Riticka Srivastav is a 24 year old ardent book lover and a first time entrepreneur who has succeeded in setting up one of the largest collections of pre-owned books online. The Book Thela is a Gurgaon-based start-up that ensures home delivery of the books at a very low price compared to the market rate and is thus a treat for broke bibliophiles. It has been two years since this start-up was founded in a Delhi garage and has been flourishing ever since.
Since childhood, Srivastav had a flair for reading and collecting books. As she grew older, the love increased along with the temperament to begin a start-up. According to her, it was her author-father who gave the right push at the right time. “He knew I was into books and also wanted to do something on my own after college”, Riticka says. She started with an initial capital of 2 lakhs and went on to buy around 150kg of books from Old Delhi’s second hand vendors. However the availability of good second books in Delhi was unsatisfactory due to which she expanded the sourcing to Mumbai and Kolkata. The network has now expanded to over ten cities along with the assurance of a high-speed accurate home delivery system.
Book Thela has a variety of categories to select from- children’s section, academics, fiction and non-fiction. Books of other languages such as German and French are also up for sale. Unlike other competitors in the market, Riticka asserts that Book Thela stands out due to its price advantage. Fiction books are available between Rs. 79-89 while the club section is sold out at Rs.49. She also plans to expand the academic section due to the increased sales amongst cash strapped college students.
Srivastav’s brainchild is surely a gift for compulsive book buyers and regular book hunters on the lookout for the best deals.
