‘the table’, an early stage fund exclusively for women led businesses, launched by leap.club

‘the table’, an early stage fund exclusively for women led businesses, launched by leap.club

20+ top founders and funds like Enzia Ventures, Titan Capital, Whiteboard Capital join hands

New Delhi, March 1st, 2022 — leap.club, a community-led, professional network for women today announced the launch of ‘the table’(https://bit.ly/3vt0PYt), an early-stage fund, exclusively for women-led businesses. the table will look to participate in the first funding round of female led companies. leap.club has partnered with Angellist and has launched a syndicate and will lead investments as the primary investor. Over the next 12 months leap.club will work with 10-15 early-stage businesses and the cheque size will range from $50,000 to $500,000.

Ghazal Alagh (co-founder & CEO, Mamaearth) who was recently part of Shark Tank India has joined the syndicate along with Ankur Warikoo (Entrepreneur, founder, nearbuy.com), Lizzie Chapman (CEO – Zest Money) Ankita Vashishta (Founder, Saha Fund), Radhika Ghai (Co-Founder, Shopclues), Megha Chawla (Partner at Bain & Company), Nandini Maheshwari (Senior Director, Uber), Ahana Gautam (Founder, Open Secret), Amit Damani (Founder, Vista Rooms), Sandeep Jethwani (co-founder Dezerv). Enzia Ventures, Whiteboard Capital, Titan Capital have joined as venture partners and will fast track evaluation of the shortlisted companies for independent investments. leap.club will invite other prominent angels, founders along with their 4500+ members to invest in these companies as well. The leap.club team will work with the founders to help them for their raise and help and get them investment ready. Leap.club plans to expand its members base to 100,000 in the next 2 years.

 

“Venture funding in 2021 broke all records. But there is one stat that did not move at all-female founders raising just 2{bb3909a386503fdf9e470d0a4249acd65539f3649c44676d7b924eb0832b3c78} of venture capital money. In India, the situation is even worse. We at leap.club are on a mission to bring gender equity in all aspects of business, work and social life. There are 800+ female founders who are our members and through our interactions with them, we have learnt that access to capital and networks is a big blocker. WE realised we are in a position to make a difference and ‘the table’ was born,” say, Ragini Das and Anand Sinha, Cofounders, leap.club.

About leap.club

leap.club was founded in May 2020 and is a fast growing community-led professional network for women. Today they have 4,500+ paying members across cities, age groups, and top companies like Nykaa, Amazon, Sequoia, Google. The startup is backed by funds like Enzia Ventures, Whiteboard Capital, Titan Capital and prominent angels like Kunal Shah, Amrish Rau and Sweta Rau, Deepak Abbot. The company is targeting 100,000 members in the next 2 years. Entrepreneurs form a sizable, 20{bb3909a386503fdf9e470d0a4249acd65539f3649c44676d7b924eb0832b3c78} of the member base at leap.club.

● Revenue – ~$500,000 ARR
● Major Investors: Sequoia Capital Scout Fund, First Cheque, Enzia Ventures, Titan Capital, Whiteboard Capital, Artha India Ventures, Kunal Shah, Amrish Rau
● Funding: $1.3 mil as seed capital

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/leap.club/
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/leapclub/?viewAsMember=true
Twitter – https://twitter.com/leapdotclub
Syndicate – https://angel.co/s/leapclub/lg3MK

Author RuskBond Felicitates Ei ASSET Students and Schools at the Super Thinker 2021-22 Awards

Author RuskBond Felicitates Ei ASSET Students and Schools at the Super Thinker 2021-22 Awards

Bangalore, February 28, 2022: Ei – Educational Initiatives, an edtech solution provider recently concluded an online ceremony to recognize and celebrate the bright young Super Thinkers and the Educators that helped create them.

Quality education is as important as any basic necessities for every child. In order to ensure that children everywhere learn with understanding, it is imperative that we test the conceptual clarity and understanding of students. Once learning gaps are identified, they can be individually addressed and rectified.

