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Prukalpa Sankar
Last year, we went through incredible growth and hit some amazing milestones. As we wrapped up the year, I took to Twitter to note down some of my most important learnings from 2017 about how to build and scale a company. Without further ado, here they are! In 2017, our…
Data Is More Than Just Numbers
With data-driven governance it is possible to have all information needed to make important decisions. I have your dashboard open. Can you explain the reasons of the rejection chart to me?” Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan was curious. He was referring to a real-time dashboard that pulled…
Time to Break Down Silos, Rethink Development
As a college student in Singapore, I interned with an investment bank where I learned how real-time data was used every second to shape big and small decisions in the finance world. But, as internships and volunteer stints with non-profits in India made me realize, why isn’t the data being used…
Introducing a New SocialCops
If you’ve checked out our website recently, you might have noticed that some things have changed. We have a completely new logo, new look, new ideas behind our work…and even the website is all new! All of these changes are the result of our our brand refresh, which we’re excited…
SocialCops: What We Actually Do
People often post random questions in our chat box. Some people ask “So what do you really do?” Some do their research and get more specific. “Are you a data collection app?”, “Are you a database?”, “Are you an analytics company?”, and “Are you a data visualization company?” are common questions.…
2015: What a Year It’s Been!
Don’t have the time to read the full blog? Check out our deck instead! Top 10 Highlights of 2015 – SocialCops from SocialCops On the first Monday of 2016, we started our year with a Team Townhall to reflect on the previous year and plan for what is coming next.…
Why Design Matters: Designing a Data Platform to Solve Problems That Matter
At SocialCops, we’re building a data platform to solve the biggest problems facing humanity. In the short three years of our existence, our data platform has been used to drive healthcare policy, optimize disaster relief operations, and solve urban planning issues. We were founded to solve developing world problems. This means our…
Our Second Anniversary: Introducing SocialCops.com
June 19th marks an important date in the history of SocialCops – our anniversary. On June 19th, 2013, Varun and I arrived in Delhi to kickstart a few pilots aimed at driving better decisions in governance through better data collection. Through the course of the next year, we piloted one of…
Modi-fied: When We Met PMO India
We’re excited to announce that SocialCops was chosen as one of the top 10 emerging startups in India by NASSCOM to meet and speak with the PMO India Narendra Modi, along with other leading startups like: Cash Karo, My Notice Period, News In Shorts, Freshdesk, Table Grabber, Komli, Wingify, Rolocule. Shout out…
Engineering Systems to Solve Hard Problems: Building a Full-Stack Data Startup for the Developing World
When we started SocialCops, our aim was to drive decision making through data in places where it really mattered. Now that shouldn’t be a hard problem right? For those of us in the digital world, data has been about identifying patterns, beautiful visualizations, and predictive algorithms. Solving real world problems is…
Achieving the Swachh Bharat Mission: Two Tried-and-True Models for Change
On Oct 2nd, 2014, PM Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission, a clarion call for citizens to participate in the process of creating a clean India. Narendra Modi’s words echoed the vision that we have been striving towards at SocialCops. We’ve always called for citizens to stop complaining and start contributing. In…
Official Funding Announcement
Last week, the official funding announcement from the SocialCops team went out – we raised USD 320k to further our mission of powering the world’s decisions through data from the grassroots. We’d like to officially welcome our kickass investors – 500 Startups, Rajan Anandan (MD, Google India) and Manoj Menon (MD, Frost…
There Are Lies, And Then There Is Data
We’ve always said that we’re all about data. We want to power the data behind any big decision that impacts the world… social data, if you may. The Census is the only reference point for most data interpretations to measure quality of life indicators in the country. We asked ourselves…
From Idea To Funding: What Not To Do After You’re Struck With Your Billion-Dollar Startup Idea
I recently had someone message me and ask me to connect them to “VCs” to fund their “idea”. About a year and half since I started conceptualizing my startup, I was struck by the naïveté of such a question – almost beginning to laugh. Then a visit up memory lane…
Dedicating Thanksgiving to Some Awesome People
December 2013 is here. It’s Thanksgiving weekend, and the SocialCops team is in Delhi. Sitting in our cozy, small office, I can’t help marvel over the fact that we’re really here. About 16 months ago, we decided to stop thinking and start doing. We released a Facebook campaign and crowdfunding campaign to…
Our First Pilot: From an Idea to a Startup
On September 11th, 2012, we launched a crowdfunding campaign asking for your support to make our dream of empowering citizens to change the country bit by bit come true. The support that we received from you was the biggest motivating factor in giving us the strength to persevere through this journey. SocialCops as…
What You Should Know Before You Give Your Startup Pitch at a Global Level
SocialCops was a finalist at the Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (2013) held by the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. We came out as the winner of the Information and Communications Technology prize. It was one of my initial successes as an entrepreneur and, in the process, SocialCops has learned a LOT.…
Voices in the Head of a Middle-Class Aspiring Startup Founder
I am an average 20-something university student from a middle-class Indian family. In my final year of university, I was bitten by what they call the “startup bug” and I dreamt of being an entrepreneur. Around me, my batchmates were applying for jobs feverishly. On the other hand, my co-founders…