STARTUP SATURDAY

Kerala startup connects devotees with temples, helps book pujas

A bit of help from technology to reach god, or to make a long-pending offering to a temple deity may sound ironic to at least a few out there. But finding a flourishing marketplace in the realm of belief is sheer smartness in terms of business. A company based at Vennala in Kochi with its ground-breaking idea of an aggregator platform connecting devotees and temples across Kerala has found its space in the diverse Kerala startup ecosystem. 

InIT Solutions Pvt Ltd under the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) is known for its distinct product – an app called ‘BookSeva’ which connects devotees with temples. The app has listed around 400 temples from across the state and devotees can book offerings to the deities from the platform.  

InIT did not, however, start with the customer relationship management (CRM) platform. It also assists temples in streamlining their day-to-day operations by implementing an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system. The company has a client base of around 100 temples for this product. The temple administrations associated with InIT include the famed Guruvayur Sri Krishna temple, those under Cochin Devaswom Board and Attukal Devi temple in Thiruvananthapuram. 

The company was founded by three friends – Surendranatha Kamath G, Sudheesh E S and Govindaraj V, all natives of Kochi and grew up in temple atmospheres. 

Pandemic changes perception 
The three friends have a tech background and their foray into entrepreneurship was almost accidental. The idea of developing a technology platform for temple management struck them when a small temple at Chendamangalam on the outskirts of Kochi sought their help in 2017.  

They developed the ERP system called Sopanam for the temple and it went on to have more takers, opening up a new avenue of business. It took another three years and a pandemic for them to launch their flagship product ‘BookSeva’.  

“We had the idea of BookSeva with us since 2017 itself. However, there were not many takers for it then as temple authorities feared such a platform would take devotees away from the shrines. Covid then changed that perception as temples remained shut and devotee entry was limited during the lockdown. Now, the reluctance has come down,” Kamath, the managing director of the company, said. Sudheesh and Govindaraj are directors of the company. 

InIT lists a temple on the BookSeva platform after consulting the respective management. The app also offers devotees the history and the legends associated with the temples, picture galleries, live darshan and virtual queue. The temples associated with the company displays its promotion materials on their premises.

Plans and prizes
The startup is looking for investments and talks are on with venture capitalists. The capital will be used for expansion to the fields of spiritual tourism and door delivery of temple ‘prasad’. The company sees growth potential in North India. 

The BookSeva platform has recorded over 50,000 transactions so far and clocked a turnover of Rs 1 crore in three years, Kamath said. 

The company finds its revenue from the sales and subscriptions of Sopanam platform and the service charge collected from devotees who book pujas using BookSeva.

Devotees are provided with contact numbers to ensure that the pujas they booked are done. Updates are given through SMS and WhatsApp too.  

InIT won the ‘Emerging Startup of the Year 2023 Award’ at the HSX2.0 event hosted by Headstart at SAP Labs Bangalore in September. The Entrepreneurship Conclave 2023 (EC2023), organised by the World Konkani Centre, Saraswath Chamber and UK & Co, recognised InIT Solutions Pvt Ltd as one of the ‘Top 5 Startups’ that had excelled in the SharkTank Pitching competition. Each of these top startups, including InIT, won a prize of Rs 5 lakh. 
(Startup Saturday is Onmanorama’s weekend series featuring promising startups from Kerala. Find the previous stories here)