Tag: Inspirational story

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Motivational

This Designer Is Making Blind Women Financially Independent With Artisanal Brooms!

Success Story Of Social entrepreneur Lakshmi Menon
Success Story Of Social entrepreneur Lakshmi Menon

How many of us use our brooms as decorative pieces? None, right? But there is one house in Kerala where you can see two broomsticks placed side by side adorning the wall right beside the doorway at the entrance like a piece of art. And this house belongs to none other than Lakshmi Menon.

These broomsticks are not ordinary! In fact, they have an interesting story behind them that will not only touch your heart but will also inspire you to do something to give back to society. These broomsticks look stunning in their designs, but what makes them unique is their imperfection. Attractive and colourful, one may point out that the pattern is not perfect in a few places.

To which Lakshmi Menon gives a befitting reply, “If you can see the imperfections, you are one of the luckiest people because the person who made the broom could never see it themself.”

The craftsmen who weave these beautiful broomsticks belong to a group of visually impaired women at the Kerala Federation of the Blind. These visually impaired women receive training from Lakshmi in a bid to become financially independent and lead a better quality of life. Attaining a sense of independence gives them hope for tomorrow.

A Fascination Start to a Noble Journey

Lakshmi, who hails from Kerala, was struck with this amazing idea while vacationing at an Ayurvedic beach resort in Thrissur at a beautiful property. Spending her days admiring the picturesque beauty of nature and the line of coconut and palm trees that outlined the landscape of the resort, she noticed that the hotel staff would cut the leaves once they became aged and dry.

In Kerala, it is a common practice to make brooms from these dried coconut leaves. Lakshmi too used to do this with her grandmother and mother when she was younger. Once she joined them, she realised that she could easily make around five broomsticks a day.

She soon discovered that these broomsticks can be sold for INR 250 and thought it would be a very sustainable venture to have. To make it more sustainable, Lakshmi decided to use scrap pieces of cloth from a neighbouring tailor instead of plastic that was usually used to tape the broomsticks together.

She started putting pictures on her social media account. As soon as her followers saw the images of the broomsticks she had put up, she was flooded with orders for these.

So how did this amazing idea that she got on vacation turn into a noble cause?

What you Seek, Seeks You!

Following her vacation, one of her friends told her about the Kerala Federation of Blind and how women at the federation were not getting much work those days. And when her friend asked Lakshmi, if she knew any activity that can help these women to gain financial independence? Lakshmi was quick to reply!

She indeed knew of the activity that could transform the lives of those women forever. In fact by this time Lakshmi had taken the innovation further. She further shares, “I thought a tapestry would make an attractive covering for the broom. There was no point weaving through the entire thing. By simply covering the outer layer of the broom with colourful woven yarn, the appearance would be fabulous.”

The next day she shared her idea with the women in the federation and she received a great response and was quite surprised to see their impeccable skills in doing the work.

In 2022, she established her venture- Choolala—which means “broom” in Malayalam. Her venture would solely focus on these broomsticks made by visually impaired women. The broomsticks created by Choolala have a luxury associated with them because they are non-polished and also because of the fact that each broomstick is made by someone who, despite not being able to see, has crafted it with love and passion.

Currently, there are 15 visually impaired women from Idukki, Calicut, Trivandrum, Kottayam, and other places around Kerala, who are engaged in Choolala. And watching them piecing them together is wholesome.

Speaking about the process of making the broomsticks, she says it is heart rendering to watch these visually impaired women make these. “They hum, sing, listen to music and enjoy the process so much, it almost feels there is magic happening right where the brooms are made.”

These women live at the Federation of the Blind and have all their needs taken care of, Lakshmi provides them with training to make the brooms and they are given INR 150 for the sale of the broomsticks. Lakshmi is also in talks with the airport authorities in Kerala to have the broomsticks made available in all souvenir shops, as she says, “This is the best memory you can take back from the state.”

Nothing handmade can ever be perfect and this is why the broomsticks from Choolala also have a kind of special touch. Circling back to why her venture is focused on visually impaired people this time, Lakshmi says it has made her more aware of the beauty of life.

She adds that we as a society and the world sometimes fail to understand how tough life must be to wake up and not be able to see. This is why we should be grateful for everything that we have in life and keep working toward the betterment of society.

