Every year 10 million students migrate to a new city and they face the same problem. They are missing their home and looking for a comfortable place to live. But what they eventually get after all their efforts are sub-standard rooms and facilities. We help in simplifying the process of searching for rental rooms close to their desired location.
We have a wide variety of verified hostels and PGs registered on our platform and most importantly, we charge zero brokerage as our target users are students and employees. Our platform offers Filters to customize the Search Results and can check Room Availability from anywhere anytime. We also give tenants the facilities to manage their monthly rent online. There will be complete transparency between the owners and tenants. So, a standard one-stop solution for people who want to focus more on work rather than wasting time in finding the necessary facilities.
How did you come up with the idea of MrRoom?
4 years ago, when I was in Delhi for my IIT-JEE preparations, the rental accommodation in which I was living didn’t suit me. The mess food was not hygienic and the terms and conditions that were promised weren’t kept.
The owner didn’t take any interest in maintaining the facilities and amenities. I switched to another hostel, where I found another problem, the Brokerage fee problem. I had to pay Rs 2000 to the broker. That time, an idea came to my mind, what if there is a portal that connects all the rental accommodation in one place and provides a standardized facility to students at a cheaper cost and that too without meeting a broker and paying a high brokerage fee. After that, I took admission to college in Kanpur, where I found this problem even bigger with the broker sitting at every corner. The third problem I encountered was “religious discrimination”.
I was looking for a Flat for myself. After several hunts finally, I was able to meet the owner, but eventually, he refused to give his flat on rent to me after asking my name and uttered these exact same words “I don’t give my Flat to Muslims“. That time I was shocked by the way he treated me, I was hurt but that moment I guess was the best moment because since then I haven’t looked back and started working on building a solution to the problems that the majority of the students face.
How much time did it take you from the conceptualization of Mr Room to actually launching it in the market?
It took me 5 months to transform the idea into action. Since I learned web and application development and implemented it to build an app and website for the startup. I interacted with students and hostel owners during the building phase in order to understand better what to offer and what not to.
Business Venture
Some of the major problems being addressed by our startup are:
- Unorganised home rental market and excess brokerage fee, making it difficult for customers to find the best option
- Unavailability of affordable rental options for students and employees
Mr Room is available on the android platform. The app has to be downloaded from Play Store after which instructions are given on using this app and the customer signs up using their mobile number. The recommended places are displayed on the home page from where one can choose where they want to live and it will show all the accommodation options available there along with their prices.
The user can also click on the Search tab and enter their preferences of accommodation type, location, gender (or “family”), price range, and required amenities. The search results will display exact results up to the customer’s satisfaction. Next, a move-in request has to be sent and then the customer can visit the place and move in easily thereafter. We also provide a real image, on location, of the place that is being shown, along with the availability of rooms and the amenities provided. We provide the contact number of the owner with whom the customer can directly talk over the phone.
What is your target market?
We are targeting cities where student density is high. In India, Kanpur, Kota, Delhi, Varanasi, Prayagraj, etc are some of the education hubs. Other targeted segments include employees, bachelors, families, and property owners.
What is the revenue model of MrRoom?
At this point in time, we are working for free as we want to establish trust and network first. Once they are satisfied with our services, they will be charged a nominal subscription fee/listing fee. Other revenue streams are paid advertisements and online ads.
Who are your biggest competitors and what is your competitive advantage?
NoBroker, ZoloStays, Oyolife are some of our competitors.
Ali Abbas
Hospitality companies acquire the whole building and standardize and rent them and set their prices too high. Mr Room focuses more on students’ centricity, hospitality, and affordability. We are connecting all the best possible options that students need so that they can focus more on their studies rather than wasting time in finding necessary facilities.
What is your larger goal or vision?
Mr Room aims at simplifying the process of searching rental rooms and organizing the whole home rental market in the upcoming years. Every team member of our team is passionate to achieve this goal and we are hustling our way to reach a point where MrRoom enters into a bigger picture and becomes a necessity for every tenant.
How do you spend your time outside work?
I am a geeky developer and love to build apps and websites. In my leisure, I write on Quora.com and Dev. about the technical kinds of stuff and experiences. Also, I have a deep interest in startups, so I keep myself involved in the startup ecosystem and meet up with people who have a great entrepreneurial mindset.
Whom do you consider your idol or biggest motivator?
Whatever little I have achieved so far is just because of the almighty God who gave me everything. I am pleased to consider my lord as my biggest motivator. Also, the other personality that I look up to are my mentors at iBHubs, Mr. Abhinav Pandey and Mr. Avinash Thavva. They have filled me with more passion and introduced me to the whole new world of startups and corporate lifestyle.
What advice you want to give to Young Entrepreneurs & Startups?
If you can’t sleep without thinking of that single idea every night, then that idea is worth implementing. Just Go after your Passion and meet new people which will help you increase your network. Mark my words, even if the startup doesn’t work out network is one the best thing that one can have. Also, Build a Good team, learn concepts of business. Interact with your customers and users, what they need and how you are going to deliver your product or service. Lastly, “Never build your product first without doing proper research on your customers because an Idea can change your life but a customer can change your Idea”
About iB Hubs
iB Hubs is becoming one of the World’s Largest Incubators! They have 5,00,000+ sq. ft. area of space and having presence in India, UK, Australia, Singapore, Dubai with more than 45 Hubs across the Globe.
In just 2 years, iB Hubs established 40 Hubs, supported 100+ startups, and developed a strong foothold in 22 states of India. With this, world-class innovations and best practices can reach people across the nation rapidly
iB Hubs creating awareness among youth on advanced technologies and inculcating entrepreneurial mindset. Through various programs, iB Hubs are promoting the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across India including tier – 2, 3 & 4 cities.
iB Hubs has a strong team of 1000+ people with 200+ full-time individuals including management professionals, engineers, doctors, chartered accountants, and designers. Most members of the team are alumni from premier institutions like IITs, IIMs, NITs, IIIT Hyderabad, BITS Pilani, etc. with work experience in MNCs like Amazon, Microsoft, Intel, Qualcomm, HP, Nvidia, IBM, Samsung, Bosch, etc.
Its major mentor, Mr. S Vijaya Kumar, who laid the foundation, guided and supported iB Hubs in building the system. iB Hubs also received great support from many people aligned to iB Hubs vision in various aspects.
Kavya Dommeti, CEO, iB Hubs says “Our philosophy is “Spread the light”. Our focus is on creating and implementing solutions, rather than just debating problems. And our Mission is to establish 500 hubs with 4 spokes each, making it 2500 centers across India by the end of 2019”.
Recently they have taken a giant leap by acquiring a 1138 acres campus in Silicon Valley California, USA
