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<ul><li><keyword id="6357066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shopclues">Shopclues</keyword> has finally been sold to Singapore-based <keyword id="8279466" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Qoo10">Qoo10</keyword> in an all stock deal. </li><li>The <keyword id="7321558" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="unicorn-startup">unicorn startup</keyword> was sold at a valuation ranging between just $70-100 million. </li><li>This year, Shopclues had been at the centre of multiple failed attempts at mergers as it tried to survive.</li></ul>Indian unicorn e-commerce startup Shopclues has finally <a href="https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/shopclues-acquired-by-singapore-based-qoo10/71839928">found</a> a buyer in Singapore-based e-commerce platform Qoo10. Shopclues which was once valued at $1.1 billion-- is sold in an all stock deal for a reported valuation ranging between $70-$100 million. Here’s a look at how it all went down for the e-commerce startup. 2011 Shopclues was founded in July 2011 by Sanjay Sethi, Sandeep Aggarwal and Radhika Aggarwal. This was two years before Amazon came to India. It raised an angel round of funding. 2012 The startup raised its series A round of funding of $4 million. During this time, Shopclues had 2500 transactions a day and according to <a href="https://www.techcircle.in/2012/09/04/excl-shopclues-raises-4m-in-series-a-round-looking-to-gross-rs-100cr-sales-by-dec-2012">reports</a>, was hoping to turn profitable by 2013. 2013 Gaining momentum, Shopclues closes its series B round for $10 million from investors Nexus Venture Partners and Helion Venture Partners. 2014 Shopclues raised $15 million as a part of its series C round of funding from its existing investors. 2015 In 2015, the startup scooped up its Series D funding for $100 million, also welcoming Tiger Global to its board of investors. “Shopclues has emerged as the leading marketplace of choice for the millions of small and local businesses seeking to reach mass consumers in India’s tier 2 and tier 3 cities,” the then Tiger Global private equity business head Lee Fixel <a href="https://www.vccircle.com/e-com-marketplace-shopclues-raises-100m-series-c-funding-led-tiger-global/">had said.</a> It also registered a GMV of $400 million. 2016 Between late 2015 and early 2016, Shopclues closed its series E round of funding to join the prestigious unicorn club. It also brought back its dreams for profitability while also reportedly hoping for an IPO. 2017 Shopclues was caught in the middle of a very public spat between its founders – husband and wife duo Sandeep Aggarwal and Radhika. Aggarwal put out a post on Facebook accusing his wife of “an illicit affair” as well as ousting him from the company. It was also the year when the company’s <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/money/shopclues-fy-17-revenue-up-5-losses-decline-by-13/articleshow/61539773.cms">revenue began slowing dow</a>n. In FY17, the company’s revenue grew by 5% instead of the usual 50% jump it had been seeing. Its losses stood at ₹332 crores. 2018 It managed to come back in the game with a 46% revenue jump and cutting down its losses to ₹208 crore in FY18. But at this time, Shopclues also <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/shopclues-revenue-up-46-to-rs-273-crore/articleshow/66409043.cms">cut down</a> on operational costs, advertising spends and employee benefits. However, it was facing immense competition from Flipkart, Amazon, Paytm etc who were growing at breakneck speed. Meanwhile, Shopclues was focussing on its wholesale marketplace model. Once again, its plans to go in for an IPO in 2018, failed to see the light of the day. Multiple senior management <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/top-level-exits-at-shopcluescom/article23263804.ece">exits</a> too began in the company. It also fired 50 employees across verticals. It also lost a legal fight with L’oreal, which had <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/loral-india-wins-judgement-on-counterfeits-against-shopclues/articleshow/66652453.cms">accused</a> Shopclues of selling counterfeit products on its platform. 2019 Having survived on bridge rounds of investments, troubles started mounting for the company as its struggle to survive became public. The rumours of its probable sell began taking solid turns. Snapdeal (who was itself making a comeback from massive losses) was reported to be in talks with Shopclues for a possible merger, but the talks didn’t go through in the end. There were also rumours about ebay.in looking to <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/ebay-in-talks-with-etailers-including-shopclues-for-a-fresh-bid-in-india/articleshow/65157378.cms">acquire</a> Shopclues. Shopclues also laid off about 200 employees to cut costs. Then came the news of its final sale to Singapore-based Qoo10 in an all stock deal, but with a massive fall in valuation. “This partnership presents new strategic opportunities for both companies, as it opens up cross-border opportunities for consumers and sellers across Asia,” the company said in a statement.

