We are publishing an interview of Ms. Pooja Bhayana, Co Founder, Let’s Barter India.
Please tell us about the founders
Sahil Dhingra, BBA, Co Founder & Pooja Bhayana, BA in Mass Communications, Co Founder | Let’s Barter’s idea was sort of a light bulb moment. We started Let’s Barter India as a Facebook group for our friends in September 2015. A coffee conversation between two school friends (Sahil and I) turned towards us discussing how Sahil is not getting any value for some tablets that he had bought. When I suggested he barter it with some other goods from our friends, he was in love with the idea. We started as a Facebook group because we didn’t have much capital to invest, and this seemed like the perfect medium to converse. Today, this group is a platform of 1,86,000 engaged members that helps Indians across the country barter their goods, and even their services, and get more value for what they have.
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?
We are trying to empower individuals to get whatever they want, without having the constrains of money. Through barter, our users can make their used goods, services as well as their skills a currency. Once we started our Facebook group, the community and it’s rapid growth helped us realise the need for such an offering.
What is the uniqueness about your Startup?
We are one of India’s few start ups that provide a platform for you to barter/ exchange your goods with others around you, rather than selling them.
What is the revenue model? Explain your thought process.
The transactions on the platform is free and currently we are focussing on ads and a freemium model for revenue streams.
Who are the consumers that you are targeting? How is this going to affect them?
We target young adults in the age group of 20-30 years who want more value for their used products. By bartering, these people can get whatever they want, without any money.
What is the big picture of your startup? Will it lead to something bigger? If so, how?
After being the world’s largest community for barter on Facebook, our next step is to achieve a similar traction for the Let’s Barter India app, world over. The big picture is to be able to help people all over world live a comfortable life without the constant need of cash.
What is the success story of your startup in your own words?
Initially we faced a lot of problems in terms of making people trust the concept of barter. We’ve read about the concept in school but to make the transition to real life was the problem. We created a platform for people and wanted to prove that tech enabled barter is the way in future. Getting the right technology in place and executing it efficiently to provide a good solution for customers was also a struggle. With Let’s Barter, our greatest achievement comes in the form of the impact we made in people’s lives. Our customers have shared so many stories of being empowered to get whatever they need when they didn’t have cash, and that Let’s Barter India helped them in their life. These stories like a housewife from Varanasi exchanging her cooking skills to get stationery for her child, are our achievements.
Thanks Pooja. Best of luck!
