Canvera is an online photography company providing mass customized printed products and e-commerce solutions to professional photographers. Canvera's products and services are used by PPs to deliver a quality experience to their clients and also to market themselves better. The company has grown tremendously since 2007 and is an 800 member team now. Here, we get in touch with co-founder Dhiraj Kacker to know their growth story...
Canvera one of the fastest growing startups in India has launched its first television advertisement to capture the large market of photobooks in India. The idea behind the TVC is to capture the excitement around a wedding photobook, and through it, some of the moments that make up a typical Indian wedding.
The rise of digital photography and opportunities around related content has led to an increase in both amateur and professional photographers in India. While there are several online businesses in the country catering to amateur photographers, the largely unorganized service segment of professional photography is now changing the way they do business--online.
Canvera helps the professional photographer increase his/her profits by delivering high quality technology-enabled products to service their clients better, and to help the end consumer get good quality photo products. In conversation with with cofounder Dr Dhiraj Kacker.
Being one of the most sought after trophy in the industry, the process, its participants and the jury for this award calls for something special. In order for our process to be unbiased we came up with an interesting model to adjudicate the same. A process which is adjudged by a jury outside the industry and is tabulated by an independent auditor in order to make sure that the awards are completely fair. The MIPP awards are based not just on achievements, but also a detailed analysis of the impact that an individual and their work has had on the industry over the last year.
The co-founders of the photography company Canvera - Dr. Dhiraj Kacker and Peeyush Rai have been ranked at number four in the Asian Photography top 10 Most Influential People in Photography (MIPP) award by the international magazine. This prestigious award credits and acknowledges contributions made by individuals in the field of photography and is in recognition of the impact Dr. Dhiraj Kacker and Peeyush Rai have had in transforming the photography industry in India during the last year.
Better Photography, India's No.1 photography magazines together with Canvera.com, the leading provider of mass customized printed products and e-commerce solutions to professional photographers, has launched the fourth edition of India's biggest wedding photography awards, Wedding Photographer Of the Year Awards 2012.
Here are some popular stock photography websites which enable shutterbugs to leverage the internet for marketing and selling their work.
Asking for a friend's recommendation for a photographer to cover your wedding or other important life event is past. Bangalore-based startup Canvera is putting together a database of photographers and their work that would automatically recommend one to users with specific requirements.
In their search for the perfect name that defined their venture, IIT Bombay alumni Dhiraj Kacker and Peeyush Rai stumbled across 'Canvera', which sounded the perfect blend of 'canvas' and 'camera' - two defining words that symbolised what their venture stood for. Canvera.com, which began in 2007, is an online photography company that provides mass customised printed products and e-commerce solutions for professionals. Apart from playing cricket together, it was their shared loved for photography that made Kacker and Rai start Canvera that provides photographers with a one-stop shop for running their business, allowing them to focus on the more creative and value-added aspects of their work.
"I've always enjoyed solving greenfield problems, right from my PhD days. So, when the opportunity to start a company in India came my way I jumped at it", says Dr. Dhiraj Kacker, CEO of Bengaluru-headquartered digital photography solutions firm Canvera Digital Technologies.
Building a business venture from a hobby is a tried and tested route. So, given that I and my business partner, Peeyush Rai, are passionate shutterbugs, it made sense to combine forces to launch Canvera.com, an online photography company, which provides mass customised printed products and e-commerce solutions for professionals.
It’s a difficult fundraising environment right now. Especially when it’s a Series B round, the exercise gets even tougher. Unless you have a strong revenue traction and a clear path to profitability, the money will not come by at this stage. So what really helped the online photography company Canvera Digital Technologies Pvt Ltd raise $6.5 million or Rs 35 crore in a Series B round of funding from a discerning investor like Info Edge (India) Ltd. We quizzed Canvera co-founder Dhiraj Kacker and found these five factors that worked in Canvera’s favour.
Canvera.com, India’s leading online photography company, today announced that Info Edge, owner of Naukri.com, made an investment of $6.5M (Rs35CR) in the company. Info Edge has made a number of investments previously in companies such as Zomato, Meritnation, MyDala, PolicyBazaar, 99labels etc but this is their largest investment to date. “The Canvera team has done a fabulous job of building a world class photography brand addressing the unique challenges of India. With their key focus on operational excellence and building a great culture we saw in Canvera a reflection of Naukri in our early days which is why we made this investment,” said Sanjeev Bikchandani, Founder and Executive Vice Chairman, Info Edge.