Once valued at $1.1 billion Shopclues finally gets sold for less than $100 million valuation

<keyword id="6357066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ShopClues">Shopclues</keyword>, which is one of India's largest e-commerce players with over 5,00, 000 merchants has today launched a premium service experience for its customers. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/these-new-linkedin-features-will-increase-your-chances-of-landing-a-new-job/articleshow/57652542.cms">ALSO</a><a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/these-new-linkedin-features-will-increase-your-chances-of-landing-a-new-job/articleshow/57652542.cms"> READ: These new LinkedIn features will increase your chances of landing a new job</a> 
 
This premium service is in addition to the Shopclues Buyer Protection program which ensures an extensive 5 point quality check of the products along with the use of data analytics and secure dispatch to its customers in order to give them a seamless shopping experience. 
 
How does it work 
 The program ensures that each <keyword id="4297963" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="shopclues-surety">Shopclues Surety</keyword> product is rated on a set of quality parameters, evaluated and identified through an extensive research by the category experts, according to the company. 
 
The platform marks out the rating of the classified products into four categories: 
 1) <keyword id="161142" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Best-Buy">Best Buy</keyword> 
 
2) Great Buy 
 
3) Value Buy 
 
4) Brand Authorised 
 
This allows the customer to make an optimal purchase decision while shopping on the platform. 
 
A 'Best Buy' product is best rated amongst all the 5 parameter quality check as the quality of the product is equivalent to that of branded products. 
 
A 'Great Buy' product is rated well among all the 5 parameters of the quality check as the product comes with good quality combined with the best pricing. 
 
A 'Value Buy' product delivers all functional benefits and is a good value match for the money paid. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/starbucks-app-just-launched-in-india-and-heres-why-its-convenient/articleshow/57652881.cms">ALSO READ: Starbucks App just launched in India and here's why it's convenient</a> 
 
A 'Brand Authorised' product is 100% genuine and is sold by an authorized merchant. 
 
This is a great imitative in the times when people are more open to buying online and have started trusting online players for the quality products they provide.

Shopclues launches Shopclues Surety to ensure quality products on its platform

<keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> continues to be numero uno, nudging ahead of Amazon. Interestingly, Flipkart and Amazon sell same amount of items on their platform, still the former continues to grab most of the market share in India. Besides, there is also an ongoing fight for the third spot between <keyword id="6357120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="PayTM">Paytm</keyword> Mall and <keyword id="6357066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ShopClues">ShopClues</keyword>, while <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> has come down to fifth place in terms of volumes. In March, Flipkart registered an average of five lakh shipments daily, whereas <keyword id="6354743" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-India">Amazon India</keyword> reported nearly 4.5 lakh shipments every day. ET quoted sources saying Snapdeal saw its volumes dip significantly to 30,000 a day from a high of 1.5 lakh daily shipments in March 2016. Flipkart's strong gains come from major categories such as fashion and smartphone segment. It saw 57% rise in smartphone category in first quarter of 2017. While Amazon India had a 27% share, according to data from Counterpoint Research. In the whole of 2016, Amazon increased its share to 31% in this category while Flipkart slipped to 44%, the research firm said. "While higher GMV means more sales, higher orders mean more customers or more orders from the same customers, both are desirable for the sizeable growth of the industry," Krishna Choudhury, senior business analyst at RedSeer Consulting, told ET. "Flipkart continues to remain ahead of Amazon India in terms of gross sales," sources in the know how told ET. "We continue to see tremendous momentum despite our scale, growing at about 85% in Q1 this year. We cannot offer comment on any other financial details," a representative for Amazon India told the news daily. Meanwhile, the battle may heat up if talks of Snapdeal buyout to Flipkart become true. "Marketplaces will look to increase the commissions earned from merchants as well as from chargeable services to consumers, reducing operational costs (including manpower), and rationalising marketing expenditure whose efficacy isn't really being monitored," Devangshu Dutta, chief executive at consulting firm Third Eyesight who expects 2017 to be a year of consolidation, told ET.

