Non-Alcoholic Beverage Startup Coolberg Raises $3.5 Mn Funding from Singapore's RB Investments and India Quotient

Mumbai based startup Coolberg which offers malt based flavored non-alcoholic beers, today announced that it has secured $3.5 million Series A round led by RB Investments (Singapore based family office) and its existing investor India Quotient. The Round also saw a participation from Ashish Goenka, Chairman of Suashish Diamonds Ltd. and a pool of Investors from Indian Angel Network. 

Coolberg operates in the premium soft beverages category and comes as a great fit for the Indian market. There is significant overlap between beer drinkers and soft drink consumers plus there are many who do not consume alcohol due to religious and cultural beliefs. In some of the developed countries, non-alcoholic beers are considered as healthier drinks as well. 

Coolberg has strengthened its distribution network and is sold across major cities in India retailing at around 12,000 outlets. Apart from traditional trade channels which includes supermarkets, restaurants, etc., Coolberg can also be found at Offices, Colleges, Airports, etc. 

“Basically, anywhere you find a Cola, we want you to be able to find a Coolberg as well” Pankaj Aswani, founder of Coolberg Beverages quoted.  “Raising this investment will help us to strengthen our distribution network and increase brand awareness” Pankaj added.

Yashika Keswani, Co-founder and COO, stated “The Indian beverage market is witnessing an interesting transformation with an increased demand for new flavors. All our variants are unique, refreshing and new to market.  Our R&D team is strong and keeps a close eye on consumer needs”. 



Madhukar Sinha, Partner at India Quotient quoted “IQ is excited to lead the Series A round at Coolberg. We are very happy with the growth in revenue as well as the buzz around the brand in the served cities”  

Coolberg was conceptualized by Pankaj Aswani and Yashika Keswani with an aim to provide innovative product to enjoy during celebrations, hang-outs, casual meetings, etc. The startup had earlier raised an undisclosed seed amount from venture capital firm India Quotient and Indian Angel Network’s (IAN’s) maiden fund.

BlueStone.com Raises Rs 200 Cr in Series D Round from IIFL, Accel and Others

BlueStone.com, India’s leading online destination for fine jewellery, has raised a fresh round of funding led by IIFL and Accel along with Kalaari Capital, RB Investments and IvyCap Ventures. The ₹200 crore fund will enable the company to grow the category and strengthen its leadership position.

Globally, the online jewellery segment is witnessing exponential growth and is expected to capture 10% of total jewellery sales by 2020. The Indian precious jewellery market which is currently valued at $60 billion is projected to cross the $1 10 billion mark in the next five years with online contribution estimated to be in the $2 – 3 billion range.

Currently, the online jewellery segment in India contributes less than 0.5% but is growing at 5X YoY as compared to traditional jewellery players. BlueStone.com has planned major investments in expanding design and manufacturing capacity as well as marketing initiatives to grow the online jewellery segment.

According to Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, Founder and CEO, BlueStone.com, “BlueStone.com pioneered the category of online fine jewellery in 2011 and in a short span of five years has captured majority market share. We are now targeting a four-fold increase in revenues to touch Rs 1000 crore by 2018 and we want to achieve this goal in a profitable and sustainable manner. The new round of investments underscores the success of the company’s vertically integrated full stack online first business model and the enormous untapped potential in the jewellery category.”

Prashanth Prakash, Partner, Accel Partners said, “BlueStone.com has posted strong, sustained growth and set several benchmarks in the online jewellery retail industry in India like leveraging technologies such as 3D Visual Merchanding to omni-channel initiative of Home Try-On. We are committed to extend our association with BlueStone.com as we see immense potential in the brand.”

Speaking on the latest fund raise, Vani Kola, Managing Director, Kalaari Capital said, “BlueStone.com has a high quality team and has grown rapidly over the last year. With the strong foundation and this capital infusion, we believe BlueStone.com is well positioned to build a large online jewellery brand in India.”

BlueStone.com offers over 5,000 unique jewellery designs and plans to scale to 30,000 designs in the next three years. With design, manufacturing and logistics capabilities built in-house, the brand is able to quickly expand its manufacturing capabilities and customize its design offerings as per market trends.

