Month: March 2021

Categories
Motivational

This Karnataka Teacher is Making Mathematics exciting for students with his Math Lab!

The mere mention of mathematics can make students run a mile without looking back. No wonder most Edu-tech startups are trying to find creative ways to make this subject interesting and more engaging for the students.

While children in metropolitan cities and urban areas have access to the benefit of various digital platforms, students who reside in rural areas and hinterland India have no such facilities. However, thanks to teachers like Yakub S Koyyur, now they too can get easy access to quality education more excitingly.

Yakub S Koyyur is the genius behind the Maths lab that he has set up in the Government High School, Nada in Belathangdy, located in Dakshina Kannada.

Yakub was born in Koyyur village in the Dakshin Kannada district of Karnataka. Among his two sisters and five brothers, he was the only one who got the opportunity to pursue high school. After completing his Bachelors in Science from SDM College in the district, Yakub began teaching children at the local Government High School for about two years.

During his course of teaching, he realized his love for teaching and he decided to pursue his Bachelor`s in Education from Mangalore University with a second rank.

Yakub began his official teaching journey in 1996 at the Government High School in Nada village of the same district. Till now, he has taught over 4000 students by developing special content for not-so-good students. He also gives training to new teachers.

So from where did he get the idea of establishing an award-winning math lab? Yakub shares that in 2012, he realized that he wants to do something innovative and different that will improve the current education system.

He furthers shares that one night he dreamt of a room in his school. There was a board hanging outside that read “Math Lab”. The walls inside were colorful and were full of interesting and inspirational quotes. The walls were painted in vibrant shades, creating an all-dreamy experience for him.

The next morning, he decided to turn that dream into a reality. However, the journey was not so easy. While his peers and colleagues appreciated the thought, they were not ready to join in due to the financial constraint.

Yakub took to Facebook and Whatsapp, where he created groups to connect with his former students. He shared the idea with them and also mentioned his major financial constraints since it was a government school.

Soon, the help from his students started pouring in. Within a day, a total of INR 3.5 lakh was collected with old students transferring various amounts from all over. With moral support from his family members and monetary help from his former students, Yakub built the math lab in an unused room in the school and named it ‘Maths World’.

The lab has a 52-inch SmartTV screen where he showcases his YouTube channel where there are more than 400 math-related topics. The math lab also has a smart-board, created especially by a company called EyeRIS. The smart-board helps students learn and practice math problems easily.

Apart from the smartboard, there are various math models too, which students can touch and feel to get a better understanding of the concepts.

Yakub was conferred with the Best District teacher Award in 2016, Best State Teacher Award in 2018, and finally the National Teacher Award in 2020. He was one of the other 47 teachers who were recognized for their contribution to education in the country.

 

Categories
Angel Investor Startup

Best 5 Ways for Entrepreneurs to Raise Funds for their Startup Business!

प्रोडक्शन लिंक्ड इंसेंटिव (पीएलआई)

A lot of entrepreneurs face plenty of challenges when setting up a new business venture. However, there is one factor that is common amongst everyone- to get the right resources and funds essential to kick-start your startup.

While there are plenty of challenges that entrepreneurs face on their journey of setting up their startup, raising funds could be the major challenge. This single challenge could decide the fate of your business venture.

If you too are encountering the same challenges, here are five ways in which you can raise funds for your new venture:

1. ANGEL INVESTORS

This is one of the fast-track methods that can help you to raise funds for your start-up business. An angel investor can take an equity share in your startup in exchange for the money they are putting in. However, they can be exchanged for convertible debt.  Though, one requires to have extreme knowledge of every aspect of the business.

2. PARTNERSHIPS

Partnerships are essential for organizational health. Coupling with a ‘strategic partner’ is always a good idea. A trustworthy partner can help you reduce liabilities, and can bring a fresh perspective into the business.

3. BOOTSTRAPPING

We all must have heard this term multiple times, but very few of us understand the concept of bootstrapping when it comes to fundraising. Bootstrapping is when you build the company up from the scratch with your own money. It is one of the best ways to raise money for your business if you do not want any investors in your startup project.

4. VENTURE CAPITALISTS

Entrepreneurs that are looking for investors can also take financial aid from Venture Capitalists (VC). VC firms invest in the early stages of a startup company in exchange for an equity share. These organizations raise money from distinct sources and mediums and invest this collective capital into the business. This funding along with business opportunities and additional resources can help startups to grow.

