StartupTalky

Tag: Recap22

  • Technology is the Biggest Unifying Factor Encouraging Industries across the Globe Says Kaustubh Kashyap, Chief Growth Officer Of Openturf

    StartupTalky presents Recap’22. This is a series of interviews in which we conduct in-depth discussions with founders & industry leaders to understand their growth in 2022 and their predictions for the future.

    A Virtual Technology Office (VTO) refers to a service model where a company outsources its IT and technology support functions to an external provider, who manages these services remotely. The provider typically provides technology-related services, such as network management, software support, and hardware maintenance, through a virtual platform. The VTO model is designed to help companies reduce their IT and technology-related costs, while still providing reliable and efficient technology support services.

    For this Interview, we invited Mr. Kaustubh Kashyap, Chief Growth Officer (CGO), OpenTurf, and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the industry.

    StartupTalky: Kaustubh, what service does Openturf provide? What was the motivation/ vision with which you started?

    Kaustubh: We started Openturf with a vision to help companies achieve incrementally and transformative change in both efficiency and effectiveness of their business processes with the use of technology. By offering organizations cutting-edge technology along with co-creating customized software solutions aligned with their specific needs, Openturf is becoming instrumental in changing the fortunes of firms across product categories and service domains.

    Among the prominent services, we are the leading solution provider in technology audits & consulting, digital bridges (automation solutions for faster roll-outs), platform integrations, and enterprise software development. We also offer distinctively superior services in performance engineering, databases, analytics, technology stack assessment, cloud cost optimization, and cognitive services among others.

    StartupTalky: What new services have been added in the past year? What is/are the USP/s of your service?

    Kaustubh: We have been expanding our portfolio of services with a laser-sharp focus on achieving the highest levels of quality and market requirements. We have successfully added our flagship offering Virtual Technology Office -VTO (virtual CTO services), 5G expertise, and complex System Integration capabilities in the last few years in our portfolio.

    Further, the work is on building various digital bridges (pre-built modules for automation) to shorten time-to-market for enhanced customer experience. Some of the USPs offered by Openturf include a Build-Operate-Transfer engagement model, a turnkey software development model for shared risks and responsibilities, an incremental approach to platform scalability, and building a dedicated technology team. In addition, we are also proud of our governance practices that ensure complete project transparency and ethical conduct at each and every phase of business execution leading to trustworthy long-term engagements.

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    StartupTalky: How has the tech outsourcing industry changed in recent years and how has your company adapted to these changes?

    Kaustubh: The increasing influence of technology is very much evident in today’s fast-changing business environment. Companies cutting across industries are increasingly becoming inclined to integrate new-age innovations and this change is fuelling the demand for SaaS platforms, VTOs, and BOT models among others. Openturf has aligned itself well with the ongoing changes by adding new services to its constellation while making the necessary amendments to the existing services in accordance with the requirements of its clients.

    Kaustubh: By constantly interacting with the stakeholders of the business ecosystem including our clients, technology developers, suppliers, and policymakers, we at OpenTurf keep a close tab on the present and future pulse of the business. Participating in international and national conferences, symposiums, discussions, competitions, and allied events also helps us to keep up the pace with contemporary trends and changing realities.

    StartupTalky: What key metrics do you track to check the company’s growth and performance?

    Kaustubh: While we closely follow key performance indicators (KPIs) such as revenue growth, profitability, and operating margins, the real metrics that matter most to us include net promoter score, the longevity of client engagements, repeat orders from our existing clients, and a number of projects gone live per client to name a few.

    StartupTalky: What were the most significant challenges your company faced in the past year and how did you overcome them?

    Kaustubh: The issues related to project execution – non-availability of tech documentation, or rapid changes in the scope of work where tech documents exist, or lack of project visibility by the customer. Then there were issues related to living systems – need-based just-in-time scalability of the platforms, the supportability of legacy systems, etc.

    In order to successfully address all these issues, we evolved our processes to come up with a slew of innovative approaches which delivered considerably well on the above-mentioned KPIs. We also started a few new practices like sustenance engineering practices to address the management of legacy systems.

    StartupTalky: Good service is something everyone is talking about in the service industry. How do you ensure that your clients are happy?

    Kaustubh: The fundamental operating principles that help us to deliver exceptional service experiences to clients are our single-minded focus on customer-centricity – Our mantra is “if the customer succeeds we succeed.”

    Besides, our customer-friendly business approach – commercials based on deliverables provide a lot of confidence to our customers to work with us. This coupled with the cost competitive structure and high transparency makes us the preferred choice of tech supplier across business categories and service domains.

    Further, our culture of bringing new-age technologies to customers is at the epicenter of our business practice, and it is proving instrumental in keeping us ahead of our contemporaries.

    StartupTalky: What are the different strategies you use for marketing? Tell us about any growth hack which you pulled off.

    Kaustubh: Our clients are our biggest assets as we have been able to achieve an exceptional 91%+ of repeat businesses from our enterprise customers. We also boast that more than 80% of our clients come via references, which again speaks volumes about our software delivery and system integration capabilities that we deliver to enterprises across the globe. In sum, a chunk of our business comes from repeat orders as our existing clients refer our services to new potential customers around the world.

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    StartupTalky: Foreign clients- this is what most service-based companies are looking for. What has been your experience?

    Kaustubh: We are receiving a very positive response from overseas clients and this explains the rapid expansion of our operations in foreign territories. We have a dedicated office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and efforts are underway to further build up our presence in the US and Europe. As technology integration today has become a prerequisite for success, we anticipate the demand for virtual CTO, cloud computing, SaaS-based systems, and platform integrations to reach a whole new level in the coming years.

    StartupTalky: What are the important tools and software you use to run your business smoothly?

    Kaustubh: Being a technology service provider, we at Openturf have integrated new-age platforms and open-source enterprise-grade systems to keep our operations smooth and nimble-footed. Google Cloud, Slack, Jira, CRM, Accounting tools, and a few other such platforms are used to streamline our business processes and deliver enriched experiences to our clients, employees, and suppliers.

    StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in your industry in India and the world? What kind of difference in market behavior have you seen between India and the world?

    Kaustubh: Technology is the biggest unifying factor encouraging industries across the globe to strive for more efficiency and effectiveness. While the needs and requirements of Indian and foreign clients vary as per the taste and preferences of their customer segments, the underlying need to realize better operational efficiencies and functional effects are the same on both national and global fronts. There is tremendous scope for growth in VTO – virtual CTO services, AI/ML services, analytics, database management, and 5G services. Further, the need for integrated platforms, automation modules, and SaaS architectures is going to drive the growth of our services going forward.

    StartupTalky: What lessons did your team learn in the past year and how will these inform your plans and strategies?

    Kaustubh: We have always been focused on exercising the highest level of customer centricity and as we go forward in the future, we would like to take this characteristic of our organization a notch or two higher. We have also learned that any cost that doesn’t add value to the client has to be taken away with immediate effect. Our focus on the learning and development needs of our employees even amidst fast-changing business scenarios helps us to keep our customers happy.

    StartupTalky: How do you plan to expand the Customers, service offering, and team base in the future?

    Kaustubh: We are focusing on a multi-pronged strategy for expanding our customer base in the coming years. The focus is also on expanding capabilities in newer domains such as 5G and Web 3.0. We are also expanding our corporate base by setting up overseas offices to further encourage the adoption of our services among prospective clients globally. In addition, we will continue to hire across the country and onboard employees with a hybrid work culture.

    StartupTalky: One tip that you would like to share with another Service company founder?

