We all have heard about the solutions to any question papers or text books. After reading them every one understand the hardwork and dedication invested in writing those answers.

The similar instance happened with Yashbeer Singh, who was final year student of Don Bosco Institute of Technology, Mumbai University.

When we asked him about the inception of the Idea he says, “ It was 24th December 2013, a wintery morning.. I was preparing for my last paper of sem VII. Normally I would read from reference books for my exams, but this time I happen to read from existing paper solutions which was famous among my engineering friends. But it turned out to be a total crap! just waste of money. In that frustration, I mentioned to my friend , “isse achha toh humlog likh sakte hain” and this thought of we can write better.. gave birth to KT280 Solutions”

KT280 Solutions is a startup in nascent stage by a group of fourth year Mumbai University engineering students. Their idea is to provide quality answers which can be useful for the students in a true sense.

So if you are a Mumbai University student go browse KT280 Solutions and get some sleep during your last night endeavor.

Techaloo got an opportunity to have a chit chat with Mr. Yashbeer Singh, founder @ KT280 Solutions. Let see what he wants to share with us.

What was your vision/mission while starting KT280?

Yashbeer: A single word which defines everything – Quality. This is the reason why KT280 Solutions is born. To provide good quality answers to engineering students at affordable price which will help in their last minute preparation for exams and fetch them good marks. Our tagline says it all, “by students, for students”

Why the name KT280?

Yashbeer: “Whats in the name?” said Shakespeare. I say, “Everything.”

I called up my entire team on Facebook and started brainstorming. Everybody was shooting names after names, but majority were dry and indifferent. Then somebody mentioned “our solutions should cater to all the students right from people having KT to 80”. KT to 80.. KT 2 80.. KT280 Solutions. Bingo!

So by name our solutions cater to every single engineering student, everybody from KT to 80 range.

Have you got any kind of funding?

Yashbeer: Yeah. Rs.1100 from my dad. That’s what we started with. Then we followed bootstrap method and kept rolling money which we got from our initial sales to friends in our college.

Who is providing the solutions to the questions?

Yashbeer: We hire authors to write solutions for us. Mainly engineering students those who are interested in authoring subjects they have mastered.

What is your pricing model?

Yashbeer: It’s simple. We used eighth standard maths, selling price = cost price + profit margin. Our concern was to keep it affordable to students so Rs. 60 – 65 for a good quality solution. It was quite affordable to them.

We cut down on printing cost a bit and devised a method for minimizing distribution cost. We took help from our friends to deliver books to students at railway stations. That way we saved money and could keep solutions at reasonable price.

Why a student should opt for your services?

Yashbeer: Quality. We strive very hard to achieve this. The answers are verified by teachers and then peer-to-peer reviewed for checking spelling mistakes, grammatical errors if any. That way we invest lot of efforts in maintaining the promised quality.

How is the response till now?

Yashbeer: It was fabulous. We sold around 600 copies per week. There was a point where demand increased to such an extent that we ran out of stock and printed books day and night. We hope to do well this time also.

At the time of starting you were in the final year of your engineering, what motivated you to be a “Student Entrepreneur”?

Yashbeer: We engineers are born problem solvers and crafting elegant solutions is our job. There was a gap between what students expected from paper solutions and what was delivered to them from existing ones. So passion to become an entrepreneur, filling this gap was real motivation for KT280 Solutions. Also my mentors Venkatesh sir – Director ICreate India, Tejaswini ma’am, Dr. Navin Modi and few others helped me sketch the entire plan to real model.

How does it feel to be called an entrepreneur while studying?

Yashbeer: It’s an amazing experience. We learned a great deal of things the moment we stepped into KT280 Solutions. Believe me.. Being an entrepreneur right at college is full of excitement!

Getting help is just matter of asking for it… it’s that simple. Friends, teachers and everybody at college who would know about this venture would extend helping hand. So things become easy to some extent but at the same time coping up with study, tough. So managing your startup at college needs a perfect balance.

What was the response from your family?

Yashbeer: My family has always encouraged me for taking up challenges. They helped me with whatever they could. In fact my cousin brother handled distribution and delivery of books to entire Mumbai when we were busy studying for final exams. So they are the ones who should be crowned for this success.

What are your plans for next 3 years?

Yashbeer: Our vision for coming years is to reach each and every engineering student in Mumbai University. Also we want to retain the novice-ness of being students, keep learning and innovating along our way to connect to the students in new ways.

Any advice to wanna be student entrepreneur?

Yashbeer: I read a quote somewhere which says

“To start you don’t have to be great but to be great.. You have to start” Many times people get so many ideas.. They just keep thinking thinking thinking about it.. Until somebody else implements it! Then they cry.. “Hey.. My idea is stolen!” So just don’t keep your ideas locked in your mind.. Give it soil.. Plant its seed.. Keep watering it.. Watch it grow slowly everyday.

What do you think about techaloo.com?

Techaloo.com is doing fantastic work of promoting new startups.. fostering entrepreneurship among people. It provides platform for student startups to share their experiences with others enriching entrepreneurship culture. We wish them very best for their future endeavors.

Source: Techaloo