5. CROWDFUNDING

Crowdfunding is taking financial aid from small business financing individuals that help startups in raising investment capital. Crowdfunding allows entrepreneurs to reach out to a pool of investors, instead of seeking one big investor.

 

Companies like First Cry, BYJU`s, Nykaa have not only managed to do fundraising but have also joined the elite Unicorn club in 2020. You too can do fundraising for your business by joining our ‘Everything about Entrepreneurship’ course.

Learn the major challenges that you may face on this journey and how to break through them. To know more about this course, click here: https://www.badabusiness.com/?ref_code=ArticlesLeads

 

 

 

Categories
MSME Startup

Piyush Goyal Tells BIS To Cut Quality Testing Charges for MSMEs, Startups and Women Entrepreneurs in India To Encourage Ease of Doing Business

Women Entrepreneurship (Photo Credits: Pexels)

In a bid to encourage MSMEs, startups, and women entrepreneurs in India, the charges for testing quality of products should be reduced, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal said. The Minister said that once the charges are minimised, it will help them to get their products certified and meet standard norms. Goyal said this at the 3rd Governing Council meeting of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). During his address, Goyal said that there is a need to change the approach of the country towards standardisation and instructed BIS to create a customer charter to usher in highest transparency in its certification process and inspections.

The Minister added saying that the fee for testing of standards should be reduced drastically ‘throughout’ for the MSMEs and in the initial years for the startups and for women entrepreneurs. Goyal said that this will encourage them to get their products certified and also encourage the ease of doing business. During his address, Goyal said that it is a challenge for BIS to fast track the standard setting processes, especially for these programmes of national priority.

BIS must therefore ensure that its technical Committees develop the required new standards in the quickest possible time for products where presently none exist, or review and revise existing standards whenever required, the minister said. Goyal reviewed the process of making Indian Standards and their implementation with officials from BIS, different ministries and regulators, among others.

Goyal directed the BIS to go in for massive expansion and modernisation of testing labs so that entrepreneurs don’t have to travel far to get the testing and certification of standards. Talking about PM Narendra Modi’s mantras for economic development, Goyal said, “Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given the three mantra for faster economic development i.e. Speed, Skill and Scale. Now it is time to add fourth dimension of ”Standard” in to this”.

Categories
Technology

4 Amazing Ways To Promote Your Business Online in 2021

Business (Photo Credits: Pexels)

In the 20th century, big or small, all businesses need an online presence in order to be successful. Luckily, you neither need a big advertising budget nor a marketing degree to put your business on the map. A laptop and an internet connection and you are ready to go.

So if you are struggling to find out the best ways to promote the website of your business then you are in the right place. In this article, we are going to cover some most effective ways to promote your business.

Here are tools to promote your website to get more exposure:

Introduce your website to Search engines:

Search engines are responsible for directing the majority of traffic so make sure you submit your website’s link directly to them. After this, you need to work on your search engine optimization (SEO). Some popular search engines are Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

Socialize on Social Media

The best thing about promoting on social media platforms is that they have a much larger audience. The one currently using social media can be your potential future customer. Some of the popular choices are Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, etc.

Blog and Spread the Word

If you are running a small business, chances are you are wondering if blogging is worth it. The short answer is yes. Blogging is a relatively easy and inexpensive way to promote your business and attract more prospective customers. You can create a blogging site at Blogger, Tumblr, WordPress, etc.

Click and Share

This works similar to social media except here you communicate exclusively by sharing pictures. Some of the popular click and share platforms are Instagram, Picasa, and Flickr. You can use these platforms to promote your business and experience a boost in traffic.

Categories
News Powerful Personalities

Actor Sonu Sood becomes a Messiah Again; Adopts 4 daughters of Uttarakhand Disaster Victim

Once again, the Bollywood actor Sonu Sood emerged as the savior after adopting four daughters of a man who had lost his life in the recent Uttarakhand floods that happened earlier this month.

Alam Singh Pundir, a 45-year old resident of the Loyaal village of Tehri district was working as an electrician in the Tapovan Hydropower project. He was working inside the tunnel when the flash flood took place. He lost his life in the floods, leaving his wife and four daughters behind.

Earlier this month, a glacier burst in Uttarakhand`s Chamoli district causing widespread destruction and damage to life and property. Not only the avalanche and flash flood claimed many lives, but many people also went missing and untraceable.

