Gurgaon-based Droom to List on NASDAQ in 2020, Announces Sandeep Aggarwal

Gurgaon-based Droom, an online marketplace to buy and sell new and used automobiles, is preparing to list on the Nasdaq exchange in the second half of 2020, its founder and CEO Sandeep Aggarwal told a business daily.

In an interview to Sandeep Soni of Financial Express (FE), Aggarwal said that the public listing would also give 150 of 360 employees at Droom having stock option to convert their sweat equity into capital. Besides, Droom is also hiring across multiple positions as it aims to be a 500-people company in the next four months.

For NASDAQ listing, Droom is also working with some bankers.

Additionally, the company is also planning to raise a fresh round of funding however the exact timing and size of capital will be decided in nine months before the planned NASDAQ listing, according Aggarwal.

In May this year, Droom raised $30 million (~ Rs 203 crore) in Series D equity financing round led by world's largest automaker, Toyota, through its subsidiary Toyota Tsusho Corp.

Founded in June 2014, Droom has raised a total of $125 million in six rounds of investments and is valued approximately $550 million. Droom might raise a round of around $100-150 million in 2019 in a pre-IPO round to expand its market share, global presence and invest in technology and infrastructure.

Besides, the FE report further suggests that Droom also is proactively pushing its overseas expansion plan with Malaysia in November this year, Singapore in December and Thailand in January 2019.

By end of 2019 Droom will be available in total nine countries including Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.

In December 2016, Droom has launched Droom History, an unbiased report which curates historical data available through various authorised data providers to deliver in-depth information about a vehicle’s background. Generated using Droom’s proprietary technology, the report addresses issues related with a vehicle’s safety, trust, and value.

In June of same year, announced the closing of its Series B funding in a round led by BEENEXT from Singapore and Digital Garage from Japan. Majority of existing investors are participating in the current round including Lightbox and BEENOS. Also, in September, the company entered into a partnership with CashCare, an innovative consumer lending platform where short-term loans are provided on a real-time basis.

[Top Image - ET Auto]

World's Largest Automaker Toyota Led $30 Mn Funding in Gurgaon-based Droom

In its first India investment, world's largest automaker Toyota, through its subsidiary Toyota Tsusho Corp, has led a $30 million (~ Rs 203 crore) in Series D equity financing round of Droom, a Gurgaon-based online marketplace for used automobiles and auto services. The financing round was also co-led by Japanese incubator and venture capital investor Digital Garage, who is an existing investor in Droom.

Other investors who participated in the round include existing investors Ellison Investments along with several institutional investors and family offices from China, Hong Kong and South East Asia.

Notably, Droom has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Toyota to expand its services overseas to markets such as Indonesia and Thailand.

Droom will utilize the freshly raised funds to boost its market share, which it claimed stands at 70%. It added that it tech-led platform will also invest heavily in further developing its artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities.

Till date, Droom has raised about $95 million in equity financing and competes with the likes of Temasek and Warburg Pincus-backed CarTrade and Google Capital and Hillhouse Capital-backed CarDekho.

Founded in June 2014 by Sandeep Aggarwal, Droom claims to be India's first and mobile first marketplace to buy and sell used and new automobiles. Prior to this funding, the startup last raised $20 million in its Series C round led by Integrated Asset Management and Digital Garage.

“Droom has seen tremendous growth over the past three and half years in terms of adoption by buyers and sellers, number of categories and listings, geographical presence and GMV of transactions. This partnership (with Toyota) will play a major role for Droom as we realize our growth potential, both in India and internationally,” said Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Droom.

The company claims to generate about $700 million in gross revenue and $15 million in net revenue. The platform has about 250,000 auto dealers across over 500 cities in India.

"We were impressed that Droom has rapidly established its leadership position as the largest online marketplace to buy and sell automobiles in India. We believe that this partnership contributes to the establishment of highly transparent transaction of automotive and the wholesome development of auto market of any developing countries, by combining Droom’s technologically advanced platform and our various automotive business experience of all over the world," said a spokesperson for Toyota Tsusho Corporation.

