The investment game in India is up by a notch because India is such a nurturing ground and has a conducive environment for the start-up space. The problem with some start-ups is that they think as soon as the idea gets generated, raising funds would be a cakewalk. This is where they lack in understanding that the investors are always on a lookout for a different angle, a different story, a different expectation. The pointers that some of these investors give in are a major insight how the investors vary in their expectations and viewpoint with respect to a start-up’s approach to generating funds.

The panel at the FICCI Conclave included-

Moderator- Rajiv K Vij, CEO, Carzonrent India Pvt Ltd,

Speakers- Ashish Kumar, Managing Partner, Agnitio Consulting LLP, Alok Mittal, Angel Investor, Co-founder and CEO, Indifi Technologies Pvt Ltd, Harish Bahl, Founder and CEO, Smile Group, Vikram Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner, IvyCap Ventures Advisors Private Ltd.

Identify the right space for raising money

The entrepreneurs have always been keen to pitch their idea to the investors with a dynamism. But how do they identify the right fit for their project? It is very imperative and essential that they approach the right market for their start-up like Venture capitalists, banks, seed funding etc. They need to find the right people to network with such as IAN, Venture Capital Arms etc.

10 fundamental facts about Indian start-ups

1. The millennials are taking over the current scenario. The average age of a people founding a start-up is 28.
2. 5 billion is the estimated fund that the start-ups raised in 2015.
3. 110 incubators and accelerators in India.
4. Third highest number of start-ups after the US and the UK.
5. 80k to 85k employments generated in Indian Start-ups.
6. 3-4 start-ups are born every day.
7. 5 million average valuation for a start-up.
8. 13-15% motion of start-ups in e-commerce segment itself.
9. 65 M&A deals in 2015.
10. 292 active angel investors in 2015.

Is fund raising an art or science?

Some say it comes down to being an art as there can be no proper evaluation of any organization. Meanwhile, the start-ups forget that just a gleam of technology or a disruptive idea cannot run a business. They have to build a business which cannot happen with just an idea. Adding to its woes is a thought process that funding could be generated based on their disruption. It is definitely a science as their business model should show how the start-up would scale.

A list of certain questions that every investor propounds forward comprises of just one outcome- not how much we are investing, but how much are we going to make from them. There is no set formula for giving the right pitch to the investor as far as the start-up is clear of what it’s bringing to the table. Questions are like- What’s so unique about you? How would you differentiate yourself with the others? How will you get a value to the VC? etc.

It depends largely on who are start-ups raising money from. In the end, if there is money involved from some third party transactions or the angel investor’s money, funding comes down to being a scientific operation. It’s more science to invest in a mature company than on something which is prematurely driven on assumptions at the initial stage.

How significant is “the story” of a start-up?

That’s where the genesis is going to happen. That’s where the risk capital is going. A good story will fetch the start-ups with better investors as that’s where they can see the spark flying and their money going. To have a good story means to have a thorough knowledge of the market one’s stepping in, it means having a direction to just an idea and it means to point flaws in the system. 80% of investors are attracted to the art of storytelling. A horribly told story is as good as a ship without sails because it will never leave shore which makes it an important credential in seeking investment.

These investment tips are broad points a start-up should remember while pitching for their fundraiser. For more updates on Conclave stories, read here.

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Hospitality sector is expanding radically and is creating waves in how traveller’s experience matters during a stay. Delhi’s Tech Conclave at FICCI saw some disruptive ideas in making hotels smarter. A panel discussion was held on how today’s hotel operations must change to cater to tomorrow’s travellers. Tomorrow’s travellers will be even more digitally enabled, and catering to their needs will require an evolution in hotel operations. From finding and booking rooms to creating enhanced experiences for guests, technology is a vital component of success for the hotel of the future.

Moderator: Abhijit Beej Das, President & CEO, Boston East India Hotels

Speakers: Avijit Arya, Chief Mogul, Internet Moghuls, Aditya Sanghi, Founder & CEO, Hotelogix, Deepak Mavinkurve, CEO, Repufact,  Yogesh Chandra, EVP, RateGain.

The key points to take from this session were as follows-

#1 The advent of technology in making hotels smart

The airline industry big banged when their game of distribution changed through the technology present at that time. Before that, they paid 25-30% to the intermediate parties such as agents or distribution charge to GDS as commission. The hotels are going through the same thing in the current scenario. Technology could turn tables for them as they can connect to the travellers directly and surpass this overhead pricing and save that 25-30% that had cost the airlines a great deal of their  revenue. By adopting these technologies the hotels can be smarter.

#2 Experiments are imperative in creating an impressionable experience

A transformational stay at the hotel is what would make a hotel smart. It’s ability to make an everlasting impression by incorporating innovation is what is going to set them apart. For this, the industry should employ an experimental budget every month that would back such innovation and would help the hotel in customer retention. If there is a gap in implementation, the customer acquisition gets high. There develops a lag in reaching to the customer.

