When 2020 came with unprecedented challenges, Meesho said bring it on and overcame it all
2020 has been a complicated, unpredictable year to say the least. But unique situations present unique opportunities, and that is the silver lining that Meesho chose to focus on this year. As we say goodbye to 2020, here is a look at all our achievements, rewards, growth, and pivots that helped Meesho and Meeshoites stay on top of the game.
Read on to see the year that was from Meesho’s perspective:
Meesho becomes Young Turks Startup of the Year
We kicked off 2020 on a very high note, with CNBC-TV18 naming Meesho as the Young Turks Startup of the Year. We were recognised as one of the fastest-growing e-commerce companies in the country and were appreciated for creating job opportunities for over 50 lakh women entrepreneurs through our unique three-way marketplace.
Largest offline Mission Rise Women Entrepreneur Summit in Namma Bengaluru
Mission Rise Women Entrepreneur Summit, where our entrepreneurs are encouraged, rewarded, and acknowledged, and their growth is celebrated. It used to be one of our biggest offline events before the pandemic hit us. On January 29, 2020, we hosted the biggest and our most ambitious Mission Rise events in Bengaluru with a total of 239 entrepreneurs in attendance.
The Meesho ESOPs buy back round 1
Meesho launched the first round of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan and about 200 Meeshoites were given stock options. In February 2020 many of them exercised their option to sell their shares for a collective $1 million (₹7 crore), where Naspers (now Prosus) acquired the shares.
Meesho makes it to Fast Company’s The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies list
In March 2020, Meesho ranked at #14 in the global Most Innovative Companies of 2020 list curated by Fast Company. Meesho was the only Indian company on this esteemed global list, which featured the likes of Reddit, DropBox and Airbnb among others.
Mission Rise Connect!
Mission Rise offline events which used to be one of the greatest celebrations of Meesho entrepreneurs had to be revamped when the pandemic hit us. The Activation and Community team turned it into an online extravaganza almost overnight and Season 1 Episode 1 of Mission Rise Connect was launched on March 29, 2020.
Meesho pivots to Mandi, Kirana, and Daily Essentials during the lockdown
When the lockdown was announced, Meesho decided to pivot so that we could meet the increasing demand for groceries and ensure that our entrepreneurs had some products to sell even when the sales of their usually best-selling products were banned. And thus, Meesho Mandi, Kirana, and Daily Essentials were born by the end of March 2020.
Building resilience… virtually
The lockdown and resulting work from home situation forced all of us Meeshoites to stay connected with our colleagues virtually. We learned how to be there for each other, lend a shoulder to lean on and be reliable partners who would pick each other up during difficult times. Meesho management, meanwhile, helped us stay connected, kept the communication channels open, and kept our spirits up through various team engagement activities ranging from virtual anthaksharis to virtual book club meetings.
Welcome to Community 2.0
This year, because of the lockdown, Meesho fast-tracked plans to revamp Community. Since the pandemic, Meesho prioritised facilitating a platform for resellers to interact, connect, and ultimately get through the ongoing phase of social distancing So, our product team made an in-house Community 2.0 at lightning speed in April and became the one-stop-shop for entrepreneurs’ engagement, entertainment, and information needs.
Meesho and its entrepreneurs join hands to ensure #SabkiSuraksha
#SabkiSuraksha is a campaign that Meesho launched in April 2020 to help meet the demand for masks all over the country, specifically for frontline workers and on-ground staff. The company joined hands with our enterprising entrepreneurs to create handmade masks following strict sanitary guidelines and then bought the masks from them at Rs 10 per piece to distribute among on-ground staff and workers, who were dealing with COVID-19 from the frontlines. Read more about it here.
Learnovate is here to help Meeshoites learn, grow, and upskill
Meesho officially launched its very own learning and development platform called Learnovate on May 15. “We constantly hear Meeshoites talking about their growth within the company. They are always looking for ways to excel in their current role and evaluating their potential vs their performance,” explains HRBP Manager Rashmi Jagannath, who, along with the support of her team, brought Learnovate to Meesho.
Meesha says hi to new entrepreneurs!
The product team at Meesho is always looking for ways to make users’ experience on the app optimal. When they learned this year that new users who sign on to the app have many doubts they built them a new friend within the Meesho app. This friend was to guide them through doubts and confusions while reselling, and so in July 2020, they created a virtual assistant for them — Meesha.
Meesho turns 5!!!
July 1, 2020, marked the very first birthday celebration at Meesho where all of us Meeshoites were together physically; but we did the next best thing — celebrated together virtually. The event had Vidit reminisce about all the pivotal moments in the journey of the company right from the moment he and Sanjeev left their cushy jobs to launch their dream — Fashnear (which eventually became Meesho as we know it today).
#VocalForLocal — Meesho lends a helping hand to small businesses
Meesho has always been at the forefront of championing the cause of small and medium enterprises. In August 2020 Meesho announced the #VocalForLocal campaign, wherein the company financed Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that are signed on the Meesho app by providing them with end-to-end solutions, enabling domestic sourcing, offering flexible financing, and helping the suppliers raise enough capital for the growth of their businesses.
Meet Meesho Samaritans
In August 2020, Life at Meesho launched a unique video series. Meesho Samaritans was aimed at highlighting charitable Meeshoites who had helped the needy during the pandemic and even before that.
Meesho’s first ever TV commercial
On September 25, 2020, Meesho launched our first TV commercial, highlighting the positive impact reselling on the Meesho app has had on our entrepreneurs. Under the banner of #MyStoreMyStory, the ad saw a woman, who was known as the wife of, sister of, daughter of someone become an entrepreneur in her own right!
YourDost helps Meeshoites through the tough times
Meesho tied up with YourDost, India’s first online mental health and emotional wellness coach to offer Meeshoites the much-needed support during the pandemic. Meeshoites were given access to expert advice from 1,000 + experts keeping all communication completely confidential, private and anonymous.
ESOPs part two!
Employees ranging from junior-most executives to senior leadership at Meesho were offered ESOP in October 2020 and the total worth of the re-purchasing programme was valued at approximately $5 million. “We at Meesho believe our employees to be our assets,” Vidit had said while announcing the second buyback by Meesho.
Meesho Indonesia turns one!!!
Vidit and Sanjeev joined all of team Meesho Indonesia virtually to celebrate the first anniversary of the branch. The team put together a great event filled with nostalgic videos, fun games, and some heartwarming music to mark the occasion.
Journey gamification makes reselling competitive and fun
In a very ambitious move that proved why Meesho’s product is always way ahead of our contemporaries, Journey Gamification was launched on the app. Senior Product Manager at Meesho, Mayank Gupta, penned a guest blog to talk about this feature that would track the progress and actions of our entrepreneurs on the app, and reward them for “levelling up”, enhance social recognition of their achievement, and so on.
Meesho is the Best Tech Startup of 2020!
We are ending the year with a bang just like how we began it. On December 4, 2020, Meesho was named the Best Tech Startup of 2020 by Entrepreneur India at IDEA (Indian Digital Enabler Awards), which celebrates the digital & tech community in India.
Meesho fuels India
Meesho’s story of empowering women through digital platforms was highlighted in the first edition of Facebook Fuel for India, a two-day virtual event that celebrated stories of hope, passion, and resolve.
So, this was the eventful year that was 2020 through Meesho’s lens. The success of 2020 has left us more driven than ever before to work harder and dream bigger in 2021.
Want to get on board the Meesho rocketship and help women across India become financially independent? We are hiring!