The expansion will help Droom double its gross merchandise value to $1.4 billion by the end of 2018 and $3.5 billion by 2019. Droom is also targeting a public listing through an IPO by the end of 2019.

Source - ET Tech

World's Largest Automaker Toyota Led $30 Mn Funding in Gurgaon-based Droom

In its first India investment, world's largest automaker Toyota, through its subsidiary Toyota Tsusho Corp, has led a $30 million (~ Rs 203 crore) in Series D equity financing round of Droom, a Gurgaon-based online marketplace for used automobiles and auto services. The financing round was also co-led by Japanese incubator and venture capital investor Digital Garage, who is an existing investor in Droom.

Other investors who participated in the round include existing investors Ellison Investments along with several institutional investors and family offices from China, Hong Kong and South East Asia.

Notably, Droom has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Toyota to expand its services overseas to markets such as Indonesia and Thailand.

Droom will utilize the freshly raised funds to boost its market share, which it claimed stands at 70%. It added that it tech-led platform will also invest heavily in further developing its artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities.

Till date, Droom has raised about $95 million in equity financing and competes with the likes of Temasek and Warburg Pincus-backed CarTrade and Google Capital and Hillhouse Capital-backed CarDekho.

Founded in June 2014 by Sandeep Aggarwal, Droom claims to be India's first and mobile first marketplace to buy and sell used and new automobiles. Prior to this funding, the startup last raised $20 million in its Series C round led by Integrated Asset Management and Digital Garage.

“Droom has seen tremendous growth over the past three and half years in terms of adoption by buyers and sellers, number of categories and listings, geographical presence and GMV of transactions. This partnership (with Toyota) will play a major role for Droom as we realize our growth potential, both in India and internationally,” said Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Droom.

The company claims to generate about $700 million in gross revenue and $15 million in net revenue. The platform has about 250,000 auto dealers across over 500 cities in India.

"We were impressed that Droom has rapidly established its leadership position as the largest online marketplace to buy and sell automobiles in India. We believe that this partnership contributes to the establishment of highly transparent transaction of automotive and the wholesome development of auto market of any developing countries, by combining Droom’s technologically advanced platform and our various automotive business experience of all over the world," said a spokesperson for Toyota Tsusho Corporation.

The expansion will help Droom double its gross merchandise value to $1.4 billion by the end of 2018 and $3.5 billion by 2019. Droom is also targeting a public listing through an IPO by the end of 2019.

Source - ET Tech

Reality Startup Show MTV Dropout Winning Team ERA Bagged Investments from Amit Patni & Venture Catalysts

Venture Catalysts, India’s first integrated incubator, has facilitated an investment of Rs. 25 lakhs in the start-up idea pitched by ERA, the winning team on the recently-concluded Droom.in MTV Dropout. Venture Catalysts also served as the investor and incubation partner for the show, which enables aspiring entrepreneurs to turn their disruptive ideas into a viable business. In addition to investing in the start-up, Venture Catalysts will mentor the entrepreneurs and host the team at its co-working facility for 6 months.

ERA, India's first integrated identity management platform, provides its users a safe and secure way to share their identities with the world. By building an ecosystem of real identities, organisations would be able to reliably and seamlessly authenticate users without an expensive & cumbersome KYC process, be it at a physical location or an online portal. The winners and cofounders of Autentico Pvt. Ltd, Ajay Vishnu, Priyansha Jain, and Karmaditya Bagga, will use the funds to hire technologists, build underlying technology, and explore strategic partnerships.

Dr. Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Co-founder and President, Venture Catalysts said, “Both start-up ideas pitched to us were innovative and promising. However, our decision to invest in ERA as a product was taken since blockchain is a rapidly growing product segment in financial technology, and the market potentialfor such a product is significantly greater. The team’s pitch and business plan were also stronger and more comprehensive, which influenced our final funding decision.”

