While the automobile market is desperately trying to rally and recover pre-Covid numbers, one category that has shown resilience in these troubled times is that of pre-owned vehicles. Growing at 6.2 per cent during FY16-20, it too was buffeted by the headwinds of the pandemic, but since then has witnessed a steady uptick in demand. Leading this segment are digital platforms that buy and sell second-hand cars and two-wheelers, which have logged manifold increase in online engagement and annual sales over the past several months.

One such company is Droom, a digital motorplace that claims to have captured 80 per cent market share of the automobile transactions happening online in India. The portal has clocked a massive 260 per cent surge in sales in the aftermath of Covid, along with a 175 per cent jump in traffic for new and pre-owned automobiles. Indiantelevision.com spoke to Krishna Veer Singh, president – marketplace, Droom to decode the recent upheaval in the used car business, how the platform is faring and what the road ahead looks like.

Singh started off by clarifying that while Droom is seeing unprecedented numbers now, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing.

“When Covid happened, we witnessed 90 per cent drop in orders within two months of lockdown. In June, we started seeing recovery even though we were far away from full recovery. Around August 2020, indicators like growth in traffic, leads and listings went up with huge numbers and we again achieved pre-Covid number of orders driven by two-wheeler demand. Also, we have achieved around 75 per cent of pre-Covid GMV by November 20,” he detailed.

As Singh pointed out, the resurgence of the automobile sector is led by two-wheelers and pre-owned cars. This is mainly due to a massive shift in consumer mindset: in the aftermath of the highly-contagious Coronavirus, public transport and ridesharing are no longer considered safe. However, the upswing in the desire for personal mobility has been compounded by the problem of limited means.

“With economic activity slowing down, people are more inclined towards lower-priced or smaller vehicles in personal mobility space which in turn has boosted sales of used vehicles. As a result, there is an increase in the demand for budget-friendly options like Swift, WagonR, Dzire, Honda City, i10, Scorpio and Santro, among others and two-wheelers,” he said, adding that these make up 70 per cent of total orders.

FY21 auto sales are estimated to be decadal lows, and the industry has yet to recover to monthly sales levels of new vehicles seen before the pandemic. But it’s a fact that the automobile sector had undergone considerable slowdown over the last 12-18 months, labouring as it was under the GST regime change, stiff competition from ride-hailing apps, general liquidity issues, and several other factors.

By contrast, the used car market is 1.3 times of the new car market, with the organised segment expected to register a CAGR of 22.79 per cent during 2020-25. Majority of the OEMs such as Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra, Hyundai and Toyota, and luxury car manufacturers like BMW, Audi, and JLR, have their own used car network. Online used car sellers have also reported good sales over the last few years. Government policies, for instance the reduction of GST rate on used cars from 28 per cent to 12-18 per cent, are also favourable – a key growth driver for the sector. Does all this portend that India is on the road to becoming a second-hand car market? Singh appeared to think so.

“Demand for used cars has increased manifold in the last few years. The economic slowdown caused by the pandemic has resulted in financial restraints which leads to an increase in demand for budget-friendly options of Rs 2-5 lakh and middle budget of Rs 5-10 lakh. Overall, 25,000 cars were sold this year,” he highlighted.

Post pandemic, the surge in sales has been powered, in main, by the top five to six metros in the country – Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad – and prospective customers are most interested in vehicles, germ shield and auto services, shared Singh. The site has clocked a 550 per cent jump in leads and an average MAU of six million over the last few months. An impressive feat, considering that 60 per cent of the traffic on Droom is organic.

The reason may be that apart from catering to vehicles, the platform has branched out into several complimentary ventures in the wake of Covid. These new endeavours were initiated after careful consideration of consumer needs and the rising hygiene consciousness among people. Droom now offers Contactless Commerce, an end-to-end contactless experience including online vehicle research, doorstep test drive and delivery, online documentation, and digital payments. The Jumpstart service was introduced in May to provide vehicle service at your doorstep.

Another big revenue driver this fiscal has proved to be Droom’s Germ Shield business. Not just limited to vehicles, the service has been extended to cover residences, offices and commercial spaces.

“Germ Shield is a separate P&L and currently driven by our proprietary tool, ECO, and its network. The technology is relevant to all kinds of surfaces and expanding to other categories like homes, schools, and commercial gave us an opportunity to bring more business, along with more awareness and adoption of the product utilising the same network of ECO services and without any additional capex,” said Singh.

All this doesn’t discount the fact that the used car market is a competitive space, with several players jostling for buyers’ attention. Curiously, despite commanding 80 per cent of the market share, Droom doesn’t really stand out. Its rivals, on the other hand, have greater brand recall on the back of their ATL campaigns. When asked about this dichotomy, Singh asserted that the brand doesn't believe in burning huge budgets on marketing. Instead, it has invested in building better solutions using technology and data science.

“We are trying to bring transparency, convenience, and trust by building the whole ecosystem around automobile buying and selling by building and enhancing proprietary tools such as OBV, ECO, History, Quick Sell, etc. Also, Droom is the only pure-play internet company while others offer offline services. We work simultaneously with dealers and sellers instead of holding inventory. Droom has built an entire ecosystem around used automobiles for the digital economy,” he elaborated.

The consumer uptake has been significant, particularly during the Dussehra-Diwali period this year. As families and friends met after a long time, and people thronged malls and markets for festive shopping, Droom registered a fivefold increase in bookings for germ shield sanitation services which offers antimicrobial surface protection service.

“This festive season, we have witnessed over 60 per cent peak in sales. In new vehicles, sales of cars have witnessed 60 per cent surge and premium cars accounted for 100 per cent growth. Two-wheelers also witnessed growth over 240 per cent and 25 per cent jump in GMV,” added Singh.

While the used car market, valued at $24.24 billion in 2019, is on an upward trajectory, it’s not without its own share of problems and shortcomings. Unorganised and semi-organised players take up most of the market share, leading to a highly supply-constrained market. Consumer-to-consumer deals still make up 32 per cent of the segment – not a good sign in terms of regulation and accountability. Financing and other value-added services aren't readily available in the used car business, which acts as a roadblock in customer engagement. However, recent growth through organised modes has been somewhat driven by cannibalisation of the consumer-to-consumer and unorganised channels – a trend that should bode well for companies like Droom.

“The biggest challenge is to maintain the organic traffic and eventually make growth sustainable. Going forward we will keep practicing our customer-centric approach and build the latest technological solutions to make the buying and selling experience of automobiles better and better,” he concluded.

I choose a corner table on the first floor of the restaurant that has a raw feel to it with its décor of unpolished woodwork and broken flooring. Nearby is a basket of body ...

The internet is rife with stories of failures from the lives of Bill Gates to Jack Ma, yet their legacy lives on. This is because the path to entrepreneurial success is not easy. So, what is that makes the aura of these people so vast, much beyond the scope of the products they helped create? The answer lies in something elusive called the ‘startup spirit.’

Companies that have recently made senior-level hires in this space include upGrad, BharatPe, MoneyTap, and those looking to strengthen their teams include Dunzo, NoBroker, Droom, Hiver, PhonePe and Cashfree.

“Companies are investing in digital, product, automation and technology to keep pace with the massive changes in the way business is done over the last 8-9 months,” said Gaurav Chattur, managing director-APAC of global talent search and consulting firm Catenon. The firm currently has more than 15 mandates across senior technology and product roles, he said.

One crucial quality startups are looking for in candidates is the ability to manage an ambiguous environment in the post-pandemic world, experts said. Compensation for these roles starts at ₹80-90 lakh and can go up to almost ₹2 crore plus employee stock ownership plans (Esops), they said.

Hiring for technology professionals has seen an almost 70% increase since last year, and much of this demand is being driven by the e-learning, gaming and IoT (internet of things) space, said Francis Padamadan, senior director, Asia Pacific region – RPO (recruitment process outsourcing) and BPS (business process services) practice, at KellyOCG.

“We are also seeing demand for senior-level talent from companies as more work is now done virtually than before, including business and consumer transactions,” Padamadan said. KellyOCG has closed more than a hundred senior leadership roles in 2020, he said.

There is also interest from ecommerce and its enabling sectors like logistics and payments, as well as healthcare and gaming startups, for senior-level talent, said Anuj Roy, managing partner at Fidius Advisory. “We currently have about seven mandates for such roles.”

Bengaluru-based real estate search portal NoBroker has hired three senior leaders in the last few months to strengthen its technology and product teams, which have grown from 100 to 150 since the beginning of the pandemic, its cofounder Amit Agarwal said. The company is looking to hire more senior-level talent to lead innovation.

Ecommerce, digital, and consumer technology companies are preferred hunting grounds for such talent because of their prior experience with cutting-edge technology and quick scaling up, said Catenon’s Chattur.

Hiver has four leadership positions open in its technology and product teams, said its cofounder Niraj Ranjan Rout. The email-based collaboration software firm has various SaaS-based productivity products in the pipeline and wants to double down on talent that can scale these up and drive revenue, he said.

In the last three months, delivery app Dunzo has onboarded Flipkart’s Manu Manjunath as principal architect and Bounce’s Anshul Gupta as director of engineering.

“We look at the IoT landscape as well as companies in our segment to discover talent with the relevant skill set and experience,” Sharmita Roy, lead of talent acquisition at Dunzo, said.

Droom, an online marketplace for used vehicles, is looking to hire 4-5 experts to accelerate innovation and support business expansion. The company has recently added over 40 mid to senior-level employees to its product and technology teams, its founder Sandeep Aggarwal said.

The tightening of purse strings means that consumers are prioritising affordability more than anything else, which has created an opportunity for players in India’s used car market to grow. “In terms of pre-owned vehicles, overall the segment has shown great resilience as demand has surged by 133%, while supply has surged by 112% in the recent months vis-a-vis the pre-COVID period. Owing to constrained budgets people have gravitated towards pre-owned cars,” noted Amit Kumar, CEO, OLX Autos India.

The fortunes of used car start-ups like Cars24 changed as it became a unicorn after a $200 million Series E funding round led by DST Global. The used car market is pegged at $ 24.24 billion, with plenty of competitors like Carwale, CarTrade, Droom, CarDekho, Spinny, and OLX Auto.

However, the bigger trend is the shift of consumer preference away from a brand new luxury car and shedding the stigma attached with ‘used cars’, especially in the luxury segments. Abhishek Patodia, Senior Vice President (Used Cars) at CarWale, said, “As per the demand figures on our consumer platforms – CarWale and CarTrade – and sales numbers from our dealer partners, the sales for pre-owned luxury cars have grown by 20-30% in the last 3 months, when compared to the previous quarter. This growth rate is due to the dual effect of lockdown pent up demand and the festive season. Moreover, sales for luxury cars have been at similar levels this festive season, as compared to last year's festive season.”

The bestselling pre-owned luxury vehicle brands were Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Land Rover and Lamborghini. Krishna Veer Singh, President & Head, Marketplace, Droom, observed, “The best-selling luxury cars are Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5 series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Audi A6, Audi A4 and the top bestselling luxury bikes are Yamaha YZF-R1M Triumph and BeneliTNT 600i.”

Digitalisation of purchase pathway means that these players can offer online vehicle research, door-step test drive, door-step delivery, online documentation, and digital payments. Consumers are making these big ticket purchases without stepping into the showroom even once, claimed Jatin Ahuja, Founder & MD/ CEO, Big Boy Toyz. He further said, “We launched our BBT Mobile app recently, which has itself seen more than 1 lakh downloads, we have introduced 360 degree virtual tour of our headquarters via the BBT website, which gives the consumer the feeling of being in the HQ to at least 80% accurately. Post covid it was a very surprising trend to see that almost 70% of the consumers made their purchase by visiting the website and not the showroom.”

Why are consumers gravitating to pre-owned luxury vehicles? OLX Auto’s Kumar explained, “On OLX you can find a pre-owned luxury car for 10%-30% cheaper than it’s the new version. Every pre-owned luxury car is unique, hence interested buyers could stumble upon a well maintained barely driven pre-owned luxury car at a great price. This value is what drives people to purchase a pre-owned luxury car on OLX. Demand for pre-owned luxury cars is up by 33% in the recently concluded festive season, compared to the same time period last year. This indicates a huge pent up demand for the same and we may see the trend continue well until December.”

Droom attracted customers during the festive period with exciting festive offers. Singh said, “In this festive season, we have witnessed over 60% peak in sales. This year, in new vehicles sales of cars has witnessed 60% surge and premium cars accounted for 100% growth. Two-wheelers also saw a huge demand as more people are opting for personal mobility in the times of COVID-19 and witnessed growth over 240%.”

The pent up demand for luxury vehicles was such that players like BBT who only deal in pre-owned luxury vehicles saw an overall growth during the pandemic YoY. “Due to the global crisis we were initially afraid to achieve the set target, but due to our excellent strategy and far sightedness we have been able to sell a total of 140 luxury cars since the pandemic and the cars within the price range from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.50 crore has seen the maximum off take in terms of consumer preference. We are looking at clocking in an overall growth and not just a festive season spike,” signed off Ahuja.

The corporate world is filled with its own set of baddies in the garb of business problems and the importance of a diversified yet well-balanced team to tackle such circumstances with sufficient expertise cannot be stressed enough. Investors and entrepreneurs are actively fishing to acquire the most hard-to-find resource — talented individuals. But in today’s business world, filling your ranks with only talented individuals is not enough to create an efficient team.

The popular models which are in demand are Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, S-Class and above, Audi A6, Audi Q3, Audi A4 and BMW 5 Series.

According to Droom — an online automobile transactional marketplace — the total sale of luxury cars in the northern region was over 1,500 units in the past six months of the current fiscal. The gross merchandise value (GMV) i.e the total value of merchandise sold over a given period of time through a customer-to-customer (C2C) exchange site was around Rs 493 crore. The average selling price of the car was Rs 33 lakh.

Further, in order to assist the customers, Droom has leveraged technological innovations powered by augmented reality and virtual reality in addition to tools using artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data to offer new products and solutions for automobile commerce. Recently, it has acquired a company to provide a live virtual tour of vehicles to customers who can experience it in the 3D format.

Big Boy Toyz — another player which sells pre-owned luxury cars such as Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce — has sold around 140 cars in the first half of the current fiscal across metros and tier-II and tier-III cities, including Ludhiana.

“The past six months have been pretty good. It’s very difficult to predict the industry figure but we have grown by nearly 50%. Our clients include industrialists, cricketers and celebrities,” said Jatin Ahuja, founder and MD of Big Boy Toyz.

Festival cleaning is the mood in almost every household. Amid the pandemic, Delhiites are opting for not just cleaning but going a step ahead and enthusiastically booking for sanitisation services, as the festival of Diwali nears. And service providers in Delhi-NCR have registered a noticeable spike in demand from denizens.

“Earlier we were sanitising 6-8 homes per day, but in the festive season we have been sanitising 25-30 homes per day,” says Krishna Veer Singh, from Droom – an online car marketplace that offers antimicrobial surface protection services. Sharing that they have registered a five fold increase in bookings made for their germ shield sanitation services, Singh adds, “The festive season has definitely made people conscious of safety, since many expect guests in these weeks. Which is why we even came out with special offers to cater to a growing demand.”

“’We want people to celebrate Diwali with safety... We have seen more requests in the last few weeks, and have sanitised and cleaned over 400 houses in the last one month.”

– Aamir Ayyub, founder, Right to Safety Foundation

“As the pandemic continues, people want to be safe and not run into the risk of having infections. Many who have been planning on get-togethers or functions in their homes, and wish to celebrate the festival safely, are opting for our home cleaning services,” says Alok Pant, from Hytech Expert, a company that provides sanitisation services. He adds, “In the time of pandemic, people know it’s better to get a professional to not just clean the house, but also sanitise the exposed surfaces. In the last 40 days, in the run up to the festive season, we have serviced over 350 houses, which is 50% more than what we did in the previous months!”

Workers wear PPE kits while undertaking cleaning and disinfection tasks as per the safety protocol.

Those employees who provide cleaning services, are equipped with a full body protective suit to ensure the safety of customers as well as their own. Aamir Ayyub, founder of Delhi-based Right to Safety Foundation, which has been providing sanitisation services at a nominal cost of ₹1 per square foot, says, “We want people to celebrate Diwali with safety, and hence provide subsidised services in north and south Delhi. We have seen more requests in the last few weeks, and have sanitised and cleaned over 400 houses in the last one month. As Covid-19 cases are rising in the city, we are also continuing to offer sanitisation services to police and fire stations, for free.”

Mayank Sharma, a Kalkaji-based engineer, who recently got his house professionally cleaned and sanitised, says, “I’m planning to finally host a get-together of my cousins and have a card party. It was only necessary then to ensure that my surroundings were absolutely safe for everyone coming.” And for Noida resident Sheel Agarwal, sanitisation services were God sent! “I got our home sanitised because I knew if they wouldn’t have done it, my mother would have made me clean the entire house, and I absolutely detest that,” she chuckles, adding, “I anyway wouldn’t have done a good job of it, and my mother would have had to do it again, so I saved us both some time and arguments!”

Of course, the festive sprint is visible in used cars and sales have been picking up month on month. “Used car sales have been good in October and our numbers are up 10% over last October and 15% compared to September 20,” said Ashutosh Pandey, CEO, Mahindra First Choice Wheels. Part of the problem is supply. “There is not too much inventory with dealers and some of the cars that are coming to the used car pool are not retail worthy,” he added. Despite doing better than new cars during lockdown, the used market has not hit last October levels. Droom did business worth $61 million in September and $72 million in October but it is still down 20% from the $90 million of October 2019. The M-o-M increase though is clear. “The seller and buyer intent on our platform have been increased to roughly 3X compared to pre-lockdown. In October we saw more than 10% rise in sellers over September 20,” said Gajendra Jangid, co-founder & CMO, Cars24 said.

So what’s selling best in used cars? With around 60% of first time buyers are opting for used cars, the “affordable hatchback has been the best performing category,” said Amit Kumar, head OLX Autos India. According to a just conducted survey by online platform OLX, 56% of those surveyed said they would want to buy a hatch (Alto, Kwid, Santro, Swift, Polo etc) while 44% said they wanted a bigger car and only 11% said they would buy an SUV. The reason: 63% of the respondents had a budget of just Rs 3 lakh to buy a car. As per industry data, the pre-owned car market outnumbers the new car market by 30% in volume. In FY19, the used car market crossed 4 million units.

MakeMyTrip Group restored the compensation for all frontline and mid-level employees effective July and for the senior executives from the month of September across its three entities: MakeMyTrip, GoIbibo and Redbus. "Pay adjustments were driven by volunteering in the firm where several employees had offered to take salary cuts. It was an overwhelming experience for us, so when we felt things are improving and we have a line of sight on the business, we reverted back to original salaries," says Yuvaraj Srivastava, Group Chief Human Resource Officer at MakeMyTrip.

"My estimate is almost 70 per cent of the companies have reinstated the original compensation of their employees," says Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO, CIEL HR Services. Restoring the salary cuts is a big trend but many firms would be tight lipped about it, he says. Many companies did it from October and many more have announced to implement it from November onwards, says Mishra.

Organisations had cut salaries from 20 per cent all the way to 60 per cent. Sonal Agrawal, managing partner at executive search firm Accord India, says reinstatement of salaries has started happening but it is not across the board. "It is not a sectoral trend but a mixed bag. Companies with visibility on revenues and profitability are taking appropriate decisions."

She adds, "Everyone is in the same storm but not in the same boat. So, while some auto or consumer companies have reinstated employees compensation, many have not." Some firms are also reinstating in phases, usually starting with junior employees and gradually moving to senior executives.

Industry sources say BookMyShow also has rolled back salary cuts to a large extent as their online initiatives on virtual live entertainment has started generating revenue.

Online automobile marketplace Droom reinstated original salaries effective from October 1. "Towards the end of July we had announced to the employees that unless there is further recession and things go awry, we will end the paycuts which we had announced in April," says Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Droom.

He adds, "Giving an end date was important because it gives the feeling to employees that it is not permanent but a temporary phenomenon which helps to settle the anxiety might employees have."

In addition to restoring salaries, companies are also doing appraisals now as many had deferred the year-end appraisals that happen around March/April.

"Companies are now lifting the moratorium and doing their annual appraisals at the end of this calendar year. Usually, if appraisals are done later, arrears are effective from April but it isn't the case this year. Many are saying the new compensation will be effective from October/November due to Diwali," says Mishra of CIEL HR Services.

He says this trend is seen in largely the big firms and the growing companies, such as in grocery and ed-tech space that need to recruit people and keep their employees motivated. "In the environment with high unemployment and layoffs, companies need to keep the mood positive. Also, if employees see new hiring is done by the firm but hikes are not given to the existing employees, it induces a feeling of lack of equity and fairness in the organisation," says Mishra.

Droom has begun the process of mid-year appraisals which will be done in November "People will get arrears of their new salary from October," says Aggarwal. He says their business is at 80 per cent of the pre-COVID levels and they are already at Rs 6,500 crore of annualised run rate in annual transactions on their platform.

MakeMyTrip has declared to conduct its appraisals and give salary increments in the month of January.

In addition to restoring salaries, MakeMyTrip has announced a flat 50 per cent of variable pay to be given to all their employees. "This year, the business has been affected and still awaiting recovery so people wouldn't have earned variable pay at all. But understanding the financial pressures and the needs of the upcoming festive season, the organisation, has declared a flat 50 per cent pay out of the variable pay for Q2 and Q3 to all up to mid level," says Srivastava.

He adds, "It is a competitive environment for talent and while we continue to attract the best people due to the promise the travel sector offers, we recognise that we operate in a competitive ecosystem and have to match the market to retain our best employees."

"Pre-owned premium cars, Germ Shield, loans, insurance, certification, and car care" are also on offer. Droom is giving away one pre-owned bike/scooter every week at Rs 999, one pre-owned car at Rs 9,999, a scheme that says buy any pre-owned scooter for Rs 19,999 and any pre owned bike for Rs 29,999.

Also, all pre-owned cars available at Rs 299,999 plus free RSA and Germ Shield with every vehicle purchased. Moreover, customers who opt for EMI will get to avail of an exclusive offer of ‘No EMI for the first three months’.

Further, a processing fee will be paid back in Droom Miles to customers who take a loan or insurance; ie, the Droom Miles will be credited to their account during the buying season.

Krishna Veer Singh, president & head, marketplace, Droom, said, “Over the last few years, we have observed that the exciting offers we roll out during this time usually propel our business performance, with Q4 GMV sales at Rs 410 crore in 2016, Rs 883 crore in 2017, Rs 1,741 crore in 2018, and Rs 1,883 crore in 2019. We have typically witnessed 25%-30% growth during the festive season as compared to other times. Therefore, with the array of attractive deals that we have allocated a larger budget for this year, we are confident about 40-60% growth even in volatile market conditions. "

Well, some will claim that he was a born genius, some will say his relentless training is the most significant factor for his success, some will assume his passion and determination brought the eventual result, and yet others will also point to luck and destiny and claim that he was at the right place at the right time to emerge as the legendary cricketer he finally became. A success, perhaps, cannot be credited to a single reason as there are a multitude of factors that are at constant play. Undoubtedly, he had abilities, he received good training, he was passionate and determined, and moreover, he received a good opportunity.

The same can be said for a successful start-up that goes on to become a unicorn, i.e., being valued at a billion dollars. Addressing all the important factors mentioned in the checklist above becomes inevitable for the success of an individual as well as for a business entity. Let us throw some light on the important points required to make a company a unicorn:

Curation of an idea

A successful business venture requires thought establishment based on well-researched and incisive knowledge of a particular need the business will cater to. It is not possible to establish a business venture by mere curation of ideas and failing to acknowledge basic ground realities.

