Business

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

Published

4 years ago

April 20, 2020

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.

Business

Turning Tragedy into Triumph Through Walking With Anthony

Published

3 hours ago

April 18, 2024

Rosario Farell

On the morning of February 6, 2010, Anthony Purcell took a moment to admire the churning surf before plunging into the waves off Miami Beach. Though he had made the dive numerous times before, that morning was destined to be different when he crashed into a hidden sandbar, sustaining bruises to his C5 and C6 vertebrae and breaking his neck.

“I was completely submerged and unable to rise to the surface,” Purcell recalls. “Fortunately, my cousin Bernie saw what was happening and came to my rescue. He saved my life, but things would never be the same after that dive.”

Like thousands of others who are confronted with a spinal cord injury (SCI), Purcell plunged headlong into long months of hopelessness and despair. Eventually, however, he learned to turn personal tragedy into triumph as he reached out to fellow SCI victims by launching Walking With Anthony.

Living with SCI: the first dark days

Initial rehabilitation for those with SCIs takes an average of three to six months, during which time they must relearn hundreds of fundamental skills and adjust to what feels like an entirely new body. Unfortunately, after 21 days, Purcell’s insurance stopped paying for this essential treatment, even though he had made only minimal improvement in such a short time.

“Insurance companies cover rehab costs for people with back injuries, but not for people with spinal cord injuries,” explains Purcell. “We were practically thrown to the curb. At that time, I was so immobile that I couldn’t even raise my arms to feed myself.”

Instead of giving up, Purcell’s mother chose to battle his SCI with long-term rehab. She enrolled Purcell in Project Walk, a rehabilitation facility located in Carlsbad, California, but one that came with an annual cost of over $100,000.

“My parents paid for rehabilitation treatment for over three years,” says Purcell. “Throughout that time, they taught me the importance of patience, compassion, and unconditional love.”

Yet despite his family’s support, Purcell still struggled. “Those were dark days when I couldn’t bring myself to accept the bleak prognosis ahead of me,” he says. “I faced life in a wheelchair and the never-ending struggle for healthcare access, coverage, and advocacy. I hit my share of low points, and there were times when I seriously contemplated giving up on life altogether.”

Purcell finds a new purpose in helping others with SCIs

After long months of depression and self-doubt, Purcell’s mother determined it was time for her son to find purpose beyond rehabilitation.

“My mom suggested I start Walking With Anthony to show people with spinal cord injuries that they were not alone,” Purcell remarks. “When I began to focus on other people besides myself, I realized that people all around the world with spinal cord injuries were suffering because of restrictions on coverage and healthcare access. The question that plagued me most was, ‘What about the people with spinal cord injuries who cannot afford the cost of rehabilitation?’ I had no idea how they were managing.”

Purcell and his mother knew they wanted to make a difference for other people with SCIs, starting with the creation of grants to help cover essentials like assistive technology and emergency finances. To date, they have helped over 100 SCI patients get back on their feet after suffering a similar life-altering accident.

Purcell demonstrates the power and necessity of rehab for people with SCIs

After targeted rehab, Purcell’s physical and mental health improved drastically. Today, he is able to care for himself, drive his own car, and has even returned to work.

“Thanks to my family’s financial and emotional support, I am making amazing physical improvement,” Purcell comments. “I mustered the strength to rebuild my life and even found the nerve to message Karen, a high school classmate I’d always had a thing for. We reconnected, our friendship evolved into love, and we tied the knot in 2017.”

After all that, Purcell found the drive to push toward one further personal triumph. He married but did not believe a family was in his future. Regardless of his remarkable progress, physicians told him biological children were not an option.

Despite being paralyzed from the chest down, Purcell continued to look for hope. Finally, Dr. Jesse Mills of UCLA Health’s Male Reproductive Medicine department assured Purcell and his wife that the right medical care and in vitro fertilization could make their dream of becoming parents a reality.

“Payton joined our family in the spring of 2023,” Purcell reports. “For so long, I believed my spinal cord injury had taken everything I cared about, but now I am grateful every day. I work to help other people with spinal cord injuries find the same joy and hope. We provide them with access to specialists, funding to pay for innovative treatments, and the desire to move forward with a focus on the future.”