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  • Wakefit Success Story – How it is Enabling People to Sleep Better at Night?

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Wakefit.

    Sound sleep can work wonders for one’s body and mind. It can help you improve immunity, increase concentration, stay in shape, and look younger. Fascinating, isn’t it? However, not all are lucky enough to fall asleep in a jiffy. A worldwide survey that ranked sleep patterns revealed that the Indians fall under the most sleep-deprived segment. Wakefit was established to tackle this issue and eliminate the menace of sleep deprivation once and for all.

    Wakefit is a Bengaluru-based startup, which operates with the objective of bringing sleep into Indians’ consciousness and helping them take steps to improve their sleep health through a wide range of sleep-efficient products. A fully owned subsidiary of Wakefit innovations pvt ltd Bangalore, Wakefit commands a market share of 35-40%.

    Keep on reading to find out more about Wakefit’s Startup Story, Founders and Team, Name, Tagline, Logo, Wakefit Challenges, Revenue, Acquisitions, Awards and Achievements, Competitors, Funding and Wakefit Investors, and more.

    Wakefit – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Wakefit
    Headquarter Bengaluru
    Sector Sleep Wellness
    Co-founders Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda
    Founded 2016
    Parent Organization Wakefit Innovations Pvt. Ltd.
    Website Wakefit.co

    About Wakefit and How it Works
    Mattress Industry in India
    Wakefit – Founders
    Wakefit – Startup Story | How Wakefit Began
    Wakefit – Mission and Vision
    Wakefit – Name, Tagline, and Logo
    Wakefit – Business Model and Revenue Model
    Wakefit – User Acquisition
    Wakefit – Startup Challenges
    Wakefit – Financials
    Wakefit – Funding and Investors
    Wakefit – Awards and Achievements
    Wakefit – Acquisitions
    Wakefit – Competitors
    Wakefit – Future Plans

    About Wakefit and How it Works

    Wakefit was launched in March 2016 in Bangalore as a sleep solutions startup with an aim to revolutionize the quality of sleep among Indians. The Wakefit team believes that quality sleep is a basic need and not a luxury; this mantra motivates the team to focus on innovation in product development, efficiency in processes, cost optimization, and excellence in customer experience. Besides, Wakefit’s superior quality products are also found really efficient and more affordable than its competitors.

    Wakefit Advertisement

    Wakefit currently has four variants of its core product, which can be summed up as:

    • Orthopedic Memory Foam Mattress
    • Dual Comfort Mattress
    • Foam Spring Mattress
    • 7-Zone Wakefit Latex Mattress

    Wakefit had initially started with “Orthopedic Memory Foam” and “Dual Comfort” variants of its mattresses and eventually rolled out the other 2 as well. The company wants to keep things simple, and therefore, it delineates its Wake fit mattress into 4 easy-to-remember categories. Talking about the same, Wakefit founder Chaitanya Ramalingegowda said that this choice has been made to avoid decision fatigue.

    With the plethora of decisions a person has to make in a single day, we want to simplify consumer’s life by helping them make at least one less decision.

    In line with this philosophy, the firm saw the transition from a mattress firm to a sleep solutions company, where it decided to launch bed frames, pillows, back pillows, and mattress protectors. To complete the sleep portfolio, the firm further decided to launch a maternity pillow, a nursing pillow, a pet bed, and a baby bed by the end of 2020.

    In its current capacity, Wakefit is able to produce more than 500 mattresses a day and ships around 7500-9000 mattresses in a month. The machinery is imported from Europe and the Middle East so as to ensure world-class quality in terms of consistency and chemicals used. Manufacturing is done in Bengaluru, and quality checks take place in Europe. Wakefit is certified under the Certi-PUR process (for foam). The chemicals used are certified by Greenguard, an environmental institute that aims to reduce human exposure to pollutants. Wakefit invests its profits into German manufacturing equipment which in turn guarantees high efficiency and low costs.

    Wakefit.co, the website hosted by Wakefit, conducted a survey and it was found that in India, 48% of people complained of back problems. Furthermore, 80% of Indians reportedly feel sleepy at work once every three days a week. To solve the increasing number of sleep-related problems, Wakefit included many innovative features while designing its products. Wakefit claims that its mattresses are made of proprietary “open-cell structures” for cool summers and that its high-density foam gives complimentary support. Body contour is another factor the company has focused on. Wakefit claims that its mattresses’ memory foam provides pressure relief.

    Since immigrant millennials in metro cities may prefer renting, Wakefit has tied up with online furniture and home appliances rental platform Rentomojo to provide mattresses along with the latter’s beds. Wakefit is also in talks with more players in the B2B space.

    The company now delivers products all over India. Wakefit sells products online through its website and e-retailers such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Pepperfry. It currently ships around 300 mattresses a day but the numbers do go up to 800 during the sale periods. Around 75% of its sales are from the top 8 metros and the rest are from the tier-2 and tier-3 towns.

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    Mattress Industry in India

    The Indian mattress industry is a growing market, estimated at USD 2.31 billion in 2025 and expected to reach USD 3.48 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 8.54%. While a few brands have been operating in the space, it is largely dominated by unorganized players. The overall market has seen very little innovation in the past few decades. With the entry of new-age players, the mattress market is seeing a revolution, with products designed and customized to suit customer needs and comfort.

    As per internal estimates, Wakefit.co owns 2-3% of the overall mattress market but with respect to the online sleep solutions space, it commands a market share of almost 35-40%. As sleep health becomes a pertinent topic among wellness and health circles and as people start understanding the role of sleep in one’s life, the market is pegged to grow at a rapid pace and the team at Wakefit is confident of making India sleep better every day.

    Wakefit – Founders

    Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda are the founders of Wakefit.

    Wakefit Owners
    Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda – Founders, Wakefit

    Ankit Garg

    Ankit Garg is the Director and Founder atWakefit. He is a Chemical Engineer from IIT-Roorkee. He was featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 Young Entrepreneurs list of 2019. Ankit worked as a management trainee at Bayer Material Science for 4 years before starting up with Wakefit.

    Chaitanya Ramalingegowda

    Chaitanya Ramalingegowda is the co-founder of Wakefit. He has done an MBA from ISB, after obtaining a BE in Computer Science, and has been working closely with startups since 2012. Chaitanya has experience serving as a VP, Investor Relations, Director, and Business mentor in 4 different companies – YourStory, LetsVenture, PurpleGull Services, and Neotec Hub, before he joined Ankit to found Wakefit.

    The growth that Wakefit has achieved can be attributed to the vision held by the two founders and a committed team of more than 250 employees who work tirelessly to ensure that people don’t compromise with their sleep.

    Wakefit – Startup Story | How Wakefit Began

    The motivation to start up was born out of Ankit Garg’s personal experience of buying a mattress. He comes from a strong ‘foaming’ background, having worked with a German multinational in the space. This gave him a detailed understanding of the raw materials that went into a mattress and the cost at which these materials were bought and sold. When he experienced the journey of buying a mattress through the traditional business model, he realized that there was no innovation in the product that was being sold; it was highly overpriced and the sales representatives of retail stores had no knowledge of the science of sleep. This sparked the drive to change the way Indians accessed sleep products in the country.

    One day over a cup of coffee, Ankit and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda decided the time was ripe to revolutionize sleep and make good-quality sleep products accessible to larger masses in the country by bringing in a range of efficiencies in the business model. The growing popularity of D2C brands fueled the idea to start an online model where products were manufactured at a centrally located plant and shipped directly to customer households.

    Before launching Wakefit officially, Ankit bought a few hundred mattresses and sold them on Amazon in 2015 to understand the unit economics. He made a profit of INR 60 lakh in this trial period.

    Wakefit Memory Foam Mattress – Relieve Body Pain

    Wakefit – Mission and Vision

    Wakefit’s vision is “to democratize sleep for one and all with premium quality sleep products at affordable pricing.”

    As an online mattress, bedding, online furniture, and furnishing company, Wakefit believes that it can educate the customers that this category too can be purchased online.

    Wakefit Logo
    Wakefit Logo

    Wakefit works with the vision to improve the sleep health of individuals. Its scientifically-designed mattress makes the users feel well-rested and allows them to wake up feeling active and fit; hence, the name ‘Wakefit’.

    The logo of the brand is colored in bright blue and orange tints, symbolizing energy and vitality. The letter “K” in the logo is ingeniously represented by a person who is fit and hence, jumping for joy!

    Wakefit has opted for the tagline, “The more you know, the better you sleep” as per the brand’s videos.

    Wakefit – Business Model and Revenue Model

    Wakefit follows a D2C business model so as to rationalize costs. The company operates in the e-commerce space and all the products are listed on its website as well as on Amazon, Flipkart, and PepperFry. Wakefit delivers to more than 19,000 pin codes in India through these channels. With 3x growth in revenue since inception, Wakefit has also maintained profitability since 2016.

    The flagship product, Orthopedic Memory Foam Mattress, starts at INR 7499, the Dual Comfort Mattress starts at INR 6399, whereas the 7-Zone Latex Mattress and the Foam Spring Mattress are priced INR 9299 and INR 10,984 onwards. The product portfolio of the brand also includes pillows, bed frames, comforters, bedding accessories, Wakefit furniture for the living room, dining room, study, home and garden, kids, and more.

    “We want to democratize sleep and for that it is important to ensure affordability. To reduce manual labor and increase efficiency, we are using vertical cutting and compression machines. Our customer acquisition cost is Rs 800-900, and our average ticket size is Rs 11,000, so there is no cash burn,” says Ankit.

    Since no middlemen are involved, Wakefit is able to provide prices that are 50% lesser than its competitors. The Wakefit mattress price starts from INR 5,000 onwards, which goes up to over INR 26,000.

    Wakefit – Financials

    Wakefit Financial FY23 FY24
    Operating Revenue INR 812.6 crore INR 986.4 crore
    Total Expenses INR 965.7crore INR 103.24 crore
    Profit/Loss INR -145.68 crore INR -15 crore
    Wakefit Financials
    Wakefit Financials

    Expense

    The firm’s total expenses rose by 6.9% to INR 1,032.4 crore in FY24.

    EBITDA

    Wakefit managed to decline its losses by 90% to Rs 15 crore from INR 145 crore in FY23. Despite losses, the Bengaluru-based company achieved positive EBITDA at INR 65.9 crore in FY24. Its ROCE and EBITDA margins improved to 0.29% and 6.48%, respectively.

    On a unit basis, Wakefit spent INR 1.05 to earn a rupee of operating revenue in FY24. Its current assets grew significantly to INR 574 crore, while its cash and bank balances were recorded at INR 17.21 crore in FY24.

    Wakefit FY23-FY24 FY23 FY23
    EBITDA Margin -10.46% 6.48%
    Expense/INR of operation Revenue INR 1.19 INR 1.05
    ROCE -21.46% 0.29%

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    Wakefit – User Acquisition

    Ankit and Chaitanya undertook the deliveries themselves for the first 100 customers to closely understand the customer behavior, attitudes, and pain points.

    “Internet adopters were our first users. We visited homes for our first 100 deliveries, and did video interviews for feedback.”

    Ankit shares that those experiences taught them how to improve their product in terms of longevity, aesthetics, packaging, thickness (soft/medium/hard), and helped them understand customer pain points better. The direct feedback received from the customers aided a lot in the development of the core offerings that Wakefit provides today.

    Experts opine that the comfort and adaptability of a mattress can only be judged by an individual once he or she sleeps on it and experiences it for at least 14 days. A cursory visit to the store cannot give an indication of the quality. That is why Wake fit provides a 100 day free trial with 100% return policy. This Wakefit return policy also helped build confidence among customers in the online mode of purchase. The insights enabled Wakefit to model its organizational structure such that the customer pain points are adequately addressed right from the product development stage till the post-sale customer experience stage.

    Wakefit.co has built a community of over 4 lakh customers and has garnered more than 12,000 positive reviews online that have propelled the business forward. The company never spent heavily on advertisements. Word-of-mouth marketing has been the most potent tool that has helped the Wakefit team build the business in a steady and sustainable manner. The firm also does a lot of online content marketing on the importance of sound sleep and health.

    Wakefit – Startup Challenges

    The major challenge in the mattress industry is the lack of awareness among the general public about choosing the right kind of mattresses and prioritizing sleep wellness. Wakefit is committed to bridging this gap by sharing trustworthy, first-hand information about choosing the right kind of mattress as well as building knowledge around the science of sleep.

    Another challenge is making the most of the consumers’ need to touch and feel the mattress. The Wakefit team believes that the right kind of mattress cannot be chosen merely by means of ‘touch-and-feel’. So, the company offers a 100-day free trial policy which allows customers to test the Wakefit mattresses for themselves in the privacy of their homes and gauge whether it is the right choice for them.

    One of the initial challenges that the Wakefit founders faced was to take care of everything by themselves.

    “Taking care of everything ourselves was hard, as was finding the right people at the right time. We found the team through referrals and LinkedIn,” said one of the co-founders fo Wakefit.

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    Wakefit – Funding and Investors

    Wakefit has raised a total of $148.04 million across 5 funding rounds since 2014. Their most recent funding round was on January 13, 2023. The Funding details are as follows:

    Date Amount Series Investors
    January 13, 2023 $39 mn Series D Investcorp
    December 6, 2022 $45 mn Venture Round Investcorp
    November 11, 2021 $28 mn Series C SIG, Sequoia Capital India and Verlinvest
    December 15, 2020 $25.50 mn Series B Verlinvest, Sequoia Capital
    December 11, 2018 $8.72 mn Series A Sequoia Capital

    Wakefit – Awards and Achievements

    • Won the Startup of the Year award at the Small Business Awards 2019, conducted in collaboration with Economic Times & Entrepreneur magazine.
    • Won the Business Today Coolest startup 2018 award.
    • Won ‘Startup of the Year – Home and Lifestyle’ award at India Retail and eRetail Congress 2019.
    • Won Amazon Aces Gold as Bestsellers in 2019.
    • Won Best Customer Service Award in 2019 at an Award ceremony organized by Entrepreneur India Magazine.
    • Nominated for SABRE awards for its innovative ‘One India One Wakefit’ campaign

    Wakefit – Acquisitions

    Although mergers and acquisitions are common in the e-commerce segment, Wakefit wants to continue as an independent entity and has not acquired any companies till now.

    Wakefit – Competitors

    There are companies like:

    Wakefit competition is always raging from startups, unorganized players, and biggies like:

    • Kurl-On
    • Sleepwell

    Wakefit – Future Plans

    Wakefit plans to focus on expanding its product categories, omnichannel presence, and brand building to drive double-digit growth. They are also aiming to increase their presence in Tier II and III cities through store expansion, targeting 130 new stores by the end of FY25, 40% of which will be in Tier II towns. Wakefit also aims to increase their offerings in decor and furnishing, seeing it as a significant growth area. 

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    FAQs

    What is Wakefit?

    It is a sleep solutions startup that offers comfortable mattresses and other related products such as pillows and comforters.

    Who are the founders of Wakefit?

    Wakefit was founded by Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda.

    Who are the Top competitors of Wakefit?

    Cuddl, Sunday Mattress, SleepyCat, and Wink&Nod have entered the industry in the last few years. Kurl-On and Sleepwell are also rivals to Wakefit.

  • The Blinkit Story: What is the Zomato-owned Company Planning Next?

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

    As we move forward in the world of modernization, we tend to scroll the screens of our mobile phones too often and for many reasons. We swipe our mobile screens to shop, learn, relax, and fulfill an endless list of requirements that we need them for. Using our mobile phones has surely been quite a help, they have literally made the world seem like an easily navigable space. Our daily needs and requirements are now nearer than ever with mobile phones. Today, we don’t need to go out and purchase our daily goods, grains, and veggies from the market. All we need is our mobile phone with an internet connection!

    What is the first thing that comes to your mind while talking about ordering daily goods and groceries? Obviously, it is the list of fruits, vegetables, and grocery needs that you are going to order but soon after that, it is the application or the website that is to come up next in order!

    There are numerous applications, websites, and companies now from where you can order, among which Grofers/Blinkit has been one of the most prominent names. This e-commerce company has offered us various daily goods that made our lives easy.

    Softbank-backed online grocery delivery unicorn Grofers now Blinkit has been rebranded to Blinkit to keep up with its motto of delivering groceries in the blink of an eye. Blinkit currently stands acquired by Zomato after the foodtech unicorn bought the former in a $569 million (Rs 4,447 crore) deal on June 24, 2022.

    Check this article to learn all the information about Blinkit, its founders and history, its startup story, net worth, business model, revenue model, funding and investors, challenges, competitors, and more.

    Blinkit – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Blinkit
    Headquarters Gurugram, India
    Sector Online Shopping/Ecommerce/Grocery Delivery
    Founders Saurabh Kumar, Albinder Dhindsa
    Founded December 2013
    Area Served India
    Parent Organization Zomato
    Website blinkit.in

    About Blinkit
    Blinkit – Founders and Team
    Blinkit – Startup Story | How it started?
    Blinkit – Name, Tagline and Logo
    Blinkit – Mission and Vision
    Blinkit – Business Model
    Blinkit – Revenue Model
    Blinkit – Funding and Investors
    Blinkit – Shareholding
    Blinkit – Revenue and Growth
    Blinkit – Financials
    Blinkit – Startup Challenges and Controversies
    Blinkit – Acquistion
    Blinkit – Partnerships
    Blinkit – Competitors
    Blinkit – Future Plans

    About Blinkit

    The Gurugram-based Indian on-demand online grocery delivery service Grofers which is now known as Blinkit, was founded in the year 2013. This e-commerce startup platform provides a variety of daily needs products ranging from groceries, bakery items, baby care items, and many more to its customers.

    From the mobile application of Blinkit, the customers can buy and order their products at a scheduled time and the Blinkit employees deliver these items to the customers. Currently, the company operates in over 23 cities in India as Blinkit.

    How does Blinkit deliver its orders in 10 minutes?

    In June 2021, Blinkit announced that it had already revamped its delivery service, which will make the deliveries within 10 minutes of the order being placed online. The popular online grocery marketplace also assured that in cities where Blinkit is present, the company will make sure to deliver the orders in under 10 minutes within the next 45 days. This promise of 10-minute delivery has received huge criticism from people all around the country, who have accused Grofers of “exploiting” their workforce to make such a promise a reality.

    The hate that the company has received was fittingly replied by one of the founders of Grofers, Albinder Dhindsa, who said,

    “It breaks my heart that instead of celebrating innovation coming from India, some of us stay cynical of people who are trying to break the status quo.”

    While clarifying how Blinkit makes its 10-minute delivery possible, Dhindsa mentioned that the company has its partner stores within 2 km of the customers, which is a big plus. The company has more than 60 partner stores in Delhi and has grown to over 30 partner stores in Gurgaon already, along with an adequate number of partner stores also in other serviceable cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, etc.

    Dhindsa further pointed out in his Twitter post that the stores are so densely located that 90% of the orders can be delivered byBlinkit easily within 15 minutes even if the drivers drove at 10 km/hr. Moreover, the in-store planning and management of Blinkit, empowered by the advanced technologies, are so organized now that they can pack their orders within 3 minutes of receiving the order. Also, the riders of Blinkit are “not (dis)incentivised to deliver orders fast. They do it at their own pace and rhythm”, said Dhindsa. The founder concluded by citing the last 2 months’ data since they started the 10-minute grocery delivery process and claimed that Grofers has seen no reported rider accidents.

    Here’s what the founder has posted via his Twitter handle on August 28, 2021:


    Now as Blinkit, Grofers is doubly geared up to deliver groceries in the blink of an eye. Albinder Dhindsa, Co-founder and CEO of Blinkit on being asked why the keen focus on quick commerce, said that the 10-minute delivery that Blinkit promises should not just be possible but a must in the fast-paced life that people are living now. This will help them save time for more important things.

    Zomato Acquired Blinkit, which is now a Zomato Subsidiary!

    Zomato acquired Blinkit after months of talks and discussions, loans, and what’s now. The board of the popular Deepinder Goyal-led foodtech company finally approved the Blinkit acquisition on June 24, 2022, when the online grocery delivery company was acquired by Zomato in an all-stock deal worth $568 mn. The board of the latter the acquisition of up to 33,018 equity shares of Blink Commerce Pvt Ltd from its shareholders. This was nodded to for a total purchase consideration, which amounted to Rs 4,447.48 crore ($569 mn), as per the BSE disclosure of the company. Blinkit’s earlier valuation of $1 bn received a haircut of 43%. The deal also mentioned about Zomato Hyperpure, the B2B arm of the company, acquiring BlinkIt’s B2B business Hands on Trade Private Limited (HOTPL) warehousing and ancillary services business for Rs 60.7 crore, as per the accessed filings.