Thus, acquiring an in-depth understanding of your field of operation and interconnection of your industry with the factors that are directly and indirectly linked to your industry assumes primary importance. If left unnoticed, these factors can hamper the growth of a business venture, thus causing hindrance in reaching its true potential, and subsequently, can also result in its failure.

Analyse your target audience

India is a land of diversity. From age to ethnicity, from financial background to specific hobbies, there are a plethora of individual identities, tastes, preferences, and opinions. In order to become a successful business, it is necessary to develop a deep understanding about your target audience and consumer demand in order to make your business venture successful. A generic approach often leads to lapses in strategy of a company as the demand for your product is subjective to the variable needs and wants of the target audience.

For example, suppose an individual sensed massive opportunity in a market of over 1.27 billion people for a clothing line. Analysing the general needs and demands of the country will not be sufficient. Here, the sub-category of the clothing line (say women’s fashion, men’s apparel, kids wear), the target audience (upper class, middle class, upper-middle class, etc.), and identification of prominent players catering to this market will be critical factors that will affect the success of the business venture. Also, its characteristic differentiator, the USP of the company, is also a matter of concern in this field.

Leverage the benefits of technology

Establishing a business venture in the day and age of digital technology is a boon in itself. Today, businesses are leveraging the massive prospects offered to it by automation, data integration, cloud computing, analytics, mobile solutions, social media marketing, etc. for brand building, improving customer service, increasing productivity and efficiency, identifying trends, product development, and promoting growth.

Tapping the benefits of the desired technology efficiently can play a vital role in determining the growth of your startup. Also, one should be careful in selecting the proper technological tools which are ideal for the purpose and relevant to the case specific business application.

Thought leadership

Another critical aspect of a business is its thought leadership. The complexity of decision-making process requires a top-down approach regarding ideation in an organisation. The constant flow of information from the uppermost hierarchy ensures there is no confusion in the collective thought process of the company.

A successful entrepreneur should always share his/her vision with the employees to ensure that individual efforts are made towards achieving a common goal. Also, it inculcates operational coherence, increases employee engagement, and assists in smoother workflow of an organisation, thus increasing the overall efficiency.

Mentoring

It is advisable for upcoming entrepreneurs to develop a strong rapport with established business leaders for their guidance and mentorship to assist in an entrepreneurial journey. A mentor will provide you essential business skill that otherwise you will have to develop after a lot of trial and errors.

Apart from the skill polishing and guidance to achieve success in the market, mentors also prove to be vital for acquaintances with critical business partners, prospective clients or providing key business insights.

Financial constraints

Many examples can be cited of recent startups that began with a lot of promise but fizzled out fairly quickly. After back-to-back rounds of fundraising, such business ventures also received positive reception from consumers. But the only problem that caused their eventual failure was an alarming rate of cash burn.

It is critical to seize consumer market, but not at the expense of financial instability of the company. Pay heed to the financial constraints of your company and rein in the spending at an appropriate time, in order to ensure the survival, sustenance and success of the business in the long run.

Think big

A unicorn company, or any big achievement for that matter, needs to begin with a panoramic vision. Every realistic or short-term goal needs to be constantly fed with the hope of a huge dream that inspires every component of the organisation to push itself harder.

An entrepreneur should always have the next milestone and the end goal in mind and should try and share both these ideas with the employees to make optimum use of the collective efforts.

Addressable opportunity

The phrase ‘carrying coals to Newcastle’ probably evolved from a failed business idea. Any product or service that your business tries to sell needs to have ample and long-term demand. Utilising an existing necessity, or creating one successfully, is the hallmarks of a business on the verge of being a unicorn.

As markets get clogged with a rise in the number of new entrants while the established players continue to keep a lion’s share of the returns, the purse just gets lighter for everybody. In such a scenario, it is only the business’s marketing plans and disruptive strategies, along with their immaculate execution, which can save the day and guarantee a greater portion of the profit pie. An entrepreneur needs to have a futuristic vision and should be able to predict the changes in business variables beforehand to keep the business prepared to handle all kinds of topsy-turvy conditions.

Regulatory environment

Sometimes, there are businesses which might have a high degree of engagement with the government. In these cases, either a business can start generating quick profits, or it can go bust trying to negotiate with the bureaucratic red tape. A careful evaluation needs to be undertaken before any entrepreneur ventures into such businesses which are directly controlled by the state or central government.

t would suffice to say that any entrepreneur who believes in her/his idea should not give up until the vision is realised. While luck also plays a significant part, a pro-active entrepreneur combined with a hungry team with immense growth possibilities is bound to find success in today’s environment.

It’s a well-known fact that most serial entrepreneurs of today were once struggling to make ends meet at their bootstrapped ventures. They know exactly what it takes to turn a vision into reality. But unlike a new entrepreneur, those seasoned in taking ventures from a mere idea to a big business do not get overwhelmed by the constant rhetoric of naysayers stating how business is ‘no child’s play’ and how it requires ‘big money’ to survive.

Their mantra for the new kids on the block is always this, if you have an idea that you believe in, jump into realizing it wholeheartedly. But first, keep in mind the tips mentioned below so that the risk you take is actually worth it-

The Bare Necessities

With an idea in mind and a coffee in hand, you look at the office space in front of you and imagine it full of the choicest furniture, swanky laptops, soda vending machines and whatnot. Your reverie, however, is interrupted by a message on your phone, which reminds you to take care of the more immediate concerns, such as paying the electricity bill for your office. That text is probably just the reality check you needed.

Dreaming is good. Necessary even. But to remain in that world without addressing the present concerns is the sign of a person who does not have a sense of priority. With less money, bootstrapped entrepreneurs should always look for the most ideal returns on even the smallest of investments. A business which is able to inculcate such habits early on develops great operational efficiency and good unit economics later on.

Minimize Credit

Given the way they operate, bootstrapping startups need to keep their debt at a minimum. Loans taken to meet business expenses can put enormous pressure on your venture as they become a recurring expense. EMIs, therefore, must be avoided wherever possible. Any business needs a gestation period to achieve profitability, and the task becomes much more difficult with EMIs looming large every month.

Letting Go Of Ego

During the initial phase of a startup’s journey, every bit of business is important. Therefore, as an entrepreneur at the helm of a bootstrapping venture, do as much work you can and never refuse a client that you can turn into a loyal, profitable customer later on. Acquire as much business as you can, even if it means sometimes working on break-even points. Just make sure you don’t do deals that could end up in a loss.

Grab All The Freebies You Can

Used laptops from friends, an unoccupied garage or basement, equipment, transportation, grab whatever you can if you are getting it for free or at a negligible rate. At the inception, these assembled resources are extremely handy and can contribute significantly to cutting down on costs. Remember, however, to not take these resources for granted and acknowledge the efforts of all your collaborators whenever you have the means to do so.

Bootstrap Some More

You have been living like a glorified pauper. In such a situation, when you suddenly land a big client loaded with money, you might feel like taking it easy for a bit and celebrating your growth with a party or two. This is exactly the kind of thing you should avoid doing. Even if your company’s revenues increase, the discipline of running it like a bootstrapped organization helps in minimizing insignificant expenses. That said, however, employees and personnel should be provided with financial and non-financial compensation that keeps them at the peak of motivation.

Keep A Lean Workforce

Overstaffing is one of the worst things that can happen to a bootstrapping firm. With funds in paucity, optimal recruitment is one of the most significant aspects of a startup. Also, recruiting people with multiple skills should be given prominence. Performance-based incentives and bonuses act as great motivators for improving employee productivity.

Use Free Media For Getting The Word Out

Social media is a boon for bootstrapped organizations as it helps to achieve that much-needed visibility for free or with minimal expenditure. Furthermore, social media provides a great scope to connect to a vast consumer base and get instant feedback about their tastes and preferences as well as your services. Hiring social media analysts is essential for a bootstrapped firm to quickly achieve business spotlight.

Devote Time To Test Viability

Before you put your idea into motion, it is very essential for every bootstrapping entrepreneur to extensively evaluate the viability of their business idea. Carry out surveys, conduct detailed discussions, and study past industry estimates on a personal level. Remember, once you involve other people, your degree of responsibility and answerability assumes bigger proportions and you might just not have the desired amount of freedom anymore. A half-baked idea can only go so far before being drowned in the sea of anonymity.

Data Analytics

These are the fundamental steps for keeping the overall business transactions in control, and data analytics will help you immensely in this task. From drawing up cost estimates to preparing a consumer preference analysis, these tools can help provide a microscopic view of the business as a whole. They can also help identify specific points of concern and to ensure smooth functioning in the long run.

Internet startups are vastly cost-effective when compared to conventional business setups that have been around for more than 300 years. Thus, a bootstrapping startup has more chances of surviving, and flourishing, than ever before. A bootstrapping entrepreneur must be proud of his passion and caliber, but at the same time should not be complacent or get used to it.

By Sandeep Aggarwal
“What makes Sachin Tendulkar, Sachin Tendulkar?” Well, some will claim that he was a born genius, some will say his relentless training is the most significant factor for his success, some will assume his passion and determination brought the eventual result, and yet others will also point to luck and destiny and claim that he was at the right place at the right time to emerge as the legendary cricketer he finally became. A success, perhaps, cannot be credited to a single reason as there is a multitude of factors that are at constant play. Undoubtedly, he had abilities, he received good training, he was passionate and determined, and moreover, he received a good opportunity. The same can be said for a successful start-up that goes on to become a unicorn i.e. being valued at a billion dollars. Addressing all the important factors mentioned in the checklist above becomes inevitable for the success of an individual as well as for a business entity. Let us throw some light on the important points required to make a company a unicorn:

The book, touted to be an intimate and moving autobiography of one of India's most successful start-up entrepreneurs, will hit the stands on October 10.

"The story of my life studded with stars and eclipses alike. It has been a humbling experience to recollect, relish and rewrite moments of my life that have shaped my journey to the present. I hope it can inspire a few courageous souls to think big, fight the odds, live through failures, and celebrate the victories.

"'Fall Again, Rise Again' is the story of my life encapsulated in the bindings of a book and it gives me an immense pleasure to share my story with the world on the completion of a decade of my entrepreneurship journey," Aggarwal told .

Aggarwal, a former top-ranked Wall Street analyst, co-founded e-commerce company ShopClues in 2011 and started online automobile marketplace Droom in 2014. With 80 per cent market share of the automobile transactions online, Droom presently claims to be India's largest pure play online automobile platform.

But then the success came with its own share of ups and downs.

Sued by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in July 2013 for allegedly being involved in insider trading, he had to step down as the CEO of ShopClues in 2015. One of the most-promising start-up, ShopClues, after a series of controversies, including the fall-out between its co-founder and now estranged couple Radhika and Sandeep, was sold to Singapore's e-commerce firm Qoo10 last year.

In February, the US government dropped all criminal charges, and the SEC settled all civil charges against Aggarwal.

According to Rupa Publications, Aggarwal's story is of a middle-class boy who dreamt to make it big someday and saw his dreams crushed by charges of insider trading in the US but rose like a phoenix to create yet another company.

"This is unlike any autobiography, especially among those written by people from the business world. Sandeep's emotional strength and searing honesty will inspire and impact you in a way that is very, very rare," they added.

The book, touted to be an intimate and moving autobiography of one of India's most successful start-up entrepreneurs, will hit the stands on October 10.

The story of my life studded with stars and eclipses alike. It has been a humbling experience to recollect, relish and rewrite moments of my life that have shaped my journey to the present. I hope it can inspire a few courageous souls to think big, fight the odds, live through failures, and celebrate the victories.

Fall Again, Rise Again is the story of my life encapsulated in the bindings of a book and it gives me an immense pleasure to share my story with the world on the completion of a decade of my entrepreneurship journey," said Aggarwal.

Aggarwal, a former top-ranked Wall Street analyst, co-founded e-commerce company ShopClues in 2011 and started online automobile marketplace Droom in 2014. With 80 per cent market share of the automobile transactions online, Droom presently claims to be India's largest pure play online automobile platform. But then the success came with its own share of ups and downs.

Sued by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in July 2013 for allegedly being involved in insider trading, he had to step down as the CEO of ShopClues in 2015. One of the most-promising startup, ShopClues, after a series of controversies, including the fall-out between its co-founder and now estranged couple Radhika and Sandeep, was sold to Singapore's e-commerce firm Qoo10 last year.

In February, the US government dropped all criminal charges, and the SEC settled all civil charges against Aggarwal. According to Rupa Publications, Aggarwal's story is of a middle-class boy who dreamt to make it big someday and saw his dreams crushed by charges of insider trading in the US but rose like a phoenix to create yet another company.

"This is unlike any autobiography, especially among those written by people from the business world. Sandeep's emotional strength and searing honesty will inspire and impact you in a way that is very, very rare," they added. The book is available for pre-order on Amazon.

The book, touted to be an intimate and moving autobiography of one of India''s most successful start-up entrepreneurs, will hit the stands on October 10.

"The story of my life studded with stars and eclipses alike. It has been a humbling experience to recollect, relish and rewrite moments of my life that have shaped my journey to the present. I hope it can inspire a few courageous souls to think big, fight the odds, live through failures, and celebrate the victories.

"''Fall Again, Rise Again'' is the story of my life encapsulated in the bindings of a book and it gives me an immense pleasure to share my story with the world on the completion of a decade of my entrepreneurship journey," Aggarwal told PTI.

Aggarwal, a former top-ranked Wall Street analyst, co-founded e-commerce company ShopClues in 2011 and started online automobile marketplace Droom in 2014. With 80 per cent market share of the automobile transactions online, Droom presently claims to be India''s largest pure play online automobile platform.

But then the success came with its own share of ups and downs.

Sued by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in July 2013 for allegedly being involved in insider trading, he had to step down as the CEO of ShopClues in 2015. One of the most-promising start-up, ShopClues, after a series of controversies, including the fall-out between its co-founder and now estranged couple Radhika and Sandeep, was sold to Singapore''s e-commerce firm Qoo10 last year.

In February, the US government dropped all criminal charges, and the SEC settled all civil charges against Aggarwal.

According to Rupa Publications, Aggarwal''s story is of a middle-class boy who dreamt to make it big someday and saw his dreams crushed by charges of insider trading in the US but rose like a phoenix to create yet another company.

"This is unlike any autobiography, especially among those written by people from the business world. Sandeep''s emotional strength and searing honesty will inspire and impact you in a way that is very, very rare," they added.

The book is available for pre-order on Amazon. PTI MG MAH MAH

The book, touted to be an intimate and moving autobiography of one of India's most successful start-up entrepreneurs, will hit the stands on October 10.

"The story of my life studded with stars and eclipses alike. It has been a humbling experience to recollect, relish and rewrite moments of my life that have shaped my journey to the present. I hope it can inspire a few courageous souls to think big, fight the odds, live through failures, and celebrate the victories.

"'Fall Again, Rise Again' is the story of my life encapsulated in the bindings of a book and it gives me an immense pleasure to share my story with the world on the completion of a decade of my entrepreneurship journey," Aggarwal told PTI.

Aggarwal, a former top-ranked Wall Street analyst, co-founded e-commerce company ShopClues in 2011 and started online automobile marketplace Droom in 2014. With 80 per cent market share of the automobile transactions online, Droom presently claims to be India's largest pure play online automobile platform.

But then the success came with its own share of ups and downs.

Sued by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in July 2013 for allegedly being involved in insider trading, he had to step down as the CEO of ShopClues in 2015. One of the most-promising start-up, ShopClues, after a series of controversies, including the fall-out between its co-founder and now estranged couple Radhika and Sandeep, was sold to Singapore's e-commerce firm Qoo10 last year.

In February, the US government dropped all criminal charges, and the SEC settled all civil charges against Aggarwal.

According to Rupa Publications, Aggarwal's story is of a middle-class boy who dreamt to make it big someday and saw his dreams crushed by charges of insider trading in the US but rose like a phoenix to create yet another company.

"This is unlike any autobiography, especially among those written by people from the business world. Sandeep's emotional strength and searing honesty will inspire and impact you in a way that is very, very rare," they added.

The book is available for pre-order on Amazon. PTI MG MAH MAH

With the acquisition, the company will leverage augmented and virtual reality in addition to tools using artificial intelligence, to offer new products and solutions for automobile commerce, Droom said in a statement. Droom will provide a live virtual tour of vehicles to customers who can experience it in 3D, it added.

Both co-founders of Visiolab Ideas will join the Droom team, the company said. "This acquisition will further enhance our capabilities in offering delightful customer experiences and a completely online vehicle buying experience," Droom Chief Strategy Officer Akshay Singh said.

Droom introduces an AR-VR lab with this acquisition to enhance the customer experience in their vehicle buying research. Under the acquisition, both co-founders of the company will join the Droom team.

Droom will leverage technological innovations powered by Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality in addition to tools using Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Big Data to offer new products and solutions for automobile commerce.

With this acquisition, Droom will provide a live virtual tour of vehicles to its customers in 3D. Droom allocated Rs 50 crore last year towards building new and innovative products using AI, AR, and VR.

Commenting on the development, Akshay Singh, chief strategy officer, Droom said, "We are excited to welcome the Visiolab Ideas team to become a part of Droom. At Droom we have built Industry-leading technology-focused products like OBV, Eco, Droom History, Droom Discovery, and Droom Credit for bridging the gap in buying and selling vehicles online. This acquisition will further enhance our capabilities in offering delightful customer experiences and a completely online vehicle buying experience."

"Augmented Reality is the future, not just in the automotive sector, but for education, healthcare, and almost all of the major fields in the market. That is what got us in this field and gave us the motivation to develop the technology that could bring the showroom experience to your doorstep, in the comfort of your homes. We are delighted that Droom gave us a platform to contribute towards India’s online auto marketplace," affirmed Navdeep Singh, founder, and CEO, Visiolab Ideas.

The venture claims it is the largest hyperlocal market and the fourth-largest e-commerce company in India in terms of GMV at present. The acquisition of Visiolabs Idea and the establishment of its AR Lab aims to further strengthen Droom’s position as one of the most innovative automotive and e-commerce organizations in India and across the globe.

Droom has four marketplace formats - B2C, C2C, C2B, and B2B, and three pricing formats - Fixed Price, Best Offer, and Auction. The platform offers a wide range of categories from bicycle to plane and all automobile services such as Warranty, RSA, Insurance, and Auto Loan.

With 80 percent market share of the automobile transactions online, Droom has a presence in 1031+ cities across India, 350K+ auto dealers, 45 million+ monthly visitors, nearly 12 million+ app downloads, and 6.5 million+ Facebook followers.

Headquartered in India with subsidiaries in the US, Droom has so far raised close to $125 million over six rounds of funding. Some of its prominent investors are Lightbox, Beenext, Beenos, Digital Garage, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, and Integrated Assets Management.​

As per the company, Droom will leverage technological innovations powered by augmented reality, virtual reality in addition to tools using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data to offer new products and solutions for automobile commerce. With this acquisition, Droom will provide a live virtual tour of vehicles to customers who can experience it in 3D. Droom allocated Rs 50 crores last year towards building new and innovative products using AI, AR, and VR.

At Droom we have built Industry-leading technology focused products like OBV, Eco, Droom History, Droom Discovery, and Droom Credit for bridging the gap in buying and selling vehicles online, Akshay Singh, chief strategy officer, Droom said. “This acquisition will further enhance our capabilities in offering delightful customer experiences and a completely online vehicle buying experience,” he added.

According to Navdeep Singh, founder and CEO, Visiolab Ideas, augmented reality is the future, not just in the automotive sector, but for education, healthcare, and almost all of the major fields in the market. “That is what got us in this field and gave us the motivation to develop the technology that could bring the showroom experience to your doorstep, in the comfort of your homes. Droom gave us a platform to contribute towards India’s online auto marketplace” he stated.

The acquisition of Visiolabs Idea and establishment of its AR Lab is further expected to strengthen Droom’s position as one of the most innovative automotive and e-commerce organisations in India and across the globe.

Droom introduces an augmented reality (AR) - virtual reality (VR) lab with this acquisition to enhance the customer experience in their vehicle buying research. Under the acquisition, both co-founders of the company will join the Droom team.

Droom will leverage technological innovations powered by AR/ VR in addition to tools using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and Big Data to offer new products and solutions for automobile commerce, the company said.

With this acquisition, Droom will provide a live virtual tour of vehicles to customers who can experience it in 3D. Droom allocated ₹50 crore last year towards building new and innovative products using AI, AR, and VR.​

“At Droom, we have built industry-leading technology-focussed products like OBV, Eco, Droom History, Droom Discovery, and Droom Credit for bridging the gap in buying and selling vehicles online. This acquisition will further enhance our capabilities in offering delightful customer experiences and a completely online vehicle buying experience," Akshay Singh, Chief Strategy Officer, Droom said.​

In addition to this acquisition, Droom has introduced an AR-VR lab to enhance the customer experience in their vehicle buying research. It will be offering a live virtual tour of vehicles for customers to experience it in 3D.

As part of the acquisition, Visiolab co-founders will join the Droom team, said a statement from the company.

A technology and innovation-driven company, Visiolab Ideas operates on industry verticals such as automobile technology, education technology, entertainment, SaaS, and retail. The company mainly focuses on innovations and develops products and services which are able to solve big problems with the use of technology.

Commenting on the acquisition, Akshay Singh, Chief Strategy Officer, Droom, said, “We are excited to welcome Visiolab Ideas team to become a part of Droom. At Droom, we have built industry-leading technology focussed products like OBV, Eco, Droom History, Droom Discovery, and Droom Credit for bridging the gap in buying and selling vehicles online. This acquisition will further enhance our capabilities in offering delightful customer experiences and a completely online vehicle buying experience.” 

Droom will be leveraging technological innovations powered by Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality in addition to tools using Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and big data to offer new products and solutions for automobile commerce.

Last year, Droom allocated Rs 50 crore towards building new and innovative products using AI, AR, and VR. In 2019, Droom launched Internet of Things (IoT) enabled Eco Lab to bring innovations for Eco Inspection, as well as had announced the acquisition of Xeraphin Finvest Pvt. Ltd.

Navdeep Singh, Founder and CEO of Visiolab Ideas, added, "Augmented Reality is the future, not just in the automotive sector, but for education, healthcare, and almost all of the major fields in the market. That is what got us in this field and gave us the motivation to develop the technology that could bring the showroom experience to your doorstep, in the comfort of your homes. We are delighted that Droom gave us a platform to contribute towards India’s online auto marketplace."

Indian online automobile marketplace Droom, on Thursday (October 1), announced that it has acquired Delhi-NCR based augmented reality (AR) startup Visiolab Ideas for an undisclosed amount.

With the acquisition, Droom will look to leverage technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), AR, virtual reality (VR), machine learning and big data to offer a better customer experience on its automobile commerce platform. One of the ways this will be done by introducing a live virtual tour of vehicles for customers, who will be able to experience the same in 3D as well. With the Visiolab acquisition, Droom will launch an AR/VR lab to enhance the customer experience. Visiolab founders Navdeep Singh (CEO), Sahil Sethi (CTO), will join the Droom team.

“At Droom we have built Industry-leading technology-focused products like OBV, Eco, Droom History, Droom Discovery, and Droom Credit for bridging the gap in buying and selling vehicles online. This acquisition will further enhance our capabilities in offering delightful customer experiences and a completely online vehicle buying experience,” said Akshay Singh, chief strategy officer, Droom.

