As the dust and initial bit of hoopla settles on the ‘hot’ sectors like FoodTech, Last-mile logistics, Hyper-local services & discovery and Uber for X modeled startups, I wanted to share with everyone what the trend I see going forward until the closing of 2015 will be.
Author : Utsav Somani
As the dust and initial bit of hoopla settles on the ‘hot’ sectors like FoodTech, Last-mile logistics, Hyper-local services & discovery and Uber for X modeled startups, I wanted to share with everyone what the trend I see going forward until the closing of 2015 will be. I have not included any ‘disruptive’ sectors, as any one individual cannot forecast those correctly; it’s only speculative to say that you can identify the big white spaces waiting to be captured. You will notice the inclination towards consumer pain points so leaving out any B2B propositions, as that is not my area of expertise. Again, these are personal thoughts and observations – I am more than open to learning from the market dynamics & forces as well as spending sometime over a coffee discussing your views on the same.
- Fitness Subscriptions – This model revolves around startups offering access to various fitness activities like Zumba, Pilates, Gyms and many more for a varied price of INR 999 – INR 2999 on a monthly basis or a so-called ‘ClassPass’ and you can use their portal or app to book a particular session as per your convenience. This model originated by ClassPass of US, which is valued around US $400 million and has done around 4.5 million reservations till date in around 2 years of existence.
- First-mile logistics – Success of Shyp as an aggregator of courier services at the backend and a simple consumer facing mobile app to send parcels has garnered lot of attention. Such startups use the best possible rate and way to pick, pack and ship your goods to your desired destination. The sheer simplicity of how it works will make for a good consumer delight story.
- Intracity bus sharing – We all have to accept public transport is broken to an extent and not to mention its absolutely technology averse. That’s where the opportunity to organize one (planned) of the two kinds of daily commutes needs (unplanned – being solved well by the taxi aggregators). Silicon valley bus operators give you Wi-Fi and other services on board while you can book these trips on a simple mobile app, track these and plan your visit to the stop accordingly. These routes can then be changed and adjusted based on the demand seen by a bus operator.
- Daily needs subscription – Certain items like milk, bread, and newspaper come to our doorstep each morning. There are days where we might not want these and days we might want more or something else entirely. Organizing this unorganized sector will be a huge plus for the consumers and suppliers alike.
- Oyo for X – Move over Uber-for-X startups, it’s time to create standardized mid-market spaces based on our very own Indian OyoRooms.
I have seen entrepreneurs adapt and bring the Western models to India very swiftly and the number of such teams doing have been increasing at a fast pace. All these have to be modified accordingly to suit the discerning mobile Indian consumer. I would love to meet teams with an over-enthusiastic drive and willing to show me how they are different from the rest in the same space. Best way to reach me is to write me with a teaser at utsav.somani (at) letsventure.com
Short Bio
Utsav is a young tech and start-up enthusiast with a bachelors degree in Information Systems Management from Singapore Management University and a Masters in Innovation & Entrepreneurship from ESADE Business School Barcelona. He is currently the Lead at LetsVenture’s Delhi Chapter. Start-ups with high-growth potential, driven by an dedicated team, addressing under-captured market excite him. Some of his seed stage investments have been - Testbook, AdpushUp, LogiNext, Zippr, DoorMint, Qustn, FabBag & Shephertz.
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