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<ul><li>Bengaluru-based <keyword id="6368309" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="urban-ladder">Urban Ladder</keyword> has sacked 90 employees in order to save the company from sinking. </li><li>Reports say that the company took the step as it was unable to raise funds. </li><li>Urban Ladder has marquee investors like <keyword id="6360722" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ratan-tata">Ratan Tata</keyword>, Sequoia India, Steadview Capital, SAIF Partners, Kalaari Capital, among others on its board.</li></ul>Indian furniture retail <keyword id="138263" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="startup">startup</keyword> Urban Ladder has <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/urban-ladder-lays-off-nearly-100-employees/story/354828.html">reportedly</a> laid off about 100 employees. The startup is known to have taken this decision as it was unable to raise funds to scale. It is also struggling to attain profitability. In an interview to the <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/short-of-funds-urban-ladder-axes-40-of-its-workforce/article27705500.ece">Hindu Business Line</a>, the startup’s founder and CEO Ashish Goel said that the move to fire employees was taken as they had no other option, for they would have had to shut down otherwise. However, Urban Ladder has clarified that the incident happened 3 months ago. "As an organization, February and March were not easy months for us, as we are a company that deeply appreciates its employees. Having said that, after taking those tough calls, we are happy to know that the employees we did part ways with have used Urban Ladder as a great stepping stone to pursue other, great opportunities within the industry and beyond. We look forward to the future as we have some exciting things in store in the upcoming few months,” said Goel. According to the official statement from the company, in February/March, 90 employees (from the head office in Bengaluru) had been let go from the organization. The previous total headcount number was 957 and now is 711 which amounts to about 25% and it also includes third party employees and resources. The startup had been looking to raise funds for the longest time but had been unable to do so. <a href="https://entrackr.com/2019/06/urbanladder-400-employee-layoff-profitability/">Reports</a> also say that Urban Ladder’s losses although reduced from last year, were still a significant amount. Its losses were ₹4.59 billion in 2016-17 and ₹1.17 billion in 2017-18. The news comes as a surprise one as Urban Ladder had successfully raised funding in the past. Some of its marquee investors include Ratan Tata, Sequoia India, Steadview Capital, SAIF Partners, Kalaari Capital, amongst others. In September 2018, reports said that, that the startup was looking to raise $30-40 million to expand its business. Urban Ladder was founded in 2012, had evolved to be a furniture brand and had even opened <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/urban-ladder-to-raise-usd-40-million-in-new-round-of-funding/story/282010.html">offline</a> outlets in Bengaluru and Delhi NCR. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/ikeas-franchise-partner-ingka-group-has-invested-in-livspace/articleshow/69413088.cms">IKEA's India partner invests in a home design startup that may in turn serve the Swedish retailer</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/pepperfry-to-ipo-soon-this-investor-says-yes/articleshow/68740748.cms">An investor in Pepperfry, India’s largest online furniture retailer, is in no rush to exit</a>

Urban Ladder had to let go 90 employees to be back on track for growth

<ul><li>In an interview with Business Insider, <keyword id="1870519" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashish-Goel">Ashish Goel</keyword>, co-founder and CEO, <keyword id="6368309" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="urban-ladder">Urban Ladder</keyword> talks about the company’s expansion plans and the rough patch it had early this year. </li><li>Urban Ladder had to let go of 90 employees as a part of an organizational restructuring in early 2019. </li><li>However, it is present in 13 cities, and now looking to expand to 10 new cities in a year.</li></ul>Online furniture retailer Urban Ladder is in an expansion mode as it hopes to turn profitable by the end of 2019. Moreso, it also intends to go for an IPO in two years. The startup is now present in 13 cities. It also has physical retail stores in (Bangalore and Delhi, and is looking to expand offline as well. The startup however had to face a rough patch between February and March 2019, when it had to let go of 90 employees as a part of an organizational restructuring. “The online furniture space is one that is constantly evolving. As we evolve, the organizational focus, and structure will also evolve to cater to the needs of the sector. Because of the restructuring, some functions become more important while others were not the need of the hour at the time,” Ashish Goel, co-founder and CEO, Urban Ladder told Business Insider in an interview. This decision to restructure decision was backed by its investors.. “This, by no means, is a sign of the business being in trouble, but more so a sign of the business evolving and growing. Our investors are firmly backing us,” he said. <a href="https://entrackr.com/2019/06/urbanladder-400-employee-layoff-profitability/">Reports</a> also say that although Urban Ladder’s losses reduced from last year, they were still high. Its losses were ₹4.59 billion in 2016-17 and ₹1.17 billion in 2017-18. However, Goel is confident that they will turn profitable this year. Rising competition from <keyword id="6371031" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="IKEA">Ikea</keyword> and <keyword id="864887" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pepperfry">Pepperfry</keyword> Now, more than ever Urban Ladder which has been around for seven years, has to spruce up its business. Giants like Ikea from Sweden along with homegrown Pepperfry are turning the market competitive. As the market constantly evolves, Goel has these questions on his mind – How will they stay ahead of the curve given that there are multiple players in the market? How will they map and subsequently service the evolving needs of the Indian consumer base? How will they build a customer friendly support chain that will help deliver great post purchase experience? “It is a matter of balancing the relevance of our brand with a deeper and passionate understanding of our customer,” he said answering them himself.

