Top 10 Most Reputed Startups In Kolkata 2022
Startups: It’s not just the cuisine and the rich culture that make Kolkata, West Bengal’s capital, so special—In eastern and northeastern parts of India, it is the financial. Kolkata is an entrepreneurial hub bustling most of us don’t realize how many startups there are. The ‘City of Joy has been the birthplace of many successful ventures. We at ingeniousness believe that we must tell the stories of some of the best startups in Kolkata in a way that gives them their due.
Today’s fast-paced society is full of ideas, so many people seek entrepreneurial endeavors. By becoming your boss, you will become independent and will be able to do extensive market research. A startup launch requires much planning and courage to begin with. Additionally, it requires a lot of courage to take the risk. Small businesses have the potential to grow into giant enterprises. It’s important to remember that big companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and Google started as startups. A similar trend is seen in the startup ecosystem with Twitter, Uber, and Facebook.
No other northeast and East India city as a financial and commercial hub. It hosts the Stock Exchange of Calcutta. In the startups, the journey begins in the city that is known for its joy. From the long startups in Kolkata, a few great startups are coming out of Kolkata’s heart.
Startups in Kolkata are unique.
The location has been home to dozens of successful startups.
Their value has already reached billions of dollars for some of them.
You can learn more about fast-growing startup companies from Kolkata, if you’re interested in starting your own business.
In addition to the Howrah Bridge and the only tram network operating in India, Kolkata is known primarily for two things – the Hooghly River and the way it is spread along its eastern bank. As a result, Bangalore is the third most populous city in India. Unfortunately, the ‘City of Joy,’ known as Kolkata, does not rank on the top startup hubs. A burgeoning startup ecosystem abounds, with entrepreneurs with passion, mentorship programs, and a supportive government.
Kolkata, according to Angellist, has over 250+ startups, and the startup ecosystem has taken off as the government is providing support and initiatives. We are covering the startup ecosystem in Kolkata as part of our ongoing series on Indian Startup Hubs.
Among the notable startups, we will cover other groups producing the startup ecosystem in the city. Once known for its delicious food, monuments & tourist attractions, Kolkata is less and less the cultural & commercial middle of Eastern India. We should take notice of the city’s choice by looking at the city’s vibrant startup culture. Increasingly, it is a startup hub. More than just delicacies and heritage, the city offers so much more. In addition to being the main port for the North-East Indian states, it is proving to be an important business, commercial, and financial hub for eastern India.
Kolkata is well known for its traditional culture and sweets and is a trendy city in India. Several startups have been initiated in Kolkata in recent years, and they succeeded in attracting customers. As a result, the city has emerged as an essential startup house. There is no doubt that this article will tell you about the best startups in Kolkata. But before you get started, you need to understand what a startup is and how to make it a success.
What does startup mean?
An organization that is starting up has the goal of innovating, and ensuring customers’ satisfaction is its primary goal. Profit is not the company’s goal but to fulfill the client’s needs. Even though the business model isn’t perfect, it can duplicate it until the startup reaches its goal. Since it does not have enough funding, the startup must go to friends, family, or venture capitalists.
Startups are the first stage in establishing a company and are in their initial phase of production or establishment. If they gain popularity and success and provide funding for other companies, they will no longer be startups. It is the primary objective to disrupt the market and beat its competitors to enter a competitive field. One or more entrepreneurs can find a startup. An entrepreneur can end the startup when its goal is accomplished. Its purpose is not to run long in the market but to succeed in achieving it.
How is a startup different from a business?
It is a common misconception that startups and businesses are the same things, but they are two different things. Startups have other motives than established businesses. However, there is a fundamental difference between a business and a startup. According to tradition, the business produces products and services, while the startup produces products or services based on customer demand. Businesses follow the same traditional methods as those employed by other businessmen, while startups are focused on innovating and implementing new ideas. A few factors can help clarify whether a startup is a business.
- Business, on either hand, requires time to establish itself in the market and achieve success.
- Expiry – companies like to make their company successful, but at the end of the day, they can sell their company to anyone or pass it on to their family to continue. On the other hand, a person who started a business does not have to pass it on to a family member or sell it to anyone.
