The Official eLagaan Blog

eLagaan makes attending TiECON 2012 affordable - Save $450

2012-05-07T00:02:00.000+05:30

eLagaan makes TieCON 2012 affordable by providing $450 worth of coupons (that's upto 75% of cost) ticket prices. Here is what we have to offer:

[Increased] $150 OFF 2-day or $70 OFF Ticket prices 1-day Conference and Exhibit Pass. To learn more about events and pricing visit http://www.tiecon.org/
$100 voucher for advertising your business on Google Adwords, when you signup for a Google Adwords account. Learn more about google adwords at http://adwords.google.com/ . Voucher valid for limited time.
$100 Voucher for eLagaan Business Services. Valid for any of the business service that you take from eLagaan. Learn more about eLagaan at http://elagaan.com . Voucher valid for 1 year, voucher applied towards eLagaan fees and can not be applied towards legal or govt payments or personal services. Complete voucher amount be used in one use.
$100 Voucher for advertising your business on BayAreaDesi. To learn about BayAreaDesi visit http://bayareadesi.com Voucher valid for 1 year. Complete voucher amount to be used in one use

Total of $450 saving - $150 Off tickets + $100 Google adwords + $100 eLagaan + $100 BayAreaDesi

To get the discount & vouchers all you to do is send us an email at support@elagaan.com ! There is no purchase necessary or any kind of hooks/strings. However we can only give these vouchers to very limited number of people, so hurry up !

And while you are there, do visit our booth at TiECON !

Reasons to attend TiECON 2012:

Networking. Meet thousands of fellow entrepreneurs. Exchange ideas, find a co-founder, build your team. Many companies are formed at this conference.

Learning. Over 100 speakers sharing their knowledge to help you succeed. They range from iconic companies (e.g., Google, Facebook) to serial entrepreneurs, top investors and industry analysts.

Mentoring. Chance to meet face-to-face with luminaries for a mentoring session.

Innovation Expo. Showcase of innovative startups.

TiE50 Awards. Prestigious award given to the 50 most enterprising startups every year.

eLagaan sponsors Indus Heritage Day @ ICC, Milpitas, CA

2012-04-29T23:07:00.002+05:30

eLagaan is happy to be a sponsor of the event Indus Heritage Day to be held at India Community Center in Milpitas, California.

Indus heritage day is a great initiative by three organizations ICC, PACC & 1947 Partition Archive. Its going to be a great event, so hope to see you there.

Event details:

Event Date: Sunday, April 29, 2012 - 10:00am

Event Location: India Community Center

10:00 AM (Come early for Breakfast!)
-Activities-
Indus seal, jewelry, hat making, ancient photo booth, Mohenjodaro walk-through, Indus inspired Henna art and more!

11:30 AM
-Film-
In Search of Meluhha: The Untold Story of Indus Civilization by emerging Pakistani film maker, Saqib Mausoof

12:00 PM
-Keynote-
"Ancient Cities of the Indus Civilization," by leading archeologist, Dr. Jonathan M. Kenoyer

1:00 PM
-Performance-
Indus regional folk Dance and Music by Xpressions dance company.

Visit http://www.indiacc.org/indus_heritage_day for more details of the events.

About The 1947 Partition Archive:

The 1947 Partition Archive is a grassroots, non-political, 100% volunteer run effort to document and preserve eye-witness accounts from ALL communities affected by the partition of British India, for future generations.

We are global citizens coming together to document the world's largest human displacement. Join us.

While we are late, as Partition occurred 64+ years ago, we are not too late. There are still those who hold vivid and important memories of the chaos that unfolded during Partition, the pre-Partition life and culture and the post-Partition changes/loss of a way of life. We are a people powered project that collects, archives and immortalizes these stories. Contact us to share your stories or to join hands with us in preserving memories before they are forever lost.

About ICC:

The India Community Center was conceived as a place where every generation of the Indian Diaspora could find comfort in various facets of their culture, preserve and practice unique traditions and celebrate festivals and social milestones in a welcoming environment. It was also designed to be a center where people of other cultures can explore and experience Indian traditions and values.

eLagaan featured on ET-Now TV (Starting UP by Sudhir Syal)

2012-04-24T02:06:00.000+05:30

eLagaan was recently featured in Starting UP series by ET-Now hosted by talented Sudhir Syal.

The special segment covered the hot topic of "Startup Tax" which is currently heavily discussed among the startup circle.

Here is the clipping from the show:

To see the commentary by eLagaan skip over to 4:05min on the video.

