Mr. Shripal Gandhi, Founder & CEO, Swipe Technologies India Pvt Ltd
Swipe has been growing over 100%, YOY. Today the company has a market share of 5.7% in tablet PC segment in India. Swipe is eying a market share of 10% by FY16. There are more than 5 states in India where Swipe commands market leadership in terms of volume of tablets sold, including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Swipe has country’s largest range of portfolio of tablets and very unique innovation driven fablets.
Q. What key features Swipe considers before releasing a new handset?
A. Disruptive Concept / Design: Swipe has been pioneer in launching many ‘India’s First’ innovative offerings like India’s First 3D tablet, India’s Slimmest Tablet.
Disruptive Technology: Swipe has rolled out many devices with unique technology like finger print scanner integration, gesture control technology, quick charge technology, etc.
Disruptive Price: By virtue of having significant product development strength and understanding Indian’s consumer’s needs, Swipe has developed many products which are true disruption and are for masses due to their supremely attractive price points.
Relevant to today’s Youth: We introduce quirky colors and there is abundance of cool applications.
Best user experience: Swipe has a dedicated mobility-solution team which works solely on improving the UI/UX of the devices for simplicity and elegance.
Content differentiation: Many unique apps, videos and audios are preloaded on the Swipe devices to offer immediate content differentiation.
Q. What next level of innovation we can expect from Swipe this year?
A. Since inception, Swipe has been on a mission to develop feature-rich and affordable mobile communication devices with cutting-edge technology. The company has so far introduced a variety of bestselling tablets from the Swipe 3D like Life+, MTV Slash, Halo Value to Slice Tab which have been instant hits and have far exceeded the company’s own sales expectations. We recently launched a Super-Smartphone, Konnect ME, which is the 4th device in the series from Swipe’s stable; the earlier ones being Konnect 4, Konnect 4E and Konnect 5.0. Swipe is working on super secure, super social and super tech series of tablets and fablets to be introduced in FY16. Swipe has developed an unconventional approach to product development by reducing design-cycle time to 3-4 weeks flat. So far, Swipe has launched a range of 25 products – which include Tablet PCs and Fablets – eight of which are the ‘first-to-be-launched’ in the country. Swipe is really focused on smart devices to begin with tablets and fablets. The idea is to get the millions of connected devices. Swipe is working on a very cool, innovation driven personal smart device to be launched in the month of June 2015.
Q. What is your target for this year?
A. Swipe Technologies witnessed YOY growth of 100%+ in the FY2014-15. Besides focusing on consumer vertical, the company will also focus on enterprise verticals including BSFI, retail, pharma, hospitality, automobile, manufacturing and logistics. Swipe will also be available in international markets like Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, etc.
Q. As sub 10k segment is heating up and getting more competitive, what are your strategies to counter this challenge?
A. Every entrepreneur has to face a number of challenges while of building a successful venture especially in a highly competitive and rapidly-changing industry. Hence, it is very crucial to recognize the changing behavior of the consumers and adapt to them instantaneously. Given the fact that the buying behavior of the consumers is rapidly changing, we differentiate our offerings by providing better, faster and more affordable products to customers. Gone are the days where an effective marketing campaign can sway the consumers. Today people judge tablets or fablets based on their technology. We need to be ahead on the curve to ensure that we develop products that have longer shelf-life and have strongly appeal to our target consumers. And in many instances, we are required to anticipate the patterns of consumer preferences. The company’s strategy is to capture market shares in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and towns rather than to fight it out in the metros. This strategy has worked wonders, where Swipe could reach commanding position in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Q. These days smartphones are capable of doing much more than taking images and surfing net. Is Swipe considering some new and unique features via software and hardware integration in their smartphones?
A. Integration of hardware and software has been major strength of Swipe since the beginning having made significant progress in consumer as well as enterprise space in this direction. We are offering unique apps and content integration through software. Also we have developed unique power management and memory management software app-based solutions to enhance consumer experience. In Swipe Sense, we have integrated the fingerprint scanner to be used as a biometric security tool through software. We have also designed and added various gesture-based solutions for deeper user engagement.
Q. You have recently been recognized by a leading daily as a Top Entrepreneur of India. Can you comment on that?
A. For a start-up like Swipe, it is a matter of great pride to be part of the prestigious event – The Economic Times India Entrepreneurship Summit 2015. I have always believed in dreaming big. There have been a number of inspirations, but of all, it was a sense of passion to influence the digital revolution that drew me to think of entrepreneurship seriously and made me move back to India from US. It always is a great feeling when your hard work gets recognized in the world/country. And getting recognition on such a great platform encourages one to keep up the good work and keep striving hard to deliver the best.
