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1. Tell us about yourself
After my MBA (San Diego) I have an extensive background in eCommerce, with over 10 years of experience working with some of the finest digital commerce stories in the US. A large part of that, about 5 years, was with LegalZoom, a global leader in LegalTech. I have also extensive experience in working with hyper-growing tech companies in California, like Qualcomm, LegalZoom.com, Bouqs.com, and MeUndies.com. 

Hailing from a business background, I always dreamt of building a business. But I chose to get qualified first and gain some substantial experience before starting up. Watching my father run his business, I have witnessed 1st hand the impact an entrepreneur can have on society and people at large. There was a strong inner desire to create something on my own. 

Becoming an entrepreneur was always destined, I feel. Belonging to a family of entrepreneurs, I wanted to do something that impacted small businesses and make them sustainable. Leveraging my experience and background seemed the apt thing to do – and it’s been 4 years and counting! 

 

2. How did the idea for your business come about?
Namann and I met at a business professional networking event. Back then, he ran a conventional CA firm along with his family. It struck us immediately - my background in Legal eCommerce and his expertise as a CA could create a strong base for offering better services, and that is how we created a comprehensive business professional solution.

My stint of 5+ years at LegalTech giant - LegalZoom laid the base. Once I returned to India, I went through the process of registering my business and realized that many first-generation entrepreneurs in India lack quality service providers within their immediate network. Even the industry itself was fragmented, with most of the legal service providers focussing on a particular niche.

LegalWiz.in was founded in April 2016, to resolve compliance issues that small businesses and startups face. They are vulnerable to the risk of being non-compliant or become victims of legal consequences. It is because they fail to adhere to core business norms required to operate. We are focussed on creating value for our clients - making compliance simple, affordable, and transparent. 

 

3. Can you tell us about your venture Legalwiz.in?
Legalwiz.in is amongst the leading legaltechstartups in India, catering to over 5000+ clients across India. Our USP is the amazing customer experience we offer. Our core services include offering business registration solutions to startups and SMEs, along with other mandatory compliance services. It includes obtaining tax and government registrations like GST, etc. and ensure their regular filings. We also have specialists who advise on intellectual property rights that enable businesses to secure their trademarks, copyrights, and patents. Besides, we extend our services to providing customized legal document drafting, online bookkeeping and fulfilling yearly compliance needs for LLPs and Private Limited Companies. Recently, we have added a couple of other services like ISO certification for quality assurance and FSSAI registration for running a food business.

We offer a full refund if the customer is not satisfied with our services. The entire cycle from the 1st contact to task completion is incredibly smooth with regular updates and continuous service. This is borne out by our customers giving us a referral rating of 9.6/10. Over 60% of our business comes from repeat customers – they are our best ambassadors. 

 

4. What are the challenges you faced till date and presently facing?
The slow adoption of technology by SMEs and StartUps& their reluctance to give priority to compliances. It continues to be a major stumbling block – I do earnestly wish that more StartUps& MSMEs focus on growing their business and leave the rest to the professionals.

 

5. What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur?
I am an eCommerce and Digital Commerce veteran with over 10 years of experience and three ventures to my name.  With an MBA (Corporate Finance) from San Diego, I started my career in corporate Finance and Accounting, then moved to Analytics and Strategy. I now focus on LegalTech and Digital Commerce. My extensive experience includes working with hyper-growing tech companies in California, like Qualcomm, LegalZoom.com, Bouqs.com, and MeUndies.com. My expertise lies in building subscription based businesses.
Having seen 1st hand the impact an entrepreneur has on society, it was my desire to do something on my own. That was the core motivation to become an entrepreneur.

 

6. How did you raise funding for your venture?
I was clear about seeking funding for my venture. Not only funding, we were also seeking a congruence in beliefs, value-systems and mindsets, besides approach to business. I am happy to say we found it in Concentric. 

