Bengaluru-based RepairMyGadget.in offers marketplace for hassle-free gadget repairs

With owning more gadgets comes the hassle of repairing them. Ankur Gupta claims to have broken over 10 phones in a year. And his constant visits to repair shops at Nehru Place in Delhi made him almost an expert on the subject among his peer group.

Ankur, 24, is the Co-founder of RepairMyGadget.in, a Bengaluru-based gadget repairing firm. After finishing his engineering from Amity University, Ankur did an MBA from Narsi Monji Institute of Management Studies. Prior to founding RepairMyGadget.in, Ankur worked with Airtel for a year.

During his visits to repair shops, Ankur realised that there were several problems with the traditional model, be it the time consumed in multiple visits or the different rates charged. Often, there are times when there is a minor problem but charges are very high. Ankur decided to put an end to this by starting RepairMyGadget.in with his roommate Ashwani Kumar, who was a product manager at Quicksilver Solutions. Ankur says,

It was a personal experience with gadget damage that led me to search for best price-verses-quality combo in the gadget repair sphere. After 15 days of extreme discomfort at service centres to get my mobile repaired in vain , the need for an organised player to list and serve customers became apparent. After confirming the idea with hundreds of friends, I decided to go ahead and create a marketplace for gadget repairs.

It was not easy for Ankur to start up in this sector as things were very unorganised and it is difficult to find people to hire as well. Ankur got his first hire from an OLX posting. Zakir Hussain, a technician from Kashmir with over 17 years of experience under his belt, decided to join them. At present the team has eight people and serves across Bengaluru. For deliveries, they have partnered with Roadrunner and Parcelled.in throughout the city.

One of the biggest problems in this sectors was the lack of organisation and the amount of time spent in going to places for getting gadgets repaired. Ankur adds,

It is disheartening to see repairmen getting meager salaries while the retailers get a major chunk of the pie. In the world of gadgets, customers were forced to visit service centres where they were charged heavily. Similarly at local shops, there is a constant threat of being cheated with price and quality. Moreover, there is no system in place that equips customers with the history of repairmen.

Once a customer places his order online filling a form detailing his gadget, and the defects, his list gets populated with vendors who can service his gadget. The device is picked up from his location and he is also provided a replacement gadget for the time his gadget is being serviced. In most instances, his gadget is returned within 48 hours with a two-month warranty. The company offers cash on delivery as well.

On the market, Ankur says,

We are sitting in a country that holds 1.5 billion gadgets including laptops and mobiles phones. With 90 per cent issues being screen damage and an average cost of Rs 1,500, we are sure this is a billion-dollar opportunity. The B2B segment holds immense opportunities too.

Within four months the company has serviced around 2,500 orders and claims to grow at 40 per cent month-on-month. In the coming years, it is looking to grow to more Tier I and II cities. It is also looking to partner with e-commerce firms to expand its range of services.

Whenever a gadget goes bad, the cost is not only in terms of money but also in terms of the time consumed when it comes to running around for getting it repaired. RepairMyGadget is going a step ahead by providing pick-up and delivery and focussing on customer satisfaction by providing an alternative gadget to use. However, will the current model scale up? Only time will tell.

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