Droom is an AI and data science-driven online transactional platform for used automobiles, ranging from bicycles to aeroplanes. It has four marketplace formats — B2C, C2C, C2B, and B2B — and three pricing formats — Fixed Price, Best Offer, and Auction. Droom also offers other automobile-related services such as insurance, loan and warranty.

Droom claims to have a presence in more than a thousand Indian cities, with more than 45 Mn monthly visitors, 12 Mn app downloads, and 6.5 Mn Facebook followers.

Droom is headquartered in India with subsidiaries in the US. The company has so far raised close to $125 Mn over six rounds of funding. Some of its prominent investors are Lightbox, Beenext, Beenos, Digital Garage, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, and Integrated Assets Management.

“Augmented Reality is the future, not just in the automotive sector, but for education, healthcare, and almost all of the major fields in the market. That is what got us in this field and gave us the motivation to develop the technology that could bring the showroom experience to your doorstep, in the comfort of your homes,” said Navdeep Singh, founder and CEO, Visiolab.

Visiolab Ideas is a technology and an innovation-oriented company which looks to leverage augmented reality (AR) and related technologies in various sectors such as education, healthcare and ecommerce, among others. The company competes with SmartVizX, Rizort and Scapic, among other Indian startups in the AR segment.

AR uses tech to overlay the real physical world with visual elements, sound, and other sensory stimuli.

Gurugram-based Droom said the acquisition will help it enhance customer experience. As part of this move, both of Visiolab’s co-founders will join Droom.

While it did not disclose the financial details of the transaction, the company said it allocated Rs 50 crore last year for the development of AR, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence-based products.

Along with the acquisition of Visiolab, Droom is also introducing an AR-VR lab, allowing customers to take live virtual tours of vehicles in 3D.

“This acquisition will further enhance our capabilities in offering delightful customer experiences and a completely online vehicle buying experience,” chief strategy officer Akshay Singh said.

Visiolab, set up in 2018 by Navdeep Singh and Sahil Sethi, focusses on industries including automobile technology, ed-tech, entertainment, software-as-a-service, and retail.

The acquisition comes nearly a year after Droom acquired a non-banking financial company to strengthen its consumer and dealer lending arm, Droom Credit.

At the time, company founder Sandeep Aggarwal said the acquisition of Xeraphin Finvest Pvt. Ltd would help bolster loan-offering capabilities.

Aggarwal, who also co-founded e-commerce portal ShopClues, set up Droom in 2014. The company says it has built out an entire ecosystem around used automobiles.

In October 2018, Droom raised $30 million (around Rs 220 crore) in its Series E funding round, with the company saying it would use the capital to develop Droom Credit.

The Series E investment was led by the family office of Japanese investor Joe Hirao, who is the founder of ZIGExN.

In the same year in May, the company raised another $30 million (around Rs 204 crore) in its Series D round, which was led by Toyota Tsusho Corporation and existing investor Digital Garage of Japan. Toyota Tsusho is the trading arm of the Toyota Group.

ऑटो डेस्क : यूथ में इस समय बाइक्स का ट्रेंड काफी तेजी से बढ़ रहा है। ब्यॉज की चाह होती है कि वह सबसे स्टाइलिश बाइक चलाए लेकिन बाइक्स खरीदना आजकल कार खरीदने के बराबर महंगा हो गया है। ऐसे में बाइक लेना युवाओं के लिए मुश्किल है पर अगर आप शॉपिंग वेबसाइट Droom से बाइक लेते हैं तो बेहद ही कम कीमत में आप सेकेंड हैंड स्पोर्ट्स बाइक खरीद सकते हैं। इस समय कंपनी की आधिकारिक वेबसाइट पर Bajaj Pulsar और TVS Apache जैसी स्पोर्ट बाइक्स सिर्फ13 हजार रुपए में मिल रही है। तो आइये जानते हैं इन बाइक्स के बारे में

Our panelists today, Siddhartha Butalia from Air Asia, Sandeep Aggarwal from Droom and Praval Singh from Zoho.com, probe the layers in the realm of responsible marketing and how effective marketers deal with it. While personalized service and message is important, it needs to address equally well data privacy, brand safety and social responsibility.

Rao also posted a video on Instagram while providing awareness of sanitizers. In his video, he asked for the wellbeing of everyone in this strange time. He also quoted that he knows the situation of COVID-19 in India and the World is going worse with the rising number of cases.

Especially, now the people are moving out for their work. It’s even more important to take care of ourselves in this pandemic COVID-19.

It important to remain hygiene in this situation but it’s more important to sanitize our surrounding and essential things, said Rajkumar. The essential like our home, car, bike, office, and so on.

Rajkumar told via video that for the sanitization of my essential things like my house, car, office, and bike. He only relies on Droom’s Germ Shield which is India’s most trusted, scientific, and technology-driven anti-microbial treatment.

Droom Germ shield is anti-microbial coating; it’s not a cleaning service, said, Rao. He further said that Droom Germ Shield will provide every surface 99.9% germ-free for at least 3 months.

Rajkumar has sanitized his home, car from Droom Germ Shield. By adding, he also stated that “I hope you also go and book your germ-free shield from Droom germ shield services and stay safe from germs.”

On Instagram, he also posted the code “RAJ15” through which you avail 15% off on your first order.

Rajkumar Rao also gives hit movies to Bollywood and list as follows Stree (2018), Queen (2014), and many more movies like Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana (2017), Shimla Mirchi (2020), Bareilly ki Barfi (2017) and so on.

"Hiring the right people at the right time is harder than it looks", "Funding is exhausting", "The market seems to stall my products" - In the entrepreneurship world, this feels more like nostalgia. Everybody has been there with over a million questions to ask; none to answer.

Startup Summit scheduled on the 24th of the month over three days looks to make use of the digital platform to bring acclaimed speakers and esteemed guests to part their knowledge on entrepreneurship.

The event focuses on helping understand what it takes to make it out in the rigorous competing world outside. With plenty of lessons from billionaires, multi-millionaires, startup professionals, and expert executives in their field, Startup Summit Live brings a lot to the table.

Discussions on trending topics, debates, Q&A rounds, and an exclusive Fireside Chat with accomplished and noteworthy individuals interacting with the Founder Pranav Bhatia himself.

Posing several questions and working towards finding solutions to the same, the event functions around trending, fiery titles such as the rise of Shepreneurs, positioning, and timing while entering the market, startup models, talking business, and what tomorrow has to offer.

The talks also include topics such as funding, incubation, the fitness industry, business continuity, digitization, and a lot more. "Funnelling out the best of the best", "a blueprint to approaching Angels and VCs", "understanding how to maintain a stable cash flow", "building a market-pull product" and so much more.

The gathering doesn't just pose questions but throws out endless possibilities and opportunities for startup enthusiasts to work with.

In experiencing a startup summit of such significance, one also falls for the perks it has to offer. Speakers include Tim Draper, a billionaire investor with successful successive investments in technology and media-driven startups of Tesla, SpaceX, Skype, Hotmail, Focus Media, Robinhood, Twitter, and several others.

Tim is also known for the value education he provides budding entrepreneurs with, and instilling an idea to nurture and grow it into something bigger; Sir Martin Sorrell, an established spokesperson and billionaire investor with 33 plus years of experience in the media and digital marketing field and founder/ CEO of WPP - now a USD 16 billion company is also giving an exclusive interview.

Fabrice Grinda, a successful angel investor with USD 300 plus million in exits and founder of OLX shall be giving a keynote. The summit features live talks from recognized and experienced Indian entrepreneurs including Alok Kejriwal (Games2Win), Ritesh Malik (Innov8), Sandeep Aggarwal (Shopclues, Droom) Shanti Mohan (Lets Venture), Mabel Chacko (Open Financial Technologies ) Vivek Wadhwa (Columnist-Forbes, Author-Driver in the Driverless Car), Sairee Chahal (Sheroes), Sagar Daryani (Wow! Momos), Aloke Bajpai (Ixigo), Pranay Gupta (91Springboard), Surabhi Dewra (CareerGuide) and whopping 100 others!

Startup Summit Live is giving free passes to viewers to join a Livestream of the world's leading entrepreneurs as they give pointers on how to build your dreams right from the ground up. Apart from the free pass, the summit also offers paid passes at nominal rates. The Complete Event pass gives access to Q&A Sessions and Networking Sessions.

Entrepreneur's pass is the limelight of the event giving access to Flagship Keynotes and webinars and video sessions recorded post the event a participation certificate as well. A deal too expensive to miss out on.

The summit is organized by Stirring Minds, an incubator, and an entrepreneurship support system. "COVID confined people to their homes, startup activity had slowed down and the need for learning and networking is prime in early stages, so I realized people would appreciate a platform to convene together in this virtual era. And from there we got Investors, Founders and Dreamers all on a single screen," said Pranav Bhatia, under whose expert guidance Stirring Minds helps entrepreneurs turn their dream startups into a reality with extensive assistance in all presets.

It is an initiative to support, help grow, and nurture the entrepreneurial mind, 'The Stirred One' as they like to call it. Stirring Minds helps provide startup courses, investments, networks, and co-working spaces.

When asked, entrepreneurs are posed with several commanding questions that make decision making a tedious task. And mostly they aren't able to receive all these answers within a single place despite a lot of effort and trial. Stirring Minds refrains from beating around the bush.

"Hiring the right people at the right time is harder than it looks", "Funding is exhausting", "The market seems to stall my products" - In the entrepreneurship world, this feels more like nostalgia. Everybody has been there with over a million questions to ask; none to answer.

Startup Summit scheduled on the 24th of the month over three days looks to make use of the digital platform to bring acclaimed speakers and esteemed guests to part their knowledge on entrepreneurship.

The event focuses on helping understand what it takes to make it out in the rigorous competing world outside. With plenty of lessons from billionaires, multi-millionaires, startup professionals, and expert executives in their field, Startup Summit Live brings a lot to the table.

Discussions on trending topics, debates, Q&A rounds, and an exclusive Fireside Chat with accomplished and noteworthy individuals interacting with the Founder Pranav Bhatia himself.

Posing several questions and working towards finding solutions to the same, the event functions around trending, fiery titles such as the rise of Shepreneurs, positioning, and timing while entering the market, startup models, talking business, and what tomorrow has to offer.

The talks also include topics such as funding, incubation, the fitness industry, business continuity, digitization, and a lot more. "Funnelling out the best of the best", "a blueprint to approaching Angels and VCs", "understanding how to maintain a stable cash flow", "building a market-pull product" and so much more.

The gathering doesn't just pose questions but throws out endless possibilities and opportunities for startup enthusiasts to work with.

In experiencing a startup summit of such significance, one also falls for the perks it has to offer. Speakers include Tim Draper , a billionaire investor with successful successive investments in technology and media-driven startups of Tesla, SpaceX, , Skype, Hotmail, Focus Media, Robinhood, Twitter, and several others.

Tim is also known for the value education he provides budding entrepreneurs with, and instilling an idea to nurture and grow it into something bigger; Sir Martin Sorrell, an established spokesperson and billionaire investor with 33 plus years of experience in the media and digital marketing field and founder/ CEO of WPP - now a USD 16 billion company is also giving an exclusive interview.

Fabrice Grinda , a successful angel investor with USD 300 plus million in exits and founder of OLX shall be giving a keynote. The summit features live talks from recognized and experienced Indian entrepreneurs including Alok Kejriwal (Games2Win), Ritesh Malik (Innov8), Sandeep Aggarwal (Shopclues, Droom) Shanti Mohan (Lets Venture), Mabel Chacko (Open Financial Technologies), Vivek Wadhwa (Columnist-Forbes, Author-Driver in the Driverless Car), Sairee Chahal (Sheroes), Sagar Daryani (Wow! Momos), Aloke Bajpai (Ixigo), Pranay Gupta (91Springboard), Surabhi Dewra (CareerGuide) and whopping 100 others!

Startup Summit Live is giving free passes to viewers to join a Livestream of the world's leading entrepreneurs as they give pointers on how to build your dreams right from the ground up. Apart from the free pass, the summit also offers paid passes at nominal rates. The Complete Event pass gives access to Q&A Sessions and Networking Sessions.

Entrepreneur's pass is the limelight of the event giving access to Flagship Keynotes and webinars and video sessions recorded post the event a participation certificate as well. A deal too expensive to miss out on.

The summit is organized by Stirring Minds, an incubator, and an entrepreneurship support system. "COVID confined people to their homes, startup activity had slowed down and the need for learning and networking is prime in early stages, so I realized people would appreciate a platform to convene together in this virtual era. And from there we got Investors, Founders and Dreamers all on a single screen," said Pranav Bhatia, under whose expert guidance Stirring Minds helps entrepreneurs turn their dream startups into a reality with extensive assistance in all presets.

It is an initiative to support, help grow, and nurture the entrepreneurial mind, 'The Stirred One' as they like to call it. Stirring Minds helps provide startup courses, investments, networks, and co-working spaces.

Startup Summit LIVE: startupsummit.live

This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India)

Covered in PPE kits and armed with gloves and disinfection equipment, volunteers from Delhi-based Right to Safety Foundation are going around south Delhi, offering sanitisation services at minimal prices. For the last two months, the organisation has had their hands full. “Government has tried their best to sanitise outdoor areas but the problem goes beyond that. So we decided to help people out with indoor sanitisation,” says Aamir Ayyub, who founded the organisation to be able to give back to the society.

The group volunteers to disinfect homes, offices and shops at a nominal cost. “We charge ₹100 per room in which bathroom, kitchen, and balcony are also covered, and so far people have been very welcoming of the subsidised services. We also educate people on different sanitisation measures,’’ adds Ayyub. His foundation has so far covered around 500 houses. They have even disinfected a few places of worship, police stations and even fire stations, for free.

But safety doesn’t end at one’s house or workplace. People are also investing in sanitisation of their vehicles as they resume commuting on the roads. A mobile vehicle disinfection stand established by Rajesh Kumar in south Delhi’s Lado Sarai, is one such example. A former graphic designer, Kumar says he thought of helping people stay safe during the pandemic via on-road sanitisation services. “We are slowly expanding to different parts of the Capital via mobile stands. Our prices are subsidised and we ensure that we comply with all safety measures,” adds Kumar, sharing that the footfall has been slow but steady.

“Hopefully more people will understand the need of disinfecting exposed surfaces in the coming days,” says Kumar. And Sweety Asthana, a resident of RK Puram, emphasises on the idea of mobile disinfection services, saying, “Indoor and on-road sanitisation are great ideas. I was informed of these services by a relative in south Delhi, who got her car sanitised while travelling to work. I’ve elderly parents, and the disinfection process ensures that they are protected from getting the virus.’’

There are also some private players who have expanded their basic services to cover the needs that arose during the pandemic. Once such service provider even used its germ-shield technology to sanitise the Gurugram Police control room. Sandeep Aggarwal, head of the online motorplace, says, “We have extended our servicing beyond automobiles to societies and offices as well; wherein they require us to sanitise high footfall places like elevators and ATMs. The demand with individuals has also risen exponentially and we will be expanding, as preventing surface to surface transmission is the primary way to counter coronavirus.”

Droom currently has a network of 82 Germ Shield Stores in 26 different cities. The Germ Shield store network would be of 250 in 50+ cities by end of July 2020.

Droom has created Germ Shield for any type of surfaces or material. This is India’s most scientific way of protecting any surface from all types of microbes. The material used for coating is approved by EPA of the USA and has been proven effective against most viruses, germs, bacteria, molds, fungus, and algae including all droplet-based viruses. Germ Shield technology is also ISO - 9001-2015 & ISO-14001-2015 certified.

Germ Shield not only kills 99.9% germs but also inhibits regrowth of microbes for 90-120 days. This is because Germ Shield is a coating and not cleaning. Germ Shield creates an invisible coating with spikes that ruptures the cell membrane of any microorganism. This coating is odorless and leaves no spot. It creates an equally effective coating on all surfaces including porous surfaces such as fabric, leather, etc.. With each Germ Shield coating treatment, a rapid test for contamination level is generated using the Relative Light Unit (RLU) swab test, which is conclusive, objective, and unbiased. For every treatment, Droom issues a 90-day validity certificate and issues post-treatment RLU levels. Droom also offers a 100% money-back guarantee for Germ Shield for 90 days.

Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Droom said, “This Pandemic has disrupted life as we know it, and the frontline heroes who work outside the safety of their homes are the most vulnerable in this situation. In this fight against the pandemic, our aim is to protect these individuals through our state-of-the-art services. We will continue to extend all possible help to our heroes until the pandemic comes to a close.”

The Germ-Shield technology is quite versatile and can be used not only for vehicles, but also for elevators, ATM, and other facilities such as residential complexes, hospitals, schools, and offices, among others. The treatment can be delivered at Doorstep or fixed location with a national level Germ Shield Store network.

As the country limps out of a lockdown that started on March 25, experts believe Indians are likely to avoid public transport or shared vehicles, which may boost sales of automobiles. The used car market, in particular, is likely to benefit disproportionately as Indians will try to spend less given the uncertain economic environment and the current state of jobs.

“Covid-19 has taken a toll on people’s personal finances as well as businesses in general. In the wake of such events, not a lot of people will prefer spending money on new ones and instead opt for used vehicles to address their personal mobility needs,” credit agency Crisil said in a note on May 29.

Some pre-owned car sellers have already started seeing an uptick in demand, while others are preparing for good times.

Early trends

Even as some parts of India remain under lockdown, potential shoppers in places that have reopened are scouting for used car deals.

“In the third and fourth phase of lockdown, demand and supply for pre-owned cars have started to gain traction especially across the green and orange zones (where cases of Covid-19 are fewer and shops are allowed to open),” said Amit Kumar, business head of OLX Cash My Car, a trading platform for pre-owned cars.

Sales in the segment will rise at least 20% in the coming months as two-wheeler users look to upgrade to cars, which are seen as a safer option given the need for social distancing, said Sandeep Aggarwal, founder and CEO, Droom, an online marketplace to buy and sell automobiles.

Already, the used car market in India is over 1.5 times bigger than the new car market, according to experts. In the financial year ending March 2019, India’s used car sector was valued at $90 billion, selling 4.8 million units.

India’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, which operates in the pre-owned segment through its True Value brand, also believes that the economic slump and tepid customer sentiment will have a positive rub off on the used-car sector.

“Till the month of February, we registered a growth (in sales) of 4% in True Value,” Shashank Srivastava, executive director of marketing and sales at Maruti Suzuki India, told Quartz. “We are confident that the organised pre-owned car market with its better reach, reliability, transparent pricing, and finance availability will attract customers.”

The popular models in the segment range from Maruti’s affordable hatchbacks such as WagonR and Alto, to Toyota’s sports utility vehicle Fortuner, and Honda’s sedan Accord, according to Droom. There are also several takers for second-hand luxury brands such as BMW and Mercedes.

Most popular cars in pre-owned market in India

But these initial trends do not guarantee a smooth drive to the future.

Speed bumps

Second-hand car sellers may face tough competition from self-driven car rental companies, experts said.

Already, Zoomcar, a leading car rental firm, is positioning itself as a more affordable and convenient option for users who may be looking for personal vehicles to avoid public transport amid Covid-19.

“We are preparing for a four to five-fold increase in demand in the coming months,” said Greg Moran, CEO and co-founder of Zoomcar. “Especially considering the current recession, car subscriptions can prove to be a better option as a more affordable and quicker way of acquiring a car, delivering a safe mobility replacement.”

Besides, pre-owned car sellers may struggle to source sufficient supply in the near future, said Kumar of Cash My Car. A major chunk of the supply in the second-hand car market comes from the exchange schemes on new cars. With new car sales in India dropping to abysmal levels in the past few months, re-sellers might struggle to fill up inventories.

“If the supply continues to be constrained, we will see a slight increase in prices of used cars and the consumers bereft of choice will purchase granny cars (older than five years),” Kumar said.

इस नई पहल के तहत, ड्रूम को पहले ही विभिन्न शहरों और हज़ारों डीलरों और व्यक्तिगत विक्रेताओं से लिस्टेड जीएमवी में 10,000 करोड़ रुपये कीमत की 1.25 लाख से ज़्यादा नई लिस्टिंग मिल चुकी है।3.5 लाख+ ऑटो डीलरों के साथ ड्रूम भारत के 1000+ शहरों में मौजूद है (भारत का सबसे बड़ा हाइपर-लोकल मार्केटप्लेस)। ड्रूम के वर्तमान में 45 मिलियन+ मासिक विज़िटर्स हैं।

ड्रूम के संस्थापक और मुख्य कार्यकारी अधिकारी, संदीप अग्रवाल ने कहा, “ड्रूम ने 6 साल और हजारों करोड़ों रुपये का निवेश करके 100 साल पुराने यूज़्ड ऑटोमोबाइल क्लासीफाइड श्रेणी को संपूर्ण ऑनलाइन ई-कॉमर्स लेन—देन वर्ग में बदला है। इस बीच, हमने न केवल कई तरह के प्लेटफ़ॉर्म, प्रौद्योगिकियों और उपभोक्ता अनुभवों का निर्माण किया, बल्कि 5 लाख से ज़्यादा वाहनों और लगभग इतनी ही संख्या में ऋण, बीमा, मरम्मत, निरीक्षण, आदि की बिक्री की है और यह 100% ऑनलाइन तरीके से किया गया है। कोविड-19 महामारी की वजह से उपभोक्ता भावनाओं में अटल परिवर्तन आया है। हमारी हाई-क्वालिटी और पूरी तरह से ऑनलाइन और कॉन्टेक्टलेस सेवाओं से हमें उपभोक्ता की ज़रूरतों को पूरा करते हुए इस प्रतिमान बदलाव को भुनाने की सुविधा मिलेगी।”

हाल ही में ड्रूम ने संक्रमण फैलने से रोकने और अपने ग्राहकों को सुरक्षित रखने के लिए कई नवीन सेवाएं शुरू की हैं। इसने हाल ही में उपयोगी रोगाणुरोधी कोटिंग से वाहन की सतहों को रोगाणुरहित बनाने के उद्देश्य से जर्म शील्ड सेवा शुरू की, जो 3 महीने के लिए प्रभावी है और 99.99% रोगाणु खत्म कर सकती है। इसने शहर के अग्रिम पंक्ति के योद्धाओं को सुरक्षित रखने के लिए गुरुग्राम पुलिस के लिए एक फ्लीट सेनिटेशन मुहिम शुरू की है। ड्रूम ने जम्पस्टार्ट भी लॉन्च किया, जो लॉकडाउन के बाद की इसके इको प्लेटफार्म का लाभ उठाने वाली एक टेक-सक्षम डोरस्टेप वाहन सेवा है।

नई दिल्ली
कोविड-19 के प्रकोप का मुकाबला करने के लिए अब Online प्लेटफार्म के जरिये नए और पुराने मोटर वाहन बेचने वाली कंपनी ड्रूम ने नई सी-कॉमर्स सेवाओंं को शुरू करने की घोषणा की है। कोरोनावायरस से बचाव के लिए कंपनी इस सेवा को देश भर में लांच किया है। कंपनी को उम्मीद है कि ये सेवाएं सामाजिक दूरी के दिशा निर्देशों को बनाए रखते हुए ग्राहकों को कांटेक्टलेस रहने में मदद करेंगी।

