(Mohan Bhulani, NTI): Rashi Agarwal’s journey to becoming an entrepreneur seems like it was written in the stars. Growing up in Almora, Uttarakhand, in a family that owned hotels and textile businesses, she was always fascinated by the world of business. However, she chose not to join the family business right away. After earning a degree in commerce, she entered the corporate world at 22, working her way up to a senior research associate at S&P Capital IQ over seven years.
In 2015, Rashi took the leap into entrepreneurship with LetsFlaunt, a fashion website. Although it was making money, she realized that the fashion industry was overcrowded and growth would eventually slow down. That’s when she shifted gears to start Zypp Electric with her husband, Akash Gupta. They envisioned a service that would rent out electric vehicles, particularly for last-mile deliveries in India—a sector ripe for innovation.
Today, their gamble has proven successful. Zypp Electric boasts a fleet of 3,000 vehicles and employs about 2,800 drivers. They’re operational in Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad and are expanding rapidly, with a monthly growth rate of 30%. The pandemic actually boosted their business, as online grocery and e-commerce deliveries became more critical than ever.
Rashi wears multiple hats in the company, overseeing procurement, financing, compliance, human resources, and finances. They’ve secured big clients like Zepto, Ola, Dash, Grab, and Uber, in addition to maintaining partnerships with Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and Delhivery from the previous year.
The company uses cutting-edge technology like IoT, AI, and ML to monitor their fleet and manage battery swaps efficiently. They’re on track to earn over ₹25 crore this fiscal year, which is five times their revenue from two years ago. They offer their drivers 80-85% of the commission, which can range from ₹13 to ₹60 per delivery, and also charge a rental fee of ₹3,000. In September 2021, they raised $7 million in funding.
Looking forward, Zypp Electric has ambitious plans. They aim to expand to nine cities by the end of March 2023, with a fleet of 34,000 vehicles—an elevenfold increase in just one year. Over the next three years, they plan to operate in 25 cities with a fleet of 100,000 vehicles. Despite being operationally profitable, they’re investing heavily in growth, spending about ₹1 crore each month to achieve these goals.
