Tag: Exhibit Interview

Epson Ecotank L6490-A precise functional AIO printing tool

Epson Ecotank L6490, a mainstream all in one copying, printing, scanning, and fax with ADF solution from Epson is quite impressive. Let us take a look at what were the aspects that made us conclude on the first line. 

Casually professional:

Design is conventional yet modern thanks to its compact footprint and functional yet professional look. There are multiple paper inlets and outlets. Semi-transparent CMYK colour levels also give clarity to the consumption of Espon’s Durabrit 008 ink. Refillable and easy to operate. The printer also gets a bright touch panel with capacitive touch for easy operations. Epson has loaded the Ecotank L6490 with wifi and wifi direct and Epson smart panel enables a host of print options directly via your smartphone. There’s also USB, LAN, fax and line-in connectivity for robust wired connections and easy clean options with detachable compartments. 

All-in-one solution in a compact footprint:

With costs per print as low as 12paise (Black) and a little more for colours, the Epson Ecotank L6490 printer is efficient. If that wasn’t enough, 1-years warranty or 100,000 pages, whichever comes first, Epson has you covered for prints of usage. The Epson Ecotank L6490 print speeds are impressive at 17-ipm for black and 9.5-ipm for colour. These might get slower based on the details, print quality and print paper of use. Epson has an intelligent Auto-Duplex printing (up to A4 size) for automatic both side print on an A4 or lower size papers. Wi-Fi & Wi-Fi Direct enable remote connectivity and the app brings a host of other intuitive learning and features adding value to the Epson printer. 

Epson smart panel app has easy wireless connectivity when both the printer and your phone share the same Wi-Fi connection. The app has a smooth and innovative UI with almost all the options on the physical touch panel and more. Document scanner for example allows a phone camera to capture documents, enhance them as per the user’s liking and print them like a normal document. There are tonnes of tutorials too and community links to learn more. 

 

Verdict: 

Powered by Epson Heat-Free Technology, the printer performs consistently with minimum downtime and not more than a few seconds lag on long printing sessions. We tried printing many documents, photos and random colourful pictures shot on phones and professional cameras. The colours, quality, contrast and tones were almost spot on. The only limitation this printer brings is the size, it’s compact and can only print up to Letter Max sizes. If you do not need anything more than this size, the Epson Ecotank L6490 is a precise, functional tool that enables, scans, copies, loads of in-app functions and quality yet efficient print solutions for homes, schools and offices alike. 

 

Rating – 4/5

Good – Compact size, efficient, detailed prints and copies

Bad – Limited by the compact size

Ugly – Competition 

Specifications:

Print, Scan, Copy, Fax with ADF

Cost per print 12paise (Black)

Print speeds – 17 ipm for black and 9.5 ipm for colour

Auto-Duplex printing (up to A4 size)

Wi-Fi & Wi-Fi Direct

Epson Heat-Free Technology

Founders Club | Shashank Kumar, Co Founder – Razorpay | Leadership Series

Razorpay, valued at $3 billion by GIC and Sequoia India, has been riding atop the digital payments tsunami, witnessing an upsurge in virtual transactions through its online platform. As the digital economy grows in India, the company has been actively working on launching new products and features to keep with the demand and challenges. Shashank Kumar, Co-founder, Razorpay, shares his thoughts on the working of the tech platform, banking, startups, and more with us. #startups #razorpay #leadership

How did the idea come about considering that this space was already crowded?

We started back in 2014, which now seems very long back, in hindsight. When Jio hadn’t happened, demonetization hadn’t happened, so much push that we have today on digitization was not there. We, me and co-founder Harshal, worked at different companies then. I was in Microsoft, and he was in Schlumberger, and we kept on working on side projects. So one of the side projects is where we wanted to accept payments. And that was going to be like a challenging task. 

Start accepting payments on the internet is a long, cumbersome process. You need to have a registered company. The banks ask for many physical documents and ask whether you are profitable or have an office set up. A lot of SMEs operate from their homes, a lot of people that may not have a physical location at all times. So with mobile picking up significantly and with the startup coming online, this was when the startup revolution was really beginning. So that is where we felt that there’s a huge gap in the market.

