In some disturbing news from the local ecommerce sector, Sandeep Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Gurgaon-headquartered Clues Network, which runs online marketplace ShopClues, has been arrested in the US on insider trading charges. The arrest was made by FBI agents at San Jose, California. We are awaiting an official comment from ShopClues on the development.…More
15 startups that raised top VC dollars in the first half of 2013
Venture capitalists’ enthusiasm for ecommerce has tempered in the past six months and it’s showing in the numbers. While investments in the sector have far from dried up, founders of ecommerce companies will tell you that term sheets have become rarer since January. Still, six ecommerce companies managed to make it to the list of…More
Hari Menon on taking BigBasket to Rs 100 crore revenues
About two years ago, VS Sudhakar, Hari Menon, Vipul Parekh and VS Ramesh decided to get together to take a crack at selling groceries online. The idea was seeded by serial entrepreneur and angel investor Krishnan Ganesh, who brought in the initial funding for the venture along with Meena Ganesh. The team launched BigBasket in…More
Opinion: SEBI’s angel fund norms a good step but need tweaking
SEBI’s move to define investment guidelines for angel funds is very welcome move. After some ill-conceived moves like tax on startup investments in the earlier budget, attempts to change policy with retrospective effect, etc. which dismayed the investor community, angel investors and entrepreneurs, this shows clear thinking and some thought out attempt to clarify and…More
Exits are rare in India. When one comes along, you take it — Phanindra Sama
On Friday, Phanindra Sama, Sudhakar Pasupunuri and Charan Padmaraju, founders of Bangalore-based Pilani Soft Labs, which runs online bus ticketing platform redBus, became richer by a few million dollars. South African Internet and media conglomerate Naspers sealed a deal to acquire redBus for an undisclosed amount, through its subsidiary Ibibo Group (MIH India). Various media…More
Naspers-backed Ibibo Group acquires redBus. Founders stay on board
Ending speculation from last week, Bangalore-based bus ticketing company redBus has announced its acquisition by Ibibo Group (MIH India), a subsidiary of South African Internet and media conglomerate Naspers. The details of the transaction have not been disclosed. Several media reports have speculated on the deal size being anywhere between $100 million and $140 million.…More
Is Naspers buying B’lore bus ticketing company redBus?
Last week, The Times of India reported that South African Internet and media conglomerate Naspers, through its arm MIH, may be in advanced stages of acquiring a controlling stake in redBus at a valuation of $100 million. Following the report, speculation on the deal quickly went into overdrive. At the close of last week, NextBigWhat…More
Partner Event: Raising money is a means to an end, not the goal — Dave McClure at Echelon 2013
Raising money is only a means to an end, says 500 Startups’ Dave McClure. The key to success is a scalable path to customer acquisition and activation. You are not Tony Stark You are not Tony Stark*, 500 Startups founder Dave McClure said during his keynote at Echelon 2013. Even if Tony Stark is cool…More
Partner Event: Waygo is most promising startup at Echelon 2013
After an intense hour of pitching, our esteemed set of judges selected Waygo as the Most Promising Startup for Echelon 2013. Echelon 2013 is all about validating the promise of the startup ecosystem in the Asia Pacific region. This year, 10 of the region’s top startups have pitched their tech startups to a set of…More
Partner Event: 50-plus startups will showcase their ideas on June 4-5 at Echeclon 2013
Echelon 2013, Singapore’s flagship technology startup networking event, organized by local media company e27, gets underway in the first week of June. As in previous years, the run-up to the event kicked off March 30 with the Indonesia satellite. The satellites are regional outreach initiatives through which finalists are chosen to pitch at the main…More