Exclusive: Online wedding gift registry ForMyShaadi close to raising seed funding

Delhi-based BRM E-Commerce Retail Pvt Ltd, which runs online wedding gift registration platform ForMyShaadi.com, is close to raising seed funding of $300,000 (around Rs 2 crore) from angel investors.

Akshay Maheshwari, director, ForMyShaadi told Techcircle.in that the talks with investors are in their last leg and the startup aims to raise at least $300,000. According to Maheshwari, a Mumbai-based angel network is the prospective investor.

"We look to secure the funds shortly and make an announcement within the next few weeks," said Maheshwari, adding that the funds would be primarily used for marketing initiatives and customer acquisition.

Mumbai Angels, Indian Angel Network and Lead Angels are among the well-known Mumbai-based angel investor platforms active in the startup investment space.

Launched in February this year by Sudha Maheshwari, ForMyShaadi allows prospective couples to enter their wish list of gifts which could be a mix of products and experiences. The wish list then goes to friends and families who can then choose to fulfil the wishes by purchases on the platform. Users also have the option of chipping in for high-value gifts.

Users can choose from about 40 offerings classified under 10 broad categories that include clothing, accessories, beauty and grooming, personal electronics, furniture and furnishing, décor and electronics, luxury holidays, dining and entertainment, spa, salon and fitness, and luxury holidays.

Currently, the platform has over 800 stock keeping units or SKUs across different categories and has partnered with over 60 partners across categories. ForMyShaadi charges a commission on every order that is registered on its portal. The company is looking to introduce differentiated services to paid users and advertisements on the website as potential future revenue streams.

"This is close to a 100-year-old concept in the West and we want to bring this to India. It's a practical and personalised approach to the concept of gifting," said Sudha Maheshwari, founder and CEO, ForMyShaadi.

Sudha Maheshwari is an alumni of Warwick Business School and has previously worked with Citibank, Deloitte and Philip Morris.

According to her, the wedding gifting segment is expected to be a Rs 1800 crore business opportunity in India by 2020.

ForMyShaadi estimates the current size of the Indian wedding industry to be $40 billion (around Rs 2,64,700 crore), growing at over 25 per cent annually. It estimates the average wedding budget for an Indian middle-class family at around Rs19 lakh. For upper-middle families, it can cross Rs.5.5 crore. The startup is looking at the upper middle class segment as its target audience.

While ForMyShaadi has no direct competitors in the wedding gift registry space as of now, in the broader online gifting space it could compete with the likes of GiftXoXo, Giveter, Giftbig, Indiangiftsportal, Gifts2India, BuddyGifting, Wishpicker and Giftology.