This course helped me to understand how a typical organization works and the role of key executives like the CEO, CFO, CMO and CTO. Apart from helping us build on skills like Confidence building, Decision making and Cash Flow concepts, we also learned about basic concepts of Marketing, Operations, Business Strategy and Interpersonal and Leadership skills. We also had to submit two assignments and take five-set of assessments to complete this course.

Duration: 1-May-2021-30th June 2021

Business Development Internship

One-week internship program where I was exposed to real-life business challenges under the guidance of the Henry Harvin Education business development team. I had to come up with a business strategy for an imaginary company “Tutora“, a chain of online coaching institutes. We had to lay out various components of the business including Accounts, Marketing, Infrastructure, Technology, HR, Course Coordination and setup, Cost and Infrastructure.

Duration: 30-July-2021-5th August 2021

Assessment Scores:

( Average scores about 90%)

Assessment 1: Build Business Skills and CEO module

Assessment 2: CFO, CMO and CTO modules

Assessment 3: General Knowledge and Logical Reasoning

Quick facts about Zomato

• Founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah in July 2008
• Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana, India
• Services: Food delivery
• Website: zomato.com
• Zomato was inspired by a bad pizza order placed by founder Deepinder Goyal.

What business problem did they solve?

Before Zomato, each restaurant that offered food delivery service had to keep its own in-house delivery agents and provide them with bikes. These in-house delivery agents were idle most of the time, causing undesirable overhead costs. The salary of these in-house delivery agents and the cost of maintaining bikes resulted in reduced profits for the restaurant owners.

Zomato solved this problem by offering a shared food delivery service. Just a few delivery agents from Zomato could service several restaurants in the area. Now the restaurants did not need their expensive in-house delivery agents. Even though Zomato charges small fees from the restaurant for each order, this cost is far less than keeping in-house delivery agents.

For example: If 10 restaurants in your area kept a total of 20 in-house delivery agents, Zomato could possibly serve those 10 restaurants using just 5 delivery agents.

The convenience of placing the order on Zomato has resulted in a lot more food delivery orders for restaurants. Not just that, several restaurants that could not provide food delivery option earlier can now do it by using Zomato.

Other benefits include:

Zomato provides food-quality ratings for each restaurant (5-star, 4-star ratings left by previous customers like us). New customers can avoid ordering food from restaurants that have a lower rating.

Zomato provides several payment options to consumers. People can pay by Cash on delivery, Credit card, Debit card, Net banking and Wallets like PayTM.

The menu of various restaurants can be seen on the Zomato app itself. So there is no need to retain paper-based menus anymore.

Who are their key partners?

Restaurants and Delivery Partners.

Who are the consumers? How can they use their service?

Customers like us who want food from a restaurant to be delivered home are Zomato’s consumers. Consumers can order through Zomato’s mobile app, website or phone.

How does Zomato make money?

• Commission (or a cut) is charged from restaurants for each order.
• Zomato also charges a delivery fee from consumers like us each time we order something.
• Some restaurants pay extra money to Zomato so that they appear on top of search results (or on the first page). These are called Premium or Sponsered listings. For example, there may be 30 restaurants offering pizzas in your area, but when you search for “Pizza” on Zomato, you will most likely order from the first few restaurants listed on the app, and not go all the way down to the 30th restaurant. Therefore, some restaurants pay extra money to Zomato to appear on top, resulting in more Pizza orders for them.
• Zomato also offers premium membership to consumers. So if we buy premium membership by paying Rs. 200 to Zomato, they will deliver our food faster for the next 3 months. Some other benefits may also be offered to premium customers, like charging a lower delivery fee.

How did Zomato make its service so popular? (also called the Advertisement Strategy)

By running Ads on Newspapers, TV and on the Internet. They also advertise on large hoardings near roads and popular markets. By maintaining high-quality service they also rely on word of mouth advertising ( People telling their friends and relatives about how much they like Zomato).

What are the main costs of Zomato?

• Salary of delivery agents and cost associated with their bikes.
• Advertising costs.
• Software/IT costs – Cost of making and upgrading Mobile App and website.
• The salary cost of other support staff, like customer service agents.
• Infrastructure cost – Like rent of those buildings where Zomato offices are located.

Can you guess where did so much money come from to build this business?

In a typical business, initially, the founders put in their own money. If more money is needed, they raise money from Venture Capitalists ( VC’s) by offering a share in the company. More money can be raised by floating the company in the stock market. ( Zomato started its IPO on 14 July 2021 )

What are their business risks?

• Competition from other providers like Uber Eats and Swiggy.
• Huge risk if Zomato repeatedly delivers low-quality food or if the food is not delivered on time.

If a customer gets upset, how can they handle it? Any guesses?

Do not charge if the wrong food was delivered. Or give a 50% refund. Or provide a discount coupon code for the next order. Plus an apology.

To maintain quality and transparency, what can they do?

• Make sure that restaurants maintain the quality of food. Remove restaurants from the platform which have a high complaint rate.
• One of the great features I like is the ability to track the location of the delivery agent.

How much profit does Zomato make annually?

At the time of writing this article, Zomato posted a loss of $110 million. It has never made money to date. However, most large ventures like Zomato remain as a loss-making entity during the initial phase. They become profitable over time.

How did I hear about EDII?

I heard about EDII last year from one of my cousins who is pursuing an MBA course from IIM Ahmedabad and had high regard for the institute.

Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India ( EDII – Campus)

Why did I want to do this course?

I want to be a business owner one day, but I do not understand how things work in the real world. After evaluating the course summary, reading their excellent online reviews from ex-students, and the endorsement it enjoys from the top Multinational companies, CBSE education board and the Government, I knew this is exactly the kind of course I want to attend.

Also, a couple of years back, my dad, who is in his early 40’s, quit his job and became an entrepreneur. Every once in a while, he tells me about his business challenges and how he attempts to resolve them. I believe that has also triggered a tiny entrepreneur inside me.

Course Summary and Schedule: ( July 2021)

( Key mentors: Dr Pankaj Bharti, Mr Sunil Shukla, Ms Baishali Mitra and Mr Satya Acharya)

What did I like most about the course?

• On three separate occasions, we were given a task for which the entire class was divided into four groups, who then had to compete against each other. Members of these groups had to mutually develop a strategy to solve a business problem given by our mentor. Solving these tasks required teamwork, critical thinking, mutual trust and logical reasoning. We had to eventually present our solution to a panel of judges who evaluated and cross-questioned our strategy.
• Opportunity to interact with a few real-life achievers and entrepreneurs who narrated their journey to success and the biggest challenges they faced along the way.
• Understanding the importance of Soft skills in life and finally interaction with a career counselor.

EDII Course Objectives:

• Entrepreneurial motivation development exercises.
• Evaluation and development of entrepreneurial traits and competencies.
• Exposure to potential opportunities existing in the industry and other occupations.
• Self-assessment through specifically designed psychometric tests and instruments.
• Career and psychological counseling.
• Formal and informal interaction with successful entrepreneurs and achievers.

EDII is certified by:
All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)
Association of Indian Universities
National Board of Accreditation

.. And here is my Course Completion Certificate

(Certificate number and staff signatures have been intentionally removed before publishing online)

Received Letter of Recommendation (LOR) also.

Conclusion

EDII is just the beginning. I believe this summer camp has triggered my mind in the right direction of the long, exciting, yet a tough road that lies ahead of me, in the years to come. Exposure to such real-life courses will certainly assist me in achieving my professional and personal goals in life.