Celebrating Entrepreneurial Journey

Abstract 

This is a case study on a startup which is based on a website. This startup has started a website on startups. The success story is based on success stories of other startups. The author presents this case for discussions.

Keywords : startup, business, innovation, success story

Mr. Gaurav Kumawat and his friends Shyam Naga and Ajay Kumawat launched a startup titled “Vie Stories”. This startup covers stories on startups. This startup was launched on 13 October 2020. In a short period of time, this startup has made amazing contribution in brining positivity among youth. While most people were negative and frustrated due to lockdown, Mr. Kumawat was planning about how to infuse positivity. He planned and introduced this startup.

Introduction to the menu of the website 

The startup is built on the concept of Website. The website is viestories.com. Vie means success. Thus this website covers success stories. Some of the features of this website are : -

1. Stories on startups
2. Videos on startups from emerging sectors like healthcare, edtech, rural entrepreneurship etc. 
3. Articles
4. Funding alert
5. News coverage
6. Ideas for entrepreneurship

Mr. Kumawat and his team decided to focus on the most resing sector of startups. His coverage is very impact making. He has covered a large number of impact making success-stories. Some of these stories are as below: -

Agrifeeder - a startup focussing on agriculture

Tinkerlee - a startup focussing on online education

Thenga - a startup on sustainability - this is a success story of how a startup can contribute towards environment

Collective Efforts - this startup is on social service

Big Ladder - this startup is for preparation for interviews and competitive examinations

Being Chef - this startup is focussing on hospitality sector

Yufta - startup in ethnic wear domain

Expoodle - startup in travel sector

There are many success stories, as you scross, you find new and more engaging stories. These stories engage the readers.

Features of success stories -

The success stories are presented in an interesting and presentable media. Photographs, videos and texts are mingled in attractive presentations with following features: -

Strengths of the startup: 

1. In a very short period of time, it has covered a large number of success stories. This startup is able to create a unique position for itself. Some other popular websites like

Yourstory or other similar websites took a long time to gain popularity. However, this website has gained very high popularity in a very short time

1. Dedicated and motivated team - this startup has a very small team, but this team is very motivated and dedicated. This team puts in the best efforts.
2. This website has a very impact making and colorful presentation, it is engaging for the youth and it will remain a very popular website for the youth. It is being managed by youth and it has content writers, who represent youth. This website seems to be one of the best options for the youth.
3. Agility - although many websites are operating to promote entrepreneurship, but they don’t have the agility and speed that this website is able to display. While other government websites are not updated in months, this website is updated everyday to keep the reader engaged.

Opportunities for this startup 

1. The startups are growing and this will create large number of opportunities. With the growth of startups, there will be plenty of success stories. This website will become very popular website among the youth. This website will become an important source of information. Popularity of this website will enable it to gain advertisements and other sources of revenues
2. This website is in the priority sector of the government. This is also in line with the SDGs and will help the world in improving the quality of life. There are possibilities of government support for this initiative.
3. This website has plenty of resources for startups and students. This website can become an important study tool. This website will become the most important source of information for the students who want to learn entrepreneurship.

The website also covers very impact making articles for youth. The website is engaging and once a person comes to this website, it will be difficult to leave this website. Photographs, videos and texts are presented in a very captivating manner.

Future Directions and Scope for Expansion 

The website is very well connected with other social media platforms and is very quick to search. The content of the website appears in top search in google search. Thus this website can become a popular website for the youth and a large number of online products can be offered like the following: -

1. Online support for startup
2. Consultancy for startup
3. Online funding support
4. Online training on startup
5. Online incubation and acceleration for startups

There can be multiple options for this startups to expand. This startup is poised to create a great success story for itself.

Conclusion 

This could be the best option during Covid times to spread positivity and engage the youth. This startup has filled the gap of lack of India specific online platform. This website has already become a popular platform for the youth and it is attracting a large number of visitors everyday.

Questions for discussions: 

1. As a student of entrepreneurship, please identify sustainable sources of revenue for this website. How can this startup ensure sustainable revenues?
2. As a student of entrepreneurship, find out other resources that should be added to this website and also find out those features of the website which need modification / change / upgradation to serve the purpose of meeting the expectations of visitors..
3. Compare this website with entrepreneurindia.com and Yourstory.com and identify the areas of differentiation in both the websites.
4. Suggest possible additional features for the future.
5. Should this startup launch print magazine / pdf magazine also? Should they also start startup incubation centre? 

Teaching note

This case study can be used for teaching entrepreneurship. The students may be asked to study this website and find out the best success story that has inspired them. The students may be encouraged to explore options for expansion and scale-up of this startup.