Weekends in the city have now got a new meaning, especially for youngsters. They don’t just party, but also work towards making it a productive time. One such weekend, the Startup Weekend Hyderabad program brought together emerging entrepreneurs from across the city with an array of skills, primarily including software developers, graphics designers and business people to build applications and develop a commercial channel. The 54-hour event focused on building a web or mobile application which formed the basis of a potential business. Some of the applications which were initiated during the course of the event were Park-e-mon, Share-A-Meal, iScanbean, Optirate, Giving for Good, Desi Karaoke, Flat Finder, Feriwala, Indian Art and Craft, Tag my content, M-Kuber and a few others. Let’s order some extra food!Share-A-Meal stands on the concept of building a network to connect NGO’s, caterers and donors and bringing them on to a sharable platform, there by encouraging people to contribute to the needy. The team comprises of Chandrasekhar Kasiraju, Chaitanya Challa, Karthik Reddy, Vallikranth Ayyagiri and Jayaraman Subramanian. Explaining the idea of Share-A-Meal, one of the team members, Chandrasekhar, says, “This concept is not about collecting left over food. All that one has to do is order for extra food which they can afford , which will be reached to the needy with the help of this application.” Briefing on the procedure of the application, he further adds that the host of any party can register with the application and fill in the details of their venue and contribution. The portal with the help of GPS will locate the nearest volunteer group or an NGO, whose members will go to the venue and collect the food to be given to the needy. On making it a lucrative venture, Chandrasekhar says, “We have come up with advertising strategies that will fetch us revenues --- like online advertising includes advertisements on our website, and mobile apps and offline advertising includes banner ads at the host’s venue as well as on the vehicles that are being used in carrying food.” He further elaborates, “The market size is estimated to be 10 billions for offline and 12 billions for online advertising in India. There are over 400 catering houses in the city and we are planning to sign up with them and encourage them to contribute.” He concludes, “Our mission is to feed at least 1000 people by generating revenues in the first year itself, there by making it a self sustained model.”Of shopping and discounts iScanBean as the team calls it, is a money-saving partner for coffee lovers. So, now walk into a coffee shop or a mall, sip through your favourite coffee and know about the discounts and offers right on your phone. Now, how does that work? One of the team members, Imtiaz Hussain, explains. “Digital coupon is the fastest growing segment in this space. It helps the vendors to attract visitors to a new location of the store by placing different offers and increasing awareness. On every cup of coffee, we deliver an unrivaled selection of discount vouchers on your mobile.” He adds, “Our target audience have been people who regularly visit malls and coffee shops. So, when your ads are customised on the criteria such as the location or personal choice, all forms of digital advertising will fetch more revenue.”On the operational procedure of the application, he says, “You can download vouchers to your mobile phone with a simple scan of QR code and avail instant savings. Our mobile app offer instant, easy access to vouchers and are eco-friendly to boot.”Bringing the NGOs together Giving for Good --- now, this application is probably one of its kind which aims at building a network among the NGOs in the state. The team comprising of Ramesh Kulluri and Rahul Musunuri believe that every NGO contributes towards the development of the society in one way or the other. Ramesh says, “There are 3.3 million NGOs in the sate, whereas only about 280-300 of them get recognised and get funds for carrying out their activities. We want to create a common platform to bring into light the lesser-known NGOs.” Talking about the volunteers for the initiative, he says, “The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has gained momentum these days, and we are also focusing on the same group. We will invite volunteers, who will contribute their time, rather than money.”He also adds, “In just a short span of time, there are already 10 NGOs that have registered themselves with us. This is definitely encouraging. We have also pitched the idea to Mahindra’s Spark project, and if we win it, our project will be funded by them.”
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