COVER STORY

What did you do when the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic literally stalled all social and economic activities? Well, young Vishal Jadhav, Founder of Crescendo Worldwide, a global management-consulting firm based in Pune, and Atul Kaluskar, Managing Director, Crescendo Group of Companies dabbled in the possibility of creating a Metaverse studio at their Pune office. Two years of relentless hard work and sharp acumen turned into reality as the first ever book in Asia was recently launched in their very own Metaverse studio! A success that has already set their minds thinking on using it for social and business causes.

World of Meta-fi!

The book launch of noted corporate leader Deepak Shikarpur was indeed a novel event to watch! The studio room of Metaverse in the Crescendo Office had a backdrop of green turf and four interesting people with Virtual Reality (VR) goggles over their eyes turning into their own Avatars: Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, the internationally acclaimed scientist, who was the chief guest; Deepak Shikarpur, author of the book, “Aajche Startups, Udyache Unicorns” (Today’s Startups, Tomorrow’s Unicorns), Atul Kaluskar, Chairman of the Crescendo Group of Companies, and Abhay Kulkarni, Managing Director of Ameya Prakashan, the publishing house. The large television screen, the production unit just outside the studio and the colourful office with computers from where you could witness the historic launch (as also from computers across the world) was indeed fascinating.

This was aptly reflected, when Dr. Mashelkar, who said he rarely accepts invites for book launches these days, stated, “I am so glad to be part of this very rare, very unique experience. I am particularly happy today that we are witnessing a first today-a Marathi book released in Metaverse is a proud moment indeed! I am happy to see such a unique event happening in India.”

"I am so glad to be part of this very rare, very unique experience. I am particularly happy today that we are witnessing a first today-a Marathi book released in Metaverse is a proud moment indeed! I am happy to see such a unique event happening in India"

-Dr R Mashelkar

(L-R) Deepak Shikarpur, Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, Abhay Kulkarni, Atul Kaluskar

A meta-vault...

He further said, “As per statistics, in 2021 internet searches for the word Metaverse went up by 7000% - remember, an interest is often backed by investment. In 2021, the investment was $ 57 million dollars in both technology and infrastructure. Within the first five months of 2022, it is already $136 million dollars. In fact, I was looking at the predictions that by 2030 this itself will become a five trillion-dollar business. Can you imagine the size of India’s inspiration if this is the share of just one business? These are the infinite possibilities I am talking about. However, I am of the view that India as a country must not have just growth but also inclusive and accelerated inclusive growth. My book ‘Leapfrog Into Pole Vaulting’ actually cited the analogy of a frog that leaps only a few feet because it is scared of the competition; however, when it pole vaulted, its success was exponential.”

3D, interactive

Metaverse brings together all aspects of life in one place. While many people already work at home, in Metaverse, you will be able to enter a 3D office and interact with your colleagues’ avatars. It is a concept of a persistent, online, 3D universe that combines multiple different virtual spaces. You can think of it as a future iteration of the internet. The metaverse will allow users to work, meet, game, and socialise together in these 3D spaces.

As Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook stated at the launch of the rechristening of Facebook to Meta, “I used to study Classics, and the word “meta” comes from the Greek word meaning “beyond”. For me, it symbolises that there is always more to build, and there is always a next chapter to the story. Ours is a story that started in a dorm room and grew beyond anything we imagined; into a family of apps that people use to connect with one another, to find their voice, and to start businesses, communities,and movements that have changed the world.

“I’m proud of what we’ve built so far, and I’m excited about what comes next - as we move beyond what’s possible today, beyond the constraints of screens, beyond the limits of distance and physics, and towards a future where everyone can be present with each other, create new opportunities and experience new things. It is a future that is beyond any one company and that will be made by all of us.”

Elaborates Kaluskar, ”This complete technology developed in-house is the result of immense effort of two years. During the pandemic, we started a separate division which hosts 360-degree virtual exhibitions in the niche sectors of medical and railway-part sourcing, which no one was dealing with, but was the need of the hour. At the same time, we started working on Metaverse. Later, we started to create avatars and themes around that. There is one well-known school in Pune which works for autistic students. To help these students understand how to cross a road, we explain all the details of traffic rules and safety instructions through Metaverse.”

