Goan Tycoon - OCTOBER ISSUE 2022

Volume

1 Issue 5

Navigating the business and startup landscape in Goa

JASON FERNANDES

GOA’S CRYPTO KING

In a candid chat with ItsGoa, serial entrepreneur Jason Fernandes shares insights into his life, his career, his various entrepreneurial pursuits, his latest venture AdLunam, and lots more...

Creative Joule Solutions

Right and up!

Gras, Assagao

Goa’s only 100% plantbased vegan store

DIWALI at ihcl, goa

A host of festivities are in store for you this Diwali at IHCL group hotels in Goa

funminds learning

An ed-tech startup that uses gamified learning to teach coding to school students

financial wisdom

A Margao-based financial planning firm founded by noted financial planner Manalee Verneker

It's that time of the year when Businesses tidy up their acts as the Hindu financial year ends. They close the books of accounts for the old year and prepare for ‘Laxmi Puja’ or ‘Chopda Pujan’ (A term in an Indian language signifying a religious ceremony wherein books of accounts are ceremoniously blessed by a Pandit - an Indian Priest, with chanting of mantras, smearing of vermilion and flower petals and a sprinkling of blessed rose water for the well being of the business). Traditionally all financial business accounts for the year are closed before this Puja as ‘Diwali’ (the Hindu festival of the goddess of wealth - Laxmi) is the last day of the financial year for them. This Puja today is more symbolic as ‘Books of Accounts’ are no more manual but digital. So the Puja is conducted over the ‘Kijoris’ (safe deposit boxes in offices), computers that maintain the accounts, and any books of account (fictitious if any) that may be maintained.

Now, back to our magazine. Delving into what the October issue of Goan Tycoon has in store for you - there is Shawn Kenneth Fernandes, founder of CreativeJoule Solutions to help businesses go digital. On our cover this month, we have Jason Fernandes, a Goan who despite suffering from dyslexia, progressed to become a serial entrepreneur, startup mentor, and advisor.

According to him, the key to a successful earlystage start-up is to whittle down to a product that is niche….” This and more in our issue of Goan

Recently, Goa witnessed the Invest Goa Summit 2022. At the summit, Goa CM Dr. Pramod Sawant urged investors to invest in Goa stating that Goa has the necessary logistics to support their ventures. He reiterated that Goa should become a preferred investment destination due to its good connectivity by air, road, and rail which will help cater to the needs of businesses. The new Goa Industrial Growth and Investment Promotion Policy targets an investment inflow of Rs. 20,000 crores over the next 5 years with a job creation potential of 30,000. A focus on ecotourism, adventure tourism, entertainment, food processing, education and R&D, and other white and green categories are the stated thrust sectors besides Information Technology (IT) and ITeS. Tourism hubs including oceanariums, theme parks, shopping malls, food & beverage outlets, entertainment centers, handicraft centers, film city and studios, convention centers, co-working spaces, plug-and-play fairgrounds, and event centers are listed as some of the preferred investments in the tourism sector.

Signing off on a positive note with lots of developmental projects in the pipeline all set to make Goa the ideal, preferred, tourist destination. Let’s hope the infrastructure is also in place to handle these mega projects.

Until next month, cheers!

Index

01 Jason Fernandes

02 CreativeJoule Solutions

03 FunMinds Learning

04 Diwali at IHCL, Goa

05 JD School of Design Graduation Day

07 Article on marketing by Rohini Gonsalves

08 Financial Wisdom

Introduction

Goa, the tiniest state on the western coast of India, boasts golden pristine beaches, palmfringed avenues, flavourful food, delicious Portuguese-influenced sweets, and warm, hospitable people. Also known as the Ibiza of India for its partying. A tropical paradise of flora and fauna, from the very famous 'almi' (mushrooms) endemic to its forests, that grow only on the red mud anthills, to the solar prawns that are fished immediately after the monsoons, Goa is unique. Tourists are also attracted to Goa for its cultural heritage - from the famous old Portuguese churches like Se Cathedral in Old Goa, the 16th Century Safa Masjid in Ponda and Shree Mangesha Temple in Mardol, the legendary Arvalem or Pandava Caves where the Pandavas of the Mahabharat fame lived, to its two unique festivals - Carnival and Shigmo. Goa plays host to many festivals - the International Film Festival of India that promotes cinema, the Serendipity Art Festival, Sunburn Music Festival, The Grape Escapade to name a few. To showcase this varied heritage of culture, art, tradition, food, and people, in 2015 ItsGoa was born. The main aim was to make it the premier portal for all things Goa. We were able to showcase Goa like never before. Soon our blogbased website transcended the virtual space, with the ItsGoa magazine – a sought-after resource for visitors to Goa from countries like Norway, Germany, UK, USA, UAE, etc.