Flipkart is still the king of Indian e-commerce market. Here are the numbers

' She was on one of the panels of the <keyword id="3003094" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Startup-India">Startup India</keyword> Summit. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Radhika+Ghai+Aggarwal">Radhika Ghai Aggarwal</a>, Co-Founder, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=ShopClues">ShopClues</a> has come a long way. She believes the company would be profitable bu 2017, and handles one of India’s biggest managed marketplaces. 
 
BI Insider India caught up with her after the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Startup+India">Startup India</a> event, and this is what she had to say: 
 
“Modi has done what he does best. He has acted like a disruptive startup. Most importantly, he got rid of the License Raj. What he has really done in the licensing and taxation policies is allowing Indian startups to succeed, and fail”, Aggarwal says. 
 
Anything that could have been done, or done better? 
 
“We can ease the process of foreign investors coming into India a little more easily. We can also encourage India-born VCs to invest in Indian companies”, she says. 
 
Way to go Radhika! 
 
Image credit: Kenathjayashankarmenon.wordpress.com

Radhika
Aggarwal, Co-founder, ShopClues on Startup India Policy

Online marketplace <keyword id="6357066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="ShopClues">ShopClues</keyword>, which recently joined the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/ShopClues-raises-Series-E-at-a-valuation-of-1-1-Billion/articleshow/50547081.cms">billion-dollar</a> valuation club, has acquired Bengaluru-based startup <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Shopclues-eyeing-Momoe-for-acquisition/articleshow/51391246.cms">Momoe </a>in a bid to build a payments business. This deal will mark ShopClues’s entry in Bengaluru, the start-up capital of the country. 
 All five <keyword id="2683896" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Momoe">Momoe</keyword> founders are also joining the senior management team of ShopClues, in several functions like design, corporate development and technology. 
 
As per ET reports, the deal is valued at $10-12 million, to be paid in both cash and stock; however, the deal size was not confirmed by Sanjay Sethi, ShopClues CEO. 
 
Momoe, which was founded by Utkarsh Biradar, Karthik Vaidyanathan, Ganesh Balakrishnan, Neelesh Bam, and Aiman Ashraf, has been in business for two years now. 
 
Biradar will be joining <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Shopclues-goes-local/articleshow/51681993.cms">ShopClues </a>as VP, heading design and product on the merchant side; Balakrishnan will lead platform monetisation and services; Bam will head merchant acquisition helping ShopClues expand base in South India; Ashraf will head technology for payment and Vaidyanathan will work on strategic initiatives along with ShopClues cofounder <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/The-glorious-rise-of-Radhika-Aggarwal-Indias-only-Woman-Startup-founder-in-the-Unicorn-Club/articleshow/51309145.cms">Radhika Aggarwal</a>. 
 
"Momoe comes with a working merchant base, PCI compliance which would have taken us 8-12 months to obtain and banking relationships. Building a payments business requires a different DNA," said Sethi. 
 
Using Momoe's technology, ShopClues will be able to build payments solutions for its merchant base, for them to use it for not only online transactions but also for offline payments. 
 
<a href="http://blog.iimjobs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Mr.-Sanjay-Sethi-Co-Founder-CEO-ShopClues.com_.jpg">Image source</a>

ShopClues acquires mobile payment start-up Momoe to expand business

Chinese internet behemoth <keyword id="302749" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Alibaba">Alibaba</keyword>, which means to enter the domestic e-commerce market by early next year, has held discussions to acquire online marketplace <keyword id="6357066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ShopClues">ShopClues</keyword>, which is valued at over $1 billion. Alibaba needs to merge the Paytm, in which it has a stake, with the much bigger adversary ShopClues, as it is prospecting several securing targets to solidify an India entry against opponent Amazon, people acquainted with the matter said. 
 The Gurgaon-based ShopClues numbers <keyword id="6357968" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="GIC">GIC</keyword> of Singapore, <keyword id="526777" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tiger-Global">Tiger Global</keyword>, Nexus Venture Partners and Helion among its investors and has raised about $250 million till date. ShopClues is positioned as an online flea market, selling cheaper and generally unbranded merchandise to value shoppers. The organization, which is one among the top takeover targets in Indian e-commerce, is said to be reporting a revenue run-rate of $750 million based on the gross merchandise value of the products sold. 
 Investment bankers have taken multiple deal propositions to Alibaba in recent months. The Jack Ma-led Chinese goliath is hoping to sew up combination moves to challenge Amazon, which has already emerged as the nation's second-largest online marketplace and is seen threatening <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>'s leadership. This includes getting a significant stake in Flipkart and merging smaller Indian opponents with it, or scaling up investments in <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> in which it is currently a little shareholder. 
 
