Naturenama, a curator of adventure and wildlife travel is a Mumbai based venture which raised seed of $225,000 from venture capital firm White Unicorn Ventures.

The travel tech startup will mainly use funds for technology enhancement, brand building and marketing as the founder Shaunak Modi was found quoting to Techcircle.

The company gained roots this January and would primarily target outdoor travel segment from India. It also plans to manage adventure and wildlife planners and guides. The website is most likely to go live next month.

The founder has previously monitored and co-founded Bytehouse, a tech start-up that focused on developing solutions for wildlife and bio-diversity conservation organisations, and a clothing brand TYGR.

The venture capital firm has so far invested in 15 companies and last month it started working in its first co-working office, called Unicorn Growth Centre, Mumbai.

White Unicorn has four associates and 20 individual investors. It is looking to raise a $20-million fund to invest in early-stage start-ups. The firm plans to invest $5-10 million by this year from institutions rather than from wealthy individuals.

Rohit Chokhani, Principal founder at Unicorn Venture says, “We have raised $5 million from family offices in India and have got a commitment for another $5 million. For the rest $10 million we are considering investors from Russia, Germany, and Silicon Valley and are planning to close the fund by December.”

The segregation would be made on the basis of allocation as half would be used to cater cross-border deal while the remaining would be invested in start-ups in real estate technology, software-as-a-service and Internet of Things in India.

Source: Techcircle

The post Naturenama, a wildlife adventure curator draws seed of $225,000 from White Unicorn Ventures appeared first on TravHQ.

Taiwanese startup HelloWings is a search and comparison service for low-cost airline tickets. Formerly known as TixChart, HelloWings is a product of backpacker travel company Outland. It raised its seed round with an undisclosed amount coming from Taiwan-based Pinehurst Advisors, and Singapore’s KK Fund and COENT Venture Partners.

Image : Kuster and Wildhaber/ CC BY-ND 2.0

It offers a suggestion on providing the comparison on a real time basis and brings up prices on the cheapest route. HelloWings specialises on low-cost carriers hence providing the flyer with more options.

Traditionally, a low-cost carrier quotes are obtained from different websites by the flyer. It’s often a hassle to compare prices between each low-cost carrier on the same route. HelloWings provides price comparisons on the same day and also provides price comparison of the entire year accurately. It supports 96 airlines with over 400,000 routes and has an average user growth of 10 percent every month.

Looking at the markets in Singapore and Malaysia, HelloWings plans to spread across this territory. More recruits will be entertained in these target markets that include engineers and market experts. Since this geography is a home to growing middle class, people with more buying power and a hunger for travel who frequent more by budget airlines, the people are familiar with the kind of offers the comparison site is here for.

The edge low-cost carrier comparison site has over the metasearch is that it focuses on the specific audience and the market doesn’t seem to be monopolised as there’s no one player getting ahead of the others. The freedom of options in the eyes of the consumer is plenty.

The post HelloWings to span across Singapore and Malaysian geographies with the recent seed fund round appeared first on TravHQ.

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.

The post Investors’ insight on what they look for while betting on the travel start-ups appeared first on TravHQ.

Medical tourism is gaining grounds with tens of thousands of patients willing to travel abroad for a better medical solution than in their respective hometowns. By increasing the affordability of the travel due to low-cost airlines, this option seems so much more appropriate for patients who plan on saving up to 30-70% on their medical procedure invoices. The combined market size of the healthcare market is estimated at $4.7 trillion USD with the global medical care market estimated at $55 billion USD growing at an outstanding rate of 15% annually.

Medical Departures, an innovative initiative in the medical tourism space, helps patients find, compare and book medical solutions around the world. It is seen to be as an Airbnb for the medical tourism where travellers are patients and their hosts are qualified medical professionals. Medical Departures, a Bangkok-based start-up, was founded in 2014 and has helped 50,000+ global patients find quality medical care at prices they can afford with its simple, online platform. Medical Departures offers more than 5000 doctors to patients in over 33 countries to choose from. It announced its completion of USD 2.5 million Series A funding from a Singapore-based venture capital fund DMP spearheaded the round with Hubert Burda Media, CyberAgent Ventures and OPT SEA as participants. This move will boost medical tourism in South East Asia market and will assist ventures like them to gain traction.

The top healthcare destinations include Costa Rica, India, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and the United States. Asia is an emerging geography in medical innovations and world-class health solutions. The government and private sectors are investing in the healthcare infrastructures and tourism initiatives. Because of such directional approach by the running government, it has been observed that here’s an increased amount of international patient inflow.

Founder and CEO Paul McTaggart says,

“The funding will be used to accelerate the growth of Medical Departures in key destinations such as Southeast Asia. We will use these funds to build what has made us successful to date; making it easy & safe for patients to find high quality global medical care for less, and to assist doctors/dentists/hospitals to promote their world-class medical treatment to the planet.”

Mark Suckling, Principal at DMP, added,

“Technology start-ups focused on the healthcare industry in Asia have seen a lot of investment in recent years. Medical Departures is tackling a unique opportunity — helping overseas patients benefit from excellent and affordable medical services available abroad. Medical Departures plans to continue to expand the range of clinics and procedures it offers, both in Southeast Asia and other regions, which already include Latin America. We look forward to working with the Medical Departures team to support their ambitious plans to become a global player in this business.”

DMP focuses on investment in emerging markets that have recently joined the global digital transformation process. Specifically, DMP looks at the development of the online presence of the start-ups and its supporting infrastructure. The association is much looked forward to by both the parties.