Editorial Team

Chief Editor

Jessyl Fernandez

Content Manager

Steve Antao

Content curators:

Prataya Sarkar

Dr. Valerie Pereira

Richelle Brito Carvalho

Dr. Denise Rodrigues

Rohini Gonsalves

Sales & Marketing

Donald Fernandez

Graphics & Layout

Shankar Kamble

Social Media Manager Saviola Dias

Jason Fernandes: Goa’s Crypto King

His entrepreneurial pursuits include enterprises focused on Web3, blockchain technology, crypto and

Article

Images Courtesy: Jason Fernandes

Jason Fernandes is a serial entrepreneur and a startup mentor based in Goa. His entrepreneurial pursuits include enterprises focused on Web3, blockchain technology, crypto and lots more. He is also a startup mentor with Silicon Valley-based Founders Institute, a verified contributor to the Dubai Future Foundation, a startup mentor for Action for India, and also the Department of IT, Government of Goa.

Besides having advisory relationships with several multinational companies, several of which he has personally invested in, he has provided input on IT policy formulation to numerous state parties including the BJP, Goa Forward Party, and the AAP. He has also had an opportunity to weigh in on education and special needs policy for the Government of Barbados, via their then Education Minister (and now Prime Minister), the Hon. Mia Motley.

His Early Years

Born and brought up in Mumbai, Jason was diagnosed with learning disabilities at a very young age. Due to this, he struggled with subjects like math and languages, particularly foreign languages. “A great deal of my personality today is a product of my neurodivergence and/or the series of events that were set in motion after my initial diagnosis,” says Jason.” “However, there were also areas that I was gifted in. I believe that the coping strategies that I mastered to counteract these issues, served me in good stead in other areas of my life as well,” he adds. Despite this, Jason successfully completed high school at the American School of Bombay and went on to study political science (government) with a minor in business from the University of Texas, Austin.

His Journey In The Field Of Technology And Entrepreneurship

Jason's tryst with technology came out of his lifelong fascination with UFOs. When he was just 15, he created a program called ‘The UFO Story’, which provided general information on the phenomenon and the ability to report sightings. Wanting to ensure that the program got the widest possible distribution, Jason decided he wanted to launch it on the monthly free CD that came with the CHIP magazine (then, India's largest-selling computer magazine). This was easier said than done. Not realizing how lucky he'd

need to be to make this a reality, Jason just took an autorickshaw to the offices of CHIP magazine and was able to walk right in and talk to the person who made that decision. A couple of months later, he released another program called ‘Cheaters Heaven,’ again on the CHIP magazine CD.

Recognizing his affinity for computers and technology, CHIP magazine asked Jason to come on board as a game reviewer at their test center. They also asked him to work on their ‘Advisor Column’ - a troubleshooting column where he responded to reader queries under the nome de guerre ‘Dr. CHIP’. He was the youngest employee at CHIP magazine at the time.

All of this took place parallel to Jason's initial diagnosis with dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and ADHD (the proverbial neurodivergent jackpot). After his diagnosis, Jason decided that he wanted to help other kids who were suffering from similar neurodivergent illnesses. So, he founded LDKids.org, a support group and information center for kids with learning disabilities. LDKids later won a sponsorship from UK communication giant Cable and Wireless. It was also featured in leading media outlets including BBC, Times of India, and The Indian Express. Later, Jason founded ZeoCities.com, one of his first companies. ZeoCities had its own email service, search engine, and e-commerce store, competing at the time with the likes of InfoSpace.com.

His Entrepreneurial Pursuits

While in college at the University of Texas, Jason along with his brother co-invented RecordTV, the world’s first legal web-based DVR, and was granted a patent for it. Jason often jokes that “RecordTV was streaming TV shows when Netflix was still mailing DVDs in little paper envelopes”. Eventually, of course, the world moved away from the DVR model and the video-on-demand model proved to be more successful. “However as a company, when RecordTV launched, nobody was yet streaming TV shows on the internet - and that was an where RecordTV really innovated,” says Jason.

Jason returned to India in 2012. Around that time, he was appointed as a monthly technology columnist for Indonesia’s GlobeAsia magazine. For the next five years, parallel to his entrepreneurial pursuits, he

wrote a monthly column for the magazine where he shared his thoughts on the business outlook of companies like Microsoft, Apple, Twitter, etc. It was around this time, in 2013, that he started to write several columns on Bitcoin and even acquired his own bitcoin for the first time. This was in July 2013, about 6 months before India's first bitcoin exchange was launched.

Around this time, Jason also co-founded a hardware company called SmartKlock. “Hardware, I learned, was much more complex than software in terms of the things that can go wrong from an engineering perspective,” says Jason. “Developing hardware with a bootstrapped R&D budget proved to be much more difficult than anticipated and eventually I had to wind up the company,'' he says.

In November 2017, Jason decided to spin off the software portion of the technology (which had by now evolved into a notification filter/blocker) into a separate blockchain-enabled product called FUNL. The product was among a select group of brands that got a chance to exhibit at the IFFI film festival that year. Later, FUNL participated in the Seaside Startup Summit event (organised by Startup Armenia) and won first place in its category resulting in quite a bit of press coverage.

Some of this press found its way to LinkedIn and was read by a close friend of his who had co-founded a company called eMusic.com. eMusic had revolutionised the digital music industry in the early 90s, playing a key role in establishing the internet as a market for legal music and was later acquired by Vivendi/Universal. “His partner was setting up a blockchain company and was looking for a cofounder and my timing couldn’t have been better,'' says Jason. “And, so, I co-founded AEToken with Gene Hoffman (co-founder of eMusic.com) in 2018.” Hoffman later left AEToken to be President of Chia Networks alongside Bram Cohen (Founder of BitTorrent).

