Latest news with #Tracxn
Fashion Network
3 days ago
- Business
- Fashion Network
Oceedee celebrates 10th anniversary with a new handbag line
Footwear and accessories brand Oceedee has marked its 10th anniversary by launching a new line of monogrammed handbags, expanding its premium offering with an exclusive six-piece collection which debuted on its direct to customer e-commerce store. "Marking 10 years of design excellence, we introduce the Monogram Collection in Sea Salt Blue- a hue that captures tranquility and strength in equal measure," announced Oceedee on Facebook, sharing a series of videos of the new collection. "Thoughtfully created for the woman who embraces style with substance." The collection ranges from sling wallets to cross-body bags and bucket bags, each featuring a signature Oceedee monogram design. The bags and accessories are produced in premium, consciously sourced leather and are designed to mix artisanal craftsmanship with modern minimalism, according to the label. "The Oceedee monogram is a visual ode of the essence of the modern women- complete, dynamic, and self-contained," announced Oceedee. "Crafted to echo the brand's belief that every woman is a full circle and a world within herself, the monogram uses a seamless, continuous form to symbolise unity, grace, and inner strength." Neha Kumthekar and Anshul Sood launched Oceedee in 2015 and the business is based in New Delhi. The business' investors include Plexus Capital, according to business intelligence platform Tracxn.
Time of India
12-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Startups raise funds but valuations shrink
This is an AI-generated image, used for representational purposes only BENGALURU: Over the past two years, an increasing number of Indian startups raised capital at significantly lower valuations, reflecting a sustained reset in the late-stage venture funding market. According to data from Tracxn, at least 55 companies across sectors like fintech, SaaS, and consumer internet experienced valuation declines since January 2023. Notable markdowns include Cred, which raised $75 million in May at a valuation of approximately $3.5 billion-down nearly 45% from its 2022 peak of $6.4 billion. Meesho secured $275 million last year at a $3.9 billion valuation, reduced from $4.9 billion previously. Oyo raised $175 million in 2023 at an implied valuation of about $2.5 billion, a steep drop from its earlier high near $10 billion. Swiggy also lowered its valuation targets while preparing for its IPO, raising $46 million in 2023. Beyond these well-known names, valuation markdowns affected a wide range of companies, including Flipkart, Pratilipi, Shiprocket, MobiKwik, GreyHR, Zolo, Lendingkart, Udaan, PayMate, Pepperfry, OfBusiness, Fisdom, and others. These adjustments spanned both primary and secondary transactions, with several companies recalibrating their private valuations in preparation for upcoming public listings. Venture investors point to a combination of inflated valuations during the 2021-2022 boom cycle and a subsequent recalibration of revenue multiples. "The fundamental problem is not with the companies themselves. Many of these companies continue to grow. The markdowns are largely a reset from highly inflated multiples that investors were willing to pay during 2021 and 2022," said Mohan Kumar, founder and managing partner at Avataar Venture Partners. He said that SaaS companies, which saw revenue multiples of 30-100 times during the peak funding period, largely reverted to historical norms. "For late-stage SaaS companies today, if you are growing at 30% and profitable, you may command around 10 times revenue. For others, the multiple is more in the 7-8 times range. The pandemic era was an aberration where free capital distorted pricing," Kumar added. In enterprise software, which saw some of the steepest pandemic-driven valuation spikes, multiple compression drove significant markdowns. Postman, for instance, saw secondary transactions at valuation levels 30-40% below its earlier $5.6 billion peak. Investors now broadly expect valuations to remain tied closely to profitability and revenue growth metrics. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Mint
10-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
India's next 10-minute delivery? Domestic workers on demand
