Emerging launch pad of multiple startup brands

With a mission to create visibility for startups in India, an entrepreneur and seasoned angel investor launched This Or That (TOT), an e-commerce platform exclusively for startups, on July 10. This e-commerce venture is a one-of-its-kind platform dedicated to the true powerhouses of innovative ideas.

In an exclusive interview with Bizz Buzz, Rohit Mohan Pugalia, Founder of TOT, and Managing Director of Soch Group, said that his ambitious goal is to leverage his own entrepreneurial experience and nurture other startups by guiding them through their growth journey and creating a sustainable ecosystem for them to thrive

Our goal is to partner with 250 brands within the first year of incorporation and 1,000 brands in 5 years, thereby helping local businesses scale sustainably, and giving impetus to #VocalForLocal and #MakeInIndia

India is the third largest ecosystem for startups in the world. The country has witnessed the launch of over 55,000 startups and is showing immense potential for the expansion of the startup industry over the next 5 years

Let us know about your journey as an entrepreneur?

Armed with a strong finance background and an MBA, I began my career at a broker's exchange in Mumbai. In 2014, I joined CESC (Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation) as an Executive - Finance. Within few months, I resigned from that job and moved back to Mumbai with my wife, Purvi Pugalia, to follow my dream that is today called Soch Group.

In 2015, Purvi and I launched a healthy fresh food startup from our home kitchen to help curb mid-meal cravings. Since then we have relentlessly channelised our hard work and passion to launch several ventures across industries and Soch Group has evolved to become a conglomerate that enables startups to grow sustainably in today's competitive landscape. Last month, we have launched 'This Or That', an e-commerce platform that exclusively hosts startup brands.

As an angel investor, can you reveal how much you have invested so far and what are those startups?

I am also a seasoned angel investor, having invested in more than 15 businesses across multiple industries, including the likes of Moonshine Meadery, mCaffeine and Agro2o. Soch Group supports Indian startups entering the market with ease and assists them with their growth model. Today, it has several startup brands under its umbrella across various sectors.

This month, we have launched another food brand The Rooted Co, a wholesome pre-workout meal brand. Our aim is to champion entrepreneurial dreams by bridging the gap between ideas and execution for startups and helping them find their audience to grow. With a host of benefits to help the startups scale up efficiently, 'TOT' platform gives them the opportunity to get greater visibility in today's cluttered and competitive market.

What are the challenges faced by startups these days?

Reduced visibility: Startups face stiff competition from big brawny brands which not only enjoy greater awareness, but also have deep pockets. Thus, they are left fighting for visibility and awareness in an ever-growing, cluttered ecosystem.

A lean team and decrease in manpower : To build your brand, it is imperative to build a team that is strongly rooted in your values and brand ethos. Scaling the team before scaling the business – it may be a challenge, but it is integral to the growth. Whether it is adding suppliers, staff, investors, or distributors, finding the right team to work with is crucial.

Scalability: Moving from 'innovation' to 'scalability' is one of the toughest challenges. After identifying an issue faced by a majority of people in the country, the real task is to ensure that our offerings could easily be made available to a vast audience.

What made you create a new platform for other startups?

Today, India is the third largest ecosystem for startups in the world. The country has witnessed the launch of over 55,000 startups and is showing immense potential for the expansion of the startup industry over the next five years. In light of India's burgeoning startup industry, we have launched the shopping platform dedicated to startups – TOT.

Let's first understand the current e-commerce scenario in India - the space is highly cluttered; most shopping platforms are dominated by big brawny brands and startups are often lost in the fray. This prevalent market dynamic not only deprives startups of the visibility they deserve, but also deprives customers of the new and unique products startup brands offer.

To bridge this gap, we launched our platform in the country which only hosts startup brands. With our initiative, customers have access to India's freshest brands, with interesting, innovative, and unique offerings and at the same time they can help Indian startups and the Indian economy grow each time they shop from a small business/ startup on our platform.

What are the criteria for choosing a startup onboard? Do you have a specific team for this? What kind of care does the team take while selecting a brand?

We follow a meticulous selection process for partnering brands. The startup should have been incorporated within the last ten years and have a turnover of less than Rs100 crore per annum thereby matching the eligibility criteria defined by Startup India. Additionally, the company should have an offering that is unique, interesting or innovative.

Think spill-free shirts, vegan beauty products, conscious clothing, and cruelty-free footwear, all of this from promising Indian startup brands. This selection of handpicked Indian startup brands is managed by a five-member specialised team that has a cumulative experience of over 25 years managing categories such as food and beverage, fashion and lifestyle and retail.

TOT enables startups to focus on strengthening their offerings while the platform itself manages the end-to-end delivery execution, ensuring a stringent and standardised quality control check for every product. Before we list their products on our website, they deliver the inventory to our warehouse where we have a quality check and control process.

Unlike the drop-ship model where sellers directly send the product to the customer, we manage the stock of products, run quality control checks, manage the interface with customers and manage end-to-end logistics: this means we are involved in every step of the customer experience.

How can TOT provide a level playing field to its startup partners?

My mission is to aid young businesses and nurture startups in their growth journey. With TOT, my purpose is to build a sustainable ecosystem for startups in India, guiding them to efficiently scale their business and flourish in today's competitive yet promising landscape. The opportunities, benefits, and services provided to our startup partners are:

Visibility for startup brands: Only startup brands are allowed to sell their products, thereby creating a level playing field for them with prominent shelf space and immense growth opportunities. We are also the only platform in India to offer this. Brands will also get free visibility and space across numerous touch points on our website for the first quarter.

Strategic counsel: Being an entrepreneur and angel investor myself, I understand the fundamentals of sustainably scaling up a startup venture. I will thus provide strategic guidance to brands onboard, helping them across various functions from inventory management to marketing and advertising, as well investments and funding.

Investment and funding : Startup brands listed on TOT also get the opportunity to receive funding from Soch Group of up to Rs 1 crore and this would be sector agnostic.

Affordable advertising avenues: We are also working on building affordable advertising models to cater to the needs of the unique startup businesses onboard.

How many brands are there on your platform at present? What is the target ahead?

TOT hosts a curated list of India's freshest brands across multiple categories. We have currently partnered over 50 startup brands across fashion, beauty, food and beverages. Some promising brands that are already available on our platform include the likes of Naagin (hot sauce), Evocus, Prolixr, BrownSkin Beauty, Meraki, Myra Veda and Misfit Panda.

We will gradually expand our categories and host more brands across newer categories, including furnishing, home decor, sports and fitness. Our goal is to partner with 250 brands within the first year of incorporation and 1,000 brands in next five years, thereby helping local businesses scale sustainably, and giving impetus to #VocalForLocal and #MakeInIndia.

We also aim to launch worldwide shipping in the first year, giving Indian startup brands a platform to reach global audiences. We are working towards introducing more ways to support our partner brands. Our immediate focus is to launch affordable and specialised advertising avenues and additional peripheral services to cater to the needs of on-boarded brands.