Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by 10Club.
Each and every business is unique and respectable in its own way. Planning only for business growth is certainly a good idea but before that, it is essential for the founders/entrepreneurs to go to the depth of the matters to achieve something big and credible.
10Club believes in Data + Insights = Scale + Efficiency. This is the only formula the company follows. This organization believes to go down to the depth of the matters individually and build the foundation of successful businesses. The company ensures that great entrepreneurs will surely reach great heights one day because these people have already taken greater risks.
Read the 10Club success story below to understand the company better with useful insights from its Founders and Team, Tagline, Slogan, Logo, Business model, Revenue model, Funding and investors, Growth, Future plans, and more.
21 September, 2021 – 10Club announces the acquisition of My Newborn, a brand selling baby products, which is the first acquisition of the brand.
10Club founders talking about the success story of 10Club
10Club – About
In today’s daily life great businesses are growing, holding the hands of competent entrepreneurs. Competition is always really very tough in the marketplace and as a result, these companies get their foundational years right but often face difficulties to understand their current position in the market. This is where companies like 10Club step into the scenario. The aim of 10Club is to allow these great entrepreneurs to enjoy rapid growth and participation hassle-free. 10Club is a trustworthy company on which entrepreneurs can be sure of.
Bhavna Suresh is the co-founder and the CEO of the company. Deepak Nair and Joel Ayala are the other co-founders of the company, 10Club.
Bhavna Suresh
She is the co-founder and the CEO of the company 10Club. She is an entrepreneur, who started her career as a Business Development Manager at 22feet Tribal Worldwide. Bhavna is also known as the founder of another company, StyleBank, and the CEO of Lamudi Philippines.
Deepak Nair
He is the co-founder of the company 10Club. He works as a business strategist, digital marketer, and also as advertising strategist. He previously worked as the CEO of White Canvas Communications Pvt Ltd. Deepak was also the Chief Executive Officer at 22feet Tribal Worldwide.
Bhavna Suresh, Deepak Nair and Joel Ayala (Left to Right) Co-Founders of 10Club
Joel Ayala
Joel Ayala is another Co-founder of 10Club and also known as the Co-founder and Managing Partner at Class 5 Global LLC, a venture firm that aims to invest in the next generation of global entrepreneurs.
10Club – Tagline, Slogan and Logo
The tagline of the company is, ‘Sach Ke Sath‘.
10Club Logo
10Club – Business Model
The business model of this company is very unique. The company believes in working together, going into depth, operating and growing e-commerce startup businesses. 10Club has a tried and tested model. It works quickly and provides its clients with the best possible and actionable insights which help the entrepreneurs to understand where exactly their new business is standing in the marketplace and how to take it forward towards growth and success.
10Club has raised a total amount of $40 million in funding over the one funding round. 10Club is funded by six investors. Fireside Ventures is the lead investor, followed by Secocha Ventures, HeyDay, PDS International, Class 5 Global, and boAt founders.
Date
Transaction Name
Money Raised
Lead Investor
June 29, 2021
Seed Round
$40 million
Fireside Ventures, HeyDay, PDS International
10Club – Growth
As mentioned above, the company raised $40 million in the funding round and it is one of the largest seed rounds in the e-commerce roll up space. Since it is one of the largest ones that is why it is a big matter of talk now and more or less everybody knows about it.
10Club – Acquisitions
10Club has acquired 5 companies in total. The company last acquired 3 gardening startups – Kraftseeds, Gate Garden, and Kriti Kalash on November 19, 2021. This acquisition would further help the company to scale through product mixes, sales channel expansion, and pricing models. My Newborn was the maiden acquisition of 10Club on September 21, 2021, after which it acquired Skudgear on September 30, 2021.
Acquiree Name
Date
Price
Kriti Kalash
November 19, 2021
–
Gate Garden
November 19, 2021
–
Kraftseeds
November 19, 2021
–
Skudgear
September 30, 2021
–
My Newborn
September 21, 2021
–
10Club – Future Plans
The company 10Club wants to create a better space for startups. It wants to collaborate with promising businesses on e-commerce platforms and roll them up to help them grow. Startups often fail to manage everything after the initial months of growth that they gain in the beginning. Competition has undoubtedly increased in the marketplace over time but all of the existing companies want growth. This is why 10Club has set out in the market to aid such startup companies with more technology, supply chain, and marketing expertise in the future. More and more funding will help the company to expand its portfolio and bring changes for the upcoming startup businesses to acquire.
E-Commerce is a business trending at present due to the increased convenience that it provides to the customer. All the activities of commercial transactions which include transfers, Supply Chain Management, electronic marketing, EDI, and distribution of goods and services are integrated by an electronic system. These convenience and quick buying decisions make e-commerce businesses achieve scale much faster than their brick and mortar counterparts.
E-commerce refers to the science of buying and selling goods and services over an electronic network, known as the internet.
According to a survey done by the Indian Government in 2021 which shows that demand is at a continuous growth of 12.79 % a year. Current active e-commerce penetration in India stands only 28%, with lots of room for improvement, India’s retail e-commerce is projected to reach 23% from 2016 to 2021. If you are looking to start an eCommerce store then here are some business ideas which you should try out.
With the increase in the demographics of people who live an urban lifestyle where time and convenience is more valuable than money, people rely on an e-commerce website to fulfill their fashion need.
Online Fashion Market
Especially in the Fashion industry, there is a huge demand for niche products and services. This makes niche fashion websites massively popular as they serve their audiences with the latest trends. Even though the fashion industry is pretty crowded, there are still people who can’t find what they are looking for.
Creating quality brands that specialize in simple and minimalistic clothing is one such niche that targets the millennial demographics and could be a profitable business opportunity.
You can start your own e-commerce website by using WordPress and Wix and other platforms.
One of the most lucrative markets after 2020 is the online food and grocery business. This market has continued to develop as mobile apps become increasingly popular and are used by billions of people.
Online Grocery and Food Shopping
Given the wide range of products and equally huge market, the food and grocery industry is far from saturation. More and more people in urban areas are quickly shifting towards local produce and markets. As we can see, consumer behavior in the food industry is transforming thanks to emerging technologies and e-commerce trends.
As an entrepreneur, you can start small with local vendors and produce. Once your profits increase, you can easily scale up your business by establishing and improving relationships with your vendors.
A large number of Millennials wish to travel. Although, the process of travel is complicated by the lack of information about the destination they are traveling to and other hassles such as accommodation and transportation. This opens up a huge demand for online travel agencies which can incentivize the traveler and book hotels and transportation in a jiffy as well as providing curated content about the destination, hence making the life of the traveler easy!
The precious time saved in planning for a trip makes this business solve a huge problem for millennial travelers. The e-commerce business has flourished in this segment and a very personalized service curation is required in this segment which can give you the best customers for your business. The travel industry is all about how satisfactory your customer’s trip was. So, while starting up with this be quality-oriented.
Online Health Services
Unsurprisingly, even the healthcare sector has begun to creep into e-commerce territory with apps like Practo, Doctor2U, and YourDoctors. Even though each service works on different business models, the underlying concept is the same: doctors offer advice over text or chat to patients.
By making this service online, the need to physically visit a doctor is eliminated which saves both your time and your doctor’s. However, this does not substitute the need for in-person visitations but is useful to determine if an examination is necessary or not.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence
This idea may sound strange, but this is very helpful for everyone. You can create a startup business with the concept of artificial intelligence. It enables companies to gather as well as investigate data in real-time, thus facilitating more efficiency and competence in business.
The customers are provided with a personalized experience of knowledge about their preferences. Some examples of Artificial Intelligence in e-commerce are
In the upcoming ecosystem of startup businesses, startup business consultants have a major role to play. A large number of people starting a new business do not understand the nitty-gritty of starting up a new business and need online experts who can advise them in the right direction to make the process of starting up seamless. People prefer online consultants these days as they look for solutions on the internet with the advent of the digital revolution.
International Shipping
The lack of services in the field of shipping to and from overseas has made many people complacent with online shopping from Indian e-commerce. This presents a huge opportunity for international shipping startups that can book pickups at the mere click of a button.
An international shipping startup can be an alternative for sending products overseas or bringing in goods from abroad. With international shipping, people will be facilitated in terms of delivery of goods and increase the convenience of the globalized Indian online consumer.
Interior designing is important for people who want to have a new home, but can not afford to employ an architect. An interior designer is someone who has the creativity, skills, and knowledge required to design a beautiful and functional space. Online interior designing is a practical as well as cost and time-efficient solution to make a structure of the house and a model home desired by the user at the convenience of their home internet.