The post Medical Departures procures Series A funding of USD 2.5 million to promote medical tourism across borders appeared first on TravHQ.

Wheelstreet, a two-wheeler rental start-up, raises a $500,000 from early-stage seed and pre-Series-A venture fund Broadbean Capital Services. Wheelstreet is a Delhi- based aggregator for two-wheelers in rental space.

Into 15 months, this online aggregator platform in the rental space has more than 25 vendors in Delhi and three in Bengaluru. The portal has around 2,000 motorcycles listed, including at least 50 premium bikes ranging from Harley Davidsons, Suzukis and Kawasakis to Hyosungs and Royal Enfields.

The firm raised the funding to expand its footprints beyond the current ones to Pune and Hyderabad in near future. It aims to provide consumers with a solution to real-time availability problem and dealing with end-to-end solutions. These solutions include hassle-free booking process, online payments, driving licence, mobile number, e-mail and Facebook log-in verifications, competitive pricing and giving an assurance to vendors that their bikes are in safe hands.

Pranay Shrivastava, co-founder and chief executive officer of WheelStreet, said in a statement on Monday.

“Two-wheeler rental aggregation is an untapped market. Motorcycle rental marketed is a largely unorganised space, which presents great value not just for commuters, but also for people looking at recreational use of motorcycles. Our initial experience in the Delhi market has been very encouraging with over 14,000 rides already done”

The company has so far completed over 14,000 rides in Delhi and Bengaluru, generating revenue of over INR 60 lakh per month. The average deal size goes up to INR 8,000 per transaction.

Kapil Bhandari, Managing Director of Broadbean Capital realised the immense potential this aggregating portal possess as he believes that India is majorly a two-wheeler nation and will continue to be one since its economic convenience is huge. He puts forward that the scalability of the model is immense which convinced them to fund it in the first place.

Source: Business Standard.

The post WheelStreet draws $500,000 seed funding to expand its perimeter to Pune and Hyderabad appeared first on TravHQ.

There has been a rapid growth of the Indian startup ecosystem in the past few years. In 2014, 3100 startups established themselves in the market. It is predicted that the number will rise to 11,500 by 2020. National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has revealed that India is the fastest growing and third largest startup ecosystem after US and UK.

One of the factors contributing to the growth of innumerable startups in the Indian market is the ease in the accessibility of capital through venture capitals, angel investment and seed funding. If you are attempting to set up an Indian travel business sometime soon, you can consider approaching the startup incubators listed below:

#1 Startup Village

Founded in 2012, Startup Village was India’s first incubator funded jointly by public and private sector. It assists new businesses to create innovative technologies for the global telecommunications industry. With the aim to mentor 1000 tech startups in a span of 10 years, it focuses more on student startups from college campuses. Startup Village is launching an online-first learning platform that recognizes and rewards entrepreneurs with a real degree by partnering with recognized universities.

Travel incubatee: iTraveller

#2 CIIE IIMA

Launched in 2008, CIIE IIM-A is a technology business incubator that provides services in business investment, knowledge dissemination, and training. It consists of faculty, alumni, mentors from IIM-A and service providers from the industry who wish to help disruptive innovations and aspiring entrepreneurs succeed commercially. They plan to imbibe the spirit of entrepreneurship in India.

Travel incubatee: TravelYaari, Thrillophilia

#3 IotaCell

Founded in 2013, IotaCell promotes entrepreneurship by cultivating ideas and imparting knowledge. It has an interesting program to help student entrepreneurs get off the hook from the ambiguous and unknown elements of establishing their new businesses. After analyzing the practicality of the business ideas, IotaCell guides the entrepreneurs to make their products or services a reality.

#4 Seedfund

Launched in 2006, Seedfund is India’s leading early-stage venture capital fund that runs successfully in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and New Delhi. Through it, startups get access to relevant information from sector experts on various aspects of the business. It has invested in 31 companies till date and is the two-time winner of Venture Intelligence.

Travel Incubatee: redBus

#5 GSF India

Founded in 2011, GSF is a technology and seed accelerator. It comprises of 200 investors and 17 entrepreneurs. Its mission is to encourage the flow of informed, knowledgeable mentorship capital to the startups in India and beyond. It has many popular brands in its portfolio like GameZop and Joolz.

Travel incubatee: Trip Tern

#6 Srijan Capital

Launched in 2012, Srijan Capital offers seed stage investment to technology startups. It targets startups that are based out of India, or have India as a target market In a time period of one year, it associates with only one startup. Its incubation model is hands-on by nature and it can invest between 20-40 lakhs.

Travel Incubatee: Explara

#7 NSRCEL

Founded in 2002, NSRCEL enhances entrepreneurship and acts as an incubator cell for the startups. After the business idea is approved by NSRCEL,the startups get access to their different services. Like the new businesses are guided by an allotted review panel at regular intervals. Their progress is monitored from time to time. Apart from this, they are connected to a network of service providers such as lawyers and accountants as well as media, investors, successful entrepreneurs and corporate managers who visit the Centre frequently. This makes NSRCEL a unique incubator.

Travel Incubatee: Highway Delite

With experienced mentors and good reach, these incubators can be great companion for the journey of your startup.

Related Article: Travel Startups Incubator starts India Operations, Looking to invest $25,000 in Indian Travel Startups

The post 7 Indian incubators that are changing the face of Indian travel industry appeared first on TravHQ.