About ET Now TV's Starting UP:

Starting Up captures the spirit of the Indian Start-up Community - it features the different elements of the startup ecosystem and profiles the journey of the most innovative Indian startups. To learn about Startup Up visit http://www.facebook.com/StartingUponETNOW

To learn about Economic Times (ET-NOW's parent org) visit http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

About Sudhir Syal:

Sudhir Syal is a qualified Computer Science Engineer, so qualified that he hasn’t written (thankfully) or been made to write a single line of code in his last 4 years.His career than saw him take him a linearly un-linear route with him dabbling in Finance, Technology till finally making his way to the hallowed (cold) studios of ET NOW, where he is today the Editor and Co-Anchor of the Starting Up show on ET NOW. You can reach him at http://www.sudhirsyal.com/

Some more Snapshots from the show:

eLagaan exhibits at Foothill College, Los Altos, Califronia

2012-04-19T11:49:00.001+05:30

It was a beautiful day here in Los Altos, CA at the Foothill College. eLagaan team had a fun time exhibiting its capabilities and meeting up with folks from the college. Thanks for inviting us.

Before the start of the event !

eLagaan is the Official partner of Asha for education event- Stanford University

2012-04-06T12:09:00.001+05:30

eLagaan is proud to be the official online partner for the Asha For Education - Stanford University chapter (well known as asha-stanford) upcoming event this week.

So here is the deal, in USA holi is celebrated, not just for a day but for weeks, with various organizations organizing the event at various dates. Having said that Asha Stanford holds the biggest Holi event in the entire county. This year they are expecting 10,000 people to show up to play Holi, what Fun! They do an awesome job, and we are humbled to be one of their partners.

Here is the details of the Asha Stanford Holi:

April 7th and April 8th, 11 am - 3 pm, Sandhill Fields, Stanford

Different experience! 2 days full of fun! Deserving cause!

Yes, you can get all that at one event! Asha Stanford brings you the best way to start off Spring 2012 Holi, the biggest communal celebration of the eponymous Indian festival in the Bay Area!

Holi is all about celebrating the colors and vitality of spring, with family and friends and we figure about 5500 lbs of food-grade colors and tons of water should be enough to get you started with the celebrations! Your first time at Holi? Make sure you read below on how Holi works! Come join us in this day long party, and help us raise funds for education projects for disadvantaged children!

No alcohol is allowed at the event. For details about he event visit http://www.ashanet.org/stanford/events/holi2012/

About Asha For Education:

Asha for Education is a non-profit organization dedicated to the support of basic education in India. Asha, which means hope in many Indian dialects, was founded at the University of California, Berkeley in 1991 and has since grown to over 66 chapters scattered throughout the United States, Europe, East Asia and India. Each of these chapters raises funds to support various education-related projects in India.

Asha Stanford was founded in the fall of 1992 by a group of students who understood the importance of education and the need to provide such opportunities for the underprivileged. Today, the chapter draws members from a diverse group of students from Stanford University as well as Bay Area professionals. The aim of the group is to mobilize the Bay Area community to collectively support and provide financial assistance to grass-roots educational movements in India. Members of Asha Stanford attempt to maintain a close personal involvement with the organizations and projects which are funded. To maximize the effectiveness of our efforts, the group selects diverse projects. Asha Stanford works closely with other Asha chapters to ensure quality support is provided to educational efforts in India. Visit http://www.ashanet.org/ for details

About Stanford University:

Located between San Francisco and San Jose in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford University is recognized as one of the world's leading research and teaching institutions.

Leland and Jane Stanford founded the University to "promote the public welfare by exercising an influence on behalf of humanity and civilization." Stanford opened its doors in 1891, and more than a century later, it remains dedicated to finding solutions to the great challenges of the day and to preparing our students for leadership in today's complex world. Visit http://www.stanford.edu/ for details.

eLagaan to sponsor an evening with Sramana Mitra (1M/1M) - hosted by OCC/BEMUG

2012-04-02T11:42:00.009+05:30

eLagaan is happy to be a sponsor at the upcoming event with Sramana Mitra (1M/1M) for the upcoming event hosted by OCC, Bangalore & BEMUG.

The event is focused on "Do Customers Know What They Want?".

Here are the details of the event:
Date: 03 Apr 2012
Time: 06:30 PM - 09:00 PM (Followed by Networking over Dinner).
Venue: P.U. Quadrangle, Ground Floor, P.U. Building, Christ University, Hosur Road, Near Dairy Circle, Bangalore 560029 (Attention: No tobacco campus)
Parking: Within Christ Campus
Agenda / Proceedings:
- Welcome Note
- Entrepreneur Dysfunctions - Talk by Sramana Mitra
- Debate: "Do Customers Know What They Want?"

