Samip

Where did the idea to start something like this come from? Please also talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur.

The idea to start something like this venture came in my mind during March 2020 while in lockdown when world has seen most people losing their jobs and businesses were getting closed. The idea behind starting this was to boost the economy of the small and domestic craftsmen or manufacturers who were proceeding towards the closure as the world was going to standstill with unlimited period keeping in view the seriousness of the Covid 19 situation around the world. Since there are very limited resources for small businessmen and especially the craftsmen, the thought came in mind to help them buy starting an e-commerce platform where people can buy and sell things from online portal by remaining indoors. Since I was pursuing my studies and living in Canada at that time and as an international student it was hard like probably not possible to develop business in Canada, but the idea was appealing to me and I was determined to start at the earliest. I made my mind to start it from India our own country which is always open for their citizens and got one more concept to focus for the time being on selling “Make in India” products on our e-commerce platform where our Indian small as well as big manufacturer gets chance to grow and explore their business.

Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?

Since I was pursuing my studies in Canada, but due to the covid situation no one was aware that the situations are going to be so bad and the world is going to standstill. Doing job was not in my mind as I was inclined towards establishing business and becoming one day and entrepreneur to help the small businessmen to give an online platform to sell their products.

What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur?

My self determination to help small businessmen who do not have digital marketing space to sell their products was my key driving force to become an entrepreneur. It was hard for me to startup things from Canada as things were going to happen in India. Interaction with the small businessmen was the main concern and while remaining in Canada it was virtually going hard initially but I managed to handle things for first 2 months single handed with the blessings and help of my parents. Things were developing in fast pace and I need a team, so I started putting up Advertisement on job portals. After almost one month, I got one female candidate, UK born Indian lady named as “Ms Payal Patel” living in India. She is the Head of operation of my team at present and she has over 18 years of experience in operation field working with UK government as well. Me from Canada and she from India started managing things in proper manner which were not in organized manner before and then as per requirements we had to get two more candidates without having any initial investments.

What’s your source of motivation?

My source of motivation is myself confident to help the small businessmen who are struggling to sell their products despite best in their product type. To implement my vision to become an entrepreneur I used to drive Uber for almost 10-12 hrs per day to earn and pay salary to employees. I started searching for investor and with one to two pitch I got one investor with that I got to explore the team as it was pretty hard to get vendors onboard, at present I have team of 8 experienced people who are leading the idea, now to manage and organize the things it was pretty hard to do it from Canada, so I came to India in November 2020 and completed the legal things forming Pvt Ltd company, and launched the venture on 22nd January 2021. We have enough of investment for few more months so still looking for more investment to make this “Make in India” concept a Brand and provide the Make in India products in foreign countries as well. Initially I was just having one segment of simple multi-vendor e-commerce platform, but with the exploration of team I got many more different segments which are problem solving for everyone for govt, for businesses, for people and can also help businesses grow and get chance to explore their product in foreign countries. My journey to reach this level is indeed my source of motivation for the time being.

How many hours a day do you work on average?

Since I am in the implementing stage of my venture and working hours a day do not matters to me. I am working round the clock to make my venture a successful so as my team of personnel who are working with me are also with me in materialising the things in write directions.

What is the uniqueness of your startup?

My startup “DamaCas” is an E-commerce marketplace which showcases products which are only made in India. We offer a platform for small and medium businesses to reach an audience to sell their items on a B2C platform with no additional charges. We are empowering people to come onto the DamaCas platform, even for those suppliers who have never thought of showcasing their products online. We are solving several problems like some marketplaces having inadequate technology, poor customer experiences, lock of global applicability and a lack of structured logistics processes. We aim to branch out into many other verticals once we have established a strong backbone in the B2C market in India. This includes expanding the portal to other countries, exporting Indian goods, promoting NGO’s and their products, encouraging local artisans to sell online, having a B2B segment and advanced technological solutions in E-commerce. Our unique Segments are:

• B2C concept of “Make in India.”

• “Collaborating with NGOs who does the production where people get employment with the growth of their product”,

• We are also showcasing handicraft products on our portal,

• “We are also bringing unique segment that is “Delivery segment” where people can buy online from any local shop in the city and we can the thing delivered within few hours,

• “We are also integrating service provider segment where every service provider can get register and provide the service to their clients.”

How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?

Step back and put the problem in perspective, list some solutions to the problems and come up with a plan is my way of managing stress and easing pressure.

How did you come up with the name for your company?

It was actually not so simple for me to choose the name initially, first to just start the things i gave the name sampzkart.com, but it was not suitable at all globally or at any level, i got to took almost 2 months to prepare the name, but at last it got simple i choose initial letters of my family i.e D stants for Dilip(father) A in between always stands for “And” M stands for “Manisha” (mother) C stands for “_Chiku” _ (My Late sister) and at last S stands for “Samip” (Thats ME)__Damacas also refers to something else in terms of brand i.e “Do Admire Multi-branded Aesthetic Channel for All Shopoholic” “DamaCas”.

What piece of advice would you give to college graduates who want to become entrepreneurs?

The only piece of advice I would like to give to the college graduates who want to become entrepreneurs is to listen to your field interest and find the possibility of becoming a successful person to serve the humanity and to earn with positive ways of development.