E-commerce on the move

THE REAL EUREKA MOMENT CAME WHEN THE FOUNDERS REALISED SHIPPING AND FULFILMENT WERE THE BIGGEST BOTTLENECKS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

- S SHANTHI

SAAHILGOEL, MDAND CEO of Shiprocket, began exploring coding while still in high school.

He even built his first website and managed to monetise it. The passion for tech continued during further studies in the US. His friend from undergrad days, Gautam Kapoor, now the COO and co-founder of Shiprocket, and he were constantly brainstorming startup ideas through those years.

Finally, the idea of Shiprocket crys-tallsed when a family friend wanted a“ShopifyofIndia”’to set up a shoe brand online. Kapoor and Goel realised no one was doing it ina simple, connected way. That was the moment. Six months later, Goel moved back to India,and launched Shiprocket with Kapoor in 2012.

“The idea had actually started germinating around 2011-2012,as I observed the rise of e-commerce in India and abroad. Many small businesses struggled with access to affordable technology, shipping, and payments,’ Goel said. Initially, the co-founders launched KartRocket in 2012 to help merchants build an online presence, and later experimented with Kraftly, a C2C marketplace. The real eureka moment came when they realised shipping and fulfil-ment were the biggest bottlenecks. Solving that pain point led to Shiprocket.