From Apple Co-founder Steve Jobs, who was considered as the grandmaster of technology, to Microsoft’s Bill Gates, tech leaders have, time and again, revolutionised the way we operate.

This year, we interacted with a diverse set of technological architects who built revolutionary, intuitive, and user-friendly products.

Varuna Anand’s husband was very keen to promote weavers of the famous Kashmiri pashmina shawls from his home state.

Bengaluru topped pool rides on Uber India this year, the ride-hailing major revealed in its annual mobility report, ‘How India Moved in 2019: A Year in Review by Uber’.

However, in the first half of 2019, a combination of factors led to subdued economic growth in India. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1577235609.2135184/Here-are-the-top-tech-leaders-we-celebrated-in-2019-(and-other-top-stories-of-the-day)?ref=audio_experience

Ashok Kumar was around 18-years-old when he joined SlideShare in Delhi as an office boy.

A San Francisco-based startup with an office in Delhi, Slideshare was launched in 2006 and ran the world’s largest slide sharing platform.

While working at SlideShare, Ashok also ensured that he continued his education, getting a bachelor’s in Commerce.

I joined the company as an office boy, and learnt everything from there on, thanks to him,” he says.

It is a key tool and a great opportunity for startup employees to create wealth. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1577233806.297876/The-untold-story-of-an-office-boy-who-made-lakhs-from-a-startup-in-his-20s?ref=audio_experience

Karthik joined hands with Narayanan H and his former colleague from TVS Group, Ramachandran Ramanathan (Ram), and started Boonbox in 2013.

An ecommerce venture of Inthree Access Services Pvt Ltd., Boonbox is a last-mile logistics network that delivers products to consumers in remote areas at their doorstep.

Boonbox takes orders from customers through affiliates who have the Boonbox App downloaded on to their mobile phones.

ChallengesAs the rural ecommerce space is still nascent, the team came up with the business model after multiple iterations.

Secondly, digital technology contributing to increasing awareness and sophistication among rural customers and thirdly increased discretionary spend among rural customers beyond basic necessities. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1577232008.508121/How-Boonbox-is-giving-a-fillip-to-rural-ecommerce-with-its-last-mile-delivery-services?ref=audio_experience

Hello and welcome back to our regular morning look at private companies, public markets and the gray space in between.

If you are in a hurry, the gist of our point is that the recovery in value of SaaS stocks probably made a number of 2019 IPOs possible.

Last yearWe’re depending on Bessemer’s cloud index today, renamed the “BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index” when it was rebuilt in October.

The Cloud Index is a collection of SaaS and cloud companies that are trackable as a unit, helping provide good data on the value of modern software and tooling concerns.

*Ultimately, startups want public companies that look like them (comps) to have sky-high revenue multiples (price/sales multiples, basically). | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1577230450.2787614/Public-investors-loved-SaaS-stocks-in-2019,-and-startups-should-be-thankful-–-TechCrunch?ref=audio_experience

When working as a hairdresser, you need to protect yourself and your business premises.

Insurance company Hiscox can assist with all your hairdressing business needs.

However, this is especially the case for a business whose profits can fluctuate as much as those of a hairdressing business can.

In this way, you will soon develop a loyal clientele, and that is the key to building a flourishing hairdressing business.

Moreover, follow the financial tips we offer here and your business will continue to support you in the years to come. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1577228406.2546635/Financial-Tips-Every-Hairdresser-Needs-–-Running-Your-Business?ref=audio_experience

Here are some tips on how small businesses can make the most of the Instagram platform:1.

Identify your Instagram ad campaign objectiveBefore spending money on an Instagram campaign, you should first define your goals.

Know and understand the different types of Instagram ads and choose the most effective ones for your brandInstagram currently offers six types of ads: stories, photo, video, carousel, collection, and ads in Explore.

Each of these types of ads offers advantages for marketing but the most effective ones are image ads, carousel ads, video ads, and Instagram stories.

Measure your ads’ performance and calibrateYou can view and analyze the performance of your Instagram ads in Facebook Ads Manager. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1577226742.5624974/Instagram-Ads-Best-Practices-for-Small-Businesses?ref=audio_experience

Never miss a great news story!

Get instant notifications from Economic TimesAllowNot nowYou can switch off notifications anytime using browser settings. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1577224938.1435874/Uber-co-founder-Travis-Kalanick-leaves-board-of-directors?ref=audio_experience

Taking the same ideology forward, Mr. Sujit Paul with his cofounder Rosie Paul founded the startup Woofwoofnow- a global pet consulting platform, in 2018.

Access to experienced doctors and world-class Online Consultation (E-Consultation – initiated through the app)Build pet care hospitals with advanced surgical treatments and the latest medical options.

With an estimated 19 million pets, and 600,000 pets being adopted every year, the pet care industry in India shows massive potential.

Rosie PaulRosie is an avid animal lover since her childhood and has multiple episodes in her life where she has worked in the pet care industry.

India's pet care industry is growing rapidly as the middle class increasingly demands quality pet care and services. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1577223008.451407/An-Innovative-Pet-care-Startup?ref=audio_experience

Pyka is taking on the largely human-powered spray business with an autonomous winged craft and, crucially, regulatory approval.

The craft Pyka has built is more traditional, resembling a traditional one-seater crop dusting plane but lacking the cockpit.

But the autonomous craft provides improved precision (it flies lower) and safety (no human pulling difficult maneuvers every minute or two).

Pyka claims to be the only company in the world with a commercially approved large autonomous electric aircraft.

Small ones like drones have been approved left and right, but the Egret is approaching the size of a traditional “small aircraft,” like a Piper Cub. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1577221207.4161947/Pyka-and-its-autonomous,-electric-crop-spraying-drone-land-$11M-seed-round-–-TechCrunch?ref=audio_experience

A startup founder is a busy individual and might not have enough time to sit down to read a book.

There are a ton of startup podcasts you can listen to that would help you learn how to grow your business and drive more sales.

I have compiled a list of 10 amazing podcasts that every startup founder should listen to.

Masters of Scale is one of the best original startup podcasts that every entrepreneur should be listening to.

These include women founders, women who code, women entrepreneurs and women in tech. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1577219529.028698/10-Startup-Podcasts-That-Will-Help-You-Drive-More-Sales?ref=audio_experience