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Exclusive: 91Trucks set to raise new round led by Arkam Ventures

EntrackrEntrackr · 4m ago
Exclusive: 91Trucks set to raise new round led by Arkam Ventures
Medial

Exclusive: 91Trucks set to raise new round led by Arkam Ventures 91Trucks, an online platform specializing in commercial vehicle listings, is all set to raise a new round to the tune of Rs 30-35 crore ($3.5-4 million), according to sources aware of the development. Arkam Ventures is leading a Rs 30-35 crore funding round in 91Trucks, with some existing investors expected to participate, according to a source. "The terms of the deal have been finalized, and an official announcement is expected soon.” Founded in 2022 by Abhishek Gautam, Siddharth Sharma, and Vikas Sharma, 91Trucks is a Gurugram-based platform that provides reviews, specifications, and customer ratings for trucks, buses, and three-wheelers, helping users make informed purchasing decisions. It works closely with automotive manufacturers, dealers, banks, and NBFCs to offer IT solutions and financing options. In May 2024, 91Trucks secured seed funding from investors including Titan Capital, Atrium Angels, and Sparrow Capital. However, the company did not announce the fundraise in the media. As per sources, 91Trucks may get a $15-20 million valuation post money. 91Trucks declined to comment on the story, while queries sent to Arkam Ventures did not elicit a response until the time of publication. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Titan Capital is the largest external shareholder in the company with a 5.78% stake, followed by Sparrow Capital with 4.72%. For the fiscal year ending in March 2024, 91Trucks reported Rs 10.11 crore revenue against Rs 3.95 crore in FY23. During the last fiscal year, its losses stood at less than Rs 1 crore. Arkam Ventures, which backed companies like Jar, Kreditbee, Jai-Kisan, Jumbotail, and Signzy through its first fund, introduced its second fund of $180 million in June 2023, with plans to invest in around 20 early-stage startups.

RockClimber banks on authenticity and quality to tap into India’s beverage market

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
RockClimber banks on authenticity and quality to tap into India’s beverage market
Medial

India has a massive beverage market with many established brands, though several new players, such as Bira, have also made their mark. Considering the sheer size of the market, it’s safe to say that there’s ample scope for newcomers. One such new player is RockClimber. The company creates fruit beverages and fruit spirits designed specifically for India, made from locally grown fruits like jamun, grapes, pomegranate, kiwi, mulberry, and litchi, among others. One of the company’s objectives is to help reduce fruit wastage and create a sustainable ecosystem for farmers and fruit produce. We spoke to Cofounder Hariprasad Shetty to learn more about RockClimber, what distinguishes it from the competition, and the roadmap ahead. Here are the edited excerpts: The beverage market is filled with multiple brands, including some very established ones. How do you plan to stand out from the competition? As a truly authentic fruit based beverage brand, we are committed to using high quality fruits with an experimentative approach to crafting unique fruit combinations that incorporate global flavour trends. This has allowed us to offer a very diverse range of exciting and refreshing beverages while keeping fruits at the center of everything we do. That’s what makes us stand out from the rest of the competition – we see ourselves as fruit experts and our products are fresh and engage with the evolving consumer preferences. So our focus is on delivering an uncompromising product experience. We source the finest fruits from across the country. This commitment to authenticity and quality sets us apart from many competitors who rely heavily on artificial flavors and preservatives. And the traction we have had in the last three years also points to how we have been accepted in the market. [FY 22 7 Cr, FY 23 7 Cr, FY 24 25 Cr, FY 25 60-70 Cr domestic and 30-35 outside India = 100 Cr+ target] 140 strong distributor network across 11 states. 3 million + bottles of beverages sold. 3000 tons of fruits processed sourced from a farmer base of 200,000 small scale fruit farmers producing grapes, pomegranate, pineapple, jamun, strawberry, mango etc. What is your offline and distribution strategy, usually the key to robust growth in your category? Most of the work should happen before Day Zero – the launch day. We recognized early on that a robust distribution network is the backbone of success in this business. We adopted a systematic approach to build our distribution network from the ground up. Mapping out territories and identifying potential distributors and retailers who could penetrate different markets. We only went ahead with experienced and reputable distributors who had an in-depth understanding of local market dynamics and consumer preferences. What is your strategy for online? Are you considering partnerships with any quick commerce platform? Yes, now that we have a headway in the distribution aspect and have achieved product market fit, we are now going to go aggressive on the marketing front especially online channels. What are the incentives for a farmer dealing with your platform other than the convenience of direct sale and price? Farmers are looking for a stable assured source of income every year. Timely procurement of their fruit produce, immediate payments, reduction in time to sale, and providing access to a large pool of buyers are all the benefits farmers get by working with us. We started with 500 tons of fruit procurement, and now at over 5000 tons. We aim for 10X procurement volumes in the next 2-3 years, thereby contributing to 10 times reduction in fruit loss, and hence a direct positive impact on small scale farmers livelihood and stable income generation. As we expand our facilities, we aim to recruit local talent to be part of our company and thereby directly provide employment opportunities as well. RockClimber aims to: Scale to 10,00,000 farmer base in the next 3 years Platform building for farmer outreach, communication, and forecasting Patented mobile fruit processing system Export unit in select locations for UAE and Africa markets You also mentioned entering the UAE and Africa markets. What is your roadmap for global expansion? And why particularly these two markets? We expect 30-35% revenues coming in from global markets in the near term. Particularly markets like UAE are huge on experimentation as consumers there are well traveled and have an international palette. We see a large market opportunity in the innovative – new age beverage category in this region.

