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Tilak Mehta is like any other Mumbai teenager. The 13-year-old attends a suburban school studying in Class VIII, and rues about his father coming home from work late and tired.
But the similarities stop there. Tilak is a budding entrepreneur who has founded a logistics start-up, sold the idea to a banker and convinced him to quit the job and join him as the Chief Executive, and also roped in the famed Dabbawalas to help him with the last-mile distribution.
“Last year, I wanted a few books from the other end of the city urgently. My father came home tired after a day’s work, and so I could not ask him and there was nowhere to go,” said Tilak.
This is when the idea of having a start-up dedicated to carrying papers and small parcels within the megapolis for assured intra-day delivery struck him. The idea was presented to his father Vishal, who was quickly convinced that this idea needed to be pursued. As Chief Executive of Rushabh Sealink, a logistics company, his father could have helped. But Tilak went through the grind, researching the concept and running a beta for four months before formally launching it today.
“Papers N Parcels (PNP) is my dream and I will work to ensure that the business becomes big,” the boy said.
PNP uses a dedicated mobile application for business and already employs 200 on its own besides 300 Dabbawala partners, through whom it is handling up to 1,200 deliveries daily.
‘Additional income’
Any customer can log on to the app and place an order for a delivery. PNP has a defined area of operation connected by the city’s famed train network, with a hub at Dadar in central Mumbai. It handles parcels of up to three kg and charges ₹40-180 per parcel depending on the weight.
The Dabbawalas will mostly be handling the last-mile delivery for PNP after finishing their day’s work, said Dabbawala Association spokesperson Subhash Talekar.
“Our association has not officially tied up with PNP and it’s up to an individual Dabbawala to associate with them. I think it will give them (Dabbawalas) an additional income,” Talekar said.
PNP’s client list includes pathology labs, boutique shops and a brokerage. This will only grow with the formal launch, said Ghanashyam Parekh, the banker who quit to join as the chief executive, adding plans are to expand into Delhi and other large metros.
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