How two corporate leaders launched their one-of-a-kind Efficiency-as-a-Service (EaaS) venture to help businesses reduce their electrical energy costs and contribute towards the green planet

Aviconn is an IoT-based smart energy management solution created to deliver the maximum possible savings along with unique business models to deliver the ROI on Day-1. Its warehouse energy-saving solutions help customers not only to reduce their electricity bills by 30-50 percent on average but also the IoT data to improve operational efficiencies.

The desire to contribute to society and the planet led two friends – Manish Gupta and Tapan Kapoor – to launch their smart energy management company Aviconn Solutions. The duo noticed that the logistics industry suffered from huge energy costs that contributed to 20 - 30 percent of their operating costs. That was the gap they set out to bridge with their Efficiency as a Service (EaaS) venture.

How the idea struck

The multi-floor storage and 24x7 operations of organised warehouses increase their electricity consumption 6 to 10 times that of the unorganised logistics sector. Realising there weren’t too many solutions for this in the market due to complex electrical infrastructure and compliance requirements, Manish and Tapan wanted to do something towards green planet and society hence taken-up the energy sector. Speaking of the beginning, they say, “We were discussing different technologies and key business problems, and where we can leverage our learnings and knowledge, and do something different for the country and the society. We had been discussing it for a while, and then we finally launched Aviconn in 2015.”

Aviconn is an IoT-based smart energy management solution with an AI/ML engine, created to deliver the maximum possible savings along with data insights for operational efficiencies. Through these new-age technologies, Aviconn’s warehouse energy-saving solutions help owners reduce their electricity bills by 30-50 percent on average. Aviconn offers services such as warehouse energy-saving solutions, optimised lighting, intelligent appliance control, and data insights.

“We brought the latest technology in India to provide electricity management solutions. In addition, we brought home the concept of EaaS. For example, our client has an electricity bill of Rs 100. We promise to reduce that bill to Rs 50. We then install our product, we deliver that Rs 50 savings and that saved value is shared between the customer and Aviconn. And that's the high-level model called EaaS. The concept is new in the domain, and we are the first to do it,” says Manish.

The entrepreneurial shift

Managing finances, business, developing a product and technology, and building the team from scratch were things the duo had to learn from scratch. But the strength was their experience, which came with their senior leadership roles. “Since we were working with cutting-edge technology, we planned our finances first to ensure that our journey was long-term. We went step by step. We looked at the low-hanging fruits and tried to catch them and build up on top of them. And at the same time, we took care of compliances for a company to run as a legal entity,” adds Tapan.

Despite the pandemic, Aviconn managed to maintain their revenue. A major reason was businesses trying to survive the pandemic needed help with cost management. “We became a partner for them because our EaaS model helped them acquire products where investments were not required. We were helping them to reduce their cost,” he says. Another driving factor was their online presence in terms of what and how they offer", adds Manish.

The unique and very well-designed business model which explains to the customer beforehand how to achieve the maximum possible savings, operational efficiencies and provides the complete calculation for their own warehouses with in-depth details helped them to make decisions with confidence. "We feel proud when our customer thanks us for the same", says Manish.

Scaling with NIXI

With a .in extension right from the start, Aviconn aimed to provide customers with a holistic view about how they can save up on energy costs with their technology. Explaining their unique EaaS model well was another reason for the website.

“When we talk about the .in domain, it's very important to reach the right stakeholders. Traditionally, India is a follower when it comes to cutting-edge technology. So we had a very clear idea based on experience. We want to be amongst the first to bring such cutting-edge technology to India. Our .in website has helped us to get to the right customers,” says Tapan.

Like Aviconn, various companies across sectors have opted for the .in domain name. The National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) has helped various businesses across sectors easily get access to a .in or .Bharat domain. Companies can choose between 22 languages for a domain name after opting for .in and .Bharat.

The duo said that the website helped stakeholders understand how energy efficiencies can be planned as a service and how Aviconn can deliver the maximum possible savings.

The .in domain, according to the duo, provides wide customer reach with low costs. “A .in portal will help customers identify that a startup is an Indian company and they're operating from India. Certain businesses often require someone to be present locally, and the client is interested in dealing with the local company,” says Tapan.

Future plans

The team claims that their values are sacrosanct. “We always try to leverage the technology component that keeps us delivering better and better, while simultaneously advancing in our technology roadmap. That’s the kind of approach we take. So customers are also happy because we are giving them the right value for their requirement and solving their real problem, while we are uplifting the company’s technical portfolio also,” shares Tapan.

From a business point of view, we target our revenue touches Rs 250 crore in five years. “The way key warehousing E-commerce and 3PL players, be it start-ups, Unicorns or MNCs are committing to a strong pipeline that should further improve Y-o-Y growth by multifold from the current 120% Y-o-Y growth”, adds Manish.

The Shaping India Inc's Online Growth series chronicles the journeys of startups and SMEs in India and how creating an online presence on the .in or .Bharat domain powered their success stories.