We are publishing the interview of Mr. Rishav Singh, Founder, Boriya Bistar.
Please tell us about the founders.
Our idea was conceived when I (Rishav Singh), Shubham Jain, Ashwin Aggrawal, Kanak Kundlia were college students. Basically, our personal experience gave birth to this idea as we were hostellers, at this point you can understand how hectic the life of a hosteller is. This is something which hostellers can relate to, perks of being a hosteller, we used to go to the local market to fetch our basic hostel essentials thereby making it a task.All 4 of us were benchmates during our college days. Then we went onto work for MNC for couple of years and eventually landed up together to give shape to our old idea.
What is the problem you are trying to solve?
According to stats, there is an influx of 5 lakh college students in Bangalore every year. Added to that is the corporate crowd which is ever increasing in Bangalore. So coming to an alien city and settling down is a dreaded task.This is where we come into the picture.
Tell us about the Product / Solution.
The combos include items like mattresses, linens, pillows, cutlery and plastic ware. “We also have a set of around 40 products for home furnishings. For PGs, we have furniture and electronic appliances as well,” he details. The city seems to be the perfect place for such a startup with its large student population and an ever-increasing corporate crowd. Within 2 months we are starting our furniture electronic and mattress rentals. Currently we are also exclusive suppliers of soft furnishing to major PG/service apartment aggregators.
What were your assumptions when you entered the market, learnings that you have?
We did a trial in and around Indiranagar and with the positive response we received, we made this project into a full-fledged portal for those migrating to the city. We provide three different combos to the users and one can pick one according to their budget and requirement. Ours ideal customers are those shifting into the new city with the age bracket of 18-40 years. Till date we have had some 1000 odd customers.
How are you pricing the Product?
Our prices are best in the town as we directly deal with the manufacturing plants.
How did you get your first customer?
It was our ex-office colleague.
What is the big picture of your startup?
If all goes well, we even plan to create our own brand of ‘Boriya Bistar’ products and covering Pune and Hyderabad by 2017.
What is the insight that you have about this market, which no one else has? Uniqueness about your Startup.
We are one stop shop for all basic inevitable house hold items with 12 hour delivery.
List all the names of the core Team Members, along with their Designated Roles.
We all have prior IT industry experience. Kanak handles the technology part, Ashwin is into finance Rishav and Shubham takes care of marketing, operations and business development.
Who do You Perceive as Your Competition?
Local vendors.
What would be your goal to accomplish in the next six months?
To reach 3000 customers and starting with our own product line.
Name of Startup: Boriya Bistar
Date of launch: 23rd March 2016
URL of Startup’s Website: www.boriyabistar.in
Location: Bengaluru
No. of Founders : 4