CEO Insights India

The growth of pre-owned car market in India($14 billion currently) has surpassed that of a new car sector and is further projected to be worth $25 billion by 2023, as the used cars offer a far better value for money mainly due to the reducing average car ownership period. However, since nearly 80 percent of the market belongs to the unorganized segment, both the buyer and seller are unaware of the vehicle’s actual value. Furthermore, the lack of transparency in the market leads to a distrust and thus makes a displeasing dent in the buyer’s experience of purchasing a car. Realizing this as an opportunity to make a difference, Spinny, an online used car platform, channels all of its efforts into ensuring that the car ownership process is accessible, simple and delightful for its customers.

An IIT-Delhi alumnus, Niraj Singh (Founder & CEO) is a serial entrepreneur and investor. Spinny was born out of his desire to deal with a core area that directly addresses the customer’s challenge; in this case a car. He noticed the absence of a platform that offers a premium experience to people purchasing second-hand cars, despite the fact that they are spending a significant amount. He was determined to solve this problem by eradicating the distrust and making the process simpler for the customer. Niraj, in an exclusive conversation with CEO Insights, reveals the strategy behind Spinny’s success.

Kindly tell us about the unique factors that set you apart.
Our entire strategy flows from the point that the customer experience

needs to be great. When we say it’s all about creating experiences it’s not just about making the purchase easier, but also making sure that the clients are happy with the quality of the vehicle as long as they own it. Being transparent and honest is a philosophy we follow religiously internally and never compromise on. Whenever an issue comes to light we address it heads-on and express it to the related party frankly.

Right from selecting the cars through a rigorous inspection till the point the car is delivered to the customer from any of our hubs, we ensure strong quality checks with the aid of technology. We understand that a vehicle’s mechanical aspects like mileage are just few of the numerous parameters. Hence, we ensure that the vehicle surpasses the client’s expectations in terms of safety, comfort, passenger capacity and others as well.

Give us some insight on the way you run Spinny.
We own the entire experience from procuring the car till delivery. To ensure that our customers get nothing but the best quality cars on our platform, we have implemented a 200-point inspection checklist that is rigorous to an extent where only one out of twenty vehicles inspected by us gets selected and is brought to our hub. These Spinny assured cars are non-accidental,non-meter tampered and have clean records. The inspection report along with every minute detail about the vehicle are clearly listed on the platform in order to facilitate the customer to take a decision online.

When the customer chooses a car we schedule a test drive at a Spinny car hub nearest to him/her (currently present in Delhi NCR, Bangalore & Hyderabad). We also

deliver the vehicles to the customer returning the car through our Five Days ‘No-Questions-Asked Money Back Guarantee’ scheme, we also give them peace of mind by offering a one-year warranty.

What are the innovative technologies/ methodologies that you leverage to proffer your services?
From procuring the car and managing inventory to delivering the vehicle and administering the warrantee, every process is digitized in its own right through our inhouse software products. For instance, our price engine works on a proprietary neural network-based algorithm, which determines the correct price for the car in a non-subjective manner. This unbiased process ensures that the customer gets the best possible rates for the quality of cars we offer.

Please throw some light on your work culture.
We have inculcated a positive work culture where every employee is inspired to be one’s best self. We maintain a flat hierarchy, where even a sales representative has the complete authority to express his opinion if he is not happy with a car’s quality.

What is the future roadmap set for your company?
Besides upgrading our website and the Spinny app on a quarterly basis, we also keep improving the entire business model. The reason behind each of our innovation is pinned on ensuring that the experience of owning a car is as delightful as possible for our customer. Nothing exemplifies this better than our service home delivery of vehicles. No matter how big we grow, we would never lose our focus on providing the best quality to the customer.

Key Management:
Niraj Singh, Founder & CEO
An IIT-Delhi alumnus, Niraj is a serial entrepreneur who spearheads two more startups (Locus Education and Tech Monkey) and also invests in multiple startups (Little Black Book, Rapido Bike Taxi and Tripoto).

Locations:Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Noida