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2020 was the year of fintech, edtech, gaming startups, among others. And, rightly so. 

Indian entrepreneurs took on the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic head-on, and at YourStory’s Future of Work 2021, shared their insights and learnings with others.

During a masterclass on Day 2 of India’s largest product-tech-design conference, experts from the fintech sector discussed the challenges of digital payments, and how they are using technology to find solutions. They said the pandemic fast-tracked digitisation, which could have taken the next five to six years to achieve.

Shashank Kumar, Co-founder of Razorpay, noted that it is the perfect time to go beyond just digital payments, and 2021 could well be the marker for a new financial world where the lines between banking and technology become increasingly blurred. 

In fact, entrepreneurs from the Indian edtech sector, which witnessed a humongous growth amidst the pandemic, agreed. 

Vamsi Krishna, Co-founder and CEO, Vedantu, spoke about the massive tailwinds in edtech following the pandemic, which made online learning the “only option”. He has been witness to the massive behavioural shifts taking place in students, parents, and even teachers.

Yet, for many startups, catering to customers in Tier II and beyond cities still remains one of the biggest dreams. Walmart-owned Flipkart — India’s largest ecommerce marketplace — is leveraging new-age technologies to bring such customers to its platform. 

Flipkart Chief Product and Technology (CPTO) Jeyandran Venugopal said technology is a key differentiator, and the ecommerce major is investing significantly to make it much easier for Indian consumers to shop online.

Click here for the full coverage of Future of Work 2021.

The Interview

Bengaluru-based Locus.sh has been disrupting the logistics space since 2015. Founded by former AWS employees Nishith Rastogi and Geet Garg, the startup uses technology and proprietary algorithms to provide smart logistics solutions to businesses such as route optimisation, real-time tracking, insights and analytics, vehicle allocation, and utilisation.

On Money Matters with Shradha Sharma, Nishith says that Locus.sh entered an already established business space and could not be the first in the market so the only option was to be the best in the space.

Editor’s Pick: Prime Venture Podcast

“It is an exciting and terrifying event in life when you first become a manager. You may be someone who has always dreamt about becoming a manager or perhaps someone who stumbled into management. Either way, if you are like most people, including me when I first became one, you are probably ill-prepared,” writes Amit Somani.

In this week’s Prime Venture Podcast, Amit Somani of Prime Venture Partners talks about 7 timeless books that he’d love to gift every new manager. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

Y Combinator startup Splitsub lets you watch what you want with subscription-sharing

Netflix, Prime Video, HotStar, Zee5, Sony LIV, Voot, Gaana, Spotify, Alt Balaji, HoiChoi, Ullu, Gaana, Eros Now, Sun NXT, MX Player… the choices are abundant, so how do you choose your digital subscriptions? Too many, and they’ll burn a huge hole in your pocket; too few, and you face FOMO. Enter fintech startup Splitsub, which as the name suggests splits your costs by letting you share subscriptions with your friends and family. 

Launched by Ankur Solanki and Dhruv Goel in August 2020, the Delaware, US, and Gurugram-based startup aim to provide you with all the options you want – and cut out freeloading! Read more. 

News & Updates

• According to sources, Swedish furniture and decor behemoth IKEA has invested in real estate as it eyes a small-store format, spread over 100,000 square feet, in Whitefield, Bengaluru. It has also invested in a 14-acre land parcel in Nagasandra, Bengaluru, for a large-format store.
• Elon Musk on Thursday said on Twitter that Tesla and Ford are the only two American carmakers not to have gone bankrupt out of thousands of car startups. Ford CEO Jim Farley responded to this tweet with a one-word acknowledgement: “Respect”.
• The Delhi government on Saturday approved the formation of a separate school board for nearly 2,700 schools in the city. In the beginning, 21-22 state government schools will be affiliated with the Delhi Board of School Education (DBSE). 
• With the government planning to introduce a Bill in Parliament to ban companies and individuals from dealing in cryptocurrencies, FM Nirmala Sitharaman said negotiations and discussions around cryptocurrency are underway with the RBI.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“Earlier, parents and students thought of online as a not-so-serious option. Then in 2020, online became the only option. We saw a marked difference in the attitude of parents. There was a shift in their mindset about online education.”

— Vamsi Krishna, Co-founder and CEO, Vedantu

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