After Hoffman left AEToken, Jason moved on to start TokenJay.com, a cryptocurrency media outlet in 2019. He also debuted as a crypto analyst on the Malta-based 24-hour blockchain channel, Bloxlive.TV in 2020 appearing in several of their live shows. Later that year, he was offered an opportunity to come aboard to launch India operations for XREX exchange (xrex.io), a blockchain fintech firm headquartered in Taiwan.

XREX launched with a bang in India in September 2020, growing daily volumes to 1 million USD a day in a mere 6 weeks, and hitting the 2 million USD mark by week 10.

After serving as XREX's President (India Operations) for over a year, Jason moved on to come aboard as a consultant for IBC Group, (ibcgroup.io), a blockchain/ cryptocurrency strategic consulting and marketing company where he advised companies in the Web3 space on their launch and go-to-market strategy. “My expertise is tokenomics, where one engineers the factors that affect price or scarcity of a token in

much the same way a nation might regulate its own currency, thus creating a sustainable token that will likely go up in value”, says Jason. “This expertise is particularly important for cryptocurrency investors as it directly influences the value of a token,” he adds.

As a result of this, Jason was soon asked to take on a dual role at one of IBC’s sister companies, NFT Tech evaluating potential investments. He was then appointed CBO of NFT tech where he evaluated 7 to 10 projects a day in the Web3 space looking for investments on whether they would be a good fit for their portfolio.

Over the course of several months and literally over a thousand pitches, Jason closed on several investments for NFT Tech that earned the company an ROI of over $60 million in its first quarter. NFT Tech went public in May this year on the NEO stock exchange trading under the ticker ‘NFT’ in Canada. In June, they listed on the Frankfurt exchange in Germany trading under the ticker ‘8LO’.

His latest venture ‘AdLunam’

In 2021, Jason co-founded AdLunam, a crypto launchpad, as he shifted focus to investments in the Web3 space. He co-founded the firm along with Nadja Bester and CTO Lawrence Hutson. Hutson previously founded US travel giant Travelocity.com, (once upon a time the largest travel portal in the world and now owned by Expedia). Tapping into deep relationships in the Web3 investment space, AdLunam was able to raise over 2 million USD in the first 5 days of its raise.

AdLunam (which means “to the moon” in Latin) is the industry’s first NFT-integrated ‘Engage to Earn’ seed crowdfunding and IDO launchpad using a proof of

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attention model. An IDO is very similar to an IPO in traditional equity markets. Web3 companies that are token based often raise funds by pre-selling those tokens on a decentralised exchange. The role of a launchpad is to add a layer of due diligence to the process and to assist early-stage projects by giving them access to investors in the launchpad network.

Jason explains that most launchpads divvy up allocations in projects they support based on the tier of membership and fees that the investor has staked with the launchpad. “AdLunam uses a unique “engage to earn” mechanism where our community members are allocated the ability to purchase tokens based on how active they are in the discussions around the project. This ensures that projects get engaged long-term investors that are less likely to sell the token at the first opportunity”, he says.

Jason adds that it's easy for ‘mission creep’ to set-in for early-stage companies that feel like they are nimble enough to pivot on a dime. “

Deciding one’s mission as a company should be a reductive process and not an additive one”, he says. He is fond of the concept of Picasso's Bull and reductive design and says that the same also applies to early-stage ventures. “The key to a successful early-stage start-up is to whittle down to a product that is niche enough to where one can use that as the lever that opens up other opportunities for a company to dominate the market”, he says.

Jason speaking at TedX Talks, Panaji in 2017

His Message To Aspiring Entrepreneurs Jason stresses the importance of doing something unique and innovative. He says that there is no point in setting up a company to be the second-best player in the industry. “If you are not doing something innovative or adding to the zeitgeist in some way, don’t do it,'' he says.

He adds that entrepreneurship today, especially in India, is getting to the point of being overdone a bit. “It has become a trend today to set up a company because someone prefers to be CEO or founder of this or that, rather than a graphic designer or a copywriter for some XYZ company. It's really important to think of the problem you are trying to solve and ensure your USP is a viable product that the market both needs and will actually pay for”, he says. “It is also important to not try to be all things to all people”, he adds.

With the advancement in technology and the IT sector and everything going online, the time is right for the business sector to take the leap and go online. CreativeJoule Solutions helps businesses make the transition and assists them in making a mark in the online world.

The firm is a new-age Tech/Creative Agency, which leverages the power of modern design and cuttingedge technology to help supercharge businesses online.

The firm as founded in January 2022 by Goan entrepreneur Shawn Kenneth Fernandes. Shawn has worked with over 130 clients in his extensive 10+ year career and has also instructed over 14,000 students in Design and UI/UX. His business acumen and entrepreneurship came naturally to him at a very young age. He began his business career at the age of 13!

During his years at school, he used to download games from the internet, burn them into CDs, and trade them for Pokemon Tazos and collectibles which were a hot commodity for every young school-going kid back then.