Want to read more success stories? Visit: https://news.badabusiness.com/motivational/

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Motivational

Meet IAS Officer Who Scored AIR 57 In UPSC While Working Full-Time With RBI

Success Story of Yashni Nagarajan
Success Story of Yashni Nagarajan

When Colin Powell said, “A dream does not become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work”, many people did agree with him. Human beings love to dream about their career, ambitions, and a lot more other things that they aspire to achieve in their lives.

Okay, so coming back to reality, we live in a society where we like to get things done instantly! Instant food, instant replies, food or grocery delivery in under 10 minutes, instant emails, and instant results. We all are guilty of instant gratification. But truth to be told, every good thing takes time and the best and the most valuable thing in life come from working hard to achieve them. An IAS officer Yashni Nagarajan is the leading example of that.

Yashni Nagarajan cracked the UPSC exam and bagged the All India Rank 57 in 2019. Union Public Service Commission or UPSC as it is popularly known is one of the most prestigious and difficult administrative service examinations in India. Lakhs of students prepare for this exam for years, before appearing for it from all over the country. But only a few aspirants clear the examination which is followed by a face-to-face interview that is equally famous for their high level of difficulty.

Yashni Nagarajan cleared her exam in her fourth attempt while working full-time and the reason behind her success was her excellent time management skills. What are the factors that contributed to making her journey successful? Let’s find out:

1. Education & Family Support Played a Crucial Role

Most people underestimate the quality of education in central government schools; there are students like Yashni Nagarajan who prove them wrong. She completed her schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Naharlagun. She enrolled herself in the National Institute of Engineering, Yupia in 2014 and completed her B.Tech in EEE with flying colours.

Her father Thangavel Nagarajan is a retired state PWD engineer and her mother is a retired superintendent of the Itanagar branch at Gauhati High Court Registry. Both of them have been supported throughout her journey.

2. Worked Hard on Weekdays, Studied Harder on Weekends

Yashni believed that if you are working on weekdays, you will have to study on weekends. During her journey, Yashni used to study for 4 to 5 hours dedicatedly every day, while on weekends she used to study the whole day. Studying on weekends strengthens your preparation. And with the right time management skills, you can manage to take out 4-5 hours for studies every day.

3. Choose What You Excel At

Yashni cleared the UPSC exam on her fourth attempt. She failed in her first three attempts but took them as lessons of wisdom.  She shares that in her initial attempt, she chose Geography as an optional subject under the influence of other people. However, she changed the subject later on when noticed that she excel in another subject.

Yashni says that you should choose a subject of your choice so that you can read it with full interest. You will read about it and try to gain in-depth knowledge only if you like the subject. An optional subject plays an important role in the UPSC exam as it helps to score better marks.

4. One Piece of Advice for Other Aspirants

One important piece of advice that Yashni gives to all UPSC aspirants is that Essay and Ethics are two subjects in which they can score the highest. Therefore, it’s very important to give importance to these subjects. She says that though it is difficult to prepare for UPSC while having a full-time job, it is beneficial too! Along with gaining experience, you also master time-management skills. She says, “You will feel less stressed even if you don’t qualify UPSC. And because you already have a job, you don’t worry much about your career. You can become an IAS or IPS officer with hard work and better time management.”

So, if you want to enhance your learning, prepare for a competitive exam, or want to pursue that management course that you have been eyeing for a couple of months- go for it. The story of Yashni Nagarajan is full of inspiration and testimony that hard work, dedication, and excellent time management skills can help you achieve your professional and personal goals.

For more such stories, visit: www.badabusiness.com

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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.

 

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Motivational

The Most Inspiring Journey of Mary Kom: Born to Beat Adversities!

mary-kom

The world has two types of people- achievers and fighters. But only those who are filled with true passion and determination belong to this category. Mary Kom is both- the real champion of the society.

Mary Kom has not only been an inspiration for women across India but also around the world. She has made the country proud by winning six World Championships and an Olympic bronze.

Mary Kom`s real name is Mangte Chungneijang. She was born in Manipur in 1983. Her parents, Mangte Tonpa Kom and Mangte Akham Kom worked in jhum fields. Coming from a very humble background, Mary had to undergo a lot of hardships and inconveniences and created a name for herself in the world of boxing.

Just like other girls in the village, Mary Kom also worked in fields to help her parents. Along with working in the fields, she also took care of her younger siblings. During her school days, she showed intense interest in athletics along with many other sports like football, and hockey. She took up sports to aid her family with financial support. However, she never showed any interest in boxing.

