Smart Cities Wheel is an Indore-based startup at the concept stage, focusing on a B2B2C model for urban planning. Their core offering is a 12 KPI-based data visualization tool aimed at municipals, SPVs, and architects. The deck highlights a patent-pending IP and a specific focus on 'necessity-based dynamic urban growth' rather than leisure. While the team demonstrates early technical validation through an AR app for the Rajwada heritage site, the deck is heavily weighted toward future projections, including a leap from 25,000 to 1,000,000 paid customers within four years. The funding ask of I…
Key takeaways
- The company is at the 'Concept' stage and operates a B2B2C model out of Indore (Slide 1).
- The product is a 12 KPI-based data visualization tool intended for municipals and urban planners (Slide 2).
- The global market opportunity for smart cities is valued at $1,134.84 billion (Slide 4).
- Revenue streams include data analytics software sales, subscription models, and AR in-app purchases (Slide 5).
- The company identifies CISCO and Qualcomm as primary competitors in the smart cities domain (Slide 6).
- A functional AR app for editing the Rajwada heritage site has already been demonstrated (Slide 7).
- The funding objective is INR 80 lacs, with 45% allocated to tech and product development (Slide 8).
- The financial model projects a transition from a 2.4 million INR shortfall in Year 1 to a 200 million INR surplus by Year 4 (Slide 8).
Smart Cities Wheel: A Slide-by-Slide Breakdown
Slide 1: Title and Introduction
The opening slide establishes the basic identity of the company. Smart Cities Wheel is described as a 'pending patent visualization tech' focused on building and sustaining smart cities. It explicitly states the company is at the 'Concept' stage and based in Indore. The inclusion of a contact person (Mohak Bhambry) and direct contact details is a standard but necessary inclusion for a pitch deck at this stage. The B2B2C designation suggests a broad approach to the market, targeting both institutional planners and potentially end-users or smaller architectural firms.
Slide 2: Product / Service
This slide addresses the problem and the solution simultaneously. The problem identified is that cities are built using 'age old master plans' that ignore exponential migration and lack data-driven decision-making. The solution is a '12 KPI based data visualization tool.' The slide lists target customers as Municipals, SPVs for smart cities, architects, and urban planners. The claim of 'uniqueness is our IP' is a strong statement, though the specific nature of the 12 KPIs is not detailed here.
Slide 3: Team
The team slide features five individuals. Mohak Bhambry is listed as Founder & CEO and the Inventor of the technology. Soma Sharma (CTO) and Mayank Lambhate are both associated with 'Augemnted Reality Product' (note the misspelling of Augmented). Dr. Shashank Khurana is a Co-founder & Advisor, and Tushar Pal is the Product Architect for Data Science, ROR, and Android. While the roles are clear, the slide lacks professional bios or past company experience, which is a significant omission for investors looking to gauge execution capability.
Slide 4: Size of the Opportunity
The market slide uses a top-down approach. It cites that 53% of the world's population lives in cities, projected to reach 70% by 2025. It narrows the focus to India, where 31% of the population is urban, and mentions the 3.6 million architects globally. Crucially, it references the Indian government's 'top 20 cities for Smart Cities initiative,' valuing it at INR 29,647 cr. The immediate target market is defined as Indore, Bhopal, and Jabalpur, with a total population of 5,029,868.
Slide 5: Business Model
The business model is broken into four distinct revenue streams: 1) Data analytics visualization (software sales), 2) Subscription-based analytics (tiered access to KPIs), 3) City from Scratch (performance-based models), and 4) In-app purchases (AR tools for planning). This variety of revenue streams shows a desire to capture value at different price points, though managing four different models at the concept stage can be a challenge for a small team.
Slide 6: Competitive Landscape
Smart Cities Wheel acknowledges heavyweights like CISCO and Qualcomm as competitors. Their stated advantage is being 'first to market' with a 'necessity based dynamic urban growth' focus, contrasting themselves against others who allegedly focus on 'utility and leisure.' The integration of AR, AI, and VR is cited as their primary differentiator. However, the deck does not provide a feature-by-feature comparison or a competitive matrix to visualize these differences.
Slide 7: Your Goals
This slide outlines the roadmap. Short-term goals (3-6 months) involve working with Indore's SPV for an AR planning tool. Mid-term goals (24 months) involve expanding to other MoUD (Ministry of Urban Development) selected smart cities. Long-term goals (5 years) target 29 global megacities. A key achievement is highlighted: a successfully built AR app for the Rajwada heritage site, including a YouTube link for verification. This provides much-needed evidence of technical progress.