Sonu Sood, who was informed on Twitter about the deceased and his family, which includes his wife and four daughters, aged 14, 11, 8, and 2 years, came to their aid. His team immediately extended a helping hand to the family and the actor has decided to adopt and support the family of the deceased.

Sonu Sood posted a Tweet on the social media platform, calling the family of the deceased “his own” from now onwards.

He will also help the daughters to receive education and get married. This is not the first time that the actor-turned-philanthropist has come forward to help someone in need. Actor Sonu Sood has consistently helped many underprivileged families during the nationwide lockdown.

His generosity and noble gestures inspired thousands of fans, politicians, peers, and many celebrities. He earned the title of a Messiah and a real-life superhero.

 

 

Categories
Business motivation

7 Thought-Provoking Quotes by Kiran Mazumdar Shaw that will Inspire your Every Bit!

kiran mazumdar shaw

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw needs no introduction. The Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon Ltd, she was voted twice by Forbes as one of the most powerful women in the world, she is one of India`s most influential and successful female icons.

However, her path to success was laced with multiple challenges and hurdles. Her journey to fame was not a cake-walk. Instead, she worked hard and didn’t shy away from putting in everything she had to reach the pinnacle of success.

In 1978, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw joined Biocon Biochemicals Limited, Ireland as a trainee manager. Soon after joining them, she opened a branch in India in the same year. With an initial investment of INR 10,000 and a rented garage, she commenced her entrepreneurial journey.

Initially, she faced many challenges in getting a loan as the bank did not trust her idea. Her father was also asked to be her guarantor. She had to convince people to join her firm in the beginning. Her first employee was a retired garage mechanic. The quality drinking water, uninterrupted power supply, sterile labs, imported research equipment, and workers with advanced scientific skills were not easily available. Despite encountering all these challenges, she continued to work and never gave up.

But as we say that even luck favors those who refuse to give up. In 1987, Narayan Vaghul of ICICI ventures helped in the creation of venture capital with funds of USD 250,000. In 1989, Biocoin Ltd became the first Indian biotech company to receive US funding for proprietary technology.

In 2014, Biocoin was oversubscribed 33 times when the company went for an IPO. It became the second Indian company to cross the 1 billion mark on the first day of listing.

Mazumdar Shaw is known not only for her professional accomplishments but also for her philanthropic measures. She believes strongly in giving back to society and has pledged to divert half of her wealth towards the development of infrastructure required to battle against Cancer.

Through her journey that was full of ups and downs, she has inspired several women to enter the biotech world in India.

Here are some of the most thought-provoking quotes by Kiran Mazumdar Shaw that will motivate you to achieve something big in your life:

  1. “I want to be remembered as someone who put India on the scientific map of the world in terms of large innovation. I want to be remembered for making a difference in global healthcare. And I want to be remembered as someone who did make a difference to social-economic development in India.”
  2. “I think, in terms of corporate philosophy, I’ve always believed that you’ve got to treat people in a very, very egalitarian manner in the sense I like to treat people on a one-to-one basis. And I like people to take on a lot of responsibilities because I think with a sense of responsibility also comes a sense of purpose.”
  3. “As a traditionally risk-averse nation, India has rarely been at the forefront of innovation. Indian companies have mostly imitated others and became very good at it.”
  4. “I believe that entrepreneurship is about being able to face failure, manage failure and succeed after failing.”
  5. “I hate the title of being called ‘the richest woman in India’, but it’s the recognition that this was the value that I had created as a woman entrepreneur, and that makes me very, very proud.”
  6. “My legacy is going to be in affordable health care. I am willing to invest in developing that model and the policies around it.”
  7. “One of my objectives, when I started Biocon, was to make sure that I create a company for women scientists to pursue a vocation.”

Do you have a dream that does not let you sleep? Then, achieve it with our Everything About Entrepreneurship course. Learn what are the challenges that you might encounter and how to break through them easily.

To know more about our course, click here: https://www.badabusiness.com/?ref_code=ArticlesLeads

 

 

 

 

Categories
Angel Investor

Top 3 Ways for Entrepreneurs to Pitch an Idea to Investors with Total Confidence

Simple ideas to make entrepreneurs` life easy

Pitching your idea to your potential investor seems incredibly nerve-wracking. It is like the feeling of giving a presentation in front of the entire class. The only difference between the two is that the former one is more challenging!