Pranav Kothari, the CEO, and Sridhar Rajagopalan, Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer, together with the esteemed author Mr. Ruskin Bond, felicitated the Super Thinkers as well as the Hubs of Super Thinkers. The winners were chosen from among a multitude of students and the participating schools who took the Ei ASSET assessment across Maths, Science, English, Social Science, and Hindi. As part of the ceremony, an interactive session with Mr. Ruskin Bond was held wherein, he spoke about his journey as an author and his own experiences as a young student.

“Our guiding philosophy at Ei is ensuring that children everywhere are learning with understanding. We wanted to show our appreciation to you in sharing and nurturing the same ideals as we help each other create a better future for our students,” said Pranav, as he and Mr Ruskin Bond recognized the national Hubs of Super Thinkers – the elite list of schools that produced the best Super Thinkers in the country. The invitees included the leaders of the winning schools as well as those of the top 50 schools that performed well in Ei ASSET.

While students and their parents are highly motivated and hardworking, they work under a system of rote-learning which may have worked well in the past but would not hold true for the future. Sridhar addressed this during the event and explained how his journey to revamp the education system started with his own analysis of how students were taught, an analysis that began over 20 years ago, and continues to this day. He described how ASSET, a direct result of this analysis, was designed to diagnose and identify problem areas and provide individualised feedback to students and teachers so that they could see the areas where they needed to improve and work effectively towards it.

The event saw hearty participation from both Mr. Ruskin Bond as well as the felicitated prize winners. Excitement was especially high among the younger members of the winners who were thrilled to hear their names being called forth by Mr. Bond as they were congratulated and encouraged to continue scaling new heights in their learning journey.

The event ended with an address by Jayanti Dasgupta, Head of National sales and also an educator herself, congratulating the students and the institutions. “We are sowing the seeds of a new society where scientific temper lays the path ahead for great inventions and discoveries. I am sure, we can realise our dreams of such society while learning and collaborating together to usher new advances and opportunities to our students,” she said as a concluding statement and thanked everyone for attending.

About Ei

Enhancing Learning Outcomes

Ei (Educational Initiatives) is an EdTech company that leverages the twin levers of cutting-edge research and technology-based solutions approach to revolutionise how children engaged in the K-12 education space learn. Our vision is to create a world in which children everywhere learn with understanding. Our goal is to reach a multitude of children across different strata of society, irrespective of the education they are receiving today or the curriculum they are following.

We achieve this goal by building products that focus on diagnostic assessment and personalised learning. Our learning platforms cull relevant and customised intelligence from over five billion data points to deliver content in the form of questions, activities, games and videos to assess a student’s learning level and provide explanations, feedback and learning inputs for all stakeholders. This data treasure has been built over two decades and is one-of-its-kind in the education industry.

We believe in a scientific approach to conceptualising, designing and building our products. This stems from a dream to discover SCIENCE OF LEARNING that can systematically be made available to teachers. Ei’s mission is to build this ‘Science of Learning’ which provides a repository of data and techniques that can be used by teachers to help children learn better – a big improvement over today’s situation where teachers struggle alone to help students learn. Ei’s work on assessment and learning has already helped create banks of misconceptions, common student errors and the like and these are being shared as usable insights.

Here’s why you need health insurance before you turn 30

Here’s why you need health insurance before you turn 30

It is a common consensus among the general population that buying health insurance is for middle-aged people. However, you can always have a solid support system in case of a medical emergency in the form of health insurance as early in your life as possible. Increasing work-related stress and unhealthy eating habits are proving to cause major health-related conditions such as heart disease and diabetes among today’s youth. Cases of heart attacks and other lifestyle related illnesses are on the rise for people under 40 years of age. That is not only shocking but also shows concern. So, it is best not to put off buying a health insurance policy till you are older or middle-aged. With the rise in various lifestyle diseases people realise that putting the option of having healthcare support in the form of long-term health insurance plans on the pedestal is not a good idea. When you buy health insurance before you turn 30, it allows you to be ready for any unforeseen event and afford the best quality care. Buying health insurance early in life also lowers the financial and psychological burden imposed on your family by illnesses and health conditions.

