Mint put together a list of the 10 most interesting start-ups to watch in 2008

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Mint put together a list of the 10 most interesting start-ups to watch in 2008, we decided to use those shortlists as a reference point. The forums we picked our 10 start-ups from include Proto.in, MoDeMo, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) annual list of innovators and TiE-ISB Connect. Proto.in was born out of BarCamp Chennai and is possible the only start-up showcase of its kind in the country. It does not declare winners but shortlists 20 business plans, which are showcased to venture capitalists. MoDeMo, a mobile application demo event was born out of Mobile Monday Bangalore. About 20 start-ups made it to Nasscom’s annual list of innovators. TiE-ISB Connect, the annual business plan showcase by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) and the Indian School of Business (ISB), saw 400 initial entries, virtually double the number it received in 2006.
It has been tough arriving at the final 10, more so because there are bound to be several other interesting companies that did not feature in any of these contests or showcases. The final 10, we think, stood out from the rest in terms of the products or services offered, founder experience and credentials, differentiated business models and potential market opportunity. We put them forward not just as interesting companies to watch for but also as representatives of the infectious and powerful wave of entrepreneurship that is now sweeping the country.
1. Sloka Telecom Pvt. Ltd
Founder(s):Sujai Karampuri and Venkata Subbaiah
Space: Telecom infrastructure
Funding: Self-funded
Description:Sloka Telecom Pvt. Ltd makes wireless equipment for WiMAX and 3G (third generation telecom) networks. The Bangalore-based company, which was shortlisted for Proto and Nasscom’s 100 IT Innovators 2007, claims its technology will help reduce operator capital expenditure (capex) by up to 50%. It recently rolled out its first WiMAX network in Saint Medard en Jalles in France.
2. Dim Dim Inc.
Founder(s):D.D. Ganguly, Jayant Pandit, Saurav Mohapatra, Sundar Subramanian and Rohit Shankar.
Space:Online Web conferencing
Funding:$2.4 million (Rs9.4 crore) first round funding by Nexus India Capital and Index Ventures.
Dim Dim Inc. offers free online Web conferencing solutions based on open source software. Its founders, scattered across the globe, came up with the idea while trying to communicate with each other. Shortlisted for DEMO, the Silicon Valley-based product showcase, and the TiE-ISB business plan showcase, Dim Dim is up against larger players such as Cisco Systems Inc., which owns Web conferencing company WebEX Communications, and Microsoft Corp.
3. Ziva Software Pvt. Ltd
Founder(s):and Ajay SethiSameer Shishodia
Space: Mobile search
Funding:$1.7 million by Nadathur Holdings and Investments Pvt. Ltd
Description: The Bangalore-based start-up, which offers mobile search services under the brand Zook, has recently launched a service to answer any question posed by users, using a combination of database and mobile social communities. Incubated at the NS Raghavan Cell for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL) on the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore campus, Ziva Software Pvt. Ltd was shortlisted for the second edition of Proto.
4. Novatium Solutions (P) Ltd
Founder(s):Rajesh Jain, Ray Stata and Ashok Jhunjhunwala
Space: PC hardware
Funding:Undisclosed investment by NEA and NEA IndoUS Ventures
Description:Novatium Solutions (P) Ltd, which was shortlisted for Proto, makes thin client personal computers. Its founders come from impressive backgrounds—Stata is chairman of Analog Devices Inc.; Jain is a serial entrepreneur best known for his Internet company Indiaworld.com, which was acquired bySify Ltd for $115 million in 1999; Jhunjhunwala established the TeNeT (Telecommunications and computer Networking) Group at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai. Novatium recently tied up with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) to offer low cost, Internet-enabled PC’s in Delhi.
5. iXiGO.com (Le Travenues Technology Pvt. Ltd)
Founder(s): Aloke Bajpai, Rajnish Kumar and Jens Schutter
Space: Online travel
Funding: Closing pre-series A funding
Description: iXiGO.com, a late entrant in the online travel space, says its differentiated business model helps reduce cost of operations, which allows it to scale faster. Instead of booking tickets on its site, it re-directs customers to airlines’ home pages, for which it collects a fee from the airlines. Its founders worked for several years at European travel site Amadeus.net before moving to India in 2006. The company was shortlisted for Proto and Nasscom’s 100 IT Innovators 2007.