Presented By: Melroy Rodrigues E-MBA

INTRODUCTION• Starting with just Rs 50k, V.S.S. Mani has built a business

with an annual turnover of Rs 100 crore and a valuation in excess of Rs 500 crores.

• Mani was actually doing CA articleship along with Graduation. But some where down the line, he had to drop his CA exams because he had to contribute to the family income. So he took up a sales job with a yellow pages company called United Database India (UDI) in 1987.

• He worked with the company for about two years. While working there, he thought – why not to have something like this over the phone? In 1989, he got some like-minded people to join him and started a company called Ask Me.

• NEVER GIVE UP EVEN IF YOU FAIL• Mani was a part of the trio that started the now all-but-

defunct Delhi-based 'Ask Me' Service. "We were much ahead of the times. Those were the days when people had to wait years to get phone connections. The idea was good and well-appreciated, but we didn't see any financial gains from it," he says.One of the invaluable lessons he was taught during his experience at Ask Me was that the phone number for this service would simply have to be easiest one to remember. Enter 8888888.

• Today the number is no longer seven eights, but 39999999 - and here's the best part - irrespective of which city in the country you are calling from, the number remains the same.

• WHERE THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY- JUST CAPITAL 50K• Mani came from a middle class family, where if there is no (other) family

income, one could set back to zero and sometimes even minus. He needed more capital. From 1992 to 1996, he worked on different ideas to survive, and to save some money to start Just Dial. This included a concept called Wedding Planner, which was in tie-up with The Times of India. He just used to dream of numbers and millions of people using his services.

• In 1996, Mani landed in Mumbai with a princely sum of Rs 50,000 to find a home and an office space. Both weren't easy to find. What Mani did find were generous relatives, who offered him an empty flat in one of the city's far-flung suburbs, rent free. Mani soon after succeeded in renting a 25-square feet office in Mumbai's financial district, Nariman Point, for Rs 5000 a month.

• In those days, a phone line used to cost Rs 15,000 under OYT or else one had to wait for a few years. He did not have Rs 15,000 for a phone. He applied by paying Rs 3k, and actually came a year later! Finally, he started Just Dial, with number 8888 8888, some borrowed furniture, rented Pcs and with a capital of Rs 50,000!

V.S.S. Mani

• Mani came from a middle class family, where if there is no (other) family income.

• He needed more capital. From 1992 to 1996, he worked on different ideas to survive, and to save some money to start Just Dial. This included a concept called Wedding Planner, which was in tie-up with The Times of India. He just used to dream of numbers and millions of people using his services.

• In 1996, Mani landed in Mumbai with a princely sum of Rs 50,000 to find a home and an office space. Both weren't easy to find. What Mani did find were generous relatives, who offered him an empty flat in one of the city's far-flung suburbs, rent free. Mani soon after succeeded in renting a 25-square feet office in Mumbai's financial district, Nariman Point, for Rs 5000 a month.

• In those days, a phone line used to cost Rs 15,000 under OYT or else one had to wait for a few years. He did not have Rs 15,000 for a phone. He applied by paying Rs 3k, and actually came a year later! Finally, he started Just Dial, with number 8888 8888, some borrowed furniture, rented PCs and with a capital of Rs 50,000!

Founder & MD Just Dial Pvt LTD

24/7 Operator Assisted Search service on a single national number 6999 9999. Just a local call helps you get instant information on millions of businesses and thousands of products and services across the country.

Company Profile Just Dial is India’s no.1 local search destination. -Over 25 million unique users spread across 240 cities in India. - Unique local search service is available on Phone, Web, WAP and SMS. Just Dial, India employs 3000 strong work force, has more than 1,00,000 SME advertisers.

Key Highlights The leading local search brand in IndiaLarge customer base and nationwide coverageExcellent track record in user experienceHigh customer satisfactionModern infrastructure and constantly updated technologyVastly Experienced management team

Lowest PriceGet the lowest price, is a utility feature on justdial.com assisting you in getting the best bargain

Let’s take an example.

Say you searched for “ Vimal Packers& Movers”

On the Right Hand Side bottom of every result ‘Get the lowest price’ appears.Click on the link and a page opens up

•Select the product or service for which you want competitive prices (max. of 3) •Enter your name, mobile number, email id and validation code as displayed. •Then click submit.  

On submission, we forward your details to competing businesses; as a result you get a better deal. Some businesses may actually call you or, you can call them. Go ahead, negotiate a deal and enjoy the benefits!!

Send to Email/MobileThis is a Just Dial Free Service – Send to Mobile / Email.You need not go through the hassle of noting down numbers or names of any searches you make, just get an SMS of the info on your mobile or an email on your email ID, directly from the web. Isn't that life made easy? Let's take an example.

Say you found the Newspaper Advertising Agencies you are looking out for, on the justdial.com result page.

Then follow steps 1 & 2 as shown below.

Visuals are a powerful communication tool. It puts a face to a name! Just Dial has launched video which will enable you to get a virtual experience of a product or service. You can judge the ambience of a restaurant or see a particular manufacturing process on the website itself. **

Videos

CatalogueMake a study of a product or service. Just Dial showcases the catalogues of different companies, enabling you to get to know the product or service better. You are aware of what you are going in for, at the click of a button. Let’s take an example. Say you found a company which deals in digital cameras. Click on the link Catalogue and you can view the different types of camera, price ranges etc. **

MenuThis newly launched feature enhances your virtual experience. You can view the Menu** of the restaurant you want to dine in. Before you step out of the house you are aware of the kind of food they serve and can easily know if it’s in your budget or not. Let’s take an example. Say you found the restaurant you want to dine in. Click on the link Menu and pick the food you want to eat.

