Startup news and updates: daily roundup (Dec 31, 2021)

D2C Home Décor startup, WallMantra, raises Rs 2 Cr from Fluid Ventures

Home Decor and furnishing platform WallMantra has raised Rs 2 Crore from Fluid Ventures Fund in their seed round. 

Founded by Jitesh Agarwal, Shivam Agarwal and Kundan Lal, Delhi NCR-based WallMantra sells luxury home decor & furnishing products, it said in a statement. Its product line includes paintings, mirrors, smart furniture, curtains & bedsheets.

WallMantra claims that it sells over 10,000+ products every month from its own website and has a customer base of over 2,50,000 across the country with a repeat of 25 percent month on month. The company plans to utilise the funds in strengthening its sales and marketing capabilities and introducing aesthetically pleasing décor products for both Indian and US markets.

 “WallMantra, as a brand, has always tried to excel in bringing our patrons the latest and greatest in home decor & furnishing. We are endeavouring into international markets as well as the furniture segment as we grow at a rapid pace. Partnership with Fluid Ventures is going to help the brand substantially on our path to growth”, says Jitesh Agarwal, CEO & Co-founder, WallMantra.

Ola Electric scooters dispatched to all: Bhavish Aggarwal

Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-founder and Group CEO, Ola announced in a tweet that it has dispatched electric vehicles to “all” who purchased. “Some in transit, most already at delivery centres near you getting through RTO registration process. The registration process took longer than we anticipated as a fully digital process is new for all,” he said sharing the December update of its  Ola Electric vehicles.

Ola Electric had announced the launch and prices of its much-awaited electric scooter — S1, with two variants S1 and S1 Pro, on India's 75th Independence day.  The scooters was available for purchase from September 8, and deliveries began October. The Ola S1 and Ola S1 Pro are priced at Rs 99,999 and Rs 1,29,000, respectively.

2021 witnessed a 40 pc surge in influencer marketing spends: report  

In a year ravaged by COVID-19, influencer marketing witnessed a massive growth in spending by leading brands and agencies to the tune of over 40 per cent (year-on-year) growth. Insights delivered from a nationwide survey conducted by Zefmo Media Private Limited, an influencer marketing platform, indicates that during the lockdown, influencer marketing became the go-to strategy for brands to reach out to their target audiences.

The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) category was the highest spender with over 62 percent increase in their influencer marketing spending as they focussed more on stay-at-home consumers.

Upcoming categories such as mental health (116 percent), holistic wellness (87 percent), physical fitness (84 percent) and sub-genres such as baking (233 percent) within the culinary category saw massive industry traction. On the other hand, traditionally high-spend categories such as fashion, luxury, auto, beauty & cosmetics, went through a sluggish phase mimicking the consumer spending pattern during the lockdown period. 

Furthermore, 2021 was also the year wherein brands clearly communicated their preference towards the globally established social media channels in form of the ‘big-four’, namely – Instagram, YouTube, Facebook (now Meta), and Twitter to run influencer campaigns.  

Zefmo on-bordered a higher number of hyperlocal micro-influencers for its campaigns with the aim of making content more relatable with their followers. This segment saw over a 35 per cent jump in earnings for the micro-influencers. Additionally, the vernacular medium grew by about 15 percent in terms of the number of campaigns, further corroborating the rise of vernacular across India.

“It was during lockdown that the true power of influencer marketing was harnessed to the hilt,” said Shudeep Majumdar, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Zefmo Media Private Limited. The brands were swift to realize that information consumption was predominantly happening over social media, and it gave them the tried and test catchment zone to conduct relatable hyperlocal influencer engagement.

In fact, Zefmo stamped industry leadership by enabling some pathbreaking campaigns that saw a 43 percent jump measured in ‘per influencer earning’(PIE) terms. The ability to create user-generated content within the safe confines of their homes gave the influencers an unprecedented edge to connect with their followers in a scenario where live shoots had come to a standstill.”

Bodhi AI wins GESAwards, these three startups to represent in London in January 2022

Edtech startup Bodhi AI has become a finalist from India to represent in GESAwards. The two runner-ups from India were Aviotron Aerospace and Innovation Next.

Global Edtech Startups Awards (GESAwards) is the largest Edtech competition and community in the world. Bodhi AI will be representing India in London in January 2022 out of more than +1200 applicants received from 130+ countries.