Online Education Services
If you have expert knowledge of a subject, industry, or simply found a new way of doing things, then why not take a course about it?
With expected sales at $286 billion in 2023, a whopping 80% growth from the figure recorded in 2017, this makes for a good online business.
People are disappointed in both private and public educational institutions. One tends to be very costly and can only be afforded by a few while the quality of education in public institutions is dismal. Although there are many online courses, the demand for good and cheap education is at an all-time high.
Basically, to start any business a person needs passion and constant dedication. A person should be able to identify specific demand and the target customers for his products and services. We hope this list of online business ideas will help you to start your own business.
E-commerce – FAQ’s
What are the features of E-commerce?
The features of e-commerce are non-cash payment, service availability (24*7), Improved sales, support, advertising and marketing, inventory management, communication efficiency, faster, reliability, less time-consuming, on-the-go service, and saving time. It is available at any time and anywhere, helping in making better management of products and services.
What are the different e-commerce business models?
The different e-commerce business models are Business to Business (B2B), Business to Consumer (B2C), Consumer to Consumer (C2C), Consumer to Business (C2B), Business to Government (B2G), Government to Business (G2B) and Government to Citizen (G2C).
How does e-commerce work?
When a customer needs any product to buy, a customer goes to the website and chooses the product that he wants to buy. After the selection of the product, a customer will select the mode of payment whether it is online or offline and after that product will checkout and order. The ordered products information has been exchanged with the customer and delivery logistics. This process is being done in just a matter of minutes only. For e-commerce enablement, getting internet merchant bank account, webs hosting, obtaining the digital certificate, provider for online transactions, and purchasing or creating the shopping cart software.
Tell us which different sector e-commerce applications are available in the market?
The applications are mainly available for many different sectors or areas, from those areas some are like books, music, financial services, home electronics, mobiles, entertainment, apparel, travel services, toys, movie tickets, information, gifts and computer products, accessories, etc.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Quickshift.
Quickshift (QS) offers a complete suite of fulfillment services for any D2C brand that wants to scale up quickly while offering the best customer service. Through itstech-enabled, multi-city warehouses and integrated shipping, it offers- transparent order management, storage, shipping, COD, RTO, Non-Delivery Receipt (NDR), and ultimately customer delight. Its shipping coverage is 29,000 Pin Codes across India and is currently servicing over 150 D2C brands.
StartupTalky interviewed Anshul Goenka & Prodipto Roy (Co-founders, Quickshift) to get insights into the startup story of Quickshift. In this article you’ll discover how Quickshift was conceptualized, its business model, funding, and more.
Quickshift (QS) offers a complete suite of fulfillment services for any D2C brand that wants to scale up quickly while offering the best customer service. A challenge for a D2C brand today is how to fulfill in a cost-effective manner within a time frame of same-day or 1-2 days if they get an order from another part of India typically 2000 km away. If the brand does not service, then they risk disappointing the customer, and cannot build scale, thus increasing their Cost of Customer Acquisition further. This is where QS steps in. Through its tech-enabled, multi-city warehouses and integrated shipping, it offers- transparent order management, storage, shipping, COD, RTO, Non-Delivery Receipt (NDR), and ultimately customer delight.
QS wants to be the company of choice for any brand marketing its products digitally. It wants to be recognized for its tech-leadership, building inefficiency in the post ‘buy’ phase of the customer, a critical time when the Post Purchase Dissonance sets is and the same can be lost.
QS’s team believes in the Indian consumption story. It seems tremendous opportunity in the consumer value chain that technology presents. These would start forming as the endeavor grows.
Quickshift – Industry Details
The total logistics market in India is about US$ 215 Bn in Yr. 2020, it is expected to rise to US$ 450 Bn. Like-wise the 3PL logistics market is about US$8 Bn, likely to expand to US$18 Bn in the same time frame. Based on current data, QS’s market share of this serviceable 3 PL market is 0.2%.
The business model has been functioning of research as well as evolution. QS in its very early days was offering fleet as well as fulfillment, it realized the need for technology and the substantial difference it would make in Order Management, right up to the customer and then the payment process. Hence QS started integrating the full value chain. Once brands onboarded, they got the advantage of integrated processes. They no longer had to talk separately to tech enabler for Order Management, a warehousing company (and multiple ones for different zones), a logistics/courier partner for the last mile, etc., steps that increased the no. of transactions and created complexities. Instead, QS was answering that. The brands themselves asked QS to open more centers to enable their fulfillment go pan India, and hence came the multi-city distribution plan.
Quickshift – Product/Service and USP
QS has built integrations with all leading marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa, Ajio, etc as well integrates with any own developed e-com platforms like Shopify, Woocommerce, Magento, etc. On the shipping side, Quickshift can reach out to 30000 Pin Codes across India through its affiliations promising same day and next day TAT’s. It has its own fulfillment centers in Mumbai, NCR-Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, and Kolkata, all tech-enabled to manage the process efficiently and in a cost-effective manner. It provides a dashboard to its customers that offers them to have a birds-eye view of its stocks across warehouses, its orders getting processed, despatches, COD’s and also insights into its sales and inventory.
QS reduces the costs of fulfillment by over 35%
For a brand, it provides a single point of contact for Warehousing, Order Processing, Shipping, and Technology
In addition, to International brands that would like to create a distribution network to tap the Consumption potential in India, QS provides a one-stop-shop to establish its reach within India
Quickshift – Founders and Team
Anshul Goenka (CEO) and Prodipto Roy are the co-founders of Quickshift.
Quickshift co-founders – Anshul Goenka and Prodipto Roy
Prodipto recently joined as a co-founder, however, the founders knew each other since the inception of Quickshift and he was advising and mentoring the startup throughout. When Quickshift reached a decent scale and the workload starting increasing, it is then when Asnhul proposed to Prodipto to come in full time as a co-founder. Prodipto saw value in what Quickshift was building and for the team, he brings 2 decades of experience with him, therefore it was an easy match. Currently, Anshul looks over Operations, Tech & Product, Finance, While Prodipto looks over Sales, Marketing, CRM and we jointly discuss strategy, hiring, etc.
The current company Size is about 30 Corporate employees including Tech, Ops, Sales and Marketing, MIS & Finance. They have additional 70+ folks working across fulfillment centers in various cities.
The hiring process of Quickshift is very simple. The candidate should be driven by Quickshift’s mission and vision and should be able to see value in what the team is building. Experience and Skillset do matter but eventually, the candidate should be passionate about what the startup envisions.
Quickshift Team
Quickshift – Business Model & Revenue Model
All brands need storage, order fulfillment, and shipping. QS provides that. It has a pay-per-use model for charging its customers. It charges for its services rendered for example Platform fee, Inward processing, Storage, Order Processing, and Shipping. It has an EBIDTA of 60%.
Quickshift – Launch and Marketing Strategies
The first part is to go after a genuine problem statement that has a large market. If your product or service truly solves the pain point then getting your first set of users is not very difficult.
The second part is to have great/committed folks join your team.
Your first set of customers has to be handheld. The founders have to actively be involved in their day-to-day affairs. Regular interactions with your first set of customers help you learn and better the experience that you are building. A relationship has to be built and your clients have to be like your partners through thick and thin.
Quickshift has recently started marketing across digital mediums, only when the team was sure that they have a product that is ready to take on the market, did they aggressively build campaigns. Initially, it was more about performance marketing but we have also focused on building a ‘go-to’ brand, which has top-of-the-mind recall be it with its potential customers, employees, investors, etc.
QS is operational in Mumbai, NCR-Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, and Pune. Its shipping coverage is 29000 Pin Codes across India. It is currently servicing over 150+ D2C brands.
As the trends move more towards online/eCommerce and social commerce consumption, Quickshift is in a space that is bound to grow. It has plans to scale up in terms of its capacity, more technological introductions that further enhance the customer service feature as well as make the entire fulfillment experience seamless, more efficient, and more competitive are planned.
Quickshift – Funding and Investors
Quickshift’s funding details are as follows –
Date
Stage
Amount
Investors
July 2021
Seed
USD 770,000
Anicut, Axilor
Quickshift – Competitors
Shiprocket, Wareiq, and Eshopbox are the competitors of Quickshift.
Quickshift – FAQs
What is Quickshift?
Quickshift (QS) offers a complete suite of fulfillment services for any D2C brand that wants to scale up quickly while offering the best customer service. Through itstech-enabled, multi-city warehouses and integrated shipping, it offers- transparent order management, storage, shipping, COD, RTO, Non-Delivery Receipt (NDR), and ultimately customer delight.
Who founded Quickshift?
