A former UC employee told me that there are two businesses that Abhiraj Bahl looks up to, the names of which feature often in discussions at UC. The first is Amazon—the American retail and tech giant’s 16 leadership principles are guiding lights at UC too.
The other is Zomato. (View Highlight)
“UC has had regional competition forever—Onsitego, YesMadam, etc. But regional is regional,” an current UC executive told me. Over the last year, it’s been reported that Flipkart and Tata Digital are both planning to foray into home services. Last December, Flipkart also launched Home Products Services, under which it offers installations, repairs, and maintenance for appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, etc. (View Highlight)
But Blinkit won’t have it easy taking on UC in home services, according to a current UC employee. Blinkit and Zomato are both similar in the sense that they essentially transport product X from point A to point B. But the home services business isn’t like that. “Every category in UC has its own complications and complexities. So to build a solution, or even if you partner or acquire regional players, it will take a lot of time to understand the processes and landscape at scale,” they say.
UC has spent nine years trying, failing, and figuring things out. These playbooks are built overnight. For instance, the matchmaking algorithms for Zomato (where workers are mobile) and UC (where workers have to do their work at a home) will be significantly different. Training methods and upskilling will also significantly differ, they say. (View Highlight)