    Kaustubh: Exercising the highest level of customer centricity is one of the most important virtues to remain relevant in the service industry. In addition, companies should strive to provide the best solutions and services which are equally competitive on the cost front to stay ahead of the competition.

    We thank Kaustubh Kashyap for spending his valuable time and sharing his learnings with all of us.

    You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

  • Blusalz Hospitality Revolutionizes Restorative Travel Market, Founder Sanjay Sharma Weighs In

    StartupTalky presents Recap’22. This is a series of interviews in which we conduct in-depth discussions with founders & industry leaders to understand their growth in 2022 and their predictions for the future.

    Hospitality refers to the provision of friendly and generous treatment to guests, visitors, or strangers. It encompasses various industries such as hotels, restaurants, cruise lines, and events, and aims to make guests feel comfortable and valued.

    The global hospitality market grew from $4,390.59 billion in 2022 to $4,699.57 billion in 2023 at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 7.0%. However, according to recent reports, the global hospitality industry is expected to have a CAGR of around 4% to 6% over the next few years due Russia-Ukraine War.

    According to WTTC, India is ranked 10th among 185 countries in terms of travel & tourism’s total contribution to GDP in 2019. The travel market in India is projected to reach US$ 125 billion by FY27 from an estimated US$ 75 billion in FY20.

    For this Interview, we invited Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Founder of Blusalz Hospitality, and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the industry.

    StartupTalky: Sanjay, what does Bluesalz do? What was the motivation/ vision with which you started?

    Sanjay: BluSalz is all about Involved Living. It’s a natural progression of how the consumer’s journey has evolved, and maybe even pivoted during the Covid era. From Global to Local and now ‘Involved’ – here the Heightened Local and Lifestyle Experiences are the real draw. Come to think of it – it’s a full circle where we are rediscovering the roots of how early travel may have been. Each journey very unique – very individual – very personal.

    Having spent a lifetime in Hospitality, the glaring gap was evident in the consumer’s wants and the industry’s readiness. All this added up to our Benjamin Button moment!

    StartupTalky: What is the USP of your experiences curation platform?

    Sanjay: Our inspirations are our USPs. We are inspired by Uncommon Retreats. We are inspired by Diversity and Inclusion. We are inspired by Community and Conservation. These are the core of our ethos, and hence visible in our choices for everything we do. Our original local immersions act like restorative programs for travel curators who want to explore, connect and collect memories. These unconventional and unique spaces are our guests’ playground to leave with nothing but happiness.

    StartupTalky: How has the restoration travel market changed in recent years and how has your company adapted to these changes?

    Sanjay: The last decade has seen a discontinuous change. The era of consolidation transcended to a period of reflection. The way of doing business was re-evaluated, and consumer behavioral triggers & preferences changed. Our inception was a by-product of these changes. The need for restorative travel is now more than ever and BluSalz is making this fragmented market accessible.

    Sanjay: It’s simple. Network – Network – Network. Stay connected in person and digitally. Sometimes we look outside our industry to get inspired and innovate.

    StartupTalky: What key metrics do you track to check the company’s growth and performance?

    Sanjay: As an organization, we believe we are defined by the 3 R’s. Reputation – Relationships – Revenue. In that order. Revenue is last on this priority. This is not to say that it can be undermined in any way as it is the only way to survive. However, we believe our Reputation and Relationships are the gateways to
    stronger Revenue lines.

    All 3 R’s need to be looked at from a 360-degree perspective. Example: When we talk about Reputation it’s about the pride that anyone associated with us feels be it owners, vendor partners, staff & their families. To quantitatively identify the growth in our performance we use Balance Score Cards where these parameters are further defined and stressed. These checks and balances help us achieve longer-term stability and not just focus on the short-term gains that may actually
    come at a cost and a long-term loss.

    StartupTalky: What were the most significant challenges Bluesalz faced in the past year and how did you overcome them?

    Sanjay: The biggest challenge, and a good problem to have on our hands, is the rate of our growth. We are growing exponentially. In a short span of time, we have grown to 30+ flags, and have a stronger pipeline predominantly for South Asia. What’s interesting to note is that we have generated significant overseas interest something we did not anticipate happening this early in our start-up journey. 2023 was targeted at a 2X growth rate but looks like we may very well overshoot the target.

    We are humbled by the love that we have received from our Staff, Guests, Owners, and Partners and owe this success to them. This blistering pace comes with its fair share of hair-pulling days, learnings, tempers, and all other piled-up human emotions. But every small success is celebrated like our 83’s world cup win. Extremely gratifying!

    StartupTalky: What are the different strategies you use for marketing? Tell us about any growth hack which you pulled off.

    Sanjay: Just like the 5 fingers in our hand are different, so are our properties. Acknowledging that is the biggest growth hack that any organization can pull off. More often than not one tries to have a blanket marketing plan that meets mediocre success. One size fits all does not work very well for our industry.

    Our patrons are well-traveled – well-read – well connected. Hence, we focus on a 2 pronged strategy-Educate and Distribute. Hard sales don’t work. Content does. We want to be a part of traditional and e-periodicals, trend stories, destination covers, community & conservation features, architectural delights, and more. We want to be in Social Media and Traditional Mediums too.

    Our brand is not only for those who travel but also for the people where our properties are located. Once we are a part of their every day – we have created the top-of-the-mind recall that creates a legacy. This along with Distribution on all Platforms that our guests may explore ensure a Billboard effect where the next time they think of a destination they will think of BluSalz.

    StartupTalky: What are the important tools and software you use to run your business smoothly?

    Sanjay: Technology was one of the main pillars that we knew we had to invest in. From the very beginning, we chose the best. Our technology partners are the best 3rd Party technology providers with global recognition. We understand that choosing a partner whose core business is technology will always give us an edge against making in-house systems where our expertise and resources are limited. We don’t want to be in a position where we have to compromise on technology because we redirected the funds to another vertical.

    Our current system is simple communication between 2 platforms a leading Global Central Reservation System and a leading National Property Management System. Between these 2 platforms all our needs end to end from Booking to Billing are covered – hence removing the multiple layers of disconnect and having a seamless interface.

    StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in your industry in India and the world? What kind of difference in market behavior have you seen within states in India?

    Sanjay: As shared earlier, the future prospect looks very strong. Domestic travel has gained impetus and ease of travel has made borders more blurred. All surveys done in the last 12-18 months highlight travel as the top 2-3 areas for wallet share. Hence investor and consumer confidence are at an all-time high, surpassing the pre-2020 glory days.

    More than a difference there is a commonality that is strongly visible, at all ages people want to travel – they want to explore – and they want to experience. Essentially, they want to Keep Discovering.

    StartupTalky: What lessons did your team learn in the past year and how will these inform your future plans and strategies?

    Sanjay: Resilience – Patience – Endurance – Self Belief. These were our biggest take away from the past year. As they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I believe we have been seasoned well for the future and will help us take a longer view of our strategies.

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    StartupTalky: How do you plan to expand the Customers, product, and team base in the future?

    Sanjay: With our strong pipeline we have no choice but to expand our team base. However, we are extremely focused on choosing the right team with the right values. Matching the right candidate to the right job is hard and sometimes time-consuming, a little planning and believing in providing the first opportunity to your existing team is the core of expansion.

    StartupTalky: One tip that you would like to share with people reading this article who want to get into entrepreneurship?

    Sanjay: There is no right or wrong time to start this journey – savor it like a wine, it gets better as it gets older and is sharp when it’s young.

    We thank Sanjay Sharma for spending his valuable time and sharing his learnings with all of us.