सभी सेवाएं आनलाइन या डोरस्टेप
कंपनी से मिली जानकारी के अनुसार इस कोशिश में, ड्रूम ग्राहकों को अपने व्यापक उपकरण ड्रूम डिस्कवरी, ओबीवी, ड्रूम हिस्ट्री और इको निरीक्षण के ज़रिये ऑनलाइन ही वाहन पर गहन रिसर्च करने की सुविधा देता है। इसके बाद डोरस्टेप टेस्ट ड्राइव और होम डिलीवरी या फ़िर डोरस्टेप पर वाहन सर्टिफ़िकेशन सहित घर या ऑफ़िस की सहूलियत से बिक्री की जा सकती है। इसके अलावा, ड्रूम पूर्ण ऑनलाइन भुगतान विधियों और स्वचालित आरसी पंजीकरण, आरसी हस्तांतरण और लेन-देन करने की भी तैयारी कर रहा है।

1.25 लाख से ज्यादा नई लिस्टिंग
इस नई पहल के तहत, ड्रूम को पहले ही विभिन्न शहरों और हज़ारों डीलरों और व्यक्तिगत विक्रेताओं से लिस्टेड जीएमवी में 10,000 करोड़ रुपये कीमत की 1.25 लाख से ज़्यादा नई लिस्टिंग मिल चुकी है। 3.5 लाख+ ऑटो डीलरों के साथ ड्रूम भारत के 1000+ शहरों में मौजूद है (भारत का सबसे बड़ा हाइपर-लोकल मार्केटप्लेस)। ड्रूम प्लेटफार्म पर इस समय हर महीने 4.5 करोड़ से भी ज्यादा विज़िटर्स हैं।

ग्राहकों के हिसाब से हो रहा है बदलाव
ड्रूम के संस्थापक और मुख्य कार्यकारी अधिकारी, संदीप अग्रवाल का कहना है कि ड्रूम ने बीते 6 साल के दौरान हजारों करोड़ों रुपये का निवेश करके 100 साल पुराने यूज़्ड ऑटोमोबाइल क्लासीफाइड श्रेणी को संपूर्ण ऑनलाइन ई-कॉमर्स लेन—देन वर्ग में बदला है। इस बीच, कंपनी ने न केवल कई तरह के प्लेटफ़ॉर्म, तकनीक और ग्राहकों के अनुभवों को बदला है बल्कि 5 लाख से ज़्यादा वाहनों और लगभग इतनी ही संख्या में ऋण, बीमा, मरम्मत, निरीक्षण, आदि प्रोडक्ट की बिक्री की है। यह सब बिक्री 100% ऑनलाइन तरीके से किया गया है। इस समय कोविड-19 महामारी की वजह से ग्राहकों के सेंटिमेंट में उल्लेखनीय बदलाव हुआ है। इसे देखते हुए ड्रूम ने भी अपनी रणनीति में बदलाव किया है।

संक्रमण नहीं फैले, इसके लिए कई नई सेवाएं
ड्रूम ने संक्रमण फैलने से रोकने और अपने ग्राहकों को सुरक्षित रखने के लिए हाल ही में कई नई सेवाएं शुरू की हैं। इनमें रोगाणुरोधी कोटिंग से वाहन की सतहों को रोगाणुरहित बनाने के उद्देश्य से जर्म शील्ड सेवा शुरू शामिल है, जिससे वाहन 3 महीने के लिए रोगाणुओं से 99.99% सुरक्षित हो जाता है। इसने शहर के अग्रिम पंक्ति के योद्धाओं को सुरक्षित रखने के लिए गुरुग्राम पुलिस के लिए एक फ्लीट सेनिटेशन मुहिम शुरू की भी शुरूआत की है। ड्रूम ने जम्पस्टार्ट भी लॉन्च किया, जो लॉकडाउन के बाद की इसके इको प्लेटफार्म का लाभ उठाने वाली एक टेक-सक्षम डोरस्टेप वाहन सेवा है।

The company is also deploying full online payment methods and automated registration of the registration certificate (RC), RC transfer, and transaction closure.

Under this new initiative, The company said it has already received over 1.25 Lacs new listings worth Rs. 10,000 crores in listed GMV from different cities and more than thousands of dealers and Individual sellers.

Speaking on the development, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Droom said, “Droom has invested the last 6 years and thousands of crores rupees to transform a 100-year-old pre-owned automobile classifieds category to an online end to end E-Commerce transactional category. During this time, we not only built a whole plethora of platforms, technologies, and consumer experiences but also have sold over 500k vehicles and equal number of loans, insurance, repair, inspection, etc and that to 100% pure-play online environment. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an irrevocable transformation in consumer sentiments. Our high-quality fully online and contactless services will allow us to capitalize on this paradigm shift while catering to consumer needs efficiently.”

Under this new initiative, Droom has already received over 1.25 Lacs new listings worth Rs. 10,000 crores in listed GMV from different cities and more than thousands dealers and Individual sellers.

Droom has a presence in 1000+cities across India (India’s largest hyper-local marketplace) with 350K+ auto dealers. Droom currently has 45 Million+ monthly visitors on its platform.

Speaking on the development, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Droom said, “Droom has invested last 6 years and thousands of crores rupees to transform a 100 year old pre owned automobile classifieds category to an online end to end E-Commerce transactional category. During this time, we not only built whole plethora of platform, technologies and consumer experiences but also have sold over 500k vehicles and equal number of loans, insurance, repair, inspection, etc and that to 100% pure play online environment. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an irrevocable transformation in consumer sentiments. Our high-quality fully online and contactless services will allow us to capitalize on this paradigm shift while catering to consumer needs efficiently.”

Recently Droom has introduced several innovative services to contain the spread and protect its customers. It recently launched the Germ Shield service, aimed at decontaminating vehicle surfaces with a proven antimicrobial coating which is effective for 3 months and can 99.99% Germs. It also extended a fleet sanitization drive for Gurugram Police to ensure the safety of the city’s frontline warriors.

This service includes jump start of a vehicle along with tire maintenance, inspection of critical functions and oil and lube top-up. Besides the main jump start device packages user can avail many more add-on services including towing, gas fill, flat tyre repair, pressure water cleaning and full top-up of oil, lubricant, coolant etc. It is a doorstep service designed for two-wheelers and four-wheelers.

इसी को देखते हुए ऑनलाइन ऑटोमोबाइल लेन-देन मार्केटप्लेस ड्रूम ने एक अनूठी सर्विस ‘जम्पस्टार्ट-ऑटोकेयर’ शुरू की है. इस सर्विस के जरिए आप लॉकडाउन खुलने के बाद अपने घर पर अपने व्हीकल के मेंटीनेंस से जुड़ी सर्विस पा सकते हैं. जम्पस्टार्ट की डोरस्टेप सर्विस 499 रुपये से शुरू है और टूव्हीलर व फोरव्हीलर, दोनों तरह के वाहनों के लिए डिजाइन की गई है. फ्लीट कंपनियां, आरडब्ल्यूए, अस्पताल, लॉजिस्टिक्स प्रदाता, निजी और सार्वजनिक बस मालिक, कम्यूट देने वाले होटल, गैरेज आदि सभी इस सर्विस का लाभ उठा सकते हैं.

जम्पस्टार्ट सर्विस की लागत
– स्कूटर/बाइक- 499 रु
– सुपरबाइक- 699 रु
– हैचबैक कार- 999 रु
– सेडान कार- 1299 रु
– SUV- 1599 रु

सर्विस में क्या-क्या शामिल जम्पस्टार्ट सर्विस में टायरों का रखरखाव, महत्वपूर्ण कार्यों की जांच और ऑयल व ल्यूब्रिकंट टॉप-अप के साथ-साथ लंबे वक्त से बंद पड़े व्हीकल को स्टार्ट करना आदि शामिल है. मुख्य जंप स्टार्ट डिवाइस पैकेज के अलावा यूजर टोइंग, गैस फिल, फ्लैट टायर की मरम्मत, प्रेशर वॉटर क्लीनिंग और ऑयल, ल्यूब्रिकेंट, कूलंट आदि की टॉप-अप सेवाओं का लाभ उठा सकते हैं.

कैसे लें फायदा?
जम्पस्टार्ट सर्विस का फायदा लेने के लिए droom.in/jumpstart या ड्रूम ऐप का इस्तेमाल करना होगा. यूजर्स वाहन, लोकेशन, मेन सर्विस और इस प्रक्रिया में किसी भी एड-ऑन सेवाओं को चुन सकते हैं. वे अपनी सुविधा के अनुसार टाइम स्लॉट चुन सकते हैं और भुगतान की पुष्टि कर सकते हैं या बाद में भुगतान कर सकते हैं. इसके बाद ड्रूम इस काम को करने के लिए एक इको-निंजा या तकनीशियन नियुक्त करता है, जो सर्विसिंग प्रक्रिया पूरी होने के बाद संबंधित ग्राहक को इको जम्प स्टार्ट रिपोर्ट देता है. ग्राहक तकनीशियन को मौके पर अपने मौजूदा पैकेज में जोड़कर किसी भी अतिरिक्त सेवा को करने को भी कह सकता है. वर्तमान में ड्रूम के पास हजारों इको तकनीशियन हैं, जो भारत के अधिकांश टॉप शहरों में यह सेवा प्रदान करते हैं.

मुख्य जंप स्टार्ट डिवाइस पैकेज के अलावा यूजर टोइंग, गैस फिल, फ्लैट टायर की मरम्मत, प्रेशर वॉटर क्लीनिंग और ऑयल, ल्यूब्रिक्रंट, कूलंट आदि की टॉप-अप सेवाओं का लाभ उठा सकते हैं।

यूजर्स वाहन, लोकेशन, मेन सर्विस और इस प्रक्रिया में किसी भी एड-ऑन सेवाओं को चुन सकते हैं। वे अपनी सुविधा के अनुसार टाइम स्लॉट चुन सकते हैं और भुगतान की पुष्टि कर सकते हैं या बाद में भुगतान कर सकते हैं। इसके बाद ड्रूम इस काम को करने एक 'इको-निंजा' या तकनीशियन नियुक्त करता है, जो सर्विसिंग प्रक्रिया पूरी होने के बाद संबंधित ग्राहक को इको जम्प स्टार्ट रिपोर्ट देता है। ग्राहक तकनीशियन को मौके पर अपने मौजूदा पैकेज में जोड़कर किसी भी अतिरिक्त सेवाओं को करने को भी कह सकता है।

इस लॉन्च पर टिप्पणी करते हुए ड्रूम के संस्थापक और सीईओ संदीप अग्रवाल ने कहा, “लॉकडाउन की अवधि बढ़ने के मद्देनजर एक अनुमान के मुताबिक भारत में करीब 5 से 25 मिलियन वाहन शुरू होने में या मूव करेन में दिक्कत दे सकते हैं। इको ने 2016 के बाद से वाहनों के प्रमाणन, बड़ी संख्या में ऑटोमोबाइल वाहनों के स्वास्थ्य और सुरक्षा को सुनिश्चित करने के लिए जांचों के साथ ही हाल ही में पेश स्पेशल जर्म शील्ड सेवा के जरिये एंटीमाइक्रोबियल ट्रीटमेंट पेश करने तक लंबा सफर तय किया है।"

निसान मोटर इंडिया 
निसान मोटर इंडियाने आपल्या सर्व ग्राहकांच्या सुरक्षिततेसाठी आणि उत्तम आरोग्यासाठी सूक्ष्मजीवविरोधी निर्जंतुकीकरण मोहीम सुरू केली आहे. 
या उपक्रमांतर्गत ग्राहकांचा सतत संपर्क येईल, असा गाडीचा बाह्यभाग आणि अंतर्भाग, जसे की गाडीच्या दरवाजांचे हॅंडल्स, स्टीअरिंग व्हील, गीअर नॉब्ज अशा सर्व भागांचे सूक्ष्मजीव निर्जंतुकीकरण निसानच्या सर्व डीलर्सच्या माध्यमातून विनामूल्य केले जाणार आहे. या व्यतिरिक्त एसी डक्‍ट सिस्टिम, कार्पेट आदी भाग निर्जंतुक करणाऱ्या इंटिरिअर फॉगिंग ट्रीटमेंटचा वापर करून वाहनाचे संपूर्ण निर्जंतुकीकरण, तसेच स्प्रेइंगच्या माध्यमातून बाह्य भागाचे निर्जंतुकीकरण करणारी सेवाही किफायतशीर दरात उपलब्ध करून दिली जाणार आहे. 15 मे ते 30 जून या कालावधीत होणाऱ्या वी सॅनिटाइज टु प्रोटेक्‍ट यू या शिबिरांतर्गत निसान आणि डॅट्‌सनच्या ग्राहकांना डीलरकडून फोन, ई-मेल आणि एसएसएस आदी माध्यमातून निमंत्रण प्राप्त होईल. ग्राहकांना या शिबिराच्या माध्यमातून विशेष सूक्ष्मजीवविरोधी निर्जंतुकीकरण सेवेचा लाभ घेता येईल. लॉकडाउनच्या काळात गाडीची देखभाल करण्यासंदर्भात निसान आपल्या सर्व ग्राहकांना वेबसाइट, सोशल मीडिया आणि ईमेलच्या माध्यमातूनही मार्गदर्शन करत आहे. 

वॉल्वो कार इंडिया 
सुरक्षेत अग्रेसर आणि लोकांना सुरक्षित ठेवण्याचे आपले वचन जपत वॉल्वो कार इंडियाच्या वतीने #SafestPlaceToBeया अभिनव ग्राहककेंद्री पद्धतीचा अंगीकार करण्यात आला आहे. या उपक्रमाचा भाग म्हणून सर्व वॉल्वो विक्रेता सुविधा केंद्रे निर्जंतुक करण्यात आली आहेत. संपूर्ण देशात कार्यरत असणाऱ्या अधिकाऱ्यांना पीपीई आणि सनिटायरर्सचा देण्यात आली आहेत. विक्रेत्यांकडे असणाऱ्या गाड्या आणि नमुना म्हणून ग्राहकांना उपलब्ध करून देण्यात येणाऱ्या डेमॉन्स्ट्रेशन कार्स 3 एम सोबत निर्जंतुक करण्यात येणार आहेत. या टाळेबंदीच्या कालावधीत ग्राहकांना सुरक्षित ठेवण्यासाठी खालील एक्‍स्पर्ट सोल्यूशन्स देऊ करण्यात येत आहेत: 

व्हील्सआय 
लॉकडाउनच्या पार्श्वभूमीवर ट्रक मालकांच्या सक्षमीकरणावर लक्ष केंद्रित असलेल्या व्हील्सआय या हायपर ग्रोथ स्टार्सअपने ट्रक मालिक सहाय्यता केंद्राची सुरुवात केली आहे. या ऑनलाइन पोर्टलद्वारे ट्रकचालकांना महत्त्वाच्या बातम्या तसेच ट्रान्सपोर्टेशन इंडस्ट्रीसंबंधी धोरणात्मक घोषणांची माहिती देण्याचा कंपनीचा हेतू आहे. या क्षेत्रातील लोकांना येणाऱ्या ईएमआयविषयक अडचणी, अन्न व निवा-याच्या समस्या, अफवांवर आळा घालणे, उद्योगपूरक धोरणांबद्दल जागरुकता निर्माण करणे यासारख्या अडचणी सोडवून या उद्योगाला आधार देणे, ही यामागील संकल्पना आहे. महामार्गांवर अडकलेल्या ट्रक मालक आणि चालकांना ऑनलाइन पोर्टलवरून भारतभरातील जवळपासच्या शासकीय अधिकृत व खाजगी अन्न व निवारा केंद्रांचाही शोध घेता येईल. ब्रॅंडने देशभरातील हजारांपेक्षा जास्त केंद्रांवर ट्रक चालकांना अन्न व निवासाची व्यवस्था पुरवली आहे. अनिवार्य लॉकडाउनच्या पार्श्वभूमीवर सरकार अधिकृत जवळचे मेंटेनन्स वर्कशॉप व दुरूस्ती केंद्रही या पोर्टलवरून शोधता येईल. मुख्य जम्पस्टार्ट डिव्हाइस पॅकेजसह यूझर टोइंग, गॅस फिल, फ्लॅट टायरची दुरूस्ती, प्रेशर वॉटर क्‍लीनिंग आणि ऑइल, ल्यूब्रिकंट, कूलंट इत्यादीसाठी टॉप अप सेवांचा लाभ घेता येईल. 

ड्रूमद्वारे घरपोच वाहन दुरुस्ती सेवा 
लॉकडाऊन संपल्यावर आपले वाहन सुरु करताना मालकांना अनेक आव्हानांचा सामना करावा लागू शकतो. ही समस्या सोडवण्यासाठी भारतातील सर्वात मोठा आणि अग्रेसर ऑनलाइन ऑटोमोबाइल ट्रान्सपोर्ट मार्केटप्लेस असलेल्या ड्रूमने संपूर्ण भारतातील ग्राहकांसाठी जम्पस्टार्ट-ऑटोकेअर नावाची एक अनोखी घरपोच सेवा सुरू केली आहे. या सेवेत टायर्सची देखभाल, महत्त्वाच्या भागांची तपासणी, ऑइल व लुब्रिकंट टॉप अपसह वाहनांच्या जम्पस्टार्टचा समावेश आहे. यात मुख्य जम्पस्टार्ट डिव्हाइस पॅकेजसह यूझर टोइंग, गॅस फिल, फ्लॅट टायरची दुरूस्ती, प्रेशर वॉटर क्‍लीनिंग आणि ऑइल, ल्यूब्रिकंट, कूलंट इत्यादीसाठी टॉप अप सेवांचा लाभ घेता येईल. ग्राहक आपल्या सोयीनुसार, टाइम स्लॉट निवडू शकतात आणि पेमेंटची हमी देऊन नंतरही पेमेंट करू शकतकात. त्यानंतर ड्रूम हे काम करण्यासाठी एक इको-निंजा किंवा तंत्रज्ञ नियुक्त करते. हा तंत्रज्ञ सर्व्हिसिंग प्रक्रिया पूर्ण झाल्यानंतर संबंधित ग्राहकाला इको जम्प स्टार्ट रिपोर्ट देतो. ग्राहक ऐनवेळी तंत्रज्ञाला निश्‍चित केलेल्या पॅकेजमध्ये आणखी अतिरिक्त सेवा देण्यासही सांगू शकतो. 

दरअसल में ज्यादा लंबे समय तक Car बाइक अगर बिना चले घर पर पार्क रहे तो उस में दिक्कत आना जाहिर सी बात है। ऐसे में आप अगर चाहे तो ऑनलाइन वेबसाइट ड्रूम पर जंपस्टार्ट ऑटो केयर सर्विस का फायदा ले सकते हैं। हालांकि यह सर्विस लॉक डाउन खुलने के बाद शुरू होगी।

इस सर्विस में आप महज ₹499 से बुकिंग कर सकते हैं और अपने टू व्हीलर और फोर व्हीलर की सर्विसिंग करवा सकते हैं। इस नई सेवा के तहत आप अपने घर पर फ्लीट कंपनियां, आरडब्लूए, अस्पताल, लॉजिस्टिक, सार्वजनिक बस मालिक, कंप्यूट देने वाले होटल और गैरेज आदि सभी सर्विस का फायदा ले सकते हैं। ( Droom Door Step Servicing )

इस सर्विस में स्कूटर या बाइक की सर्विसिंग के लिए आपको ₹499, सुपर बाइक की सर्विसिंग के लिए ₹699, हैचबैक कार के लिए ₹999, सेडान कार के लिए 1299 रुपए और एसयूवी कार के लिए 1599 रुपए चुकाने पड़ेगे और घर बैठे आपके वाहन की सर्विसिंग हो जाएगी।

Besides the main Jump Start device packages user can avail many more add-on services including towing, gas fill, flat tire repair, pressure water cleaning, and full top-up of oil, lubricant, coolant, etc.

Users can select vehicle, location, main service, and any add-on services they require in the process. They can choose a time slot as per their convenience and confirm the payment or choose to pay later. Droom then assigns an ‘eco-ninja’ or technician to perform the job, who also issues an ECO jump start report to the respective customer once the servicing process is completed. A customer can also ask the technician to perform any of the additional services by adding them to their existing package on the spot.

Commenting on the launch, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Droom said, “In the wake of an extended lockdown, anywhere between 5 to 25 million vehicles in India might not start or move. Eco has come long way from offering any vehicle’s inspection anywhere since 2016 to complete vehicle certification, large automobile fleet health and safety to recent launch of Germ Shield, an antimicrobial treatment for automobiles and facilities. We leverage IOT, AI, cloud infrastructure, mapping technologies for field operations to fully mobile technology driven work flow management for standard service delivery. To serve our customers better, we launched Germ Shield in March and will continues to launch more such unique services in the times to come.”

Jumpstart costing would be as follows:
Scooter/Bike – INR 499
Superbike – INR 699
Hatchback – INR 999
Sedan – INR 1299
SUV – INR 1599

Besides the jumpstart, the service will also include tyre maintenance, inspection of critical functions and oil and lube top-up. Users can select vehicle, location, main service and any add-on services they require in the process. They can choose a time slot as per their convenience and confirm the payment or choose to pay later.

A technician or ‘eco-ninja’ is assigned to perform the job, who also issues an ECO jump start report to the respective customer once the servicing process is completed. A customer can also ask the technician to perform any of the additional services by adding them to their existing package on the spot.

“We leverage IoT, AI, cloud infrastructure, mapping technologies for field operations to fully mobile technology-driven workflow management for standard service delivery. To serve our customers better, we launched Germ Shield in March and will continue to launch more such unique services in the times to come,” Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Droom said.

Jumpstart service cost varies depending upon the vehicle tye. The prices are as follows:
Scooter/Bike – Rs 499
Superbike – Rs 699
Hatchback – Rs 999
Sedan – Rs 1299
SUV – Rs 1599
Fleet companies, RWAs, hospitals, logistics providers, private and public bus owners, hotels that offer commute, garages, dealerships, can all avail of this service. There are currently thousands of technicians who provide this service in most of the top cities across India. Head to Droom’s official website or download the app to book a service.

During the event, Sandeep Aggarwal - Founder & CEO, Droom addressed the sellers via a video message. "The entire business community is feeling the effects of the pandemic. In these difficult times, I hope you and your families are safe and exercising all precautions and safety measures. Droom is fully committed to the sellers and would take all possible steps to serve you better. We are coming up with some unique offerings and suggestions for you and would need your inputs. Please use this platform to share your thoughts or suggestions which are very important for us. Together we will overcome this too,"

At the event, the decision of service extension for the sellers was announced with the aim of providing an uninterrupted selling experience to the dealers amid the strangulated demand landscape. The extended services of the Pro-Seller Subscription will now be applicable from 15th April to 15th July 2020. Another announcement involved the initiative of becoming a reseller of the brand’s most innovative sanitization service Germ Shield.

Speaking about the first Digital Seller Meet, Aggarwal added, “At Droom, we are dedicated to extending our wholehearted support towards the empowerment of the country’s thriving dealer community. Droom is accelerating at speed and making auto dealer community more digital-ready with the recent launch of Dealership Management System in addition to the online showroom and whole suite of app or site enabled self-service tools and technologies to run dealership.”

Germ-shield, a technology launched under Droom Health, is an antimicrobial surface protection shield. Proven to be effective against SARS and other droplet-based viruses for up to 3 months, it guards surfaces against harmful microbes by inhibiting the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria, algae, yeast, mold, and mildew. The technology polymerizes (bonds) to any surface resulting in a strong, durable, invisible and effective shield with a 99.99% microbial reduction rate.

