Seven Startups Graduate from Target Accelerator Program’s Fourth Batch in India

On an average it takes six weeks and $10,000 to create a motion picture promotional video. What if you could create a video every 15 minutes at a fraction of the cost? This was one of the many innovative ideas presented today at the Target Accelerator Program’s Demo Day. Seven startups - Preksh, MintM, Uncanny Vision, Lechal, Lawbot, Charmboard and Story Xpress, pitched ideas in areas like digital marketing, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).

The Target Accelerator Program gives startups a unique platform to develop, scale and test their products in a live retail environment. With unparalleled access to retail business know-how and a community of mentors in India and the U.S., the 16-week program culminated in an impactful Demo Day that saw seven startups pitch to venture capitalists, retailers, serial entrepreneurs and the media. The graduating startups have successfully tested their products across Target stores and its digital channels. The program also provides a platform for Target team members to create compelling solutions. This batch included two internal ideas that were developed alongside the startups.

“We have worked with a broad category of startups and are excited about the initial tests conducted with several of them. The vision of their ideas and the far reaching impact it can have is helping Target stay ahead of the game”, said Navneet Kapoor, president and managing director of Target’s office in India. “Through our accelerator journey over the last three years, we have seen the Indian startup ecosystem mature and are thrilled to see them address deeper and more relevant business problems. We remain invested in partnering with the startups to shape the future of retail.”

The Demo Day in Bangalore comes on the heels of a successful retailer accelerator at Target’s U.S. headquarters in Minneapolis, which was run in conjunction with Techstars. The accelerator programs are being used as a springboard for Target to become more engaged with the startup ecosystem. The Target team in India recently partnered with late-stage startups to provide solutions for other business needs. For instance, UpGrad is providing online trainings for team members and startups to upskill on-the-job, and Blue Birch is solving reverse logistics problems through sustainable solutions for old laptops, phones and workstations.

Target’s long standing commitment to support the communities where we live and work is also being realized through the accelerator program. Target’s team in India is now working with Lechal, who was part of the fourth batch that presented their demos today, to provide haptic footwear to the visually-challenged cricket team from Samarthanam Trust, a partner NGO. Promising to provide ease of navigation, this wearable technology will enable these cricketers to pursue their passion with more zeal.

With a portfolio of 22 startups and counting, the fifth batch of the Target Accelerator Program is slated to launch later this year. Applications can be submitted at:www.f6s.com/targetacceleratorprogram.

Digital Marketing Startup MintM Raises Pre Series A Round from Mumbai Angels and Times Internet

In the era of digital innovations, a cutting-edge solution for advertising is bridging the huge gap in the brick and mortar world which was earlier possible only online. MintM, a startup which is a straight comparison to the Google ads has come up with a crowd pulling platform - Magnet, a cloud based, responsive, and analytical solution in the brick and mortar world. Given the disruption it has brought in the retail sector, it is no wonder that Magnet has been raising eyebrows and gaining well meaning interest.

Sachin Garg, CEO of MintM and the brain behind Magnet says "This platform has been described as a peep into the future by prominent people in the industry. It gives me great pleasure to provide a solution to advertising that is not just displaying relevant content but also responding to the people who are in front of it, tracking their response and ultimately generating valuable statistics for the advertiser to compare and compile."

MintM has recently raised its pre Series A funding to grow its smart signage platform Magnet across the world. This funding was co-led by Mumbai Angels and Times Internet following MintM's step out from TLabs, the leading startup accelerator. The funds will be used for making the product more intelligent and expanding its already fast-growing international markets where Magnet is witnessing significant traction.

MintM has come a long way and has bagged a lot of awards and recognitions through it’s journey. It was among the top 50 start-ups by TiE Silicon Valley and was also NASSCOM Emerge Top 50 most promising start-ups. The company has the world's first smart signage platform - Magnet which sees and responds to people. This cloud based platform is a simple app that brings the capabilities similar to online advertising to the physical world.  Much like a digital advertisement, Magnet's signage software brings context, tracking and analytics to any digital screens installed in spaces in the real and physical world. A lot of leading retailers, banks, brands, salons and spas are already using Magnet to increase the engagement with their audience, measure it along with the revenue generation possibilities.

Garg says "The fact that Magnet can analyse its audience, respond to them and allow the ability to be run remotely on a cloud has been greatly appreciated.  If I have to put it in simple words- Magnet is installed on a screen that is looking at you- real time, responding to you and gathering feedback, all at the same time, without intruding your privacy! This kind of contextual advertising was earlier only possible online. All this just using a friendly app that makes it look like a game, except it's as real as it gets."

Magnet provides an unparalleled level of engagement as compared to online channels with many of the customers getting around 20X engagement as compared to 1-2% by other platforms. The adoption of this technology can be seen in big branded outlets like Aviva Insurance, Star bazaar, Jawed Habib, Spar, HyperCITY, Printo and many overseas outlets including Target, the retailing giant. Several brands and advertisers like Harpic, lizol, L’Oreal, Tata tea, Himalaya use it to engage customers regularly.

Sundeep Holani, the founder & CEO of India’s leading shopper marketing company Channelplay is one of the investors in MintM. In the words of Sundeep – “Traditional advertising suffers from a few handicaps – it’s consumed far from the point of purchase, it’s impossible to do in a highly targeted way and it’s hard to measure impact. MintM beautifully addresses all these shortcomings… and ushers in the digital age’s analytics driven, pay per view model into the old-fashioned retail world. We’re very excited about the possibilities this creates!”