Smart Node Success Story: India's Leading Home Automation System Manufacturer

Smart Node Success Story

The traditional way of life is fast changing to digital life. The world is moving towards digitalization with the help of Electronics and IT, and with date, the way we live our daily lives is also changing. TV is becoming Smart TV, Vehicles are becoming Smart vehicles, and the watch has become Smartwatch. Then, why should our home be left behind? The concept of smart homes is catching up around the world. As published in Statista, there will be over 350 Million Smart homes by 2023. India is also fast emerging as a huge market for smart home appliances. In 2020, India had the third highest number of smart homes in the world. To cater to India's growing love for smart homes, Smart Node was formed in the year 2015. With its innovative range of products, Smart Node is fast becoming a popular name in India's home automation segment. Here is the startup story of Smart Node and how the company is carving a niche for itself in the Indian Home Automation Segment.

Smart Node Company Highlights

Startup name: Smart Node
Headquarter: Vadodara, Gujrat
Sector: Home Automation
Founders: Dhruv Patel & Parth Shah
Founded: 2015
Parent Organization: Smartnode Automations Pvt Ltd.
Website: smartnode.in

About Smart Node

SmartNode offers a wide range of products that can convert any existing and new home into a smart home. The products are designed not just to add convenience and comfort to the lives of the users, but also to conserve energy.
Some facilities you can expect in a Smart Home designed by Smart Node are, the curtains/lights can turn on sunrise using the sunrise/sunset feature. Using the Human-centric features, the tuning of light takes place according to the natural lights having a tremendous impact on human health. By geofencing, automatic gates can open when we are near our home. Smart Node has a lot to offer for making your home a smart home.

In retrofit home automation solutions, Smart Node's different solutions include -

Lighting Automation Controllers
Curtain Controller

IR Blaster (a universal remote which replaces all your remotes, so that you can control all your devices using your mobile or simply via voice commands)

RGB Automation (lets you lighten up your home as per your mood)

Scene Controllers (lets you set the lighting, music, and entertainment devices in your home as per your wish with a single tap)

Door Lock controllers

The appliances connected to Smart Node hardware can be operated via Smart Node application, Alexa, Google Home, and remote. In Touch, Smart Node has different materials like glass, acrylic, marble, and veneer. The color and icons can be customized as per the actual load.
Smart Node also supports IFTT and NFC Tags and has drivers developed for integration with wired controllers like Control4, Elan, and Creston.

Smart Node - USPs

In the growing home automation segment, the USPs that keep Smart Node ahead of its competitors are -

Smart Node's adaptability to new technologies in the market, leads to timely upgradation of the products to keep up with the latest trends.
Customization of the touch panels with quick delivery
Smart and sleek hardware
Amazing application features
Compatibility with different platforms in the industry
Smart Node also counts on its vibrant team and effective sales model as its major strengths that help the company face the competition better.

Smart Node - Mission & Vision

SmartNode's Vision behind entering the Retrofit Home Automation field is to make the life of people better and smarter
It sees itself as one of the leading companies in next-generation FMEG-Fast Moving Electrical goods.

Smart Node - Founders & Team

Smart Node was founded by Dhruv Patel and Parth Shah.

Smart Node co-founder Dhruv Patel

Dhruv Patel is a product guy with technical skills. He has an ambivert personality and is the Chief Decision Maker of the company. He looks after the company's overall operations and directly handles different teams like hardware & software development, accounts, and purchase and indirectly handles support and production.

Smart Node Co-founder Parth Shah

Parth Shah is the sales guy who looks after sales and marketing PAN India. Parth is an extrovert with excellent convincing power and technical knowledge and can quickly sell a product with the right intention.
Parth has been responsible for all the channel partners associated with the company till now and has been successful in building a chain of loyal channel partners for the company.
Dhruv Patel and Parth Shah were destined to work together as they were born on the same day at different places. They were batch-mates during their college days and both completed Bachelors of Engineering in Electronics & Communication at G.H. Patel College of Engineering and Technology, Vidhyanagar, Gujarat. They have been best friends for the last 11 years. The duo has also tried hands-on several small businesses together, prior to starting Smart Node.
It is the great bonding between the founders, that is a major pillar of strength for the company. Taking advantage of different personalities, they complement each other in every way of life and business. Both of them were firm since their college days not to leave India and had a shared vision to work towards the betterment of India.
Currently, Smart Node has a team of 65.
At this stage, the company is focusing on hiring freshers as they are cheaply available and can be groomed per the culture and requirements. The company has indeed groomed many who started their career with them as trainees and went on to become heads of different departments.

