Gobillion: Roshan Farhan is Reimagining E-commerce through Social Group Buying for Bharat

January 5, 2026 12 min read

Growing up in a small town in India, shopping was never a solitary errand; it was a social event. Friends, neighbors, and relatives would gather, walk to the local bazaar, and bargain collectively to get the best deals. Yet, when e-commerce 1.0 arrived with giants like Flipkart and Amazon, it focused on urban convenience—delivering to the individual's doorstep in large metros. Roshan Farhan, Founder of Gobillion, realized that for the "Next 50 Crore" customers in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, this solitary model lacked the two things they valued most: social trust and deep value. Today, his Y Combinator-backed startup is bringing the "Virtual Bazaar" to life, enabling customers to group-buy together and unlock discounts of up to 95%.

Roshan’s journey from a management consultant at Deloitte and Accenture to building a world-class startup from Guwahati is a masterclass in local-first innovation. On the ELI Podcast, he discusses why the "one-size-fits-all" approach of legacy e-commerce fails small-town India and how Gobillion is building a sustainable, community-driven retail ecosystem.

The Social Shopping Gap

Traditional e-commerce solves for convenience (upper-middle class in Tier 1 cities). Gobillion solves for social trust and value (middle and low-income segments in Tier 2+ cities). In small towns, shopping is an intrinsic community behavior that legacy models ignored.

The Evolution of E-commerce in India

Roshan categorizes the market into two eras. E-commerce 1.0 (2008–2015) was about assortment and home delivery for the first 100 million users. The real shift happened in 2016–2017 with the "Jio Effect," which brought the next 400 million people online.

"These new customers are very different," Roshan explains. "They are socially connected, extremely price-conscious, and have a trust deficit toward incumbent models. They trust the store nearby because they enjoy the conversation. Current models don't serve their intrinsic behavior."

"Shopping Rooms": The Global-First Social Product

Gobillion differentiates itself through Shopping Rooms, a product experience similar to Instagram or Clubhouse. Users don't just search for products; they discover them through a viral feed driven by what people in their own locality are buying.

"We are recreating the virtual bazaar. You see that your friend Rajesh just bought tomatoes or your neighbor Atul bought a packet of atta. You can join their 'Shopping Room' or create your own, and as more people join, the price falls. It's social, it's gamified, and it's built for how Bharat actually shops."

This model, pioneered by companies like Pinduoduo in China and Facily in Brazil, has found a perfect home in India. Gobillion has seen industry-leading retention and repurchase rates because the app isn't just a transaction tool—it's a social experience.

The Gobillion Efficiency Flywheel

Curated Assortment: Instead of 50,000 items, Gobillion focuses on ~1,000 high-demand daily essentials, catering to 80% of a kitchen's needs.
Direct Sourcing: By focusing on high-velocity items, they source directly from manufacturers or super-stockists, unlocking better margins than fragmented competitors.
Social CAC: Because users share deals with friends, the Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is 30–40% lower than traditional marketing-led e-commerce.
Last-Mile Batching: Social sharing naturally batches orders. Instead of one delivery to one house, they deliver 50 orders to a single apartment complex or locality, drastically reducing logistics costs.

Building from the Northeast to the World

Roshan is particularly proud of Gobillion's roots. While the company participated in Y Combinator in San Francisco and has a head office in New Delhi, it launched operations in Guwahati.

"You barely see any startups from the Northeast," Roshan notes. "We wanted to start from an underserved city. It is much more challenging than building in Bangalore, but if you can make a world-class company work in Guwahati, you can make it work anywhere."

Exponential Growth

Scale: 1200x growth in GMV over 15 months.
Market Presence: Success in Guwahati and Kolkata, with rapid expansion into multiple new states.
Efficiency: Social sharing model drives a self-sustaining acquisition loop.
Backing: YC Summer 2021, Tinder founder Justin Mateen, and prominent global VC funds.

The Meaning of Entrepreneurship

For Roshan, entrepreneurship was a "leap of faith" that required overcoming family apprehension. Coming from a non-business background, he had to convince his parents that leaving a high-paying consulting role at Accenture was the right move.

He defines an entrepreneur through three characteristics:

Problem Solver: Innovating to solve societal or business pain points.
Resourceful: Making things happen with almost zero resources and just a few committed teammates.
Accountable: Staying humble and grounded even after early success.

Roshan's Advice: Go All-In

"There is no Plan B. My plan was to make Plan A work. I tried building a startup on the side while holding a corporate job, but it doesn't work. You are either all-in full-time, or you might as well not be there at all."

The Future of Social Commerce

With the Indian social commerce market projected to reach $100 billion by 2030, Roshan Farhan sees Gobillion as more than just a grocery app. He sees it as the social infrastructure for the next generation of Indian consumers. By merging the efficiency of modern supply chains with the warmth of local bazaar culture, Gobillion is ensuring that the digital revolution includes everyone, one "Shopping Room" at a time.