 

7. How do you build a successful customer base?
In my opinion, there is never a 1-size-fits-all approach to tapping customers. Every business is different and thus needs an understanding of the platforms their customers exhibit. Businesses need to speak from the customer’s point of view, addressing the pain-points and clearly communicating how they resolve those issues. Reinforcing this with an active social media presence and most importantly, a good customer experience is crucial. Generating top of the mind recall, being transparent and delivering a great CX is the way to begin building a successful customer base. Translating customers into repeat-order clients is key to gaining traction, as they become your best ambassadors, provided they have had a good experience with you.  

 

8. How do you market your business, and which tactics have been most successful?
Though Covid 19 has definitely has had an impact, we moved to WFH mode quite early on.  Technology has helped shape our deliveries so that we offer a best-in-class CX. We are invested in technologies that help us build our business and deliver a superior customer experience. Since the basic requirement of our business is delivering services online, technology becomes a core component for us. After analyzing the market in LegalTech, Technology has helped us to plug loopholes and bridge gaps in the delivery process and serve our customers better. As we scale, we will continue to invest in technologies that help us shape deliveries better. We have launched the Partner Platform – it is aimed at offering the highest quality of services possible to our clients. This will enable them to avail top notch services at a reasonable and discounted cost, so they can focus on building and growing their business. 

 

9. What kind of culture exists in your organization, and how did you establish it?
We are a flat, hierarchy-agnostic firm. Of course we have systems and structures, but being a young organization, at Legalwiz.in we have built an open, responsive and communicative culture. Being in the StartUp ecosystem is in itself demanding and thus we have embedded change in our DNA. We are open, transparent and disciplined. 

 

10. How do you generate new ideas?
As a young organization we are quite open & communicative – we also ensure that no one works in silos – every team gets a full idea about other departmental operations. And can brainstorm to give an idea or a suggestion to drive the business. It was precisely such brainstorming that gave rise to our Partner’s Portal https://partners.legalwiz.in/partners

11. What are your ideals?

I credit my ideals to the formative experiences in my family. Striving to do the right thing pays off in the end – always. Relationships must be invested in, built and cherished – and customers are the cornerstone of a business. Operating with transparency, being open to change and working hard – all these are tenets ingrained in me over the years. And I find, that they have helped me to evolve into a good entrepreneur. 

 

12. How do you define success?
For me success is less about material benefits and more about the intangibles that are built up and earned. Intangibles like a solid reputation for trust, customer service, and transparency. That matters much more than other transient criteria like fame or awards.

 

13. Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Personally I feel, I am not experienced enough to opine about this. But, I would say that it is the ability to strive, hustle and work hard which ultimately matters – the world respects that, especially today.

 

14. What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
My favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur is building something that lasts and endures – having an impact on the way business is done and customer relationships are built. 

 

15. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Validation of my gut feeling that there is a market for an ethical, professional business services player in the market – that has been my most satisfying moment in business. Getting the 1st round of funding from ContCentric was also a huge step forward.

 

16. What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive in your day-to-day busy schedule?
Staying focused, prioritizing my tasks and delegating outcomes rather than responsibilities has helped me enormously over the years. Investing in empowering my core teams has always paid dividends for me and I fully believe in the People-first philosophy. 

 

17. Who has been your greatest inspiration?
The tenets learnt early on in life, being from a business family: still matter most. Hence the greatest inspirations for me, remain my parents and the family elders who have instilled in me the importance of core values and delivering the best possible experience to the customer, thereby earning his trust and building a relationship that endures. 

 

18. Any message for future entrepreneur
These are exciting times to dream, envision and build – I strongly believe that the Younger generation should aspire to be entrepreneurs for the right reason. Not only to earn money, but to be change-agents, to create lasting impact, to spur employment and grow as persons…thereby resulting in a solid contribution to the national economy. My message to aspiring entrepreneurs is – work very hard, be patient and invest in relationships.

 

For more details please visit https://www.legalwiz.in/