The media has speculated about Alibaba's interest in Flipkart, however these parleys have stalled over differences in valuations. Incidentally, Flipkart has likewise been rumored as a potential suitor for ShopClues since Tiger Global is a large regular investor in both. 
 Former <keyword id="188699" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zynga">Zynga</keyword> and <keyword id="6363100" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yahoo">Yahoo</keyword> executive K Guru Gowrappan, who has been mandated to graph Alibaba's development in Asian markets (excluding China), is driving the M&amp;A chats with the senior management of ShopClues, sources, said. Gowrappan, who joined Alibaba in November a year ago, is spending more time in India to finalize Alibaba's entry strategy. Sources said he was in regards to join the leading body of One 97 Communications, the parent of Paytm, and is working from the latter's offices in Noida. 
 
Sources cautioned that the discussions with ShopClues may not lead to an exchange. Alibaba could value ShopClues at around $1 billion however the organization's management is negotiating for a higher valuation. The up and coming Diwali festival season sales would determine the valuations of several Indian e-commerce companies which are in the M&amp;A ring currently. 
 
Meanwhile, Alibaba bunch, which holds around 40% stake in Paytm, has already started the process to separate the Noida-based organization's core payment business and the smaller commerce business into two separate entities. Alibaba is keen on moving the battling and money swallowing marketplace of Paytm into one of the larger blends it is seeking after in the nation. Paytm clearly sees its future as a payments organization and has attempted to locate a new investor or sell off the commerce in recent past.

Alibaba reportedly in talks to acquire Shopclues

It's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Budget">Budget</a> Season, and the country (read Journalists and Economists) is going gaga about <keyword id="42575" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Arun-Jaitley">Arun Jaitley</keyword>'s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Budget+2016">Budget 2016</a>. We talk about what might happen in the game, what's happening in the game, what happened in the game, and what could have, might have, but didn't happen in the game! Non-stop. It's all jargons, statistics and comment! 
 
We love our numbers, back to front. We analyze them, worship them and make pie-charts to bombard you with. This year, we at Business Insider spare you the horror. We'll do it CTC (Cut the Crap) style. 
 
On the other side of this 'Start Slideshow' button are some of the biggest names in the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Startup">Startup</a> community. They're speaking about what the want from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Budget+2016">Budget 2016</a>. Relax, and take a look!

Here's what India's Startups want from Budget 2016. Hear it from them!

During Bakri-Eid, the unthinkable happened-<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/This-Bakri-Eid-buying-a-goat-is-as-simple-as-logging-in/articleshow/49076755.cms"> one could buy goats online</a> on the various e-commerce websites. 
 
At that moment, I was of the opinion that was it. That the internet couldn’t possibly have made our lives anymore easier by ensuring we get the option of buying almost everything at the touch of a click. 
 And, nor did I think in my wildest dreams that almost everything would include <keyword id="1713050" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Cow-dung-cakes">cow dung cakes</keyword>. 
 
Believe it or not, but the latest entrant to the world of internet shopping is<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=cow+dung"> cow dung </a>patties. And, they’re selling like hot cakes. 
 
Available widely on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=e-commerce">e-commerce</a> websites such as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=amazon">Amazon</a>, <keyword id="6357395" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="eBay">eBay</keyword>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=shopclues">ShopClues</a> among others, these cakes are sold in packages containing two to eight pieces and can be bought at anything from Rs 100 to Rs 400, and with discounts, no less. 
 The patties comprising <keyword id="6362952" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="cow">cow</keyword> poop mixed with hay and dried in the sun, made mainly by women in rural areas and used to fuel fires — have long been available in India’s villages and are mostly used for fires, heating, Hindu rituals or used in the garden. 
 