At the age of 13, he self-learned design software that gave rise to his first actual business - that of creating posters and printable media and selling them to friends, family, or local businesses. Later in life, when he moved to Mumbai, taking inspiration from the hustle and bustle of the city and the fact that “everyone around you is constantly on the move,” he says “it’s difficult not to want to keep up with the pace.”

Working at regular jobs in some of Mumbai’s leading agencies, luck struck him when he was given the amazing opportunity by the Director of the Emerging Technologies division at Glitch, a software company specializing in project management tools. to take over the department and run the entire functioning of it for a week while the Director was away on a vacation. Running an entire department made Shawn realize that he not only had the required skillset to lead an entire department in a huge firm, but was also genuinely interested in it. After testing several business models to see which one worked the best, he registered his company and from then on, there has been no turning back for him.

Team CreativeJoule

CreativeJoule Solutions is a young firm, filled with highly experienced and motivated individuals supercharging businesses all over India and internationally with IT Solutions, UI/UX Designing, Digital Marketing, Branding, and Media Production.

The company has on their team, a number of engineers, fashion designers, and performance marketers, and each of them brings an ample amount of creativity and curiosity to the table which helps drive the firm towards new achievements, glory, recognition, and fame.

Their Clientele

CreativeJoule Solutions was featured as a ‘Leader of Change’ in the special feature of Times of India, (Goa Edition) on 15th August 2022. Their team members have experience working with various companies like Netflix, Mercedes-Benz, Crocs, Jockey, IDFC First, and even celebrities like Deepika Padukone and the International Film Festival of India to name a few.

Major tech brands, casinos, and fashion labels have been their clients. Brands like Snip Salon & Spa (Goa), Apex Brasil (Brasil), Consulate of Brazil (Mumbai), TNC Aviation (Delhi), StudionTIA (Malta), BigWorks (Hyderabad), FerrisWheel Entertainment (Dubai) are just a few of them.

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Services Provided

CreativeJoule Solutions offers services in 5 main areas:

1.Software Development: Cutting Edge Product Development, ERPs, CRMs & High-Functioning Corporate Websites and Web Apps. Android & iOS Development in some of the industry’s most cuttingedge and powerful technologies.

2.UI/UX Design: They provide complete UI/UX services using cutting-edge techniques and technologies, including UI Design & Branding, Wireframe Design, Flow & System Architecture Design, UX Auditing, and Usability Testing.

With years of experience in the design industry, they are known for their creative zeal and hands-on experience in all domains of UI/UX, and they understand what it takes to establish a brand from a design standpoint while creating personalised experiences that will increase user engagement, usability, and brand recall.

3.Digital Marketing: By providing tailored experiences to broaden reach on social media, they assist businesses in building stronger brand awareness and customer relationships.

They enable users to achieve this by providing insightdriven decision-making, Performance Marketing, Creative Social Media Marketing, Brand Awareness, Lead Generation, Email Marketing, and hyperpersonalized Campaign Management, resulting in improved customer experience and brand loyalty.

4.Branding & Graphic Design: They provide a full range of creative services suited to a business’ or company’s ongoing and prospective needs. From logo design to print and web, they've got you covered. They create visual brand identity materials to connect to the target audience to help their clients achieve their targets faster.

Their services include Logo Design & Visual Identity, Branded Merchandise, Social Media Identity & Posts, Print Media Design & Execution, Web Graphics & Banners, and Corporate Presentations.

5, Media Production: They work with a team of talented Photographers and Videographers who specialise in Brand Photography and Commercial

Shooting, Fashion Photography, Video Editing, ColourColour Grading, and Product Photography. Beginning with pre-production, where they communicate with you to create a brief that best outlines the goals and deliverables.

Although the firm has been running smoothly and boasts a clientele that covers national and international companies, struggles do exist. The major challenge has always been the changes and revisions a particular project demands. Since creativity, design and visual appeal are all entirely subjective, it does take quite a while to complete a product that keeps clients both happy as well as serves the purpose behind its creation.

Besides this, optimising cash flow and SOPs is always a challenge for a growing team since processes set in place one day become entirely obsolete the next month since projects, clients, and trends are ever-changing, says Shawn.

As for the future, Shawn plans to establish CreativeJoule as one of India’s leading firms when it comes to UI/UX and Design. India is still not saturated in terms of usability and design of software and websites and it is an industry ripe for the takeover which they intend to fully take advantage of and help clients achieve their goals.

Shawn believes in the philosophy of simply “Doing It. “Doing It, without wasting time wondering whether you can accomplish your goals or not, “It is almost always more

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ED-TECH START-UP

FunMinds Learning

An ed-tech company that uses gamified learning to teach the ability of coding to students aged 10 to 16 years.

Image: Ms. Suwarna Naik, Founder, FunMinds Learning

Article by: Cassandra Carvalho

Images Courtesy: FunMinds Learning

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FunMinds Learning is an ed-tech company that uses gamified learning to teach the ability of coding to students aged 10 to 16 years. They provide selfdirected learning at highly affordable rates, incorporating both online and offline gamified learning for coding. The brand focuses on overall development by building teams and improving socialising skills.