#3 Apps are the yellow pages of the millennials

We live in a SoLoMo era; rightly put as Social, Local and Mobile era. Using these pillars to build a customer database should be the way to go about it. All operations should be automated. From booking a hotel to choosing the floor and the room one wants to stay in, from asking for a hot towel to ordering room service or turning down maintenance; everything should be app reigned. Apps should be used to operate backend functionalities as well as front run manoeuvring.

#4 Manual intervention is a necessity

Personalisation is very important in the hospitality sector. Smart hotels should acquire the customer through apps and retain them in future through personalisation. Apps are good at the exploring and researching stage but a little manual intervention is important to understand the customers’ concerns. To drive the base into loyal customers, the hoteliers should commit to a personal touch. Discount by aggregator is a short term strategy. It happened in the airline industry in the past and the hotels are currently facing the same situation. They have to know that online reputation management cannot be outsourced. If the hotels aren’t participating to know what went wrong, then they will never be able to bridge the gap between the customers and the management.Guest intelligence solution should be provided. Products like Repufact takes this concern to another level and gives customized solutions to the hoteliers.

For more such stories on the FICCI Conclave, read here.

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The travel industry has gone through a series of disruptions and the process is still ongoing. The travel agents were replaced by OTAs with the increase in adoption of internet and now a new breed of travel marketplaces is trying to hit the OTAs and give the guns back to travel agents and small providers. Mobile is the propeller of this transition and during the recently concluded FICCI Travel & Hospitality Tech Conclave, this made the topic for an interesting discussion. The panel moderated by Gaurav Chirpal, CEO, Quadlabs Technologies saw participation from Michael Lyngdoh, Co-Founder, Tripoto; Pratiroop Mehta, Director-Product Management, TravelTriangle; Chitra Gurnani Daga, CEO, Thrillophilia and Praveen Kumar, CEO, TripHobo. Here are some key pointers that were highlighted during the discussion:

1- People don’t like to book bundles

While opinions varied around this topic, the general observation by most of the marketplaces is that people don’t like to book in bundles. They use the trip planning services to put together their plan and just book the activities or experiences. Providing them the flexibility to do so helps with the conversions.

2- Competition doesn’t have to result in losses

Marketplaces are not only giving travel agents and small activity providers a platform to sell but also increasing the competition between them. However the competition doesn’t have to mean that the providers are cutting down prices. This challenges them to be more efficient and strike the perfect balance between price and quality.

3- Customers understand the role of curator

Marketplaces often act as a layer between the provider and customer and while earlier the customers would often blame the marketplace for a bad experience, the modern travellers understand the liability of a marketplace and a provider. They expect the marketplaces to maintain standards and give the customer an ear but not beyond that.

4- Mobile still needs to be pushed

The mobile market has grown tremendously and lot more people are planning their trips on mobile. Still the conversion rates aren’t very high and the segment will need lot more investment to push as a primary platform. This is because visuals play a significant role while booking an activity or experience and people prefer to check them on a larger screen.

5- Chat and call support helps conversions

Booking a hotel or flight doesn’t take long and a large number of travellers are booking them quickly even on mobile. However when it comes to activities, people often want to talk to someone before they go ahead and book. This is where having a chat support helps with the conversions.

As these platform grow in scale, they will use data and technology in ways to minimise the friction in the process and help providers better meet the customer expectations. This is an active industry segment right now and we can safely assume that we will see more interesting developments here.

You can find other stories from the FICCI Travel & Hospitality Tech Conclave here.

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The FICCI Tech Conclave, Delhi saw some leading travel professionals comment on the growing trends in the travel and hospitality sector. One of the topics that pooled various ideas was the future of search landscape. This session focused on how upcoming business models and analytics are the way ahead for metasearch engines.

The pioneers presiding over the session were Aloke Bajpai, Co-Founder & CEO, ixigo, Paul Whiteway, Sales & Commercial Director, APAC, Skyscanner, Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, India, TripAdvisor, Ashwin Jayasankar, General Manager, India, Wego.

The key takeaways of the panel are as follows.

Business model is variable on the Indian soil

India doesn’t clearly differentiate between OTAs and Metasearches, hence the business model varies in the South East Asian geography given the lack of understanding of the two. The model that is highly efficient in the west, cannot gain roots here soon. This is because a majority of the population has a lesser understanding of the difference between the two than their western counterparts. The traditional methods to travel solutions are still prevalent here. Hence, the portals have a hard time reaching the bottom most layer of the consumer pyramid. Also, the Indian subcontinent is a faster growing marketplace which requires for an all-time-ready team of adaptive proffesionals

Mobile platform is a challenge in the current scenario

Generally speaking, m-commerce has reached its peak in India. With the advent of smartphones, a majority of the population is aware of the advantages of technology on the go. Because the consumer is highly cognizant, metasearch engines like TripAdvisor and Wego are facing a challenge in penetrating the Indian mobile market. The consumers find the major issue at hand is booking on the app, where it directs to the service provider’s platform. Now this creates a lag in the service as the consumable formats are different for both mobile and desktops. TripAdvisor is currently incorporating instant booking option on their app to bridge a gap in this lag which enhances the overall user experience on the mobile platform.

