Bangalore-based e-tailer of home décor products Zansaar.com (a brand owned by Singapore-based Salar Online Pvt Ltd) has raised $6 million funding from Accel Partners and Tiger Global, two of the most prolific venture capital and private equity investors in the Indian e-commerce sector.
As per the official release, the money raised will be utilised by Zansaar towards meeting its working capital requirements and supporting organic growth, planned for the coming months. Part of the capital will be also used for maintaining inventory and meeting marketing expenses.
Speaking about the investment, Subrata Mitra, Partner at Accel Partners, said, “We think very highly of the Zansaar team and are confident that they are well-aligned to execute in a rather complex category. We expect very healthy growth, and are proud and confident to associate with and assist in Zansaar’s growth.â€
As part of the deal, Mitra will be joining the company's board.
Launched last month, Zansaar was co-founded by Jawad Ayaz and Vinod Chandran. The duo had previously started 20north.com, another e-commerce portal selling international products. Last time when we checked the site, 20north.com had a banner saying ‘SORRY! WE’RE RENOVATING!!’
Ayaz, however, told Techcircle.in that 20north had not been closed down and it would be functional again in a couple of months after the renovation.
At present, Zansaar is a 55-people company and it is looking to double its staff strength in the next 3-4 months, according to Ayaz. "We don't know what the competition has to offer. But we will differentiate ourselves by offering a comprehensive range of products sourced from all over the world and not just from India," he added when asked about the competition in this segment.
In spite of talks that the Indian e-commerce market is getting overheated with VC money, the latest deal shows there are backers for both old and mint-fresh ventures. The Zansaar deal is similar to that of Pepperfry, another e-commerce startup founded by Ambareesh Murty (former eBay India chief) who raised funding even before launching his e-commerce site.
Accel Partners and Tiger Global, who have earlier backed a string of Indian e-commerce firms, such as Flipkart, among others, are also active in placing fresh bets in e-commerce startups. Accel recently invested $5 million in BlueStone.com (along with Silicon Valley Bank and K Ganesh of TutorVista) while Tiger Global put in $20 million in Myntra.com in a series C round of funding.