Here are the top reasons why you need health insurance before turning 30:

  • Pay lower premium:

The cost of a health insurance premium depends upon various factors, such as age, medical history, city of residence, etc., of the insured. If you buy a health insurance policy early in your life, you will have to pay less premium amount for your policy. The cost of health insurance premiums increases as you age because of the increase in associated risks. Hence, buying a health plan before you turn 30 will help you save on the premium amount.

  • The less financial burden and more security:

Unforeseen circumstances are a part and parcel of life. One can never predict an accident or diagnosis of critical illness without any clear persistent signs. However, if such an event of medical emergency occurs, the treatment expenses can be significant. Buying a health insurance policy provides you with access to healthcare facilities when you require them, without having to pay out of your pocket. This way you can keep your savings secured and not feel any financial burden.

  • Increasing lifestyle illnesses:

The fast-paced life today has given rise to the occurrence of lifestyle illnesses and disorders such as heart conditions, cancer, lung conditions, diabetes, and stroke, claiming younger lives. Therefore, buying health insurance is no longer just for the elderly but crucial before turning 30. Many health insurance policies offer annual health checks ups and discounts in family plans in order to encourage health awareness. Preventive services undertaken by some health insurance providers can help you in getting counselling, screenings, and vaccines to manage your health.

  • Lower Claim Rejection Rates:

There are high chances of getting diagnosed with specific health conditions in later stages of life and if health insurance policy is bought after being diagnosed, there may be a waiting period of 2-4 years to get these conditions covered. Hence there may be a higher chance of claim rejection if any claims are raised pertaining to these health conditions during the waiting period. In such cases, the entire burden of treatment falls upon you, which may deplete your finances.

The above reasons will help you make an informed decision and buy comprehensive health insurance coverage before you turn 30.

This article is authored by Ravichandran N, the Chief Technical Officer at Kotak General Insurance, and views expressed in this article are the author’s personal views.

Dr Radhika Vijay’s dignitary “Is Pharmacology Difficult” Podcast

Dr Radhika Vijay’s dignitary “Is Pharmacology Difficult” Podcast

Dr. Radhika Vijay, MBBS, MD in Pharmacology ( Bikaner, Rajasthan, India)  has always been an elite student . Alma Mater was Sophia High Secondary School, Bikaner(Raj), while graduation and post-graduation were pursued from S.P. Medical College, Bikaner(Raj) and R.N.T.M.C., Raj respectively.

During Lockdown, the virtual platform was flooded with creative juices, and novel ventures of people while “Stay at Home”.

 

Dr. Radhika took the initiative to launch  “IS PHARMACOLOGY DIFFICULT PODCAST” in April 2020, Meanwhile, she gained thorough insights and knowledge and relaunched the podcast on Dec 12, 2020. Since then there has been no looking back. She highlighted the completion of season 1 of her podcast by converting speech to text i.e. writing a book by weaving all episodes into a single string of literature work. This -” Is Pharmacology Difficult” Book 1 (General Pharmacology).

You can find the podcast on all major platforms like Apple, Google, and Spotify, and the E-Book is widely distributed and you can grab Paperback and Hardcover copies too!

Dr. Radhika wishes to continue this legacy with diligent and hard work in the future also. She believes in the value and power of time, prayers, and purpose-driven consistency as strong foundation elements in one’s life!

https://www.ispharmacologydifficult.com

Nikhil Chekhliya: The Young Indian Tattoo Artist Who Has Received Global Recognition

Nikhil Chekhliya: The Young Indian Tattoo Artist Who Has Received Global Recognition

Nikhil Chekhliya: How A Palghar Based Tattoo Artist Created One Of The Best Tattoo Studios In India

The Young Indian Tattoo Artist Who Has Received Global Recognition

The tattoo industry in India is growing at a rapid pace. According to a recently published report, the industry is generating a revenue of more than 20,000 crores every year. While there are many enterprising tattoo artists in the country today, one young artist who has created a niche for himself with his unique skills with ink and needles is Nikhil Chekhliya.