Bangalore, February 15th 2012: Canvera.com, India’s leading online photography company, today announced that Bala Parthasarathy, one of the Co-Founders of Snapfish, has joined Canvera’s board as an advisor. Bala founded Snapfish in 1999 and was with the company through its acquisition by District Photo and an eventual sale to Hewlett-Packard. Bala was also General Manager & MD of Snapfish International where he led the growth of Snapfish to one of the largest online photo sites in the world with 100M+ users in over 20 countries. Bala is presently Partner at AngelPrime a startup incubator based in Bangalore.
Bangalore, October 3rd 2011: Canvera.com, India’s leading online photography company, today launched a unique service to connect consumers and businesses with professional photographers. This service called “Recommend a Photographer” allows anyone looking to hire professionals to specify their needs on Canvera.com. Canvera will then research the market and provide recommended matches given the specified needs. “We are constantly receiving informal queries through various channels for these recommendations so we decided to test this as a formal service to understand market needs,” says Dhiraj Kacker, CEO of Canvera.
Singapore, August 25th 2011: Canvera.com was first runner up at the recently concluded 2011 Asia Pacific & Japan HP Digital Print Award's Photobook competition. This is the 3rd time in 4 years that Canvera has been one of the winning teams having won the award previously in 2008 and 2009. Speaking on the occasion head of HP Indigo India, Mr. Appadurai said, “Canvera's unflinching commitment to quality has brought them to the top of the pack in the APJ region and this award is simply a testament to that. I want to congratulate each and every member of the Canvera team for raising the quality expectations in the photography market in India”.
Canvera announces the launch of Canvera Vivyo, an e-commerce and social platform for photographers. Vivyo enables photographers to leverage the internet for marketing and selling their work, and to collaborate with their clients through an online hosted solution. On Vivyo, photographers can create their own online photography portfolio websites in as little as 15 minutes using a rich library of themes included in the platform.
When cricketing great Anil Kumble, who is also an avid photographer, wanted to preserve the memories of his 20 year cricket career, he turned to Bangalore-based online photography start-up Canvera Digital Technologies. Kumble recently got a coffee table book done from Canvera. The photobook, 'Wide Angle', is a collection of photographs captured by Kumble on the cricket field, inside the dressing room and also during his cricketing tours.
Dhiraj Kacker, the CEO of Canvera, was 35 when he began Canvera with his friend and IIT batchmate Peeyush Rai. As they made the decision to establish their own business, Kacker and his wife quit their jobs in the United States and moved to Bengaluru to begin the venture they were going to call Canvera. Kacker had worked in the digital imaging and photography industry for 19 years. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering with specialisation in Image and Signal Processing, and had worked in one of the United States' leading digital imaging services: Shutterfly.com.
After entering the market with printing of wedding albums, Canvera, a Bangalore-based digital imaging firm, is now leveraging its technology infrastructure to offer more to the photographer community. It is now launching an e-commerce platform for photographers called Vivyo. Professional photographers will be able to log into Vivyo and set up their online portfolios where their photos can be displayed and sold.
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HP (NYSE:HPQ) today announced that Canvera, India's first nationally branded professional imaging service provider, has selected HP solutions and services for delivering consistent, high-quality printing services to customers.
Not very long ago wedding photography was just a black and white affair with enthusiastic relatives wielding unwieldy film SLRs. But things have changed with photographers being paid up to Rs 1 crore to cover a single wedding.
The demand for professional photography in India is enormous with weddings driving more than half the industry. One factor is the demographics. India has over 1.1 billion people and is a young country—half of its population is under 25 years of age. Around 10 million couples get married every year
Canvera, the online photobooks and album printing company for professional photographers and consumers alike, looks poised to take on the new year with newer challenges and opportunities supported by their effective business model. We quizzed Dr. Dhiraj Kacker, CEO and Co-founder, Canvera about their participation in Photofair 2011.
