ST Bureau
New Delhi
Talespin, an AI and deep learning startup with a
customer focused solution helps retail brands increase conversion. The idea for
Talespin came about when Tanay Dixit, Co-Founder and Product Head, visited a
store of a top apparel brand to buy a grey tee shirt. After spending 20 minutes
along with the sales assistant, Tanay found what he wanted but like most things
he falls in love with – it wasn’t available (in his size). The outcome – the
salesperson felt ineffective at his job, the brand lost out on a sale and Tanay
was left disappointed.
customer focused solution helps retail brands increase conversion. The idea for
Talespin came about when Tanay Dixit, Co-Founder and Product Head, visited a
store of a top apparel brand to buy a grey tee shirt. After spending 20 minutes
along with the sales assistant, Tanay found what he wanted but like most things
he falls in love with – it wasn’t available (in his size). The outcome – the
salesperson felt ineffective at his job, the brand lost out on a sale and Tanay
was left disappointed.
This got him thinking
about a real problem that existed at stores. Brands spend millions getting
customers to stores but there is no proper hand holding process at the store
and, the (customer) experience is inconsistent. In-store selling has not seen
any technological innovation for years. This is how Talespin was born – with
the intent to change in-store shopping experiences.
about a real problem that existed at stores. Brands spend millions getting
customers to stores but there is no proper hand holding process at the store
and, the (customer) experience is inconsistent. In-store selling has not seen
any technological innovation for years. This is how Talespin was born – with
the intent to change in-store shopping experiences.
In an exclusive
interview with Startup Terminal, Tapan
Dixit, Co-Founder of Talespin shares more insights about the organization and its future goals.
interview with Startup Terminal, Tapan
Dixit, Co-Founder of Talespin shares more insights about the organization and its future goals.
Excerpts:
ST: Please tell us more about your organization.
Tapan Dixit: Talespin is an AI and deep learning product with a
customer-focused solution which helps retail brands increase conversion and
sales. The technology stack uses machine learning libraries to classify images
and helps answer three core questions for customers – “What to buy?”, “Is this
available in my size?” and “Is there anything similar to this?”.
customer-focused solution which helps retail brands increase conversion and
sales. The technology stack uses machine learning libraries to classify images
and helps answer three core questions for customers – “What to buy?”, “Is this
available in my size?” and “Is there anything similar to this?”.
Talespin provides a
cost effective option for brands to leverage advanced technologies for their
benefit. With AI, businesses get insights into customers behaviour and shopping
patterns along with sentiments. For customers, it helps with product discovery and
also works as a self-service channel that instantly answers their questions or
solve their need.
cost effective option for brands to leverage advanced technologies for their
benefit. With AI, businesses get insights into customers behaviour and shopping
patterns along with sentiments. For customers, it helps with product discovery and
also works as a self-service channel that instantly answers their questions or
solve their need.
For brands, Talespin’s
core offerings of endless aisle – a key component of the omni-channel strategy
for organisations and conversational commerce – a chat bot built on a layer of
custom deep learning library, help transform the shopping experience for
customers. With our AI and deep learning technology stack we transform how
brands and retailers interact with customers and customers with brands.
core offerings of endless aisle – a key component of the omni-channel strategy
for organisations and conversational commerce – a chat bot built on a layer of
custom deep learning library, help transform the shopping experience for
customers. With our AI and deep learning technology stack we transform how
brands and retailers interact with customers and customers with brands.
Endless aisle:
Increasing number of
retailers and brands feel ‘endless aisles’ are critical to retain potential
purchases lost due to unavailability of products, ranges or sizes in-store. An
endless aisle links a retail stores inventory and stocking data on a single
network. By doing so, stores can allow customers to order products which are no
longer in stock or not sold in the store. Customers can opt for either paying
in the store or COD and have the product shipped to their homes.
retailers and brands feel ‘endless aisles’ are critical to retain potential
purchases lost due to unavailability of products, ranges or sizes in-store. An
endless aisle links a retail stores inventory and stocking data on a single
network. By doing so, stores can allow customers to order products which are no
longer in stock or not sold in the store. Customers can opt for either paying
in the store or COD and have the product shipped to their homes.
Conversational
commerce:
commerce:
Talespin’s chat bot
works as an in-store shopping assistant, helping customers with product
discovery and in answering their queries. The bot can also be separately
integrated with Facebook messenger thus opening up an all new channel for
brands to reach out to customers or even do sales from. This also means
increased ROI for the “likes” garnered by the brand’s FB page.
works as an in-store shopping assistant, helping customers with product
discovery and in answering their queries. The bot can also be separately
integrated with Facebook messenger thus opening up an all new channel for
brands to reach out to customers or even do sales from. This also means
increased ROI for the “likes” garnered by the brand’s FB page.
For customers, quite
simply it means no more fruitless searches, queues or disappointments. With
Talespin there are much higher chances of customers coming out of a store with
what they set out looking for. It allows customers to find the products that
they want based on color, collar, specific design and even for a specific
occasion. Product discovery is now only a few taps away.
simply it means no more fruitless searches, queues or disappointments. With
Talespin there are much higher chances of customers coming out of a store with
what they set out looking for. It allows customers to find the products that
they want based on color, collar, specific design and even for a specific
occasion. Product discovery is now only a few taps away.
 |
|
Tapan Dixit,
Co-Founder, Talespin |
ST: What was your idea behind starting up a new venture?
