Initiative (GTRS) 2016 is back again – only bigger and better. It is all set to introduce high-potential tech companies from India to the best in the UK.

The initiative was started last year with the intent to provide a platform to startups with innovative and disruptive ideas that have the potential to scale up globally.

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If you think you have the potential to grow overseas, or are looking to expand globally, the GTRS initiative may just be the platform to help you explore global markets.

RocketShips to the UK – an initiative by UK-India Tech Bridge, with UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), and iSPIRT – is tailor made for startups with impressive and unique ideas that can be transformed into fast-moving and hyper-growth ‘rocketships’ globally.

UK is an excellent platform for Indian companies to get access to the right exposure and a wide gamut of resources that can assist them to go global. It is the number one destination for FDI in Europe, having attracted a record number of FDI projects, bringing in the largest financial value and associated jobs over the past year. It has a vast pool of experienced industry leaders, veterans, venture capitalists and mentors that can provide the right direction to startups to establish a firm footing abroad.

Networking plays a pivotal role in fast-tracking the growth of a startup. Platforms like GTRS can provide startups global connections that are otherwise not easy to develop. Good mentoring and access to vital resources can be a great help for early-growth stage companies, and this is exactly what the GTRS initiative aims to help accomplish.

The winners of this program will get a fully paid (flights + accommodation) week-long trip to UK where they will get a chance to interact with world class investors, local entrepreneurs, policy makers, accelerators and incubators. There will be a guided tour of Tech City, Europe’s most vibrant innovation hub and science tech-park, where they can network with like-minded entrepreneurs, start-ups, research scholars and pioneering companies, explore the local entrepreneurship eco-system in the country and identify opportunities to scale up their business in the global level.

All participants shortlisted in round two will get a detailed feedback and assessment report from Applyifi. Moreover, the Top 10 finalists will be invited to join a mentoring program, where they will get advice and inputs from experienced entrepreneurs and investors.

Last year, close to 300 startups had sent their nominations for this coveted Program, of which 61 ideas were shortlisted after thorough screening by our prestigious jury, and 5 of them were declared the winners after a round of presentations at Demo Nights held across 5 Indian cities, viz., Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai. The winners (Agrima Infotech, Congruent, Frilp, ToneTag and Talview) spanned diverse sectors and got a chance to visit UK to explore expansion opportunities.

If you think you have it in you to make it to the coveted list of startups that’ll head to UK, fill up our application form and explain why you think your company is ready for the UK global adventure. The shortlisted applicants will be invited to pitch to a panel of experts at various locations – Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, and Gurgaon.

The last date for applications is JANUARY 31st 2016.

For more follow us on UKTI_India on twitter and Linked In; #GREAT4Collaboration; #ifnotnowthenwhen

 

 

 

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Great Tech Rocketships (GTRS) to the UK – a UKTI, Tech Hub UK and iSPIRT initiative

Great Tech Rocketships to the UK is an initiative by UKTI to assist companies from India that would like to do business in, with or from the UK.

(UKTI, or UK Trade & Investment, is a UK Government department whose mandate is to assist UK based businesses in their overseas expansion, and also encourage the best overseas companies to look to the UK as their global partner of choice.)

UKTI chose TechHub, a London & Bangalore based co-working facility, and iSPIRT as their key partners to implement this program on the ground.

iSPIRT saw this as an ideal platform to encourage and assist Indian software product companies go global. According to Sharad Sharma, “The Rocketships initiative is another significant step forward in the journey to create a product nation here in India. It was a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with TechHub and UKTI to provide a platform for high-potential companies in India to explore global markets.”

GTRS is intended to be a long-term initiative for creating a platform, to assist high-potential companies from India, explore UK as a destination to do business, in, with or from.

The initiative launched was an interesting competition wherein 5 high-potential startups were selected from nearly 300 applicants, and are now on their way for a one-week sponsored tour of the innovation hubs in UK.

The program was launched at a packed event at Tech Hub’s Bangalore centre on the 3rd of Feb. Our call for entries was an application form, with a one-minute video pitch. We connected with a lot of companies – through social media, emails, and even personal phone calls. The response we got was overwhelming. In the last four weeks that we launched and called for entries, we received nearly 300 entries from companies across India. What was most satisfying was that 55 of these companies scored 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 5, and 25 companies scored 3, indicating an overall high quality of software product companies across India.

A jury comprising of Sharad Sharma, Mohandas Pai, Stewart Noakes, Dr. Vicky Pope, and Dr. Chris Moore, selected the winners from a list drawn from among the 61 companies that were shortlisted to present at Demo Nights held across 5 cities – Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Delhi.

