In order to become successful in the current market dynamics, one has to be aware of all the market trends. This is where Jigar had an edge over his peers as he was always in accord with technology and its future implications. Right from the days of schooling, he had vigor of social entrepreneurship. He also took upon several causes and volunteered for several non-profit organizations.
After completing his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical engineering, he jumped on the startup bandwagon, taking cognizance of the booming ecommerce industry. His latest venture Bookmarked.in is an internet marketplace based in Mumbai that provides all kind of books at bargain prices. Bookmarked current target market consists of over 5.5 lacs college students from Mumbai University who individually spend 3K to 5K annually on Textbooks.
Please provide a brief overview of your product/ service.
Bookmarked Ventures is a privately started online retail venture. We, at Bookmarked, cater to the educational needs of Mumbai University students by providing course textbooks and other helpful materials at a discounted rate. Apart from that, we also provide books for GRE, GMAT, TOEFL and novels etc. To know more about the birth of this venture, visit us at www.bookmarked.co.in Bookmarked is a first of its kind online book store that sells TechMax and Technical publications with the provision of Returning all course books after a year at 60% Cashback!
What inspired you to build the above product/ service?
Indian E-commerce industry after existing for a decade is changing fast. It is expected to grow by 47 percent, to more than Rs. 470 Billion this year, according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India, and reach Rs. 12 Lakh crore by 2020. This has always encouraged and motivated us to focus on the ecommerce industry. We all see tremendous potential in the ecommerce industry for decades to come.
What is your life mantra?
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” –Steve Jobs
What was the most challenging part of your journey till now?
We have faced many challenges like Logistics, Delivery, Operations and linking the suppliers. We have worked hard to tie up with the distributors around Mumbai.
Currently we are looking to partner with more distributors and getting connected with more Authors which requires a lot of follow up and time consuming. We have also faced internal problems in back end operations, handling of the data and packaging and delivering of books. But, all that is part and parcel of a start-up, so we all motivate each other and work towards a common goal. Also, tackling these challenges becomes easier as a team. Apart from this, working with the start-up along with our studies also becomes a challenge. Managing our start-up at college needs a perfect balance. Studies and college coursework are equally important for us as our start-up.
How did you overcome those challenges?
We four sit after college hours and work on our start-up, and during weekends we spend entire day brainstorming and making schedules for the coming week. This helps us to work in an organized manner, keeping our college studies and coursework in mind. We all believe to work in a team and motivate each other to work towards a common goal, this ensures that there is always a positive energy among us, hence tackling with challenges becomes easier as a team.
According to you, what are the three qualities an individual must have to achieve success?
Being Passionate: You need to have an intense desire or enthusiasm for something. “You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you’re not passionate enough from the start, you’ll never stick it out.”—Steve Jobs
Be a Life-long Learner: One must be open to learn and acquire knowledge or skills through experience and study. Having the motivation and the ability to learn and grow throughout your life is an essential quality in today’s fast-changing world. Be a leader: If you have leadership qualities, you can function as a leader whenever a situation requires that you take the lead, set the team’s direction, or make decisions.
Which online tools/ services/ apps do you use the most and would like to recommend as well?
Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Google Business tools Google Analytic and various other tools which helps us in scheduling, tracking and reviewing our daily work.
Share any one habit which you wish to change in yourself.
None. I believe I have done the right thing at the right time and I live with no regrets.
Answer in less than 50 words
One tip to success:
Do it now. Sometimes later becomes never.
One mistake you believe every individual must avoid:
Talk to many people but follow your instinct / guts and learn to believe in them.
One most important lesson that you have learnt till now:
Try not to think too much about the competition. We live in a hyper-competitive world. Don’t let that overwhelm you. Celebrate other people’s successes and don’t be too hard on yourself if you didn’t make it the first time. There will always be more opportunities for you to shine if you believe there are.
What are your plans for next 3 years?
We plan to reach out to every engineering college and to be a one stop solution to the needs of engineering students from Mumbai University. We plan to optimize our operations and meet the target of 1 day delivery. We try to keep learning and innovating along our way to connect with the students in better ways. Also, we believe in being “Indian at heart, global at mindset”. We try to get connected with experienced entrepreneurs across the globe and get recognized globally.
If you get a chance to start your career again what would you do differently this time?
There are always things that you “should have done instead” – that’s just the way life is. I would reiterate the importance of confidence in my business because it actually pertains and affects other domains – like pricing, being proactive, community building, strategies etc. Being confident will take you a long way, and if for some reason you’re around a lot of people who just seem to drain your confidence, don’t hang around them anymore – or find more ways to connect with people who will lift you up instead.
What are your top three getaway destinations?
If I need to unwind after a hectic day or motivate myself, I take a walk on any of the calm beaches. I also like visiting less explored places, connect with local people, understand their culture, food, trade, history and living. Their stories fill me with energy!
Share a quote that inspires you the most.
“Indian at Heart, Global at Mindset.”
