D2C fashion brand Zouk is set to raise $10M in a funding round led by Aavishkaar Capital.  The Mumbaibased startup, known for its crueltyfree products, last raised funds over 18 months ago.  Zouk's...

Welcome to News Discussion's Private Community

- D2C fashion brand **Zouk** is set to raise $10M in a funding round led by **Aavishkaar Capital**.
- The Mumbai-based startup, known for its cruelty-free products, last raised funds over 18 months ago.
- Zouk's products, including laptop bags and wallets, are handmade by in-house artisans using 100% vegan leather.
- The company was valued at around $7M in its last financing round and is expected to be valued at $50M in this round.
- Zouk's revenue for FY23 was Rs 47.41 crore, up from Rs 21.82 crore in FY22.

Source: [Entrackr](https://entrackr.com/2024/10/d2c-fashion-brand-zouk-set-to-raise-10-mn-led-by-aavishkaar-capital/)

Zouk to Secure $10M Funding Led by Aavishkaar Capital

Journalist

Zouk to Secure $10M Funding Led by Aavishkaar Capital- Grapevine

Welcome to Indian Startups's Private Community

Ex Puma India MD raises ~$12Mn for a new sportswear brand 😮😮

Analyst

Welcome to Office Gossip's Private Community

Absolutely sad to see the state of the startups, most of them.
I am a founder myself, and this is a post with equal disappointment with myself as much as it is for anyone else who relates.
Look at all these companies that have raised shit tons of capital, and now make a fraction of money that has been invested in them.
The raised money is spent on outsized, non business sense making acquisition costs, only to keep repeating it till the tap runs dry.
Then when all stakeholders get bored, the service quality plummets, the employees are fired and whole sectors are admonished as being bad.

But, my question is, which sector where large sums of money was invested in early days have come out with flying colours. Fucking nothing !
Edtech, proptech, agritech, ecommerce etc. etc. etc. kuch bhi nahi. 

Is there any sector where a startup which has raised in the 100s of millions in the first 5 years have actually built a sustainable business at any scale ?
Then scaling down, isse acha, scale slowly.
The worst part of this whole drama, is pushing the innovation wheel backward and destroying customer sentiment.

Isse acha, raise less money inititally, build slowly, and only scale when the market is ready. Artifical growth makes no sense, unless you have a treasure chest that shall never run out.
Even in that case, spend the money on assets and not on random acquisition costs, direct or indirect.

As founders, let's do better, nahi ?

Rant or is it ?

Founder

https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/10/meesho-an-indian-social-commerce-with-150m-transacting-users-secures-275m-in-new-funding/ 

In current climate, great to see they’re able to raise! Folks at Meesho, some questions: 

- does anyone know if this is a down round?
- how’s the climate inside Meesho? Appraisals, hiring etc 
- are all employees allowed to sell in the secondary?

Meesho raises funding

Software Engineer

https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/zepto-funding-665-mln-at-3-6-bln-valuation-ipo-next-year-blinkit-instamart-zomato-swiggy-flipkart-quick-commerce-11718939449690.html

Zepto valuation jumps to $3.6bln 💰

The Morning Vine 🍇

Zepto's massive fundraise

Exceptional growth man 
Cannot say it enough. Two youngsters really came out of nowhere and gave Swiggy, BB, Grofers a run for their money!

Who would have thought.

Corporate Strategist

Business Analyst

- Zepto, an Indian instant delivery startup, has secured $340 million in a Series G round, valuing the company at $5 billion.
- The funding round, co-led by General Catalyst and Mars Growth Capital, brings Zepto's total fresh funding this year to nearly $1 billion.
- Competing with BlinkIt and Swiggy’s Instamart, Zepto is on track to generate over $1.5 billion in annualized sales.
- Quick-commerce services like Zepto are gaining traction in urban India, leveraging strategically located 'dark stores' to fulfill orders within minutes.
- Analysts note that quick-commerce firms in India are outperforming traditional e-commerce giants like Amazon, which has been slow to adapt to changing consumer habits. 