BigHaat’s gross revenue nears Rs 700 Cr in FY23

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
BigHaat’s gross revenue nears Rs 700 Cr in FY23
Medial

Agritech startup BigHaat registered over five-fold growth during the fiscal year ending March 2023. However, in pursuit of rapid scale its losses also rose in a similar proportion during the same period. BigHaat’s gross revenue surged 5.3X to Rs 643 crore in FY23 from Rs 120 crore in FY22, its consolidated financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies show. Founded in 2015, BigHaat leverages technology to provide a wide range of solutions and services to farmers, helping them optimize their agricultural practices and increase productivity. Market linkages formed 92% of the overall gross revenue which increased 6.6X to Rs 594 crore in FY23. The rest of the income comes from input business, exports, commission of marketplace, and others. See TheKredible for the detailed revenue breakup. In tune with growth in scale, its cost of procurement emerged as the largest cost center accounting for 92.5% of the total expenditure. This cost rose by 5.4X to Rs 623 crore in FY23 from Rs 115 crore in FY22. Its employee benefits, selling cum distribution, legal-professional, information technology, fulfillment, and other overheads took the total expenditure to Rs 673 crore in FY23 from Rs 128 crore in FY22. Head to TheKredible for the complete expense breakup. Expenses Breakdown Total ₹ 128 Cr https://thekredible.com/company/bighaat/financials View Full Data To access complete data, visithttps://thekredible.com/company/bighaat/financials Total ₹ 673 Cr https://thekredible.com/company/bighaat/financials View Full Data To access complete data, visithttps://thekredible.com/company/bighaat/financials Cost of procurement Cost of procurement Employee benefit Employee benefit Selling and distribution Selling and distribution Legal professional Legal professional Information technology Information technology Fulfilment cost Fulfilment cost Others To check complete Expense Breakdown visit thekredible.com View full data The spurt in procurement and employee benefits resulted in a significant increase in losses, rising 5.8X to Rs 35 crore in FY23 from Rs 6 crore in FY22. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin stood at -40% and -4.3%, respectively. On a unit level, it spent Rs 1.05 to earn a rupee in FY23. FY22-FY23 FY22 FY23 EBITDA Margin -6% -4.3% Expense/₹ of Op Revenue ₹1.07 ₹1.05 ROCE -14% -40% BigHaat has raised $29 million to date and was valued at $58 million in its last round. As per the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, JM Financial is the largest external stakeholder with 27.29% followed by Ankur Capital and Beyond Next Ventures. Its co-founders Sateesh Nukala and Sachin Nandwana cumulatively command 23.29% of the company. The numbers would indicate a business that is more about trading and arbitrage than anything else, unless BigHaat incurred some major one off expenses. But at this scale, it’s obvious that the firm has the ability and knowledge to make it count, which is what should make it an interesting agritech to track from here on.