As part of the initiative, Droom's Germ-Shield team will primarily conduct a Digital Swab test to check the contamination level of the facility. Based on the germ-risk threat perception, these areas will be divided into red 'high risk', orange 'medium risk', yellow 'low risk' and green 'no risk' zones. While the 'high risk' and 'medium risk' zones will be treated with the Germ-Shield technology, other low-risk areas will also be thoroughly sanitized using other effective cleaning solutions.

Commenting on the initiative, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Droom said, "At Droom, we are striving to create tech and data driven solutions that can contain the spread of COVID-19 and help the country safely survive this pandemic. In line with this vision, we have expanded the reach of our Germ-Shield technology beyond the Automobile category. It is an effective solution to keep sensitive physical spaces deeply sanitized, clean and disinfected, thus ensuring utmost hygiene and protection against the fast-growing contagion."

Germ Shield costing would be as follows:

· Schools, hospitals - ranging from INR 8 to INR 15 per square feet area.

· Elevators - INR 799 for small, INR 999 for medium and INR 1499 for large elevators.

· ATM - INR 1499.

Droom has already delivered Germ Shield for facility for elevators, residential complexes, pharmacies and health care providers in NCR.

Beyond this Droom is offering Bi-annual and Annual subscriptions also thus enabling users to choose according to their needs. Currently, Germ Shield is available in NCR with the plan to expand into all meteors in near future.

Germ-shield, a technology launched under Droom Health, is an antimicrobial surface protection shield. Proven to be effective against SARS and other droplet-based viruses for up to 3 months, it guards surfaces against harmful microbes by inhibiting the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria, algae, yeast, mold, and mildew. The technology polymerizes (bonds) to any surface resulting in a strong, durable, invisible and effective shield with a 99.99% microbial reduction rate.

As part of the initiative, Droom’s Germ-Shield team will primarily conduct a Digital Swab test to check the contamination level of the facility. Based on the germ-risk threat perception, these areas will be divided into red ‘high risk’, orange ‘medium risk’, yellow ‘low risk’ and green ‘no risk’ zones. While the ‘high risk’ and ‘medium risk’ zones will be treated with the Germ-Shield technology, other low-risk areas will also be thoroughly sanitized using other effective cleaning solutions, said the company.

Commenting on the initiative, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Droom said, “At Droom, we are striving to create tech and data driven solutions that can contain the spread of COVID-19 and help the country safely survive this pandemic. In line with this vision, we have expanded the reach of our Germ-Shield technology beyond the Automobile category. It is an effective solution to keep sensitive physical spaces deeply sanitized, clean and disinfected, thus ensuring utmost hygiene and protection against the fast-growing contagion.”

Germ Shield costing would be as follows:

Schools, hospitals - ranging from INR 8 to INR 15 per square feet area.

Elevators - INR 799 for small, INR 999 for medium and INR 1499 for large elevators.

ATM - INR 1499.

Droom has already delivered Germ Shield for a facility for elevators, residential complexes, pharmacies and health care providers in NCR.

Beyond this Droom is offering Bi-annual and Annual subscriptions also thus enabling users to choose according to their needs. Currently, Germ Shield is available in NCR with the plan to expand into all metros in the near future.

देश भर में बढ़ रहे कोरोना के मामलों में इस जंग से प्राइवेट कंपनियां भी मदद के लिए आगे आई हैं। ऑनलाइन ऑटो मोबाइल कंपनी ड्रूम ने पुलिस के वाहनों को आधुनिक तकनीक से सैनिटाइजेशन कराया। इसके तहत पुलिस की पीसीआर, राइडर व अन्य वाहनों की गहराई से सफाई की जाएगी। ड्रूम हेल्थ के तहत जर्म-शील्ड टेक्नॉलजी लॉन्च की गई थी। यह कारों और दुपहिया वाहनों के लिए एक एंटी-माइक्रोबियल सरफेस प्रॉटेक्शन शील्ड के तौर पर काम करती है। कंपनी के सीईओ संदीप अग्रवाल ने इस पहल पर कहा कि स्वास्थ्यकर्मियों की तरह देश का पुलिस बल भी कोरोनोवायरस के खिलाफ लड़ाई में फ्रंटलाइन योद्धा के तौर पर जंग लड़ रहा है। अभियान पर डीसीपी हेडक्वॉर्टर नितिका गहलौत ने कहा कंपनी की ओर से शुरू किया गया ड्राइव बेहतर कदम है। कंपनी की ओर से पहले दिन दर्जनों वाहनों को सैनिटाइज किया गया।

The company said it is extending its Germ-Shield technology to sanitize the fleet of cars and bikes currently used by Gurugram Police.

Germ-shield, a technology launched under Droom Health, is an antimicrobial surface protection shield for cars and two-wheelers. Droom claims the technology to be effective against SARS and other droplet-based viruses for up to 3 months.

Speaking on the initiative, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Droom, said, “This fleet sanitization drive for Gurugram Police is a part of Droom’s contribution towards the protection of these brave warriors and real heroes of our society. While our technology provides safety from viruses for 3 months, keeping in mind the challenge that Gurugram police faces while dealing with the Pandemic, we will be sanitizing their several vehicles on a daily basis until the nation achieves victory over COVID-19.”

Commenting on the sanitization drive, Nitika Gahlaut, IPS DCP Headquarters, Gurugram, said, “We are grateful to Droom for launching this service and protecting us against the highly-contagious Coronavirus. A major element of containing the Coronavirus contagion is inhibiting surface-to-surface transmission, and Droom’s Germ-Shield technology is a big step towards this goal.”

ड्रूम हेल्थ के तहत जर्म-शील्ड टेक्नोलॉजी लॉन्च की गई थी। यह कारों और दुपहिया वाहनों के लिए एक एंटी-माइक्रोबियल सरफेस प्रोटेक्शन शील्ड के तौर पर काम करती है। यह शील्ड सार्स और अन्य ड्रॉपलेट- बेस्ड वायरस के खिलाफ तीन महीने तक प्रभावी रहती है और बैक्टीरिया, अल्गी, यीस्ट, मोल्ड और फफूंद जैसे माइक्रो ऑर्गेनिज्म को पनपने नहीं देती। हानिकारक रोगाणुओं से वाहनों की सतह को सुरक्षित रखती है। यह टेक्नोलॉजी किसी भी सरफेस को 99.99% माइक्रोबियल रिडक्शन रेट के साथ मजबूत, टिकाऊ, अदृश्य और प्रभावी तौर पर पॉलीमराइज़ करती है।

ड्रूम के संस्थापक और सीईओ संदीप अग्रवाल ने इस पहल पर कहा, “स्वास्थ्यकर्मियों की तरह देश का पुलिस बल भी कोरोनोवायरस के खिलाफ लड़ाई में फ्रंटलाइन योद्धा के तौर पर जंग लड़ रहा है। गुरुग्राम पुलिस के वाहनों के लिए यह सेनेटाइजेशन अभियान इन बहादुर योद्धाओं और हमारे समाज के वास्तविक नायकों की सुरक्षा में ड्रूम का योगदान है। उन्होनें कहा कि हम जानते हैं कि गुरुग्राम पुलिस को महामारी से निपटने के दौरान रोज ही चुनौतियों का सामना करना पड़ता है। इस वजह से हम उनके सभी वाहनों को रोज ही तब तक सेनेटाइज करेंगे जब तक कि हमारा देश कोविड-19 पर जीत हासिल नहीं कर लेता।”

Germ-shield, a technology launched under Droom Health, is an antimicrobial surface protection shield for cars and two-wheelers. Proven to be effective against SARS and other droplet-based viruses for up to three months, it guards surfaces against harmful microbes by inhibiting the growth of micro-organisms such as bacteria, algae, yeast, mold, and mildew, the company said.

The technology polymerizes (bonds) to any surface resulting in a strong, durable, invisible and effective barrier with a 99.99 per cent microbial reduction rate, it added.

“Just like the health workers, the country’s police force is also at the forefront of the fight against Coronavirus. This fleet sanitization drive for Gurugram Police is a part of Droom’s contribution towards the protection of these brave warriors and real heroes of our society. While our technology provides safety from viruses for three months, keeping in mind the challenge that Gurugram police faces while dealing with the pandemic, we will be sanitizing their several vehicles on a daily basis until the nation achieves victory over COVID-19,” said Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder & CEO – Droom.

Nitika Gahlaut, IPS DCP Headquarters, Gurugram, said, “We are grateful to Droom for launching this service and protecting us against the highly-contagious coronavirus. It is our duty to ensure the health and safety of citizens and staying protected from the virus ourselves is a big part of protecting others. A major element of containing the coronavirus contagion is inhibiting surface-to-surface transmission, and Droom’s germ-shield technology is a big step towards this goal.”

Germ-shield, a technology launched under Droom Health, is an antimicrobial surface protection shield for cars and two-wheelers. Proven to be effective against SARS and other droplet-based viruses for up to 3 months, it guards surfaces against harmful microbes by inhibiting the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria, algae, yeast, mold, and mildew. The technology polymerizes (bonds) to any surface resulting in a strong, durable, invisible and effective barrier with a 99.99% microbial reduction rate.

Speaking on the initiative, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder & CEO – Droom, said, “This fleet sanitization drive for Gurugram Police is a part of Droom’s contribution towards the protection of these brave warriors and real heroes of our society. Our Germ-Shield solution will inhibit the accumulation of on automobile surfaces, ensuring utmost hygiene and protection against the fast-growing virus spread. While our technology provides safety from viruses for 3 months, keeping in mind the challenge that Gurugram police faces while dealing with the Pandemic, we will be sanitizing their several vehicles on a daily basis until the nation achieves victory over COVID-19"

Commenting on the sanitization drive, Nitika Gahlaut, IPS DCP Headquarters, Gurugram, said, “We are grateful to Droom for launching this service and protecting us against the highly-contagious Coronavirus. It is our duty to ensure the health and safety of citizens and staying protected from the virus ourselves is a big part of protecting others. A major element of containing the Coronavirus contagion is inhibiting surface-to-surface transmission, and Droom’s Germ-Shield technology is a big step towards this goal.”

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has dropped all charges against him, he said in a statement.

Aggarwal was charged by the DOJ and sued by the SEC in July 2013, relating to events that took place in July 2009, when Aggarwal was a Wall Street analyst. Aggarwal founded Droom in April 2014.

“Those times were tough for me, my family and my team members. However, I am very grateful that the US justice system agreed that the dismissal of all charges against me was the right and just result. Now, we can put this permanently behind us and focus on implementing our long-term vision to permanently change how automobiles are bought and sold in the 21st century,” said Aggarwal.

According to Droom CEO Sandeep Aggarwal, this will be the company's sixth funding round, for which Credit Suisse and "two more advisers" have been mandated to find investors. Droom is planning an IPO listing in end-2021 and the funding will be wrapped up "in the next 4-5 months", Aggarwal said.

Currently valued at just under $1 billion, Droom has so far raised around $125 million from investors including Lightbox, Singapore-based global fund Beenext, Japanese firm Beenos, Tokyo-based VC firm Digital Garage, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, and Hong Kong based multi-billion family office Integrated Assets Management.

"Many of our current investors will participate but a new one will lead the round," said Aggarwal. Earlier, several investors in the company had participated in multiple rounds.

According to Droom CEO Sandeep Aggarwal, this will be the company's sixth funding round, for which Credit Suisse and "two more advisers" have been mandated to find investors. Droom is planning an IPO listing in end-2021 and the funding will be wrapped up "in the next 4-5 months", Aggarwal said.

Currently valued at just under $1 billion, Droom has so far raised around $125 million from investors including Lightbox, Singapore-based global fund Beenext, Japanese firm Beenos, Tokyo-based VC firm Digital Garage, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, and Hong Kong based multi-billion family office Integrated Assets Management."Many of our current investors will participate but a new one will lead the round," said Aggarwal. Earlier, several investors in the company had participated in multiple rounds.

In 2019, the company saw its net revenue double to $32 million from $16 million in 2018. It estimates that the net revenue in 2020 will increase to $63 million.

It also expects its orders to increase from 6.11 lakh in 2019 to 15.95 lakh in 2020. Besides that, Droom estimates the total number of listings on its platform to increase from 18.51 lakh in 2019 to 24.14 lakh this year.

Droom’s IPO dreams
The startup has confirmed to AutoStory that while its focus will be on the American stock exchange, the high level of compliances required to be met for Nasdaq will prepare them equally for listing at the other three exchanges.

Speaking to AutoStory, Sandeep Aggarwal, CEO and Founder of Droom, said, “By the time we file for our IPO, if we get more comparable assets in Hong Kong and we see a business rationale, we may consider Hong Kong. The same is the case for other listings.”

When asked about why Nasdaq, Sandeep said that he wants to see Droom competing with the global technology stocks which are in essence true competitors for a global business like his.

This strategy was also used by the online travel company MakeMyTrip when it listed on Nasdaq in 2010. To make the listing compliant with regulatory norms, Indian companies externalise its structure by commencing a new parent company in the country where it is aiming to be listed.

However, the Indian government is working to this end by bringing changes in the Company’s Act as confirmed by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her budget speech on February 1, 2020. Sources close to the development suggest that the government wants these tech companies to be registered in India.

Speaking about the long delay in Droom’s listing plans, Sandeep said, “2019 was a very tumultuous year due to the US-China trade tariffs and Hong Kong protests. The threat from coronavirus has added further strain in the market. We also set a new target for us, as we do not want to be listed once and then fall flat.”

He added, “So, the delay has been largely due to the market risks combined with the evolution of our strategy. We believe a three billion GMV and $120 million in revenue, both of which we can deliver in the calendar year 2021.”

Unperturbed by WeWork debacle
Last year, SoftBank-backed WeWork’s valuation of $47 billion was cut by 70 percent, crushing the then CEO Adam Neumann’s dream of raising $4 billion from the IPO. However, Sandeep is unperturbed by the WeWork’s failed IPO gloom.

Unlike several technology startups, Droom did not receive any large investor, adding to its valuation and funding.

“Our valuation is a function of the scale we have achieved and the fundamentals we have delivered. Valuation is always a function of growth, innovation, and the profit margin expansion.” Sandeep said adding that if a large investor comes and gives a company valuation more than it can support, it is detrimental to it, be it in the short or long term.

Droom believes that it is an under-priced asset. “We are a very large scale company, unlike most startups, be it automobile, ecommerce, or food delivery. Hence, we stand a chance to lose the least amount of capital, and have a clear roadmap to profitability,” Sandeep added.

He believes that Droom’s valuation is supportive of the scale of business of the startup. That’s not all, he also sees more headroom for a further increase in valuation.

It is also working on its final round of funding. As per Sandeep, certain market developments led to delays, but it will be closed soon. The company aims to raise $150 million in the pre-IPO round, which will make them a unicorn startup.

Mission 2020 and beyond
Droom is also focussing on used vehicle finance opportunities. Introduced in April 2017, Droom Credit today boasts of a 100 percent paperless approval of loans in just 30 seconds. With the industry being rattled by the NBFC crisis in 2018, Droom Credit completed 250 loans. The numbers, though, grew in 2019 with 12,000 loans.

The startup expects to cross the 40,000 mark by the end of 2020 with Droom Credit. In November 2019, it acquired Xeraphin, a Delhi-based NBFC firm, in an all-cash deal for an estimated $3-3.5 million.

It has also increased the number of onboarded lenders from three in 2018 to over 12 in 2019. Besides that, Droom has also increased its team size at Droom Capital from under 10 in 2018 to over 40 by December 2019.

India is the third-largest automobile market in the world, and for the last decade, its growth pattern has been the envy of many international markets. However, last year was one of the worst years for the Indian automotive market in three decades.

Passenger vehicle sales declined by over 16 percent in April-December 2019 compared to the same period last year. Further, two-wheeler sales registered de-growth of 15.80 percent in April-December 2019 from the previous year.

However, the scope of opportunity is still very high, and this is where Droom stands to gain the most.

Sandeep added, “India is 67th in the world in terms per capita vehicle availability. Only four percent of Indian households have a car and 24 percent of households have a two-wheeler. With income and education levels going up, it signifies an unprecedented demand for transportation in the near future.”

He points out that ecommerce accounted for 0.2 percent of total retail in India eight years back, and today, it has grown to become 2.5 percent. Similarly, back in 2014, the year when Droom was founded, the online marketplace for automobiles accounted for 0.1 percent and has now grown to one percent. While the used vehicle market saw players register between high single-digit and low double-digit growth, Droom grew 10 times faster the used vehicle market.

Speaking on the long-term plans for the startup, Sandeep said, “Five years from now, 35 percent of Droom will be a fintech company, while 50 percent will be our core transitional business.” He added that at least 15 percent will be advertising and subscription business.

Droom aims to sell the AI solution to vehicle insurance companies and banks in addition to buyers and sellers on its platform.

In a recent interview with TechCircle, Droom founder Sandeep Aggarwal spoke about how the company is using AI, its upcoming pre-IPO round and the Lightbox-backed company’s overall operations.

The company claims an annualised GMV (gross merchandise value) of $1.2 billion and a growth rate of 100% year-on-year. It aims to clock $2 billion in GMV by the end of 2020 and list on Nasdaq next year.

In November 2019, the company acquired an NBFC Xeraphin to make used car loans available to buyers on its platform.

The company, which aims to touch USD 120 million (about Rs 862 crore) in net revenue by 2021, is also looking at expanding its international operations to six new markets including Indonesia, Vietnam and the UAE this year.

"We have earmarked a capex (capital expenditure) of about USD 100 million this year. Of this, about USD 50 million will be towards marketing and promotion, USD 30 million for headcount and technology and roughly USD 20 million for new initiatives," Aggarwal told PTI.

He added that the company has been working on keeping its cash burn low and is hopeful of also hitting profits by the end of the year.

Aggarwal said the company has already established presence in three international markets and is looking at growing that further this year.

Droom is looking at Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam in Southeast Asia and the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East.

"While we are aggressively expanding our international presence, we are also deepening our presence within the India market as we believe this will continue to be the mainstay of our business. Less than 10 per cent of our revenues will come from international operations," he said.

The company also plans to raise about USD 150 million before it launches an initial public offering (IPO) in 2021.

It has so far raised close to USD 125 million in six rounds of funding from investors like Lightbox, Beenext, Beenos, Digital Garage, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, and Integrated Assets Management.

Droom had clocked a gross merchandise value of USD 1.2 billion on its platform with a net revenue of USD 32 million in 2019. Its platform processed over 6.1 lakh orders last year.

The company, which aims to touch USD 120 million (about Rs 862 crore) in net revenue by 2021, is also looking at expanding its international operations to six new markets including Indonesia, Vietnam and the UAE this year.

"We have earmarked a capex (capital expenditure) of about USD 100 million this year. Of this, about USD 50 million will be towards marketing and promotion, USD 30 million for headcount and technology and roughly USD 20 million for new initiatives," Aggarwal told PTI.

He added that the company has been working on keeping its cash burn low and is hopeful of also hitting profits by the end of the year.

Aggarwal said the company has already established presence in three international markets and is looking at growing that further this year.

Droom is looking at Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam in Southeast Asia and the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East.

"While we are aggressively expanding our international presence, we are also deepening our presence within the India market as we believe this will continue to be the mainstay of our business. Less than 10 per cent of our revenues will come from international operations," he said.

The company also plans to raise about USD 150 million before it launches an initial public offering (IPO) in 2021.

It has so far raised close to USD 125 million in six rounds of funding from investors like Lightbox, Beenext, Beenos, Digital Garage, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, and Integrated Assets Management.

Droom had clocked a gross merchandise value of USD 1.2 billion on its platform with a net revenue of USD 32 million in 2019. Its platform processed over 6.1 lakh orders last year.

The auto portal had gross merchandise value of $1.2 billion and revenue of $32 million in 2019. Its platform processed more than 6.1 lakh orders last year.

"The plan has always been to take the IPO route and we have considered four options, (Mumbai, U.S., Singapore and Hong Kong)—it will most probably be Nasdaq in U.S.,” Sandeep Aggarwal, Droom's founder and chief executive officer, told Press Trust of India. “We appointed KPMG and Grant Thornton as auditors and also roped in Credit Suisse that is likely to take us to IPO as well.”

The company will raise one more round of "pre-IPO" funding of about $150 million this year, Aggarwal said.

The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped all charges against him in an insider-trading case when was a Wall Street analyst. A civil settlement has been reached with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the same matter.

Thus, there should be no issues with listing Droom in New York, he said.

Aggarwal, who founded Droom in April 2014, said the company is focussing on keeping its cash burn low and is confident of hitting profit by the end of the year.

"Our cash burn is low. Unless we make some big investments that have not already been baked into estimates, we should be profitable by November this year," he said.

He added that Droom expects to clock a gross merchandise value of about $3 billion and a net revenue of $120 million in 2021.

The company has so far raised close to $125 million over six rounds of funding from investors like Lightbox, Beenext, Beenos, Digital Garage, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, and Integrated Assets Management.

Also, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has dropped all charges against him pertaining to the said case, Aggarwal said. Aggarwal was charged by the DOJ and sued by the SEC in July 2013, relating to events that took place in July 2009, when Aggarwal was a Wall Street analyst.

"Both the matters have been resolved. The charges by DOJ have been dropped and dismissed. A civil penalty of $32,500 was levied by SEC, which I have paid. The bar on being associated with any investment advisor, broker and securities analysis - which I quit long ago - continues," Aggarwal said.

Aggarwal founded Droom in April 2014. "I am very grateful that the US justice system agreed that the dismissal of all charges against me was the right and just result. Now, we can put this permanently behind us and focus on implementing our long-term vision," he said.

Droom is currently generating $1.2 billion in annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) and has over 3.53 lakh auto dealers listed on its platform.

Also, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has dropped all charges against him pertaining to the said case, Aggarwal said.

Aggarwal was charged by the DOJ and sued by the SEC in July 2013, relating to events that took place in July 2009, when Aggarwal was a Wall Street analyst.

"Both the matters have been resolved. The charges by DOJ have been dropped and dismissed. A civil penalty of USD 32,500 was levied by SEC, which I have paid. The bar on being associated with any investment advisor, broker and securities analysis - which I quit long ago - continues," Aggarwal said.

Aggarwal founded Droom in April 2014.

"I am very grateful that the US justice system agreed that the dismissal of all charges against me was the right and just result. Now, we can put this permanently behind us and focus on implementing our long-term vision," he said.

Droom is currently generating USD 1.2 billion in annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) and has over 3.53 lakh auto dealers listed on its platform. SR DRRDRR

“I came back to India in August 2014, and was asked to come back for final decision in 2015, but due to delays this kept extending to 2016, then 2018 and the last was just few months back,” Aggarwal told Inc42.

Aggarwal, a former equity research analyst for a San Francisco-based financial services firm, was arrested in July 2013 by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in relation to insider trading San Jose.

Aggarwal added that that the DOJ has dropped all the charges which means that the case has been completely dismissed. He added that for the last six and a half years he had been waiting for conviction.

Aggarwal also said that he has settled the civil dispute with the securities and exchange commission (SEC) by paying a penalty of $32,428.95. He said that this was led to NAND, which means no acceptance, no denial. But he has been barred from being associated with any broker, dealer, investment adviser and offering of penny stock.

Aggarwal said, “Those times were tough for me, my family and my team members. However, I am very grateful that the US Justice system agreed that the dismissal of all charges against me was the right and just result. Now, we can put this permanently behind us.”

What Was The FBI’s Case Against Sandeep Aggarwal?

