Don’t be afraid to try new things

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05/28/2022

Traya main goal is to treat hair fall from the root cause

Please introduce yourself and your startup Traya Health to our readers!

I co-founded Traya with Altaf. Traya is a new-age health startup that provides online diagnosis and doctor-prescribed treatments to all those suffering from hair fall.

How did you get the idea of Traya Health?

Traya in Sanskrit refers to the threefold way, which is precisely what the company utilises to manage hair loss, by marrying the science and clinically proven results of western medicine, Ayurveda, and nutrition. Traya has documented its success with 1 lakh+ hair diagnoses and consultations in the last 18 months.

Why did you decide to start with Traya Health?

Altaf was going through a series of health issues including an uncontrollable thyroid, hair loss, and weight gain. During this journey we realised that the current hair loss treatment market is broken – no commercial shampoo, oil or serum actually works because hair loss needs a diagnosis and a doctor-prescribed treatment. On realising that not just Dermatology but combining Ayurveda and Nutrition can help to create a preventive approach for hair fall, we set out to help friends and families facing similar issues with a holistic three science formula.

What is the vision behind Traya Health?

Traya believes in treating hair fall through internal healing. Along with getting to the root cause of hair fall, our ultimate goal is to get every young Indian onto the #thetrayawayoflife to manage lifestyle-triggered health issues. Today we use the Traya philosophy for hair which we hope to take to every household. But there are numerous health conditions that need this approach such as digestion, sleep, cholesterol, and PCOD. Soon we’d like to help people in these areas too.

How difficult was the start and which challenges you had to overcome?

For too long, the hair industry had made it very difficult for people to trust genuine treatments because none of the so-called hair fall treatments worked. So according to me, the biggest challenge would have been to switch the notion of people using shampoos and serums to fix hair fall. The other challenge would have been to make people understand that there is no genie in a bottle that can cure hair fall instantly. Finally, busting the myth that genetic hair fall is the final verdict rather they can fix this hair fall by treating the root cause provided they start early.

Who is your target audience?

Although 75% of Traya customers are men, we have seen a sharp increase in women customers (35%) in the recent past. The reason behind this is that hair loss in men is much more visible than in females because men experience a receding hairline with their forehead getting large while women experience a wider partition.

What is the USP of your startup?

Traya is a solution oriented company where the main goal is to treat hair fall from the root cause. Each and every customer gets the benefit of a well thought out plan from our expert team comprising of dermatologists, nutritionists and ayurveda practitioners. We bring the best of 3 sciences all on one platform to manage something as stubborn as hair fall. After analysing over 1 lakh cases, we have the data to gauge whether our treatment plan will help you see guaranteed results or not and so we are confident enough to offer a 5 month money-back guarantee on our treatment plan. Traya also provides a hair coach to every customer to guide them along their hair growth journey and track their progress.

Can you describe your typical workday?

I believe in starting early, it gives me a few extra hours to set my plan for the day and what we want to achieve as a team. Half my job is done when I plan out my tasks for the day. The rest of the day. I have all my calls aligned during the latter half so that my work is not hampered. At the end of the day, I focus on reviewing the data so I can have my learnings and accordingly plan the next assignment.

Where do you see yourself and your startup Traya Health in five years?

At Traya, growth is important but our north star metric has always been the LTV of the customer. We have achieved a repeat rate of 80% with our consumers. We are in the business of managing hair loss and the disease is such that it takes 4-5 months to see the desired results. Our primary focus is not to sell 1 million SKUs of a product but to get 1 million people to benefit from the treatment. We’re building a brand that does not compromise on efficacy and is loved by customers. So in the next few years we wish to be the go-to for anyone who faces hair fall. We are also looking at venturing into new avenues of chronic health concerns and hope to get there in the near future.

What 3 tips would you give to founders?

Never underestimate or undersell yourself, be confident.

Wrong decisions are not the problem, slow decisions are.

Constantly learn and improve. Don’t be afraid to try new things

More information you will find here

Thank you Saloni for the Interview

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

Believe in yourself and your product/technology

By

Quepatagra

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05/17/2022

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Ohh-Med Medical Vertica helps men who are dealing with erectile dysfunction

Please introduce yourself and your startup Ohh-Med Medical to our readers!

I’m Daniel Lischinsky, founder and CEO of Ohh-Med Medical, a med-tech startup company that develops and manufactures innovative, patented medical solutions for the treatment of erectile dysfunction in men using radio waves (RF). Vertica, our first device, allows for self-care and home treatment, is non-invasive, and does not require a prescription from a doctor.

How did you get the idea of Ohh-Med Medical?

Around the world, hundreds of millions of men suffer from erectile dysfunction but tend to ignore it or refrain from seeking help because of embarrassment. At Ohh-Med Medical, we have developed a technology that uses RF energy to rehabilitate collagen tissues in the physiological mechanism that is responsible for erection.
My interest in this topic began with a scientific study I read in 2015 that pointed out a connection between the strength and quality of collagen fibers in the penis and the strength of an erection. When I came across this article, it became clear to me that I could leverage the experience and knowledge I had acquired from my previous startup – which specialized in RF-based skin treatments for collagen restoration – to develop a rehabilitation treatment for erectile dysfunction.

Why did you decide to start with Ohh-Med Medical?