- Risk element — a startup has a higher amount of risk because its goods and services are fresh, and there is a greater probability of failure. On the other side, there is risk in the company, but it is less risky than a startup because it follows the established business model.
- Funding – A startup can raise money from family members, angel investors, and friends. They must delegate some powers to the fundraisers. On the other hand, business people from variety of sources, including loans, and so on.
- Business model – a startup does not have a stable business model; instead, it relies on a repeatable firm model. A business depends on a sound business strategy and adheres to strict standards to succeed.
What is a Startup Company?
Startups (or startup-ups) are companies in their infancy stages. They develop a product, service, or platform that caters to a market need. As startup companies launch, their founding members are typically funding them. Sixty-six percent of startups are funded by investors.
In a technical sense, that’s true. However, the founders of startup companies know that it’s so much more complicated than that. Startups are businesses in the early stages of development concerning their business operations. They are just getting off the ground with people creating a product or service.
In other words, a startup company needs a lot of money. So it is either bootstrapped, or it is funded through investment. These companies often look for venture capitalists, crowdfunding, or crowdfunding-related opportunities.
In exchange for their investment, these angel investors may receive shares of the company they invest in. Venture backers invest in the startup operation’s initial investment.
Growth is the focus of a startup.
Small businesses may be happy with staying small for as long as possible, but startups aim to grow. Small companies may be satisfied remaining small, but startups aim to develop.
Entrepreneur Ian Wright, the founder of Merchant Machine, defines a startup as any company that grows and scales rapidly and usually uses technology. The founders of startups will all be small businesses by their very nature, but not all small businesses are startups. A significant difference between a startup and a small business is that a startup is seeking to be a startup no longer one day. In contrast, many small company owners are happy to let their companies remain small.
Startups solve problems.
It can be helpful to think of how you would explain a big concept to a child when determining how to define it. For example, in an explanation to his 8-year-old son, founder of TRVL.com and an acquired startup by Apple in 2014, Jochem Wijnands explains what startups are as follows:
Using ingenuity, a successful startup often tries to solve a problem and make the world a better place. It is a modern-day inventor.”
Startups versus Established Businesses: What’s the difference?
Now we’ll go over some of the critical contrasts between a startup and a well-established business.
Until the End of Time
This is especially true for a company looking to take advantage of possibilities to expand. It is a common misunderstanding to refer to a tiny firm as a startup because a business owner wants to stay small while a startup wants to grow.
On the other hand, startups strive to promote that they exceed their current size. They want to break into the market and become a unicorn.
Maintaining an Inquisitive Mindset
Just like the famous remark from J. K. Rowling’s final volume in the Harry Potter series. You’ll never know whether you have to ask. You only need to see if you already know.
A scaleup company is mainly about pushing the envelope and assuring that everything is tested.
This opens up opportunities for the company to break the mold and rise beyond its conditions. The norm, especially in technology and IT firms, is to stay updated. But the actual question is, “How can established products and services be presented as innovative?”
A wise entrepreneur asks the right questions and then looks for a way to figure out how to solve the problem with their current resources.
Market Analysis continuously
A startup incubator must explore methods to fit into a market or niche continually. That implies you should always look for new products, services, needs, and areas. As a result, the mission is to find the ideal possibilities. Then you have to figure out how to keep the slots secure.
Starting from the Ground Up
A startup is an idea that, in theory, should develop exponentially. First, you start with nothing and try to discover a reliable investment, then the stock market, and so on.
It’s similar to the tech world’s agile approach to doing business. You construct from hardly anything usable as you go. You need to find out what your next baby step is and then decide where your next step will take you.
Higher Education
Many people who enjoy the thought of adventure as an alternative to a mundane daily routine of simplified routines find it intriguing. As a result, the element of ambiguity remains a strong contender. In addition, however, it aids in catapulting the training time to a higher wavelength.
Startups are studying how to manage their processes. What exactly should you be making? What is the specific route that must take?
