RoadCast helps to keep track of people and businesses on the go
With angel funding of $250K, RoadCast now caters to 3o enterprise customers and other B2C companies across five countries.
Startup: RoadCast
Founders: Anshul Jain, Vishal Jain and Rahul Mehra
Year it was founded: 2015
Where is it based: Delhi
The problem it solves: Simplifying GPS tracking of goods and assets on vehicles
Sector: Logistics
Funding raised: Undisclosed funding from UAE-based angel investors
A few years ago, when Rahul Mehra, Vishal Jain and Anshul Jain were travelling with their families, it was a classic situation of, “Where are you?” or “Are we there yet?” It was difficult to co-ordinate and track everyone in the family, while on the road.
That was when the trio realised that this situation was not restricted only to group travel, but manifested in many other ways too.
Rahul recalls,
"Sometimes the question is asked by our boss, at other times by our mum or friend. That’s when we thought that if there was a platform that connected people while they were travelling, it would solve a host of pain points."
That is how RoadCast came into being in 2015. Using that idea, the founding team of RoadCast worked on a set of business solutions.
RoadCast is a tech-driven platform built for asset monitoring, fleet management, and vehicle tracking. The aim is to enable businesses with constantly moving on-field resources, such as sales force and vehicles. Through real-time tracking of employees, vehicles or product orders, organisations can ensure quickest, safest and most efficient handling of logistical operations while being in constant communication with the end customer.
Rahul says logistics companies and those with delivery-based business models have been facing the problem of tracking their fleet on the road.
"Once the vehicles or on-road assets leave the premises, there is little to no visibility. Even if there is communication in some form, there is a high degree of discrepancy that gives rise to inefficiencies," he says.
RoadCast helps businesses gain visibility and also allows them to improve operational efficiency in terms of their workforce. The team comprises 20 people.
The company recently closed its angel round of funding, which saw participation from high net worth individuals (HNI) from the UAE. The round saw RoadCast raising $250,000.
The road taken
RoadCast has its headquarters in Delhi. Its client acquisition attempts began much before the entire product was developed as the organisation wanted to find and understand the particular needs of a business that would require its services.
Anshul Jain says,
"Prospective clients were asked about the problems that the organisation faced and then a customised solution was developed to solve them within the existing platform. In this way, RoadCast was able to onboard new clients while also making the platform capable of solving a variety of problems based on real-world feedback."
He says that even now, the same strategy is quite effective in ensuring that the platform evolves in the right way, solving a diverse range of real problems. Currently, RoadCast has 30 enterprise customers and several B2C customers across five countries. However, 90 percent of the customers are in India.
"RoadCast has a subscription-based revenue model where the customers pay us monthly, quarterly or annually for the services. The platform charges an advance subscription that ensures steady cash flows," Anshul says. The company is on the verge of breaking even and aim to significantly increase its revenue and profits over the next 5-6 months.
As a company, RoadCast’s unique selling point lies in the fact that each of the three founders bring something unique and essential to the table – Vishal's expertise in finance, Anshul's expertise in tech, and Rahul's expertise in brand design and marketing.
"It’s like a perfect mix of the right ingredients for a delicious dessert," Rahul says. He added to say that innovation is the product's USP.
He says,
"The team has gone to great lengths to create something new and unique and that actually solves a problem. If something already exists, RoadCast doesn’t just find new ways to sell it but also looks for ways to create a new technology around it."
Facing competition and challenges
According to Vishal Jain, the key lies not in developing and selling a technology, but retaining customers by providing an efficient service.
He shares,
"When dealing with enterprise customers, you cannot operate like a startup even though you are one. Retaining existing and older business engagements can also prove to be a tricky task. Also, the founders will not be able to look at every aspect of the business, leading to a lot of decentralisation. In the B2B space, creating a sales, servicing and marketing team that can show the same passion for the venture as the core group is a challenge."
In an industry approximately valued at $3 billion in India, Roadcast aims to emerge as an organisation identified by tech-based innovation and end-to-end resource management.
Currently, RoadCast provides its services to some big names across various industries in India such as Instapizza, Sushiya, Toyota, Hyundai, Gopala, 3S healthcare, fabFresh, to name a few and plans to venture into the Middle East soon.
It has even extended its services to vital public sector agencies, most prominent of them being its ongoing fleet tracking project with Delhi Police.
About learnings from the journey so far, Vishal says,
"It is imperative to keep your revenue model strong, hustle every day, and be like water. Shape your business and product according to the changing market dynamics. Focus on creating a stable product that provides an extremely satisfying customer experience. This ensures that minimum effort is spent in selling the product, and it sells on its own."