How is Razorpay different from the rest of the players in this space?

It was definitely solving a need for ourselves. I mean, for the economy itself to progress, we strongly feel that we need to build digital goods for India. So we definitely started from a place where we are trying to solve our own problem.

But I think there’s a very strong realization that they’re going to be like, millions of people who are going to be like us in terms of that, you know, they’re trying to make ends meet. So it was a very simple leap to say that we need to solve for every entrepreneur in the country, but It definitely started with the problem we ourselves faced.

When you first started out, did you think the journey would turn this successful in a comparatively short span of time? What were your initial apprehensions?

Building a business is a journey of events. It’s a huge multi-year marathon, but I think the initial years are often the toughest in figuring out how to get traction and how to get product-market fit? We started in Jaipur; we didn’t start in Bangalore because we wanted to really keep our cost. So despite us having some savings, I think we are very cognizant that we should try and make ends meet with the least amount of money possible.

Our expenses used to be like five thousand rupees per month or a maximum of ten thousand rupees per month, and that’s like the moment you take one flight, and that covers that cost. We used to go to banks a lot because we had to deal with payment, and banks are the ones who give out those rails that are there. Most of them were not even aware of us, so they laughed at me because I was 23 years old back then. It’s an age where people usually don’t take you seriously in India. But we have to figure this out. 

And then we would have messaged a hundred plus bankers on LinkedIn, whom we can find who we thought could probably help us with payments. And only a few of them, a handful of them, six to seven, would have replied. And then, we had a meeting with three or four people in Delhi and Mumbai. 

We took a business plan, which we had prepared overnight. Many bankers said no in that process, and we were waiting for that one yes, as ultimately, only one yes matters. And when we got that one, yes, after meeting multiple people, we were delighted and felt that we had won the world. And now, we have got nothing that is going to stop us. But, I think that was just a start, and I believe there are significant challenges every month or two months. 

With the likes of PayTM, PhonePe, InstaMojo, Zest Money, PayU what is RazorPay’s strategy to withstand competition?

The payment is a vast field, but I think our call out is to help the businesses. Most of the payment apps like PhonePe, GooglePay or WhatsApp are playing on the consumer side. They want to solve digital payments from a consumer perspective, where our mission is to provide for SMEs and businesses as they are the heart and soul of the economy. We strongly feel that if you’re able to advertise businesses and move them from manual processes and compliance to digitization and automation, you should go ahead with it. I think that would lead to a significant uptick in the country’s GDP.

I think in the last 12 months since the pandemic started and beyond. There is a massive push because, anyways, everyone is working these days remotely, to the extent that your industry allows, and it’s giving everyone a chance to rethink from scratch. How can they utilize the cost much better? And how can they get more bang for their buck? And that is where we’re solid for any business which needs to accept payments online or do its financial operations well. I think Razorpay is a great partner of choice there as we’re able to demonstrate significant value.

I’ll give you an example, in the pandemic, we have partnered with hundreds of NGOs and helped them with a donation collection. And we brainstorm it and say, ok, how do we take it to the next level? So we tied up with thousands of businesses who are there on our platform and every time a successful payment happens, we show them a message saying that they want to donate something for the ongoing pandemic, and we have helped raise more than Rs 25 crores in terms of donation at this point. All of this is going to a distributed set of NGOs. So this is not going to a centralized fund; it is going through all the local groups where they can deploy those funds and utilize it in an optimum way and immediately impact what they can do for you in this scenario.

Your valuation has tripled in 6 months with the series-e funding round. What lies ahead for Razorpay? Will there be an IPO announcement next?

I think, for the next couple of years, we are very clear on where we want to be. We want to continue helping with the Digitization journey that we are on for SMEs in India. We want to ensure and see how we can help millions of businesses digitize, come on the internet, and take advantage of distribution via the internet.

For example, we launched our payroll product almost one and a half years ago. Payroll is such a painful process, and every employer will typically spend eight to 10 hours every month wrapping their heads and getting payroll right. And spending on compliance as that spending time and getting compliance and talking to their CA” s. We take all of that away and make the payroll simply a one-click process, and the business owner does not need to worry about it at all.