More than 19 years of working with start-ups in digital imaging and photography. Seven US patents to show for the effort. I decided in 2007 it was time to use the experience and expertise to turn decision-maker. Around the same time, my friend and IIT batchmate Peeyush Rai presented the idea of establishing our own business. I needed little persuasion. In no time, my wife and I quit our jobs in the US to move to Bangalore, where Peeyush and I founded Canvera.
With the emergence of online printing and digital photo albums, many companies are getting into this genre, and Canvera is a prominent player in this field. Mathew Thottungal converses with Dr. Dhiraj Kacker, CEO of Canvera, to find out about the company's strategies.
What if you heard of a physician who gave you the wrong medicine? You would certaily feel disrespect and hatred for that person. The same treatment would be meted out to a tailor who took wrong measurements and gave you an ill fitting tuxedo or a chef who tried to create fusion between lavender and black pepper -- not worth the mention if you are in a laudatory mood.
Canvera.com was today declared the winner of the TiE-Lumis Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards 2010 at the TiE Entrepreneurial Summit 2010, one of the largest entrepreneurship symposium in Asia. Currently in its 3rd year, the Excellence Awards are aimed to not only recognize the idea but also the effort, innovation and passion of the entrepreneurs who have braved the odds and made a mark with their start-ups. Canvera won this award along with B2R Technologies and ixigo.com. The award received 700+ submissions out of which 20 were shortlisted for screening and 6 companies were invited to present at the conference to decide the final winners.
Online and mobile photography solutions firm Canvera today said it is working on applications that will allow users to upload their photographs on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.
As chief revenue officer in the country's first-ever low-cost airline, Air Deccan, John Kuruvilla had an unusual brief. Instead of a budget to spend on marketing activities, he had a list of items that he had to derive revenue from. This included selling advertising space, marketing food and gifts, both within and outside the aircraft.
NEW DELHI: The Great Indian Wedding still has all the swish, colour, camera, lights and action, but one thing's noticeably different: The way the story is told. Memories of the event are no longer bound to garish, unwieldy photo albums that are later shipped to family. Version 2.0 of the wedding album's here, and photos are set in slick 'photobooks,' complete with visual effects and customised packaging.
Photos tell a story and it is only apt for stories to find their way to books. When Dhiraj Kacker and Peeyush Rai got together with a desire to start something on their own, a business around photography was the quest. While Rai was an avid photographer, Kacker had a background in digital photography, thanks to his work at US company Shutterfly, which was in the business of creating photobooks, cards and calendars.
BT's hunt for promising start-ups this year unearths gems with a difference - business models that survived a recession which felled many a giant. Canvera has been selected as one of the hottest start-ups in India as part of this feature by Business Today.
One of the foremost exponents of fast spin bowling and also a distinguished former India captain, Anil Kumble, is arguably one of the few cricketing legends, who has worn the Indian cap with grace, dignity and patriotism. Even though he has retired from national duties, yet his determination and aggression is still evident, in the way his leadership qualities have more than mentored the Royal Challengers of Bangalore in the IPL league.
Canvera is a Digital Photography company (HQed in Bangalore) servicing the needs of professional photographers all over India. The company's flagship products are high-end customized coffee-table-book that professional photographers buy to service markets such as weddings, fashion, private and corporate functions, corporate brand books etc.
Apart from being India's greatest match-winning bowler, there have been very few cricketers who have worn the India cap with such grace, dignity and patriotism as Anil Kumble. It has been nearly two years since his retirement from international cricket, though he is still making his mark in the IPL.
Emotions are invaluable. Thus, preserving memories attached with emotions, in a way one wants, is not inconceivable. And with photographs being the traditional and widely used medium of preserving memories in physical form, the want for customisation has always prevailed.
After spending over a decade and a half in the US, college buddies Dhiraj Kacker and Peeyush Rai wanted to do something of their own. They chose to set up shop in India, their own country and also, a fast growing market. While scouting for opportunities, they came across something which blended their passion for photography and Kacker's past experience in the digital imaging business.