Four questions that are on the mind of Urban Ladder’s founder as he battles competition from Ikea and Pepperfry

<ul><li>A millennial’s take on how to set up a room for ₹50,000 with options from <keyword id="6371031" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="IKEA">IKEA</keyword>, <keyword id="864887" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pepperfry">Pepperfry</keyword> and <keyword id="6368309" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="urban-ladder">Urban Ladder</keyword>. </li><li>I decided to invest in a little bit of commitment towards my house by buying furniture. </li><li>And here are the best deals I managed to grab from India’s leading online furniture retailers.</li></ul>If you are a millennial like me, who suffers from commitment issues, not just in relationships – welcome to the nomad life. When you are unable to live in a city for more than 2-3 years and hate being locked down, there comes an incessant need to pack up and move. Living the nomad life, you move in and out of rented apartments, refusing to invest in ‘permanent house’ furniture. In times of uncertainty, you have a certain bond with brokers and that one one lady who you have never met but you order home cooked food from. This has been my life for the past 9 years. But now, that I have grown up (read: realised I’m growing older), I decided to invest in a little bit of commitment towards my house, before I do it in a relationship. So, I set up a budget of ₹50,000 to buy a bed with a mattress, wardrobe, study table and a chair. Yes, ₹50,000, I said I have grown old, not rich. As every other millennial, getting out of my house to buy things would be blasphemy, so I turned to the holy shrine – the world wide web. Here are the options I gathered from IKEA, Pepperfry and Urban Ladder. Bed Now, this can be a tricky one. The bed you choose seems to define your well, ahem, dating life. A single bed means you are happy to be forever alone, you do you girl! (no pun intended). A king size bed makes way for a committed relationship, while a queen size bed settles comfortably somewhere between the well, ‘we are dating but let’s see where this goes’ phase. So yes, I decided to go for a wooden (or anything that looks wooden) queen size bed with storage to also hide my baggage (pun intended). 
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 IKEA: ₹20,990 Pepperfry: ₹14,249 (On sale) Urban Ladder ₹16,499 While I would go for the Pepperfry option, however without the on sale price, Urban Ladder would be a better option. However, if you would rather go for a metal bed frame, there were some pretty inexpensive options. Pepperfry has one for ₹6,999, IKEA for ₹11,990. Or you can even opt for a wooden bed without storage for anywhere between ₹10,000-12,000 from Pepperfry or Urban Ladder.Mattresses Mattresses are a tough one to decide without checking them out personally, but IKEA gave pretty good options under ₹4,000, while the starting price at PF was ₹5,000 and at UL it was ₹7,000. Hej, Ikea for mattresses! Wardrobe We have already made that clear, I have a lot of baggage so yes lots of storage is necessary. A 3-door wardrobe was what I always wanted. 
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 Ikea: ₹7,990 on sale, real price was ₹13,490 Pepper Fry: ₹11,592 on sale, real ₹21,897 Urban Ladder: ₹19,999 If you are a sale hogger like me, head to Pepperfry. But if it’s not discounted, the Urban Ladder option would be a better pick for its sturdy look with an attached mirror. Study table Let’s just pretend that I actually use a sit table and don’t just lie on the bed with my laptop, okay? That’s why I needed a study table to sit and write, and maybe restart that blog I abandoned years ago. 
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 Pepperfry: ₹4,155 on sale. Urban Ladder: Great sturdy one for ₹6,999 IKEA: A desk for ₹4,990Pepperfry is the winner for its sale prices, but if you aren’t really going to end up using the study table, the IKEA one would be a practical choice. Chair There’s no way I’m going to use a plastic chair for when my imaginary friends visit and I need more space. An accent chair would be a perfect finish to the room.
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 While Pepperfry offered a lot more when it comes to variety and sale prices, Urban Ladder won this one with its accent chairs that will act as a colour pop to break the monotony in a room. While IKEA didn’t have a lot of options for colourful accent chairs, this one particular one caught my attention. Conclusion: With great sale offers, I’m done with ₹39,426. However, if the discounted prices aren’t on offer, I will be overshooting my budget with the total coming up to ₹50,738.

