Zypp
Akash Gupta (Founder)
US
Akash Gupta is the Co-founder of Zypp, along with Rashi Agarwal. Launched in August 2017, Zypp is an EV startup based in Gurgaon, India. Zypp provides IoT-powered electric scooters that make travel convenient, sustainable and affordable. Recently, the IAN Fund invested INR 15 crore in Zypp, and the startup is seeing great progress during the global lockdown.
What differentiates us entrepreneurs is the capability to take that risk
Questions & Answers
Praveen
Hi Akash, thanks for joining me today for the BusinessMocha interview. As we begin, please tell us a little about yourself and your startup Zypp?
Akash
Thanks for having me, Praveen. So, Zypp is a three-year-old startup based out of Gurgaon, India. We are primarily into the electric mobility space.
That’s the area that we always wanted to work with because of two reasons. One of them being India is very, very high on affordability quotient where things need to be lesser on cost. We thought about the best way that we can serve a mobility or delivery ecosystem at affordable pricing: it has to be electric, right versus fueled vehicle. That was our first thesis.
The second reason was the sustainability quotient that we bring to the table: reducing pollution, reducing carbon footprint, making commute eco-friendly. We are one of the only companies that is fully electric, right in the way that we operate and what we do.
Now what we do with our business? First: last-mile deliveries; whether it’s eCommerce, groceries, hyperlocal food; everything is booming in India at a rate of 25-30% year-on-year CAGR. And then if we are able to make these commutes go electric, we are giving a lot more potential for these companies or these riders to earn by earning an affordable and eco-friendly way of commute. And obviously, the charter of sustainability then continues.
Today in this last-mile delivery concept, there is hyperlocal last-mile delivery, where we pick packets from a store or a warehouse and deliver to the customer’s homes with an end-to-end ecosystem which is tech-played and EV-played. We work with the likes of Amazon, Big Basket, Spencer’s and Future Group and thousands of hyperlocal merchants who are wanting this service of last-mile delivery.
The other side is: commute is changing. Now, a lot of people cannot afford vehicles, but they would want to rent out a vehicle for themselves for a day, a month or such. We provide those services also.
“At Zypp we aim to make India carbon-free by electric scooter rentals or buying the scooter and delivery business mechanism. We aim to shift from petrol to electric with our expertise in technology and operations on the ground.”
Praveen
How has COVID affected your business?
Akash
Thanks for having me, Praveen. So, Zypp is a three-year-old startup based out of Gurgaon, India. We are primarily into the electric mobility space
Praveen
That's because people don't want to come out as much and now the deliveries have increased enough?
Akash
Yes, yes.
Praveen
In term of this new start of your journey, what was your eureka moment? What made you say, ‘this is what I want to do?’
Akash
I did my MBA back in 2008. I didn’t come from a family of lawyers or businessmen; while my dad has been a doctor. But the rest of my family, all my uncles are into different businesses.
So I learned and took my career in the same way that I would want to learn a lot of new things to grow a business so that at one point in time, it’s a great opportunity that can impact a lot of lives.
I would want to then do it myself. EV was very new at that point in time, I thought that an intersection of shared electric mobility could solve everything that I was looking for.
Praveen
That’s great. I know you're looking to scale in India, and I was reading about it... but how do you see it? Do you think this is something you can take international?
Akash
Well, definitely. I think what we are doing can be replicated anywhere in the world. If we are able to solve something in India, which is mobility or last-mile delivery, I think we can extend it to any of the markets, whether it’s Southeast Asia, Europe, US, everywhere.
This becomes extendable because if we’ve made unit economics work in India, I think the unit economics in dollars is definitely much better in what we do. The solution is extendable, it’s replicable. But again, the point that I make here is that India is such a huge market.
Once we are able to solve the problem in India, then the rest of the markets can open up for us and it in itself is a huge opportunity. Overall – 300 million trips happen in India every day. If we are able to shift 10% of them… that’s a huge number that we are talking about!
Praveen
Fantastic! My last question for you: With entrepreneurship, there's always a fear, like loss of money, loss of reputation, etc. Did you have any fears?
Akash
I was at a very, very good state in my corporate career. Right from reading, marketing, earning good salaries: I was at that stage where it was a lot to lose, right? I think one thing which differentiates us entrepreneurs is the capability to take that risk and give it our all. I think you can never build a startup without that capability.
All right, my stature, my reputation. Money can always come around, but reputation was the main thing that was at stake. But then the other fear was that if I don’t build my startup, then I am questioning my capability to take that risk.
And that is unacceptable after a point in time, that you had a chance to do something, you want to do it, you had found the right opportunity, and still, you didn’t take the plunge. I think that’s the question that I didn’t want in my life for me to answer.
Find out more about Akash and his app here:https://zypp.app/
