Interview with Keerthi Kadam

Mr.Keerthi Kadam. Founder and CEO of 100rupis.com, a Myynd Tech website. We have conducted a short interview with him.

Can you please shortly introduce your initiative?

I started my company called Myynd Tech in Dec 2013 and we have built a fantastic website www.100rupis.com, an online market where people can buy and sell anything for just Rs.100. We have added some good features recently. Basically it is 100 rupis (Rupees- Indian Currency)= $2 approx. We have created this platform for people to earn a living working full time or make extra cash working part time.

Besides the price difference, how does 100rupis.com differentiate itself to reach potential service buyers?

We have sellers from different parts of the world who are willing to offer their quality services at an affordable price. Quality is our first priority; we want the buyers to get the bang for their buck. Our mission is to bridge the gap between talent and value- meaning, we want talented people to sell their skills/ talents to several buyers by delivering quality services and making buyers happy with what they receive.

What are the current challenges for Indian people to be sellers?

I think the biggest challenge is an internet connection in remote areas. Urban residents have no problem getting 24/7 internet connection, in fact they have internet on their phones as well these days. In the rural areas although people have phones and can connect to the internet, it’s a distant chance that they would be hooked to internet all the time and know updates or new sites like 100rupis.com. In the rural there are several thousand youth who are unemployed and can take advantage of our site provided they have good internet connection where they live.

People can start off as part timers on 100rupis.com and as they go will understand how they can earn more. So with a good internet connection for a few hours they will be able to do miracles. The other problem is awareness, by the time people know how they can make a living with our site they have tough competition. Early adapters get an edge over the late comers; they have more ratings to attract more buyers. So, I guess it’s the timing and proper tools that they need to make their lives better with a site like ours.

For your industry, do you consider the working culture in US different from working in India?

Working in India has always been salary based. Employees work on monthly salary basis, they are supposed to work the whole month before they can see their pay check. It is not an hourly wage like in US. Also US has better labor laws when it comes to minimum wage per hour. In India the salary is basically agreed upon or negotiated between the employer and employee during the interview process. People in India work 6 days, 5 and half technically- Mon- Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturdays 9am to 2pm. On the positive side, there are a lot more number of Government sanctioned holidays that employees enjoy each year. In US people make more money in a week than people in India in a month. Average salary in India per month is about $200 which is changing slowly (moving up in the recent years). Websites like 100rupis.com can serve as an extra income generating ways.

What kind of social issues are you personally concerned about?

Women empowerment is one of things that we want to focus on. We want to contribute by educating women about working from home. India has women literacy going up in the recent years and that is a good sign. We would like women to be computer literate so they can take advantage of sites like ours. Women face financial problems everyday and hence turn to prostitution and other occupations that they don’t like to do. If they only know how to make a living and help their families they are ready to learn skills. This is where our long sighted vision comes in, we want women’s talent/ skills- singing, designing or anything else be brought to market for them to earn their living. The other social issue is rural youth today have no direction and end up failing in life with bad company influence. We want to help them work hard and make a living with their skills/ talents that they may have.

What are your aspirations?

I want 100rupis.com to become one of the biggest employment places where people can earn a living hassle free and that too with what they love to do. My dad has researched for years about unemployment and he found ways to create employment for everyone in India and around the world. I want to make his dream come true. I want everyone to have great employment opportunities and I want everyone to have a great lifestyle. People should not be begging to meet ends; they should be able to provide for their families. Every home should have enough food, good clothing and a roof on top. I want 100rupis.com to change people’s thinking about work and money. I want everyone to do what they love and earn decent money.

How would you like to contribute to alleviate unemployment with your skills and strength as an entrepreneur in India?

As an entrepreneur I want people to think work as fun and not an obligation. I want people to love their lives and that will only come when they will love what they do. I want people to freelance, be an entrepreneur themselves and try things in life before settling for a boring job. Through 100rupis.com I want to encourage entrepreneurship in India. I would like to reach out to the villages and help them understand that they can make a better living. Through my efforts I want to expand people’s markets- what they do today is market their skills and talents locally but what if the world was their market, what if they could sell their skills to people from different countries, what if they could earn more? It would be a great feeling to see people succeed in their lives. I believe 100rupis.com’s future is in people’s future; if they make money we make money, if they grow we grow!