Sramana Mitra (1M/1M) & Team Vs Mukund Mohan (Jivity) & Team
Moderated by: Ravi Gururaj (Citrix)
-Vote of Thanks
-Followed with Networking over Dinner

Sramana Mitra has been an entrepreneur and a strategy consultant in Silicon Valley since 1994. Her fields of experience span from hard core technology disciplines like semiconductors to sophisticated consumer marketing industries including fashion and education.

As an entrepreneur CEO, Sramana founded 3 companies: Dais, Intarka and Uuma. Two of these were acquired, while the third received an acquisition offer from Ralph Lauren which the company did not accept.
As strategy consultant, Sramana has consulted with over 70 companies, including public companies like SAP, Cadence Design Systems, Webex, KLA-Tencor and Tessera among others. Her work has also included numerous startups and VCs, and she played Interim VP Marketing roles for seven such ventures. Sramana has a proven track-record in turn-arounds for both small private companies (Example: think3) and divisions of larger companies (Example: a $100 Million Business Unit of Cadence). She has also created major growth strategies through new market penetration, M&A, Industry Roll-ups, etc.

Sramana has a Masters degree in EECS from MIT and a Bachelors degree in Computer Science and Economics from Smith College. She is on the Board of the MIT Club of Northern California's Entrepreneurship Program (http://mitcnc.org/Entrepreneurship.htm).
Visit her site: Sramana Mitra on Strategy ( http://www.sramanamitra.com/ )

Why we moved from salesforce's desk.com to freshdesk

2012-03-30T04:17:00.010+05:30

We recently moved eLagaan's support system from desk.com to Freshdesk. We just wanted to share our experience and reasoning of why we did this.

eLagaan was using Assitly which later became Salesforce's Desk.com. However we were not too happy with some of the missing features, but we were hopeful that the big daddy Salesforce.com will invest more money and we should have some of these obvious features.
But after waiting long enough, we started looking around for a better solution to enhance our user experience. We looked at many systems including revisiting desk.com, zendesk, OTRS, zoho & freshdesk.

desk.com has some good features. However some of the things that bothered us was:
1. Slow in feature releases
2. No way to allow customers to review their support request (past & new thru web)
3. Cost was high, add another agent and you pay $49/month

So why Freshdesk apart from the fact that they have a fresh design and a intuitive interface:
1. We needed a way for our customer to review and comment on their case. Freshdesk does an awesome job creating a login id for every case that opens
2. Price, we just loved the fact that first agent is free & any additional are $9/month. Hence overtime as we grow, our price is going to be manageable.
3. They seem to be adding features faster then anyone else. It shows they are hungry, and we will probably see more innovation from them in the future. In case of desk.com we saw the feature additions were more towards things like salesforce api etc, which are great features, but being a startup we needed more features locally then integration

Ofcourse there are few areas we would like Freshdesk to improve on (I don't think others have it either):
1. A way to open tickets via sms or notify people/agents via sms on updates
2. A good way to open case when called via phone (its not very complicated guys)
3. A way to subscribe users who open a case with us to a mailing list
4. Mobile support - don't need an app, but optimize it for mobile web

Overall we are very happy with Freshdesk for providing a great service for very reasonable price, thank you Freshdesk !

And in this war of Freshdesk Vs Desk.com , Freshdesk has our business !

eLagaan to Sponsor Startup Weekend Delhi Education, India - Apr'2012

2012-03-25T22:51:00.002+05:30

eLagaan is happy to be a sponsor company registration & other business services in the upcoming Startup Weekend Delhi Education to be held on April'13 - April'15 2012.

About Startup Weekend Delhi Education:

Startup Weekend Education is an innovative, non-profit, community-building event that brings together entrepreneurs of all backgrounds including software developers, designers, marketers and educators to build teams and credible businesses over an intense 54-hour weekend. Attendees have 60 seconds to make a pitch (optional), the pitches are whittled down and teams form around the top ideas. Next the teams proceed through a rapid roller-coaster of idea refinement fueled by expert coaching and customer validation. Finally, the weekend culminates with demonstrations of sustainable solutions to education problems in front of a panel of judges and potential investors. We tackle big problems like communication, access, cost, delivery methods and content availability all in the pursuit of making the act of teaching and learning more effective and accessible to all.

For more details visit http://delhiedu.startupweekend.org/

eLagaan to deliver a workshop at TiE, Bangalore on "Business Structure for Startups"

2012-03-21T02:38:00.004+05:30

eLagaan will be delivering a workshop about "Business Structure For Startups" on March 21'2012 at TiE, Bangalore. Its a great workshop for entrepreneur's who are looking to start a company soon, or have have just started their business.

