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A StartUp that made the Local Kirana Stores stand in front of the Global e-Commerce Majors

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Indians have been traditionally relying on neighborhood stores (Kirana store) for food. The strong presence, network and overall personal level relationship establish them very deep in Indian society. Neighborhood stores are as old as this country is and still both partners are fulfilling the desire, need and expectations of each other but with the advancement of technology, the use of Smartphone and emergence of E-commerce local grocery stores are losing its charm.

A computer engineering graduate Mannu Jha, who born in a family that lives on the earning of small Kirana shop in the remote village of Bihar, when saw that old hubs of grocery shopping are losing its charm and relevancy due to emergence of E-commerce and Superstores as well as inadaptability of traditional Kirana store with technology and new trends. He decided to re-establish local Kirana once again and come up with a StartUp that incarnate Age-old Mom-Dad shop digitally to save the ancient shopping heritage, a StartUp that made local grocery stores stand in front of the global e-commerce majors.

Mannu reveals their agenda and state “I want a StartUp that incarnate Age-old Mom-Dad shop digitally to save the ancient shopping heritage and made local Kirana Stand in front of the global giants.”

Customer Application

Germination of Idea

It was summer of 2019, Mannu is busy in his regular business stuff but every businessman is, first of all, a family man. No matter what you are, you have to go to buy ration. Mannu also has to dispatch his responsibility and went to a nearby grocery store where he found his old dream to revolutionize the Kirana store. He hanged all his old projects and work in nights to characterize his old dream. Resultantly “OkkJi” came into existence.

“I just want to tune old Kirana store according to new age and provide them a digital look that they cannot bear alone. I also want to uplift the additional responsibility like home delivery, documentation from shopkeepers so that they can focus on their business” Mannu explains his motives behind OkkJi.

The litmus test of the feasibility of Idea

Taking any decision is quite easy but implementing it in real is rather tough and complicated. This also happens with Mannu’s conception. So, marathon churning and survey start to know the on-ground feasibility, need and acceptance of the very idea.

Team Okkji criss-cross its first target city “Patna” trice to know the response from shops as well as the customer side. The rich & old retail market and dense population of Patna is a natural choice for us. The potential and future growth of the city also drags us towards it.

They find a very overwhelming response from shops and customers both. The responses of local Mom-dad shops are quite encouraging as they are facing tough competition from Superstore and e-commerce players.

“We just want to know that these thoughts are not just the mind of our mind, are common people also facing similar problems that’s why we have conducted three intense surveys across the city,” Ravi added who look after the research and development.

They get very encouraging responses from buyers and common family persons as they do not want to spend their home weekend in long queues of any supermarket and hesitate to buy groceries from e-commerce but have full faith in their neighbourhood Kirana store.

Kirana Store Application

Journey to the Characterization of OkkJi App

After testing the idea and its on-ground acceptance Team OkkJi they themselves into work to characterize concept OkkJi to App OkkJi.

Mannu along with key members handpick the best professionals to build a perfect team. They hire expert hand for the development of OkkJi App according to their expectations and visualization. Experience and young marketing team take responsibility to convince and associate shops, creative catalogue and inventory develop many sets of catalogue based on the taste of the city and shop’s potential.

Finally, OkkJi App is ready to launch and pre-registration starts with a big hit.

Okkji team

Sudden stroke and additional feather

Mannu and his team are all set to bang traditional grocery shopping mechanisms but the sudden outburst of COVID 19 that suspended all on- ground operation. It was terrible times for a new initiative but team OkkJi takes this break as an opportunity to evaluate and retrospect. Something excellent always comes out of introspection. Team OkkJi also gets some new feather-like OkkJI Fast- A dedicated delivery system, OkkJi direct- A smooth and traffic-free channel for manufacturers and a diverse range of subscription plans as OkkJi Direct.

“Lockdown starts with a sudden calamity for us but after some time we realize that it an opportunity to refine our services and evaluate the whole project” one of them added.

These words represent the dedication and association of members with the project.

Loss becomes gain

Lockdown and COVID outburst stops registration of shops because marketing executives cannot go to shops physically for registration.

In the other hand pre-registration for customers is getting overwhelming response that not only evokes enthusiasm and energy among the team but also inspire to perform the best.