In 2009, before he started up Shopclues in India, Sandeep Aggarwal was working as an analyst in Collins Stewart and was covering both Microsoft and Yahoo for a San Francisco-based research firm, he was receiving regular updates from his sources in Microsoft and passed on very specific information to Richard Lee, a portfolio manager at hedge fund SAC Capital over a phone call, after learning about a Microsoft-Yahoo deal, which was yet to be disclosed at the time.

Due to the fallout from the case, Aggarwal had to quit as Shopclues CEO by October 2013 and become a consultant for the company. He had later pleaded guilty for the same saying that he did this to improve his standing as an analyst and to increase revenue for his firm.

“I know what I did was wrong and I’m very sorry for my conduct,” he had said at the time.

In 2014, Aggarwal was banned by SEC from trading. According to the SEC order, he was barred from association with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent or nationally recognised statistical rating organisation. He was also barred from participating in any offering of a penny stock, including acting as a promoter, finder, consultant, agent or another person who engages in activities with a broker, dealer or issuer for purposes of the issuance or trading in any penny stock.

In September 2014, Aggarwal was back in India. He had asked a New York federal judge to allow him to visit his family in India in July earlier this year. A “revised bail package” permitted Aggarwal to get his passport and was allowed to travel to India for 6 months in exchange for a significant increase in his bail security amount $250k to $750k with further conditions.

Aggarwal said a civil settlement has been reached with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with the case.

He was charged by the DOJ and sued by the SEC following events that took place in July 2009, when he was a Wall Street analyst.

"Those times were tough for me, my family and my team members. However, I am very grateful that the US justice system agreed that the dismissal of all charges against me was the right and just result. Now, we can put this permanently behind us and focus on implementing our long-term vision to permanently change how automobiles are bought and sold in the 21st century," added Aggarwal.

Aggarwal founded Droom in April 2014 and the startup claims to be the largest online automobile platform and the fourth-largest e-commerce company in India.

The company currently generates $1.2 billion in annualized gross merchandise value (GMV) and $32 million in net revenue. It aims to clock $2.1 billion in GMV and $63 million net revenue by end of 2020, Aggarwal said.

He also plans to list on the Nasdaq by mid 2021, when the company achieves $3 billion GMV.

The company has so far raised close to $125 million in over six rounds of funding. “Not only are we a pure play online marketplace platform for automobiles in India but also own critical ecosystem tools for pricing, inspection, history and credit," added Aggarwal.

Also, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has dropped all charges against him pertaining to the said case, Aggarwal said. Aggarwal was charged by the DOJ and sued by the SEC in July 2013, relating to events that took place in July 2009, when Aggarwal was a Wall Street analyst.

"Both the matters have been resolved. The charges by DOJ have been dropped and dismissed. A civil penalty of $32,500 was levied by SEC, which I have paid. The bar on being associated with any investment advisor, broker and securities analysis - which I quit long ago - continues," Aggarwal said.

Aggarwal founded Droom in April 2014. "I am very grateful that the US justice system agreed that the dismissal of all charges against me was the right and just result. Now, we can put this permanently behind us and focus on implementing our long-term vision," he said.

Droom is currently generating $1.2 billion in annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) and has over 3.53 lakh auto dealers listed on its platform.

Also, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has dropped all charges against him pertaining to the said case, Aggarwal said.

Aggarwal was charged by the DOJ and sued by the SEC in July 2013, relating to events that took place in July 2009, when Aggarwal was a Wall Street analyst.

"Both the matters have been resolved. The charges by DOJ have been dropped and dismissed. A civil penalty of USD 32,500 was levied by SEC, which I have paid. The bar on being associated with any investment advisor, broker and securities analysis - which I quit long ago - continues," Aggarwal said.

Aggarwal founded Droom in April 2014.

"I am very grateful that the US justice system agreed that the dismissal of all charges against me was the right and just result. Now, we can put this permanently behind us and focus on implementing our long-term vision," he said.

Droom is currently generating USD 1.2 billion in annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) and has over 3.53 lakh auto dealers listed on its platform.

Automobile marketplace Droom on Wednesday said the company is confident of hitting profit by the end of this year, and said it plans to raise about USD 150 million before it launches an initial public offering (IPO) in 2021.

Droom clocked a gross merchandise value of USD 1.2 billion on its platform with a net revenue of USD 32 million in 2019. Its platform processed over 6.1 lakh orders last year.

“The plan has always been to take the IPO route and we have considered four options (Mumbai, US, Singapore and Hong Kong) and it will most probably be NASDAQ in the US. We appointed KPMG and Grant Thornton as auditors and also roped in Credit Suisse that is likely to take us to IPO as well,” Droom founder and CEO Sandeep Aggarwal told PTI.

He added that the company will raise one more round of “pre-IPO” funding of about USD 150 million this year.

Aggarwal said given that the US Department of Justice (DoJ) has dropped all charges against him pertaining to a previous insider trading case, there should be no issues with listing Droom in the US.

The CEO said a civil settlement has been reached with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while the US DoJ has dropped all charges against him pertaining to the case. He had been charged by the DOJ and sued by the SEC in July 2013, relating to events that took place in July 2009, when Aggarwal was a Wall Street analyst.

“Both the matters have been resolved. The charges by DOJ have been dropped and dismissed. A civil penalty of USD 32,500 was levied by SEC, which I have paid. The bar on being associated with any investment advisor, broker and securities analysis — which I quit long ago — continues,” Aggarwal said.

Aggarwal, who founded Droom in April 2014, said the company is focussing on keeping its cash burn low and is confident of hitting profit by the end of the year.

“Our cash burn is low. Unless we make some big investments that have not already been baked into estimates, we should be profitable by November this year,” he said.

He added that Droom expects to clock a gross merchandise value of about USD 3 billion and a net revenue of USD 120 million in 2021.

The company has so far raised close to USD 125 million over six rounds of funding from investors like Lightbox, Beenext, Beenos, Digital Garage, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, and Integrated Assets Management.

“Both the matters have been resolved. The charges by DOJ have been dropped and dismissed. A civil penalty of $32,500 was levied by the SEC, which I have paid. The bar on being associated with any investment advisor, broker and securities analysis — which I quit long ago — continues,” Mr. Aggarwal said.

He was charged by the DOJ and sued by the SEC in July 2013, relating to events that took place in July 2009, when Mr. Aggarwal was a Wall Street analyst.

Mr. Aggarwal added he was confident of Droom turning profitable by November this year and was aiming to list the company on Nasdaq by mid-2021, when the company achieves $3 billion GMV. While the company had set its eyes on a Nasdaq listing, Mr. Aggarwal said they could also look at Singapore stock exchange or the Hong Kong stock exchange for listing.

Additionally, the company is looking at raising about $150 million in a pre-IPO round.

“...I am very grateful that the U.S. justice system agreed that the dismissal of all charges against me was the right and just result. Now, we can put this permanently behind us and focus on implementing our long-term vision to permanently change how automobiles are bought and sold in the 21st century,” Mr. Aggarwal said.

Founded in April 2014, the company claims to be the largest online automobile platform and the fourth-largest e-commerce company in India.

lso, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has dropped all charges against him pertaining to the said case, Aggarwal said.

Aggarwal was charged by the DOJ and sued by the SEC in July 2013, relating to events that took place in July 2009, when Aggarwal was a Wall Street analyst.

"Both the matters have been resolved. The charges by DOJ have been dropped and dismissed. A civil penalty of USD 32,500 was levied by SEC, which I have paid. The bar on being associated with any investment advisor, broker and securities analysis - which I quit long ago - continues," Aggarwal said.

Aggarwal founded Droom in April 2014.

"I am very grateful that the US justice system agreed that the dismissal of all charges against me was the right and just result.

Now, we can put this permanently behind us and focus on implementing our long-term vision," he said.

Droom is currently generating USD 1.2 billion in annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) and has over 3.53 lakh auto dealers listed on its platform.

The SEC had sued the entrepreneur in July 2013 because of events that took place in July 2009 when he was a Wall Street Analyst.

Sandeep was working as an analyst at Collins Stewart when he was allegedly said to be passing non-public information regarding a possible deal between Microsoft and Yahoo.

Speaking about the Department of Justice’s dismissal of charges, Sandeep said, “I am very grateful that the US Justice system agreed that the dismissal of all charges against me was a right and just result. Now, we can put this permanently behind us and focus on implementing our long-term vision to change how automobiles are bought and sold in the 21st century.”

Sandeep began his entrepreneurial journey in 2011 when he founded Shopclues. Founded in 2014, Gurugram-based automobile marketplace Droom is preparing for an IPO (Initial Public Offering) on Nasdaq, and is expected to go public in 2021.

At present, it is working towards securing its pre-IPO funding, which is expected to be in tune of $150 million. Droom claims to have an 85 percent market share in the used automobile business in India.

With its latest round of pre-IPO funding, the startup is all set to achieve the revered unicorn status. It also aims to turn profitable by November 2020 (on a monthly basis).

It is now aiming to expand its presence to Indonesia, Vietnam, and Philippines along with three nations in the Middle East in the next 15 months.

Droom clocked a gross merchandise value of USD 1.2 billion on its platform with a net revenue of USD 32 million in 2019. Its platform processed over 6.1 lakh orders last year.

"The plan has always been to take the IPO route and we have considered four options (Mumbai, US, Singapore and Hong Kong) and it will most probably be NASDAQ in the US. We appointed KPMG and Grant Thornton as auditors and also roped in Credit Suisse that is likely to take us to IPO as well," Droom founder and CEO Sandeep Aggarwal told .

He added that the company will raise one more round of "pre-IPO" funding of about USD 150 million this year.

Aggarwal said given that the US Department of Justice (DoJ) has dropped all charges against him pertaining to a previous insider trading case, there should be no issues with listing Droom in the US.

The CEO said a civil settlement has been reached with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while the US DoJ has dropped all charges against him pertaining to the case. He had been charged by the DOJ and sued by the SEC in July 2013, relating to events that took place in July 2009, when Aggarwal was a Wall Street analyst.

"Both the matters have been resolved. The charges by DOJ have been dropped and dismissed. A civil penalty of USD 32,500 was levied by SEC, which I have paid. The bar on being associated with any investment advisor, broker and securities analysis -- which I quit long ago -- continues," Aggarwal said.

Aggarwal, who founded Droom in April 2014, said the company is focussing on keeping its cash burn low and is confident of hitting profit by the end of the year.

"Our cash burn is low. Unless we make some big investments that have not already been baked into estimates, we should be profitable by November this year," he said. He added that Droom expects to clock a gross merchandise value of about USD 3 billion and a net revenue of USD 120 million in 2021.

Aggarwal was charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and sued by the US Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC) in July 2013 against a set of events that took place in July 2009, when Aggarwal was an capital markets analyst at Wall Street.

“Those times were tough for me, my family and my team members. However, I am very grateful that the US justice system agreed that the dismissal of all charges against me was the right and just result. Now, we can put this permanently behind us and focus on implementing our long-term vision to permanently change how automobiles are bought and sold in the 21st century,” Aggarwal said.

Founded in 2014, Droom offers four marketplace formats i.e. B2C, C2C, C2B, and B2B, and three pricing formats - fixed price, best offer and auction. The platform offers a wide range of categories from bicycles to aeroplanes and all automobile services such as warranty, insurance and loans.

The company claims to generate $1.2 billion in annualised GMV (gross merchandise value) and a growth rate of 100% year-on-year. The company has so far raised close to $125 million over six rounds of funding. Some of the prominent investors in the company are Lightbox, Beenext, Beenos, Digital Garage, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, and Integrated Assets Management.

The company last raised funds in October 2018 when it closed a Series E round worth $30 million led by the family office of Japanese investor Joe Hirao.

“As an investor in Droom and a friend of Sandeep’s I am relieved this chapter in his life is over. We look forward to continuing to work with Sandeep in building Droom to its full potential,” Siddharth Talwar, Droom board member and partner at Lightbox said.

In November 2019, Droom acquired a non-banking financial company (NBFC) Xeraphin to strengthen its lending arm.

एसईसी ने 32,500 डॉलर का जुर्माना लगाया था, जिसे अग्रवाल ने चुका दिया। एसईसी ने उन्हें प्रतिभूति बाजार के विश्लेषक या स्वतंत्र सलाहकार के तौर पर काम करने से रोक दिया था, जो अब शुरू हो जाएगा। साल 2015 में संदीप अग्रवाल को शॉपक्लूज का सीईओ पद तब छोड़ना पड़ा था जब उन पर अमेरिका में भेदिया कारोबार के आरोप लगे थे। उन पर न्याय विभाग ने आरोप लगाए और जुलाई 2013 में एसईसी ने मुकदमा ठोक दिया, जो जुलाई 2009 के घटनाक्रम से जुड़ा है। उन्होंने साल 2014 में ड्रूम का गठन किया।

शॉपक्लूज के सह-संस्थापक बनने से पहले वह अपनी पत्नी राधिका अग्रवाल के साथ साल 2011 में वॉल स्ट्रीट के विश्लेषक थे। उन्होंंने कहा, जब मैं शॉपक्लूज का परिचालन कर रहा था तब यह कानूनी मामला सामने आया। चूंकि मुझे अमेरिका में रहना पड़ा क्योंकि मैंने सरकार की अन्य जांच में सहयोग करना स्वीकार किया था, ऐसे में मुझे पद छोडऩा पड़ा। अब उनका ध्यान ड्रूम पर है और अगले दो साल में वह इसका आरंभिक सार्वजनिक निर्गम लाने में जुटे हैं। अग्रवाल के मुताबिक, ड्रूम का जीएमवी कैलेंडर वर्ष 2019 में 1.2 अरब डॉलर रहा, जो एक साल पहले के मुकाबले 65 फीसदी ज्यादा है। पिछले साल ड्रूम का राजस्व 3.2 करोड़ डॉलर रहा और इस साल 6.3 करोड़ शुद्ध राजस्व व 2.1 अरब डॉलर जीएमवी की उम्मीद है।

Droom clocked a gross merchandise value of USD 1.2 billion on its platform with a net revenue of $32 million in 2019. Its platform processed over 6.1 lakh orders last year.

"The plan has always been to take the IPO route and we have considered four options (Mumbai, US, Singapore and Hong Kong) and it will most probably be NASDAQ in the US. We appointed KPMG and Grant Thornton as auditors and also roped in Credit Suisse that is likely to take us to IPO as well," Droom founder and CEO Sandeep Aggarwal told PTI.

He added that the company will raise one more round of "pre-IPO" funding of about $150 million this year.

Aggarwal said given that the US Department of Justice (DoJ) has dropped all charges against him pertaining to a previous insider trading case, there should be no issues with listing Droom in the US.

The CEO said a civil settlement has been reached with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while the US DoJ has dropped all charges against him pertaining to the case. He had been charged by the DOJ and sued by the SEC in July 2013, relating to events that took place in July 2009, when Aggarwal was a Wall Street analyst.

"Both the matters have been resolved. The charges by DOJ have been dropped and dismissed. A civil penalty of USD 32,500 was levied by SEC, which I have paid. The bar on being associated with any investment advisor, broker and securities analysis -- which I quit long ago -- continues," Aggarwal said.

Aggarwal, who founded Droom in April 2014, said the company is focussing on keeping its cash burn low and is confident of hitting profit by the end of the year.

Aggarwal said a civil settlement has been reached with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with the case.

In an interview with Business Insider, Sandeep Aggarwal said that the company has clocked $1.2 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) and $32 million in net revenue in 2019 calendar year.

“We feel this momentum will continue as the auto industry fares better. We hope to achieve $2 billion in GMV this year and $65 million in net revenue. By next year’s end, we hope to hit $3 billion in GMV,” he said.

But how is the company achieving these numbers even as Indian economy is in recovery mode? “Because online is only 1% of the total automobile industry. Other companies had a heavy exposure to ‘new’ and ‘cars’. We sell bicycles, scooters, buses, jeeps, tractors… everything and we sell 98% used,” said Aggarwal.

Speaking of competition like CarDekho, Cars24, he said that Droom is the only pure play internet company while others offer offline services as well.

A NASDAQ IPO
By 2021, when the company achieves its $3 billion GMV target, Aggarwal aims to list on NASDAQ. And, it has been a very calculated step from the very beginning. “We have taken a lot of measures. We are a Singapore incorporated company, we had a Big 4 auditor from the first day, the corporate governance and board structure has been done keeping IPO in mind,” he said.

Before they head for IPO, Droom which has been circling around the unicorn status has plans to cross the valuation mark. “This year, we will be raising our last round of capital which will be the pre-IPO round, with that we have a valuation of over $1 billion,” he said.

Massive expansion spree
As it switches on to the pre-IPO mode, Droom is also planning geographical expansion. It is already present in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand along with an R&D centre in the US called Droom Lab Inc.

“In the next 18 months, we will expand to Indonesia, Vietnam and Philippines and then six countries in the Middle East. After that, we will plan our European expansion,” he said.

They will also be extending their offerings – by foraying into luxury cars, agricultural equipment and OEMs etc.

Lessons from the past
Aggarwal is not new to building billion dollar companies. He was also the founder of the e-commerce unicorn – Shopclues, a company from which he parted ways after a public spat with his co-founder and wife Radhika Aggarwal. Shopclues was recently sold to Singaporean e-commerce entity Qoo10.

“Since the end of 2015, I have not spent a single day in that company. It was a prime asset but it needed a lot of innovation, vision, world class management team and a differentiation factor in e-commerce,” he said.

Even before Shopclues, Aggarwal had 150 company ideas that he worked upon, till he finally built not just one unicorn but two successful startups. Ask him about the tricks of the trade and he recollects a time, when he was in college and got 40 rejections from companies only to get 7 job offers.

“First, you need to have a desire to build something. Having worked with Fortune 500 companies in the US, I saw a lot of scale and then maybe, I just got lucky,” he says with a laugh.

Sandeep Aggarwal said, "India’s startup ecosystem has come a long way in the last one decade, standing as the world’s third most robust ecosystem, after the US and China. We also rank third on the list of most number of unicorns, close to 25 at present as compared to only 2 in 2010. As India envisions to become a USD 5 trillion economy, the startup ecosystem can play a highly instrumental role in helping India reach thereby creating innovations, employment generation, and thus economic growth."

He adds, "To truly facilitate this, we expect the government’s proactive involvement during this budget. For instance, we expect them to provide startups with no capital-gain tax and no dividend, like how it is in Singapore, thus enabling companies funded by VCs to invest more in their R&D or founders to have great incentive. Secondly, we hope the government allows Indian companies to be listed directly in Foreign Stock Exchange without having to necessarily get listed in the country. Third, if we can have a single window for all the registrations like company incorporation, shop establishment, GST registration etc. along with the company registration, that will help save time, efforts, and money considerably. Fourth, while the government has made significant efforts in terms of winding down a company, we hope a shorter turnaround for this as well."

"Apart from these, repatriation of the money from our country to foreign investors should become easier."

"Further, it will be highly beneficial if the government can bring the 15 public sector banks and 5 financial institutions onboard the early-stage investment drive by facilitating a VC arm and allocating perhaps 200-500 million each to fund seed, pre-series A, or up to series A rounds for startups. The economic multiplier will be very large in terms of the returns it can generate, the employment opportunities that it can create, and the economic progress that it can deliver," concludes Aggarwal.

Combined with a focus on tier 2 and 3 cities for the next phase of growth, this omnichannel presence has become something that everyone wants a piece of. It’s a change from the time when startups talked about reaching customers using technology.

Having forged an identity as an automobile marketplace, Droom is keeping itself away from the omnichannel hype. Aggarwal is betting that creating an automobile ecosystem with low capital expenditure and fewer owned assets will be more sustainable in the long run, than scaling up in the offline channel and then cutting costs later on.

The Competition Moves Offline; Droom Stays Online

The Droom founder and CEO told Inc42 that the focus is on staying online and will always be on bringing the pieces of the offline ecosystem online.

Droom lets consumers and businesses buy and sell used and new automobiles. It follows four business models to achieve maximum penetration on both seller and buyer side i.e. B2B, B2C, C2C, C2B.

Its ecosystem around used automobiles involves services such as Orange Book Value (used vehicle pricing engine), Eco (vehicle inspection), History (track record of used vehicles), Discovery (dozens of pre-buying and selling tools) and Credit (used auto loan and dealer financing). This is Droom’s attempt to bring value across the used automobile buying journey and it has no offline stores, Aggarwal said.

On the other hand, competitors such as CarDekho, Cars24 and others continue to bet on building an offline presence and leverage omnichannel growth. In H1 FY20, GirnarSoft-owned CarDekho launched 28 new ‘Gaadi’ stores, bringing the total number of stores to 56 in 17 cities.

Further, Cars24 has more than 50 branches across 12 major cities in India and is backed by a team of more than 700 employees. However, last year the company faced issues and had to shut down multiple stores in Delhi-NCR.

With over 430 employees, Aggarwal told us that over half of this workforce is on the product and technology side. Over the last few years, Droom has been eyeing an initial public offering. While the IPO was first meant to be launched in 2019, and then 2020, the company is now looking at 2021 as a realistic target, given the company’s losses.

Droom reported a loss of INR 128.54 Cr in FY19, up from INR 73.97 Cr in FY18. The company’s expenses in FY19 were INR 274. 4 Cr with an operational revenue of INR 136.43 Cr.

But Aggarwal is optimistic. He said the gross merchandise volume (GMV) of $1.2 Bn for 2019 with net revenue of $35 Mn bodes well from a projection point of view. “Our operating loss as a percentage of GMV has gone from 9% in 2015 to 1.65% of GMV in 2019. We will further reduce it in 2020 and hope to be profitable by the end of 2020,” he added.

Ambitious Targets And IPO Dreams

For Droom, GMV is the value of each transaction that takes place on the platform. In terms of category wise share of revenue, the company says that B2C is roughly 85% and C2C is roughly 5% and B2B will be roughly 10% of the income. Further, the company sees 96% of its revenue coming from used vehicles while 4% from the new vehicles business. “Our transactional business is roughly 70% and financial services is 15% and advertising, pricing and certification is another 15%,” Aggarwal added.

The company claims that it has over $16 Bn of listed GMV and claims to have over 28 Mn in monthly traffic. Aggarwal said the company monetisation is 2.75% of the GMV for 2019, which it plans to scale to 3.25% by 2020-end and 3.75% by the end of 2021.

The trouble here is that Droom has always had ambitious targets. Aggarwal told us earlier that Droom was projecting $2 Bn in GMV and $55 Mn in net revenue next year, and $3.5bn in GMV and $120 Mn in net revenue by December 2020, which it said is the level that it would like to be at before going for the IPO.

However, the plans have changed. This may be attributed to the worst auto slowdown in years, which hugely impacted the industry in 2019.

Aggarwal told us If the market was not bad, instead of $1.2 Bn in GMV, Droom would have done $1.6 Bn in GMV. He claimed the company suffered a $400 Mn in lost volume and decided to not chase revenue from the new vehicles category.

But beyond this, Aggarwal has roped in KPMG as an external auditor for the last five years and Grant Thornton as an internal auditor for the past year, in preparation for the IPO.

The long engagement with the auditors, Aggarwal said, is an essential step in the light of the recent plight of WeWork which has brought profitability of startups under the scanner.

WeWork had filed its draft papers for IPO in August 2019, but the prospectus made investors wary of the corporate governance and real estate management. After a lot of back and forth, the company’s founder and CEO Adam Neumann had to exit as SoftBank bailed out the company after value erosion.

The ripple effect of WeWork disaster is playing out now in the wave of layoffs on in SoftBank portfolio companies, which is being seen as a market correction.

