Blueprint To Profitable Scaling In Digital Era

In the changing landscape of Indian startups, the focal point is shifting towards sustainable growth and profitability. Young businesses are redefining success by prioritising financial health over mere expansion, reflecting a maturing ecosystem. 

This shift aims to ensure long-term viability. As startups navigate this paradigm, the focus on achieving profitability becomes a pivotal milestone, marking a pragmatic evolution in India's entrepreneurial journey.

While speaking at the BW Businessworld D2C Fest, Piyush Gupta, CEO of Vasmos, highlighted the significant impact of Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) models on reducing costs, "Gaining profit and cost-saving are our primary focus. In the context of D2C, the advantage lies in a substantial reduction in supply chain costs. Customers can now buy directly from manufacturers, resulting in cost efficiency," he added.

Gupta also addressed the challenge of high product returns and said, "The objective is to provide a similar online experience to our customers at a low cost. Lack of personal connection with consumers often leads to low return ratios."

Online experience to the customers should feel like a physical store, it will reduce the lack of personal connection  with them. Lack of communication between the business and customers leads to customers returning the products.

Utsav shared insights on frugality and business scalability, "Frugality is a mindset; businesses need to prioritise what is meant to scale up. Understanding what customers really want is crucial, and businesses should decide what to handle in-house and what to outsource."

He also emphasised that businesses should be careful with their spending and focus on what will help them grow. Knowing what customers want is essential and businesses should decide what tasks to do themselves and what to outsource.

"Outsourcing is great for early-stage margins and customer support is crucial. Simplify problem statements for customers and maintain a brand promise of safety and effectiveness while keeping costs in check”, statedTushar Khurana, Co-founder, Perfora.

Malvika Jain, Founder and CEO of Sereko, said, "Consumer understanding is a priority, and maintaining good relations with logistics and shipping partners is crucial. As the company grows, costs for shipping and packaging decrease," she also stressed that understanding customers is vital and good relationships with shipping partners are essential.

Apoorv warned against underestimating customer demand, "Companies should beware of underestimating customer demand, predicting market demand is crucial. Good relationships with vendors support businesses, especially for early-stage startups."

The industry leaders stressed the importance of understanding customer needs, optimising costs and maintaining strong relationships to achieve profitable scaling in the dynamic digital landscape.