The winning team commented, “Winning a one-of-its-kind reality show like MTV Dropout is a moment of great pride for us, and we are very thankful to MTV & Venture Catalysts for providing us with a platform to showcase our skills and establish a funded company that is poised to solve a growing real-world problem. We have a team with diverse skills and experience, butas a new start-up, we believewe have a lot to learn from the ecosystem that we have just entered. Each one of us looks forward to mentoring under VCats and learning the ropes under their highly-experienced mentors.”

Amit Patni, RAAY Global Investments, said, “Blockchain is one of the most innovative and futuristic technologies at present, with massive potential implications in the Indian financial services and banking sectors. The winning team’s entrepreneurial drive and innovative product stood out amongst the other contestants, and this led to our decision of backing the venture.”

The mentors on Droom.in MTV Dropout include Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder &CEO of Droom.in; Anisha Singh, Cofounder & CEO of Mydala.com; and Alok Kejriwal, Cofounder & CEO of Games2Win. The show, which has already generated massive user engagement, was initiated to provide an impetus to the India’s growing start-up ecosystem. It aims to foster an entrepreneurial spirit among Indian youth and to reduce their more-than-necessary reliance on academic qualifications or professional achievements.

Sandeep Aggarwal to Invest Rs 20 Cr in Up To 12 Startups by the End of 2017

Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder – ShopClues & Droom never fails to remind his fans and followers why he’s been given the tag of ‘India’s star serial entrepreneur’. The man, whose favourite hobby seems to be identifying and encouraging the growth of innovative ideas has now announced plans of investing INR 20 Crore in 9-12 start-ups by the end of this year. Ventures in the high-potential areas of healthcare, tech and retail can look forward to the much-valued patronage and mentorship of Sandeep, also christened as the father of the marketplace model in the Indian Internet eco-system.

Sandeep Aggarwal, who has already invested in 7 start-ups across various industry verticals is looking to expand his investment portfolio by entering the data science app development arena as well. Dekoruma, Wydr, Shopsity, Data Guise, Give Club, Duriana and Curo Healthcare have all received funding during the past few months. While Wydr, Shopsity and Curo Healthcare are Indian companies, the rest mostly belong to South East Asian markets and the Silicon Valley. He has also promised to invest more in interesting business ideas coming from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities in India to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in these areas. Sandeep invested $500K in 2016 and there is a 6x increase in investments this year.

Speaking on his investment plans, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder, ShopClues & Droom and Angel Investor commented, “The current health and success of Droom owes a lot to the faith bestowed upon me by my early-stage investors and the funding received from them. As an early-stage entrepreneur, I often felt helpless myself at the lack of funding and mentorship during the most crucial phases of my business. I have always strived to provide young entrepreneurs the necessary resources and guidance required to let them realize their vision. This year, too, will be no different and I will ensure in my personal capacity that no great idea is nipped in the bud due to lack of capital or the right guidance.”

One of the most prolific investors and entrepreneurs in India, Sandeep Aggarwal is the founder of India’s first managed marketplace and India’s 5th Unicorn start-up, ShopClues, and the first and largest online automobile transactional marketplace Droom. His far-reaching vision can be gauged from the fact that while most Indian entrepreneurs are looking to consolidate their funds rather than investing them in other ventures, Sandeep frequently keeps investing in ideas that he finds interesting and even keeps a tab on the markets of foreign shores, as evident in his decision to invest in Dekoruma, one of the strongest home-décor platforms in Indonesia.

The serial investor has time and again stressed on the extremely important role technology plays in businesses of today and highly regards the possibilities of a tech-driven business to turn big. High-energy, passion, long-term vision, ability to take risks, the art of prioritization and austerity along with the ability to implement technology well are some of the attributes Sandeep believes to be important for entrepreneurial success.