After just eight months of service with the fashion e-commerce platform, Saurabh Goel has quit Jabong to start his own finance technology venture.
Goel, the product head at Gaana.com was roped in by the Rocket Internet-backed venture during a management overhaul last year. It was also the same time around when Sanjeev Mohanty took charge of the company as CEO and managing director.
Mohanty in an email to Mint confirms Goel’s exit from Jabong and says that,
He always wanted to launch his start up and thought that this was the opportune time.
So, this means that a top spot in Jabong’s executive board is empty once again. The e-commerce giant is actively looking to fill the position, but until then recently appointed COO Muralikrishnan B will be looking over the proceedings.
A new beginning – ProsperX
As Mohanty mentioned before, Goel always had a knack to do something of his own. And that’s where he’s headed.
Goel has confirmed his departure from Jabong and added that he is starting his own fintech venture — ProsperX. He in a statement said that,
I saw this opportunity and it was the right time, fin-tech is ready for disruption.
Goel is working with his co-founder Vivek Madhukar, ex-COO Times Business Solutions to start a marketplace for financial products. The users will now be able to search, compare and purchase financial products, like mutual funds, insurance, etc. using the platform.
The platform is expected to make a debut in July this year.
Hanging by a thread
Saurabh Goel’s exit from the company comes at a time when Jabong is hanging by a thread. The company is in need of funds to turn their business around.
About an year ago, the key investors in Jabong — Rocket Internet and Kinnevik Inc. initiated a global move to put all its fashion e-commerce brands under one brand called Global Fashion Group. Each business has since then continued to operate individually in their own jurisdiction and capacities. GFG is now worth a staggering €2.7 billion (around Rs.21,600 crore).
But, the e-commerce ecosystem in India is constantly evolving and Jabong has been feeling much pressure in this change. Rocket Internet has recently pumped $20 million in survival grants to the keep the company alive and see its progress.
Recently, both key investors have also joined forces to push the button on a staggering investment of $300 million into GFG. This has given some much needed fund cushion to Jabong. The company has now graduated from a start-up to a professionally run, profit-oriented company.
The company has also shown signs of revival when it announced January 2016 to be its best month in terms of performance, recording its lowest cash burn in 24 months; best improvement in EBITDA margin in an EOSS month, and registering a staggering month-on-month growth of almost 35 percent.
But, there is still no certainty of how Jabong will fare in the future. Will it survive the e-commerce war and emerge a winner?
Comment your thoughts down below.
1 comment