When Assam’s mega socio-cultural jamboree, RONGALI, was painting the town in prismatic hues, how could our startups have not been a part of the joyous saga!
With a conscious emphasis on Hon’ble PM’s vision ‘Vocal for Local’ and Hon’ble CM’s vision for ‘Industrial and Agricultural development with a focus on local market development,’ the 6th edition of the annual RONGALI festival (8-10 April’22) held in Guwahati, featured an exhibition that witnessed proactive participation from startups, entrepreneurs, SHGs, artisans, weavers, artisans, FPCs, government agencies and industrial organizations.
Our incubated startups had left no stone unturned in making the most of the opportunity to display their best offerings before the who’s who of the state. Startups like Woolah Tea, Aromica Tea, NE Croft, Agro Origin Manorama Foods and Agrotech, Blue Planet Amalgamated and Dong Valley (Beyondarie) had a busy weekend managing the phenomenal footfall at their stalls during the 3-day fanfare. Among the visitors gracing the stalls were the Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture, Govt. of Assam, Shri Atul Bora, Bollywood actor Shruti Hassan, besides a number of well-known figures from the state.
Here’s a peek into the incubated startups who had participated in the exhibition.
Woolah Tea has innovated world’s first bagless tea dips named as TrueDips. The wholesome tea leaves are directly tied by a string and then compressed to the shape of a cylindrical tablet that preserves the tea leaves and also retains the exotic aroma for a longer time, doing away with the harmful effects of teabags.
Aromica Tea has carved a niche for its inexhaustible range of quirky tea blends packed with taste, aroma and a powerful nutritional punch. The startup is credited for innovating the world’s first Bhoot Jolokiya tea blend, marrying the rejuvenating taste and aroma of Assam Tea with the shocking zing of world’s hottest chillie (Ghost Chillie).
NE Croft manufactures handcrafted fusion products like tribal beads jewellery, water hyacinth bags and mats, mixed silk (and cotton) yardages, etc. They have collaborated with various artisans, entrepreneurs and producers from this domain and trained them for various livelihood generation activities like silk yarn extraction, producing natural dye, beads jewellery making, handcrafting products from water hyacinth, etc.
Manorama Foods & Agrotech deals in health food like brown rice, quinoa, etc. It focuses on superfoods, which are absolutely natural and produced locally.
Blue Planet Amalgamated is on a mission to promote the local food culture across towns and cities. The startup puts on offer smoked varieties of chicken, duck and fish. The founder has also started selling antibiotics-free chicken and has been training women farmers in Assam to breed the same.
Agro Origin is an emerging agri-startup from Guwahati, currently focused on making pineapple candies using quintessentially organic ingredients procured locally.
Dong Valley Creations, under its brand name Beyondarie, curates exclusive Wild Teas from North East India, which are fortified with indigenous super spices and herbs from the region.
RONGALI is organized every year in Guwahati by Trend MMS with a mission to showcase Assam as a preferred destination and promote the vibrant culture and crafts of the North-Eastern region.
While doing research, Jorhat-based sibling duo, Parikshit and Pramathesh Borkotoky found that 40% of non-biodegradable waste comes from consumer goods. With the sustainable alternatives burning holes in the wallets, most of the consumers are left with no option but to fall back upon the non-biodegradable products, despite their willingness to go green. This motivated the entrepreneurs to work out a sustainable solution that’s aesthetically pleasing enough to gain popularity among the consumers, and affordable enough for them to stick to their consumption aspirations.
KraftInn was launched in 2015 with an idea to marry the environment-friendly handicrafts of Assam with the contemporary lifestyle demands. The startup’s mission is to provide a range of products made with sustainable materials to millions of people across the world and accelerate the phasing out of non-disposable products, by creating a standardised profit-driven system for manufacturing sustainable products, thereby utilising the existing skillsets of local artisans and making the product affordable in all aspects.
Their products include an eclectic range of lamps, bags, baskets, bookshelves and other home décor artefacts made from locally available sustainable materials like bamboo and water hyacinth, and are sold through their website and leading online marketplaces, as well as through various physical stores across India.
