Daily Markup #728: abillion redesigned social data & algorithms to spread sustainability; you can join their mission too

Ching Yee Ho

April 20, 2023 · 2 min read

Sustainability at your fingertips

“A big part of sustainability ultimately comes down to the choices that each of us make every single day. The things that we eat, the things that we buy, the places we go, how we get there,” shares Vikas Garg, Founder & CEO of 500-backed social commerce platform abillion.
Vikas has been obsessed with using data and redesigning algorithms to spread sustainability, positive impact, and social well-being over the last 5 years and counting.
His efforts and success caught the attention of V-Label International, and Vikas was honored as a 2023 #FOODHEROES20 for transforming outdated food systems, and being a pioneer in a plant-based, cruelty-free, fair world!
If abillion’s mission speaks to you, there’s 10 days left for you to be part of the movement too! After hitting 4x user growth across 173 countries in just 2 years, 4,700+ customers, and 2.5M+ user reviews, the team is fundraising through a community investment round open to everyone until April 30. They’ve raised over US$340K, and here’s what investors are saying.
It all started with Vikas’ own journey to becoming a vegan and the challenges he faced. With abillion, he wants to make the journey not just a lot easier and accessible for people, but also more fun.
Today, the team serves about a million people worldwide who have reviewed more than half a million consumer products on the platform, including ~30,000 plant-based meat products and over 100,000 cosmetics products.
“What we wanted to do is really make sure that businesses are getting that feedback so they’re improving and increasing their options,” he explained. “It’s creating competition — showing businesses what their competitors are doing. We’re sending them content and information that ultimately the goal is consumer advocacy because that’s going to move the needle from a sustainability perspective.”
3 insights Vikas would share with aspiring entrepreneurs:
- #1 Make sure you are building something you really want to build, and that you’re very passionate about, because it’s just too easy to get disengaged and get distracted
- #2 Realize that it’s a grind
- #3 Value your relationships, be good to people, appreciate them, and try to learn something.
Watch the full interview here.