In Focus - LiveChant.com, the start-up to watch out for

I have this habit of looking up random websites, new ventures et al. People fiddle with their television remotes for zapping through channels, while I go through web directories, search engine results, entrepreneurship forums and groups to learn about new ventures, visit their website(s), try to understand the underlying business model(s). If possible, I also try to analyze the robustness of the business basics, conduct a simple SWOT analysis and make an attempt at predicting how good, bad or ugly the business would fare in the future. Of course, I am no Warren Buffet, and I do this simply because of my love for strategic management.

shovon chakraborty

LiveChant, a platform
for sellers & buyers, is
a portmanteau of
Live and Merchant

That's how I came across an interesting website, a virtual platform to be more specific, named LiveChant.com. The very first impression, the so called "halo effect", made sure that I would spend the next half an hour or so, exploring LiveChant. What attracted me was the simple, yet solid business model, that the promoters of the business have banked on.

livechant.com

By the time I exited the site, I had already decided to showcase this tech start-up in my blog. So, I connected with one of the promoters, Arindam Paul, who is an engineer from National Institute of Technology (NIT), Silchar and prior to founding LiveChant, had worked with some of the biggest names in the IT sector. After a couple of rounds of detailed discussions, my belief about the viability of the business model and success of the business, were further strengthened. It does not mean that they do not have any vulnerability, but if they continue to play according to their strengths, there should not be any reason for LiveChant to not succeed. These discussions and my own background research, helped me in aggregating enough information on LiveChant.com. Armed with these, let me try and decode its target client base, business model, value proposition and its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, i.e. SWOT, which, when combined together, would determine how the business will shape up in future.

arindam paul livechant review

To begin with, the name LiveChant is a portmanteau of two words - Live and Merchant. Essentially, it is a Local Search Engine platform with in-built interconnect with the social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter.
livechant
At this point, you would interrupt me, and smugly ask, "There are quite a sizeable population of companies offering similar types of services. The idea about LiveChant isn't that unique or novel. So, what makes you say that its different from others in the same space?" 
livechant online platform for merchants
Well, LiveChant is different, because it is indeed different! I do agree that a number of web based platforms offer similar type of services, but the similarity ends there itself. Even to a casual observer, the key differentiators would be too apparently visible.
livechant online platform for consumers
During the first of our two sessions of Skype discussions, Arindam had pointed out that LiveChant is still in the beta testing phase, and a limited edition service for Bangalore has already been launched. He further emphasized that LiveChant.com provides and act as a common platform. A platform, where the merchants can showcase their products or services offerings to a highly focussed and relevant targeted group of prospective customers and can also communicate about the latest deals, discounts, freebies, offers, launches, loyalty programs, contests etc. in real time and in a hassle-free, low cost way. Most importantly, the marketers and the merchants can choose to address only the most relevant group(s), thereby saving on money, energy, efforts and time, most of which would have been wasted in case of an umbrella promotional campaign. Also, the marketers and merchants do not have to worry about flouting rules related to marketing campaigns, as the LiveChant team ensures that prior explicit approvals have been obtained from the prospects.
livechant online platform for b2c

Screen Grab of LiveChant's Homepage

Team LiveChant isn't short of confidence either, and very rightly so. During our discussions, Arindam probably had the most harrowing time of his life, because he was trying to make me understand the intricate technologies being adopted and used by them. And, the less said about my technological prowess in these matters, the better. After a good amount of background research, I am pretty impressed with the finesse that Team LiveChant possesses. When I spoke to a very senior industry stalwart, and narrated the entire story to him, he too, was hugely impressed and said, "I am really upbeat about the technology they are using. Node.js, MongoDb and Redis. Node.js is the buzzword in the start-up fraternity in the Bay Area in US. They seem to be one of the early adapters in India. High in performance and highly scalable, it holds lots of promises, lots of capabilities. We need to watch and see how they transform the merchant-consumer communication model. Most definitely, I will keep tracking their progress."
livechant Shovon Chakraborty
Coming back to my domain, that is the business side, I can foresee the newer avenues that LiveChant can open up. From a merchant’s point of view, they can communicate to the customers in real time, and in a manner, as if the customer has walked in to his premises. As of yesterday, merchants could get their listing in many online forums or trade directories, but not a single one of those gives them the opportunity of using a common platform, through which they can share consumer specific, personalized information in an easy way and without any time lag. For the merchants, this innovation has opened up a hitherto unavailable horizon, that too at a reasonable cost and offers a high RoI. It does not come as a surprise to me, that more and more merchants are queuing up everyday to add their businesses, products & services offerings and special deals, offers, loyalty schemes etc. to the LiveChant database. 
business review by shovon
From the consumers’ perspective too, LiveChant delivers great value. Let me share an anecdote, which should make it very clear. Suppose, while on a shopping spree in one of those huge malls, I just walk in to one of the stores and bought some clothes, accessories, footwear. I pay up my bill, collect the items and happily leave the store, having secured a 15% discount on the total value. Unfortunately, as I walk up to the next floor, suddenly my happiness vanishes. Why? Because, on that floor, another store, which is an even bigger brand, is offering a 50% discount! It’s only too bad, that I have already exhausted all of my expendable resources. There is no other option for me but to head home with a heavy heart and light purse. Now, imagine the scenario, if I had access to some service provider like LiveChant. In that case, I would have got a real-time update about the various offers, discounts etc., being offered by multiple outlets in a shopping mall. That would have enabled me to straightway head to the store with the best offer. The end result would have been a lighter heart and heavier pocket! Not only that, I would not have to waste time too.
start-up business in focus
In case, you still do a Jaaved Jaaferi act, as in Maggi’s ad, and pop the question, “How is it different?” I will try to explain it from my personal experiences. Several times, I have thought of utilizing the great (and not so great too) offers on the popular websites, but having been bitten a few times, feel skeptical to commit to something without physical verification. Also, it happens all too often, that after the online transaction is successful, suddenly some “conditions apply” clause pops up like a genie out of the lamp, after I turn-up at the place to collect the product. With LiveChant, the possibility of something similar happening with the client is almost nil. I simply need to search the area where I am going to shop and find live deals from multiple merchants covering the entire range of products categories. It’s totally uncomplicated. I grab the best offer without paying anything or having to commit to it.
live merchant
For the time being, the services are available only for the residents of Bangalore and will remain so till the beta testing phase is over. Once everything's in place, they plan to expand to all other metro cities, as part of their Phase-I expansion strategy. Gradually, they intend to cover all major agglomerations and bring about a positive change in the quality of life enjoyed by the citizens. Looking at the vision, zeal and enthusiasm of the entire team, that day is not very far away. Oh, and of course, next time, before heading to Forum at Kormangala or some other mall, don't forget to check out LiveChant.
review by shovon
shovon