The Better Photography magazine in association with Kodak conducted the first ever grand scale award to recognise the 200,000+ strong wedding photographer community in India. The inaugural edition of the Kodak-Better Photography Wedding Photographer of the Year awards was being held at the Hyatt Regency, Mumbai on the 19th of March 2010. Says Madhavan Pillai, Editor, Better Photography, "Wedding photography is an oft misunderstood, oft underestimated profession."
As Sachin Tendulkar relates in his Foreword, Kumble, the man with the camera, would tell his teammates, "As long as I am in the team, you will have no privacy."
Royal Challengers Bangalore proudly presents Anil Kumble's Wide Angle that brings together the great player's abiding passions - cricket, photography and wildlife.
Spanning close to two decades, Anil Kumble's career has seen the different ups and downs of the Indian cricket. No bowler in history won India more Test matches than Anil Kumble, for the man represents the terms: match winner and a fighter.
Bangalore: Spin legend Shane Warne on Wednesday released Anil Kumble's book "Wide Angle" - a collection of off-field pictures shot by the former India skipper.
Spin legend Shane Warne on Wednesday released Anil Kumble's book 'Wide Angle' - a collection of off-field pictures shot by the former India skipper. The Australian cricketer recalled his long association with Kumble at the launch, organised at a city hotel here.
That there is an ace photographer lurking inside Anil Kumble has never been a secret. On Wednesday evening, his first photographic compilation, 'Wide Angle', was released at a touchingly memorable function by his great mate and fellow leg-spinner Shane Warne.
Royal Challengers Bangalore proudly presents Anil Kumble's Wide Angle that brings together the great player's abiding passions - cricket, photography and wildlife. It gives a glimpse into the lives of his contemporaries beyond the boundary and our wild animals within theirs. Wide Angle, coffee table book of rare sensitivity, a document of drama brings alive personalities while giving a peep into the soul of the man who bowled India to more victories than anyone else.
Indian weddings, over the years, have been an ideal launch pad for innovative business initiatives; as in the case of IITians Dhiraj Kacker and Peeyush Rai, who started Canvera Digital Technologies, a digital imaging solutions provider. Canvera has changed the image of wedding albums, replacing bulky and heavy albums with swanky photobooks.
Asian Photography magazine awarded Canvera.com the "Best Innovation in Technology" award at their recently concluded annual awards held alongside Photofair 2010 in Mumbai. The award was given to recognize the professionalism and innovation Canvera is bringing to a highly fragmented market.
Online submission through www.canvera.com for Better Photography's annual photography contest "Photographer of the Year" and "Young Photographer of the Year" have broken all past records for submissions. For the current year's contest more than 30K+ entries were submitted online through the specially designed microsite www.canvera.com/betterphotography in addition to about 10K+ submitted through offline channels.
Canvera.com, India's fastest growing online digital photography company, recently hired Aditya Kothari as Vice President of Sales. Prior to Canvera, Aditya worked as VP of Sales & Marketing at Alcan where he not only rapidly grew sales but also established Alcan as a leader in its category.
A remarkable collaboration between Marie Claire India, the celebrated fashion magazine from the The Outlook group, and Canvera will be unveiled at the Marie Claire Made in India Fashion Awards at The Leela Kempinski in Gurgaon. Canvera will be presenting The Best of Marie Claire Fashion, a finely curated, limited-edition coffee table book of fashion images by India's famous photographers.
Consumer spending has slowed down; it is at a much slower pace than what it was an year ago. However, it isn't surprising that photo majors have really struggled to eke out profits, or just break even, during the last couple of years. But, some photo-imaging players have managed to thrive amid the gloom and Canvera is one such classic example.
Canvera.com, India's fastest growing online photography company has been chosen to be the online partner for the fifth edition of the Better Photography Photographer of the 2009 Awards. Published by Infomedia18 Ltd, Better Photography has been the leading photography magazine in India and South Asia for over twelve years now.
An online photography company now helps you treasure the special moments in life by binding them for eternity in a coffee table book. It's yours within 48 hours of having placed the orders, and designed to remain in the family for many generations to indulge and enjoy.
Committed to setting new photography standards, Canvera - India's fastest growing digital photography company - recently hosted a photography exhibition for ace lensmen Anand Seth at Cibo. Saluting beautiful women achievers, Canvera conceptualized a comeback show for Anand Seth where the photographer showcased photographs of 10 leading women.