    You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

  • Integrating Technology at a Large Scale Creates an Engaging Customer Experience and a Value Proposition for the Patrons- Rupesh Jain, Founder, Candere

    StartupTalky presents Recap’22. This is a series of interviews in which we conduct in-depth discussions with founders & industry leaders to understand their growth in 2022 and their predictions for the future.

    Jewelry has been a part of human culture for thousands of years and is often used for adornment, as a symbol of status or wealth, or as a means of currency. The jewelry industry is a global industry, with major centers of production and consumption in countries such as India, China, the United States, and Italy. The industry is a significant contributor to the global economy, with an estimated market size of around $321.44 billion in 2022, and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 9.34%, reaching $549.238 billion by 2027.

    In recent years, the jewelry industry has faced several challenges, including concerns about the environmental impact of mining and production and issues related to labor practices in some parts of the supply chain. However, the industry remains an important contributor to the global economy and is likely to continue to evolve and change in the coming years.

    For this Interview, we invited Mr. Rupesh Jain, Founder & CEO, of Candere, and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the lending industry.

    In 2022, the total revenue of Kalyan Jewelers amounted to more than $1.028 billion, and it had $907.03 million in 2021.

    StartupTalky: Rupesh, please tell us what products you sell at Candere.

    Rupesh Jain: Being a brand with an aspirational value and a unique proposition, Candere By Kalyan Jewelers is focused on the lightweight jewelry segment in fine diamonds. We specialize in jewelry that can be worn on any occasion of choice because of its resemblance with traditional elements, which also bears the refinement of contemporary jewelry. Additionally, our brand offers seasonal-specific collections like- Valentine’s Day Collection, Wedding-specific Collections (in and around the wedding season), Anniversary Collection, Men’s Collection, and the Children’s Collection, along with collections like Evil Eye, Layered, Besotted, etc. which are evergreen.

    Candere By Kalyan Jewellers | Homepage
    Candere By Kalyan Jewelers | Homepage

    StartupTalky: What was the motivation and vision with which you started?

    Rupesh Jain: I have had a strong association with the jewelry industry since childhood, as I come from a family with four decades of experience in the retail jewelry business. I have always been inspired and captivated by technology and asked, “what is the next problem I can address with technology?” Coupled with my childhood love, interest, and passion for jewelry/ diamonds and combining that with the emerging technology trends, I came up with my dream venture, Candere.

    StartupTalky:  What is the USP of your products?

    Rupesh Jain: Our USP lies in hyper-personalization and hyper-customization of the products since it allows customers to choose between gold purities and diamond grades. Candere has implemented and adapted to changing norms to elevate customer experience, ensuring a seamless experience during every step of their purchase.

    StartupTalky: How has the jewelry industry changed in recent years and how has Candere adapted to these changes?

    Rupesh Jain: The jewelry industry has evolved with technological interventions that caused a wave of change across sectors. Emphasizing the customer experience, the enterprises have leaped to another level of customized services and accessible interfaces for better purchase experience across online & offline mediums.

    We, as a brand, have also tried to keep at par with the technological innovations, discoveries, and developments that have helped to create a coherent experience for our customers. These adoptions have also created a unique approach catering to the consumer category. By expanding our reach with stores, we are trying to address the demand and provide the touch and feel experience for our customers.

    Rupesh Jain: As a jewel-tech brand, we use data to predict trends and create new categories for evolving customer demands in jewelry choices. We believe in introducing new product lines or categories for our increasing customers as per the evolving trends and unique requirements. Integrating technology at a large scale creates an engaging customer experience and a value proposition for the patrons.

    StartupTalky:  What key metrics do you track to check the company’s growth and performance?

    Rupesh Jain: At Candere, we use technology and data to identify customers’ purchasing traits/habits and create marketing strategies to maximize growth and increase performance.

    StartupTalky: What are your company’s most significant challenges in the past year and how did you overcome them?

    Rupesh Jain: This year, we migrated our technology framework from Magento commerce version (1.0) to Magento enterprise version(2.0). It was a challenge since it required multiple system reintegrations and data connections. However, with the help of our specialized technology experts, we were able to migrate successfully, and now our systems are back to normal, delivering a better customer experience.

    StartupTalky: Repeat purchase is one of the most essential parameters on which most e-commerce brands are betting. How do you keep your customer engaged to stop churn?

    Rupesh Jain: At Candere, we always believe in keeping our customers engaged. We ensure that we come up with exciting offers and exclusive discounts to help our customers make jewelry purchases, especially during the festive season. We also believe in conceptualizing and executing relatable campaigns that resonate with the customers’ sentiments. It has also been one of our strengths to retain the existing customers and attract more simultaneously.

    Also, our DGRP (Double Gold Rate Protection Plan) is exclusive to Candere’s customers which assists buyers in getting an advantage over fluctuating gold rates with gold price variations. It enables customers to reserve their jewelry at the current gold market rate in advance, protecting it against rate increases in the future and benefiting from reduced gold rates if the rate decreases.

    StartupTalky: What are the different strategies you use for marketing? Tell us about any growth hack which you pulled off.

    Rupesh Jain: We started Candere by Kalyan Jewelers primarily as an online JewelTech brand, having its presence in online platforms and the website alone. But, we have always believed in adapting to the industry’s changes, especially post the intense digital wave and the need to be omnipresent across channels. Being one of the leading players in the sector with a vast customer base (online), we are currently focusing on cross-channel sales by offering purchase options through both online and offline stores per customer preference. We employ an omnichannel strategy to reach the maximum number of buyers and consumers, focusing on retention and enabling customer engagement with the Candere community.

    StartupTalky: What are the important tools and software you use to run your business smoothly?

    Rupesh Jain: We constantly look for innovations that will enable us to enhance our relationship with clients. For example, modern features like “virtual Try-on” and “voice search” on our website enable consumers to shop as they would in a physical store while remaining in the comfort of their homes. Additionally, we collaborated with Adobe Analytics, upgraded Magento 1.0 to Magento 2.0, and migrated our chatbot to the cloud for seamless customer experiences.

    Our platform empowers customers to alter their jewelry with only a single tap. The customization option enables our buyers to choose their unique piece of jewelry that resonates with them and says a lot about their personality, including the ability to select from three metal colors, three different gold karats, and five distinct diamond qualities.

    StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in your industry in India and the world?

    Rupesh Jain: Over the last two fiscal years, we have witnessed rapid growth. We have grown our revenues exponentially by ~100% CAGR. Our current omnichannel strategy will help us develop rapidly as we move forward, allowing us to preserve the brand’s recognition and relevance among customers while expanding our footprint and establishing ourselves as a phygital brand across the online and offline ecosystems. Additionally, we will continue penetrating further into the current distribution channels with new jewelry collection launches coming year.

    StartupTalky: What kind of difference in market behavior have you seen within states in India?

    Rupesh Jain: Most of our customer base is from the metro cities, and we see more traction in the digital space. We have also seen cross-design adoption. For Example – the Thushi necklace, which originated from Maharashtra, is getting wide popularity in the north and northeast India.

    StartupTalky: What lessons did your team learn in the past year and how will these inform your plans and strategies?

    Rupesh Jain: In the past year, we learned how to swiftly adapt to changing times while maintaining customer relationships and experience. Going omnichannel is helping us accomplish this by increasing the visibility of Candere and its product range and making it easier for people to access the brand across domains. We aim to be the most sought-after JewelTech brand that caters to all types of jewelry for every occasion while also preparing for global expansion by developing our international website.

    StartupTalky: How do you plan to expand the Customer, SKUS, and team base in the future?

