1/ We launched a business during lockdown and hit INR 1 Crore in MONTHLY revenue (and $1M+ ARR) within just 5 months.
This is a thread on how we did it.

2/ We had launched @the_betterhome in Feb 2020 as a kit of non-toxic floor, dish, laundry and toilet cleaners. Our offering was in two forms - a 6-pack & an 8-pack kit. Our packaging was minimalistic. We shared it with the lovely community of @thebetterindia

3/ We were live for 25 days & then lockdown struck. But in that period, we collected 3 crucial pieces of feedback from our community:
a) Users wanted to customize their kit's content
b) Our bottles didn't have a visual differentiation from each other
c) We should reduce plastic

4/ In the 2 months of lockdown that followed, we re-built our entire website and tech stack to allow users to make their own customised kit of home cleaners. We also redesigned our bottle labels - bringing in colour & icons to make it easily understandable.

5/ We conceptualized a program to take back the packaging. First-time buyers would get the kit in plastic bottles (meant for long-term reuse). Subsequent purchases we'd ship refill pouches AND an envelope for users to courier those pouches back to us for recycling.

6/ Effectively, we were ready to run a sustainable circular loop - with zero plastic bottles going to the landfill.
Our users had asked for
a) customization,
b) change in labels &
c) a sustainable eco-friendly program.

7/ Users now had the choice to customize their own kit, or buy from a newly introduced 4, 6 or 8 pack. This also involved changing our packaging boxes (customized kits hence more complexity in the sizes of the boxes!)

We were ready with it all, waiting.

8/ Then in the end of May, ecommerce was allowed to operate and we went live with our all-new platform (with shiny tech powering it). We also anticipated that there might be city-wise lockdowns coming soon, so in addition to Bangalore, we had a warehouse in Chennai on stand-by

9/ And suddenly we saw a huge spike in conversion. Users were now able to choose what they wanted & able to customize their own kit. Majority of our users (over 75%) were opting for the subscription model. When asked why? They attributed it to their trust in @thebetterindia

10/ The monthly revenue growth we achieved:
May: INR 6 Lakhs
June: INR 22 Lakhs
July: INR 48 Lakhs
Aug: INR 70 Lakhs
Sep: INR 91 Lakhs

11/ Retention rate from Month 1 to Month 2: 80% (Which means 80% of the people who bought in month 1 came back to buy it in month 2, without us having to do anything about it).

12/ Overnight success? No! Many years of building a community @thebetterindia that helped us understand better what we should build. Our readers told us exactly what they wanted and how they wanted it. We listened intently, took that feedback and worked really hard to build it.

13/ Deep customer love and deeper customer connect made us build exactly what the market wanted. We continue to do so by having a thriving community for @the_betterhome users, and they are now guiding us on what other products they'd like for us to make for their homes.

14/ Coming soon: New products, new innovations in packaging, new initiatives on reducing our carbon footprint, innovative ideas around reducing plastic consumption and much more.
Turning Inspiration Into Impact - with @thebetterindia and @the_betterhome :)

15/ Get your kit here: https://shop.thebetterindia.com 
Non-toxic, powerful cleaners that are good for you and the planet.