Gaurav Choudhary: A Pioneer In Establishing An Online Live-Stock Market For Farmers
Gaurav Choudhary
Business Leader
Five years back, Gaurav who hails from Kahalgaon in Bihar took the road to entrepreneurship with the plan to establish a dairy farm. To execute this plan, he visited around 110 dairy farms across the country. During which he witnessed an extreme imbalance within the industry which included the trading of livestock and immediately decided to work towards strengthening the livestock economy.
Therefore, putting together his diverse experience with startups and corporates, he established Pashushala. He leverages seven years of consulting experience in steel, textile, infrastructure, IT, and the F&B sector to establish best practices for his business and promote sales, reduce cost, and improve quality to better the operations of the company. Under his leadership, Pashushala today is operational in 14 states across the country.
Gaurav is a conceptualist & implementer with strong business acumen and expertise in strategy and multifaceted holistic marketing. Besides Pashushala, he is also the Co-founder & C.S.O of TripThrill, a homestay curation marketing, and management company. Let’s hear it from him.
What has been the underlying idea behind the inception of Pashushala? Tell us about the organization.
During a certain time in my professional journey, I got an opportunity to assist the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in establishing health projects for the socially backward sections of Bihar and Jharkhand, through CARE. That
was the time when I came very close to the farming community. This developed in me the thought of bringing a change into their lives and creating a solution that connects them to India. With that thought, I established Pashushala.
As an organization, Pashushala is an online marketplace to trade livestock providing 365 days a year market access to farmers to either buy or sell quality livestock through curated channels of sales. Besides structuring the market, the business creates a huge social impact. We have supported over 30,000 farmers to date through our micro-entrepreneurship development program and women empowerment program. We want to enable every farmer to be self dependent and growth oriented.
Tell us about the unique experiences that you had with IIM Ranchi.
IIM Ranchi has been a huge platform to gain realtime experiences where besides learning about business strategies, operations, and management, we worked very closely on the projects under the guidance of some of the brightest professors. Such experiences enabled me to take risks and develop my entrepreneurial skills IIM Ranchi has given me exactly what I was looking for in terms of broadening my understanding of the business, not only strategically but also technically.
Reflect on some of the toughest challenges you have encountered in your journey so far and how did you overcome them.
Every aspect of setting up this business has been a challenge and exciting at the same time, right from spreading awareness of the online portal, and educating people about the technology to channelizing sales, and deploying teams to handle logistics, finance, and other business operations. However, we were able to redefine livestock trading by addressing the challenges faced by the farmers and coming out with solutions that were not only accepted by the market but the customers as well. Over t he years, we have grown to be the most trustworthy platform in the country because of the transparency in our
As an organization, Pashushala is an online marketplace to trade livestock providing 365 days a year market access to farmers to either buy or sell quality livestock through curated channels of sales. Besides structuring the market, the business creates a huge social impact. We have supported over 30,000 farmers to date through our micro-entrepreneurship development program and women empowerment program. We want to enable every farmer to be self dependent and growth oriented.
We want to enable every farmer to be self dependent and growth oriented
Tell us about the unique experiences that you had with IIM Ranchi.
IIM Ranchi has been a huge platform to gain realtime experiences where besides learning about business strategies, operations, and management, we worked very closely on the projects under the guidance of some of the brightest professors. Such experiences enabled me to take risks and develop my entrepreneurial skills IIM Ranchi has given me exactly what I was looking for in terms of broadening my understanding of the business, not only strategically but also technically.
Reflect on some of the toughest challenges you have encountered in your journey so far and how did you overcome them.
Every aspect of setting up this business has been a challenge and exciting at the same time, right from spreading awareness of the online portal, and educating people about the technology to channelizing sales, and deploying teams to handle logistics, finance, and other business operations. However, we were able to redefine livestock trading by addressing the challenges faced by the farmers and coming out with solutions that were not only accepted by the market but the customers as well. Over t he years, we have grown to be the most trustworthy platform in the country because of the transparency in our
processes, the degree of effort in our verifications of cattle, the degree of standardization that we have brought into logistics, and the financial flexibility that we offer to our customers.
What are the changes in market behaviour that you anticipate and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
Initially, when we brought forward the idea of Pashushala, the concept of buying & selling livestock through an online portal was new, many even doubted the possibility. Our effort, to create the most reliable and convenient marketplace with the right mix of technology and on ground interventions has helped establish trust. We took one problem at a time and solved it optimally, the idea which was doubted initially is now well accepted and appreciated all over the country. Today customers have become more open to online solutions that revolve around the livestock industry. Pashushala has disrupted the dairy and animal husbandry value chain through the right technological interventions and has opened up tremendous opportunities for small and marginal dairy farmers to improve their income while organizing this otherwise traditionally unorganized business.
What would your advice be to entrepreneurs starting anew in this domain?
Professionals who want to establish them selves in this market need to be patient and make sure to identify and work on real problems. They need to understand all the aspects of the industry and work closely with various stakeholders to add value. At the same time, they must be clear about their vision, and the impact they want to create in the community and then commit themselves to serve this domain.
Gaurav Choudhary, Business Leader, Pashushala
A business leader, growth hacker, and Startup Mentor, Gaurav is an IIM alumnus and Computer Engineer with over 10 Years of industry exposure and rich experience in executing distinguished large scale growth projects across diversifying sectors.
•Awards & Recognition: Listed under the Top 30 Entrepreneurs of Bangalore, received the India Achiever Award for being the Most Promising Company for Nation Building, recognized by MeitY for creating solutions for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Industry
What are the changes in market behaviour that you anticipate and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
Initially, when we brought forward the idea of Pashushala, the concept of buying & selling livestock through an online portal was new, many even doubted the possibility. Our effort, to create the most reliable and convenient marketplace with the right mix of technology and on ground interventions has helped establish trust. We took one problem at a time and solved it optimally, the idea which was doubted initially is now well accepted and appreciated all over the country. Today customers have become more open to online solutions that revolve around the livestock industry. Pashushala has disrupted the dairy and animal husbandry value chain through the right technological interventions and has opened up tremendous opportunities for small and marginal dairy farmers to improve their income while organizing this otherwise traditionally unorganized business.
What would your advice be to entrepreneurs starting anew in this domain?
Professionals who want to establish them selves in this market need to be patient and make sure to identify and work on real problems. They need to understand all the aspects of the industry and work closely with various stakeholders to add value. At the same time, they must be clear about their vision, and the impact they want to create in the community and then commit themselves to serve this domain.
Gaurav Choudhary, Business Leader, Pashushala
A business leader, growth hacker, and Startup Mentor, Gaurav is an IIM alumnus and Computer Engineer with over 10 Years of industry exposure and rich experience in executing distinguished large scale growth projects across diversifying sectors.
•Awards & Recognition: Listed under the Top 30 Entrepreneurs of Bangalore, received the India Achiever Award for being the Most Promising Company for Nation Building, recognized by MeitY for creating solutions for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Industry