I had ₹50,000 to set up my room and here are the options I got from IKEA, Pepperfry and Urban Ladder

<ul><li><keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> has announced a Furniture Experience Centre in Bengaluru.</li><li>With a 1,800 square feet space, Flipkart joins <keyword id="864887" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pepperfry">Pepperfry</keyword> and <keyword id="6368309" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="urban-ladder">Urban Ladder</keyword> who had long before launched offline experience studios.</li><li>Flipkart is working with Google to launch Google Lens at these stores.</li></ul>Indian online retail giant Flipkart has made its offline debut, announcing its furniture experience centre in Bengaluru. With this move, Flipkart is in direct competition with Pepperfry, Ikea, Urban Ladder. "As a customer-focused organisation, we understand the requirements of customers and hence 'FurniSure'. The idea behind the FurniSure Experience Zone is to allow customers to explore Flipkart Furniture's offerings in a new and innovative fashion,” <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/flipkart-comes-with-first-offline-presence-with-furniture-experience-centre-in-bengaluru/articleshow/70421687.cms">said </a>Flipkart Vice-President (Furniture, Electronics and Private Label) Adarsh Menon. The retailer is also working with <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/flipkart-comes-with-first-offline-presence-with-furniture-experience-centre-in-bengaluru/articleshow/70421687.cms">Google</a> to integrate Google Lens at these stores for a better viewing experience for the consumers. Flipkart’s decision to open a 1,800 square feet experience centre comes at an important time in the country’s furniture industry. Swedish furniture giant Ikea is expanding its presence in India, both online and office. Ikea launched its first store in Hyderabad in 2018. Even before its second massive store in Mumbai opens, it has started taking <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/before-store-opens-ikea-to-go-online-in-mumbai/articleshow/70285600.cms">orders online</a>. On the other hand, <keyword id="6368349" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Online-Furniture">online furniture</keyword> marketplaces too realised the need to go offline. Pepperfry had launched its first offline studio in 2014. Since then, they expanded to 65 studios across 28 cities. In fact, in every city that Pepperfry has launched a studio, the sales had doubled. “While we don’t sell directly through our offline studios, they contribute significantly to our sales. Close to 40% of our overall turnover comes from the online bookings made at these studios,” Mihir Kulkarni, Vice President and Head of Omnichannel expansion, Pepperfry told Business Insider in an earlier interview. Meanwhile Urban Ladder, which had reported losses of ₹4.59 billion in 2016-17 and ₹1.17 billion in 2017-18, too <a href="https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/urban-ladder-says-omni-channel-calls-paying-off-to-boost-revenue-this-year-1548422228810.html">believes</a> that the omni-channel strategy with offline retail points would help turn their story around.

Flipkart goes offline with furniture, as did its rivals Pepperfry, Urban Ladder

Ikea has spent five years in India, and its flagship store in Hyderabad is turning a year old. Now, it’s time for its debut in the country’s financial capital, Mumbai, according to Peter Betzel, the Swedish furniture retailer’s Managing Director in India. An announcement is expected within the next few days, according to another source. “While the Navi Mumbai store is getting ready, our focus now is to launch e-commerce in Mumbai very shortly, to be able to meet the many Mumbaikars sooner,” Betzel told Business Insider in an exclusive interview. This is the first time the global retailer is entering a market without a physical store. That would pit the company directly in competition with the likes of Amazon, <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, and <keyword id="6368309" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="urban-ladder">Urban Ladder</keyword>, who have spent years and billions in building a customer base in India. But Betzel is more sanguine than many others would be. “With more players, the whole category will grow even more. There is place for everyone,” he said. The furniture market in India is expected to be worth $17 billion in the next three years but the big shops, malls and snazzy online retailers with discounts and offers sell <a href="https://redseer.com/reports/disruption-in-indian-furniture-retailing/">less than two in every ten pieces of furniture</a> bought in India. The trend is changing, especially in urban areas, and there is enough headroom for growth for the organised segment. 
 
 
 