Mary Kom`s father was a former wrestler player at his young age. But he never wanted his daughters to pursue the same. However, destiny has its plan. It was the success of Dingko Singh that inspired her to become a professional boxer player.

Instead of looking for excuses and blame her financial condition, Mary Kom decided early on that she would build her strength. In 2000, Mary Kom began her boxing training under the coach K. Kosana Meitei in Imphal.

The journey to becoming a professional boxer player was not easy. As Mary`s father was not in the favor of her stepping inside the ring, she had to hide her interest in boxing from her family. Her father shouted at her when a photo of her winning the state boxing championship was printed in the newspaper.

Mary Kom made her first debut at the Women World Boxing Championship at the age of 18. After just one year of starting to learn boxing, she won a silver medal in the 46 kg weight category.  Later on, she won a gold medal at the second Association International de Boxe Amateur (AIBA) World Women`s Senior Boxing Championship that was held at Antalya, Turkey.

Mary Kom, a mother of twin sons, has won six world records. She wasn`t born in an affluent sportsperson’s family, hence did not have the privilege of training with the best at the early stages of her career.

Post her marriage in 2005, Mary Kom became the mother of twin sons in 2007. She took a short break until the birth of her kids, but started training again and achieved success in the following year. Married to Karung Onkholer, Mary Kom won much recognition in her career:

  1. Arjuna Award (Boxing) in 2003
  2. Challenger for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2007
  3. People of the Year in 2007 as Limca Book of Records
  4. ‘Magnificent Mary’, AIBA in 2008
  5. Reliance Industries & CNN-IBN Real Heroes Award in 2008
  6. Pepsi MTV Youth Icon in 2008
  7. Ambassador of International Boxing Association in Women’s Boxing in 2009
  8. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2009
  9. Sahara Sports Award in 2010
  10. Decorated as Padma Shri in 2006 for sports
  11. Decorated as Padma Bhushan in 2013 for wonderful achievement in sports.

“Unbreakable”, an autobiography of Mary Kom was released in 2013 by Harper Collins. Mary Kom, a headstrong girl, did not give up on her dream and followed it passionately. She is an inspiration to women who dare to dream big!

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Motivational

5 Inspiring Indra Nooyi Quotes to Remind Everyone that no dream is too big!

indra nooyi

If ‘breaking the glass ceiling’ is what defines the unconventional success, then Indra Nooyi fits it to a T. The former Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi is one of the fewest Indian women to reach the top of the ladder of success.

A self-proclaimed nerd, Nooyi was born into a conservative family of Madras, which is now known as Chennai. To continue her studies, she went to Yale University on scholarship. She excelled in academics and worked as a receptionist from dusk to dawn to fund her educational expenses.

With her hard earnings, she purchased the first business suit that she would wear for the job interviews.  However, she got rejected because of her ill-fitted pants. She was disappointed until one of her professors advised her to wear clothes in which she feels comfortable.

For the next interview, she wore a saree and got selected at Boston Consulting Group. She became a global headline when she joined PepsiCo. During her 12 years tenure in PepsiCo, she boosted the company`s revenue while expanding its offerings to include healthier foods.

Because of her passion, persistence, and perseverance, Indira not only became the CEO of one of the largest companies in the world but also represented the most powerful businesswoman in the world.

Here are 5 inspiring quotes by Indira Nooyi that will give you a glimpse of what it takes to achieve success:

  1. I grew up with a mother who said, ‘I’ll arrange a marriage for you at 18,’ but she also said that we could achieve anything we put our minds to and encourage us to dream of becoming prime minister or president.
  2. At the end of the day, don’t forget that you’re a person, don’t forget you’re a mother, don’t forget you’re a wife, don’t forget you’re a daughter. Because in the end, no matter how much money you make & how much success you create, what you are left with is family, friends & faith.
  3. You can`t deliver value unless you anchor the company`s values. Values make an unsinkable ship. Code of conduct goes beyond legal compliance and every employee needs to be well versed with it.
  4. I am a mother first, then a CEO, and then a wife.
  5. Leadership is hard to define and good leadership even harder. But if you can get people to follow you to the ends of the earth, you are a great leader.

Women can achieve anything if they want. All it needs a true determination, a strong value system, and a belief in their dreams.

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Marketing

The Moms Co: How this brand is helping would-be Mothers with Toxin-free Products!