In addition to offering an avenue for interactive learning, FunMinds Learning enables its students to learn by utilising physical modules. The course's three levels allows the students to concentrate on particulars during the skill-building exercises. Additionally, the mix of technology and EQ (Emotional Quotient) aid youngsters in developing their transdisciplinary and problem-solving skills.

The Company

It all began in 2017 when Ms. Suwarna Naik started the groundwork and trials and later registered the company in 2019 when she saw the market and the problem size.

Fun Minds Learning has offices at FiiRE, Fatorda, AIC -GIM,Sanquelim, and in Vigo Bharati at Patto in Panjim. Its mission is to reach the unreached and upskill the masses with coding and improve emotional intelligence in a fun way, in the age groups they target. Their vision is to build a task force that will build a better future for civilization while the world is going digital day by day.

the child new challenges and learning. Currently, level 1 is out in the market and available through their website.

The Founders

The founders of this innovative concept are Ms. Suwarna Naik, who has 10+ years of experience in the field of Information Technology, Dr. Chinmay Phadnis, who holds a Ph.D. in Education, and Mr. Arafath Ahamed, a certified NLP Master Practitioner. Their clients include United Breweries, Goa State Innovation Council, Rosary College of Commerce and Arts, and Agnel Technical Education Complex among others.

The founders noticed that most of the students struggled in coding because their basics were not

opportunity to learn coding at a tender age, would find it much simpler and also develop a liking for it.

The Behind starting FunMinds Learning

While conducting coding workshops in Government schools of Goa, Ms. Naik was disheartened to see that so many students had a spark in their eyes and a fire in their belly to do something, but had no means to access the required knowledge. There was a need to give access to coding to these underprivileged students and also to all the other students at a young age.

So she decided to train them with coding skills and teach them robotics, which will be a boon in the upcoming job market. No matter which profession they choose, they will face technology. Growing up with technology helps to understand technology better. The need to work with a computer will be as strong as communication. A child who has learned tech skills has better concentration and is more innovative and creative, and above all has the hunger to learn. Ms. Naik believes that educating a child is the best thing on earth to do, and, when you’re teaching them technology, it’s fun. This will help solve a lot of problems faced in today’s world.

The goal of C for Coding, one of their projects, is to teach coding and emotional intelligence (EQ) to underserved youth between the ages of 12 and 16

to computers or the internet are to be taught tech and EQ skills.

Challenges Faced

Goa was a bit of a tough nut to crack since it isn't an IT industrial hub, and it was difficult to convince parents about the importance of technology education. Ms. Naik did have a few parents who were all geared up and students who have been excelling today in learning technology. Two of her first students Master Gajesh Naik and Master Viraj Marathe are making news in not just the Goan digital world, but also nationally. However, Covid 19 and the inclusion of technology in NEP changed the scenario for the brand in the market.

The founders believe that if they don’t have challenges, they don't see the brand growing. In fact, their concept was adopted by competitors as well and they had to work around that to be different and innovative. They just hope for the best as the ecosystem is changing. They are still looking for the right mentors and resources.

The support they have received from startup incubators is commendable. They don’t leave a stone unturned for the brand and are very approachable. Startup Cell Goa has been a bit cold towards Funminds, but Startup India has definitely worked out.

Fun Minds has a lot on its plate but they are looking forward to growing and building products, which are more

Every era demands and rewards different skills. Living in a digital age, mobile phones and tablets are a natural part of kids' lives. People need to understand that this is going to be their future. We have to work on making them a positive part of their life. Parents from earlier generations would've never imagined that computers would be such a dominant part of our lives like this, but today nothing happens without one. As much as coding is important to learn, keeping one's emotional well-being is also important in this digital world and Fun Minds Learning is here to create a revolution in this learning process.

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Illuminate your Diwali celebrations with a host of festivities at IHCL, Goa. Indulge in a selection of specially curated festivities at breath-taking destinations spread across the paradisiacal state – Taj Resort & Convention Centre, Dona Paula; Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Benaulim; Taj Fort Aguada Resort & Spa, Sinquerim; Taj Holiday Village Resort & Spa, Candolim; Cidade de Goa – IHCL SeleQtions; Vivanta Goa, Panaji and Vivanta Goa, Miramar. Revel in the festival of lights with a touch of Tajness.

The Joy of Gifting

Celebrate the glittering festive season with a collection of exquisite hampers, thoughtfully designed to convey the warmest thoughts and greetings. Curated to be remembered, each hampers features an array of artisanal mithai and goodies coupled with the finest luxury accessories to brighten the festive celebrations. Choose from an assortment of exclusive and customised gifting options and personalise it as per preference.

Diwali Soiree

Enjoy timeless rituals and reminisce sweet memories with loved ones over a spread of gourmet dining specials at award-wining restaurants. From authentic flavours to a tryst between classic and contemporary, relish a plethora of epicurean delights with a traditional Diwali fare.

One can also opt to enhance celebrations in the comforts of home with Qmin, the food delivery app from IHCL. Add the perfect cheer to your festive revelry with a variety of delectable preparations delivered at the doorstep.

Be it celebrating over a meal together or surprising your loved ones with a bespoke hamper, brighten up this Diwali with the signature hospitality of IHCL, Goa.

