A very good day to each one of you Rodins in the Hood
I pose this question/dilemma to all the newtrepreneurs and oletrepreneurs, alike.
About 12 months ago, I started the journey for Tatvam Tech Systems, with an aim to develop a Payment Platform and came up with ‘BillBharo’. BillBharo would deal with all payments that are recurring in nature and not be restricted with any specific vertical. So the aim was a platform that would have all the choices and would concentrate on all kinds of payments and not just utilities.
Today all the tieups with the Banks, Credit Card providers and RBI have all been completed. I, in the meantime, started on this amazing journey called ‘Business Development’. It mostly consisted of going upto the big boys and knocking on each ones door to let us in. 6 Months later, we were allowed in and we are in various stages of terms and commercials exercice, and subsequently the Final Go-Ahead. So while I have been able to get into the circle, BillBharo has still not been able to kickstart its journey.
Not to disheartened (and thats an understatement), we put our hand up and realised it was the not the best first path(in terms of Time Consuming Decision making, and even the Margins and Competition) to be going down. So we shifted tact and started targeting the Small-Medium Businesses. We devised competitive pricing points and mechanisms, and with a few more freebies thrown in. The response has been better, no doubt. The greatest advantage is being able to directly speak to the Decision Maker. However, its been slow going and again there was a sort of a wall which is being encountered. “We will not be the First Customer on BillBharo” syndrome. This is understandable and completely at that. Why should I Punt is something which would go on in a business’/service provider’ mind. We needed the FIRST to get on board and then could go back to these customers who fall in this category.
The dilemma being face is how to get ONE customer to try and test this with(a pilot). Once that is complete, we can then concentrate on bulking up our Customer List, and truly expanding our verticals.
Its been draining too. Even though there has been ample support from the family, the fact that there is Zero Cashflow, so far has been the draining bit, financially and emotionally.
I could not think of a better forum to turn to, to give me pointers as to how and what to do.
I can think of a few and pleae feel free to add to this list.
1. In terms of Customer Acquiring
a. Continue the Business Development/Customer Acquisition mode till the first one clicks
b. Look out for friends/network who could help in ‘piloting’ BillBharo
2. In terms of Cashflow Generation
a. Lookout for consulting opportunities to keep the register ringing
b. Look at another entrepreneurial opportunity to start generating cashflows
c. Go back to Workforce and work on this side-by-side till it picks up
All suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
Once again thank you very much for your time.
Regards,
Aditya Babbar
adityababbar@tatvamtech.com
Shar G
Can you sell this as a custom services setup? Basically, you setup everything for the client using their server/help them reach agreements with the banks etc, you train them on the setup/usage and then you’re out of it,and its a one-time deal, but they have the option to retain you as a consultant. Basically, the client deals directly with the banks, you simply act as a services consultant instead of being the “interface”/”middle person”. This could be an “option” in addition to your standard one.
Aditya Babbar
Yatin
Thank you for the inputs.
The customers/service providers, we are asking to pilot our service, are being offered a mix of a few things and that includes a lot of freebies to
– firstly “negate” the risk
– secondly to guard the downside for them as well as us
– the freebies are for a period of time as you suggested.
I guess the only way best known is to keep pushing at it, till that first gets through the door and then as you satisfy and make him/her a referee.
Yatin Mulay said:
Aditya Babbar
Shar
Thanks for the input.
Your suggestion of a ‘customized’ service package, would keep the register ticking no doubt, and would qualify as a “peripheral” revenue stream.
We have not dived into this on a whole-time basis, as our emphasis currently has been a ‘long-term’ business relationship with the prospective service providers.
Will keep our eyes and ears open for something like this to keep it going.
Thank you so very much.
Shar G said:
Abey John
Hi Aditya, from what you say you are almost about to enter into the chasm.. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_Chasm.
My arm chair advice.
1) Don’t get distracted by the worries about cash flow and dilute your focus by taking on consulting gigs, or day jobs. Figure out your burn rate for the next 3-6 months and approach VCs or angels to get the funding. Don’t give them a rosy picture but be confident about why you will succeed. At this moment you need to focus on taking your service to the next level not get stuck serving some client and slow down your progress….