As mentioned, around 15 years ago I founded my first startup, EndyMed. We developed unique medical devices for skincare (skin tightening, acne, cellulite, etc.) based on RF technology. I registered a patent and we received CE and an FDA De Novo approvals for Collagen Remodeling treatments.

In 2018 I left EndyMed with the goal of developing more medical applications based on a new patent technology. After learning about the connection between penile collagen tissues and the erectile mechanism, I raised a seed investment from a private investor, founded Ohh-Med Medical, and developed the Vertica prototype. In 2020, the ArbelOn Fund joined as an investor, and today the company enjoys a very high order and sales rate.

What is the vision behind Ohh-Med Medical?

The vision of Ohh-Med Medical is to help any man who is dealing with erectile dysfunction to improve the quality of erection with a home and non-invasive treatment, in order to experience normal and healthy sexuality that will have a positive effect on his quality of life in the physical and mental aspect. We are proud to pioneer a groundbreaking solution with Vertica®, which gives back men their self-confidence and natural functioning.

How difficult was the start and which challenges you had to overcome?

The first steps were challenging because we work on an hypothesis and it required a lot of energy and belief in what you do to achieve the first results. Once we started seeing positive results, we enter in a second phase of fine tuning the technology and product.

Who is your target audience?

The Vertica device is marketed directly to private consumers, but we are developing additional and advanced equipment for use by physicians in clinics and medical centers.
Currently, the device is only available in Israel. It will be made available in the US and Europe through local distributors following CE and FDA approval. Local distributors will also sell the device in the Asian and Russian markets, subject to local approvals. Additionally, we recently signed a major distribution agreement in Brazil.

What is the USP of your startup?

Unlike other solutions for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (pills, injections, surgery for prosthesis implantation, etc.), Vertica is designed to achieve a natural long-term erection regardless of the time at which you engage in sexual activity. Our RF technology improves the penile collagen tissues and thus restores the erection mechanism so that the patient returns to enjoying a spontaneous erection, without preparations or any planning that impair spontaneity.

The treatment is performed independently by the patient, about twice a week for 15-30 minutes, depending on the need and severity of the erectile dysfunction. When there is an improvement, treatment can be stopped and returned later if needed. The Vertica device is very easy and convenient to operate, safely and non-invasive.
Because it does not require a medical prescription, the Vertica device is marketed directly to the customer on the Ohh-Med Medical website, without the need for any interaction with salespeople, store representatives, or doctors. The device is shipped to the patient’s home in a closed kit that does not disclose its contents, in order to secure discretion.

Can you describe your typical workday?

Sure, 8:30 – 9:00 at Ohh-Med offices, pushing R&D, Manufacturing, marketing and sales activities with each Ohh-Med employee responsible for each area, then when USA/Canada wake up, start conferences… finally and usually late hours of the day, I have some time for myself to think on next steps and new technologies for Ohh-Med.

Where do you see yourself and your startup Ohh-Med Medical in five years?

I see myself leading Ohh-Med as an international company with few technologies and multiple products in the market. We are building a robust and healthy company for long time…

What 3 tips would you give to founders?

With your permission I would like to give 5 tips:

Believe in yourself and your product/technology

And believe in yourself and your product/technology

Work hard! no matter what…

Bring the best partners you can! you can’t do it alone.

Photo Credit: Shay Vazdias

More information you will find here

Thank you Daniel Lischinsky for the Interview

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

Just start and don’t worry about perfect

By

Quepatagra

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05/06/2022

0

Manara placed engineers across the US, the UK, Ireland, Germany and the UAE

Please introduce yourself and your startup Manara to our readers!

My name is Laila Abudahi and I grew up in Gaza, Palestine. I hacked my way from Gaza to becoming a software engineer in Silicon Valley. My engineering background: I graduated with a degree in computer engineering from Al-Azhar University in Gaza. I hold a masters degree from the University of Washington in Seattle and am a Fulbright Fellow.

Prior to Manara, I worked at Nvidia as a senior software engineer building autonomous vehicles. On a more personal side, I’m a plant mom and I do woodwork for fun

How did you get the idea of Manara?

The companies my co-founder and I used to work for (Upwork, NVIDIA) were constantly seeking software engineering talent but couldn’t find them. In the meantime, our talented friends in the Arab world couldn’t get these jobs because their resumes look untraditional and they are unfamiliar with the interview process. We wanted to bridge the gap between the demand and the talent pool in the region.

Inspired by my own journey from Palestine to getting my dream job at Silicon Valley, I wanted to make it easier for people back home to do the same. Ultimately, these engineers will become the CTOs and senior engineers that the region needs in order to accelerate the growing success of its own tech ecosystem.

That’s how Manara was born.

Why did you decide to start with Manara?

The Middle East has the world’s youngest population and has made large investments in education since the Arab spring. The number of college grads is doubling every 5 years. The region has an increasing interest in STEM. In Palestine, for example, the number of high school students applying to “Code for Palestine” increased 22x between 2015 and 2020.

The region will graduate an estimated 500,000 STEM grads by 2025 – equal to the US and more than Eastern Europe. The talent pipeline is the biggest challenge facing the tech industry, and diversity of talent continues to gain priority.

