Let’s meet startup, Cartly: Order Indo-Pak Groceries Online.
Website: www.cartly.ca
Founders: Praveen Korukonda
In a few sentences, tell us what your startup is all about!:
Cartly is a South Asian grocery delivery service to those in the Greater Toronto Area. Customers can choose from over 5,000 items in three easy steps and have them delivered to their home within the same day.
Furthermore, Cartly provides an eCommerce Platform designed specifically for small and medium South Asian grocery stores. Cartly easily integrates with a stores existing point of sales(POS) and inventory system to allow them a brand new channel for incremental revenue. Cartly does not disrupt their current operations.
When was your startup founded? And what stage is your startup currently at?:
Jan 2016.
Let us know a bit about your team, who are the key team members?:
Chief Executive Officer – Praveen Korukonda: Software expert with over 10 years of experience, Praveen is the mastermind behind Cartly. Coming to Canada less than 5 years ago, Praveen utilized his learnings from India, where the norm was for groceries to be delivered at home, to develop Cartly.
Chief Technology Officer – Manasa Pandiri:Manasa has over 8 years of IT experience, specializing in Web Application development. Manasa created and maintains the entire technology stack that Cartly is built on.
Why did you choose this particular idea and concept to build your startup on?:
I came to a place where 20 degrees triggers a heat alert by the government. I came to a place where if you don’t have a car, you are stranded. I came to a place where you need to plan out your groceries well in advance, look for coupons / deals, and pray to god you don’t forget anything.
5 years ago, I had an extremely difficult transition in Canada. Although, I moved to Brampton, which is predominantly South Asian, the adjustment wasn’t any easier. I had to learn how to speak a new language, I had to learn how to drive and most importantly how to navigate through gridlock, This was all possible. The hardest part though was grocery shopping. Although there was an abundance of grocery stores in the GTA, it was difficult to find the same brands / quality as home. The only way I got it, was by able to taste a little bit of home was at Indian restaurants. However, it was unaffordable to pay for $20 for a buffet meal daily.
After having some discussions with other newly arrived Canadians from India, I realized that there was a huge gap in Canada. Grocery delivery was seen as a rare and luxury service. While back home, it was a way of life. Additionally, trying to find specific brands and items to make dishes from back home was very difficult to find. You would have to go to multiple grocery stores (including chains and non-chains) to source the variety of products.
So in addition to working my day job, having a young son, and adjusting to a completely new country, I decided to start Cartly. After 3 years of leg work, we launched in October 2015. Cartly is an online grocery delivery service, specializing in South Asian groceries. We partner with local indo-pak grocery stores in the GTA to provide customers in the Brampton, Etobicoke and North York region with same day groceries. Since launch, Cartly has surpassed even my own expectations. We have been growing at an accelerated pace on a month over month basis, and we have received extremely positive feedback from our customers. We also have had interest in various levels of partnerships from different suppliers – including a global conglomerate.
At the end of the day, our goal is simple. Provide a great service which will help make people’s lives easier. We work as hard as possible to ensure that people’s transitions to Canada is a little bit easier and that they’ll always have a piece of home.
Are you looking for funding or are you open to partnership opportunities, and if so, what’s the best way for people to get in contact with you?:
We are looking for funding and partnership, please reach us at praveen@cartly.ca
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