This B2B giant is doing 2.5 times the revenue of Zerodha, twice the revenue of Zattoo, and five times the revenue of Lenskart—but you’ve probably never even heard of them. This is the story of How Off Business Built and how they built a ₹41,000 crore empire with a PAT of more than ₹400 crores. Today, we’ll uncover the four insights they used to crack the “dhandha” in the unsexy B2B industry.
Founding Story: From VC to Founder
It all started in 2015 when Ashish Mohapatra quit his high-paying VC job at Matrix to start OffBusiness. Ashish was a high performer. An IITian, an ISB MBA, a consultant at McKinsey, and a VC at Matrix—he had seen all the peaks of his professional career.
Throughout his career, Ashish analyzed tons of companies and pitches. One thing was crystal clear: the Indian economy was booming, and the MSME B2B sector fascinated him the most.
Insight #1: Deep Understanding of Customer Patterns and the Value Chain of How Off Business Built
MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) are businesses with less than ₹250 crore in revenue, yet they contribute 30% to India’s GDP and employ over a third of the workforce. Ashish saw big problems in this sector and assembled a founding team to tackle it.
They chose to focus on raw materials, despite their lower margins, because they have higher capital turn frequency, making the business sustainable.
The B2B Raw Material Value Chain
Using the example of steel sheets (used in fridges, cars, etc.):
- Manufacturers like JSW produce in bulk.
- Distributors in the same city handle large volumes.
- Traders in the buyer’s city (e.g., Delhi) supply smaller quantities.
- For smaller demands (e.g., 5 tons), retailers enter the chain.
The more intermediaries, the more expensive the material. Plus, the industry runs entirely on credit cycles—the old-school “buy now, pay later” method.
OffBusiness’s Market Solutions
OffBusiness directly addressed key problems faced by both suppliers and SMEs.
For Suppliers:
- Timely Payments – OffBusiness guarantees and delivers on-time payments.
- End-Customer Visibility – Like Amazon, OffBusiness connects suppliers directly to SMEs.
- Wider Access to Market – They offer suppliers a broad base of SME buyers.
For SMEs:
- Shipment Tracking – Real-time tracking through the OffBusiness platform.
- Raw Material Quality Assurance – Quality reports are shared before delivery.
- Favorable Credit Terms – SMEs get unsecured credit at better rates, often without the need for bank documentation.
This financing arm became so successful that OffBusiness spun off its own NBFC: Oxyzo, now valued at over a billion dollars.
Insight #2: Nailing Low NPAs
OffBusiness has achieved an NPA (Non-Performing Asset) rate of less than 1%, compared to the industry average of 4–5%.
Their secret?
- Rigorous Underwriting – Only lend to creditworthy businesses with a minimum ₹20 crore revenue.
- Efficient Collections – Ashish personally oversees this function, ensuring discipline.
Plus, since customers are repeat users, they don’t want to risk losing access to reliable supply.
Insight #3: Becoming the Amazon of B2B
Ashish found four main revenue streams in B2B:
- Distribution of raw materials.
- Support services (warehousing, logistics, etc.).
- Financing (credit and lending).
- Manufacturing.
After succeeding in aggregation and financing, OffBusiness expanded into processing and manufacturing, using their vast data insights to identify high-demand raw materials and acquire manufacturers accordingly.
Today, 27% of their revenue comes from this vertical.
Also Read : How Mensa Built a ₹8000 Crore Ecommerce Empire in Just 6 Months
Insight #4: Zero Customer Acquisition Cost
Ashish focused on profitability from Day 1—no spending on performance marketing. Instead, OffBusiness launched a lead magnet: BidAssist.
What is BidAssist?
BidAssist is a free AI-powered platform that crawls government tender portals (like GeM), analyzes tenders, and notifies SMEs of relevant opportunities. This tool alone brought in 20 lakh SMEs.
Additionally, many suppliers introduced OffBusiness to their clients, creating a self-sustaining, word-of-mouth acquisition loop.
Conclusion
OffBusiness is a rare Indian startup that is not only a unicorn but also profitable. Their mastery lies in:
- Understanding the B2B value chain deeply.
- Offering real solutions to pain points.
- Maintaining strict credit control.
- Building products and tools that attract users organically.
Their story is a masterclass in B2B entrepreneurship, proving that even in the most unsexy markets, innovation, discipline, and strategy can unlock massive value.
FAQs
Q1. What is OffBusiness?
OffBusiness is a B2B platform that connects suppliers of raw materials with SMEs and provides services like financing, tracking, and logistics.
Q2. How is OffBusiness different from traditional distributors?
OffBusiness removes intermediaries like traders and retailers, offers real-time tracking, ensures better quality control, and provides favorable credit terms.
Q3. What is Oxyzo?
Oxyzo is a separate NBFC launched by OffBusiness that provides credit and lending solutions to SMEs and suppliers.
Q4. How does BidAssist work?
BidAssist is a tool that crawls government tender platforms, helps SMEs analyze tenders, and predicts success rates—making it easier for them to bid effectively.
Q5. Why is OffBusiness successful in a low-margin industry?
Because they’ve built deep customer understanding, leveraged data, offered multiple value-add services, and created innovative, low-cost acquisition channels.
