Consumer electronics startup boAt raises Rs 6 Cr from Fireside Ventures in first round of funding
The first round of funding for boAt was led by Kanwaljit Singh of Fireside Ventures. The Mumbai-based company, which is into fashionable consumer electronics products, plans to utilise the capital for marketing and product development.
Lifestyle brand boAt which offers fashionable consumer electronics products such as earphones, headphones, speakers, travel chargers, waterproof Bluetooth speakers or ‘Bassheads’, and premium rugged cables, raised Rs 6 crore in funding from Fireside Ventures.
The funding, led by Fireside's Kanwaljit Singh is the company's first round. With a strong focus on high-quality audio and innovative design, boAt products claim to have consumer needs and desires at the core of their design.
Started in 2016 by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, the company calls its consumers 'boAtheads', indicating it has a strong community of over 800,000 boAtheads who aspire to own their products to make a lifestyle statement.
The brand is present on all major ecommerce platforms including Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, and Myntra.
While speaking to YourStory, Aman said that with the fund raising, Kanwaljit Singh joins boAt as the Board of Directors.
“boAt has the makings of a truly iconic brand,” said Kanwaljit Singh, Managing Partner, Fireside Ventures. “Our investment in boAt is in line with our investment thesis at Fireside. We look for brands that have identified white spaces and come up with solutions and products that cater to these target audiences. boAt as a brand is doing exactly that. They have created a product line-up that caters specifically to how the Indian consumer wants to listen to music,” he added.
Fireside Ventures is an early stage venture fund with a focus on consumer brands. The fund aims to invest in consumer brands across sectors such as food and beverages, personal care, lifestyle and home products and its current portfolio includes Yoga Bar, Samosa Singh, Goodness Beverages, Design Café, Bombay Shaving Company, Mama Earth, Vahdam Teas, Kwik 24, Magic Crate, Pipa Bella and Alpha Vector. It was founded by Kanwaljit Singh, who was previously co-founder of early-stage venture firm Helion Venture Partners.
In a sector dominated by established global brands, boAt says it has been able to ramp up quickly in a short span of two years through its high-quality product line of smart, efficient, stylish and durable audio devices.
“I am thrilled to have Fireside Ventures not just as our investor but as our mentor too. We offer an experience to customers that seamlessly integrates with their lifestyle, and our products are a testament to this. Our competitive advantage lies in an agile business model with a focus on consumer needs, desires and behaviour patterns,” said Aman.
boAt claims its financial performance has been strong, highlighting that every three minutes there is a new boAthead being added to the family. The brand sells 4200 units per day.
“boAt’s products top the list on several ecommerce platforms. The company’s products have consistently performed well due to considerable importance to quality and positive word of mouth marketing driven with our passion for meaningful innovation as we expand our community of boAtheads,” added Sameer.
The company started with a team of eight people, and has expanded to a 32-member team with two offices in Delhi and Mumbai. Aman reveals that with new funds in its kitty, the company is also looking to robustly expand its team size.