I had been a loyal customer of this vendor for nearly five years. His stall wasn’t even a stall in the typical sense, just a small basket set on top of another inverted basket, movable from one street corner to another. The original owner, an elderly man, had passed it on to his grandson, who was now running the show.
One day, while eating my usual pate of panipuri, I casually asked him: “Website petthela unda?” (Shall I create a website for you?)
He laughed in disbelief and replied:
“Bhaiya, naaku enduku website?”
(Brother, why would I ever need a website?)
For him, the thought of owning a website was so far-fetched, it was almost a joke.
But for me, it wasn’t. Out of sheer affection for someone I had seen working tirelessly for years, I decided to give him what he thought was impossible. I created a 1INME digital page for him — with his details, a couple of pictures, a direct payment gateway, and even information about party orders. I gave him a free premium account for one year. I even printed a sticker with a QR code and told him to stick it on his basket.
The Turning Point: “Scan Chesi Choodandi”
What happened next was magical.
The very next time I visited, he was proudly telling every single customer:
“Scan chesi choodandi, naa website undi!”
(Scan and see, I have my website!)
People were stunned. A humble panipuri wala, who didn’t even own a proper stall, now had his own website with payments and vCard save option. Many customers scanned the QR code just for the fun of it, but ended up saving his contact as “Panipuri” in their phonebooks.
Within 45 days, he had earned nearly ₹60,000 in business through new customers, direct payments, and even party orders. All from something he once thought was impossible.
The Power of Trust and Renewal
Two months later, when I visited again, he brought up the question himself:
“Pricing enti bhaiya?” (What’s the price, brother?)
I told him the plan was ₹1500 per year. Immediately, he tried to pay me, but I said no — it was already given to him for one year.
Exactly a year later, when I returned, he showed me a message about the renewal. I assured him it would be processed at night, no need to worry. But within minutes, I got a payment notification that he had sent me ₹1500 on his own.
That was the real validation - not just of the product, but of trust, acceptance, and the value he saw in digital presence.
Why This Story Matters
1INME started two years ago with a simple mission: to make digital identity and marketing tools accessible for everyone from influencers and startups to the smallest of vendors. Today, it has grown to over 3 lakh users across 67 countries, proving that the demand for digital empowerment is global.
But this story of a small panipuri wala shows the real soul of 1INME. It’s not about flashy features or corporate dashboards. It’s about giving dignity, visibility, and opportunity to people who never imagined the digital world could belong to them.
From Visakhapatnam to the World
Unlike many link-in-bio tools that only allow a list of links, 1INME lets users build brand-matched mini websites with customizable blocks, payment integrations, QR codes, vCards, and analytics. For a street vendor, this isn’t just technology — it’s transformation.
The grandson who once asked, “Bhaiya, naaku enduku website?” now proudly markets his pani puri as a digital-first business. And his customers love it.
If a simple QR sticker and a ₹1500 subscription can generate ₹60,000 in 45 days for a vendor with just a basket on the street, imagine what it can do for millions of other small businesses across India.
A Vision for Grassroots Digital India
India’s digital revolution is often spoken about in terms of unicorns, AI, and fintech. But the true revolution is when the smallest, most overlooked businesses - the chaiwala, the tailor, the panipuri wala get access to tools that were once reserved for big brands.
1INME is proving that with the right mix of affordability, simplicity, and innovation, even the humblest of vendors can become part of Digital India.
As I walked away that evening after eating my plate of panipuri, the vendor waved and smiled:
“Scan chesi choodandi, naa website undi!”
And I couldn’t help but smile back — because in that one line, I could see the future of millions of small Indian businesses.