Headquartered in Bangalore, BlueStone.com had earlier raised funds from Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group, IvyCap Ventures and Saama Capital. Mr Ratan Tata and Ms Meena Ganesh (CEO of Portea) have also invested in the company. With the latest fund raise, the total funding received by BlueStone.com is $60 million.

Image - Gaurav Kushwaha, CEO and Co-founder, BlueStone

Hello Tax Gets Angel Funding, MySuperBrain Raises Funding from Soniks Consulting and FabHotels Bags $8M

Hello Tax, an app that helps users fill income tax returns easily, has raised an angel round of funding; MySuperBrain, an online talent discovery platform for students, has secured an undisclosed amount; and FabHotels, a tech-enabled hospitality startup formed by former Rocket Internet executives, has raised $8 million in a series A round of funding.

Hello Tax Gets $294k in Angel Funding from Amrapali Aadya MD Sanjeev Sinha

Hello Tax, an app that helps users fill income tax returns easily, has raised an angel round of funding from a high-profile investor. The startup will use this first round of external funding for marketing for the app.

The app, which is operated by Delhi-based iTechFlock Software Pvt Ltd, has raised Rs 2 crore ($294,000) from Sanjeev Sinha, chief managing director at brokerage firm Amrapali Aadya. Amrapali, which was launched in 2004, offers services such as online equity trading, mutual funds and insurance, among others.

Other firms operating in the space include ClearTax, TaxSmile, TaxSpanner and HRBlock. ClearTax has recently raised $12 million in Series-A investment round. The funding round, was led by Ravi Adusumalli of SAIF Partners, will be chiefly utilised by ClearTax to build and launch new products, hire 100+ engineers and build its executive leadership team.

Ed-tech Startup MySuperBrain Raises Angel Funding from Soniks Consulting

MySuperBrain, an online talent discovery platform for students operated by Hyderabad-based Bojja IT Solutions Pvt Ltd, has secured an undisclosed amount in angel funding from tech consultancy firm Soniks Consulting.

The newly raised funding will be used the startup for marketing initiatives and augmenting the technology vertical, as per VCCircle report.

MySuperBrain was founded in 2011 by IIM-Kozhikode alumni Bojja and Yuvaraju Atmakuri, it offers a platform for students to showcase their talent in academics and other activities such as music, dance and painting.

The startup offers students targeted content and interactive learning platforms in the form of games and videos. There is a social networking element, too, where visitors can give feedback on students’ activities. It also offers an activity-based monthly magazine called ‘Exalt’ to encourage students.

Budget Hotel Aggregator FabHotels Raises $8M from Accel Partners, RB Investments, Others

FabHotels, a tech-enabled hospitality startup formed by former Rocket Internet executives, has raised $8 million in a series A round of funding from Accel Partners and RB Investments with participation from Mohandas Pai’s Aarin Capital and Qualcomm Ventures. FabHotels is essentially a branded budget hotel aggregator, but one which claims to be going beyond aggregation and delivering a wholesome hospitality experience to hotel guests.

FabHotels was started in 2014 by Vaibhav Aggarwal and Adarsh Manpuria. In July 2015, the startup raised a seed round of $2.25 million from Accel Partners and Qualcomm Ventures. It plans to use the funds raised for brand building and to expand its network. FabHotels currently has about 65 hotels in its portfolio, spread across 15 plus cities, which translates to around 1,500 rooms. The budget hotel brand is looking to reach 100 hotels by September or about 2,500 rooms. Its hotels usually have a capacity of 25-30 rooms, as per DealStreetAsia report.

Image Source: ShutterStock

Online Lingerie Platform PrettySecrets.com Gets $6M Led By RB Investments

Mumbai-based online lingerie platform, PrettySecrets.com has raised $6 million (Rs.40 crore) in its latest round of funding led by Singapore-based venture capital fund RB Investments Pte. Ltd, as per DealsStreetAsia report.

Existing investor Orios Venture Partners also participated in the round. In September 2014, the company raised $2 million (Rs.12 crore) from venture capital firm Orios Venture Partners, early-stage investor India Quotient and a few angel investors. It had earlier raised funds from Indian Angel Network and Harvard Business Angels.

The latest round of fund-raising had been in the works for a long time, said the second person cited above, also requesting anonymity. In March 2015, The Hindu Business Line reported that the online retailer was in talks to raise a series B round.