To date, KraftInn has served over 20,000 customers across 3000 PIN Codes in India and have also exported to 2 countries, clocking 30% YoY Revenue Growth. Recently, the startup has also raised a seed equity funding from NEDFi Venture Capital Limited (NVCL) that is expected to consolidate their efforts to launch new products and extend their reach to new markets.
Creatorhub is an influencer marketing agency founded in 2020 with the dual visions to enable businesses to effectively harness the power of influencer marketing as well as put the North East Indian influencers under spotlight so as to bag projects and pull them off to impressive outcomes.
Founders Idrisha Tamuly, Lakshmi Nandon Baruah, and Rizvan Chowdhury identified a mammoth scope for influencer marketing in the region. Recent case studies corroborate the quick and tangible benefits reaped by brands with Influencer marketing. The drastic rise in popularity of influencer marketing in the mainstream has trickled down to regional audiences, including the North East region of India.
With 5 years of industry experience, the founders’ trio gave shape to a startup that married brand needs with the influencers from NER. In a span of a year, Creatorhub has roped in over 200 top social media influencers from NER and worked with more than 20 nationally known brands for their marketing campaigns in the region, thus emerging as a favourite influencer marketing agency for marketers as well as aspiring Influencers.
Being conspicuously driven by an impact objective to facilitate livelihood opportunities to the talented and aspiring youths of NER in the fast-growing Influencer marketing sector, Creatorhub is consciously making a move to inspire and encourage housewives, students, working women, and content creators across the North Eastern states, to explore the opportunities awaiting them in the world of influencer marketing.
For today’s on-the-go crowd, grabbing a quick can of energy drink comes handy and effective enough to keep going. Yet, for the flip side of it, most of these drinks are steeped in sugar and caffeine that can have an adverse impact on health in the long run. In view of this problem, Prodyut Mahanta decided to work on developing a refreshing drink that’s pleasant to the palette and serves as a potion for good health. Leveraging his years of experience of working in the agri, food and beverage sectors, Prodyut finally launched his startup BLACK HORN in March 2020, offering a range of refreshing, caffeine-free, chemical-free, natural energy drinks.
Black Horn’s energy drinks are packed with minerals and natural fruit pulp that make them delectable, rejuvenating and healthy at the same time. Its caffeine-free and chemical-free properties make the drinks suitable for consumption for people from all age groups.
To date, Black Horn has catered to over 5500 customers across Assam and Manipur, through retail platforms, restaurants, food vendors and distributors. The startup is also currently gearing up to serving customers in Gujarat and Delhi. It clocked a revenue of Rs. 5.3 lakhs in FY 2020-2022 and has already generated a revenue of Rs. 8.75 lakhs to date in the current financial year.
In 2017, when childhood friends Sudarshan Deka and Surjya Prakash Borthakur set down to brainstorm on the unconventional ideas that could possibly disrupt the long standing tea manufacturing process, the discussion unanimously boiled down to devising an energy efficient tea processing mechanism. After several sketches, the duo arrived at an idea which had the potential to entirely eliminate the use of coal and LPG in tea manufacturing. Coal and LPG contribute significantly to the direct carbon emissions. Thus the foundation of Deroi Innovations was laid in 2017.
After spending months designing the technology and fabricating a production line along the philosophy of sustainability, the startup had set up a tea manufacturing unit in Guwahati in 2021. Currently, Deroi Innovations is processing single origin whole leaf green and black tea products under controlled pressure and temperature, with zero carbon emissions.
What’s more having realized the challenges faced by the small tea growers, the startup has consciously made it a point to procure raw materials exclusively from the small tea gardens. The tea line will soon be made available on Deroi’s online store as well as on Amazon.
Despite an increased awareness about sustainable lifestyle, its adoption hasn’t been encouraging enough when it comes to interior design – reasons being non-alignment with modern designs and the complexities involved for a complete makeover. Assam Ergo is on a mission to encourage the adoption of an environment-friendly lifestyle by carving modern interior spaces using materials like bamboo composites and natural fibres in a fashion that suits the contemporary palates.
Founder Asif Laskar brings to the table about 20 years of experience working in the conventional designing space to seamlessly marry contemporary design needs with sustainable elements for high functionality and aesthetics.
