Haritash Tamvada, Warrantify.com, paperless warranties and receipts

Warrantify.com is a paperless, one-stop-shop where retailers and consumers easily manage warranties and receipts. In a conversation with YourStory.in, Haritash, Founder of Warrantify shares with us his startup journey so far.

We at YourStory.in wish the entire team at Warrantify.com good luck as they plan to go live on 5th June!

Tell us more about Warrantify.com

Warrantify.com is a web-based, paperless, one-stop-shop where retailers and consumers easily manage warranties and receipts. During the retail checkout process today, consumers often leave the store with a paper receipt longer than their arm. Not only does this process fly in the face of the green movement, it is also inconvenient for consumers to store and manage paper receipts and warranties from different merchants.

Why did you start this project? What was your personal motivation behind the startup?

The idea started with a pain, a common problem which most of the consumers experience almost everyday. The trouble of managing paper based receipts and warranties every time we make a purchase(and losing them when you need them the most!). Having lost many of those important warranties and receipts myself, we thought there ought to be a better way of managing them - thus was born warrantify.com

Who are your customers?

The customers we specialize in serving are e-Commerce and offline consumer electronics retailers, in both the Indian and US markets. We are working together with retailers in offering warrantify receipts to each one of their customers.What are the problems you are trying to solve?

We are focused on solving two distinct problems.

First, from a consumer’s perspective - paper receipts and warranties, take up lots of space, are often misplaced, and unfortunately use resources that just aren’t necessary. For the consumer, warrantify offers the easiest way to manage receipts and warranties, providing them with specific saving suggestions, all while being environmentally friendly.           

Secondly, we are trying to re-imagine the receipt and warranty management system for the retailer. This original management process is outdated, cumbersome, and inflexible when it comes to marketing warranty extensions and alternative up-sells. Warrantify.com is the next big thing in both online and offline retail SAAS based solutions. For retailers, warrantify provides a cost-effective way to extract more value from existing customers and eases warranty claim processes.

What is your business model?

Our business model is broken down into two key revenue streams:

(a) Transaction fees

(b) Cross-sells and up-sells

We specifically generate transaction revenues from our retail partner network based upon a percentage of the value of each electronic device sold. We aim to leverage this style of fee based upon retail account size, country of operation, and retailer product focus.

Have you raised funding?

Yes. We are currently in the process of closing our seed investment round.What is the status of development and when are you planning your "go to market"?

Private beta of the product is ready and our customers can start using the service for their paperless warranties and receipts. We are going live on 5th June 2011, the world environment day.

Your company is based out of Helsinki, Finland but you have a team in Hyderabad as well. What are the challenges that you face?

Given the geographic distances, we do have some issues working remotely as any company would have, but things are working out quite well for us so far, as we have clear goals and tasks lists and we try to accomplish them. Also, regular Skype calls and emails help us a lot to stay unto speed.

So, where do you see Warrantify in 3 years time?

We'd like to see warrantify.com as the best and most compelling place for consumers, retailers and OEM's across the world to manage their paperless warranties and receipts. We'd like to collaborate with large OEM's and retailers in offering clean, paperless warranty receipts to all their consumers. Apart from warranties we'd also like to foray into retail grocery related receipts in the future.

Tell us a little bit about your background.

Well, I was pursuing my doctoral studies in Finland before I quit that to realize my startup dream of seeing a world free of paper receipts and warranties. I love traveling and learning about new businesses and technologies.How has the startup journey been so far?

Its been an incredible journey! With a steep learning curve, I've learnt a lot over the last one and a half years across different fields. It has been a very enriching and educating experience. Looking back, I think it was a good decision to take the entrepreneurial route.

You have won at StartUp Live Vienna (http://www.startuplive.in/vienna) last October. How did this help while starting up?

Winning Startup Live Vienna #4 was an amazing experience. The team at Start Europe has incredible energy and helps the entrepreneurs in shaping their ideas and getting started. Such events give startups an ideal platform to get feedback and perhaps even test your idea and business model further.

As an entrepreneur, What are your joys? What are the challenges?

As an entrepreneur the biggest joy would be if I'm able to solve an existing problem in the society and make a meaningful contribution through technology that people can use and connect to in their every day lives. Challenges of course are always part of the game, but getting people(especially investors) to believe in your ideas and vision has been one of the biggest challenges.

Are you looking at hiring people at Warrantify.com?

Yes, we are looking for web developers, interface architects, product and account management, sales and marketing professionals to join our world class team. Please email us at [email protected] or access our careers page for more information.

Do check out http://warrantify.com/ for more details.