    Rupesh Jain: Customers, SKUs, and the growth of the team go hand in hand. Currently, we are delighted to witness a growth rate of 100%. With this, we can expand, diversify, and cater to our customer’s needs and demands.

    StartupTalky: With so much hype around d2c brands spending on ads, what will your growth strategy be organic or inorganic? How do you plan to work around SEO and content marketing?

    Rupesh Jain: We strongly believe in sustainable organic growth, so content marketing is our core strategy. Creating and delivering relevant content at the right time to the right users is what we work towards.

    We thank Mr. Rupesh Jain for spending his valuable time and sharing his learnings with all of us.

    You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

  • The Lending Industry Is Now Focused On Customer Delivery and Delightful Experience- Ajay Chaurasia of RupeeRedee

    StartupTalky presents Recap’22. This is a series of interviews in which we conduct in-depth discussions with founders & industry leaders to understand their growth in 2022 and their predictions for the future.

    Digital lending refers to the process of borrowing and lending money using online platforms and digital tools. This can include peer-to-peer lending platforms, online banks, and traditional financial institutions that offer digital loan applications and services.

    Digital lending has become increasingly popular in recent years due to the convenience and speed of the process, as well as the potential for lower borrowing costs. The lending market in India grew to Rs 174.3 lakh crore in March 2022, up by 11.1 % on an annual basis, as compared to March 2021. However, it is important to carefully research and compare different digital lending options to ensure that you are getting the best terms and rates available.

    For this Interview, we invited Mr. Ajay Chaurasia, VP of Marketing, Product & Business, RupeeRedee, where we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the lending industry.

    StartupTalky: Ajay, please tell us about RupeeRedee and the vision & motivation behind starting it.

    Ajay Chaurasia: RupeeRedee is a Digital Lending company with an NBFC license to offer lending solutions to Indian customers across the country. We are a tech-enabled company in the financial sector solving gaps in the lending industry with customers.

    Even if it’s 2022, India still has a huge population that is not connected to Digital Banking and Lending Solutions. There is a huge population of Underserved customers, who cannot get a loan from a bank or a big NBFC as they might not have ITR or Proper documentation to take a loan.

    Also, the ticket size that we offer is customized which allows our users to take loans for small purposes as well. The vision is to reach out to the masses and offer them our services when they are in need and fulfill their short-term dreams.

    StartupTalky: Ajay, according to you what are the USPs of your products?

    Ajay Chaurasia: Well since we deal in digital lending, we try to customize loan products for the users and we offer many options like multiple tenors, instant availability and credit check, paperless process, strong KYC process, IMPS transfers post-approval.

    StartupTalky: Ajay, if we talk about the lending industry in particular, how has the Lending industry changed in recent years and how has RupeeRedee adapted to these changes?

    Ajay Chaurasia: Industry has grown more than 2X in recent years as more and more Indians are coming onboard on such platforms for their needs. Technology has enabled every industry to grow and offer the best experience. India has moved on to a mobile app-driven user base, and because of this, the financial sector has transformed drastically. The entire sector has become fast and is now focused on customer delivery and delightful experience.
    Our company has also adopted the same and designed the product accordingly to offer the best to customers and compete with our competition.

    Ajay Chaurasia: RupeeRedee is a part of the IAMAI Fintech convergence council. We also monitor the market, and RBI Guidelines, and thanks to Media stories, we get to know the changes.

    StartupTalky: What key metrics do you track to check the company’s growth and performance?

    Ajay Chaurasia: In our sector growth is dependent upon multiple factors. User Acquisition, User retention, No of loans Disbursals, Repayments, loan portfolio, Collection efficiency. As a Fintech– NBFC we have to look after all the aspects to track growth and stay in profit.

    StartupTalky: You talked about metrics and performances, what were the most significant challenges your company faced in the past year and how did you overcome them?

    Ajay Chaurasia: Getting new customers was a challenge in the market as there were so many big giants and players already available. Attracting new customers, building trust and branding was a big challenge for us. We expanded our acquisition channels in the last year. Reached out to the masses via different media. Made a market-fit product to communicate the needs of the customers.

    StartupTalky: What are the different strategies you use for marketing? Tell us about any growth hack which you pulled off.

    Ajay Chaurasia: We have been using multiple strategies which should be our secret. But broadly we use Affiliate partners, Online campaigns, OEM Channels, Social Media platforms, google, and many publishers-based campaigns to reach out to our audience and deliver the promise.

    StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in your industry in India and the world? What kind of difference in market behavior have you seen within states in India?

    Ajay Chaurasia: Fintech and Lending industry has huge opportunities in the coming time while doing any type of transaction has already become very easy in today’s time which opens up accessibility to consumers in India.

    The world is becoming one, we can see companies crossing borders, Cross border payments are becoming easier. Global brands are connected with multiple fintech based on the countries they are providing their services. There is still a huge population in India and the World who are still connected with Mainstream banking.

    Every state in India has different consumer behavior, values, culture, and languages. This is why most brands have multilingual apps and websites to connect with consumers. Some states have a high demand for certain products, some states have different income groups. Some have different age groups. We have to analyze each city with Pin Codes while running a business like lending to map the risk of the consumers.

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    StartupTalky: What lessons did your team learn in the past year and how will these inform your future plans and strategies?

    Ajay Chaurasia: We certainly know “what not to do” in the coming year. What we can do is still in the plan, we will try to achieve the same for the growth of the company and the satisfaction of our consumers. There is an area for improvement in everything that we do. We also have plans to improve and be better than last year. Our future plans can be summarized in the below points.
    ● Increase customer base
    ● Improve customer satisfaction
    ● Build new products
    ● Improve our position in the Industry

    StartupTalky: How do you plan to expand the Customers, product, and team base in the future?

    Ajay Chaurasia: We have plans to increase, thanks to Digital Media and Networks getting customers today is not a problem. Problem is to convert them by offering the right fit product. We have tied up with some big agencies and networks to boost traffic on our App and Web Platform.

    Product and team base always increase with the demand and rise in the business. We have been hiring and doubling the size of the team in the last 1 year. We will see how 2023 unfolds for us.

    StartupTalky: One tip that you would like to share with people reading this article who want to get into entrepreneurship?

    Ajay Chaurasia: Don’t daydream of only making money, today entrepreneurship has been linked with success and money. But in reality, the path to success is very difficult. Do your research, understand the basic things of the business you want to start, and then take the risk. Improve yourself every day and handle the challenges. If all things go well, you never know, maybe you could be building the next unicorn for India and generating jobs.

    We thank Ajay Chaurasia for spending his valuable time and sharing his learnings with all of us.

    You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

  • Businesses Must Build the Right Mix of Online and Offline Sales Points- Mr. Harshwardhan Patwardhan, Founder of Chappers

    StartupTalky presents Recap’22. This is a series of interviews in which we conduct in-depth discussions with founders & industry leaders to understand their growth in 2022 and their predictions for the future.

    The footwear industry has grown significantly in recent years, driven by a number of factors like an increase in consumer demand, advancements in technology, and the growth of e-commerce.

    People are becoming more conscious of fashion and are willing to spend more money on high-quality footwear. Additionally, consumers are also becoming more health-conscious and are looking for footwear that provide comfort and support.

    Advances in technology have also played a role in the growth of the footwear industry. New materials and manufacturing techniques have allowed for the creation of new, innovative footwear products.

    Another trend that is driving growth in the footwear industry is the increase in customization and personalization of shoes. With the rise of 3D printing and other technologies, it is becoming easier for consumers to create their own unique shoe designs.