Tapan Dixit: The idea for Talespin came about when Tanay Dixit, Co-Founder
and Product Head visited a store of a top apparel brand to buy a grey tee
shirt. After spending 20 minutes along with the sales assistant, he found what
he wanted but unfortunately it was not available in his size. The outcome – the
salesperson felt ineffective at his job, the brand lost out on a sale and Tanay
was left disappointed.
and Product Head visited a store of a top apparel brand to buy a grey tee
shirt. After spending 20 minutes along with the sales assistant, he found what
he wanted but unfortunately it was not available in his size. The outcome – the
salesperson felt ineffective at his job, the brand lost out on a sale and Tanay
was left disappointed.
This got him thinking
about a real problem that existed at stores. Brands spend millions to get
customers into their stores but there are no proper hand holding processes at
stores resulting in inconsistent customer experiences. In-store selling has not
seen any technological innovation for years.
about a real problem that existed at stores. Brands spend millions to get
customers into their stores but there are no proper hand holding processes at
stores resulting in inconsistent customer experiences. In-store selling has not
seen any technological innovation for years.
This is how the idea
for Talespin was born – with the intent to change in-store shopping
experiences. There is a dire need for the fashion apparel and retail market to
respond to fundamental shifts in consumer behaviour and that’s what we’re
focused on building at Talespin.
for Talespin was born – with the intent to change in-store shopping
experiences. There is a dire need for the fashion apparel and retail market to
respond to fundamental shifts in consumer behaviour and that’s what we’re
focused on building at Talespin.
ST: What business opportunities do you see in India particularly
in your sector?
in your sector?
Tapan Dixit: Retail continues to evolve as it has done since the beginning
of digital and online. AI and deep learning technologies have the potential to
make a tremendous impact on various aspects of retail – both in store and
online. The retail sector has high growth potential and with a history of
attracting investor interest we see a massive playing field for Talespin. With
India facing a digital overload, there is room for AI based chat bots to
replicate the most natural ways human beings interact and process information/
material. India’s retail market is expected to nearly double to US$ 1 trillion
by 2020 coupled with faster adoption of online services and technologies. India
is also witnessing an increase in consumer expenditure on apparel and we see
ourselves at the centre of this change in the ecosystem.
of digital and online. AI and deep learning technologies have the potential to
make a tremendous impact on various aspects of retail – both in store and
online. The retail sector has high growth potential and with a history of
attracting investor interest we see a massive playing field for Talespin. With
India facing a digital overload, there is room for AI based chat bots to
replicate the most natural ways human beings interact and process information/
material. India’s retail market is expected to nearly double to US$ 1 trillion
by 2020 coupled with faster adoption of online services and technologies. India
is also witnessing an increase in consumer expenditure on apparel and we see
ourselves at the centre of this change in the ecosystem.
ST: Tell us about your entrepreneurship journey so far.
Tapan Dixit: I have always had an entrepreneurial streak and even when I was
in college, I would tinker with ideas and wanted to start something on my own.
Over the years, I worked with several companies and knew that I would take the
plunge when the right idea came around. The initial 3-4 months at Talespin were
a challenge as I had to relearn and unlearn a lot of things. In the early days,
one of my biggest challenges was learning to do more with less. Resources are
limited at a startup and planning the next move is always laden with
constraints.
in college, I would tinker with ideas and wanted to start something on my own.
Over the years, I worked with several companies and knew that I would take the
plunge when the right idea came around. The initial 3-4 months at Talespin were
a challenge as I had to relearn and unlearn a lot of things. In the early days,
one of my biggest challenges was learning to do more with less. Resources are
limited at a startup and planning the next move is always laden with
constraints.
ST: What challenges do you face in your day-to-day work life?
Tapan Dixit: The AI ecosystem is still at a nascent stage in India and
finding machine learning experts has been a challenge. We need to bring AI into
the mainstream and encourage young engineers to take it up while at University.
finding machine learning experts has been a challenge. We need to bring AI into
the mainstream and encourage young engineers to take it up while at University.
Additionally, over the
course of our numerous interactions with retail businesses, we’ve experienced
that explaining technology this niche to an industry which has traditionally
been averse to online services and technology has been a daunting challenge. It’s
like selling an invisible product. Talespin been a great learning experience
and we can’t wait to see how the rest of the year works out for us.
course of our numerous interactions with retail businesses, we’ve experienced
that explaining technology this niche to an industry which has traditionally
been averse to online services and technology has been a daunting challenge. It’s
like selling an invisible product. Talespin been a great learning experience
and we can’t wait to see how the rest of the year works out for us.
ST: What is the size of your team? Are you planning to hire
more?
more?
Tapan Dixit: We are currently a 10 people strong team across Delhi/NCR and
Ahmedabad. Our team comprises of engineers, business developers and marketing
and sales folk. We are focused on building the the best, smartest team and are
always on the look-out for people we can collaborate with.
Ahmedabad. Our team comprises of engineers, business developers and marketing
and sales folk. We are focused on building the the best, smartest team and are
always on the look-out for people we can collaborate with.
ST: What are your future plans?
Tapan Dixit: We plan to take Talespin to international markets this year
through collaborations with resellers and are focused on expanding our
business. We also plan to add new domains such as jewelry, beauty and wellness,
beyond apparel and footwear which we currently service. In the coming months,
we’re also focused on building a stronger team of engineers and business
developers.
through collaborations with resellers and are focused on expanding our
business. We also plan to add new domains such as jewelry, beauty and wellness,
beyond apparel and footwear which we currently service. In the coming months,
we’re also focused on building a stronger team of engineers and business
developers.
