SaaS Platform Jumpstart Raises Funds from Venture Catalysts

Mumbai-based Jumpstart, a SaaS platform for customer-driven demand generation, has raised undisclosed amount in funding from Venture Catalysts, India's first integrated incubator.

Founded in 2017, by Raghav Soni, who is former Chief Marketing Officer of CredR, Jumpstart is modern marketing platform (SaaS) that helps offline businesses & brands at multi locations to attract more customers and increase repeat business. The platform helps to drive -- Online Discovery, Social Commerce and Customer Interactions impacting Purchase decisions, Brand visibility and Customer experience.

According to Jumpstart website, the platform is being used by over 4000 businesses.

Dr. Apoorv Sharma, Founder of Venture Catalysts, said in a statement to LiveMint, "umpstart, in its role as the facilitator of local enterprises develop a strong online presence to reach out to more consumers effectively, fits this role perfectly. It is led by two well-experienced founders and a skilled core team that knows the needs of different fast growing consumer and B2B startups well."

Mumbai-based Venture Catalysts is a homegrown startup incubator and it typically invests $25,0000 – $1.5 million in early stage startups that have the potential to create enduring value for over a long period of time.

Recently, Venture Catalysts joined hands with MEHUB, a media startup incubator, for reaching out to startups operating in the space of technology driven Media & Entertainment & Edutech and offer them an environment conducive to growth comprising infrastructure, professional consulting, finance and business opportunities aligned to guaranteed expansion.

In February this year, Venture Catalysts announced its expansion in Europe, the UK. For same, Venture Catalysts partnered with JPIN, a Euro-Asia focused VC, a startup mentor and a global advisory, to build the largest Euro-Asia corridor for angels to invest and nurture early stage ventures.

Microsoft Ventures starts Hotline Phone for startups & entrepreneurs in India

Very lately we came to know that Microsoft Ventures in India had introduced a helpful toll-free hotline exclusive to Indian startups and entrepreneurs with a resource to ask business and technical questions and named it as - "JumpStart". Open during business hours Monday-Friday (9am to 5pm IST), a team of dedicated professionals will be available to answer questions at - 1 (800) 200-2114, a toll free number across India.

The hotline phone service currently available in English and Hindi. Microsoft JumpStart has provided one call center in Delhi, but plans to develop to satisfy needs.

JumpStart will be staffed by dedicated professionals who have been trained by Microsoft to answer business and technical queries. Microsoft will apply the learnings from these calls to fine tune the Microsoft Ventures program, including the India Accelerator, to make it more impactful for its recipients.

JumpStart is an initiative of Microsoft Ventures, a global strategic partner for promising startups. By connecting with local lawyers, human resource service providers, and accountants to help entrepreneurs find solutions, JumpStart is nationally-recognized as a necessary catalyst for startup success in India.

Explaining the importance of this service, Kattayil Rajinish Menon, Director, Microsoft Ventures in India, who is responsible for community and ecosystem engagement, said: "Sometimes answering even simple questions about how to get started or which service provider to contact can really help startups avoid delays and cost overruns. While JumpStart cannot promise the success of a startup’s business, it can definitely help by educating entrepreneurs how to get started quickly by providing information on the vast resources available today."