What’s your advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?

I think for me, it’s always been that. It would be best if you were building something larger than life. One should work more significantly than life because how can we have an outsized impact on the people around us? I’m very fortunate to receive a good education. I’ve studied through IIT Roorkee, and I know how much education is subsidized by the government. So I feel like I must give back to the ecosystem in a huge way. 

I’m in a very privileged position to be where I am. So if I have to make use of that opportunity, I have to try my best. And that may result in failure, but that’s fine. But if you don’t shoot for the best you can do, you will never do your best. I think in my view, the way I look at it, I always want to give my 100% to whatever I’m doing; I always put my best foot forward. And irrespective of the results, at least I sleep peacefully because I’ve tried my best, I have tried hard, and after that, success or failure doesn’t matter.

Driven By Passion


Today, we have a Lamborghini Urus and one self-made star to accompany us, the star who swam against the flow to prove herself, and of course, she conquered it gracefully.
If you’re a fan of pop music, then you might have known her by name. We are talking about the first Indian artist with a platinum single in English. She is also a songwriter and the founder of Svatantra Microfin, a company that provides microfinance to women in rural and semi-urban India. She is Ananya Birla.

Ex: It was an epic year, so tell us, what have you been doing?
Ananya: I was in LA for the entire year when Covid hit. I never imagined that something like this would ever happen, and I think it has been a year full of learnings. I made a lot of music and grew a lot as an individual.

Ex: What has been your learning? Tell us something that you learned during the pandemic.
Ananya: To be more in the present moment. We work so hard, and we want to succeed so much, but we forget to be happy in the middle of all of that, and that’s what I think I learned. That’s what I have been doing and just enjoying the journey more than worrying about anything else.

Ex: During the lockdown, did you learn how to make the Dalgona coffee, cooking or any other #lockdowntrend?
Ananya: I feel terrible as everyone used to say they learnt cooking or found some hobby during the lockdown. But I still did not learn cooking as my best friend was with me, who cooks. I used to wash the dishes after eating excellent meals made by her, so I think its a fair fight?

Ex: You are the first Indian to be trending on the top 40 radio stations in the US, national icon and international icon, so how does it feel?
Ananya: It’s been a good run, and I think I made the most of 2020, and I am proud of it. I also launched the Ananya Birla foundation, giving back to society in this challenging time.
How do I feel? No matter what, I think it’s still the start, and I have to do more. It has been a good run till now. We’ve hit significant milestones this year, and that’s about it.


Ex: Your song Everybody’s Lost is profound. Has it gotten the same response throughout the world?
Ananya: Everybody’s Lost is a very different song, and it has done well in the states. It has also done well in Mexico and Japan. A couple of my songs like Meant to be, Hold on have done better in India, but Everybody’s Lost has excellent numbers. I like electronic music, but this is a sound that I enjoy right now. It blends in time and sounds better.

Ex: Apart from music, what are your other passions?
Ananya: I love travelling, adventure, reading, and I love cars. Even this is an adventure for me having a long drive in the Urus.


Ex: Now that the lockdown is over, what are the destinations you would like to visit with your girl gang?
Ananya: I think we would go to the Maldives; I love the Maldives. It’s so peaceful there, and I love oceans basically; I’m a water baby.

Ex:  What gives you a thrill? What are some of the thrilling adventures you have been to or done?
Ananya:  I went skydiving in Dubai recently and loved it. I have had a lot of highs and lows, and when you have those high high highs, you want to keep getting them, and adrenaline does that to you, so when you are driving fast in a car or when you are travelling, you feel this rush.

Ex: Urus does 0-100 in 3.6 seconds. The roads are clean ahead, so are you up for it?
Ananya: WOW! That’s insane, and honestly, it was so smooth you did not feel that jerk.

Ex:  What is the hardest decision you made or took in your life?
Ananya: I think it has to be dropping out of Oxford was quite a tough decision.                                                                                                                            Rs – I think swapping seats with you was the hardest decision I had to make.