    Blinkit – Founders and Team

    Grofers was founded by two IIT Graduates Albinder Dhindsa and Saurabh Kumar.

    Albinder Dhindsa, Saurabh Kumar | Grofers/Blinkit Founders
    Albinder Dhindsa, Saurabh Kumar | Grofers/Blinkit Founders

    Albinder Dhindsa

    Albinder Dhindsa is one of the founders and the CEO of Blinkit (ex- Grofers). Dhindsa is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, after which he completed his MBA from the Columbia Business School. Dhindsa first started his career as a Transportation Analyst at URS Corporation, after which he worked with Cambridge Systematics and UBS Investment Bank as an Associate and Senior Associate. Dhindsa then joined Zomato where he worked for more than 2.5 years as the Head of International Operations. He eventually left the company to co-found Grofers (now Blinkit) in December 2013.

    Saurabh Kumar

    Saurabh had been another founder of Grofers. He was a B.Tech, Civil Engineering student of IIT Bombay. He eventually went for an MS, in Transportation Engineering that he completed from The University of Texas at Austin. Saurabh also worked with Cambridge Systematics where he first met Albinder. Kumar left the company to work as an Associate and a COO in two different companies – Opera Solutions and Rasilant Technologies Pvt Ltd., finally founding Grofers/Blinkit with Albinder, which came live with its app in December 2014. Saurabh had left Grofers on June 18, 2021. Kumar next founded Warpli, an e-commerce platform that is often tagged as the “e-commerce of future” in September 2021. As per the latest news, Kumar’s newly founded startup is planning to expand quick commerce into the turf of Amazon, Nykaa, and their likes.

    Jacob Singh was the CTO of Grofers (Blinkit), who stepped down from the company and his position in July 2020. He largely contributed to the design, launch, and scaling of Grofers’ paid loyalty program. A Berkeley City College graduate, Singh worked with Acquia as a Country Head before joining Grofers now Blinkit and is now serving as a CTO in residence at Sequoia Capital.

    Blinkit raised Rishi Arora to the Co-founder position two months before the acquisition deal came through in June 2022, as revealed by sources close to the company on July 12, 2022. Arora has stuck with Blinkit for 8+ years and served as the Senior Vice President of Operation before he received his promotion.

    Furthermore, it was also reported that the company has also appointed Sajal Gupta, who is a Zomato executive as the CTO of the company. Gupta was with Zomato for 5+ years before he moved to Blinkit in January 2022, as goes his LinkedIn profile. These promotions were reportedly revealed on the company’s internal communication platform, Slack, according to the sources.

    Blinkit housed somewhere around 1,001 – 5,000 employees.

    Blinkit – Startup Story | How it started?

    Albinder, after his graduation, worked as a transportation analyst at URS Company in the USA. While working he met Saurabh Kumar and kept in touch with him with absolutely no intentions of any entrepreneurial motives.

    Both Albinder and Saurabh found that there was a huge gap in the delivery industry. They both thought to tap the opportunity as it was a time when many startups were emerging. They felt the need to sort the unorganized hyperlocal space in the transaction made between merchants and consumers.

    That is when they started to build a base for their startup. Their idea was to provide a one-stop solution for the customers’ local delivery needs by having on-demand pickup and drop services. This was to facilitate the logistics from the shops around their locality like grocery stores, medical stores, and restaurants for the consumers. Initially, both of them also facilitated the delivery of groceries for customers from the neighbourhood stores and supermarkets.

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    Blinkit is the new name of Grofers after the completion of its rebranding attempt on December 13, 2021. The coinage of the new name of Grofers is in line with the aim of the company to deliver groceries in an instant, i.e., in the blink of an eye.

    “Lets Blink it” or #letsblinkit is the tagline of Blinkit.

    Blinkit Logo
    Blinkit Logo

    The previous name of Blinkit was Grofers, which was a portmanteau of two words – Grocery and Gophers, which particularly meant a person who runs errands. The tagline of Grofers is ‘We get it’ which was initiated with an online advertisement campaign.

    Blinkit – Mission and Vision

    Blinkit, which was earlier called Grofers, now has a new mission statement that reads “instant commerce indistinguishable from magic.” Blinkit solely believes in serving its customers with instant grocery deliveries within 10 minutes. Prospering in the quick commerce space is what Blinkit currently envisions.

    Blinkit – Business Model

    Blinkit work on a marketplace business model and might also be referred to as the hyperLocal on-demand logistics system. It aims to replace the need for consumers to travel to the local shops to buy consumer goods rather than wanting them to order online. This startup does not own any grocery stores or warehouses.

    It just partners with the local grocery shops in the city and then sends its delivery boys to pick up the items ordered by the consumers from these stores. They accept orders from their mobile application or the website. This tie-up system helps the local grocery shop owners get more orders and also Blinkit make a profit from these orders as the company charges some commission.

    Here are some major insights into the inventory-based Blinkit business model:

    Key Partners

    Grofers, or Blinkit, as it is now called, partners with local merchants and brands, logistics partners, payment providers, investors and its acquisitions.

    Key Activities

    Some of the major activities that Blinkit is involved in include:

    • It delivers groceries
    • Does warehousing
    • Manages supply chain
    • Maintains its platform and technology
    • Takes care of shipping
    • Manages logistics
    • Develops innovative software and products
    • Services customers

    Key Resources

    Blinkit uses a bunch of resources that include:

    • Cutting-edge technology
    • Intellectual properties
    • Advanced IT and communications infrastructure
    • Streamlined channels of delivery
    • A network of local merchants
    • Funding rounds

    Customer Segments

    Blinkit assumes all of the individuals, who are residing in India as its customers, including the local merchants.

    Advertising Channels

    Grofers or Blinkit markets through blogs, and social media channels and also relies heavily on the word of mouth marketing.

    Blinkit – Revenue Model

    The revenue model of Blinkit is similar to the commission-based revenue model. Blinkit has tied up with the local shop owners and merchants for grocery and daily needs goods in the local areas. Blinkit charges these merchants some commission on these orders. The commission ranges from 8% to 15% when the orders are below 700 and charges 12% to 15% when the orders are below 1000. Blinkit also charge a delivery fee when the order is below the amount of INR 250.

    Albinder Dhindsa: CEO And Co-Founder Of Grofers
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    Blinkit – Funding and Investors

    Blinkit has been quite fortunate when it comes to its investors and funding. To date, Blinkit has raised a total of around $1 billion in funds. The recent fundraising round was led by Zomato on March 11, 2022, where the foodtech major infused $100 mn into Blinkit. The quick commerce unicorn has also confirmed that the $100 mn fundraise is the first tranche of a $400 mn funding round and that it will see more funds coming throughout next week. However, the foodtech giant extended a $150 mn loan in its stead.

    The online grocery delivery service startup raised $100 million from the Indian food delivery giant, Zomato, which was approved on August 16, 2021. This helped the online grocery delivery major to reach a valuation of more than $1 billion and join the unicorn club. Blinkit was last valued at $1.01 billion after the August 2021 round. The quick commerce unicorn is looking to raise funds close to $500 million from its existing investor and owner, Zomato via a fresh round of funding, which acquired the Dhindsa-led company on 24th June 2022.

    Here are the Blinkit’s Funding Details to date-

    Date Amount Round Lead Investors
    March 16, 2022 $150 Million Debt Financing Zomato
    March 11, 2022 $100 Million – Zomato
    September 29, 2021 $16.7 Million – KTB Ventures
    August 17, 2021 $100 Million – Zomato
    November 13, 2020 $55 Million Venture Round SoftBank Vision Fund (SVF) and other existing investors
    December 31, 2019 – – –
    November 18, 2019 $43.04 Million Corporate Round Grofers International Pte Ltd
    October 29, 2019 $18.83 Million Series F Bennett Coleman and Co Ltd
    August 19, 2019 $70 Million Series F Softbank Vision Fund
    July 15, 2019 $10 Million Series F Abu Dhabi Capital Group
    May 15, 2019 $220 Million Series F Softbank Vision Fund
    May 16, 2018 $53.81 Million Series E Softbank Vision Fund
    October 25, 2017 $12.91 Million Series D Grofers International
    September 1, 2017 $839K Debt Financing Trifecta Capital Advisors
    November 2015 $120 Million Series D Cyriac Roeding – Roeding Ventures, Softbank, Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global
    April 2015 $35 Million Series C Sequoia Capital
    February 2015 $10 Million Series B Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global
    December 2014 $500k Seed Round/Series A Sequoia Capital, Deepinder Goyal

    Blinkit – Shareholding

    Blinkit Shareholders Percentage
    Albinder Dhindsa –
    Fund –
    Brand Capital –
    Zomato 100.0%
    Other People –
    Other Investors < 0.1%
    Total 100.0%
    Blinkit Shareholding
    Blinkit Shareholding

    Blinkit – Revenue and Growth

    Q4 FY24 Q4 FY23 YoY Change
    Orders 65.3 million 39.2 million 66% Growth
    Average Order Value INR 617 INR 522 18% Growth
    Monthly Transacting Customers 6.4 million 3.9 million 65% Growth
    Monthly Active Riders 89,0000 43,0000 106% Growth
    GOV Per Day, Per Store INR 920 INR 625 47% Growth
    No. Of Stores 526 377 40% Growth

    In Q4 FY24, Blinkit’s orders reached 65.3 million, marking a 66% increase compared to Q4 FY23. The average order value rose by 18% to INR 617. Monthly transacting customers grew by 65% to 6.4 million, while monthly active riders more than doubled, increasing by 106% to 89,000. The gross order value (GOV) per day, per store, saw a 47% growth, reaching INR 920. Additionally, the number of stores expanded by 40%, totaling 526.

    With over 7,000+ products assorted on its website, which are ready for home delivery in as fast as 10 minutes, Blinkit is already one of the largest e-grocery companies in India and has witnessed quite a growth all along the way.

    Blinkit – Financials

    In Q2 FY25, Blinkit reported a revenue of INR 1,156 crore, more than doubling from INR 505 crore in the same period last year. However, its adjusted EBITDA loss increased to INR 8 crore, up from an INR 3 crore loss in the June quarter. Additionally, Blinkit’s gross order value (GOV) surged by 122% year-on-year to INR 6,132 crore.

    Blinkit’s revenue has grown significantly from FY20 to FY24, but losses have also widened. Expenses have risen sharply, reflecting increased operational costs.

    Particulars FY24 FY23 FY22 FY21 FY20
    Revenue INR 1,934 crore INR 747 crore INR 242.5 crore INR 203.9 crore INR 177.5 crore
    Expenses INR 2,579 crore INR 1,939 crore INR 1,262.6 crore INR 585.7 crore INR 856.5 crore
    Profit/Loss -INR 645 crore) -INR 1,192 crore -INR 1,020.1 crore -INR 381.7 crore -INR 679 crore
    Blinkit's Key FY24 Metrics
    Blinkit’s Key FY24 Metrics

    In Q4 FY24, Blinkit reached a Gross Order Value (GOV) of INR 4,027, with revenue of INR 769 and an adjusted EBITDA of -37. This shows steady progress compared to earlier quarters, with GOV and revenue increasing and losses slowly decreasing.

    Blinkit’s revenue grew significantly from INR 747 crore in FY23 to INR 1,934 crore in FY24. However, expenses also increased, though losses have reduced from INR 1,192 crore to INR 645 crore, indicating an improvement in financial performance.

    Blinkit Revenue:

    Revenue grew significantly from INR 747 crore in FY23 to INR 1,934 crore in FY24, driven by strong growth in operations.

    Particulars FY24 FY23
    Total Revenue INR 1,934 crore INR 747 crore
    Revenue from Operations INR 1,881 crore INR 724 crore
    Other Income INR 53 crore INR 23 crore

    Revenue grew by 159% in FY24 compared to FY23, with a major boost from operational revenue.

    blinkit - Financials
    blinkit – Financials

    Blinkit Expenses:

    Expenses surged from INR 1,939 crore in FY23 to INR 2,579 crore in FY24, mainly due to employee costs and operational expenses.

    Particulars FY24 FY23
    Total Expenses INR 2,579 crore INR 1,939 crore
    Employee Costs INR 456 crore INR 311 crore
    Finance Costs INR 32 crore INR 185 crore
    Depreciation INR 138 crore INR 110 crore
    Other Expenses INR 1,953 crore INR 1,333 crore

    Expenses increased by 33% in FY24 compared to FY23, driven by higher operational and employee costs.

    Blinkit Profit/Loss:

    Losses were reduced from INR 1,192 crore in FY23 to INR 645 crore in FY24, showing an improvement in profitability.

    Particulars FY24 FY23
    Profit Before Tax -INR 645 crore -INR 1,192 crore
    Net Profit/Loss -INR 645 crore -INR 1,192 crore

    Losses have reduced by 46% in FY24 compared to FY23, showing signs of operational improvement.

    Quick Summary:

    • Revenue Growth: 159% increase in FY24 compared to FY23.
    • Expense Rise: 33% increase in expenses, mainly due to employee and operational costs.
    • Loss Reduction: Losses decreased by 46%, indicating improved financial health.

    EBITDA

    The financial performance of Blinkit changed significantly between FY22 and FY23. The EBITDA margin increased from -398.23% in FY22 to -119.79% in FY23 as a result of lower expenses as a percentage of operational revenue, but the Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) remained negative, despite a minor improvement. Despite the fact that ROCE is still an issue for the organization, these data point to ongoing efforts to improve operational efficiency and cut losses. This is how Blinkit’s story shows its strong growth in revenue and orders, but it still needs to work on reducing its losses.

    Blinkit FY22 -FY23 FY22 FY23
    EBITDA Margin -398.23% -119.79%
    Expense/₹ of Op Revenue ₹5.25 ₹2.52
    ROCE -1732.70% -213.59%

    Blinkit – Products and Service

    Silent Store

    Blinkit company has announced the opening of its first “silent” store in Laxmi Nagar in East Delhi in October 2022. This store is unique since it is run by 20 people with special needs who are unable to hear or talk. The startup’s goal in making this change is to make its systems more “inclusive and accessible.”

    In a few parts of Delhi-NCR in August 2022, Blinkit began offering printed services at your door in just 11 minutes. For black and white printouts, there will be a fee of Rs 9, and for colorful copies, there will be a fee of Rs 19.

    Blinkit – Startup Challenges and Controversies

    While in just a few years Blinkit has had a lot of success in the market, it had to face many challenges and hiccups too. Whether it was their delayed service or quality issues of the products, Blinkit has seen many hurdles in its journey.

    Also, due to its unsuccessful operations, it had to shut down its operations in major cities like Bhopal, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, and so on. One of their initial challenges was also to find the right people in their team who would align with the vision that the company aimed to have and work on it.

    Blinkit company has been facing numerous backlashes from critics since the start of the New Year 2022. Blinkit sacked its employees across some of the major cities including Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata on March 14, 2022. This firing exercise has reportedly impacted around 5% of its total workforce. Blinkit has also been reported to be delaying its vendor payments lately.

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    Blinkit – Acquistion

    Blinkit has acquired two companies to date:

    Account Name Date Amount
    Townrush Oct 27, 2015 –
    Mygreenbox Apr 10, 2015 –

    Blinkit – Partnerships

    Unicorn

    In order to fulfill orders for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus within 10 minutes, Blinkit has partnered up with Apple Premium Reseller Unicorn on September, 22, 2023.

    Xiaomi

    Blinkit partnered with Xiaomi on November, 18, 2022 with this partnership blinkit will deliver the air purifier in 10 minutes.

    Blinkit – Competitors

    With no surprise as every other e-commerce platform flourishes with increasing speed, even the online grocery market has grown really big in India. Many big brands and supermarkets are now diverting their interests to selling online and all the existing players need to retain their brands and customers.

    Similar is the case with Blinkit. Some of the biggest competitors of Blinkit are:

    Since the inception of Grofers now Blinkit, it has been the investors’ favourite but it has tough competition in the e-commerce market. Also, with the entry of the e-commerce giant Amazon into the online grocery market, it is always a big threat to brands like Blinkit.

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    Blinkit – Future Plans

    Blinkit owned by Zomato, plans to increase its number of dark stores to 2,000 by the end of 2026, according to the company’s financial report for Q1 FY25.

    Blinkit earlier boasted of having around 13% of the total market share, thereby being the third-largest of the online grocery delivery platforms after Bigbasket and Amazon. Bigbasket is leading the market with around 37% of the total market shares, after which comes Amazon with its 15% shares.

    As a Zomato subsidiary, Blinkit strives to be leading the Zomato arm for online delivery.

    FAQs

    What is Blinkit?

    Blinkit is a quick commerce startup platform that provides a variety of daily needs products ranging from groceries, bakery items, baby care items, and many more to its customers.

    Who are Grofers founders (Blinkit)?

    Albinder Dhindsa and Saurabh Kumar are Grofers founders.

    Who owns Blinkit?

    Blinkit was acquired by Zomato in 2022. Since then Zomato has been Blinkit owner.

    How does Blinkit make money?

    Revenue Model For Blinkit. The company provides a service to its users with its inventory-based model. In return, Blinkit takes a commission on every order, which can be anywhere from 8% to 15%.

    Are Blinkit products good?

    Blinkit is authentic. The product quality is good as well the price is less than compared to other online sites.

    Can I sell on Blinkit?

    You need to register with Blinkit and have a seller account with them. Blinkit seller registration will give you a credible platform and a huge customer base to sell your products.

    What is Blinkit owner name?

    Albinder Dhindsa is the Co-founder and CEO at blinkit.

    How does Blinkit work?

    Blinkit is an e-commerce marketplace for your daily shopping. It allows you to shop from your favorite store in your neighborhood and get delivery within 10 minutes. You can shop for Groceries, Fruits & Vegetables, Bakery items, Flowers, Meat, Pet Care, Baby Care, and Cosmetics products with just a few taps.

    How long does Blinkit take to deliver?

    Grofers rebranded as Blinkit aims to deliver orders within 10 minutes.

    Is Grofers rebranded?

    Yes, Grofers successfully completed a rebranding attempt on December 13, 2021, when the brand published its new name as “Blinkit”. Blinkit old name was Grofers.

    Is Blinkit acquired?

    Blinkit currently stands acquired by Zomato, which acquired the Albinder Dhindsa-led company in a deal worth $569 mn (Rs 4,447 crore) on June 24, 2022.

    Who is Blinkit founder?

    Blinkit (earlier Grofers) was founded by two IIT Graduates Albinder Dhindsa and Saurabh Kumar.

    Which is Blinkit parent company?

    The parent company of Blinkit is Zomato.

    What is Blinkit net worth?

    After being acquired by Zomato, Blinkit now has a valuation of $13 billion.

    When was Blinkit launched or founded?

    Grofers now Blinkit was launched in the year 2013.

    What is Blinkit meaning?

    Blinkit is an Indian e-commerce platform specializing in rapid delivery of groceries and daily essentials. The name “Blinkit” reflects its mission to deliver orders as fast as a blink.

  • Scaler Academy – An Edtech to Learn Programming & Prepare for Interview

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

    It is an undeniable fact that the Indian education system has undergone a radical change over the last few decades. While there have been concerted efforts at making education more accessible, what is still lacking, especially in higher education, is the much sought-after connection with the industry.

    Instructors and mentors aside, who would not only equip pupils with new skills but also guide them in their careers, there is the necessity to have a curriculum that is vetted by industry veterans. That’s exactly what led to the launch of Scaler in 2019.

    An upskilling platform by InterviewBit, Scaler enables aspiring students and working professionals in tech to unlock their potential. At this moment, Scaler’s upskilling offerings, Scaler Academy and Scaler Data Science & Machine Learning (DSML), have over 35,000 working professionals cumulatively enrolled in its program since 2019.

    In terms of outcome, Scaler has already found resounding success. 94% of the placed learners have already bagged jobs with aspirational companies as software engineers and developers. Scaler learners have witnessed a mean salary of ₹21.6 LPA, a median salary of ₹17.5 LPA and a placement rate of 93.5 per cent. The highest domestic salary achieved by Scaler learners stands at ₹3.03 crore. The average salary for learners who had 6-10 years of work experience is ₹31.9 lakhs, while learners with more than 10 years of experience received packages averaging ₹57.1 lakhs, while the highest salary offered to a Scaler learner was a whopping INR 3.03 crore per annum.