People who work in IT are already eager to gain new skills. The only concept with no input is to benefit from the available resources. As a result, it provides a learning environment for a technological startup.
Many hats on one head
If you’ve ever had the opportunity to work for a startup, you’re already aware of this. The bulk of resources (who make up a small percentage of the organization) must do multiple tasks.
This entails changing your “hat” from time to time as you fulfill various duties throughout the day. But, most importantly, having a go-getter mindset encourages you to work with limited resources tools and even wing it on occasion.
Adapting to a Lack of Planning
Working in this manner necessitates a lack of planning. As a result, in some rare cases, this may cause a hindrance in the way in which you’d desire to be.
Keep in mind that you are not yet successful. You are no anymore a startup once you reach that point. Instead, you’ve now evolved into a thriving company that has made it off the woods.
At its best, innovation
A startup incubator is a hotbed of innovation where you’re always looking for new methods to profit and exploit opportunities. The majority of the job done by the personnel is outstanding. Because you had little to deal with, you tried to go for it.
It keeps people interested in the field of work. This is why many folks who work in established companies flock to startups. However, they never had the opportunity to start from the ground up and watch anything flourish.
As a result, you’ll notice a lot of cool, laid-back people working away without worrying about seating arrangements. The excitement is palpable, as everyone is fired up to make things work. As a result, everyone wants to take a giant leap forward to propel the startup to another level of success and growth.
- Taxmantra
The tax compliance provided by Taxmantra has undoubtedly been a helping hand for numerous fundraising endeavors, including legal services, foreign tax compliance, and foreign legal compliance. He is a Chartered Accountant with several years of accounting experience and serves as the company’s chief executive officer and chairman. In addition to being a graduate of St. Xavier’s College in Calcutta, he makes available all the concerns that are national and international concerning legal and tax affairs.
The company is the largest in the country and is headquartered in India, but it also has operations in Singapore and the US. West Bengal and India, in general, have pretty high rankings for the company. Because of this, it is one of the best startups in Kolkata. It has also assisted numerous NRIs, referred to as Non-Resident Indians, by providing support and guidance and aid in tax and legal matters.
| Legal Name | Taxmantra Global |
| Industries | Consultancy firm |
| Founder(s) | Alok Patnia |
| Founded Date | 2010 |
| Total Funding Amount | $129.5B |
| Investors | 1,994 Number of Investors |
- Mihup Communications
Alexa and Google Echo have been famous for home voice assistants, but AI-based voice assistance for vehicles is the next best thing. However, while in-car voice assistance has been available for a while now, it still has some limitations: In India, especially in a multilingual country like the US, the dominance of the English language limits the reach of technology.
According to a survey, the difficulty of understanding existing western origin voice assistants in cars is 30 percent more difficult for non-Americans than for Americans.
Can use several languages to interact with the car system in AVA Auto, a software developed by the startup for automobiles. Mihup, based in Kolkata, has developed an AI-powered vernacular speech interface for vehicles that aims to circumvent this language limitation.
An innovative feature of the system is that it supports a variety of Indian dialects, such as Hinglish. The company plans to implement AVA support for Tamilish and Bengali soon, with all major Indian languages covered by 2022.
Two Tata Motors cars with infotainment systems have been integrated with the product’s offline version (Voice AI on edge). Around 50,000 Tata vehicles and other commercial vehicles have already been fitted with the sensor, and the company plans to expand to two-wheelers soon. It is growing by 20 percent month-over-month, and the startup aims to penetrate the automobile sector in the country with its vernacular voice technology.
| Legal Name | MIHUP COMMUNICATION |
| Industries | Create customized voice interfaces |
| Founder(s) | Biplab Chakraborty |
| Founded Date | 2016 |
| Total Funding Amount | $8.2 m |
| Investors | Accel Partners, Ideaspring Capital, Jayant Kadambi, Rajesh Jain |
- FusionCharts
Idera Inc, a US-based company that provides business software to small, medium, and large enterprises, acquired FusionCharts for an undisclosed sum. Idera, headquartered in Houston, acquired Webyog, a database management tool company based in Bengaluru, earlier in 2018.
