Sahil Bajaj, Founder , PhoneCurry.com : India specific web startup to Compare Mobile Phones

Yahoo recently came with a report that “mobile” is one of the most highly searched keywords among Indian consumers. Why not? With so many mobile handsets coming in, it is but natural that we as users constantly search on internet for the options etc. Delhi based startup, PhoneCurry.com, has come up with a simple solution to end our search for the best handsets to buy. Sahil Bajaj, entrepreneur behind Phone Curry says, “We meet the basic need of a consumer, today all of us are using mobile handsets, and all of us are searching for the best phone options, best price and are constantly comparing one handset with the other to come up with the right buying decision. We solve this problem by providing one stop platform that answers all your mobile purchase related questions.” YourStory.in had a chat with Sahil to understand his business idea.Tell us more about yourself and your work before starting Phonecurry.com.

I completed my graduation from IIT Delhi where I did my civil engineering and after graduation I joined KPMG , a consulting firm. I started working on my business idea while working. I started to design the site, and got feedback from friends and family. The feedback I got was good so I took the plunge in February this year and started working full time on the site.

What was the idea behind Phonecurry.com?

I was trying to find a mobile for my mom and found that there were not many India specific sites that can give you accurate information and reviews. International websites had models that are not being launched in India and they had their prices in other currency. The so-called India specific sites were also showing phones that were not launched in India and the language used was full of technical jargon. I wanted to address these issues by building an India specific website to compare, evaluate mobile phones where the language and description is oriented to the layman.

There are many such sites, what makes Phonecurry.com different?

The following are the unique features of Phonecurry.com1. Simple to use, clutter free

2. Extensive search options - I can search, for instance, all Nokia phones with touchscreen, between 10,000 and 15,000, with in-built social networking applications - and then sort the results by price, launch date or rating.

3. Summarized opinion around each phone, for quick decision - takes into account multiple sources, so an 'over-all' opinion in the true sense.

4. Overall ratings, taking into account the feature set, the opinion summary, the price etc

How do plan to make money using this online venture?

The site is information based and unbiased. We want to continue this model. The model that we plan to adopt is - targeted advertising that is, not having simple banner ads. The entire site is structured around mobile phone search so we want to have advertisements that are highly relevant to the search query on the site. The other plan is to have tie ups with local mobile phone vendors. We can create leads for the dealers. We might also go the ecommerce route. These are early days and we are exploring all possibilities.

How are phones reviewed on Phonecurry.com?

Opinion is compiled from many review sites mostly expert reviews. We are just starting and had to seek content from other sites. When there are different varying opinions we have tried to compile an aggregate opinion about a particular phone. We also get user reviews from our site and assimilate it with the review.

What technology do you use for the website?

The website is based on PHP/MySQL.The search handling is better (than other such sites) in the sense that the entire interface is search oriented. The user selects the exact features that he wants, and gets the phones matching his/her criteria. These can then be sorted by price, launch date or rating. So, the entire interface follows the logical thought flow of a typical user looking to decide which phone to buy.

What was the idea behind the name?

As I said, I wanted the site to cater to the Indian market so thought why not have an Indian tinge to the name. My sister came up with this name and I decided to go ahead with it.

Was it a hard decision to quit a well paying job at KPMG to start something of your own?It was not hard for me as I always wanted to do something of my own though it was slightly difficult to explain it to others, but my family had faith in me and my ideas. I am confident that I will make this work. I always wanted to start something of my own and was looking for opportunities. I was always interested in programming and I designed and coded Phonecurry myself.

What are your future plans?

We want to extend our service to other countries and include other products. The mobile phone market is very huge and is a good place to start. We want to continue growing in the mobile segment and branch out into other areas like digital cameras and laptops.

YourStory thanks Sahil for his candid conversation with us and wish him all the very best in his entrepreneurial journey. On a parting note, we request our readers to go and check out Phonecurry.com next time you decide to buy a handset.