IIM alumni, Ankur Sethi and Vivek Jhorar, launch an online apparel shopping assistant- NuPinch
Online shopping in India is proving to be cumbersome with so many options. The recently concluded eSparks also brought out an interesting point as to how curation can be the game changer with respect to eCommerce. Nupinch is a step in this direction, an online apparel shopping assistant launched by Ankur Sethi and Vivek Jhorar.
The idea for NuPinch took birth, when one day Ankur’s wife was browsing online to find a dress and she couldn’t. Ankur got thinking and NuPinch was born. “NuPinch.com relieves you from the exasperation of scanning varied sites to buy the next dress,” explains Ankur. Since launch, NuPinch.com houses around 17 online stores & there are 20,000+ products to search from portals like shopnineteen.com, brandmile.com, designkapde.com & others. The revenue according to Ankur, will come in from conversions and the proposition is that the online retailers will get better conversions from NuPinch as they’re curating the content.
Essentially, NuPinch does not sell but just helps you buy, so you can discover your at NuPinch and then you are redirected to the merchants site to make the actual purchase. Currently search is based on keywords but eventually, NuPinch plans to help users search basis seller reviews, brand strength, delivery details and such parameters. NuPinch still has a long way to go in terms of perfecting the product, a simple search for 'Kurta' gives the user loads of options and then again it is left upon the user to choose. As a user, one would appreciate if there was more help as to how to make that choice. NuPinch is also in a competitive landscape with players like Junglee, MySmartPrice, etc. which will make it inevitable for them to have a top notch product.
Talking of positives, NuPinch has some an interesting feature like ‘Ask a Designer’, where a consumer can ask fashion experts what would look good on them. Completely bootstrapped from their own savings, NuPinch is focusing on curation, improving usability, conversion and getting more portals to join them. NuPinch is also on the lookout for funds to improve their product and scale up quickly.
Before starting NuPinch Ankur previously had his own recruitment firm after which he help setup a dance & entertainment venture. A mechanical engineer and an MBA from IIM-Calcutta, Ankur has known his co-founder Vivek an IIM Indore alumni for a long time. Both of them had worked together professionally when Vivek joined Ankur’s dance venture on the board of directors.
Website: NuPinch
