MyByk has a very practical approach when it comes to CSR. You are a brand that wants to make profits by contributing to the environment too. Please tell us about this.
Arijit Soni: Charity is not scalable. A self-sustainable social venture is. If we are able to identify a large scale problem and build a solution that is not only more convenient and environment friendly than existing alternatives but also more economic, we believe that is the best way in which we can bring a large scale impact.
And to build an economic solution, chasing profits is important because profit does not necessarily mean revenue maximisation but also means cost minimization. It helps us utilise resources judiciously.
You have the professional background of Chartered Accountancy and here you are playing a leader’s role at MyByk. How challenging has it been?
Arijit Soni: Honestly speaking after 5 years the business doesn’t feel challenging because we have identified the solutions to every problem we have come across so far and now have processes in place to address them.
We are now eager to grow faster than the current pace and look forward to growth challenges. Because of our strong foundation, am confident we will be able to navigate these challenges smoothly.
Do you agree with the fact that the corporate world extensively needs to pay attention to the environment? And what would be your suggestions for this?
Arijit Soni: Obviously yes! But at MYBYK we very well understand that while health & environment are pulling factors, convenience & economic benefit will be the sustenance factor for our services. At the end of the day corporates are running business for profit and their decision to switch to a environment friendly alternative would come faster if the alternative also helps save them cost and increases convenience. And we at MYBYK, help save their intra-campus commute costs by more than 60% when compared to shuttles (cars, buses) while reducing overall commute time by more than 50%.
How are you planning on expanding MyByk, since it’s limited to Ahmadabad till now?
Arijit Soni: We are currently present in Ahmedabad & Udaipur. We are also present in Mumbai but limited to IIT Bombay campus as of now. As regards, B2B is concerned, we are able to cater to customers across India. Some of our prominent B2B clients include Reliance Industries Limited (Jamnagar), Tata Chemicals Ltd. (Mithapur), Suzuki Motors Gujarat (Mehsana), SRF Chemicals (Dahej) and Alembic Pharma Group (Baroda).
We are now ready and looking to raise external funds to expand our B2C operations to many more cities across India. Our preference would be to expand in Metro cities with an active urban rapid transport system.
What is MyByk’s X factor? How does it stand out from its competitors?
Arijit Soni: Bicycle sharing is a very complex business which we have simplified! Our understanding of the business, our processes that ensure accountability at every stage, our frugality of operations and lastly our technology is what distinguishes us from our competitors.
Not only our services but also our unit economics are the best in the business!
