Chase your dream - your startup fix for the week

Monday Wrap | 11th November Hello Twenty years ago, Chinese ecommerce website Alibaba was founded by Jack Ma in a small apartment room in Hangzhou, China. Jack says, “My dream was to set up my own ecommerce company. In 1999, I gathered 18 people in my apartment and spoke to them for two hours about my vision. Everyone put their money on the table, and that got us $60,000 to start Alibaba. I wanted to have a global company, so I chose a global name.” Fast-forward to 2017, the company is now giving the likes of Amazon a run for their money. [Ever since the company’s flagship event Alibaba 11.11, popularly known as the Single’s Day, took off, it has been making record-breaking sales every year.]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSF0DVQJF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) Turning dreams into a startup is also 23-year-old entrepreneur Smriti Tomar, who turned her hobby of investing in the stock market into fintech startup InvestoAsia. Making money is hard but managing it is not as tough, she says. [Gurugram- and Hong Kong-based InvestoAsia aims to help retail investors to easily invest in international markets, especially in China and South Korea, which Smriti feels is currently a major difficulty in India.]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSF0CVwRF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) Here’s to more such inspiring stories. Cheers, Team YourStory For more inspiration, we have a few startup stories to boost your Monday. [Why Housejoy got into home construction business]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSF0CXwlF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) [Sanchit Gaurav, Co-Founder & COO, HouseJoy speaks to YourStory]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSF0DVQNF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) [Small-town startups are giving metro startups a tough fight]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSF0CXgFF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) For a long time, entrepreneurship looked like a big city phenomenon. But now, more people from Bharat are trying their hand at starting up. While startups in metros are mostly looking at consumer solutions, their peers from smaller towns seem to be solving more real problems. [True Balance found its sweet spot as a financial services provider]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSF0DVQRF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSF0DVQRF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0& [Embright Infotech uses AI, AR/VR to help autistic children]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSF0DVQVF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) Diagnosing ASD is difficult as there is no medical test to detect it. The only way it can be diagnosed at present is when the doctors observe the patient over a generalised parameter. To address this problem, Thiruvananthapuram-based startup Embright Infotech helps doctors with improved feedback on visual and motor responses of autistic children. [Vista Rooms expects 1,000 homes, 4X growth by 2020]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSF0DVQZF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) Realising the challenges involved in bringing standardisation to budget hotels, Vista Rooms’ founding trio changed its business model. A quick pivot and, a year later, the startup is all set to record 4X revenue growth again. [Ripsey brings ‘health-food-as-a-service’ to your doorstep]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSF0DVQdF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSF0DVQdF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0& [This startup creates customised audio content through voice cloning]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSF0DVQhF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) The voice cloning technology market estimated to touch $1.74 billion by 2023 but the audio-based content market is a multi-billion dollar industry. Ishan Sharma and Rishikesh Kumar founded Deepsync Technologies in December 2018 to address this large market, and to capitalise on this unicorn segment. VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSF0DVQlF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0& The CRED Academy workshop series by YourStory and CRED is a specially curated event to help founders and CXOs get their product strategy right. Hear first-hand from successful entrepreneurs on how you can expand your subscription base in a crowded marketplace. The workshop will be held on November 15 at Bengaluru. [Hurry up and confirm spots in your city.]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSF0DUgBF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) Follow us on social media for more frequent updates [Facebook]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSFEHUghF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) [Twitter]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSFEHUgdF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) [Instagram]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSFEHUgZF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) [Linkedin]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSFEHXwFF&sl=I0h6S2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) -- [Click Here]( VAEOBUoESBBGD0NNR1ZfVQdYBURYDV1TIQUMBQpYGwZfD0UVF1BAQxZQDldXXlwVC1pbDiYCXQJRCBpbWlVN&ml=UAUID0oFSF0DUgFF&sl=I0hsS2NmSDd5MkxVW1wcWQUaGFxEERYRDhAYSgBbWBkA&pp=0&) to unsubscribe from this newsletter.