Ex: You have your music passion, and you are also the founder of Swatantra. Are you able to manage your life and music in a cool way?
Ananya:  I started Swatantra when I was 17. It is a billion dollars worth now with over a million clients, 17 villages, and we give loans to people who need it the most, and yes, I find balancing very tough. That is one thing I still struggle with.

In conversation with Mr. Arijeet Talapatra – CEO, Transsion India

In this video, we had an amazing conversation with Mr Arijeet Talapatra, CEO of Transsion India as we discussed Tecno’s upcoming strategy and Transsion’s amazing performance so far. Mr Talapatra also revealed his secret to staying productive so don’t miss this exciting interview.

Taking things forward

January without a holy trip to Las Vegas is something that I am not used to for the last 14 years. Holy because of CES and for a tech addict like me, there can’t be a better pilgrimage than to be at CES – the hotbed of all innovation. The city of Las Vegas is just the cherry on the “Prasada”. But we all know the world has changed and 2020 has been a catastrophic year taking away all the sunshine. The clouds are now beginning to break and with 2021 we can see that ray of sunlight in the shape of the vaccine. Vaccine or no vaccine, life has resumed. Covid-19 has already pushed the human race to the wall and it is bound to rebound. There is no other way but to move forward and swapping places with Covid and plastering it to the wall now.

This is our Exhibit Tech Awards 2020 special. Again, we could not host all the stakeholders of the Indian Consumer Tech Industry, but we followed the process of public voting and for the first time had a virtual jury meet where Rakesh Biyani joined from London, Siddharth Sharma joined from Toronto and rest of us including Mr Brian Bade, Dj Aqueel, Nucelya, Avinash Gowarikar all through their screens “zoomed” in and together we picked the winners that you can meet in the following pages. Just to add some flamboyance in the Exhibit way, we booked the 38th-floor lounge of St Regis and laid out all the winning gadgets against the beaming Mumbai skyline and
a pompous setup and did a walkaround video that is now live on our Youtube channel. Next year hopefully, we will revert to the meeting, greeting and awarding in person and have perhaps a high decibel gala awards night as always.

It’s the start of 2021 and already from the automotive industry, invitations are trickling in for launch events and hopefully, the tech industry will follow suit and we will all get back to business as usual, perhaps with the masks on. Did you know that the face mask market is projected to grow from USD 737 million in 2019 to a whopping USD 22143 million in 2021 [Source: markets and markets research Pvt ltd]? No one could have anticipated that. We are waiting to see some interesting tech innovations coming for the masks and sanitization market, which will become a way of life even after the pandemic is gone. Don’t believe me? Ask anyone who has visited Japan anytime in 2019 or earlier, and they will tell you that people with masks on was a common sight in Japan even then and it just got more layered up in 2020.

There is plenty of anticipation and expectation from the year ahead, but don’t forget to take away all the learnings from 2020 which is to survive you need basics and we have to be there for each other because we are all in this together.

Steffen Knapp | Top Leaders In Tech & Auto

Ex: What has been your biggest learning in the pandemic?
Steffen: We’ve taken simple pleasures of life for granted, which now thankfully some of us realize and value. Being able to take a walk outside, go for dinner with your friends, these are real pleasures of life

Ex: One futuristic feature that you can’t wait to introduce in your vehicle.
Steffen: I am eager to launch remote parking. To move your car via remote control in the garage would be really comfortable.

Ex: Which old-school car/bike design inspired you the most?
Steffen: I loved my 1972 Buick Lesabre I had when I was studying in the US. For me, it was a synonym for freedom and the American Dream.

Ex: How long till Volkswagen enters the self-driving car segment?
Steffen: Volkswagen is a global company and is doing technological advancements on an everyday

Ex: What is one truth you believe in that most basic. Our organization has transformed itself people disagree with you on?
Steffen: from just being an automobile manufacturer Getting up early to find time for yourself is the first step to a software developer. Having said that, a lot of success in life. of developments are at a testing or pilot stage globally and it will be early to comment on

Ex: One thing you believe is absolutely necessary for future technologies and advancements. for sustained growth.
Steffen: You need a plan including a compelling vision  Like the Volkswagen Polo Cup, will, and mission. This is a necessary framework for the company hold an electric car racing organization to stay focused.

