NEW DELHI: Relevant E-solutions, which owns and operates fashion
discovery app Roposo, has bagged $5 million (about Rs 33 crore) from
from Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), the strategic investment arm of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann SE.
The latest round is part of the Gurgaon-based startup's $15 million
(about Rs 100 crore) Series B round, which was first reported in August
last year, and confirmed by the company, and has been led by its
existing backer, Tiger Global Management, which has pumped in $10 million this time around.
While the terms of the investment were not disclosed, Roposo, which also counts early-stage venture capital firm India Quotient as an investor, has raised about $21 million (about Rs 140 crore) in external funding till date.
"While Tiger Global had committed to invest the entire $15 million, we
wanted to bring in a new investor that would share the same philosophy
as us, and support our growth, and had set aside about $5 million
accordingly. We are fortunate to have Bertelsmann on board as a
partner," said Avinash Saxena, co-founder of Roposo.
Seeded by Flipkart Co-founder and Chief Executive Binny Bansal,
the less-than two year-old startup was founded by IIT Delhi alumnus,
Saxena, Mayank Bhangadia and Kaushal Shubhank in 2014. Last year, Tiger
Global had led a $5 million Series A round in the company.
The
founders also confirmed that Bansal has exited his position in the
company last year, as had another early investor in the venture, 5ideas
Startup Superfuel.
"We see tremendous promise in Roposo as a
social network and as a business model. With an extremely strong
founding team, it has managed to capture immense mindshare in India
within a fairly short span since inception. With leaders such as
multi-channel network StyleHaul in the US and social network Mogujie in
China in the Bertelsmann family, we are excited to now work with Roposo
to make it the leading fashion destination in India," said Pankaj
Makkar, managing director, BII.
The startup will use the
proceeds from the round towards strengthening its technology, expanding
its team, bolstering the product and enhancing the Roposo community.
"The company is growing at a tremendous pace. We are building a
world-class product team, and expect to make some really interesting
hiring-related announcements over the course of the year," Saxena said.
Roposo, which claims to have 2.5 million installations of its app till
date, is targeting having 7-8 million active users on its platform by
the end of the current fiscal.
While fashion and lifestyle are
the dominant categories, the startup, which competes with the likes of
Wooplr, WithMe and Styledotme, is evaluating entering newer ones, such
as food, travel and home furnishings, amongst others.
"Altogether, we're doing about 250,000 posts a month. There is a
tremendous amount of engagement taking place, and our central philosophy
has always been about connecting users," said Saxena.
Repost's
revenue model is centred around its affiliate channels, through its
partnership with over 400 websites, including most major ecommerce
ventures. It also has advertising and video channels.
"We are experimenting with various channels... The monetisation strategy will shape up by the end of 2016," Saxena said.
Sun Capital