If you think that the only way to earn money is by slogging all day and night at a thankless job, you might want to reconsider what you know. We are here to tell you that you can set up your own business from the comfort of your home with literally ZERO investment. That’s right. Thanks to Meesho, India’s number 1 reselling platform, the only thing you really need is a stable internet connection and a cell phone.
So, if you wish to become a successful business owner and want to grow in the digital world, Meesho is the perfect place for you. In this blog post, we will shed some light on how Meesho has earned its success in the competitive Indian market as a startup and how it has helped millions of people across the country.
Introducing the Best Reselling Platform in India
Meesho is a social commerce platform that was founded in December 2015 by Sanjeev Barnwal and Vidit Aatrey, graduates of IIT Delhi (B.Tech 2012 batch). It leverages social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc., to help small businesses start and grow their eCommerce stores. Meesho offers the perfect platform for you to kick start your entrepreneurial journey by establishing an online presence. It allows you to follow your passion and become independent, especially in an era where landing a good job can be extremely difficult.
How Does Meesho Reselling Work?
You might be familiar with the concept of reselling in the physical world, where there is a wholesaler, a middleman, and a customer. The term reselling means buying something through a wholesaler and then selling that product or service to the customer after adding your share of the profit.
For example, in the offline world, you might have been to a clothing store in the city from where you must have purchased a certain item of clothing. In this cycle, the clothing store initially buys the garments from the wholesaler and then sells the same garments to the customers at a profit. But now, thanks to advanced technology and the rise in eCommerce businesses, reselling can easily take place online. This means that you don’t need your own retail outlet or a physical presence. You also don’t need to worry about making any huge investment to become a successful entrepreneur.
So, whether you are a stay-at-home parent or you already have a job, it is never a bad idea to earn some extra money online through this platform. Plus, Meesho is a great way for women to start their businesses from the comfort of their homes. So how does this work?
All you have to do is register as an entrepreneur and go through the various products Meesho has to offer. You can pick out the ones that you find the most relevant and share them with people you know. Once you find someone who is interested in purchasing the product, you can sell it after adding your own profit margin.
Key Highlights
- In July 2016, Meesho managed to raise $120,000 when it was selected by Y Combinator, a seed accelerator in California.
- Meesho is funded by 22 investors (out of which 11 are lead investors) and has successfully raised over $215.2 million in funds in over 8 rounds. SAIF Partners and Venture Highway are the latest investors of Meesho.
- On October 15, 2020, Meesho invested in Elenas, and this seed round was valued at $2 million.
- In April 2018, Meesho was selected for Google’s ‘Solve for India’ program for startups that provide ecommerce and landing solutions in the Indian market.
- In the year 2018, Meesho was among India’s Top 25 startups to work for on LinkedIn in terms of employee growth, interests, and professionalism.
How Does Meesho Help Users Get Online and Start Selling?
According to an interview with Vidit Aatrey, one of the cofounders of Meesho, 90% of the users on Meesho are women who belong to tier 2 and tier 3 backgrounds. Most of the users have low financial income and are aspiring entrepreneurs who are looking for opportunities to start their own businesses.
Mr. Aatrey explained that he spoke with one of these women, who told him that every month, she would ask her husband for some money so that she could set up her own store or boutique to sell her products, but she never got the money. Meesho has provided her a platform for doing what she always wanted to do with literally no investment. She is now one of the top 5 online business owners on Meesho.
How Does Meesho Support Aspiring Entrepreneurs with No Experience in Business?
Meesho provides a very friendly and helpful environment for its users. There is a lot of content that helps newbies get on board. In case someone does not understand the content, they are enrolled in a mentorship program where they get connected to highly skilled trainers who turn them into entrepreneurs.
Additionally, there is an app for Meesho (similar to Reddit) called Meesho Community. There are thousands of users on this app who always welcome and help out a new user to get familiar with Meesho.
How Does Meesho Balance Business Growth and Quality?
For Meesho, managing business growth and focusing on quality is all part of a cycle. The fact is that you first need to focus on one thing (such as quality) to ensure that the other one also works simultaneously. You cannot put 100% of your focus on both to make them work. You can, however, switch your focus and consider other areas for improvement too.
What Business Threats Does Meesho Have To Face?
The biggest threat for Meesho is Facebook and Amazon copying it. However, this would be very difficult for Facebook to manage since there are billions of users who would want to use this platform if Facebook were to start something similar. Facebook would have to provide a whole new platform (a separate business) to manage the large volumes of customers. Perhaps a much more viable option for Facebook would be to consider a partnership with the Indian startup.
Conclusion
Every business has to deal with threats and failure in order to rise to the top. Meesho also had its ups and downs, but it is one of the best reselling platforms in India. It offers a wide range of products and ease of buying to all of its customers.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meesho
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/meesho/company_financials
https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/elenas-seed–4cc402fc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L325PVEvm7Q