Ex: You then have to define a championship in the future in India?          Steffen: a clear set of KPIs to monitor the progress and identify We’ve been conducting motorsport potential corrections you have to take.
a championship for over a decade with the Polo and we still consider it to be in a nascent stage,

Ex: When will you say you have fulfilled all your in India. Due to the availability of limited racing goals?
Steffen: tracks, it’s a relatively expensive sport in India You have fulfilled your goals if your team is convinced and is gradually growing. However, electric car about your plan. The moment you reached that level racing is a different scenario altogether. First, the momentum kicks in. You will see people standing
need to develop the infrastructure to be able up, becoming their own leaders, and leaders for the to bring road-worthy electric vehicles before the organization. venturing into motorsport.

Zac Hollis | Top Leaders In Tech & Auto

Ex: What is one truth you believe in that most people disagree with you on?
Zac: This is a difficult one to start with. I have nothing unique in my leadership style and much of my personal learnings about having passion, energy and drive are not new to business or to life. I do however believe strongly that it is important to look after your own body and to be fit in order to achieve the best out of life.

Ex: One thing you believe is absolutely necessary for sustained growth.
Zac: Surround yourself with the best people you can find and reward them well. They will deliver so much more towards the growth of your business. This hiring process cannot be underestimated.

Ex: When will you say you have fulfilled all your goals?
Zac: This is a difficult one as life keeps on giving you, new goals as soon as you achieve the ones you have. I don’t believe you will ever achieve all of your goals. It is important to keep setting challenging goals for the future and to keep looking forward and re-evaluating where you are going.

Ex: How difficult is it to maintain a work-life balance?
Zac: Personally I don’t find this difficult and I have the ability to cut off and do what I feel is important at the time. Family, sports, and hobbies are what keeps the mind active and make you refreshed for business.

Ex: One futuristic feature that you can’t wait to introduce in your vehicle.
Zac: Autonomous vehicles will eventually change the way we travel completely. Imagine calling up a car on and it comes straight to you, taking you to where you want to go and then going on to the next customer, without a driver ever being present in the car. The business case for owning a car will become less and less, but in the short term, the innovations in technology that are moving down from premium cars are safety features.

Ex: Can you imagine how much safer our roads would be if every car was equipped with emergency braking?
Zac: This means that no car could possibly run into the back of the car in front. This I believe is coming and soon could be mandatory on all new cars, like seat belts or airbags.

Ex:  Which old-school car/bike design inspired you the most?
Zac: I love the designs of the British Sports cars from the 1960s and ’70s. From the MG’s, E-Type Jag, and Austin Healeys. I feel these designs are timeless.

Ex: When do you plan to launch the VISION IN? What will you introduce after the VISION IN from the same platform?
Zac: We are extremely excited for the launch of the A0 SUV based on the VISION IN Concept, showcased at the Delhi Auto Expo 2020. We plan to launch it
in Q2 2021. It will be another splendid innovation from SKODA. 2021 looks promising because post the launch of the A0 SUV, we will be launching A0 NB Sedan, built on the same platform, which will provide best-in-class features and an amazing value for the luxury proposition.

Ex: Is Skoda India planning to enter the EV segment, given the launch of the Enyaq iV?
Zac: The future of mobility is going to be electric, however, it will still take time for the Indian market to adopt EVs on a mass scale. We are committed to the Indian market and will introduce the right EV models at an opportune time – but certainly not in the immediate future.

