Easy Bill eyes 200 cities for expansion

I saw the the exponential growth in telecom,insurance and credit cards business in India and realised that there was going to be a need for companies like ours which would serve the large customer base of these companies.

Before getting involved with this business,what was your earlier occupation?

Before starting Easy Bill I worked as a trainee with HLL for almost one year and I also had the opportunity to work with the Honda motorcycles in California for an year.

With a strong linage behind,did you face any difficulty in the beginning while stepping into a new league all together?

As an entrepreneur,I was trying to convert an idea into a business. Initially it was very difficult to explain the concept to the Bill issuers,that why this service is useful for their business and as well as for their customers.

Other than trying to introduce a new concept,we created our own Technology,Brand and developed our retail chain,so thereby we tried to do many things together and faced several challenges.

Which class of consumers do you usually target? What kind of locations do you prefer for Easy Bill outlets?

The beauty of our business is that almost everybody has to pay not only one but several different bills and so our customer base is very varied,ranging from a doctor or a professional having no time to a trader who cannot leave his shop for a very long time or a daily wage worker who may have to sacrifice his full days wage just to pay a bill.

Of course,we prefer to be in the crowded markets or at General stores in densely populated residential areas. But now with a vast network of over 6000 outlets we are present practically in every location within the cities we are operational.

What are your business expansion plans for India during this financial year?

Our business expansion plan for the year is going to can be divided into four different levels. Firstly,we would like to penetrate the cities we are in presently and increase the retailer base. Secondly,we are currently present in 50 cities and would like to go up to 200 cities within next 2 years.

Thirdly,we have recently added ticketing domain air,bus,rail etc and would like to add more such services to our portfolio. Last but not the least we have recently started collecting bills of insurance companies like LIC,and will be targeting more insurance and credit card companies and would like to venture into more such new services.

Have you started following franchise route for major expansion? Please share your experience in franchise as a business model.

All our business is through Franchisee route. We have franchisee retailers all across the country that collect bills and book tickets on our behalf.

What are the criteria do you look for in the prospective franchisees?

Retailer should have a sound financial backing as this business gives add on revenue and it cannot be used as primary business. We look for franchisees that are financially stable and have an existing footfall.

What is the potential of the billing segment in India?

Its really tough to comment on the industry size. Initially when we started this business we had electricity and telecom companies and that time it was quite easy to define the size of the industry but now as we have added many more services like Insurance premiums (LIC etc),gas bills,credit card payments the industry size becomes huge and difficult to calculate. It is assumed that In India every household has at least three bills to pay.

To give you an example of the industry size,Delhi itself has a base of 40-42 lakh electricity bills.

Where do you foresee Easy Bill after 5 years?

I hope in 5years from now we can be present not only in big cities but every small town through the length and breadth of the country.

What is your advice to the budding entrepreneurs?

I would advice young entrepreneurs to appreciate and acknowledge criticism and adapt accordingly. According to me,criticism is a free advice and one should always appreciate and learn from it.