"During the pandemic, we started a separate division which hosts 360-degree virtual exhibitions. At the same time, we started working on Metaverse. Later, we started to create avatars and themes around that. There is one well-known school in Pune which works for autistic students. To help these students understand how to cross a road, we explain all the details of traffic rules and safety instructions through Metaverse"

-Atul Kaluskar

Historic milestone

Young Jadhav who has been the main inspiration and creator of the Metaverse studio, stated, “Our team has been working relentlessly the last two years, so I am extremely happy to have created publishing history with Metaverse. The journey from concept to execution was full of learnings, hard work and creativity. The entire team of CWW Ltd and Crescendo worldwide have my sincere thanks. I thank my friend Deepak Shikarpur for conceptualising this event and. Abhay Kulkarni and Amit Tekale of Menaka Prakashan for their openness in embracing this all-new concept. I also thank the audience for being part of this first of its kind event, which is no less a milestone and part of history.”

Author and corporate stalwart Deepak Shikarpur whose idea it was to have his book published in this novel way said, “I am particularly happy today because the 45th book written by me is releasing in the brand-new hi-tech environment of Metaverse. Start-ups and unicorns are buzzwords today, and Pune city is World No. 7 as far as hosting and incubating start-ups go. We have come a long way in the last 25 years.

"The 45th book written by me is releasing in the brand-new hi-tech environment of Metaverse. Start-ups and unicorns are buzzwords today, and Pune city is World No. 7 as far as hosting and incubating start-ups go"

-Deepak Shikarpur

Potential unicorns

Shikharpur further states, “I had written a book six years back on the Fundamentals of Start-ups. I had discussed with Menaka Prakashan, the publishers of the book, that it would be good idea to write a book of case studies to inspire budding entrepreneurs, because enough has been written about it in theory. How these start-ups had actually solved their day to day problems, raised capital, innovated and survived obstacles was important because in the start-up industry, getting an idea is easy, but scaling up and making it work is tough. This is why statistically, 80% of start-ups do not see life beyond a year and fewer still survive up to 1000 days. But those who do manage to survive are then likely to have a successful journey, with things getting easier and easier. not to mention the possibility of becoming Unicorns in the days to come. This book is a tribute to all those potential Unicorns out there and I appeal to students and aspiring entrepreneurs to study this book as reference material and interact with successful entrepreneurs in the field. Their website addresses are given in the book. Through this book, more Unicorns will be birthed in Pune and India. Let this book be an important milestone in your journey.”

Applauding Shikarpur, Mashelkar stated, “An output of 45 books is no joke, and I am sure he will reach the Golden Jubilee of his writing career in a few months instead of a few years -- at the rate that he is going. What is extremely important are his amazing communication skills in terms of making the most complex technological issues very simple for readers, thus touching the lives of so many through his books.

A unicorn a week...

Mashelkar further states, “India is emerging as a start-up nation. I used to call it ‘starting up nation’, considering our journey. However, I am delighted to take note of the way the Unicorns are being born. Until 2019, we had one Unicorn per year. In 2021, there was almost one Unicorn every week. To be precise, there were 44 unicorns in that year, but it is almost like one Unicorn every week. That is the exponential leap that India is taking.

“But I am even more delighted to see that it isn’t just elitist institutions that are producing these Unicorns. I discovered this as I spoke to my son Amey, who heads Jio Gen Next as the Corporate Accelerator. His team had done an analysis and it was a pleasant surprise indeed that 50 per cent of them came from Tier II and Tier III cities. Some of these entrepreneurs were even dropouts. This is democratisation in the true sense.”

Metaverse will revolutionise Sales & Marketing

A tete-a-tete with the indefatigable Atul Kaluskar, Managing Director of the Crescendo Group of Companies, which works with governments and companies across the world to grow international trade and investment and has now set its goal in the Metaverse space that is set to dramatically change the way we work..

(L-R) Deepak Shikarpur, Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, Abhay Kulkarni, Vishal Jadhav, Atul Kaluskar

Corporate Citizen: How did it all begin?