The Startup develops design solutions from its studio at Guwahati for modern spaces featuring sustainable furniture and fixtures built of engineered bamboo panels and similar eco-friendly materials, which are designed and built to blend smoothly into a contemporary style. The fusion of sustainable materials with conventional building items creates an aesthetic synergy between the two worlds, thereby giving shape to a signature style that is warm and easily identifiable.
Conceptualised in 2019, the Startup has so far focused on creating customised commercial spaces and high-profile offices. The team has offered its services to the Dept. of Tourism, Assam, Dept. of Horticulture, Sikkim, NEC Guest House, New Delhi, to name a few. However, as a next step, Assam Ergo has started working on creating a line of quick-assembly sustainable modular furniture as per global design standards for modern homes, workplaces and public spaces. They have already gained ground in this direction with modular rain-shades built of steel and bamboo for the Atal Udyan Park developed by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority.
Assam Ergo plans to upgrade its existing facilities to enable mass production to subsequently venture into the retail space through e-commerce platforms and physical stores. The startup continues to use conventional materials of the latest trends in its projects while consciously and strategically injecting sustainable elements in the spaces that it designs and executes to create objects and spaces that are aspirational and unique.
Unlike what many fledgling startups might believe, a breakthrough product/service isn’t a fool proof road to success. Given the oversaturated markets today, startups often struggle to find a hold in the market after launching themselves into the race. In order to stay on top of the game, it’s mandatory for the startups to work out innovative strategies that would give them a competitive edge. Hence, before stepping into the market only to find themselves struggling to create an identity for themselves, it’s advisable for the startups to chalk out the key differentiator that stands them apart from the rest. Here are a few fundamental pointers that you must remind yourself of in order to gain an edge over your competitors.
Focus on the Need
First thing first. No path-breaking innovation is good enough if it fails to serve the need. We often see startups getting swayed by a fit of passion and enthusiasm for an idea/innovation that they think is unflinchingly brilliant. You cannot make the need fit into the innovation. It’s exactly the other way round.
While looking for a problem, make sure it isn’t your own bias-ridden problem, but rather a problem that infests a good number of people who shall constitute your chunk consumers. Do your research to confirm whether the problem in question is a problem the people are talking about too. According to the CBI insights, 42% startups fail because they try to ‘tackle a problem that’s interesting to resolve rather than those that serve a market need.’
Observe your competitors
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” said the wise men. The secret to staying ahead in the competition is to closely track your competitors. Know the things that are working wonders for them. Minutely follow their marketing strategies. Deep dive into their promotion activities that are conspicuously yielding benefits. Also analyse the gaps in their offerings to strengthen your products. Fortunately, today’s digital world has made it quite easier to monitor the competitors with help of various digital tools.
Stay in loop with technology
In today’s competitive world of business, startups must leverage technology to beat the slack. COVID-19 has magnified the need to stay abreast with technology like never before. Be it working from home, managing projects and database, communicating with customers and businesses, or automating workflows – technology is the key to multiplying efficiency and smoothing the rough edges.
Make your customers feel valued
More than half of the battle is won if you have achieved your customers’ loyalty. What better way to achieve this than to make your customers feel valued! To make the customers choose you over your competitors, make offers that clearly speak of your edge over the rest. Don’t hesitate going that extra mile to strike a personal chord with your customers and augment the overall customer experience. While it isn’t advisable to completely do away with transactional marketing, relationship marketing is the key to making your customers return to you with, possibly, a group of new ones as well.
Let the assumptions go for a toss
You may come with assumptions based on your experiences and learnings. Running a startup comes with its own sets of challenges that would require dynamic redressals. Be flexible enough to let your assumptions go for a toss – be it about your own business or of the competitors. Rather trust the real-time data. This will help you stay on your toes to handle the shifts and navigate better as and when required.
Hire judiciously
Most of the early-stage startups have limited bandwidth. This makes it even more crucial to hire a team that is brilliant skill-wise, and is aligned with your passion and goals for the company. A team that is willing to walk that extra mile and has a brilliant knack for innovating solutions and resolving bottlenecks in crunch situations.
