In India, e-commerce is booming like never before. Nowadays, people mostly prefer to buy from online platforms instead of going to the market. Moreover, brands are also providing better offers and exclusive deals to attract more buyers. However, several small businesses are still not able to make the most of the e-commerce advantage. This makes them lose the opportunity to grow on a bigger scale.
To address this issue, Saahil Goel and Gautam Kapoor launched Shiprocket – a digital logistic platform, providing affordable plans to MSMEs so that they can come online and sell anywhere anytime. Want to know the success story of Shiprocket? In this blog, we will uncover every aspect of its successful journey so far.
How Did It begin?
The idea of launching a tech-enabled logistic platform, Shiprocket, first came into Saahil Goel’s mind who figured out a gap in the Indian market that keeps small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) away from moving forward.
Saahil wanted to build a technology that not only helps small businesses to come online without any hassle of logistics but also encourages them to grow their businesses. Initially, he started it as a part-time job from the USA while his friend Gautam Kapoor was handling the operations in India. But later, Saahil realized that he has to get into the business full-time to see actual results and so he returned to India.
For the first six months when Saahil was still in the US, Gautam took care of everything single handedly. He even set up the office in New Delhi. In the beginning, the process of setting up a new startup was quite slow for them because Saahil was working remotely.
Yet, undeterred by these few challenges, both the men remained steadfast in their commitment to their vision. Gautam even left his family business to start his own business. But all their sacrifices and hard work paid off.
Notably, the founders bootstrapped their company and sold their services for the first year or so to make salaries for their team and to build the brand image. Eventually, within a couple of years of launching Shiprocket, Saahil and Gautam also raised angel funding. The platform was launched in 2017.
Obstacles In the Road
Shiprocket’s path to success was fraught with challenges. One of the biggest hurdles they faced was the entrenched dominance of traditional logistics players, which posed a formidable barrier to enter in the market.
Additionally, navigating the complex regulatory landscape and building a robust technological infrastructure required meticulous planning and resource allocation. Moreover, convincing investors to believe in their vision amidst skepticism about the viability of their business model was another uphill battle that Saahil and Gautam had to face. Just when the founders were trying to find some solutions to address all these issues, the world was hit by COVID-induced pandemic.
The Shiprocket team was not really prepared for the work from home culture. The lack of working in a physical space made it more challenging for the newly-hired employees to understand the company culture and develop a rapport among the teammates.
Nevertheless, the entire team of Shiprocket worked hard to create an environment where the employees can digitally interact. And by fostering a culture of resilience and adaptability within their team, Saahil and Gautam transformed obstacles into opportunities for growth and learning.
Success of Shiprocket
Despite the initial hurdles, Shiprocket finally had its breakthrough. All thanks to its disruptive technology-driven approach to logistics management. By harnessing the power of data analytics and automation, Shiprocket streamlined the shipping process, offering small and medium-sized businesses access to a seamless and cost-effective logistics solution. For Shiprocket, the best hack that worked out for them was hiring a talented workforce that can help solve their problems at scale.
Moreover, they always keep their employees motivated to extract the best results. In 2022, the company joined the much-coveted ‘Unicorn Club’, with a valuation of $1.2 billion. Today, Shiprocket manages to deliver over 2 lakh shipments on a daily basis. The company covers more than 29,000 pin codes, serving over 220 countries.