A bootstrapped ‘jolly app’ to resolve your warranty issues and more

Did you ever call up a customer care service to get your in-warranty air-conditioner or washing machine or any other consumer durable fixed, but couldn’t get it done for free as you had lost the warranty card or invoice of the product?

You instead ended up paying much more for repair of a product which was still in warranty?

It is a feeling of frustration, says Umesh Agarwal, a Kolkata-based serial entrepreneur. He shared his own experience, narrating how he rummaged through his pile of papers every time in search of that one piece of invoice, but in vain.  

He then thought of launching a solution which will enable all invoice and warranty cards to be available in digital format, at one place, and accessible with one click.

Launched in December 2017, JollyApp is one such customer assistance app that bridges the gap between brands and customers. It is specially designed to take care of a customer’s items like appliances, electronics, gadgets, etc. in an organised manner.

The Kolkata-based platform helps manage invoices, warranty papers and annual maintenance contracts (AMC) of purchased items such as home appliances, electronics, gadgets, and automobiles, among others, efficiently.

Agarwal explains that the app has functionality which reminds users to take service from the company a few days before expiry of warranty. It also assists users whenever they need customer support for repair and maintenance of the purchased items, besides providing services such as mobile recharge, DTH recharge, bill payments and online bus bookings.

It also hosts features such as news updates, videos, daily horoscopes and numerology.

“We are offering a whole lots of services on the platform but the core of the app is record maintenance and to help users get customer support from the company,” said Agarwal.

He is already partnering with big brands for services and would initially bring onboard the top 10 brands in consumer durables and the top five brands in the automobile category.

Raking in moolah from all quarters

JollyApp is a bootstrapped platform and has so far invested around Rs 50 lakh in product-building. With a team of 12, it claims to have clocked 30,000 downloads within six months.

When asked about the revenue model, Agarwal said he is putting the revenue channels in order and will source the money from all quarters.

The platform is introducing a subscription-based model for users which will allow them to use the record maintenance service of the platform. It will also get commission from the companies for getting them new customers to take extended warranty services and will help them connect with their consumers.

Besides, the company has tied up with different operators and is providing various kinds of recharge services and bus bookings services which will also draw revenue for the platform.

Last week, JollyApp announced a strategic partnership with Abhibus, a leading bus service app for its booking services. With this deal, users can book bus tickets to anywhere in India from over 2,500 bus operators covering over 75,000 routes.

JollyApp: On the cusp of growth

With the business model in place, the platform is targeting download numbers around 50,000 before planning expansion. It also aims to reach out to investors after securing the numbers.

“We are targeting to reach around half a million users in the next two quarters,” said Agarwal. Appearing cautious while citing the numbers, he expects to clock a run rate of Rs 1.5 crore by the quarter-end of this fiscal.

Agarwal believes the consumer durables industry, which is worth $100 billion, offers enormous opportunity in the segment the platform is delving in.

Checking out rivals

There are other platforms too that offer such assurance e-warranty services for consumer durables.  

Six-year-old Zopper is a similar one which hosts warranty plans and assists users whenever they need customer support for repair and maintenance. It has, however, not been able to show remarkable growth figures.

When asked about competition, Agarwal pointed out the uniqueness of JollyApp -- a one-stop platform for many solutions. He believes that the platform will be able to emerge as one of the biggest AMC solution providers in the consumer durables space.