Apnaklub is an e-commerce platform for the purchase of FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods). The startup’s goal is to encourage and empower small business owners to start hyperlocal micro-distribution companies.
The top Indian startup uses its platform to link brands and buyers, organising the market on a single platform. The consistency and higher margins available on Apnaklub benefit both brands and buyers who use the site. There may also be a wide variety of brands available on the site, with free delivery and COD options.
Shruti is the second or middle kid in the family. The Bihar native passed her engineering test, went on to IIT-Delhi, and then earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. (HBS)
Shruti Shruti, the Cofounder and CEO of ApnaKlub, founded in 2020 has extensive professional expertise in venture capital, foundations, and consulting. It uses its own full stack logistics services to link retailers and kirana stores in semi-urban and rural areas to a variety of consumer products and brands. ApnaKlub has so far collected $20 million.
Let us fast forward to March 2023. ApnaKlub’s meteoric rise has made people sit up and take notice for all the correct reasons. The startup claims to have handled over two lakh orders, and ApnaKlub has on-boarded and transacted with over 38,000 partners.
“Shruti is mission-driven, strong-willed, and deeply committed to making a long-term difference.”
Shruti, for one, believes she is well-positioned to overcome all obstacles. For a long time, her mercurial anger served as a tremendous escape velocity for her. “It helped me race ahead and prove others wrong,” she says, even though she recognizes that anger as an emotion can only carry her so far. “Once you get on a certain path, try to channel your anger and make it productive,” she says, adding that she would rather be recognized as an entrepreneur than a woman entrepreneur.
ApnaKlub is developing tools for traders and distributors to help them understand what customers want, allowing them to shift from push-based to pull-based commerce.
To assist wholesalers and retailers, the startup has created a number of asset-light and zero-investment models, as well as market and distribution assistance.
“We started Apnaklub in a Delhi office-warehouse, where we would sit in the middle of boxes of FMCG goods and do calls, build products, run training webinars, and so on,” Shruti explains.
ApnaKlub’s staff is well-versed in traditional, organized, and unorganised wholesale. The startup’s workforce has over 100 years of combined experience in the Indian FMCG industry, having worked at Future Group, Walmart India, Metro Cash and Carry, Reliance Retail, and others.
Apnaklub has developed a three-step method for launching a successful micro-business without investing any money. Users can sign up by providing their phone number and a company document, then download the product catalogue and add margins to it. They can also place orders from retailers or wholesalers, enter them into the app, and have them delivered directly to the client. On safe delivery, the margins are sent to the partner.
While the startup has declined to reveal its pricing plans for its clients, Shruti claims ApnaKlub’s clients make a take rate on each order fulfilled through its network.
She also stated that the company intends to layer other services onto its network, such as providing pricing and market intelligence data to both small and large companies.
It was not simple to launch and scale ApnaKlub. Shruti and her team confronted numerous challenges, such as raising money, developing a user-friendly platform, and establishing trust among retailers and consumers. Despite these challenges, they persisted and built a loyal user group.
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