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 Touch points Going online first is not the only thing different about Ikea’s entry into Mumbai. The iconic stores of gargantuan size, roughly half a million square feet each, will be absent at least to start with. “The smaller stores can be 50,000 sq. ft - 150,000 sq. ft., large depending on what locations we are able to find,” he said. While Betzel didn’t elaborate on the rationale, the smaller stores may make sense in a crowded place like Mumbai where real estate is available at an exorbitant premium and travel can be cumbersome even for interested customers. Even in New York, Ikea has a ‘planning studio’ in the upscale Manhattan area and not the standard blue-box store. It seems to have a similar plan for Mumbai too. “In addition to ecommerce and the Navi store, IKEA will also open smaller city center stores. This will make us more accessible and bring us closer to where customers are,” Betzel said. Ikea calls these smaller stores ‘touch points’ for the customer to get an experience before making the purchase. “Currently the decision is to open two city center stores in different parts of Mumbai. There could be more online and offline touchpoints in the future based on the learnings from the market,” Ikea’s top boss in India explained. Been there, done that Similar formats have been tried by other online furniture retailers in India like Pepperfry and Urban Ladder. Pepperfry had launched its first offline studio in 2014. Since then, they have expanded to 65 studios across 28 cities. In fact, in every city that Pepperfry has launched a studio, the sales had doubled, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/pepperfry-studio-location-to-increase-50-as-sales-double/articleshow/69859900.cms">according to the management</a>. “While we don’t sell directly through our offline studios, they contribute significantly to our sales. Close to 40% of our overall turnover comes from the online bookings made at these studios,” Mihir Kulkarni, Vice President and Head of Omnichannel expansion, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/flipkart-offline-furniture-store-puts-its-in-competition-with-pepperfry-ikea-urbanladder/articleshow/70427696.cms">Pepperfry told Business Insider in an earlier interview</a>. The race is hotting up While both Pepperfry and Urban Ladder may have a headstart, they are going up against a giant in Ikea. The two startups put together have received investments worth less than $300 million in the last six years. On the other hand, “Ikea has committed to invest 1.5 billion euros ($1.68 billion) so far. Three Indian cities are in the fast speed expansion markets namely Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi/NCR. Our focus on India will only increase in the future,” according to Betzel. Even Flipkart, India’s largest online retailer, now owned by Walmart, is looking to set up experience centres. It unveiled an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/flipkart-offline-furniture-store-puts-its-in-competition-with-pepperfry-ikea-urbanladder/articleshow/70427696.cms">1,800 square feet outlet in Bengaluru</a> on July 29. With the likes of Walmart and Ikea throwing in their hat, running against smaller but more agile and homegrown players like Pepperfry and Urban Ladder, furniture retail in India is certainly set for exciting times. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/i-visited-ikeas-new-manhattan-location-and-it-was-like-nothing-else-ive-seen-from-the-retailer/articleshow/68821133.cms">I visited Ikea's new Manhattan location - and it was like nothing else I've seen from the retailer</a>

Ikea will make its Mumbai debut ‘very shortly’, says India chief as the first store in Hyderabad turns a year old

<keyword id="1199916" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Belong">Belong</keyword>, a data analytics talent acquisition firm helping companies hire the right talent at the right time, boasts of a dynamic list of clients – from <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>, Practo, Zivame to Ola and <keyword id="6368309" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Urban-Ladder">Urban ladder</keyword>. 
 
The reason it has been able to get onboard big names on its platform is because it's solving the recruitment concerns of these companies differently – it’s using big data, search, and predictive analytics to make a recruiter’s job easier. They no longer need to screen thousands of resumes to find ‘hidden gems’ -- but can instead target and engage candidates with surgical precision in just a few clicks. 
 For this, Belong is using machine learning to optimize the process of shortlisting a candidate based on an individual recruiter’s search patterns. This, the company claims, greatly reduces the effort of a recruiter as it replicates what recruiters and <keyword id="6357342" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hiring">hiring</keyword> managers try to do when they look at a candidate’s background except the algorithms draw on far more information for an informed decision. 
 We decided to chat with <keyword id="14193" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vijay-Sharma">Vijay Sharma</keyword>, CEO and co-founder of Belong, to understand what these high growth companies they work with are looking for in candidates. 
 
"They look for an entrepreneurial DNA in their candidates..." 
 
Sharma told Business Insider – “These candidates would have to be ex-entrepreneurs or co-founders or product leaders with experience in building and launching global products from the scratch. People who are comfortable getting their hands dirty, for example, tech leaders who are still comfortable coding.” 
 
He said most of these companies are actively encouraging a “micro-startup” culture within their teams. 
 
"Because many of them are moving into new categories or businesses, they want people who can come onboard and take on business ownership. For a product manager, this could involve P/L metrics,” he added. Additionally, because these companies are building for a global market, they also prefer people with international experience. 
 
Another key aspect, the Belong CEO said, companies are looking out for is - “Why someone is joining them”. 
 
“In the recent past, companies did attract a lot of talent looking for higher salaries and perks. They are still willing to splurge on talent, but they seek strong alignment on vision, culture, and role-fit,” he concluded. 
 
These trends show how India has come a long way in the recruitment journey already. As it continues to evolve, companies like Belong (which are bringing technology to HR) are bound to completely reshape and revolutionize the recruiting landscape in the near future.