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) and its subsidiaries bring together a group of brands that offer a fusion of warm Indian hospitality and worldclass service. These include Taj – the iconic brand for the most discerning travellers and India’s Strongest Hospitality Brand as per Brand Finance 2021, SeleQtions, a named collection of hotels, Vivanta, sophisticated upscale hotels, and Ginger,

graduation ceremony on the 29th of Sptmb 2022 at Clube Tennis De Gaspar Dias, Panjim. The ceremony was for the passing out batch who pursued various courses from the institute.

The design aspirants who were felicitated during the ceremony belonged to the domain of fashion design as well as interior design.

During the grand ceremony, the students received certifications from the dignitaries of the institutes as they are venturing out into the professional world. Graduation day is an opportunity for the passing out batch to relive their college days and celebrate all their achievements, energies, and hard work that went into their success journey.

While addressing the students on their special day, Director-South Ms. Sandra Agnes D’Souza congratulated them for their success and said, “Today we are very proud that 33 students are graduating from JD, Goa campus. You all are a part of the JD Family and we wish you come back to us, even if you are out of college. JD Institute believes that we need to be connected to the industry and whenever we start a new project, a new assignment, or an initiative we want you to be a part of the process as it can help all of us to grow. We also invite you to come and do your projects inside the college free of cost”.

Mr. Nealesh Dalal, Managing Trustee, JD Educational Trust said that the graduation ceremony is a day which we all have been waiting for since the design enthusiasts stepped into college. “Witnessing our students succeed in each phase has filled us with immense pride. As they are ready to enter the world with all the knowledge they gained from their mentors and the institutional programs, I would like to congratulate them on their achievements. The success of our students substantiates the quality of education that the institute provides. We hope that

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our ‘JD-ians’ venture out in the field of design with creativity and explore new dimensions of the domain.” he added.

Moreover, Mr. Umesh Naik, Principal of JD Institute Goa also showed his gratitude to the entire management. “ On this day, I would like to congratulate all the graduates and wish them all the very best for their future endeavors. I would also like to thank the faculty members, staff members, and the management team for supporting the educational journey of the institute.”

The graduation ceremony welcomed 30 graduates this year from the institute. JD School of Design, Goa powered by JD Institute of Fashion Technology is affiliated with Goa University and provides multiple new-age courses that reinvigorate the field of Design, Media, and Art.

JD Institute of Fashion Technology was started with the aim to serve the design field. With its impeccable legacy of 34 years, the institute has given the industry some of the great luminaries and has inculcated the habit of design practice that thrives on uniqueness, novelty, and sustainability. The institute is not only looking forward to helping the students understand the intricacies of the various fields of design and perform well in their academics but also

providing them with the right knowledge to propel their careers in various domains.

JD School of Design aims to bring world-class education to aspiring students with the framework of explorations into various creative collaborations in the field of Design, Media, and Art. The school stands out among the many with its offers in the quality of academic programs along with the close student-mentor engagement, research and creative programs, project-based learning, state-of-the-art technology, and delivery facilities, and affiliation with Bengaluru City University and Goa University.

Every business is set for a specific and defined purpose. The target market segment/s are clearly identified and then the business creates the relevant products/services/solutions to meet the specific needs of that target market segment. When one contemplates the categorization of the products or services, one must again look at the target market one is serving. The marketplace is crowded with products and services at any point on the continuum. Shampoos may be mass-produced for a generalized buyer or may be customized to certain hair types, certain hair/scalp problems, personalized to a mix of hair type+problem or Bespoke – tailor-made depending on what exactly is the problem you wish to solve.

Business offerings today are categorized along various points on a certain continuum from a generalized version for mass consumption to a moderate customized version to a more refined personalized option to the high notes of ‘bespoke’ variants of their offerings.

What is the optimum point for your business? Where on this continuum is the highest profitability?

There is a simple formula to evaluate this.

A business will surely make profits if at some point, the total revenue earned from that variant leaves a considerable surplus in the business. Take a look at the various options and the probability of generating profits on each option.

Mass Production

These are products and services which have been designed to serve the most number of buyers. They aim to cover the major needs and may not feature to meet every person's expectations. The initial infrastructure costs towards setup/manufacturing may be extensively high, but the eventual incremental cost – which is mostly raw material and manpower costs will be very marginal. Therefore, the unit cost of the products will be far lower than the other variants. This has the highest possibility of distributing these products/services across various retail and online channels. The best way to sell more of these is through effective channel distribution, advertising, distributor/dealer/retailer incentives, and sales promotional tools.

Customized

These are mass-produced products/services with additional features/addons or exclusions to fit into market. It ensures that the size of that subset is large enough to rationalize the additional investment and/or input costs. These are variants of the mass production models with a few plus/minus changes. The buyer bears an additional cost towards these features. These may also be distributed via retail and online channels. To sell more, a business needs to invest in educating the salesperson about upselling the additional features. Sales incentives drive these sales. Also influencer marketing – making the additional features a more ‘need

Personalized

These are products/services designed to meet the specific needs of a certain person. It is meant to address all the pain points that the individual has. It has higher costs of evaluating the most preferred solution, sometimes testing it, and then going ahead with the final production. The pricing on Personalized products may vary depending on the scope of work and evaluation of the time and effort required in addition to the input costs. The buyers are willing to bear an additional cost towards the added compliance to their requirements. The unit economics need to be positive in this case. The most efficient way to distribute this is to use advertising or online listing to generate leads or inquiries. A concerted effort to determine the needs via a personal call or meeting or by filling out a form is suggested to get the exact requirements. For technical products, one may need to get exact measurements, etc. It will have a higher human involvement and may be several rounds of discussion and testing of the solution before finalization.