Covid has led to a seismic shift towards remote hiring, which only makes things easier to remotely hire engineers in the Middle East. An estimated 52% of computer science graduates in Palestine are women, 62% in Tunisia, 80% in Qatar. Currently 83% of women computer science graduates in Palestine are unemployed and numbers are similar in other countries.

What is the vision behind Manara?

Our mission is to unlock the human potential of the Middle East and North Africa

We are building a community committed to diversifying the global tech sector while uplifting the economies of the Middle East and North Africa, with a focus on Palestine and women. The engineers we place at companies like Google today, will become the backbone of MENA’s tech sector in the future.

How difficult was the start and which challenges you had to overcome?

The start was difficult because we started with the toughest city in the Middle East for hiring – Gaza( and especially for women) and we aimed for placements at top tech companies like Google. The rationale for this was if we can prove the model for talent from the toughest city with the highest barriers and place them in positions at Google, we can do it from anywhere.

One of the biggest challenges we faced was switching the mindset for talent in Gaza. The candidates were talented and highly qualified but did not believe in themselves, especially women who were not confident enough to even apply. At the very beginning of Manara’s journey, it required hours and hours of mentorship per potential candidate until the stage of applying – because simply no solution existed like that and getting a job at Google seemed completely out of reach.

Today, one of our biggest pillars and support units in Manara is our mentorship program that focuses on overcoming this imposter syndrome. The second biggest challenge was rebranding the Middle East as a source for tech talents versus what the region is typically associated with like wars, displacement and crisis.

Who is your target audience?

We target top talent software engineers and computer scientists – with a focus on women and Palestine. Manara runs the career acceleration program twice a year.Requirements for entry include under-graduate or post-graduate computer science or engineering degree candidates with strong English language skills.

The other target audience we are looking to reach are partners we can work with, such as Google, Meta and Amazon. Europe’s tech sector is growing quickly. There’s a massive need for new solutions to access talent, whether remote or onsite. The Middle East and North Africa is an obvious fit because of proximity and time zones.

What is the USP of your startup?

Manara is a Public Benefit Corporation. We believe in leveraging the best of the tech sector to achieve social impact sustainably and at scale. Top investors and companies from Silicon Valley are helping us turn our vision into a reality. Manara has paid partnerships with FAANG companies and placement rates higher than they see with any other diversity solutions

We placed engineers at Google, Meta, Amazon, Flexport, Repl.it, and more. 80% of our graduates get great jobs. On average, their salaries increase 3x after Manara. We secured 80 roles for computer scientists & engineers with the biggest employers to date being Google & Meta

Can you describe your typical workday?

Mornings

Starts with a walk to get coffee – I use this trick to switch to work mode on days I’m working from home, otherwise I’m working from a coffee shop

I manage a team of remote engineers in time zones all around the world – my priority is to ensure the tech product is running and that I’m unblocking any team member on tasks before our daily team stand-up

As an engineer, Jira is great for task management

Afternoons

All my meetings in the afternoon are walking meetings, it helps me stay focused. Meeting at a coworking space with my co-founder. This is mainly to build strategy and set our goals. To keep up with Silicon Valley, I enjoy listening to podcasts & check Twitter

Where do you see yourself and your startup Manara in five years?

We raised $3 million in pre-seed funding from Silicon Valley and European investors. The funding round was led by Stripe and included Reid Hoffman (founder of LinkedIn), Paul Graham (founder of Y Combinator) and Eric Ries (founder of Lean Startup).

Our goal is to use this investment to scale its existing cohort-based solution to go from 60 engineers per year to 6,000 engineers per year. In addition, we plan to launch a self-service product for interview practice, networking and mentorship that can reach millions of software engineers.

What 3 tips would you give to founders?

My one and only tip for founders is to just start and don’t worry about ‘perfect.’ Build your product, put it out there for your users and keep on improving it everyday.

More information you will find here

Thank you Laila Abudahi for the Interview

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

The Impact Of Social Media on SEO In 2022

By

Quepatagra

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05/03/2022

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What is the place of social media in SEO in 2022? How does social media affect SEO and how can you use social media tools in marketing? How does social SEO work?

Let’s start with the fact that direct links from social networks do not affect the ranking of documents in the search. Nevertheless, for Internet marketing professionals, social networks are a storehouse of traffic that can not only indirectly improve the place in the google rankings but also attract a targeted, solvent audience. According to Forbes, search and social both provide significant digital marketing potential.

Let’s look at the main ways to promote through social media:

Links from social media drive traffic to the site

Posts with high-quality content can garner likes, shares, and comments, so you can increase the number of people who see your post. A well-chosen description for the target audience will encourage users to follow the link to your site.

The attracted social traffic, in turn, will improve behavioral characteristics, which directly affects the google rankings. Double benefit: get visitors who can convert into a deal and improve the visibility of documents in search. To check the quality of your promotional methods, we recommend using SEO auditing tools, learn more about them here.

Getting external links using social networks

Quality inbound links remain a significant ranking factor. There are many trust sites that are looking for information on social networks for further publication on their resources. By posting your article, such sites become quality donors, leaving a natural backlink that leads to one of your pages.

The higher the quality of the content you produce and post on social media, the more likely you are to get a backlink. Try to post based on the interests of your group members, as this will encourage users to share your post.

Social media increases brand awareness

The Facebook audience for the second quarter of 2016 amounted to 1.71 billion monthly active users. The Twitter audience is about 317 million users. If at least a fraction of a percent of this entire audience learns about your brand, the result will be tangible!