Even as the ongoing economic slowdown may have affected the business sentiment and expansion plans of many companies, Canvera Digital Technologies is bullish about its future.
Expressions and memories fade. So, memorable moments have to be captured and locked into albums for posterity. How did you look like three, twelve, eighteen, thirty or more.
How many times have you picked up a coffee table book at the bookstore and marveled at its design, picture quality layout and the grand way the subject matter is dealt with? Now can get the whole experience personalized - have the pictures and experiences of your wedding, traveling, wildlife tour, adventure trip - any moment you want to cherish, recorded in a form of coffee table book, or better still a coffee table album.
Canvera has introduced innovative photo gifting concepts with beautiful and international award winning coffee table books, memory books and calendars for weddings.
One fine morning in 2006, Dhiraj Kacker received a phone call that changed his life as an employee with a successful start-up in the Silicon Valley. At the other end was his buddy Peeyush Rai coaxing him to come back to India to start their own business. And, Kacker didn't think twice.
Marriages are made in heaven, but weddings happen here on earth, and memories of the wondrous occasions are relived over and over again through pictures - whether black and white or, as they are today, as elaborated as the wedding itself.
Canvera.com., an online digital photography company, promises to present your photos in a coffee-table book. You can have your book ready within 48 hours of having placed the order, says the organisers.
Canvera.com, India's fastest growing online digital photography company, announces the opening of its sales office in Kolkata. This is Canvera's 7th sales office in the country. The office will be headed by Arunava Chaudhuri who joined Canvera after stints with Reliance Money & ICICI in various sales capacities.
"I feel they [Canvera] are the best. Things are best left to the professionals"
Bring Your Most Precious Memories to Life with Canvera's Lightweight Coffee-table Books
Canvera. com, India's fastest growing online digital photography company, was given the Best Photobook prize for the second year in a row at the recently concluded Asia-Pacific & Japan HP Digital Print Award 2009 in Beijing, China. The photobook category attracted more than 50 entries from the APJ region.
Canvera.com, India's fastest growing online digital photography company, announces the opening of its sales office in Ahmedabad. This is Canvera's 6th sales office in the country. This office will serve as the hub to serve the entire Gujarat market.
Canvera.com, India's fastest growing online digital photography company announces the opening of its sales office in Chandigarh. This is Canvera's 5th sales office in the country.
It took over 15 years for Dhiraj Kacker and Peeyush Rai to realise their dream. A dream that rested on the other side of the camera lens and resulted in the birth of Canvera Digital Technologies - India's fastest growing online digital photography company.
Even as the ongoing economic slowdown may have affected the business sentiment and expansion plans of many companies, Canvera Digital Technologies is bullish about its future. Currently having offices at Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Delhi, the company is planning to set...
Bring Your Most Precious Memories to Life with Canvera's Lightweight Coffee-table Books
Digital photography company Canvera Digital Technologies plans to expand its centres. By the end of the next financial year, the company will have close to 14 centres across the country. At present, it has centres in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Delhi.
This is a great opportunity for those who love photography to get acquainted with all the equipment related to the art under one roof. Photo Expo and Sign show 2008 an exhibition of photography equipment organised by the Villart Exposition opened on Friday.
Singapore, 27th August 2008 - Canvera Digital Technologies was the winner in the Photo Book/Coffee Table Book segment at the Asia Pacific and Japan HP Digital Print Awards 2008. The award was instituted to recognise outstanding achievements and innovations in print and packaging across Asia.
It was indeed a shutterbug's paradise at the 'Photo Expo and Sign Show 2008' and 'Broadcast and Film Expo 2008' that was held at People's Plaza, Necklace Road on Friday.
Late last year, Palak Jhaveri, owner of Sanat Jhaveri and Co., a photo studio in Ahmedabad, was grappling with a six-year-old problem. Ever since the 50-year old studio had taken to digital photography in 2001, Jhaveri had been facing "deep trouble storing wedding photos".
Canvera, a Bangalore-based digital photo startup has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in a round led by Footprint Ventures, reports VC Circle. The Series A round also included Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Mumbai Angels and two angel investors from the UK. With a desktop application...
