Meet the SHEROES - Swati Bhargava

CashKaro.com is said to be the number 1 platform in India for cash back and coupon / discount options. It’s interesting to learn how an earlier venture in the UK (also started by Swati and her husband) and the subsequent growth of e-commerce in India led to the launch of CashKaro.com.

Today we share the growth story of Swati Bhargava, who co-founded Cashkaro a place where YOU, the end consumer can come across a plethora of cash back pay options.  Keep reading for more –

How did the idea of Pouring Pounds and Cashkaro come about? Pouring Pounds was set up in UK and the latter in India, how do you customize products / services for both?

My husband Rohan and I came across the Cashback idea in the UK and totally loved it. We thought it was so simple, easy... if anyone knew about a Cashback site, why they won’t use it! We felt there was a gap in the market so we launched Pouring Pounds and soon were running the Cashback sites for large UK newspapers like the Daily Mail and Metro newspaper.

Seeing the huge growth in Indian ecommerce we launched CashKaro.com in mid-2013. Globally, CASHBACK is a recognized, tried & tested model and have given savings worth billions of dollars to shoppers. I think the biggest take away is that people are inclined towards SAVINGS and GREAT BARGAINS and hence the huge popularity.

We started Pouring Pounds in 2011 and it is now one of the UK’s leading Cashback and Voucher websites and works with 2,500 popular brands like Tesco, Debenhams, M&S, Expedia and Argos. Witnessing the growth of e-commerce in India led us to start CashKaro.com later in 2013. Today CashKaro.com is India’s largest & most recognized Cashback site and the business is growing at 30-40% month over month.

The UK market is attuned to Cashback and retailers are responsive & understand the importance of affiliate sites hence customization and penetration is much easier. While in India we customized our site as a singular platform where users can SEARCH, COMPARE PRODUCTS & PRICES AND EARN CASHBACK across product categories. Today, CashKaro.com manages over 6,000 transactions a day and has credited over Rs.15 crores of cashback to its valued members as REAL CASH.

How did your previous corporate exposure / experience and growing up years get you to where you are today?

I graduated from London School of Economics with Honors in Mathematics & Economics in 2005 and joined the Investment Banking team at Goldman Sachs, UK. I worked with the credit structuring and sales team within the Investment Banking Division and then moved to the Executive Office where I managed client engagements and relationships for the Co-CEOs of Goldman Sachs International, Richard Gnodde and Michael Sherwood. Working closely with the senior management boosted my confidence and further enhanced my communication skills.

As an Investment Banker and with a strong base in Mathematics & Economics I am naturally inclined towards unit metrics which is an extension of building a profitable business. My experience at Goldman Sachs has served a great predecessor in manifesting both my ventures – Pouring Pounds & CashKaro.com.   

Today's urban consumer is largely shifting to a digital market. How will online markets influence Indian shopping in the near future?

There’s next to nothing that isn’t available online. Today the average urban consumer can buy anything from a house to groceries to even medicine while sitting on his laptop. That is perhaps the biggest advantage of digital markets.

The growing influence of online markets in India is reminiscent to changing lifestyles of the urban consumer. As per reports the Indian e-commerce market is poised to be $100 Billion by 2020. As Founders of Cashback sites the convenience of online shopping supplemented with accessibility to products across categories has and will define Indian shopping in the near future.

Over the next 6 months CashKaro is also bringing on board around 50 global retailers from the US and UK like Macy’s, River Island, House of Fraser etc. The idea is to make international brands accessible to the aspirational Indian shopper. With advent of digital markets, the entire world is now one big supermarket.

What long term goal do you strive to achieve with your two ventures?

We want to be known as Quidco and Ebates of the Indian Cashback ecosystem. We are the largest and the only externally-funded cashback site and are 3x to 10x larger than other cashback sites. We want to maintain this lead and make CASHBACK a way of life for online shoppers.

They say, every entrepreneur has highs and lows. Can you talk about a few of your highs and lows post starting out? 

While entrepreneurship is one of the most rewarding career options, it comes with its own set of highs and lows. Raising USD 750,000 in seed funding from a group of UK based angel investors within 72 hours was definitely one of the high points for me. Other such as hiring our first employee to partnering with ecommerce giants like Amazon.in, Alibaba Wholesale to launching price comparison on our site can be attributed as high points as well. While there are no definitive lows but issues such as agility of business, quality hiring, scaling up are some hurdles which I face as an entrepreneur.

What was your childhood / growing years like in India (little about family background)? Can you elaborate?

I am originally from Ambala; a small town north of Delhi where I studied at Convent of Jesus & Mary school till the age of 16; then got offered a scholarship to study in Singapore in 1999 to complete my high school.My father is into Business; so I think my entrepreneurial genes can be attributed to him. My mother is a strong individual and runs a non-profit organization where she trains local underprivileged women to be self-dependent. Been surrounded by these women inhabited me to evolve as a person and build an identity of my own. I’ve got so much love and support from my family and friends through my journey till date that every time a new opportunity came up, it meant a lot to me and I never wanted to let all these people down.

What tips would you give the new age digital Indian shopper when it comes to online buying?

One invests hard earned money on a product they haven’t even seen or touched, so it’s important to trust the source one is buying from. With so many sites cropping every day, its important one verifies and opts for a secured payment gateway. Also, Cashback is a great way of saving when shopping online. You can get REAL CASH returns for something you would have bought anyway. It’s always beneficial to avail these opportunities. On shopping via CashKaro.com one can get upto 60% REAL CASHBACK.

You are known to be sensitive about fitness. How do you fit in a fitness schedule into your daily routine? What is your average day like?

I am an early riser. I then spend over an hour exercising: walking and doing yoga! My one hour of exercise time fills me with great positive energy and makes me ready to embrace the day in its entirety!

My day usually starts around 6/6:30am. Since we have two operational websites (Pouringpounds.com and CashKaro.com) in different time zones the first thing I do is - open my phone and check email, Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter! Having an online business means that while you were sleeping your ‘shop’ was still open so it’s important to quickly check how things are in the morning.

Once in the office, my time is divided between sitting with different teams, strategizing, analyzing to executing my own long checklist of things to do. I really enjoy working with my team so time does fly. The working day seldom finishes before 8:30pm, and then I head home to spend some quality time with family! Dinner table conversations are always fun and relaxing and sometimes Rohan & I head out to meet friends.

How did your education at the prestigious LSE help form the professional person you are today?

LSE was a brilliant experience. An Honors in Mathematics and Economics resulted in getting me some very exciting platforms including the Presidency of the Business Club and internship at Goldman Sachs, UK.  In hindsight, working with industry leaders enhanced my communication skills and cultivated my decision making and leadership skills.