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is the first vehicle in the Indian market with a battery to power different appliances like a small refrigerator for cooling or heating, a mixer grinder, small oven and even tube lights or fan. It comes with two power outputs of 220V and 12V respectively. Provided with portable batteries, RM Mitra can run at a maximum speed of 65 kmph. Equipped with state-of-the-art telematics and a smart connected app. centralised dash relays live holistic information about the state of the vehicle. The telematics unit enables live tracking, geofencing, remote locking or unlocking facilities, and the BMS collects 50+ real-time parameters from the vehicle, initiating preventive maintenance notifications sent to the smartphone.

RM Buddy 25, a low speed Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR) exempt vehicle launched in the Metaverse by Revamp Moto, is another vehicle on the offering from the company. Known as a ‘pocket rocket’, the vehicle is designed and developed to save user’s time by helping them pass through narrow as well dense areas, swiftly. The maximum speed of the vehicle is 25 kmph hence driving licence is not a mandate for ownership. Offered with a payload capacity of 120 kg, the vehicle can go up to 70 km on a single charge, claims the OEM. Powered with waterresistant portable batteries, the vehicle comes with an auto headlamp and dual suspension. Saddle bags, insulated box and a carrier are offered as attachments for the vehicle. Made available in colour options like billionaire blue, grand grey, royal red, oscar orange and wealthy white, the vehicle is equipped with smart connectivity features including a dash that relays rider score, smart charge assistant and geofencing. Both the vehicles have gone through a minimum of 10 product development iterations to be commercially manufactured.

Certification and USPs

The low speed vehicle, RM Buddy has already attained the certification. “The high speed vehicle, RM Mitra has been sent to the authorities for homologation and we are expecting it over the next two to three months. It will be homologated,” highlighted Mahajan. The water-proof battery pack, on the other hand, developed by Revamp is one of their own IPs. “We have ensured that we have made an IP67 rated battery pack which is dust proof and waterproof and we have tried submerging it to one metre depth. We have tried submerging it for multiple hours and there is no water seepage,” he claimed. The company is also working on meeting the AIS standards.

Accolades

Co-founded by Pritesh Mahajan, Pushkaraj Salunkhe and Jayesh Tope in

September 2020, Revamp took to fame after getting featured in Shark Tank India season one in December 2021. Becoming the highest funded startup of the season, Revamp Moto received tremendous response from the industry showing interest in both, their low-speed and high-speed vehicle on the website. The platform gave them the desired validation, recognition and the pathway to B2B clients including big names in the e-Commerce Industry, food delivery, or even grocery delivery industry. In addition to this, Revamp has recently won the prestigious National Startup Award 2022.

Offering vehicles under the ‘Mudra finance’ scheme by the government, the company plans to finance the vehicle along with the attachment and also aims at giving some seed capital for all individuals to start their own businesses. “We at Revamp we will not only be selling just electric vehicles, but we will also be empowering the society,” said Mahajan. “We will also try to support the society and the ecosystem by generating more job opportunities and creating more micro entrepreneurs or even tying up with B2B clients and giving the pathway to all the walk-in customers at our showrooms,” he added further.

Teething issues

Speaking about the challenges faced during the initial phase of setup, Mahajan cited the phase of building a team and to make it believe in their vision. “When we were on Shark Tank, we were a team of around 14 people and right now we have scaled the team to 42-45 people,” stated Mahajan. The company plans to expand the team size further to around 92-100 people. Another challenge which the company faced was the infrastructure because they are based in a tier 2 city of Nashik, Maharashtra, where the infrastructure is limited. Being on a drivable distance to two major metro cities, Mumbai and Pune is an advantage, admitted Mahajan. Travelling from Nashik to another point occupies a lot of time, quipped Mahajan as he drew attention to the basic infrastructure of Nashik as being not ideal for supporting startups like itself. There are no strong local vendors.

Lack of funds was also an issue. While on Shark Tank India, the company was surviving on loans, and they did not have funds to even pay their employees. In terms of technology, specifically designed and developed components were required but the vendors were not pretty confident to take bets on an emerging startup, shared Mahajan. “One year down the line, scaling up could also be our problem area,” outlined Mahajan.

Funding the startup

Raising two crore as investment from the sharks (judges) from the Shark Tank India, Revamp acquired an additional Rs.5.7 crore from Angel Investors and from venture capital funds. “Now we are raising another USD 4-5 mn,” revealed Mahajan. The funds will be split between equity acquiring the major chunk and then a smaller part will be in to repay debt and to finance or working capital. Majorly focused on being a revenue and profit driven company, Revamp Moto aims at driving business instead of just funding through business. “From next month we are actually starting our sales and we are also setting up dealership networks,” he elaborated. With a focus on four states, the company is going pan India in terms of distribution.

Looking at a path to profitability in