Category: TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
Country: India
Region: South Asia
Discover how VastraApp, an Ahmedabad-based B2B SaaS startup, is solving core operational challenges in India’s garment industry with its user-friendly mobile app. Learn about its founders’ journey of building a revolutionary ERP application.
By Prakhar Chitransh
15th December 2024
From a small office in Ahmedabad, three passionate entrepreneurs are rewriting the future of India’s textile industry.
VastraApp, a B2B SaaS startup founded by Vikash Rajpurohit and his co-founders Harish Rajpurohit and Keshav Dhamecha, is addressing the age-old operational inefficiencies of garment manufacturing.
From managing inventory to streamlining sales and much more, VastraApp is turning chaos into clarity for over 4,000 customers across India.
A Vision Born In Ahmedabad’s Textile Hub:
Vikash Rajpurohit’s journey to creating VastraApp began long before its inception in 2018. Born into a family deeply connected to Ahmedabad’s textile legacy, Vikash grew up surrounded by the sights and sounds of garment production.
After earning a master’s degree in computer science engineering, Vikash worked in tech for seven years, honing his skills in software development and product management. However, his heart remained tethered to the challenges faced by the textile businesses he knew so well.
“Everywhere I looked in the textile industry, operations were unorganised, and businesses were struggling with inefficient workflows. I knew technology could bridge this gap, but the solution had to be simple and accessible,” recalls Vikash Rajpurohit, the founder & CEO of VastraApp, during an exclusive interview with Startup Pedia.
The turning point came in 2017 when Vikash observed how garment manufacturers relied heavily on WhatsApp and manual entries on static spreadsheets for key processes.
Inspired to bring structure to this chaos, he developed the concept for VastraApp—a mobile-first ERP app designed to digitise and simplify garment & textile manufacturing operations.
The Complex Task Of Building A Simple Application:
Armed with market research and a minimum viable product (MVP), Vikash showcased VastraApp to 150 potential users in early 2018. Their feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
With a grant of ₹15 lakhs from IIM-Ahmedabad and Vibrant Gujarat Startup Summit and additional support from his former employers, VastraApp was officially launched in June 2018.
But the road wasn’t without challenges.
“Convincing business owners to adopt a new tech solution was tough. Many thought their semi-literate workers wouldn’t be able to use such an application. But we kept simplifying the app until everyone could use it intuitively,” responds Vikash when asked about his views on the role technology plays in the Indian startup ecosystem.
The startup’s early days were marked by rejections and revisions. Vikash spent six months iterating the app based on customer feedback, ensuring it met the diverse needs of garment manufacturers.
A breakthrough came when a young textile entrepreneur subscribed to VastraApp, becoming its first paying customer.
“Our first client validated everything. They’re still with us after six years, which speaks volumes about the value we deliver,” Vikash proudly shares.
By the end of its first year, VastraApp had generated ₹30 lakhs in revenue and onboarded over 300 customers.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges. Markets shut down, and operations slowed, but Vikash used this downtime to enhance VastraApp’s technological features, ensuring it emerged stronger post-pandemic.
VastraApp In Detail:
At its core, VastraApp is a mobile-first ERP solution tailored for Bharat’s small-scale textile & garment businesses.
Its easy-to-use user interface and affordability—with plans starting at just ₹6,000 per year—make it accessible to everyone in the operational workflow of a business, from highly educated professionals to semi-literate floor workers.
With features like job work and production management, inventory management, invoicing, sales order management, and AI-powered analytics, VastraApp has become indispensable for its users.
“Our goal was to create a simple tool that reduces workload for all operational stakeholders, not adds to it. For example, if workers can issue job slips manually, they can do it digitally on VastraApp without any extra effort,” explains Vikash.
The People Behind The Product:
In 2021, Vikash’s vision was bolstered by two co-founders: Harish Rajpurohit and Keshav Dhamecha.
Harish, Vikash’s cousin who initially joined as an employee, brought expertise in design, quality, and marketing. Keshav, a former business associate, took charge of sales and scaling operations.
“Joining VastraApp felt natural to me. The potential to transform a huge industry while creating value was too exciting an opportunity to pass,” says Keshav Dhamecha to Startup Pedia.
The trio’s combined efforts have propelled VastraApp to new heights. Today, it serves over 4,000 customers in nine major textile hubs in India, including Surat, Ludhiana, and Bangalore, adding over 100 new users every month.
A Future Of Ambition And Innovation:
VastraApp’s growth trajectory shows no signs of slowing as the team aims to expand to 20 more cities and increase its customer base to 20,000 within the next few years.
The startup also plans to collaborate with the ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) platform to serve customers focused on B2B orders.
“Our vision is to quadruple our revenue in the coming years. This involves not just scaling but innovating continuously to meet our customers’ ever-evolving needs,” says Harish Rajpurohit.
To achieve this growth, VastraApp intends to leverage advanced AI-driven solutions, improve user experience, introduce additional value-added services, and continuously innovate to meet the diverse needs of its user base.
VastraApp employs a multifaceted marketing strategy, incorporating digital campaigns, content marketing, events, exhibitions, and WhatsApp marketing to effectively engage with its target market.
While the startup has successfully secured over ₹4 crores through multiple funding rounds, it remains open to future investment to facilitate further expansion into new cities, bolster its sales team, and enhance its technological capabilities, such as AI integration, newer discovery mechanisms, and data automation.
Given that the textile and garment industry is the second-largest employer in India, providing direct employment to 45 million individuals and indirect employment to 100 million more, the potential for a mobile-based ERP solution like VastraApp to address the operational challenges of this vast industry is significant.
By simplifying operations for small-scale businesses, the startup is not only making a tangible economic impact but also setting the stage for long-term success.
VastraApp’s journey from a simple idea to a thriving pan-India startup underscores the power of technology to transform traditional industries.
As Vikash puts it, “When you solve grassroots problems with simplicity, you create something truly impactful.”
With its innovative approach and a simple mobile-first orientation, VastraApp is leading a tech-driven revolution in the Indian textile industry. For Bharat’s garment manufacturers, the future is just a tap away.
FAQ
What is VastraApp?
VastraApp is an Ahmedabad-based B2B SaaS startup offering a mobile-first ERP solution to simplify operations for small-scale textile and garment manufacturing businesses in India.
Who are the founders of VastraApp?
VastraApp was founded by Vikash Rajpurohit, with Harish Rajpurohit and Keshav Dhamecha joining later as co-founders.
When was VastraApp launched?
VastraApp was officially launched in June 2018 after extensive research and product development.
What type of products & services does VastraApp offer?
VastraApp provides tools on its mobile app for job work, production management, inventory tracking, invoicing, sales order management, AI-powered analytics, etc, tailored for small-scale textile businesses.
Courtesy: startuppedia.in
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