Founder of UrbanClap and IIT & IIM graduate Abhiraj Bhal changed the way people hire professionals for services with his breakthrough app. In an insightful conversation with Mr. Bhal, we took a peep into his mind and found out a great deal about how brand UrbanClap came to be incepted and what keeps it going. Read on to find out.
ex: Hello Mr. Bhal, can you give us an insight into how you came up with the idea of starting the breakthrough business that UrbanClap is?
ABHIRAJ BHAL: UrbanClap was started 2.5 years back with the vision to organize the local services market in India. The idea was to create a large tech business which solves a primary customer need. The local services industry is very fragmented and unorganized. When we started UrbanClap, hiring a plumber, beautician, yoga trainer, math tutor, etc. was a painful process. There were no standards, no concept of trust, pricing inefficiencies and the industry was shackled in the “yellow pages” era. We saw this as a large opportunity. By leveraging technology, and a set of simple yet powerful processes, we have been able to build a fairly disruptive platform which is now the default way to hire these services in India. Equally important is the massive impact we have created for 50,000+ service professionals and small businesses for most of whom, UrbanClap is the dominant, if not only, way to grow their business.
ex: Before heading out to start your own entrepreneurial venture, you were associated with a Consultancy firm. Do you think that your corporate experience influenced your entrepreneurial venture in any way?
AB: Yes, prior to UrbanClap, I spent 3 years with The Boston Consultancy Group, advising Fortune 500 companies across India, South East Asia and Germany. My stint with BCG had a very lasting impact on me. Firstly, it taught me the importance of a structured approach to solving business problems, which I believe is invaluable. Secondly, the global and board-room exposure at an early age instilled in me the confidence of venturing out on my own, and building UrbanClap.
ex: What was the greatest reason that pushed you to start your own business?
This story is from the January 2017 edition of Exhibit.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 2017 edition of Exhibit.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
TOP 3 AUDIOPHILES - TOP 3 EARBUDS
APPLE AIRPODS PRO 2, SONY WF-1000XM5, SAMSUNG GALAXY BUDS3 PRO
TOP 3 SCREEN ADVENTURES - TOP 3 TVS
SONY BRAVIA 2 43-INCH GOOGLE TV, XIAOMI MI 55-INCH OLED TV, SAMSUNG 65-INCH 4K SMART OLED TV
TOP 3 SHUTTERBUGS - TOP CAMERAS AND ACCESSORIES
DJI RS 3 MINI, SONY ALPHA 7 IV, LEICA Q3 43
TOP 3 TRENDSETTERS SMART WATCHES
APPLE WATCH SERIES 10, SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH 7, ONEPLUS WATCH 2
TOP 3 SMARTPHONES (UNDER 50K)
POCO F6, ONEPLUS NORD 4, INFINIX GT20 PRO
TOP 3 SMARTPHONES (ABOVE 50K AND BELOW 1 LAC)
ONEPLUS 12, VIVO X100 PRO, VIVO V40 PRO
TOP 3 SMARTPHONES (ABOVE 1 LAC)
APPLE IPHONE 16 PRO MAX, SAMSUNG GALAXY S24 ULTRA, GOOGLE PIXEL 9 PRO XL
BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
OnePlus has consistently been a reliable brand for wireless earphones, particularly in the sub-₹10,000 segment, and their latest launch, the OnePlus Nord Buds 3, stands out as a compelling option for those seeking quality audio without straining their budget.
A BUDGET-FRIENDLY PERFORMER WITH A FEW FLAWS
Redmi Buds 5C stands out as an affordable TWS option with active noise cancellation (ANC), a lightweight build, and long battery life. But is it perfect?
IS THE AFFORDABLE CONVERTIBLE WORTH YOUR MONEY
The laptop space is always pretty saturated, and that makes it difficult for devices to stand out. But the Aspire 3 Spin 14 has announced itself quite convincingly as a slim convertible within the reach of students and amateur users.
