The latest mantra for start-ups is to tap the “direct-to-customer” channel of marketing. Budding entrepreneurs must find these channels and reach out to millions of prospective buyers. But how do you do this? Sample these nuggets.

First: in India nearly half a billion people need vision correction. Yet, only 170-180 million people wear spectacles to correct their vision. Second: two crore two-wheelers are sold in India every year. Yet, two-third of households do not have access to them. Third, nearly every third Indian suffers from thyroid disorder, which most often causes weight gain and hormonal imbalances, and is more commonly seen in women. Yet, hardly one person out of 10 gets tested and treated for the disorder.

Each of these three facts inspired different entrepreneurs to create start-ups that are now success stories worth emulating.

In 2010, Amit Chaudhury, Peyush Bansal and Sumit Kapahi started selling spectacles through their online portal Lenskart. Now they also have 750 offline stores across the country. They have revolutionised the unorganised eyewear industry and provide 3D try-on services and online eye check-up. Recently, their valuation crossed $1.5 billion (Rs 11,009 crore).

In 2017, Shanky Munoth, Akashdeep Singhal, Kunal Gupta and Shobhit Saxena started renting out bikes through ONN Bikes for intra-city commutes in Bangalore, notorious for chaotic traffic situation. People can rent bikes at an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly rate. Today, ONN Bikes operates in nine cities with over 3,500 bikes and is all set to introduce electric scooters.

In 1996, Dr Arokiaswamy Velumani set up Thyrocare, a thyroid testing laboratory at Byculla in Mumbai, which spread its network to South Asia and even the Middle East, operating through franchisee models. Later, Thyrocare expanded from testing for thyroid disorders to preventive medical check-ups and diagnostic blood tests. In 2016, the start-up was valued at Rs 3,600 crore.

Chaudhury, Saxena and Dr Velumani were among the speakers at the start-up conclave Ingenium, organised by XLRI, the management institute in Jamshedpur. The focus of the conclave was the ever-changing dimensions of the start-up ecosystem. “Students need to identify new opportunities and contribute to building a progressive and responsible society. Start-up Conclave 2020 is an initiative to encourage and develop an entrepreneurial mindset,” said Fr P. Christie, the director of XLRI.

“If you find a problem that causes you pain and if you set out to solve that, you’ll find a solution. That solution will show you a path to entrepreneurship,” said the keynote speaker, Rajesh Srivastava, a corporate trainer and coach to start-ups and former CEO of JK Helene Curtis, a firm that manufactures cosmetics and toiletries.

In the session “Diagnosing the Path to Success”, Dr Velumani of Thyrocare Technologies Ltd strongly urged students to have a clutter-free brain and a fear-free heart. Citing their success in the online world, Lenskart’s Chaudhary advised, “We should collaborate with young people to understand their language. Lenskart started as an online brand — we got the idea from a young intern.” Added Saxena of ONN Bikes, “The prefix ‘digital’ has changed everything — it helps you get connected to the customers directly.”

So the key to success in the start-up space is to get connected to your buyer.