
Stranger Things! Know more about Timeleft, an app buzzing in the city
As our worlds have become increasingly urbanised and everything from eating out to finding the love of your life happens digitally, many, especially young people, have felt a deep loneliness and longing for connection and community. This is evident in the spurt of clubs and community-driven events that Bengaluru has seen since the pandemic. But loneliness is a global phenomenon and people aren't just trying to combat it in Bengaluru.
Timeleft, a Paris-based company with a presence in 60 countries and 300 cities, which recently launched in Mumbai and Bengaluru, has been doing the same by using a personality algorithm to bring people together for meals. 'We all meet other people digitally and have thousands of connections; but the truth is, we barely connect in real life, so there's a huge space to grow real life communities. Unlike dating apps, you can meet people without any agenda – you can find a partner, friends, business connections, you don't know what,' says Tu-Han Vincent, the head of operations for the Asia and Pacific region.
Every user is prompted to take part in an assessment; the questions in this quick test range from basic age and occupation ones, to ones that try to gauge your personal style, your preference for talking about the news (or not) over dinner, how social you are and even whether you enjoy 'politically incorrect' humour.
As Vincent explains, the goal isn't to put together five identical individuals but to have a mix of characters that are likely to get along. 'The most important elements for us are to have an age gap within 10 years, so people share the same stage in life, diversity in terms of gender, and of course, a balance of introverts and extroverts. We go deeper and deeper with the matching criteria as we have more users in a zone,' says Vincent.
While exciting in its spontaneity, meeting strangers completely blind, without vetting them through chats like dating apps allow, may cause some, especially women, to hit the breaks. But Vincent shares that the venture has put safety measures in place. 'We're constantly in touch with restaurant managers and we've been really careful with the areas and restaurants we choose. We also make sure that we don't have a solo woman at any table. There is also a trust and safety team that is really careful and reads everything [any negative feedback that's reported],' he assures.
The cost of getting on the app, too, is more exclusive in India compared than other countries and their income levels, with a range between `1,000 to `1,800 per month based on the subscription period, acting as a deterrent for miscreants. Currently only available in central Bengaluru, the app has partnered with 81 restaurants in the area like Toast and Tonic, Foo (Brigade Road), Misu (St Marks Road), Lupa, and more.

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Mint
15 minutes ago
- Mint
S Chand's quiet masterclass: How a legacy publisher outmanoeuvred the edtech bust
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The company's approach stands in contrast to the aggressive expansion and high burn rates that defined much of India's edtech sector in recent years. While players like BYJU's and Unacademy raised billions to build full-stack platforms, S Chand chose to stay conservative by cutting inefficiencies, expanding its digital content library and preparing its backend systems for modular deployment. Reinventing without the noise Delhi-based S Chand hasn't built its own tech platform. It hasn't acquired flashy startups. It doesn't spend on advertising. And yet, it has emerged from the Covid years leaner, more profitable and more agile. 'Our tech stack is fully consolidated, but we haven't tried to build it ourselves," Mittal said. 'Enough vendors are building good tools. We focus on content and let tech specialists handle distribution layers." The company's digital content library has expanded by nearly 30% over the last two years, with new content across national-level education boards CBSE, ICSE and NEP-aligned curricula. Test-prep material, tie-ups with educational YouTubers and QR-enabled Google Lens (image recognition technology) integrations are also part of the growing ecosystem. Print, however, remains the mainstay. 'K–8 books still drive the bulk of revenues," Mittal said. 'Despite the noise, most schools that switched to tablets have moved back to print. Books are cheaper, simpler to use and less distracting." Betting on NEP The ongoing implementation of India's National Education Policy (NEP) and new curriculum frameworks is proving to be a structural tailwind. As National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks are updated and state boards begin aligning their syllabi, S Chand is often a first mover in content creation. Also read: Implement educational reforms in honour of Dr Kasturirangan (1940-2025) While Mittal acknowledged that states such as Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Karnataka have resisted adopting the NCERT framework, he described the overall NEP-driven rollout as a tailwind. 'We already created NCF (national curriculum framework)-based content two years ago. Now we're mapping it to the actual NCERT textbooks as they come out," he said. The NEP 2020, which replaced the previous National Policy on Education of 1986, is a comprehensive education policy that aims to transform India's education system from early childhood to higher education. The NCF provides a roadmap for how to implement NEP's vision in classrooms through curriculum design, pedagogy, and assessment practices. The company is also looking to fill white spaces in its portfolio via selective acquisitions. Two potential targets are under active consideration—one in the exam-prep segment and another focused on international curriculum content such as Cambridge or International Baccalaureate (IB), areas where S Chand currently lacks scale. But the CFO is clear: valuations must be reasonable. 'Some players expect 2x revenue valuations. That's unrealistic in this category unless there's exceptional growth or margins," he said. 'We're not paying a premium when we ourselves are trading below that." Not competing, just enduring In many ways, S Chand's strategy is not to directly compete with high-decibel edtech brands, but to endure alongside them. The company positions itself as a content-first, platform-neutral player. 'We don't see ourselves competing with BYJU's or Physics Wallah," Mittal said. 'We're not trying to be a tech company. We're an education content company that delivers across formats." That stance has also helped the company sidestep the challenges faced by venture-funded edtech platforms, many of which expanded rapidly during Covid and are now cutting costs or winding down verticals. Also read: Despite high income, HNIs in India struggle with financial goals like retirement planning, childrens education: Report 'There was a lot of FOMO (fear of missing out) and hype during the pandemic. But learning outcomes were not always great. In fact, many schools and countries like those in Scandinavia have gone back to physical classrooms," Mittal noted. The company also avoids large marketing campaigns or brand-led spends. Growth is driven primarily by school relationships, workshops and teacher-enablement programmes. 'We do over 4,000 teacher workshops a year. That's where our impact is felt," he said. Preparing for the next decade Mittal acknowledged that higher education textbooks have seen a decline, with college students increasingly going digital. 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Now that we've done that, it's time to go out and grab more eyeballs," Mittal said. After decades in print and a public listing in 2017, the company's current evolution is quiet, yet noteworthy, characterized by a lean, profitable and selective approach. While the edtech giants chased velocity, S Chand stayed grounded and is now reaping the dividends.


