What building for Nepali SMBs taught me, and why I'm raising a seed round for SoraORM

I run SoraORM, a business management platform (billing, loyalty, bookings, staff, inventory) used daily by 3 paying businesses. Here are three lessons from the field that may be useful to others building for Nepali SMBs.

1. Owners don't buy features; they buy answers. Nobody asked me for "analytics." Every owner asked the same question: "how much did I make, and where did it go?" We rebuilt the entire dashboard around answering that in one screen.

2. Udhaaro is a feature, not a flaw. Credit is how neighborhood business works. Software that pretends otherwise gets abandoned in a week.

3. Trust is earned in person, not online. In this market, showing up at the shop, sitting down, and onboarding face to face converts far better than any ad or cold message.

The product is now proven and we've begun raising a seed round to scale distribution.

The ask: I'm seeking NPR 25 to 35 Lakhs in funding for a 2 year runway. Returns to investors can be structured via dividends, share transfers, or a sell (exit/buyback). I'm open to discussing what works best.

Where the money goes (Year 2 operating budget):

Founder stipend: NPR 40,000/mo = 480,000/yr (small raise after Year 1)

Sales rep: NPR 32,000/mo + commission = 384,000/yr

Support/onboarding person (from M13): NPR 25,000/mo = 300,000/yr. Frees the rep to only sell and owns tenant happiness & retention.

Small office (from M13): NPR 15,000/mo = 180,000/yr. Training + support base.

Infrastructure & tools: NPR 9,000/mo = 108,000/yr (grows with tenant count)

Marketing: NPR 12,000/mo = 144,000/yr

Accounting & compliance: NPR 5,000/mo = 60,000/yr (includes annual audit, needed for Round 2)

Travel & field: NPR 7,000/mo = 84,000/yr

Contingency buffer (~10%): ~14,500/mo = 174,000/yr

Base operating total: ~145,000/mo ≈ NPR 1,740,000/yr (≈ 17.4L)

With contingency: ~159,500/mo ≈ NPR 1,914,000/yr (≈ 19.1L)

Across 2 years that's roughly 34 to 38L of planned spend, which is why the raise sits in the 25 to 35L range. The upper end gives full runway plus a cushion for slower months and Round 2 prep.

Happy to exchange notes with anyone building for, or investing in, Nepali SMBs. I'll drop more details in the comments to respect group rules, or feel free to message me directly.