Buildzar.com - New Way To Build Home
Buildzar was founded with the idea of simplifying lives for customers while they build or renovate their dream homes and rapidly becoming the de-facto platform for all home building related products and services.
BWDISRUPT.COM TEAM MET WITH FOUNDERS OF BUILDZAR AND SPOKE TO THEM.
How did the entrepreneurial bug bite you?
Having manged various businesses in past, I thought it was time to start something of my own. I take it as a lateral shift that happened from making money to finding meaning.
What is your Product or Service / Offerings to Customer?
Buildzar.com is a consumer internet company for all home construction and home renovation needs.
Home building is a high-involvement affair for most. It is an individual’s longest and probably the highest value transaction. The consumer side of the industry is close to $130 billion; however, it is one of the most unorganized industries. The experience with the service provider – usually a small contractor or material dealer – in most cases is unpleasant with flawed designs, cost and time overruns, poor material quality, bad workmanship and unprofessional behavior by the service provider. With the motto of simplifying lives of consumers and addressing these pain-points, the idea of Buildzar was born.
We have two core consumer offerings –
- Material store, which is an e commerce marketplace for all building materials
- BuildMyHome, where we provide end-to-end turnkey construction solutions.
We work on a robust asset-light model, where our suppliers manage the logistics.
What were the challenges before you while setting up this startup?
Initially, when we started out, several basic questions like what is the market size, what are consumer’s pain points and who are our industry parallels needed answers. Also, the construction industry is a huge one and works on conventional norms. Introducing e-commerce to an industry, which has products with fluctuating prices was challenging. On the consumer side, the industry works on credit-based system, and customers are reluctant to pay taxes.
- We are trying to double our GSV this quarter, while doubling the margin at the same time. This is an uphill task.
- Black money (un-invoiced sales to avoid VAT) prevalent in the market is another challenge.
However, we have streamlined many things and are looking forward to make home building a very convenient and comfortable endeavor for our customers.
What are the challenges for startup companies setting up shop in India?
There are many challenges faced by every startup when they enter this league.
- Finding the right co-founders takes time. You need to find people who are ready to walk the talk for at least 5-7 years and with whom the skills required for business comes complimentary.
- Finding the right talent to build a great team comes at a price and is a huge challenge.
- Managing infrastructure cost. Just keep in mind that money is always limited and you have to value money and spend prudently.
How is your business model different from the existing ones?
Our primary advantage over competitors:
Our team, productized solutions, first-mover advantage, outstanding execution and strong cash flows will create tangible entry barriers for potential competitors.
(a) Our products- that simplify purchasing decisions and disseminate more information to the consumers. Beztimate– a one-click construction time and cost calculator, BuildBoard– that has buying guides and blogs. A few other products in the pipeline are Surveyor app – with refer & earn model and Order app – a reverse auction app for bulk purchasers.
(b) Our team- which is first of its kind for any pre-series A company with demonstrated experience in both the consumer internet and construction industry.
(c) Our approach- rather than relying on burn based acquisition and focusing on high valuations, we are focused towards building a business on solid fundamentals, clear sight of revenue, excellent LTV to CAC ratio, and solving real consumer problems.
Who are your clients? How do you look at expanding?
We are a B2C (consumer) focused company with three customer segments – individuals building a home on plot, small contractors and builders who build low rise houses, and individual’s (both condominium owners as well as plot owners) who wish to renovate an existing home.
Every startup has a different ethos for building a business. We are currently trying to scale, but with a revenue focus in mind. Building a business is all about execution. We will expand as soon as we reach operational break-even in Delhi NCR.
The best and worst memories while setting up …
Doing a startup is like a roller coaster ride with many ups-and-downs. To have a happy ride, one must go through a process of learning and un-learning many things.
There has been no bad memories. It has been a joyful ride since start. While doing a startup, you have to be mentally and physically prepared. In today’s scenario, everybody want to start their own business or join a new startup but no one wants to get their hands dirty. If young entrepreneurs want to have great dish, they must learn to bear the heat.
Your Marketing Plans so that world know you…
Successful startup marketing requires great product and great marketing strategy. For any business, content is the king. You have to reach the right kind of audience with right communication and rest all falls in place. Building an online business is all about generating maximum number of relevant and high quality leads with a great conversion rate. We leave no stone unturned in our marketing strategy. Starting from SMS campaigns to social media to digital & content marketing and PR, we are doing it all with our in-house team.