“The initial plan was to raise a larger round, around $10 million, but given the tough fund-raising environment, they decided to cut back on the size of the fund raise,” said the second person cited above.

The company will use the funds on adding new products and categories to its platform as well as invest in improving its supply chain and for marketing campaigns.

Launched in 2012, PrettySecrets.com was founded by Karan Behal who comes from experience in manufacturing, export, retailing and marketing of lingerie products. The company claims to sell over 1,000 products on its platform.

RB Investments is the investment arm of Singapore-based entrepreneur Rajesh Bothra, the Singapore-based venture capital firm has made close to half a dozen investments so far. Some of its recent investments in India include food-tech start-up Swiggy, online retailer of branded Indian food products Delight Foods, online furniture startup CapriCoast.com and laundry services startup 5-a-sec.

The other online lingerie retailers have also secured funds from venture capital investors. Last year in September, online lingerie store Zivame, owned by Actoserba Active Wholesale Pvt. Ltd, raised Rs.250 crore in a series C funding round from Zodius Technology Fund and Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the investment holding arm of the government of Malaysia. Existing investors Unilazer Ventures, IDG Ventures India and Kalaari Capital also participated in the round. Zivame started out as an aggregator of brands, including Enamor, Amante and Jockey, but later launched private labels in an attempt to boost margins. In 2015, another online lingerie retailer Clovia, run by Purple Panda Fashion Pvt. Ltd, raised $5 million from venture capital fund IvyCap Ventures.

Image Source: ShutterStock

Impact Guru Raises $500K in Seed Round from RB Investments and Fundnel

Impact Guru, a Harvard Innovation Lab incubated fintech company, has announced a seed round of $500,000 from RB Investments, a Singapore based venture capital firm, and Fundnel, a Southeast Asia-based private investment platform. Impact Guru and Fundnel have also created a first in the world strategic partnership between a social/rewards crowdfunding platform and a private investment platform.

The capital raised from RB Investments and Fundnel and the strategic partnership with Fundnel will enable Impact Guru to scale social/donation crowdfunding (online) for nonprofits, social enterprises and personal causes; and leverage Fundnel’s private investment network for facilitating equity or debt funding (offline) for startups and social enterprises in India and Southeast Asia. Fundnel will select and invite startups and/or social enterprises that have successfully leveraged Impact Guru’s crowdfunding platform in India to demonstrate traction to Fundnel’s network of family offices, venture capital funds, and accredited investors for international investment and for further scaling within Southeast Asia. Both Impact Guru and Fundnel will engage in the exchange and collaboration of relevant know-how in crowdfunding, technology and deal syndication.

The partnership with Fundnel will particularly help Impact Guru to extend its influence beyond India to attract more philanthropic and/or investment capital from NRIs (Non Resident Indians) / PIOs (Person of Indian Origin) abroad especially those residing in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia which are estimated to be 2.5mm. The funds will also be utilized to expand Impact Guru’s core team, to accelerate product development and sales and marketing efforts particularly for rewards crowdfunding for startups and social enterprises, and to build a larger community of donors, customers, and investors.

Piyush Jain, Co-Founder and CEO of Impact Guru said, “The traditional charity and social enterprise fundraising model in India is broken. The alternatives to online fundraising are outdated, expensive, and ineffective. We firmly believe that a full stack crowdfunding solution that combines social, rewards, and investment crowdfunding will make Impact Guru a platform of choice for individuals, nonprofits, social enterprises, or startups for all their fundraising needs - be it small or large. RB Investments has a proven track record of helping its portfolio companies scale their businesses in India and Southeast Asia and has already backed several high profile startups. We are certain that RB Investments’ expertise and networks will help us accelerate our growth.”

Impact Guru is pleased to announce two additions to its Advisory Board: Harvard Business School Professor Ramana Nanda, an expert in entrepreneurial finance and management, and Gaurav Gupta, Regional Director for Asia, Dalberg, a thought leader in the social sector. They will provide mentorship, and strategic guidance to the Impact Guru management team along with other existing members of the Advisory Board, that includes Sam Raymond, lead crowdfunding strategist at World Bank’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit; Calvin Zhang, Managing Director, JPMorgan Asia Pacific; Anthony Oundjian, Managing Director and Partner, Boston Consulting Group; David Back, co-founder of Zoomcar, a Sequoia portfolio company; and Huzaifa Khorakiwala, CEO of Wockhardt Foundation.

