15 OCT, 2012, 08.00AM IST, MILAN SHARMA,ET BUREAU
Keen to start a business but can't decide on a viable idea? One way out of this quandary may be to actively start looking at problems around you. Numerous start-ups have blossomed not because they boasted a revolutionary business idea, but because they managed to find an efficient solution to a problem that others had either ignored or were unable to solve. "A concept shouldn't just sound cool to an entrepreneur, but also solve a problem that they can relate to and is relevant to a lot of people. In this case, the satisfaction the entrepreneur receives will keep him motivated much more than having a cool idea," says Gautam Gandhi, head of new business development for Google India, and a serial entrepreneur.
Where's the problem?
In one word, everywhere. Problems can be big or niche, personal, professional, or both. According to Gandhi, an open mind and communication are the easiest ways to locate a problem. "Ask people about the issues they face and see how many are affected by it," he adds. You could also consider problems that affect you personally. "While coming up with a solution, check that it is interesting enough for a number of people, and whether they would be willing to pay for it," he adds.
How to do it?
Here are some start-ups that grew by solving problems.
Consider the following start-ups that zeroed in on a problem and
offered a feasible and scalable solution.
The Maid's Company
This venture, set up by Gurgaon-based Gauri Singh in 2010, turned out to be a boon for households looking for reliable help, and for domestic workers, who found a stable source of income. This was a corollary to another idea by Singh—Urban Mahila & Mazdoor Alliance, an organisation set up by Singh in August 2008, which extended financial and healthcare services to urban, poor women. Over time, Singh noticed that almost 30% of the members were domestic helps. "We researched this unorganised market and found that there was no standardisation of skills and wages. There was a high dependence on informal networks to source such workers, who were riddled with security and trust issues," says Singh. Her solution, The Maid's Company, generated Rs 3.5 lakh in the first year of operations and provides 250 maids as of now.
Easy Fix Solutions
When 25-year-old Shaifali Agarwal couldn't promptly find reliable handymen—electricians, carpenters, plumbers—to fix the problems in her new apartment in Delhi in 2009, she spotted a glaring need for a venture promising a one-stop solution for home/office repairs. Two years later, in 2011, she set up Easy Fix Solutions, which posted a turnover of Rs 80-90 lakh in its first year. Today, Agarwal has a team of nearly 300 people catering to the National Capital Region (NCR).
DeliveryOnCall
Founder Ankur Mehrotra has eased the way in which families shop for groceries and other monthly supplies with this Rs 1.5 crore Delhi-based company. "The idea came to me when I was working in the corporate sector since I could hardly spend time with my family. The only day we had to ourselves, Sunday, went into stocking up. This is true of every nuclear family and I wanted to work towards saving precious time," he says. He hit bull's-eye with Deliveryoncall.com, an online and on-call facility for getting everything from grocery to pet accessories, even laundry service, at your doorstep.
Farm2kitchen.com
Seema Dholi launched this Gurgaon-based company in 2011 after the birth of her baby. "When I was pregnant with my first child, I was very particular about the food I ate. There was not even a single organic food supplier and hardly anyone knew what organic meant. That was the trigger for me," she says. Today, the company has its presence in 262 cities across the country.
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