Mumbai: After transforming how India orders groceries and meals, the 10-minute delivery model is now knocking on an unlikely door: on-demand domestic labour. Startups are racing to dispatch cooks, cleaners, and other household workers within minutes of a booking. Backed by marquee investors, these ventures are betting that urban India's hunger for speed and convenience will extend beyond products to people-powered services. Snabbit, a Mumbai-based startup, has raised $25.5 million across three rounds in just five months, according to data from Tracxn. Its latest $19 million fundraise was led by Lightspeed. While the company hasn't disclosed its valuation, investor interest is surging—fuelled by parallels with quick commerce and a $5 billion home services market expected to quadruple by 2032, according to Zion Market Research. Read this | Betting on speed: Can fashion startups survive the quick commerce gamble? Urban Company, a larger rival in the home services space, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO). Gurugram-based Pronto, still in its seed stage, is reportedly courting more capital after a $2 million round led by Bain Capital Ventures. Yet behind the breakneck growth lies a more uncomfortable question: what happens when the 10-minute delivery model is applied not to groceries—but to people? A different kind of platform Snabbit's model breaks from the typical gig platform playbook. Unlike typical gig platforms that merely connect users with workers, Snabbit controls the entire supply chain—recruiting, training, assigning, and paying its workforce, according to co-founder and CEO Aayush Agarwal. 'This isn't a model where someone picks up a gig and disappears. If someone leaves, they're exiting the platform entirely," he said. Snabbit employs over 600 'experts"—the company's term for domestic workers—who operate in tight, hyperlocal clusters. Workers typically walk 300 metres between jobs, though some borrow e-bikes to stretch their reach to 800 metres. Service charges range from ₹169 to ₹499 for a four-hour booking, significantly higher than Urban Company's ₹49 entry point for its InstaHelp service. The platform's pitch: urgency. Unlike Urban Company, which emphasizes subscriptions and predictable demand, Snabbit is positioning itself as a high-speed backup solution for when household help doesn't show up. 'People are largely insensitive to pricing when it comes to on-demand services, because it's not a daily-use case," said Agarwal. Inside the model: flexibility, but with limits Snabbit does not explicitly classify its workers as gig workers or employees, but its operational model leans gig-style. Workers are not on formal payrolls, but they do receive personal life, health, and accident insurance, and, in some cases, family coverage, two workers based in Mumbai told Mint. Earnings vary widely. According to Snabbit, workers can earn over ₹10,000 per month for four-hour daily shifts and upwards of ₹40,000 for 12-hour shifts, with bonuses on top. Workers Mint spoke with corroborated this range, reporting monthly incomes between ₹12,000 and ₹40,000 depending on shift duration and location. These, however, are gross figures and do not account for unpaid waiting time, idle hours between bookings, or occasional cancellations. Part-time workers typically reported earning ₹12,000-18,000 a month, while full-time workers in high-demand zones cited take-home pay of ₹35,000–40,000. While not universal, such earnings appear achievable for consistently active workers operating in dense, high-volume micro-markets. Because Snabbit operates on an urgency-driven model, earnings are closely tied to availability and responsiveness. Workers active during peak hours and based near clusters of demand are far more likely to hit the upper end of the pay spectrum. Those in lower-density areas—or unable to accept jobs quickly—see lower and more erratic incomes. Platform stickiness and user behaviour Snabbit says it has onboarded over 25,000 customers, who use the service roughly three times per month on average. Retention rates, the company claims, are on par with consumer internet platforms like Swiggy or Zepto—high benchmarks in the Indian app economy. Snabbit is betting that these urgent, last-minute use cases will give it a foothold in the broader home services ecosystem—spanning cooks, drivers, and nannies. Still, the model comes with familiar platform risks. One of the biggest challenges for service marketplaces is disintermediation—where customers start hiring workers directly, bypassing the platform. Urban Company has flagged this as a key concern in its IPO draft papers. Snabbit claims its full-stack approach reduces this risk. 'If a client books a worker directly, that worker risks losing access to our platform and guaranteed payout," said Agarwal. 'It's not in their interest to go offline." That deterrent may be real, especially if workers see the platform as a stable income source. Rahul Taneja, partner at Lightspeed (an investor in Snabbit and Zepto), argues that trust and unpredictability also act as bulwarks. 'Disintermediation has happened when tasks have been infrequent and predictable, like servicing an AC twice a year. With high frequency needs that change every time—cleaning today, chopping veggies tomorrow—a platform serves you better than a specific individual," Taneja said. 