What about Droom? It has raised over $125 Mn in funding and with the next round of funding, it’s on track to enter the unicorn club. Aggarwal said that Droom is looking to raise $150 Mn as its pre-IPO round, which would certainly take it to the unicorn club. Aggarwal said he feels the company is already near the unicorn club, but those losses must sting. How will the company cope with that and achieve growth quickly to get profitability and justify an IPO?

Whenever Droom does raise funding, Aggarwal indicated that the goal will not be to flood the market and buy growth. He said the culture at Droom is not to throw money at a problem but rather solve it fundamentally. “We don’t do capital expenditure, inventory risk or feet on the street, which has really helped us. ”

Aggarwal reiterated that the cost of going offline is high and real estate costs can be back-breaking. From tapping enterprise clients to dealership networks to broadening its fintech play and entering the luxury segment, Droom says it has big plans. But none of it involves entering the retail market.

As someone who grew a business to unicorn status with Shopclues, Aggarwal is keen to not repeat the things that went wrong with Shopclues, which was acquired last year by Qoo10. That means retaining board control, prioritising a low-cost approach and being measured in trying to achieve growth.

And of course, there’s the focus on solving problems with tech. “We try to solve every problem through technology. We have a bias. We think all of the world’s problems can be solved with technology.”

The second edition of Droom pre-owned automotive awards and conference was held at ITC Maurya on December 20, 2019. The event registered a notable footfall of over 500 delegates coming together. Over 50 OEM participants contended for 50 award categories.

CEO & Founder at Droom, Sandeep Aggarwal commenced the event with a welcome speech. This time, discerning knowledge-sharing sessions were held on theSandeep Aggarwal broader themes of tech innovations, ecosystem services, megatrends, and macro-economic factors creating shifts in the automobile industry. The panelists and speakers included names like Roopam Asthana—CEO and Director, Liberty General Insurance, Jeetender Sharma—Founder and MD, Okinawa Scooters, Sohinder Gill, Director-General of SMEV India, Hideaki Ishii—Managing Director, Pioneer India, Ramashankar Pandey—MD, Hella India Lighting, and industry expert Ranojoy Mukerji, among others.

The speakers spoke at length about how infrastructural shortcomings need to be addressed for the true proliferation of EVs in India, the need to lay more emphasis on customers, and how expanding to different avenues (more exports, for instance) and catering to the customer sentiment can help in industry revival.

Finally, on the future outlook, it was projected that safety, security, and convenience will be the primary drivers and resultantly, connectivity, leasing and subscriptions, autonomy, shared rides, and EVs will shape the industry’s future in India.

Droom Awards 2With four major categories – Pre-owned Vehicles, New Vehicles, Best of Droom, and Special Awards – further divided into sub-categories making it a total of whopping 50 different awards. Among pre-owned vehicles, Bajaj CT100 stood apart as the Commuter Bike of the year, while Jeep Compass won the SUV of the year. Among new vehicles, Okinawa Praise Pro put on a dazzling display, winning the Electric 2 Wheeler of the year, whereas Kia Seltos won the Connected Car of the year.

Overall, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt Ltd bagged the most prizes across categories and was named the ‘OEM of the Year’ for two-wheelers while Hyundai Motor India Limited won the coveted title as the ‘OEM of the Year’ for four-wheelers. Taking the fervor several notches up, famous Indian-Punjabi singers Jassie Gill and Babbal Rai delivered breathtaking and adrenaline-boosting live performances. Dangal-famed actor Aparshakti Khurana and actress Gauhar Khan also ensured that the audiences remained captivated throughout by being the entertaining hosts of this fun-filled evening!

Droom Pre-Owned Automotive Awards 2019 was held with an aim to celebrate the automotive industry, and it succeeded in bringing together all the stakeholders of the ecosystem for a fun-filled day of knowledge-sharing, award distribution, networking opportunities, scintillating performances, a surprise launch, and so much more!

How has financial year 2019 been for Droom, and how do you see the current year panning out?

The financial year of 2019 has been fantastic for Droom! We have entered our fifth year of operations and have actually witnessed an acceleration in our growth. While we are fully aware of the macro slowdown in new vehicle sales, our category domination and how well we are doing versus the rest of the industry has resulted in this massive growth that we see today. We will continue to function in the investment and expansion mode for this financial year too. For instance, we have begun investing more into building technologies, creating new products, venturing into new categories, and expanding into new geographies.

Have you seen any slowdown in used vehicle sales in recent months?

No, we have not witnessed any slowdown in the sale of used vehicles. Our used vehicle sales continue to grow at a year-over-year rate of around 85-100 per cent, and this would perhaps be 8 times larger than the overall industry growth. When it comes to the overall growth of Droom, we may not see a magnified impact because we are already going much faster than everyone else.

You have raised significant funding in recent months. Where is this capital going into?

Yes, we have raised a significant amount of capital in the past few months. We diligently expend most of this into continually updating our technologies, building new products, opening new channels, and expanding our footprint on an international scale. These are the four departments where we channelize most of our funds into. If I have to pick the department where the highest percentage of funds go, I would say product development, engineering, and leveraging AI at present.

A lot of players in the segment have gone offline in recent times. Why so?

Honestly, to begin with, the segment that Droom belongs to has not really seen online players per se. To be more precise, those were more like media firms trying to compete with Saturday newspapers or magazines etc. for rich content, rather than being an online player in this segment.

But, if you look at Droom, it is truly an online player. We do not claim to be the only online player in the segment because it is the only channel we have, but because everything we have, including our technology portfolio, investments, pricing engine, certification courses, fintech product, and a lot of other services are inherently online.

Other companies could not establish themselves as market leaders and because of the rise of Droom, many of them are finding it very difficult and are thus going offline. The offline channel is cost-prohibitive, has inventory risks, and does not leave a lot of scope for true application of technology. Moreover, offline channels leverage capital, physical assets, capital expenditure, and inventory — this is something that we will never partake in.

The comprehensive online platform has now made its services available in four countries and plans to further extend its offerings in other nations, as part of its international expansion spree.

Thailand is the second largest automobile market in Southeast Asia and is among the top 15 automobile markets across the globe. With its rapidly evolving lifestyle, a major share of working middle class, changing consumer needs and aspirations, competitiveness and online & mobile adoption, Thailand is an ideal market for the segment of used vehicles to thrive in.

"Through its subdivision Droom International, the organisation aims to venture into and make its AI-driven ecosystem services such as OBV for used vehicle pricing, Droom Discovery for vehicle research, ECO for vehicle inspection, Droom Credit for auto financing, and Droom History for vehicle historical records available in this exciting and high potential-entailing automotive market of Thailand," said the company in a statement.

Sharing an insight into this strategic move, Sandeep Aggarwal, founder and CEO, Droom, said, “Our operations in Thailand are important not only because it is one of the largest and fastest-emerging markets but also because it has unlocked several new possibilities for Droom, like helping the organisation develop its abilities to launch the platform in several languages other than English. We are excited about this foray and are looking forward to establishing Droom as the online automobile marketplace leader in Thailand.”

Droom launched its platform in Malaysia in October 2018, Singapore in December 2018, and in India on November 21, 2014. The company has recently crossed a total of 48 million monthly traffic, with close to 12% of this traffic coming from international markets such as Malaysia and Singapore alone.

The company stated that the launch was part of a larger expansion strategy of entering into seven Southeast Asian markets. The Thailand launch marked its third entry.

Droom had earlier established its presence in Malaysia and Singapore in October and December last year, respectively.

Droom attributed a rapidly evolving lifestyle, a large working middle class, changing consumer needs and aspirations, competitiveness, and online and mobile adoption as the reasons behind its entry into Thailand.

“We are beyond ecstatic about beginning our operations in Thailand not only because it is one of the largest and fastest-emerging markets but also because it has unlocked several new possibilities for Droom, like helping the organisation develop its abilities to launch the platform in several languages other than English,” Sandeep Aggarwal, founder and chief executive of Droom stated.

In an interaction with TechCircle last year, Aggarwal said that the company also planned to expand to Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and the Philippines.

The company, which commenced its operations in India in 2014, stated that it has recently crossed 48 million in monthly traffic, with close to 12% of this coming from international markets such as Malaysia and Singapore alone.

Droom’s international foray comes close on the heels of a $30-million (Rs 220 crore then) Series E round it raised in October last year.

In India, Droom aims to expand its operations to 100 cities across the country. The company had recently claimed it has 75% share of the online automobile market in India, generating close to $750 million in gross revenue and $20 million in net revenue.

It claims to have a presence in more than 735 cities and towns across India and to have more than 275,000 auto dealers on its network.

The Gurugram-based company also aims to double its gross merchandise value to $3.5 billion by 2019. The company plans to list on the stock exchanges by 2020.

Founded in 2014, Droom adopts a customer-to-customer approach but offers services that are close to taking full ownership. It conducts extensive verification to help buyers work with offline dealers as part of efforts to ensure standardisation, apart from providing services such as a fair value calculator, roadside assistance and auto loans.

Droom’s main source of revenue is the service fee it charges for every successful transaction. Besides, it has other revenue streams such as creating an ecosystem around used automobiles, including OBV (its pricing engine), Eco (its vehicle inspection offering), history (vehicle history records), discovery (pre-buying tools) and credit (marketplace for used vehicles’ loans).

In the online used automobiles segment, Droom competes with Truebil, Zoomo, CarDekho, Carwale and CarTrade. Online classifieds platforms OLX and Quikr, too, operate in the segment.

What is the greatest asset of an enterprise? Is it a great business idea, a team of experienced and veteran leaders or great infrastructure and resources?

While every aspect has a significant role to play, it is the employees of an organisation that bring all these elements together and turn ideas into reality. This, then makes employees arguably the most significant organisational resource, which demand focused attention and engagement.

In India, online automobile marketplace Droom has been giving great focus to employee engagement and care, organising fun activities. The company claims careful planning has gone in identifying the right kind of activities that result in holistic care of employees.

Recently, Droom tied up with one of the leading spa and massage service providers in Gurugram, which will frequently organise Zumba training sessions, rejuvenating massages, chair yoga sessions and meditation days at its office.

While Zumba, chair yoga and meditation sessions are to be held once in a week, the massage sessions will be available to Droom employees once in a month.

According to Founder and CEO Sandeep Aggarwal, it is the organisational constituents that determine its success. “Employee engagement and attention is an avenue that needs considerable attention and at Droom, we ensure every one of us feels constantly connected to the team, colleagues and the organisation and the bond grows stronger throughout the hierarchies.”

Droom was founded by Aggarwal, who is also Co-founder and former CEO of ShopClues, an e-commerce unicorn in India. Droom is an online marketplace for buying and selling new and used automobiles.

Droom is headquartered in Gurugram, with a team size of over 365. It has four marketplace formats — B2C, C2C, C2B and B2B. The platform offers a range of categories from bicycle to plane and all automobile services such as warranty, RSA, insurance and auto loan.

Droom boasts of having nearly 250,000 auto dealers in more than 500 cities across India on its platform and 27.3 million monthly visitors.

Droom is a Singapore holding company with subsidiaries in India and the United States. The company has so far raised close to US$125 million over six rounds of funding.

Some of the prominent investors are Lightbox, Beenext, Beenos, Digital Garage, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Integrated Assets Management and family office of Japanese investor Joe Hirao, Founder ZIGExN.

Last May, Droom secured US$30 million in Series D funding, led by Toyota Tsusho Corporation, a member of automobile giant Toyota Group, and co-led by Japanese tech company Digital Garage.

Droom is hiring women technicians with a basic qualification of having completed their 10th standard and auto mechanic diploma from vocational colleges such as ITI, Polytechnic etc. The prospective candidates would also need to know how to ride a bike and be comfortable with using a smartphone. The company will give them further training as per the latest industry requirements on successful completion of the hiring process. An auto ninja technician can earn up to Rs.30K in a month which is 3X of a typical auto mechanic make in a month. This year in addition to having 6500+ auto technicians as a marketplace droom is bringing 400+ eco ninjas on its payroll with its own training uniform.

Commenting on the plans for the ECO Ninjas fleet, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Droom said, “At Droom, we always believe in a workplace that offers equal opportunity for all. We have had a great journey so far, and our organisation has grown along with the employees. We are strong advocates of a gender neutral workforce, and have especially seen consistent growth in the number of women employees through our journey. Now, in our fourth year of operations, we wanted to put forward a very non-conventional option for women employees. This is where we thought up the idea to train and hire highly-driven women technicians for our ECO Ninjas fleet. This career choice will provide these employees with an array of new skills and opportunities in a domain conventionally dominated by male professionals. With the introduction of this fleet, we see a number of women joining the Droom family, and we are confident that this new path will, in turn, empower others to do the same.”

In the first year of being operational, Droom had around 10% of women work force, in second year this percentage went up to 20% and in third year it was around 30% of total strength of Droom. There is currently an open head-count for 100 vacancies in the management; wherein 60% of the total hires would be women employees.

Droom is India’s leading platform for buying and selling both new and pre-owned vehicles, and has seen steady growth in the industry. Through the ECO Ninjas fleet, the company aims to set up a combined capacity of 1000+ vehicle inspections per day. The fleet is owned and operated by Droom, and these ‘Ninjas’ will provide doorstep vehicle inspection services to its customers, making their experience hassle-free.

During a span of just four years, Droom has witnessed an exponential growth while establishing a strong foothold in India. Currently, Droom has its eyes set on launching full operations in 7 new countries of South Asia this year. Droom launched its Malaysia operations in October 2018 and Singapore operations in December 2018. In Singapore, Droom is almost touching 600K in monthly traffic and 50K+ Facebook community.

Commenting on the achievement, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Droom remarked, “Crossing this milestone is a clear indication of global appeal of Droom brand, and the hard work put in by the entire Droom team. Since the beginning of our journey, we have received overwhelming response from buyers and sellers across India, where we expanded from having operations only in New Delhi to now being present in 735+ cities across India. We are now thrilled for hyper growth from our international expansion.”

With an aggressive business strategy and continued efforts to expand in international markets, Droom aims to create an innovative and disruptive marketplace approach for its users to help build trust, transparency and convenience of doing business in Southeast Asian countries.

ECO, Droom’s propriety vehicle inspection service, has paved its way to become one of India’s largest doorstep inspection services. With 1400+ certified inspectors on its platform, this initiative by Droom has an incredible geographic reach of over 500+ pin codes across the country.

The online automobile marketplace has allocated INR 25 crores of funds specifically to achieve its growth objectives pertaining to ECO inspection. Through these measures and dedicated efforts, Droom strives to establish the services provided by ECO as the industry standard benchmark for inspection and certification services.

Acknowledging the rapid success of the application,Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Droom remarked, “We see ECO as a key facilitator of establishing trust and transparency among our customers regarding the buying and selling condition of vehicles on our core marketplace and are looking to invest in the emerging technological advancements in this segment of Droom.”

With an aim to further strengthen its grip on quality control, SLA (Service Level Agreement) adherence and delivering world-class customer experience through its doorstep vehicle inspection services, Droom has setup an in-house team of ECO inspectors on owned and operated model.

ECO also developed a customized Enterprise solution for Banks for loans, Insurance companies for break-in Insurance renewals and large cab aggregators such as Uber and Ola.

Droom is also planning to venture into independent inspection services through ECO wherein people can purchase and avail the services and get their vehicles certified without listing them on Droom.

The hiring will be done across senior levels of management as well as middle level positions. Droom plans to aggressively expand its teams across multiple domains such as AI, Product, ECO and Droom Credit. Company has also planned to hire its owned and operated fleet of ECO Technicians named ECO Ninjas. These ECO ninjas will be providing vehicle inspection services at door step, with the help of this fleet droom is aiming to setting up a combined capacity of 1000+ inspections per day.

Commenting on the hiring spree, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Droom said, “Droom is scripting a successful and unique growth story of its own and it always gives us great pleasure to onboard more individuals-Droomers-and make them a part of this story. We will be expanding our Product and Technology teams to build more revolutionary technologies to address every big and small issue playing as a hurdle in a transparent online automobile transaction.”

Droom will be proactively seeking talented candidates from some of the Top B Schools and Engineering colleges in the country, such as IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, ISB Hyderabad, IIT Delhi, IIT Dhanbad, IIT Roorkee, MICA, IIM Shillong, NSIT and MNIT among with many other elite institutions. The key traits that the enterprise looks for among prospective employees are a hunger for success, accountability and ownership of responsibilities, energy, ambition, dedication, motivation and self-drive, focus, optimization ability, data and tech-driven perspective as well as a very high standard of work ethics.

The matches are scheduled on 6th, 8th and 10th February with the live telecast starting from 12.30 PM, 11.30 AM and 12. 30PM respectively (IST). Droom’s campaigns will be live on the following channels-

• Star sports 1
• Star sports 1 HD
• Star Sports 1 Hindi
• Star sports 1 Hindi HD
• Start Sports Tamil
• Star Sports Telegu
• Star Sports Kannada

Commenting on the development, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Droom said, “We are very excited to be a part of the IND-NZ series. Cricket is a kind of religion in India that unites rather than divides. The way in which the Men in Blue have been performing has got the entire nation excited ahead of this year’s World Cup, and every match is being followed closely by millions. This gives us an opportunity to build a brand connect with our target audiences, specifically youngsters. With increased brand awareness and association with Indian cricket, we hope to reach out to audiences at a grand scale that only some of the bigger & established brands have. “

Droom, which has become the top online marketplace for pre-owned automobile transactions and evaluation, has consistently focused on carrying out significant brand-building activities. However, the current association will give them an unprecedented amount of visibility with millions of consumers, making them aware about the new way of buying and selling automobiles online while enjoying what promises to be an intense series of cricket.

Droom, India’s largest and pioneering online automobile transactional marketplace, recently released its annual automobile industry trends report for the CY 2018. The platform, which generated a massive USD 1 billion GMV during the year, also drove close to 400 million in traffic. Droom’s annual industry trend reports in the only source in India that is based on close to 1 million actual transactions worth $1bn highlighting the trends for the Internet population in India for the automobile industry.

Top 5 largest market remains: Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune. For 2018, the top 5 emerging cities were: Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Chennai, Nalgonda and Kotpuli.

Maruti Suzuki Swift emerged as the most preferred car, while Hero Splendor Plus became the most favoured bike. Harley Davidson Street 750 and BMW 5 series were the most popular luxury bike and car respectively. Cars made up 42% of Droom sales last year, with scooters contributing 28%, bikes 22% and luxury cars and superbikes making up 7- 8%.

The average selling price for bikes was INR 54, 192 and for cars was INR 6,53,951. Hatchbacks remained the model of preference for buyers, and 5-6 year old vehicles were sought extensively by buyers. For two-wheeler buyers however, 2015-2017 was the preferred bracket of manufacturing year.

This year, buyers registered a stronger preference for diesel fuel cars 59% vs 39% for petrol cars considering the price disparities experienced throughout the year for petrol. In a further boost to the ‘Make In India’ initiative, 34% customers preferred vehicles from Indian manufacturers followed by 21% Japanese and 17% South Korean vehicle manufacturers in CY 2018, showing a steady divergence from the obsession with foreign cars. Manual Transmission cars witnessed a huge edge over auto transmission as 75% customers opted for manual over 25% for automatic.

Commenting on the trends, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Droom said, “CY 2018 was a successful year for Droom and the hard work put in by every Droomer was reflected in the solid business growth we managed to achieve. The trends show an overall healthy growth for automobile market, with more buyers and sellers opting to go online. We are happy to share industry report full of insights and interesting trends with the entire ecosystem”

Online automobile marketplace Droom has strengthened its position as the largest online automobile platform by registering $1 billion run rate in annual GMV for the year 2018. Droom also registered a net revenue run rate of $25 million, registering a 147% increment in comparison to the net revenue in 2017.

The company is targeting to double the GMV as well as revenue run rates to $2 billion and $50 million, respectively, in 2019. For which, Droom has already geared up to leave behind the milestones it achieved in the year gone by, and is all positive to achieve even greater success in the upcoming months. Additionally, consumer traffic increased 53% in 2018 – from 248 million to 380 million visitors – compared to the last year, said a press release.

Commenting on the achievement, Sandeep Aggarwal, founder and CEO, Droom, said: “This was our biggest year in terms of scaling our business to new heights and launching so many innovative products such as Quicksell, Droom Credit, Droom Plus, new vehicles sales and expanding our operations internationally. As we bring synergies to our vast portfolio of products, tools and services, Droom is positioned to deliver hyper-growth for years to come.”

While Droom continues to make a strong case for its international operations, especially in the South Asian market through a partnership with brands such as Toyota Group, it is also increasing its internal network of auto dealers.

"With a targeted $2 billion GMV in 2019 and a net revenue goal of approximately $50 million, Droom has already geared up to leave behind the milestones it achieved in the year gone by and is all positive to achieve even greater success in the upcoming months," said the company in a statement. "Additionally, consumer traffic increased substantially for Droom in 2018 by 53% as compared to the last year, from 248 million to 380 million visitors."

Commenting on the achievement, Sandeep Aggarwal, founder and CEO, Droom, said, “This was our biggest year in terms of scaling our business to new heights and launching so many innovative products such as Quicksell, Droom Credit, Droom Plus, new vehicles sales and expanding our operations internationally. As we bring synergies to our vast portfolio of products, tools and services, Droom is positioned to deliver hyper-growth for years to come.”

While Droom continues to make a strong case for its international operations especially in the South Asian market through a partnership with brands such as Toyota Group, it is also increasing its internal network of auto dealers. The numbers increased from 2.15 lakh in 2017 to 2.71 lakh in 2018, and Droom expanded its operations from 493 cities last year to 735 in 2018.

Listings on the platform increased by 39% in the last 12 months, from 6.21 lakh to 8.65 lakh. Listed GMV increased by 176% from Rs 18,000 crore to Rs 48,000 crore. The number of vehicle categories offered by the platform also increased from 38 in 2017 to 50 in the year. Alexa ranking for the brand also saw a steep jump from 319 in 2017 to 78 in 2018, making Droom the most visited auto platform.

As Droom prepares to list on Nasdaq in 2020, YourStory met Sandeep Aggarwal, CEO and Founder, Droom to understand how the company evolved in the last four years, how many revenue sources it has built, how it ensures vehicle safety and many other things. Edited Excerpts from the interview:

(YS): How has Droom’s journey been so far, and what kind of challenges have you overcome to date?

Sandeep Aggarwal (SA): We started as an online marketplace for used cars in Delhi. Three months later, we had used cars and two-wheelers, but only in New Delhi. A year later, we had used cars and two-wheelers in 100 cities in India. Six months after this, we had facilities such as insurance, roadside assistance, warranty inspection. Now, we have automobiles across 48 categories including planes, bicycles, segways, golf carts and yachts among others.

We started building an entire ecosystem because I realised that being in Droom in 2014 was very similar to being in Flipkart in 2008. Everything was up for grabs. So, we kept on building one by one. Besides that, we grew so fast that we always ran short of office space and ran short of people, which in hindsight are good problems to have.

If you were to tell us at what stage you are in currently, what would you say?

SA: I would like to draw an analogy to the 1700s when farmlands got converted into what is now Manhattan in New York. People kept hearing for decades that the world’s most-advanced city will be created there. But all they saw was dust, drill machines, charcoal, cement, and a lot of construction, and it was never-ending. So many people must have got frustrated and would have thought they will never see a modern city.

This is how I felt until very recently. We were exactly like that. We were in a very deep infrastructure mode from the last four years, which we will continue to be, because it takes a decade to create a world-class company. But now, we are creating a lot of things which are very monetisable and its increasing.

