MyGate To Strengthen Talent With 200 New Hires By March 2022

* Focus on hiring in tech and product teams, following strong growth and introduction of new verticals

MyGate, India’s largest community app, plans to create over 200 new jobs over Q4 2021-22, to grow new business verticals, such as Community and Brand Engagement and Home Services. Engineering and product departments, based in Bengaluru, would account for the majority of its talent search, with the team expected to hit a size of 200 from the current 130. The business development function would see the next largest growth spurt, with new joinees spread across the country.

Over the past year, MyGate has added 10,000 housing societies and grown its presence to 25,000 societies across 25+ cities, despite the pandemic. App usage, therefore, is at an all-time high with 3.8 million daily approval requests and nearly Rs. 4 crore in daily society maintenance collections. Further, the company’s new verticals are also showing strong growth. MyGate has begun working with hundreds of brands on its Brand Engagement vertical and will also build its Home Services vertical. In early, limited pilots in Bengaluru, 10% of daily active users in the target audience have explored Home Services on the app.

Speaking on the need to grow the team, Abhishek Kumar, COO & Co-founder, MyGate, said, “Given the vast room for growth in the space, and our positive results in new areas such as Brand & Community Engagement and Home Services, we are excited to grow the team and quickly work toward solving the many challenges that lie ahead of us.”

Amritesh Shukla, Head of Human Resources, MyGate, said, “As one of the premier technology companies in the country, we have created a strong learning environment and provide our team with the unique opportunity to work in multiple domains, such as community management, fintech and proptech, and deliver a product that improves the lives of over 3.5 million homes many times every day.”

As per a recent report by RedSeer Consulting, MyGate commands a market share of nearly 82% in the gated community management space, which still has a penetration of just 25% and a total market opportunity of up to $40 billion.

About MyGate

Founded in 2016, MyGate is the largest community app in the country, simplifying urban living of over 3.5 million homes in 25,000+ housing societies. It was ranked #4 on YourStory’s list of India’s Most Disruptive Start-ups in December 2019 and one of India’s coolest start-ups by Business Today in 2019. MyGate was founded by Vijay Arisetty, an ex- IAF pilot (Shaurya Chakra awardee), Abhishek K, former VP at Goldman Sachs, and Shreyans Daga, former project head at Oracle and Digit. For more information, please see https://mygate.com/

Pee Safe Branches Out To Orissa With Its First Store In Bhubaneshwar

 * The digital-first brand has adopted an omnichannel approach to reach out to its customers pan India as a leading D2C player in hygiene and wellness  

Pee Safe, India’s leading hygiene and wellness brand, recently launched its offline store in Bhubaneshwar. The store, located in Sai Anandam Complex in Khordha, Orissa, is the brand’s first FOFO outlet in Orissa and was inaugurated by renowned real estate developer, Mr Jitendra Choudhury.  

Bhubaneshwar is an important market for Pee Safe given the fact that it is a central location in Orissa and also houses many malls and other commercial centres – as also the fact that it is the capital city. The brand is looking at expanding its presence pan India with 50 offline stores in the months ahead. Pee Safe’s products are currently available in modern trade, general stores, airports, and organized stores across 40+ cities. The brand currently has three offline stores in Gurgaon, Ahmedabad, and Bengaluru.  

Speaking about this, Vikas Bagaria, Founder, CEO & Founder at Pee Safe, said, “Pee Safe has been helping people combat hygiene-related issues with its holistic range of products ever since its inception. During the pandemic, the demand outgrew our expectations and we expanded to many more categories to ensure we address it. Now that we also have sexual and personal hygiene brands like Domina and FURR in our ambit, it was important for us to branch out to an omnichannel approach to ensure we are where our customers are. Although we are a digital-first brand, we have ensured we stay with the times and extend our presence to other locations in India,”  

Adding further, Jitendra Choudhury, a renowned real estate developer, said, ““I am extremely happy to inaugurate Pee Safe’s store in Bhubaneshwar. The brand is a frontrunner in the hygiene and wellness space and its products are extremely relevant in any scenario. I congratulate the team and wish that they achieve many more such milestones ahead.” 

Since its inception, Pee Safe has emerged as a brand that is disrupting the hygiene ecosystem and has grown to become the house of safe offering complete health and wellness solutions. Pee Safe products are available online at www.peesafe.com and across leading e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Nykaa, and Flipkart. The brand has diversified into multifarious product categories including eco-friendly sanitary pads, organic tampons, menstrual cups and panty liners and a maternity care line including breast pads; intimate hygiene products for both men and women like natural intimate wash and wipes and sweat pads; and other subpersonal hygiene segments through products like Palm Safe and Moskito Safe apart from anti pollution masks. They also own other rapidly growing brands such as Raho Safe, Domina (sexual wellness) and FURR (female grooming) which have been consistently posting high growth. 