    The Indian footwear market is valued at approximately $13 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 12% during the forecast period from 2021 to 2028. The production of footwear in India reached around 2.8 billion pairs in the year 2020.

    For this Interview, we invited Harshwardhan Patwardhan, Founder of Chappers, and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the footwear industry.

    StartupTalky: Harshwardhan, What’s Chappers all about? What was the motivation/ vision with which you started?

    Harshwardhan Patwardhan: Chappers is a footwear brand that offers customization to anyone who loves to have their style using AR technology. We offer various styles right, from Kolhapuri Chappals to Belgian loafers, mojdis, Peshawari sandals, and more, for both men and women.

    I have been fond of Kolhapuri chappals since college, and when I went to study in the UK, I took my favorite footwear along. It received much appreciation from my friends and other people around me, but the only challenge around wearing Kolhapuris was the need for more color and design. This gave me the idea to build a world-class footwear brand that could offer unmatched design and color innovations and give Kolhapuris a contemporary avatar. This is the vision with which I started my journey with Chappers.

    StartupTalky: What other products/features have been added in the past year? What is/are the USP/s of your products?

    Harshwardhan Patwardhan: Chappers is a brand unlike any other in the Indian footwear market. We have created a unique fusion of Indian and western footwear to create stylish, high-quality, durable, and comfortable footwear. Alongside expanding the range of Chappers customized footwear, Chappers, which started as a men’s footwear brand, recently introduced some SKUs for female customers with the festive and wedding footwear demand in mind. The uniqueness of Chappers lies in the usage of cutting-edge design and AR technology in order placement. We encourage our customers to create designs with colors, materials, and even personal symbols or accessories for footwear.

    Thus, our customers can make their style statement through footwear. This kind of designer footwear is offered to them at far more affordable prices than other international brands providing such services.

    StartupTalky: How has the footwear industry changed in recent years and how has your company adapted to these changes?

    Harshwardhan Patwardhan: The footwear industry has been steadily growing in size over the years. However, there has yet to be growth when it comes to innovation. All major brands keep producing thousands of pairs of almost identical-looking footwear. Chappers has identified the unaddressed demand for personalization and introduced a cutting-edge software-driven approach that ensures limitless creativity and options for personalizing footwear. Along with high quality and the right price, our footwear has been gaining rapid market acceptance and is now available for delivery all over India from our e-commerce portal. Customers can also order the footwear through our offline stores in Pune, and we are working towards expanding our retail network to different parts of the country.

    Harshwardhan Patwardhan: I attend most of the industry events and exhibitions. It is inspiring to see how Indian entrepreneurs are coming up with newer technology and innovative manufacturing techniques. I also research many foreign brands that have made a mark on the footwear world, like Christian Louboutin, Versace, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Giuseppe Zannotti.

    StartupTalky: What key metrics do you track to check the company’s growth and performance?

    Harshwardhan Patwardhan: We track Month on Month sales growth and the number of customer touchpoints added. We want all Indians to experience the power of customization. We believe our model will change the footwear industry forever.

    StartupTalky: What were the most significant challenges your company faced in the past year and how did you overcome them?

    Harshwardhan Patwardhan: In the early stages of Chappers’ evolution, we faced challenges related to the procurement of raw materials. Still, we overcame those through extensive research and visits to leather makers across Maharashtra, especially the Mumbai region. In recent times, we have had challenges with the pandemic. Still, we have built a full-fledged eCommerce website to ensure that customers can order Chappers footwear from their homes across India now and get them delivered in three to four days from order placement.

    StartupTalky: Repeat purchase is one of the most important parameters on which most eCommerce brands are betting. How do you keep your customer engaged to stop churn?

    Harshwardhan Patwardhan: Chappers is a one-of-its-kind footwear brand in India. We offer customers freedom of choice to get their footwear made the way they want. We have built a patented AR software that lets them choose materials and colors and add personalized elements such as accessories or signs. They can visualize the look and feel of the product through AR tools, and if they are satisfied with the design, they can finalize it and place an order. This is the only brand currently offering right-priced footwear options in this country. This has been a critical driver for Chappers retaining its customers and getting many repeat orders. Even the comfort and quality of the products are very high, making the customers choose Chappers over other brands.

    StartupTalky: What are the different strategies you use for marketing? Tell us about any growth hack which you pulled off.

    Harshwardhan Patwardhan: We have been using different content marketing approaches and increasing online brand visibility through media coverage and footwear style guides. Further, Chappers also participates in a lot of exhibitions and fairs. We also run social media and search engine marketing to optimize our customer reach.

    StartupTalky: What are the important tools and software you use to run your business smoothly?

    Harshwardhan Patwardhan: Chappers is a technology-driven brand, and we have built our proprietary AR software to enable customers to design and visualize the footwear even before it takes shape. For sales, we use the latest e-commerce technologies and keep improving the tech stack to streamline operations further.

    StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in your industry in India and the world?

    Harshwardhan Patwardhan: As a country of nearly 1.4 billion people, a strong audience is keen to buy stylish, high-quality, personalized footwear. We have revamped the iconic Maharashtrian Kolhapuri footwear and made it apt for consumers worldwide. Chappers has already received several orders from foreign countries. In the long run, my vision is to make Chappers available in every shopping mall across India and through eCommerce channels in every part of the world.

    StartupTalky: What lessons did your team learn in the past year and how will these inform your future plans and strategies?

    Harshwardhan Patwardhan: Covid was a challenging phase for all of us. We must stick through the bad phases in life to see a brighter future. Testing times are always short-lived, and there’s always a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. Never give up! The past year has seen a tremendous rise in sales of high-ticket-value items, which was surprising for us.

    StartupTalky: How do you plan to expand the Customers, SKUS, and team base in the future?

    Harshwardhan Patwardhan: We keep track of the most popular Chappers designs and frequently upgrade our database with new SKUs based on these designs. Chappers recently unveiled a range of footwear for women, and we will expand it in the year ahead. Further, there are plans to introduce kids’ footwear and include products based on various other ethnic footwear from different states of India, such as more from Rajasthan.

    For market coverage, we are leveraging a kiosk franchise model under which we offer franchises to people to set up kiosks in shopping malls. Four such outlets are already operational in Pune, and in the long term, the vision is to have one kiosk in every shopping mall across India. We will expand our team of craftsmen and other professionals in sync with the brand’s growth.

    StartupTalky: With so much hype around d2c brands spending on ads, what will be your growth strategy organic or inorganic? How to plan to work around SEO and content marketing?

    Harshwardhan Patwardhan: Digital marketing is the key to success for any D2C brand today. Chappers generate many organic leads as customers who use our products recommend the brand to others. We currently use SEO, content marketing, social media marketing, and even search engine marketing to engage the audience. In the future, we will leverage influencer marketing and other D2C-centric marketing channels for faster growth.

    StartupTalky: So finally Harshwardhan, one tip that you would like to share with another d2c founder?

    Harshwardhan Patwardhan: I personally believe that d2c is a misunderstood term. People relate d2c just to online businesses. That is not true. Direct to Consumer businesses can run offline sales channels too. Online business is highly overrated. It is good for marketing and customer acquisition. But businesses must build the right mix of online and offline sales points to gain traction. Do not restrict yourself to any particular point of sale. Eventually, sales growth is essential; whether it comes online or offline does not matter.

    We thank Harshwardhan Patwardhan for spending his valuable time and sharing his learnings with all of us.

    You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

  • We replace 20 Plastics Bags per Second with sustainable packaging- Sushant From Adeera Packaging

    StartupTalky presents Recap’22. This is a series of interviews in which we conduct in-depth discussions with founders & industry leaders to understand their growth in 2022 and their predictions for the future.

