1. Ola Cabs
Bhavish Aggarwal was frustrated with the cabs he used. Fortunately, this computer engineer from IIT-Bombay decided to do something about it. He realised that there were fleet operators in Mumbai with abysmal fleet utilisation. Why not bring them under one umbrella and offer customers a reliable and efficient option? Ola Cabs was born with the idea that it would be asset-lite and tech-intensive. A free downloadable app or a phone call is what connects you to the service. Customers can monitor their cabs via GPS. Heat maps tell the company where their cabs are and what demand is like. At present, the service is available in five cities—Delhi, Pune, Banagalore, Mumbai and Chennai—with plans to expand to 10 by the end of next year.
2. Floh.in
For young professionals across India, finding a spouse can often be a daunting challenge. Enter Floh or Find Life Over Here, an invitation-only network connecting singles. (More recently, Floh has started allowing a select number of people who apply to join.) What does one get? Entry costs a flat fee of Rs 7,500 for three months or Rs 15,000 for the whole year. That gives you a chance to buy separate tickets to events and attend them in the company of ‘like-minded singles’. At present, the service is available in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.
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(This story appears in the 10 January, 2014 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
These are some really interesting start-ups that are solving valid problems. Would really appreciate if you guys consider IRentshare (http://www.irentshare.com/), a marketplace for renting and sharing stuff like cameras, computers, electronics, furniture etc.) the next time you compile a list.
on Sep 3, 2014Yeah there are many startups like http://www.megavenues.com/ are going to grow nationally and internationally which need to be included in the list.
on Aug 7, 2014Paid or Unpaid, Innovative or not, this article is definitely motivating for new start ups as they watch getting such small as well as big initiatives noticed. And when such initiative is for a common cause, it definitely deserves a plause. Check http://schooladmissioninfo.in .A free service for parent community introduced for first time ever providing such admission information while there are either sites that gather data one time which become obsolete, or there are forums where parents have to rely on their peers for such inormation. RTI when it comes to school is breached and this initiative strives to restore such rights.
on Aug 5, 2014is this paid article? x number of Start-ups to Watch Out For in 2014 pls do research and don\'t stick to few metros in India.
on May 26, 2014Great!!!! but there are other interesting start ups which has the capability to change the dynamics in consumer space. Please have a look at http://www.rentmasti.com/. As renting is gaining popularity, Rent Masti has great potential ahead.
on Jan 30, 2014I do agree with you. Shared economy is picking up now and there are many startups coming in this field like renotomojo, furlenco,cityfurnish etc.
on Dec 19, 2015fan of ola cabs
on Jan 16, 2014Would be good to understand the methodology behind coming up with such a list.
on Jan 14, 2014Very interesting list - it seems like each one of these startups seeks to either disrupt an existing category (Ola Cabs) or create a new one altogether (Portea, Instamojo) or do both (Floh.in and InterviewStreet). I\'ve used Ola and it\'s pretty good. I know of a few people (one at work) who\'ve met their spouses via Floh and I\'m pretty sure that people in my parents\' generation will be interested in Portea\'s offerings (assuming that the quality will not be compromised). The other two I\'ve heard of, but never used. A bold list, Forbes. Keep it up.
on Jan 10, 2014Personally I am big fan of Ola cabs. I use them vastly, especially their mobile app. I remember this guy\'s presentation on a startup event. Thought he wouldn\'t go this far, but I am impressed. There\'s something about this cab services, that is very different. Floh.in - I don\'t find it too interesting. In my opinion, it doesn\'t deserve to be in top 5 atleast. Portea Medical is interesting concept, and I am going to try it out for my oldies. Instamojo - Why top 5? Interviewstreet - Love the idea. Some more research could\'ve made this article impactful..
on Jan 9, 2014Considering Forbes, the article couldn\'t intrigue. There are so many innovative projects than the above top 5 to look for.
on Jan 7, 2014Hi Harshad, Care to enlighten us on some of these \"innovative\" projects that you mention?
on Jan 8, 2014Not exactly great !!!! I think forbes team lost it interest to do some home working on this post
on Jan 7, 2014Hi Samar, I wouldn\'t exactly term it as lost interest, however, my post rated the article for where i read it. In regards enlightening on \"innovative\" projects, I would do so if I get paid like you guys in forbes.
on Jan 8, 2014Poor article and snarky response by author in comments! I know now why I don't read Forbes India. And it still needed two authors! Lol
on Jan 9, 2014Wow! To OLA cabs! Doing a great job. All the best to become the best online cab services in India.
on Jan 7, 2014