Koo App & Fortis National Mental Health Program Launch Campaign - #ExamBuddy - To Manage Examination Stress

 * #ExamBuddy will be driven in native languages to address students’ concerns pertaining to examinations

To help students manage exam-related stress and anxiety, India’s multi-lingual micro-blogging platform - Koo has launched a special initiative in collaboration with Fortis National Mental Health Program, Fortis Healthcare. The three-day interactive program will be held from between 8.00 PM and 9.00 PM from November 26 - 29, 2021, and has been curated specially for students and parents. The live sessions and ‘Ask Me Anything’ would be conducted in multiple Indian languages by an expert team of psychiatrists and psychologists under the guidance of Dr. Samir Parikh, Director-Fortis National Mental Health Program, Fortis Healthcare. The team of Mental Health Experts would provide much needed information and support on how to develop study skills, along with inculcating examination related skills and manage the stress related to exams prior to the 10th and 12th board examinations.

The campaign aptly named #ExamBuddy, will be available in various languages - Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali and Kannada - and will benefit Koo users from across the country. Users of the Koo App - a Made-in-India platform for expression - will gain crucial insights on handling stress effectively both prior to and during the duration of the board exams by engaging with the experts from Fortis. The Koo App will facilitate the interaction through Google Meet.

Speaking on the campaign and the dire need to combat exam-related stress in an effective way, a Koo spokesperson said, “Koo - as an innovative platform - promotes dialogue between people on a variety of important topics across a slew of native Indian languages. The issue of exam-related stress is something almost every student and their parents go through. Thus, a freewheeling chat with experts in native languages could help students and parents manage their stress levels better. We believe that social media platforms can play a significant role in knowledge sharing on key issues like stress management and combating exam fever to help build a happy India.”

 Dr. Samir Parikh, Director-Fortis National Mental Health Program, Fortis Healthcare shared, “Each year a huge number of students and their parents experience significant stress that builds up on account of the pressure of examinations. It’s always better to discuss and express what one is feeling through conversations. Providing the right tools and skills which have a scientific basis to students and their parents are crucially important in helping them manage their anxiety and perform at an optimum level. It’s imperative that exams be seen as a methodology to teach students critical life skills and not just as a mechanism to procure marks.”

Thanks Giving, Other Holidays Top Charts As Most Popular Holidays Among Travellers: OYO’s Mid-Season Global Holiday Trends 2021

In India, Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra were the most popular long weekend holidays among travellers in 2021

* Long weekend trips emerged as the most popular travel trend across geographies

* In the UK, London, Bath, Blackpool, Scotland and Great Yarmouth remain travellers’ favourite for holidays throughout 2021

* Halloween witnessed a spike in travel demand from Europe, with a surge in preference for alternate accommodation options such as homestays with spas and saunas, among others

* In the USA, destinations like Seattle, Miami, California, Houston and Dallas are hot favorites among holidaymakers 

Travel is back in a big way and consumers are excited to make up for lost holidays over the past two years. With a steady rise in vaccination coverage across geographies, combined with the easing of restrictions across regions, travellers have embraced the spirit of travel wholeheartedly, especially during holidays and festive long weekends in India, the US, the UK and Europe. As per OYO’s booking analysis, consumers across the world are increasingly opting for short-haul destinations and making last-minute bookings over planned trips. Across Europe, summer travel saw the highest bounce back in demand. Whereas, Americans travelled the most during the Labor Day long weekend of September 4 - 6, 2021. Closer to home, in India, the long weekends of Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra ranked as the topmost holidays for travellers in 2021.

For Indians, festive long weekends are nothing less than sweet escapes

India is a land of diversities. This means many elaborate festivals and holidays. In India, some of the most popular holidays for travellers took place in the second half of this year, starting with Janmashtami in August, followed by Ganesh Chaturthi and Dussehra which saw a spike in bookings. This optimism around travel can be attributed to higher vaccination coverage and the opening up of several states for tourism in comparison to early 2021.

Indian travellers preferred spending their holidays across the country’s beautiful tourist destinations such as Jaipur, Goa, Visakhapatnam, Kochi and Udaipur during the festive season. Interestingly, short-haul destinations continue to be the go-to option for travellers across the country over long weekends. Some of the top short-haul destinations are Lonavala, Pondicherry, Shimla, Mysore. All of these destinations sit close to mainstream cities of Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Delhi and Bangalore, indicating that city folks are looking for respite closer to home. The long weekend of Dussehra saw a hike in demand, with an increase in trips to nearby destinations for a quick break. In India, last-minute bookings continue to be on the rise. Not surprisingly, Indians travel to destinations known for their festive cheer. During a festival, the preference for destinations well-known to celebrate the festival with great vigor witnessed a spike in bookings. For instance, during Ganesh Chaturthi, locals preferred going on short-haul trips to locations like Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani, Lonavala, and Mumbai. The most recent long weekend of Guru Nanak Jayanti saw the majority of bookings for Varanasi, Jaipur, Goa, Puri and Alibag.

