How Richa Agrawal Is Reimagining Home Improvement for India’s Next Billion Aspirers

Walk into any Tier 2 or Tier 3 city in India and ask a homeowner one simple question:“Where did you discover ideas, materials, or vendors for your home?”

The answers are almost always the same. A handful of local stores. A contractor’s recommendation. Very limited choice. And almost no clarity.

For Richa Agrawal, this wasn’t just a market gap - it was a systemic failure hiding inside a USD 50B+ home improvement and interior design industry.

That insight became the foundation of Buildsy Retail Technologies LLP.

A Broken Market, Hidden in Plain Sight

India’s home improvement market is massive, but deeply fragmented. There is no standardization across categories. Discovery is poor. Trends travel slowly. Choices are restricted. And the entire experience is still heavily offline-driven.

Interior design follows the same story.

Customers are often limited to a few contractors, with little visibility into better options, better designs, or better pricing. The lack of transparency leads to compromised outcomes - especially for families building their dream homes in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

Richa believes this is fundamentally unfair.

“If Tier 1 cities can have access to choice, trends, and structured experiences, why shouldn’t Tier 2 and Tier 3 customers?”

Buildsy was born to answer that question.

Building for the Aspirational India

Buildsy Retail Technologies is not just solving for homeowners - it is solving for an aspirational India.

The customer Buildsy is designed for could be:

• A family building their first home

• A professional upgrading their living space

• A B2B customer seeking structured sourcing

• Or a local contractor looking for better systems

At its core, Buildsy is creating a better ecosystem for home improvement and interior design - one that offers choice, discovery, transparency, and access, irrespective of city tier.

Why Dehradun Was the Starting Point

Every startup needs a proving ground.

For Buildsy, that ground was Dehradun.

The team has successfully set up its operational model in the city, and the early traction has validated a crucial hypothesis - the demand exists, the pain is real, and the model works.

This milestone is not just about revenue. It’s about readiness.

Buildsy today is positioned to scale across other key cities in Uttarakhand, and eventually, across India’s fast-growing non-metro markets.

The Invisible Challenge of Building as a Woman Founder

Ask Richa about her biggest challenge, and she doesn’t talk about technology, capital, or competition.

She talks about time.

“Startup is like your baby. And when you already have kids, balancing family, children, and a startup becomes extremely demanding.”

Her days start early - sending kids to school.They stretch through long working hours focused on building the business.And they end with homework, lessons, and family time.

It’s a routine that leaves no room for shortcuts.

But what keeps her going is conviction.

“When you’re deeply driven to solve a real customer problem, you somehow find time for everything.”

That belief has become her quiet superpower.

The Current Hurdle: Building the Right Team

Buildsy has crossed an important early-stage milestone - real revenues have started coming in.

Now comes the next challenge: building the right team in a Tier 2 ecosystem.

Finding talent is not just about skills. It’s about alignment.

According to Richa, finding people who resonate with the company’s mission, vision, and values is the most critical factor for scaling the business sustainably.

It’s slow. It’s hard. And it’s absolutely necessary.

Why Buildsy’s Journey Matters

Buildsy Retail Technologies represents a new wave of startups emerging from Tier 2 India - startups that are not trying to imitate metro solutions, but designing for local realities with global ambition.

Richa Agrawal’s journey is a reminder that:

• Large markets still hide unsolved problems

• Tier 2 cities are not behind - they are underserved

• And meaningful businesses are often built quietly, with patience and purpose

Buildsy is not just improving homes.It is improving how India discovers, designs, and decides.

Founder: Richa Agrawal

Company: Buildsy Retail Technologies LLP

City: Dehradun

Email: buildsy.Materials@gmail.com

If you’re a startup founder building something meaningful and want your story to be featured in our Founder Spotlight, write to us at team@unhu.in

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~ Editor

Kshitij Doval