Powering Hyperlocal Service Discovery | Sulekha

This is a story of an Indian engineer who went to the US, discovered the power of technology to change the world, and finally ended up coming back to India to build his start-up. 

Satya Prabhakar has had a front-row seat to the evolution of startups in the US and India.

He founded Sulekha.com in the US in 2002 as a community and classifieds platform for Indians. 

Satya raised $10 million as his first external fundraising in 2006, which was an incredible sum of money at that time! After securing this funding, he relocated to India to start up Sulekha, a platform for finding reliable local service providers.

Today, Sulekha is one of the largest service platforms in India.

The startup has evolved from a local business listing site to a technology-driven matchmaking platform.

Other Ways to Listen:

Apple Podcast | Amazon Music | Google Podcast

Read the text version of the episode here.

Some of the things he shared:-

• Pay per lead model

• Playbook for expanding business in new cities

• Transforming into a qualified matchmaking platform

• Key to profitability in listing businesses

Additional readings:-

1. Retain the mind of a beginner, says Satya Prabhakar of Sulekha.com

2. With its AI-powered match-making, Chennai-based Sulekha connects 20 million users with expert service providers every year

3. Staying relevant and growing stronger among new startups: the Sulekha story

4. Sulekha: Journey from listings to 'match-making'

5. Sulekha: The growth of a local service provider

Before you go……the analytics only tell me so much, I want to hear what you feel and think about the conversations.

Mail me at ad@thepodium.in with your comments & feedback or if you just want to hear my comments on your startup idea - I love getting your emails!

Until the next founder's thesis📕,

Your host, AD