Prannoy RayFounder and Director of Live Biking Pvt Ltd. Published On: Wednesday, October 14, 2015 Views 2299

"Do what you really like to do. Start new, take risks and venture into unknown. If it doesn't work right, we could always go back to what we were doing earlier."

The lifelong dream for any person is to excel in a particular area of their interest. Often, people tend to take odd jobs just to embark on a career. However, Prannoy had set his goals at a very early day and his passion for riding motorcycle added advantage to it. Prannoy is one of those young entrepreneurs who have been active from the very young age taking part in several extracurricular activities.

After completing his B. Tech from NIT, Rourkela, he took it upon himself to do something where his heart lies. This is where the idea about starting an on-demand motorbike repair and service aggregator came to his mind. Within a short span of few months, he has been able to achieve huge success in his endeavor with several garages signing up to his platform.

Please provide a brief overview of your product/ service.

The beta version of our first product is released to the market in September 2015. Livebiking is an online portal which entertains on-demand motorbike servicing, repairing and emergency break-down assistance. We are currently operating in Bengaluru and are a strong network of 90+ verified and registered service centers.

We are also launching an e-commerce portal for motorbike accessories, riding gears, travel & tour ad-on for motorbikes, in the next 3 months. We would expand our business circle to motorbike rentals, provide an online platform for Buy & Sell of motorbikes and a lot more. Our AIM: To be the Pit Stop for all Motorbikes.

What inspired you to build the above product/ service?

We are not just entrepreneurs, but passionate Riders at heart. We Love to RIDE and explore places, click photographs, taste different cuisines, experience the beauty of different cultures and do crazy stuffs. A fancy job with huge pay-cheque is lucrative, but we couldn’t afford to spend our time in our passion. So we decided to turn our passion to business. We know exactly where riders, students or working class motorbike owners face problem.

We wanted to build a one stop solution for every motorbike needs. And so we built Livebiking.

What is your life mantra?

Do what you really like to do. Start new, take risks and venture into unknown. If it doesn’t work right, we could always go back to what we were doing earlier.

What was the most challenging part of your journey till now?

I think, for any start-up the most challenging part of the journey might be the stage, where one has to quit his/her job and convince family members to support in the quest. No doubt, our society has been evolving a lot these days, but parents will be parents. They will always want their children to get settled in life ASAP. Why risk it, when you can enjoy a cool 9 to 5 job and get paid.

For me and my team, that was the difficult part, but we eventually managed to convince our parents and go ahead with our plans. The next difficult stage is the early marketing and operations stage.

How did you overcome those challenges?

The early stage marketing is not only difficult but also crucial for a start-up. We had absolutely no idea on how to carry it forward. Being from a engineering background, we didn’t have a clue on how to continue. We read articles, blogs, online courses and everything possible but it never showed up any effective result.

After a week of launching our product into the market, we came in touch with a alumni of our institute i.e. NIT Rourkela. He was not only friendly but very helpful as well. He introduced us to successful entrepreneurs of the start-up world, who are currently helping us with our marketing stuffs. He advises us on every step and guides us with the same.

Share some details about the investments that you have been able to fetch for the business till now.

It is only a couple of weeks, since we have launched the beta-version of our product into the market. We are currently focusing on building even a better product and gain customer traction. Only then, we would open up for investments from Angels or VCs. As of now, we are not prepared for the same and we not focusing into it.

How do you protect yourself from the problem of Brain Drain?

We are just only a team of 12. We work together as a team. I guess, this isn’t really a problem for us now, at this stage.

According to you, what are the three qualities an individual must have to achieve success?

For me,it is 1. Have patience 2. Work hard – It never goes unpaid 3. Believe in yourself and your idea.

Which online tools/ services/ apps do you use the most and would like to recommend as well?

I think, our technology developer would better answer this. At times, even he gets confused with the numerous tools and plugins available in the market. It totally depends on the requirement that decides.

Share any one habit which you think makes you more productive.

Making note of everyday work and the mapping the progress made.

Share any one habit which you wish to change in yourself.

I give in a lot of thought on every minute event/incidents occurring around. I think, that costs me a lot of time and energy.

Answer in less than 50 words

• One tip to success:

Work smart, build an effective & TRUSTWORTHY team.

• One mistake you believe every individual must avoid:

NEVER QUIT EARLY.

• One most important lesson that you have learnt till now:

Ideas are no more unique or exceptional in the current world. Implementation of idea and the speed is crucial.

What are your plans for next 3 years?

Expand to all Tier-1 and 2 cities in India & capture a large chunk of customer traction in our field. Since we are working on 5 different sectors, we hope to excel in each and every one. We aim to be a solution that every biker would first think of and associate with his motorbike.

If you get a chance to start your career again what would you do differently this time?

Utilize my spare time in learning things off the course. There is so much to learn.

What are your top three getaway destinations?

1. Puri-Konark Marine Drive

2. Goa

3. Hill Stations of Himachal

Share a quote that inspires you the most.

“YOLO – Live your life, the way you want to.”

Tags: Prannoy Ray Live Biking Interview