{Startup Watch: Sponsa} Using Digital Tech to Support Small Businesses Via Consumer Endorsements

This startup allows entrepreneurs and small businesses to grow by collaborating with their consumers with social referrals and endorsements.

In business, they say, word-of-mouth is the best way to garner sales. According to statistics, over 92% consumers are expected to buy a product or use a service that is referred to them by their trusted ones; about 88% consumers are happier with cash incentives; and about 29% consumers would recommend a product or service without expecting any rewards in return.

But what if you did get a reward in return?

Sponsa is India’s first social referral and endorsement platform that allows small businesses to collaborate with their consumers by facilitating cash incentives for consumer referrals and eventually getting the top referrers to become their brand endorsers.

The Tech Panda spoke to Suravi Patnaik, Co-Founder at Sponsa, who is applying her research in social information science to help small businesses compete in a post-pandemic online world.

Increased digitalization and the pandemic have changed consumer buying patterns from ´search, click and buy´ to a more continuous journey across social and offline channels. Hence, the linear e-commerce model for small businesses is not working anymore owing to increasing competition in the online world

“Increased digitalization and the pandemic have changed consumer buying patterns from ´search, click and buy´ to a more continuous journey across social and offline channels. Hence, the linear e-commerce model for small businesses is not working anymore owing to increasing competition in the online world,” she says.

“However, it has taken a new meaning with more and more people seeking online social validation for purchases from their homes, combining discovery, engagement, conversations, shopping – all in one simple and seamless platform journey online,” she adds.

Sponsa Origin

Sponsa is founded by Patnaik, a digital entrepreneur who started her entrepreneurial journey at the age of 17. Other cofounders include Swati Mehrotra of Swatimodo, a leading name in the footwear designing industry, and Abinash Sahoo, a finance expert with over five years of industry experience and a CA in the making.

I was always passionate about democratizing access and opportunities for small businesses and individuals that only big companies are seemingly able to achieve. What inspires me the most is the power of common people and how this can bring the local names to the fore

Patnaik´s research in New Zealand developed an AI model that identified how norms are formed in a society based on social interactions and practices. The model was successfully validated in real-life business scenarios and was translated into a working beta model in March 2020.

“I was always passionate about democratizing access and opportunities for small businesses and individuals that only big companies are seemingly able to achieve. What inspires me the most is the power of common people and how this can bring the local names to the fore,” she says.

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While considering existing social commerce platforms like Meesho as their competitors, she says Sponsa is different from them by dint of operating on a ´consumer-first´ model, instead of the ´seller-first´ approach that existing platforms have.

“We are building a people’s platform that also allows people who are not-so-well-known on social media to monetize on their influencing footprint and brands that have zero budget market to be able to market their product in the consumer networks,” she says.

A Collaboration of Consumers and Small Businesses

Sponsa is focussed on helping individuals and businesses grow with social referrals, consumer endorsements, and more recently, connecting them with live webinar-courses from industry experts.

The network referral platform offers cash incentives to consumers for referring local products and services while allowing businesses to grow sustainably with consumer-powered referrals in a decentralized platform.

We are building a people’s platform that also allows people who are not-so-well-known on social media to monetize on their influencing footprint and brands that have zero budget market to be able to market their product in the consumer networks

With thousands of users already associating with Sponsa, including celebrity stylist Anuj Lalwani and Amjad Habib, the platform is helping businesses on zero marketing budget thrive in the pandemic with consumer collaborations. The underlying vision at Sponsa is to provide a space that meets the diverse needs and expectations of the seller as well as the buyer.

The platform facilitates partnerships and social endorsements to a plethora of industries such as beauty, fashion, retail, consultation, and many more. It provides direct cash incentives to customers who refer an online product or service to someone. At the same time, through democratized endorsements, the end consumers can avail their products or services at the same price point.

The vision at Sponsa is to make the finest use of digital technology to support small businesses through consumer endorsements and help them sell their work.

COVID-19: A Challenge and a Catalyst

The pandemic catalyzed Sponsa’s release from an invite-only platform in May 2020 and since then, they have been growing at more than 300% every month. However, Patnaik doesn’t call it a Eureka moment for Sponsa.

“We are on a continuous journey with continuous processes, experiments, and multiple iterations, over and over again. We keep reinventing ourselves, trying something new, and experimenting with the unthinkable,” she explains.

At a time marked by significant economic uncertainty and with revenues affected by containment measures and a significant drop in demand, it definitely helps for tech startups like us to be on a lean model

However, starting alongside an emerging global pandemic also had its challenges, accessing growth capital being one of them.

“At a time marked by significant economic uncertainty and with revenues affected by containment measures and a significant drop in demand, it definitely helps for tech startups like us to be on a lean model – be financially vigilant by cost-cutting, such as not investing in office spaces and focusing on a profitable model from day one to have the runway to survive in the worst,” she says.

#SupportSmall

Since their release in May 2020, the startup has earned over INR 8 lakhs in revenue with over 12k users on the platform. The startup is currently benefiting over 500 small businesses across India and New Zealand through the technology of consumer referrals and democratized endorsements.

Read more: {Startup Watch: QuickSO} Helping Manage a Construction Site Through a Smartphone

The startup also gives back 5% of its profits to the community and strives to contribute to the commerce in India with the simple yet thoughtful philosophy of #SupportSmall.

Consumer behaviour changes and evolves with the times, something that small businesses often find challenging. A referral platform like Sponsa is lending a helping hand to such small businesses.