Europe’s in holiday mode all year round in 2021

In 2021, Ascension Day, Halloween, Pentecost, Easter emerged as Europe’s favorite holidays to travel. What’s more interesting? Denmark tops charts as Europe’s most popular travel destination for a majority of public holidays. Europeans book an average stay of approx. 5 nights to celebrate the holiday and experience local offerings. In 2021, Halloween saw an overall uptick of 71% in comparison to 2019. Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France are the top 5 destinations for the holidays of Ascension Day, Halloween and Pentecost. However, a majority of these were last minute bookings considering the evolving local restrictions across European countries. For the upcoming holiday season, there’s a peak in bookings for homestays with spa, sauna, pool, alternative accommodation options in resorts and holiday parks. 

USA

Labor Day, New Year’s, Martin Luther King Jr Day, Memorial Day and Thanksgiving are America’s most travelled holidays. Coastal hotspots such as Seattle and Miami have been wildly popular during public holidays, followed by California’s Nevada City, Houston and Dallas.

UK

In the UK, May & August bank holidays are usually considered as the peak holiday season. Summer and Spring school holidays respectively have topped the UK's most travelled holiday’s list. London, Bath, Blackpool, Scotland and Great Yarmouth were the most travelled destinations during these holidays. In the UK, the average stay period during holidays was approx. 2 nights. Long weekend trips and school holiday travel are the most popular travel trends among the British. London, Bath, Blackpool, Scotland and Great Yarmouth remain the top 5 destinations for travellers throughout all holidays.

About OYO

OYO is a global platform that aims to empower entrepreneurs and small businesses with hotels and homes by providing full-stack technology products and services that aim to increase revenue and ease operations; bringing easy-to-book, affordable, and trusted accommodation to customers around the world. OYO offers 40+ integrated products and solutions to patrons who operate over 157,000 hotel and home storefronts in more than 35 countries including in India, Europe, and Southeast Asia as of March 31, 2021. For more information, visit http://www.oyorooms.com.

Watch Video's Of Siddharth Malhotra Plan His Adventure Vacation With Club Mahindra

Club Mahindra, the flagship brand of Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Limited reaches out to travel enthusiasts through its ‘Jaana Kahaan Hai’ campaign starring the Shershah celebrity Siddharth Malhotra. The campaign captures people’s desire to travel and explore destinations as well as indulge in newer adventures.

In the video, Siddharth and his friends are seen deciding ‘Jaana Kahan Hai’ by choosing the adventure activity they wish to experience. While it is new for Siddharth’s friends, the celebrity himself has experienced most of those through Club Mahindra. From ziplining in Kandaghat to jungle safari in Kanha, house boating in Ashtamudi and, paragliding in Dharamshala, our heartthrob Siddharth is looking for more. The end of the video also shows our seasoned traveler and his friends finally narrowing down on trekking in Club Mahindra Munnar.

Commenting on the campaign, Pratik Mazumder, Chief Marketing Officer, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Limited, says, “There is an extremely strong desire to travel amongst people. They are eager to try newer experiences and visit off-beat as well as unexplored destinations. And, with 70+ Club Mahindra resorts In India, the brand offers more than 2000 unforgettable unique experiences for every individual. Hence, we bring to you our ‘Jaana Kahan Hai’ campaign because that is all that you are left to decide and choose”.

Like Siddharth says in the video, ‘Destinations toh bhot baaki hai mere dost’ so all you and your family must do is decide upon ‘Jaana Kahan hai’.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CWsnwKJAOGn/?utm_medium=copy_link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdcF59gUL0w

Lionsgate Play Hits Gold With Multiple Exciting Campaigns To Promote The Brand's First Original Production, "Hiccups & Hookups"

What is common between Rajkummar Rao, Alok Nath and Simi Taparia? No points for guessing unless you have been living under a rock! The famous Bollywood faces have been troubled by the soon to be launched #NoFilter family – The Rao’s. The Rao family starring versatile actors Lara Dutta, Pratik Babbar and Shinnovawill be seen in Lionsgate Play’s first Indian original series Hiccups and Hookups. The upcoming show is helmed by talented director Kunal Kohli and will be premiered on Friday, 26th November 2021 across 8 countries- India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, and Nepal. Known for its edgy and curated content, Lionsgate Play has left no stone unturned to promote its first original while breaking the stereotypes and recreating the art of storytelling.   

