We are publishing an interview of Mr. Ritesh Shah, Founder – SwitchBazaar.com.
About the founders
“If you can dream it, you can do it.” That’s the quote Ritesh Shah had believed throughout his life.
He begins his career as an Inplant trainee at L&T during his academic and moved along to diverse in strong multinational companies like Essar Group & Reliance Industries. He holds an MBA in Supply Chain Management from Welingkar Institute of Management along with Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering, but this isn’t what makes him start “SwitchBazaar”, it’s the vision, the strong problem-solving perspective, and the ability to seeing what people usually miss is what led him to create this mega dream, SwitchBazaar. Everyone needs some specific qualities in order to create something different, to bring the innovation, and Ritesh Shah has that. He has the perspective to see things differently, and a novel innovative approach towards everything we see in this world. Through SwitchBazaar.com, SMEs can promote their goods & services to all sizes of companies across the world.
Sellers on SwitchBazaar are typically Electrical Manufacturers, Distributors, Dealers, Importers, Exporters & Service providers. Recently Ritesh Shah has been invited as a chief guest on the event of Engineers day at his degree college A. C. Patil College of Engineering. Ritesh Shah Linkedin Profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahriteshm/
What is the problem you are trying to solve? Can you share with us any insights that led you to believe that this is a big enough problem?
Ritesh’s vision had always been different, so it didn’t take so long to him to see what 90% of the population of India is still ignoring. He saw the problems people are facing in sourcing and procurement transactions. He saw that the whole supply chain between industrial products is unorganized, offline, and there is no dedicated Electrical B2B marketplace which could help them in executing their business at the optimum level. The main cause of the problem is the rigidness and slow speed of Indian manufacturers to adapt technology, which was directly leading them to process inefficiencies and reducing marketing exposure as well.
This gave him a shock but at the same time inspires him to conceptualize and form a platform named SwitchBazaar where electrical suppliers can easily promote their goods & services on a global level.
But like they say, beginnings are the hardest. No business becomes super successful fortnight. SwitchBazaar had taken birth in the mind of Ritesh, but taking it to being the problem solver for the larger industrial population of India was not at all easy. But someone also has said that “there’s a will, there’s a way”. Ritesh created the SwitchBazaar with supreme hard work, determination and with strong man-power from different expertise. He found people who were best in their field and made them all fall in love with the idea. It took nights, hard days, and the endless struggle to solve this basic need of the market, but good things happen to those who work hard and have patience. So SwitchBazaar team does the same, they work hard and had faith through patience.
What is the uniqueness about your Startup?
SwitchBazaar is India’s 1st Electrical B2B Marketplace for Global Trade.
We are connecting global buyers & sellers on our platform in the field of electrical goods & services.
SwitchBazaar Mission:
• To be a leading electrical B2B marketplace for global trade.
• To be an essential partner to all.
• To empower electrical world by making easy to do business anywhere.
We do this by giving necessary tools to the suppliers to reach a global audience for their products and by helping buyers to find products and suppliers quickly and efficiently.
One-Stop Sourcing for all Electrical Products: SwitchBazaar brings you 600+ Sub-categories of Electrical Products in over 25 different major categories, including Switchgear, Controlgears, Fusergears, Lighting & Luminaries, Wires & Cables and many more.
Anytime, Anywhere: As a platform, SwitchBazaar continue to develop services to help businesses do more and discover new opportunities. Whether it’s sourcing from your mobile phone or contacting suppliers in their local area turn to SwitchBazaar for all your electrical needs.
What is the revenue model? Explain your thought process.
Currently we are offering Free & Paid membership. We are using subscription based revenue model.
Who are the consumers that you are targeting? How is this going to affect them?
• Our Primary focus is to provide an Opportunity to Small & Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) to connect to the Buyers across the World, hence SwitchBazaar is a member of SME Chamber of India as well.
• SwitchBazaar.com offers a Platform to search from 25 Main categories & 600+Sub-categories of Electrical Products.
Through SwitchBazaar.com, SMEs can promote their products to all sizes of companies across the world. Sellers on SwitchBazaar.com are typically Electrical Manufacturers, Distributors, Dealers, Importers, Exporters & Service providers.
What is the big picture of your startup? Will it lead to something bigger? If so, how?
Our Primary focus is to provide an Opportunity to Small & Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) to connect to the Buyers across the World and for that we are offering free service as well rather than only focusing on revenue as a priority.
What is the success story of your startup in your own words?
SwitchBazaar is the dream of some real followers of “Make in India” and “Digital India” initiative. To be specific, it was a dream seen by Ritesh Shah. Talking of technological aspects, SwitchBazaar.com is India’s 1st Electrical B2B Marketplace for Global Trade. SwitchBazaar is dedicated website for Electrical Goods and Services. Our primary focus is to provide an opportunity to Small & Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) to connect to the buyers across the world.
A dream has come to reality, things have begun to change and that time is not far when each and every electrical business owner (buyers/sellers) will utilize SwitchBazaar to solve his business needs. SwitchBazaar has begun to simplify the unorganized supply chain with a technology-first approach and it will.
Any other information about your startup that you would like to share with us.
· India’s 1st Electrical B2B Marketplace for Global Trade
· SwitchBazaar.com is a dedicated website for Electrical Goods and Services
· Our primary focus is to provide an opportunity to Small & Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) to connect to the buyers across the world
· 25 Main Categories & 600+ sub categories of electrical products
· Member of SME Chamber of India
· OYO Rooms as Corporate Hospitality Partner of SwitchBazaar, avail maximum discount through SwitchBazaar.
Thanks Ritesh. Best of luck!