    Paper bags are bags made from paper or paperboard, which is a type of thin cardboard. They are commonly used for carrying groceries, food items, and other small items, and are a popular alternative to plastic bags due to their environmental benefits.

    Paper bags are often preferred over plastic bags due to their environmental benefits. They are made from renewable resources and can be recycled, whereas plastic bags are made from non-renewable resources and can take hundreds of years to break down in the environment. In addition, paper bags have a lower carbon footprint than plastic bags, as they require less energy to produce and transport.

    There are also a number of government initiatives in place in India to promote the use of paper bags and other sustainable packaging solutions. For example, the government has implemented a ban on single-use plastic bags in many states and has implemented other policies to encourage the use of alternatives such as paper bags. These initiatives may also contribute to the growth of the paper bag industry in India.

    The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the sustainable packaging market varies depending on the source and the specific segment of the market. However, according to a report by MarketsandMarkets, the global sustainable packaging market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.2% during the forecast period of 2020-2025.

    This growth is driven by increasing consumer awareness about the environmental impact of packaging, government regulations promoting the use of sustainable packaging, and growing demand for eco-friendly products.

    For this Interview, we invited Mr. Sushant Gaur, Founder & CEO of Adeera Packaging, and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the Packaging industry.

    StartupTalky: Sushant, What is Adeera Packaging all about? What was the vision with which you started the company?

    Sushant: Started in 2019, Adeera Packaging is one of India’s largest manufacturers of sustainable packaging. We replace around 20 plastic bags per second with environment-friendly packaging and save 17,000 trees per month from being chopped by using recycled or agro-waste-based paper to make bags.

    Adeera Packaging’s purpose is to make the planet a better place for future generations which we want to achieve by creating a global presence to democratize supplies of environment-friendly packaging.

    StartupTalky: What are the major USPs of your packaging paper?

    Sushant: At Adeera Packaging, we use odor-free, food safe and high-strength paper made from sustainable sources tracked by the forest stewardship council. We are a BRCGS grade A facility for manufacturing of food safe products along with having many other certifications. However, we consider our always-on-time & just-in-time service to be our USP. As a provider of take-away packaging, we know our value is in consistently timely delivery across the world.

    StartupTalky: How has the paper bag industry changed in recent years and how has your company adapted to these changes?

    Sushant: The paper packaging industry has become extremely price-sensitive over the last 3 years due to frequent fluctuations of raw material prices. Due to our relationships with suppliers, we have always remained informed of the short-term price trend and have been able to hedge our customers to give them price stability. Keeping track of macros was irrelevant to our industry for the longest time but now we have started to see paper behave more as a commodity than ever before.

    Sushant: We have strong relationships with industry leaders in India and across countries like USA, Indonesia, China & Czech Republic summation of whom are able to give us a clear picture of the macros. We track industry publications for innovations and global indices for current price trends and also track all available imex data for competitor analysis apart from having eyes on the ground through our sales and procurement leaders.

    StartupTalky: What key metrics do you track to check company’s growth and performance?

    Sushant: We track our production efficiencies uniquely, we optimize for keeping 15-20% of our capacity free for any sudden spike in demands, delays in RM or new product development. Mostly this remains unutilized for 80% of any given year but we cannot promise the customer no delays unless we keep this capacity as spare.

    StartupTalky: What were the most significant challenges Adeera faced in the past year and how did you overcome them?

    Sushant: We faced a challenge when 90% of our production team went back to their home-town during the start of the first lockdown. As a culture we always want to be there for our team members as much as we can so we paid full salaries even to the people who were back home. Not only did we get our people back as soon as it was physically possible for them to come but we never faced a challenge in technical hiring as news of what we did percolated to the larger technical community in our industry.

    StartupTalky: What are different strategies you use for marketing? Tell us about any growth hack which you pulled off?

    Sushant: Back when we started we used colloquial terms for search engine optimization despite all consultants advising us against it. Some of the larger advertising channels laughed us off when we asked to be listed in the “Paper Lifafa” category.

    Adeera Packaging Paper bags made for clients

    So we did not list ourselves on any platform but used 25-30 free classified post websites to market ourselves. We knew our customers think in their mother tongue and will search for paper lifafa or paper thonga and we were the only ones present on the web for these keywords. Since we did not list on any large platform we had to further innovate. We started India or probably the world’s first youtube channel for sales of paper bags that is still running strong.

    Apart from this, we introduced selling by weight instead of pieces which was a pseudo-viral move for us as a change of unit of sale is a drastic change no one in the market was able to copy us for 2 years even though the market loved it as it removed any chance of skiving on quantities or paper grammage.

    StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in paper bag industry in India and the world? What kind of difference in market behavior have you seen within states in India?

    Sushant: The usage of Paper Packaging in FMCG goods is rising and will soon grow to become the highest segment in the paper bag industry in India and around the world.

    In states with higher literacy levels, the market sentiment is against the use of single-use plastic even if the law is not strictly implemented. This change is very positive for our country as SUPs are being looked at as an environmental hazard which they are.

    StartupTalky: What lessons did your team learn in the past year and how will these inform your future plans and strategies?

    Sushant: We have been researching the US market for the last one year and observing a trend of growing use of recycled paper. We believe our future is in becoming a truly global organization by diversifying into different geographies across the world starting with the USA as a sales & a manufacturing hub.

    StartupTalky: How do you plan to expand the Customers, Product and Team base in the future?

    Sushant: We have started hiring from the top-B schools in India and want to build the best team in the world for industry. To do this, we have also started to work actively to attract talent. Our culture has always been attractive to young minds to grow and be independent.

    We are diversifying our products by adding new production lines every year, next year we plan to grow our capacity by 50%, most of it will come from new products. We have the capacity to make 1 billion bags per year as of now and will be taking it to 1.5 billion.

    One of our core tenets is long-term relationship building backed by quality and great service. We are perennially hiring in our salesforce for expansion and are growing capacities to feed this growth.

    StartupTalky: One tip that you would like to share with people reading this article who want to get into entrepreneurship?

    Sushant: I would recommend studying great entrepreneurs, how they built their businesses, and especially how they behave when given tough problems. Books (printed & audio), blogs, podcasts & Youtube channels are great sources for study material. I dedicate at least 2 hours every day, sometimes more, for the last many years towards this.

    We thank Mr. Sushant for spending his valuable time and sharing his learnings with all of us.

    You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

  • General Awareness is the Major Reason for Employers not Having Group Insurance: Founders of Healthysure

    StartupTalky presents Recap’22. This is a series of interviews in which we conduct in-depth discussions with founders & industry leaders to understand their growth in 2022 and their predictions for the future.

    Corporate healthcare programs for organizations and their workforce are critical aspects of employee benefits and overall workplace wellness. These are designed to provide employees with access to health services and benefits that can help improve their physical, mental, and financial well-being. Having a corporate Healthcare program can lead to increased productivity, reduced absenteeism and health care costs.

    The growth of insurance and healthcare for organizations and their workforce has been driven by a number of factors. One major factor has been the increasing cost of healthcare, which has led many employers to provide more comprehensive insurance coverage to their employees as a way to manage these costs.

    According to a report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), around 60-70% of the formal sector workers in India have access to health insurance through their employers. This includes both public and private sector companies. The percentage is even higher in larger companies, as they tend to have more resources to offer benefits such as health insurance. Additionally, the Indian government is also promoting the health insurance for employees through various policies and regulations.