Thanks to these online retailers, they’re now finding their way to the ever-increasing urban population for whom accessibility to these cakes are not that easy. 
 
And, surprisingly, customers are lapping them up. The customer reviews on the e-commerce sites highlight how seriously the product is being taken by them. 
 While Pushkar Bendre in his <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> review clarifies that the product is indeed ‘shit’, much to the relief of every other potential buyer, he was unable to pinpoint whether it was ‘cow shit or ‘bull shit.’ 
 Not amused by Bendre’s review, another customer who went by the name ‘A B’ requested the seller in his review to add gow mutra (cow pee) as well. He further asked the customers to not mock the listing as cows are sacred. He then proceeded to warn the seller that it should be seen that the <keyword id="603261" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Cow-Dung">cow dung</keyword> cakes are not destroyed while in transit. 
 
However, a majority of the customers have a common concern- that of authenticity of the ‘cow dung cakes’ and have asked Amazon to provide a guarantee card stating that it is not buffalo dung.

Believe
it or not: Now, you can buy cow dung cakes online in India!

<keyword id="6357066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ShopClues">Shopclues</keyword> is an e-commerce company for the masses and most of their orders come from tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The company released a bundle of services aimed at offline merchants this week and that got us thinking, how has the company been affected due to <keyword id="6354642" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Modi">Modi</keyword>’s surprise move. 
 <keyword id="118292" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sanjay-Sethi">Sanjay Sethi</keyword>, CEO, Shopclues talked to <keyword id="824043" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Business-Insider">Business Insider</keyword> to give an insight on whether India is truly moving towards a cashless shopping destination; online and offline. 
 
Online vs. Offline 
 “Digitizing the merchants have always been the plan. We want to digitize lakhs of merchants so that they affect crores of customers’’ says <keyword id="4250" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sethi">Sethi</keyword>. 
 
He calls Shopclues- the platform for merchants first, then customers. 
 
Sethi emphasized that the difference between online and offline is decreasing rapidly. ”Now, it doesn’t make sense for retailers to not come online because they will be losing out. If you are an online seller and you don’t want to go offline and open a store, it is understandable but offline sellers need to go online because the convenience is unmatched.’’ 
 <keyword id="419" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="sanjay">Sanjay</keyword> maintained that the company’s revenue will grow because of its sellers,”10% of our revenue is coming from seller services and in the next 24 months, we expect that to grow to 30%.’’ 
 
<a href="http://EXCLUSIVE: India’s biggest adult hygiene brand talks about how demonetization has affected business">ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: India’s biggest adult hygiene brand talks about how demonetization has affected business</a> 
 
Demonetization Shopclue-less? 
 
Demonetization affected Shopclues in terms of platform traffic. “There was a significant drop in traffic in the first three-four days as 30% of our orders were Cash on Delivery.’’ 
 
Not just that, even after the move the company’s traffic is lowered at 5% compared to last year. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Now-split-movie-ticket-cost-among-friends-using-BookMyShows-improved-MyWallet-version/articleshow/55894434.cms">ALSO READ: Now, split movie ticket cost among friends using BookMyShow’s improved ‘MyWallet’ version</a> 
 
“It’s much more convenient for us to go cashless even though things are yet to settle. We are experiencing the same number of orders but the ticket-size and the no. Of units have decreased.’’ 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/EXCLUSIVE-Using-this-team-messenger-can-help-in-reducing-your-Carbon-footprint/articleshow/55893429.cms">ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Using this team messenger can help in reducing your Carbon footprint</a> 
​ Sethi believes that another game changer in the e-commerce sector will be when <keyword id="6354679" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST">GST</keyword> is rolled out, but that’s another strike, waiting to happen.

Exclusive: How demonetization has affected Shopclues

<keyword id="6357066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="ShopClues">ShopClues</keyword>.com, the mass-market online retailer founded in 2011 by renowned wall-street analyst Sandeep Aggarwal, has received an undisclosed amount of funding in its Series E round. 
 
This funding has brought the retailer’s valuation at more than $1.1Billion. 
 
The round of capital infusion was led by GIC, which happens to be the largest sovereign wealth fund of Singapore. Existing investors of ShopClues.com, including major names like Tiger Global and Nexus Venture Partners, also participated in this funding round. 
 