Short Introduction to the topic :

Entrepreneurs tend to overlook lots of factors and issues while setting up their new venture/ business. In today’s agile scenario, similar ignorance could be very expensive. Attend this workshop to know what it takes to structure your business and how a business structure impacts you in short term and long term.

Take aways from the workshop:

Strategic view of various legal and compliance issues related to doing business in India.

For more details please visit http://bangalore.tie.org/event/8/business-structure-startups .

Pricing (charged by TiE):

Member : Rs 550/-

Charter Member : Rs 550/-

Non-Member : Rs 1,000/-

Location

TiE Office

3rd Floor,'A' wing, Divyashree Chambers, Langford Road,

Shantinagar, Next to Karnataka Hockey Stadium

Bangalore 560025

India

To learn about TiE bangalore visit http://bangalore.tie.org/

Listen to eLagaan on Mera Sangeet's - Chai & Chat with Kanwal on NRI issues

2012-03-19T22:13:00.007+05:30

NRI's, eLagaan team will be talking at the upcoming radio show at Mera Sangeet, Chai & Chat with Kanwal !

We will talk about various NRI related queries related to taxation, starting a business & much more. Some of the topics covered would be:

1. PAN Card - What is it, why you need it & how to get it

2. Digital signature

3. Form 15-CA / Form 15-CB for repatriating your money from India to your country

4. Starting a business in India for NRI & Foreigners

5. Basics of business structures

6. What does it take to run a business in India, licences, returns, taxes, payroll and many more

7. Import Export Licence

8. Tax returns for NRIs in India

The interview will be airing on Tuesday, March 20. The show timings would be:

US Times (Eastern Times) - 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM, 8:00 PM, 12:00 AM, 5 AM

US Times (Pacific Times) - 8:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 5:00 PM, 9:00 PM, 2 AM

India Times - 8:30 PM, 12:30 AM, 5:30 AM (Saturday), 9:30 AM, 2:30 PM (Sunday)

For more details please visit http://www.merasangeet.com/content/navin-kumarco-founder-vikash-r-headusa-operation-elagaancom-our-radio-show-chat-and-chai

About Mera Sangeet:

Mera Sangeet is 24 X 7 Bollywood music, live RJs news and more. Listen and feel the difference. Their RJ’s will delight you with engaging programs, interviews and talk shows, blogs, forums, Bollywood news and much. Find out more about them at http://www.merasangeet.com/

And to follow the work of the very dynamic Kanwal visit http://www.merasangeet.com/hindi/radio/rj/blog/kanwal

eLagaan to sponsor Khantastic Music Concert - Santa Clara, California

2012-03-15T12:07:00.005+05:30

eLagaan is proud to be a sponsor of upcoming - the EasternWinds Khantastic Concert at the Santa Clara Convention Center, California, a show by Eastern Winds Music Band.

And it's all for a good cause...Part of the profits from the Khantastic Music Concert will benefit
the Akshaya Trust, Madurai Tamil Nadu. The Akshaya Trust was founded by Mr.
Narayanan Krishnan, recepient of the CNN 2010 Hero Award.Unwind and relax with

some good music!

CNN Hero Narayanan Krishnan gave up a career as a chef to feed the homeless three meals a day in Madurai, India. Meet Narayanan Krishnan in person on Sat March 24 at the EasternWinds Khantastic Concert. Santa Clara Convention Center Theater. 3:30 - 7:30 PM. Tickets $20, $15, $10 at www.easternwinds.org

eLagaan to participate in Santa Clara University's Startup Expo

2012-03-03T09:39:00.013+05:30

eLagaan is happy to announce that we will be participating in the upcoming Startup Expo @ Santa Clara University at the heart of Silicon Valley, California. The event is being organized by the Santa Clara Entrepreneurs Organization (SCEO), SCU's career center & Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), as an effort to connect the Student of the prestigious university with the up & coming Statups.

We invite all the Santa Clara University students to come chat with us & learn about the next cool thing we are working on. And hopefully some of you may end up working with us !

To lean more about the event visit http://bit.ly/xPGe08

About Santa Clara University :

Located in the heart of California's Silicon Valley, Santa Clara University offers a rigorous undergraduate curriculum in the arts and sciences, business, and engineering. It has nationally recognized graduate and professional schools in business, law, engineering, pastoral ministries,counseling psychology, education and theology.The 8,846-student, Jesuit, Catholic university draws on a more than 450-year-tradition of educating the whole person for a life of service and leadership. This diverse community of scholars, characterized by small classes and a values-oriented curriculum, is dedicated to educating students for competence, conscience, and compassion.

