Pataa has had 5.3 million downloads till date since its launch in the latter half of April, 2021.
Tell us about your venture, Pataa. What is the story behind its inception? How has the journey been?
We’re Rajat Jain and Mohit Jain. We’re brothers as well as cofounders of our start-up, Pataa Navigations Pvt. Ltd, Indore. Necessity is the mother of invention. We identified this problem of unstructured and unnamed addresses during our travels when we realised that it was difficult to locate and share addresses. Apart from this, we observed that most people find it very frustrating when they have to explain an address over and over again to a visitor or delivery guy. Finding a global solution to this day-to-day problem, Rajat and I built a team of software engineers and intellectuals who have created this amazing App. It has been a great journey so far and we hope it will get better as we move ahead.
How does Pataa work? Please explain how it simplifies the navigation process?
Once you download the app and enter your long address details into it, they get converted into a personalized or customised shortcode like ^JAIN53, ^KUMAR100 which is easy to share. Along with that you can record voice directions in your voice to your place from a close-by landmark, create Pataa extensions which can be shared by each family member or office colleague on the same address. Some locations like campuses or gated communities might have special remarks for visitors, for e.g., basement parking, one way etc. The Pataa app allows the user to add these special remarks so that the visitor has prior information.
The app also provides a live visitor tracking system which enables tracking of food and courier deliveries easy in real time. With so many detailed features, the app simplifies the navigation process.
Who are your audience? How is Pataa helping them? What have their responses been?
We cater to a wide variety of audience. Right from businessmen to service providers to house holders, everyone has downloaded the app and are availing the tremendous benefits it provides them with their personal navigation. Pataa has had 5.3 million downloads till date since its launch in the latter half of April, 2021. This goes on to prove that the app is solving people’s addressing issues and they’re extremely satisfied. They simply have to click on the share button and their guest or visitor can navigate straight to their place. Users are recording voice directions in their native tongues which makes reaching their place even easier for the locals.
Brief us about your upcoming project “Drone Delivery”? What is the thought behind this project?
We’re excited about our upcoming project ‘Drone Delivery’. Pataa will provide the exact latitude and longitudinal coordinates which is the only language that the drone understands. It is just impossible for a drone to read the layman language of worded addresses; for example- 429 Napier Town, near 4th bridge. 80% addresses in India are landmark based and rarely have a geotag added to any address. We did not have a digital language of addressing till date. Pataa is the first language in the country which converts latitude-longitude into a personalised code which is easy to share, explain and now the language of the future that drones can understand.
The company aims to be the only service provider of Ad Pads in the country, which makes your digital address an added advantage. Pataa is also working on the technology to integrate supplementary details for drones like altitude which will give the drone the exact height and this can be facilitated by the NFC tags. (Near Field Communication Device built in the address pads)
On the B2B end, Pataa is already collaborating with E-commerce and delivery companies to have Pataa in their check-out address field and provide them with lat-long and other information required for drone deliveries. This will also ease customers to get rid of repeated long form filling and will reduce cart abandonment rates.
What are your future funding and expansion plans with Pataa?
Pataa is in its first round of funding and has raised 2.5 million dollars. It is in the process of raising another 10 million dollars with its strategic partners. Geographical expansion is on the cards. We aim to make the product global in the times to come. Pataa is constantly being updated to suit Indian ethnicity. 5 new languages are being added as of now and down the line 20 regional languages will be added in the app. Multilingual support is one of our endeavours in the scheme of expansion. Drone deliveries are in the pipeline. We’re coming up with Address pads and are in talks with the concerned companies related to the same.
What products are in the pipeline?
Our future products include-
Block based system- A fixed code for every block.
Pataa Maps and Navigation- tracking in real time.
Block Chain Verification- More accurate address verification.
Geo Fencing System- Making a geographic boundary of your property.
Drone route optimization- Smart routes for faster delivery.
What are Pataa’s unique features? How is Pataa better than other players in the market?
Pataa’s unique features are-
Shortcode: It converts a long address into a unique and personalised short code which makes sharing of address very easy.
Landmark Creation: This feature is very important from the point of view of explaining addresses, because people usually find and explain an address from their nearest landmark. The Pataa app asks you to drop a pin on your nearest landmark and then record a voice direction from it to your place.
Recorded voice direction: No one explains your address better than you. The recorded voice direction feature guides your visitor or delivery guy without looking down into the phone for navigation; Your voice does that. The app also provides a text to voice option in case you don’t want to record in your own voice.
Photos: this feature is great for easy recognition and quick reach wherein you can add up to 3 photos of your building. The visitor can reach directly to your doorstep by looking at these photos.
Extensions: is a great feature if more than one person shares an address at home or office. Multiple extensions can be created for the same short code. It provides easy access to a particular member in case of parcel deliveries etc.
Since Pataa is unique in its own way, I really wouldn’t compare it with other players in the market. Something I’d like to add here is that Pataa is also available in Hindi which makes it accessible for people in rural areas. Some of them do not even have an address which makes receiving deliveries impossible for them. With Pataa they can easily procure loans, buy and sell land, farm equipment and do business. Our block codes provide the exact location to the precision of 3*3 square metres. This is also a unique offering.
Safety is a big concern these days. What safety measures are you taking to keep individual data safe?
The Pataa App asks for the user’s phone number initially but it is not visible to anyone else. This data is used for utility purposes to serve users better. It is entirely secure and covers all data security compliances. Therefore, users have nothing to worry as there is no breach of privacy.
Which industries is Pataa planning to cater to? Flash some light on your current partners?
Pataa is primarily aiming to solve the last mile issues of E-Commerce, logistics companies, food delivery etc. Ans: We’re working on a hyper local delivery system with accurate geo tagged addresses of Pataa users. Were also closely working with govt. organisations for better addressing for rural areas to provide them the ease of procuring loans and other business facilities.
What is the future of the navigation industry in India?
The navigation industry in India is all set for a higher growth trajectory. With the advent of information and mobile phone technology, crores of users across India rely heavily on navigation-based applications in virtually every walk of life. Various platforms like automotive, logistics and delivery, travel and tourism etc. have evolved to a certain extent in their navigation techniques. Yet a lot needs to be addressed like digital addresses to make future navigation a smoother process.
How does a complicated navigation system impact the economy?
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (MIT) USA have found that due to the unstructured addressing system of India, nearly 30% of the cost of delivery goes in the last mile. With added cost of fuel, wasted time and resources, it costs India more than 75,000 crore rupees every year. A pin code in our country covers a large distance of approximately 179 square kilometres and is often written incorrectly. The country suffers a huge loss because of wrongly written addresses which amounts to 0.5% of India’s GDP.
Source: Business World
