Lazy Bone Publications creates Smart Notes to make studying easier
Sharing his thoughts on the inception of the idea, he said, “Lazy Bone Publications was an idea that I got when I was studying for my CA exams. Generally, every student makes his own notes for the CA exams and it is a preferred method of studying for almost all students in any field. It is always nice to read a concise, relevant version of the book written in your own hand. I realized that students pursuing commerce are not left with much time to study for their college exams since they are pursuing other professional courses like CA, CS, CWA or working simultaneously. At the same time there are other students in commerce who don’t study much for their college exams. I saw the need for some tool for these students. I spoke to a friend about it. He is now my partner and has given much more meaning and depth to the idea and has equal contribution is forming & setting up Lazy Bone Publications.”
Lazy Bone Publications commenced operations on May 18th, 2012. The startup team had just Alekh and his partner who did everything. LazyBone has taken a life of its own quite quickly since then. He states “My partner, Vinesh Savla is the Co-founder & C.O.O and handles the content development which includes following up with the authors, printers etc. Rachit is our designer who designs the book cover, facebook pages, logos, tshirts, badges etc. He also handles the social media marketing.”
“I along with other two team members handle the marketing and sales which includes meeting teachers, principals, coaching class owners etc. We want to grow our team to cover more ground effectively and efficiently. However, not many people are willing to work for a start-up.”
They initially had misgivings that teachers would perceive Smart Notes as a crib sheet or a short cut. But after visiting 40 colleges and over 60 coaching classes in Mumbai their thoughts have changed a lot. He says “College teachers have been very welcoming to the concept and we can expect them to recommend our books to the students in the time to come. We also conducted a few pilot projects wherein we called certain students and made them review the book. Response from the students too has been very encouraging. This is what they always wanted. However, conversion of the good response to sales is the big challenge ahead for us.”
“Lazy Bone Publication publishes student friendly notes. Our authors are mostly chartered accountants who have graduated from college just one or two years back. Therefore, we know the students’ psyche and also the requirement of the teachers.”
Any commerce student will be glad to know that they now have simplified and effective notes to manage their college exams as well. Throwing light on their current publications he said, “Our signature product is our book called SMART NOTES. We have currently published SMART NOTES for two subjects for the students in first year of commerce (F.Y.B.Com) of the Mumbai University. Now, there are a team of authors who are working on various books for the commerce stream. Apart from our published books, we also develop customized content for the coaching classes. Coaching classes is a huge business in Mumbai. There are more than 100 coaching classes in Mumbai and the professors don’t have time to develop notes for their students. This is where we step in. We develop notes for the coaching classes as per their requirements.”
Other streams need not feel left out as there are more offerings in the works. Alekh stated “As of now, we have published SMART NOTES for only two subjects for a certain section. By the end of this calendar year, we shall publish eight more books for various subjects of various sections. In the next two years, we want to cover the entire commerce stream and then move on to other streams as well. We are also looking to foray into digital content and are in talks with an online portal for providing digital content.”
Before Lazy Bone Publications took shape, Alekh had founded a venture in Bangalore where they used to manufacture and distribute a product called “Mumbai Sandwich” under the brand “FEEL MUMBAI” to the supermarkets, race course, cinema halls, corporate, bus stands etc.
He adds “My father and I managed this business for 6-7 months. However, due to certain reasons we had to close down the business and return to Mumbai. This business laid the foundation of my entrepreneurial journey and gave me great exposure in terms of selling, meeting people, networking, management etc.”
His insights into what it takes to start up also reveal how far he has come. He says “I think the process of setting up something and planning the execution is an easier task as compared to the execution of the plan. Entrepreneurship, for me, has been more of learning and an experience. Everyday there is something new to learn and the dynamic environment in India makes it all the more fun.”
“I started my first business of making and selling sandwiches at the age of 21. Bangalore was a new city for me. So, the challenges were much more. Though we closed down business closed down, I have learnt much from it. I started Lazy Bone Publications when I was 22 and it is shaping up well.”
Finally we asked them why they chose a name which is antithetical to their products and Alekh responded “Well, this is a question asked by many. Lazy Bone Publications is a publications house for people who are lazy by nature & also those who are lazy by choice and so the name, but I would like to end this by saying that there are hardworking people behind Lazy Bone!!!”
Alekh was kind enough to send us a copy of “Smart Notes” with an enclosed note that said “They have to be seen to be believed”. The book is truly a novel idea. Not only are the Smart Notes actual notes but they contain the gist of what the subject is. The notes are handwritten, scanned and printed, because Alekh says the readability factor rises when you look at something that looks like someone has written it. The handwriting is legible and it feels like you are reading from someone’s notes. The usage of mnemonic’s as study aid are nothing new but their implementation in the notes is heartening.
LazyBone Publications is on YourStory Pages.