Engage with social media audiences. Chat with them, respond to comments, ask questions, and engage them in discussions. This way, you can get new customers and fans for your brand.

Social network group profiles can appear in searches for a number of queries, just like websites

If you enter a branded query into the search, it is likely to see a group from the social network in one of the leading positions, along with the main site. Thus, if you constantly update the groups, you can take over the entire google rankings. Wherever the user clicks, they will be in contact with your brand. Sometimes, this can help to knock out negative information about your company or competitors’ pages from the first pages of the issue.

Make sure your social media profiles are up-to-date, updated regularly, and aligned with the design of the main site. With regular user contact with the brand, you will increase your awareness and, accordingly, the popularity of the snippet in the search results.

Social media is the best place to deal with negativity

If it so happened that you got a dissatisfied client for any of the reasons: you yourself are to blame, or the client is too picky – try to find him on social networks. If a negative review about your company is left in any group – respond to the negative with a constructive one directly in this group. So, you will show that you are interested in customer satisfaction and, as a bonus, this will be seen by a lot of other people who may be interested in your products/services.

Work with negativity, look for an individual approach to disappointed customers and they will become evangelists of your brand, tell their friends and acquaintances about you. Even in Internet marketing, word of mouth is not turned off.

Here are a couple of tips to get your SEO and social media working together:

Optimize social media profiles

Fill out your profile on the social network to the maximum, using all the platform’s opportunities. Moreover, try to optimize the information provided. To get started, identify the main keywords and phrases that are relevant to your business (compose a semantic core). Then use them in titles, descriptions, links, and wherever appropriate.

Optimize your content

You can often find groups and profiles whose content is not optimized for key queries. This is a big mistake. It is necessary to make sure that the search engine can attribute each new post to a specific topic, highlighting important keywords and phrases. Accordingly, these keywords and phrases must be present. A message whose subject matter is too vague and vague is not of great interest to search engines.

Connect with influencers

To quickly reach a large audience on any social network, you can partner with influential users and groups that have a large number of subscribers. Guest posts are an old and proven way of promotion.

Be active

Social networks love activity. Try to publish content regularly, quickly answer questions from visitors, actively comment on messages from other users, and subscribe to popular groups. This is perhaps one of the most important tips you can give about social media marketing. Inactive profiles quickly “die” as they become uninteresting to visitors. At the same time, “live” and active profiles, as a rule, grow and gain subscribers.

Conclusion

Social networks do not provide direct support in the battle for the TOP. Still, they can indirectly affect the positions and surprise you with the good effect of Internet marketing in general. As the audience grows in social networks, the result of the work being done will become more tangible. In any case, neglecting the sources of traffic, brand contact and other obvious benefits of working with social media is a big omission.

Photo by pixabay

Autor: Frank Hamilton

More articles from Frank Hamilton you can find here

Frank Hamilton is a blogger and translator from Manchester. He is a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, digital marketing and self-education. He also loves traveling and speaks Spanish, French, German and English.

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

Everything gets digital, but human interaction is not going anywhere

By

Quepatagra

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05/02/2022

0

PicUP digital calls enable organisations to ring their customers with branded, contextualised, convenient and super engaging experiences

Please introduce yourself and your startup PicUP to our readers

I’m Lior Shacham, the CEO and one of the co-founders of PicUP, an startup transforming the phone channel, with what we call digital calls. Our goal at PicUP is to create the next-gen of communications, by adding personalised digital layers to modernise the good old-fashioned phone call.
While other channels like apps and web interfaces are digitally optimised, the medium of calls has been left behind, failing to meet the modern consumer expectations. But PicUP changes that. Our digital calls enable organisations to ring their customers with branded, contextualised, convenient and super engaging experiences, blending the power of human interaction with digital superpowers.

With our digital call technology, you can see it’s your bank calling, seeing their logo, an image of your banker and the reason he or she’s calling. It’s all on your screen before you pick up the phone. You can also click a ‘call me later’ button to reschedule and click another button to convert to chat or sign forms while talking with the caller. We have fine-tuned the art of making phone calls transparent, engaging and informative.

How did you get the idea of PicUP?

I think every true entrepreneur has a radar for things that are “broken” in some way. We looked around and realised that the phone channel is like a black hole. The phone channel is the second-largest sales channel for services after the physical one (stores and branches), way ahead of pure digital channels.

Just think about taking a mortgage, a loan or a complex insurance policy. Billions of dollars get through the telephone channel every day, and yet, nobody likes the intrusive and annoying experience of receiving an unidentified phone call and the inefficiency of a voice-only experience.

Why did you decide to start with PicUP?

When we played around with the idea of ‘fixing’ the phone channel, we realised that combining digital with voice would be the solution. We were confident we could build this technology and felt it would be an amazing journey – a journey that we must start.

What is the vision behind PicUP?

Our goal is to transform the way phone calls look and what they feel like, to help businesses engage better and for consumers to enjoy wonderful conversations. By partnering with Vodafone and other leading telecom and financial companies, we want to transform any business call, from your bank, your doctor, the delivery guy and the technician. We truly believe all calls will become digital in a few years and we are leading the charge.

How difficult was the start and which challenges have you had to overcome?