With rigorous effort and comprehensive screening, we are proud to showcase the following 5 companies as the finalists of the first leg of the Great Tech Rocketships to the UK initiative –

  • Frilp – The quickest way to access the local knowledge of your friends and our experts.
  • Agrima Infotech – Development. Design. Online Marketing.
  • Talview – Talview is a pioneer and leader in video based assessments. It has more than 1000 clients across the globe from startups to Fortune 100 and have completed more than a million video responses across 102 countries.
  • Tonetag – ToneTag allows easy, frictionless & secure proximity payments using soundwaves (Tone) or NFC (Tag) and enables Contactless experience on any device
  • Congruent Technologies – Multi-national IT-solutions Corporation, with deep domain expertise in the financial services, healthcare, education and e-retail verticals

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The winners gets –

  • A week-long trip to UK, that includes flights, accommodation
  • Deep-dived interaction with world class investors, incubation hubs and science tech parks
  • Guided tour of Tech City, Europe’s most vibrant innovation hub
  • Network with like-minded entrepreneurs, start-ups, research scholars and pioneering companies

Also, the Founders of each of the shortlisted companies will be further empowered in their endeavor, by way of a year’s membership (Flex) from TechHub, which will enable them to leverage the global network and support system, thereby fast-tracking their journey of going global.

Long-term impact

While these 5 companies were shortlisted as the winners, iSPIRT is committed to guide companies that have the potential & desire to go global, and UKTI is committed to assist in anyway they can in the company’s journey to the UK.

iSPIRT is glad to have developed a strong working relationship with UKTI, Tech Hub, and through them we are now better connected with the entrepreneurial eco-system in UK.

There are several programs and incentives that are available from the UK Government, and UKTI not only can provide you information about these programs but can also assist companies in accessing programs that may be relevant to them.

As iSPIRT, we would love to see Indian software product companies go global. Great Tech Rocketships to the UK is one significant initiative which will help iSPIRT provide deserving companies a facilitated access to UK, thus paving a path for their European and global expansion.

Should you be interested in knowing about opportunities in the UK, or if you are keen on exploring what the opportunities in UK are, drop us a line at gtrs(at)ispirt.in. Wherever relevant, we will be happy to connect you with our contacts at UKTI and Tech Hub.

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“Be Prepared to Move Very Fast” Mukund Mudras, CEO & Co-Founder of Heckyl #IfNotNowThenWhen

In conversation with Mukund Mudras – CEO and Co-Founder of Heckyl – winners of the UKTI ‘India’s Most Innovative Companies To Work With The Best of UK’ 2013. 

A brief about the company –

Heckyl is a real time data analytics company that brings news, price and fundamental analytics through a single platform called FIND (Financial in News and Data).

FIND can be used by a researcher, trader and an analyst for actionable insight from the universe of data.The platform brings real-time news, information and market data from companies, businesses and global markets along with brokers and analysts recommendations from around the world.

Founded in December 2010, Heckyl recognizes that mining information from Social Media and Open Data sources presents great insight and opportunity for investors, traders, researchers and analysts.

FIND is engineered in connecting these dots with its revolutionary technology in sentiment-tagging, news-clustering and discovery engine that present ready-to-use, actionable intelligence in a fast-moving market.

Heckyl

Why did you decide to set up base in the UK?

Heckyl was planning to grow its customer base to the higher end of the user spectrum, such as hedge funds and PE funds, whose presence in UK and the European markets is very high.

It was a strategic decision to establish an office in UK – the most sought after financial hub of the world.

What are your experiences in setting up the UK operations?

Setting up in UK was a good experience for us. We had won the coveted title of the “UKTI Calling India’s Most Innovative Companies To Work With The Best of UK” contest

– a competition organised by the UKTI, in association with British Airways and Yourstory.

The win provided us with the privilege of being backed by the UKTI, London. Under that, we were guided for registration and legal affairs of setting up business. We received a privileged office space at the famous Level 39, in the tech city of UK.

How has your business benefitted from setting up base in the UK? 

UK, being the financial hub of the world, opened up the doors of opportunity – whether it was networking with mentors, incubators and accelerators who have seen-it-all, or the proximity earned, to the financial sectors such as banks, brokerage houses or the hedge funds /PE funds – there is a lot to cater to in this market.

The UK proves to be a good fit for our business , as there is a lot of demand for smart analytics around open data and social media, in the financial domain such as ours, and that businesses in these parts are open to exploring something new. As such, we have recently won the responsibility of being the news and information analytics provider, for a leading data management company popular in the European markets.

The validation received from the UK business eco-system becomes a success story to share for potential markets in the rest of the world.

