Notion Press, a Chennai-based self publishing startup, has today raised around $1 million in its pre-series A round of funding. The funding was raised from a group of high net worth individuals, whose names were not disclosed.
With the help of money secured in this round, the company is now planning to consolidate, strengthen its management team, and expand its services in the market.
Naveen Valsakumar, co-founder and CEO, Notion Press, said,
We are growing aggressively and looking to go international this year. We will be intensifying our coverage across India and fuel our operations internationally as well with these funds. With support from our investor group, we will be able to execute our vision more rapidly and broadly.
In addition to this, the team has always envisioned Notion Press as a global publishing brand and have built everything to scale for the global market, says Valsakumar. With regard to the same, he adds that the company is launching US operations in the middle of September. It also planning to accelerate growth and launch in three other countries by end of this financial year.
Notion Press was founded in 2012 by Naveen Valsakumar, Bhargava Adepalley and Jana Pillay in 2012. Since then, more than 2,000 authors have published and sold books in over 100 countries, the company said in a statement.
Along with publishing, the company also offers book printing, distribution, marketing and data tools that enable authors and publishers to take business decisions.
Notion Press is now working on a technology product that will help authors actively promote their work. Apart from its global expansion, the company is also looking to offer its services in more Indian languages.
Commenting about this funding, a spokesperson from the investors group, said,
We are very excited about this announcement. We commend the cutting-edge publishing solutions provided by Notion Press and the entrepreneurial spirit of the co-founders who put their heads down and built a sustainable and profitable business in just four years. Notion Press has shown tremendous potential in its growth and is well-placed to be a part of the publishing revolution in India in the coming years.
With an estimated market of Rs 10,000 crore, India ranks third after the US and UK in English language publishing.India has a rich tradition of storytelling that naturally evolves into some sort of interest in reading. With 600 living languages in India and officially about 2,000 languages still being spoken among large communities, India is an important, competitive, and highly vibrant market for Notion Press.
