A book sharing platform where people can earn money by exchanging books with each other, and in the long run help in supporting sustainability too.
In a world where digital convenience often overshadows traditional experiences, Bookchange emerges as a revolutionary platform dedicated to rekindling the joy of reading through community-driven book exchanges. Founded with the mission to make reading more accessible and affordable, Bookchange allows readers across India to swap books at minimal cost, creating a sustainable and efficient alternative to purchasing new titles. By seamlessly blending the physical and digital worlds, Bookchange not only helps readers discover new books but also fosters a sense of community among book lovers, transforming the way people connect with literature.
Bookchange is a peer to peer book sharing platform where people can earn money from sharing the books they own and others can borrow those books for a low biweekly fee. Our vision is to become India’s library for all readers. Our mission is to make reading accessible to every individual, no matter where they are from or who they are.
We sat down with the Founder and CEO Yash Vipulkumar Shah, for an one on one interview, in helping us understand their startup better, and learn their goals and vision. Do go through their interview conducted by Desi Founder Team.
What inspired you to start Bookchange, and how did the idea evolve from a simple conversation into a full-fledged platform?
Bookchange was about libraries, from the very beginning. When I was a child in school, I had access to all the books in the world and because of this reason, I was able to find the books I was interested in reading which helped me improve my English, my communication skills, and become a lifelong reader. What I see in India is a lack of libraries today, which is harmful in two ways – one, young people don’t have access to the books which could make them interested in reading because buying books is expensive. The second reason is a lot of waste. Today, most people have 5-10 books they have already read which are on their shelves and they just aren’t going to be picked again, unless the owner of the book decides to give it away. We saw Bookchange as an opportunity to give value to readers on both fronts – cost of books and sustainability of reading.
Can you share your vision for the future of Bookchange? Where do you see the platform in the next 5 to 10 years?
I see it as becoming the premier platform where people read. As India is growing, it is becoming an economy which shares resources. This is not only more efficient, but important too, as it has the potential to save people money at the same time as protecting our resources. What I see happening is, 5 years from today, when people want to read paperback books they will go to Bookchange first, instead of going on Amazon – after all, it is much cheaper, and way more efficient for them.
How do you plan to expand Bookchange to reach more readers across India? Are there any specific strategies or partnerships you are pursuing?
Yes, so we want to encourage people to share their books which is why we will be paying people to share their book every time someone borrows it. It’s very simple – if you have a ₹350 book and you quote a price of ₹40 per month for someone else to borrow it, you have the potential to earn ₹480 Rupees in a year from just that one book. As it scales, you can earn thousands of rupees from your books.
On the other hand, people can borrow books for a cheap price too. If I want to read a book owned by the Desi Founder, I could get it for as low as ₹25 per month. I think this is how we reach the customers – we show them value and we show them how they are being sold a story, where they feel like they have to buy a book if they want to read it. The push to borrowing will start from the sharers and will go on to the borrowers. One way I am trying to push the envelope is by starting the Bookchange Century Challenge on our official Instagram page, which is where I read 100 books in 1 year and review all of the books. I think if people see Book Instagrammers, it might push them to read more.
Currently, we aren’t pursuing any partnerships, we do have a clear strategy though – give people value as early as possible, and they will repay their faith in you by spreading the message – Bookchange is the way forward.
What challenges have you faced in growing Bookchange, and how have you overcome them?
We have faced challenges in terms of funding. It’s all bootstrapped and currently I have less than 50 followers on Instagram. So, I need to find a way to get traction, for Bookchange to reach a more wider audience. You can build the best product in the world, but if enough people don’t know about it, you won’t reach your customers and you won’t earn money. It’s that simple, and to get to more people I will need to invest more money than I can with my own funds. My idea is to start as small as possible and hope that I can create an experience that is worthy enough to create a word of mouth marketing campaign which reaches millions of people. Hopefully, as Bookchange grows, we can market the product and hire the people we need to become the company that we have the potential of becoming in the next 5 to 10 years.
What are the biggest obstacles you foresee in the near future as Bookchange continues to expand?
We will face challenges in terms of logistics. Our aim is to make reading as cheap as possible, so we have decided from the very beginning that we won’t charge any delivery fees from the borrowers. Now, if we face situations where someone wants a book in Bengaluru which is only available with a person in Delhi, how we will deal with it could be very expensive and time consuming. If we can get people to sign up in clusters, and continue to expand, we can hopefully reduce the obstacles in terms of logistics and delivery costs.
Another challenge might be online e-commerce companies which might come after us as they may start losing a large number of customers on their platforms because of Bookchange, as we continue to expand. This will be an ongoing challenge as the company grows. But we will be ready for it.