Anshul Goenka (CEO) and Prodipto Roy are the co-founders of Quickshift.
Is Quickshift an Indian company?
Yes. Quickshift is an Indian company headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra.
When was Quickshift launched?
QS was launched in 2018.
How does Quickshift make money?
Quickshift has a pay-per-use model for charging its customers. It charges for its services rendered for example Platform fee, Inward processing, Storage, Order Processing, and Shipping.
Amazon is now the world’s largest e-commerce company in the world. Many small and medium-scale businesses benefit a lot from Amazon. If you are a curious person and are entrepreneurial in nature, you might wonder very often how Amazon supply chain works. The logistics of Amazon are fairly complex and quite vast. Over the years Amazon has improved its supply chain operations and many other things. Today Amazon’s supply chain is one of the most sophisticated ones.
So, Lets look at the Complete process of Supply chain management of Amazon
The supply chain of Amazon is one of the most sophisticated complex supply chains in the world. It is because of its supply chain, it has achieved such great heights. So, let’s look at the basics of how Amazon manages its logistics? and some of the advanced optimization Amazon does in order to work more efficiently.
Warehousing Strategy
Amazon Warehouse
Amazon is one of the influential e-commerce companies because of its advanced warehousing strategy. It has a strategy by which it can locate the desired product properly. All the products are placed strategically so that they can be found easily. The products are segregated infrequently demanded and rarely demanded. Warehouses are optimized really well so that goods can be procured faster.
They do demand forecasting and keep the products of high demand ready to be deployed. Apart from that they also follow certain quality control rules depending on the product so that the customer gets the best quality product.
Sohpisticated Delivery Network
Amazon Drone Delivery
The delivery system of Amazon is very sophisticated in nature. The supply chain is very well planned which will help the company to deliver the product properly. For members who have a Prime subscription, their products need to be delivered to them within 2 hours or next day depending on the location. Amazon has put in place a number of techniques that can arrange and pack your product and send it to your home.
Amazon has deployed a number of drones, robots, and other logistics technologies to help the goods reach your house faster. There are also many other delivery robots through which they are delivering the goods to their customer.
Use of Robots
Amazon Kiva Robots
Amazon employs technology in its Warehousing to improve its efficiency. It uses a number of robots in its warehouse which helps in arranging the goods, moving them from one place to another.
Amazon had acquired an automation company called Kiva Systems. It was renamed Amazon robotics after acquisition. These robots decreased human intervention and improved the delivery speed.
Amazon also implemented drones so that they can deliver their goods where logistics companies could not reach. Amazon has also deployed many small delivery robots which deliver goods to other people. These technologies enhance the delivery speed and make the whole process very easy.
Amazon is not just a retail e-commerce website now where it sells products from 3rd party. It is a company that ultimately focuses on customer satisfaction. In due course of time, Amazon has looked into possible ways of decreasing the cost of products.
With time, Amazon started manufacturing its own products like Earphones, iPhone chargers and many other things. These goods were much cheaper than the 3rd party manufacturers.
The product quality is also much better as the quality control is done by Amazon themselves. This leads to a lot of simplifications and decreases a lot of complications on the part of Amazon.
Cost-Effective Supply chain
Amazon has kept the cost of its supply chain very low. Due to its huge economies of scale, it was able to keep its cost very low. The per-unit supply is very cost effective. Amazon has several warehouses of its own and it has automated to a great extent. This is why they have a lot less operation cost than other companies.
High-level Automation
Amazon Delivery Robot
From its warehouses to delivery, Amazon has deployed a lot of robots to automate it. There are robots that would move and arrange the goods in the warehouse and also packaging the goods. For the delivery, Amazon has deployed drones, delivery robots, to deliver the product to the customer’s house. This decreases human involvement and thus decreases the cost of operation.
Outsourcing Inventory Management and Insourcing Logistics
Amazon outsources its inventory management to third parties wherever they see it’s feasible. Outsourcing helps them reduce costs and reduce the unnecessary expansion of the supply chain.
The third party stores the goods in their local storage and it is not stored in an Amazon warehouse. These third-party warehouses are generally located at special places and are supplied with those goods which are in high demand in that area.
Push-Pull Strategy for Supply Chain Success
Amazon implements a push-pull strategy in its warehouse management. The warehouses owned by Amazon are located in more strategic locations. While the Warehouses belonging to the third party are located at other places. So in the case of Amazon’s warehouse, it implements a push strategy and in the case of a third-party warehouse, it implements a pull strategy.
Amazon has designed a supply chain in which it can optimize any part of it. It has introduced high-level automation using robots to decrease human employment. This helps them decrease the cost. From warehouse to delivery it has deployed several robots to arrange pack and deliver the product to the customer’s house. The supply chain and logistics of Amazon is one unique entity in the whole world.
FAQ
Does Amazon have the best supply chain?
Yes, Amazons supply chain is counted as one of the most efficient supply chains in the world.
What is the revenue of Amazon?
The revenue of Amazon of 2020 was 21.33 billion U.S. dollars.
What are the tasks that Amazon Outsources?
Product Listing and Optimization., Product Photography Services, Managing Sponsored Ads/ PPC, and Customer Support Services are some of the tasks that are outsourced by Amazon.
Bangalore, the silicon valley of India, is one of the most famous Indian cities for entrepreneurs. In this post, we have listed some of the most prominent angel investors in Bangalore whom you can reach out to. You will get to know about their background and the sectors they like to invest in. You can contact these angel investors in Bangalore via their LinkedIn and AngelList profile.
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Abhishek Gupta did his engineering from IIT, Varanasi in 1999. After completing engineering, Abhishek joined Oracleas an Associate Consultant. After working there for 4 years, he joined GlobalLogic. He then switched to a new company after working at GlobalLogic for almost 4 years and joined Lime Labs India as VP Technology. Later in 2011, he became the Head of Accelerator at TLabs. Now, Abhishek Gupta is the COO at TLabs and also serving as a Board member of MintM Inc. and GradeUp. Moreover, he likes to work as an angel investor for startups.
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Binny Bansal – Angel Investor in Bangalore | founder of Flipkart
One of the most famous names in the Indian entrepreneurial world, Binny Bansal started off at Sarnoff as a Software Engineer in 2005 after completing engineering from IIT, Delhi. In 2007, he switched to Amazonat the same position. However, after working there for 9 months, he along with his colleague, Sachin Bansal, came up with a new idea. They duo founded Flipkart. Binny recently left the company and co-founded another startup called Xto 10x Technologies. Binny Bansal also serves as an advisor to many companies. Binny Bansal has invested in a lot of Indian startups as an angel investor.
Phanindra Sama- Angel Investors in Bangalore & founder of redBus
Phanindra did his engineering from BITS, Pilani. He then started working as a design engineer at ST Microelectronics. After working 2 years, he joined another company called Texas Instruments at the same position. In 2006, Phanindra Sama co-founded redBus and served as the CEO for 8 years. Phanindra now serves as the Chief Innovation Officer for Government of Telangana.
Markets Interested: Mobile Consumer Internet, SaaS, Enterprise Software, Productivity Software, FinTech Investments: AdPushup, Apptimize, Kwench Global Technologies, PrettySecrets, ReTargeter
Krishna Jha – Angel Investors in Bangalore
Krishna Jha completed his education in Mumbai from St. Xavier’s College. He founded ITFinity Solutions Pvt. Ltd. in 1999. He then became the head of OnMobile and served in that capacity for almost 2 years. Krishna Jha now serves as the President of Telnet ventures.
Markets Interested: Enterprise Software, Big Data, Cloud Computing & Infrastructure, Energy Storage, PaaS, Security, SMS Databases, Developer APIs. Investments: Archer Technologies, Bira 91, Buildsupply, CloudByte, Dhama Innovations, Eband Communications
Sameer Brij Verma – Angel Investors in Bangalore
Sameer did his engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology. He started his career as an engineering intern at Spectranet. He went on to do many internships in various companies in the engineering field. Sameer then became the founder and CEO of Breakthrough Capital and now serves as the board member and investor at many companies including Zolo, Jumbotail, Hasura, Myupchar, and Unacademy.
Markets Interested: Consumer Internet, Healthcare, SaaS Investments: Must See India, Avagmah, bookadda.com, Browntape, delyver.com
Ganesh Krishnan – Angel Investors in Bangalore
Ganesh Krishnan completed his engineering from Delhi and later pursued an MBA from IIM. He served as the CEO of Bharti Airtelin 1998. Ganesh is the founder of Portea.com and TutorVista.