Time of India
17 minutes ago
- Time of India
US importers turn to brokers to navigate Trump-era tariffs, at a cost
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Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villa For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Villas in Dubai | Search ads Learn More Undo Independent brokers like Laredo, Texas-based JD Gonzalez are fielding dozens of questions daily from concerned clients struggling to understand what they may owe to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and whether to go ahead with shipments or hold off. Brokers are also spending more time and labor on customs forms than ever, and have in some cases implemented new IT systems. Live Events "With all the new information we have to process, some of the automation we've used has been thrown out, so there's more work to do," said JD Gonzalez, who is also president of custom brokerage trade group NCBFAA. The trend is part of a broader wave of corporate efforts to bolster trade compliance operations. Major companies, from Nike to Amazon to Lowe's, had published job postings as of Wednesday for trade and customs professionals. Nike was seeking a "lead" for trade and customs, who would "play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our trade compliance framework," according to the post on Nike's careers website. Amazon, meanwhile, had at least 10 U.S. customs brokerage jobs listed on its careers website. Lowe's had three. Nike, Amazon and Lowe's did not respond to requests for comment. HIGHER FEES Independent brokers often base their fees on the number of codes they must enter to classify the contents of a given shipment. Known as harmonized tariff schedule codes, these line items help border officials distinguish car parts from children's toys, and determine proper tariff rates. Prior to Trump's frenetic tariff policies, fees ranged from around $4 to $7 per code. But Gonzalez said the extra costs brokers have incurred as they ramp up systems to handle the tariff changes have led some to increase fees by $1 to $5 per code. Gonzalez said he has raised fees "nominally," while Steve Bozicevic, CEO of A&A Customs Brokers headquartered in Seattle and Vancouver, said his company added $3 per product type being imported into the U.S. because of merchandise facing "tariff stacking," a phrase used when an item faces multiple tariffs. "We raised the rates for the U.S. because of the new and added complexity," Bozicevic said. The company has not raised rates for imports into Canada because there's "no new complexity," he said. United Parcel Service raised brokerage rates in December between $3.75 and $50 per import entry, depending on the country of origin. The move was part of general rate increases and unrelated to changes in tariffs, a UPS spokesperson told Reuters. FedEx's logistics arm increased its base customs brokerage rates by 4% in January, according to a company spokesperson. These bigger logistics companies, which include brokerage services in their broader shipping offerings, are also beefing up staff. DHL has upped headcount on its U.S. customs entry team by 30% since February, according to a spokesperson for the company's DHL Express shipping unit. FedEx had more than 40 open job postings on its customs and trade teams as of Tuesday, mainly based in the U.S., according to its LinkedIn jobs page. UPS had 10 similar U.S. positions open, according to its jobs website. FedEx is "adjusting our network to meet demand" in an evolving tariff landscape, which "includes hiring additional customs brokerage roles," the spokesperson said. UPS declined to comment on the job postings. Historically, tariff changes have been less frequent, say brokers, trade lawyers and other trade professionals, and they have come with weeks of lead time, allowing brokers to prepare for the change and provide logistical feedback to CBP. Compare that to last week's doubling of steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%, which Trump announced abruptly, forcing the U.S. customs department to quickly publish official guidance just hours ahead of a midnight change. "Many brokers clear shipments ahead of time, so then you have to come back and retroactively redo it and fix it," said Miami-based customs broker Ralph De La Rosa, whose company, Imperial Freight Brokers, was founded by his father 54 years ago. 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Economic Times
23 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Debt collection platform Credgenics' profit triples to Rs 25 crore in FY25; revenue up 40%
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