Build a strong Brand personality
When it comes to building a strong brand personality, Apple is the king of the game. Brand personality is a set of traits that the customers perceive a brand with.
The first step to building a strong personality is to know your business in and out. Determine how you would want to be perceived. Gauge the strengths of your business that you’d want to communicate and would help you carve a niche. The idea is to create a distinctive demeanour of your brand that will instantly make you stand apart from your competitors.
Network extensively
This is another important factor that startups often fail to lend enough weightage to. Remember that entrepreneurs thrive because of the people they know rather than what they know.
Building a strong network is a crucial factor deciding the success and sustainability of a startup. So, focus on building and nurturing a support network of likeminded people who could be your peers or people from the business world. You will be surprised to see the number of times you will be able to fend off the risks of failure.
Here are a few reasons you must network extensively:
It gives you and your brand visibility and builds your reputation.
It improves your confidence.
It helps you to get prequalified referrals that could be converted into permanent clients.
Networking is the most appropriate way of getting mentorship and guidance. Fellow entrepreneurs or investors can offer you advice on different matters.
Opens the gate to mutual sharing of knowledge across various industries that helps everyone grow together.
In a country where agriculture forms the backbone of its economy, contributions being made to hold it upright are surprisingly scarce still. The problem lies not in the lack of capable minds, but in the hesitant attitude towards adopting more advanced methods combined with the lack of motivation to change that. There is always light at the end of a tunnel, and the time to bask in that light has arrived for our farmers. Agritech startups in India are working day in and day out to hold the backbone of our economy upright by integrating technology into the agricultural sector. Agrithink Services is one of Northeast India’s rising agritech startups that is working towards this integration and also helping farmers adapt to this revolution.
Agrithink’s main product/service is a sensor and app-based climate monitoring system called the Smart Micro-Climate Monitoring and Control System (SMMCS). One of the main challenges faced in the agricultural sector is the lack of data, which has time and again proven to be a big obstacle when it comes to providing optimal climate conditions to crops. This is one of the major reasons behind the failure of crops. With an IoT-powered system that can monitor and store data regarding parameters like temperature, moisture, and soil pH, the SMMCS is capable of monitoring any protected agricultural settings like greenhouses or mushroom cultivations. All that one needs to do is log into the app using a login ID and the ability to monitor the plantation’s micro-climate will be in their hands along with the ability to irrigate their crops when need be.
This patented revolutionary system has won Agrithink Services the attention of numerous businesses as well as individual consumers. The Sikkim Government has shown immense interest in the SMMCS along with the desire to adopt this technology for all the agricultural beneficiaries in their state once the pandemic curbs are lifted. Apart from the SMMCs, Agrithink Services is also working on a soil health management service. Dr. Bijaylakshmi Goswami, a co-founder of Agrithink Services, emphasizes the importance of soil and expresses how the lack of data regarding the various parameters of soil is a matter of concern that needs to be looked into.
Dr. Bijalakshmi Goswami (left) in the field with Taufik Ahmed (right)
In a world like the one we live in, technology has become an inseparable part of nearly every sector. There is a need for pioneers from different fields to make this revolution happen to unleash every sector’s optimum potential. Agritech startups in India, like Agrithink Services, are doing exactly that – bringing out the true potential in agriculture by steadfastly battling the challenge of getting the farmers on board to put this revolutionary integration into motion headfirst.
“We can’t sit back thinking that the farmers will not be open to these changes. How will they if we simply just feed them words and hesitate to get into the field ourselves? We need to show them how it works and that it actually works and not just push them to the point of getting overwhelmed and ultimately refusing to adopt these new changes,” Dr. Bijaylakshmi rightfully says.
The desire to be a part of this revolution was born in Dr. Bijaylakshmi, a Doctorate in Biotechnology when she became a part of a wide range of projects for SmartFusionware which exposed her to the true potential of IoT and ICT. She met like-minded people while at work, like co-founder Taufik Ahmed, and decided to jump on board to bring about tech integration into agriculture. Thus, were sown the seeds of Agrithink Services leading to its launch in the year 2019.
