Leadership is something that one really must grow into either with time or by diving into the deep end. Keeping in mind that education is the ticket to her success, Swati Bhargava worked hard at a young age and excelled in academics as well as cultivated an entrepreneurial spirit within her, early on in life. Due to the sustained efforts and commitment of the Co-founders Swati and Rohan Bhargava, CashKaro is today India’s Largest Cashback & Coupons site.
In an interview with CIOLook, Swati narrates her inspiring journey:
CashKaro has always believed in enabling more savings for online shoppers by taking customer feedback as sacrosanct. It continuously diversifies its user’s touchpoints to offer fast, smooth and easy access to the best cashback deals and discounts. Since CashKaro.com is India’s Largest Cashback & Coupons Site; it has constant access to exclusive deals, newer categories and higher cashback offers, which eventually provide the ultimate cashback experience to its users.
From popular Indian sites like Flipkart, Amazon and Paytm to players like Ajio and PepperFry, CashKaro has more than 1,500 retailers onboard. Every time a user shops for something from one of these sites using CashKaro, they earn Cashback. This Cashback is extended to the users over and above all other retailer deals & coupons. Users can then choose to transfer this cash straight to their bank account or can redeem it in the form of Amazon or Flipkart Gift Cards. Today, CashKaro’s users earn anywhere between Rs. 20,000-25,000/year by shopping via the site. Within a short span of time, CashKaro has paid over Rs.100 Cr as Cashback and has recently crossed 3.5Million+ registered users.
Circling back to more ways of diversification besides cashback, CashKaro also offers coupons & price comparison on its platform. This is another major differentiator between CashKaro and other similar businesses. No other player operating in this space is equipped to offer all three benefits to the users. The largest variety of online brands and a wide array of verticals like fashion, electronics, groceries, cosmetics, medicines etc. mean customers get a truly varied shopping platter. The ‘Extra’ nature of CashKaro Cashback and Rewards makes CashKaro’s savings truly unique.
CashKaro recently came up with the idea of enabling the users to earn as they help others shop. EarnKaro, its latest offering will not just help the users save more but will also create numerous opportunities for the people to earn while working from home. Keeping true to its tagline, ‘#YouGetMore’, CashKaro always strives to walk the extra mile for the benefit of its users in every way possible.
Rohan and Swati believe in the simple ideology that every entrepreneur must have great conviction in what they’re pursuing. They must ensure that they’re doing it as much for the journey as for the end. There will be numerous times when your patience, resilience and ethics will be tested and it is important to remember what you stand for during trying times. Hurdles need to be turned into opportunities so you can take charge and be in control of every situation.
The beauty of entrepreneurship is that it demands one to acquire and master skills they may not have been trained in or inclined towards. An entrepreneur is a marketer, an accountant, a salesperson and more, all rolled into one. So, one must know their product insideout and also educate themselves constantly. For instance, Swati’s Co-founder Rohan who comes from a hardcore Asset Management and Hedge Fund background had never worked on product development before venturing into entrepreneurship. Today, Rohan is at the forefront of Innovation & Product development at CashKaro and works closely with its Chief Technology Officer to add new features to the existing product. Right from beta testing new products and adding more verticals to making CashKaro’s proposition truly unique and beneficial for its users, he has been putting in efforts to learn and do it all. So, Swati strongly believes that an entrepreneur who is running a product-driven business can never be on the outside of it and must be involved at the core level right from the point of inception to execution.
Every business is unique and the challenges related to setting it up are unique as well. However, certain challenges are common to all businesses. For instance, developing a top-notch product, ensuring quality checks, recruiting the right people etc. are common to all businesses. These issues can be worrying but what Swati has seen and learnt through her entrepreneurial journey is to keep calm and focus on one’s course of action, which is the most powerful solution. She considers the best approach is to stay composed, be focused and persistent till one has achieved the outcome one is aiming for. One’s conviction in one’s business will help one overcome these challenges and keep moving forward every day.
Swati is quite fortunate when it comes to upgrading herself in terms of technology and keeping up with the ever-changing tools and trends. CashKaro has its own in-house tech team that works on everything from App UX to SDK integrations from the ground up. Since CashKaro works closely with experts across fields it gives both Rohan and Swati ample opportunity to learn and stay updated.
Given CashKaro is already India’s Largest Cashback & Coupons Site, Rohan and Swati aim for it to make its way into every Indian shopper’s purchase journey and perhaps even grow beyond borders over the next few years. Making CashKaro a household name is how Rohan and Swati visualise themselves within a few years from now. CashKaro is targeting an expanded user base and an increased number of brand partners across verticals to bring the best savings’ proposition to the users.
As an organization, CashKaro’s goal is to become the Largest Online Savings destination in India by constantly creating more avenues for shoppers to save online. For example, with the launch of its latest and first of its kind offering EarnKaro, CashKaro has come closer to its mission of being the smartest and easiest way for Indian shoppers to save money. EarnKaro is a Social Cashback App that enables the users to find and share the best deals online with friends, family and acquaintances via social platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc. and earn profit from the sales made.
Between CashKaro and EarnKaro Rohan and Swati are estimating a 400% growth over the next 2 years, including onboarding more brand partners and registered users on CashKaro. They also aim to further strengthen their bond with their team members and shareholders in the years to come.
Speaking specifically with respect to the CashKaro family, Swati strives to offer team members the best experience in terms of growth and learning. She aims to help them grow both financially and in terms of domain expertise. Similarly, for her shareholders she wants the journey to be extremely rewarding. Therefore, CashKaro always works hard to ensure that people are proud of their decision to invest in CashKaro and the business.
Swati advises young entrepreneurs to always keep moving forward and stay focused on reaching the goal they have set for themselves. Some days may be tougher than others, but it’s important to stay positive and remember why one has started out in the first place. Most importantly, she asks them to try to enjoy what they are doing because it’s important to love work in order to give one’s best to it.