'Trust and safety matters in this business. There is a service professional whom you're letting into your home. A platform that assures safety makes all the difference," he said. Agarwal expresses caution about subscription models for home services, viewing them as better suited to predictable, daily-use cases, and a potential drag on pricing. 'The moment you shift from on-demand to subscription, your rates effectively halve, since that's more of a daily-use case. But by aggregating demand and optimising through our supply network, we can command a premium—offering the promise that we can reach your house within 10 minutes, whenever you want," said Agarwal. In contrast, Urban Company embraces subscriptions and service bundles as a way to deliver better value and deepen customer loyalty. Safety, support, and stress points Snabbit uses an internal CRM, eKYC process, and custom screening system to verify and onboard workers. Its app includes an SOS button that alerts a field operations team, which the company says typically reaches the worker within 5–7 minutes. But as with any speed-driven platform, the question of worker welfare remains. 'India is increasingly becoming a testing ground for what we call blood and sweat aggregator companies, platforms that extract maximum labour for minimal compensation, with little regard for social security, safety, or job stability," said Shaik Salauddin, National General Secretary of the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT). 'These businesses thrive on hyper-commodified labour, where workers are treated as disposable tools to meet tight delivery timelines and rising customer expectations," he added. Read this | Labour union files complaint against IPO-bound Zepto over breach of promises The broader market hasn't been kind to speed-at-any-cost models. Zepto shuttered its 10-minute cafe vertical due to operational stress. Zomato shut down 15-minute deliveries after four months, citing weak demand. Whether domestic services can scale where food and coffee struggled remains to be seen. A calculated entry Still, investors like Elevation Capital, an early backer of Snabbit, see long-term potential. 'Many of these segments remain largely unorganised and informal but have a hyperlocal demand pattern," said Manish Advani, principal at Elevation. 'Snabbit started with a deep pain point, when your regular help doesn't show up. This acts as a Trojan horse to enter and serve broader, and frequent needs over time." Also read | Mint Explainer: Will Karnataka's new 'welfare' mandate mess up the gig economy? In the short term, Snabbit is betting on the messiness of urban life—last-minute cancellations, no-shows, and sudden gaps—as its opportunity. Whether it builds a durable platform or simply a clever workaround may depend on how well it can protect workers, serve users, and survive the costs of speed.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
08-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
SaaS vs AI: The true story behind investments 'drying up' in India
While AI is the buzz word, data on the startup ecosystem shows that funding there is down as well premium Shivani Shinde Mumbai Listen to This Article The SaaS ecosystem in India has 'suffered from an excess amount of venture capital' and the money has now dried up, said Sridhar Vembu, founder and chief scientist of Zoho, in an interview to news agency PTI last week. Funding is going to artificial intelligence (AI), he said. While AI is the buzz word, data on the startup ecosystem shows that funding there is down as well. Investments and rounds have been modest for both SaaS (Software as a Service) and AI companies, according to data from Tracxn.
Fashion Network
05-06-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Xyxx expands offering with its first seamless vest for men
Men's lifestyle brand Xyxx has announced that it has launched the first ever seamless vest for men. The 'Element Invisible Vest' expands Xyxx's everyday essentials offering and is designed to mix technical precision with comfort. 'At Xyxx, we believe that what you wear underneath is just as important as what you wear on the outside," said Xyxx's founder Yogesh Kabra in a press release. "With the launch of the 'No Show: Invisible Vest', we're addressing a real need for innerwear that not only performs but also elevates the wearer's confidence. This is a step forward in helping the modern Indian man feel more put-together, every day.' Engineered to deliver a clean, non-restrictive fit, the Invisible Vest is crafted from ultra-soft, breathable super combed cotton, offering twice the softness of regular cotton, according to Xyxx. The seamless construction ensures no visible lines, irritation, or bunching, allowing it to sit smoothly under both formal and casual outfits. The No Show vest reinforces Xyxx's focus on innovation-led design and its commitment to elevating innerwear for the contemporary Indian consumer. The brand was launched in 2017 by Kabra and is based in Surat, according to business intelligence platform Tracxn.
