Kobster Brings Office Supplies Online For Indian Corporates

Kobster Brings Office Supplies Online For Indian Corporates
Budget Friendly iPhone Could be Unveiled September 10
Roam the Planet with a WiFi Hotspot from GlobalGig
Docstoc Acquires BestVendor, Builds Small Biz Resource
IRS Business Data in Pictures

Posted: 26 Aug 2013 04:00 PM PDT

office supplies online

Ecommerce in India is a growing phenomenon. With successful Indian eCommerce companies like Flipkart selling products across categories, other Indian online retailers have also found niche markets to capitalize on, such as Nirogam, an ayurvedic product eTailer.

One such niche eTailer is Kobster, an online "one stop shop" for the office supply needs of Indian corporates. By focusing on a specialty market that has seen, and is guaranteed to see, increasing demand in the upcoming years, Kobster has become one of India's hot eCommerce startups. Customers include Freshdesk, inLogic, ArrayShield and many more. Chennai businesses constitute their first major focus.

With product categories ranging from quintessential office supplies to cleaning supplies, vending machines, furniture and customizable printed products, Kobster has positioned itself as the Staples of India.

Offering flexible payment options such as cash on delivery, net banking and 21 days of credit for corporations, Kobster accommodates all levels of customer needs. They even offer free shipping on certain purchases.

Behind Kobster

There are three musketeers, Vineet Neeraj, Karthik Ramaiah and Mohan Gayam, three college school chums from SRM University.

After knowing each other for over seven years and having worked together on college projects, Vineet, Karthik and Mohan Gayam launched Kobster. Each founder manages a different aspect of the business: Vineet watches over marketing and sales, Karthik manages the technical aspects along with customer support and Mohan strengthens their product catalogue, ensuring the best deals from suppliers.

Before launching in September of 2012, Karthik worked at Cognizant and Mohan at HCL Technologies. Vineet, on the other hand, is no stranger to the startup world. He launched his first startup, Yippie, providing event services, before switching to a product startup, ArrayShield, based out of Chennai.

Runway to Success

Barely nine months old, the company has been selected as one of the 27 companies for "Runway to Success," an event sponsored by Luftansa and ET NOW, a reality TV program that recognizes startups with promising business plans.

With an annual growth rate of 15-20%, the Indian market for office supplies and services is an appealing niche. Vineet says:

A Google India Survey states that 71% of SMEs use the Internet to search for vendors and suppliers. So far India has witnessed the rise of B2C eCommerce. Now, we believe that the next boom will happen in B2B eCommerce and we are excited to be in this space.

In the next five years, the company plans on expanding from Chennai, where they are headquartered, to ten different cities in India. They also plan to strengthen their product categories by extending their offerings to different customer marketplaces such as hospitals and hotels.

The American office supplies behemoths are not present India. There are other startups in the market though, and the category is becoming quite popular among entrepreneurs.

Also, now that foreign retailers are coming to India, the future of foreign eCommerce investment in the Indian marketplace is poised for change.

Meanwhile, Kobster has an opportunity to build upon its early entry, create compelling technology with which to develop customer stickiness. Also, in a business that is inherently low-margin, commercially viable supplier relationships are critical. In India, logistics are still rather messy. Small startups have to handle complex supply chain and delivery issues, without the support of robust logistics companies.

By 2020, I suspect many of these issues will get sorted out and a set of successful eCommerce brands will establish themselves and Kobster is working hard to be one of those.

The post Kobster Brings Office Supplies Online For Indian Corporates appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Budget Friendly iPhone Could be Unveiled September 10

Posted: 26 Aug 2013 01:30 PM PDT

iphone 5c

If you’re looking for a budget friendly smartphone but are more comfortable with one of the leading brands in the industry, a solution could be coming as early as September 10.

That’s the date scheduled for a big announcement by smartphone and tablet industry leader Apple Inc. Certainly Apple has not been known for affordable technology in the past.

After all, currently the Apple iPhone 5 without contract or subsidies retails for more than $600.00 on sites like Amazon.

However, rumors have been swirling for some time about a new low-cost iPhone retailing as low as $99 or as high as $300, the iPhone 5C. Photos were leaked recently on SonnyDickenson.com, an industry website. They show what appear to be the plastic casings of the new phones in white, red, green, blue, and yellow.

Media sources like AllThingsD are speculating Apple will use the September 10 event to announce the iPhone 5C.

Reasons Your Business May Want a Budget iPhone 5C

Budget conscious small business owners and entrepreneurs may choose the new budget iPhone for many reasons:

Despite the price and the plastic casing, this is still an iPhone, of course, and so will likely have some of the same features.
If the phone is truly priced as low as $99, it blows away even Samsung’s budget devices. If in the $300 range, it is still quite competitive.
While less expensive, a new smartphone with a Firefox operating system from Chinese manufacturer ZTE could increase the risk of malware. Experts say this is because the Firefox operating system will make it easier to download apps directly from the Web instead of from more secure sources like the Apple Store.
Apple’s customer service is legendary with replacement programs for defective products and service at your nearest Apple retailer. It’s uncertain if ZTE, which plans to sell the Firefox phone over the Internet, will have the same service in place.
If your company already uses other Apple products like the iMac or MacBook Pro, another tool using the same operating system might be preferable. And the low price may make the option irresistible.