Idera Inc’s developer tools business unit will now include FusionCharts, which will join Embarcadero, Lansa, Sencha, Whole Tomato, and Froala as part of Idera’s developer tools group. Software products of today rely heavily on data visualization. Kegan Blumenthal, FusionCharts’ developer, explained, “it takes little effort and learning to create interactive visualizations from data.”
“FusionCharts simplifies coding while helping to understand and communicate data more effectively among businesses. FusionCharts founder Pallav Nadhani shared his excitement about expanding and scaling Idera’s JavaScript offerings.”
With FusionCharts, developers can create visually appealing, user-friendly dashboards for web and mobile projects. The company says it provides more than 100 interactive charts and 2,000 data-driven maps through products like FusionCharts Suite XT, FusionTime, and FusionExport charting libraries.
According to the company, the products have been used by over 800,000 developers from over 28,000 companies, including Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Oracle, Google, Adobe, Intel, IBM, and Walmart.
| Legal Name | FusionCharts |
| Industries | Software provider |
| Founder(s) | Pallav Nadhani |
| Founded Date | 2003 |
| Total Funding Amount | NA |
| Investors | NA |
- IKureTechsoft
The company iKure was founded in October 2010, and it is a unique enterprise that focuses on a social platform to help the rural parts of India. India is a large country, and many rural areas are underserved.
IKure is a non-profit organization that provides medical, health, and healthcare services to residents at an affordable price.
It primarily strives to improve the healthcare quality provided to disadvantaged areas, notably children and women. As a result, it is mentioned as one of the notable startup enterprises in Kolkata.
According to the most recent statistics, iKure has aided about 31 lakh people while offering them adequate health care services.
| Legal Name | IKureTechsoft |
| Industries | Social enterprise |
| Founder(s) | Sujay Santra |
| Founded Date | 2009 |
| Total Funding Amount | $115K |
| Investors | 9 Investers |
- Indus Net Technologies
For its contribution, One of the winners of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 India of 2017, an eminent name in the global technology industry, is India Net Technologies. In 2011, Indo Net Technologies was recognized by the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 India program in the worldwide technology industry.
They have been providing technology solutions for two decades but are now moving from a technology provider to a strategy provider. The company’s insurance, banking, professional services, and retail industries are expanding.
With offices in India, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and the Netherlands, the company provides:
- Analytics.
- Enterprise software development (cloud applications).
- Digital marketing solutions for mid-sized and large businesses around the globe.
Indus Net Technologies helps businesses grow faster, save money, and serve better with a synergetic application of digital technology and marketing.
INT’s core industries are financial services, insurance, banking, publishing, retail, entertainment, professional services, government, and professional services. Organizations in the CMMi Level 3 program are certified under ISO 9001 and ISO 27001. The company is known for its agility, flexibility, innovation, and technical excellence, as well as for its partnership approach.
| Legal Name | Indus Net Technologies |
| Industries | full-stack digital service company |
| Founder(s) | Abhishek Rungta |
| Founded Date | 17 Sep 1997 |
| Total Funding Amount | $225M |
| Investors | NA |
- Wow Momo
A startup based in Kolkata started in 2008 by Sagar Daryani, Binod Kumar Homagai & Shah Miftaur Rahman is known as Wow Momo. WOW, Momo began in Kolkata with a single stall outside a mall and one cook.
WOW, MOMO focused on profitability from day one, resulting in very little funding needed for expansion and ongoing cash flow.
With 200 restaurants across 13 cities in India, they have a presence in 13 cities. Wow! Momo ranks 2,558 worldwide, according to Crunchbase. Following the Series B round in 2019, the startup has raised $30 million for its business.
| Legal Name | Wow Momo |
|---|---|
| Industries | Food restaurants |
| Founder(s) | Sagar Jagdish Daryani and Binod Kumar Homagai |
| Founded Date | August 2008 |
| Total Funding Amount | $55M |
| Investors | 7 investors |
- Truckhall
It was founded in November 2015 by Anup Agarwal, Manisha Sharaf, Ankit Dudhwewala, and Varun Biyani as a logistics-based startup. Set up the company to provide road transportation in a new way. People involved in road transportation face many difficulties in their daily lives. Many people, like truckers, agents, investors, etc., don’t have an easy life and cannot spend time with families because of their busy schedules.