Necessity is the mother of all inventions’. And today we will unravel the success story of one such purpose-driven brand- The Moms Co. The brand which has raised $8 million (Rs 58.4 crore at the current exchange rate) in its third round of funding is riding on a wave of success. The existing investors Saama Capital and DSG Consumer Partners led the Series B round of funding.

The Moms Co. is a wellness start-up that began in 2016. Based out of Delhi, The Moms Co came into existence when the husband-wife duo Malika and Mohit Sadani had their second daughter. The couple moved to Gurgaon from London after her delivery. Malik`s struggle to find a safe, natural, and toxin-free product for her baby in India led to the birth of The Moms Co.

In today`s time, hygiene is paramount! The topmost priority of new-age parents is to keep their babies safe from diseases. No couple would want their child to open his eyes in an unhygienic environment. Also, maintaining a sanitized environment is essential for the mental and physical wellness of the expecting mother.

 

“Finding a premium quality product for my daughter that was natural, safe, and toxin-free was so difficult that I had to rely on my friends traveling from abroad to India to get my stock. On discussing the ordeal with other mothers, I soon realized others like me were also facing similar challenges. It just struck to me that no brand in India was listening to us moms and trying to resolve our requirements,” explains founder & CEO Malika Sadani.

What finally triggered her to come up with her brand is when a friend of the couple traveling from the US couldn`t get the products they had ordered due to heavy snow in Boston. That`s when the couple finally decided to do thorough research and go deeper into the supply chain. They wanted to know if high-quality products can be made in India.
It was then that she decided to take her first step towards The Moms Co. Before setting her foot as an entrepreneur, Malika, who has done her graduation from the Welingkar Institute of Management, has worked as a banker with ICICI bank. Her husband Mohit is an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus and worked with big hotshots like Mckinsey & e-commerce unicorn Snapdeal.

So what makes this brand special? Their excellent quality standards! The company`s products are developed by highly skilled experts across Australia, India & Switzerland. The ingredients used in their products are checked thoroughly against databases available around the globe.
The products then undergo stability tests to ensure that their quality and stability are intact across varied humidity and temperature conditions. Each product undergoes microbial tests to determine they are free from heavy metals, mineral oil, and microbial growth.
After going through a series of tests, the products are finally sent for dermatological evaluation to ensure they are free from any irritants. Their entire product range is certified toxin-free and deemed safe by Safe Cosmetics Australia.

At present, The Moms Co has a market size of Rs 10,000 Cr and growing exponentially at 20% annually. With most of the mothers spending time online on research and for their daily shopping needs, the brand is gradually shifting to online as well.

The Moms Co. is coming out with a wide range of products for hair, skin, pregnancy & baby care, and another 25 expected by the end of 2020. They are trying to evolve as a one-stop destination for pre-natal, post-natal, and baby care products.

Malika`s journey is an inspiration! Her motivational story can inspire people to achieve big by turning dreams into reality. But conceptualization of an idea can take more than just thorough research about the market. Know how can you expand your start-up and establish it as a brand. Visit www.badabusiness.com to join https://www.badabusiness.com/life-time-membership?ref_code=ArticlesLeads

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Motivational

Success Story: Meet Vikash Jaiswal, the mind behind India`s #1 gaming app that smashed all the records!

success story

It is not easy to be an entrepreneur. Sometimes you have an idea in your mind, but the stability of the future may deter you from pursuing that idea. Sometimes you lack the motivation and other times you are not sure whether the time is right.

But if you set your eyes on a goal and are determined to do what it takes to reach that goal, nothing is impossible. However, there is a brave lot too! People who believed in their dreams and ideas and overcome the fear of failure.

Today, we are celebrating the success story of Vikash Jaiswal who became an overnight sensation, thanks to his free online board game Ludo King. An avid online gamer, Vikash lived and breathed online video games in his teen years.

Online games are popular! But what makes them more popular is their free availability and easy accessibility. And, as the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed all across the world, a large number of people turned towards online games to kill boredom. This bunch consisted, not just avid gamers, but also regular people who were willing to play for longer durations.

Developed by Vikash, founder, and chief executive of Mumbai-based Gametion Technologies Pvt. Ltd that owns Ludo King, the game has become a lockdown favorite online board game. Vikash Jaiswal has been an avid online gamer since his childhood. Born and brought up in Patna, Vishal decided to pursue computer engineering in college.

