Investor pitch · IIT Mandi Catalyst
The operating system — and the marketplace — for local Himalayan business.
Software to run a local business + a website to be found + a map-first marketplace to be discovered. Built and running in production. Rooted in Himachal, built to scale across the Himalaya and India.
Local businesses are invisible online — and travellers can't find the real thing.
- Local businesses run on paper, WhatsApp and a phone number — invisible online.
- They can't take direct bookings or orders, and lose 18–25% to aggregators.
- Metro-built tools don't fit low-connectivity mountain operations.
- Travellers can't find the real, verified local experience in generic listings.
Four shifts converge — and reward whoever moves first.
- AI answer-engines reward structured, verified local data — we produce exactly that.
- UPI makes direct, custody-free settlement instant and near-free.
- Vendors actively want off aggregators — their own site, customer and margin.
- Cheap Android + an offline edition make real software viable in the valleys.
One platform: run the business, get found, get discovered.
Run
Restaurant POS + KDS, hotel/homestay PMS + channel manager, retail store — staff & inventory included.
Get found
A fast own-domain website with SEO/AEO/GEO + Google Merchant Center & Ads, done for the vendor.
Get discovered
A map-first marketplace — stays, treks, tours, adventures, cafés, products, direct from verified hosts.
Recurring software + a low, aligned marketplace take-rate.
RMS
₹5,000/yr
standard ₹10,000
PMS
₹10,000/yr
standard ₹20,000
PMS + RMS
₹12,000/yr
standard ₹24,000
Retail
₹10,000/yr
standard ₹20,000
Plus a 5–10% commission on discovery-network sales (own-site sales are free), and payments at 1.8% UPI + GST settled straight to the vendor — no custody, no float.
Enter where we fit best, expand outward.
Directional estimates with assumptions stated; bottom-up model shared under NDA.
A two-sided flywheel that compounds.
Every vendor website we build lists on the marketplace. Every traveller on the marketplace sends demand back to vendors. Map-first discovery, verified in-person supply, an offline edition, and bundled pricing make each new vendor cheaper to win than the last — zero-CAC referral in dense clusters.
Built and running in production — not slideware.
- 5 verticals live: restaurants, stays, retail, activities + marketplace & map.
- Real vendors operating on their own domains & subdomains today.
- Direct UPI settlement + WhatsApp order notifications live in production.
- Measured top-tier Core Web Vitals on the sites we ship.
Measured, not promised
Top-tier Core Web Vitals on the sites we build
Google PageSpeed Insights — himlocal.com, Desktop. Fast sites rank higher and convert better, so we treat performance as a feature. Run the audit yourself →
Scores are Lighthouse metrics measured on a representative live page; mobile scores vary by device and network.
Land with software, expand with the network.
Let's talk.
Detailed traction, unit economics, the bottom-up model and the current round are shared under NDA. If the thesis resonates, we'd love to walk you through the live product.