Shop101

Shop101, established in 2015 by Abhinav Jain, Aditya Gupta, and Kalpak Chhajed, carved a niche in India's social commerce sector by enabling micro-entrepreneurship. Hailing from small towns, the founders shared a vision to democratize commerce through technology, providing a platform for individuals to start online businesses without initial investment. This objective fueled the creation of a full-stack e-commerce solution that empowered a vast network of resellers.

The company's core business revolves around a mobile-first platform that allows users, primarily in Tier II and Tier III cities, to become resellers. These individuals can select products from a catalog of over 100,000 items from thousands of suppliers, set their own profit margins, and market these goods through social media channels like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. Shop101's business model is based on a commission fee for each transaction conducted on the platform, creating a symbiotic relationship with its user base. The platform handles crucial backend functions such as inventory management, order processing, pan-India logistics, and payment collections, including cash on delivery. This frees resellers to concentrate on customer engagement and sales growth.

Significant milestones for Shop101 include securing approximately $22 million in funding across several rounds from investors like Kalaari Capital, Unilever Ventures, and Stellaris Venture Partners. In a strategic move to enter the influencer-led live commerce space, Shop101 was acquired by Glance, a subsidiary of InMobi Group, in June 2021. At the time of the acquisition, Shop101 had cultivated a substantial network of 10 million resellers and 10,000 supplier partners, serving customers in over 2,000 towns across India. The integration with Glance and its video platform Roposo was intended to create an end-to-end capability for celebrity and influencer-driven live shopping experiences.

Keywords: social commerce, reseller platform, e-commerce enabler, online reselling, mobile commerce, work from home, earn money online, Indian startup, Abhinav Jain, Aditya Gupta, Kalpak Chhajed, Glance acquisition, InMobi, Roposo, full-stack e-commerce, supplier marketplace, micro-entrepreneurship, small business empowerment, social selling, digital storefront