Do you wonder if your potential investor is interested enough? Will they like your idea? And most of all you wonder if this potential investor is going to fund your project or not?

According to the INC.com report, 42% of the startups fail due to lack of initial cash funding along with other reasons like legal challenges, poor marketing, lack of innovation, or disharmony within the team.

Then how can you ensure that you get investors for your startup business? By not doing mistakes that most of the entrepreneurs commit unknowingly and end up shutting down their business. Also, they practiced the best ways to approach their investors.

Here are top tips for pitching your great ideas or products to investors:

  1. Nail your Elevator Pitch

Your elevator pitch is a teaser of your startup business idea. These 30 seconds of elevator pitch should explain everything that someone would need to know when they meet you for the first time.

Your elevator speech should tell your investors everything if they have no background knowledge about your startup.

It should be crisp, direct, and clear. And simply describe your product or idea. It should cover the 3W`s- ‘What you do,’ ‘What problem you solve,’ and ‘Why you are different?’

After your pitch, make sure to connect with the person listening. Ask them questions and resolve their queries.

  1. Research about your Potential Investors

If you come prepared, the battle is half won! So before doing your pitch, do some research on who you will be presenting to.

You can search for the list of Angel Investors network that focuses on your region. Some of the investors may be a popular figure. So you can research well about them online. Study about their patterns, as some investors like to be involved in the company they are investing in. Others would rather be hands-off and would rather like to receive quarterly reports on profitability.

  1. Talk on Facts & Figures

Provide solid data reports when you are pitching your idea to a potential investor. Investors are always interested in what you have already accomplished. Also, how much profit they will make post-investment in your company.

The value of a startup is often built even before they have made profits. The numbers behind it are often driven by speculation of how good the company could perform shortly.

However, you must also be well-prepared to back up the numbers you provide to your investors. Investors would want to hear the reasoning behind your numbers.

Do not just give a random figure of new customers your company is acquiring every month. Say the exact number because it does not matter if you are attracting 20 or 20,000 customers. Your transparency and honesty are what matters the most!

Always remember that an investor is not just investing money into your company, they are giving it to you. And they are investing because they believe in you.  Hence, give them confidence by providing the real data.

Are you trying to find investors for your startup, but could not despite having an innovative idea that could make huge profits in the long run? Worry not! With our ‘Problem Solving Courses,’ you can learn how to raise funds for your business even without an investor. For more information, click here:

 

 

 

 

Categories
MSME

MSMEs Should Avail Concessional Finance and Install Rooftop Solar System to Increase Business Efficiency, Says Union Minister Nitin Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari (Photo Credits: Facebook)

The central government and its various agencies are undertaking various steps to promote and develop the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the country. Several schemes and programmes have been initiated under different developments plans to enhance the MSME sector, thereby helping firm establish themselves, sustain and grow. The MSME Ministry spearheaded by Nitin Gadkari has also issued certain guidelines and road map for the successful and progressive running of the businesses in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. In a recent event also, Gadkari provided certain advisory for various firms in the sector. Champions: MSME Ministry’s Grievances Redressal Portal Resolves 26,693 Complaints in 9 Months.

The Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Road Transport & Highways  Nitin Gadkari have urged the business owners to install rooftop solar for enhancing the efficiency of the firm and bring down the cost of operations substantially. He said that the roof top solar system  offers an excellent value proposition to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises  by significantly bringing down cost of electricity consumption, which on an average, is up to one-fifth of their operations cost. He also asked the people in the sector to avail concessional debt finance to do the same.

“I believe there is a strong business case for MSMEs to install rooftop solar and achieve significant savings to achieve the cost-competitiveness. I am confident that MSMEs will stand together in generating and consuming solar power using their rooftops,” said Union Minister Nitin Gadkari while addressing an event virtually. He added that a large amount (average Rs 8 and higher per unit) is being paid by the firms in the MSME sector for power consumption, which contributes to up to one-fifth of the overall production costs. Major Boost to MSME Sector: Govt Trying to Make 5,000 MSME Clusters Under SFURTI Initiate, Says Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

“To assist MSMEs in implementing rooftop solar projects, the ministry is working with the World Bank on a credit guarantee program to make financing accessible to unrated MSMEs. Considering the rates of solar power from large utility power plants have come down to a record INR 1.99/kWh, MSMEs must leverage this opportunity to bring down their energy expenses,” said Nitin Gadkari.