NOIDA, India | 1st January 2021: In these trying times, survival is of the essence. Wisdom Tree Ventures (WTV), a flagship IT company of Wisdom Group, has taken a unique step forward in these challenging times: To provide technological, financial and marketing assistance to 100 start-up ventures and budding Entrepreneurs within the next 5 years. The company has chalked out a plan to address the financial vacuum created by the ongoing Covid-19 situation, create jobs, and contribute to the economic growth of India by aligning itself with the vision (Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan) of Honourable Prime Minister Narender Modi. By aligning itself with the goals of Atmanirbhar Bharat, particularly for MSMEs and start-ups, Wisdom Group will not only cater to the technical requirements of the start-ups but also foster financial flexibility for these companies.
Wisdom Group intends to offload IT infrastructure anomalies for the start-ups and help them to be self-sufficient in good time. “Entrepreneurs that are facing difficulties in achieving their goals or are stuck in the system due to the ongoing pandemic situation will be given a fresh breather. We had not initially planned for such a drive but these are not normal circumstances and we empathise with the budding entrepreneurs,” said Group CEO, Deb Mukherjee.
WTV, a company having expertise in digital marketing and software development, had originally developed the cutting-edge technology for its own business requirements such as development of Stockbroking platforms and mobile trading applications (‘Wisdom Pro’- now an established mobile trading application). In Customer Relationship Management (CRM) space, the technology (Artificial Intelligence (AI) equipped ‘Wisdom CRM’) was developed by WTV to service its own set of clients at enterprise level in CRM and cloud telephony space. Similarly, in the online gaming segment, the technology was originally developed to roll out Wishgames11 (another Wisdom Group company), an online gaming platform. The technology development stage helped WTV to gain insights into various other aspects of the application of the technology. WTV plans to optimise and scale some of the technology modules to help the start-ups. Mukherjee added, “We adapted and if our secret sauce can be used for the greater good of the country then why not?”
When start-ups are stuck up with their plans largely because they do not have IT infrastructure and the related expertise, Wisdom Group plans to partner with the start-ups in an unusual fashion. Wisdom Group will partner with these companies, hand hold them during their initial year and, in turn, create value for those companies. In return, Wisdom Group is not looking for monetary gains. Instead, the start-ups can return the favour by diluting their equity stake in the name of Wisdom Group. In the long run, Wisdom Group plans to stay in the loop by obtaining a stake in a few of the promising start-ups and allocating a project manager to each start-up in which it has acquired a stake.
Start-ups that are unwilling to dilute their equity, option of customisable repayment plans will be on the offer. Seed funding raised with the help of Wisdom Group may be repaid back by way of profit sharing on future cash flows. As a result, Wisdom Group can remain invested and optimise the financial covenants of the start-ups.
With the execution of this business model, Wisdom Group plans to create nearly one lakh jobs in the next 5 years. This is a colossal task by any imagination but Wisdom Groups seems to have taken the initial step; It has recently taken over a start-up called ImagineSales which has been operating in the CRM industry and has been struggling to make ends meet because of the pandemic situation in the country.
The CRM industry is a massive market in the near future yet it suffers on account of two main reasons: a) sporadic nature of services and products 2) foreign dominance. Deb Mukherjee observes, “there is value to be created and opportunity to be tapped in this model”. By pioneering a trend reversal, Deb Mukherjee hopes to cut into the foreign dominance in this market.
Wisdom CRM, part of a Make In India endeavor, will provide those services from India to overseas markets in the near future. Deb Mukherjee argues: “As Aryabhata gave the concept of Zero to the world at a time when trade was struggling with number system related accounting problems, this endeavor will help Indian companies to walk against the tide and chart out a unique path for themselves that will prove to a game changer for Indian companies in the overseas markets”.
With particular focus on IT infrastructure, Wisdom Group hopes to encourage the budding entrepreneurs and contribute to Shri Yogi Adityanath’s employment plans (Rozgar Yojana) for the state. Bharat Bansal, another director in Wisdom Group who has substantial experience in the filmmaking business apart from other sectors, said, “The idea of providing IT infrastructure support will also be taken forward in the film production business”. While an online youtube channel is already in place, Wisdom Group is in the final stage of talks with stakeholders about establishing a media house under its banner. It is not hard to imagine the employment opportunities it will generate in the film business as well; a vision of setting up the largest Film City in the state has already been put forward by Shri Yogi Adityanath.
As Yogi Adityanath’s view is strictly in line with the GoI, Wisdom Group sees this as an opportunity, a rather win-win situation for all the stakeholders. The Wisdom Group has surely taken Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan seriously.
