CEO – Alakh Gargiya
CTO & Co-Founder – Ashish Arya
CBO & Co-Founder – Vinit Khanvilkar
COO & Co-Founder – Chirutha Dalal
CFO – Abhinav Mathur
Website – Pay1
Founded in: 2012
What made you strike this business idea? What inspired you to start this company?
Pay1 – Our previous start-up SMS Tadka faced obstacles in offline distribution. This led us to look into a bigger picture of this problem and we realised offline distribution channel is widespread in India and there is a huge untapped opportunity for us to bring offline retailers under one platform. From that day, our brainchild Pay1 was born and we have continued to serve unorganised retailers, enabling and empowering them to grow and develop.
When did you start your business?
Pay1 – We started Pay1 in 2012.
What does success mean to your company?
Pay1 – For us, success is Pay1 & Retailers being interdependent. We wish to empower and enable each and every unorganised retailer by providing the platform for them to grow and develop. Our retailers’ success is our success.
How are you performing currently?
Pay1 – Though 2016’s demonetisation had shaken up the offline retail segment, we stood strong because of the trust that our retailers held in us. Currently, we are piloting new products and services which will provide greater benefits to the retailers. We are growing much faster then we estimated and the future seems bright.
What is the biggest risk to your company?
Pay1 – As of now, we don’t see any major risks to our company. In fact, since we are walking along with the Digital India Movement of our government, we have great support and motivation with us. Although, some of the government regulations may delay/interrupt our journey towards empowering retailers but we are sure to handle it swiftly.
What are your plans on funding?
Pay1 – We are looking out for investors who share common interests as that of our company.
What is the biggest challenge you faced during your start-up setup?
Pay1 – Being a bootstrap start-up, growing organically was one of the major challenges that Pay1 faced. Since our target audience was completely offline, scaling up people as well as our app was taxing. We were continually adding new modules that were revolutionary and brand new in the market; making it difficult to explain. Since we aimed to have millions join us, finding right people for right job was another major challenge that we faced.
What does growth mean to you and your business?
Pay1 – Our business and we, as individuals, are unified at this point of time. We share a common goal of sustainable growth at an appropriate pace. Growth for Pay1 means day by day bringing unorganised retailers on our platform; empowering and enabling them. Growth for us is walking hand in hand with Digital India Movement and reaching both, urban and rural unorganised retailers on Pay1’s platform.
How does your product stand different from others in the market?
Pay1 – We are not a vendor of products and services. Rather, we are a platform for offline retailers. We are a community builder who aims at reaching retailers to empower and enable them. A platform is much larger when compared to a business. A platform as ours aims at the interdependence of many citizens from various walks of life.
Where are your start-up services spread?
Pay1 – Currently, we have a strong connection in Tier 1 and Tier 2 markets of Western India and rapidly growing connections in other parts of the nation.
What does it feel to be the founder of your start-up? How does it feel getting up every morning and getting on to work?
Pay1 – We are here to empower 90% of the total retailers who form the unorganised retail sector of India. The feeling of doing something bigger than your selves is an enriching experience. Every morning we look forward to pushing ourselves to do what it takes to improve the existing ecosystem of unorganised retailers.
Where do you see your business standing in next 5 years?
Pay1 – In the next five years, we see Pay1 as a platform of more than 1 Million retailers growing rapidly together.
