Motorised... though Indianised!
The web may change the way things work in the used car market in India. And Udit Bhandari, CEO, Indimoto already has a plan in place to ride on the back of this lucrative opportunity.
The online space has always provided new opportunities for start-ups and India, the nation of entrepreneurs, has thrived on this opportunity. The love for the dot-coms continues in its high spirits and the interest is not just limited to the social networks, mailboxes and the Indian Googles (search engines). The last five years have seen a slew of entrepreneurial ventures being rolled out in the country using internet as a platform for selling/buying used cars & bikes. Udit Bhandari, CEO, Indimoto, is one of the lucky members of the club who have been able to encash this opportunity and have carved a niche for themselves in the online space. Indimoto, started in 2006 is primarily an auto classifieds website but the reason behind its huge popularity is the carpool initiative. Headquartered in Gurgaon, Bhandari started Indimoto after his short stints at Genpact and GM (6 months each), following his passion for entrepreneurship and the automotive industry. In a candid interview with 4Ps B&M, he explains the journey of the company so far and the secret behind the carpool initiative.
4Ps B&M: How did the idea of the carpooling initiative come up?
UB: It came up when our office was in Qutub View Apartments in Delhi and as I stay in Gurgaon, I used to travel daily via M.G. road towards my office and used to see same people almost daily commuting through the same route, that’s when I thought why not kick off an initiative, which will give people a platform to carpool and reduce the number of cars on the road.
4Ps B&M: How do you take care of the security issues involved in the carpooling initiative?
UB: Our primary objective is to connect commuters. However, there is a process, which we recommend to the interested carpoolers to follow before they get going. But on the responsibility front, we don’t take any as we are a free service. In terms of use we clearly state that we are just a platform like a newspaper classifieds.
4Ps B&M: How has been the auto classifieds business doing so far?
UB: It’s a service, which we charge for and it has been doing pretty well. In fact, we work very closely with many local car dealers. Our research shows that almost 10,000 used vehicles have been sold using Indimoto since 2006. We have 35,000 users who have tried Indimoto to sell their used vehicles.
4Ps B&M: How many dealers in total are you connected to at the moment?
UB: We are working with dealers in Delhi and Gurgaon for the past nine months. We have a set of around 50 dealers and going forward, we would like to take this model to other cities. We will be entering Mumbai in another 3-6 months and then Bangalore and eventually the other metros.
The online space has always provided new opportunities for start-ups and India, the nation of entrepreneurs, has thrived on this opportunity. The love for the dot-coms continues in its high spirits and the interest is not just limited to the social networks, mailboxes and the Indian Googles (search engines). The last five years have seen a slew of entrepreneurial ventures being rolled out in the country using internet as a platform for selling/buying used cars & bikes. Udit Bhandari, CEO, Indimoto, is one of the lucky members of the club who have been able to encash this opportunity and have carved a niche for themselves in the online space. Indimoto, started in 2006 is primarily an auto classifieds website but the reason behind its huge popularity is the carpool initiative. Headquartered in Gurgaon, Bhandari started Indimoto after his short stints at Genpact and GM (6 months each), following his passion for entrepreneurship and the automotive industry. In a candid interview with 4Ps B&M, he explains the journey of the company so far and the secret behind the carpool initiative.
4Ps B&M: How did the idea of the carpooling initiative come up?
UB: It came up when our office was in Qutub View Apartments in Delhi and as I stay in Gurgaon, I used to travel daily via M.G. road towards my office and used to see same people almost daily commuting through the same route, that’s when I thought why not kick off an initiative, which will give people a platform to carpool and reduce the number of cars on the road.
4Ps B&M: How do you take care of the security issues involved in the carpooling initiative?
UB: Our primary objective is to connect commuters. However, there is a process, which we recommend to the interested carpoolers to follow before they get going. But on the responsibility front, we don’t take any as we are a free service. In terms of use we clearly state that we are just a platform like a newspaper classifieds.
4Ps B&M: How has been the auto classifieds business doing so far?
UB: It’s a service, which we charge for and it has been doing pretty well. In fact, we work very closely with many local car dealers. Our research shows that almost 10,000 used vehicles have been sold using Indimoto since 2006. We have 35,000 users who have tried Indimoto to sell their used vehicles.
4Ps B&M: How many dealers in total are you connected to at the moment?
UB: We are working with dealers in Delhi and Gurgaon for the past nine months. We have a set of around 50 dealers and going forward, we would like to take this model to other cities. We will be entering Mumbai in another 3-6 months and then Bangalore and eventually the other metros.
4Ps B&M: Which one of the two makes more money, the two-wheelers or the four-wheelers?
UB: The four-wheelers, simply because of the reason that a four-wheeler is a more high involvement purchase as compared to a two-wheeler. However, with so many used bikes around, we are able to generate considerable traffic but in the long term four-wheelers is a segment, which is more lucrative.
4Ps B&M: You started Indimoto as a self-financed venture, is it the same till now or have you raised money from the market?
UB: I started Indimoto with an initial investment of around Rs. 1,50,000 but it’s now bootstrapped i.e. whatever the company earns goes back into the business. We also do some content writing for International auto publications like Auto Express (UK), Auto Middle east. But it’s for the short term, i.e. till the time the other verticals become self-dependent.
4Ps B&M: Are you looking at a new revenue stream for the company? Your vision for Indimoto?
UB: Not as of now, may be new cars in the future. But firstly, we would like to be known as the country’s largest auto classifieds company.
Pawan Chabra
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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UB: The four-wheelers, simply because of the reason that a four-wheeler is a more high involvement purchase as compared to a two-wheeler. However, with so many used bikes around, we are able to generate considerable traffic but in the long term four-wheelers is a segment, which is more lucrative.
4Ps B&M: You started Indimoto as a self-financed venture, is it the same till now or have you raised money from the market?
UB: I started Indimoto with an initial investment of around Rs. 1,50,000 but it’s now bootstrapped i.e. whatever the company earns goes back into the business. We also do some content writing for International auto publications like Auto Express (UK), Auto Middle east. But it’s for the short term, i.e. till the time the other verticals become self-dependent.
4Ps B&M: Are you looking at a new revenue stream for the company? Your vision for Indimoto?
UB: Not as of now, may be new cars in the future. But firstly, we would like to be known as the country’s largest auto classifieds company.
Pawan Chabra
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Follow Arindam Chaudhuri on Twitter
Management guru Arindam Chaudhuri’s latest blockbuster book, Discover The Diamond In You
IIPM fights meltdown, places 2300 students By Education Mail Bureau
Delhi/ NCR B- Schools get better By Swati Sharma
Events at IIPM
Detail of all IIPM branches
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
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