Aprameya Radhakrishna- Angel Investors in Bangalore
Aprameya completed his engineering from National Institute of Technology, Karnataka. He started working as Software Engineer at Infosys. But in 2006, Radhakrishna decided to study further and joined IIM for his MBA. In 2008, he began working at Jones Lang LaSalle as the head of business development. After working for 2 years, he founded TaxiForSure in 2010. He remained the director of TaxiForSure till 2015. Now, he’s more into angel investing and also founded another startup called Vokal.
Praveen completed his engineering from BITS, Pilani. He later joined IIM to do his PGDM. In the year 2000, he founded Cross-Tab Marketing Services where he serves as a Director now. In 2013, Praveen Gupta founded Tallenge Inc. and serves as the CEO.
Rajeev Krishnan is an Engineer from National Institute of Technology and later did PGDM from IIM. Before switching his career, Rajeev worked as a Technical Consultant at National Instruments. He then joined the same company and was promoted rapidly. Rajeev now serves as the Country Manager for MTSSystem Corporation. Rajeev has seed funded many startups.
After graduating from IIT, Kanpur, Amit Gupta joined HermanIndustries as a software engineer. He later went on to launch InMobias a co-founder and is now working with Yulu, the cycle rental startup.
Markets Interested: Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software, Mobile Healthcare, Fintech Industry Investments: ChartIQ, ClearFactr, EarnUp, inDinero, MPOWER Financing, Nowait
Shamir Karkal- Angel Investors in Bangalore
After completing his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, Shamir Karkal joined McKinsey & Co. as a Management Consultant. He then did many high profile jobs before co-founding Sila in 2018.
Markets Interested: Consumer Internet, Mobile Healthcare, Small and Medium Businesses, Healthtech Investments:bigbasket.com, bluestone.com, bookadda.com, delyver.com, DocsApp
Srinivas Anumolu – Angel Investors in Bangalore
After completing his engineering from IIT Madras, Srinivas Anumolu joined IIM Calcutta to do his PGDM. After completing his studies from IIM in 1987, he went to UCLA to pursue an MBA in finance. Srinivas is the Co-founder of TutorVista and Elance (now Upwork). He also served as the director of Amazon India in 2005. All of the startups he has funded in are doing exceptionally well.
Markets Interested:Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software, Mobile Healthcare, Edtech Investments: Cheapesto, iKaaz Mobile Payments, inthree, KleverKid, LoudCell
Ananda Kallugadde – Angel Investors in Bangalore
Ananda Kallugadde completed his engineering in 1995 from National Institute of Technology. His first job was at Ernst & Young LLP. Later, he worked at a few companies before he helped co-found NeoBytes in 2006. Ananda now works as an Advisor for many companies.
Gaurav Lochan did his Masters in Computer Science from the University of Southern California. He then joined Microsoftas a Software Engineer. In 2012, Gaurav Lochan helped co-found BeetRoute. However, after one year, he joined Flipkart as an Engineering Manager. Gaurav is a Software Engineer at Facebookat present.
Markets Interested:Clean Technology, Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software, Mobile Healthcare Investments: Able Lending, Bring Me That, Instamotor, Mosaic
Nagendra Bhanuprakash – Angel Investors in Bangalore
Prior to launching Strumsoft as a co-founder, Nagendra did his MBA from Massachusetts and worked as a Program Manager at Comverse. He is now the VP of Engineering at Synchronoss Technologies.
Markets Interested: Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software, Media, Mobile Healthcare, SaaS, Impact Investing Investments: Flintobox, HackerEarth, Little Eye Labs, Pokkt
Brij Bhasin – Angel Investors in Bangalore | founder of Boost Tech
University of Minnesota is where Brij Bhasin completed his engineering and also worked as Research Engineer for 2 years. He later worked as a Product Manager at Pramata Corporation for 6 years. In 2011, Brij Bhasin launched Boost Tech. He left the company after a year and did many high profile jobs in the next 3 years. Brij Bhasin is an Angel Investor and Board Member of multiple companies.
Pradeep Reddy Kamasani – Angel Investors in Bangalore
Pradeep Reddy Kamasani has nearly 2 decades of IT, Business, Sales & Marketing experience in North America, Europe, and Asia. He has been active in the startup ecosystem since 2014. Pradeep is currently the CEO of HunterTech, an IT Services Company based in Bangalore. Pradeep is the founder of 2 startups in addition to being an Angel Investor and Advisor to Edtech, Healthcare, and Tech startups. He is an advisor to Edurev and BeYouPlus. Pradeep is helping small businesses scale to an enterprise level with his Growth Strategy, Marketing Automation, Digital, and Content Marketing Skills. He is Hubspot Inbound Marketing certified.
Markets Interested: Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software, Mobile Healthcare, Big Data, Computer Vision, Artificial Intelligence Investments: IQLECT, LensBricks, Mad Street Den, Riversilica
Abishek Surendran – Angel Investors in Bangalore
After completing his engineering from VESIT in 2004, Abishek joined Tata Consultancy Services as a security consultant where he remained for 5 years. In 2009, he went to School of Investment and Banking and switched to Intellecap as a Senior Associate. In 2013, Abishek Surendran completed his MBA from IIM and interned at an investment company. He then joined ExfinityVenture Partners as President and stayed for almost 4 years. Abishek is a Partner at pi Ventures.
Rutvik completed his engineering from IIT, Kharagpur. He joined CA Technologies as a Software Engineer straight out of college. He worked there for a long time in many positions. He then decided to pursue an MBA from INSEAD in 2006. After completing his MBA in 2007, he joined Google as a Product Manager and worked there for 3.5 years. He was the CEO of Tagge.com in 2010. He now serves as the Managing Director of Inventus Capital India.
Markets Interested: Unified Communications, Social Media, Cloud Computing, Big Data, Social CRM, Advertising Platforms, e-commerce, SaaS, B2B, Deep Information Technology, Disruptive Models Investments: TVInfo.in, Advanced Millennium Technologies, Viva-Lite, Wellness-Shop.com
Toby Ruckert – Angel Investors in Bangalore
Toby Ruckert found SysOp in 1992 and also worked as a Software Tester at IBMat the same time. After that, he became a Board Member at Viva-Lite International Ltd. where he served for 17 years. During that time, he co-found AMT in 2004. Toby Ruckert is the Board Member of many organisations and is the founder and CEO of UIB, which he launched in 2014. Along with a deep interest in business, Toby likes to play music and went to a piano school in 1997.
After doing a diploma in Business Management, Nilesh worked at Nortal as a System Analyst. He found a tech startup in 2000. He later joined Ciscoas a Software Engineer. Nilesh Trivedi did an MBA in 2012 and became an Advisor to many companies. In 2015, he founded another company called IOTLab. Nilesh is an angelinvestor for many startups.
Markets Interested: Recruitment, E-commerce, Media, Tech Industry Investments: iimjobs, Overcart, upRack, ZAPR Media Labs
Sachin Garg – Angel Investors in Bangalore
Sachin Garg is an Engineering dropout who founded his first startup in 1997. He was a Software Product Consultant at TCS, India, and Canada. In 2006, Sachin joined Yale University to do an MBA. After completing his MBA, he became a founding member of GSF Accelerator & Investments. While working on the startup, he also worked as the Product & Business head at Amazon.com. He left both the companies and founded another startup called upRack.com,an e-commerce platform. In 2013, he launched another startup called REXPROP, which was later acquired by BroEx. Sachin now works as a Product and Business Consultant for various companies.
Markets Interested: Impact Investing, CleanTech Industry, Mobile Social Recruiting, Emerging Markets, Healthtech, Information Technology, Mobile Health Investments: Babajob, EyeNetra, Kopo Kopo
Mark Straub – Angel Investors in Bangalore
After completing his education from the University of Virginia in 2004, Mark Straub joined Banc of America Securities as an Analyst. After 2 years, he joined Draper Fisher Jurvetson Growth Fund. In 2011, Mark became the Director of Khosla Impact and worked there for 7 years. In 2017, Mark Straub co-founded Smile Identity.
K. Srikrishna started his career in 1988 as a Marketing Manager at National Semiconductor Corporation after doing his Masters and Ph.D. in Engineering from University of California. He was the President and COO of Microcon in 1996. He held several high profile jobs till 2008 when he founded Zebu Group. Srikrishna was the CEO of Zebu Group and became Executive Director of National Entrepreneurship Network in 2011. In 2015, he co-founded Zebu Games and now serves as its CEO.
This was our list of Angel Investors in Bangalore. If you are an investor, connect with us at shubham@startuptalky.com to get featured in the list.
FAQs
What is meant by angel investors?