    StartupTalky interviewed the founders of Scaler (by InterviewBit) to learn about the Success Story of Scaler and take a glance at Scaler’s Products, Business Model, Funding, Growth & more.

    Scaler – Company Highlights

    Company Name Scaler
    Founder Anshuman Singh, Abhimanyu Saxena
    Founded 2015 (InterviewBit), 2019 (Scaler)
    Sector Edtech
    Headquarter Bangalore
    Total Funding $76.5 million+ (2022)
    Valuation $710 mn (2022)

    Scaler – About
    Scaler – Founders and Team
    Scaler – Startup Story | How it Started?
    Scaler – Name, Tagline and Logo
    Scaler – Business Model and Revenue Model
    Scaler – Startup Launch
    Scaler – Challenges Faced
    Scaler – Growth and Revenue
    Scaler – Funding and Investors
    Scaler – Competitors
    Scaler – Acquisitions
    Scaler – Recognition and Achievements
    Scaler – Future Plans
    Scaler – Community and Reviews

    Scaler – About

    Scaler was incubated inside the InterviewBit in 2019 – a platform where people could learn new programming skills and practice interview questions in order to scale up in their careers.

    Scaler is an upskilling platform by InterviewBit that enables both students and working professionals to unlock their talent. Scaler’s offerings cater to –

    • Young working professionals (Scaler Academy, Scaler DSML and Scaler Neovarsity)
    • Students graduating from 12th grade (Scaler School of Technology)

    Scaler’s meticulously structured programs vary in duration from 9 months to 24 months. These act as career accelerators by enhancing the skills of the students by offering them a modern curriculum with satisfactory exposure to the latest technologies. Scaler’s students have access to over 1000 working professionals from top software companies across the globe, including Amazon, Google, Facebook, Netflix, and X (Twitter), among others, who act as instructors, teaching assistants, mentors and career coaches.

    Cumulatively, Scaler has had over 35,000 students and working professionals enrolled in its various programs. The Scaler programs are being developed as an inclusive ecosystem of engineers and mentors to help talent scale and build the next generation of global tech leaders. Scaler has been designed to help and guide students from engineering colleges to prepare and learn skills that they would require for top technology jobs.

    Scaler helps to polish skills and get its students ready for prospective jobs with big-tech companies, whether they are fresh college graduates or working professionals looking to advance in their careers.

    Scaler’s goal is to ensure that the talent is recognised regardless of the student’s background. The platform aims to create a benchmark for software engineers in the recruitment space so as to ensure that they receive the best opportunities in the industry to further their careers.

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    Scaler – Product/Services Offered

    Scaler is a tech education startup that offers courses on computer science which train and upskill software developers to find meaningful employment in India’s burgeoning tech industry. It offers several in-depth and intensive programs that are taught through live classes delivered by tech leaders and subject matter experts. The curriculum is systematically and specifically created in order to provide students with sufficient exposure to the latest technologies.

    Here’s a list of Scaler’s offerings –

    Scaler Academy

    For all the tech professionals who want to accelerate their careers, Scaler Academy has designed a flexible program for you. It is a program to master Problem Solving & System Design. One can choose the curriculum based on the level of knowledge one already entails & the type of specialisation needed, i.e., Backend Specialisation or Full-Stack Specialisation.

    • Thoughtfully designed learning aspects, topics & concepts
    • Hands-on Projects and assignments to implement concepts
    • Personalised topics, peers & pace of learning are optimised for one’s needs
    • Industry-tested curriculum to make one job/career-ready

    Scaler DSML

    The program is for engineers looking to specialise in Data Science and Machine Learning, The course will start by building a strong foundation in Data Structures and Algorithms. Then, learners will dive into Mathematics, followed by Data Mining, Statistical Analysis, Data Science, Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Big Data. More than 45 critical tech tools will also be taught during the length of the course.

    • Live class
    • Industry projects
    • 1:1 mentorship
    • Secure Placement Assistance

    Scaler Topics

    Scaler Topics is a gamified free learn-to-code platform that can provide quality technical content for anyone interested in software-related subjects. The platform provides streamlined technical content across all fields related to tech, data science, and machine learning for individuals passionate about learning and building a career in many in-demand domains with assisted videos from mentors, even those with no prior knowledge in their chosen field. In addition to the video courses, the platform provides a wide range of free material to software enthusiasts through interactive challenges, events, contests, and detailed article threads by industry experts.

    • Courses
    • Contests
    • Articles
    • Reading Tracks

    Scaler School of Technology

    Established in 2023, the Scaler School of Technology stands out as India’s leading institution for engineering education. The school presents a 4-year residential undergraduate program in Computer Science, delivered by eminent tech leaders from major industry players like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, Uber, and more. Distinguishing itself with an industry-validated curriculum, an esteemed teaching faculty comprising top tech professionals, and an innovative 1:1 mentorship model, Scaler operates from a cutting-edge campus located in Bangalore’s Electronic City, in close proximity to major tech firms. Going beyond conventional education, the program provides specialised tracks in high-demand technologies coupled with a groundbreaking one-year paid internship. Successful program completion rewards learners with a 3-year BSc in Computer Science from BITS Pilani and a one-year Master in Computer Science from the globally accredited Woolf University.

    Scaler – Founders and Team

    Both Scaler and InterviewBit have been founded by IIIT (International Institute of Information Technology) Hyderabad alums Anshuman Singh and Abhimanyu Saxena.

    Anshuman Singh and Abhimanyu Saxena - Founders, Scaler (& InterviewBIt)
    Anshuman Singh and Abhimanyu Saxena – Founders, Scaler (& InterviewBIt)

    Anshuman Singh

    Anshuman previously worked at Facebook, where he led the team to build and scale the Messenger feature. Anshuman was also part of the four-member landing team to set up the London office of Facebook. He is a competitive programmer and a two-time ACM ICPC World Finalist.

    Abhimanyu Saxena

    Abhimanyu led a team that designed NYC-based retail marketplace Fab.com’s entire front end. A seasoned entrepreneur, Abhimanyu co-founded his first enterprise while still in college.

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    Scaler – Startup Story | How it Started?

    Abhimanyu Saxena started his career with Progress Software as a Programmer and later moved to Fab.com as a Software Architect, where he worked for over three years. During his days at Fab.com, he had to recruit new talent for projects, which turned out to be a tedious job. Even after screening hundreds of resumes and conducting interviews, they were only able to find the right talent in single digits. Anshuman faced a similar challenge in his role at Facebook (Meta), where he was setting up the London office and was looking to recruit tech talent for Facebook’s expanding footprint.

    Almost 90% of the candidates interviewed did not have the necessary tech skills that were required for the job. This was when he experienced the scarcity of skilled tech talent in the industry and realised the gap that exists between the university curriculum and the skills that are required to succeed as a software engineer.

    In 2015, together, they started InterviewBit as an online platform providing interview prep to aspirants to make them job-ready, thereby also addressing the challenge faced by recruiters in hiring the right talent for the job.

    InterviewBit.com is a free coding practice platform for developers. The platform helps college students as well as working professionals to polish their programming skills and get job-ready. The companies that hire from the programmer community on InterviewBit.com pay the company hiring fee. All Scaler by InterviewBit courses have prepaid Scaler course fees that students need to pay to be part of the program.

    Scaler’s first two paying customers were Amazon and Facebook. “They started helping Amazon hire quality engineers back in 2015, and to date, they are super proud that we’ve helped Amazon hire a lot of top tech stars. They built an interview warm-up tool for Facebook Careers called CodeLab, which was exceptionally popular amongst the FB applicants,” Says Scaler Founders.

    The majority of private organisations, both large and small, claim that while graduates might possess theoretical knowledge, they usually lack the skills that are required to complement entry-level jobs. They realised that most people they engaged with were capable of achieving even greater things given the right guidance. That’s exactly what led to the launch of Scaler in 2019.

    At Scaler, the pedagogy of the courses has been created, and the structured interaction with recruiters and industry leaders (CXOs) has been set up, as it helps understand what companies are looking for in candidates and then train their students with those skills accordingly.

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    Scaler Logo
    Scaler Logo

    Scaler means scale – scale your career, scale your skills, scale your life to be bigger, and better. It’s also a play on a mathematical term – Scalar.

    The logo shows the process of scaling, from the small cube, becoming bigger, to the white space resembling a diagonal arrow pointing upscaling.

    The colour blue was chosen, as it’s commonly associated with trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, and intelligence. These are the qualities that Scaler wants to inspire in others when looking at the brand.

    Scaler – Business Model and Revenue Model

    InterviewBit.com is a free coding practice platform for developers. The platform helps college students as well as working professionals to polish their programming skills and get job-ready. The companies that hire from the programmer community on InterviewBit.com pay the company hiring fee. All Scaler by InterviewBit courses has prepaid Scaler course fees that students need to pay to be part of the program.

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    Scaler – Startup Launch

    Scaler’s first two paying customers were Amazon and Facebook.

    “They started helping Amazon hire quality engineers back in 2015, and till date are super proud that we’ve helped Amazon hire a lot of top tech stars. They built an interview warm up tool for Facebook Careers called CodeLab, which was exceptionally popular amongst the FB applicants” Says Scaler Founders.

    Scaler – Challenges Faced

    Fixing the problem of talent scarcity is a rather hard problem, with fixes needed on both the supply and demand side. Lack of awareness among students and archaic ways of hiring at businesses, which have gotten established over the years, are two problems that need behaviour change. However, Scaler does see a positive change coming on both fronts at a rapid pace.

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    Scaler – Growth and Revenue

    Post the phenomenal growth Scaler saw in 2021 and 2022, the edtech brand is now focusing on maintaining its top line and profitability. Scaler has been EBITA positive over the last few months and is hoping to hit annual profitable figures by the end of the year. Here are some growth highlights that Scaler has witnessed to date:

    • Scaler has expanded its operations to the US in January 2022
    • Scaler is adding 2,500 learners monthly, and since April 2019, it has onboarded & helped 35,000 learners cumulatively.
    • Scaler has a very active community on Discord where students and teachers (mentors) discuss various tech and digital skills topics, clarify doubts instantaneously, and discuss assignments, projects, etc. With over 130,000 members, it is the largest tech community in the country.
    • Scaler is positive for both cash flow and EBITDA.
    • Scaler’s courses offer 4.5X RoI (return on investment) for the students
    • Thousands of Scaler alumni are placed in companies like Microsoft, Google, Uber, Amazon, Paypal, Adobe, VMWare, Intuit and McAfee.

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    Scaler – Funding and Investors

    Scaler (by InterviewBit) has raised a total of over $76.5 million in funding to date. The recent round of funding came in from Lightrock, Sequoia, and Tiger Global, which helped the company raise $55 mn, as of 1st February 2022.

    Scaler’s Funding and Investors details are as follows:

    Date Series Amount Investors
    February 1, 2022 Series B $55 million Lightrock India, Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global
    January 28, 2020 Series A $20 Million Sequoia India, Tiger Global, Global Founders Capital and Rocket Internet
    – – $1.5 Million Sequoia Surge Program

    Scaler is backed by marquee investors like Peak XV Ventures (Sequoia Capital India), Tiger Global, Global Founders Capital, and Lightrock India, along with several high-profile individual investors. Lightrock India has stepped in as a new investor, leading the recent round of Scaler on February 1, 2022, where the company raised $55 million.

    Scaler Shareholders
    Scaler Shareholders

    Scaler – Competitors

    Some of the top competitors of Scaler Academy include –

    • Unacademy
    • PhysicsWallah
    • Masai School
    • Upgrad
    • Simplilearn
    • Masters Union
    • Vellore Institute of Technology
    • i-Nurture Education Solutions
    • Indian Institute of Technology
    • Indian Institute of Information Technology
    • National Institute of Technology

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    Scaler – Acquisitions

    Scaler acquired Coding Elements and Coding Minutes in 2021. Followed by Applied Roots in 2022 in a deal worth $50 million. All the founders of these companies and their respective teams joined Scaler as full-time employees. Recently, Scaler made its fourth acquisition of a Delhi-based education platform, Pepcoding, for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition will accelerate growth and support across various business units, including strategy, product design, B2B enterprise, operations and instructor org.

    Here’s a glimpse into the 4 acquisitions that Scaler made so far:

    Name of the company acquired Date of acquisition Price
    Applied Roots March 2, 2022 $50 mn
    Coding Minutes October 21, 2021 $98.82 mn
    Coding Elements August 30, 2021 $1.05 mn
    Pep Coding May 31, 2023 Undisclosed amount

    Scaler – Recognition and Achievements

    • InterviewBit was recognised by LinkedIn as one of the 25 hottest Indian start-ups to work for in 2019
    • InterviewBit was one among the 17 startups from India, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Bangladesh that have made it to the inaugural cohort of venture capital firm Sequoia’s Surge program
    • Scaler was recognised as a Great Place to Work® by the GPTW Institute in 2021
    • Recognised by AmbitionBox as “The Best Place to Work in India 2022” among tech startup companies with more than 500 employees in India
    • The startup’s parent firm, InterviewBit, is featured on the Financial Times’s Asia Pacific High Growth Companies 2021, 2022 and 2023 ranking.

    Scaler – Future Plans

    For the near future, Scaler plans to sustain a substantial revenue growth range of 30-40% from FY24 to FY25 with a focus on not just the financial progress but also a consistent delivery of high-quality education and essential skills for their learners.

    “At Scaler, they believe execution is equally essential for success in online learning. Towards this end, they continuously experiment with and incorporate new methodologies for teaching and learning to ensure an effective outcome,” added Scaler team

    Besides this, the team is also focusing on building Scaler School of Technology with admissions open to welcome the second batch of students to the campus.

    Ultimately, their goal is to bridge the demand-supply gap in the tech industry.

    Scaler – Community and Reviews

    Scaler’s community on Discord currently comprises around 130,000 members. It is the largest tech community in the country, comprised of like-minded individuals, where members discuss various tech and digital skills topics, share job openings, and engage in games and competitions.

    The reviews of Scaler by many people say…

    • “People teaching you are either a world-class competitive programmer or have cracked interviews in companies which take world-class hard interviews”
    • “The doubt support time is mentioned as 30 minutes, but it is wrong, He must say. It’s less than that. Anytime He felt doubt, He messages his community of batch mates or even to the teacher who taught him that concept, and they clarify instantly”
    • “You will have a Student Success Manager who will be guiding you through every step of your journey. In my case, My SSM even got to the extent that He was not solving problems in the middle of the course, so she contacted me and asked me to make a Google doc and share it with her and update daily on that doc the questions He do”
    • “If you succeed in a job interview – they will call and congratulate you and talk about the next opportunities. If you fail in one – they will call and say it’s normal and will discuss areas of improvement you can make.”
    Scaler Office photos
    Scaler Office photos

    FAQs

    Scaler was incubated inside the InterviewBit in 2019 – a platform where people could learn new programming skills and practice interview questions in order to scale up in their careers.

    What is Scaler?

    Scaler is a competitive online accelerator program that offers a course on computer science that trains software developers to land jobs with top tech companies. It offers an intensive 6-12-month computer science course.

    How much is Scaler Funding?

    Scaler (by InterviewBit) has raised a total of $76.5 million in investment to date.

    Who are the founders of Scaler?

    Scaler and InterviewBit both are founded by IIIT Hyderabad alums Anshuman Singh and Abhimanyu Saxena.

    What is Scaler Academy?

    Scaler Academy is an online tech-versity for the top 1% of software developers in the country. They offer an intensive six-month computer science course through live classes delivered by tech leaders and subject matter experts.

    Who does Scaler Cater to?

    Scaler caters to:

    • Tech-enthusiasts in university (Scaler Edge)
    • Young working professionals (Scaler Academy)
    • Those looking to transform into future CTOs and entrepreneurs (Scaler Plus)

  • Top 10 Venture Capital Firms in India | Best Active VC Firms

    Startup companies need a certain amount of investment for growth. Wealthy investors like to invest their capital in businesses with long-term growth in view. This capital is known as venture capital and the investors are called venture capitalists. The venture capital investment is made when a venture capitalist buys shares of companies and becomes a financial partner of their business.

    The data recorded at the end of Q3 2019 states that the top 10 most active Venture Capital firms in India alone contribute to 32% of the total deal count in the startup ecosystem. The Venture Capital investment is often termed as risk capital or patient capital. This is because most VC investing capitals or rather a majority of them harbor tremendous risks of parting from the money invested if the venture doesn’t succeed. Besides, the capital coming from venture capital firms or VC funds usually needs a medium to long-term period for the investments to fructify.

    The Indian startups secured over $12.1 billion from the venture capital funds in the first 6 months of 2021, which is $1 billion more than the overall funding that they received last year. Venture Capital (VC) investment in India more than doubled from its previous quarterly high of $6.7 billion in Q2 2021 to $14.4 billion during Q3 2021, according to a recent report by KPMG.

    In the year 2021, the Indian startups have successfully managed to mop up $36 bn worth of funds and most of them came from the VC funding for startups and private equity investments, which increased by 3X from the earlier year. These funds are not only helping the startups find it easier to raise funds but are also adding gear to the Indian startup ecosystem, thereby making it a prominent and growing entity in the global landscape.

    Citing information from Venture Intelligence, the total investments in the first half of 2023 stood at $3.8 billion, which is divergent from the substantial figure of $18.4 billion seen previously.

    Top Venture Capital Firms in India
    Top Venture Capital Firms in India

    Top VC Firms in India –

    Features of Venture Capital Investments
    Methods of Venture Capital Financing

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    Peak XV Partners

    VC Firm Peak XV Partners
    Founder Donald T. Valentine (Sequoia Capital)
    Founded in 2000
    Deals 415
    Notable Investments JustDial, Knowlarity, Practo, iYogi, bankbazaar.com
    Key Sectors Fintech & Enterprisetech
    Stage Early Stage Venture, Late Stage Venture, Seed
    Website Peakxv.com
    Venture Capitalist Firm - Peak XV Partners
    Venture Capitalist Firm – Peak XV Partners

    Sequoia India & Southeast Asia has undergone a rebranding process and emerged as Peak XV Partners. Sequoia Capital the parent organization of Peak XV Partners is an American venture capital firm, headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Sequoia invests in both public and private companies. Sequoia Capital has invested in over 1000 companies since 1972, the list of which includes big names like Apple, Google, Oracle, Nvidia, Github, and more. It is mainly focused on the technology industry. Peak XV Partners has invested in companies such as JustDial, Knowlarity, Practo, iYogi, and bankbazaar.com. It has assets worth $5.4 billion under management in India and it is spread across seven funds.

    Every six months, Sequoia shortlists 15 to 20 startups for each cohort and provides a capital investment of $1 Million to $2 Million with participation from other investors.

    About Venture Capital

    Accel

    VC Firm Accel
    Founder Jim Swartz, Arthur Patterson
    Founded in 1983
    Deals 322
    Notable Investments Freshworks, Swiggy, BlackBuck, Bounce, BookMyShow, Flipkart
    Key Sectors Enterprisetech
    Stage Early Stage Venture, Late Stage Venture, Seed
    Website Accel.com
    Venture Capitalist Firm - Accel
    Venture Capitalist Firm – Accel

    Accel, formerly known as Accel Partners, is an American venture capital firm based out of Palo Alto, California, US. The company has its offices in Palo Alto and San Francisco along with operating funds in India, China, and London. Some of the major companies that Accel has funded over the years are Facebook, Flipkart, Atlassian, Slack, Spotify, Etsy, and more.

    Accel currently has assets of more than $1.6 billion under management. It has closed nearly six funds in India. The company’s portfolio of funding Indian businesses includes names like Flipkart, Swiggy, Blackbuck, Cure.fit, and more. The firm’s growth capital investments focus on more developed companies that require a larger amount of capital to expand their business.

    Accel secured a substantial sum of $650 million in 2022 for its seventh fund, known as Accel India VII. This fund supported early-stage startups in both India and Southeast Asia.

    During the first quarter of 2023, the VC firm actively engaged in 12 investment deals with promising startups. Among the recipients of their investments were Zypp Electric, Kratos Studios, Rigi, and Brick&Bolt. Notably, Accel took part in a total of 48 investment deals over the course of 2022.

    Accel is a venture capital firm that concentrates on the following technology sectors: Consumer, Infrastructure, Media, Mobile, SaaS, Security, Customer care services, Enterprise software, and E-commerce.