    However, the market still faces challenges, such as a lack of awareness about health insurance, a lack of trust in insurance companies, and a lack of a robust network of healthcare providers.

    For this Interview, we invited Anuj Parekh and Sanil Basutkar Co-founder, HealthySure and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the Corporate Health Insurance industry.

    StartupTalky: Anuj, What does Healthysure do?

    Healthysure is a group benefits insurtech. We offer 360-degree insurance and healthcare for organizations and their workforce. Our ultimate vision is to enable affordable and accessible healthcare to the Indian population, and we see the organization-sponsored health programs go a long way to achieving that.

    We genuinely believe that a lot can be done to improve healthcare in the country, and we hope to play a big part in the coming years to help achieve that.

    StartupTalky: What is/are the USP/s of Healthysure over other platforms?

    We have created a first-of-its-kind platform in India that offers full-stack
    infrastructure as a service for group benefits to intermediaries. What this means is
    that we provide end-to-end support for our partners to sell group insurance and healthcare, right from pricing to operations to claim settlement. We aim to be the turtemint of group insurance.

    StartupTalky: How has the healthcare industry changed in recent years (2022) and how has your company adapted to these changes?

    The insurance industry regulator IRDAI has been swift in enacting reforms after the appointment of its new chairman. These reforms range from lowering the investment thresholds and liberalizing licensing for new insurance companies, opening insurance distribution avenues, developing a new insurance exchange platform and many more. The insurance industry too overall has been growing steadily. Healthysure is benefitting from this growth and as the industry matures, we will be one of the major contributors in the industry.

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    Insurance is a very active industry with respect to community engagements. We generally have plenty of opportunities to interact with stakeholders within the community through live events, networking meets, and webinars. In today’s world of WhatsApp and LinkedIn, it’s not very difficult to be in touch with your peers and stay updated on the newest trends.

    StartupTalky: What key metrics do you track to check the company’s growth and performance?

    We track metrics such as the number of lives covered, the number of clients, gross written premiums, and total turnover.

    StartupTalky: What were your company’s most significant challenges in the past year and how did you overcome them for 2023?

    Our number one challenge is convincing first-time buyers of group health insurance to adopt sponsoring health insurance for their employees. The amount of premium is generally only a small fraction compared to an employee’s annual salary. The benefits that the organization gets are generally much larger than the outlay. Over 2/3rd clients are still first-time adopters, and we feel employers not having group insurance just lack a general awareness. We hope to address this in 2023 and make it easier for organizations to secure their employees’ health with our products, marketing, and technology.

    StartupTalky: What are the different strategies you use for marketing? Tell us about any growth hack which you pulled off. (Some of the key things you adopted as a strategy in 2022)

    We use the normal set of marketing strategies that revolve around content, SEO, SEM and outbound activities. What really sets our marketing apart is our channel of partners that help us source and secure deals. We are transitioning to a partner
    focused model. In a B2B business, this is generally a great way to scale.

    StartupTalky: What are the essential tools and software you use to run your business smoothly?

    We use a combination of tools and software such as Apollo, Zoho, Cashfree,
    Microsoft, G-suite among others.

    StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in your industry in India and the world?

    The Indian insurance industry is poised for hyper-growth in the coming years. There is a lot of untapped potential in the Indian market. Despite being the 5th largest economy, India is only the 10th largest insurance market (2021) with premiums of around US$ 125 Bn. For context, the US leads the globe with US 2,700 Bn and China comes in 2nd with US$ 700 Bn. The Indian insurance story alone is a very large one. But we also believe our technology and products could have global use cases.

    StartupTalky: What lessons did your team learn in the past year and how will these inform your future plans and strategies?

    As any startup grows, they become mature in understanding its industry.
    They realize there are certain problems that they can solve and are certain that they can’t. The hypothesis is that these startups have initially are invalidated and they are replaced by something new. We have a similar story, and through our experience in this industry, we are now working to add more value to this industry. We will continue to have the philosophy of build-learn-iterate and that can help us create something truly valuable to the ecosystem that in turn helps fulfill our vision.

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    StartupTalky: How do you plan to expand the Customers, product, and team base in the future?

    We have invested heavily over the last year in our team, technology, and product. These investments will help us gain new customers faster in the coming year. We again have had the opportunity to create a scalable technology that will support multiple product use cases in the future. We continuously reach out to people that show interest in working with us, we have laid the groundwork to scale our team when we pursue aggressive growth.

    StartupTalky: One tip that you would like to share with people reading this article who want to get into entrepreneurship.

    A lot of people have ideas for starting up. What makes entrepreneurs different is the intent and ability to execute these ideas.

    We thank Anuj Parekh and Sanil Basutkar for spending their valuable time and sharing their learnings with all of us.

    Happy New Year to all the StartupTalky readers! Here’s to a year of hard work, innovation, growth, profit, and Impact!🚀

    You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

  • We Truly Believe That the Millennials Know What’s Trendy Says Sagun Arora, Cofounder, Filmy Vastra

    StartupTalky presents Recap’22. This is a series of interviews in which we conduct in-depth discussions with founders & industry leaders to understand their growth in 2022 and their predictions for the future.

    The clothing industry in India is a significant contributor to the country’s economy, with a large domestic market and a growing export sector. The growth of the clothing industry has been driven by a number of factors, including population growth, urbanization, and increasing disposable incomes. The rise of fast fashion and the growth of e-commerce has also contributed to the industry’s expansion.

    However, the industry is facing some challenges, such as a lack of infrastructure, inadequate technology, and lack of access to financing. Additionally, the industry also faces the challenges of sustainability and environmental and ethical concerns.

    Revenue in the Apparel market amounts to US$96.47bn in 2023. The market is expected to grow annually by 3.34% (CAGR 2023-2027). The market’s largest segment is the segment Women’s Apparel with a market volume of US$43.65bn in 2023.

    For this Interview, we invited Sagun Arora, Co-founder, Filmy Vastra, and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the industry.

    StartupTalky: Sagun, what’s Filmy Vastra all about? How did you start and what was the vision behind it?

    Sagun Arora: Started in 2019, Filmy Vastra is an online clothing store that is primarily focused on comfort and quality. It is the one-stop shop for all kinds of merchandise of superficial heroes, and various OTT series among others. We have well-absorbed the latest trends with everyday essential merchandised clothes.

    I vividly remember, that beautiful sunny afternoon in our 12th standard when we had goosebumps drifting apart since the schooling was getting over a few months back then when accidentally an idea of starting a business came across our minds in order to always stay together. Soon after, we started working on this idea and implemented it within a span of a few months and this is a bootstrapped-funded start-up.

    StartupTalky: What other products/features have been added in the past year? What is/are the USP/s of your products?

    Sagun Arora: As we all know, the pandemic had hit all of us so hard that it was nearly impossible to have even given a thought about adding any product/feature to the already existing business.

    Though, as we are gradually coming out of this, we have a few developments in the pipeline. The four friends have strongly believed in the motto of “Delivering the best quality at an affordable price” and this has been the core USP of our product. We provide one of the finest qualities to our people because we are keepers.

    StartupTalky: How has the clothing industry changed in recent years and how has your company adapted to these changes?

    Sagun Arora: Our industry has constantly evolved in recent years and is very quickly adapting to the new millennials and the preferences of Gen Z. In this fast pace world, the retail industry has undergone many different changes. The influence of technology on the industry has laid a major change in customer behavior.

    Automated artificial technology has made the whole experience of retail therapy a
    a lot more engaging. We as an online retail company, like several others have got an edge as this medium has become an everyday essential for customers. Today’s customers make nearly 37% of their monthly retail shopping via online websites. Also, for the retailers, they receive approx. 51% of their revenue through
    the internet.

