Home is where one can find endless love and laundry. Vijayawada based startup, run by students who are pursing B.tech, is ceasing the never-ending storyof dirty clothes. Telugu360 is in conversation with the founder of Isthriwala, SriRamSuravarapuwho wants to create a revolution in the laundry industry…
What are the services provided by Isthriwala?
Isthriwala provides all kinds of premium online laundry services right at your doorstep with the ease of just a few clicks. We provide Normal Wash, Dry Wash, Chemical Wash and Pressing at very affordable prices and best quality directly to your door.
How did you get the idea?
We were discussing with our mentors TarunKondapalli and Balram about what we should be doing next after conducting a charity event successfully. In a very random discussion a question popped up “How do u wash your clothes online?” That’s how we started, as team of seven and there was no looking back.
You are about to complete your final year in B.Tech. How supportive has your college been?
Our college KLU has been very supportive especially our professors- Vice President K Raja Hari and Entrepreneurship cell director K Rajashekar. We have an entrepreneurship cell in our college which creates a good environment for budding entrepreneurs, helps us ideate, connect with investors and provides mentorship. We initiated this startup trend and it feels good to see many juniors are idolizing us and coming up with new ideas
When you started first in Vijayawada, what were your target places?
We never restricted ourselves to certain places, but considered the Vijayawada city as our base. Then we expanded to Hyderabad. Now we are planning to expand in all big metro cities by end of December.
Is your initial plan confined to only metro cities or even tourist spots?
Our customers are from hoteling and corporate industries apart from individual homes.When we start operating in big cities, it is easy to localize within the state. Subsequently, we want to target tourist spots. Once we are out of our college we aspire to make it vast. We are here to create a brand for laundry and want people to call it Isthriwala.
How was your interaction with Isthriwalas?
We are trying to formalize things with not only Isthriwala shops but also the Isthriwalas on street. When we show them a lot of business and incentives, they are happy that we are making their work easy. It reduces their travel burden. They realized that things can knock their door step,which is what makes the Isthriwalas register with us.
What is your pricing model?
We come at most affordable prices based on the city. It definitely varies from Vijayawada to Hyderabad. But within the city it remains the constant. There are various factors for the pricing like cost of living, distance etc when it comes to pricing.
Can you tell us something that took you by surprise?
We were prepared for the worst. We did not invest into marketing. Due to the hype we got, even before our operations was ready, we started getting orders which we did not expect. It feels good to have around 60 orders in hand on the day of launch.
What is your message to students who want to venture into startups?
Starting a company is easy, running it and standing up is the toughest part. College is safest place to experiment. It will help you gain a lot of experience and the college itself is the biggest market.
Wondering how to catch up with the busy week with a pile of clothes to wash!! Call on 9573733399 or visit isthriwala.com or download the app to place your order.
