Delhi-based consumer electronic startup boAt has raised Rs.6 crore in a round led by early-stage venture capital firm Fireside Ventures. The startup had been bootstrapped by its founders since its launch in 2016 to this date.
This is the first round of equity funding raised by the 2-year-old boAt, which makes electronic products such as speakers and headphones. The startup will use the capital raised primarily towards marketing and product development.
Founded in 2016 by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, boAt claims to have over 800,000 users, and claims to sell 4,200 units per day. Aman had earlier worked with audio product giant Harman International as its India sales director, while Sameer also runs gaming hardware company RedGear. Bot Aman and Sameer have had put in seed capital of Rs 30 lakh in boAt, at the time of startup's formation.
“We need to add some more product categories…Currently we are largely doing personal audio, which is centred around the mobile and the mobile ecosystem. But we will be getting into home audio – soundbars, speakers,” Aman Gupta, co-founder and chief executive of boAt.
The CEO said that the company would begin introducing new product categories by the next quarter. boAt, which began as an online brand, selling across multiple e-commerce platforms, such as Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal, has now begun selling through offline channels as well.
The startup sells its products by listing them on e-commerce marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart. Apart from audio products like headphones and speakers, the startup also sells mobile accessories including charging cables and wall chargers.
For Fireside Ventures, boAt is its fourth investment in calendar year 2018. Since its launch, the Fireside Ventures has backed 12 ventures, including, Yoga Bar, Goodness Beverages, Vahdam Teas, Mama Earth and Bombay Shaving Company as some of its portfolio companies.
The early-stage consumer brand-focused investment firm, which was founded in 2017, has recently closed its first fund with a corpus of Rs 340 crore inadvertently exceeding its original target of Rs 300 crore.
Fireside's fund counts PremjiInvest, the personal investment arm of Wipro promoter Azim Premji’s Premji, consumer goods maker Marico’s Mariwala, RP-Sanjiv Goenka and Sunil Munjal’s Hero Enterprise investment office, as its backers. It also has the backing of some of the largest FMCG giants including Unilever Ventures, ITC and Kolkata-based consumer goods firm Emami along with homegrown investment firm WestBridge Capital.
Earlier last month, Fireside Ventures-backed Blink (Previously Witworks), which is a consumer IoT products & smart wearable devices startup, got acquired by Myntra for undisclosed amount. Blink had raised undisclosed amount in seed from from Fireside Ventures, along with other investors.
Last September, Fireside Ventures lead the $1 million funding in Honasa Consumer Pvt Ltd ‘s brand Mamaearth, which offer toxin free consumer products for mothers and babies.
Prior to that, Fireside lead $2.3 million funding of Bombay Shaving Company, a brand known for its men’s consumer care products.
This news was first reported by Live Mint.
This is the first round of equity funding raised by the 2-year-old boAt, which makes electronic products such as speakers and headphones. The startup will use the capital raised primarily towards marketing and product development.
Founded in 2016 by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, boAt claims to have over 800,000 users, and claims to sell 4,200 units per day. Aman had earlier worked with audio product giant Harman International as its India sales director, while Sameer also runs gaming hardware company RedGear. Bot Aman and Sameer have had put in seed capital of Rs 30 lakh in boAt, at the time of startup's formation.
“We need to add some more product categories…Currently we are largely doing personal audio, which is centred around the mobile and the mobile ecosystem. But we will be getting into home audio – soundbars, speakers,” Aman Gupta, co-founder and chief executive of boAt.
The CEO said that the company would begin introducing new product categories by the next quarter. boAt, which began as an online brand, selling across multiple e-commerce platforms, such as Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal, has now begun selling through offline channels as well.
The startup sells its products by listing them on e-commerce marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart. Apart from audio products like headphones and speakers, the startup also sells mobile accessories including charging cables and wall chargers.
For Fireside Ventures, boAt is its fourth investment in calendar year 2018. Since its launch, the Fireside Ventures has backed 12 ventures, including, Yoga Bar, Goodness Beverages, Vahdam Teas, Mama Earth and Bombay Shaving Company as some of its portfolio companies.
The early-stage consumer brand-focused investment firm, which was founded in 2017, has recently closed its first fund with a corpus of Rs 340 crore inadvertently exceeding its original target of Rs 300 crore.
Fireside's fund counts PremjiInvest, the personal investment arm of Wipro promoter Azim Premji’s Premji, consumer goods maker Marico’s Mariwala, RP-Sanjiv Goenka and Sunil Munjal’s Hero Enterprise investment office, as its backers. It also has the backing of some of the largest FMCG giants including Unilever Ventures, ITC and Kolkata-based consumer goods firm Emami along with homegrown investment firm WestBridge Capital.
Earlier last month, Fireside Ventures-backed Blink (Previously Witworks), which is a consumer IoT products & smart wearable devices startup, got acquired by Myntra for undisclosed amount. Blink had raised undisclosed amount in seed from from Fireside Ventures, along with other investors.
Last September, Fireside Ventures lead the $1 million funding in Honasa Consumer Pvt Ltd ‘s brand Mamaearth, which offer toxin free consumer products for mothers and babies.
Prior to that, Fireside lead $2.3 million funding of Bombay Shaving Company, a brand known for its men’s consumer care products.
This news was first reported by Live Mint.
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