ePuja: Seek, Discover, Get Blessed

Abstract

The case is about an online venture that enables believers to pursue their faith in the several Hindu gods and goddesses in India. The beliefs of the around 1.2 billion population of India in the divine, serve as a lucrative market for religious and spiritual services. Further, India is an ideal market for spiritual and religious services because Indians generally spend on religion and spiritual activities on a daily basis. In 2016, India’s religious and spiritual market was estimated at about USD 30 billion. ePuja is an entrepreneurial venture that has been initiated in the e-commerce space to cater to this large market in the religious and spiritual sector. The case describes the entrepreneurial journey of Shivakumar and an angel investor Chetan Merchant and their dilemma in scaling up this venture to the next level of growth.