Derest is a Marketing Startup
What is Derest?
Founded by Harshanki Thakker in 2020, Derest is an amalgamation of three words – De-plan, Re-mould and Strategize. It is a 360° marketing agency that escalates the visibility of a customer’s brand. This startup has a team of creative directors, editors, designers, developers, and technologists to “de-rest” a customer’s digital presence across the globe.
This Ahmedabad-based firm, started by providing more than 16 services. Over the years, the startup has narrowed down to providing a couple of niche services to its clients.
The vision of this startup is “to let the clients de-rest”. Once a client reaches the doors of Derest, they do not have to worry about anything and they can safely leave the entire branding and marketing process in the hands of this startup, says Ms.Thakker.
The mission is to “collaborate, build and progress the founders and its clients who would further help them grow”.
| Startup | Derest |
| Website | Derest.co.in |
| Founded | 2020 |
| Headquarters | Ahmedabad, India |
| Products | Marketing services |
| Revenue Model | B2B, Commission |
How did Derest start in 2018?
The founder started working as a marketing consultant when she was 17 years old. She only registered as a company in 2020 but her background always lineated her to create a marketing firm.
Area of Operations
Most of this solo-founded startup has a client base based outside India. There are only a handful of clients in India.
Here is the quick overview of Derest
Market Penetration
Market penetration has not been a huge issue for the founder because of her background working as a marketing consultant since the age of 17. The founder has been filled with many referrals and a strong network right from the commencement. Currently, This marketing startup has a portfolio of more than 200 clients associated and has done 520 projects.
Team
Currently, the team, including the full-time employees, interns, and freelancers, stands at a total of 50 people.
Targeted Market
Since the past year, this Ahmedabad-based startup has been closely working with a lot of Fintech, SaaS, and Web3 businesses. The startup focuses on launching its companies and marketing them. The team works closely with the founders for improving their personal branding on the internet.
Sales Process
Derest uses Linkedin and email marketing primarily for generating leads and converting them into sales. There are a lot of agency partnerships as well, that is, working on a referral model.
Competition
The founder does not believe in competition because in marketing there are so many varied factors that come into play that one cannot be an absolute master of all. Thus, the founder believes in collaboration rather than competition.
Initial Challenges
Post the pandemic, there has been a surge of many marketing agencies on the internet who often put false numbers to attract clients. Proving the founders’ and the marketing agency’s credibility sometimes becomes a task in this scenario.
Future Expansion Plans
The business was started as a proprietary business for taxation benefits, but now that it has been steadily picking up pace, the founder is keen to convert this startup into a private limited firm.
SWOT Analysis
The strength of this B2C startup lies in its efficiency in its working pattern. They have a system-protected launch, making it Derest’s most robust suite. This limits a founder’s involvement in the business and automates a lot of important procedures.
The weakness lies in the fact that this startup does not have a physical office for management purposes as of now.
The opportunity is the metaverse industry. Even though it is not in Derest’s current future plans, the founder feels it could be a huge opportunity someday.
The threat, the founder feels, is new competition, especially the ones that do not rely on the credibility and existing big players.
Funding
The founder started with an initial capital of INR 1 lakh when it was registered as a proprietary business. This marketing startup is completely bootstrapped. There has been no funding so far.
Rewards & Recognitions
“Although there have been no official rewards so far, the founder takes pride in the fact that this Ahmedabad-based startup has a retention rate of 95% and growth margins of 80%,That is what matters for the team” says the founder
Founder Background
Harshanki Thakker has completed her education at the university of Pardubice.