Impact Guru has already partnered with nonprofits such as World Vision India, Oxfam, SOS Children's Village, Habitat for Humanity; CSR departments of Tata, Godrej, and Wockhardt; impact focused organizations such as Dalberg and Asha Impact; international Indian community organizations such as TiE in a relatively short span of time since its launch in August 2015. Impact Guru is the only crowdfunding platform in the world that allows people to give to causes without making a direct financial contribution through its SMILE innovation. SMILE stands for Social Media Impact Linked Engagement. Impact Guru connects the mere act of sharing a social cause via Facebook to be equivalent to a donation of upto Rs 1,000 per share depending on certain factors.

Impact Guru Raises $500K in Seed Round from RB Investments and Fundnel

Impact Guru, a Harvard Innovation Lab incubated fintech company, has announced a seed round of $500,000 from RB Investments, a Singapore based venture capital firm, and Fundnel, a Southeast Asia-based private investment platform. Impact Guru and Fundnel have also created a first in the world strategic partnership between a social/rewards crowdfunding platform and a private investment platform.

The capital raised from RB Investments and Fundnel and the strategic partnership with Fundnel will enable Impact Guru to scale social/donation crowdfunding (online) for nonprofits, social enterprises and personal causes; and leverage Fundnel’s private investment network for facilitating equity or debt funding (offline) for startups and social enterprises in India and Southeast Asia. Fundnel will select and invite startups and/or social enterprises that have successfully leveraged Impact Guru’s crowdfunding platform in India to demonstrate traction to Fundnel’s network of family offices, venture capital funds, and accredited investors for international investment and for further scaling within Southeast Asia. Both Impact Guru and Fundnel will engage in the exchange and collaboration of relevant know-how in crowdfunding, technology and deal syndication.

The partnership with Fundnel will particularly help Impact Guru to extend its influence beyond India to attract more philanthropic and/or investment capital from NRIs (Non Resident Indians) / PIOs (Person of Indian Origin) abroad especially those residing in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia which are estimated to be 2.5mm. The funds will also be utilized to expand Impact Guru’s core team, to accelerate product development and sales and marketing efforts particularly for rewards crowdfunding for startups and social enterprises, and to build a larger community of donors, customers, and investors.

Piyush Jain, Co-Founder and CEO of Impact Guru said, “The traditional charity and social enterprise fundraising model in India is broken. The alternatives to online fundraising are outdated, expensive, and ineffective. We firmly believe that a full stack crowdfunding solution that combines social, rewards, and investment crowdfunding will make Impact Guru a platform of choice for individuals, nonprofits, social enterprises, or startups for all their fundraising needs - be it small or large. RB Investments has a proven track record of helping its portfolio companies scale their businesses in India and Southeast Asia and has already backed several high profile startups. We are certain that RB Investments’ expertise and networks will help us accelerate our growth.”

Impact Guru is pleased to announce two additions to its Advisory Board: Harvard Business School Professor Ramana Nanda, an expert in entrepreneurial finance and management, and Gaurav Gupta, Regional Director for Asia, Dalberg, a thought leader in the social sector. They will provide mentorship, and strategic guidance to the Impact Guru management team along with other existing members of the Advisory Board, that includes Sam Raymond, lead crowdfunding strategist at World Bank’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit; Calvin Zhang, Managing Director, JPMorgan Asia Pacific; Anthony Oundjian, Managing Director and Partner, Boston Consulting Group; David Back, co-founder of Zoomcar, a Sequoia portfolio company; and Huzaifa Khorakiwala, CEO of Wockhardt Foundation.

Impact Guru has already partnered with nonprofits such as World Vision India, Oxfam, SOS Children's Village, Habitat for Humanity; CSR departments of Tata, Godrej, and Wockhardt; impact focused organizations such as Dalberg and Asha Impact; international Indian community organizations such as TiE in a relatively short span of time since its launch in August 2015. Impact Guru is the only crowdfunding platform in the world that allows people to give to causes without making a direct financial contribution through its SMILE innovation. SMILE stands for Social Media Impact Linked Engagement. Impact Guru connects the mere act of sharing a social cause via Facebook to be equivalent to a donation of upto Rs 1,000 per share depending on certain factors.