    Sagun Arora: Staying up-to-date in today’s mad-hatter world has become so easy. Especially, with social media such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook, where everything has started to become a new trend, I would say that the lives of entrepreneurs like us have truly become like a blessing in disguise!

    Over the last few months, we have witnessed a major development in our industry wherein social media as a web platform has been attracting various audiences to keep up their game in knowing the latest trends to follow. As a result, we, manufacturers do use social media extensively in merchandising business for better communication with our customers. As a retail company, we truly believe that the millennials know what’s trendy and what’s been common via their social media handles.

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    StartupTalky: What key metrics do you track to check the company’s growth and performance?

    Sagun Arora: As a retail company, it is very important to keep a check on the growth and performance metrics of the business. Keeping this in mind, we have put in place a few metrics to track the company’s growth with respect to growth and customers.

    Some of the commonly used metrics are:

    • Revenue growth
    • Per client revenue
    • Client retention
    • Customer satisfaction
    • Customer repurchases

    StarupTalky: What were the most significant challenges in the past year and how did you overcome them?

    Sagun Arora: As with any other startup, the last two years of the pandemic did take a toll on our lives, both, professionally as well as personally. We did undergo many challenges since we had just begun our company when COVID-19 hit the chores. The shortage of raw materials and restricted supply chain were the biggest challenge we faced last year. Procurement of good quality material for production is a continuous task but during the COVID times, it was indeed difficult, and that even hampered our work. Also, the supply chain restrictions affected our logistics majorly.

    However, remaining strong and confident, Filmy Vastra survived through the fluctuating environment. Now, over the last year with our extensive focus on marketing, we have overcome the challenges and have even become the go-to online merchandise store for the youth. Honestly, I feel that time is the only currency, and hence I want to efficiently spend it on growing our one true love, our business in the next coming years.

    StartupTalky: Repeat purchase is one of the most important parameters on which most eCommerce brands are betting. How do you keep your customer engaged to stop churn?

    Sagun Arora: Staying true to our commitments, we have been beyond blessed to have an on-repeat purchase ever since we first sold our product on 2nd May 2019. We have successfully shipped 65,000 products since the inception of Filmy Vastra.

    Our timely communications with our beloved customers, engaging with them once quarterly, making them feel by sending them wishes on their special occasions and a few more such intriguing activities have led us to retain our customer base in three digits over the last few years. We strongly believe that once someone becomes our customer then it is for keeps and we make everything possible to ensure that they remain with us and we keep satisfying their demands.

    StartupTalky: What are the different strategies you use for marketing? Tell us about any growth hack which you pulled off.

    Sagun Arora: Being in a retail business, engaging ourselves in marketing is an essential aspect. However, being all honest here, we spend very little on marketing since our strategies have been very different since the beginning.

    We always believed in the organic route of marketing strategies as we cohesively consider the old school thought of “word-of-mouth business” as the best form of any marketing strategy for a product to help become a brand in the world.

    One of the exciting growth hacks which we pulled off was during our initial budding days of setting up the business when we had connected with a small chunk of our close friends and played a wheel activity wherein each friend of ours got some freebies and a goody bag and the same friend then had to pass it on to their friends. To conclude, this fun activity became a big hit and it led to a lot of customer lead generation for our business. This was a small activity but surely an effective one for our company.

    StartupTalky: What are the important tools and software you use to run your business smoothly?

    Sagun Arora: Living in a digitalized world, we have plenty of tools and software which are largely available in the market. However, with regard to what suits us the best, purely depends on the need for an hour. Stock maintenance tools are one of the very few customized software that we have been using to channel the business smoothly. It is a very continuous process, wherein as per the requirement, we keep adding and deleting the tools.

    Some of the commonly used tools and software are:

    • Adobe
    • Illustrator
    • Corel
    • Tally
    • Production management tools

    StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in your industry in India and the world? What kind of difference in market behavior have you seen within states in India?

    Sagun Arora: According to a BuyHive report, small-sized retailers will dominate the D2C markets. Clearly, the procurement sector will soon see a major revolutionary change in the upcoming year 2023. The small new entry merchants will influence the retail industry globally. We have been witnessing a sudden rise in decentralized small-batch manufacturing across the country.

    Also, the future of the e-commerce industry looks very bright at least in our industry since the age between 14 – 40 are addicted to smartphones, and laptops and are often found doing some retail therapy.

    Urban India and the urge to go all for the brand have been growing at a rapid pace. However, it still slows down in rural areas. Our collective aim is to focus on the Tier-2 cities in the approaching financial year since we want to levy the first-mover advantage over our competitors.

    The ever-changing market behavior toward the geopolitical environment and the trade sector still undergoing various dynamics between the major economies will have an important impact on global sourcing in 2023.

    StartupTalky: What lessons did the team learn in the past year and how will these inform your future plans and strategies?

    Sagun Arora: The past year was very tough for all of us including me and my team. The ‘Work from Home’ concept was a very non-traditional concept that became the only survival for the world. Indeed, it was extremely difficult to function from home, and took a lot of time to adapt ourselves but at last, it all ended well.

    As of today, we have many people on our team who have been working from home ever since and I must admit that they have been doing their tasks very efficiently and effectively. We believe in a hybrid work culture where the safety, comfort, and convenience of our employees remain one of our many cores.

    Also, the no meet-and-greet rule imposed by the government to combat the spread of the virus made us realize the importance of each other even more. The significance of a conducive working environment that we are used to. It was a year full of new learnings and we did unlearn many things. Over the period of time, we have started to value the least things which we had earlier tended to oversee in lieu of the highly dynamic world.

    StartupTalky: How do you plan to expand the Customers, SKUS, and team base in the future?

    Sagun Arora: Being in a customer-centric world, our constant aim is to keep expanding our business horizons. After successfully running our online store for nearly four years, we now have plans to strengthen our reach in two ways, via geographical expansion and bolstering our product line.

    While we have been doing good and getting a good chunk of revenue from Tier-1 and 2 cities, now, it’s time when we want to open up an online store for the Tier-3 cities as well. We are well aware that there will be various logistics challenges involved but we have plans to work around this.

    Stretching our product line to further launch a range of handbags, footwear, and other accessories, we are all in for expanding our horizons. This will be led to better SKUS and as a result, this will increase the need for a bigger team base in the future.

    This will allow us to set up a few more manufacturing plants in other locations in the country based on the company’s parameters.

    StartupTalky: With so much hype around d2c brands spending on ads, What will be your growth strategy organic or inorganic? How to plan to work around SEO and content marketing?

    Sagun Arora: When we started our business, we opted for inorganic marketing. We used the high-voltage mode of marketing such as advertisements. As we are growing in our business, we have marginally shifted to organic marketing. Heading the finance here, I am deemed to do the maximum cost optimization of our business and therefore we have plans of going all organic through extensive use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and content marketing.

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    StartupTalky: One tip that you would like to share with another d2c founder?

    Sagun Arora: In my opinion, the D2C concept got much popularized during the pandemic in 2020. Currently, India stands strong in the 3rd position after USA and China as the third largest market for the D2C segment. It is a medium where the manufacturers sell their goods and products directly to the end users.

    I strongly believe that there is still so much more that the D2C founders can bring to the table in various ways. For D2C brands, product and marketing are the two main areas where they need to focus on further establishing themselves. Also, they should keep a close tap on customer retention by giving them something out of the box.

    We thank Sagun Arora for spending his valuable time and sharing his learnings with all of us.

    You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.