An angel investor is an individual who invests in emerging and promising startups. They provide funding for a startup in exchange for an ownership stake in the company.
Who is the founder of Indian Angel Network?
Padmaja Ruparel and Raman Roy are Co-Founders of Indian Angel Network.
How does an angel investor gets repaid?
Angel investors expect to get their money back within a fix straight schedule. The tenure ranges from 5 to 7 years with an annualized internal rate of return (“IRR”) of 20% to 40%.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Paxcom.
Paxcom’s technology solution consists of ML/AI-powered actionable insights on Product Content, On-Shelf Availability, Reviews & Rating analysis, Share of search, Sales, and Promotions. Daily, Paxcom analyzes multi-crore ad spends, and over 1.4 lakh products across 148 platforms, 450+ pin codes, and 11 languages to provide seller and location-specific insights to aid their clients’ eCommerce growth.
StartupTalky interviewed Mr. Punit Sindhwani (Founder & CEO, Paxcom) to get insights into the startup story and the organization’s roadmap. In this article you will discover how Pacom started, its business model, marketing strategies, and more.
Paxcom’s eCommerce solutions consist of a robust set of proprietary (or cutting edge or ML/AI) technology solutions backed up by a strong suite of eCommerce services that provide end-to-end assistance for businesses looking to expand their online presence. This startup is well-known for its digital solutions that cover all aspects of day-to-day eCommerce operations and assist brands and sellers in improving their overall online performance.
Paxcom’s cutting-edge AI solutions can collect and analyze data from all eCommerce channels, across multiple geographies to deliver actionable insights for improving digital shelf share, stock availability, competitive pricing, product discoverability, ROIs on marketing spends, placements, and more.
Its team of eCommerce experts, Data Scientists, Analysts, Content Writers, and Creative Designers can help you launch and optimize Products Price, Promotion, Placement, and growth strategies on the popular eCommerce Sites. Paxcom’s team of experts comes with vast experience across brands, markets, and platforms to ensure that your brand has all the tools to remain ahead of the curve. Paxcom takes pride in working as a partner and an extension of its clients’ own teams to ensure synchronized plans to success.
Paxcom – Industry Details
The recent years have seen substantial growth in D2C and digital brands in India, with over 4000 brands having crossed INR 1cr sales on Amazon alone in 2020. While physical formats of retail have been seeing a marked slow-down due to Covid restrictions, eCommerce is growing at the fastest pace. This has led to an increased focus of brands on eCommerce.
Paxcom’s founding team took its plunge into eCommerce in 2011 through an ambitious foray into omnichannel retail, before amazon.in the marketplace was launched in India. The in-house omnichannel technology that was built, empowered them for seamless growth across their D2C website, 11 physical locations and to be the pioneer in D2C and marketplaces in India. Mirchimart was one of the first few sellers that Amazon onboarded when they started their business in India. They also won the award for being the largest seller in the electronics category on the Flipkart marketplace in 2014.
This early exposure to e-commerce enabled the founders to recognize the sector’s potential in India. Consumer brands were taking their first steps in this direction, but there was a significant gap in understanding of how it worked and how to best use it. There was a need for expert advice and technical solutions to assist brands in accelerating digital sales and making intelligent, data-driven decisions. Paxcom was created to meet this need.
Kinator, a SaaS-based channel intelligence and data analytics platform, was the first solution developed, allowing their clients to track, measure, and audit their eCommerce presence, and provide insights for day-to-day and strategic decisions.
Over the last seven years, they have continued to evolve and grow alongside their clients’ ever-changing needs, becoming a full-service strategic solution provider for e-commerce, adding numerous services and software along the way.
In 2019, Paxcom became a part of the Paymentus group – a leading global paperless electronic billing and payment solution, ranked by Deloitte to be amongst the fastest-growing North American companies.
The idea came from the opportunity and the gaps the team saw in omnichannel retail as they managed their omnichannel retail business. The initial product idea was well received in their outbound campaign reach and few initial brands became Paxcom’s partners in this journey giving the team an opportunity to learn and mature their offerings.
Paxcom – Product/Services and USP
Paxcom offerings simplify Brand’s online strategy and growth by providing actionable insights derived from mining vast amounts of data points daily, across multiple e-marketplaces and multiple geographies. Brands can quickly see areas of growth opportunities, threats from competitive/upcoming brands and get insights on the effectiveness of different campaigns /products on marketplaces.
In the fiercely competitive eCommerce space, brands need to be agile and well-informed to achieve success. Paxcom’s eCommerce solutions consist of a robust set of proprietary technology solutions backed up by an experienced services staff to provide end-to-end assistance for businesses looking to expand their online presence. It is well-known for its digital solutions that cover all aspects of day-to-day eCommerce operations. Paxcom’s analytical software tools and expert customer service teams assist brands and sellers in improving the overall online performance. Paxcom’s mission is to simplify and streamline online selling for brands and sellers.
Paxcom’s USP is a robust suite of technology solutions backed by an experienced team obsessed with a data-driven approach to eCommerce growth for its customers. Its technology solution consists of ML/AI-powered actionable insights on Product Content, On-Shelf Availability, Reviews & Rating analysis, Share of search, Sales, and Promotions. The startup’s Omni-channel technology solution optimizes the supply chain for order-fulfillment and warehouse management while its eCart Solution helps establish eBrand Store and apps. Paxcom team comes with a wealth of experience in establishing omnichannel strategy and solutions have gained valuable insights in managing their own, and some of the large brands, eCommerce growth since 2011.
1. Channel Intelligence & Analytics – Kinator
Kinator – Paxcom’s proprietary technology solution can collect and analyze publicly available data from all major platforms, across multiple geographies to deliver Data-Driven Analytics & Insights for Brands selling on multiple e-retailers and marketplaces. Paxcom’s interactive KPI Dashboards & Reports enable data-led decision making on Product Pricing, Promotions, Placement, and more. Kinator helps brands track, measure, audit, and analyze their
On-shelf Availability
Price, promotions, and Buy Box
Ecommerce content
Reviews & Ratings
Visibility on search results and category
Sales across platforms
Advertising performance
2. Services, Strategy & Execution
Paxcom’s team of eCommerce experts, Data Scientists, Analysts, Content Writers, and Creative Designers can help you launch/optimize Products Price, Promotions, Placement on the popular eCommerce Sites.
Paxcom’s team of experts comes with vast experience across brands, markets, and platforms to ensure that your brand has all the tools to remain ahead of the curve. The startup takes pride in working as a partner and an extension of its clients’ own teams to ensure synchronized plans to success.
Global Support (India, North America, UAE, Africa & Southeast Asia)
3. AMS & Campaign Management
Paxcom’s eCommerce experts provide end-to-end campaign management in sync with your Brands goals and objectives across eCommerce platforms. When there are millions of products to choose from, a brand cannot afford to sit back and expect a customer to reach its product. Instead, the product needs to reach its customer. The startup manages multi-million spending across different platforms and categories, for leading or upcoming brands, using objective-based tailored strategies.
Ecommerce Campaign & Ams Management
Technology Aided Campaign Management using Paxcom’s cutting-edge tools
Get complete control over your e-commerce logistics and fulfillment. Businesses of all sizes & categories can harness the power of Paxcom’s innovative pre- and post-fulfillment solutions to make their listing, order processing, warehousing, and shipping process seamless, quick, and manageable. Easy connections across several channels, a consistent experience for customers and employees, and automated technologies will help you accelerate with control. Its Omnichannel offerings comprise multiple robust web applications that provide solutions that can help brands grow, and manage their backend operations flawlessly with ease.
Product Information & cataloging system (PIM)
Order & Inventory Management Software (OMS)
Warehouse Management Software (WMS)
Marketplace seller solutions
Paxcom’s USP and innovation
Strong experience across platforms and categories
Cross geography/industry best practice
Strong Technical Solutions + Services work together to give a complete solution
Flexibility to tailor software as well as services to your specific requirements
Global Support – Multiple language tracking & content Learnings across brands & categories
Pivot from Initial Idea
Paxcom was initially building 2 products – a Product Information Management software and software for sellers to manage their orders and inventory on multiple marketplaces. These two were built initially for Mirchimart for their own use and the team thought of taking these to market. These products, gradually they realized, had significant competition and challenges of stability since marketplaces, to date, don’t offer seamless APIs. Paxcom’s core product, Kinator, came after a couple of exploratory meetings with some big FMCG brands. This was a unique problem, no players in India at that time gave information to Brands on what is happening to their products and their category on eCommerce platforms. Since eCommerce was so new and growing massively, brands wanted to have some key KPIs to measure ecom growth. The team decided to plugin that gap, and Kinator came to life.