Getting huge telecom companies and heavy financial institutions to integrate a small startup tech inside their consumer apps, installed in millions of devices isn’t difficult…it’s almost impossible! We had to overcome every existing technology, privacy, security and usability barrier, and convince them they must do it, or be left behind.

Who is your target audience?

Telcos, financial services, insurers and almost every B2C company out there. One of our clients just told us that although 100% of the people who are interested in his product learn about the product via digital channels, the actual sale process occurs almost only via the phone channel.

What is the USP of your startup?

Our platform is the only tool enabling organisations in completely transforming the customer experience of their outbound calls, adding a beautiful personalised visual, interactive digital layer on top of every regular phone call they make.

Can you describe your typical workday?

Basically, it’s the same work every day – solving new problems we never faced before and getting people to believe we can really change the world together. A typical work day will involve meetings with clients and prospects around the globe and working with my team on different domains.

Where do you see yourself and your startup PicUP in five years?

We’re building a platform that can serve almost every company in the world. I think in 5-7 years digital calls from businesses, that combine voice and visual layers, will become the standard of modern conversations. And we are the team driving that change.

What 3 tips would you give to founders?

Don’t give up. Creating something new and getting people to adopt it is super hard. Just keep going and solve every new problem you face.

Listen. If you’re a founder, you already know a lot. Now open up and listen carefully to every interaction. That’s the best way to learn and really understand your reality.

Everything gets digital, but human interaction is not going anywhere. Build strong relationships with your team, your clients, your investors and advisors.

More information you will find here

Thank you Lior Shacham for the Interview

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

Trust your intuition

By

Quepatagra

-

04/29/2022

0

Una Terra Venture Studio goal is to support biodiversity restoration

Please introduce yourself and your startup Una Terra Venture Studio to our readers!

Hi, I am Luca Zerbini. Born in Italy, I am a passionate Founding Partner and CEO of Una Terra Venture Capital Fund. I studied Industrial Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano and subsequently received an MBA from the Wharton School. Before founding Una Terra, I worked in many global organisations. I was CEO and Managing Director at Fedrigoni Paper (a Bain Capital portfolio company); I was Vice President and General Manager at Amcor with $1B P&L accountability. And i also worked in several other companies such as Hewlett Packard, Honeywell, and Bain. I lived for many years in the US and I live now with my family outside Zurich, in Switzerland.

How did you get the idea of Una Terra Venture Studio?

Throughout my career, I gained valuable insights into how companies, large and small, are run. At each turn, I challenged the status quo to add value at C-level and Board level, helping to shape strategic roadmaps, and drive global growth and competitive advantage through marketing, innovation and ESG agendas.

At one point, I realised that I wanted to have a different role for the world we live in. Eager to deliver a significant impact change, I started investing in companies that could accelerate solutions for climate change and, in parallel, the germ of an idea – of a fund focused on driving and supporting sustainable, green tech and innovation – began to form in my mind.

Why did you decide to start with Una Terra Venture Studio?

There are only eight large funds in Europe that are dedicated to the ESG agenda. This is a ridiculously small number. Despite the explosion in sustainability-themed investments, only a small percentage goes to highly disruptive businesses that are sector-shaping and fast-scaling through innovation. In fact, over $30T are flowing to large cap companies with questionable ESG credentials (according to the Global Sustainable Investment Review), while very little (around $0.2tr) going to innovative growth companies and potential Impact Unicorns, whose business models are inherently impact-driven. Una Terra’s ambition is to help shift the impact investment to where it is most impactful and meaningful.

What is the vision behind Una Terra Venture Studio?

We only have one habitable planet, and climate change and biodiversity loss are threatening this beautiful world we live in. We are racing against time and Una Terra – which is Italian for One Earth – is the commitment to scale and accelerate the adoption of ideas that the world needs more of. And right now.

Our commitment is to reduce CO2 emissions by 2 Gt per year from the environment and 5% of plastic waste in the oceans by 2030. We will do this through our portfolio company, helping them with a fully fledged venture studio to accelerate the growth and impact.

How difficult was the start and which challenges you had to overcome?

Setting up a fund in Luxembourg was a lengthy process. Luxembourg is rated AAA for good reason – the due diligence behind the set up of the fund is incredible but I am sure many fund managers are put off by the complexity of the process.

Landing on the right founding team was also a very interesting journey and I know we landed on a team that is very strong and solid. We all share the same vision and passion towards building a successful ESG fund where you don’t need to choose between profits and planet.

Who is your target audience?

We back founders at Series A+ stage whose products and services have an ambition of addressing at least 100Mt CO2/year and/or 10 Mt/year Plastics Waste reduction. These are companies active in the clean energy space: emissions reduction and carbon capture; smart mobility, housing and smart cities.

Industries we also look at are responsible food, agriculture and forestry, circular economy, packaging, fashion, as well as Clean Finance .

What is the USP of your startup?

Our edge? We are commercially innovators at heart.

In too many well-intended ESG start-ups and scale-ups, we see good money going after bad.

At Una Terra, we hunt for ideas grounded in the commercial rigour required to be successful. Our founding team each brings over 25 years of experience scaling products and services in the most competitive markets on earth.

When it comes to the Una Terra Venture Capital Fund, we combine focused strategy with passionate people and smart capital. Using our combined and extensive experience, we work closely with start-ups giving them hands-on support to actively help them scale-up.

