Bike rental startup Tazzo raises seed funding from DSG Consumer Partners

Hyderabad-based tech-enabled motorbike rental startup Tazzo Technologies Pvt. Ltd has received seed funding worth Rs 1.5 crore (around $227,000) from DSG Consumer Partners.

Tazzo will use the funds to enhance technology, build out its fleet and expand to more markets, it said in a statement.

Tazzo is an on-demand delivery platform that offers motorbikes on rent for self driving.

Earlier this year, Kapil Chopra, president of The Oberoi Group had led an angel funding round in Tazzo.

Priyam Saraswat, co-founder of Tazzo told Techcircle.in, "We follow a self-driven model, with an on-demand feature for the first time ever (in India). You can order a bike just like food in 20 minutes and drive it yourself with free delivery and pick up." Saraswat is an IIT Guwahati alumnus.

Customers can track the availability of motorbikes at the nearest bike station and request for a free delivery and pick up at the end of the rental.

Saraswat said, "I was working with Schlumberger in Saudi Arabia and came for a vacation to Hyderabad during which I had to meet my friends living on the other end of city. A taxi ride cost me Rs 600 one way."

"The next day I tried to look for a bus and although it was a cheaper option, I had to change routes thrice and the buses were congested and uncomfortable. That was when he realised there is a problem to solve," Saraswat said.

Tazzo charges upwards from Rs 5 per km which includes fuel and insurance and with no additional delivery and pickup charges.

Using GPS technology the entire fleet is tracked real time with over-speeding and theft alarms for safety and remote locking for convenience.

Its target audience comprises young professionals mostly within the age group of 18-35, students and those who have moved to a new city temporarily. Tazzo plans to expand to other cities in 2017.

Tazzo started operations in January this year with 29 bikes and has scaled to more than 250 bikes in 25 locations by September.

Revenues grew from Rs 2.6 lakh in June to Rs 17.9 lakh in September. The company expects to touch 500 trips a day by the end of this year.

Deepak Shahdadpuri, managing director of DSG Consumer Partners, said, "Tazzo is addressing a large problem in urban India. With rapid urbanisation and rural-urban migration, commuting is a necessity and is a large issue for many, both in terms of cost and convenience."

DSG Consumer Partners is a venture capital fund focused on identifying, selecting and investing in early stage consumer businesses in India and Southeast Asia.

The Singapore-based VC firm had seed funded Oyo in 2013 and 2014, which it partially exited to Japan's SoftBank.

Besides, DSG Consumer Partners has invested in Mumbai-based Mswipe and tea-retail chain Chai Point.

Its investments also include Sula Wines, Saffronart, Cleartrip, Redmart, Veeba Food, Social, Smoke House Deli and Zipdial, which was acquired by Twitter.

Bangalore-based bike rental startup Wheelstreet raised Rs 3.4 crore in seed money from Broadbean Capital in March this year. Bangalore-based Wicked Ride is also a competitor to Tazzo.