2) if you see the crossing the chasm graph you need to start with early adopters, this type is tech savvy and they want to try new things and they clearly have a problem to solve….recurring billing is a huge need in india (message me privately I might have a client for you that can start immediately, in 6 months to a year I will definitely be your customer too!!)
3) you need to put a marketing front end…create a benefit story, communicate your benefits clearly….find avenues where you can engage with people who need this service…online is cheap fast and easy, offline is more cumbersome but still doable….harvest email ids and contact these guys over email….set up a marketing/communication engine that constantly keeps people bombarded with news info and other tips and tricks…an auto responder system that engages with your audience at a deeper level – more than the ‘this is my product see how great it is’ type salestalk. engage with relevance. All of india is your audience and with this thing called the internet you can reach everyone! I know that’s obvious but at times it bears repeating and we tend to think that unless we communicate face to face we cannot close the deal…
kinnari thacker dave
Hi…how about trying the mobile version of your service. I can help you build the same & also launch it on the telcos. Surely, offers for consumers & the like will create excitement and people will come back.
Basav Mukherjee
Dear Aditya,
The platform for easy bill payments is a desperate need. But the need arises from people or individuals. The companies who need to get paid or the corporates who need to pay bills, have the option of sitting on the bench. However, a working mother with bills to pay is much more amenable to try your service.
Maybe, it might be an interesting idea to see if the model can be pivoted around a retail consumer. Hypothetically, if you get 100000 customers who want to use your service to pay utility bills every month, I think the utility companies will be glad to adopt your channel since you have all the clearances in place from regulatory authorities.
Other than that, please continue to seek the first institutional client. It is frustrating, since no one wants to take a decision in a large company. However, it might be a good idea to seek professionals rather than companies. For example, I think that Law Firms, Chartered Accountancy Firms, Advertising Agencies, Hospitals etc might be more forthcoming. They are busy, bill time and know the value of out sourcing.
Cheers,
Basav
Aditya Babbar
Abey
Read each and every word of yours and imbibed it all.
1. The tap is trickling in terms of an outflow. Basically, apart from a feature need which would be imperative to Subscription Billing and Payments, all else has been put on hold.
2. I had pretty much chalked out the age-old method of putting down everyone whom I know and approached them to TEST/TRY BillBharo. This way, the system gets a full blown hammering to see if it would stick. Plus, all issues get ironed out. I drew a list of 15 and these are still a work in progress. The list from that time has gone up.
– (I added you on as a Friend, before which I can message you)
3.
– The marketing front end was created scrapped and recreated. I saw the flaw in my earlier pitch was essentially coming out to be a ME – TOO and not really touching upon the points that actually would be benefit to the prospective clients. This realisation came and finally have a pitch that reads in a page and clearly identifies and outlines the benefits and weaves the story around it.
– Its also been the time, when we’ve been on an email collecting and connecting spree with 2-3 of the overall verticals we are looking at.
– Start in one vertical, use word of mouth and association to capture and then repeat. Thats the basic aim in all of the efforts.
– I am going to explore this idea of a communication engine which works on an autoresponder system and works more on engagement than on selling. Makes a whole lot of sense this.
Aditya Babbar
Kinnari
Could we take our conversation offline and let me know what are your thoughts on this and the plausible solutions to this.
(Friend request sent, so would look forward to your thoughts)
Aditya Babbar
Neil
We are on the look out for getting 3-5 of our key anchor clients on board. Once this falls into place, I am definitely going to explore the PR aspect. (Honestly never thought about it from this aspect)
Thanks,
Aditya
Aditya Babbar
Dear Basav
I hope things are well with you and IHC is keeping well. Its a very small world, dunno if you remember we had met a few months back with an introduction from Deepa.
BillBharo keeps me awake for the other half of the day.
Its a very interesting tangent to explore of getting 1L customers to sign up and then on that basis approach the Utility Companies and other Mass Market players (Telco, Insurance, etc).
However, the angle which you have put forth of targeting Professional Outfits, is novel. I shall most definitely chalk out a strategy to look at this. What emerged from the few weeks of serious introspection and brainstorming is that the SMB are more amenable to such offerings and this just resonates the same.
Thank you very much for this and for the coffee at the Waterstones Clubhouse. It truly is one of the most beautiful spots in Bombay.
Regards,
Aditya
Abey John
Added you too!
kinnari thacker dave
sure…we’ll catch up