The result? No green wishing, just green impact.

Can you describe your typical workday?

Our Founding Partners live across four different countries – Switzerland, Sweden, The Netherlands and the UK, but that does not limit how we work together. We have continuous interactions through chat channels and virtual meetings from very early in the day.

We align on key team and individual priorities on Mondays and then invest time with investors – current and future, investees – current and future, and administration.

Time with my family is very important to me and I make sure I spend quality time with them every day. When the kids are in bed, there is still time for a quick check in with my partners or responding to some emails.

Where do you see yourself and your startup Una Terra Venture Studio in five years?

Our fund in five years will have grown to €1 billion and this will have allowed us to grow all the companies we have invested in.

Our fund being with an evergreen structure means we have the flexibility to divest when the time is right and when we feel the founders don’t need our support anymore, either because they reach IPO stage or are acquired.

In 5 years, we will have made significant progress towards our goal of 2Gt reduction of CO2 emissions per year from the environment.

What 3 tips would you give to founders?

Find the right partners you want to work with. Working with friends who share your passion and vision is way more rewarding than doing it all by yourself.

Be curious to learn, and accept every fall as an opportunity to become better. Entrepreneurship is not a sprint, it is a marathon.

Trust your intuition.

More information you will find here

Thank you Luca Zerbini for the Interview

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

Green Alley Award 2022 finalist ScrapAd a Spanish startup

By

Quepatagra

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04/28/2022

0

Today’s finalist is ScrapAd. The Spanish startup developed a global platform for trading recyclable materials to counteract the lack of information in the recycling industry. The founders Sandra Montes and Samuel Ruiz discovered the need for a solution like theirs on a trade fair in Las Vegas! Connecting buyers and sellers worldwide, they want to disrupt the industry, that is still mostly based on personal connections, and solve its weaknesses. Read the interview to find more about ScrapAd’s founding story, their digital circular economy solution and their aspiring plans for the future.

You say that you got the inspiration for founding ScrapAd on a recycling fair in Las Vegas where you recognized some of the major weaknesses in this industry. Can you tell us more about this experience?

Samuel Ruiz and myself, Sandra Montes, participated in ISRI in Las Vegas – the worldwide leading trade fair for the recycling industry as part of our extended experience in the sector. We focused on offering our turnkey machinery solutions for recyclable materials, in terms of conveyance, treatment and revaluation of all kinds of waste, mostly specialized in all sorts of metals.

Then, we realized many people travelled thousands of kilometers in order to find the best destiny for their residues. An example: A representative of one of the most relevant recycling companies of north of Spain travelled to the fair in Las Vegas just to find not only the best buyer but also a good price for titanium chips waste that he was collecting from the aerospace industry.

Besides, participants told us that it is often impossible to find buyers for certain types of waste, which is why these materials are often deposited in landfills. This is economically inefficient and has terrible consequences for the environment. This was when we realized that there was a market demand: We started seeking for a proper solution to connect buyers and sellers, that would also offer a secure proposal in relation to material verification, payment terms and logistics. With this level of security, transactions that were usually done on a local basis between well-known contacts, could become global.

We came up with ScrapAd and realized that the platform would become a disruptive alternative never seen before.

Your concept is well-thought through and already seems quite mature. There are no concerns that your platform will be successful within a nation, but have you already considered how to get full access across borders and countries, considering regulations and the legal framework to transport waste across country borders?

Our logistic manager Lucía Peláez plays a key role here. She studied law and focused on logistics. And she currently investigates the regulations and legal frameworks in every single country ScrapAd is present in. She particularly focuses on the requirements for import and export to third countries.

Besides, taking opportunity of this knowledge, ScrapAd makes an alert to the members of the needed licenses and allowances to get a successful sales contract with the counterpart on the other side of the screen. Based on this knowledge, we also inform buyers and sellers on our platform about the licenses and allowances they need in order to establish successful contracts.

Thanks to our logistics manager’s work, we are aware of the regulations in almost every single country and know how to face them.

At least in Germany trading recyclable materials is often based on personal connections. How do you plan to disrupt this?

The recycling sector has traditionally been local and based on personal connections. However, a global vision is already present, since some types of materials cannot be sold in certain geographic areas for several reasons, for instance price or installed machinery.…

Besides, changes in supply and demand in different countries make import and export even more relevant. For example, the automotive industry in Mexico is booming and the aluminum request to produce certain parts is very high. In that case, difference in price for instance between Mexico and Europe would be so significant that even high logistic costs would be justified.

We are sure about the value proposition and would get global by:

Showing our potential and how we could help companies
Allowing people to save time and money
Offering the transaction end to end
Providing the maximum security
Operating with a very competitive commission fee compared to other traders and other kinds of marketplaces.

Where do you see your startup in 5 years from now?

Our vision is to become the leading platform for trading recyclable materials worldwide and we aim to reach this goal within the next five years. Therefore, these years will be crucial to get global deployment and establish as the leader in the sector, disrupting it with our technological proposal.

Having invested in highly skilled people and great technology, we are sure that people will understand the true meaning and potential of ScrapAd. We are confident that once people use the platform for the first time, they will continue doing so, which will help us become the globally recognized platform for waste and recyclable materials.

