BookMeIn raises $377K for hyperlocal services play

BookMeIn, an online marketplace for booking hyperlocal services, has raised $377,000 (Rs 2.5 crore) in angel funding from Ajmera Group of Companies, BookMeln co-founder Siddharth Dalal told Techcircle.in.

BookMeIn, run by Aadya Webservices Pvt Ltd, will use the money to add more categories to its product portfolio and for geographical expansion.

The development was first reported by The Economic Times, citing Dalal.

The startup, which allows customers to book appointments for services related to health and wellness, beauty and fitness and spiritual healing, is currently operational in Mumbai.

It claims to process 150 orders a day.

BookMeIn was started by Siddharth, Ekta Dalal, Nidhi Chandel and Chaitanya Chandel in 2014. Dalal, who handles operations, marketing and investor relationship at the startup, is a management graduate from the University of Wales. He has over a decade of experience in sales and marketing, having worked with Robosoft Solutions, Team Computers and TRU group. Ekta worked at Business Today and Delhi Press before, while Nidhi, an alumnus of Mumbai University, is an architect. Chaitanya is an ex-Indian Navy serviceman.

Companies operating local services on a marketplace model have been attracting a lot of investor attention. Flatpebble, an online marketplace for pre-packed services from photographers, videographers and stylists, announced last week that it has secured $600,000 in seed funding from Indian Angel Network (IAN).

Other companies that raised funding include Fixy (VentureNursery), UrbanClap (Accel & Saif Partners), LocalOye (Tiger Global and Lightspeed), Qyk (Zishaan Hayath, co-founder, Toppr.com; Abhishek Goyal, co-founder, Tracxn.com; and Delhivery co-founder Sahil Barua), Near.in (led by Anupam Mittal, CEO of People Group, and Manish Vij of Smile Vun Group), FindYahan (led by Karan Bajwa, managing director of Microsoft India), TaskBob (Orios Venture Partners & Mayfield India) and UrbanPro.com (Nirvana Ventures).

The 47-year-old Ajmera Group is a realty firm. The company has presence in and around Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Bangalore, in addition to an international project in Bahrain.