After Snapdeal and Bluestone, Ratan Tata invests in Urban Ladder

So, the ecommerce has not only caught Ratan Tata's eye, but got him glued to it now. After Snapdeal (in Aug '14) and Bluestone (in Sep '14), the Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons has made a personal investment in online furniture company Urban Ladder. The investment comes four months after the company raised Series B funding from Steadview Capital and existing investors SAIF Partners and Kalaari Capital.

The home décor and furniture space in not new to Ratan Tata. He is a design enthusiast and holds a degree in Architecture from Cornell University. Ashish Goel, CEO & Co-founder, Urban Ladder said,

Mr. Tata understands the furniture space very well, specially our focus on product design since he has a lot of knowledge of the subject. His inputs and guidance will be very valuable for us. We are extremely proud that Urban Ladder caught Mr. Tata’s attention. His investment in the company reassures us of the path we have taken towards creating value for customers with great products and exceptional service.

Mr. Tata’s decision to invest in Urban Ladder marks a milestone in the company’s two and a half year old journey. Urban Ladder was launched in July 2012 by co-founders Ashish Goel and Rajiv Srivatsa with the aim of making a million beautiful Indian homes. It offers over 1000 products across 25 categories in furniture such as wardrobes, beds, sofas, dining tables and coffee tables.

The company aims to be the biggest furniture seller in India in the next 18 months. It also claims that world-class product design and exceptional customer experience have been its key differentiators. The company is also focusing on using innovative technology to further elevate customer experience to bridge the gap between online and offline shopping.

Focusing on mobile, Urban Ladder has launched two apps in last three months of which the first one was a modular wardrobe configurator and the other for furniture shopping.