Always end up losing important documents, receipts and warranty papers? Everyone at some point of time or the other has turned his/her house upside down in search of a paper which has some important content. Sometimes, it’s because of absentmindedness and other times, those hard copies become unusable with the letters going hazy.
Either way, managing papers is no mean task. To solve this problem, city-based computer science engineer Haritash Tamvada decided to come up with an online digital archive, that can be used to save all our warranties, receipts or any other important documents and papers.
“Around two years ago, I used to wonder as to why do we need paper. For example, I buy an electronic product, or just a mobile phone and they give me a warranty paper. If the device is spoilt and I misplace my warranty paper, it a waste of the warranty scheme that could be otherwise used. To solve such problems and more, I wanted to come up with a concept of digitising all kinds receipts, warranties and documents,” recalls Tamwada, who quit his Ph.d course to realise his dream.
Launched on World Environment Day, June 5, 2011, Warrantify, in Haritash’s words, is a one-stop-shop for consumers, retailers and hopefully, manufacturers too.
“I wanted to simplify the management of warranties. Hence the name Warrantify,” he says.
How can a consumer go paperless
Logging on to Warrantify.com is simple. You will simply have to go to the website and sign up. “Now-a-days, everyone has so many email ids to keep track of. That’s why for Warrantify, the user can sign up using their Gmail or Facebook id. Also, signing up is absolutely free. Once an account has been created, all you have to do is take a snapshot of the document and upload it on the site,” explains Haritash, who is the founder and CEO of Warrantify, and has five other people helping him with the execution of this initiative.
Scanning documents vs Warrantify
So, how is uploading papers on this website any different from scanning documents and saving them for ourselves? “It is the same. The only difference is that one can access the documents on Warrantify whenever and wherever they want. Also, what will the user do if the system crashes?” Haritash questions.
Paperless on the go
In the age of smart phones, Haritash and his team are also working towards an Iphone and Android application so that people can upload their papers online directly through their phones. “We are working towards smart phone applications and it is expected to be out in the next two weeks,” reveals the 27-year-old adding, “So once the application is out, consumers can download it for free and keep updating their digital archive on the go.”
Future plans
Soon after smart phone applications, Warrantify wants to branch out to retailers. Ask how and Haritash begins to explain, “The idea is to tap the problem of paper management at its point of origin. We want to have a direct tie-up with retailers so that when a consumer buys something, a receipt can directly go to their account in Warrantify and they can access it as and when required. So, the buying process for the consumer will not change in anyway. It will be a value added service from the retailers' side.”
Though it has only a few hundred users, the months old Warrantify seems like the next big thing and Haritash is very excited about it. “I want it to be the next Google,” confesses the ambitious engineer-turned-entrepreneur. The company is registered in India and the team is looking for an office in the city. However, Haritash and his team keep shuffling between Hyderabad and Finland to work on Warrantify.