Interview with Debendra Prasad | AssureShift
We speak with Mr. Debendra Prasad, CEO of AssureShift – a company that acts as a channel connecting customers to the most relevant & reliable relocation service providers.
“Generally, identifying & hiring the right relocation company can take around 10 – 15 days, or sometimes, even up to a month. However, since a majority of customers book at the last minute, they often tend to skip the crucial step of validating moving company details before hiring them; oftentimes, customers do not even know what details to check. So, we decided to offer a quick and easy way out by following simple but efficient steps to make sure we reach customers before fraudsters do.” says Debendra Prasad.
With a drive to eliminate fraud moving companies in the market & focused on their idea of guiding people towards making the right choice of a mover for their needs, AssureShift has grown to become the most preferred packers movers directory site in India. Below, Debendra Prasad tells us more about it.
1. Before we get into the interview, please give us a glimpse of yourself.
I’m into Web designing, Web development, Digital marketing, and Business planning since 2012. First started in Asansol, West Bengal, and worked there till mid-2014. From the beginning, I only wanted to create solutions which would be valuable for people and solve their problems & improve their lives.
In search of that, I came to Bangalore in 2014 and started Creatisoul (Web Development & Digital Marketing Company) with Juby John. Under the roof of Creatisoul, we served various clients from Real Estate, Education, Insurance, Catering, NGOs, and Relocation service providers. During that, we had worked with several moving companies and got a chance to know the relocation industry, after which we started working on AssureShift (moving company reference portal) in 2016 & launched it in 2017.
Currently, along with AssureShift, working on other projects, with the same goal of providing valuable solutions for everyone.
2. What was the main idea behind the birth of AssureShift?
When I worked in the relocation industry a few years ago, I noticed that the industry was a very disorganized one. I also came across various families & individuals who lost their hard-earned money & personal belongings (due to damages or being stolen) because of moving with the wrong movers or fraud companies.
I sat down with a friend of mine, Juby John, who also worked in the same industry, and discussed how we can use our experiences to solve this problem. We did some groundwork & research and found many irregularities and basic problems like lack of an authoritative agency who can verify legal paperwork & permissions of each moving company prior to setting up of businesses, and lack of people’s knowledge about what details to check before hiring any mover.
After a lot of brainstorming, we came to the conclusion that the only way out was to build a digital marketing strategy to reach the customers before the fraud packers movers do. And that’s how AssureShift was born.
3. How does AssureShift help change the way people relocate these days?
AssureShift behaves like a connecting bridge between customers & relocation companies. We use 4 simple steps to guarantee simplified moving with Verification, Requirement analysis, Routine Quality Checks, and Customer Support.
We verify moving companies in every city of India to build a directory of only trustworthy movers & be able to succeed in eliminating fake packers movers in the market. We check everything from business registration to owner ID proof to office location & their past record before letting them associate with us.
However, we knew stopping at this wouldn’t be enough. We had realized early on that it’s important to guide customers in the right way to booking good movers. So, we decided to refer the most relevant relocation companies to customers based on the services they need, the quality of packing, and other details of their requirements.
We are dedicated to providing reliable and good-quality service providers to our customers at affordable rates and offer full support & quick resolution for their issues.
4. How has AssureShift expanded until now?
AssureShift was initially a two-member team when it was started in 2016, comprising of John & myself. We had just then officially launched our operations in Bangalore and gradually started building our packers movers network. After the first 3 months, we branched out into Pune & Chennai; a couple of months later, we moved into Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Delhi.
In the last 4 years, AssureShift has covered all the major metropolitan cities and is slowly coming up in tier-2 cities like Noida, Chandigarh, Thane, Mysore, and others. We also have a strong network of around 600 – 700 packers movers all over the country. Our team has also grown into a family of 20+ members.
5. How do you maintain your office work culture?
The office environment plays a key role in a company’s productivity & overall growth. We always try to take care of everyone’s concerns and maintain a positive vibe. I am involved in every department from planning, execution, reporting, and feedback. Anyone can directly reach me and I try to give all of my attention to their concern. I also try to increase the collaboration between every employee and reward them for their good work.
6. What are your main goals for the future of AssureShift?
The future plans for AssureShift are plenty and we are excited about where we are headed. Our ideas for expansion are bi-directional. First, we want to grow in terms of the service areas which we are covering; currently, we are operating in 16 cities, and in the next 6 months, our plan is to expand to 25 cities.
Our second direction of expansion is in terms of services & service quality. Considering that we are currently only referring to moving companies to customers, in the future we would like to do a lot more. We are planning to take more responsibility for our customer’s relocation and provide them with a complete relocation experience from start to end under the roof of AssureShift. As for our partner packers & movers, we are planning to provide more helpful services for them like maintaining their websites, online brands, and helping them improve their customer experience.