Nikhil operates from his studio, named Nikhil Tattoo Studio, in Palghar, a small town in Maharashtra closely connected to Mumbai. Nikhil has another studio in Boisar, a suburb in Mumbai, where he works from at times and has a team of tattoo artists trained by him. The geographical location of his studios is of little importance now as clients come to him from different parts of the country to get themselves inked.

Talking about the same, he says, “When I started out with a small studio in Palghar, I had limited funds. Despite my studio not being in a posh area of Mumbai, I was pleasantly surprised to see many of the clients coming to me not just from Mumbai but from Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and several other cities as well. Many of them, who had got a tattoo earlier, stated that my work was better than some of the best tattoo artists in the country. Because of positive word of mouth, I get clients from the biggest of cities and the smallest of towns.”

Nikhil started his journey as a tattoo artist eight years back and has already bagged two National Awards. He embarked upon his professional journey after securing a degree in tattoo making from an institute in Goa. His expertise as a realism master has been recognized and awarded by several tattoo conventions of international repute. What sets Nikhil apart from every other tattoo artist is his distinctive style.

“The tattoo industry is constantly evolving, so I keep learning about new methods, techniques and ideologies. However, the work I do has a certain visual identity that people have come to associate with me. I specialize in black and color realism. Most of my clients expect their tattoo to have a life-like quality to it and I ensure that they get exactly what they wish for. While my sense of aesthetic remains intact, I keep the client’s expectations and sensibilities in mind while designing a tattoo for them. At the end of the day, my execution should match the vision of my clients”, he says.

Nikhil Tattoo Studio offers free consultation sessions to its prospective clients so that they get the right advice before they decide to get a tattoo. The clients also get the option of getting a sketch made before the final imagery is drawn out on their body. Nikhil’s fame as a tattoo artist is not just restricted to India and has spread across the globe.

“A lot of tourists who come to visit Mumbai and other areas of Maharashtra get to hear about my work and visit me. I have dealt with many foreign clients who were not even aware of the fact that our country has such skilled tattoo artists today. While I plan to continue working from India, I am open to the idea of offering my services to clients based in foreign countries. I plan to collaborate with many international artists as well.”

While his two studios keep him busy, Nikhil plans to open a new one in the near future. Being someone who believes that the process of learning never stops, Nikhil shares his knowledge and experiences with many budding tattoo artists and through this process, he believes, he also grows as an artist.

The gift of self-love

The gift of self-love

The only happy endings we’d ever witnessed in books or film involved people who were cis-gendered and straight. The romantic trope between a man and a woman was the only form of love story known to us. There was a clear message: not only were happy endings not for queer people, but they weren’t even important enough to exist. Unfortunately, unhappiness caused by prejudice is something most queer people face every day.

Come February, the month that is celebrated for love, queer folks often tend to feel invisible or unimportant. The feeling is reinforced by the ‘ideal’ relationships represented are heterosexual, monogamous, sexual and romantic, and anyone who doesn’t fit into those ideals feel as though they’re failing somehow. And it is not always easy to navigate this feeling of loneliness, perpetuated by society’s ideas of love, right, ableism and other markers.

As a wave of fresh air, the Keshav Suri Foundation came to effect with the sole purpose of embracing, empowering and mainstreaming the marginalized communities. Since 2018, they have made a huge impact, ensuring the welfare of the LGBTQIA communities through livelihood building, providing mental health counselling and creating job opportunities and sensitizing masses. The Foundation is building a discrimination free platform, and working to bring forth the unheard voices of people from the community to the fore.

