Covid 19 lockdown was an unforgettable experience. It took a lot away from us but also made us learn a lot. Our elders learned about online shopping and getting groceries delivered at home using a quick commerce platform. Even kids were taking online teaching and yoga classes.
But one thing that was almost impossible through technology was puja. But, Ankita De and her co-founders took it upon themselves to create a solution that was sustainable and could be trusted by the people from the land of some of the oldest cultures, India.
During the early days of her career, she served as a Junior Researcher at IEM IEDC and later took on the role of Lead Android Developer at Campus24. Her stint as an Android Engineer at Zyephr further solidified her expertise in mobile app development.
Ankita’s entrepreneurial journey took a significant leap when she co-founded Applex Technologies Pvt. Ltd. in January 2020. This venture marked her initial foray into the startup ecosystem, where she gained valuable experience in managing and scaling a tech company.
In October 2021, Ankita co-founded Utsav along with Sourajit Basu and Prajata Samanta. Utsav was conceived as a digital platform to bridge the gap between spirituality and technology. The company initially focused on digitizing Kolkata’s famous Durga Puja and the app quickly expanded its scope to include various religious organizations across India.
Ankita says, “To solve a real world problem, you have to get to the roots, understand where your audience comes from, what their needs and problems are.”
Utsav has garnered significant attention and support from investors. In December 2021, the app raised its first round of funding led by 100X.VC. This was followed by a seed funding round in July 2023, where Utsav secured INR 2 crore from India Quotient. The funds are being utilized to associate with more religious organizations.
The app has witnessed substantial growth, with over 100,000 active users and connections with more than 30 religious organizations. Utsav’s ability to cater to the spiritual needs of a diverse audience has made it a beloved platform among devotees.
Ankita says, “Being founders, you build it from scratch.”
She believes that successful entrepreneurship goes beyond just having an idea or creating a product. Instead, as in Utsav’s case, it involves thoroughly engaging with stakeholders, including trustees, temple priests, and devotees, to identify and address genuine market gaps.
She challenges the notion that Indian audiences are difficult to monetize. She asserts that providing significant value leads to user willingness to pay.
“I think if you provide significant value to your users, they would love to pay, and they would be your first “word-of-mouth” marketers.”
She emphasizes the app’s positive impact on partner temples, impressive conversion and retention rates, and blissful user feedback. This demonstrates that quality service can turn users into repeat customers.
Also, she reiterates that even good ideas require multiple iterations to become viable. According to her it is important to understand user behavior and their interaction throughout the development process. These iterations are an essential part of refining products to meet user needs and expectations.
Covid, easy online payments, and busy lifestyles have led to significant growth in spiritual tech startups. But there have been many startups before Utsav also in this sector which didn’t make it because of as Ankita says: not providing value to the customer. Ankita has achieved some great results by being available to the community and learning from their needs and we think Utsav will go a long way in this spritual-tech revolution.
