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Business News/ Mint-lounge / Features/  Urban Ladder: Click and mortar
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Urban Ladder: Click and mortar

Furniture shopping made hassle-free, with door-to-door delivery across seven cities

Lounge Cool Ideas 2014 | Urban LadderPremium
Lounge Cool Ideas 2014 | Urban Ladder

Urban Ladder (www.UrbanLadder.com)

Past life

Founders Rajiv Srivatsa and Ashish Goel, both 36, were batchmates at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, from where they graduated in 2004. They were certain they wanted to launch a start-up together; the only uncertainty revolved around what and when. After their MBAs, they followed separate career paths: Srivatsa was first with Cognizant and then with Yahoo! in various roles, while Goel worked with McKinsey & Co. and then joined Amar Chitra Katha as the chief operating officer. Their last jobs brought them back to Bangalore around the same time. In September 2011, one was on the verge of leaving a job, the other just about to join a start-up, when they decided to seize the moment and launch their own baby.

Eureka moment

Ashish Goel (left) and Rajiv Srivatsa in Bangalore. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint
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Ashish Goel (left) and Rajiv Srivatsa in Bangalore. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint

But then they thought back to their tribulations several months earlier, when they had been trying to set up their first homes in Bangalore. “When we began fitting out our place, one of the first things we bought was a dining table from a reputed brand. It was a horrible experience. The wooden tabletop cracked—which can happen—but the customer experience was really bad. Finally, after three months of hell, I called a friend who worked in a senior position in that company and it was fixed in three days," says Goel.

Ashish Goel (left) and Rajiv Srivatsa in Bangalore.

“In the meantime, we were still searching for other furniture. Fine, we were slightly fussy customers, we wanted designs of our choice at prices that suited us, but we didn’t see anything we liked—so much so, I ended up importing a simple leather couch from the UK," he adds.

Srivatsa’s experience was similar; he ended up sourcing individual pieces of furniture from different places. The two friends discussed the massive opportunity that obviously existed in the area but, since their focus was on the digital space, they dismissed the idea as they were sure no one would buy furniture online.

“In end-2011, after discussing and researching various options, we came back to the furniture because nowhere else was the need as humongous," says Srivatsa. “And we said let’s give it a shot, because five-six years ago, people were not buying the things online that they were buying today, so furniture could go the same way," he adds.

Genesis

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“In the first days, we didn’t focus on growing the business; rather, we wanted the customers we already had to have a happy experience. We were highly influenced by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s book Delivering Happiness. From the person answering the customer’s phone call to the person delivering the goods, they all needed to reflect the values we have as a company. It called for a lot of training and handholding, but some of our choices in the early days set the tone for what we are today," he adds.

Over the years, they have raised $1 million (around 6 crore) from Kalaari Capital, in 2012; $5 million from SAIF Partners and Kalaari Capital, in 2013; and $21 million from Steadview Capital, SAIF Partners and Kalaari Capital, in 2014.

Reality check

It came within two weeks of the launch of Urban Ladder. “At that point, we were servicing all cities except Bangalore—where we had our own team—through third-party logistics support. A friend’s friend in Mumbai, who had seen a share on Facebook, ordered two or three Kaleido bedside tables and they apparently arrived broken. The courier wasn’t bothered, he just demanded that they sign the receipt. Obviously, the customer was super-unhappy," says Srivatsa.

“And that day itself, 24 August, we decided to stop all outstation deliveries," he adds. “Within a week, we had our own logistics teams in Mumbai and Delhi. And on 31 August, we put up a notice on the site saying we would not be accepting new orders from other cities. We lost 35% of our business because of this decision, but it was a reality check we needed. We’ve had many more such experiences going ahead, because we’ve taken risks and made experiments, but if it hasn’t worked to our levels of satisfaction, we roll it back."

Two years down the line, they now service seven cities.

Secret sauce

Alongside the top-notch end-to-end customer service, which has been their hallmark from Day 1, Srivatsa believes what sets them apart is their product line. “We take a lot of pains with everything we have on the site. Our range is small, but you could pick six out of the seven coffee tables we have on the site. We wouldn’t sell something we wouldn’t buy ourselves," adds Goel.

Plan B

“There should never be a Plan B," asserts Srivatsa. “We have plans for scale, for a brand, for fantastic customer service, but no Plan B!"

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Published: 06 Sep 2014, 12:40 AM IST
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