If there is one thing that we can learn from the new age social network, it is that the users love sharing, be it Instagram, Facebook, whatsapp, twitter, Pinterest or snapchat; And all these platforms have realized one thing, multimedia elements primarily images are much more engaging than simple text, everybody with a camera phone or a DSLR is an aspiring photographer. There is a volcanic increase in the number of Photography pages we see on Facebook and yet for a common man to choose a photographer for his special day(s) is more difficult than ever.
There are many players in the global arena who are trying to solve this problem in their own ways, but one that stands out is one that is started by two of our fellow Indians. We caught hold of Regan Bharti, Co-Founder of Picsurely and IIM Calcutta alumnus for an exclusive interview to understand more about their business.
Picsurely is a worldwide photographer discovery and listing website, a place to find photographers for any kind of events. Users can search for photographers based on event type, location and budget. Photographers use the platform to showcase their talent, get noticed and get hired.
“We have seen that finding the right photographer is tough all over the world. People have a tough time judging photography service quality before delivery”, said Regan.
“We also see that Photographers who are unorganized and depend on referrals for clients are rarely great at marketing themselves online and lack a unified solution to schedule and deliver services, and invoice and receive payment.
So we came up with a solution in the form of Picsurely, we organize the pro and semi-pro photographer market by providing a discovery platform, to help people find a photographer for their event. We are the only global site that is focused on photography specific display and discovery features, and covers all categories of photographers for hire”, he added.
Picsurely was launched on 24’th April, 2014 in Mumbai. The team comprises of 2 co-founders, Regan Bharti and Pranab Salian having an engineering and IIM background. The core team is a close-knit high-energy team, with diverse experience and strengths, topped up with interns and hires. The founders have previously worked in Yahoo, Accenture, WNS, Amazon, Mahindra, HSBC and Barclays.
Picsurely is currently bootstrapped and is incubated by Zone Startups India program, an initiative of Digital Media Zone at Ryerson University, Bombay Stock Exchange, and Vancouver based Simon Fraser University.
The startup had received pretty fantastic and encouraging responses from its clients. It already has more than 850 registered photographers across 54 cities in India within 4 months of launch.