CEO of the firm hiring for Ola, Snapdeal, Urban Ladder tells us what high growth companies are looking for in candidates

It’s often said that a road trip strengthens your bonds with loved ones. The crux of a road trip lies in spontaneity, but that being said, if you manage to get a guidebook, there's nothing like it. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Heres-a-go-to-guide-for-your-Mumbai-Goa-roadtrip/articleshow/54881836.cms">Also Read: Mumbai-Goa Roadtrip plan</a> 
 Business Insider has curated a go-to guide to help you plan your <keyword id="3760043" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="delhi-lansdowne">Delhi-Lansdowne</keyword> road trip. Yes the same trip you had been planning with friends, but it never turned into reality. For this couple, however, it was not to be kept as a simple plan waiting to be implemented. <keyword id="3760045" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="monami-mitra">Monami Mitra</keyword> and <keyword id="3760047" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="rahul-deb">Rahul Deb</keyword> recently rode their <keyword id="94237" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Royal-Enfield">Royal Enfield</keyword> from Delhi's <keyword id="6441250" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="New-Ashok-Nagar">New Ashok Nagar</keyword> to the Himalayan heaven of Lansdowne. We asked the duo to share their ride-plan with us. 
 
(Image credit: Monami Mitra)

Delhi-Lansdowne bike trip guide: From route map to stopovers, keep this rulebook
handy

At <keyword id="6368309" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Urban-Ladder">Urban Ladder</keyword>, a lot of effort has gone in the past few months to ensure what you see is what you get, and that too real quick. 
 
We will get to explaining how folks here have been able to do it, but before that here’s what the focus is at the moment – catering to the needs of India’s new home owners. Basically, teams are relentlessly working so that you can get an entire solution which is mixed and matched in a way that it suits your budget and blends into your life perfectly. 
 “We are offering a pretty comprehensive solution for people who are moving into their new houses. A lot of the work has been around that lately,” <keyword id="2480022" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajiv-Srivatsa">Rajiv Srivatsa</keyword>, co-founder of Urban Ladder, told Business Insider, when we went down to their office in Bengaluru recently. 
 This <keyword id="6368349" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="online-furniture">online furniture</keyword> and home décor company, selling single pieces of furniture, decided to introduce this service after it received requests from customers seeking complete solutions for their new houses. 
 
“We were flooded with such requests, and so we started digging into this from implementation point of view to see how we could offer this service differently compared to other online and offline interior designers, architects and branded players. In the last six months, we have invested in making his whole solution extremely customer-centric,” Srivatsa said. 
 
He explained how – “We went back to the physical product to see how all of this could be packaged together if we wanted to provide customized room solutions to customers.” 
 
Teams came together to work on the physical product– in terms of the design and material to make sure products delivered could be in line with what the customer needed. 
 
“Let’s say, if I have to deliver furniture for the room, it should go with the colour scheme of the wardrobe. We never had to worry about these things earlier because we were selling single pieces of furniture, but now the entire product range had to be really coherent and we worked real hard to get that right,” Srivatsa said. 
 
So much about the product fine-tuning. They also had to ensure their service was quick and extremely personalized for a delightful experience. 
 
Srivatsa said – “We automated and productized different areas for this. For example, between the times you would register on our site and we would come to your house earlier, we had a few processes in place to get more information about you. But mostly, we would ask you several questions during the visit, and then try to give you options on-the-spot as per your requirements. Often, it wouldn’t convert into orders as it was not a very personalized experience as we thought it to be.” 
 
So folks here came up with a fresh idea. They now gather more details about customers before making a home visit. What’s interesting is when you register on their website; you may find yourself answering questions around your lifestyle – "How many people are there in your family, what kind of house do you have, what are the styles you like". It is to determine your likings and disliking, basis which they expect to make more accurate recommendations. 
 
Srivatsa elaborated - “Our design consultants are better equipped to help you get what you want when they make a home visit, because they have pre-cooked options as per your preferences. It’s a better and more personalized way than when they would try to figure out choices for you on-the-spot.” 
 
He also said that by bringing in technology, Urban Ladder is also focused at making things more process oriented - something rivals in the online furniture segment are still struggling with. 
 
“Others will come to your house, get your details in writing or feed it into a laptop, go back and respond with options they have in two-three days’ time. Earlier the response time was the same for us, but now we send options to you within two-three hours of the home visit for say, wardrobes. The proposal we send has details like cost, material details, how it will look etc. If customers book large product range, they get the whole set in less than a month. Therefore, the turnaround and customer satisfaction is much better than earlier for our products and service,” said Srivatsa. 
 
What has come as good news for this company is the overall customer satisfaction. 
 
For the kitchen and wardrobe business, when it was in its infancy, customer satisfaction levels were less than the overall business, Rajiv informed us, as he added - “Because we have invested a heavy amount of energy into refining, finetuning and automating processes, materials and manufacturing, customer satisfaction has risen and is more than the core business of this segment. It’s a good thing because it helps build strong word of mouth.” 
 
