1. A brief introduction about Poruwa.lk.
I am Anuruddha Rajapaksa, Chief Executive Officer of Poruwa.lk.
I’m Ravindu Wijewickrama, Chief Technical Officer at Poruwa.lk.
Anuruddha Rajapaksha: First, let me tell you what Poruwa.lk is and what services it provides. Poruwa.lk is an online matrimonial or marriage proposal service that uses the latest technology. We have introduced this so that anyone can handle it easily.
Also, not only Sri Lankans living in Sri Lanka, but also any Sri Lankan living abroad, we have made it possible to get this service.
Now I will tell you the reason for starting this in the first place and how it was started. We first started the brand Poruwa.lk in June 2020. The main reason for starting this kind of idea was that there was no effective system regarding marriage proposals during that period; there was only a system of publishing marriage proposals in newspapers. That system could be more efficient and we were not impressed with the fact that it displays everyone’s personal information in general. Therefore, Ravindu and I wanted to introduce an efficient and easy method to society that can overcome the traditional method of newspaper marriage proposals. According to that idea, we started this website in a very simple way.
Ravindu Wijewickrama: I also agree with what Anuruddha said. If there is a method that can overcome a traditional marriage scheme like newspaper marriage proposals, it must blend with modern technology, and if you look at it that way, it must be a website or a web application. It was after such an idea that we were motivated to start this because we wanted to do something different, so that’s how we started Poruwa.lk.
2. Can you explain the reason behind this concept?
Anuruddha Rajapaksha: We launched Poruwa.lk, our brand, when COVID-19 spread throughout Sri Lanka. At that time, we studied a little more deeply about this matter, that is, about a way to solve the problems of marriage proposals. At present, I have researched the methods available in Sri Lanka in addition to the newspapers. While looking for it, we came to know that there is currently no software company maintaining a design related to wedding proposals, so we thought that if we brought this kind of concept to people, it would be successful. That’s how we improved this concept.
When did you first start this, and how did you start this?
Anuruddha Rajapaksha: At the beginning of this campaign, we had to face many big challenges and problems. The problem we had was that in the beginning, we did not have an office or a hotline. We always received feedback from our customers, took it, and fixed the shortcomings of our website as quickly as possible. We received feedback through phone calls, text messages, and emails as well, because we needed to make up for our shortcomings and go on this journey successfully. Among the feedback, there were positive and negative comments. Among all of them, one thing that many clients have always told us is that our business does not have an office location, so we chose a suitable location for an office as soon as possible, registered it, put an address on it, and got a phone number from a telephone company.
Ravindu Wijewickrama: Yes, apart from that, we have made necessary changes to our website when necessary. According to the feedback given by our customers, we looked for all the shortcomings of the website and changed the website to meet their needs, which became a reason for attracting customers. Not only that, we redirected the customer feedback to a Google review page.
3. What are the challenges you faced when you first started this journey?
Anuruddha Rajapaksha: Another major challenge we had was the lack of confidence among people about business and transactions done over the Internet. A lot of people believed in going into an office and talking and getting the services. In other words, people had built trust in physical products. Therefore, we knew that creating trust in our website was not an easy task. Therefore, our biggest challenge was to create confidence in people’s minds about our product. The other thing is that we used the same method from the beginning, with the hope of continuing to use online payment, so people got used to it. As time went by, we were able to build a group of clients who believed in our website, and they also built trust in our online payment system to a certain extent and started making payments through that system. We also implemented the traditional bank transfer method for the people who did not have such trust, so it is easy for the service providers who receive our services to choose a method of their choice and make the payment. We have always wanted to provide our services to our clients in a way that is convenient for them.
How did you overcome those obstacles?
Anuruddha Rajapaksha: Since the beginning of the brand called Poruwa.lk, we have been working towards several goals. If we talk about one of the achievements that we have achieved so far, that is the time when we crossed our active account number of 2500, it can be said that we have achieved a victory. Our journey to success is a journey without worry. Because we never wanted to rush, we have come so far slowly but successfully. Therefore, I hope that in the future we will be able to achieve our goals one by one and move forward. I think it is more valuable to let you see our main goal after it is successful than to say it right now. Because if I tell you right now, even you won’t be curious.
4. What is the biggest achievement you achieved throughout this journey?
Anuruddha Rajapaksha: Yes, speaking of that, we wanted this from the beginning, an easy, modern technology system to be able to publish advertisements about marriage proposals, which was a big drawback in Sri Lanka. We hope it is successful, and we will continue to improve it further. That means we want our brand name Poruwa.lk to become a household brand, which means that if someone has a problem with wedding proposals, and if that person remembers the brand name Poruwa.lk, then we think we are successful. There are many such plans in the future.
5. What sets Poruwa.lk apart from other marriage proposal websites is that it is built with privacy in mind. Why is it built with privacy in mind?
Anuruddha Rajapaksha: One of the things that can be seen on websites these days is that people’s personal information is displayed for everyone to see. That means that information like our phone number, address, and date of birth is displayed in general, and I don’t agree with those things. Because I don’t think we should share all our information with everyone, that means protecting privacy within our system is our main responsibility. We created the platform called Poruwa.lk according to that theme, which means that all the personal information of our clients can be handled by them, and we do not have the right to handle that information.
6. It has been 4 years since the establishment of Poruwa.lk. What is your opinion on the current state of Poruwa.lk during those four years of hard work?
Anuruddha Rajapaksha, Ravindu Wijewickrama: Yes, we are really happy with the current state of Poruwa.lk. Because we have a lot of good clients around us, they stay with us with great trust. So the trust they have placed in us is very valuable to us because we are strengthened by the positive reviews we receive from them. With that, we think we are in a good place so far.
Who are the people you are thankful for throughout your successful journey?
Anuruddha Rajapaksa: I would like to take this time to thank all the officers of our company who have worked with dedication and enthusiasm to develop our brand called Poruwa.lk, and who are still working, in addition to trusting us and creating accounts on Poruwa.lk. I would also like to take this time to thank all the clients who have received and will receive our services.
Ravindu Wijewickrama: Yes, I also do this from time to time to remember our service providers and thank them. Also, thank you very much to everyone who has given us strength in this journey, not mentioned here.
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