From $0 to $60+ Million, The Inspiring Journey of Plix
From $0 to $60+ Million, The Inspiring Journey of Plix
In the fifteenth edition, discover Genus AI’s funding, Bluestone funding, Akash Zaveri’s inspiring story, The Fablestreet’s new milestone and much more!
Hello and welcome to the world of D2C Insider, your weekly dose of insights, news, and trends from the direct-to-consumer space in India and beyond. In D2C Insider Digest’s fifteenth edition you'll see:
Genus AI Raises $11M to Boost Customer Engagement with AI
Genus AI, a platform for customer acquisition and retention, raised $11M in funding from investors including Salesforce Ventures. The company uses AI to understand and engage customers across channels.
Bluestone secures Rs 550 crore funding
Bluestone, an omnichannel jewellery retailer, raised Rs 550 crore from investors including Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath and Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal. The company aims to strengthen its manufacturing, technology and product differentiation. It also plans to launch an IPO by 2024.
India among top four countries in VC funding for startups
A report by Startup Genome found that India ranked fourth globally in terms of startups that received more than $50 million in disclosed VC investment. India had 429 scaleups with a total tech value of $446 billion. India also had the highest scaleup rate with over 50% of outreach outside Asia.
From $0 to $60+ Million, The Inspiring Journey of Plix
This week we spotlight Akash Zaveri, co-founder and CEO of Plix, a D2C brand that offers plant-based nutrition products. Zaveri’s journey from a clueless 23-year-old to a successful entrepreneur is an inspiring story of grit, determination, and innovation. Check out his recent LinkedIn post for insights into how he hustled his way to take Plix from 0 to 100.
Some key points
Explore Zaveri’s tips on how to hustle your way to success as a founder: blank canvases, progress over perfection, learning by doing, and co-founders.
See the full post here, for Zaveri’s insights on how he took Plix from 0 to 100 in four scrappy years.
What are your thoughts on hustling as a founder? 💯👇
FableStreet Forays into Offline Retail
This week, we feature FableStreet, a D2C brand that offers premium and functional workwear for women. FableStreet was founded in 2016 by Ayushi Gudwani, an IIM Calcutta alumnus and former McKinsey consultant. She wanted to create a brand that caters to the needs of modern working women who value comfort, fit, and quality.
With 1.5 lakh loyal customers and a 10x revenue growth in the past year, FableStreet is a fast-growing D2C player. They recently secured INR 25 crore in pre-Series A funding led by Fireside Ventures.
Their success recipe includes quality products, top-notch customer service, flexible pricing (INR 50 to INR 600), and a robust content marketing strategy.
Recently, FableStreet announced its foray into offline retail and plans to open 10-15 stores by mid-September next year. The brand is opening three flagship stores between mid-September and October at Phoenix Marketcity in Kurla, Phoenix Palladium in Lower Parel, and Phoenix Mall of Millennium, Pune. The brand is also scouting for places to open stores in Delhi and Bengaluru.
These stores are envisioned to offer an omnichannel experience, enabling customers to browse the website and place orders in-store seamlessly. However, at any point in time, the stores will be offering anywhere between 200 to 250 styles. The store will be refreshed every two weeks with new inventory.
The CAPEX involved in opening one store can range anywhere Rs 30-50 lakh. The brand intends to achieve EBITDA profitability for each store within the first 2-3 months of operation and recover capital investments in 1-1.5 years.
For more details on the offline expansion and how it will benefit FableStreet and its customers, read more here.
We applaud FableStreet for this innovative and bold move and look forward to seeing more exciting products from them in the future!! 👏
Available job opportunities
Pilgrim, a D2C beauty and personal care brand, has raised $20 million in Series B funding led by Vertex Ventures along with existing investors Fireside Ventures and Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office. Check out the full story!
🤫 Anupam Mittal Opens Up About Investments And Controversies Of Shark Tank
😲 He Left His 1CR Job To Build This ft. Shashank Mehta, Founder of The Whole Truth | ISV
D2C Brands Benefitting from the D2C Insider Investor Community
We are thrilled to announce that we have crossed a major milestone in our journey: Over 100 institutional investors are now a part of the D2C Insider Investor Community!
This is a huge achievement for us and for the entire D2C ecosystem. Our investor community is a unique and exclusive group of VC funds, family offices, angel networks, and corporate ventures that are actively investing in D2C brands and enablers.
By being a part of this community, our founders have:
✏️ Learned from the best practices and experiences of other successful D2C investors and founders.
🦾 Gotten access to the latest trends, insights, and opportunities in the D2C space.
🕸️ Connect and network with the most relevant and interested investors for their niche and stage.
🎤 Showcase their brand and pitch their story to potential investors
🗣️ Receive feedback and guidance from the investors on how to improve their product, marketing, operations, and strategy.
We are grateful to all the investors who have joined our community and supported our vision of building a thriving D2C ecosystem.
Want to be a part of this D2C community?
Apply here and elevate your business