Santa Clara University, founded in 1851 by the Society of Jesus as "Santa Clara College," is California's oldest operating institution of higher learning. It was established on the site of Mission Santa Clara de Asís, the eighth of the original 21 California missions.The "college" originally operated as a preparatory school and did not offer courses of collegiate rank until 1853. Following the Civil War, enrollment increased and by 1875, the size of the student body was 275. One-third of the students were enrolled in the collegiate division; the remainder attended the college's preparatory and high school departments.

Santa Clara experienced slow and steady growth during its first 60 years, becoming "The University of Santa Clara" in 1912, when the schools of engineering and law were added. In 1925, the high school was separated from the University taking the name of Bellarmine College Preparatory in 1928.The Leavey School of Business opened in 1926 and within a decade it became one of the first business schools in the country to receive national accreditation.For 110 years, Santa Clara was an all-male school. In 1961, women were accepted as undergraduates and Santa Clara became the first coeducational Catholic university in California. The number of students tripled over the next decade. The size of the faculty also tripled and the University began the largest building program in school history, building eight residence halls, a student union, and the athletic stadium.In the early 1970s, the Board of Trustees voted to limit the size of the undergraduate population, an action that was intended to preserve the character and ensure the quality of the University for generations to come.In 1985, the University adopted Santa Clara University as its official name.

The 106-acre campus is located in Santa Clara, Calif., at the southern tip of the San Francisco Bay, approximately two miles from San Jose International Airport. The University enjoys a moderate climate year-round; the sun shines approximately 300 days a year.At the center of the campus is Mission Santa Clara de Asís, surrounded by the roses and palm trees of the historic Mission Gardens. The more than 50 buildings on campus include residence halls, two libraries, a student center, and extensive athletic facilities.

TiE Women Entrepreneur Business to Business Meet, Bangalore, India

2012-02-15T14:22:00.005+05:30

Jyoti Ramnath from TiE Bangalore, is organizing an event focused on the Women Entreprenuers on Feb'16 2012. As a women co-founded company, eLagaan is happy to be a participant & support the event.

Event Details:

By TIE SIG-Women

Topic: Women Entrepreneur Business to Business

Meet Our FIRST EVENT of TIE 2012 @ TIE Office, Divyashree Chambers- Inviting all Bangalore based Women Entrepreneurs for an evening of growing your business. An opportunity/platform to let people know about your services and what is the value add you create. This will help in generating leads for business. Get to know of businesses from four Women Entrepreneurs that can help grow your own business.Also get to know what other women entrepreneurs are doing. You may be able to get the benefit from their service / product and in turn be able to get others to know what you are doing. Reach out to the women entrepreneur ecosystem Understand some issues and how these are tackled.. informally over a cup of coffee/tea.. and during the course of the Meet February 16th 2012Time- 6-7.30 Pm only

Fo further details of the event please visit http://linkd.in/zRRAcv

Silcion India & Arindam Ghosh features eLagaan co-founder Navin Kumar

2012-02-09T03:49:00.005+05:30

eLagaan Co-Founder Navin Kumar, was recently featured in Silicon India and blog by Arindam Ghosh (read his blog here). The topic of the article is "Confession Of Entrepreneurs".

Navin Kumar was featured along with Nishith Shah, Founder, True Sparrow & Ramesh Jagannathan, Co-Founder, Lucivid Software.

You can read the article here or here

eLagaan proud to sponsor Startup Weekend, Mumbai, India

2012-02-05T08:04:00.004+05:30

We are proud to sponsor free Company Registration for the winners of Startup Weekend, Mumbai, India. Find more details at http://bit.ly/wBBTqR

Here is the agenda of the event:

Startup Weekend and GTUG (Google Technology User Group) are teaming up to organize a technology bootcamp in Mumbai on 4th February 2012. This is part of the bootcamp events Startup Weekend and local GTUG chapters are hosting worldwide. Such events present an opportunity to learn more about some of the Google developer technologies (e.g. Android, Chrome, HTML5, Google Maps etc.) and also other technologies which budding entrepreneurs can leverage to build successful businesses.

The Pre-Startup Weekend GTUG Bootcamp is free and open to all. More here

10th Feb Friday:

6:30pm – Registration starts

7:00pm – Dinner & Networking

7:20pm – Welcome & Speakers

7:30pm – Pitches Start

9:00pm – Attendees vote for the top ideas

9:15pm – Teams start forming and discussing ideas

10:00pm – Start to formalize teams and take an inventory of skills. Be honest, and direct about what resources and skills are needed for the weekend. You may stay and work as late as the venue will allow.