2020 proved to one of the hardest ever mountains to climb for people all around the world. However, for determined individuals like Dr. Bijaylakshmi and Taufik Ahmed, a challenge is by no means a reason to halt in their journey to the peak. Thanks to the founders’ hard work, Agrithink Services received the MASI grant amidst the pandemic, etching their name permanently in the book of successful agritech startups in India. Dr. Bijaylakshmi says, “When you receive recognitions as big as the MASI grant, it’s a push in the right direction. You realize that you’re on the right path and have every right to believe in yourself.” She admits to the grant truly helping them put their plans for Agrithink into motion.
In a fast-paced world with innovative minds coming up with one thing or the other at every corner, the courage to come up with something new ourselves is a big challenge. One needs to have faith in themselves to taste the air of success. On being asked if she ever faced any problems in the entrepreneurial world because of her gender, Dr. Bijaylakshmi brings to notice a very important lesson that every individual, regardless of their gender, needs to remember.
“Problems exist in every field, regardless of one’s gender. The right way to go about dealing with them is by not making them the focal point of our journey.”
Dr. Bijaylakshmi believes that even though being a woman comes with its own set of challenges, there exist some big perks too. She mentions how being a woman has helped her make a stronger impact by being one of the women pioneers in the tech world. This is exactly the kind of motivation we need to keep working towards our goals.
The pandemic might be here to stay for an indefinite amount of time, but that surely doesn’t mean we be rendered powerless to go about working towards our goals. Although it did pose some problems in the initial days of their launch concerning gaining validation from the farmers and other clients regarding their products/services, Agrithink Services is currently fully focused on putting their next service into motion and is meticulously working on it while at home. They have full faith that the startup will reach its target revenue by the end of the current year regardless of the pandemic.
Agritech startups in India are doing a wonderful job at bringing about the necessary changes to take agriculture to new heights. What comes first is putting in the best possible efforts and recognition as well as success shall follow. The co-founders fully believe that Agrithink Services is set to achieve big milestones in the coming years and become one of the most well-known agritech startups in India owing to the revolutionary services provided by them. They also believe in their startup’s potential at creating new employment opportunities. This especially aligns perfectly with Dr. Bijaylakshmi’s previous endeavors of helping women from marginalized communities find opportunities to sustain their living.
To bring a plan to fruition, no matter how well orchestrated it might be, is no child’s play. There come into play numerous factors that need pillars for support. Agrithink Services and its success so far is no different. During the initial months of its development, Assam Startup and IIM Calcutta Innovation Park proved to be the pillars for Agrithink Services. Both Taufik and Dr. Bijaylakshmi express their immense gratitude towards these organizations while admitting that all that they needed to put the plans into motion, they learned from these very organizations. They also mention the value that these names add to the startup and express their pleasure to have earned the right to be associated with these two organizations.
“If you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
This famous line by Paulo Coelho finds its relevance in the human spirit to overturn the mountains in order to achieve what has been desired. Perhaps, more than anyone else, it fits in perfectly with the indomitable passion of an entrepreneur. For Ayaan Hazarika, however, the universe started to conspire months before he realized his calling. A student of Jamia Millia Islamia, Ayaan had decided to go back to New Delhi following his sojourn in his hometown Guwahati earlier in 2020. But as fate would have it, the outbreak of COVID-19 had forced him to change his plans. And while he stayed back, Ayaan was in a dilemma about his future course of action. After completing an internship at Assam Startupin January 2020, starting something of his own did occupy a spot in his mind. But he was yet to get hit by that Aha Moment until October 2020.
Ayaan Hazarika
Ayaan’s close friend, Jakiyyah Ahmed, who had also interned at Assam Startup, was facing a challenge in delivering her home-baked cakes to the customers cost-efficiently. That’s when she approached Ayaan with a proposal to tie-up with her as a delivery partner. It was on Jakiyyah’s suggestion that Ayaan decided to give it a serious thought. He shared the idea with Subrota Chetia, who didn’t waste any time in jumping on-board for commercialising the idea. That was the inception of QuickDel – a logistics startup catering to the small and home businesses, especially the home bakers.