Kazutada Kobayashi | Top Leaders in Tech & Auto

Ex: What has been your biggest learning in the pandemic?
Kazutada: The biggest learning for most of the businesses will be on the importance of agility. One should not let a crisis deter their growth instead, we ought to take it up as an opportunity to think differently and adapt to the changing landscape. From devising new business plans to gradually restructuring budgetary allocations and rethinking strategies, we need to contemplate a whole new dimension. This pandemic has taught us to be more flexible in our approach and to spend more time learning new ways and avenues for the benefit of their personal as well as professional lives.
Ex: Some productivity apps and technologies you use in your daily life?
Kazutada: In the past few months, with Work from Home and Business from Home becoming the new norm, most of the technologies and apps I use are primarily for being connected with my colleagues. From daily video conference calls to my CEO address, everything has shifted to my device now.
Ex: What is your technology detox like?
Kazutada: Weekends are an important time for me to unplug from work, get a technology detox & do things that I am passionate about. It is a perfect opportunity for me to clear my head and come up with fresh ideas. Hence, I spend a lot of time cooking as it is an outlet for my creative expression, for peaceful thoughts, and for stress relief. Apart from traditional Japanese dishes, I love to experiment with Indian spices and cook for my family, friends, and colleagues.
Ex: What’s coming next from Canon?
Kazutada: In 2019, we successfully strengthened our leadership position and had good growth in various domains. While in 2020, we are focused on becoming more agile, changing with new dynamics in the market due to the pandemic situation. There are immense opportunities present for us in both B2B and B2C segments, as users look forward to technologies that will enable them to adapt to the new normal. Having sustained current businesses, we are also focusing on the new areas of growth, which are health and safety. Our technological innovation in the health and safety segment becomes all the more important given the current COVID-19 situation.
Ex: What are your thoughts on venturing into the sports section camera?
Kazutada: Sports photography is all about capturing athletes’ emotions, energy, and movement during the competition or training. We see immense scope in the sports section camera as every click is becoming important with new innovations and technologies. Canon EOS 1D series is the preferred choice of professional sports photographers. Earlier this year we launched EOS-1D X Mark III, which is the ultimate speed machine and the fastest DSLR in the market with an impressive shooting speed of up to 16 fps using the viewfinder, in sync with the newly developed AF/AE system for rapid response on precision autofocus and exposure control in every decisive shot. The EOS-1D X Mark III is the perfect choice for sports photography, where every frame is critical. We are continuously looking for ways to delight our customers and cater to their needs. Within this segment, we see immense opportunities present for us and shall continue to innovate as per our customer’s needs.

Jitendra Chouksey | Top Leaders in Tech & Auto

Ex: What were the hurdles and what pushed you?

Jitendra: I do not think funding is that big a deal. Even before receiving the funding, we were a successful bootstrapped company, earning revenue of around 5 million a year. If people don’t believe in you, take that in your stride and work towards building a business that is profitable. Whatever you do, try to solve the problems of your customers.

Ex: What is one truth you believe in that most people disagree with you on?

Jitendra: I do not think there is any since I consider everybody’s opinion and act accordingly. I do not believe myself to be arrogant that there would be something only I would believe in as opposed to anybody else.

Ex: What is the one subject you think aspiring leaders should learn?

Jitendra: Most of the things that you learn as a founder are things you will not find in books. Being in fitness and sports prepares you physically as well as mentally. Sports, especially combat sports, teach you a lot of things that apply in real life. So, my advice is that if you can manage your physical and mental health well, you can achieve anything. Leadership quotes that you live by. I follow Mahatma Gandhi’s quotes and I believe he is one of the best guides to learn from on how to live life!

Ex: What has been your biggest learning in the pandemic?

Jitendra: I have always been someone who never worked from home. These 8 months have been the longest time that I have worked from and worked out at home. This was also the first time I realized that I could work out from home.

Ex: Some productivity apps and technologies you use in your daily life?

Jitendra: Skype, Zoom for managing the team, and GitHub

Ex: How do you plan to scale up?

Jitendra: We are already scaling up. There are millions of people worldwide who need education about health and fitness. We do not sell any products or gimmicks; instead, we teach people how to adopt fitness.

Ex: Who would be your closest competitor?

Jitendra: Our competition is ourselves. We look at what we have done in the past and look to better it.

Ex: What are your plans for introducing your own range of fitness gadgets?

Jitendra: That is not our expertise. Our expertise and USP lies in educating people. We would like to focus on that. There might be a scenario where we might tie-up with a company that specializes in those. However, that is not on our priority list.

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