Weddingz.in - An Online Marketplace for Wedding Services
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As Indians, a wedding is the most important event in the course of our lives. We plan for it from the day the child is born and go to extreme lengths to make it perfect. However, the unorganized wedding market makes it very difficult to plan and execute the perfect wedding. Weddingz.in aims to solve all wedding needs using technology and its team of experts. It is not just about discovering/finding the right vendors and their prices. It is also about being with the customer till the wedding happens.
The startups facilitate online booking and transactions on its platform as well.
SUJATA SANGWAN INTERACT WITH WEDDINGZ’S TEAM
How did the idea came to start Weddingz?
The Weddingz story starts with its founder Sandeep Lodha, who returned to India after spending several years in the US. While he remembered the pains of organizing his own wedding a few years earlier, he now found it extremely challenging to plan his brother’s wedding – It was a tedious process to put together a list of options and go to different corners of the city just to check availability and prices. Adding to the frustration was going through endless rounds of negotiations with every single vendor. This is where the idea of weddingz.in was born – to help others plan and execute their weddings in a hassle-free manner.
What are the special key features of the startup?
Weddingz.in is a platform where in consumers can do almost everything related to a wedding – discover & book venues and wedding services in a hassle free manner at the guaranteed best price.
How is Weddingz different from the existing ones?
The startup is an end-to-end solution where customers can choose the best vendors at the best prices. It do not just pass on the contact details of the vendors. “We truly believe that we should reduce the hassle in booking the vendor as well and hence, let customers book these vendors through online payment,” says Weddingz’s team.
Funding Status
The startup raised about $1.2 million from Ambit Wealth as seed funding which saw participation from noted persons like Rajan Anandan, Ritu Kumar, Zoya Akhtar, etc. The company is also raised pre-series A funding from Sixth Sense Ventures in February.
Monetization model and market size
Commenting on the monetization model, the team added, “We do not charge the customer for the service. We work as the sales and marketing partner for venues and vendors we have tied up with. They give us the best rates possible due to the volume of business that we give them.”
The Indian Wedding market is estimated to be a $40 billion dollar and growing at 25-30% Y-o-Y.
What are the challenges faced by startup while setting up the business?
While Weddingz is doing well right now, initially the going was tough. Says Sandeep, “Initially, we even went to local pundits and traditional marriage brokers to source leads. Today, we are servicing more than 3000 leads a month.
Traction details?
Weddingz serve on an average 3000 leads, book 200+ weddings, get 300000 visitors on its website every month. With its pan-India presence across 10 cities, it intend to get to a 10% market share, thus becoming a $4 billion company in 3 years.
What advice Weddingz want to give the new entrants in this space?
Wedding being an intimate event, it is important to actually understand about what the customer wants and care for the customer and his satisfaction more than anything else.
Share any interesting feedback from customers
Weddingz had a customer Namita from Dubai who called it in the last minute. The venue she had booked got cancelled and she approached us via online chat desperately looking for venues in Mumbai. When the startup helped her find the best venue, she said “Weddingz.in gave me very good service. I wanted to book the venue in three hours and Weddingz was super prompt and made it possible. I will give 5 star rating on every single parameter.”
“Such positive feedback for our efforts makes us realize that we are indeed adding value to the customer,” says team.
