App platform for SMEs Goodbox raises $2.5M funding from Nexus Venture Partners
Goodbox on Wednesday raised a round of funding of $2.5 million from Nexus Venture Partners. The company allows consumers to buy from multiple businesses over the app and allows businesses to sell to their consumers over the app.
The funding will be used for technology expansion, market growth and scaling of operations, the Goodbox team said. The team had, earlier this year, raised seed funding from Manipal Group, Aprameya Radhakrishna, Co-founder TaxiForSure and Charan Padmaraju, Co-founder, redBus.
The app was conceptualised earlier this year. Abey Zachariah had been a part of the redBus core team with Mayank Bidawatka. The Co-founding team at Goodbox includes Nithin Chandra, Mohit Maheshwari, Anand Kalaginamani, Mahesh Herle and Charan Raj.
On how Goodbox helps businesses, Mayank says that businesses want to adopt new technologies, have a storefront and be able to interact with their consumers in realtime. They will be able to host their menu on the app and create their business profile as well.
“We wanted to make the easiest possible platform for these SMEs to interact with their consumes and allow them to buy on the app,” Mayank adds. Currently operational in Bengaluru, the platform has close to 1,200 merchants onboard including restaurants, packers and movers, supermarkets, laundry chains, canteens and many others.
Sandeep Singhal, Co-founder and MD, Nexus Venture Partners, says that they liked the idea of Goodbox empowering businesses to go online in a unique wayand are aiming for a great partnership with the Goodbox team. Abey says that the company wanted to partner with investors who believed in their vision. With Nexus Partners, he believes they have discovered a synergy of thought.
Also read: The redBus Mafia: who are they and what are they up to?
YourStory take
Over the past couple of weeks, there has been the warning of'winter is coming' in the running world and startup scenario. The past month especially has been rather tough for hyperlocal, especially foodtech startups with Dazo and Spoonjoy shutting shop.
The startup world was then shaken by the news of food delivery firm TinyOwl drastically scaling back operations, leading to heated confrontations between employees and management. There also seems to be a drop in the deals, with just 18 startups announcing fund raises in the first week of November.
However, we cannot yet be sure that this is the beginning of a slowdown; deal flow in the coming weeks will tell us that. While all this was happening, about seven hyperlocal startups raised funding, including early-stage foodtech companies like Twigly, Boibanit and Stuffed.
Also, over 117 on-demand companies are believed to have been funded in 2013. Over the past year, on-demand services have become a rage in India and beauty space has witnessed the debut of a slew of startups like Vyomo, Stayglad, GetLook, Bulbul and VanityCube, among several others.