Kumar P Saha, Founder of ecommerce platform ndhgo, spent over a decade working in India’s fintech sector, closely associated with banks and financial institutions. He set up Senrysa, an early adopter of India Stack, which championed the concept of an Aadhaar-nabled payment system. Financial inclusion and branchless banking solutions were key for the brand.
But COVID-19 opened Saha’s eyes to the world of ecommerce. “I realised we have the expertise of building scale. We handle thousands of payment transactions every second. Ecommerce is one area where that expertise of scale is required. So on a team call from home, we decided to start our new venture ndhgo to boost ecommerce,” he said at TechSparks 2023 Mumbai edition, while speaking on ‘No Code, No Problem: Tips to easily go online’.
Ndhgo is an easy and free ecommerce platform that lets businesses create online stores in minutes. Saha is using the venture to bridge the gap between ecommerce giants and traditional retailers.
Making tech simple
Before getting into the ecommerce space and building a solution for ecommerce brands, the team evaluated numerous products available in the market to understand customer pain points. It found that brands feel pressured to hire a tech agency or freelancer to maintain their ecommerce website.
“When tech is not your main forte, you have to invest your time, energy, and money into it. So, we thought this is a space where we can build a world-class platform and make the backend so simple that a company’s operation guy can also manage it. That has been our main thought process while building ndhgo,” the founder said.
Saha explained that when the team started out, they wanted to offer an inclusive experience to companies of all sizes. “A lot of kiranas are using our platform alongside large organisations that are into the omni-channel business model with 100+ outlets. We cater to the full spectrum of the business. We have customers not just from Tier II or III, but even from Tier IV cities,” he said.
Customisable Tech
Ndhgo is clear that while non-tech users are a huge part of its customer base, it also needs to cater to companies with an existing tech team. To that end, the team has created a layer where people passionate about tech can code and build on top of the existing setup.
Customer demands also play a big role at the company. Saha said 80% of their new features are based on customer feedback. “That has really worked because when we go to a customer, we find they have everything on the platform already. So they don’t need any customisation at all,” he said.
Listening to others is key
Looking back at his journey, Saha said it is essential for entrepreneurs to be humble and listen to what others are saying.
“You may feel like the other person is talking nonsense, but when you think again, you will find that he’s making a lot of sense. When we think we are right and the whole world is wrong, [we] are in deep trouble,” he said.
However, the moment you think “I might be wrong, and the other person right, then you get a chance to improve yourself”. “That has been our philosophy,” Saha said.