During his hostel days, Vikash used to collect free software that came with computer magazines. He first developed the video game ‘Eggy Boy’, which was celebrated as “Game of the Month” by several magazines.

In 2010, he established Gametion with a seed amount of Rs 2 Lakh from his savings and launched Ludo King in the year 2016. The Ludo King has surpassed all the hot favorites like Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, PUBG, Temple Run, and Subway Starters in terms of monthly active users in the country.

Now in his mid-40s, Vikash is the creator of an online game that has more than 50 million daily active users around the world. The Ludo King`s monthly active users have reached 185 million.

The motivational story of Vikash Jaiswal shows if you love what you do, the success will be yours! From conception to implementation, if you want to know about the steps that can take you closer to success, visit our website www.badabusiness.com.
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Motivational

From Basti to San Francisco: The Success Story of Indian Start-up CEO who built a $2 Billion Unicorn!

anubhav asthana

As 2020 is about to end, this year was indeed special for Indian technology businesses and start-ups. Though the Covid-19 pandemic turned businesses on their head, it also posed new opportunities for many Indian start-ups like ‘Postman’.

This Bengaluru and San Francisco-based SaaS start-up became the fastest SaaS start-up to enter the elite unicorn club in 2020.

Founded in 2014, Postman provides a feasible platform for software developers to accelerate the development process through collaboration with various stakeholders. Claimed to be used by over 11 million developers, worldwide, it helps the coders to run their APIs and modify them without having to create separate code for testing them.

Abhinav Asthana, Founder & CEO of Postman hails from the small town of Basti, which is located in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Abhinav`s father was in the civil services and because of his transferable job, the CEO of the Indian start-up Postman, grew up in small towns all over UP.

During his schooling years from 1 to 5, his family lived in Basti before moving to Lakhimpur, which is located close to the Nepal border, where Abhinav finished his high school.

According to Abhinav, he got his first computer when he was in Class 5. “We got our first computer when I was in Class 5. It was the first Pentium I PC. And basically, my dad told me if I am going to game on it all the time, he is not going to allow that. So, I had to do something else and that became programming,” he added.

“At that time, the internet was just kind of taking off in India. Lots of excitement and there was a dial-up internet thing in the early 2000s if you remember. So, I got connected to people across a bunch of forums and we started building websites”, he fondly reminisces.

So how did he get the idea of launching an API (application program interface)platform? The Postman CEO wanted to solve the problem of API debugging for himself. However, he could not find anything good, and that`s how he started Postman as a side project.

During his college years at BITS Pilani`s Goa campus, he did a lot of side projects and initiated a project called BITS 360. The project gained popularity on campus and among BITS aspirants across the country.

Talking about his entrepreneurial journey, Abhinav says, “I always wanted to start a company and I did. It wasn’t a startup at that time, it was called TeliportMe, and prior to that, I had been founding stuff since my school days. I had a design consultancy that I did in school, made some money out of that.”

 

But in 2013, he found himself at the crossroads of his career. TeliportMe, his first start-up project was doing well and stable too, but it was not what Abhinav wanted to do. “It’s always tough to decide what is the thing you got to be doing”, he added. So in 2013, he left the company and took some consulting gigs on the side to pay the bills as he did not want to ask his father`s help to pay the rent.

He recalls, “I lived in Indiranagar (Bengaluru) and what I realized during that time was Postman had all of those things that I was trying to intentionally build as products in previous generations. It had that user love, a community that was coming around it, and people wanted the product. They wanted it to become better, they were using it, recommending it. It became a key part of their workflow.”

 

However, it still wasn’t a business and had a ‘donate button’ for people to contribute and send in “some money”. “Ultimately it came to a point where a company based in Seattle sent a $500 cheque saying that ‘we want to pay for it but there’s no way to pay”, he chuckles.

In 2014, he was joined by his Co-founders Abhijit Kane and Ankit Sobti and the trio launched the start-up formally. Today, Postman claims to have 1.6 million active users and in June 2020, the six-year-old startup secured a Series C funding of $150 million at a valuation of $2 billion.

The investment was led by US-based venture capital fund Insight Partners. Postman`s existing investors Nexus Venture Partners & CRV also participated in the round.

Business is a religion. Success is a religion. It takes years to figure out what works and what does not work for your business. But why should you waste your valuable years in figuring out- ‘WHY’, when you can learn ‘HOW’ from the years of experience of the most successful billionaire business leaders.

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