This period advertises the idea in a great way also without even a single penny investment on advertisement as people realise and experience the need and relevancy of home delivery, the importance of neighbourhood Kirana, and inefficiency of Super market. They desperately need a channel that connects common people to neighbourhood Kirana digitally. Shops also realises the importance of digitalization and additional hand in terms of delivery.

“Lockdown, actually establish the demand of digitalization that smoothen our operation and marketing strategy. So, we start registration of shops digitally and get almost 100 stores in our panel. This response made us launch “Beta” phase of App that is quite useful for Retailers.”

With the initial potential and hope of 30000 order delivery in a month, team OkkJi is starting its journey in a royal manner and very Soon industry, as well as people, will hear the thump of its arrival, which has enshrined itself among all kinds of prohibition and Lockdown.

The dedication and zeal to revolutionize old age practice according to the digital era and contemporary technical adaptations is the core of this startup that not only maintain the living heritage of shopping as well as give thrust to individual entrepreneurship along with customers satisfaction.

The idea of Bigtime Daily landed this engineer cum journalist from a multi-national company to the digital avenue. Matthew brought life to this idea and rendered all that was necessary to create an interactive and attractive platform for the readers. Apart from managing the platform, he also contributes his expertise in business niche.

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Business

Scaling Success: Why Smart Habits Beat Growth Hacks in Modern eCommerce

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There’s a romanticized image of the eCommerce founder: a daring risk-taker chasing the next big idea, fueled by late-night caffeine and last-minute inspiration. But the reality behind scaled, sustainable brands tells a different story. Success in digital commerce doesn’t come from chaos or clever hacks. It comes from habits. Repetitive, structured, often unglamorous habits.

Change, a digital platform created by eCommerce strategist Ryan, builds its entire philosophy around this truth. Through education, mentorship, and infrastructure, Change helps founders shift from scrambling for quick wins to building strong systems that grow with them. The company doesn’t just offer software. It provides the foundation for digital trade, particularly for those in the B2B space.

The Habits That Build Momentum

At the heart of Change’s philosophy are five core habits Ryan considers non-negotiable. These aren’t buzzwords; they’re the foundation of sustainable growth.

First, obsess over data. Successful founders replace guesswork with metrics. They don’t rely on gut feelings. They measure performance and iterate.

Second, know your customer deeply. Not just what they buy, but why they buy. The most resilient brands build emotional loyalty, not just transactional volume.

Third, test fast. Algorithms shift. Consumer behavior changes. High-performing teams don’t resist this; they test weekly, sometimes daily, and adapt.

Fourth, manage time like a CEO. Every decision has a cost. Prioritizing high-impact actions isn’t optional; it’s survival.

Fifth, stay connected to mentorship and learning. The digital market moves quickly. The remaining founders are the ones who keep learning, never assuming they know it all. 

Turning Habits into Infrastructure

What begins as personal discipline must eventually evolve into a team structure. Change teaches founders how to scale their systems, not just their sales.

Tools are essential for starting, think Notion for documentation, Asana for project management, Mixpanel or PostHog for analytics, and Loom for async communication. But tools alone don’t create momentum.

Teams need Monday metric check-ins, weekly test cycles, customer insight reviews, just to name a few. Founders set the tone by modeling behavior. It’s the rituals that matter, then, they turn it into company culture.

Ryan puts it simply: “We’re not just building tools; we’re building infrastructure for digital trade.”

Avoiding the Common Traps

Even with structure, the path isn’t always smooth. Some founders over-focus on short-term results, chasing vanity metrics or shiny tactics that feel productive but don’t move the needle.

Others fall into micromanagement, drowning in dashboards instead of building intuition. Discipline should sharpen clarity, not create rigidity. Flexibility is part of the process. Knowing when to pivot is just as important as knowing when to persist.

Scaling Through Self-Replication

In the end, eCommerce scale isn’t just about growing a business. It’s about repeating successful systems at every level. When founders internalize high-performance habits, they turn them into processes, then culture, then legacy.

Growth doesn’t require more motivation. It requires more precision. More consistency. Your calendar, not your to-do list, is your business plan.

In a space dominated by noise and novelty, Change and its founder are quietly reshaping the conversation. They aren’t chasing trends but building resilience, one habit at a time.

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