Enterprise: Vadeel Technology Pvt Ltd

Founders: Mr Priyadarshi Shah and Mr Praveen Kalal

Industry: Marketing, Advertising & PR

Year it was founded: 2018

Location: Udaipur, Rajasthan

Mr Priyadarshi Shah and Mr Praveen Kalal have started an online advertising platform to promote small businesses in rural India. The college friends turned business partners grew up in rural India and realised the challenges small business faced in these parts due to lack of connectivity. Armed with strong technical and business skills, they have developed a light web app for businesses to enhance their visibility.

GL: Your business seems really interesting. How did you think of venturing into the online advertising platform?

Priyadarshi Shah (PS): I grew up in a business family. My business sense comes from my father. His business journey taught me many things as I grew up. I am an engineer and an MBA from University of Wales, UK. During my course I upgraded my technical and business skills.

I belong to a rural area. In 2017 I came across the problem many companies in rural parts of Indian were facing. They found it difficult to advertise their products or services. It was around that time that I met with my college friend Mr Praveen Kalal. He too was from the rural area and very well understood this problem faced by companies. We got down to working on it and decided to start a website and android app which has the location and language feature in it. We also wanted to provide local support to businesses so that they can improve their business visibility. We decided to develop a light web app because in villages internet connectivity is very poor. It was a completely new opportunity for us. We started our business in 2018 and launched our website in mid of 2018. Recently we were selected amongst world’s top 100 startups and were invited to Turkey.

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GL: What has been your approach towards raising awareness about your business?
 

PS: In the field of marketing there is always a new way to project the business to the world and make people aware of your company services. One of the many effective marketing strategies include raising awareness amongst our own people. We approached the Gram Sabha, E-Mitra associates, and bank coordinators to spread a word or two about our initiative. This also helped the rural community to understand service easily. Another strategy is print and social media advertising which helps attract eyeballs. The more you spend, more people you can reach out to. GlobalLinker is also one such platform where businesses can meet like-minded people and promote their product easily.

I belong to the rural area. In 2017 I realised that many companies in the rural parts of India are unable to advertise their products or services. Me and my friend got down to working on it.

GL: Every business comes with its fair share of challenges. Is there any problem you would like to highlight? What do you do to tackle them?
 

PS: Reaching out to every village of India is difficult given illiteracy is also a big challenge there. So we hire a local person who has the basic knowledge of internet and computer. He is able to help them in product advertising and marketing. Since India is also linguistically diverse, we have integrated regional language in our website. Our business provides an advertising platform for the rural community of India but it is no longer limited to villages. Anyone can use it. We wish to make it worldwide in the near future.

GL: You are a Linker. Which offerings of GlobalLinker have helped you? And why should other SMEs use it too?

PS: GlobalLinker was introduced to me by ICICI Bank and thanks to them. I couldn’t believe we have a platform where business owners can connect and share about their products and services. Also what I like the most about this platform are the essential services for business available here like calendar, eBriefcase, meetings and tasks. This makes business easy.

GL: Any advice would for a new entrepreneur setting up their first business?

PS: Never lose hope, keep trying and be patient and confident. There is always a solution to a problem. Believe in your idea. Most important, respect your team and staff members because these are the people who work for you.

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GL: What do you plan to do next in your business?

PS: Through our advertising portal we are connecting with various communities to promote our services. Our mission is to inline rural community with urban. Scaling up business in India is our main agenda. Post this we plan to expand worldwide. Our startup is registered with Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and government of India. We are looking for investors to make this grow further.

GL: We would love to know the person behind the entrepreneur.
 

PS: I start my day early. Every day I wake up at 5:30 a.m. The first thing I do is yoga followed by getting ready, planning for the day work and scheduling work. I love spending time with family and friends. I love travelling, meeting with people of different communities and knowing their culture.
 

Praveen Kalal (PK): Every day I wake up at 6:00 a.m. The first thing I do is plan my work for the day and make a sincere promise to do it honestly. I unwind/relax by spending time with my children, watching a movie or reading a novel. Whenever I face a big challenge I understand the cause of it and find an optimal solution. One book I believe everyone should read is Chanakya (Acharya Vishnugupt).

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Network with SMEs mentioned in this article by clicking on the 'Connect' button on their profile. Priyadarshi Shah and Praveen Kalal

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