    Blume Ventures

    VC Firm Blume Ventures
    Founder Karthik Reddy and Sanjay Nath
    Founded in 2010
    Deals 228
    Notable Investments Dunzo, Unacademy, Instamojo, Procol, HealthAssure, Milkbasket
    Key Sectors Fintech & Enterprisetech
    Stage Early Stage Venture, Seed
    Website Blume.vc
    Venture Capitalist Firm - Blume Ventures
    Venture Capitalist Firm – Blume Ventures

    Blume Ventures is an early-stage and seed-stage venture fund that has its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The company was founded in 2010 as a venture capitalist firm that aims to improve startup financing in India. Blume Ventures primarily focuses on tech companies. The company launched its first micro-VC fund in 2011, becoming the first institutionalized early-stage investor at that time.

    Blume Ventures raised a $41 Million opportunity fund in 2020, which was one of the largest domestic opportunity funds among the Indian venture capital funds designed to invest in best-performing portfolio companies. From this fund, Blume has invested in Series B to D rounds in firms like Unacademy and Servify. The company had nearly three other funds the last one was $102 Million before the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The VC firm has nearly $225 Million in total capital under management. Blume Ventures boasts of managing capital amounting to more than $280 million and has backed 150+ startups.

    During the year 2022, the venture capital fund successfully concluded a funding round, securing a total of $250 million for its operations. This enabled them to support 31 Indian startups, notable among them being Lambdatest, Pixxel, and Jai Kishan, an agritech startup.

    During the first quarter of 2023, Blume Ventures engaged in funding rounds for 20 startups, providing investments to notable companies including ApnaKlub, Virohan, ElectricPe, and Aerem.

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    Elevation Capital

    VC Firm Elevation Capital
    Founder Andrew Yan
    Founded in 2001
    Deals 170
    Notable Investments Capital Float, Firstcry, Swiggy, IndustryBuying, Aye Finance, Rivigo, Cleartax
    Key Sectors Fintech
    Stage Stage Agnostic, Private Equity
    Website Elevationcapital.com
    Venture Capitalist Firm - Elevation Capital
    Venture Capitalist Firm – Elevation Capital

    SAIF Partners rebranded as Elevation Capital on October 20, 2020, is a stage and sector-agnostic private equity firm in Asia. The firm is headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, India, and aims to make minor investments in seed-stage, early-stage, and later-stage companies. Elevation Capital (formerly known as SAIF Partners) was started as Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund (SAIF) in 2001 with a $400 Million fund where Cisco Systems and Softbank Group were the sole limited partner.

    When Elevation Capital started as SAIF Partners, it was headquartered in Hong Kong and was focused on China, India, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In India, the venture capital firm has offices in Bengaluru and Gurugram. Elevation Capital had already invested in the early stages of companies like FirstCry, Just Dial, MakeMyTrip, Meesho, Paytm, ShareChat, Swiggy, and more. The firm has doubled its investment in Indian firms in 2020 into new segments like edtech, health tech enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS), entertainment, and direct-to-consumer startups.

    Tiger Global Management

    VC Firm Tiger Global Management
    Founder Chase Coleman III
    Founded in 2001
    Deals 221
    Notable Investments Urban Company, Flipkart, Moglix, OPEN, Ninjacart, Razorpay
    Key Sectors Fintech
    Stage Growth, Late Stage, Private Equity, Post- IPO
    Website Tigerglobal.com
    Venture Capitalist Firm - Tiger Global Management
    Venture Capitalist Firm – Tiger Global Management

    Tiger Global Management LLC operates as an investment firm that is focused on public and private companies in the global Internet, software, consumer, and financial technology industries. The mission is to generate world-class investment returns over the long term. It builds a unique, global investment platform. They invest in high-quality companies that benefit from powerful secular growth trends and are led by excellent management teams.

    Tiger Global Management was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in New York, US, and is one of the most global investors in Indian startups that has started investments of around $300 Million. It has backed more than 13 companies, including a $90 Million round in agri-tech startup Ninjacart and a $60 Million infusion in B2B industrial goods marketplace Moglix in the first half of FY19.

    The company is said to have invested in more than 442 companies across the globe with 7 designated funds. It has also witnessed 64 exits since its inception in 2001. In India, this VC firm has invested in more than 97 startups. Tiger Global is reported to have raised the highest amount of capital amongst venture capital firms between 2007 and 2017. In 2020, Tiger Global helped its investors earn around $10.4 billion, which is more than any other hedge fund on the annual list of London fund-of-funds firm LCH Investments’ top 20 managers.

    Razorpay had been among the companies, which includes Urban Company, Flipkart, Moglix, and more that Tiger Global Management had invested. In the first half of 2019, Tiger Global Management made its founder, Coleman, the top-earning US hedge fund manager in 2020 where the company had mopped in around $3 billion in fees and gains on investments.

    In mid-2022, Fund 15 concluded its fundraising with an impressive total of $12.7 billion, showcasing a significant growth of 2 times compared to the 16th equity fund announced in October.

    In June 2023, Tiger Global successfully secured $2.7 billion for its new fund, though it fell below its initial target of $6 billion.

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    Kalaari Capital

    VC Firm Kalaari Capital
    Founder Vani Kola
    Founded in 2006
    Deals 149
    Notable Investments Cashkaro, Cure.fit, WinZO, Jumbotail, Milkbasket, Myntra, Snapdeal
    Key Sectors E-commerce
    Stage Early Stage
    Website Kalaari.com
    Venture Capitalist Firm - Kalaari Capital
    Venture Capitalist Firm – Kalaari Capital

    Kalaari Capital, founded in 2006 in Bengaluru by Vani Kola. It focuses on technology-related companies in India. Till now it has made more than 92 investments across 3 funds and witnessed more than 15 exits from companies like Myntra and Snapdeal. It has also made a partial exit from Zivame.

    Kalaari Capital manages $650 Million in assets under management. It boasts of a strong advisory team in Bangalore investing in the early stage. Kalaari is passionate about investing in entrepreneurs who are poised to be tomorrow’s global leaders. This firm had funded $290 Million in 2015, which was the largest fund by an Indian VC at that time.

    Matrix Partners

    VC Firm Matrix Partners
    Founder Paul J. Ferri
    Founded in 1977
    Deals 168
    Notable Investments Avail Finance, Vogo, DailyNinja, Stanza Living, MoEngage
    Key Sectors Fintech & E-commerce
    Stage Early Stage Venture, Seed
    Website Matrixpartners.in
    Venture Capitalist Firm - Matrix Partners India
    Venture Capitalist Firm – Matrix Partners India

    Matrix Partners is a US-based private equity investment firm focused on venture capital investments. The firm invests in seed and early-stage companies in the United States and India. It mainly concentrates on the software, communications, semiconductors, data storage, Internet, or wireless sectors. Matrix has invested in Apple Computer, Alteon WebSystems, and Office Club. It is said to have nearly $1 Bn as assets under management (AUM). The company has invested in more than 549 companies throughout the world with its second fund. Online gaming platform Zupee raised $10 Million in a funding round led by US-based growth equity firm WestCap Group and existing investor Matrix Partners India.

    The firm has also noted 120 successful exits from companies like HubSpot and Oculus. The firm entered India back in 2006 under the leadership of general partners Avnish Bajaj and Rishi Navani.

    Nexus Venture Partners

    VC Firm Nexus Venture Partners
    Founder Sandeep Singhal
    Founded in 2006
    Deals 137
    Notable Investments WhiteHat Jr, Delhivery, Rapido, Unacademy, Druva, Jumbotail, Bolo App, Pratilipi, Zomato
    Key Sectors Enterprisetech
    Stage Early Stage Venture, Seed
    Website Nexusvp.com
    Venture Capitalist Firm - Nexus Venture Partners
    Venture Capitalist Firm – Nexus Venture Partners

    Nexus Venture Partners was founded in 2006. Silicon Valley and Mumbai-based venture capital firm, Nexus Venture Partners is the first India-US venture fund. The company has grown to be a popular venture capitalist firm that has helped a list of companies to raise funds like WhiteHat Jr., Rapido, Delhivery, Zomato, and more.

    The firm makes investments in early-growth stage companies with an average ticket size of $500K-$10 Million. The firm had raised $100 Million in its first fund. It is said to have more than $1.4 Billion in assets under management as of FY 19. The firm has invested in over 100 startups such as Zomato, Snapdeal, Delhivery, Goodera, etc. Its successful exits include Gluster, Gitter, ElasticBox, and MapMyIndia among others.

    By March 2023, Nexus Venture Partners had successfully raised a total of $2.6 billion in funding in a span of seven funds.

    Indian Angel Network

    VC Firm Indian Angel Network
    Founder Saurabh Srivastava, Padmaja Ruparel, Raman Roy
    Founded in 2006
    Deals 189
    Notable Investments WebEngage, Wow! Momo, Druva, Box8, Faballey, Little Black Book
    Key Sectors E-commerce & Agriculture
    Stage Early Stage, Seed
    Website Iangroup.vc
    Venture Capitalist Firm - Indian Angel Network
    Venture Capitalist Firm – Indian Angel Network

    Founded in 2006, in New Delhi, India, Indian Angel Network (IAN) is a group of primarily Indian angel investors funding early-stage startups. The group had 450 members from 11 countries in 2017. Indian Angel Network, India’s first and Asia’s largest angel network brings together successful entrepreneurs and CEOs. The group has invested in companies, such as PregBuddy and SuperProfs. In 2018, one of its founders Padmaja Ruparel was ranked amongst Fortune (magazine)‘s list of The Most Powerful Women in India.

    On Nov 8th, 2020, the Indian Angel Network (IAN) announced the joint with Bangladesh Angels Network (BAN). The aim is to work together to source, cross-refer, and promote linkages in technology-enabled startups in India and Bangladesh to create an enabling environment for venture investing in both ecosystems. IAN is a SEBI-registered early-stage fund with more than 470 investors from around 11 countries. It aims at investing up to $1 Million, with an average ticket size of about $400K-$600K.

    By October 2022, Indian Angel Network had successfully raised a total of ₹20.5B billion in funding in a span of four funds.

    Omidyar Indian Network

    VC Firm Omidyar Network India
    Founder Pierre Omidyar
    Founded in 2004
    Deals 360
    Notable Investments Dailyhunt, Indifi Technologies, 1mg, Needslist, Bounce, Platzi, Pratilipi, Healthkart, Doubtnut, ZestMoney, WhiteHat Education Technology
    Key Sectors Fintech & Education
    Stage Early Stage, Seed Stage
    Website Omidyarnetwork.in
    Venture Capitalist Firm - Omidyar Indian Network
    Venture Capitalist Firm – Omidyar Indian Network

    Omidyar Network India was founded in 2004. Omidyar Network India is an investment firm focused on social impact. The company looks to invest in startups that are helping to build more inclusive and equitable societies for the benefit of many. It provides grants to nonprofits in the areas of digital identity, education, emerging technologies, financial services, and more. The company started ReSolve Initiative, which is designed to invest in building solutions for two long-standing themes – MSMEs and migrant workers. The initiative will look to entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and policymakers to come together to reframe and resolve the issues plaguing these areas.

    It has invested over $300 Million into the Indian startup ecosystem. The company has also decided to invest an additional $350 Million (INR 2486 Cr) in the upcoming five years. By this investment, the social impact investment firm also wants to target 500 Million individuals, who have just started using smartphones.

    Features of Venture Capital Investments

    • High-risk investment
    • High Tech projects
    • Participation in Management
    • Length of Investment
    • Illiquid Investment
    How Venture Capital Industry Works
    How the Venture Capital Industry Works

    Methods of Venture Capital Financing

    • Equity financing – Equity financing is the raising of funds by selling the shares of the company. Sometimes companies need money for short-term or long-term investments and the sale of shares proves beneficial in the way that they simply sell their shares or the ownership of the company in return for cash
    • Participating debentures – This is the form of raising capital from venture capitalists and other companies in different phases with varying interest rates. Here, the initial seed round comes without any interest, however, the successive rounds, as the startup grows, are chargeable at increasing interest rates.
    • Conditional loan – Conditional loans are another way of raising funds that do not carry interest. These loans can be availed by startups and other companies to meet their funding needs but they need to be repaid to the lender in the form of royalty once the company starts making revenue. The rate of royalty varies from (2-15)% based on several factors like the gestational period, external risk, and more.
    • Income note – Income notes can be categorized under hybrid financing that is similar to traditional and conditional loans in characteristics when combined. In this form of a fund raised the company for which they have to have both royalty and interest but at comparatively lower rates.
    • Convertible loans – Going by the term, “conditional” loans are the loans that are provided to startups and other business ventures on the condition that if the loan amount is not paid within a stipulated time they can then convert the same into equity.

    The venture capitalist provides the funding knowing that there’s a significant risk associated with the company’s future profits and cash flow. Capital is invested in exchange for an equity stake in the business rather than given as a loan.

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    FAQs

    What is a Venture Capital investment company?

    A venture capital investment company is an investment firm that invests in startups and mentors them for their growth. Venture capital firms are generally made up of well-off investors, investment banks, and other financial institutions.

    How many Venture Capital firms are there in India?

    There are over 800+ venture capital firms in India, as of 2022.

    What are the top Venture Capital firms in India?

    Some of the top Venture Capital firms in India are:

    • Peak XV Partners
    • Accel
    • Blume Ventures
    • SAIF Partners
    • Tiger Global Management
    • Kalaari Capital
    • Matrix Partners
    • Nexus Venture Partners
    • India Angel Network
    • Omidyar Network India

    What are Corporate Venture Capital funds?

    Corporate Venture Capital funds can be defined as the corporate funds that the Corporate Venture Capital firms invest directly in the external startup companies.

    To list some of the top corporate venture capital firms:

    • Brand Capital
    • Amazon and Amazon Alexa Fund
    • Google and Google Ventures
    • Unilever Ventures
    • Samsung Ventures
    • Intel Capital
    • Microsoft
    • Bain Capital Ventures
    • Reliance Capital
    • Mahindra Partners
    • Experian Ventures
    • Lodha Ventures

    How to raise venture capital for a tech startup?

    If you are looking to raise venture capital for a tech startup that is on your mind, then here are some decent ideas that you can go for to raise some venture capital:

    • Set out with a powerful business idea
    • Make a unique and foolproof business and revenue model
    • Make a list of the criteria for getting funds from a specific list of venture capitals
    • Know your venture capital firms
    • Prepare your pitch
    • Reach out to prominent venture capital firms politely and confidently
    • Speak well and support your statements with research data
    • Communicate your ideas clearly
    • Establish your value propositions well
    • Wait for the results

    What are early stage VC firms?

    The early stage VC firms are the venture capital firms that are typically known to support startup businesses in their earlier stages of growth. These stages also include the beginning phase when the projects are still in the market research and development stage.

  • How BYJU’S Became the Most Valued Startup in India?

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by BYJU’S.

    Imagine you are sitting in a packed class, and the teacher is explaining an important concept. It appears that everyone else is understanding the teacher’s words and nodding their heads in unison, but this is not the same with you because you cannot understand an inch of the explanation going on in the class. Does this scenario resonate with you? Whether you accept it or not, such situations have happened at least once in a student’s life. Every person has his or her own pace of learning, and it is not possible for the teacher to take care of everyone in the class.

    Thankfully, the Edtech sector is growing fast enough to fill this gap. And talking about EdTech in India, one name that can’t be missed is BYJU. Read on to find out how an engineer’s passion for teaching led him to start the world’s most valued ed-tech company.

    BYJU’S was founded in 2011 by Byju Raveendran, and BYJU’S The Learning App was launched in 2015. BYJU’S is now valued at about $8.4 billion.

    Let’s go through the Exciting Journey of BYJU’S and also discover more about BYJU’s Success Story, History, Founders, Funding, Revenue, Competitors, Acquisitions, and more.

    BYJU's Journey
    Timeline of BYJU’s Success Story

    BYJU’s – Company Highlights

    Startup Name BYJU’S
    Headquarter Bangalore
    Founder Byju Raveendran
    Sector Edtech
    Founded 2011
    Valuation $8.4 Billion (May 2023)
    Total Funding $6 Billion (May 2023)
    Parent Organization Think and Learn Pvt. Ltd.
    Website byjus.com

    About BYJU’s and How BYJU’s Works
    BYJU’s – Founders and Team
    BYJU’s – Startup Story | How was BYJU’s Started
    BYJU’s – Name, Logo, and Tagline
    BYJU’s – Business Model and Revenue Model
    BYJU’s – Funding and Investors
    BYJU’s – IPO
    BYJU’s – Challenges faced by BYJU’s
    BYJU’s – Competitors/Alternatives
    BYJU’s – Acquisitions
    BYJU’s – Growth and Revenue
    BYJU’s – Partnerships
    BYJU’s – Lay Off
    BYJU’s – Future Plans

    About BYJU’s and How BYJU’s Works

    The Bangalore-based educational technology platform BYJU’s is an online tutoring and coaching firm that was started in the year 2011 and runs on a freemium model. BYJU’s parent company is ‘Think and Learn Pvt Ltd’. The main aim of BYJU’s is to provide coaching through online video lectures for students of class 1 to class 12 and also for people who prepare for competitive exams like IIT – JEE, NEET, CAT, GRE, and GMAT.

    BYJU’s – the Learning app was launched in the year 2015 and has been a huge success. It is used by more than 15 million students all over the world and has 9,00,000 paid subscribers. The app helps the students to learn on their own rather than rely on spoon-feeding. Its approach combines the re-invention of learning, world-class teachers, proven pedagogical methods, and personalized learning.

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    StartupTalkyParnas Ghosh

    BYJU’s – Founders and Team

    Byju Raveendran is the founder of BYJU’s Classes, the education Technology firm.

    Byju Raveendran

    Byju Raveendran - Founder, BYJU'S
    Byju Raveendran – Founder, BYJU’S

    Byju Raveendran, BYJU’s founder, and CEO, was born in 1980 in Azhikode, Kerela. He has a B.Tech (mechanical engineering) from Government Engineering College in Kannur, Kerela. Before starting BYJU’s, Byju Raveendran was working in a multinational shipping firm as a service engineer. However, teaching was his passion and inspired him to start BYJU’s.

    Besides being an entrepreneur and teacher, Byju Raveendran is also an expert sportsperson, active in six different sports. He played football, cricket, table tennis, and badminton at the university level. Popularly known as Byju sir among his students, Byju cleared CAT twice with 100 percentile. He never joined any IIM, though.

    Divya Gokulnath

    Divya Gokulnath - Co-founder, BYJU'S
    Divya Gokulnath – Co-founder, BYJU’S

    An Indian entrepreneur and educator, Divya Gokulnath is the wife of Byju Raveendran and a co-founder and director at Byju’s. Divya was a student of National College Jayanagar and R.V College of Engineering, from where she completed her B.Tech in Biotechnology after which she decided to co-found Byju’s in 2011 with her husband.

    Rachna Bahadur was appointed as the Senior VP of Byju’s on December 10, 2021, who will look after the overall planning, strategies, and roadmap of Byju’s both in new and existing markets. Rachna was previously a Partner at Bain & Company.

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    BYJU’s – Startup Story | How was BYJU’s Started?

    Coming from Azhikode, a small village in Kerala, Byju Raveendran was an engineer with a shipping company based in the UK. While he was working, he started to help his friends prepare for the CAT exam, an entrance exam for getting into the best business schools in India. To test himself, Byju also gave the exam and secured 100 percentile! He did not join any of the IIMs but started teaching students for their mathematics exams.

    Initially, he took mathematics workshops for free and then started charging a fee when he was confident about his prowess. At one point his workshops were so popular that more than 20000 students participated in one such workshop. In the year 2009, he started to record videos of the workshops he organized.

    His former students who graduated from the IIMs encouraged him to start BYJU’s classes. ‘Think and Learn Pvt Ltd’ was then formed to create content for school students. He launched Byju’s – The Learning App in 2015, and the app was downloaded by more than 5.5 million people in the first year itself.

    BYJU’s tagline is “Fall in love with learning“. Byju’s got its name from its founder’s first name.

    Here’s the BYJU’S logo below:

    BYJU'S Logo
    BYJU’S Logo

    BYJU’s – Business Model and Revenue Model

    Byju’s works on a freemium business model wherein it offers customers both complimentary and paid (premium) services. The company asks the students to submit their details on its application or website and offers them a free 15 days trial. Once the free trial is exhausted, the student has to buy the courses from BYJU’s to access the complete content. The company provides one-to-one mentoring to its subscribers and also provides feedback to the child’s parents. BYJU’s also offers classroom coaching in Noida, Gurgaon, and some other areas.