Paxcom’s founding team was together over years at their previous company, Mirchimart, and Paxcel and had a strong working relationship. So this came in very easily.
The team works closely together and quite often the tasks span across different areas. In the current setup, Neha Khosla is responsible for client success, Tanya Kakaria for Global Sales Marketing, Punit Sindhwani for overall strategy, and Gurjant Singh for technology solutions.
A dynamic powerhouse, Punit Sindhwani has over 25+years of experience in the Technology and IT industry. Punit is currently the CEO of Paxcom, a SaaS-based software that provides complete eCommerce automation solutions from creating and managing e-stores (or marketplaces) to advanced data analysis, exponential revenue growth, managed warehouses, and supply chains along with ensuring happy customers.
Punit Sindhwani – Founder & CEO of Paxcom
He is a strategic leader with a proven track record in managing fast-growing software development companies in Capital Markets, Payments, Health care, Data Analysis, and Data and Image Compression.
Prior to founding Paxcom, he was Co-founder and CTO of Mirchimart.com, an online megastore where he was responsible for building a high-performance tech platform for B2C and B2B sales, with optimized PIM, WMS, OMS, and Omni-channel touchpoints.
A bachelor in Electronics from Mumbai University, Punit’s area of expertise includes Enterprise Application Development, Mobile Application Development, Financial Software Development, Gift /Loyalty Solutions, Web application development, Data Analysis Software, Data and Image Compression.
Paxcom – Name Meaning & Logo
Prior to Paxcom, the founding team’s technology services company, Paxcel was born in 2001. Paxcel was named after a core value that they look for while hiring any new team member “Passion for Excellence”. Paxcom came as an extension to Paxcel, everything about eCommerce with Passion for Excellence, so this was a unanimous decision of the founding team, Paxcom. The name, Pax part symbolizes the founders’ Passion for Excellence, while the com part symbolizes Commerce. The logo was designed internally by the startup’s creative team.
Paxcom Logo
Paxcom – Business Model and Revenue Model
There are two parts to Paxcom’s business model. All technological solutions are produced and marketed as SaaS solutions, while the services arm operates on an agency model. It typically has annual retainers and subscriptions with its clients, and the startup tailors the engagement to their specific needs and gaps. Shorter project-based engagements, on the other hand, are also possible.
Paxcom – Launch & Marketing Strategies
The founding team launched the company because they first saw the complexities of managing an eCommerce business across multiple channels and the scale and efficiency needed. The push was motivated enough to take the plunge.
They were fortunate to be amongst the first ones to offer such insights for eCommerce growth, and as such, they found a great response to their email campaign reach on Paxcom’s innovative solutions.
“At Paxcom, we believe that a satisfied customer is the best marketer a company can have. The focus on client satisfaction has contributed significantly to our success, and we’ve seen a lot of initial growth organically through referrals and expanding partnerships with existing clients across industries and regions” – says Punit Sindhwani, CEO, Paxcom
Paxcom’s marketing and business leaders have invested a significant amount of time and effort in developing strong industry relationships and gaining a thorough understanding of the segments in which they operate. This has allowed them to take a consultative approach to business development, based on extensive knowledge of the ever-changing e-commerce landscape, best practices, industry trends, clients’ businesses, their current eCommerce maturity, possible growth areas, and potential solutions. Every client is different and having targeted outreach campaigns based on this understanding have worked well for Paxcom. It has also recently begun to broaden the use of content marketing by widely disseminating Paxcom’s large repository of useful resources for brands, sellers, and industry enthusiasts at all stages of e-commerce maturity. These are accessible via its website and social media pages.
Paxcom has established a strong presence and goodwill within the Indian eCommerce industry over the years, helping it solidify its position as an authority on eCommerce. Numerous leading brands it serves and its commitment to providing strong solutions for the clients globally have also helped the startup establish credibility as an eCommerce partner. The majority of its new business, therefore, comes from word of mouth, client referrals, eCommerce platform recommendations, and SEO.
Additionally, the team at Paxcom is also been working on producing content that serves the industry by offering in-depth information and advice for clients and the broader brands in the market.
Paxcom was started when eCommerce in India was in its nascent stage, and grown with the industry. The initial inertia of brands to recognize their potential, and the ever-changing ecom environment have been some challenges. However, the team has had the opportunity of working with some great brands and built strong goodwill for themselves by constantly adapting to ensure they go above and beyond their client’s expectations. This has helped Paxcom grow to its current strength and recognition in the industry.
Paxcom – Operating Locations
Out of the 6 office locations 3 are located in India, 2 in the US, and 1 in Canada.
Paxcom’s services are already available in 20 countries across SEA, Japan, Korea, the Middle East, Africa, the UK, North America, Australia, and India.
Paxcom – Funding
Paxcom is a bootstrapped startup and currently, it is not looking to raise funds in the near future.
Being a tech-focused company at heart, the team understands the value of tools in improving efficiency. There are numerous tools Paxcom utilizes to ensure that the team can function at scale effortlessly. Some of these are Slack, Keka, Google Business tools, Zoho, Hubspot, and Drutas.
Paxcom – Future Plans
In addition to expanding within the country, Paxcom is aggressively growing its global presence. Its current clients include over 150 brands, across 20 countries, and it is in the process of growing not just the client base, but also the engagement with existing clients.
At the moment, Paxcom’s SaaS-based data analytics tools are the top focus, with eCommerce advertising & strategy services following closely behind. Looking ahead, the startup also expects its revenue to triple within the next two years, with the primary chunk of that growth coming from North American and Asian markets.
Paxcom – FAQs
What is Paxcom?
Paxcom’s eCommerce solutions consist of a robust set of proprietary (or cutting edge or ML/AI) technology solutions backed up by a strong suite of eCommerce services that provide end-to-end assistance for businesses looking to expand their online presence.
Who is the CEO of Paxcom?
Punit Sindhwani is the CEO of Paxcom. Hehas over 25+years of experience in the Technology and IT industry.
How does Paxcom make money?
Paxcom’s technological solutions are produced and marketed as SaaS solutions, while the services arm operates on an agency model. It typically has annual retainers and subscriptions with its clients.
Is Paxcom funded?
No. Paxcom is currently bootstrapped.
What is the Paymentus group?
In 2019, Paxcom became a part of the Paymentus group – a leading global paperless electronic billing and payment solution, ranked by Deloitte to be amongst the fastest-growing North American companies.
In an exclusive interaction with StartupTalky, Ayushi Gudwani – the Founder & CEO of FableStreet gets candid about her early life, interests, career & startup challenges.
Ayushi Gudwani has been a work-wear consumer for years and went through the predicament of finding great pieces to wear to the office. She always found it hard to find styles that fit well and are comfortable and long-lasting. That triggered her thoughts and she ended up co-founding FableStreet. It started with a vision to make women feel confident and comfortable by addressing their work-wear needs.
Know the journey of FableStreet from Ayushi Gudwani | Founder & CEO of FableStreet
Tell us about your early life, interests and hobbies.
Ayushi Gudwani | Owner of FableStreet
I was born and raised in New Delhi in a typical Indian family, with a strong focus on academics. I was a topper throughout my high school and undergraduate. After the completion of my engineering from NSIT (Delhi), I went to pursue MBA from IIM Calcutta where I was awarded a silver medalist. Post that, I joined McKinsey & Company in 2008, before venturing out to start FableStreet in 2016. So I have geeky typical engineering + MBA background, not very exciting! Personally, I am an optimistic person as well as a dreamer and executioner. I derive my energy from people around me and rely heavily on my teams and family. My hobbies and interests include a fitness regimen, travelling, music and indulging in Thai food once in a while.
Being an entrepreneur is fulfilling but chaotic. It means having a never-ending workload that just seems to pile up like Jenga. I usually wake up at 6 am and start the day with a nice cup of tea and newspaper. Then, I make a to-do list of the agenda I need to take care of that day as well as the week, which is then passed on to my team. I also spend some time on my phone to check how the previous day’s sales are doing and resolve any urgent issues that need attention.
My teammates know how much I love going to the office on workdays and meeting them and engaging with them on a day-to-day basis, be it to discuss work or simply share a laugh. A typical workday would consist of team or one-on-one meetings, problem-solving, focusing on product development, etc. And to find balance in life, I spend time with my family, read books and chill on Netflix.
Tell us about your job responsibilities. How they have changed over time?
As a Solopreneur, the first couple of years, in terms of job responsibilities, were different than they are now. I managed operations, oversaw the hiring process and pushed myself to learn every aspect of the business. But all that has eased over time, as the team grows and expands.
