These marquee Indian startups could be lining up for some big-bang IPOs

• Even with the failures of Uber and WeWork in the US market, Indian startups are optimistic about their public offer.
• Here’s a list of India’s most prominent startups which could soon head for an IPO.
• Recently, startups like Ola, Lenskart and Policybazaar had appealed to SEBI to make the rules easier for a startup listing.

Startups might be looking at new avenues to raise money. And, thanks to their popularity with consumers, it is possible for them to raise it from the public.

As the IPO fever has gripped the US markets, Indian founders are watching their performance closely. In spite of tepid response that Uber received and WeWork’s debacle, Indian startups are stubbornly working towards taking their companies public.

However, to get funds en masse, companies should be able to show profits. And few startups would qualify. This too is not discouraging startup founders who are confident that their business model will find takers.

Recently, startups like Ola, Lenskart and Policybazaar appealed to market regulator SEBI to relax rules for startups to list.

Here are the startups who could be making their market debut soon.

Uber’s answer: Ola

The homegrown ride hailing unicorn has set off strong rumours of an imminent IPO as it has raised fresh funding of ₹35.88 crores from ARK Ola pre-IPO Fund. The fund is based out of Seoul and reports say it was formed to aid its IPO plans. The Bhavish Aggarwal-led company has been actively entering new markets across the world, and had also recently set up a technology hub in the Bay Area.

Oyo’s fast paced growth and a possible market listing

Another company that has been reported to be eyeing an IPO, while also through a fast paced expansion process. Oyo Hotels & Homes is entering new markets or hitting new milestones in a current markets. And reports say, all of its achievements could be leading up to a large IPO that it is planning. A Mint report says that the company is looking at a $18 billion valuation and an IPO in 2-3 years.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma can’t be far behind

Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s PayTm is one of India’s prized payment gateway innovation. At a recent summit, Sharma said that the company will start preparing for an IPO in the next two years.

In the financial year 2018-19, Paytm had clocked in a gross transaction value of $50 billion through 5.5 billion transactions. It has also set a target of 12 billion transactions by FY20.

Mobikwik’s desire to be the first payments company to be listed

Paytm’s competitor Mobikwik is not too far behind. In July, its payment gateway business has turned profitable. “We will march forward towards an IPO in 2023-24. We will aspire to become the first Indian fintech and first Indian payments - company to get listed in India,” the company earlier told Business Insider India.

Mobikwik’s revenues in FY 2019 was 3.5 times higher than those in previous year, at ₹18.4 billion.

After all the troubles, Urban Ladder wants profitability and an IPO

Online furniture retailer Urban Ladder has been eyeing an IPO for long now. It has said that it is confident of going ahead with it in the next two years. Urban Ladder is in an expansion mode, and as it hopes to turn profitable by the end of 2019.

Urban Ladder underwent an organizational restructuring earlier this year, and had to let go off 90 employees.

Some of its marquee investors include Ratan Tata, Sequoia India, Steadview Capital, SAIF Partners, and Kalaari Capital.

Talking of furniture, Pepperfry is in too!

Another furniture retailer, Pepperfry too is closing in on its IPO plans. In an interview with Quartz, Ashish Shah, co-founder of Pepperfry said that they are planning an IPO in one and a half years.

Pepperfry has been scaling up its businesses and is also looking at achieving its $1 billion GMV target by 2021. With over 6 million customers, Pepperfry has 39 offline studios across 22 cities in India. It is also on an expansion mode.