Entrepreneurs usually find it too arduous while dealing with the legal services in India. It’s quite painful for individuals to deal with CA/CS, says Himanshu Jain. To overcome this issue, he along with his brother Pulkit Jain came up with a solution named as
LegalRaasta which is an online CA/CS companion for entrepreneurs and SMEs. While working for top firms like McKinsey & Co, he experienced the pain which companies face in getting legal and government compliances. He made it possible for individuals to deal with company compliances easily and effortlessly.
In an interaction with BWDisrupt's Team, Himanshu Jain, Co-founder, LegalRaasta, shares journey of his venture.
When did the entrepreneurship bug bite you? I never gave a thought of getting into the startup world. I always wanted to work in a corporate sector where I could contribute for my company to hit more success. But before entering into corporate sector I had worked for my family business as well which was hectic and painful for me. I saw how my father and other people used to tackle the legal services. But that wasn’t enough to convince me to enter into Startup world. That’s why after completing my MBA from ISB, I joined McKinsey & Co. and the decision of joining this company totally changed my life. While dealing with the companies, I came to know about the kind of torture these companies face to avail legal services in India. And with both the incidences, I was much convinced that it’s the right time to put my first step in the world of a startup.
Was it easy for you to survive in this so-called Startup world? No, never! Initially, my parents were not convinced with the idea of giving up on my job like this. The job which was providing my family a better lifestyle. But I had a different thought through which I wanted to help entrepreneurs. After a long discussion with my brother Pulkit Jain, who is a CA by profession, we both came out with LegalRaasta. We both didn’t have any idea about running a startup so it was quite strenuous for both of us initially. We used to get entangled with little issues. But with time, we both survived this thing and started getting some business.
Why did you choose the name ‘LegalRaasta’? Why not anything else?I discussed this thing a lot of time with Pulkit. We both wanted to get this venture a name which will be related to the work which we are offering + it should provide some Desi touch to it. That’s why we both came up with “LegalRaasta -Simplifying Legal Journey”.
What are the unique features which are shared by only LegalRaasta?We know there are many other portals which provide legal services but every single company has some limitations. We do offer 50+ services to our clients including
company registration,
trademark registration,
ITR filing and
TDS filing, and that too on PAN India base. Because of this uniqueness, we have earned a strong client database. With the help of our DIY forms technology, we have helped more than 20k+ individuals and SMEs. The client just needs to fill up a simple form which will collect all his required information. Within few minutes you can easily connect with us with these DIY forms.
There are many other features as well which have added more value to this organisation:• Dedicated Team: We have a team of 45+ members whose perseverance has added a lot to this company. My team include members from tech, sales, marketing and operation who are well trained enough to carry out their work flawlessly.
• Office Culture: We have an open office culture which includes learning session on Saturdays and we do plan monthly parties to drive off our tension. Cross-team meeting, internal suggestion and 360-degree feedback are cherries on the cake which allows every team member to interact with each other.
Plus we have recently started selling our services through Whatsapp. It would help clients to connect with us easily and quickly. To avoid complications, we are trying to integrate this facility in our system.
Did LegalRaasta receive any funding?Yes, we raised funding in April month of this year from angel investors, Praveen Khandelwal and Yatin Kumar. This funding is used for:
• Expanding our team and operations.
• Improving technology Backend for LegalRaasta and other products.
• Improving the marketing presence in India.
Tell us about the Business Scenario?With better technology and operations, we want to make it big in the legal domain. We target 2-5% share of this 20,000 crore+ market over the next 3 years. Personally, I have seen a lot of business growth but we do not want to stick to some mentioned figures. We are trying hard to make this company as big as possible.
Anything new in your bucket?Yes, I do have. We have recently launched a new portal with the name of TaxRaahi. It is a portal which can help people to file their returns easily and smoothly. With more than 1 year in the legal domain, we were planning to expand our services, that’s why we came up with TaxRaahi.
Tell us something about your new product TaxRaahi?TaxRaahi is your online companion for
ITR filing and
TDS filing in India. With the help of our dedicated tech team, we came up with such a wonderful product in the market which would help people to file their returns and that too at free of cost. The interface has been highly simplified as compared to government portal. Within just 3 months of launch, 10k+ SMEs and individuals have used the TaxRaahi platform for ITR and TDS return. The company is offering free return filing for first 100000 customers.
Pulkit, the COO of the company told us that they are targeting about 5-10% share of the online return filing market in the next financial year. With no boundaries in mind, TaxRaahi has already expanded its office from Delhi to Mumbai and Bangalore and are still planning to expand more in other metro cities.
Any other plans for future? We are not done here. For future, we have other products in the pipeline. Our team is working on it which will help individuals and SMEs. We are not ready to announce the product right now but will be back soon to amaze people with its new features. Till then you need to wait and watch!
