Rapid Fire with YS Life: Sameer Sharma, Founder, uEngage

Food ordering apps have sure made the lives of us, urban dwellers, and of restaurants easier. While it is not feasible to step out for a fancy meal often, a causal ordering-in comes as a saviour. Similarly, food ordering apps have enabled the business of restaurant owners. However, like every enabler, online food ordering apps and platforms charge a certain fee to help this seamless facility, often termed as ‘commission.’ 

For instance, Zomato typically charges 15 to 22% commission per order, exclusive of payment gateway charges and GST, YourStory reported. Swiggy’s charges range between 9-22%. 

In an attempt to liberate restaurant and cloud-kitchen owners from commissions, and provide tailored solutions, Sameer Sharma founded uEngage. The Haryana-based platform works with restaurants directly, empowering businesses with technology for direct online orders, logistics, and marketing. It works with close to 4,000 outlets, including the likes of Samosa Party, Theobroma, The Burger Club, and La Pinoz Pizza, among others. uEngage also claims to be the largest F&B seller app on the ONDC platform. 

With over 16-plus years of experience, Sharma, a former-Senior Specialist at HCL Technologies, co-founded and exited and sold Trideal.in to Paytm-owned Littleapp in 2015, before incepting uEngage in 2018. 

In an attempt to know more about the second-time entrepreneur, beyond his business, YS Life presented Sharma with rapid-fire questions. 

Edited excerpts from the conversation: 

YS Life [YSL]: What are the three words that best describe you?

Sameer Sharma [SS]: Entrepreneur, dreamer, and persistent. 

YSL: A misconception people usually have about you?

SS: People often think I'm a workaholic who doesn't make time for personal life, but I do value self-care and enjoy time away from work.

YSL: If you could go back in time, would you change anything about how you dealt with Trideal?

SS: I would focus more on user experience and customer feedback earlier in the process.

YSL: Which is your favourite restaurant to eat out at?

SS: There’s a local gem called The Oven Fresh in the Chandigarh area that I absolutely love.

YSL: A living person who inspires you?

SS: Elon Musk, for his relentless pursuit of innovation and pushing boundaries.

YSL: If not an entrepreneur, what would you be?

SS: I would probably be a reverse migration agent for NRIs hesitant to move back to India.

YSL: If not uEngage, what would you name your startup?

SS: u-Engage or uEngage AI. 

YSL: What is your guilty pleasure?

SS: Binge-watching sci-fi series on Netflix, and spending time with myself.

YSL: An instance when you lie?

SS: When I tell my team I’m stepping out for a quick coffee, but I'm actually taking a break to clear my mind.

YSL: What is the one thing that you love about your job?

SS: The thrill of creating something new and seeing it make a positive impact.

YSL: What is the one thing that you hate about your job?

SS: The constant pressure to stay ahead of the competition can be overwhelming.

YSL: Two startup founders that you don’t mind getting stuck on an isolated island with?

SS: Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Founder of Paytm), and Deepinder Goyal (Founder of Zomato).

YSL: Fame or money?

SS: Money, because it provides the freedom to create and innovate without constraints.

YSL: A mantra that you live by?

SS: Stay in the moment, that’s the only thing we can do something about.

YSL: What is the last thing you do before retiring for the night?

SS: I usually read a few summarised articles about tech, politics, and self-improvement.