Revenue-based financing startup Klub raises $20 million in seed round

• This is one of the largest seed funding rounds closed by an Indian startup to date.
• It had raised $2 million in a pre-seed round, earlier this year, from Sequoia Surge and other angel investors.
• It plans to utilise the latest seed capital to expand its team, accelerate development of its tech and data platform.

Klub, a fintech startup that provides revenue-based financing, has raised a seed funding of $20 million (about ₹150 crore) in a mix of equity and debt. This is one of the largest seed funding round closed by an Indian startup to date.

In June, Thrasio-style startup 10Club had raised $40 million in seed funding. This was the largest seed funding round closed by a startup in India.

Klub’s seed round was led by existing investors 9Unicorns and Sequoia Capital India’s accelerator programme Surge. New investors Alter Global and Japan's GMO VenturePartners also participated in this round. The investment round was represented by Wadhwa Law Offices as the legal counsel.

Founded in 2019 by Ishita Verma and Anurakt Jain, Klub offers flexible growth capital ranging between ₹2 lakh to ₹30 crore to digital brands. The platform offers funding — without equity dilution or personal guarantees — for recurring marketing, inventory and other capital expenditures.

Revenue based financing is a new form of fundraising that allows companies or brands to raise growth capital, without having to give up on any equity via venture capital rounds and or have debts. The repayment of the capital raised from Klub happens as a percentage of future revenues.

“The digital revolution in India has leveled the playing field for local businesses, and we are thrilled to have a front-row seat in this multi trillion-dollar opportunity… India’s digital commerce ecosystem requires more than ‘one size fits all’ financing, and with this round, we can further our mission of enabling growth for loved brands,” Klub’s cofounder Jain said.

It plans to utilise the latest seed capital to expand its team, accelerate development of its tech and data platform, and expand its product offerings and market segments to make Klub. It plans to deploy ₹500 crore over the next few quarters in local brands as well as digital small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The fintech startup had closed a $2 million pre-seed round in January 2021. CRED founder Kunal Shah, Livspace founder Ramakant Sharma, BlackBuck founder Rajesh Yabaji, among others also invested in the company’s pre-seed stage round.

Klub uses deep data-driven analytics to make funding decisions faster. The fintech startup claims that over 500 businesses have explored funding with the platform recently.

SEE ALSO
A third of internet users would be actively shopping online by the end of this decade, offline retail to take a back seat
With PharmEasy, MobiKwik and ixigo all set to hit the public market, Orios plans to go deeper into pre-IPO bets
Tamil Nadu government is upset about losing money on luxury cars