As India’s appetite for varied forms of e-commerce continues to balloon, icustommadeit, the Pune based bespoke products start-up which received a $250K angel round in June last year, has today announced closure of a fresh $4 million’Pre-Series A’ round.
The funds came in from Times Group’s Brand Capital, Siddhivinayak Skyscrapers, an undisclosed corporate giant and Dinesh R. Challa. And apparantly, the company is aiming to use ‘substantial amount’ of funds to advertise its brand and offerings through various media publications of Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd, which operates as Times Group — indirectly the same entity which has invested in the company.
Along with promotions and marketing, the company is also seeking to expand its presence in 18 target cities and also start its global operations with the help of its partnerships.
Commenting about the investment received, Mr. Raj Iyer, Director and CMD of icustommadeit, said,
We are very confident and looking forward to create a high impact in the market by utilizing Times Group’s expansive outreach and matchless media mix. We are also in progressive talks with a few Venture capitalists for initiating a next round of funding within the next few months.
Founded in 2013 by Raj Iyer and Kundan Dhake on a belief that customization is the core of any merchandise today, Pune-HQed ICustomMadeIt lets you choose products and the designs you want over them via its online platform. In December 2014, the company raised about $150K in a seed funding round.
The platform is bringing together a new breed of independent artisans, designers and customised products to the mass market. The endeavour is to enable consumers across the board to experience the luxury of customization. Currently, the company claims to be offering an array of more than 25,000 products spread across 33 categories.
So far, it has raised $900,000 in funding (excluding this round). The last round of funding was led by Aditya Pethe (MD, Waman Hari Pethe Jewellers), Vidisha Vaidya (Indirect Tax Head, Eaton India), Aparna Pittie (Director Delloite Consulting), Emrise Superfund Australia, and Ravi Kant Sharma (Quality Lead; Chevron, India).
The brand recently launched a bespoke tea collection ‘Garnet Glow’. In the coming month, an exclusive brand of handcrafted watches ; ‘Aion’ is due for launch. The company also entered into licensed agreements with top merchandise brands recently.
