Try, try, and try again

• “We will be taking a 70 percent salary cut or maybe not drawing our salaries, for the next few months,” announced co-founders Alekh Sanghera and Mehtab Singh Hans to their team amidst a business slowdown post-pandemic.
• The response? The 50-strong team at 500-backed FarMart took a voluntary 25% pay cut.
• “They took a bet on us,” Alekh and Mehtab recalled gratefully. And then, the light at the end of the tunnel came. No one was let go and the emergency fund they set aside was left untouched.
• FarMart began as a farm equipment rental marketplace in 2015. 3 years later, they pivoted and launched an agri-fintech service. Unfortunately, this too presented challenges for the team, but as they say, the third time’s the charm. 
• Today, the startup is offering an SaaS-led B2B food supply platform that connects about 90,000 retailers with 2 million farmers across 600 districts in India. FarMart provides micro SaaS solutions for retailers to digitize workflows, procure commodities from farmers, and sell directly to large enterprises.
• Read the Co-founders’ full journey on YourStory.

It’s time for social learning

• Shifting gears from ‘stealth’ to ‘social’ ~ 500-backed Learning Loop, a social network for learning, has officially announced their soft launch!
• “It’s a place for instantly finding handpicked, tried-and-tested learning resources for anything, plus other people who are learning that thing or have mastered it,” said Founder, CEO & CTO Sina Meraji.
• If you’re a startup founder, or an aspiring entrepreneur, check them out and join here for 101s on fundraising, pitching, finding the right investors, and sealing the deal.
• Congratulations Sina and the Learning Loop team!

Staging a comeback

• Speaking of new launches, foodies all over Singapore can rejoice! Food site HungryGoWhere is back after closing down last year.
• How? 500-backed super app Grab has acquired and relaunched the site, aiming to turn it into a one-stop platform that explores the local food scene through food reviews and recommendations, profile interviews, and a behind-the-scenes look at the food we eat.
• “HungryGoWhere is a brand that many Singaporeans have grown to love since its inception more than a decade ago and many were sad to see it go. We feel privileged and excited to be bringing back its longstanding legacy, while aiming to take it to the next level with this rebrand,” said Cifer Ong, Managing Director, Strategy and Partnerships, Grab Singapore.
• This time, the site will be powered by Grab’s data, leveraging insights such as popular food trends and frequently visited places, among a host of other interests and preferences.
• Read the full story on TechNode Global.