What assistance did you get from UKTI, and what advice would you give to companies considering a move to UK?

They guided us and helped hasten the process of registration, something which every entrepreneur knows can be a hurdle. We got an office space in Canary Wharf at Level 39. The address is a prestigious one, as most of the well renowned start-ups and accelerators are known to set up base there.

In the days of setting-up, we were shown around and introduced to the well-established mentors who showed us the way businesses are built in the UK. We were able to network with top investors and incubators of the region.

Our Advise to companies moving to UK would be to “Be Prepared to Move Very Fast”

What are some of the challenges that companies from India should keep in mind while considering a move to another country?

Connect with the accelerators and incubators who would be able to support and guide your way around setting up abroad.

Stay in touch for funding wherever possible. There could be resources from start-up platforms and communities that maybe used – such as legal contacts, office space co-ordinators etc.

Challenges are mostly common to any business and are not restricted to India. The critical points are – understanding the tax structure and registration rules and liabilities of the foreign country, decide accordingly where to register the business. An added point is of learning how to manage expenses and save money as much as possible.

Invest in a suitable and feasible human resources agency/platform to build a local team. You may choose to invest in learning the language of the city you are headed to. Network with mentors and peers in the industry, as much as you can.

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Fingerprint entry into cars? Read what this venture is doing…

Great Tech Rocketships to the UK is a unique initiative to fast-track India’s most promising tech companies and talent to global success. Read more.

United Linkers

Tell us about your venture – what problem are you solving, and why do you think it is an important problem to be solved?

Identisafe is a biometric company and our product, Identisafe-09 helps to start and secure your car with your fingerprint. We are attempting to solve global problem of car theft that occurs in every country.

The company was established in Pune in Dec 2003 with an investment of 800$ and was a part of Plug & Play Tech Centre in Silicon Valley, California in 2007. The company is bootstrapped and profitable, till date.

How did you think of this solution? And how are you going to get this into the market?

It all started in Singapore, where I had a television set in a car, which would go off because of a loose connection. I would then have to tap the set to get it started. It suddenly struck me during one such occasion that I could use biometrics to eliminate car keys completely!

God has given us a unique identity in the form of fingerprints. So why do we need car keys, I asked myself and so the product development started.

The product has been selling on our website via the E-commerce model. Our first order came from USA in 2004 and since then we have
been exporting it in Europe, Middle East and Asia. (We also get lot of inquiries for product dealership from car dealers and also to establish franchise network that we are seriously considering).

Our current model is Business-to-Customers and we may explore the Business-to-Business model soon.

What is your plan for taking this solution global? What suggestions would you give to startups that are thinking about going global?

We plan to license the technology to car manufacturers in the UK, Germany, Italy, France, India, Brazil and China and establish a business relationship as OEMs – Original Equipment Manufacturers. I also feel that we are now established enough to connect with car accessory dealers worldwide and have at least one major distributor of our product in every country.

I am not as successful as Sabeer Bhatia (founder Hotmail), Scott McNealy (founder of Sun Microsystems – Java) or Omid Kordestani from Google. However, I met them personally in Silicon Valley and am only passing down the advice them gave me. Stay focused and keep shipping – the world is not enough – even the planet mars and moon may be the future market.

What assistance do you seek from UKTI in exploring UK as a business destination?

I made a huge mistake in Silicon Valley – I did not raise capital for the company, which I felt was a critical factor in helping it grow globally.

I feel UK may serve as a good opportunity to connect with Venture Capitalists and get the company funded. Moreover, UK may serve as a central global destination to interact with automobile manufacturing companies and establish dealership networks, thereby helping us to export the product globally. (Our major customers in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Oman find it easy to do business in UK).

The patent box may serve as an additional tax benefit since I have a UK patent pending for the latest technology, which I filed while studying at University of Cambridge.

Tell us in brief about yourself and your team.

Swapnil Kale – Founder –I am a Stanford Management Programme and Cambridge University graduate. I am a Hardware and Networking Engineer with massive experience in Embedded Electronics design.

Technical Team:

Manfred Bosnawald – He has worked earlier with Siemens,
Austria in the Biometrics division for last 6 yrs.

Marketing Team:

Sushma and Gurmeher Bhatia (worked for 17 years in Intel, California). They look after technology marketing and licensing in Silicon Valley,
California.

Web Development Manager – Shailesh Amonkar – He has 10 years experience in deploying web-based products. Specialized skills in Java and Embedded technology. Cloud-computing specialist.

Human resource– Renuka Tandon- She has been an independent HR person for TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) and Amdocs. She has 15 yrs of experience & recruits embedded engineers and the marketing team.