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The Indian economy is growing but how ready are Indians to be a part of that growth story?

From 2012 to 2021, inflation in the country has on an average been at 6 percent, and preferred investments continue to still be in Fixed Deposits (FDs) or Recurring Deposits (RDs), where the return is less than the average inflation. 

In a conversation with YourStory, Dipankar Biswas, CEO and Founder of FlipItNews, says, “In general, people in India have this perception that capital markets and investments are complex and needs a lot of advanced techniques. They have no clue where to start and whom to follow. Hence, they refrain from investments and put their money into FDs or RDs, where the return is insignificant.”

“That’s where we come in. We want to make finance fun. Everyone loves their money to grow. But people refrain from putting a little extra effort to make that happen. We want to make that process effortless and fun,” adds Dipankar.

Launched in 2020 by IIM-Kozhikode alumnus Dipankar Biswas, and technocrats Diptanil Das and Bharat Bhushan, the Gurugram-based Entroq Technologies aims to revolutionise the way Indians perceive finance, business, and capital market investment, by giving it a boost through artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). It is on a mission to reinvent financial literacy for Indians, where financial awareness is driven by smart information discovery and engagement with peers. 

Speaking about its inception, Dipankar says, “The initial idea was simple. We wanted to have an instant notification engine in a crisp 50 words summary format for all our portfolio and watchlist stocks. We built an MVP by the name FlipItNews, and uploaded that to the Play Store in July 2020. We found more than a thousand downloads in a few days without any promotion.”

Realising a good product market-fit, the founders started talking to newbie investors, understanding pain points, and kept adding features like research and discussion around news.

Today, the app, which is available on both Play Store and App Store, functions as a smart news discovery platform summarised in 50 words, one-click research of any stock, smart advisory from top brokers of India and a real-time engagement feed where users can discuss and debate with other app users and learn on the go.

USP 

FlipItNews is redefining capital market information consumption with the use of advanced data science and artificial intelligence. It is not as much a search-based product as it is a discovery platform, and according to Dipankar, “there is information overload about capital market and investment on the internet.” 

He says binge reading capital market tutorials is not for everyone, and that’s where FlipItNews provides maximum value in minimum time so retail investors can benefit from the same. 

In August 2021, the startup also launched its social community and engagement platform – Circle – within the app itself. Dipankar claims that Circle is India’s first community-driven investment information network. 

“This is the age of a global financial revolution! We have seen the power of community and social media for DogeCoin and even in the case of GameStop. Social trading is the future, and we are making it simplified and engaging for modern tech savvy users with extremely simplified user experience,” states Dipankar.

The startup is not only building a community, but also building a smart platform where any fintech company can build its own community and engage with their target audience.

Founding team

With a team size of around 20+, Dipankar is responsible for managing the entire product stack, growth, and marketing. Diptanil, who is the CTO, is responsible for tech and Bharat, COO, is responsible for managing business and strategy. 

Dipankar has previously worked at LocoNav, a Sequoia Capital backed global logistics tech company as Vice President -Growth and Marketing.

Diptanil, who has a background in system architecture and product user flows, has published multiple papers on natural image encryption & cryptography. Bharat has previous experience working with TestBook, PepperTap, Jaypee Group etc. 

Market size and traction

The global online trading platform market is projected to grow from $8.59 billion in 2021 to $12.16 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 5.1 percent during the forecast period.

Currently, with half a million downloads and over 150,000 users per month, the app serves both as a news discovery platform as well as social investment space. 

“We are targeting both new investors as well as market experts. Our product is built in a way that it will add value to all the investors irrespective of their stage of investment,” adds Bharat.

Speaking about its business model, Bharat says, “We are following a 3C model. We started with content, and we are now building our community. Once our community reaches a threshold traction, we will start integrating commerce into our ecosystem and start monetising.”

 Yet to generate any revenue, the startup is focussing on getting engaged users at the moment. 

Funding and way ahead

Started with a personal investment of about Rs 20 lakh, the startup raised Rs 3 crore from Kotak Securities in exchange for 7.50 percent stake as part of the latter’s Startup Engagement and Investments initiative. 

During this announcement, Jaideep Hansraj, MD & CEO, Kotak Securities said, “Simplification of stock markets is increasingly becoming paramount for retail investors and especially millennials and first-time investors. FlipItNews aims to carve a niche in the market by providing curated financial news, stock analytics and social engagement all in one single app. We are excited with the company’s vision, and look forward to this partnership.”  

In June this year,  the startup also raised Rs 18 crore in its seed round, in a mix of equity and Optionally Convertible Debentures (OCDS).

Moving forward, the startup is planning to launch its features in vernacular languages with a mission to empower investors from Tier II and Tier III cities. 

In terms of competition, globally, StockTwits and eToro are two companies that have done exceedingly well in the social investment space. Dipankar says the startup wants to take advantage of being an early mover in the Indian market.