As part of our endeavour to find out compelling startup stories from the ecosystem, we interviewed yet another promising female entrepreneur Radhika Agarwal – Founder of BHONGA, who is solving a major problem through ‘Bhonga’. She is working full time as well as taking her startup to the next level through her concentrated hyperlocal marketing strategy. Let’s read more about her inspirational story:
Talk us a little about yourself please:
I was born in a very middle-class Marathi family and had a very humble upbringing. I always scored well doing me academics as I was very studious. I was MMS topper from Mumbai university. The stock market, derivatives, and commodities were all that we studied & I wanted to pick up a job in those areas. I started my career on the prop desk & then moved to institutional equity trading.
I love my job & I continue to work, but a few years later I did feel that this job is shallow for me and the realisation strikes upon me that I want to do something where I can make a difference in the lives of people or touch the lives of masses because we all have limited time to do something.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
Positive thoughts. I clearly feel “What comes our way is not in our hand but how to react to it is completely in our hands”. I have Bhonga, my job & my kids & family. I feel all 3 are my great sense of motivation & keeps me going. I have a habit of planning my day 1 day in advance & I always get up with that game plan in my mind. I believe in a busy & productive day.
Please tell us about your journey and story so far:-
The stock market keeps me on the toes with its real-time action all the time. But at the same time, I was missing the fun of going beyond numbers & doing something where I can make some difference in the life of a common man.
Managing school communication & spending quality time with my children were really major problems I was facing about 3 years back. So I decided to put in money where my mouth is. I floated a company called “Linkus Infratech.” I named it Linkus as I wanted to Link child, parent & school for a meaningful purpose. We developed an APP where we thought we would make a difference in the life of a child & parent. But unfortunately, that APP met with limited success. Dealing with such phases was indeed very difficult for me. I came out of this setback & I spent some time in reflecting on my own learning. I thought to do something which is industry agnostic. I still had that innate desire to do something for the common man. Then finally lots of discussions, thinking & iterations I could conceptualize this idea where I can connect the people in one locality who are physically closer to each other.
This is where our APP “Bhonga” was born.
Give us a brief about the venture; Why this name? What made you start this?
Bhonga APP connects all the people having this APP within a locality of 1 km whether you know them or not. This takes your reach beyond friends & family. It’s a public platform for people in the physical proximity to help each other in case of emergency also to share resources, share locality related information & a strong marketing tool for small business hubs in the locality.
Bhonga means a megaphone in Marathi. We named it “Bhonga” because it is synonymous with ‘reach’ and that’s what we stand for i.e giving reach to people. We are here to empower people so that their voice reaches their locality.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
As I have said before I have not quit my job yet. I am currently handling a job as well as my business. I feel Bhonga is like an embodiment of my dream of touching lives of people & is very close to my heart. In future surely I would love to work for Bhonga full time.
At the same time, I feel doing a job gives you great insights beyond books & the job itself is a great grooming place as you meet people from different backgrounds. Job gives you the financial freedom to pursue your dreams.
Look at many start-ups today, they are joined by 2 colleagues.
What are your strengths, weaknesses and purpose?
My biggest strength is that I have a very strong sense of purpose behind my idea which helps me come out with some ‘out of the box’ ideas while solving the problems. I connect with many people & my team at a much higher level.
My weakness was my patience level & my emotions. I was very emotionally associated with my 1st APP Schloop & that failure was impossible for me to digest. Now I feel I am more rational vs emotional which is very important for an entrepreneur. I have learnt the power of patience the hard way through my 1st venture.
Why should people choose your products/services?
Bhonga stands for giving reach to a common man in his locality. Bhonga takes your reach beyond friends & family.
We can use Bhonga in emergencies, while asking queries, expression fearless opinion & solving problems in a locality, sharing resources & also it’s a great tool for small shop owners to reach the potential audience.
The true power on the neighbourhood can actually be harnessed & there is a HUGE potential for micro-economies to bloom on this APP.
What’s your competitive advantage and why can’t it be copied?
I feel the positioning of Bhonga is very unique. Bhonga stands for “Locality Connect”. This was the way human beings have lived for centuries. Every human being interacts very actively with his physical surroundings & every locality is a melting pot of people from various backgrounds & age groups.
This connects will take people close to “human intelligence” which people will value & this is where our competitive advantage lies.
I feel copying a business idea is very tough. You can’t live someone else’s dream. That’s the reason why the startup world has a very high failure rate.
Had it been so simple to copy someone’s idea why would there be so much failure?
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
I feel challenges & difficulties are part of every entrepreneurial journey. My biggest challenge was to deal with the setback of my 1st idea of Schloop. I was too emotional about my APP & was under immense pressure to digest the limited success of my APP. I learned it the hard way that “ You either win or learn & there is nothing called as a failure”. I am very fortunate to have an extremely supportive family which supported me in this tough time.
I feel my persistence & patience level has improved now. Bhonga is just 3 months old baby now. I have a long way to go before I make this “Bhonga” movement a success.
What are your expansion plans/breakeven projections?
We plan to follow a very concentrated hyperlocal marketing strategy where we set the ball rolling. We also plan to tie up with local bodies like police, hospitals or even local corporate/MLA to solve the locality problems better. I feel APP users can only make the APP successful. Good things do need a push & start but they grow organically after the 1st push.
Tell our audience more about your failures? How should one bounce back?
I learnt it the hard way that “A person either wins or he learns”. There is nothing called as a failure. Failures are beautiful as they give you an opportunity to learn vs a success. So take your setbacks as an opportunity to reflect on your leanings. Also, remember what Winston Churchill said: “Success is not final & failures are not fatal”. Learn from mistakes vs getting depressed by them. I learned it the hardest way!!
What comes first for you – money or emotions?
Obviously emotions. Had it been money, I would have never thought of Schloop or Bhonga. Stock markets are the best place for money where emotions play the least role.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
I feel you need to have a solid support system in terms of the family to outsource many daily tasks. I am fortunate in this case. Doing business means going beyond your comfort zone – arguments, stress & pressure is all part of it but if your sense of purpose & goals are strong enough you can sail through these hard times.
What advice would you give to someone starting out, particularly to aspiring entrepreneurs?
I’d say – Don’t get carried away by big numbers & money. No one can build a business with the aim of making money but you can only do that by having a strong sense of purpose, solving pain points & offering a lot of value to the customers. Money is the by-product.
The regret of NOT trying out is big so if you have a dream; be ready to walk this difficult path.
“It’s your life & only you can make it large; No drink can do it for you but your own actions.”
To know more about BHONGA, Please follow:
https://www.facebook.com/BhongaApp/
https://www.instagram.com/bhongaapp/
https://twitter.com/BhongaApp
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