Slide 8: Funding Objective
The ask is INR 80 lacs. The allocation is specific: 45% for tech/product, 30% for talent, 15% for sales, and 10% for legal/marketing. A financial table compares Year 1 to Year 4. The projections are aggressive: moving from 25,000 paid customers and a 2.4 million INR shortfall in Year 1 to 1,000,000 paid customers and a 200 million INR surplus in Year 4. The jump in customer count and revenue (from 5.6 million to 224 million) is a 40x increase in four years.
Slide 9 & 10: Visual Proof
The final two slides are identical and contain 3D architectural renderings. These appear to be screenshots of the visualization tool or the AR app mentioned earlier. They show a heritage-style building and a surrounding park area. While they provide a visual sense of the product, they lack annotations or labels to explain how the 12 KPIs or the AR interface actually function for the user.
What Works Well
Specific Target Market: By naming Indore, Bhopal, and Jabalpur as the initial focus, the founders show they have a clear 'Go-To-Market' starting point rather than just a vague global ambition. · Technical Validation: Mentioning the Rajwada heritage site project and providing a link to a demo helps move the company beyond just a 'Concept' in the eyes of an investor. · Clear Funding Allocation: The breakdown of how the INR 80 lacs will be spent is precise, which helps investors understand the operational priorities.
What is Missing
Team Pedigree: The team slide has photos and titles but no history. Investors need to know if these founders have built software, worked in urban planning, or managed government contracts before. · KPI Definition: The '12 KPI based tool' is the core value proposition, but the deck never lists what those 12 KPIs actually are. Without this, the 'patent-pending' claim feels abstract. · Unit Economics: While the deck projects 25,000 and 1,000,000 customers, it doesn't explain the cost to acquire these customers (CAC) or the average revenue per user (ARPU) beyond a simple division of the total payments. · Sales Strategy: Selling to municipal governments and SPVs is notoriously difficult and involves long sales cycles. The deck does not explain how a small startup plans to navigate government procurement processes.
Founder Takeaways
Define your 'Secret Sauce': If your product is based on a specific number of metrics (like the 12 KPIs here), you should at least name the most important ones to build credibility. · Be Realistic with Projections: Projecting a jump from 25k to 1M customers in the government/architectural sector requires a massive explanation of the distribution strategy. Without it, the numbers look like placeholders. · Show, Don't Just Tell, the IP: If you have a patent-pending technology, a slide explaining what the patent covers (the logic, the data processing, or the AR overlay method) is more valuable than just stating that a patent is pending. · Proofread your Deck: Simple spelling errors like 'Augemnted' and 'descision' can detract from the perceived professionalism of a high-tech startup.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the core technology behind Smart Cities Wheel?
- The core technology is a patent-pending visualization tool that utilizes 12 specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to help build and sustain smart cities. The deck also mentions the integration of Augmented Reality (AR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Virtual Reality (VR) to differentiate their offering from competitors who focus on utility and leisure rather than necessity-based growth.
- Who are the primary target customers for this platform?
- The startup targets a B2B2C audience, specifically focusing on municipal bodies, Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) created for smart city initiatives, architects, and urban planners. Their immediate 18-month target market includes the Indian cities of Indore, Bhopal, and Jabalpur, representing a combined population of over 5 million people.
- How does the company plan to generate revenue?
- The business model is multi-tiered: selling the full 12 KPI analytics software, offering tiered subscriptions (e.g., access to 2 or 3 KPIs), selling 'City from Scratch' intelligent models based on KPI performance, and generating revenue through in-app purchases within their Augmented Reality planning tools.
- What is the current stage of the product's development?
- According to the deck, the company is at the 'Concept' stage. However, they have achieved a technical milestone by building and demonstrating an AR application used for editing the Rajwada heritage site in Indore. This serves as a proof of concept for their visualization capabilities.
- What are the specific funding requirements and projected outcomes?
- The founders are seeking INR 80 lacs. They project that this investment will help them reach 25,000 paid customers in the first year, growing to 1,000,000 customers by the fourth year. Financially, they expect to move from a deficit in Year 1 to a significant surplus of INR 200,000,000 by Year 4.
