91 streets is a mobile application which acts as your offline shopping partner. It was started in July this year by Dharmil Sheth. “The idea of 91streets was born while I was studying in Ghaziabad. I and a friend had to buy formal clothing for an event, but we had no idea where to go. I could identify a gap in the retail industry and how they communicate with their customers; something was definitely missing,” says the founder Dharmil. Dharmil worked with Make My Trip for a while before implementing the idea of 91 Streets. “Somehow the urge to make it happen was still inside me,” he says.
91streets is a shopping companion to help every user by saving their time and money when they plan to shop offline. Typical problems of shoppers solved by 91streets are: Where do I buy formal clothing from? Is there any discount for sportswear nearby? Where is XYZ store in Mumbai? How is the new collection in ABC store? Not just for shoppers, this app is solving the problems of the retail brads by answering questions like ‘What marketing medium will give cost effective returns in the form of footfall and sales? How do I keep track of my loyal customers?’ With a holistic approach towards users and the brands, 91 Streets is trying to revolutionise the communication medium used in the retail sector.
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Dharmil Sheth - Founder 91Streets[/caption]The android version launched in July this year has given us a positive response from the users and we are expanding to 10 cities (8 in October) with a number of partner brands. Rather than focussing on how to help the brands reach the consumers, we are focusing on how to help the consumers reach the brands. Their 5 member team is handling business development and technology form the Mumbai office. The company is bootstrapped but looking for funding for faster expansion and execution.
With the android beta version launched, the final version is coming soon along with the iOS app. Download the app here.
More innovative features are on the roadmap which will provide the next level of engagement experience on mobile in India. The plan to add features to understand user preferences and let them have selective information that they need, to help them shop better, faster and easier.
As a message for future entrepreneurs, Dharmil says, "The two things matter the most – the idea and the team. Make sure you the idea you have is justified in terms of customer usage. You should know why the customer would need such a product. And have a strong team because entrepreneurship has its ups and downs, you need a good team to go through it."
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