Anyone who buys things online, and does enough research regarding sales will know about Cashkaro, as it is one of India’s most prominent coupons website. If you aren’t an online buying aficionado, Cashkaro allows you to use rebates, coupons and cashback to shop more efficiently and frugally.
Started in 2013, Cashkaro which was founded by couple turned entrepreneurs, Rohan and Swati Bhargava, after graduation from the London School of Economics. Here’s a look at how Swati built up such an empire, in such a short time.
The Founders
Swati Bhargava is an Investment Banker, turned business visionary from the quaint town of Ambala. She was born and brought up in Ambala, till she left for Singapore after securing a scholarship for herself. At the young age of 16, Swati won the jackpot when she got selected for the Singapore Airlines scholarship. As the small-town girl secured more than 85% in her12th grade and ended up impressing the judges and getting selected. It was Singapore that inspired the young Swati to dream bigger.
After finishing her schooling, she joined the London School of Economics and earned an Honour’s degree in Mathematics and Economics in 2005. She then began her banking career at Goldman Sachs, where she worked both in the Investment Banking and Executive Office divisions for five years.
While as a young girl Swati dreamt of joining the Indian Foreign Services, she instead opted to turn entrepreneur due to her love for marketing and business. Swati also had plans of joining Oxford as a youngster, but later, decided to go ahead with the London School of Economics as they gave her a higher scholarship.
Meanwhile, after graduating from the London School of Economics, Rohan worked with reputed companies like Washington Square and Aladdin Capital where he oversaw acquisitions worth more than $1 billion. He then went on to start his own venture, in 2011 called Pouring Pounds, in the UK, which too, focused on coupons and cashback. Once he got back to India, he and his wife, established Cashkaro, which quickly turned successful.
Founding Cashkaro
Leaving behind a safe and secure life as Investment bankers in the UK, the Bhargavas switched their focus to Pouring Pounds, which was a coupon based business, they had in the UK in 2011. It was the resounding success of such cashback companies in the US and UK, that prompted Swati to start such a venture.
The rebate business is a multi-billion-dollar business both in the US and China. This inspired Swati and Rohan to try out something of their own, through Pouring Pounds. While Swati never felt she would move back to India while working in London, the success of their venture, convinced the couple to shift their focus to India.
The couple gained enough confidence from the success of Pouring Pounds and so decided to extend their business to India in April 2013. The company started out with a small team in India, the co-founders staying in London. The two realised that they needed funding, so the couple wrote to a few friends about raising US$250K for the business, but by the end of the day, got replies from over 20 interested parties. Within 48 hours, the duo raised US$750K as investors knew that the e-commerce market in India had unlimited potential. Swati was able to successfully convince over 500 e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Myntra, and Jabong to join their venture, and this helped spearhead the company’s impressive growth.
Cash Positive Cashkaro
Cashkaro quickly grew to become one of India’s leading coupons website, with transactions exceeding Rs 10 crores. The company successfully offers and fulfils over 5,500 exchanges daily and since its inception has helped users save a whopping Rs 200 crores.
CashKaro.com has grown to become a preeminent player in the Indian market and is the only coupons website that is venture-capitalist supported. The company has raised over $4 million through a Series A funding managed by Kalaari Capital. The business model which allowed retailers that enlisted in Cashkaro to pay them a commission, which would then pass on to the customers as cashback, found immediate success in India. This unique model ensured that their business was not impaired by GST directly.
Cashkaro Today
Today, the site has got over 150,000 registered members who save an average of Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per year, thanks to Cashkaro. The company has over 1,500 associates including Koovs, Pepperfry, MakeMyTrip and Zoomcar to name a few.
While the idea was novel and was started from scratch, the company now has more than 80 employees. Swati’s guiding philosophy comes from the Gita, which says,” Karm karo, phal ki chinta mat karo!”, and this is something that the female entrepreneur has followed from day one to grow her business to its present glory. Currently, Swati heads Cashkaro’s marketing team and is working on plans for the company’s expansion into diverse verticals.
It wasn’t easy becoming India’s first cashback based company to raise more than $ 750,000. It took a lot of courage, knowledge, research and hard work, but it was all worth it for Swati, as she marches on a proud female entrepreneur, a flagbearer for several small-town girls with big dreams!
Being a cinephile with a love for all things outdoorsy, Athulya never misses a chance to chase inspiring stories or poke fun at things, even when the subject is herself. Currently pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering, she is someone innately interested in technical and scientific research. Music reviews and op-eds define her as they allow her to explore different perspectives. Though sometimes she thinks she makes more sense playing the guitar than she does while writing.