My core responsibilities include solving the problems to ensure that we are on the right track, thinking through a strategic lens for the business, focusing on team health to build capabilities, boost morale and support them professionally and personally, networking and building partnerships and looking at opportunities for future funding and growth. Lastly, I also make a mental note to be prepared every day to face and solve any last-minute fire-fighting circumstances that may occur in any of the teammates, no matter how big or small.
What challenges did FableStreet face?
As a business owner and strategist, one is always experimenting with new things – it is a continuous trial and error process. We need to understand and accept the fact that 1 out of 3 ideas will work in any set-up/venture. Eventually, counting each and every setback is exhausting and also takes the joy out of working on your ideas. So, whatever I am working on, I give my best shot. One day at a time – that’s the only mindset I function with.
FableStreet site that caters for the need of all professional women out there.
Tell us about your superpowers.
Tenacity, multitasking, passion, a strong belief in my business idea and knowledge of my target audience and competition along with strong people skills, emotional quotient and understanding of what drives people. I believe these are the super-strengths that I’m managing till today.
Knowledge of your target audience keeps you ahead of your competitors.
Which online tools do you use the most and would like to recommend as well?
Even though I like being connected to people and my teams, I am not a big gadget freak and do not use multiple tools/apps. I follow the traditional method of making to-do lists either on paper or Google sheets/ Excel sheets for tracking and planning of daily work. I prefer one-on-one discussions and team huddles to operate my business. Lately, Zoom and Google Hangouts have been helpful for remote team discussions.
My previous work experience at McKinsey & Company and the people I worked with, in terms of leadership skills, problem-solving, aspirations and vision are a big part of who I am today. They have shaped me into the person I am today. Working with such inspiring people helped me learn what leadership means and how to care for individuals and teams.
I saw people genuinely care about my professional growth and that is something I would like to give back to my organization. I also learned how to dream big and act small with no end to visioning – that if you can’t solve the problem, no one else can. At a personal level, it has been my family and the values they have given me, had shaped my views and how I lead my life.
How’s your workspace setup look like?
We have an open seating arrangement at work to ensure open communication, approachability and quick problem-solving within the teams. I am usually placed between my team and that’s how I like to work when I am in the office.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
One of the best pieces of advice I have got is that people are your biggest asset. As an employer, you need to make sure that you genuinely do right by them. From a business point of view, it would be to think big, act small and conserve cash. This is something that holds true everywhere.
If you get a chance to start your career again, what would you do differently this time?
I would like to achieve a B-school degree from abroad, primarily in the USA. The reason being that the quality of schools and education is fairly different there. I love my alma mater (IIM Calcutta) and had an opportunity to spend some time at UCLA Anderson School of Management and I absolutely loved that.
Frequently Added Questions – FAQs
What is FableStreet?
FableStreet is a premium work-wear brand for women that helps women to find tailor-fit clothes on all body types.
Who is Ayushi Gudwani?
Ayushi Gudwani is the Founder and CEO of FableStreet.
Who is the owner of FableStreet?
Ayushi Gudwani is the owner of FableStreet.
Is FableStreet available online?
Yes, you can get FableStreet clothing from their own website or other e-commerce sites such as Myntra, Ajio & Nykaa.
What is the FableStreet funding to date?
FableStreet has raised a total of $2.9M in funding over 2 rounds.
What is the USP of FableStreet?
The USP of the FableStreet includes a proprietary and R&D-backed tailored Fit algorithm which gives a great fit with just 3 body measurements. The company offers a “My Style, Your Fit” solution to address the problem of women across shape and size.
Getting your business online is still a line that many struggles to cross. The reason being the complications that arise while trying to get a store up on the internet. This used to be true although, in the present age, web services have made the process so much easier.
If you’re looking to get into e-commerce then PayKickstart is worth considering. PayKickstart is an automated and customizable cart manager and affiliate platform designed to help your online business. It is easy to get started with and provides features that help you accept payments, manage carts, and sell your products online.
Co-founded by Mark Thompson in 2014, the service was marketed on social media. Since then its become popular due to its simplicity and gained conversions. Having a broad vision from a customer’s perspective, the platform is flexible and offers multiple ways payment options. It lets you add offers, provide trials and subscription-based services.
Apart from this, PayKickstart serves benefits for affiliates with its affiliate management center by providing essential features and statistics.
A platform that’s made to be friendly for people who aren’t tech-savvy often does well, and PayKickstart is no exception. It provides users with instructions on how to set things up along with occasional hints and tips.
It packs in complex features and yet maintains simplicity and a user-friendly interface. This is something many platforms do but fail to get right. That being said, let’s dive into some of the platform’s core features.
From a customer standpoint having multiple ways to pay for your product is always appreciated. It makes a store feel convenient and friendly for making a purchase. PayKickstart supports:
Card payments
Stripe
Apple Pay
Google pay
Bank Transfers
Paypal
These gateways only require a few clicks to set up and more gateways can be added or removed at any time. The use of integrations means the gateways you use are automatically updated without needed any extra effort.
This isn’t a deal-breaker for most people but if you’re looking to accept payments specifically through cryptocurrencies then this service may not serve your needs.
PayKickStart accepts all popular payment gateways
Subscriptions
PayKickstart has an ideal system to manage your subscriptions. These subscriptions help your business build long-term customer relationships. Users of the platform can set custom billing models and create plans appropriate for the business accordingly. The process is easy and requires little effort to set up. There is also added support for coupons, trials and add-ons.
The subscription management system also lets you charge customers on a usage basis. This means that you can charge them dynamically based on product or service consumption.
Furthermore, there are options to set up free plans with limitations and processing fees. Having a detailed configuration is essential to make sure your business has the perfect pricing strategy and PayKickstart makes it possible for businesses to create pricing plans accurately.
PayKickstart subscription dashboard
Integrations
Everyone has preferences and businesses are no exception. Integrations allow users to connect applications they know and love to the platform’s already vast feature set.
There are unlimited possibilities of what could be done for your business when you combine the functionality of various applications to your pricing model.
For example, you can create discounts for customers who have a membership or set a trigger in your email marketing tool when a product is purchased. These are just some of the ways in which you can use the 60+ integrations that are supported by the platform.
PayKickstart has a built-in affiliate management platform to help boost your growth and expand your reach. Offering an affiliate program is a great way to turn your customers into marketers. The platform has a dedicated panel with all the tools needed for you to start and manage an affiliate program for your business.
You can view and approve affiliate profiles, track commissions and get some analytics on generated leads. Some additional features for affiliate marketing include:
Cookie tracking with IP fallback
Cross-campaign tracking
Branded tracking links
Lifetime commissions tracking
The platform makes automated payments easy and fast. There’s also a panel to check total leads and monthly commissions. Affiliate commission payouts are done securely via Paypal.
The affiliate dashboard gives a bird’s eye view of all affiliate activities
Pricing of PayKickStart
Being a popular cart management solution, PayKickstart is priced optimally. In all seriousness, the plans are named according to your needs and have the features to get you going.
The Starter plan is available for $99/month and contains all the prime features with the lack of an affiliate management program. As the name suggests this is ideal for businesses and startups who aren’t willing to spend much but need a good cart solution.
If you want to step it up with affiliate management, the Growth plan is priced at $199/month and includes additional features such as full API access and customer retention tools.
The Scale plan grants you unlimited user access, priority customer support, and CRM integrations for $299/month. This is great for upscale businesses that require multiple user access and fast support to keep their business going.
Getting your business online shouldn’t be complex. The rise of platforms allowing everyday business owners to take their business online is certainly having a positive impact on e-commerce.
PayKickstart tries to be a feature-rich cart manager that you can easily add to your website. The added benefit being a complete affiliate marketing center that comes with the platform which you’ll appreciate later down the line. The pricing and its well-structured design make it a go-to platform for setting up payments for businesses at any scale.
FAQ
What is Paykickstart?
PayKickstart is an automated and customizable cart manager and affiliate platform designed to help your online business. It provides features that help you accept payments, manage carts, and sell your products online.
What is the pricing of Paykickstart?
The Starter plan is available for $99/month, the Growth plan is priced at $199/month and The Scale plan is priced at $299/month.
What are some of the alternatives of Paykickstart?
Chargebee, Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce are some of the alternatives of Paykickstart.
What do you think of buying now and paying later? Sounds so fascinating! That’s right, nothing can be compared with the happiness of a shopaholic that comes with this idea of buying now and paying later. Well, this ain’t just an idea anymore!