Our solution helps to save the world because…?”

Our solution helps to save the world, because it reduces the percentage of waste that ends up in landfills and counteracts issues like the pollution of land and seas, and CO2 emissions, which have been increasing dramatically in the few years and would continue without innovations like ours.

Take your chance and watch Atelier Riforma pitch their idea live on stage in Berlin on 28th April. Register here and meet our finalist in person.

Source Green Alley Award

Green Alley Award finalist Voltfang from Germany

By

Quepatagra

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04/28/2022

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Electromobility is one important puzzle piece in making transportation greener and more sustainable, as it reduces the amount of carbon dioxide emissions. However, the question remains what to do with used e-car batteries, which are a potential threat to the environment, if not disposed or recycled correctly. Our Green Alley Award finalist Voltfang from Germany developed a process to extend the life cycles of these old batteries and thus contributes to tackling this problem. Read the interview to find out more about the startup and their innovation.

Some car producers try to tackle the problem of used batteries themselves. How does your startup obtain used car batteries?

We now have several partners with whom we have exclusive contracts to purchase their 2nd-life batteries, which allows us to meet our needs. We have also developed a unique worldwide test that can ideally measure the batteries and determine how long the battery can still be used. In the future, other large car manufacturers will also want to have this test, so cooperation with us will be inevitable.

On your website you have listed several referential projects in which you have been working together with big companies, like the retailer Aldi Nord. In your experience, can you describe how a typical collaboration works? What does the process behind look like?

In our reference projects, such as at ALDI Nord, we first customized the battery to the customer’s requirements to install the most cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solution. We also continue to monitor the batteries to maximize their lifetime.

What are the biggest challenges you are currently facing?

Currently, scaling the company is a significant challenge and planning the largest 2nd life factory in Europe.

What was your last major success?

There have been many, but the last big success was delivering to ALDI.

How does the current legal framework impact second-life applications like yours?

Currently, there is an EU regulation that should simplify a 2nd-Life. We are curious to see how this will be converted into national law.

Our solution helps to save the world because…?”

We make an enormous contribution to energy transition through our storage systems.

Take your chance and watch Atelier Riforma pitch their idea live on stage in Berlin on 28th April. Register here and meet our finalist in person.

Source Green Alley Award

You need partners that go the extra mile to help you

By

Quepatagra

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04/28/2022

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Mokumono: Polder e-bike unique design- made in the Netherlands

Please introduce yourself and the startup Mokumono to our readers!

We are Tom and Bob Schiller, twin brothers from Amsterdam and we founded Mokumono in 2014 with the idea of shaking up the bike industry. The Netherlands has a history of producing great bicycles that would stay on the road for decades, but over the years these skills were lost. Most bikes – even the ones by Dutch producers, are made in Asia. With Mokumono we wanted to prove that it is possible to bring bike production back to the Netherlands and be less dependent on Asian supply chains and all the ethical and sustainability issues that come with outsourcing production.

Why did you decide to start a company?

When Bob was studying at the Design Academy Eindhoven he came up with an idea that allowed us to produce frames in The Netherlands by using techniques that are common in the car industry. We press aluminum plates and then have them welded together robotically. When his design received a lot of positive feedback during Dutch Design Week, we decided to go for it and give it a shot.

What is the vision behind Mokumono?

To prove that it is possible to build bikes in Europe and by doing that pushing the entire industry towards better practices. We are on a mission to create a 100% European e-bike -with our latest model, the Polder, we are nearly there: 90% of all the parts on the bike are made in Europe.

Another part of our vision is that we think e-bikes should stay on the road as long as possible. Where other producers will try to sell you a new, upgraded model every two years, we have decided to make the Polder modular. The battery can easily be removed and replaced by a third party battery so you can keep using your bike for years to come. We guarantee that all parts will be in stock for the next ten years and if your bike needs fixing we will come to the driver to fix it on location – something we call ‘The ride to right’ principle.

From the idea to the start, what have been the biggest challenges so far and how did you finance yourself?

The biggest challenge was to reinvent production. There was no template for what we wanted to do so we had to figure out everything ourselves. But at the same time this was also the most fun part of the process. We ran a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2016 that gave us some initial funds to develop our first model: the Delta. Earlier this year raised 800 thousand euro with a consortium of private investors and Rabobank. This allowed us to scale up before introducing the Polder earlier this month.

Who is Mokumono’s target audience?

The Delta was a rather sporty e-bike with a specific audience – compare it to a Lamborghini. We sold most to urban professionals – overwhelmingly male. The Polder is a much more inclusive model for a bigger audience. It’s unisex and fits drivers from 165cm to 195 cm. The maximum range of 110 km on a full charge also makes this the perfect bike for commuters. We think that our target audience are people that are a bit bored or fed up with the market leaders and are looking for well designed, sustainable quality bikes – that is our sweet spot.

What is special about the e-bike? Where are the advantages? What distinguishes you from other providers?

There’s the design, which is completely unique. We say that it is engineered to excite and build to last – so if you are looking for a bike that stays with you for years – you found it. Then there’s the trunk – the lockable battery compartment that also has space for personal items or a bike lock. You can remove the battery and charge it at home or use it as a powerbank for other devices. Depending on the battery you choose the range is anywhere between 80km and 110km – which puts the Polder on the very high end of modern e-bikes.