“As a long-term investor, GIC believes in the strong growth potential of India's e-commerce industry. We are confident that ShopClues’ merchant-first mind-set and solid management team will enable the company to expand its reach, especially in the Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, bringing its unique value proposition to even more consumers and merchants,” said Ravi Balasubramanian, GIC’s Head of Asia Equities Research. 
 
Sanjay Sethi, CEO &amp; Co-founder of ShopClues, had his two cents to share on the same. “ShopClues has consistently demonstrated that hyper-growth and strong business fundamentals are not mutually exclusive. The recent addition of GIC and the continued strong support from our existing investors is a validation of our capital efficiency with a clear path to profitability. This investment will enable us to double our focus on digitizing our merchants’ businesses so that they scale to fully leverage the opportunity online commerce provides them.” 
 
The gross merchandise volume (GMV) of online retailer has grown over four time since January 2015. They are currently shipping out over 3.5 million items on a monthly basis, thereby attracting more than 100 million visits per month. 
 
The business growth, which is accompanied by strong improvements in capital efficiency, is expected to prove profitable by H1 2017. 
“Today, we are the dominant player in low price-point &amp; unstructured categories like lifestyle, home, kitchen, electronic &amp; automotive accessories etc. Our focus on selection, value and trusted shopping for Indian middle class consumers has given us tremendous scale with a rapidly growing buyer &amp; merchant network. We are confident that our capital efficiency &amp; execution will make this our last fund raise before we become profitable with the eventual IPO in 2017,” said Radhika Aggarwal, Co-founder and Chief Business Officer of ShopClues. 
 
The capital raised in this funding round will be used to focus on building and rolling out new products so that SME merchants can be enabled to digitize their businesses. It would also be used to further establish itself as the e-commerce operating system on the cloud. 
 