Seven-year-old unicorn Open struggles to match deeds to reputation

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Seven-year-old unicorn Open struggles to match deeds to reputation
Medial

Neo-banking platform Open turned unicorn after a $50 million funding led by IIFL along with the participation of Tiger Global in May 2023. Despite the eminent status and significant funding, the scale and bottom line of the seven-year-old firm remained questionable as its enterprise value to revenue multiple stood at 260X until March 2023 (FY23). Open’s revenue from operations saw a modest 25% growth to Rs 30 crore in FY23 from Rs 24 crore in FY22, its consolidated financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) show. For context, Open recorded Rs 40 crore in revenue during FY22. The difference in revenue numbers for FY22 can be attributed to the change in accounting standards and revenue booking methods. Founded in 2017, Open offers banking, payments, and accounting solutions to small and medium businesses. Subscription sales through the company’s software and commission earned from customer transactions were the two main revenue streams for the company. It also made Rs 23 crore from interest on deposits and current investments (non-operating) taking total revenue to Rs 53 crore in FY23. For the neo-bank startup, its employee benefits constituted 50% of the overall expenditure. This cost grew 33% to Rs 149 crore in FY22 from Rs 112 crore in FY22 which also includes Rs 40 crore as ESOP cost (non-cash). The firm’s information technology, advertising, legal, payment gateway, card issuing, and other overheads catalyzed its overall expenditure to Rs 296 crore in FY23 from Rs 217 crore in FY22. See TheKredible for the complete expense breakup. Caveat: We have excluded the cost of change in fair value of compulsorily convertible cumulative participating preference shares for FY22 due to its non-cash nature. The modest scale and increased expenditure led Open’s losses to increase by 37.5% to Rs 242 crore in FY23 as compared to Rs 176 crore in FY22. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin stood at -50% and -394% respectively. FY22-FY23 FY22 FY23 EBITDA Margin -568% -394.3% Expense/₹ of Op Revenue ₹9.04 ₹9.87 ROCE -41% -50% Open’s total current assets stood at 332 crore including the cash and bank balance of Rs 311 crore till March 2023. On a unit level, it spent Rs 9.87 to earn a rupee in FY23. Open has raised over $180 million to date. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Beenext is the largest external stakeholder at the moment with 11.72% followed by Tiger Global and Unicorn India Ventures. If readers wonder just what investors saw to pump in the funds into the firm to lift it to Unicorn valuations, then they are not alone, as even we struggle to understand the narrative that sold so well. The challenge of commercial success targeting India’s MSME sector has been well documented, thanks to the failure of multiple startups that were richly valued, only to fall by the wayside. At this stage, it’s safe to say that other than lending, practically nothing has worked, beyond the listing model of Indiamart and the likes. Considering Open raised its last funding as recently as 2023, well after it was established that the MSME sector is a graveyard for fee based efforts to ‘help’ them, one really has to wonder what Open offered to manage such amazing investor buy-in. Either way, we should know soon enough, as the clock ticks away for the firm to shake out its secret sauce.

Zomato expects Rs 40 Cr tax refund to its delivery partners

EntrackrEntrackr · 12m ago
Zomato expects Rs 40 Cr tax refund to its delivery partners
Medial

Zomato has enabled Income Tax Return (ITR) filing for its delivery partners to get refunds on the 1% TDS (tax deducted at source) on delivery payouts. Within 48 hours, more than 1 lakh riders have initiated their ITR (income tax return) filing on its partners app, Zomato co-founder Deepinder Goyal said on X. Goyal disclosed that Zomato paid a total of more than Rs 4,000 crore to its delivery partners last year. This would roughly translate into Rs 40 crore as the TDS amount. So, delivery partners who have their income below the taxable income limit will be eligible for the refund. This is likely to apply to the majority of the delivery partners. Last year, the government directed businesses like Zomato and Swiggy to deduct 1% as TDS from the delivery partner payouts. “With this initiative, most of our delivery partners will be filing taxes for the first time in their lives, which should make their lives easier in the long run – for example – they will be able to get access to structured credit, they will qualify for scholarships for their kids at various educational institutions, etc,” said Goyal. The ITR filing by Zomato’s riders is a progressive move for the gig economy and government. Besides opening access to formal credit, TDS collection will also give income to the state’s exchequer. According to experts tracking gig economy, more players will now start TDS collection which eventually will provide income to the state’s exchequer. Such policy by the Gurugram-based firm makes sense as the company’s capitalization recently crossed Rs 2 lakh crore. The record jump in its share price also pushed Goyal into the billionaire club. Separately, Zomato received a Goods and Service Tax (GST) demand notice in Karnataka. The total amount includes Rs 5 crore in GST, along with Rs 3.93 crore in interest and Rs 50.2 lakh in penalties. Zomato, however, is appealing against the order before the appropriate authority.

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