The Polder switches on using bluetooth technology when its driver approaches, the Mokumono app has seen a huge update and offers everything that can be expected from a modern e-bike app and the phone can be mounted to the frame and charged while driving. The led-lights are integrated in the frame and, like many other parts, are designed exclusively for us.

Mokumono, where are you going? Where do you see yourself in five years?

In the short term we want to make the Polder launch a success. The first reactions have been very positive and we are receiving a lot of orders – so that’s looking good. In 5 years we would like to break open more markets in Europe as well as overseas. The challenge here is that we need to find good partners to take care of local after-sales. We will be happy if we manage to carve out a solid and sustainable piece of market share that allows us to keep doing what we love doing: design groundbreaking bikes that make people happy.

Finally: What 3 tips would you give to prospective founders?

1. Keep charging at it. Starting up is a rough road with many ups and downs but to see an idea grow, take hold and come to live is super exciting and rewarding.

2. Work on your idea first and talk to prospective customers before you try to raise money from investors.

3. When you are making hardware, it’s important to find production partners that are excited by your ideas. You need partners that go the extra mile to help you and aren’t only focused on the bottom line.

More information you will find here

Thank you Emil Esselin for the Interview

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.

Believe in your ideas and execute them

By

Quepatagra

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04/27/2022

0

Innovsol is a new-age innovator who is primarily into consulting and services

Please introduce yourself and your startup Innovsol to our readers!

As a company, Innovsol is a new-age innovator who is primarily into consulting and services. Our firm leverages digital technologies to innovate the curated solutions sector for businesses of all shapes and sizes. At our core, Innovsol’s operations involve combining business intelligence and tech expertise to help leverage change and deliver results via automation of everyday operations.

We aim at reducing human errors by letting programmed robots take over a complex extent of work efficiently, enabling the enterprise goals by harnessing the power of emerging technologies.

How did you get the idea for Innovsol?

The idea behind Innovsol was a necessity that forced us to think beyond rationale! As we worked in the corporate world, we wanted to start something independently. And as we debated, we wanted to provide Innovative Solutions to the end customer. And hence we came up with the name Innov(ative) Sol(ution).

Why did you decide to start with Innovsol?

We decided to start sometime in 2015 and officially quit our corporate job, and began on June 5. And we debated many ideas and did market research on shortlisted ideas. We saw a potential where Digital Technology was picking up. And we saw the impact on the industry in the coming days/yearn.

So, we invested our time and resources in this technology and partnered with the top two leading RPA product leaders to provide consulting and implementation services. Since then, we have moved to other new technologies such as Cloud, Data & Analytics, and a little bit of AI.

What is the vision behind Innovsol?

At its heart, Innovsol envisions an automated future of operations for organizations of all shapes and sizes. We intend to integrate automation, analytics effectively, and AI strategies across industries such as Banking and Finance, Insurance, Retail, and Manufacturing to steer the enterprises through their digital journey.

How difficult was the start, and which challenges did you have to overcome?

Being a small company, the process of landing our first project & overcoming it was a process of credentials and confidence. All of these factors have allowed us to become a known name around the industry as ‘Digital Experts.’

Who is your target audience?

Our target audience is any organization that is involved with mundane operations. With our vision of automating workforces, the target audience would be any organization or company involved in complex operations.

However, to give you a few names, such industries would primarily be Insurance, Banking and Finance, Retail, and Manufacturing, among others.

What is the USP of your startup?

At Innovsol, we excel in:

Multi-industry experience: Delivered projects in Manufacturing, BFSI (Banks, Insurance Companies, non-banking financial companies), and Retail

Automation expertise: 6+years in Intelligent automation, allowing us to deliver 300+ automated bots and provide cost effective solution to our clients..

With our operations at Innovsol, we tend to leverage the data and provide in-depth research-based offerings for potential differentiated outcomes in the universe of business.

Can you describe your typical workday?

My typical workday starts at around 6 in the morning when I usually like to invest my time going out for a small sprint around my locality or a game of Badminton. Once done, I return home at around 7 and train my body and mind via some weight lifting and yoga.

Following this, I spend some time with my kids, getting them ready for their school and doing breakfast with them before leaving for the office at around 9. After that, it’s like a typical workday at the office where we spend the first few hours discussing productivity as a team and focusing on the ‘how’ aspect of operations.

It generally gets over by 11-12, after which I like to get in touch with our clients and try to help them out on a one-to-one basis. Then, following some other everyday tasks, I sit around with my partners for lunch at 2:00 PM, where we discuss the company’s internals.

My day at the office ends at around 700 PM at night, after which I like to spend some time watching TV and enjoying my dinner till 9:00 PM, before finally going to bed at 10:30 PM.

Where do you see yourself and your startup Innovsol in five years?

We would love to see ourselves covering almost every possible country in the coming five years of our operation. With automation playing a major role in the functioning of several companies by 2027, we are confident we to be one of the key initiators of the era.

What 3 tips would you give to founders?

My three tips would be very simple:

1. Own it – Believe in your ideas and execute them. Be yourself, and allow your personality to sell what you’re building.

2. Prove your expertise – Share learning’s you’ve gained from current / past jobs that will support you in the business.

3. Keep learning!

More information you will find here

Thank you Joseph Vathalloor for the Interview

Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.