Image source

ShopClues raises Series E at a valuation of $1.1 Billion

<ul><li>Ganesh <keyword id="79029" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="balakrishnan" source="Orion">Balakrishnan</keyword>, the co-founder of <keyword id="16008024" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="flatheads-shoes" source="Orion">Flatheads Shoes</keyword> received an offer that valued his company at ₹2.25 crore from two sharks on <keyword id="11924074" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="shark-tank-india" source="Orion">Shark Tank India</keyword> S2. </li><li>Balakrishnan, who had earlier invested personal money to keep the venture afloat, rejected the offer. </li><li>The shoe business that started right before the pandemic ran into trouble as lockdowns forced people to stay indoors. </li><li>After the episode aired last Friday, the startup managed to sell off its entire inventory over the weekend, Balakrishnan said on social media. </li></ul>Last Friday, Shark Tank India S2 aired the season’s most emotional episode when Ganesh Balakrishnan made a pitch for his venture, Flatheads Shoes. The startup <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ganeshbalakrishnan/">creates </a>‘all-day casual shoes for the urban workforce’ priced between ₹1,000-₹5,000 a pair. It also <a href="https://www.flatheads.in/">offers </a>India’s first linen sneakers, and the world’s first banana fibre sneakers. At the time Balakrishnan’s episode was shot, his company was on the verge of a shutdown. He said <a href="https://www.sonyliv.com/shows/shark-tank-india-1700000741/investing-in-the-future-of-india-1000203475?watch=true">on the show </a>that he personally invested ₹35 lakh to keep the business afloat, in the last two months. His co-founder Utkarsh Biradar, who helped design the shoes, too invested the same amount. Biradar exited the startup in 2022 but still holds 30% equity. In spite of his mounting troubles, Balakrishnan rejected the only deal he received on the show. Sharks Peyush Bansal (co-founder, Lenskart) and <keyword id="246967" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vineeta-singh" source="Orion">Vineeta Singh</keyword> (co-founder, Sugar Cosmetics), offered ₹75 lakh for 33.3% equity in the company. The offer values the company at ₹2.25 crore. Balakrishnan had asked for a valuation of ₹25 crore as its company generated sales to the tune of ₹3.4 crore in FY22. The company had raised ₹5.2 crore in April 2021, at a pre-money valuation of ₹28 crore, from angel investors. Pre-money valuation refers to the value of a startup that does not include external funding – basically a startup’s value before it raises funds. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Once in a generation troubles" comment="subhead2" text="Once in a generation troubles">Once in a generation troubles</cmsannotation> Balakrishnan started Flatheads Shoes in 2019, right before the pandemic struck. In less than a year, the company had no customers - as India stayed indoors, people barely needed shoes, much less urban workwear. “It’s not that I can’t run a company. I am capable of it. Thing is, when you step into the market and for 4 months nobody is wearing shoes, because nobody is stepping out only - such situations arise once in generations. And it happened to us,” said Balakrishnan on the show. He also said that angel investors were not willing to invest further in the business. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="‘Need to evaluate my priorities in life’" comment="subhead2" text="‘Need to evaluate my priorities in life’">‘Need to evaluate my priorities in life’</cmsannotation> Even as he rejected the offer, Balakrishnan admitted that he needed to change his perspective, re-evaluate his priorities, and gain more experience before entering the D2C market. “I need to evaluate my priorities in life right now. I will go out there and work with a D2C brand and understand how to do this before I come back and try again. I need a couple of years. But that perspective needs to be built. And the best way to build it is to work with somebody who’s done this before,” said Balakrishnan on the show. Balakrishnan’s emotional admission left all the judges teary-eyed, with Shaadi.com’s founder Anupam Mittal remarking, “Shark Tank is not just about getting funding, but also perspective.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Every tear has a silver lining" comment="subhead2" text="Every tear has a silver lining">Every tear has a silver lining</cmsannotation> When Balakrishnan pitched on the show, most of the Sharks asked him to shut down the business and instead, look to make a living through a regular job, leveraging his educational qualifications and work experience. While boAt’s founder Gupta shared his personal experience of going down the same road, Mittal even offered him a job. Shortly after the episode aired though, Flatheads Shoes trended on social media and consequently received enough orders that it almost sold out its inventory in India. “We've almost sold out our inventory in India, so pardon us if you aren't able to find your size on www.flatheads.in,” shared <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7017678455685226496?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28V2%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7017678455685226496%29">Balakrishnan on his LinkedIn account</a>. The product is featured on the Shark Tank India website. The brand also has international ambitions. It launched its products in the US in October 2021 and plans to expand its international market in the US and UAE. As Balakrishnan admitted on the show, Flatheads enjoys a ‘price advantage’ in the US because people are willing to pay a premium price for a sustainable product. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The serial entrepreneur" comment="subhead2" text="The serial entrepreneur">The serial entrepreneur</cmsannotation> After graduating as a mechanical engineer from IIT Bombay in 1999, Balakrishnan worked with an industrial technologies MNC Ingersoll-Rand International (India) for five years, before pursuing an MBA degree from IIM, Bangalore. He worked with Bain &amp; Company and Honeywell, before starting his entrepreneurial journey in 2013 with Windsleeve, a retail technology product company, and Momoe, a mobile payments product company. While Windsleeve shut down in a year, Momoe ran for three years, before being acquired by Shopclues in 2016, in a cash and stock deal. In 2019, Balakrishnan entered the startup space again with Flathead Shoes, inspired by his personal experience of dealing with reeking and ill-fitting shoes. Balakrishnan is married and has a 10-year-old daughter. Currently, his household income is managed by his wife, who’s working with a German company. His daughter is an artist who also wants to be an entrepreneur and is already taking orders for calendars created with her paintings. “Did I mention that my 10-year-old daughter wants to be an entrepreneur? She says she is a fan of Peyush's no-nonsense mindset, and I know that she admires Vineeta for her cheerfulness and positivity. She is super proud that I managed to get an offer from both of them,” stated Balakrishnan <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7017678455685226496?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28V2%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7017678455685226496%29">on his LinkedIn post</a>. His perseverance and honesty on the show left the Shark Tank India panel and the audience so impressed, that the admiration translated into sales. <div type="twitter" handle="AbstractAkarsh" handlename="Akarsh hp" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1608027655529730050/ZdAybBsg_normal.jpg" favoritecount="75" retweetcount="4" status="The #Flatheads pitch in #SharkTankIndia was one of the best I've seen across two seasons. Emotional. Real. Uplifting." createdat="1673025864000" id="1611413387547938816"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="dssagar93" handlename="Sagar Khatri 🇮🇳" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1508142401172385794/MMugvnlw_normal.jpg" favoritecount="20" retweetcount="0" status="This #Flatheads guy is so genuine and transparent with his story and failures. Saying that you couldn't make it wit… https://t.co/rjcGdmhUCo" createdat="1673026813000" id="1611417367736877056"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="banerjee_bapi" handlename="Bapi Banerjee" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/975719104953962496/N_213Fro_normal.jpg" favoritecount="7" retweetcount="0" status="Nothing but respect for you. To be honest on the national television, it takes courage. And I am sure you will boun… https://t.co/3KSiXtM62Q" createdat="1673078555000" id="1611634388642729984"></div> SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/india-vs-sri-lanka-odis-2023-match-date-and-time-head-to-head-stats-and-more/slidelist/96849348.cms">India vs Sri Lanka ODIs 2023 – match date and time, head-to-head stats and more</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/health-edtech-platform-virohan-raises-7-million-in-funding-led-by-blume-ventures/articleshow/96849208.cms">Health edtech platform Virohan raises $7 million in funding led by Blume Ventures</a>