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) has been a great success ever since its development. As the name implies, BNPL provides the customers with the offer of buying their favorite product now and paying the cost anytime later.
The major reason behind the success of the Buy now, pay later model is its ability to attract a large audience and enhance E-commerce sales. That’s why more and more companies across the world are adopting this remarkable online retail business model.
However, the Buy now, pay later model is kinda similar to credit card payments! There have been many questions raised on its similarities. But the offerings come in the BNPL model, and cannot be found in the credit card payments. In fact, it has raised its average order value by 33% in the retail industry.
In this article, you will be getting a brief description of how this amazing business model works and Why ecommerce companies opting for how it is increasing E-commerce sales. Let’s get started!
Similar to its name, the Buy Now, Pay Later Business Model is pretty simple. The customer purchases any product and instead of paying the whole cost of the product at once, they pay it in the form of installments over a certain period. So, when you don’t have the complete amount of money, you can still buy it and pay the money afterward.
Customers can choose the finance provided by the stores themselves or a third party like PayPal and Klarna Credit. It doesn’t matter which payment method you choose, the pay later service will work tremendously for you.
Through this method, the retailer gets enhanced sales and shifts the product from inventory pretty quickly.
The Buy Now, Pay Later business model is initiating a new line of offerings for the customers to buy any product in installment, just as they used to purchase through the layaway business concept.
The Target Audience of Buy Now, Pay Later
Among the immense number of consumers in the retail industry, Buy Now, Pay Later is used by almost everyone! According to statistics,
33% consumers are in the age group 18-25
40% consumers are in the age group 26-34
62% consumers are in the age group 35-50
16% consumers are in the age group 51-64
By looking at these figures mostly grown-ups and millennials are the regular users of the Buy Now, Pay Later business model. And now, many bigger e-commerce companies have also adapted this business model strategy, and customers’ sales are increasing tremendously.
How does the Buy Now, Pay Later (BPNL) business model work?
Usually, in credit card payments, the consumer contacts the corresponding bank or credit card company. But, In the Buy Now, Pay Later business model, the consumers are directly connected with the merchants.
This payment mechanism was initiated by companies such as Afterpay, Klarna, and Affirm around 5-15 years ago. These companies established an entirely different business model for merchants to increase their customers worldwide.
They used the consumer’s debit card as the payment means for the transaction. This has extensively grown ever since the pandemic happened! During the financial crisis, people could still purchase their essentials and pay the money in installments.
On a general basis Buy Now, Pay Later companies to charge 5-6% of commission from the merchants. The purchasing behavior when compared with the conventional credit card payment methods, demographics are entirely different.
The Buy Now, Pay Later companies earns from the consumers by charging interest on the “loan” amount. Many companies also earn from late fees. Late fees are penal fees charged to users in case of an inability to repay.
Why are E-commerce companies using Buy Now, Pay Later (BPNL) model?
When we look at previous statistics, the Buy now, pay later model is mostly adopted in the retail sector. But with time, this is evolving on a great scale. Many companies, from all service sectors across the world, are adopting this amazing opportunity to attract more customers.
When a company offers installment payment on various products, customers’ purchasing also increases. With this buy now, pay later services, e-commerce companies will offer many more additional services in order to improve their customer’s experiences. This will result in the involvement of higher consumer costs.
As other industries adopted this tremendous business model, healthcare is the last on the list. Even Walnut has also adopted this service in its healthcare sector.
Walnut Website
Furthermore, Buy now, pay later also reduces the financial stress from the company, and customer engagement heightens.
As the E-commerce platforms are growing with an extensive speed. Adding buy now, pay later service into it would take the graph, exponentially.
We have noticed great growth of the buy now, pay later business model. No doubt, it has taken the retail industry to the next level of sales and customer engagement. The buy now, pay later model is more budget-conscious and careful with consumer protection.
This unique business model is likely to grow more vigorously in the upcoming years. With that in mind, we can state that the buy now, pay later model has brought various advantages for industries, especially the retail sector.
FAQ
What are some of the Buy Now, Pay Later companies?
Affirm, Afterpay and Klarna are some of the Buy Now, Pay Later companies.
What is Buy Now, Pay Later business model?
The customer purchases any product and instead of paying the whole cost of the product at once, they pay it in the form of installments over a certain period.
How do Buy Now, Pay Later companies make money?
The Buy Now, Pay Later companies make money by charging merchants a 2% to 3% merchant fee.
On 24th August 2021, Flipkart Wholesale which is the digital B2B marketplace of the E-commerce giant Flipkart Group announced their upcoming credit programs that will help kiranas manage their working capital requirements and grow their business.
These credit programs are said to include Easy credit in partnership with IDFC FIRST Bank along with other well-known Fintech institutions. These credit offerings aim in solving the problems of the kiranas in India and boost businesses with the help of advanced technology.
Another advantage of these initiatives is that kiranas can avail credit just within two minutes and at zero cost, via end to end digital onboarding. These industry-first credit programs are designed especially for over 1.5 million people which include kiranas, retailers, hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, offices and institutes, among others.
Flipkart Wholesale is the brainchild of Flipkart which is an E-commerce Giant. Flipkart Wholesale is an upcoming online B2B marketplace that was launched in September 2020. The platform has been designed especially for making business easier for the kiranas, retailers and small business owners. The company aims at helping people with their everyday business by using innovation and advanced technology.
It also wants to simplify B2B e-commerce in the country so that it becomes more convenient for the customers of kiranas and small businesses. With Flipkart Wholesale, customers will be allowed to buy a huge variety of quality products at good margins. With this platform the customers can also get speedy product delivery, convenient order returns directly from the shops.
Flipkart Wholesale will also allow its customers speedy delivery options and an easy order tracking facility to keep it transparent. Besides Theses facilities it also offers paperless credit facilities so the kiranas and retailers can fulfil their business needs when they are low on finances, which is extremely helpful during the difficult times of the Covid 19 Pandemic.
Flipkart Wholesale is currently aiming to help kirana stores in more than 2,700 cities across India. So far, the platform has seen a steady growth of 17% especially from January to June 2021 as many kiranas have started using the platform.
The aim of Flipkart Wholesale Credit Programs
According to Adarsh Menon, Senior Vice President and Head, Flipkart Wholesale,
“Our key goal at Flipkart Wholesale is to make business easier for kiranas and retailers and boost their growth journey. We believe our new credit plan is tailored to solve local challenges that kiranas in India face and will help them manage their cash flow and improve their purchase experience on our platform, thereby ensuring that the benefits of digitisation trickle to the entire B2B retail ecosystem,” Adarsh Menon.
Commenting on the association, Amit Kumar, the Head-Retail Liabilities and Branch Banking of IDFC FIRST Bank said that, the country’s kirana stores account for more than two-thirds of India retail market space. He also added that the traditional trade is now evolving in terms of retail formats and business models. This is why the bank wanted to contribute to the growth of this segment and help kiranas scale up its business.
The main benefits of Flipkart Wholesale are that their clients have an access to a wide range of value propositions which include quality products, easy ways to order & return, fast delivery, order tracking, and the best margins on all products. The credit programs are allowing credit lines from Rs 5,000 to Rs 2 lakh including an interest-free period of up to two weeks.
Besides that, the initiative will also help kiranas get an advantage of flexible repayment options via cash, online transfers and even instant refunds if the order is cancelled. The platform will also keep an account of the credit balance and bills of the kiranas.
Flipkart Wholesale logo
Competitors of Flipkart Wholesale
Flipkart Wholesale was launched in 2020 but already has competitors such as Amazon Pay and Udaan. Amazon Pay is also providing kiranas and retailers with small loans and is said to have already empowered more than five million stores and small businesses with its digital payment features.
Features such as Amazon Pay’s QR (quick response) code have become popular because many small and medium businesses are using it. Udaan is a Bengaluru based E-commerce startup that has also come up with features such as UdaanExpress and UdaanCapital which are designed for kiranas. These options help kiranas with logistics and lending capabilities and have already grown 30 times in AUM over the last two years.
Flipkart Wholesale is the brainchild of Flipkart which is an Ecommerce Giant. The platform is an online B2B marketplace that was launched in September 2020.
What is the Flipkart Wholesale Credit Program?
Flipkart Wholesale credit programs will help kiranas manage their working capital requirements and grow their business.
What are the benefits of the Flipkart Wholesale Credit Program?
The main benefit of Flipkart Wholesale credit programs is that it is allowing credit lines from Rs 5,000 to Rs 2 lakh including an interest-free period of up to two weeks.
When was Flipkart Wholesale founded?
Flipkart Wholesale was launched in September 2020.
Anik Banerjee
