Mumbai based DeliveryChef raises a seed round to scale up business
The Genesis of the venture
Ankita Tandon and Aditi Talreja were introduced to each other by a common friend in London. Ankita had finished her studies at the Warwick University and started working at the Deutsche Bank, while Aditi was working with Morgan and Stanley. And they had one thing in common - the itch to start up, which made them a two of a kind in close proximity. And when that happens, something has to give.
While in their respective jobs, they discussed ideas on a regular basis when back home. These ideas ranged from fashion to retail and more but one thing both of them did that got them ticking was - working long hours and ordering food to their office. It was a practice in the UK where corporates would have tie ups with service providers via which the employees could order from anywhere and the bill was taken care of in advance by the companies. Both these youngsters used this regularly and it was here that they realized the potential the idea had in India.
Anything that has to be worked out in India obviously needs a lot of tweaking and they started out the research when Aditi moved to India back in 2009. Laying the groundwork and starting the company in 2010 in Mumbai, DeliveryChef had taken its first baby step. It was soon after this that Ankita also moved back and settled down in Mumbai (where she also takes lectures at colleges on corporate finance).
Growth and funding
Over the three years of its existence, the going has been steady. "We've kept the team lean. Starting out with 4 people, we are 8 at the moment," says Ankita. Having got some good 60 brands on board including the likes of Subways and McDonald's, the service has got some traction in Mumbai and Pune. Completely bootstrapped, the duo is in the process of raising a funding round to scale up operations. DeliveryChef was also one of the ESparks back in 2011.
The company has also disclosed a funding round wherein they've raised INR 1 crore in the first tranche. The investment has come from an investor based in the Valley who runs an investment entity out of Trivandrum. "He has been part of 6 start-ups, 2 of which have had over $1 billion IPOs on the NASDAQ and is a seasoned entrepreneur. He has very valuable experience in the tech space, that we believe will help us scale our technology to take our business to a next level," says Ankita. The funds will be used to scale team and invest in technology.
About 6 months ago, DeliveryChef managed to enter the corporate space where the grass seems greener. "Once you tie up with a corporate, you become the default choice for about 500 people who order regularly," says Ankita. Achieving massive adoption on the consumer side is a time-consuming process, and till that happens, DeliveryChef intends to focus on corporates and set the ball rolling faster.
Check them out here: DeliveryChef