Aware that Urban Ladder products have earned itself good reputation among customers, when we asked the co-founder what they were doing to ensure high customer satisfaction levels for their single piece furniture, Srivatsa said, “We have implemented a huge backend system to automate the entire management system. Work is being done on automation, tech, product and processes all the time, but what you will see in the next six to twelve months is that we will be fine-tuning most of them. Having said that, today it is far better than it was six months ago. So, we are constantly evolving in our endeavour.” 
 
Today, for a wardrobe, you will get a proposal by Urban Ladder almost immediately after home visit because the process is fully automated. Two months’ back, it would take at least two to three days’ for the company to respond with options. Similarly, for kitchen, it takes a day or two right now, but once the processes in this domain are automated, pre-proposals would reach customers almost immediately. 
 
Srivatsa said – “Urban Ladder’s first Wardrobe App was introduced one year back, the process improvements in it were done three months back, we started quick pre-proposals two months back, and the automatic proposal after your visit was implemented merely three-four weeks back. Like I said, we are continuously evolving, and we will do a lot more automation in the days to come to make the customer experience delightful.” 
 
What others need to learn from Urban Ladder’s goals: 
 
Urban Ladder Founders are still looking to grow to 2.7X times this year, provided some of their costs are lesser than last year. 
 
The long-term focus at Urban Ladder is largely on making business efficient towards sustainability - “We think we can drive business to a point where its profitable on its own in one or two years. We avoid going the discount way because we want to make our business sustainable, and sustainability has a lot more than just providing discounts to customers. It is about very intelligent pricing and understanding what customers are willing to pay for a product, when does it become too expensive or cheap for them. We have got the pricing game very right,” said Srivatsa. 
 
Planning for the inventory from the suppliers – The company is in touch with a strong consulting firm to make sure it can do inventory planning in a very strong way so that it does not hold too much or too little of products. 
 
Reducing costs –How it can optimize entire supply chain to route materials in a way where it is reaching customers faster, but at the same time not being transported more times than actually required. Srivatsa said - “We are also trying to see if we can we optimize marketing so that it becomes a low two-digit figure. We want to work on bringing these costs while keeping our fixed costs the same.”

Why Urban Ladder has
earned reputation among customers, and what rivals can learn from them

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=flipkart&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Flipkart</a> is foraying into categories apart from electronics, mobiles and apparels. Now, it wants to become number one in online retailer of furniture and has set an ambitious target for itself. 
 Without compromising on profits, <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> wants to achieve a 15-fold growth in the <keyword id="3327588" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="furniture-category">furniture category</keyword>. 
 
Flipkart is brining quite a few changes such as adding home furnishing and automobiles in its product category. 
 In the furniture one, Flipkart will face tough competition from <keyword id="6368309" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Urban-Ladder">Urban Ladder</keyword>, <keyword id="864887" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pepperfry">Pepperfry</keyword> and Fabfurnish. 
 
Sandeep C Patil, a senior director at Flipkart, told ET, “Furniture is a $20 billion market, which is bigger than the mobile phone market.” 
 
Reportedly, Flipkart could achieve Rs 2,600 crore in furniture sales by the end of 2016. 
 
Meanwhile, Pepperfry and Urban Ladder want to register growth of at least 150%. 
 
"Right now verticals are bigger than horizontals in the category, but even after launching in October we are quite close to them in size. If our projections hold, we will be multiple in size of verticals," told Patil. 
 
Morgan Stanley has predicted that home furnishing will boom and reap huge revenues for ecommerce firms. 
 
(Image: Thinkstock)

Flipkart is expanding its product portfolio, wants to yield profits from furniture category

‘If you’re someone who hates getting out of bed to get to work, this is the perfect job for you.’ 
 
When that’s the first line of a job description, you know you’re onto something. 
 
The job in question is of a ‘Sr. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Mattress+Tester&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Mattress Tester</a>’ at online furnishings portal <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Urban+Ladder&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Urban Ladder</a>. Posted on 30th March, it already has over 5720 views. 
 
So what’s life like as a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Mattress+Tester&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">mattress tester</a>? You’ll basically get to stay in bed pretty much the entire day and actually get paid for it. 
 
Here’s the official list of desired skill-sets: 
 
· A love for sleeping that would put Kumbhakarna to shame 
· Strong analytical skills and an insightful bent of mind 
· A good understanding of the best practices in mattress design 
· A passion for product quality and attention to detail 
· Demonstrated expertise in sleeping under varied conditions 
· A strong customer focus 
· A complete lack of enthusiasm and drive 
 
On a typical day, you’ll need to sleep on various <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Urban+Ladder&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Urban Ladder</a> mattresses to check for comfort and ease. 
 