All hell broke loose when Lara Dutta’s profile was seen on a dating site, that created a stir amongst the young millennials. With a plethora of quirky tweets and memes all over the internet, the brand’s first activation was an instant hit with the audience leading to Lara clarifying that it’s not her but the show’s protagonist, Vasudha who is looking for a match for herself. Further, the brand roped in ace actor Rajkummar Rao to introduce the new Raos with Welcome the Raos campaign. Rajkummar Rao introduced the host of characters from the show in one of the most innovative first look videos to have ever hit the airwaves.  

This was followed by a hilarious video that saw association with Sima Taparia aka Sima aunty in an unfathomable challenge of finding prospective partners for the Rao family. The quintessential matchmaker was left hopeless when she was faced with cheeky secrets of the family. The icing on the cake was a video with veteran star, Alok Nath visiting the sets of the show as Babuji, the most sanskari character in Bollywood and his face off with the #NoFilter family that gave a peek into the sassy side of the Rao family.  

Mr. Amit Dhanuka - Executive Vice President at Lionsgate commented, “We are ecstatic and thrilled with the buzz around our first Indian original production, Hiccups and Hookups. The show is exploring the young adult space which a niche genre. We are confident the show will win hearts and open dialogues that are otherwise considered taboo. All marketing assets have done exceptionally well and have created a lot of interest and curiosity amongst the viewers. With the multi-layer innovative marketing campaigns, we hope to turn the leaf of marketing to a newer page.” 

Ahead of the launch, the platform has been creating edgy content to engage with their multigeneration audience especially millennials and Gen Z. Through appealing campaigns, the brand has been able to portray and resonate the vibe the brand stands for. Both digital and offline activations have played a massive role in creating awareness around the show. The original also witnessed some dramatic posters that was largely appreciated by the audience.  

The posters established the uncomplicated transparent relationship between the lead characters followed by the ensemble poster that reflected the young and peppy vibe of the show. 

TVS Credit And IIT - Madras Signs MoU To Set Up Innovation Programs

 TVS Credit Services Limited and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to design and boost innovation programs and carry out joint research activities. This partnership acquires significance as TVS Credit - one of the fastest-growing NBFCs in the country, and IITM- a symbol of excellence in academia are coming together to collaborate on Innovation programs, provide training, research and consultation to young professionals. The collaboration would bring together academic stalwarts and professionals who would jointly design, develop and deliver cutting edge technology projects, research and embark on consultation in the areas of management and financial inclusion.

This partnership aims to provide Technology solutions in the space of Fintech and Data Science. Under this alliance, both organisations will explore opportunities for undertaking joint research projects and formulate academic activities such as short courses, seminars, workshops and conferences. This effort would create a seamless ecosystem between industry and academia for leveraging analytics & technology.

Speaking on the collaboration, Venkatraman G, Chief Executive Officer, TVS Credit, said, "The future of technology in financial services is an exciting space to participate in, with an institute like IIT Madras. Also the importance of skilling and upskilling is more acute than ever before. With exponentially increasing digitalization, the young and bright minds need to focus on new skills that will enable them to provide innovative solutions and thereby help in the growth of our organisation."

Speaking on the collaboration, Prof. Ravindra Gettu, Dean, IC&SR – IIT Madras, said, "We are happy to join hands with a leading market player like TVS Credit. Partnerships such as these help in creating practical and innovative solutions that can have a lasting impact. We look forward to working together and achieving mutually beneficial outcomes."

One of the key beneficiaries of this initiative will be the employees of TVS Credit, as the innovative solutions and skill training will hold a strong potential to revolutionise the industry at large. This partnership aims to provide scholarships for young minds as well.  By using the skills, the NBFC sector can improve resource efficiency and productivity. In addition, this collaboration will drive the advancement of research and development. 

About TVS Credit Services Ltd

TVS Credit Services Limited is a leading Non-Banking Financial Company with over 32,000 points of presence across India. The number one financier for TVS Motors Limited and one of the leading tractor financiers, TVS Credit also has a fast-growing footprint in used car, consumer durable, used commercial vehicle and business loans segment. Over 6.5 million happy customers have been served with the help of 19,000+ motivated employees, and robust Tech and Analytics powered processes. Driven by a mission to empower Indians to dream bigger, secure in the knowledge that we are partners in the fulfilment of their aspirations. With new products on the anvil and an unwavering commitment to customer service and constant improvement, TVS Credit creates value for the customers, employees and partners.

Know more about TVS Credit at www.tvscredit.com.