With technological advancements and leadership being the core of a business today, startups are helping enterprises reach their consumers by focusing on the banking and logistics industry.

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Delving deep into the impact of technology and disruptions, ‘Building It Up With Bertelsmann’ brings together leaders and industry experts to discuss this and more in a session moderated by Shruti Mishra, Deputy Editor, CNBC-TV18. Our esteemed panel comprises:

Tushar Srivastava, Co-Founder & CEO, Skeps

Pushkar Singh, Co-Founder & CEO, LetsTransport

Rohit Sood, Partner, Bertelsmann India Investments

We’ve seen many consumer-driven companies building in India over the last decade. Bertelsmann invested in pioneering companies like Pepperfry, Licious, etc. Investments in enterprise-focused tech companies have also seen tremendous growth. Sharing views on building a consumer-tech company vs. an enterprise tech company, Rohit Sood said that when the company starts, at the genesis, there are several similarities between the two. Entrepreneurs have a unique insight into the problem. However, the journeys for both types of companies can vary. He points out some key points. For consumer companies, decisions are apparent to the eye and intuitive, and attracting the first few clients can be a painful journey. For enterprises, too, the user and buyer can be different, which tangles the sales process. Team building for both companies also varies.

On the scale-up side, the journey of consumer companies is simpler compared to enterprises. Consumer companies face challenges in the mass adoption of their product. For enterprises, the initial phase is fierce. Once the product and sales are set, they see many years of rewarding growth.

Logistics is a big challenge that large enterprises are facing today. Taking us through the genesis of LetsTransport and its conceptualization, Pushkar Singh shared his views. They did not start with the grand vision of changing the world. The insight was simple: solve a problem for himself at ITC. Immersing himself in the delivery landscape, he gathered several insights, which he felt were apt to disrupt the within-city logistics, moving products from distributors to retailers and finally, to the end consumer.

Five years ago, there weren’t many delivery logistics operators solving for the last mile. LetsTransport founders foresaw the scope for a massive shift in the delivery landscape, from five days delivery time to a 10-minute delivery. Brick and mortar companies face a hard time living up to these consumer expectations. It led to the creation of LetsTransport, where they wanted to aggregate individual mini-truck owners for solving the last mile logistical challenges that brands face. The biggest challenge was that most large logistics operators would not look at the last mile as a landscape, principally because it was a penny business. Only technology could disrupt this, and they did just that.

Tushar Srivastava also shared his journey about Skeps and what triggered them to build this business. In 2016, they were focusing on a technology to develop Skeps on blockchain and artificial intelligence had arrived on the scene. Few enterprises employed blockchain technology. They started building on that and concentrated on financial challenges like how finance and credit are delivered to the consumer. The merger of the problem statement and technology led to Skeps. They took their time to design a solution that would fit an enterprise and that banks could adopt.

Bertelsmann India Investments walks the talk for investments in enterprises and startups. As a key investor in Skeps and LetsTransport, Rohit shared what led them to invest in these companies. On meeting the founders of both companies, they found several elements that rhymed well with their investment philosophy, such as unique insights on the industries they took on, customer feedback, and their data-driven approach.

Banking and logistics are one of the oldest enterprises that exist. The founders shared their insights on how they tackle inertia and get firms to adopt the technology. Even though technology adoption has become highly relevant, there are numerous challenges in onboarding clients.

Building for enterprises is not an easy feat. But if done right, you can be a winner in the industry. Stay true to your clients and remain transparent. It will surely pay off.

This is a partnered post.

First Published:Jan 17, 2022 7:21 PM IST