Each mattress will need to be tested under different conditions, such as after consuming coffee and other caffeine-based drinks, after traveling long distances, as well as under different light and sound conditions. 
 
Wow, that’s quite something. 
 
Sounds like you? Like they say ‘don’t sleep on the opportunity’. Apply to <a href="mailto:sleep@urbanladder.com">sleep@urbanladder.com</a> with your resume and a cover letter! ;) 
 
<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/photo/46570664.cms">Image Source</a>

This Job pays you to…Sleep!

If you say 'no' to a job offer from an <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=e-Commerce+">e-Commerce</a> company, job search firms might <keyword id="387612" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Blacklist">blacklist</keyword> you to avoid embracement. In the past three to six months, a deluge of offers from cash-flush <keyword id="35621" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="e-commerce">e-Commerce</keyword> firms has seen a proportionate rise in the number of offers being turned down by senior level executives. 
 
This left the companies stumped and head hunters red faced. As a result, various job search firms have started blacklisting such executives who have replied in negative to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=employment+">employment</a> offers in the e-Commerce firm. 
 
According to estimates from four leading search firms, the offer dropout rates for the last three months have shot up by 30-40%. For the 12-month period, it has risen by 60-80%. 
 
Senior-level candidates rejecting offers in the e-Commerce space is around 40% now, double of what it is for any other sector, with the maximum offer drops being in the product management space, followed by core IT. 
 Executive search firm <keyword id="122960" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Kelly-Services">Kelly Services</keyword> had more than 20 senior candidates drop offers at the last stage in the last two months. 
 
"Candidates are offer shopping like never before. We have seen candidates looking for jobs during the notice period they are serving and when they already have an offer with another company. They try to make the best use of the notice period by getting as many offers as possible," said Kamal Karanth, managing director at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Flipkart+">Kelly Services &amp; Kelly OCG</a>, India. 
 
Warning signals include candidates not picking up calls, family members answering the phone to say the candidate is not well. "This is a reality in the e-Commerce space as the sector gets flooded with opportunities," said Ashu Malhotra, head HR at online retailer <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Jabong">Jabong</a>. Adding to search firms' woes is companies' unwillingness to settle for the second best candidate or a back-up option. 
 
According to search experts, NIT, IIT and IIM graduates are perpetual offer droppers. Typically, talents from these schools are in demand and candidates resort to arm-twisting with potential hiring organisations. "This is exactly what happened in the IT space in 2003-04. The e-Commerce industry is at a buoyant stage and candidates are making full use of it to get the best deal," said GC Jayaprakash, executive director at RGF Executive Search. 
 
A search expert cited the case of a senior manager who dropped an offer from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Flipkart+">Flipkart</a> at the last minute to take up an offer from mid-sized startup <keyword id="6368309" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Urban-Ladder">Urban Ladder</keyword>. "People who are moving away from big companies want more responsibility, accountability, and bigger roles," said <keyword id="2480022" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Rajiv-Srivatsa">Rajiv Srivatsa</keyword>, founder, COO at Urban Ladder. 
 
Usually, companies are unable to retain talent because of the huge salary jump being offered by competitors or allied firms. 
 
Talent, more often than not, is getting wooed by the money that this space offers and companies at times are willing to pay up to 60-70% more to attract the right talent. The tenure of executives in any organisation has started decreasing as more companies get formed in this space and a wider variety of jobs come into the market. 
 Abhiraj Bhal, co-founder of <keyword id="3048734" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Urban-Clap">Urban Clap</keyword>, spoke of a mid-level hire who did not show up on his first day at work, after two months of communication. "Over the past few months, the exuberance in the ecommerce space has rubbed off on the talent pool. Salaries and expectations have gone up. We have offered salary hikes of 70-80% in roles like technology and people have choices and can make companies wait and hold on and we've not been immune to this," he said. 
 
Moreover, most funded companies are willing to poach talent, and at times, offer more than what candidates demand, said Karanth. Recently, Kelly Services was working on a requirement with an ecommerce company for a product management candidate with 12 years of experience. The candidate was keen on a 40% hike. The company he interviewed with offered him 50%. The candidate, however, never joined and bargained for a hike in another company. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Think twice before you say ‘no’ to offers in e-Commerce firms! Search firms might blacklist such people

When the country is experiencing an entrepreneurship boom in the market, for big industry tycoons if there is a perfect time to invest in <keyword id="428085" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="start-ups">start-ups</keyword>, it is now. With start-ups going on a crazy funding spree, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/If-you-want-Ratan-Tata-to-invest-in-your-start-up-just-ask-him-Your-wish-might-just-get-answered/articleshow/47551786.cms">Ratan Tata stands out as the most important investor</a>, saving many just when their bank balance was down to the last few zeroes.
	 
