Requested: Advice for an entrepreneurial opportunity in India
Currently, I am working on a business plan to launch an online platform for trading in a niche product category in the B2B market space. It will offer sellers to post their “sale” listings. And buyers to post their “buy” requirements. Both buyers and sellers can then communicate for an offline transaction of purchase / sale.
Like some other website offering such a service, this website (company) will NOT buy or sell products. So, not expecting a payment application / tool on it. Nor will it buy or hold inventory in the business for self or on behalf of others. However, it will establish a platform where manufacturers, traders and buyers can register for a sales and buy leads.
Am posting this discussion as a request, in order to seek advice from online community and experts in this regard. I believe that valuable inputs can come from my friends working in technology, marketing, sales, management, finance, services, legal, governmental and many other such fields. Currently in the mode of evaluating and finding answers to the following questions:
- What could be the revenue streams? (Free listings, Premium buy/sell listings, inspection before shipment services etc.
- What could be a possible differentiating USP?
- What should the portal definitely contain in terms of features?
- Under what classification should company be registered?
- What should be a low cost marketing strategy to bring in visitors on to website?
- What should be a strategy to increase registered users (sellers and buyers)?
- How can this be done with a lean back-office till a critical-mass of users is reached?
- Who could be the critical team members in the initial start-up phase?
- What are the costs that I would definitely incur?
- What costs can be postponed till the business reaches a critical mass?
- Legal and regulatory aspects?
Based on feedback from all you friends, I will bring in more relevant questions into the discussion. Hope that it will also help you at least in having more information on some of these points.
I am also looking for strong team members with relevant expertise in this field. Contacts with an entrepreneurial appetite, who wish to be a part of creation of an enterprise may send a communication accordingly through the “Contact” page. I shall of course respond separately.