When Akshay Kashyap went to Patna for JEE (Joint Front Exam) training, he had a difficult time discovering second-hand books. Coming from a lower-middle-class circle of relatives, the then-teenager needed to undergo a few weeks of looking out prior to securing a couple of books because of low inventory.
In spite of a couple of makes an attempt, he couldn’t crack the IIT front checks. In 2021, after every other unsuccessful check out, Akshay shifted his focal point against entrepreneurship whilst proceeding his engineering research on the Sitamarhi Institute Of Generation.
This wasn’t an remoted incident for Akshay; witnessing a large number of scholars going through the similar battle on the retail outlets made him realise the popular factor.
After intently staring at the marketplace for a number of months, Akshay and his pal Srijan Kumar introduced an internet platform ‘Kitabwalah’ in 2022. Via thorough marketplace analysis, the 21-year-olds recognised the numerous call for for inexpensive used books throughout quite a lot of classes.
Kitabwalah gives quite a lot of used books catering to university scholars, faculty scholars, aggressive examination aspirants, in addition to fiction and non-fiction lovers. Inside of simply two years, they’ve effectively offered over 6,000 books, producing gross sales of Rs 8 lakh this yr on my own.
Their cutting edge initiative stuck the eye of the Bihar Govt, resulting in them securing seed investment beneath the Bihar Startup Coverage 2022.
‘I didn’t need any individual to battle to shop for books’
Akshay grew up in Ramchandrapur in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, in a joint circle of relatives. Cash used to be arduous to return by way of in his early life years, and he studied in a college within the village itself until Magnificence 5.
“My father is a farmer and prioritised schooling for my siblings, cousins and me. He went above and past to offer us with the most productive schooling imaginable. After Magnificence 5, I moved to Muzaffarpur to a greater college,” Akshay tells The Higher India.
Throughout his highschool years, Akshay incessantly resorted to buying second-hand books because of the prohibitive price of recent ones. He vividly remembers circumstances the place common titles like R S Aggarwal’s Arithmetic books or S Chand Publishers’ textbooks for Magnificence 9 and 10 can be priced at over Rs 500 every. Thankfully, he controlled to procure them at a fragment of the unique worth, generally round 50 to 60 % of the MRP.
His battle persisted when he launched into his IIT-JEE training adventure, necessitating visits to a couple of stores on the lookout for required books.
“I needed there used to be an more straightforward manner to buy those books and had spotted an enormous demand-supply hole. So once I couldn’t get a excellent rank in JEE after two makes an attempt, I determined to do one thing off the overwhelmed trail and take a look at my hand at this industry,” he provides.
Armed with Rs 800, Akshay and Srijan purchased some second-hand books from the marketplace. After a couple of days of brainstorming, they got here up with the identify ‘Kitabwalah’, arrange their website online and social media accounts, and posted the books to gauge reaction. “We posted the books on Fb and were given a excellent reaction,” he remembers.
Then again, with out a funding, the 2 younger marketers discovered it tricky to satisfy necessities. Their margins too had been low as they had been buying the books from the shopkeepers.
“The second one-hand dealers purchase those books from kabadiwalas (scrap creditors and dealers) on a weight foundation, which supplies them large margins. We first needed to construct a community of kabadiwalas to buy the books,” he informs, including that they began visiting scrap dealers in Muzaffarpur and purchasing books from them.
These days, the dynamic duo boasts partnerships with just about each and every kabadiwala within the town, with their community now attaining into Patna and different areas of Bihar. Leveraging the ability of word-of-mouth and social media platforms like WhatsApp, Fb, and Instagram, they’ve effectively moved over 6,000 books, raking in gross sales of Rs 8 lakh within the fiscal yr 2023-24.
However what in point of fact units them aside is their unwavering resolution to thrive and determine a particular identification. Ranging from scratch, they nurtured this endeavor from the confines of their very own house whilst juggling faculty commitments by way of day. Their nights are devoted to fielding calls, managing messages, overseeing delivery logistics, dealing with orders, orchestrating expansions, and a lot more.
Amidst this whirlwind, the duo may be pursuing a BSc level in knowledge science and packages from IIT Madras, including every other layer to their already spectacular repertoire.
The adventure from purchasing second-hand books to tasting entrepreneurial good fortune
Akshay believes they stand out as a result of the range and the costs in their books. “We provide books at lesser costs than same old second-hand booksellers. We perceive the ache {that a} pupil faces and therefore promote decrease whilst keeping up excellent margins,” he says.
To strengthen their enlargement efforts and meet the call for, securing investment and mentorship was paramount. Their step forward got here after they came upon the Bihar Startup Coverage 2022 and carried out for the Bihar Innovation Problem 2023, a programme designed to help scholars and startups in commercialising their ventures thru monetary give a boost to and accolades.
The pivotal second, consistent with Akshay, came about all through the problem in October 2023, the place they emerged as one of the most Best 20 contenders out of 300 startups. Despite the fact that they didn’t clinch the highest prize, they effectively secured investment throughout the Startup Coverage. This preliminary grant, amounting to Rs 10 Lakh, used to be equipped as an interest-free mortgage by way of the Govt for 10 years. The disbursement came about in stages, contingent upon attaining specified milestones and demonstrating efficiency.
In January 2024, Kitabwalah won Rs 4 lakh within the first segment. They judiciously allotted those budget to improve and relaunch their website online, procure a extra conducive workspace, make bigger their e-book stock, and bolster their advertising efforts.
On their new website online, the duo are promoting college books for ICSE, CBSE and Bihar Board, books for aggressive checks, fiction and non-fiction books, in conjunction with new books. “Some consumers need new books and we’re providing that at aggressive costs,” provides Akshay.
These days, they’re catering to just about 200 to 250 consumers day-to-day from around the nation, claims Akshay. Their moderate order price is round Rs 1,000.
Sameer Shrivastava, an engineering pupil, who purchased a couple of books from Kitabwalah, stocks, “Their charges are lesser than different dealers. It’s additionally simple to get entry to and gives an enormous number of books.”
Going forward, Akshay needs Kitabwalah to turn out to be a one-stop store for all issues associated with books and faculty provides. “Whilst our number one focal point is on used books, we additionally wish to promote stationery, college uniforms, e-books, audiobooks and extra,” he says.
What used to be the reaction of his circle of relatives to their achievements? “They’re extremely proud. I’m a primary era graduate and my circle of relatives by no means imagined that I might get started a industry sooner or later. It’s past our wildest desires,” he smiles.
Kitabwalah additionally accepts e-book donations. If you want to donate a e-book or purchase one, you’ll be able to achieve this right here.