 Source: [Techcrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/13/zepto-hits-5b-valuation-as-quick-commerce-heats-up-in-india/)

Zepto Raises $340M at $5B Valuation Amidst India's Quick-Commerce Boom

I think in this bear market, to be able to raise like this, says something about how much investors believe in them & the model
https://thearcweb.com/article/zepto-quick-commerce-aadit-palicha-blinkit-swiggy-flipkart-if07YMNjRHiOjmFA

Zepto going from $1B to $3B valuation in just 8-9 months after last announcement.

Product Manager

https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/quick-commerce-firm-zepto-raises-665-mn-in-funding-valued-at-3-6-bn-124062100289_1.html

Zepto raised $665bn at $3.6bn valuation . Mind blowing execution

Software Developer

While I'm proud of these two revolutionising the quick commerce space, I somehow have a bad feeling about this

Profits aren't coming, money is flowing
Don't know what the VCs are seeking?
Why bake a a pie that you can't eat later?

Too much money too soon, where have we seen that?

Consultant

- Adtech startup AdOnMo has raised $25 Mn in a funding round led by Rigel Capital and Sinar Mas.
- The funds will be used to expand its presence to 40 Indian cities and increase its displays to 1 Lakh.
- Founded in 2017, AdOnMo provides targeted, real-time advertisements on cloud-connected digital screens.
- The startup's infrastructure offers features like dynamic creative optimisation and social media-driven ad triggers.
- AdOnMo's last funding round saw Zomato picking up a 19.8% stake, leveraging new digital avenues for customer acquisition. 

 Source: [Inc42](https://inc42.com/buzz/zomato-backed-adonmo-raises-25-mn-to-expand-presence-to-40-indian-cities/)

Zomato-Backed AdOnMo Raises $25 Mn To Expand Presence To 40 Indian Cities

- E-mobility startup Kazam has secured $8 million in Series A3 funding round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India.
- The round also saw participation from Avaana Capital, Alteria Capital, and other notable investors.
- The fresh funds will be used to bolster technology and product teams, enhance platform offerings, and expand market presence.
- Co-founded in 2020, Kazam builds smart and affordable EV charging networks, aiming to digitize the entire e-mobility value chain.
- Kazam's software supports a diverse range of vehicles and has partnered with major companies, facilitating 1 million transactions and integrating over 25,500 EV charging devices in the last 12 months. 

 Source: [Entrackr](https://entrackr.com/2024/08/proptech-startup-truva-raises-3-mn-led-by-stellaris/)

E-mobility Startup Kazam Raises $8 Mn Led by Vertex Ventures

Heard Groyyo is cooking numbers? Is it true? Can any VC guy confirm?

Growth Manager

- Zepto co-founder Aadit Palicha anticipates 150% growth in next 12 months
- Annualized sales run rate recently exceeded $1.5 billion
- Quick commerce firms collectively on track for $6 billion annual sales
- Zepto raised $1 billion in past 90 days for aggressive expansion
- Palicha sees 'huge opportunity' for quick commerce in tier 2/3 cities 

 Source: [Techcrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/27/zepto-snagging-1-billion-in-90-days-projects-150-annual-growth/)

Zepto projects 150% annual growth, raises $1 billion in 90 days

https://inc42.com/buzz/exclusive-dunzo-in-advanced-talks-to-raise-around-100-mn-in-series-g-round/

Dunzo raising new round ? ? If yes, its a big win for a brand

Welcome to Personal Finance's Private Community

I am starting a D2C fashion brand. Haven't been able to arrange funds from any sources. 

In a way, it's a chicken and egg problem in market conditions like this. Funding ke liye traction chahiye and traction ke liye funding chahiye. 

Need 15 lacs to get things off the ground. Considering the minimum order requirements and marketing expense. 

