Dunzo, India’s favorite last-mile delivery startup, recently raised $75 million in convertible notes. $50 million of the funding came from returning investors Google and Reliance Retail. The remaining funds will come from other investors on Dunzo's cap table once the necessary performance metrics are met. The startup had last raised $240 million in equity funding in January 2022.
On to nutrition snacking startup Kikibix next. They just raised $300,000 in a round that was led by Blume and Angellist. Led by Dr Ridhi Kaur, a pediatrician, the company makes cookies to die for that have no refined sugar, no maida, no palm oil, and no preservatives.
In other words, no more early morning guilt trips to the gym after every midnight cookie binge! 🥳🥳
Servify, a post-sales service company based in Mumbai, has raised $5.7 million in a new tranche of Series D financing round from CE Ventures and Trifecta Venture (a mix of equity and debt). The startup, which is on a mission to reimagine device ownership experiences for electronic gadgets (like Samsung or Apple), has raised over $120 million to date. They’re going to be using this as rocket-fuel to expand their platform and enhance their technology offerings. Onwards! 🚀
ElectricPe just launched a community exclusively for people who can’t get enough of all things EVs. Branded as Club Electric, it’s a place to connect with electric vehicle enthusiasts and ask questions, give advice, get exclusive offers, and get that first invite to that electric new event in town. So if you’re tired of Top 10 Tips on How to Service Your EV Vehicle written by someone who knows nothing about servicing an EV vehicle (SEO folks, we see you 👀) – Club Electric’s the place for you.
What is venture capital all about: is it about finding and funding the next unicorn? Is it about backing exceptional founders who “think different”? Or is it about betting against conventional wisdom? Or all of the above? Karthik recently jumped on The One Percent Project to talk about how he thinks about getting to a successful outcome in venture capital, what makes him tick, his journey so far, and how he defines and manages risk. 🔈 "I think one of my superpowers is the ability to pretty much experience as many things in life as possible, assimilate what I like, and become one with it."
April was Blume Velocity month – for those unaware, this is our annual founder’s boot camp. This year’s was held at at the lovely Blume Villa in Bangalore.
[insert image]
Our first Blume Velocity was in 2020. Over the years, we’ve noticed that in the early stages, startups often lack CXOs, leaving founders to take on multiple roles such as CMO, CHRO, and CSO, managing all aspects of the company. The point of the Blume Velocity sessions was to offer early-stage founders a structured learning program, providing strategic and tactical advice on key org functions (Product, Design, Marketing, Sales, Technology, HR and Fundraising) from experienced experts.
[insert image]