Chaitanya Davda and Mihir Turakhia launched Vocal For Local, a Social Commerce Mobile App with a single vision in mind – to enable home entrepreneurs to scale their businesses.
A novel and much-needed idea, its development can be attributed to Chaitanya and Mihir’s yearning to start something of their own together. Towards the end of July 2020, Mihir approached Chaitanya with the idea of launching a platform for home businesses across multiple categories. “There existed a huge gap in the market for the home entrepreneurs to showcase their talents. The pandemic accelerated and amplified the business idea and thus began our entrepreneurial journey”, said Chaitanya Davda, Co-Founder, Vocal for Local.
Vocal For Local caters to sellers across three main categories of homemade and handmade products namely Food, Handicrafts and Beauty and Wellness. Mihir Turakhia, Co-Founder, Vocal for Local says, “Before Vocal For Local, the market for home entrepreneurs was fragmented, unorganised and without great visibility resulting in them being unable to grow beyond a point. We enable every household to have an additional source of income by providing access to new customers beyond their immediate location.”
The app is a unique platform for users to discover and support home businesses and the aim is to give a seamless user experience. Davda said, “When a user logs onto the app, the homepage has some suggested listings based on the user's location. The user can also use the search and filter options. Once the process is done, the products can be ordered with choices offered for pre-orders, delivery time slots, special instructions etc.” “Payment can be made online or through Cash On Delivery. Once an order is placed, the seller gets notified on their easy-to-use dashboard wherein they have to accept the order, once ready, they click on Ready For Delivery and a delivery agent is assigned from our partners.”
An entrepreneur on the app will have access to a range of facilities. From listing products for free (minimal listing fee applicable only after a seller has received 25 orders through the app), payment gateway, delivery partners and an all-encompassing dashboard. Flexibility and dedicated seller onboarding specialists are also offered.
Likewise, as a consumer using the Vocal For Local Mobile App, one can search and support local home businesses, discover a range of categories and benefit from a detailed filtration feature. Users can also pre-order and customise their orders. Sellers and products are listed only after meticulous verification so that the needs of consumers are accurately addressed, through a strong sense of community.
Further, into the conversation with Mumbai Live, Turakhia addressed that whilst Mumbai was one of the worst-hit cities by the pandemic, its spirit of community enabled this long battle to be fought. This sense of community is the bedrock of their app. “A few values which should be the foundation for any business are simplicity, transparency, trustworthy, approachable and open to feedback which has enabled us to scale the business.”
Even though several businesses are hit due to the coronavirus, Davda believes that there hasn’t been a better or easier time to start and grow your own business as an entrepreneur than now. “There has been a massive growth in entrepreneurship in recent years with women too getting more enterprising and independent. Several supportive government policies are facilitating setting up and growing a business. There is a bit of uncertainty in the air and what better way to take control of your life and decisions than pursuing your ideas and dreams by being an entrepreneur”.
Additionally, since they deal with both the supplier as well as the consumer in Mumbai, Turakhia states that their behaviour has altered with the pandemic. He said, “The pandemic has given rise to several home entrepreneurs, who are now looking for an organised platform to scale their business, pursue their talents or increase their reach and visibility. The validation from the market is visible from the number of products and sellers on our app and the enquiries being generated daily. From a user’s perspective, they are looking at fresh and safe options and are also happy with the flexibility our app provides.”
Similarly, as a society, they believe we can assist home entrepreneurs. “Be Vocal For Local! We need to help home entrepreneurs by spreading awareness of their brand and nothing works better than word of mouth. If you have tried and liked something made by a home entrepreneur, tell your friends and family about it. These home entrepreneurs make every product painstakingly and would greatly appreciate it if their product brought a smile to someone”, says Davda.
With Vocal for Local, they hope to be seen as a unique, exclusive, one-stop platform for connecting buyers and sellers of homemade products. “Home Hongey Kaamyaab”– is our brand’s tagline. We aim to be the market leader in the Social Commerce space across India and other Asian countries", mentions Turakhia.
Davda also shared tips for budding entrepreneurs on how they could wade through these challenging times, “If you have an idea, don’t be afraid to pursue it. Be prepared for all sorts of challenges but don’t give up, and don’t be shy to ask for guidance. Build your business with a team that shares your values and goals." Turakhia added, "Having a fire in the belly will make your idea work. Have patience as you will encounter several stumbling blocks and naysayers along your entrepreneurial journey, but you just need to stay focussed, chin up and strive forward.”
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