As a teenager, Amin Memon was always looking for ways to earn pocket money. A few odd jobs here and there brought him cash, but not as often as he’d have liked. He needed to be in touch with event managers and marketing professionals to find out about openings for part-time workers. That’s when he thought of a website that would list all upcoming parties on a single platform, although he then had neither the resources nor the programming abilities to create one. Finally, after completing his graduation he began the groundwork for his project.

“It was a completely niche and untapped sector. I learnt about the technology from my friends and began coding for the website around the end of 2012,” says the 25-year-old Mumbai entrepreneur, who has a postgraduate degree in advertising.

Together with friends Kadir Sayyed and Moiz Sayed, he developed the software and launched EventBaba.com in February 2013. The website lets youngsters register and apply for events-related jobs such as in-mall promotions, manning exhibition stalls, concierge guides, tele-calling, short-duration workshops and so on. Once a candidate is shortlisted for an event, she is briefed by the EventBaba team and paid in cash after the event.

Memon says male workers can earn ₹400-650 per day, depending on the timings and work requirements, and female workers get ₹600-1,800 per day. Job applicants should be in the 18-28 age group, although the site routinely receives queries from candidates as young as 13. “We have to refuse them as we don’t hire people below 18,” Memon says.

Within 10 days of the launch, EventBaba had 200 users and four clients on board. Today, more than 23,000 have registered on the portal and there are part-time job offers from more than 100 clients including the likes of Airtel, Yamaha, Godrej, Café Coffee Day, Pidilite, Garnier, Nataraj, Philips and FedEx.

“We get around 70 new registrations every day,” says Memon, adding that of the total registrations, around 40 per cent is female.

The site charges a commission of 20-40 per cent of an event’s outlay. “If the event involves a lot of hard work, outdoor activities and longer work hours, we reduce our cut to give more to the users but if the work is fairly simple, then we increase our cut,” says Memon. EventBaba was profitable from the first month itself, he adds.

That is precisely why the start-up has not raised any funds so far. “It is completely bootstrapped. We pooled our savings and started the website.”

Initially companies were approached directly for business. The client base includes event agencies, advertising agencies, start-ups and direct brands. “We get recurring business from them. Most of the new clients are coming through word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied clients,” he says.

To expand its pool of job candidates, EventBaba has developed an innovative strategy. Anyone who works with the company is given customised business cards. “The youngsters like to brag and share their cards with friends. That helps us get more users on board,” he adds.

Additionally, more than 20 candidates have bagged permanent jobs at various companies on the basis of their performance at an EventBaba assignment. “Some others get work on a project basis directly from clients,” he says.

Currently, EventBaba handles two to three events a day. With growing demand from other cities, Memon launched the services in Pune last month through a tie-up with event management firm Benchmark. “While they will look after marketing, we will manage the backend from Mumbai,” he says. This means Benchmark will arrange for events and, EventBaba will shortlist and assign candidates for the related jobs through its Pune portal.

Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad are next in line, again through tie-ups. Memon is now also open to the idea of tapping seed funds. After all, his business calendar promises to be eventful for some time to come.

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