How do you plan to track and manage the books and users on the platform? Could you share some insights into the technology or system that supports this?
So, we are currently still in the building phase, but our application will be storing the books that people upload on the forms, and when they enable the book for borrowing, the books will be shown on the search page for books. As we grow, more sophisticated technologies will be used and we will ensure customer privacy and security as our number one priority.
How does Bookchange ensure that users are matched with the most relevant books? What role does technology play in this process?
Technology will make sure that you get suggested the sort of books you are most likely to read, but I think where it gets exciting is how we will ensure the distance between the borrower and sharer is as low as possible. With this, we could deliver books in 40-45 minutes from the moment you have ordered it. It really is about optimizing logistics and delivery on time.
Could you share any memorable experiences or success stories from users who have benefited from Bookchange?
We are still in the building phase for the website, but I have already received requests for early access from multiple potential users. When we have the pilot launch, we can expect customer growth to be in multiples of thousands.
In your view, how vast is the interest in book reading in India, and what can be done to further cultivate a reading culture?
There is definitely a growing trend in the number of people wanting to read books, especially in tier 1 and tier 2 cities. The reason for this is the smartphone epidemic has started showing its symptoms, and as people look for ways to escape the devices that have them hooked all day long, they are turning to books as a source of entertainment, and knowledge. Books are also a currency in terms of social groups, because well-read people enjoy the ability to communicate about different topics in more coherent ways. While a reading culture still has many ways to improve, we are on the right path, and as children are introduced to reading in their early ages, they are more likely to benefit from it and form the habit of reading as they grow older.
What genres or specific books do you personally enjoy reading?
I’m a huge fan of business books and autobiographies. Books about startups are almost as engaging as fiction books, because there are so many twists and turns. Examples of books I like reading are No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings and Erin Myer, How Google Works by Eric Schmidt, and Zero to One by Peter Thiel. When it comes to biographies, the classic ones about Steve Jobs, and founders of legendary companies like Nike stand out for me – Shoe Dog by Phil Knight is a personal favourite. Reading about people and their experiences is an incredible experience which I think can help people grow by understanding diverse perspectives and cultures.
I also do like fiction books from authors like John Green and Andy Weird – two vastly different genres as teen fiction and sci-fi but growing up, they were authors which I really did look up to.
How has your personal reading habit influenced the direction of Bookchange?
I read a lot of books, and this meant that I was spending more than ₹30,000 per year to read 100 books and that’s just way too much – and what was I supposed to do with all the books that I had read now? And thus, I looked for ways I could read quality books for a cheaper price and I just couldn’t find anything I would want to use. So, to adress this pain-point I set about creating my own company, where readers like me could find ways to read without burning a hole in their pockets.
How does Bookchange contribute to the avid book reader community in India?
The book reader community is so vast and diverse – it’s a privileged position for Bookchange to have an influence that could change the way people read. I think the avid reader community will embrace the change from buying to borrowing, and it will start from the people that read the most.
What impact do you hope it will have on readers and the publishing industry?
I think the publishing industry will realize that they have to find their way to more readers, and if Bookchange increases the readers size in India, it will help publishers be more courageous in allowing their readers to a wider variety of authors in their portfolio. Hopefully, more authors from India will see their books being read in the train, flights and bus stops. Readers, I think, will be encouraged to read more books in a year – it is something Bookchange will strive to do – create a culture of reading.
If you could recommend one book to every new user on Bookchange, what would it be and why?
Wow, this is a good question. Honestly, everyone has different tastes so I think I can do this category wise.
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Teenage Fiction – Looking for Alaska by John Green
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Adult Fiction – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
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Self Help – Atomic Habits by James Clear
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Non-Fiction – Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
What advice would you give to someone looking to start a community-focused platform in India?
I don’t think I’m in the position to give advice – but if there is one thing I have learned is that nobody knows anything. So, you have to keep adapting, keep learning from your situations, and it will help you grow both as a founder and a human being.
Are there any plans to introduce new features or services on Bookchange, such as book reviews, reading clubs, or author interactions?
Yes, but right now we are focused on only one thing and that is growing the number of people who want to borrow books.
How do you balance your passion for reading with running a growing startup?
I think it goes hand in hand – reading books will help you be better – it just depends on the kinds of books you read. I read a lot of books about startups, and so I think it will help me grow my startup.
That will be a wrap of the interview. Hope you enjoyed reading it, as much as we enjoyed creating it. If you too have an interesting Founder Story to share it with the world, please feel free to submit a request here.