11th Feb Saturday

9:00am – Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee

9:30am – Teams formed and setting up workspace for the weekend

12:00pm – Lunch

1:00pm – Call for needs & skills

2:00pm – Mentors help teams one-on-one. They are here to help!

6:30pm – Dinner

7:30pm – Mid weekend check-in, status reports, call for help

10:00pm – Finished for the day. You may stay and work as late as the venue will allow.

12th Feb Sunday

9:00am – Arrive, simple breakfast & coffee

10:00am – Call for help (this is self motivated, so don’t be shy)

12:00pm – Lunch

12:30pm – Mentors arrive… ASK QUESTIONS

3:00pm – Gut check. Start prepping for presentations

4:00pm – Dinner

5:00pm – FINAL PRESENTATIONS

7:30pm – Judging & awards

8:30pm – Wrapup

9:00pm – Go home!

Good luck to all the teams !

eLagaan to speak at "Startup Essentials Series", Bangalore, India

2012-01-30T15:38:00.007+05:30

Are you working on the next big startup in India, then you should attend the next "Startup Essentials Series" event being organized by our friends Open Coffee Club, Bangalore, Entrepreneurs Cell at Christ University, Bangalore Entrepreneurs Meetup Group.

eLagaan is happy to be one of the presenters, and will be talking about "Company Incorporation Perspectives (Includes which one should you go for and why: Proprietorship, General Partnership, Limited Liability Partnership, Private Limited Company and the Registration Process)"

So register today here.

Date: 04 Feb 2012

Day: Saturday

Time: 12 Noon - 03 PM

Venue: Christ College, Kormangala. (Exact venue within Christ College to be announced 48 - 72 hours before the event).

Cost: INR 100.00

See you at the event, and don't forget to say hello when you see us there.

eLagaan happy to sponsor Startup Weekend, Bangalore - a Kauffman Foundation initiative

2012-01-19T13:03:00.005+05:30

eLagaan is happy to offer Free Company Registration for Startups In India as a sponsor for the Startup Weekend 2012 Bangalore, India (a Kauffman Foundation initiative).
We are also happy to offer a 5-10% discounts to all Startup Weekend participants. So if you are a participant in the event, claim you discount by sending us an email at support@elagaan.com .
For more details about the sponsorship visit http://bit.ly/zPdyY9.
Visit here for more details about Pvt. Ltd. Company registration, LLP Company registration.

Don't Miss the eLagaan Startup Camp, Bangalore

2012-01-03T11:50:00.007+05:30

eLagaan is happy to announce "eLagaan Startup Camp: Fund Raising & Legal compliance" on 7Jan2012, Microsoft, EGL, Bangalore, INDIA. Details at http://elagaan.com/startupcamp eLagaan Startup Camp is an event to gather insights and interact with industry experts & leaders. This is not meant for showcasing ideas and products but rather brainstorm & learn from experts to benefit from their experience to help build/run a successful startup.

Many startups fail, not because they didn't have the right product or service, but because either they raised fund at the wrong time from the wrong investor in wrong terms, OR they didn't have an exit strategy, OR even worse they didn't have a proper legal structure to make the company fundable or saleable.

The Camp will touch base on these aspects from people who have made it happen, and then followed by strong panel to see both sides of the coin. The event is targeted towards entrepreneurs & wannabe entrepreneurs.

Registration is completely FREE, so Register Now at http://elagaan.com/startupcamp

Thanks to Our partners (Microsoft India, Yourstory.in, Intuit SIPA USA, OCC Bangalore, eLagaan) for support.

eLagaan to Speak at TiE Entrepreneurial Summit - TES 2011, Bangalore

2011-12-13T13:16:00.009+05:30

eLagaan is happy to be participating and speaking at the upcoming TES 2011/ TiE Entrepreneurial Summit 2011 organized by TiE.

eLagaan Co-Founder Navin Kumar will be there speaking at a Panel discussion on "Financial Services". The panel will be hosted by Alok Mittal, co-founder of Indian Angel Network.

So do look for the eLagaan team when you are at the event and say hello, and hope you enjoy the Vibrant Panel.

About TES 2011:

TiE is a global organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurs across its international network. In keeping with this dedication, the theme for the TiE Entrepreneurial Summit 2011 is ‘Celebrating the EntrepreneurTrip’ - the entire entrepreneurial journey – trials, tribulations, challenges and exhilaration - from ideation to creation to growth and scaling will be the focus this year. Entrepreneurship experiences and lessons from across this spectrum will be discussed, debated and shared through multiple panels and sessions including Guru Talks (where Gurus from the world of entrepreneurship share their experiences in an informal Q & A session with the audience), mentoring, and networking opportunities.

