I thought I would make millions through my startup, but I failed miserably. I’d read shiny stories of Flipkart and Zomato, but nobody told me that 90% startups fail within two years of starting up, I failed in the first year. Sometimes I feel being cheated but the fault was mine, I believed one side of the story.
Although there is huge outrage of start-ups retrenching employees, actual facts and figures behind these lays offs and shutdowns are not what meets the eye. Dearth of investments may not be the identified cause. Yes, the cheque sizes or amounts being invested in start-ups may be declining but the overall funding story is quite different.
As one of the biggest and most auspicious festivals in India, Diwali has a huge significance as far as workplace celebrations go. Most companies decorate the office and distribute sweets and gifts to the employees. Some even go as far as conducting ethinic day, Diwali-themed activities, a feast, the works.
Here’s a roundup of the diwali festivities at some of the Indian companies, each unique and interesting in their own way, on the last working day before Diwali.
Indians today stand apart from their global counterparts by doing things differently, be it business (startups for example), hospitality (flurry of newer restaurants) and even now traveling.
It’s a given that smartphones have become an indispensable part of our routine. But do they need to govern our lives? Deloitte Global Mobile Consumer Surve3y, 2015 conducted a global survey of over 2,000 indian respondents spread across 30 countries. A huge 86% of those surveyed owned smartphones, which is a 12% increase over 2013.
Whether it’s about invoking people to spare a thought for the 4-legged friend and avoid bursting crackers, or emphasizing the importance of family time, or even showcasing a beautiful cross-religion relationship, this Diwali, brands are now advertising a message, and the product just happens to be incidental.
With startups like Localbanya, TinyOwl, Zomato, Helpchat letting go off employees, employees across the startup sector, where people were rushing towards until recently, are spooked. Indian startups require thousands of engineers and skilled workers, and now compete with large MNCs for talent, hence there is a huge demand and supply gap, which leads to salary hikes.
A year ago, the food tech sector was booming. Funds were plentiful, investors were upbeat, and a new company seemed to be coming up every minute. Cut to a year later, and things aren’t quite so rosy. There have been murmurs of overvalued companies, and investors are being more circumspect with their cash. One sector that has been particularly hard hit is the food tech industry.
Think cool offices in Hyderabad, and it’s often hard to think beyond Google. But tucked away on the 13th and 14th floors of Raheja Mindspace Park is the modern, stylish office of Pegasystems.