NSRCEL Start-up: SmartPuja
Every successful establishment can be traced back to the seed of an idea. That is what happened with the Founders of SmartPuja – Nishchay Chaturvedi and Pooja Chaturvedi. They were seeking pooja services to celebrate the birth of their younger child and were unable to find anything online. A need then has thus transformed into a smart option available for many people like the Chaturvedi’s, people like us. A smart option to seek divinity.
What is SmartPuja?
SmartPuja is a web-based company providing an all-inclusive package to ensure that your religious and ceremonial needs are attended to as well as sorted efficiently and under one roof. Right from the arrangement of a wide array of Pujas and ceremonies to hiring a Pandit or conducting the entire process with clockwork precision. You name it and we do it!
What gave you the idea for SmartPuja? How did you get into this space?
The birth of our child sparked the idea of SmartPuja. When we wanted to perform a particular Puja in 2015, we thought we could go online and book the service, but to our surprise, we found only classifieds and a couple of static web sites. We struggled to get the right priest and did a lot of running around to collect the materials required. There were so many uncertainties and last moment changes. By the end of the event, we had put in so much time, effort and money but had absolutely no satisfaction. This got us thinking about how unorganized sector this was, that also mostly remained offline. Unfair Pricing and Lack of professionalism and transparency were the normal practices in this sector.
SmartPuja is an online and organized, easy to book and a complete solution. Customers need to log on to www.smartpuja.com, book a Puja in few clicks, pay a booking advance and sit back and relax because we are on it. In Mar 2016, my Co-Founder Nishchay Chaturvedi, also my better half, and I, did a soft launch with service in Hindi and Kannada languages. And now we offer Pujas in 16 language options.
What are the different services and products offered by SmartPuja?
SmartPuja offers 400 plus kinds of Pujas Havans/Homas, Jappas etc in 16 language and region options. Pandit/Purohit and materials are sent to the client as part of the service. We offer physical and online Pujas, which we call E-Puja.
In what way SmartPuja is helping to bring positive change in society?
SmartPuja is empowering people with access to the right information and has brought a process in place where there is standardisation and transparency of pricing. People are actually connecting back to their roots, learning and discovering the science and logic behind their culture and traditions. On the other hand, the genuine and deserving priests get work from us throughout the year without having to worry about acquiring customers. Few of them who have been associated with us since our inception have grown from staying in a rented room to buying land and building their home. It is very satisfying to see them grow.
One very important vertical of SmartPuja is E-Pujas. We have been offering E-Pujas to our clients living abroad or to those who don’t have access to priests & materials. Because of the COVID 19 pandemic we are offering E-Puja service locally too. Quickly let me tell you what an E-Puja is – We leverage technology the ‘Smart’ way and conduct Vedic Online E-Puja ceremonies with your active participation. Yes, you can now perform a Puja ceremony from the comfort and safety of your home especially during the current scenario!
We have performed E-Pujas for HouseWarmings, Naming Ceremonies, Marriage Ceremonies, After Life Rituals (Shradh Pujas) etc for our clients staying in Bangalore, Pune, NCR, Dubai, UK, Australia, Germany etc.
This ensures that the rituals are done in the most Vedic manner, keeping safety of our clients front and centre.
What has your experience been at NSRCEL? How has it helped you with your venture? Some key learnings from your experience at NSRCEL.
In Jan 2019, I had an opportunity to be a part of the 10K Women Entrepreneurship Program sponsored by GS at IIM Bangalore. This program has been a game-changer in our Entrepreneurial journey. We learnt so much from this Program. First and foremost we learned the power of networking and community. We worked in B2C set up, but now have collaborated with many ventures offering complementary services and have been able to expand our service base. We not only organize Puja ceremonies, but we also offer value-added services like flower decoration, catering, photography, return favors, etc.,
The classroom sessions we had were of tremendous value. We learnt the importance of growth plans, cost analysis, budgeting etc.
The guidance by the Professors and mentors are immensely valuable. We had a chance to be mentored by industry experts. Their valuable guidance and direction will always help us achieve our goals.
The support system and a community in itself that we Women have formed is matchless. We are always there to support each other in every way we can. We can’t thank GS and IIM B enough to bring us all together.
We are incubated in IIM B since Dec 2019. We work out of NSRCEL.
What motivates an entrepreneur to keep going?
The biggest motivation for us each day is that we do what we love! The satisfaction is immense. Blessings we get from clients are added perks!
Every day is a new challenge and new learning as well. We also mentor new startups as a little gesture of giving back to the community. It’s a cliche to say ‘Work is Worship’, for us it is literally!
How can one avail your services?
We are easily found online. One can book our service from our website www.smartpuja.com or reach us on call or WA on 9036050108 or write to us on namaste@smartpuja.com.
Website – https://www.smartpuja.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/smartpujasocial/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/SmartPuja108/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/SmartPuja108
LinkedIn page – https://www.linkedin.com/company/smartpuja/
