Trailblazing Entrepreneur in the Proptech space
In the current world of Start-ups, Rohan Vinayak Reddy’s ‘Hocomoco’ stands out for being a rare one in the Home Construction and e-monitoring space.
A Bachelor in Business Administration from the National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management, University of Hyderabad, Rohan co-founded Hocomoco after a successful stint in his family automobile business and later as a restaurateur.
The company was founded by Sripad Nandiraj with an aim to create a ‘brand’ that can lay out a convenient and informative platform for people who wish to construct new buildings. The idea to start Hocomoco clicked in 2013. While assisting a friend in renovating his house, Sripad realised there were no companies, both online and offline, that offered a hassle-free experience. Optionless, he and Rohan had to figure out every single vendor and raw materials from an unorganised market.
Established in Hyderabad in 2017, Hocomoco today is a leading tech-based construction and monitoring company, helping residential and commercial builders by providing data and being a one-stop-solution for all kinds of construction needs.
It has a well-equipped approach that allows customers to get rid of the footwork required in building construction. The services offered by the company are residential construction, commercial construction, project management (engineering and monitoring services – EMS), Architectural; Structural, Interior and Smart Homes. The company also aims at organising the construction sector and creating work opportunities for both – full time graduates as well as labour workforce.
The company started with helping Individual plot owners for both residential and commercial construction. It gradually moved to assisting Builders owing to the company’s capability with Tech Support. The company, now, services both Individual Plot Owners and Builders and Businesses.
Their USP is their e-monitoring facility, along with a tech application known as HIPPI (Hocomoco Integrated Platform Pan India), which will be used to manage projects, vendors, materials.
The e-monitoring service, complete with CCTV access, enables customers to digitally track the progress of their construction project from any part of the world through a simple login. Clients receive a daily workforce report – a complete material report that empowers the customers to track procurement, usage and available stock at site. The transparency helps the customers understand the cost flow.
Speaking about how different it was to get into business, Rohan shares, “I was not a very studious person, nor did I want to opt for a job. I was always sure I wanted to get into business. I had a lot of ideas and have managed to bring them to fruition.”
As COO, Rohan leads a team of over 2000+ professionals under various domains. His expertise includes collaboration and networking for project development as well as handling finance and marketing portfolios.
And he does all this through sheer hard work. “Whatever I start, I tend to give it my 100%. In terms of weakness, I would say I’m an introvert and I try to bear the brunt of challenges. I do not push my anxiety on others, which is both positive and negative,” says Rohan.
An introvert by nature, Rohan loves to spend his free time to meet friends, play snooker, and hang out. He has been into a lot of sports since college such as football, and is a passionate painter.
Yet, he finds both passion and satisfaction in his work, he reiterates: “We have a very inspired team of more than 80 people, with many other vendors and workers attached to us indirectly. We are growing everyday and have a portfolio of more than 200 projects. Constructing a home is a roller coaster ride and I feel really blessed when we finally hand over the clients’ dream home to them after converging with them for 8-9 months like a family. This satisfaction is what drives me to put more and more efforts to make the construction seamless.”
Construction in India falls in the category of an unorganised industry. How did Rohan sustain Hocomoco during the uncertainty of the pandemic? “We did face a few challenges during the pandemic. We had to supply all the needful things like food and water to our workforce onsite. The issues were tough but we managed to come through. However after the pandemic, we had a lot of clients who reached out to us. As long as the clients are able to procure loans for projects, our business keeps running. It is a mutual thing,” he tells us.
Professionally, the growth of Hocomoco itself is an achievement. What started with 3 employees now has more than 2000+ people involved directly and indirectly. Recently, Hocomoco has also been awarded as the Most Innovative Proptech Start-up. Ask Rohan their success mantra, and he quips, “We are a very young team and do not judge people by experience – but rather their will to work hard.”