	
		From ecommerce to auto, Tata’s investment portfolio is as varied as it can get. There cannot be a better way to spend your retirement. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Know-whats-keeping-Ratan-Tata-busy-and-happy-post-retirement/articleshow/47721497.cms">After his retirement</a>, he said young innovators should be encouraged and he stands true to his words. The list is becoming longer, with investments in 10 start-ups in this year alone.
	 
	
		Here’s a complete guide to the start-ups who went on to become some of the greatest in the space after his investments.
	 
	
		 
		 
		1. Altaeros Energies- Boston-based Altaeros was founded in 2010 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to commercialise the world's first airborne wind turbine. Operating up to 2,000 feet (600 metres) above ground, the Altaeros BAT generates over twice the energy of similarly-sized tower mounted wind turbines.
	 
	
		When: Early 2014
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		2. <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>- Snapdeal got its funding from Tata when their bank balance was down to the last $100,000. Tata is believed to have invested less than Rs 5 crore, buying 256 shares from Snapdeal's angel investors including Kenneth Glass
	 
	
		When: August 2014.
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		3. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Ratan-Tata-Bets-Big-On-Indias-e-commerce-Sector-Invests-In-Bluestone/articleshow/42258863.cms">Bluestone</a>- The online jewellery retailer was founded by IIT graduate Gaurav Singh Kushwaha and Vidya Nataraj. <keyword id="255703" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bluestone">Bluestone</keyword> was valued at Rs 135 crore when it raised funding from Kalaari Capital, when Tata also co-invested. 
	
		When: September 2014
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		4. <keyword id="6368309" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Urban-Ladder">Urban Ladder</keyword>- The online furniture etailer was founded by IIM-Bangalore MBAs Ashish Goel and Rajiv Srivatsa in July 2012.
	 
	
		When: November 2014
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		5. Swasth India- The Mumbai-based healthcare startup provides medical services to low income population. The company was founded by former consultants and IIT Bombay graduates Sundeep Kapila and Ankur Pegu
	 
	
		When: Invested Rs 2 crore in December 2014 
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		6. <keyword id="1945738" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cardekho">CarDekho</keyword>- The Jaipur-based online auto classifieds player was founded in 2007 by Amit and Anurag Jain, both IIT Delhi alumni. The company also runs other portals like BikeDekho and PriceDekho.
	 
	
		When: February 2015
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		7. <keyword id="182468" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Grameen-Capital">Grameen Capital</keyword>- This is a Mumbai-based investment advisory company.
	 
	
		When: March 2015 
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		8. One97 Communications (<keyword id="6357120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="PayTM">Paytm</keyword>)- The Noida-based Company has successfully transitioned from a value-added services player to an online wallet Paytm.
	 
	
		When: March 2015
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		9. <keyword id="874458" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Xiaomi">Xiaomi</keyword>- Founded by serial entrepreneur Lei Jun, the Chinese smartphone maker, launched in India last year, became an instant hit in the market with their products.
	 
	
		When: April 2015
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		10. Kaaryah- <keyword id="6360722" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="ratan-tata">Ratan Tata</keyword>'s latest investment is a women's non-casual wear is Kaaryah, founded Nidhi Agarwal Kashyap. 
	
		When: June 2015 
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		11. Holachef- Launched in 2014 by Saurabh Saxena and Anil Kalra, this is a food-tech start-up where amateur and professional chefs can come together and sell their meals.
	 
	
		When- September 2015
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		12. <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword>- In less than three months after Ola announced a $400 million funding round, led by Russian investment firm DST Global, Tata announced its investment in the online car services company, which valued the company at $2.5 billion.
	 
	
		When- July 2015
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		13. Infinite Analytics- Founded in 2012 by MIT graduates Akash Bhatia and Purushotam Botla, this is a US based predictive marketing and Analysis Company. The company deals with deep machine learning and predictive analytics by merging data from multiple sources to create a 360-degree view of the user.
	 
	
		When- August 2015
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		14. <keyword id="1517554" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="ampere">Ampere</keyword>- Ampere sells electric vehicles, cycles, trolleys and scooters. It also sells vehicles for differently-abled. It was founded by Hemalata Annamalai.
	 
	
		When- July 2015
	
		 
		 
		 
	
		15. <keyword id="2798697" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lybrate">Lybrate</keyword>- Healthcare communication start-up, Lybrate connects doctors with patients anonymously throughout India anywhere and anytime. They raised $10.2 m in Series A funding from Ratan Tata, Tiger Global, Nexus Venture Partners.
	 
	
		When- July 2015
	 
	 
	
		(Image credits: Indiatimes, cardekho, kaaryah, bluestone, swasth india, twitter, cupoworld)

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