Recently, the foundation announced nationwide mental health workshops for the queer communities to ensure emotional and mental wellness. The workshops are being navigated by Mr. Deepak Kashyap, who is a mental health and life skills trainer with an extensive experience in corporate wellness and diversity and inclusion initiatives. His work made a great impact on the community, as he took them through the journey of self-care, self-realization and other tools that allow the community during times of distress.

“We realised the mental health challenges faced by the queer community were amplified in the pandemic. Queer folks faced loneliness and depression while they struggled to make ends meet with a fleeting livelihood. This is our way help the community navigate their emotions in a healthy way,” said Mr Akshay Tyagi, from the Foundation.

“We are conducting these mental health workshops primarily to understand and shine light on the mental and health needs of the queer community in India and see what knowledge, skills and tools we need to address those needs. We are hoping to eradicate the stigma around, the LGBTQIA+ community and mental health, and create a dialogue for meaningful conversations about ways to enhance the lives of the community,” said the counsellor, Mr Deepak Kashyap.

An elated participant, Nishtha profusely thanked the foundation and counsellor for these workshops and said, “Managing mental health issues has been one of the primary concerns of every human being. Challenges seem to be never ending especially for us queer folks. KSF’s support along with Mr. Deepak Kashyap through “What’s in your mind?” has been very helpful! We could comfortably share and discuss in a safe space, about few current topics that have an impact on our Mental Health including ‘Marriage of Convenience’ which is in the limelight.”

“The emotional wellbeing of the queer community has been ignored for a long time now, and the pandemic has proved how much and how urgently do we need to pay attention to them. This workshop helped us navigate our emotions and shed some baggage. Kudos to KSF for hosting these,” said another participant on request of being anonymous.

The workshop threw light on the causes, symptoms, prognosis, and treatments of certain mental health challenges. There were Psycho-educational activities and emotional skill-building games. The participants engaged enthusiastically and realised how to recognize, engage and work through different periods of distress.

It is 2022, we are all unique, we all come from different cultures, upbringing, we have different interests, and it should be completely normal for people to have different sexualities and gender orientations, instead of being ignorant towards this, let us all educate ourselves to make each other feel comfortable in our own skin. Practising inclusion and empathizing with those different than us, is a way to build a compassionate society. Kudos to The KSF for organizing this workshop, it was a real eye-opener.

The workshop is set to spread joy in the city of joy – Kolkata on March 1 and will visit Jaipur and Chandigarh later in the month. The foundation continues to provide free online counselling sessions and other support for the marginal intersections of society.

MALLA REDDY UNIVERSITY Launching MRUCET – 2022 Admission cum Scholarship Test March 12 – 13, 2022

MALLA REDDY UNIVERSITY Launching MRUCET – 2022 Admission cum Scholarship Test March 12 – 13, 2022

Scholarships up to Rs 5 Crores worth will be offered to Merit Students: Malla Reddy University is conducting an Admission cum Scholarship Test (MRUCET-2022) on 12th & 13th March 2022 to determine eligibility and grant scholarships worth Rs. 5 crores to merit students. The university is looking for bright young individuals who have the potential to succeed at the university’s higher levels of education. Applicants will be able to apply online till 11th March 2022. This entrance exam is open to students of all State Boards, Central Board& other recognized institutions across India, and International Students.

In this regard, in today’s Press meet our Chief Guest Mr. J. A. Chowdary – Chairman Indian Blockchain Standards Committee – said “Quality is more important than quantity. Take the lesser number of students but provide the best education, as India is known for giving the best engineers to the world. Malla Reddy University is one of the finest private universities and I appreciate them for giving up to Rs 5 cores worth of scholarship to encourage students. I also advice management to create a fund of around Rs 10 crores for start-ups.”

Dr.Badhra Reddy President for Malla Reddy Group of institutions Said Most important to encourage the students for Business ideas and create funds for start-ups in the University. Recently Hon’ble Minister Shri KTR inaugurated the IT Park in Kandlakoya, Medchal district which will help great employment opportunities.