Bespoke

This is a new age term for tailor-made solutions and takes personalization one notch up by creating something from scratch to meet the buyer’s fancy. The outcome is nothing short of a piece of art. It is unique, exquisite and one of a kind. This offering meets the buyer’s need to be unique and set apart from the world. The pricing of these offerings not only covers the effort, resources, and input costs but generally includes a premium for its uniqueness. This model requires a complete partnership with the buyer. One has to work together right from the drawing board and discuss to create a workable solution. There is a higher likelihood of completely scrapping the idea to square one several times before the desired result

is realized. It is a process where the idea and the contributors evolve together and create the final outcome.

Profits in each case are a function of not only the volume of sales but also cost efficiencies – from creating economies of scale in mass production to waste reduction in the personalized and bespoke variants. There is no magic formula to get it right, but there is magic once you do get it right.

About the Author:

The author, Rohini Gonsalves, is a marketing consultant and also the founder of Sevarat, a Panjimbased start-up which provides geriatric care services to elderly patients. She is a gold medallist in marketing and sales promotion from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan and has more than 15 years of experience in the field of marketing. Anyone wishing to avail of her services may contact her on:

Mobile: +91 8329 857965

Email: rohini@sevarat.com | Web: www.sevarat.com

Personal finance is something that a person has to think about at some stage of their life. Knowing how to deal with one’s wealth and assets will ensure that in the future one’s money grows along with oneself. Helping people in managing their finances and guiding them in making prudent financial decisions is a Margao-based firm called Financial Wisdom by Manalee Verneker, a Mumbai-born financial advisor.

The firm was established in 2021 by Manalee, who graduated in Financial Markets from Mithibai Motiram Kundnani College, Mumbai. Having received the certification as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) from the Financial Planner Standard Board US and Chartered Wealth Manager (CWM) from the American Academy of Financial Management.

Manalee’s interest in saving and investing since her student days got her into the field of finance. She soon understood the power of compounding and realized that she wants to work more in this area where she can inspire and educate others towards attaining financial freedom. Starting her own firm allowed her to not only educate and advise people on financial management but also be a part of their fulfilling journey.

The Company

Financial Wisdom specializes in personal finance for individuals, corporates, and family groups by catering to their financial needs through a wide range of investment options across various asset classes. They

The firm houses a team of Certified Financial Planners and Chartered Wealth Managers who deliver practical solutions so that you can materialize your personal financial goals.

Services Provided

Financial Wisdom is a company that specializes in personal finance for individuals, corporates, families, etc. They help their clients in achieving financial goals which include but are not limited to:

• Retirement Planning,

• Estate Planning,

• Risk Analysis and Insurance Planning,

• Buying property,

• Child Education Plan,

• Tax Planning, etc.

Mutual Funds, Term Insurance, Health Insurance, Equity Investments, Portfolio Management Services, Alternative Investment Funds, etc, are some of the ways through which they help their clients achieve their various financial goals.

Clients Served

Financial Wisdom boasts a clientele that ranges from young adults who are interested in investments, NRIs, retired or nearing retirement individuals, individuals planning their retirement goal, corporate employees, college professors, school teachers, doctors, parents, small business owners, women entrepreneurs, HNI clients to name a few. “Anyone who has an interest in financial planning and is eager to understand, learn, and

many roles like that of an Asset Manager, Psychologist, and Financial Planner, all so that clients succeed in achieving their financial goals, perceptions, and expectations. According to Manalee, even though dealing with new clients can be challenging, new doors open toward unique opportunities and provide new experiences.

For the future, Financial Wisdom has the vision to engage young families to follow a methodical and structured approach toward managing their finances. “We want to reach a stage where our clients succeed in achieving their financial goals following our advice and we get to witness their satisfying journey which won’t be an achievement just for them but also for us”, says Manalee.

on your earnings, how much to spend, and how much to save in order to achieve your dreams fall under financial planning”.

Manalee adds that “It’s never too late to plan for your finances. It’s never tomorrow, it always starts with today”.

Fo more information about Financial Wisdom and the services provided by them:

WhatsApp: 083780 80888

Website: www.financialwisdom.co.in

Facebook: www.facebook.com/financialwisdom2021

Linkedin: in.linkedin.com/company/financialwisdom

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One-Stop Shop For All Things Vegan

Being mindful of what you eat or what you let inside your body is a growing concern in the times that we live in today when adulteration is an ever-present menace. Helping in providing a solution to this widespread problem is Gras, a social enterprise based in Assagao that offers artisanal, healthy, and fun alternatives to dairy, meat, and fish for anyone who wants to try out a plant-based diet. Gras is the only 100% plant-based vegan store in Goa and working on a QSR model eatery at different locations. All the dairy alternatives including healthy plant based cheese, butter, milk, curd and more are hand crated in-house.