Additionally, the road transportation industry is compromised by corruption, which is why the objective of Trukhall is to eradicate all problems and troubles faced by those involved in road transportation.
| Legal Name | Trukhall |
| Industries | Road Transportation & Logistics industry |
| Founder(s) | Anup Agarwal, Manisha Sharaf, Ankit Dudhwewala, and Varun Biyani |
| Founded Date | 2015 |
| Total Funding Amount | $117B |
| Investors | 2,722 Number of Investors |
- Sweethandi
Every city is known for something, and Kolkata is well-known for its lovely meals and delicacies. People rave about the Rosogulla and Sandesh cooked in the town, in particular. Sweethandi adds a pleasing hue to a variety of cuisines available in the state of Kolkata.
Customers can shop online thanks to the ever-growing e-commerce, and manufacturers can receive and prepare orders on time thanks to the ever-growing e-commerce. It not only gives customers a lot of alternatives, but it also gives them a lot of additional possibilities. For example, the online portal facilitates the distribution of Bengali sweets across the country, including Kashmir or Kanyakumari.
This means that can distribute all of the goodies one was waiting for from top to bottom. In addition, there is the option to tailor the purchase according to the customer’s preferences, allowing customers to customize orders based on their geographic location and location. It has forged relationships with the majority of the country’s sweet distributors, ensuring that deliveries are made on time, every time.
| Legal Name | Sweethandi |
| Industries | Food and Beverage Companies |
| Founder(s) | Abhirup Banerjee |
| Founded Date | 2015 |
| Total Funding Amount | $140.1B |
| Investors | NA |
- Lexulous
Lexulous is a free online word game modeled after Scrabble’s famous board game. In September 2008, the company underwent a rebranding. The firm says to have over 6 million gamers worldwide. The game’s goal is to use letter tiles from the user’s game rack to make words on a 1515 grid. It is available on all leading platforms, including Android, iOS, Web, and Facebook.
The Agarwalla brothers (Rajat and Jayant) from Kolkata created Lexulous, a worldwide hit when their game became popular. So it was a homecoming of sorts for the business couple when they decided to debut their game on renowned gaming site ibibo.com after experiencing success on a global scale.
This game platform was launched by ibibo as a part of its Open APIs platform. As a result, all Lexulous players will compete against their friends and play for free.
More than 10,000 people played the game on the first day on ibibo.com. Lexulous is a live multiplayer crossword game for 2-4 players that is one of the greatest in the world.
“We are pleased about the introduction of Lexulous on the ibibo OPEN platform,” said Rahul Razdan, president of ibibo.com, in a statement. This is an excellent example of an Indian company’s gaming IP launched on India’s largest online gaming platform. Online gamers in India will love Lexulous. We’re confident.”
| Legal Name | Lexulous |
| Industries | Online word game |
| Founder(s) | Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla |
| Founded Date | 5 July 2006 |
| Total Funding Amount | $35,500,000 |
| Investors | NA |
- Meraqi Digital
As soon as social media networks established roots in the United States, our company was founded. Meraqi Digital will offer a platform that combines digital marketing, branding, communication, and customer service in a brief timeframe.
Clients such as the IRIS Hospital, The Corner Courtyard, and PC Chandra Jewelers have obtained a big shot in the market. An excellent choice among the various startups in Kolkata that offer IT services. The organization helps people make a powerful presentation or design a logo by offering constructive solutions for their needs, creating a large chain of clients, and making huge profits may be the best way for the clients to like it.
| Legal Name | Meraqi Digital |
| Industries | Liability Partnership firm |
| Founder(s) | Ankit Saraf |
| Founded Date | 2016 |
| Total Funding Amount | $65,600.00 |
| Investers | Paulami Dutta AGM Marketing |
These are the top 10 and best startups from kolkata city!!
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
