5 Indian startups poised for a breakout

Photo by Art Comments

It seems like good days are here to stay for Indian fashion ecommerce. Today fashion and lifestyle startups – Styletag, Craftsvilla, and Smytten – made headlines in the country which is still dominated by offline clothing retailers.

Craftsvilla

Craftsvilla, which sells ethnic products online has raised US$34 million in its third round of funding led by Sequoia Capital India and LightSpeed Venture Partners. Craftsvilla connects over 25,000 designers and artists with buyers. The “Etsy of India” has artists and designers from the remotest villages of the country.

See: Indian handicraft ecommerce site scores $34m in funding, possible IPO on the way

Smytten

Personalized estore Smytten announced US$200,000 in seed funding from angel investors today. The Gurgaon-based startup founded by Swagata Sarangi and Siddhartha Nangia – both graduates of the premier Indian School of Business (ISB) – promises to curate premium brands and handpick cool luxury products.

Styletag

Fashion marketplace Styletag announced a much larger funding round of US$7.5 million from Jitu Virwani, chairman and managing director of premium real estate developer Embassy Property Developments. The startup wants to make luxury products available at a bargain basement prices. It often runs flash sales. Founders Yashodhara and Sanjay Shroff ran an offline store in Bangalore for years before starting Styletag.

See: A tale of two startups and their different outlooks on what India’s shoppers want

Jugnoo

Jugnoo, India’s Uber for autorickshaws, announced today that it has raised US$3million in series B funding led by mobile wallet Paytm. Kunal Shah, founder of Freecharge, also participated in this round of funding. The company is competing with the likes of Uber and Ola who have similar rickshaw services in India. Jugnoo, which was started in 2014, operates in 22 cities across India.

See: More than mere taxis, Jugnoo raises $3m to use auto rickshaws for everything

ConveGenius

Edtech company ConveGenius announced a funding round of INR 20 million (US$303,216) from undisclosed investors. The startup was founded by Jairaj Bhattacharya and Shashank Pandey to make education affordable and fun. It focuses on mobile-based learning through games and socially-driven content. The startup, which has offices in Noida and Singapore, raised the latest investment through fundraising platform Enablers.

Do any of these startups catch your fancy? Tell us why or why not.