"India is one of the best places right now to start a new business"

India has seen a lot of action in the internet space in the recent years with many first generation start-ups gaining popularity among the consumers. Online classifieds company like OLX has already broken the ice and is one of the most popular names in the industry. Amarjit Singh Batra, CEO, OLX shares his thoughts on the industry and his new venture in an exclusive interview with IBEF. Edited excerpts:

You have been a serial entrepreneur in India. What is your view on the current start-up ecosystem in India?

India is one of the best places right now to start a new business. Almost all the factors are supporting the growth of new ventures and keeping in mind the strong growth potential of the domestic economy, there will be many more new companies that will emerge in the near future.

Can you explain the thought process behind starting OLX?

Our research showed that people the typical SEC A and SEC B consumer wanting a platform to sell their goods. Our database shows profiles of many OLX consumers who have moved to a bigger metro for a job but don't want to spend lakhs setting up their homes. These people want to gradually move towards acquiring branded products and find it easier to come to our website first and later - if they still wish - go to other online or offline stores.

We also realised that buying from and selling to unknown people was a non-existent concept in India unlike in the West where online second-hand goods websites could have been spurred by the fact that consumers were used to the conventional "garage sales". Now with rising disposable incomes and with the market opening up, people want instant gratification by shopping regularly and upgrading to better products within months. As a company we have capitalised on this change in the market.

You have already gained a sizeable user base. How do you plan to monetise your venture?

In our space, monetiasation is no rocket science. We can do it by pushing the premium listings on the top and by placing ads on the website. We plan to do both in order to increase our revenue.