Dr. VSK Reddy, Vice-chancellor, Malla Reddy University, said, “At Malla Reddy University, our mission is to impart value-based futuristic higher education molding students into globally competent empowered youth, rich in culture and ethics along with professional expertise. This Academic year, we have introduced several Scholarships initiatives to support Merit & Economically Weaker Sections. MRUCET is an ideal opportunity for students to avail exciting scholarships and leverage world-class facilities & infrastructure at the University

For Further Details, Please Call, +91 9497194971, +91 9177878365

www.mallareddyuniversity.ac.in

EdTech startup The Language Network heads out to be India’s #1 Online Language School

EdTech startup The Language Network heads out to be India’s #1 Online Language School

Mumbai-based EdTech startup The Language Network is dominating the online language learning market with its effective online language learning programs. Since its inception, they have trained and tutored over 5000 students and impacted the lives of thousands more. The Language Network offers courses that deliver a holistic learning experience. They currently offer live 1:1, Duo, and Group online classes in seven foreign languages from beginner to advanced levels. Moreover, they are expanding their avenues and have already launched a new segment: The Language Network Kids.

The Language Network is delivering an immersive and comprehensive learning experience to all its students. They provide the right training, right tools, and supplementary material to its students for better and robust learning. They have over 200 highly trained language experts who have been in the professional teaching industry.

“Your students come first. If you treat your students right, your customers come back. This, in turn, makes you a happy and successful leader”, says Co-founder  Pinnac Yeddy. The Language Network offers live and personalised sessions by ensuring small batches for personalised attention and a better learning experience. Regular assessments and reports are given to students to help them with their language learning journey. They offer students challenging and immersive internships and industry-ready training for placements at leading MNCs. They provide effective counselling sessions to students vis-a-vis studying abroad along with immigration services.

The Language Network has incorporated the National Education Policy 2020. They believe that culture is an important aspect when it comes to learning a language. “Language and culture go hand in hand. To teach a new language to a student, we also have to teach the culture related to the language”, says Co-founder Siddhi Chokhani. 

The Language Network has entered the EdTech market and has already established itself as a worthy competitor. Currently, they do not conduct offline batches. However, it is going to change with the advent of The Language Network Kids. They are planning to expand the business by incorporating Kids learning. The Language Network has language programs for kids ranging from the age of 6 years to 14 years. “We are partnering with various schools across India to promote our kids’ courses. Parents are looking to have a recreational experience for their children. They find it astonishing to see how it benefits their kids.” says Co-founder Pinnac Yeddy. They are reaching out to schools with regards to the NEP 2020. The Language Network is partnering with schools across India to inculcate language learning programs in these institutions.

The Language Network follows an internationally recognised curriculum. They refer to the international exams and their respective agendas and procedures when it comes to language learning. They also prepare their students for international exams including DELF, DALF, Goethe, TOEFL, IELTS, TOPIK, HSK, etc. They believe that their students should not only learn languages, they should also excel in the international proficiency exams in order to prove their proficiency. 

Siddhi Chokhani, Co-founder, The Language Network
Siddhi Chokhani, Co-founder, The Language Network

They started out with 4 core members and now they have a team of over 250 people. With its conception, The Language Network has disrupted the offline market. Their online platform is alluring more and more students. Their Co-founder Siddhi Chokhani says, “Students save their time and energy with the online classes. The language learning industry is shifting to online offerings, with convenient, flexible, and cost-effective ways to improve foreign language skills. Time, which was previously required for travelling and preparation, can be allotted for studying. Also, every student needs a dedicated teacher who can pave their way towards learning”.

The Language Network focuses on the traditional aspects of learning. The Language Network is retaining one of the old traditional methods of learning: humans teaching other humans. “Human approach is more effective than any other medium of teaching. We are looking to expand to 10000+ active students this year. Our approach towards language learning will help more students learn a foreign language in a fun and comprehensive way” says Co-founder Pinnac Yeddy. The Language Network is making language learning easy with its online language courses. Globally, the language learning market is around $50 billion. The Language Network is looking to acquire a significant market share in the online language learning industry.