Manu Agarwal
Manu Agarwal– the 40-year-old creative mastermind, is the father of the brainchild Naaptol.com! Manu has always been a serial entrepreneur at heart & mind. This entrepreneurial madness has not only helped him gain a vast pool of knowledge & experience, but has also given him the vision to look at the world in a very different manner. He is an IIT-Kanpur graduate and has also completed his Masters in Computers & Electronics from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.Founded in 2008, four times VC funded firm Naaptol is India’s first and fastest growing virtual home shopping brand. Naaptol possesses a strong hold across different media tools. In Print alone, Naaptol covers 55 publications including all major dailies and regional papers, while broadcasting involves collaboration with multiple leading TV channels. Currently Naaptol has 24hrs dedicated 7 channels in different languages ( Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Bangala, Kannada, Telagu, Malyalam ) which also include one HD Hindi channel. Other media includes Mobile app, OOH media in best buses and prospective alliances with banks and telecom operators. Naaptol has raised equity funding of Rs.343 Crore in the month of November 2015, from Japanese conglomerate Mitsui & Co. This is in addition to Rs. 136 Crore, which the company raised earlier in April, 2015. Naaptol saw a 2.3 times rise in its revenue for the FY 14-15 as its revenue grew to INR 289 crores. The company is currently the third largest player in the digital commerce platform market with presence across TV, web and mobile. Naaptol reported a revenue of INR 289 crores against a loss of INR 43 crores. Last year’s revenue and PAT figures stood at INR 128 crores and INR 57 crores, respectively. This was revenue growth of 125% in the period.