What are your plans for this evening? Where do we go? And then the argument, dilemma, confusion begins. You have multiple solutions for the same problem but most of them want you to login to individual sites which is a tedious process.
Shalini Nautiyal and her Coffee Mug Ideas want to out an end to it by smoothing the process. As the first product of Coffee Mug Ideas – Yipeedo rolls out, she is busy as a bee. After cancelling three plans we could catch up when her boss (her year old son – Arjun) gave us an hour to meet up.
Hello Shalini! How are you! It is tough to catch you.
I am good. I know that’s what many of my friends say to me. I am always up to something, there is never a dull moment. I am a multitasker and as of now enjoying life to the fullest with my little one and my start-up Yipeedo.com.
Tell me about your childhood. How were you as a kid?
I was born in the holy city Haridwar and was the youngest of three children. My father was a BHEL employee, and mom a homemaker. We are 3 siblings. I have two elder brothers, first being 12 years elder to me and second 8 years elder. Growing with two elder brothers made me stronger, tougher and I had a pampered, wonderful, happy childhood. I enjoyed freedom at home. My dad always taught me that I should have the etiquette to have dinner in a five star, but I should also know how to enjoy a tea at a corner shop 🙂 He let me see both sides of the coin and always encouraged me.
What did you study? What were your dreams like?
I was a good student in school (DPS), among top 5 in BCA and I topped my batch in MCA 🙂 from the College of Engineering Roorkee. I am a trained Kathak dancer and have a BA in Kathak and have been dancing all my life. I love combining Kathak and western and my performances were full of fun. I am a good swimmer and I was awarded Gold medal & Seth Roshan Lal trophy for being all rounder (I danced more than I studied) and overall topper.
Where did you work before starting Coffee Mug Ideas? How did entrepreneurial ideas come out?
I was working with 3i Infotech, HCL and later with Infosys before starting out wirh Coffee Mug Ideas. I always had a creative mind and wanted to do something on my own.
My husband, Deepak, and I used to have lots of ideas and back in 2006 we had the idea of having a touch pad for menus at hotels. This was ahead of its time, since iPad or any similar concept did not exist and we had a hard time selling that idea, though it made the cut into first rounds of a few business contests, including one at IIM Ahemedabad. Then Coffee Mug Ideas happened. I run the Facebook groups for ItsMomMade and The Shepreneur Club I also have a blog called It’s garnished with love.
Now I know why you are always busy. Tell me about the idea behind Yipedoo.
The idea was conceived in a coffee shop at HSR layout Cuppa cafe and then developed on a train ride to Chennai.
Yipeedo is a thought process, for those who want to explore more than the usual in a city. I love visiting new eat out joints, cafés and movies and one day we were sitting in a coffee shop and just wondering where can we go next, that is when the thought came about the need of such an app / website which can recommend me what all I can do in a city and make an end to end plan for me when I plan a day out.
Yipeedo is a nice catchy name. What does it mean?
Aren’t there many sites which help you to book tickets for movies and online delivery options? What is your USP?
There are many sites. We are not like a plain listing site, instead Yipeedo.com is a recommendation engine that will help you plan an end to end day out around movies and dining out by suggesting places/food that are as per your taste and recommended in your social circle.
So you mean to say, with Yipeedo I don’t need to visit one particular site for one plan but can just go Yipeedo!? How is the feedback from people so far?
Well so far we have got good feedback on the concept, many friends and people in extended circle are liking it but waiting for something big 🙂 I want to explore how user behaviour can help build the platform better to understand consumer’s needs and choices and help plan their day out. The recommendations and suggestions can be engineered to the users preferences.
We have good number of registered users for our beta version released in Feb 2014 and it has already started getting us a lot of eyeballs. We are gearing up to the next level.
You already know Arjun. He just completed one year and is the boss and manages all our timings and work. My husband Deepak is a driving force and helps me with Arjun and manages our home when I am busy. I have three more hunch-men behind me supporting in this venture. We have a really good team behind us who support me and a lot of well wishers who help us with feedback.
What is your favorite book?
“The habit of winning” by Prakash Iyer is a beautiful book.
Any message for our readers and new entrepreneurs?
I would like to quote Jeff Bezoz – “I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying.”
To reach out Shalini you can mail her @ Shalini@coffeemugideas.com or call: +91 810-566-4009.
Yipeedo is a recommendation engine for young consumers (18-40 years) in urban centers who need to plan a day in city around F&B, Movies, Plays and Events and that, unlike existing solutions, will build an end-to-end plan tailored to user’s preferences. So what are you waiting for? 🙂 Check out http://www.yipeedo.com and yes they are eager to have you sign up as a beta user.. Check out the beta version at: http://www.yipeedo.com/
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