It was again Jakiyyah’s network of home bakers that helped QuickDel gain the initial traction. The enthusiastic response of the home bakers opened the founders’ eyes to a need that wasn’t tapped by anyone hitherto. The fact that the home-based hyperlocal businesses cater to a good number of daily orders bring them face-to-face with the need for hiring manpower and vehicles for last mile delivery. Since it thrusted on them an additional burden of meeting a substantial expense, often pushed these home business owners at wits’ end, especially given that most of them are running their ventures singlehandedly without a team. QuickDel comes as a whiff of respite for them, taking complete care of the logistics at an affordable price.
Subrota Chetia
Bolstered by the response, the founders started connecting with home chefs and bakers on social media, acquainting them about their services. Since then, the clientele has only increased. The story flabbergasts all the more when Ayaan informs that they had invested only Rs. 500 to start, which was mostly spent in designing the promotional materials.
Ayaan and Subrota started with a single delivery personnel. Today, they have six delivery personnel working with them on a commission basis.
The startup has further extended its services to facilitating pick and drop of groceries for households. Customers can simply place their orders with QuickDel, which, in turn, purchases the items from the nearby grocery stores and delivers those right at the doorstep. The startup is currently focussing on delivering daily essentials, COVID meals, as well as COVID essentials like oximeters and sanitizers at reduced prices all around the city.
With around 65% of the home bakers in Guwahati availing delivery services from QuickDel, it is definite that the accidental startup has meticulously succeeded in driving the MVP. It’s now awaited to watch how the startup fares from here. Ayaan is candid in his communication about the need for business guidance and handholding from the mentors to push the venture to its optimum potential.
The founders stumbled upon an opportunity and blew life into it by efficiently addressing the need. From here they can only take it further with a meticulously chalked out business model and, perhaps, with sensibly leveraging technology for a smoothened process and greater reach. And the good news is that Ayaan and Subrota are confident and determined to carve their own niche by dint of the qualities exclusive to them.
“We take one look at Elon Musk, hear him talk and think we can never be like him. That we don’t have the qualities that make an Elon Musk or any of the renowned entrepreneurs. But what we don’t understand is that we don’t have to have what they have. We all have our own qualities, our own ideas, making us unique in our own ways, and hence, uniquely capable of achieving wonderful things in life,” the founding duo concludes.
When two young problem solvers are this passionate about the journey, the universe is conspiring perfectly smart to help them book a lavish space among the inexhaustible list of entrepreneurs in the years to come.
Accounting plays a key role in the smooth running of a business because it helps keep a track of all the incomes and expenditures, ensures adherence to the legal and tax compliances, provides the all-important financial information to the investors, and guides prudent business decisions. And yet, many companies and startups screw up with accounting, which, in several cases, have cost the companies big time.
Senior Resident Mentor atIIM Calcutta Innovation Park, Debapratim Das, talks about 6 common accounting mistakes made by startups and how to avoid them.
1. Mixing up individual and business finances
Always keep in mind that a founder/promoter and his startup are two different legal entities. Personal expenses and incomes must not therefore be mixed with startup expenses, else it will throw up a totally incorrect picture for the business.
2. Booking sales before actual delivery
Revenue should be booked only after the dispatch is completed and relevant invoice has been raised.
3. Not considering own remuneration as an element of cost
This understates the expenses and gives wrong ideas about the true profitability.
4. Not maintaining records and receipts
Record all transactions, no matter how small or insignificant. This includes cash transactions at your storefront and the receipts from your client dinner. Keeping a record will help you catch any accounting mistakes, capitalize on tax deduction opportunities, and be beneficial if an audit takes place.
5. Not attaching adequate attention to mandatory compliance
Startups often are the culprits of not filing papers with regulators within the stipulated time and such non-compliance can hit the reputation as well as the financials of the company very badly.
6. Not understanding the difference between profits and cash flow
Your business could be in profits and still left with no money to pay the bills. It is important to understand the difference between Profits and Cash flow. Prepare detailed cash flow statements on a month to month basis detailing the money that is coming in and going out. Keeping cash flows positive is key to running a business smoothly.
Assam Startup Impact Report
Assam Startup TrailBlazers
