If the team at Urban Clap has come this far .. having navigated one of the more un-organised markets and covid .. i think they will go a long way. Their growth trajectory might have its set of challenges but they seem to be cracking a code which is rare in our country - "dignity". That should help them to do meaningful & related diversification of their current services. As an Indian, I will root for them. As a potential investor .. key will be the listing price (getting a decent allocation in an IPO is next to impossible) and the valuation.
I was talking to a friend the other day asking him to get me unlisted shares of UC (his dad is a MF Distributer) completely unaware that they are going for an IPO. I get ammused when the electrician or plumber on their own add the invoice for any spare parts to the app for me to pay, UC on other hand gives me one month free warranty (a win win). They have a done a incredible job making an unorganized sector to much more digni-organized (if I may say 😆)
There's a simple test I like to run: walk into any small restaurant, local office, or shop in a Tier-2 or Tier-3 town, and just look around. Chances are you'll spot a leaky tap, a kitchen that could use a serious scrub, or walls that haven't seen paint since the last decade. That's a business opportunity sitting in plain sight.
Urban Company has mostly built its story around households. But the real untapped ground might be commercial spaces in smaller towns, restaurants, offices, small businesses where the need for repair and upkeep is just as real, maybe more so, and far less served.
The trick isn't finding demand. It's creating the habit. Sometimes a market doesn't exist yet simply because nobody's shown people why they should want the thing. There's an old example from the 1920s: smoking in public was considered improper for women, so half the potential market for cigarettes just sat untouched. A campaign built around a broader idea women's independence rather than the product itself, ended up normalizing it and unlocking that demand.
The same logic could apply here. It's not about pushing a service. It's about making better-maintained spaces the new normal that local business owners feel they should want.
If the team at Urban Clap has come this far .. having navigated one of the more un-organised markets and covid .. i think they will go a long way. Their growth trajectory might have its set of challenges but they seem to be cracking a code which is rare in our country - "dignity". That should help them to do meaningful & related diversification of their current services. As an Indian, I will root for them. As a potential investor .. key will be the listing price (getting a decent allocation in an IPO is next to impossible) and the valuation.
Agreed on all counts Ashish - thanks for taking the time to read and sharing your thoughts!
I was talking to a friend the other day asking him to get me unlisted shares of UC (his dad is a MF Distributer) completely unaware that they are going for an IPO. I get ammused when the electrician or plumber on their own add the invoice for any spare parts to the app for me to pay, UC on other hand gives me one month free warranty (a win win). They have a done a incredible job making an unorganized sector to much more digni-organized (if I may say 😆)
Glad you enjoyed reading Kunal (though we're firmly on the fence about 'digni-organized', just saying)
There's a simple test I like to run: walk into any small restaurant, local office, or shop in a Tier-2 or Tier-3 town, and just look around. Chances are you'll spot a leaky tap, a kitchen that could use a serious scrub, or walls that haven't seen paint since the last decade. That's a business opportunity sitting in plain sight.
Urban Company has mostly built its story around households. But the real untapped ground might be commercial spaces in smaller towns, restaurants, offices, small businesses where the need for repair and upkeep is just as real, maybe more so, and far less served.
The trick isn't finding demand. It's creating the habit. Sometimes a market doesn't exist yet simply because nobody's shown people why they should want the thing. There's an old example from the 1920s: smoking in public was considered improper for women, so half the potential market for cigarettes just sat untouched. A campaign built around a broader idea women's independence rather than the product itself, ended up normalizing it and unlocking that demand.
The same logic could apply here. It's not about pushing a service. It's about making better-maintained spaces the new normal that local business owners feel they should want.