Why Lets Service CEO Sees His Startup Becoming A Billion Dollar Company Hunger to succeed can never be concentrated in one place like an IIT

In an interview with Entrepreneur Media co-founder and CEO Sachin Shenoy of Lets Service spoke about switching domains and being a non-IITian in the startup space.

Lets Service Automotive Technologies Pvt Ltd is an on demand two-wheeler service startup based in Bengaluru. The service startup helps bikers get their two-wheeler serviced at authorised service centers for customers who are too busy juggling between work and other personal chores.

From Local Commerce to bike servicing

"My previous startup was in the online to offline space where we helped consumers explore and shop for products from the local stores in the city. What I gained from that startup was the experience of running a startup and also the strategy around marketing, business development, technology and HR. With these skills I got my partners on board who have relevant and strong domain expertise and started Lets Service."

Being a non-IITian in the startup space

Unlike many stalwarts in the startup space, Sachin comes from a non-IIT and IIM background. When the industry swears by entrepreneurs from these institutions, Sachin agreed that this phenomenon does make things difficult for sometimes due to the current environment in the country.

"It's a generalisation that is happening where someone from an IIT is automatically granted a certain value without even examining him. But end of the day, the hunger to do more and achieve success is what matters. And hunger to succeed can never be concentrated in one place like an IIT. Person from any college in the country can have the bent of doing business and can be successful as well. I come from a middle class family where I have grown up seeing a lot of difficulties around food, clothing and shelter. Those experiences are very vivid in my mind and drive me each and every day to push the limits to make my company successful and become successful along with the company. But I do agree that the elite and premier colleges in the country have great faculty and better teaching standards and the students have better exposure."

What brought in funds

"Lets Service had very good traction in the beginning and we had revenue right from day one. More over this is a major problem that we are trying to solve and it's a very big problem due to the sheer number of two- wheelers in India and the problems that people face while servicing their bike. Today, an average individual spends about Rs. 400 in travel and about 3 hours in time during one service visit to an authorised service centre. This is mind boggling to see the sheer inconvenience that people go through.

The solution we are providing saves time and money for the customer. That means this is a "Must Have" solution than a "Good to Have" one. This became the basis on which the investment was made and we have 2 high profile and active investors on board who understand the business and also help us with solid advice and strategy.'

Tackling competition

Lets Service claims to be the first and the oldest players in this domain. "We registered our domain name in April 2015 and began operations in October 2015. There are a few startups out there who are attempting to do the same thing without a clear strategy around execution and scale. We have been a very reliable company which has led to a few manufacturers/OEMs taking notice. This means we have displayed credibility and delivered results as a company. This is what will take us forward into the next phase where we plan to scale to 4 more cities in India. I would not like to comment on the overall number but I see this becoming a billion dollar company one day with sole and core focus on automobiles."