Apple Photo via Shutterstock

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Roam the Planet with a WiFi Hotspot from GlobalGig

Posted: 26 Aug 2013 11:00 AM PDT

Traveling for business today is a bit different than it used to be. In addition to making sure you have all your power supplies for laptop, tablet, cell phone, you need to make sure you can get connected to the Internet. That is not always easy, or affordable, but if you travel a lot (or even a little), this review of the Globalgig mobile Wifi hotspot is for you.

This little mobile WiFi hotspot is a gem.

As most readers know, I test a fair number of devices. So at any one point in time, I probably have four cell phones in my shop. I can tell you that in my travels even I get stuck with no cell phone signal, unable to make a call. But I have used this Globalgig mobile WiFi hotspot to connect my laptop or Nexus 10 tablet and fire off an email or hook into Google Voice and send a text message.

It has worked when all other devices failed. Now, connectivity by cell phone and wireless devices in one place is never the same, but I have been impressed with this handheld gadget.

On a 12-month contract, you can get up to 1 gigabyte of data for $30/month. The device is free when you commit to that plan. If you want the device for only 30 days, for example, if you are heading to Europe for a two week vacation, you can buy the device for $79 and the plan is $60. You can play with their plan calculator to work out what’s best for you.

Without evaluating various wireless carriers, I am pretty sure you can’t touch the rates, in all the different countries, that Globalgig offers. $30/month and it works in 40 countries, for that same price. You can connect up to 5 devices at one time. It is a 3G signal, which is pretty fast.

The company sent me a media loaner and I have appreciated it immensely. Depending on my upcoming travel schedule, I may just sign up for the paid option.

What I Really Like:

Small – As you see in the photo, it fits in my hand. It is small enough not to take up much space, but big enough that I won't lose it.
Battery life – On standby, it lasts for days, but fully on I think I had at least three to four hours of intense downloading and uploading on one charge.
You can get a SIM-only version – Plug it into your iPad or Android tablet. Unfortunately for US users, the SIM is not available here yet, it’s only in the UK.

What I'd Like to See:

I have a model that may be one generation old and it sometimes won't turn off without repeated efforts. Having a lot of hardware pass through my hands, this sort of thing happens so if it was my unit, I would have returned it for a new unit.
Online access to how much data has been used for the month. Since the device doesn't have any sort of display, you don't know. The website says this is coming soon.

Overall, if you travel a lot or need a mobile WiFi hotspot so you are not stuck paying extra fees at hotels, airports or cafes, then this mobile broadband device is for you. I would encourage anyone who wants affordable and secure wireless access at a low cost to try Globalgig.

Yes, it is one more device you have to account for. But I have found it worthwhile and when compared to my other data plan options, the price is right.

The post Roam the Planet with a WiFi Hotspot from GlobalGig appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Docstoc Acquires BestVendor, Builds Small Biz Resource

Posted: 26 Aug 2013 09:00 AM PDT

docstoc

Small business owners are always in need of resources. Maybe you’re looking for a sample operating or nondisclosure agreement you can use as a guide on how to craft your own. Or maybe you are hunting for recommendations on the latest Cloud-based software to improve your company’s efficiency.

Document subscription service Docstoc seeks to be a leading resource for all these needs with announcement today of its acquisition of software recommendation site BestVendor.

Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

"We specifically sought out BestVendor because it's a great platform and community for recommending the best cloud products, and this is a growing need among small businesses. We're actively pursuing additional acquisitions of products and teams helping small businesses," said Jason Nazar, co-founder and CEO of Docstoc.

Docstoc Expands Small Business Resources

Today’s acquisition marks the first for the 16 year old company. But Docstoc continues to build its offerings with new sites. They include:

Launch last year of License123, a database of licenses and permits needed to start businesses, and
Launch in May of ExpertCircle, a place for business experts to share recommendations on best online and offline services and vendors.

More About Docstoc and BestVendor

The acquisition of BestVendor helps extend Docstoc’s existing services. BestVendor provides a platform for professionals to share their recommendations of the best SaaS and other software services for use in business.

Docstoc boasts having more than 20 million documents and resources available for users including expert videos, articles and productivity tools for business. The company says it operates one of the 500 most visited sites in the world according to Quantcast and has 35 million registered users. See more about Docstoc and its services from Small Business Trends.

Image: BestVendor

The post Docstoc Acquires BestVendor, Builds Small Biz Resource appeared first on Small Business Trends.

IRS Business Data in Pictures

Posted: 26 Aug 2013 05:00 AM PDT

Below are six charts I created from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data that show patterns in American business over time.

From 1945 to 2005, the number of American businesses grew faster than the population. From the end of World War II until 1980, average revenues and net income at American corporations declined significantly, but have since remained largely constant. Since 1980, net income as a percentage of revenues at American businesses has increased. From 1990 to 2011, business income has declined as a fraction of total income of individual taxpayers.

Over the Past 60 Years, the Number of American Corporations has Risen Substantially

As Figure 1 indicates, from 1945 to 2005 the number of corporation tax returns per capita rose steadily. But then, the period from 2005 to 2010 marked the first five-year decline in the per capita number of corporations since the end of World War II.