Do you think it would be a good idea to do crowdfunding for my startup? Any help / insights would be highly appreciated 🙏

Crowdfunding for D2C Startup

Product Marketing Manager

- Axio, a digital lending firm backed by Lightrock, has secured $20 million in equity funding from the Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund.
- The funds will be used to scale lending operations, expand checkout finance use cases, and offer more credit products.
- Axio, formerly known as Capital Float, offers loans via its own books and co-lending partnerships, along with pay-later options and personal finance management.
- The company has reached $1 billion in annualised disbursals, with 60% of customers from non-metros and a low NPA ratio of 2-3%.
- Prior to this round, Axio had raised $137 million in equity and $671 million in debt, with Light Rock as the largest external shareholder. 

 Source: [Moneycontrol](https://www.moneycontrol.com/technology/lightrock-backed-fintech-firm-axio-raises-20-million-from-amazon-smbhav-venture-fund-article-12805190.html)

Lightrock-backed fintech firm Axio raises $20 million from Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund

Once the posterboy of vc funded fast growing startups, Khatabook has grown quite. Anyone has an idea what's happening? I have heard from somewhere they have become profitable on the back of lending to shopkeepers.

What's happening at Khatabook?

Udaan is planning to raise additional 250 million dollars from existing investors. Udaan is expecting to undergo massive valuation undercut.

Link: https://entrackr.com/2023/08/exclusive-udaan-in-talks-to-raise-new-round-valuation-may-drop-significantly/

B2B Ecommerce gaint Udaan is in advance stage to raise equity funding

Project Manager

Another consumer tech startup bites the dust :/

https://entrackr.com/2023/10/ex-myntra-ceos-startup-virgio-shuts-down-after-raising-37-mn/

Virgio shuts down a year into raising $37Mn

Get a tag(college/company) -> Open a startup -> Get Funding (even seed stage is fine) -> Burn money -> sell or shut down startup. 
  
 Fastest way to accumulate wealth in today's time.

Zouk to Secure $10M Funding Led by Aavishkaar Capital

Discover More

Indian Startups on

by Jordon Lee

Venture Capital

Ex Puma India MD raises ~$12Mn for a new sportswear brand 😮😮

Office Gossip on

by Kendall Carmden

Stealth

Rant or is it ?

Indian Startups on

by Isaiah Carmden

Quicko

Meesho raises funding

Indian Startups on

by Anise Lee

Zepto

Zepto valuation jumps to $3.6bln 💰

News Discussion on

by Kendall Everett

Grapevine

The Morning Vine 🍇

Indian Startups on

by Jordon Everett

Stealth

Zepto's massive fundraise

News Discussion on

by Isaiah Everett

Grapevine

Zepto Raises $340M at $5B Valuation Amidst India's Quick-Commerce Boom

News Discussion on

by Dezi Olive

Jupiter

Zepto going from $1B to $3B valuation in just 8-9 months after last announcement.

Indian Startups on

by Kalan Carmden

Uber

Zepto raised $665bn at $3.6bn valuation . Mind blowing execution

Indian Startups on

by Kalan Dean

Stealth

Too much money too soon, where have we seen that?

News Discussion on

by Anise Denver

Grapevine

Zomato-Backed AdOnMo Raises $25 Mn To Expand Presence To 40 Indian Cities

News Discussion on

by Blair Vernon

Grapevine

E-mobility Startup Kazam Raises $8 Mn Led by Vertex Ventures

Indian Startups on

by Aaron Carmden

Stealth

Heard Groyyo is cooking numbers? Is it true? Can any VC guy confirm?

News Discussion on

by Coy Gabriel

Grapevine

Zepto projects 150% annual growth, raises $1 billion in 90 days

Indian Startups on

by Matilda Lee

Student

Dunzo raising new round ? ? If yes, its a big win for a brand

Personal Finance on

by Dezi Lee

Stealth

Crowdfunding for D2C Startup

News Discussion on

by Kalan Dean

Grapevine

Lightrock-backed fintech firm Axio raises $20 million from Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund

Indian Startups on

by Jordon Gabriel

Flipkart

What's happening at Khatabook?

Indian Startups on

by Dezi Taye

Amazon

B2B Ecommerce gaint Udaan is in advance stage to raise equity funding

Indian Startups on

by Coy Gabriel