DIY e-com platform KartRocket raises $2M from Nirvana, 500 Startups, Beenos

Delhi-Based BigFoot Retail Solutions Pvt Ltd, the startup behind KartRocket.com, a do-it-yourself (DIY) e-commerce platform for Indian small and medium businesses (SMBs) and retailers, has raised $2 million in its Series A round of funding, led by Nirvana Venture Advisors, an India-focused early-stage technology fund. The round also saw participations from existing investor 500 Startups, besides Beenos Asia Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Japanese e-commerce and incubation company Netprice.

"We've already done a lot of heavy lifting in the past year helping design software, integrations and processes to solve pain points in building a website, a mobile site, integrating a payment gateway and most importantly powering automated and cost-effective shipping for Indian SMEs," said Saahil Goel, CEO and co-founder of KartRocket.

"With the funds, we want to solve the next set of problems around cataloging, mobile, traffic generation & discovery. We're also planning to expand our presence pan-India including a heavy focus on tier II and tier III cities," he added.

Founded in 2012, the firm provides a DIY e-commerce platform that enables Indian SMEs to launch their own e-commerce sites. The offerings include a number of storefront designs, domestic and international payment options, a shipping platform (ShipRocket) integrated with domestic and international logistic carriers, as well as a single shipping dashboard that helps SMEs manage their shipping and returns. Stores on KartRocket are already mobile ready, and the company also helps SMBs sell more (and gain new customers) by integrating the ability to sell and manage orders across leading marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon at the click of a button.

The firm claims to have 1,900 paying customers that include Da Milano, Uni Style Image, Valyoo Technologies, TantraTshirts, Gaurav Gupta, Gyans, Divani, Karol Bagh Saree House and Latin Quarters.

KartRocket had previously raised an undisclosed amount in angel funding from 5ideas Startup Superfuel and 500 Startups, with participation from Jatin Aneja, partner at Amarchand Mangaldas, in July 2013. It mainly competes with Shopify, Zepo and Infibeam's BuildaBazaar.

"We're seeing great benefits from providing end-to-end services to Indian retailers under one roof, without burning a hole in their pocket, and want to continue along that line of sight," said Gautam Kapoor, COO and co-founder of KartRocket.com. "There's a huge untapped market opportunity in India in this space, and the funds raised will help us amplify our reach across the country. We're confident of acquiring 10,000 paying customers in one year from today," Kapoor added.

Nirvana is an early-stage VC fund exclusively focused on internet, mobile and e-payments space. "KartRocket has rapidly proven that they can service the Indian SME market by offering a true end-to-end e-commerce platform on a subscription model. The team has made tremendous progress in the last year," said Rajan Mehra, MD of Nirvana.

Last December, Beenos had invested in Mumbai-based online payments firm Citrus.