Plus is a savings app for Indian homemakers. Find out how the apphelps users in saving for jewellery and gold.
Veer Mishra and Raj Parakh wanted to create an app that their mothers could use for savings. More than 62% of homemakers have some sort of savings goal for gold/jewellery. Homemakers consider this is the most trusted asset class for investment.
Veer Mishra and Raj Parakh, serial entrepreneurs who have known each other for eight years, had always wanted to build an app that their moms could use to save money.
Veer Mishra said, “The overall gap in fintech inclusion for homemakers is extremely clear, and we saw only within the first few months of the journey that what works for the broader market in fintech won’t work for this audience.”
Raj claims that the startup’s turning point came after they received the findings of a study of over 3,000 Indian housewives performed between February and May 2022.
“We saw statistics that showed that more than 62% of homemakers have some form of savings objective for gold/jewellery and that they believe this to be the most trustworthy asset class for investing,” he says.
According to the co-founder, homemakers save for their family. Women organise their jewellery purchases with their preferred jewellers.
Raj says, “Just last year, about Rs 35,000 crore was raised in such a buy plan in India, which provided us with a chance to digitise this whole industry.” This resulted in the formation of their business in May of last year.
Furthermore, its inventors claim that it is India’s first jewellery savings app, allowing users to locate reliable jewellers and begin preparing for their next jewellery purchases directly with the jewellers they can trust.
“Since a solution, we have the first mover advantage as we digitise these purchasing plans via our app. Users can easily locate, compare, and plan their jewellery purchases in a single app rather of visiting many jewellery stores,” Raj explains.
Raj says, “As millions of Indians plan their savings in the form of gold jewellery, Plus wants to make sure consumers get the highest returns for planning and saving. Interestingly, this is a common behaviour in the jewellery sector, and Plus is designed to improve the experience associated with it.”
Plus’ app, which was released two weeks ago, is now in beta testing and had 1,000 downloads in its first week. So far, the software has had 2,500 downloads on both Android and iOS.
Plus has signed Fiona Diamonds (an 18-year-old jewellery company) and is conducting pilots with them. The business is also in discussions with a few significant traditional jewellers as well as everyday wear jewellery designers who will launch on the site within the next two months.
“So we are aiming to conclude this pilot with Fiona and the beta mode in February. And then we’ll go public with some of these other partner brands,” Raj continues.
In terms of its revenue strategy, Plus is free for consumers, while the firm charges jewellers partners fees on each successful redemption.
Plus secured an unknown amount of money earlier this month, lead by JITO Angel Network, with participation from Venture Catalyst, WeFounder Circle, and other high-net-worth people. In addition, the increased funds will be used for product development and employing new employees.
Raj states, “With an organisation like JITO Angel, behind us there is a lot of credibility which is established for the firm. We are also putting together our initial team. There will also be a lot more material, which is expected to be live on the app soon, so that we can basically have more screen time of our users on the app.”
Over the next 8-12 months, the business hopes to attain a GMV/GTV (gross merchandise value/gross transaction value) of Rs 100 crore.
Pooja Mehta, Chief Investment Officer, JITO Angel Network, says, “It is a one-of-a-kind concept that is sure to resonate with Indians who customarily lodge their extra earnings in jewellery.”
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