Appropriately enough, TiE Summit 2011 will also be ‘Going Green’ this year with the use of cutting edge web and mobile applications to manage communication, registration, accessing and networking at the conference.Successful entrepreneurs and eminent thought leaders, all stellar names in themselves, will lead TES 2011 with keynote addresses.

The conference agenda, with over 40 sessions and over 100 speakers will address a range of technology, policy, business and management issues of relevance to entrepreneurs.Attendees will have a world of opportunities thrown open to them in the fields of Healthcare, Education, Agriculture, Social Media & Advertising, Mobile Business, Clean Technologies, Web Economy, and Financial Services at this year’s event.

To learn more about the event, visit: http://www.tes2011.com/

Wishing You All A Very Happy & Prosperous Deepavali

2011-10-26T20:25:00.004+05:30

iamstarting talks with indian founders - talks with us

2011-06-03T03:54:00.004+05:30

eLagaan was recently featured in I Am Starting Blog. So head over here to listen to the interview. Nikita from iamstarting has done a great job talking to our co-founder Navin Kumar.

If you have not hear of iamstarting, it is a platform where Nikita interviews the founders of up & coming startups in India. Its a great blog and good read/listen for people interested in startup echo system in India. You can find the blog at http://iamstarting.com/

Navin's interview can be found at http://iamstarting.com/2011/05/interview-with-navin-kumar-of-elagaan

FDI for LLP to be reality soon in India

2011-05-12T18:07:00.001+05:30

Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) in LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) got a nod from cabinet. The Government has decided to implement this in a calibrated manner. This shall now help LLPs to attract foreign investments and also structure themselves to become more competitive globally. It is a major boost to startups and SME segment who were forced to choose for a Pvt. Ltd. Co. if they were looking at foreign investments/ participation. Checkout our guide on How to choose my business to compare various business forms in India.

Here are the details of the FDI nod as released vide press release:

APPROVAL FOR FDI IN LLP FIRMS

Approval for FDI in Limited Liability Partnership firms

PRESS RELEASE, DATED 11-5-2011

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the proposal to amend the policy on allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) firms.

The FDI in LLPs will be implemented in a calibrated manner, beginning with the ‘open’ sectors where monitoring is not required, subject to the following conditions :

(a) LLPs with FDI will be allowed, through the Government approval route, in those sectors/activities where 100% FDI is allowed, through the automatic route and there are no FDI-linked performance related conditions.

(b) LLPs with FDI will not be allowed to operate in agricultural/plantation activity, print media or real estate business.

There are also further following conditions relating to funding, ownership and management of LLPs :

I. Funding of LLPs:

(a) An Indian company, having FDI, will be permitted to make downstream investment in LLPs only if both the company, as well as the LLP are operating in sectors where 100% FDI is allowed, through the automatic route and there are no FDI-linked performance related conditions.

(b) Foreign Capital participation in the capital structure of the LLPs will be allowed only by way of cash considerations, received by inward remittance, through normal banking channels, or by debit to NRE/FCNR account of the person concerned, maintained with an authorized dealer/authorized bank; and

(c) Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and Foreign Venture Capital Investors (FVCIs) will not be permitted to invest in LLPs. LLPs will also not be permitted to avail External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs.)

II. Ownership and management of LLPs :

(a) For the purpose of determination of the designated partners in respect of LLPs with FDI, the term "resident in India" would have the meaning, as defined for "person resident in India", under section 2(v)(i)(A) & (B) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 ;

(b) In case the LLP has a body corporate as a designated partner, the body corporate should only be a company registered under the Companies Act and not any other body, such as an LLP or a trust.

III. Conversion of a company with FDI into an LLP will be allowed only if the above stipulations are met and with the prior approval of FIPB/Government.

IV. The designated partners will be responsible for compliance with the above conditions and liable for all penalties imposed on the LLP for their contravention.

Presently, FDI is allowed in Indian companies. It is allowed in a firm or a proprietary concern, subject to certain conditions. FDI in a trust is also allowed with prior Government approval, provided it is a Venture Capital Fund (VCF).

The CCEA’s approval will benefit the Indian economy by attracting greater FDI, creating employment and bringing in international best practices and latest technologies in the country.

The Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 (LLP Act) was notified in April, 2009. With the passage of this Act, a new hybrid entity, incorporating the features of a body corporate and a partnership, can now be formed for the purpose of undertaking business in India

elagaan to demonstrate its Chartered Accountant Capabilities at Startup City, Bangalore

2011-04-15T02:53:00.000+05:30

eLagaan will be participating in the upcoming startup City, May 28th in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Some of you met us last year, this year again you will have the opportunity to meet us.
Ask our team about how to start a Company In India , how we can help you run your business more smoothly, or tax and saving tips for individuals & companies. We have seen it all !

About Startup City:

Startup City is an event organized by Silicon India. The next event will occur on May'28th, more details here

It is said good things come in small packages. There are over 500 startup companies in Bangalore alone. There are several others across India. If their number is an eyebrow raiser, the technologies they work on are a mindblower. The sad reality is that most of us have no clue of the cutting edge technology development that happens in our own city!

You will find several of these 'cool startups' at the siliconindia Startup City. You can meet star engineers from these companies and see how they built cutting edge products.

Watch live product demonstrations
Get a peek into cutting edge technologies
Lay hands on the best-of-breed solutions
Meet young, energetic, passionate geeks
Experience the culture of innovation

Venue

Nimhans Convention Centre
Near Dairy Circle
Bangalore - 560029

So stop by and say hello to us when you are there.

India Budget 2011

2011-03-02T17:57:00.006+05:30

Finance Minister has taken a middle path in this budget. It has rolled out many schemes to stimulate basic sectors like Education, Infrastructure which is expected to give a boost to overall economy. IT support for better governance has been identified as a crucial element and Indians can look out for better interaction, early resolution of queries and grievances with various tax departments in times to come. FDI and FII investments are being liberalised.

India Budget 2011 doesnot offer too many tax soaps. Steps are being taken to move to GST and DTC regime, which is expected to be in force from 01-Apr-2012.

For Businesses
• Silence over continuation of STPI scheme. Currently the STPI is coming to an end on 31-Mar-2011. This shall hit the SME segment hard.
• MAT (minimum alternate tax) imposed on SEZ units @ 18.5%. Large companies shall be impacted severely with this move as they will have to shell out close to 20% (including surcharge and cess) as income tax on their book profits.
• Surcharge on Income tax reduced from 7.5 to 5% for Domestic companies and 2.5% to 2% for others
• Income tax on dividends received by Indian companies from its subsidiary companies reduced from 30% to 15%
• Many new services brought under service tax net. Major ones include Air travel, AC Hospitals, AC Hotels & restaurant with bar, Life Insurance companies etc.
• Service tax audit waived for Individual & proprietorship business for turnover upto Rs.60Lacs
• Central excise duty rate changes: Min rate enhanced from 4% to 5% and standard rate @ 10%
• 130 new items brought to Central excise net at nominal rate of 1%. These excludes the basic food and fuel items
• Boost to Agriculture equipment sector, fertilizer, Infrastructure and Education sector
• Proposal for liberalising FDI and also to lure FII in Infrastructure sector
•Iron or exports to attract export duty of 20%

For Individuals
• Income tax exemption limits enhanced. A new category called Very Senior Citizens has been introduced (80 years & more of age). Income upto Rs.5 Lacs are exempted for them. Qualifying criteria for senior citizens relaxed to 60 years & above of age from existing 65 years. Income exemption limit enhanced to Rs.2.5Lacs from Rs.2.4 Lacs
• No change in structure for Women. For other individuals the exemption limit has been enhanced to Rs.1.8Lacs from Rs.1.6Lacs. Check the new Income tax rates
• Proposals are underway to remove tax return filings for salaried class and small tax payers who have already paid their taxes through their employers. New form called SUGAM shall be introduced. eLagaan shall introduce these forms as they are notified. When you file your taxes at eLagaan, you may relax and not worry for changing formats anymore.
• Boost to low cost housing. Government shall bear 1% interest cost for loan upto 15 Lacs (house value under 25 lacs)
• Investment benefits in infrastructure extended for another year (Rs.20,000 additional benefits for investing in infra bonds)
• Air travels to cost more and so is AC hotels, restaurants and hospitals, as these services has been included in service tax net. Fuel, branded clothes to cost more.
• Environmental friendly products, batteries to cost less. Hybrid vehicles to cost less

How to make Income Tax/ TDS payments

2011-02-14T16:20:00.005+05:30

eLagaan introduces new series of videos to empower Do-It-Yourself techniques for variety of topics related to taxation, business basics and other compliances. Watch out this space and also catch us on Youtube.

Check out this video if you are look to pay:

1. Income Tax

2. TDS payments

3. Advance Taxes for income tax

4. Any other Income tax payments

Check our Knowledge Base for more resources.