Atul Kaluskar: I was in Bahrain for a few years and returned in 2010. We acquired a small electronics manufacturing company, which was supplying parts to Bajaj Auto and other automotive companies. It was running very well. Thereafter, we thought of a new venture where Saket Punjari, Bharat Kulkarni and I were the directors of the company. We thought of a new business line - producing renewable energy from bagasse. We successfully developed some models. However, the transportation cost of bagasse was so heavy, that we started losing money on it. We had to wind up the project after a year, but that loss taught us what precautions we must take in future to avoid losses. In 2012-13, we again started with a small one shed office in Pune. I used to sit there. We expected whatever work came to us, because we had no choice at that time. Getting Rs.2,000 at that time was a challenge.

Then we came with the idea to represent some countries and he got the first contract from LRW which is a state in Germany. We began to represent India operations for several other countries in in 2013-14, I am so proud that they still are there with us. Then we started expanding, and we now have three divisions. One represents Indian companies to form alliances with international companies for joint ventures, technology ventures, contract manufacturing. We are an advisory company where unlike other advisory companies, we don’t just give advice, but work with them until we reach the revenue aspect. For example, in contract manufacturing, we work with the client until the client gets his first purchase order. Thus we are the only advisory company which works to obtain revenue for the client. If it is a joint venture, we work until both the parties sign the MOU. Similarly, we started representing various international bodies of governments, ministries, commerce and trade centres. I am proud to say that today we are working with clients from over 110 countries.

And the third dimension?

The Metaverse platform. There are immense applications in education, retail and businesses of various kinds. For example, a typical Puneri woman wants to buy a pair of golden earrings. She has to visit jewellery shops. She encounters parking issues and when she enters the shop, she wants to see hundreds of earrings, much to the consternation of the salesperson. After seeing them, she will try them and perhaps video call her husband to get his view on whether he likes them. Let us take the same case in Metaverse - the same lady will get her own avatar. She will then enter the virtual jewellery shop. There are tons of virtual earrings in the shop. She tries a few on her avatar. Then the lady checks them out in the mirror and calls her husband and asks his opinion on them. He replies her saying that they look great and then she buys them today via online transaction or tomorrow by crypto. Now, imagine – her time in the traffic and in the crowded shop is saved, and as for the jeweller, the cost of the show room is completely saved.

In fact, the jeweller completely saves on electricity, on salespersons and other costs. During festival times, he has to spend a lot on decorating his shop. In Metaverse, the virtual shop can be decorated within minutes with software. Also, imagine the price of the gold, the inventory carrying cost – all run into hundreds of crores of rupees. As Dr Mashelkar said, entry barriers will be reduced. Why should there be only a few jewellers running the business? Anyone can have a concept and deliver it from someone else.

"At present, the avatars are only talking to each other; in the future, the avatars might get the experience of a real feeling - that is, when I shake hands with someone their avatar will get the feeling of shaking hands. There are infinite possibilities; the world is going to change. Today’s reality is tomorrow’s virtual reality. And tomorrow’s virtual reality is today’s reality."

-Atul Kaluskar

An idea can change your company’s life. At Crescendo,
you can do this in style

Could you give us another example?

Take the example of education. A mechanical student learns the basic of automobile engines in his first year. Now, we have created a Metaverse where one can go inside the engine and study it. The concept is very clear on the same day itself. Next, colleges like IITs and College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) will be able to teach students in Africa via Metaverse, instead of confining themselves to students who take admission physically.

Do Avatars feel like real people?

At present, the avatars are only talking to each other; in the future, the avatars might get the experience of a real feeling – that is, when I shake hands with someone their avatar will get the feeling of shaking hands. There are infinite possibilities; the world is going to change. Today’s reality is tomorrow’s virtual reality. And tomorrow’s virtual reality is today’s reality. What is today, as I was saying, everything will go virtually in this Meta. People will even start buying land. Today, a rich person says he has a large land bank. Tomorrow the rich person will have land parcels in Metaverse. Your net worth will be based on how much land parcels you have in Metaverse.