Just Dial SuggestThis feature saves your time on search and makes your search smarter. As you type in the area box Just Dial will suggest you certain areas in real time. You can choose one by scrolling up or down the list with the arrow keys or mouse.

Via Mobile Site – m.justdial.com:If you want the simplest way to get the details of a store near you and do not want to call up any number, then you will most probably like their mobile interface. If you have GPRS enabled mobile, simply point your mobile browser towards m.justdial.com and select your desired city and search with relevant terms. Also, you can even email or SMS the details to some of your friends free of cost. Here are some screenshots of how Justdial looks when accessed from a mobile browser:

http://wap.justdial.com or www.justdial.com. Just Dial local search provides users access to any local information across leading cities and multiple categories.

http://wap.justdial.com is an open search application which gives users the liberty to define their search. It allows consumers to search for any local information by categorizing the query into the company/name or product/service

JUSTDAIL PVT LTDJUSTDAIL PVT LTD

• Boasting a turnover of Rs 100 crore• a database of 2 million business records & 10 million regular users, along with 2700 employees

across 12 Indian cities, Just Dial has come a long way.• you can locate any store or business house in more than 240 Indian cities in just seconds.• The tele-information provider, receives on an average more than three million enquiries per month

nationwide. Page views of 220,000 per day, which he expects to take up to 1 million by the year end. But this

seems one business model that work best with Voice• Investors• The company has raised three rounds of strategic investments from California based venture fund

Sequoia Capital; New York based Hedge Fund Tiger Global and Hong Kong-based SAIF partners.8.2 Million

• Global Plans• Just Dial is in advanced stages of launching its local search service in North America on a toll free

number "1-800-justdial". Going forward the company intends to leverage the Just Dial brand and know how for an international franchise.

• Vision & Philosophy• The company's goal is to create long-term shareholder value by enhancing its position as a leading

local search service. The company’s philosophy focuses on end user experience through feedback, innovation, teamwork and integrity.

BUSINESS MODEL

VALUE PROPOSITION Just Dial is India’s no.1 local search destination. over 25 million unique users spread across 240 cities in India.

This unique local search service is available on Phone, Web, WAP and SMS

Just dial bridges the gap between buyers and sellers by helping buyers find the right providers of products and services while helping sellers improve the efficiency of their marketing channels

BUSINESS MODEL

REVENUE MODELSponsored listingAdvertisementMainly commissions, but as business expands, through advertisements,

lead generation etc

CompetitorsCompetitorswww.ASKLAILA.COM, www.ONYOMO.COM , www.METROMELA.COM,Yahoo! Local searchBurrp.com

SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGHT The company bridges the gap between buyers and sellers by helping buyers find the right

providers of products and services while helping sellers improve the efficiency of their marketing channels.

Most other local search services have tied up with Infomedia for local data, while Just Dial already has a fairly large database of its own.

Sense of authenticity in listings Proximity search Good quality of data – specialized research team Just Dial, India employs 3000 strong work force, has more than 1,00,000 SME advertisers.Customer friendly approach E.g. Best Bargain-Lowest Price

Send To Email/SMS- FREE Service.

Video – Virtual Experince of Product

Catalogue & Menu of service and Product.

24/7 operator assisted search on a single national number 6999 9999

SWOT ANALYSIS

WEAKNESS • No integration of maps with listings • Advertising not yet rolled in • Need to involve and engage users and

consequently reward them.

SWOT ANALYSISOPPORTUNITIES • Maps integration with results • Myriad of advertising opportunities (SMTMH)

– Third party tie-ups – Context sensitive advertising – Ads in emails and SMS sent out

• Possibility of mining and selling user data. • User collaboration And other feautures (events, places etc) • IE/Mozilla search plug-in • Natural language processing, unstructured queries (supported

by tolmolbol) • Mobile phone support – Available in all Mobil processors

SWOT ANALYSISOPPORTUNITIES - conti• Pin code based search • Feature for “also try” • How far away ? • Commoditize certain services – like hiring cooks, maids,

electricians et all where user can make a request online. (Ask this agency to get in touch with me ?)

• Localization ? Indian languages ?

SWOT ANALYSISTHREAT

THREAT

Competitors Guruji

+ Saving listings on O’Look. Toolbar for browser, Web + Local - UX between web and local search is not seamless

Tolmolbol + Natural language queries, maps - Bad relevance of search results, Trying to do too many things, cluttered UI

OnYoMo + Very good filtering capabilities, mobile support, neat UI - No user generated content

ByIndia Poor search relevance, too busy – blog, videos, email, news, wot not!

Still to be explored 240 Metro cities . Yet to get Information form Rural areasThe company will however need to manage the fears of local Informeditories . Eg Yellow pages,Getit etc

SWOT ANALYSIS

India Rank 48

India Reach 5.0%

Unique Users / Month 2.22M

Monthly Visits (MV) 4MMonthly Page Views (PV) 32.2M

Avg MV / Person 2Avg PV / Visit 7Avg Time Spent (sec) / Visit 563

 

SITE SUMMARY JAN 2010

Traffic SummaryTop StatesMaharashtra (24%) Tamil Nadu (14%) Delhi (14%) Karnataka (9%) West Bengal (6%) Others (33%) 

 

Male (77%) Female (23%)

Queries @ melroypilot@gmail.com