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‘India Is On The Cusp Of An E-Commerce Transformation’ Bhavna Suresh, Co-Founder & CEO, 10Club

The Indian e-commerce sector is rapidly evolving and it is imperative that an acquisition-driven collaborative model of support augments the new age and smaller-scale businesses in a more efficient manner with a hands-on approach.

Please explain the Concept of 10club and its Ideation. How has the journey been so far?

We work with digitally native businesses who have a presence on platforms like Amazon and Flipkart to help them grow 10x. Prior to starting 10Club, I spent four years building Lamudi with a small team. After Lamudi was acquired and I stepped away, I travelled to Dubai and met my co-founder Joel with whom I engaged in discussions on the e-commerce ecosystem globally and in India. Then Deepak came on board and the three of us started talking to various e-commerce entrepreneurs in India to understand their vision behind starting a company and the challenges they faced. We also discussed what kind of assistance they needed in creating, asked them about what kind of help they wanted to scale up further. We saw a need and an opportunity, and this is how 10Clubs journey began. 10Club is a e-commerce roll-up business which acquires, operates and grows businesses that reside on marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart. The beauty of this business is that once you roll up the first couple of companies, you get a better perspective of how to move forward. We dont pick up businesses randomly and are having a great experience interacting with new entrepreneurs every day. We have come a long way in building the platform.

What is the story behind its name?

At 10Club, we do all that it takes to grow a business 10X and are looking for entrepreneurs who want to transcend with us. This growth potential we offer to businesses who align with us and partner with us to do so, was what led to the name 10Club.

What services does 10club provide and how is it helping entrepreneurs grow their business?

Entering retail business and securing sales from all over the country is no longer an investment heavy option limited to a small set of people. E-commerce aggregators such as Amazon and Flipkart have democratized the retail ecosystem. Consequently, a new generation of passionate digitally native sellers are making a significant mark on online e-commerce aggregate platforms and building a successful business in a relatively small period of time. However, they also face challenges such as supply chain disruptions, lack of working capital and marketing expertise. This is where 10Club steps in to help them scale their operations by providing the necessary financial and marketing support. Unlike a typical acquisition, we bring entrepreneurs into our fold and jointly work with them to scale their vision without the impediments associated with bootstrapping.

How does 10club aim to catalyse the e-commerce and seller ecosystem in India?

The Indian e-commerce sector is rapidly evolving and it is imperative that an acquisition-driven collaborative model of support augments the new age and smaller-scale businesses in a more efficient manner with a hands-on approach. The industry expertise and technical know-how of our team has already helped in putting in place a strong ecosystem to drive the growth.

10Club has built a strong seller aggregator platform with a solid leadership team that has extensive expertise in the e-commerce domain. We have built a centralized platform with an operational playbook, designed to deliver high performance.

We are currently working with businesses in the commodities and FMCG sectors primarily. A lot of our focus is around velocity, volume play, marketplaces, supply chain, operations, channel expansion, growth, procurement, positioning, and presence rather than brand building. Any business comes with 3 functions: people, processes and capital. This is what we provide.

10club recently raised $40m in one of the countrys largest seed rounds. What is the way forward?

Today, the Indian e-commerce sector is buzzing with activity and our aim is to support the businesses operating on platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart in scaling up. We aim to use the funding to expand our portfolio of businesses, enhance the existing technology and also to meet our working capital needs.

The company commenced in the midst of the pandemic. What challenges were faced?

The pandemic didn’t pose much of a challenge to our business since we are a digital first enterprise. The Indian e-commerce sector has witnessed tremendous demand during the period and we have held conversations and meetings with hundreds of entrepreneurs during the period to understand their needs for support and help them scale.

What are your future expansion plans?

We want to be able to transform the e-commerce sector by fostering growth for the smaller individual businesses by offering them the financial and strategic support to harness their full potential.

What about the market size and opportunity?

Unlike the USA and other major western markets, the Indian e-commerce sector is still at a nascent stage in terms of market size and penetration. However, the country is also among the fastest growing e-commerce markets in the world. With over 1 billion potential customers, India is on the cusp of an e-commerce transformation.

Source: Business World

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