Online party planning marketplace Gigstart raises $210K from Snapdeal founders, others

New Delhi-based Alpinismo Online Ventures Pvt Ltd, the company behind Gigstart,

an online marketplace for entertainers and party planners, has received $210,000 (Rs 1.3 crore) in seed funding from a group of investors, including Snapdeal's co-founders Rohit Bansal & Kunal Bahl, Mauritius-based Indian Dream Capital and GSF's Rajesh Sawhney. The round also saw participations from Narendra Singh Rawat, TA Venture Holding Limited, Roshan Abbas, and Anand Chandrasekaran.

The funds will be used to build technology infrastructure, create content and hire talent, in addition to expanding to newer geographies, especially in Tier II and Tier III cities and Dubai. A portion of the capital will also go towards marketing.

"We aim to channelise the funds in a manner that helps us build a world-class product in terms of scale, reach and value," said Atit Jain, co-founder of Gigstart.

The company was founded in December 2013 by Jain, an Electronics and Instrumentation engineer, along with Madhulika Pandey, an Indian classical singer.

Gigstart is an online marketplace that facilitates connections between entertainers including anchors, stand-up comedians, singers, dancers, make-up artists, photographers and other performers, with potential clients. It claims to have verified listings, meaningful reviews and ratings.

In addition to providing options, it also guides party planners to the best-suited artists.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)