“Kolkata takes its time, but delivers the best.” This is what Rajarshi Nag, 26, and Paramartha Saha, 27, the co-founders of Drivers4Me (D4M) believe about Kolkata’s start-up ecosystem. Over the past decade, the on-demand economy in India has exploded, from food and grocery delivery to fashion, from gadgets to transportation. Recognising the need for reliable and professional driver services, two Kolkata-based computer science engineers, Rajarshi and Paramartha, started Drivers4Me in December 2018.
The idea germinated from a personal experience when one of the duo’s college friends missed his final semester exam because his local driver did not turn up on time. “The driver centres in Kolkata aren’t big on customer experience and you have to book them in advance. No organised sector was looking into the need-gap we identified, and that became our starting point,” says Rajarshi, who says that Drivers4Me was founded by prioritising “convenience, reliability and professionalism”.
‘Kolkata is a very price-conscious market… Our rates make both the drivers and customers happy’
Rajarshi and Paramartha, who spoke to My Kolkata at their office near the Ruby crossing (a second Kolkata office is located in Sector 5) share a natural camaraderie, having been to the same school and college. Despite their prior experience of teaming up, Drivers4Me was not easy to start because both their families expected them to go down the route of traditional jobs instead of becoming entrepreneurs. With no family background in business, Rajarshi and Paramartha turned to their college principal, Satyajit Chakraborty, for guidance, who enthusiastically provided them with a seed funding of Rs 1.5 lakh and an office space. “Without his support, we wouldn’t be here today,” admits Paramartha.
Once the business took off, Rajarshi and Paramartha knew how they wanted to scale — “by not compromising on quality service and having a positive referral system”. “Kolkata is a very price-conscious market… We had to ensure our rates make both the drivers (called companions) and customers happy,” explains Rajarshi.
To ensure customer trust and safety, Drivers4Me “performs rigorous background checks and conducts comprehensive training programmes”, so that both drivers and customers are in safe hands. “Only when all the documents [for a driver] are verified do we call them for training… We then use AI for verification and detection to foolproof our drivers. We also use AI models to generate fare rates, making our pricing very reasonable, taking into account both drivers and customers,” say Rajarshi and Paramatha.
Over 8,000 trips, 900 drivers and plans to be operational in six cities
Drivers4Me raised 90 per cent of their latest round of funding from Kolkata Amit Pramanik
Drivers4Me caters to a diverse range of customers. During weekdays, their primary clients are office workers, parents of school children, old clients going to medical check-ups and ladies headed for kitty parties. On weekends, the demand shifts to party-goers opting for one-way trips at night from popular areas like Park Street and Sector 5. Drivers4Me also provides one-way outstation trips to and from Delhi and Hyderabad, which require advance notice. Customers can pay drivers in cash or use D4M credits, a digital wallet.
At Drivers4Me, drivers work in full-time as well as part-time capacity, with many drivers joining after their primary job shift ends. To know what the customers want from drivers, the founders believe in taking constant feedback, having started off “by driving many customers ourselves to understand their needs and the market better”.
Today, with over 8,000 trips, 900 drivers, and partnerships with companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Zoomcar and JW Marriott, Drivers4Me has witnessed exponential growth. Having begun in Kolkata, Drivers4Me has gradually expanded to Delhi and Hyderabad. “Growing from Kolkata and then expanding outside, not many companies have done that. When you change the location, the total procedure changes,” says Rajarshi.
As for raising funds, has a base in Kolkata been more of a help or hindrance? “Even though the start-up culture is slow here, we raised 90 per cent of our latest round of funding from Kolkata. This has helped us bring more people into the ecosystem,” say the founders, whose team currently comprises 28 people.
Going forward, Rajarshi and Paramartha want to double down on technology as well as entrepreneurial spirit to keep growing Drivers4Me. Among their immediate targets is to expand to more cities. “In one year’s time we want to be operational in six cities, adding Bengaluru, Mumbai and Pune to our list. We also want to upgrade and add more services to our app,” conclude the young duo intent on being key stakeholders in how India drives forward.
