Coolstartups, the investment bank with an affiliate Website, has launched three new modules - Onebyzero.com, Joinstartups.com and a service provider module. For the service providers module the company has tied up with MediaTurf, an online advertising company; ORG Marg, the research specialist; Matrix, the Kotak Mahindra company which specialises in content provision; Plexus Technologies and Accel ICIM for software solutions; and PR agency 20:20 Media for the public relations component. "This module is designed specifically to help start-ups source services ranging from advertising to software solutions" explains Ranu Vohra of CoolStartups.com. The alliances involve a referral fee arrangement wherein the alliance partners will pass on a percentage of the fee-charged to the start-up to Coolstartups.
"As a technology start-up, you need at least 10 to 12 service providers to get going" explains Vohra, "and we thought it's a good idea to select and offer at least two or three service providers in each category to companies which approach us" he adds. Onebyzero, the other new module at Coolstartups is a content module - an online magazine which analyses trends in the investment scenario and attempts to clear the cloud for entrepreneurs as well as investors looking at either sourcing or investing funds.
"We are trying to put out an Indian equivalent of the Red Herring (an international magazine which analyses investment and other IT industry related trends) online" explains Vohra. He also adds that the e-zine is seeing a great number of subscriptions from overseas where there are a number of potential investors. "As an investment bank we are in constant touch with investors and entrepreneurs and we felt we were in a position to leverage this and create an online magazine along these lines" says Vohra.
Onebyzero will also feature some amount of primary research according to Vohra. The third module, Joinstartups.com is basically a job module which focuses on the senior positions in start-up companies.
"Often entrepreneurs who have set out to start something find that there are others who are working in similar areas and may not be averse to taking up senior positions in these start-ups, this is the market that we are primarily targeting" says Vohra. He estimates that the market for senior executives in start-ups is currently worth about Rs 90 to 100 crore.
Most executive search firms are giving the opportunity the go-by since these start-ups are not in a position to pay hefty retainer fees according to Vohra. "We have evolved an equity linked fee structure wherein we are open to taking equity in place of an up front fee in these firms" he says.
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