[Startup Bharat] MP-based InMinz aims to help businesses with app and MVP development

Hailing from similar backgrounds, Neha Bathre and Ketan Shrivastava met while working in IT Sales and Management department for the Government of India. It was there that the duo decided to start InMinz, an IT services company, in their hometowns in Madhya Pradesh (MP) in 2020. 

While they had initially started taking IT government contracts given their experience in the public sector, as well as a well-known bank’s contract, the lockdown put a halt to their work and kept tenders at bay. It was then that they decided to look more closely at the problem they could solve. 

“During the lockdown, businesspersons, especially grocery shop owners and restaurateurs, wanted apps for online grocery and food delivery so that they could start selling products online. Everyone wanted an app designed according to their specification and requirement,” Ketan explains to YourStory.

Realising that digitisation would be important for most business owners, they decided to help businesses by building products and apps.

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Small-town dynamics 

Thus, they started InMinz to provide options for clients to purchase ready apps, as per their industry needs. The startup also helps brands build a product or MVP based on their requirements. 

“We started InMinz in July 2020 and within 10 days, we got a contract of Rs 12 lakh for the development of an AI startup in the entertainment industry. We are bootstrapped and had started up with Rs 3,000 for just launching the website,” explains Neha. 

Hailing from a small town in MP, Neha has pursued BSc and MSc in Microbiology. While she wanted to work in Bhopal for an IT firm, her parents wanted her to marry. But she decided to come to Bhopal against her family’s wishes. 

“I had no money for anything. So I worked as an invigilator at an exam centre for 10 days where I got paid Rs 8,000. That helped with basic food and rent. I continued to work as a teacher, and tried applying for many jobs in IT companies. Learning about the government process of getting contracts, I joined an IT company as pre-sales executive for bidding on government IT projects and preparation tender proposal and bid submission,” says Neha. 

It is where she met Ketan, who too works in the government’s IT Sales and Project Management department. Ketan had completed his engineering studies in 2012 from MP and had the idea of developing a talent search portal. While he had started a rudimentary platform, he faced challenges in scaling the business. 

“I had no money to run a startup. We hail from lower-middle-class families. With a small loan I had taken to purchase a personal computer, I built the startup. The focus was on providing service of software development, website development, training and recruitment. While things looked up initially, we had to face hardships as we had no backing,” says Ketan. 

However, as things had started to improve, the pandemic struck. And soon, he started InMinz with Neha.

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The product and market 

The startup develops products based on the brief sent by the clients about their requirements for app or MVP development (which is protected by a non-disclosure agreement). 

Working with over four clients, InMintz makes margins of close to 25 percent. The team charges Rs 2 lakh to Rs 15 lakh, depending on requirements. 

According to a Grand View Research report, the market size for global product design and development services was valued at $7.9 billion in 2020, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.6 percent between 2021 and 2028. The bootstrapped startup competes with the likes of Guwahati-based TechVariable and Bengaluru-based Frshr Technologies. 

“As we see SAP, Salesforce, and Oracle being used for developing CRM or ERP modules for any industry, we want to do the same for app development,” says Ketan while talking about the future plans. 

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