We were patient in the first three years, focusing on creating a strong business model to support small to medium-sized merchants rather than copying models from Amazon or eBay.

Fleek, a marketplace for secondhand clothing, started with just three people and no website, demonstrating the importance of taking unscalable actions to launch their business. The founders would go to wholesalers in London, pick a box of clothes, and sell them to shops around the city, earning $6,000 repeatedly. This hands-on approach helped them understand the market better than building a website would have.

I run Meesho, which is focused on bringing small businesses online, as e-commerce was primarily about smartphones and selling online at that time.

Talking to over 800 boutique owners was the most helpful thing in starting and running Shoptiques, allowing us to build exactly the solution they needed.

As we studied the delivery needs of various merchants, we realized there was a broader demand beyond just one type of business.

The future of selling online will increasingly rely on personalization and localization, allowing brands to cater to niche markets effectively.

We framed our marketing approach around the shift in consumer behavior, focusing on how people shop and buy in the digital age.

We realized that many women in Gujarat were successfully running boutiques on WhatsApp, which inspired us to build a platform that empowers anyone in India to start their own shop.

Marketplaces are tough businesses, but after about two years, they hit an inflection point and start growing exponentially.