The third division is the entertainment division, where we are limiting ourselves today, but we want to expand. Today we are limiting Metaverse to B to B (business to business). To develop B2C, we would need 200 people to start and get things going. We want to go beyond that, and are raising funds for that. We are very happy to share that we have an angel investor from Germany.

How long did you take to achieve this Metaverse Studio?

We have been working since two and a half years. For the book launch programme, our basics were ready, but to give it finesse, we needed around 14-15 days. But now, we can do similar events in three days’ time. Our basic business will be to take Metaverse worldwide and to grow revenue for clients. If I tell someone to come through Metaverse, you should get more profit than you are getting today.

An Immersive New World...

We’ll soon see businesses being formed, office buildings being built, meeting for remote workers held, and job interviews conducted in the metaverse world. Metaverse will see a surge in digital commerce

What is Metaverse? Metaverse is a new beginning to create something new, much like the early days of the Internet. Billions are being invested in building metaverse, and tech tycoons call it the future. But what is metaverse? The term was coined in 1992 by science-fiction writer Neal Stephenson. Its most basic definition refers to “the concept of a fully immersive virtual world where people gather to socialize, play, and work.” It is a simulated digital environment that combines augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), blockchain, and social media principles to create areas for rich user interaction that imitate the real world. The metaverse concept, recently publicized by Facebook’s rebranding as Meta, will revolutionize how we interact with the world. Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, stated, “the next generation of the internet is metaverse”, and that all existing social media will come under the umbrella of this new wave. He describes metaverse as “a virtual environment where you can present yourself with people in digital spaces. You can kind of think of this as an embodied Internet that you’re inside of, rather than just looking at.” How does Blockchain Technology Underpin Metaverse? As metaverse is built on blockchain technology, any items you own or produce are unique and cannot be replicated or stolen. As with art pieces, blockchain technology assures that distinct digital goods traded in metaverse are one-of-a-kind. Furthermore, cryptocurrencies keep metaverse running; everything is purchased and sold using distinctive sorts of cryptocurrency. One of the most used terms in metaverse is NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens. NFTs are unique cryptographic tokens and cannot be duplicated on a blockchain. NFTs can be used to represent real-world items that are collectible digital assets that hold value in the same way that physical assets do; for example, a piece of land in metaverse comes under NFT. Will the Metaverse Replace the Real World? Metaverse can shape the future in which we spend more time in the virtual world than reality. An avatar represents you in the metaverse, comparable to the avatars that Facebook started using in 2020. Many technology experts believe it will eliminate the issue of geography, particularly when it comes to business interactions. According to Harding, an increasing number of businesses will have “boarded the metaverse train in 2022.” Many tech executives anticipate that one day, individuals will begin to create their metaverses and that instead of Oasis, we will all be relaxing in that world. How Important are Cryptocurrencies in Metaverse? Since metaverse is built on blockchain, cryptocurrencies also use the same technology. Therefore, it will be the most popular form of payment in the metaverse world. Using cryptocurrency will be the simplest, most convenient, and least expensive method to embark on a global metaverse shopping trip. You may use your cryptocurrency at any store, regardless of where it is located. You won’t waste money on international communication or transaction costs if you use crypto, and most stores in the metaverse accept all major cryptocurrencies. How Will Businesses Trade in Metaverse? Bloomberg Intelligence’s metaverse represents a “$800 billion market opportunity.” Metaverse creates a new economy in which wealth will be generated, traded, and increased with a different currency, yet connected to real-world money. We’ll soon see businesses being formed, office buildings being built, meeting for remote workers held, and job interviews conducted in the metaverse world. Metaverse will see a surge in digital commerce, primarily as big-box retailers like Walmart aim to sell things there. CNBC reported Adidas launched NFTs and purchased land on Sandbox VR, a virtual real estate firm. Gucci, a fashion brand, collaborated with game developer Roblox to sell goods in metaverse. Balenciaga has partnered with Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, to provide virtual boutiques. RTFKT, a famous metaverse brand with a shoe collection, was bought by Nike. An 18-year-old designer sold more than $3 million in virtual footwear in less than seven minutes. Nike is looking to hire virtual wear designers and has a field for trademark applications for its trademarks on virtual footwear, among other things.