Today, we are touching almost $1 billion in gross revenue and $23 million in net revenue. We get nearly 40 million user traffic, and we are touching close to 9 million app downloads. We have 270,000 auto dealers on our platform, and we have sold six lakh vehicles in the last four years, which is worth Rs 8,000 crore.

We are now looking at listing on Nasdaq by 2020, and by then we are looking at a gross revenue of $3 billion to $3.5 billion and net revenue of $110-120 million. That is the kind of stage where we want to be and we are already at one-third of the level currently.

YS: What are the key aspects to ensure the cars and vehicles on your platform are verified and safe to use?

SA: We are not selling the brand new unsealed box of iPhone, which is standard, and you know the condition. We are selling automobiles like Maruti Suzuki and Wagon R, which has been used for 70,000 km since 2014. So, there’s a lot of subjectivity.

An Indian consumer is concerned about four things - How do I know the exact condition of the vehicle? Am I picking it at the right price? Can I trust the seller? Are the documents genuine?

On the pricing front, Droom has created Orange Book Value (OBV) for benchmark market value of a vehicle. You know the price of one-litre diesel or 10-gram gold and the stock price of a company. But what about used vehicle pricing? OBV’s patent is pending and it is an independent tool, which is an algorithmic pricing engine to find the fair market price of any used vehicle. With OBV benchmarking, we can get the right price, rather than pulling a number from the hat.

We also have ECO, which is a virtual inspection service that users can use to get a thorough 121+ point auto inspection performed by certified technicians at their doorstep. We have 6,200 auto technicians who can perform any vehicle inspection under 48 hours. With this service, we can even give you repair estimates. We give you independently taken pictures, as you know the pictures are always better than the actual. So, when the inspector is taking a picture, they are more realistic.

Droom History is a repository for a vehicle’s historical record, which allows users to know how many owners have changed hands on the vehicle if there is a disputed title, was it stolen, does it have an outstanding bank loan, accident history and other things.

YS: How are the prices decided for the vehicles?

SA: If you're selling, it is your privilege at what price you want to sell. We are not a marketplace, an ecommerce company, or a retail company, but theoretically, we are a technology, IT, and data science company. So, whenever you are selling a vehicle, Droom will give you Orange Book Value benchmark pricing that this vehicle’s worth is between Rs 4.3 lakh to Rs 4.7 lakh.

If you don't use that price, then we will give you a further recommendation. For example, “Dear Rashi, 73 percent people have sold a similar vehicle at a price below your pricing. Would you consider changing it?” If you don’t change, then we will give you another data, like an average price or median price at which similar vehicles were sold during the week or during the last 90 days. We have also started giving a number for chances.

If you sell your car for Rs 4.7 lakh, we will say the chances of selling it are 12 percent and the time to sell is 43 days. And if you reduce the price to Rs 4.5 lakh, then we will tell you that the chances are 28 percent and selling time could be up to 30 days.

YS: In terms of unit economics, how has it changed over the years, and how has it evolved now?

SA: In the first year, we made close to 1.5 percent as our income on one successful transaction. We incurred almost 12 percent in marketing and 4 percent in indirect expenses like my salary, office expense, legal, travel, etc. That was our economics four years ago.

In the second year, our economics became 1.75 percent on a transaction, marketing cost went down to 6 percent and all other expenses down to 2 percent. Today, we make roughly 2.4 percent, spend 2.9 percent on marketing, 1.5 percent on all other negative expenses.

YS: How has the business model evolved over the years?

SA: In the past, we only made money by selling vehicle sold by an auto dealer. But today, there are three business models - classifieds, discovery platform, and transaction-based platform.

In the marketplace, we have four models - B2C, C2C, C2B and B2B. About 88 percent of business comes from B2C, and 10 percent from C2B and C2B, and the rest two percent comes from B2B.

Earlier, we used to make only 2 to 3.5 percent money from the successful sale of the vehicle, which is 15 percent on all the services. Then, we also have a monthly subscription service, pro-seller subscription, under which we charge a monthly subscription and provide them with a SaaS-like service and a few premium features.

We also monetise OBV, as we sell that as a package. Our fintech service Droom Credit too has three business models - we sell leads to the lenders in the range of Rs 50 to Rs 250; since lenders user our credit technologies, we charge 1 to 1.5 percent of the loan value and roughly Rs 3,000 as a processing fee, and third is we have started deploying some of our own capital, and that’s the most profitable business.

Earlier, we had only one revenue source, and now we have six revenue sources and still 80 to 85 percent of the total revenue comes from the sale of two-wheelers and cars. About 15-18 percent is coming from other categories, which is growing five-six times faster than the 85 percent.

YS: So why listing on NASDAQ, and not BSE or NSE?

SA: So the idea behind listing on Nasdaq is that a technology business needs comparables. For instance, if you are buying a house, you will like to know how much someone else has paid for a similar property. Hence, benchmarking and the comparison is very important in any transaction. In BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange), we will have no or very less comparison. But in Nasdaq, we have Rediff, Sify, and MakeMyTrip among others.

Also, our comparables are not in India, but in China. We want to be on Nasdaq so that we can have the right comparables. And this was a long-term plan. Therefore we incorporated in Singapore from the beginning because if you are incorporated in India, you must list at least one stock exchange in India before listing it anywhere outside.

Droom, the online auto marketplace for buying and selling new and used automobiles aims to add seven more countries in 2019 in South East Asia. Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder and CEO droom.in told Zee Business Online that the company is currently the third largest e-commerce marketplace in India in terms of GMV and the coming year is very important for it.

"We, are expecting to add 7 more countries in 2019 in SE Asia. Our hyper growth continues and justifies our success story. We are the third largest e-commerce marketplace in India in terms of GMV. Finally, our FinTech product Droom Credit is off to a great start toward to second half of 2018 and can be a wildcard for the upside in Droom story in 2019," he said.

Aggarwal added that 2019 is extremely important for droom as it is not only looking at becoming a profitable venture but also to scale the business across various geographies, categories and products to the levels never seen before in India in automobile vertical.

The company foresees a promising future and has well-planned everything in advance. The growth in the next 12 months will be driven by a good 2018 where Droom with over 65% market share of the automobile transactions online has ascended its business to almost $1bn annual run rate of gross merchandise volume, 2.75 Lakh auto dealers, 800+ cities, and close to 40mil monthly traffic.

They have managed to achieve a Y-o-Y growth of 220% and enjoy over 75%+ market share in the online automobile transactions market. "We also raised two rounds of funding and total raised touched $125mil. The success also helped us expand internationally, with Droom launching operations in Malaysia and Singapore," Aggarwal added.

The company expanded explored multiple ventures such as new vehicle deal on Droom platform, QuickSell, auction platform for procurement by auto dealers, expansion in two South East Asian countries, the launch of Droom enterprise including serving large owners and operators and other enterprise verticals.

It has also deepened presence in 2nd and 3rd tier cities and launched 12 new categories including electrical, commercial, and insurance. The platform offers a wide range of categories from bicycle to plane and all automobile services such as warranty, RSA, insurance and auto loan.

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हार्डी सांधू अपने परफार्मेंस में इतना बेहतर रहते है कि वो पल भर में लोगों को अपना दिवाना बना लेते हैं।

रूम ने चार प्रमुख श्रेणियों- जूरी च्वॉइस, बायर्स च्वॉइस, डीलर्स च्वॉइस और बेस्ट ऑफ ड्रूम के अलावा दस उप-श्रेणियों में भी पुरस्कार दिये गये। ड्रूम के संस्थापक और सीईओ संदीप अग्रवाल ने कहा कि भारत दुनिया का तीसरा सबसे बड़ा ऑटोमोबाइल बाजार है। 2013 से पुराने वाहनों की बिक्री की संख्या, भारत में नए वाहनों की बिक्री की तुलना में अधिक है। हालांकि, अधिकांश इकोसिस्टम अभी भी नए वाहनों के साथ जुड़ा हुआ है।

Droom has sold two-wheelers including scooters ranging between INR 50-60k and motorbikes with an Average Selling Price (ASP) of approximately INR 60k. Playing a crucial role in this promising market, Droom has generated a Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) of approximately INR 32 crores, contributing to around 7.4% of the overall GMV.

Brands like Hero, Honda and Yamaha enjoyed domination in the market share of motorcycles and bikes, comprising around 95%. Honda, on the other hand, sold the most number of scooters, comprising 85% of share in the sales. The top selling models among motorcycles and bikes were Splendor Plus, Passion Pro i3s, CB Shine and FZS fi whereas Activa 5G emerged as the best-selling model among scooters.

One of the major reasons behind this surge in sale was the fact that Droom came up with a bounty of attractive offers amidst a market of car dealers struggling with high interest rates, high base effect, surged prices and muted consumer sentiments. Droom offered a discount of INR 25, 000 along with an interest rate as low as 8.99% on financing options. Additionally, Droom offered free one-year roadside assistance and a buyer security of up to INR 50 lakh on all pre-owned vehicles that were to be sold through the platform with a validity period of 6 months. Such festive offers led to an immense retention with a majority of demand for new vehicles in the two-wheeler category, deeming for around 96% of the orders in this segment.

Acknowledging the robust success, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Droom remarked, “India is world’s largest two-wheeler market. In less than one year we have created the largest assortment of two wheelers online in India combined with auto loan, Insurance, RTO, and Assistance from auto experts. We think that Droom can be among the largest two-wheeler seller globally independent of channel in next three years.”

While cities like Delhi, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad were among the top 5 cities where these two-wheelers were sold, one of the most surprising factors was the emergence of smaller cities like Ludhiana, Vadodara, Surat, Alwar and Bilaspur among the top 10 cities showing orders in October.

During this festive month, brands like Hero, Honda and Yamaha enjoyed domination in the market share of motorcycles and bikes, comprising around 95 per cent while Honda sold the most number of scooters, comprising 85 per cent of share in the sales, Droom said in a release.

Acknowledging the success, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Droom remarked, “India is world’s largest two-wheeler market. In less than one year we have created the largest assortment of two wheelers online in India combined with auto loan, Insurance, RTO, and Assistance from auto experts. We think that Droom can be among the largest two-wheeler seller globally independent of channel in next three years.”

Sale of two-wheelers was a significant contributor to the revenue generated by Droom, accounting for around 45 per cent of the same in the previous month.

The company has also said that hosting attractive offers amidst a market of car dealers struggling with high interest rates, high base effect, surged prices and muted consumer sentiments helped in surging the sale during the festive season.

Delhi, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad were among the top five cities where major volumes two-wheelers were sold, Droom said.

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Despite having a unique business model, many businesses fail due to the absence of a long-term strategy. Answering the “what” and defining the “how” of their business can help entrepreneurs in implementing a robust growth blueprint. Not only does this provide a coherent future vision for your start-up, but also allows you to plan ahead for contingencies and stay on top of any unforeseen changes in market dynamics. You are additionally able to map your current performance against predefined business goals, as well as to identify which business goals are no longer feasible. Such an approach allows your start-up to be flexible and agile while providing major growth markers as guiding milestones for your operations.

It is necessary to begin your entrepreneurial journey with a well-defined goal or a purpose and to not let the enthusiasm blind you. Having a clear vision not only keeps one motivated but also aides in working towards that direction. You need to know what exact problem or need-gap your business will address and make a thorough plan and devise strategies accordingly. A clear vision with the right planning lays a strong foundation for any entrepreneurial venture.

Despite having a unique business model, many businesses fail due to the absence of a long-term strategy. Answering the “what” and defining the “how” of their business can help entrepreneurs in implementing a robust growth blueprint. Not only does this provide a coherent future vision for your start-up, but also allows you to plan ahead for contingencies and stay on top of any unforeseen changes in market dynamics. You are additionally able to map your current performance against predefined business goals, as well as to identify which business goals are no longer feasible. Such an approach allows your start-up to be flexible and agile while providing major growth markers as guiding milestones for your operations.

Online automobile marketplace Droom Thursday said it has raised USD 30 million (over Rs 200 crore) led by the family office of Japan-based investor, Joe Hirao. The company, which has raised USD 125 million in funding till date, is also lining up an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) repurchase programme, entailing a spend of about Rs 50 crore.

"We have been on a fantastic growth trajectory, which is reflected in the confidence of our investors. We have an annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) run rate of USD 750 million and are doing USD 20 million annual revenue run rate," Droom founder and CEO Sandeep Aggarwal told .

He added that the company has managed to keep its expenses under control and expects to hit profitability in the second half of 2019.

The company aims to double the GMV to USD 1.4 billion by end of 2018 and to USD 3.5 billion by 2019. The company plans to go for an IPO by 2020.

"Our employees have played a key role in this journey. The ESOP buyback will see us buying back shares from over 60 employees, and these people have been with the us for over three years or more," he said.

Aggarwal added that the repurchase initiative will entail an expense of about Rs 50 crore and will be completed by Diwali.

Talking about the fresh funding, he said the proceeds will be used to strengthen the platform and offerings like inspection and credit services.

"We aim to simultaneously strengthen and diversify our services such as inspection, Droom Credit, C2C and C2B marketplace formats, enable a smooth online transaction and provide more competitive terms and interest rates to customers through Droom Credit," he said.

Aggarwal added that the company is also looking to invest in advanced, emerging technologies such as IoT for its ECO segment and Blockchain for its credit facilitation services.

He, however, declined to comment on the valuation of the company.

In May, Droom had raised USD 30 million in series D, led by Toyota Tsusho Corporation (a Toyota Group firm), and Japan-based Digital Garage.

Founded in April 2014 in Silicon Valley, Droom is an online marketplace to buy and sell new and used automobiles and related services.

Aggarwal said the company also expects to start its international operations by the end of the year.

"We are ready to launch in Thailand and Malaysia and we should be in these two countries by end of 2018. Different countries have different regulations and we will ensure that we comply with the local rules," he explained.

Droom has previously stated that it is investing USD 8-10 million towards international expansion and that the India business would continue to account for over 90 per cent of the company's revenues for the next two years.

The company also aims to expand its operations in 100 more Indian cities.

Droom is a Singapore Holding Company with subsidiaries in India and the US. Its other investors include Lightbox, Beenext, Beenos and Integrated Assets Management.

The Series E round of funding was led by the family office of Joe Hirao, founder of ZigExN, the Tokyo-headquartered company that owns and operates a number of content-focused websites, ranging from jobs information and search and real estate, to the used car listings segment.

Additionally, a second new investor has also entered the company’s cap table. While the name was not disclosed, it is believed to be the family office of the founder of one of Japan’s largest auto dealership chain

The company, according to Sandeep Aggarwal, chief executive of Droom, will use the proceeds to further ramp up Droom Credit, its fin-tech product launched last year, and which provides auto financing to, both, dealers and buyers in the used car and bike segment.

“The latest round of fund will help us in our expansion goals and, accomplishment of our growth objectives and scaling up our technology to build efficiency. A substantial portion will also go towards building up Eco, the company’s automobile inspection services,” Aggarwal told ET.

According to the CEO, Eco, which was a marketplace model, connecting customers with mechanics, will also now have mechanics, who are on the Droom payroll, providing doorstep services.

Droom’s existing investors, which includes, Toyota Tsusho Corp, a unit of Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s largest auto maker, Digital Garage and venture capital firms, Lightbox, Beenos and Beenext, among others, have not participated in the latest round of equity financing.

It is, however, yet unclear if there has been any secondary transactions, along with the infusion of primary capital. Including this latest fund infusion, Droom has now raised $125 million in funding, since inception. It also values the four-year-old startup at about $750 million, post money.

The company is also undertaking a buyback of shares from employees. Aggarwal told ET that the Droom Board had approved a buyback up to Rs 50 crore, with the shares being acquired by the company at its last round’s valuation, which is estimated to be about $550 million.

“There are about 63 employees, who have spent over three years with the company, and hold stock options. We have decided to give them liquidity,” Aggarwal said.

The development comes about four months after Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s largest auto maker, made its debut investment in India, after leading a $30 million equity financing round in the automobile marketplace and auto services startup, and which was co-led by the latter’s existing backer, Digital Garage, in May.

The company, which is expected to enter the Malaysian and Thai markets by the end of the calendar year, reported revenue of $11 million in financial year 2017-18, up from $3.8 million in the previous fiscal.

Online automobile marketplace Droom has raised $30 million in a Series E round led by the family office of Japanese investor Joe Hirao.

Another Japan-based family office also participated in the round. Droom declined to name the investor.

Hirao, founder of ZIGExN, has backed several real estate and automobile ventures.

According to Sandeep Agarwal, co-founder and chief executive officer of Droom, Hirao is in talks with 20 Indian ventures and may invest in some of them.

In May, Droom had raised $30 million from Toyota Tsusho Corp., a unit of Japan’s automobile major Toyota Group, and Digital Garage. Founded in 2014, Gurugram-based Droom has so far raised $125 million. It plans to go public by 2020.

It plans to utilize the money to boost its credit services, besides its inspection and certification services.

It is also looking to invest aggressively in developing its machine learning and artificial-intelligence capabilities.

“The current Series E funding gives an immense fillip to us as we aim to simultaneously strengthen and diversify our services such as inspection, C2C and C2B marketplace formats, enable smooth online transaction and provide more competitive terms and interest rates to customers through Droom credit,” said Agarwal.

The start-up is targeting loan disbursements worth ₹150 crore in FY19 through its credit offering.

Droom’s platform serves as an online marketplace to buy and sell cars and two-wheelers. It also offers services such as fair value calculator, roadside assistance and auto loans.

The company is backed by Ellison Investments, an Asia-based investment manager; Hong Kong-based Integrated Asset Management Asia Ltd and several independent investors from China and Hong Kong.

It also counts Lightbox, Beenext, Beenos and Digital Garage as existing investors.

Droom said that it will liquidate employees stock options (ESOPS) worth ₹50 crore before Diwali this year.

“We will be allowing employees who have stayed for more than three years to liquidate their ESOPs. We thought it would be a good way to reward our people,” said Sandeep Agarwal.

Droom has also been eyeing international markets for long and will be operational in Thailand and Malaysia by the end of this year.

The company has allocated $8 million for expanding its footprint in overseas markets.

In India, Droom has forged a partnership with Swiggy to supply two-wheelers to its delivery fleet. Droom also has tie-ups with Ubermoto and over 20 other manufacturers, including Triumph and Hero Cycles.

According to Agarwal, the domestic online automobile transaction market is about $1 billion and is expected to grow to $20 billion in the next two years.

Droom, which competes with the likes of Cars24 and Carwale, claims to have a 75% share in the online automobile transaction market.

Droom was launched in 2014 by Sandeep Aggarwal, a co-founder of e-commerce firm ShopClues. The firm is registered in Singapore as Droom Pte. Ltd.

“Droom has done a fabulous job in creating India’s largest and 21st century online automobile transactional platform by leading the journey of reinventing pre-owned automobile transactions. The way they have created robust technology-based ecosystem services tools to address the fragmented and unorganized used automobile market, loan and insurance, and multiple marketplace formats such as B2B, C2C, C2B and C2C is very innovative and we are very happy to be a part of this great journey,” said Hirao.

The company, which has raised $125 million in funding till date, is also lining up an ESOP repurchase programme, entailing a spend of about Rs 500 million.

"We have been on a fantastic growth trajectory, which is reflected in the confidence of our investors. We have an annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) run rate of $750 million and are doing $20 million annual revenue run rate," Droom founder and CEO Sandeep Aggarwal told PTI.

He added that the company has managed to keep its expenses under control and expects to hit profitability in the second half of 2019.

The company aims to double the GMV to $1.4 billion by end of 2018 and to $3.5 billion by 2019. The company plans to go for an IPO by 2020.

"Our employees have played a key role in this journey. The ESOP buyback will see us buying back shares from over 60 employees, and these people have been with us for over three years or more," he said.

Aggarwal added that the repurchase initiative will entail an expense of about Rs 500 million and will be completed by Diwali.

Talking about the fresh funding, he said the proceeds will be used to strengthen the platform and offerings like inspection and credit services.

"We aim to simultaneously strengthen and diversify our services such as inspection, Droom Credit, C2C and C2B marketplace formats, enable a smooth online transaction and provide more competitive terms and interest rates to customers through Droom Credit," he said.

Aggarwal added that the company is also looking to invest in advanced, emerging technologies such as IoT for its ECO segment and Blockchain for its credit facilitation services.

He, however, declined to comment on the valuation of the company.

In May, Droom had raised $30 million in series D, led by Toyota Tsusho Corporation (a Toyota Group firm), and Japan-based Digital Garage.

Founded in April 2014 in Silicon Valley, Droom is an online marketplace to buy and sell new and used automobiles and related services.

Aggarwal said the company also expects to start its international operations by the end of the year.

"We are ready to launch in Thailand and Malaysia and we should be in these two countries by end of 2018. Different countries have different regulations and we will ensure that we comply with the local rules," he explained.

Droom has previously stated that it is investing $8-10 million towards international expansion and that the India business would continue to account for over 90 per cent of the company's revenues for the next two years.

The company also aims to expand its operations in 100 more Indian cities.

Droom is a Singapore Holding Company with subsidiaries in India and the US. Its other investors include Lightbox, Beenext, Beenos and Integrated Assets Management.

Online automobile marketplace Droom Thursday said it has raised USD 30 million (over Rs 200 crore) led by the family office of Japan-based investor, Joe Hirao.

The company, which has raised USD 125 million in funding till date, is also lining up an ESOP repurchase programme, entailing a spend of about Rs 50 crore.

“We have been on a fantastic growth trajectory, which is reflected in the confidence of our investors. We have an annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) run rate of USD 750 million and are doing USD 20 million annual revenue run rate,” Droom founder and CEO Sandeep Aggarwal told PTI.

He added that the company has managed to keep its expenses under control and expects to hit profitability in the second half of 2019.

The company aims to double the GMV to USD 1.4 billion by end of 2018 and to USD 3.5 billion by 2019. The company plans to go for an IPO by 2020.

“Our employees have played a key role in this journey. The ESOP buyback will see us buying back shares from over 60 employees, and these people have been with the us for over three years or more,” he said.

Aggarwal added that the repurchase initiative will entail an expense of about Rs 50 crore and will be completed by Diwali.

Talking about the fresh funding, he said the proceeds will be used to strengthen the platform and offerings like inspection and credit services.

“We aim to simultaneously strengthen and diversify our services such as inspection, Droom Credit, C2C and C2B marketplace formats, enable a smooth online transaction and provide more competitive terms and interest rates to customers through Droom Credit,” he said.

Aggarwal added that the company is also looking to invest in advanced, emerging technologies such as IoT for its ECO segment and Blockchain for its credit facilitation services.

He, however, declined to comment on the valuation of the company.

In May, Droom had raised USD 30 million in series D, led by Toyota Tsusho Corporation (a Toyota Group firm), and Japan-based Digital Garage.

Founded in April 2014 in Silicon Valley, Droom is an online marketplace to buy and sell new and used automobiles and related services.

Aggarwal said the company also expects to start its international operations by the end of the year.

“We are ready to launch in Thailand and Malaysia and we should be in these two countries by end of 2018. Different countries have different regulations and we will ensure that we comply with the local rules,” he explained.

Droom has previously stated that it is investing USD 8-10 million towards international expansion and that the India business would continue to account for over 90 per cent of the company’s revenues for the next two years.

The company also aims to expand its operations in 100 more Indian cities.

Droom is a Singapore Holding Company with subsidiaries in India and the US. Its other investors include Lightbox, Beenext, Beenos and Integrated Assets Management.