The Founders Of Gras

At the helm of affairs of this unique vegan startup are its founders Ankit Bhartiya and Aparna Bhartiya. Ankit has over 22 years of cross-functional experience in business sectors like apparel, textiles, interior design and has worked with some of the leading high street internatuonal and domestic retailers and brands like Westside, Shoppers Stop, Reliance group, Landmark group, Aditya Birla Group, Arvind Group, Furture Group , Spykar, Pepejeans, UCB, Blackberry and more. He also co-founded an online fashion brand called ‘Caricaturelife’, targeted at fashion for young men on all leading market place platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Shopclues and Myntra etc.

Aparna on the other hand has had a successful acting career in some of most successful and premier soap operas on Indian television for more than 7 years with Balaji Telefilms. After getting married, Aparna took a break from her acting career to engage herself fully with the nuances of married life. Being an animal rights activist for over 18 years now, Aparna used the lockdown period to educate herself and learn new techniques of plant-based cheese making. She trained under celebrity Chef Stephanie Prather, one of the top vegan chefs and educators from Spain and successfully created 21 different types of artisanal vegan cheese. The phenomenal response led her to start a passion project called Saorsa (Saorsa means – freedom in Gaelic) plantbased creamery in Goa.

Both Ankit and Aparna wanted a simple name for their enterprise that would be self-explanatory and something that stands for plant-based lifestyle.

Hence, they decided on the name Gras for their venture. And finally, on 15th August 2022, as India celebrated its 75th Independence Day, Gras opened its doors to the public with the slogan “Freedom for all” (not just humans!)

The Idea Behind Starting Gras

Ankit explains that designing apparels and exporting them to Europe, the Middle East, and SouthEast Asia for the last 15 years gave him an opportunity to travel across the globe and get exposed to various forms of lifestyle choices including food. He participated in various fashion seminars and workshops in France and Germany where a lot of emphasis was laid on the need for global action to change consumer mindsets for choices that impact the environment. He worked on projects that would reduce the negative impact of human consumption on the planet and initiated a new clothing line that used organic fabric and recycled fabric for the fast fashion brands. He also successfully completed a project using denim fabric from pet bottles found in the ocean for international brands.

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veganism was not for them, one day the thought hit that “we cannot call ourselves animal lovers if we save a life in distress or feed selective underprivileged animals on one hand and gorge on other animals on the other hand”. They felt that this was hypocritic and self-indulgent behavior and it was time to walk the talk and stretch out completely in support of the speechless and contribute to reducing the environmental wreck created by meat consumption. This prompted the duo to adopt a vegan lifestyle immediately and have continued for last 6 years.

“Gras is a passion project and just a small step towards conscious living to help everyone with alternative choices for dairy/meat and help realize the SDG’s highlighted by the UN.This has been the idea behind Gras”, says Ankit.

Products Offered

Ankit calls ‘Gras’ the wonder workshop where Aparna creates magic with nuts and oils. The products offered at Gras include various types of countrystyle, handmade, preservative and dairy-free cheeses, butter, and milk. Their range of cheeses includes Cheese spread, Melatable Moz, Fermented Wheel and Parmesan Cheese. They also offer Salted White Butter which reminds us of the good ol “ghar

Butter, Almond Butter along with rick and creamy Oat Cashew Milk, all made without any preservatives or dairy.

Apart from the Saorsa plant-based creamery products, they also retail the best plant-based meat/ fish ready-to-eat meals, dairy and sugar-free ice creams and chocolate, high-altitude customized ground coffee, flash-fired healthy real veg crisps, vegan cookies, probiotic kombuchas, and vegan smoothie mixes. They source all their raw materials from local farmers and traders.

Website:

tried and tested by top chefs from some of the most popular restaurants and cafes in Goa, who now buy regularly from us”, says Ankit. “We are immensely proud and happy to get such a phenomenal response”, he adds. Their ‘SaorsaPlant based creamery’ brand products are sold at Green Chokrees in Siolim, OMO in Panjim, and Saukhyam in Porvorim. At present, they only deliver in North Goa.

Challenges Faced and Future Plans

One of the major challenges which Ankit faces while running Gras is that of staff. Due to a lot of options of cafes and restaurants opening every day in Goa, there is a huge scarcity of good and trained staff”, he says. For the future, Gras is focusing on the B2B model in order to reach more cafes and restaurants and have them use their products to expand their menu with plant-based options for their customers.

Ankit says that he and Aparna have a soft spot for all the yummy recipes that are close to their hearts since their childhood, be it juicy kebabs, kheema, prawn curry, butter chicken, grilled fish and more! “Now imagine all these recipes in a healthy, readyto-eat, plant protein-rich preparation, which is meat and dairy-free! We call this food innovation !”, he says.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gras.goa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gras_goa

Click on the link below for directions to Gras’ outlet at Assagao:

https://goo.gl/maps/vtK3XxPFbbLnXV3y9

Use Coupon Code GRAS10 to avail a 10% discount while shopping at the Gras store at Assagao.

T&C: Offer valid on select items

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