Letstrack raises funding of $1.7 million led by US-based investor James Arthur

Letstrack, a UK-based IoT startup, has raised $1.7 million seed funding from a US-based investor, James Arthur. Post this investment, James will join as the COO of Letstrack, and will focus on international expansion. Letstrack, which started operations in India in August 2016, is aiming to expand in over 50 countries by 2020.

Launched in Stratford, East London, UK, by Vikram Kumar in 2015, Letstrack was started to make society “safer, happier and more productive”. The company recently launched its app and devices in India for both B2B and B2C consumption. With this round of funding, the team aims to expand its team and hire more people.

Speaking of the fund raise, James said he and Vikram share the same core values and have complementary strengths that will help take Letstrack to the next level. "We believe that with the direction we are headed and the way the company walks side by side with our customer’s needs and company ethos, there is no limit to where we can end up," James said.

Having been in sales for 15 years, one of the biggest challenges for Vikram has been monitoring and managing the productivity of the sales team. Working for the likes of Airtel, Vikram had business across two continents and would find it tough to manage sales teams with different backgrounds and ethnicities.

He started Letstrack simply as a solution to help monitor employee productivity and management. Speaking of the fund raise, Vikram said, "For me, it was a no-brainer because James was not only bringing money but also dedicating the next 10 years. For Letstrack , that is invaluable. Now we have an investor and partner who complements the missing capabilities of Letstrack and we can only say that the future is brighter than ever."

Commission-based model

Letstrack works on a commission-based model for most B2B engagements. The team works on a gross margin of 10 to 15 percent. “We will recover most of our investments from the customer in two or three years through subscriptions,” Vikram said.

Denise Rueb, Research Director at Gartner, said“IoT services are central to the rise in IoT devices.” The total IoT services spending (professional, consumer and connectivity services) reached $273 billion in 2017.

There are startups like SafeinCity, Purnatva, and Leaf Wearables in the market. However, Vikram said Letstrack's focus is more on understanding and solving the different needs and requirements of the end user.