Suppose you are new to a city, you need a clothes shop, mall, hotel or medical according to your location. so what will you do? Usually, we google for it. Many times we get information, sometimes it also happens that information about small shops present in that place is not available on Google. To overcome this problem, Satyajit Patnaik, a resident of Chaibasa, Jharkhand, has started an online platform. Through his app, about 4 thousand small and big businesses are connected in 40 cities of the country. In just 6 months, he has done a business of more than 3 crores.
Satyajit, 24, completed his engineering studies from Odisha in 2019. He already has an interest in the business. During his studies, he started an electric vehicle startup along with his friends. However, after some time, he got separated from that startup due to some reason. After this, he moved to Pune and started working in a company. Salary and position everything was fine, but his own business was going on in his mind.
Satyajit says that one day I got a call from a grocery store person from Odisha. I was introduced to him while studying there. He told me that customers are not able to come to his shop, due to which he is not earning. They do not understand how to promote it? Satyajit says I had found the business idea I was looking for. I decided not to let go of this idea now and went to Odisha.
After going to Odisha, Satyajit started a survey. He interacted with the local shopkeepers and startups there. Gather information on how they do their marketing? Which platform are you using now? Along with this, he also asked the customers which platforms they use to buy something? After this, he did a similar survey in some districts of Jharkhand also.
Satyajit says that after surveying different places and talking to people, I decided to launch a platform where small startups, shopkeepers as well as customers can get a market according to their location. They can know about the products and offers available at their nearby shops on their mobile.
Satyajit says that I talked to my father about my startup idea. He also liked the idea and he himself agreed to work with me. After this, both together started a startup named LFYD at the end of 2020. For this, he launched a mobile app, involving shops and startups from different cities, uploading their products on his app. After this, he started marketing his app, got banner posters installed everywhere. His budget of about 10 lakh rupees was spent on this. Which he invested from his home.
They point out that our customers and shopkeepers are our biggest source of promotion. It was through his mouth publicity that our circle grew rapidly. One used and suggested the other, so did the customers sharing our app with their peers.
For this reason, within 6 months, more than 3500 shopkeepers and more than 45 thousand customers were added in states like Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh. These also include many big malls and brands. We currently have customers in more than 40 cities. Soon we are going to expand our network across the country. There are currently 35 to 40 people in Satyajit's team, out of which 7 people are included in the core team.
Satyajit explains that on our app there is a marketing platform for both the merchant i.e. sellers and customers. If you are a customer then first you have to log in after downloading the app. After that, you have to select the category. According to your location, complete details of the shops available there, product price and offers will be available. You can also buy products and make payments through the app. Not only this, cashback offers and coupons facility is also available on our app.
On the other hand, if you are a merchant, then first you have to create your account. After this, the details of your product and shop will have to be provided on it. After this our team will investigate it, if needed, we will also talk to you and your account will be verified in no time. Then you will be able to market your product.
You will be able to give discounts and offers as per your choice. You will not have to pay any charge for this. Not only this, but through this app, you will also be able to easily know which customers are looking for what is around you, this will make it easier for you to create your business strategy.
Regarding the earning model, Satyajit explains that we run free programs as well as premium programs for merchants. In this, the merchant gets extra facility. Under this, if a customer buys a product, then we take some part of it. Apart from this, we have tied up with many small and big startups and brands. We act as channel partners for them. Apart from this, many companies and startups also run their own promotional ads on our app. Apart from this, we also get good revenue.
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