Smart Node - Startup Story

Before starting the current venture, Dhruv served TCS, and Parth had served a local cable industry for ten months. After that, they developed an IOT product for the cable industry to enhance its production capacity. For this, the duo also got the Best Start-up award at Switch Global Expo in Vadodara. This changed the direction of the company.
During this time, Dhruv and Parth saw that the internet was getting cheaper and quickly available, and the disposable income of the Indians was increasing. So, to tap this opportunity, they shifted their experience to bring IoT to the home and developed home automation products.
After creating the beta version, they installed it in their home and some relatives' and friends' houses to test the stability. After many iterations, they launched it in the market. Initially, they served clients directly in Vadodara with installation and service.

Smart Node - Name, Tagline, Logo

Smart Node was started with the vision to make every electrical node a smart node. Hence the brand name 'Smart Node'.
The company's tagline reads" Discover the Joy of Smart Living"

Smart Node - User Acquisition

Most of Smart Node's initial orders were from well-wishers and personal contacts. They designed pamphlets that were marketed through the newspaper. They also went on to run small digital marketing campaigns targeting the probable customers just within their area to gain initial traction. Door-to-door demos to new homeowners, builders, and architects was another strategy adopted by the company.
To gain the confidence of the architects in their products, Smart Node started offering free demos of their products to the architects. Gradually the company started receiving good responses from the market, and after six months of beginning, they started to develop channel partners in Vadodara and nearby regions.

Smart Node - Business Model & Revenue Model

Smart Node earns revenue by selling its products(hardware). The company makes partners(distributors) in every region, and these partners create their dealer chain under them in their assigned territory with the help of the appointed Smart Node Sales Executive.
Smart Node application and server charges are free of cost for its users. Smart Node does not serve the end client directly; instead, it passes on the lead to the partner of that region. Smart Node passes them the leads for their area, which are generated through online marketing.
As of now, Smart Node has 150 channel partners associated with them. These channel partners work with architects, electrical contractors, and end clients to create a customized solution for them using Smart Node products.

Smart Node - Awards & Achievements

Smart Node has been recognized for the high-quality solutions the company is offering.
In 2019, the company got recognition from the Government of India in the Start-up India program( recognition number is DIPP32339). In that very year, Smart Node was also awarded the "the most promising home automation startup award" by Silicon India.

Smart Node -Competitors

When talking about competition, team Smart Node believes in the quote by Mr. Carlos Slim."Competition makes you better, always, even if the competitor wins."

Smart Node categorizes its competitors into three types:

1. Electrical like GoldMedal, GM, Legrand, Norisys

2. Chinese make products available online.

3. Wired Automation companies like Control4, ELAN, Creston

As this is a solution-based industry, providing a solution to the end customer is mandatory, and direct product selling will not work. So, online selling does not work here. Also, the electrical companies have traditional retail counters where mostly the walk-in customers come. So, it isn't easy to sell through this chain also. The third type is solution providers. For the third type, these wired solutions come from foreign players and are costly. Smart Node's solutions are affordable compared to these, and many of its products are compatible with them.

The Smart Node team believes that in this industry, a new player will emerge as a leader, and Smart Node will be one of them.

Smart Node - Growth & Future Plans

Talking about Numbers, Smart Node has clocked sales of Rs 3.6 Cr last financial year FY21-22. The company has reached a level where it can generate profits. Currently, the company is bootstrapped. However, it will be looking for external funds in the upcoming months as profits are no longer sufficient to grow the company.
As for the trust factor, the company has been successful in building a good repo in the market and among its partners and employees. Smart Node has been in this industry for the last five years. To date, the company has come up with a wide range of innovative products with customization flexibility. Over the years, Smart Node has been successful in building up excellent relationships and trust with its channel partners. The company also has an excellent employee retention ratio, and there are lots of employees who are associated with the company from the beginning.
The company is playing its part right in bringing a positive impact to the country's economy. The core belief is to help India's economy to grow. Smart Node is gradually decreasing the import of the finished goods in its sector and manufacturing those at their own premises.
Smart Node boasts of being an Indian Home Automation Company. The company strongly believes in the 'Make in India' concept, and as a result, all the products' design, development, and production are done in-house.
Team Smart Node is dedicated to creating the best user experience for its customers by bringing in the best of technology. In the future, the company is planning to bring dimmable drivers for lights, sensors, and KNX actuators, which will ensure that homes become smarter.

Smart Node - FAQs

What is Smart Node

Smart Node offers home automation solutions that make your home more comfortable and secure. From mood lighting, curtain controllers, door lock controllers, and more, it offers smart home solutions customized to your needs.