Startup Series, Episode 1 – Interview with Bidish Acharya, CEO of Merohostel.com

Bidish Acharya is a third year student of BSC.CSIT studying in Deerwalk Institute of Technology. He along with 9 of his friends decided to start Merohostel.com in 2015, with an aim to help students who are in search of hostels. Bidish, who is from Biratnagar, thought of this idea when he was staying at a hostel and had lots of trouble. Currently, Merohostel.com has about 230 hostels registered within the valley. It helps students search their ideal hostel on the basis of different factors such as location, price and facilities.

Personally, I found Bidish to be a very fun-loving person who has lots of ideas in his mind. Let’s hear more about him and his startup Merohostel.com from the guy himself.

Q. What made you choose this specific field for your startup?

A. I used to live in a hostel, and while brainstorming ideas with my friends, this idea struck. I did the math in my head, market seemed good, and so I jumped into it. I was sure that many students would be benefitted by this product and would use it.

Q. What do you want to achieve from this business?

A. Market. We want this website to be the first choice for people while searching for hostels. And also, in the future, we want to solve the problem of housing in Nepal online.

Q. Why should students’ use Merohostel.com?

A. First up, we have a huge database. Students can search for hostels in any place as per their preferences. Second, we also recommend hostels to students if they are confused to pick one on their own. If they pick a hostel as recommended by us, we can guarantee them quality service and healthier environment. We need to work on our features though. Information on our website, as of now, is not enough for the students to pick a hostel just by browsing the website. We are working on that.

Q. Have you considered any partnership or alliance?

A. Not right now. We aren’t yet firm on our ground and thinking of partnering and expanding at this point is foolish.

Q. What do you think is most important quality an entrepreneur should have?

A. I think, persistence and confidence is the key. If most of the times you’re worried about getting a job, how can you think and try big?

Q. How do you manage your studies with your startup?

A. To be uber honest, I don’t focus much on studies. So, it’s not difficult to manage. But, to spend 10 hours a day taking lectures in college while your mind is somewhere else, that’s hard to deal with.

Q. What is the most important thing one needs to have, in order to get a startup running at an early age? Disadvantages/ Advantages?

A. Idea is needed by default so I won’t emphasize on that. Next important thing is to have a mentor. Because, when you’re young, you haven’t seen much of the world so you’re likely to be out of options many times – mentors provide you with options and it’s you who have to make the choice.

You’ll be more experienced, gain more insights on business and will be prepared for the real world so there are only advantages. Disadvantages can be as mere as not being able to balance time and workload, but that also adds up to the advantages as you will always find a way to do what you love and that will harness your time management skill.

Q. If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?

A. I will share my story and you can perceive it as you want to.

“When I surrounded myself with mentors, dropped my ego and became shameless to ask for help, best things started happening to me.”