Started as a Facebook page in 2013, NCR-based information aggregator app News In Shorts has crossed 1 lakh down load mark on play store and is subsidized by some distinguished names. This week, the startup has raised over INR 25 Cr. In a brand new investment round led with the aid of Tiger Global, and its present traders.
Betting on sharing the entire news story in just sixty words, News In Shorts publishes approximately 60 articles according to day and is developing aggressively to take it to upto three hundred articles according to day.
We caught up with Azhar Iqubal who is the Co-founder of News in Shorts for a small chit-chat on the fund elevating and the general journey of News in Shorts.
Here’s the excerpts:
Inc42: Tell us approximately the general adventure of News in Shorts, starting from a Facebook web page till raising INR25 Cr?
Azhar: We started with a Facebook page on 1st of April 2013. We got decent traction there. Following this, we were given selected for the 4th batch of TLabs. We first of all released a beta version of the android app in July, and on Sept 4th 2013, we got here up with the very last app. Things started out to transport, and we closed our seed round of investment in July 2014. The funding was led-by using angel buyers and mentors Ankush Nijhawan, Gaurav Bhatnagar, and Manish Dhingra and became participated through Sachin and Binny Bansal together with Times Internet.
Inc42: Co-founders, mentors and a group, a majority of these play a essential role in assisting build a kickass product. How had been your experience so far?
Azhar: We all knew each different for greater than 4 years. So, we percentage a quite strong bonding. And, we are proud to have angel investors like Ankush, Gaurav, Manish, Sachin and Binny. Their expertise of the business world helped us in overcoming all of the demanding situations we faced.
Inc42: Getting right investors on board is surely a difficult undertaking, can you percentage how you purchased Tiger Global on board? How tough is it to elevate budget for content corporations in India?
Also Read:- HOW TO INCREASE YOUR ORGANIC TRAFFIC AND SEO RANK WITH GUEST BLOGGING
Azhar: We agree with the issue lies in constructing the product, not in elevating price range. There are right people to aid in case you are approaching the trouble the right way.
Inc42: What are the important thing learnings for you at the same time as raising the current funding round?
Azhar: Be actual and open to proportion all the information. There isn't any that means of hiding any facts in case you need to construct a long time relationship with the investors.
Inc42: News In Shorts was also a part of TLabs 4th batch, inform us approximately how changed into the general adventure at the same time as building your product in a accelerator?
Azhar: TLabs has played a key position in journey. We would love to thank Abhishek, Abhimanyu and Arpit for the assist for the duration of the preliminary days.
Inc42: With number of gamers current inside the information curation, how do you foresee competition?
Azhar: Ease of use is the key differentiator between we and our competitors.
Inc42: Please proportion a few latest stats of News In Shorts, app downloads, visitors and so forth.
Azhar: We crossed 100K down load mark on play shop in Dec 2014. With a rating of four.6, we're probable the best rated news app across play save.
Inc42: What all new are we able to expect on News In Shorts in the near destiny?
Azhar: Probably video and audio shape of content.
Inc42: What can be the exceptional viable exit for News In Shorts?
Azhar: We are presently focussed on constructing a extraordinary enterprise and solving the troubles of users. That is of maximum significance right now.
[Azhar Iqubal is the Co-founder of News in Shorts. Prior to that he worked as a summer trainee in S&P Capital IQ where he was involved in Auto Extraction Project. An IIT dropout, who wanted to do something which would change the way audience, read news in daily life. After realizing the fact that the youth today are spending more time on internet and not knowing the daily events, thus began the journey of providing news in just 60 words.]
