Exploring new models of funding for the new and emerging brands of India

“Access to capital and fundraising is one of the important aspects of growth for any business,” said Bhavik Vasa, Founder and CEO, GetVantage during his masterclass on ‘Fundraising in the new normal’ at YourStory's Brands of New India Mega Summit. The objective was to discuss alternative growth and funding strategies and understand how brands can tap into different forms of capital and funds to be able to boost and accelerate at each phase.

This decade belongs to the new brands of India

“This decade belongs to founders, entrepreneurs, and the new/emerging brands of India across products, services, e-commerce etc. Over the last two years, there has been a drastic increase in the number of online shoppers. And that has allowed this great acceleration for young and local brands of India to compete with some of the biggest names in this vertical,” said Bhavik.

“The next 5-10 years is the consumption story of India, according to market prediction,” he added.

The most sustainable type of growth, he said, is not where the focus is on scaling only but on balancing every aspect. “Keeping the focus on balanced growth creates more lasting and successful businesses,” he added.

Access to frictionless capital

“The idea of us setting up GetVantage was to help brands with access to frictionless capital that lets you achieve that phase of growth without getting in touch with different types of investors etc,” said Bhavik. He explained, “We want to tell founders that there are certainly a lot of alternatives that you don’t have to follow traditional ways, visit a bank, avail loans, and give collaterals or personal guarantee nor do you have to dilute your stake to raise a small amount of funding. Other ways can get you just the right amount of support to grow your business without selling equity etc.”

Revenue-based financing

“Whether it is traditional ways of availing funding or getting it through angel investors, all of them have their pros and cons. The GetVantage model which is revenue-based funding also known as performance-based funding puts your growth trajectory at the forefront,” said Bhavik.

The type of funding majorly depends on the type of business. An asset-heavy business will always consider traditional ways of funding. However, Bhavik believes that new-age companies are building asset-light and digital-first brands, for which founders must certainly look at models that provide funds without any guarantees, collaterals, or brand equity. These types of models allow you to pay off as your business grows in terms of revenue in the future.

“GetVantage allows businesses to drive and take revenue-based funding that enables you to take capital for your growth, working capital needs, marketing needs, inventory, and other logistical requirements. And you get this capital at a one-time flat fee which you pay back as a small percentage of your future cash flow and revenue. I believe that is a far more disciplined and convenient way of raising capital,” added Bhavik.

Capital + Intelligence + Efficiency

In addition to capital, businesses need access to intelligence and efficiency to grow and scale. Bhavik said, “We call ourselves a founder’s platform and a growth platform fundamentally to tell you that you need much more than just access to capital. We also bring in support from the ecosystem partners like logical support, payment gateways, digital marketing etc to supercharge your growth.”

Watch the entire masterclass here

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