Founded in May 2014 by Arvind Khanna & Arunjit Sodhi, Gurgaon-based
One Touch Response (OTR) is Indian on-demand Safety Service. The service is accessible via the OTR mobile app (available on Android, iOS, and Windows) or on call. It offers a single point of contact for situations such as road rage, stalking, eve teasing, physical assault to name a few. It operates its services in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad.
Immediate on-call assistance is available within seconds of a user raising an alarm via the app. While the Incident Managers at the OTR Command & Control Centre are handholding the user during the crisis over the phone, OTR’s on ground Immediate Assistance Teams (IATs) are alerted to reach the subscriber within minutes. IAT’s then remain with the user till the emergency is resolved.
Depending on the nature of the emergency, OTR coordinates with external agencies such as the police, ambulance, medical services, fire, cab services, mechanics etc. on behalf of the subscriber.
The Immediate Assistance Team professionals have undergone in-depth personal verification and are trained in martial arts, self-defense techniques, basic first aid, fire safety, unarmed combat and evacuation techniques on global protocols by Indian and international experts.
Team BWDisrupt Interacts With Arvind Khanna, Founder, One Touch Response and Spoke To HimFeatures of OTR
OTR's Command and Control Center (C3) is the first point of contact for subscribers and forms the core of OTR's operating model. It provides tracking services, safety check in’s and immediate on call assistance to those in distress 24x7, 365 days a year. Our Incident Managers have proven expertise in crisis management, including safety and precautionary measures. They provide assurance to clients and in the times of trouble, assess the gravity of a crisis and guide subscribers to make rational decisions.
The second core Service offering is the on-ground Immediate Assistance Teams (IATs), which reach our subscribers within a few minutes of call. They are alerted automatically by the inbuilt technology system from their vantage points across NCR. Their deployment and patrolling is strategically done so that they are usually just a few minutes away from almost any location. The IATs are trained in self-defense, first aid and evacuation techniques. They can administer CPR, tieup a bleeding, restrain an aggressor and ensure the well-being of our subscribers. They can deal with a wide range of emergencies and in coordination with the Command & Control Centre – make sure that the nearest ambulance, hospital or police station are brought in for support.
The service offers a single point of contact for all situations such as personal safety (personal assault, road rage, safe call, managing physical threats etc), on road assistance services (accidents, mechanical break down, vehicle recovery, flat tyre change, etc), and medical emergencies (medicines at odd hour, first aid, trauma etc). It uses globally tested and proven technology, procedures and systems.
Features of OTR mobile appOTR provides three types of features in its mobile app:
• TrackME button: On-Demand Live Tracking & Monitoring of Personal Safety while travelling
• HelpME button: Provides On-Ground/Physical Response during an Unsafe Situation
• AssistME button: On-Call Assistance and Coordination with Emergency Service Providers
GenesisOne Touch Response was conceived by us in 2014, as we looked around and noticed the deteriorating security and safety environment for the common citizen in Delhi and neighboring regions.
Though the State Authorities are always there for serious emergencies, what happens to a person who has a car breakdown late at night on a lonely road? What happens to a person who is threatened in a minor road rage? Who do people call in case of a medical emergency at night? The family member, might be too far away, or may not be available to help, or trained to administer first aid.
There are a plethora of rescue resources – doctors, ambulances, police stations, and fire stations – but they are difficult to access, and as things are today a person needs to dial different numbers to access each of them.
One Touch Response is working to be the One Stop Response for any such distress situation.
We studied different response models being deployed to help citizens in distress in different parts of the world and what emerged is a hybrid model of best practices to deal with various types of crisis.
Differentiaon factorsOne Touch Response (OTR) is India’s 1st and only On-Demand Safety & Assistance Service. Most Safety app either tracks you or sends alerts to your friends and family, but OTR provides physical help within minutes. The Service is accessible via the OTR mobile app (available on iOS, Android and Windows) or on Call. OTR acts as one touch point for an individual’s Safety & Assistance needs. Therefore, parents can now stop worrying about their daughter’s safety, companies can stop worrying about the safety of employees working in late/odd hours, a family worrying can stop worrying about the safety of elderly parents.
We cannot expect a person in a distressed situation to remember different helpline numbers, explain their exact location, co-ordinate with them and then wait for them to come. Moreover, what is an emergency for me, might not be considered an emergency by the state agencies. Therefore, an On-Demand Safety and Assistance service provided by One Touch Response is the need for the hour.
Funding statusWe have been self-funded so far but are now working to raise external capital to fund our aggressive growth plans.
Monetization modelOur services are chargable and we offer very affordable subscription plans for our individual as well as corporate/institutional customers. We have met good success in providing employee & transport safety solutions to corporates, especially in sectors such as IT/ITES, BFSI, Retail, Pharma, Ecommerce and Automobile. We have also been working with the app-based transport aggregators with an integrated servcies model, providing on demand safety & assitance to their customers. Another important segment for us is Student Safety and we are offering our services to Colleges & Universities. We currently serve over 35000 subscribers directly in NCR and are growing very fast.
Challenges facedAn On-Demand Safety & Assistance service is a new concept for the Indian market, the biggest challenge is creating awareness for this latent demand in the market. The second challenge is finding good talent, as our industry is very new and there are not many professionals available with relevant experience or skill sets.
Traction detailsWe are currently serving 35,000 families and are looking at growing these numbers through strategic tie-ups. Our Corporate clients include HCL Technologies, Religare, Jindal Steel Limited etc. We have a strategic partnership with Apollo Tyres. We are currently providing our services in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad & Faridabad and are shortly introducing our services in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai.
Market size and opportunityThe personal safety and assistance industry is $5 billion market in India and is growing at 20% year on year. There is a huge potential for service providers like One Touch Response in the country. Apart from the increasing interest of the general public, corporates understand the need for offering such services to their employees as an employee welfare service, especially in sectors such as IT/ITES and Retail where night travel is a common concern in terms of personal safety. Additionally, the public transport sector with newer options coming on the roads every day, we see an immense potential in this segment. Student safety is another area of on-going concern with parents and educational institutions.
