We do have Uber for X in India too!
There were times when having a website to represent your company was considered as a brownie point but times have changed rapidly. Today, if you aren’t on mobile, people ridicule you and keep asking you the same question again and again – ‘Why don’t you just go ahead and make an app?’
The steep rise in overall mobile consumption is driving the next set of innovations. If these innovations turn out to show a lucrative future, they are always coupled with flooding of market with clones trying to generalize these innovations.
Probably, on-demand services are becoming the new website for businesses operating in the consumer Internet markets.
Uberization is happening globally with more than half a billion investment globally in startups calling themselves ‘Uber for X’. And India isn’t behind in this race for serving consumers with on-demand services.
Here’s a list of Indian Uber for X startups –
Uber for Laundry
We as Indians have been traditionally accustomed to the ‘bhaiyas’ coming to our place and picking up clothes for ironing them and returning the same next day. Clothes been washed by either the maid or someone at home using washing machines.
But then, what’s changed? Families are getting nuclear and people no more find time to spend washing or dealing with these ‘bhaiyas’. We are in office from 9 to 6 daily and spend atleast a couple of hours more on travel and food, where in the world do we have time to get this laundry done?
This startup, MyWash.in is running it’s pilot in Koramangala area, Bangalore with having served more than 150 customers in a week’s time.
Another startup in this segment from Chennai, Wassup has been able to not only attract consumers but also few loyal B2B consumers including the likes of Taj Vivanta, Raddison, The Oberoi, IIT Mardras, VIT, Indian Navy and Mahindra WorldCity to mention a few. Today, they have total 25 stores in Chennai and Bangalore and soon launching in Gurgaon, Delhi, Pune and Cochin. What's more astonishing to know is, they have served more than 10,000 customers in Bangalore and Chennai.
Uber for Logistics
Shifting houses? Did you find problem locating a truck to help you transfer your goods from one place to another? Or you just bought something from shopping malls and need a vehicle to help you transfer it to your place; you spend time wasting and locating a truck.
Many startups are making this possible with their on-demand services including Grofers in Delhi or Blowhorn in Bangalore.
Another use-case these startups are solving is – helping people order goods from mortar stores and getting them delivered via these apps. This is a great case of revolutionizing the great hyper local opportunity.
Uber for Food
Satisfying hunger is another event that involves urgency. Those days in office, when you are hungry yet have a tight schedule not giving you time to visit the favourite lunch place; you feel the need to have such a service.
Domino’s 30 minutes delivery was the closest to what an ‘Uber for food’ experience would be. Today, we need to have more such food delivery services to exist.
Couple of startups are trying to provide your favourite food dishes to you on demand quickly, few are operational in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. As this concept is still very new, all these startups are still in their pilot mode preparing themselves to scale fast.
Alok Jain has started Yumist to cater to the on-demand food needs of people currently in pilot in Gurgaon. In Bangalore, this very early stage startup, Tapcibo is piloting its on demand lunch services to cater to working bachelors in various startups and corporates here.
Our generation is one that has no patience and demands things to do done with great urgency. This is the reason for so many on demand services popping up and doing really well.
Do you believe that these services are needed in your day-to-day life?
If we might have missed on any names, please share in comments below.