    BYJU’s generates revenue in three ways:

    • The first one is through the app. After the free trial of 15 days, students have to purchase the courses to continue their educational journey on BYJU’s. The app offers a variety of test series, courses, etc. which actually compels people to make the purchase.
    • BYJU’s offers electronic tablets that customers need to procure when they buy the course of their choice. This tablet has videos, tests, practice questions, quizzes, etc. pertaining to that course.
    • The third revenue generation mechanism is through classroom teaching. These classes are restricted to only a few cities.

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    BYJU’s – Funding and Investors

    In 2016, BYJU’s became the first Asian company to receive funding from the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, a philanthropic initiative by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. It was back in 2018 when BYJU’s turned into a unicorn, becoming the first Indian edtech company to join the prestigious unicorn club of Indian startups.

    During the funding round in March 2022, BYJU’s successfully concluded a round worth $800 million. Notable investors, including Sumeru Ventures, Vitruvian Partners, and BlackRock, infused $400 million, while the founder of BYJU’s, Byju Raveendran, contributed the remaining $400 million. However, the closing of this funding round faced challenges in July 2022 when Sumeru and Oxshott did not transfer their due amount of $250 million, citing macroeconomic reasons.

    Byju Raveendran, the CEO of BYJU’s, holds approximately 25% of the company’s stakes, while Divya Gokulnath and the management team possess around 4% stakes.

    In June 2021, BYJU’s secured a funding round that valued the edtech giant at $16.5 billion, surpassing Paytm as the most valued startup in India. This was followed by an increase in valuation to $22 billion in July 2022 after the successful funding round. However, in May 2023, BlackRock cut BYJU’s valuation by 62%, resulting in a new valuation of $8.4 billion. This followed a previous valuation cut to $11.5 billion by BlackRock, just one month earlier.

    The table below covers BYJU’s funding details:

    Date Stage Amount Lead Investors
    May 13, 2023 Debt Financing $250 Million Davidson Kempner
    October 27, 2022 Debt Financing $36.45 Million Aakash Educational Services
    October 17, 2022 Private Equity $250 Million Qatar Investment Authority
    March 11, 2022 Private Equity $800 Million Byju Raveendran, Sumeru Ventures, Vitruvian Partners and BlackRock
    November 8, 2021 Debt Financing $1.2 Billion –
    October 4, 2021 Series F $286.61 Million Oxshott Capital Partners
    September 8, 2021 – $150 Million Asmaan Ventures, Mirae Asset, ARK Ncore
    June 21, 2021 Series F $50 Million IIFL and Maitri Edtech
    June 12, 2021 Series F $350 Million UBS Group, Eric Yuan, Blackstone
    March 29, 2021 Series F $460 Million MC Global Edtech Investment Holdings
    September 8, 2020 Private Equity Round $500 Million Silver Lake
    August 26, 2020 Venture Round $122 Million DST Global
    June 26, 2020 Venture Round $100 Million Bond
    January 9, 2020 Private Equity Round $200 Million Tiger Global Management
    July 10, 2019 Venture Round $150 Million Qatar Investment Authority
    March 22, 2019 Private Equity Round $31 Million General Atlantic & Tencent Holdings
    December 11, 2018 Venture Round $ 540 Million Prosus & Naspers
    August 2017 Corporate Round $40 Million Tencent Holdings
    March 2017 Series F $30 Million Verlinvest
    December 2016 Series E $15 Million IFC Venture Capital Group & InnoVen Capital
    September 2016 Series D $50 Million Chan Zuckerberg Initiative & Sequoia Capital India
    March 2016 Series C $75 Million Sequoia Capital India & Sofina

    In March 2017, a case study on BYJU’s was featured in Harvard Business School’s curriculum. It is indeed one of the biggest achievements for any company from a non-monetary perspective, and that is when Byju’s started operating on a global platform.

    BYJU’s – IPO

    Byju’s is eyeing an IPO within the next 8-10 months. Byju Raveendran-led edtech unicorn is India’s second-highest valued startup, which has already been popular in the startup ecosystem for its fundraises and acquisitions and is currently looking for an IPO at over $16.8 bn. According to the further progress in the IPO of Byju’s the company has now decided to merge the special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) of Churchill Capital, a global strategic advisory firm, and raise around $4 bn. Such an IPO round would value the company at over $48 bn, as per the reports of December 16, 2021. The BYJU’s IPO is set to be conducted in the next 18 months, as of July 7, 2022, at a valuation between $40-45 bn.

    BYJU’s – Challenges faced by BYJU’s

    As said by Byju Raveendran, the founder of BYJU’s, converting the students to paid subscribers after the free trial ends is a major challenge for BYJU’s. The company is also working towards expanding to other English-speaking countries, and finding suitable partners to assist with this expansion is the second challenge.

    Byju’s Owing Money to BCCI

    Byju’s, which has been the jersey sponsor for the Indian cricket team, allegedly owes nearly Rs 86.21 crore in dues to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). These news reports have been rejected by Byju Raveendran’s wife and the Co-founder of Byju’s Divya Gokulnath, who have also pointed out that the cricketing board of India has also rejected such news.  

    It originally acquired the rights from OPPO, the smartphone manufacturing firm in 2019, and the last deal of the edtech major with BCCI expired in March 2022. However, both parties have agreed to extend their partnership in April 2022, which will continue till the 2023 ODI World Cup. The latest deal was worth $55 mn.

    Byju’s Under Government Scanner for Misselling Courses

    Byju’s has been identified by the Department of Consumer Affairs among the edtech companies that missell courses. Several edtech companies like Unacademy, UpGrad, Great Learning, WhiteHat Jr., and more joined the meeting with the India Edtech Consortium (IEC) on June 24, 2022, where they were drawn attention to the numerous consumer complaints against these companies, a large number of which were against Byju’s and its subsidiaries. Divya Gokulnath of Byju’s fame shared a detailed action plan to address consumer complaints. Besides, the most valued startup in India has also been advised to work with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) for the claims that it makes in its ads.  

    BYJU’s – Competitors/Alternatives

    People are rapidly moving toward digitization and adopting e-learning because of this revolution, and many other companies with a model similar to BYJU’s are focusing on ed-tech. BYJU’s major competitors:

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    BYJU’s – Acquisitions

    Byju’s Recent Acquisitions

    BYJU’s has acquired a total number of 19 companies to date. With a total of 10 acquisitions under its belt in 2021, Byju’s had spent over $2.4 Bn owing to its aggressive acquisition spree, which the company has embraced eyeing a unilateral market. Byju’s acquired GeoGebra, an Austria-based Math learning tool startup on December 8, 2021, in a deal that was later recorded at around $100 mn. Founded by Markus Hohenwwarter in 2001, GeoGebra fuses geometry, algebra, spreadsheets, graphing, statistics, and calculus on a platform that is easy to use and efficient. Besides, it boasts of having a community of 100 Mn+ learners across 195+ countries. As a platform, GeoGebra aims to make math learning fun and visually appealing. This acquisition will, thus, make Byju’s Math learning programs interesting and interactive.

    Tynker was the last company that Byju’s acquired before this present acquisition on September 16, 2021. Byju’s previously acquired the e-learning app for competitive exam preparations, Toppr, and Edtech app, Great Learning on July 24, 2021, and then Whodat. Great Learning again acquired the recruitment automation company, Superset on February 28, 2022. Byju’s Great Learning acquired Northwest Executive Education on May 10, 2022, for around $100 mn, in a cash and stock deal. This acquisition would help both companies further their offerings to markets like India, the US, Europe, and Latin America.  

    Byju’s was in final talks of acquiring the online tutoring platform, Vedantu. The Edtech giant had already displayed a vibrant year of acquisition so doubts were relatively lesser on the same. According to the reports, the Byju Raveendran-led company had already offered an amount of $700-800 million for the deal, which was pending necessary regulatory approvals. Vedantu has been among the most prominent rivals of Byju’s, and if the deal fleshed out, it would have been another feather to the cap of Byju’s, being the fourth major acquisition of the company so far. However, Byju’s acquisition of Vedantu was dismissed by the co-founder and chief executive of Vedantu, Vamsi Krishna, who said that any talks of merger or acquisition with Byju’s are “100% inaccurate,” as per the reports on August 6, 2021.

    Though the Edtech major has reportedly reached out to Unacademy and Vedantu and offered them around $1 billion last year, none of the deals has materialized this year. However, Byju’s was then in talks to acquire Tynker, a coding platform for kids from the US. The talks were at their initial stage, with no confirmation of the figures of the deal, when reported on August 17, 2021. Byju’s has been ultimately successful in materializing yet another acquisition, where it has acquired Tynker on September 16, 2021, for $200 mn. Tynker Founder and CTO, Srinivas Mandyam has stated that the platform is so popular in the US that 1 in 3 schools already use it in the States. This will surely give Byju’s an extra edge for its expansion in North America. Byju coding class along with Tynker and WhiteHat Jr. is meant to be something big in the long run.

    Possible Acquisitions Ahead for Byju’s

    The Edtech decacorn is now looking to acquire Hello English, according to the news dated November 22, 2021, confirmed by sources close to the company. The sources on request for anonymity have also claimed that the deal will reportedly be valued at $25 mn. Furthermore, they added that the term sheet has already been signed.

    Hello English [formerly known as CultureAlley] is an eight-year-old cloud-based language learning platform that extends the facility of learning multiple languages for users including English, Chinese, Portuguese, Turkish, Nepali, Indonesian, Thai, Arabic, Malay, Urdu, Malay, Bengali, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and more. The acquisition of Hello English would be a landmark step and will signal the foray of the Edtech tech into the language learning space.

    Byju’s is also reported to be acquiring Superset and is currently involved in the late-stage conversation to finalize the terms, according to sources close to the companies on request of anonymity. Superset is a campus recruitment platform from Bangalore that aims to streamline the campus hiring process, thereby making placements an easy affair for colleges, universities, and companies. It is also alleged that the Superset founding duo, Naman Agrawal and Pranjal Goswami will also join Byju’s if the deal takes shape.

    The Byju Raveendran-led edtech company might acquire 2U Inc, a NASDAQ-listed edtech firm for close to $1 bn, which might stand as the largest acquisition in the space.

    Byju’s Completed Aakash Acquisition

    Byju’s owned Aakash Institute back in January 2021, in a deal worth $1 bn, which was to be completed in June 2022, but the company is deferring the payment and have reportedly sought a two-month extension already, as per the reports dated June 29, 2022. Blackstone, which is Aakash’s main investor and others are to be paid partly in cash and partly in Byju’s stocks, as per the reports. Many other investors also received partial payments in 2021 as reported by the firm. The Byju’s-Aakash deal, which was billed as the largest deal in the history of the Indian edtech space, declared previously that after the deal, Aakash Chaudhry and the Chaudhry family, who are the owners of the institute would completely exit the company. On the other hand, Blackstone, which owns 37.5% of the institute would be paid in June 2022. However, Byju’s spokesperson has denied the reports of Bloomberg and mentioned that Byju’s acquisition of Aakash would be completed on the mentioned date, which is in August 2022. Byju’s declared that it has completed Aakash’s pending payment as per the reports dated July 4, 2022. Via a statement, Byju’s spokesperson mentioned the closing of the Aakash deal, and that the audited financial results will be announced in the next 10 days. However, it is revealed on July 12, 2022, that Byju’s has a pending payment of close to $200 mn to the US-based private equity giant Blackstone Inc., which reportedly needs to be paid by August 2022.  

    Here are the details of all BYJU’s Acquisitions:

    Date Company About Company Value
    January 2017 Vidyartha A customised learning guidance platform for K8-K12 students $6.71 million
    July 2017 TutorVista Online tutoring services platform Undisclosed
    July 2017 Edurite Audio-visual educational content provider Undisclosed
    July 2018 Math Adventures A platform that aids kids to learn math in a fun way Undisclosed
    January 2019 Osmo Platform offers educational courses with the use of games, videos and other materials $120 million
    August 2020 WhiteHat Jr. Offers online coding classes to school-going students in India and the US $300 million
    September 2020 LabInApp Offers lab-like simulations for science students on a mobile app. Undisclosed
    January 2021 Aakash Educational Services Ltd Helps students get admission to engineering and medical schools by providing coaching for entrance exams $1 Billion
    February 18, 2021 Scholr Mumbai-based Ai-enabled online education platform $2.4 million
    May 29, 2021 HashLearn Online coaching platform for competitive exams Undisclosed
    July 13, 2021 Gradeup India’s largest online exam preparation website Undisclosed
    July 13, 2021 Toppr Online learning app offering training in JEE Main, NEET, JEE Advanced, CBSE and other school exams Undisclosed
    July 21, 2021 Epic California-based reading application that focuses on books, eBooks, learning, and educational technology $500 million
    July 24, 2021 Great Learning Edtech platform that offers career-relevant courses from world-class universities Undisclosed
    August 4, 2021 Whodat Tech A spatial mapping, computer vision and augmented reality startup based out of Bangalore Undisclosed
    September 16, 2021 Tynker Tynker is a US-based coding platform that empowers kids to learning programming and code. $200 million
    December 8, 2021 GeoGebra GeoGebra is a Austria-based math learning platform that aims to empower math learning and make it easy and interactive. $100 mn

    BYJU’s – Growth and Revenue

    BYJU’s as a startup is pretty innovative and has garnered massive success in the market. It follows rigorous advertising strategies. The company has captured the Indian market and has established its presence in the Middle East as well. BYJU’s intends to expand to the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and other global markets. To expand its footprints in the USA, BYJU’s acquired US-based learning platform Osmo in January 2019. The company also tied up with Disney to launch an early learning app for classes 1-3.

    BYJU’s was also in the news recently as it took a positive step during the coronavirus crisis. Since schools in different parts of India were shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak, BYJU’s made its learning app free for the students till the end of April 2020 so that students could enjoy uninterrupted learning.

    BYJU’s Collaborated with NITI Aayog

    Byju Raveendran-led Edtech giant partnered with the Indian government’s public policy think tank. This partnership aimed to foster a quality learning experience through tech-driven learning programs, which will be extended to children across 112 “aspirational districts” of the country. The “aspirational districts”, as mentioned, are the most developmentally challenged regions of the country across sectors like health, nutrition, education, agriculture, skill development, water resources, infrastructure, and more.

    This partnership will also be responsible for setting a dedicated working group up to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the program in full, according to a statement released on September 17, 2021.

    This collaboration will be comprised of 2 main components:

    • Byju’s Career Plus program will offer high-quality coaching to around 3000 students of Classes 11 and 12, who are aspiring to appear for NEET and JEE.
    • Another voluntary program will allow school-going children between Classes (6-12) to avail themselves of scholastic content from Byju’s Learning App for 3 years, as per the social impact initiative undertaken by the edtech giant named, Education for all.

    On this, Byju’s Founder and CEO, Byju Raveendran said,

    “Through our ‘Education for All’ programme, we have been empowering and impacting millions of children across the country, and by partnering with NITI Aayog, our efforts are being strengthened further.”

    Byju’s to launch a new edtech business in the MENA region

    Byju’s has partnered with Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) to launch a new edtech business and R&D centre in Doha, Qatar. The entity that will be built as a result of the deal, is expected to drive research and innovation and create cutting-edge learning solutions that will be personalised for the Middle East, and North African students, those who belong to the MENA region.  

    The CEO and Founder of Byju’s, Byju Raveendran, and the CEO of QIA, Mansoor Al-Mahmoud, have signed an MOU in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the State of Qatar and chairman of QIA, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, and the representatives of BYJU’S, in the recent 2022 Doha Forum.

    Furthermore, BYJU’s aims to identify and provide test preparation coaching to 3,000 meritorious students of classes 11 and 12, who aspire to appear for NEET and JEE, with the help of the Aakash+BYJU’S Career-Plus program. Additionally, the Edtech giant will also offer academic content with the help of BYJU’S Learning App for the school children studying in classes 6-12 standards for three years, under its social impact initiative called ‘Education for All’.

    BYJU’s Revenue

    Although BYJU’s has not yet disclosed its financial numbers for FY22, the company has claimed that it achieved approximately Rs 10,000 crore in gross revenues during that fiscal year. However, according to the annual financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), BYJU’s operating revenue showed a modest growth of only 4% to Rs 2,280 crore in FY21, compared to Rs 2,189 crore in FY20. In contrast, the company experienced a significant surge in losses, which increased nearly 15 times to Rs 4,564 crore in FY21, as compared to Rs 305 crore in FY20.

    Byju’s has started offering a hybrid model where the students can embrace physical/offline education centers for their classes, as of October 2021. The all-new hybrid model of education has already been kickstarted, the success of which would make the Edtech startup scale it up around the nation. The hybrid learning centers would be dubbed, “BYJU’S Learning Centre” and would initially concentrate on Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics.

    Byju’s appears to have come full circle. This is because after switching to the online mode of learning, acquiring companies, garnering fame, and becoming India’s most valued edtech startup, it is now planning to launch its offline coaching center, which would be named Byju’s Tuition Center (BTC), and would pave for its foray into blended/hybrid learning. This new initiative is planned to benefit the students between Classes (4-10) and has prominently scaled this far mainly after the acquisition of Aakash Educational Services.

    BYJU’s – Partnerships

    Byju’s is known as the BCCI partner and will be remaining on the jersey of the Indian cricket team as it renewed its sponsorship with the Indian cricketing board for the upcoming 18 months at a deal price of around $55 mn. The new term of Byju’s started after the end of India’s South Africa tour. The Byju’s-BCCI partnership was extended until the ODI World Cup 2023.

    The edtech giant’s contract ended in March 2022, post which it applied for the extension. Byju’s bought the rights of IPL sponsorship from Oppo in 2019. Some other prominent partnerships of Byju’s include:

    • Byju’s and Google Partnered to offer a “Learning Solution” for schools.
    • Byju’s collaborated with NITI Aayog to extend free education in 112 districts.
    • Byju’s partnered with Intel to invest in and enhance student-teacher relationships.
    • The edtech giant collaborated with Akshaya Patra Foundation to help needy students get smart classrooms.

    BYJU’s – Lay Off

    In October 2023, BYJU’S laid off about 600 workers from its marketing and content departments. Under the direction of new India CEO Arjun Mohan, the ailing edtech behemoth is currently undergoing restructuring, which includes layoffs.

    BYJU’s – Future Plans

    Byju’s is currently planning to focus more on the Byju’s Tuition Center (BTC) by investing up to $200 mn on the same over the next 12 to 18 months, as of February 2022. Signing up around 1 mn students for this model is the aim of Byju’s over the next 2 years. The Byju Raveendran-led edtech giant is currently running this product as a pilot in around 23 cities and 80 centers and is willing to take the same to 500 centres across 200 cities by the end of 2022. Byju’s is also looking forward to a public listing ahead in the next 18 months. It is also looking to acquire prominent companies like the NASDAQ-listed 2U Inc.

    FAQs

    When did BYJU’s Start?

    BYJU’s was founded in the year 2011.

    What is BYJU’s Tagline?

    BYJU’s tagline is “Fall in love with learning“

    Why is BYJU’s Successful?

    BYJU’s functions on a Freemium Business Model. The approach of BYJU’s in providing knowledge with highly creative visual content, one-on-one learning, and other facilities has led to its success. BYJU’s has been able to rightly blend technology and knowledge to impart knowledge to today’s generation.

    Who is the Owner of BYJU’s?

    Byju Raveendran founded BYJU’s in 2011. Think and Learn Private Ltd is the parent organization of BYJU’s.

    Who is Byju Raveendran’s wife?

    Byju Raveendran’s wife is Divya Gokulnath, who is an entrepreneur, and educator along with being the Co-founder and Director at Byju’s.

    What is the Byju’s learning app?

    The Edtech giant boasts of the BYJU’S Learning App, which is designed to offer academic content for school-going children ranging from class 6 – 12 for three years. This has been decided under its social impact initiative ‘Education for All’.

    How much is BYJU’s Revenue?

    BYJU’s operating revenue showed a modest growth of only 4% to Rs 2,280 crore in FY21, compared to Rs 2,189 crore in FY20.

    Who are the competitors of BYJU’s?

    BYJU’s major competitors are Meritnation.com, Vedantu, Teachable, Khan Academy, Simplilearn, Schoolwise, and Toppr.

    How to become a teacher in Byju’s?

    Becoming a teacher in Byju’s is not as hard as you think. To become a teacher, firstly, you need to record a video of yourself where you will have to teach any concept in front of the camera for around 15 minutes. Next, you need to record another clear video of yourself where you will have to solve 2 questions papers of the subject grade that you have applied for.

