With the dawn of the start-up era and the ever-increasing ecosystem of young minds setting out to create their own businesses, the scope to create an impact is marginal. What will though, set a successful venture apart from others is the ability of the entrepreneur tosolve a problem.
If an idea finds a solution, the minds behind the idea have earned themselves the right to call themselves entrepreneurs. Through UMV, we find a solution that helps us simplify our shopping through something we encounter quite often in our lives: Vouchers. Vouchers piling up at your homes by the day, rotting away on desks way beyond their expiry, eventually finding their way to the trash.
But would you believe that there now is a revolutionary idea that will make you want to hold on to it. Would you believe that what seems like waste is actually worth a monetary value? What if there is a way to turn these vouchers into cash? Team UMV (Use My Voucher) has taken upon themselves the challenge of helping the Indian consumer save that voucher and use it to his benefit - creating value of what you thought was waste.
Live on November 1st, the UMV app is the brainchild of Rishab Jain and Umair Zamzam, leaders of a team dedicated to bringing the consumer the best deal at his preferred brand. The user-friendly application's services are bifurcated into an Online Voucher store and a Trading Engine. The Voucher store allows the consumer to purchase discount vouchers for over 70 premium brands. Rishab Jain, heading the company's technology development has lead research to deduce that most sought after brands lack an online presence in India.
"It's the ugly truth", says Rishab, 'More than 300 brands do not use the web space, yet they are sought after in India. Take a Zara, Hamleys or a Forever 21 - there is no opportunity for a brand loyalist to buy a discount voucher for these stores online. UMV, in many ways, brings an online presence to these over-300 sought after brands'.
"I was looking at a way to help the customer save on everyday purchases at his preferred store, however, through the developmental phase I realized that in the process of helping customers, UMV will also help increase footfalls at stores, as we are increasing the reach of the product through the discount. Accessibility for all was the aim behind devising this system."
The Trading Engine is what will bring an end to your voucher misery. Say you have a toy store voucher at home, with your childhood long gone and no children in the near future, the trading engine is just the place you need.
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A unique in-app chat system enables the buyer and seller to discuss the logistics and schedule a meet to make the transaction. Founder and Planning Lead, Umair Zamzam, believes UMV is the need of the hour, 'Our research concludes that 60 percent of our consumers prefer to give vouchers instead of presents and 65 percent of vouchers in circulation expire without being used.
We at UMV are thus creating a market place where we can get the right voucher to the right consumer through this trading engine', says the young entrepreneur.
With the online store and trading engine, Use My Voucher aims at solving 100 percent of voucher related transaction issues. After months of research and surveys involving over a thousand people, UMV has identified top stores and brought them on board to give you a discount voucher through their app.
'Consumer satisfaction is key, we want to eliminate the physical waiting period at stores, which is why our team worked towards ensuring we have an efficient 24 hour delivery and an Easy Pay system', says Rishab Jain. 'Umair and I are very clear that customers are our priority, which is why our work-back plan was built on the mission of offering free shipping and 100 percent money-back guarantee on every order. I am glad that we have come through on that'.
Not only will UMV expand the user base for certain premium brands through discounts but it also helps you clinch a great deal at your store of choice. The USPs are not just discount based though. The economic impact is immense.
Unused and neglected vouchers now hold value through this application. And as Team UMV embarks on this quest to create value from these vouchers, they identify technology and customer satisfaction as their key pillars of success, be it through the Easy interface in-app chat system or their free 24 hour shipping and 100 percent money back guarantee.
It's time to go through your trash and bring those vouchers back, for they now may bring you surplus income.