HaritWorld August 23, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Business , add a commentHaritWorld is India’s answer to the ongoing ‘think green’ trend in the west. You can think of it as an outdoor activity camp, with aim to introduce attendees to ecology and nature. They current operate ‘CampHarit’ and ‘Ranger’s Club’ near Mumbai and offer wildlife tours to national parks and preserves.
There are activities for adults too- ‘HaritAcademy’ membership offers outdoor learning camps for yoga, stress management, team building etc. They also showcase tribal art and organize special events on a nature theme.
I like their site- it’s simple and informative. Its refreshing to see an organization built around activities that provide an escape from daily hustle of metro life and promote nature awareness.
MovieTell.co.in August 12, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Movie Rental , add a commentMovieTell is the Indian answer to Fandango (sort of). Although I can’t understand the reason they chose that name, I think their business model is clear- they sell tickets for Indian movie theaters online and make money on the commission.
I guess we needed something like this for the overcrowded Indian theaters. I hate standing in line for the tickets. With MovieTell you can buy the tickets and simply goto the theater (no need for paper ticket delivery) with the credit card used online as a proof. The catch is that they don’t have enough coverage yet.. the service is currently available in only 16 theaters in handful of metro cities. From what I can gather off the lean ‘help’ page, their refund policy looks a bit strict too, so look before you indulge.
In case you are wondering, there is a convenience fee (amount not disclosed online for some strange reason). The page title and logo refers to another domain BigTree.in (?)- I guess they are synonymous. The layout is minimalistic and simple; I like it just for the fact that they are savvy enough to write a “beta” under their name. It’d be better if they explained somewhere what the heck the website does, in case people stumble onto it.
NumTV August 12, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Media Streaming , add a commentAnother day, another media streaming site focusing on south Indian content. NumTV was pointed out by one of our readers, and I decided to check it out.
I should give credit where it’s due; the look-and-feel is decent, and they have thoughtful inclusions like the “Easy Guide”, “Get Started Here” sections. Service model is the usual- you signup for an account to watch promos and clips for free, and pay if you want to own/see full content. The content line up is mostly south Indian fare with some Hindi channels (like Zee and Aaj tak), although that doesn’t stop them from claiming to be “one of the world’s largest web casting portals” (sigh!).
I’m not sure how well the service works or how good the video quality is- I’ll leave it up to our readers to comment on that. But NumTV does claim to have an 800 number for customer support, which may be a step up from other sites like Streambox.TV.
There are some other interesting offerings- south Indian ebooks for download (buy), Live Wedding (they can broadcast your wedding around the world- smart idea, there may be a business here
). It’s also worth noting a bunch of ‘adult’ movies available in the menu, not far from the ‘Jesus Calls’ option. The overwhelming number of sarcastic comments I could pen about that has incapacitated me to write any further…
Picsquare August 12, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Photos & DIY content , 1 comment so farPicsquare is a photo-sharing and printing site that has been around since early 2006. It was started by two ex-IITians and is based out of Bangalore.
The site design and navigation is very professional, and that alone is sufficient to let it stand out in the heap of half-baked Indian web startups. They’ve explained their products & services neatly- I’m surprised by the Rs.3 4X6 print (sounds like great value…haven’t tried them personally, though). It has Flickr like functionality (photo storage, sharing etc) but other offerings are around printing your photo on mugs, t-shirts, cards etc. If you can’t upload via web, there is an option of snail-mailing your photo CD to them.
I always feel that consumer-oriented transactional websites should foremost try to tackle ‘new user anxiety’ on the homepage- which is why I appreciate the “How it works” section, if there is one. A high-level graphic that explains how/what the site can do for the user, in three or four steps, is a must. Picsquare lacks this, but makes it up somewhat by a “FAQ” link at the bottom that takes you to a page that answers relevant questions.
Note: iTasveer is another photo sharing and printing startup by ex-IITians.
SaharaCareHouse August 3, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Business , 1 comment so farI was never much of a visionary. Maybe that’s why the concept of online NRI Concierge Services never seemed to have a business potential in my mind. Obviously, I was wrong.
Sahara Care House is a venture of Sahara India Pariwar, the $10 billion Indian conglomerate. It provides over 60 support and concierge services in India for non-resident Indians. They aim to be a single-point facilitator for services in four categories: Healthcare (like medicine delivery, ambulance), Utility (paying bills, finding a lawyer, security guard etc.), Personalized (like travel arrangements, tax filing) and Relationship (Gifts, flowers, etc).
If you are an NRI, think of it as outsourcing some of your responsibilities and life- you can get your family’s electricity bill payment task for $4 a pop, or find them a security guard for $17. (Note charges may be a bit higher if you are not willing to shell out $110 membership + $1000 advance deposit).
Pun aside, this leaves me a bit more convinced about the viability of the ‘concierge’ business concept. Most NRI’s have the cash and the guilt (of not being there for families back home) to avail of these services. YourManInIndia is another such service by the ttk group. But it remains to be seen how these paid relationship ambassadors can handle both sides of this equation- NRI’s are bound to be over demanding and execution of such tasks is never easy in India.
Meanwhile, I’m tickled by the $17 ‘Kundli Matching’ and ‘Janampatri Making’ services. It’s outsourcing at it’s best
.