How Vizitor Replaced Paper Registers and Grew to $4,998 a Month

Who built it, and what they built

Gaurav Saini is the founder of Vizitor, a smart visitor management solution based in Chandigarh, India. The product replaces paper registers at workplaces with a digital check-in and check-out flow: visitors enter their details on an iPad or Android tablet, a photo is captured, and SMS, email, or push notifications go automatically to the host.

A companion app, Vizitor Pass, lets employees approve or reject visitors in real time, send personalized invites, and collect reviews and ratings at check-out. The company started in May 2018, has two cofounders, and employs 10 people.

Where the idea came from

The idea traces back to a 2014 visit to Facebook's headquarters, where Gaurav saw a smooth digital visitor check-in for the first time. In 2017, regular visits to a company office for project discussions made him realize India lacked a system to automate the lengthy manual process.

Research showed no product served the Indian market at a good price point with a strong user experience. Around the same time, a friend's company asked about building a similar product for its new office, which confirmed the timing. Gaurav had previously worked on multiple SaaS products that were not successful, and carried the lessons forward.

While building the application, the team spoke with more than 10 potential customers in Chandigarh, including consultancies, offices, and co-working spaces. All were willing to sign up for the beta, and they liked the UI/UX and a price that made moving away from manual registers comfortable.