  • Zilingo Success Story – How is the Engineering the Future of Fashion?

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Zilingo.

    Like that of so many other sectors, fashion and apparel’s digital transition has advanced dramatically under COVID. This has influenced not just how people engage with brands and merchants, but also how the market runs within, including inventory management, prices, and logistics, as well as production and product design.

    A sector that has always (and continues to be) centred on the foundation of ideas, creative, and innovative expression is now incorporating more technology into the equation, implementing innovation to new levels.

    Zilingo is a B2B technology platform that provides innovative manufacturing, sourcing, and trading technologies to the global clothing distribution chain. It was formed in 2015 to make an interconnected and accessible supply chain approachable to all.

    Here’s the success story of Zilingo that covers all about Zilingo, the Startup Story and Growth of Zilingo, Zilingo Competitors, Zilingo Revenue, Zilingo Business and Revenue Model, and more, you can check ahead!

    Zilingo – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Zilingo
    Parent Zilingo Pte Ltd
    Subsidiaries Zilingo Business
    Industry E-commerce
    Headquarter Singapore
    Founders Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor
    Founded 2015
    Key People Dhruv Kapoor (Chief Technology Officer), Jim Perry(Chief Financial Officer), Aadi Vaidya(Chief Operating Officer), Marita Abraham(Chief Marketing Officer)
    Areas Served Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and the United States
    Website zilingotrade.com

    About Zilingo, and How it Works?
    Zilingo – Industry
    Zilingo – Name, Logo, and Tagline
    Zilingo – Founders and Team
    Zilingo – Startup Story
    Zilingo – Mission
    Zilingo – Business and Revenue Model
    Zilingo – Funding, and Investors
    Zilingo – Acquisitions
    Zilingo – Growth
    Zilingo – Competitors
    Zilingo – Challenges Faced

    About Zilingo, and How it Works?

    Zilingo is a B2B platform that connects all parts of the fashion industry’s supply chain, from raw material suppliers to merchants to buyers. They offer a wide range of technical help, including data science, online platforms, and other virtual services, as well as company sourcing and finance.

    When a small localised store tries to move online or attract more people, they are confronted with several challenges. Funding, technologies, accessibility, and rivalry from more prominent, more established companies also impede them.

    Although their commodities may have unrealised potential on the global market, many merchants find it difficult to make a profit in that environment. When seeking to sell to a statewide or worldwide audience, small businesses sometimes have to go through multiple intermediaries and incur numerous costs. They are losing money because their margins are being stretched. Zilingo focuses on this problem, assisting small enterprises in receiving their due.

    Zilingo is a comprehensive, adaptable platform that helps small businesses increase efficiency and revenue. This service is available to merchants in a variety of nations and brings together a large number of producers and manufacturers.

    Simultaneously, the design, production, and other parts of the final product remain decentralised. Small vendors may be independent and true to their style without paying a listing fee, which Zilingo does not charge its manufacturing workers.

    Their varied staff, decentralised culture, technical innovation, and devotion to assisting smaller businesses set them apart from the competition. They offer a wide range of items obtained from many countries and providers, all of which are supported by this platform. This enables small companies to deal directly with a bigger market, such as brands or other clients, over the internet.

    Products of Zilingo

    Zilingo operates as a technology platform that is empowering the global supply chain. It provides innovative products and trade services to power brands, wholesalers, retailers, distributors, factories and more. Zilingo offers:

    Z Trade – This vertical helps Zilingo to extend the facilities of sourcing custom-made apparel, fabric, yarn and more.

    Zilingo Trade
    Zilingo Trade

    Z Factory – This Zilingo vertical helps Zilingo to let the factories optimise their operations.  

    Zilingo Factory
    Zilingo Factory

    Z Connect – Z Connect of Zilingo offers omnichannel, inventory management and marketing solutions as services.

    Zilingo Connect
    Zilingo Connect

    Zilingo Services

    Zilingo services are:

    Z Marketing – Zilingo offers marketing solutions to help brands maximise their sales. This is done by the in-house experts that Zilingo houses.

    Z Fintech – Z Fintech uses the transaction data to offer companies and individuals better access to capital for the growth of their businesses.

    Z Logistics – Zilingo offers the optimisation services of logistics costs and provides others with the facilities of flexible payments.  

    Zilingo – Industry

    From the development of the needle and thread to the emergence of e-commerce, fashion was always at the leading edge of innovation. Fashion, like technology, is forward-thinking and progressive.

    The fashion industry has been one of the world’s largest, with a market value of more than $3 trillion expected by the end of the decade. Fashion technology is evolving at a quicker rate than ever before. Fashion firms are working with technology suppliers, buying startups, and even developing their technologies to expand their streams of income and marketing strategies.  

    Similarly, the sector is re-evaluating operations across the supply chain in a drive to reinvent itself as it confronts a long-overdue confrontation with its social and environmental consequences.

    With organisations and businesses growing into new sectors of the fashion business, there is a clear trend toward adopting technology to improve the consumer experience. New fibres and mixes are emerging as manufacturing methods improve, allowing for greater product diversification. The fashion industry’s retail sector is putting a lot of emphasis on making the consumer’s buying experience easier and more enjoyable.

    Collaborations are resulting in fascinating new goods by combining the talents of several sectors to develop something efficient and innovative. With a constant stream of new and interesting propelling the fashion industry forward, these unlimited possibilities have more room to grow.

    Zilingo – Name, Logo, and Tagline

    Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor founded “Zilingo” in 2015, the name being a spin on the term “zillion,” which also means ‘Gift of god.’ Bose got the idea for Zilingo while on vacation in Bangkok and realised that many SMEs lacked an online footprint. Dependability, freshness, and expressivity are all symbolised by the word Zilingo.

    Zilingo Logo
    Zilingo Logo

    Zilingo’s tagline says, “Dare to be Bold”.

    Zilingo – Founders and Team

    Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor founded Zilingo in 2015.

    Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor - Founders of Zilingo
    Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor – Founders of Zilingo

    Ankiti Bose

    Before establishing Zilingo, Ankiti spent three years in management consulting and venture capital at Sequoia Capital and McKinsey & Company. She focused on digital commerce possibilities on digital devices at Sequoia. She worked on strategy and operations in a variety of sectors at McKinsey & Company.

    Ankiti graduated from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai with a Bachelor of arts degree in Maths and Economics. Ankiti adds a wealth of experience and expertise in the mobile e-commerce market to Zilingo.

    She takes a hands-on, analytical approach to operations and strategy decisions, and she was heavily involved in all the elements of strategic and operational decision-making of the company. She was the CEO of the company before she was ousted from her role in April 2022. Ankiti Bose was associated with financial irregularities of the company and was eventually suspended from her duties for 51 days, and after this suspensation, she was finally terminated.

    Ankiti Bose again has quit the Zilingo board, as of June 30, 2022. She has stated the same from her Instagram handle, adding that the board even failed to show her the reports from Kroll and Deloitte. The firing of Ankiti Bose from the CEO position and this resignation that she brought in to quit the Zilingo board, has two faces. Here, while the board is citing financial irregularities under Bose, Ankiti has brought up harassment complaints to the investors and claims that these were the reasons that changed the board’s mind against her. However, the Zilingo board denied all the allegations of any wrongdoings whatsoever.

    Dhruv Kapoor

    Dhruv Kapoor is an IIT Guwahati alumnus and is known as the CTPO of Zilingo. He worked at the gaming company Kiwi Inc., as a software engineer, before joining Zilingo. Kapoor was a Software Engineer at Yahoo before that.

    Aadi Vaidya, the Zilingo COO, quit Zilingo after 7 years of being with the firm, as of July 30, 2022. Along with talking highly of his tenure with the company, where he learned too many things to sum up in words, Vaidya stated that he is geared up to meet with interesting people, read, travel and re-prioritise. Aadi is now looking to embrace his next adventure.

    The resignation of Aadi comes after Ankiti was separated from the firm in May 2022, and Ramesh Bafna, the CFO of Zilingo, stepped down in the same month. Besides, Naushaba Salahuddin, the head of PR and communications, also quit the beleaguered company in the meanwhile.

    The employee strength of Zilingo now ranges between 201-500 employees, as per its LinkedIn profile.

    Zilingo Shareholders

    Zilingo Shareholding Pattern - Zilingo Shareholders
    Zilingo Shareholding Pattern – Zilingo Shareholders

    Zilingo – Startup Story

    Ankiti was once on a vacation trip to Bangkok with her pals. The majority of the sellers at Thailand’s Chatuchak market came from distant communities miles away. They were unable to market their products on the internet. The main reason is that they lack both technical and economic expertise.

    She chose to do business in Thailand because it could benefit over 8000 small businesses there. She founded Zilingo, one of Southeast Asia’s most popular online platforms. By developing the right customers throughout the world, particularly merchants, obtain larger advantages in their product range.

    Ankiti earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai in 2012. In 2014, Ankiti met Dhruv Kapoor during a house party. They shared the same talents and abilities, as well as the desire to establish a business by permitting a more inventive technique.

    Dhruv worked as a software developer for a well-known gaming firm, while Ankiti worked as an analyst for Sequoia India. During the party, Ankiti and Dhruv established a deal that allowed the two of them to leave their jobs and start their own business. Both of them quit their jobs within four months to work on Zilingo, a fashion e-commerce technology company.

    Two of them put their resources and savings of around $30,000 into the Zilingo startup concept. The Sequoia company also put money into Zilingo. With its innovative and open-minded founders, Zilingo has had more success. Eventually, Ankiti became the CEO, and Dhruv the CTPO of the company.

    Zilingo – Mission

    Zilingo’s mission is “to provide a platform where thousands of fashion merchants could sell and become part of the digital economy.”

    Zilingo – Business and Revenue Model

    On the back of its robust business model, Zilingo had geared to revolutionize the clothing and accessories industry by assisting small firms in bypassing intermediaries on their journey to a massive internet market. It decided to provide traders with an end-to-end cloud-based platform that not only connected but also provided technical and financial assistance to numerous independent participants.

    The company operates as a B2B platform in the fashion industry that offers small businesses the resources, networking, financial, and technical help they need to interact with other small businesses and their larger client base. To grow their firm, a small retailer or designer can now acquire raw materials from suppliers, manufacturers, and even tech help.

    Zilingo has raised over $347 million in funding and had almost closed in terms of valuation to become one of the Indian unicorn companies, but that didn’t happen ultimately. However, it aspires to become a big player in fashion by building symbiotic connections with small merchants and enterprises since they are committed to enabling small firms in the sector. It wants to become a platform that enables small brands to band together and continue growing, in rivalry with multinational companies.

    The Zilingo revenue model primarily depends on the business-to-business operations that Zilingo does, of matching brands with suppliers. In 2019, the same operations successfully contributed to 80% of the revenues that Zilingo received.  

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    Zilingo – Funding, and Investors

    Zilingo has received 7 funding rounds in total as of June 20, 2022, which might receive yet another funding round worth around $8 mn in equity in tranches to prevent the voluntary liquidation of the company, as stated by the letter that the founders of the company have forwarded the board, according to reports dated June 20, 2022.  

    Date Round Amount Lead Investors
    Jul 1, 2021 Debt Financing $40M –
    Dec 5, 2019 Venture Round – –
    Feb 11, 2019 Series D $226M Sequoia Capital India
    Apr 4, 2018 Series C $54M Burda Principal Investments, Sequoia Capital India, Sofina
    Sep 12, 2017 Series B $18M Burda Principal Investments, Sequoia Capital
    Sep 5, 2016 Series A $8M Sequoia Capital, Susquehanna International Group (SIG), Venture Capital
    Nov 9, 2015 Seed Round $1.9M –

    Zilingo – Acquisitions

    Acquiree Name About Acquiree Date Amount
    nCinga nCinga is offer an all-encompassing solution for the apparel, manufacturing and telecommunication industries. Dec 17, 2019 $15.5M

    Zilingo – Growth

    Zilingo has achieved quite a growth since it started. The company has powered innovation for 20,000+ companies worldwide. It even chased the unicorn valuation and reached $970 mn in net worth before the outbreak of the Covid-19 disease. The customers of Zilingo include reputed brands like Flipkart, FirstCry, Myntra, Wrogn, Nykaa, Aditya Birla Group, Radnik, Dressmen, Redwolf and more. Zilingo went from being a company that was all set to raise millions of dollars to one that needs to fight for its survival. Remarking on the same, Ankiti Bose, the Former Founder, CEO, and Board member, said “hundreds of employees and customers are also in a state of limbo and do not have any clarity on their future: just like me.”  

    Numerous media reports stated that the Zilingo company is all set to liquidate in order to pay its creditors off, while Bose has opposed this decision of the board, mentioning that would result in unsettling numerous employees.

    Zilingo – Competitors

    The top Zilingo competitors include:

    • deco network
    • Zalora
    • BlueCherry Suite
    • RLM Apparel Software
    • Printavo
    • ApparelMagic
    • SupplyCompass
    • Sync
    • TRIMIT Fashion

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    Zilingo – Challenges Faced

    Zilingo’s issues began with disorganized management and a lack of transparency in expenditures and quickly escalated into a violent ideological battle between founders Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor, which risked swallowing the company whole.

    Lack of Proper Software

    In the early days, the capital-intensive B2C vertical and the lack of a software platform for B2B operations led to overpaying on marketing, staff committing fraud, and more.

    The Covid-19 Onslaught

    Zilingo was once a company that was a soonicorn, the value of which neared $970 bn in 2019. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, revenues started dipping and layoffs followed. The revenues dropped to 1/3rd of what it was prior to the pandemic period, which was roughly estimated at around $40 mn. Even the Former Co-founder-CEO, Ankiti Bose also took a 30% pay cut as a result.

    Ankiti Bose is believed to have taken legal action against co-founder Dhruv Kapoor and is attempting to purchase back Sequoia’s 26% stake in the firm, notwithstanding her suspension.

    Ankiti Bose and Sequoia’s Shailendra Singh had a personal spat about the direction of the business, capital burn, and the absence of a route to revenue gains, all stemming from the company’s concentration on a rapid expansion that began in 2018. And that unfolded as conflicts between Bose and Dhruv Kapoor, the other co-founder, grew.

    There have also been claims that Kapoor and other top workers at the business concealed sexual harassment reports. Bose is reportedly considering suing Kapoor as well as buying back Sequoia’s investment in the firm.

    It was more like a jigsaw puzzle, with concepts and tactics that lacked practical vision and preparation. In the early years, the digital platform was mostly absent, and Zilingo burned through millions of dollars marketing and promoting the B2C fashion vertical. Founders argued over various ideas and even alleged practises of sexual harassment in the workplace throughout all of this. But now the case against Zilingo is that he committed deliberate fraud. At least, that’s what the board says, but we don’t know what the fraud was, how it happened, or how it escaped the notice of the board and key VCs like Sequoia, Burda, Temasek, Beenext, and others.

    The Zilingo board was already looking forward to a voluntary liquidation of the company, but the founders Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor have joined hands to make a management buyout offer of the company, as per reports dated June 20, 2022. The letter that was issued by the Co-founder and CTPO of Zilingo Dhruv Kapoor, mentioned that the new investor will infuse $8 mn in equity in tranches. According to this new offer, if the deal comes through, “pursuant to Singapore’s Insolvency, Restructuring, and Dissolution Act, Zilingo will be transferred to the ownership of a newly incorporated entity.”

    A look at how the events unfolded and the firing of the company CEO and Co-founder Ankiti Bose

    If you are wondering how Ankiti Bose was fired all of a sudden, then here’s a look at all the events that happened and led to the eventual firing of the Zilingo CEO Ankiti Bose:

    April 12, 2022 – Ziling shareholders discovered financial irregularities and suspended Ankiti Bose until May 5th. Bose was first called to a meeting dated March 31st, 2022, and was briefed about serious complaints against her, and all about financial discrepancies and mismanagement. Bose, in turn, called the company’s actions a “witch hunt”.

    April 14, 2022 – Shailendra Singh, Sequoia Capital MD stepped down.

    April 19, 2022 – Zilingo Board discussed replacing Ankiti Bose, and talks of the company CFO Ramesh Bafna to be elevated as the CEO circulated.

    May 4, 2022 – The Zilingo Board appointed Deloitte to launch a probe after Ankiti Bose claimed that sexual harassment was an issue after she was suspended. Dhruv Kapoor also penned a note to the employees where he defended the company.

    May 20, 2022 – Zilingo fired Ankiti Bose, and stated that it can also take legal action against her.  

    FAQs

    What does Zilingo do?

    Zilingo is a B2B technology platform that provides innovative manufacturing, sourcing, and trading technologies to the global clothing distribution chain.

    Who founded Zilingo?

    Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor founded Zilingo in 2015.

    When was Zilingo founded?

    Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor founded Zilingo in 2015.

    Is Ankiti Bose still the CEO of Zilingo?

    The former CEO-Co-founder, Ankiti Bose was fired by Zilingo on May 20, 2022. So, she is no longer the CEO of Zilingo.

    Why was Ankiti Bose fired by Zilingo?

    Ankiti Bose was sacked by Zilingo board because of financial irregularities noticed in the company in relation to Ankiti Bose.

    What are the Zilingo competitors?

    The main Zilingo competitors are:

    • deco network
    • Zalora
    • BlueCherry Suite
    • RLM Apparel Software
    • Printavo
    • ApparelMagic
    • SupplyCompass
    • Sync
    • TRIMIT Fashion

  • Success Story of MoneyTap – Making Instant Loans Just A Tap Away

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by MoneyTap.

    Don’t you think life would have been easier if you had a personal line of credit at your disposal? Who doesn’t want a hassle-free credit, where there are no formalities and paperwork? And the icing on the cake would be the money getting topped up in your account as you keep paying back the borrowed amount.

    You are wrong if you think this isn’t possible. MoneyTap, a Bangalore-based startup has made this dream a reality. The company claims to be India’s first app-based personal line of credit for consumers. MoneyTap is India’s first company that provides lifetime credit of up to Rs. 5 lakh instantly to its customers.

    MoneyTap – Company Highlights

    Startup Name MoneyTap
    Headquarters Bangalore
    Founders Bala Parthasarathy, Kunal Verma, and Anuj Kacker
    Sector Fintech
    Founded October 2015
    Parent organization MWYN Tech Private Limited

    MoneyTap – About
    MoneyTap – Industry Details
    MoneyTap – Founders
    MoneyTap – The Idea And Launch
    MoneyTap – Name And Logo
    MoneyTap – How it Works?
    MoneyTap – Business And Revenue Model
    MoneyTap – Customer Acquisition
    MoneyTap – Funding and Investors
    MoneyTap – Challenges
    MoneyTap – Competitors
    MoneyTap – Achievements
    MoneyTap – Awards And Recognition
    MoneyTap – Acquisitions and Mergers
    MoneyTap – Partners
    MoneyTap – Future Plans
    MoneyTap – FAQs

    MoneyTap – About

    MoneyTap App
    MoneyTap App

    Started by three serial entrepreneurs, Bala Parthasarathy, Kunal Verma, and Anuj Kacker, MoneyTap was incorporated in October 2015. It offers instant personal loans of up to Rs 5 Lakhs, with the entire KYC process happening through its mobile app. It is headquartered in Bangalore, India.

    The startup aims to deliver quick and flexible personal loans to individuals in partnership with banks – smoothly and efficiently.

    The MoneyTap app is a trustworthy and reliable one with many USPs. The app offers instant online loans through a 100% paperless process and doesn’t require a bank visit. Moreover, one has to pay interest only on the amount borrowed. A loan taken through their app is collateral-free and has flexible loan tenures of 2-36 months. MoneyTap is India’s first company that provides lifetime credit of up to Rs.5 lakh instantly to its customers.

    Getting loans from MoneyTap is super easy. Eligible candidates need to download the app and fill the KYC. After completion of the KYC formalities, the loan is approved and the customer is given a MoneyTap credit card that’s loaded with the sanctioned amount. This can be used as a credit card or for withdrawing from the MoneyTap account. Once the repayments are done and there isn’t further need for an account, one can easily close the account through their website or the app.

    To be Eligible for MoneyTap Loans, one needs to be between 23-55 years of age and should have a regular source of income. A person having as low as a minimum in-hand salary of Rs 15,000 per month can apply for loans on the platform.

    A Complete Guide on How to get Instant Loan from MoneyTap 

    MoneyTap – Industry Details

    With the significant increase in internet users, almost every solution is now available online. Like all other services, financial services have also become accessible through apps and online services. Many Fintech companies are cropping up in the Indian market.

