How I Found A Way To Sell Experiences On Phone My entrepreneurial journey!

There's a story that drives every entrepreneur! He is a problem solver and has to believe that the problem actually exists. Great companies are built by identifying solutions to simple problems which are visible. Entrepreneurs should shy away from self made problems.

Lately you may have observed a sudden negativity about the startup world. Companies are shutting down, they are laying off the resources, employees are not getting salaries, company is running out of funds and lots more. In recent times we have seen 7 out of 10 heavily funded startups are in the news for some reasons.

What does this denote? Are entrepreneurs showing a need which actually is not a need? Does Investors really understand the depth of business models? Do investors investigate the spends done by startups at regular intervals? Why are we seeing many "Me-Too" investors these days?

There are many questions which revolve around startups and I would like to share a story of me being an entrepreneur.

I believe doing business is all about making money. In simple terms, if cost of a product is Rs.10, you cannot sell it at less than Rs.10.

We have seen startups taking many number of routes to promote businesses and acquire consumers. Cash back, Discounts, Incentives etc are too common we see these days. Yes these are quick ways to acquire a consumer but how can you sell a proposition to a consumer in less than the cost price.

We started giftxoxo.com in mid 2012. I'm a passionate traveller and adventure lover. I've travelled across 25+ EuAfriAsian (Europe-Africa-Asia) countries and have represented India in long Adventure formats like Mongol Rally. I drove a 14 year old 900 cc car from London to Mongolia. I believe that the world has so much to explore and I should work towards making it easily available for everyone to avail. We thought to make Capsules of exciting things which can be consumed in day to day life.

Consider a simple case - You're travelling to Goa, you are excited about it! But after reaching Goa you get clueless on what exciting things should we do?

We came up with a solution of making a marketplace of experiences and activities around you. If you're a passionate photographer - you may sell an experience like "A Calendar Photo Shoot", If you have a farm house - You may sell an experience "Own Farmhouse For A Day", If you have a fleet of planes - you may sell an experience "Fly a Plane", If you have a dairy farm - You can sell an experience "Milking A Cow". We currently house 5000+ experience ideas worldwide and growing on a real time basis. This also becomes alternate source of income for various interesting professionals and service providers.

We sell this catalog via various channels as follows -

1. Giftxoxo.com - You may gift an experience to anyone on special occasions like Birthdays, Anniversaries, Marriages etc.

2. Experience Gift Boxes - It's a box with various experience cards inside it. The receiver can choose any one from the set. This format is usually consumed by corporates for Long Service Anniversaries, Sales Incentives etc.

3. "Frogo" Mobile App - Its a mobile App which shows you experiences and activities in-and-around you.

4. XOXOEngage Software - This is a total rewards software which can be installed for managing employee rewards/appreciation and Sales channel incentive programs.

We did a business of around USD 7 million in FY 15-16 and are aiming to reach USD 20 million this year. We've built our business without any major funding and have sustained our growth so far. We're delighting 10000+ consumers every month, helping people to create wonderful world of memories!