This IIT-IIM startup founder denies Shark Tank offer, sells his entire inventory over the weekend

If you are looking for a job in sector such as wholesale, retail (including e-Commerce), utilities -mainly logistics - and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=transportation">transportation</a>, there is a good news for you. These sectors are likely to hire aggressively in the fourth quarter, ending December 2015. 
 
Globally, Indian employers are the most upbeat on hiring plans in the Q4, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. 
 
The survey also said that more than 41% of employers in India would be looking at increasing hiring numbers for the fourth quarter as compared to the quarter ending September. 
 
The survey covered around 5,000 employers in India and found that about 45% and 44% of employers in the wholesale &amp; retail sector (including e-Commerce) and the transportation &amp; utilities sector, respectively, are looking at increased hiring in the next quarter compared to the previous one. 
 
From a regional perspective, around 42% employers in the eastern region anticipate the most opportunities for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=job+seekers+">job seekers</a> in the months ahead. 
 
Moreover, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=e-Commerce">e-Commerce</a> sector will provide more job opportunities. “With the onset of the festival season, there is a renewed focus on employing additional staff to boost businesses and greater hiring is expected across all domains," said AG Rao, group managing director at <keyword id="652409" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="ManpowerGroup-India">ManpowerGroup India</keyword>. 
 In view of the positive outlook for the <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword>, e-Commerce firms are ramping up their workforce across functions, particularly engineers and other specialists with an intention to be technology, product and engineering-driven companies, added Rao. 
 <keyword id="6357066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ShopClues">Shopclues</keyword>.com, for instance, is planning to add 1,200 employees to its team of 800, while <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Snapdeal+">Snapdeal</a> is looking at doubling its headcount of 5,000 by FY16. 
 
"We have robust hiring plans in place for the coming months. Most e-Commerce companies at this stage are busy ramping up their teams," said ShopClues co-founder, Sanjay Sethi. 
 
At the same time some industry sectors reported weaker hiring plans when compared with the fourth quarter of 2014. 
 Mining &amp; construction sector employers report the most notable decline of nine percentage points while outlooks are seven and four percentage points weaker in the <keyword id="25455" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="finance">finance</keyword>, <keyword id="35450" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="insurance">insurance</keyword> and <keyword id="6354553" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="real-estate">real estate</keyword> sector and the services sector, respectively. 
 
However, while comparing Q4 outlook with the Q3 2015, hiring intentions remain relatively stable in the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=finance%2C+insurance+%26+real+estate+sector+">finance, insurance &amp; real estate sector</a> and the mining &amp; construction sector. 
 
French multinational, Saint Gobain, is also looking at adding more to its manufacturing and marketing teams. "India is a very important market for Saint Gobain and in the coming months, we hire for new positions in manufacturing and marketing," said P Padmakumar, team leader &amp; head -human resources, flat glass business. 
 Globally, ManpowerGroup interviewed nearly 59,000 employers across 42 countries and territories to forecast fourth quarter <keyword id="6357125" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="labour-market">labour market</keyword> activity . 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

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