    India is amongst the fastest-growing Fintech markets in the world. Of the 2,100+ FinTechs existing in India today, over 67% have been set up in the last 5 years. The Indian Fintech market is currently valued at $31 Bn and is expected to grow to $84 Bn by 2025, at a CAGR of 22%.

    The Fintech transaction value size is set to grow from US$ 66 Bn in 2019 to US$ 138 Bn in 2023, at a CAGR of 20%.

    The Indian government is also launching initiatives to develop Visakhapatnam (Vizag) as the ‘fintech valley’.

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    MoneyTap – Founders and Team

    MoneyTap was founded by Bala Parthasarathy, Kunal Varma, and Anuj Kacker, who are IIT and ISB alumni.

    Kunal Varma, Bala Parthasarathy, Anuj Kacker - Founders, MoneyTap
    Kunal Varma, Bala Parthasarathy, Anuj Kacker – Founders, MoneyTap

    MoneyTap CEO, Bala Parthasarathy is the co-founder of multiple startups in Silicon Valley, including Snapfish (sold to Hewlett Packard). He has contributed immensely to the growth of Snapfish by gathering 100M users and $300M in revenue. Bala also volunteered for UIDAI under Mr Nandan Nilekani in 2007. He started AngelPrime, an angel investment firm in 2011 (now Prime Venture Partners). While working with AngelPrime he helped shape companies like ZipDial (sold to Twitter), EZETap, Happay, etc.

    Kunal Varma is a serial entrepreneur, who founded Whimsia Custom Works, a company for customized merchandise, and Aspirare, which designs learning programs and assessment solutions for job seekers and college graduates. Kunal along with Anuj Kacker also co-founded Tapstart, a job discovery platform.

    Anuj Kacker is the COO of MoneyTap. Anuj has experience in diverse fields courtesy of working with established brands such as Airtel, Reliance, and JWT. He co-founded Tapstart which grew to 300K users and turned profitable within two years. Anuj exited Tapstart in 2015 to join MoneyTap.

    With a small office in Mumbai and the headquarters in Bengaluru, the MoneyTap workforce is comprised of 30 people, as per 2019 data.

    MoneyTap – The Idea And Launch

    MoneyTap Founder
    MoneyTap Founder

    MoneyTap was founded keeping in mind the needs of the middle class. The salaried class is often constrained by monetary issues when it comes to satisfying needs. These needs can be anything like medical needs, school fees, or house rent.

    The trio observed that just a minimal amount of credit could help the middle class take care of these needs easily. But extensive paperwork and formalities make people apprehensive about taking loans unless it’s a huge amount. Moreover, credit cards and personal loans are not very popular in India.

    Besides, the middle class also finds it humiliating to borrow money from family and friends. MoneyTap was the solution to this conflation of issues.

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    MoneyTap Logo
    MoneyTap Logo

    The name MoneyTap was chosen because the app allows users to get money simply at the tap of the finger.

    MoneyTap – How it Works?

    The MoneyTap app, launched in partnership with the RBL Bank and several NBFCs, issues collateral-free credit up to a limit of Rs 5 Lakhs. The founders added that consumers can borrow anywhere between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5 Lakhs from the app and choose from among several repayment options with regards to time ranging from 2 to 36 months. MoneyTap and RBL also launched the RBL MoneyTap credit card. The card can be used like any other credit card for making online and offline payments. Users can also transfer money from the MoneyTap app to their bank accounts directly.

    MoneyTap offers loans at an interest rate as low as 1.08% per month, and 13% to 18% per annum.

    Consumers have to pay a one-time setup fee of Rs 499 along with taxes which is payable to the banking partner directly for blocking the credit limit.

    We are trying to get the middle-income group to use our application. For us, the sweet spot is someone who earns in the salary bracket of Rs 40,000 – 50,000 monthly. However, we also don’t mind it being lower.

    The founders also add that the money gets replenished as soon the customers start paying their EMIs. For example, an amount of Rs 30,000 borrowed (out of the credit limit of Rs 5 Lakh) will get replenished as the person pays their instalments over time, thus becoming available for borrowing in the future. Further, the onboarding of customers happens through a chatbot interface wherein the system instantly connects to the banking system and the credit bureau to find out the credit history of the customer. The money then gets approved accordingly.

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    MoneyTap – Business And Revenue Model

    MoneyTap adheres to strong business fundamentals since money lending requires attention to detail. The way it makes money is through a revenue share with banking partners. Every time a customer gets approved for access to a credit line for a lifetime, a small fee of Rs 500 is charged. Once the customer spends some money for one year, the money is recovered. Also, the usual interest paid by the customer along with the processing fees that are charged every time a person borrows also increases profitability.

    MoneyTap is designed to be a product company running on the backbone of data science, technology, and product thinking. It is also focused on low-cost, tech-friendly solutions to pave the way towards increased revenue.

    MoneyTap – Customer Acquisition

    MoneyTap was successful in building a large customer base within a short period. Within eight months of its inception, the company acquired 300,000 registered users from 14 cities in India.

    MoneyTap acquires some of its customers organically. The company also markets its products through Google, social media, and content marketing.

    According to Bala, there are a billion consumers in the country, and MoneyTap serves only 1% of them. He considers that even doubling this figure to 2% is a huge win.

    MoneyTap – Funding and Investors

    Date Stage Amount Investor
    Jun 14, 2017 Series A $12.3 million Sequoia India, New Enterprise Associates, Prime Venture partners
    Jan 28, 2020 Series B $70 million Sequoia Capital India, RTP Global, Prime Venture Partners, Aquiline Technology Growth & MegaDelta Capital

    MoneyTap has raised $82.3 million in 2 rounds of funding to date. In the latest round, MoneyTap raised funding worth $70 Million (500 Crore) in January 2020. Here are the funding and investor details of MoneyTap.

    The funding, as stated by Bala, has strengthened the leadership position of the consumer lending firm by improving credit accessibility for other customer segments.

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    MoneyTap – Challenges

    The most challenging thing in the consumer lending business is acquiring capital at low costs.

    Some of the major challenges faced by MoneyTap are:

    • Identifying trustworthy borrowers to whom credit can be disbursed without the fear of default.
    • Maintaining strong relations with banks and NBFCs.

    MoneyTap – Competitors

    Finomena is MoneyTap’s #1 competitor. Finomena was founded in 2015 in New Delhi. Like MoneyTap, Finomena also operates in the consumer finance space.

    Other major rivals of MoneyTap are, PaySense and ZestMoney. Both of these companies, founded in 2015, function in the same segment. While PaySense is located in Mumbai, ZestMoney is located in Bangalore.

    Besides, CreditVidya and Delhi-based Revfin also competes with MoneyTap.

    MoneyTap – Achievements

    MoneyTap has more than 5 Million downloads. However, this number isn’t indicative of customers who hold a credit line, since the rejection rate from the pool of applicants can be as high as 60-70 per cent. This high rejection rate is due to the rigorous checks done by the app’s algorithms.

    Almost 90 per cent of MoneyTap’s customers who have been issued credit lines are active and have drawn credit multiple times through the app. The average lending size of the company is Rs 30,000–35,000 and the average age of the customer is 28–30 years.

    MoneyTap is currently operational in 60 Indian cities, with the majority of its users coming from the top metros like Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Chennai. The company is planning to expand its footprints to 200 cities soon. MoneyTap also claims to have its non-performing assets well within the one per cent mark.

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    MoneyTap – Awards And Recognitions

    MoneyTap was awarded the ‘Best Innovative Lending Product/Service’ in the Payment & Fintech category at the 8th India Digital Awards. The award show was organized by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). MoneyTap was also awarded the leading FinTech Company in the lending category at PICUP Fintech 2017.

    MoneyTap – Acquisitions And Mergers

    MoneyTap is not actively looking for acquisitions. Bala tells that MoneyTap might acquire companies sharing similar values.

    MoneyTap – Partners

    MoneyTap launched its product with RBL Bank, its first banking partner. With the help of RBL’s Technology, MoneyTap was able to serve customers with quick decisions and quick access to the money round the clock. Moreover, RBL Bank also provides a MoneyTap-RBL Credit Card with the credit line.

    In 2017, MoneyTap announced a partnership with Aditya Birla Finance Limited (ABFL). MoneyTap also has several other banks and NBFCs as partners.

    In December 2020, MoneyTap announced its partnership with Pawtect with a view to offering Pet Insurance Policies to their employees.

    MoneyTap – Future Plans

    MoneyTap’s plans include:

    • It is looking to expand to more Tier II and III cities in India, and to global markets with South East Asia and the Middle East.
    • The company currently claims to have a loan book of 1000 crores and aims to make it 5000 crores by 2021.
    • Expanding services to 200 cities in India.
    • Building partnerships with more banks.
    • The company currently targets customers in the age group 29-31, with average incomes of INR 30,000-INR 40,000 per month, but is planning to reach out to groups having income as low as Rs 10000-15000 soon.
    • MoneyTap has also received an NBFC license in September 2019 and plans to launch its own NBFC company soon.

    MoneyTap – FAQs

    What is MoneyTap?

    MoneyTap is a Fintech company that aims to deliver quick and flexible personal loans to individuals.

    Who are the Founders of MoneyTap?

    MoneyTap was founded by Bala Parthasarathy, Kunal Varma, and Anuj Kacker in 2015.

    How much is MoneyTap Funding?

    MoneyTap has raised $82.3 million in 2 rounds of funding. In the latest round, MoneyTap raised funding worth $70 Million (500 Crore) in January 2020.

    Who are the investors of MoneyTap?

    MoneyTap Investors includes:

    • Sequoia Capital India
    • RTP Global
    • Prime Venture Partners
    • Aquiline Technology Growth
    • MegaDelta Capital
    • New Enterprise Associates

    Who are the top competitors of MoneyTap?

    Some of the top competitors of MoneyTap are:

    • Finomena
    • PaySense
    • ZestMoney
    • CreditVidya
    • Revfin

  • List of Angel Investors in Delhi [With Contact]

    Angel investors are sometimes marked as Private investors or Seed Funders. Though known by different names, their main aim is to invest in startups or new ventures, thereby helping them to grow and create a presence in this dynamic environment. If you are looking to get an insight about Angel Investors in Delhi along with their Contact Details and Major investments, then this is the right place. As we have put in our best to compile a list of Angel Investors in and around Delhi.

    Before, getting to the list of Angel Investors in Delhi. Let’s get an understanding on What do Angel Investors look for in a startup? It becomes essential for a startup to wisely approach an investor that suits the requirements and expertise of both.

    Angel investor Pitch Guide
    Angel investor Pitch Guide

    List of Angel Investors in Delhi with Contact:

    1. Rajan Anandan
    2. Vijay Shekhar Sharma
    3. Sunil Kalra
    4. Ritesh Malik
    5. Kunal Bahl
    6. Aloke Bajpai
    7. Neeraj Kumar Singal
    8. Dinesh Agarwal
    9. Rajul Garg
    10. Utsav Somani
    11. Nikunj Jain
    12. Amit Ranjan
    13. Rohit Bansal
    14. Alok Mittal
    15. Rajesh Sawhney
    16. Kunal Khattar
    17. Samir Sood
    18. Pranay Gupta
    19. Soaib Grewal
    20. Hetal Sonpal
    21. Yogesh Bansal
    22. Bharat Mehra
    23. Satyan Gajwani
    24. Rajat Harlalka
    25. Abhishek Dwivedi
    26. Niraj Singh
    27. Priyanka Gill
    28. Anirudh Mullick
    29. Gaurav Kachru
    30. Rajnish Kumar

    FAQs

    Angel Investmentment

    Unlock Your Startup’s Potential with Our Exclusive Investor Lists and Resources

    Supercharge your startup’s success with our comprehensive resources. Access investor lists, pitch decks, KPIs, and fundraising guides. Connect with pre-seed investors, angel networks, and family offices, while mastering VC pitches. Ignite your entrepreneurial dreams today!

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    Rajan Anandan

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: SaaS, Consumer Internet, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Healthcare, and Digital Media.
    Investments: Instamojo, POPxo, ZipGo, Dunzo, Innov8, Rapido, Unacademy, CroFArm among many others.

    Rajan Anandan | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Rajan Anandan | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Rajan Anandan, the MD of Sequoia Capital, is the most prominent investor in the startup industry. He has served as an MD at Microsoft India, Vice President and SEA at Google, and also gained exposure in Dell India. He has gained experience with startups across various domains.

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    Vijay Shekhar Sharma

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Mobile, Gaming, Social Media, Real Estate, Food Tech, Logistics, Consumer Internet, Media, Fintech, HR Tech, Education, and E-commerce.
    Investments: LogiNext, Milaap, InnerChef, Wishberg, FactorDaily, ThePrint, Flyrobe, TapChief, Unacademy, Innov8 among many.

    Vijay Shekhar Sharma | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Vijay Shekhar Sharma | Angel Investors in Delhi

    The founder and CEO of Paytm, Vijay Shekhar Sharma and One97 has a spectacular experience in the Indian startups. He has given a helping hand to many of the startups in their journey of survival and growth. He graduated from Delhi College of Engineering and later founded his first venture XS Corps, which was then sold to Lotus Interworks LLC.

    Sunil Kalra

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Education, Healthcare, Digital media, Cloud Computing, Fintech, E-commerce.
    Investments: Mobilewalla, Peelworks, OrangeScape, Carmesi, Crayon Data, MyShaadi.in, Innovise, Instamojo among many.

    Sunil Kalra | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Sunil Kalra | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Sunil Kalra is one of the prominent independent angel investors in Indian Angel Network. Being the MD at Via Projects Pvt Ltd and a Venture Partner at Stride Ventures, Sunil has gained immense experience in the field of Finance & Investments.

    Ritesh Malik

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Consumer Internet, IT, Augmented Reality, Social Media, Clean Technology, Food and Beverages, Fintech, Big data.
    Investments: My Child, WittyFeed, PumpKart, Deyor Camps, Ketto, Nimo Planet, Falcon Labs, Josh Talks, Inc42 Media, SectorQube, and many.

    Ritesh Malik | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Ritesh Malik | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Ritesh Malik, the Co-founder, and MD of Innov8 practised as a professional doctor at the esteemed Ganga Ram Hospital, before venturing into his entrepreneurial journey. He is an active and prominent angel investor in Delhi. He also Co-founded Adstuck Consulting Pvt Ltd, a digital transformation agency.

    List of Angel Investors in Bangalore [With Contact]
    Bangalore, the silicon valley of India, is one of the most famous Indian citiesfor entrepreneurs. In this post, we have listed some of the most prominent angelinvestors in Bangalore whom you can reach out to. You will get to know abouttheir background and the sectors they like to invest in. You …
    StartupTalkyLakshya Singh

    Kunal Bahl

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Consumer Internet, E-commerce, Internet, Big Data, SaaS
    Investments: Ola, Gigstart, UrbanClap, Bira 91, Belong, Bewakoof, Rapido, Razorpay, Fynd, Jugnoo, Mamaearth, Tripoto, LetsVenture among many others.

    Kunal Bahl | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Kunal Bahl | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Kunal Bahl, the Co-founder, and CEO of Snapdeal is the most prominent and active investor in the Indian startup ecosystem. He is an alum of the prestigious Wharton School of Pennsylvania. Before Snapdeal, he was associated with prominent organizations like Deloitte and Microsoft in the US. He co-founded Jaspers, the parent company of Snapdeal in 2008.

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    StartupTalkyAnsh Mehrey

    Aloke Bajpai

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Investments: Zapr, Overcart, Twigly, etc.

    Aloke Bajpai | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Aloke Bajpai | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Aloke Bajpai is the Co-founder, and CEO of Ixigo – an Online travel marketplace. He is a keen angel investor based out of Delhi. He is a B.tech graduate in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur. He served as VP at Final Quadrant Solutions Ltd, by getting engaged in strategic business development and product marketing.

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    Neeraj Kumar Singal

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Clean technology, Fintech, AI & Robotics, Digital Marketing, Healthcare, Foodtech, Big Data, and Virtual reality
    Investments: Unocoin, Arya ai, SmartVizx, Rubique, MObilewalla, LogiNext, Rubique, Phonon, Utsav Fashions, Vista Pharma, Auro, and many more.

    Neeraj Kumar Singal | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Neeraj Kumar Singal | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Neeraj Kumar Singal, Founder and Director of SEMCO Infratech Pvt ltd and also Lightyear Infratech, is a focused investor in varied fields. He is an active member of IAN (Indian Angel Network), LetsVenture, and HBS Alumni Angels. He values innovation and appreciates strategic ideas that can transform the world of Business. He is also well represented at various leadership roles and organizations like FCCI, HBS Club of India, Young President Organisation, AIMA, CII, TiE, Ph.D. Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and many.

    Dinesh Agarwal

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets interested: Healthcare, Foodtech, Ecommerce, Media, Technology, Consumer Internet, Social Network, Enterprise software, Fashion.
    Investments: InnerChef, Flintobox, DocsApp, Wishberry, Overcart, Heymojo, Eduflix, Greymeter, HackerEarth, Airstream, Gigstart, and many.

    Dinesh Agarwal | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Dinesh Agarwal | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of IndiaMart, is a prominent entrepreneur and angel investor. He is a well-known member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE) and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). Being an alum of The Harcourt Butler Technological Institute of Kanpur, he served as a system analyst at HCL Technologies.

    Rajul Garg

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets interested: Healthcare, Consumer Internet, Mobile, Fin-tech, Food-tech, E-commerce, Media.
    Investments: Meesho, LifCare, Babygogo, Fashalot, Sheroes, Tripeur, Foodcircle, Just Move, Shuttl, Reify Health among others.

    Rahul Garg | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Rahul Garg | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Rahul Garg is the Founder & MD at Leo Capital India. He is one of an active business investors in delhi for startups. Being an alumnus of IIT Delhi with a degree in Computer science, his expertise in this field is commendable. He is also associated with TiE, NASSCOM, IIT Mentors, and many other organizations.

    Utsav Somani

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Management Consulting, Product Innovation, Blockchain, global investments, technology management, SaaS, Clean technology, etc.,
    Investments: Betaout, Zippr, Tavaga, Innov8, Testbook, Adpushup, Doormint, LE tote, Rappi, Lead Genius, Proven, NexGear, and many more.

    Utsav Somani | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Utsav Somani | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Utsav Somani is a prominent angel investor in Delhi via AngelList (an online marketplace of startups and investors). He did his Masters in Innovation & Entrepreneurship from ESADE Business School in 2012. At present, he is also the partner at OB1T Capital (Investment management). He is a well-experienced investor and has been active in the Indian Angel Network.

    List of Angel Investors in Hyderabad [With Contact Details]
    Are you an aspiring entrepreneur looking for investors in Hyderabad? Here is a list of Top Angel Investors in Hyderabad with their Contacts.
    StartupTalkyJeenal Jain

    Nikunj Jain

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Investments: Agastha, Rapido, Wizgo, Routofy, Drivezy among many.

    Nikunj Jain | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Nikunj Jain | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Nikunj Jain, the Co-founder and CEO of Zohem (A blockchain-based data exchange protocol) is a warm investor in the Indian Startup industry. He is a keen investor and also a noteworthy entrepreneur. Before zohem, he had co-founded Frankly.me, which is a video microblogging startup along with inoXapps (a gaming startup). Nikunj did his Btech, Textile Technology from the reputed IIT Delhi.

    Amit Ranjan

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Investments: Touch Talent, Adpushup, Lucideus, and Wishberry.

    Amit Ranjan | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Amit Ranjan | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Earlier, Amit Ranjan had Co-founded Slideshare (Professional content sharing platform). He is now active as the Architect for Digital Locker & OpenForge (e-governance projects) under the Ministry of IT, Government of India.

    By being an enthusiast about startups, he mentors them for their growth and development. He played a lead role in commencing the cult of technology “unconferences’ called BarCamps, by organizing India & Asia’s first such event in Delhi.

    Rohit Bansal

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets interested: Consumer Internet, Technology, E-Commerce, Enterprise Software, Analytics, SaaS, Wellness.
    Investments: Flyrobe, Bira91, UrbanClap, Razorpay, Routofy, Bewakoof, Gigstart, Betaout, Zenatix, Fynd, Qustn Technologies, Leena AI, Supr Daily, Zinier among many.