User generated content is more relatable

While metasearches are the just the aggregators of the prices offered by different vendors, a little perspective from the traveller’s side only helps in scaling the content consumption on the portal. User-generated content is always more relatable and consumers prefer them over any other third-party information. Metasearches have transformed itself from just content based portals to price comparison platforms. Metasearches should revamp their approach and focus on more on user generated content which drives more traction. Reviews on TripAdvisor are informative to the traveller while giving them insights on overview of the whole experience. Which is why it’s more reliable.

Specific gains in Indian subcontinent

The consumer database is huge. Indians are all about deals and they want to see more of them. This fact places metasearch engines at a strategically favourable point over OTAs. Having done all the research from various websites, zeroing down the kind of hotel one wants to put up in, the travellers doesn’t hop to different OTAs and then at a metasearch engine they comes across the best deal there can be. The thought process from a consumer point of view is that they get the cheaper deal. So, its a no brainer that the Indian subcontinent is the booming marketplace for a metasearch engine.

Stay tuned for more insights on the FICCI Conclave.

The post “Metasearch engines have a perfect market in the Indian subcontinent”, Ashwin Jayasankar, General Manager, India, Wego appeared first on TravHQ.

The FICCI auditorium witnessed the Travel and Hospitality Tech Conclave 2016 fold with a huge round of applause from the leaders and participating organizations from the travel and technology sector. The two-day event saw some stirring discussions and prime concerns being debated upon. The panel discussion on the nuances of Content Marketing was exhilarating and the mojos had some key points to give away.

The panel included Sesh Seshadri, Director at Lonely Planet India; Aashish Chopra, Head Content Marketing at ixigo; Bhawna Grover, Head of Content at Goibibo and Dolly Bhasin, MD, SPH Consultancy & Eservices Pvt. Ltd. They gave insights on how content can be leveraged to promote brand name in the travel sector.

1-The art of storytelling

From a traveller’s perspective, everything comes down to destination. If the destination is worth it, he would undergo umpteen amounts of discomfort to get there. Similarly, if the content narrates the reality; the stark truth, so much so that if the experience gathered by just reading the content is enough an inspiration to pack your bags, then the mission has been accomplished.

Trying to sell the product isn’t the way to go. Curated content is a destination for the traveller. If they don’t relate to the brand, they would not opt it out. Selling dreams, experiences and adventures should be the core focus of the travel brands. And only good deliverable content could make it happen.

2-Attention of the consumer is all you have

Content marketing is a growth hack in this age. Travel brands should experiment and go beyond the usual marketing strategy. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter are huge and chaotic. Driving the right content and the traction that it should attract seems like an uphill task on these social media platforms. However, if one captures the attention of the consumer, some hope of getting that content through him looks certain.

Share-worthy content is the prime key rather than consumable content in driving campaigns forward. Real-time engagement with contextual content can easily grab the eyeballs of users on social media and do wonders for brands. Brands need to keep on experimenting with the tonality, theme and format of the content to connect with their consumers. Though in some instances like with videos, the ratio of failures would be on a higher side, with only 2 out of 10 videos getting valuable returns to a travel brand.

3-The power of user generated content

The content shouldn’t be hammered. Let users be the end provider of the content because that’s where we want the impact to happen. And by this travel brands can deliver engaging content that creates likeability and brand image. The visual content drives maximum amount of traction in the hospitality sector.

Images are very powerful sources to draw attention. The contributed images play a major role here because that’s how the reality is perceived. Hence, meta search engines like Tripadvisor and GoIbibo let users contribute visually curated content. The way forward is to get the community to participate.

4-The emerging trends on new platforms

The right kind of content gets the right kind of traction on a right platform. That being said, the social media has expanded its reach to the millennial. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter are not the sole propagating areas and travel brands should go beyond just them. The new emerging platforms that are unheard of as means to expand the brands reach could include Wikipedia and TED.

TED is a rather interactive platform where innovation meets expansion. A particular product or a campaign could draw n-number of views on TED given its marketing strategy focuses on the innovation and experience.

5-Popular formats to be applied

The marketers talked about how not just purist content should be the only focus in driving traveller’s imagination. They talked how infographics, GIFs and vine videos could provide engaging content as they drew the attention of the viewer. Thumbnail image in a video plays a great role in catching the attention of a user. Square video formats have to be propelled forward in an m-commerce platform dominated space if the brands want the content to go viral. Being said this; the attention span in a chaotic space is very less which lays emphasis on streaming captivating content in first 2-3 seconds. Else, the marketer loses the viewer.

We will be coming up with updates of interesting discussions that took place at FICCI Conclave. Stay tuned!

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