First things first, Radha S Jagarlamudi makes it very clear that she is no fan of the one-size-fits-all model. That's why when she saw the need for a platform that brings all blue-collar rural labourers, skilled and semi-skilled under one umbrella and even received validation for it via the mammoth research she conducted (more about this in a bit), she confidently started working on it, namely Ladduu, in June 2020. And with the same confidence, she is going to launch the app on March 24, 2021.
Think of the app as a one-shop-stop for plumbers, carpenters, painters, maids and beyond. So if you need the services of any one of them, just get on Ladduu app and book their services. Naturally, it's easy to point out that other apps like this already exist. So what sets Ladduu apart? "I know that these labourers have a lot of self-respect. You cannot entice them with money, though it is certainly an incentive. They would rather work in houses they have been working in for years and years so much so that they get attached to people they work for. They even shun new markets because they want to work in their comfort zone," she lists as if to say, 'Tell me who else will understand labourers so well'. And in this understanding, this departure from the thought process that one tech-solution can work everywhere, is where we feel the app's success lies.
Radha, a KC Mahindra Scholarship recipient, at 17 moved to the US and has a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Economics from Miami University, Ohio. She even worked in a data company and was on the fast track to success but her entrepreneurial mindset convinced her to move back to Karamchedu in Andhra Pradesh, her hometown, in the year 2017. "I started CREATE Enterprise via which I continue to offer consulting services and advice, and Ladduu in an entity under it," explains the 27-year-old.
Pamphlets, phone calls and meetings — these were the ways in which Radha and Co used to reach out to as many as 10,000 people in and around Karamchedu. This was to ensure that not only is there a demand for an app like this, but there are also enough labourers who are interested in offering their services via the app. "Still, it was very difficult to get them on board. English was not an option at all and a few did not know how to read Telugu either," she rues. To counter this problem, they are using the simple solution of voice assistants. But to arrive at this solution, they use blockchain technology. And more than this, Radha wouldn't let slip.
"Nowadays, technology is so cheap, anybody can build an app. I may not have a patent but what I do have a patent in is understanding labourers at a microlevel. From when they wake up to what their ambitions are, I have taken a lot of pains to understand everything," Radha reminds us and adds, "Hence, when we do decide to expand, say to Punjab, Radha will not run operations from there. A Radha-like person, who knows the people over there intimately, will run it." We are surely going to watch out for this app!
For more on them check out ladduu.com