    Rohit Bansal | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Rohit Bansal | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Rohit Bansal is the Co-founder of Snapdeal, an Indian e-commerce business. Rohit Bansal is one of the prominent investors in the Indian Startup ecosystem. He is an alumnus of IIT Delhi with Btech and Mtech in Computer Science. He is skilled in team management, business development, and strategic planning. He not only provides finance to startups via investing in them but also guides them through their journey by mentoring them in areas of sales, product management, competitor analysis, operations, vendor management, and marketing.

    Snapdeal Company Profile – Owner | Acquisitions | Funding | Revenue |
    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified informationon different startups and organizations. The content in this post has beenapproved by the organization it is based on. How easy have our lives been ever since e-commerce portals came into action! Oneof these, Snapdea…
    StartupTalkyRishabh Rathi

    Alok Mittal

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Enterprise Software, Fintech, Automobile, Consumer Internet, Healthcare, Capital Market, SaaS.
    Investments: Adda52, Quifers, Wedmegood, Cuelearn, Baxi, Bite Club, Drivezy, WishBerry, LifCare, iYogi, among others.

    Alok Mittal | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Alok Mittal | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Alok Mittal, the Co-founder, and CEO of Indifi Technologies Pvt Ltd is not only among the prominent angel investors but also the founder of Indian Angel Network, a platform that connects startups and investors. He is an alumnus of the University of California and completed his Bachelors in Computer Science from IIT Delhi.

    Earlier he had also co-founded JobsAhead.com (leading e-recruitment business), which was later acquired by Monster.com. He also worked with Hughes Software in telecom and internet technologies. He graduated from IIT Delhi and completed his MS and Management of Technology programs from UC Berkeley.

    Rajesh Sawhney

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets interested: Technology, Consumer internet, Media, Fintech, Travel, Gaming, E-commerce.
    Investments: Overcart, Serial Innovations, Speakwell, Inc42 Media, Dexl, Silver Push, Little eye labs, Gamezop among many others.

    Rajesh Sawhney | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Rajesh Sawhney | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Rajesh Sawhney, the Co-founder, and CEO of InnerChef (Food Tech Startup) is a successful entrepreneur and angel investor He is also the CEO of GSF, an Indian Capital firm and accelerator which is focused on mobile startups. He has a wider experience in media and entertainment ventures. Earlier he worked as the COO of Times internet ltd, as the president at Reliance Entertainment and around 14 years with BCCL. He created several successful businesses across sectors like TV, eCommerce, and travel.

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    Kunal Khattar

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets interested: eCommerce, Consumer Internet, Foodtech, Travel, Education, Social Media, Gaming, Automotive, Fintech.
    Investments: Flipclass, GamingMonk, White Owl, YumLane, Zophop, IndiaLends, LimeTray, MassBlurb, Rapido, OnlineTyari, Scoopwoop among many.

    Kunal Khattar | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Kunal Khattar | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Kunal Khattar, the Founding Partner of AdvantEdge Partners (Venture Capital Firm), is one of India’s most prominent investors. He also acts as the Director of Rapido, leading a two-wheeler ride-sharing platform. Earlier, he worked as the Marketing Manager at Vodafone. He has also Co-founded ventures like Simply Look.

    He is one of the most active angel investors in Delhi, who is always available for any kind of help on sales, business development, communication, and strategic marketing management.

    List of Angel Investors in Mumbai [With Contact]
    “City of Dreams”, as many people express Mumbai, is a place that helps bringdreams to reality. Angel Investors are one of the means for you, to help achieveyour dreams. Thereby, find the list of Angel Investors in Mumbai and get aninsight on their specific Market Interests, Contact details and Ma…
    StartupTalkyJeenal Jain

    Samir Sood

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software, Technology, Digital Media, Technical Continuing Education.
    Investments: Airwoot, Biosense, HackerEarth, Xapr, Little Eye Labs, ShieldSquare, MobStac, and many.

    Samir Sood | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Samir Sood | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Samir Sood, the Co-founder of Venture Highway (Early-stage venture investment firm) is one of an active private investors in Delhi. He served as the Head of Corporate Development, South Asia and Australia at Google. He was also associated with organizations like Cisco, Microsoft, Dell, and Lehman Brothers. He is an MBA graduate from The University Of Chicago and completed his MS in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University.

    Pranay Gupta

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: SaaS, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Social Media, IT, Clean Technology, Gaming.
    Investments: Alma Connect, Enpower, HashCube, Zuvvu, Pinpuff, Ideophone, Biosense, and many more.

    Pranay Gupta | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Pranay Gupta | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Pranay Gupta is the Co-Founder of 91springboard, India’s leading co-working spaces. He also acted as the Joint CEO at Centre for Innovation, Incubation, and Entrepreneurship. Before Co-founding 91springboard, he worked with Lehman Brothers and Nomura Securities.

    Soaib Grewal

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets interested: healthcare, SaaS, Fintech, Consumer Internet, Analytics, Enterprise Software.
    Investments: NicheAI, Origa leasing, Upekkha, HIpcask, Spoyl, Tripoto, Uninstall.io among many.

    Soaib Grewal | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Soaib Grewal | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Soaib Grewal acts as an Advisor to AngelList India and is also the Venture Partner at TLabs, a leading startup accelerator and seed investment firm. Before getting associated with TLabs, he acted as Design Mentor at Microsoft Accelerator and also founded BOLd, Design-led investment firm.

    Hetal Sonpal

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets interested: E-commerce, Clean Technology, Travel, Real Estate, SaaS, Big data.
    Investments: Radiowalla, AdvantEdge Club, WittyParrot, Leverage Edu, Alliz Health among many.

    Hetal Sonpal | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Hetal Sonpal | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Hetal Sonpal is into mentoring young minds and budding entrepreneurs along with the students of Amity International School in Gurugram. Earlier, he worked with Intel as the Head of Strategic Alliances. From the esteemed Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Hetal obtained his MBA Degree. He possesses relevant knowledge and expertise in his field.

    Yogesh Bansal

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Social Media, Travel, Foodtech, Automobile, B2B, Internet.
    Investments: Yaantra, BSquare, RippleCard, Wow Momo, Find my Stay, ChefsNearMe, Ziveg and many more.

    Yogesh Bansal | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Yogesh Bansal | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Yogesh Bansal, the Founder, and CEO of ApnaCircle Infotech is a tech missionary with tremendous knowledge and expertise in this field. He holds an MBA Degree in IT & Finance from the University of North Carolina and also founded companies like GeoRapid, GoActiveClub, and Mail Genie. He has got exposure to skills like team building, merger and acquisitions, and serial entrepreneurship.

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    Bharat Mehra

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Healthcare, Aerospace, Hospitality, Agritech, Real Estate, Foodtech, Travel, Fintech.
    Investments: X Prime, Unbxd, SmartVizX, IntensAquatica, SquarePlums among many.

    Bharat Mehra | Delhi Angel Investors
    Bharat Mehra | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Bharat Mehra is the Co-founder of Eatworks. He has major experience in the industry of food and real estate. He is a graduate from the esteemed Alliance Manchester Business School and entails skills in Negotiation, management, sales, and valuation. He is among the leading seed investors in Delhi, who is always an enthusiast to work with people who have passion and zeal to do something new.

    Satyan Gajwani

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Social Media, E-Commerce, Beauty, HrTech, Enterprise Software, Online marketplace.
    Investments: Affle, Delhivery, Dineout, Fab.com, Gradeup, Ridlr, Shuttl, ZipDial, ZopNow.

    Satyan Gajwani | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Satyan Gajwani | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Satyan Gajwani, the VP of Times Internet & Board member of Times India Group, is among the prominent investors in Delhi. Times Internet is one of India’s largest digital media companies that possess brands like Mumbai mirror, Gaana, Times of India among many. He is an alumnus of Stanford University. He also acts as a mentor to startups in media planning, market research, strategic planning, and team building.

    Rajat Harlalka

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Enterprise Software, digital media, fintech, e-commerce, journalism, technology.
    Investments: Magictap Solutions, NewsBytes, ORO Wealth, Slintel, Vaultedge, Khabri, Yellow ant among many.

    Rajat Harlalka | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Rajat Harlalka | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Rajat Harlalka, the Co-founder of Bellurbis Technologies (enterprise software platform), is an active angel investor in Delhi. He is an alumnus of IIT Varanasi and IIT Guwahati. He also acts as the operating partner at GSF India and as a mentor to startups. Be it any concept, like Competitive Analysis, Product development, presentation skills, industry trends or technical marketing, Rajant is at the forefront to help you out.

    Abhishek Dwivedi

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: E-Commerce, Digital Media, Advertising, B2B, HR, Enterprise Software, Edtech, Healthcare.
    Investments: Emo2, Impresario, Janeeva, Reach Accountant, Saffronart, Bakers Circle, Digilogues, Chai Garam.

    Abhishek Dwiwedi | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Abhishek Dwiwedi | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Abhishek Dwiwedi, an Assistant VP of Growth at 1mg.com (Online Pharmacy), is one of the top angel investors in Delhi. He is associated with SternFisher (an Angel Network) as a partner and also served as the Head of Business Development at HealthKart. By being an alumnus of Delhi College of Engineering, he launched SBD Solutions to organize the fragmented solar photovoltaic & thermal market.

    Niraj Singh

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Media, Edtech, Enterprise Software, Healthcare, E-commerce.
    Investments: Plabro, Rapido, ShaadiSaga, Tripoto, Wigzo Technologies, Drivezy, GrownOut, InstaLively.

    Niraj Singh | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Niraj Singh | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Spinny, a platform for buying used cars, was Founded by Niraj Singh. Earlier, he was associated with Outbox Ventures as a Founding Partner and has also Co-founded Top Yaps, an internet media site. Locus Education, an ed-tech startup that helps students with IIT JEE Preparation was also co-founded by him. Being a graduate in Electrical engineering from IIT Delhi, he has got exposure to various domains. He not only invests in startups but also provides correct guidance for the growth of the venture.

    Priyanka Gill

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Fashion, Social Media, Digital Marketing, Ecommerce, Lifestyle, Blogging, Marketing, Food, Logistics.
    Investments: Campanja, Bea’s of Bloomsbury, Shoto, Tizaro.

    Priyanka Gill | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Priyanka Gill | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Priyanka Gill is the Founder & CEO of POPXo, Women-focused digital media firm). She is a prominent female angel investor in Delhi and entails interest in building brands within the lifestyle market. She is also the founder and CEO of Plixio (Influencer management platform) & Luxeva (Digital guide platform). She completed her Master of Arts from Kings College London and BA (Hons) in English from Lady Shri Ram College for Women.

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    StartupTalkyAshwini

    Anirudh Mullick

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Mobile, eCommerce, Matrimonial, Consumer Internet, Social Media, Fintech, Technology, Advertising, HR.
    Investments: Admob, Google, LinkedIn, Paypal, Shaadi.com.

    Anirudh Mullick | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Anirudh Mullick | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Anirudh Mullick is the head of Recruitment at Sequoia Capital India, where he provides recruiting services to Sequoia’s portfolio companies. He is currently the VP of Sequoia Capital India and is an alumnus of IIPM. Earlier, he served as an Associate Director at Executive Access India. He can help startups find and acquire talents for their development and also guide them through business development and strategic planning.

    Top Sequoia Capital Investments that got big
    Sequoia Capital has invested in some of the greatest startups and companies including YouTube, Google, PayPal and more.
    StartupTalkyPooja Uniyal

    Gaurav Kachru

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets Interested: Consumer Internet, SaaS, Small and Medium Businesses, Education, Big Data, Location-Based Services.
    Investments: Kartrocket, Kraftly, Roposo, talking threads.in, Giveter.com, among many.

    Gaurav Kachru - Angel Investors in Delhi
    Gaurav Kachru – Angel Investors in Delhi

    Gaurav, Founder and Managing Partner at 5ideas (an investment firm), is an active private investor in Delhi. Earlier he founded e-commerce startups FashionAndYou and DealsAndYou. Before commencing his entrepreneurial journey, he worked with Manpower Inc as Regional Director for Asia.

    Rajnish Kumar

    Contact: LinkedIn

    Markets interested: Enterprise Software, Travel, Technology, SaaS, Mobile applications, Fintech, Healthcare.
    Investments: MealHopper, Mind Your Fleet, OnlineTyari, AppVirality, Autowale.

    Rajnish Kumar | Angel Investors in Delhi
    Rajnish Kumar | Angel Investors in Delhi

    Rajnish Kumar, the Co-founder and CTO of ixigo.com (travel & hotel booking platform), is one of the prominent angel investors in Delhi. He is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and has expertise in Computer Science and Technology. Earlier, he had also founded Traveneus and has an understanding of Mobile applications and Software development. He also served in various roles at Amadeus IT Group in Spain

    This was our list of Angel Investors in Delhi. If you are an investor or know any of the investors for startups, connect with us at shubham@startuptalky.com to get featured in the list.

    FAQs

    How to get investors for business in India?

    Steps to get investors for business in India or investors for startups in India:-

    • Create a profile on Angel List.
    • Prepare a record of investors to share your ideas with.
    • Brush up your networking skills.
    • Have a classy introduction to your and your business.
    • Tell them why they should invest in your business.

    Where can I find Angel Investors?

    Check with the Business Development Center, Community Futures Office or Economic Development Centre where you live; there may be an active group of angel investors in your community.

    What is an angel investor?

    An angel investor is a person who gives capital for a business start-up, normally in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity.

    How to find investors in Delhi?

    You can find out investors in Delhi by Ask Family or Friends, try crowdfunding platforms to find investors.

  • Ankur Warikoo Success Story – From Dreaming to be the First Man on Mars to Founding the Brand ‘Warikoo’

    Everyone who has achieved success in life has a story to tell. An event that forever altered their lives and shaped who they are today. An event or an incident that gave them the guts and motivation to fulfill their life ambitions and goals.

    There are many motivators and gurus present on the internet today who share knowledge about investments, startups, businesses, financial planning, personal life, and whatnot. There is one such prominent person who is an angel investor as well as a well-renowned YouTuber, Ankur Warikoo. Understand more about this gentleman – Ankur Warikoo’s journey in this writeup.

    Ankur Warikoo Biography

    Name Ankur Warikoo
    Born August 25, 1985
    Occupation Entrepreneur, Teacher, Content Creator, Author, Investor
    Talks About Ideas, money, startups, self-awareness, and personal growth
    Founder WariCrew, WebVeda
    Co-founder Nearbuy.com, Accentium Web, SecondShaadi.com, StudyNation.com, Taaza.com,SitaGita.com, Gaadi.com, and AdLift
    Education BSc in Physics from Hindu College, MS in Astronomy and Astrophysics from Michigan State University, MBA in Finance from ISB
    Net Worth $10 Million (Approx)

    Who is Ankur Warikoo?
    Ankur Warikooo Education
    Ankur Warikoo – Personal Life
    Ankur Warikoo – Career
    Ankur Warikoo- An Author
    Story Behind the Brand ‘Warikoo’

    Who is Ankur Warikoo?

    Ankur Warikoo is a business owner, motivational speaker, mentor, and angel investor by profession. Secondshaadi.com, Gaadi.com now Cardekho.com, and Nearbuy.com are some of the few startups that he co-founded.

    Ankur Warikoo was one of the first employees hired by Groupon to launch and oversee its India operations in 2011 as it was its inception time. Deal-hunting was the most popular online activity at that time.

    Ankur Warikooo Education

    He completed his schooling at Don Bosco School in the capital city, New Delhi. Then he enrolled in Hindu College for a B.Sc. in Physics (B.Sc Physics). After that, he enrolled for Ph.D. in Physics (MS, Astrophysics) from Michigan State University, which he left after finishing his MS. He then went on to complete his MBA (Masters of Business Administration) at the Indian School of Business after returning from the United States.

    Ankur Warikoo – Personal Life

    Ankur Warikoo is a Kashmiri Pandit who was never born into a wealthy family. But he had a clear idea of what he wanted to achieve with his life, which turned out to be nothing like what he is doing now.

    Despite his desire to work for NASA and travel to Mars, life had other plans for him. He dropped out of his Ph.D. program because he was unhappy with his work. Something was always lacking for him. He buried his emotions for years before seeing that this was not the road for him.

    Ruchi Budhiraja Warikoo is the wife of Ankur Warikoo. She was Ankur’s love in high school. She met her when he was a student at the Hindu college and she was a resident of Miranda House. They met on the bus on their way to college, where Ruchi and her friends used to perform silly charades virtually every day.

    Ruchi is the only one who truly understands and supports Ankur in whatever he does. Uzma and Vidur, are their two children.

    Ankur enjoys public speaking and is frequently seen giving talks at corporations, universities, schools, and conferences on topics such as motivation, leadership, consumer internet, and entrepreneurial attitude.

    Ankur Warikoo at TEDxSBSC- Entrepreneurship As A State Of Mind
    Ankur Warikoo at TEDxSBSC- Entrepreneurship As A State Of Mind 

    Ankur Warikoo – Career

    After completing his studies, Ankur landed a position at AT Kearney, a consulting firm. Warikoo worked in the real estate industry and media and entertainment sectors in Dubai, New York, and India while working at Kearney. After getting his MBA, he worked at Kearney for three years until deciding to establish his own business in 2010.

    While Ankur was at ISB, along with his batch mates he started his first venture, secondshaadi.com. In those few years after quitting his job, he joined in building various websites across industries like automobiles, education, and finance. One of the biggest hits was Gaadi.com which was eventually sold to goibibo.com.

    Soon after these two startups, Ankur joined hands with Groupon as the founding CEO in India. Along with that he also managed businesses in Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia for Groupon. He led Groupon’s business in India for around four years until 2015. That year he took a major step and bought a major shareholding of India business from Groupon with Sequoia Capital and transformed it into a whole new independent startup, Nearbuy.com.

    He started Nearbuy, a lifestyle company, in 2015 which provided interesting deals on restaurants, spas, beverages, and other local businesses. This startup was funded by Sequoia capital. He left his position as CEO in 2019 to pursue a career as a content creator. The other two co-founders still run the business of Nearbuy.

    Ankur Warikoo was named to Fortune India’s 40 Under 40 list, was the Social Media Entrepreneur of the Year held by CMO Asia in 2017, and was also featured in the LinkedIn spotlight in 2019.

    Ankur Warikoo- An Author

    Ankur Warikoo's authored books- Do Epic Shit & Get Epic Shit Done
    Ankur Warikoo’s authored books- Do Epic Shit & Get Epic Shit Done

    Ankur Warikoo as a content creator always shared productivity and life skills on different platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

    In 2021, He published all his posts compendium titled “DO EPIC SHIT” (National Bestseller), in which he talks about success and failure, habits, awareness, entrepreneurship, money, and relationships.

    Again in 2022, he published another book on actionable hacks titled “GET EPIC SHIT DONE“, in which he intricacies of management of life like mindset, focus, meditations, etc.

    Story Behind the Brand ‘Warikoo’

    When Ankur was the CEO of nearbuy.com in 2016, he created the brand Warikoo.  The brand was created with the goal of owning the stories and building a brand for future talent. Ankur volunteered for the job since he enjoys public speaking, and one lovely Wednesday, he filmed a video with the headline “If you don’t ask, the answer is always no!”

    It was named “Warikoo Wednesdays” by him.

    Since then, the brand has expanded by leaps and bounds, and it can now be found on nearly every major social media platform. The brand continues to expand mostly through video content, which assists consumers in making decisions based on awareness rather than ignorance.

    Anupam Mittal Success Story – Founder of People Group – Shaddi.com
    Anupam Mittal is an entrepreneur and founder of People Group. He will also be one of the Judges of the business reality show Shark Tanks India.
    StartupTalkyManav Makhija

    Conclusion

    Ankur Warikoo encourages young people in their twenties and thirties to explore new things, make errors, and learn from their failures. Spending time with individuals who aren’t like us was one of the three factors that let him live a life without a plan. “It is so easy for us to take our failures seriously and consider them the end of the road,” he writes on his website ankurwarikoo.com in a PDF document titled My Failure Resume. I am the best proof that self-doubt exists, as well as the finest proof that it can be conquered — it’s simply a never-ending struggle.”

    FAQs

    What is the net worth of Ankur Warikoo?

    The net worth of Ankur Warikoo is approximately $10 Million.

    What is the education qualification of Ankur Warikoo?

    Ankur Warikoo did BSc in Physics from Hindu College, dropped out from MS in Astronomy and Astrophysics from Michigan State University, and MBA in Finance from ISB.

    What does Ankur Warikoo do?

    Ankur Warikoo is a content creator, public speaker, and entrepreneur.