A discussion on richest people in the world can not be summarised without naming the players in real estate. It is a sector that has always attracted big money from buyers as well as the investors. And with technology knocking doors of traditional businesses, a million new opportunities are now up for grabs. Surely, a bunch of start-ups have ventured into the space but challenges of building a successful revenue model and attracting a perennial flow of buyers has not been an easy puzzle to solve for most. However, the key to success remains finding a unique and plain sailing solution for problems that plague a large number of people.
Some years back, Tanuj Shori and wife Kanika Gupta stumbled upon an interesting business idea while undergoing a hard time themselves. Neither of them had planned to be entrepreneurs and, in fact, had taken up rewarding jobs overseas after completing their education. After completing his education from IIM Lucknow, Tanuj worked for eight years in areas like real estate, commodity, construction, retail, luxury brand etc.
Struggle gave way to opportunity
As NRIs, the couple wanted to invest in real estate in India but found it extremely difficult to get any guidance or support from an on-ground professional. They realized that they are not alone in this yet nobody was working for finding an effective solution to fill this gap. The duo spoke to several of their friends and began stumbling upon similar stories of struggles and frustration from fellow NRIs. So, in 2013, they launched a company called Square Yards from a small room with three employees.
Based on solid research, their firm began offering assistance to NRIs on micro-markets of top 10 Indian cities. They built a network of real estate developers and also setup a portal that made research easier for their clients. Tanuj and Kanika had effectively identified and solved a problem which brought them good business along with expansion prospects.
They were creating value and it met with encouraging rewards. Square Yards entered the 100 crore-club in just 22 months of operations.
Business model
They roped in information technology to make user experience seamless and introduced exciting and unexplored investment options like student accommodation, mall redevelopment, car parking etc. Their product also provided end-to-end solution with securing loans and mortgage.
Today, their firm has offices all over India and in nine other countries with over 1000 employees registering an overall gross transactional value of Rs 5,000 crore in 2018. Their growth story is aggressive and displays a strong tech backbone. Square Yards portal and app generate lakhs of leads every month which is then serviced both online and offline.
For every property sale, Square Yards charges a commission (two-10 percent of the property value) from the property developer. The client is not charged for the services rendered. Similarly, for every loan facilitated, they charge banks/NBFCs a commission on the value of the loan disbursed.
Tanuj and Kanika have scripted a thrilling success story by personifying solution at a time when they couldn’t find any. Their aggressive growth strategies have made them a leader in this segment of real estate. It is nothing short of inspiring for all the people out there who always keep an eye out for opportunities, challenges and yearn for the sweet success that follows.
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