TOP STARTUPS OF 2016 HITTING PAY DIRT!

The year 2016 was not an easy year for startups as investors looked at profitability and raising new funds was a difficult proposition for entrepreneurs. The hardships notwithstanding, many startups showed the way and have consolidated their positions in their niche sectors by expanding business horizons and adding in new subscriber base. We look at some of the top successful startups of 2016 in India.

Paytm

Founded in 2010, Paytm was arguably the most successful startup of India in 2016, especially post demonetization. Apart from receiving USD 575 million investment from Alibaba Group of China, Paytm launched its movie ticket booking service by partnering with Cinépolis in 2016. The company also got approval to operate as an operating unit for Bharat Bill Payment System.

Ibibo

Ibibo is the top funded startup of 2016 with its parent entity Naspers pumping in USD 250 million in investment in 2016. From flights, bus, trains, to cabs, Ibibo is changing the way a user books travel tickets with a one-stop destination for all bookings.

Faircent

As a popular peer-to-peer lending platform, Faircent raised USD 1.5 million funding from Brand Capital in 2016. The funding was made available as part of the ad-for-equity investment. The startup plans to cover 200 cities in India and a target loan volume of over Rs 2,000 crore in the next 4 years.

Voonik

Founded in 2013, Voonik raised USD 3 million from Innoven Capital in August 2016. This was in addition to a series-B funding in June 2016. Having acquired TriaKart, a mobile application offering virtual dressing room experience, Voonik is establishing itself as a premium fashion marketplace in the country.

1 MG

Founded as Healthkart Plus and rebranded as 1MG in 2015, this startup is seeking investments from some of the big international names in the startup finding world. Offering cheaper medicine options to personalized medication and health tips, 1MG has carved its name in the big number health care industry.

EduKart

Helping students from choosing the right course to final enrolment, EduKart has emerged as a valuable platform for young Indians. Backed by promoters like cricketer Yuvraj Singh's YouWeCan Ventures and Vijay Shekhar Sharma from Paytm, EduKart is today the top companies in the USD 60 billion education industry in India.

Byju's

Byju's has been a consistent performer in the ed-tech market space. While other startups are looking at numbers closely to ensure profitability, Byju's is already on the path to breaking even by March 2017 with its revenues likely to cross Rs 300 crore. Byju had earlier doubled its revenues to Rs 110 crore in FY16.

Chaayos

For a startup formed in 2015, Chaayos today has over 200 cafes across Delhi and Mumbai. Offering 25 varieties of tea, customizable in 12,000 ways, Chaayos is changing the way tea was served in Indian cafes. With the company already managing to raise USD 5 million from Tiger Global, Chaayos has been one of the success stories of 2016.

Inshorts

Offering curate news stories of the day in 60 words across various categories, Inshorts today is one of the most successful companies of 2016. With half a billion page views every month, Inshorts is India’s highest-rated news app, with more than 5 million downloads on Android and iOS.

With many new startups on the horizon and consolidation phase in swing for the existing ones, the future of the Indian startup ecosystem appears positive. Peering ahead, startup success stories are only going to gain momentum going forward.