DealShare CEO steps down as startup pivots to hybrid model

Vineet Rao, Co-founder and CEO at Tiger Global-backed social ecommerce platform DealShare, will step down as the CEO of the company. He will continue to hold his board position and will advise the company on appointing his successor, said a statement issued by the company. 

The exit comes at a time when the company is pivoting to a hybrid model—online and offline—from an online-only model. 

“In its continuous quest to drive profitable growth, DealShare aspires to pivot to a hybrid online and offline model to enhance its services, increase customer retention, and share of wallet,” the statement read.

“As the company embarks on this next phase of growth, Vineet Rao, the current CEO has decided to step down from his role. Vineet will work with the board to help identify the right CEO to lead this mission. He will also continue to work with and advise the board with respect to the new leadership,” it added.

Started in 2018 by Rao, Sourjyendu Medda, Rajat Shikhar, and Sankar Bora in Jaipur and headquartered in Bengaluru, DealShare has raised $393 million from external investors. The company was valued at $1.7 billion as of February 2022, according to the data research platform Tracxn. 

Targeted at customers in Tier II and III cities, DealShare follows a group-buying model, offering greater discounts on large purchases. In 2022, the startup announced that it was going to invest Rs 500 crore over the next 2-3 years to support local brands from SMEs and its repertoire of private labels to grow their share in overall sales. According to reports, small kirana stores account for nearly 45% of DealShare’s customer base. 

The company had also announced the appointment of former Raymonds Consumer Care executive Hemant Sood to lead the initiative. 

According to Moneycontrol, DealShare has asked its employees to join its offices in Delhi from its headquarters in Bengaluru to focus on key markets for the company. The startup had let go of nearly 100 employees in January 2023 as part of a business restructuring plan. DealShare did not comment on the same. 

DealShare joins a growing list of startups, which have tried and failed to scale the group-buying model in India, similar to the one pioneered by Pinduoduo in China. B2B commerce platform Udaan and value commerce platform Meesho tried a similar model and have pivoted since.