Trell closes first ESOP buyback worth Rs 12 cr

By Kaushiki Chatterjee

  • 26 Jan 2022
Credit: 123RF.com

Trell Experiences Pvt Ltd, which runs lifestyle community commerce platform Trell, said it has executed its first buyback of employee stock options (ESOPs) worth Rs 12 crore (around $1602754.80) for its employees. 

The company said the team has grown from 50 to over 700 members. It also claimed to have logged a massive growth and scale on its platform in 2021. 

Trell was founded in 2016 by IIT Bombay alumni Pulkit Agrawal, Prashant Sachan, Arun Lodhi, National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) graduate Bimal Kartheek Rebba, and New Jersey Institute of Technology alumnus Nirav Sheth. 

“Our people have stood with us during the most unprecedented times and their continuous support made this possible today. Their conviction and unwavering efforts have fueled our exponential growth; making Trell the largest and fastest-growing social commerce platform in the country," said Pulkit Agrawal, Co-Founder and CEO of Trell. 

The company says that its mobile app allows users to create videos of their travel and local experiences and share them as a classic slideshow or copyrighted images on other platforms. It monetises its platform via social commerce. 

According to Trell’s statement, it has over 60 million monthly active users (MAU) and offers content in multiple categories across 12 languages such as Hindi, Tamil, English, among other languages. 

Last year, the company raised Rs 335 crore ($45 million) in its series B funding round led by Mirae Asset, H&M Group and LB Investments. 

The company raised $4 million (approximately Rs 29.24 crore at current exchange rates) in a pre-series A funding round and $11.4 million (Rs 85 crore) in a series A funding round in 2020. 

In 2018, Trell raised $1.25 million (Rs 8.58 crore) in its seed round of funding led by early-stage venture capital firms Singapore-based BeeNext and Mumbai-based WEH Ventures.