Consumer electronics startup boAT gets early-stage funding

Consumer-tech lifestyle startup boAt said on Thursday it has received Rs 6 crore ($900,000) in funding from early-stage venture firm Fireside Ventures.

The startup, operated by Imagine Marketing Pvt. Ltd, was launched in 2016 by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta and is pitching itself as a lifestyle brand. It sells consumer electronics products such as earphones, headphones, speakers and travel chargers.

The company’s aim is to help customers remain connected over “high-quality audio with smart, efficient, stylish and durable ‘hearables’”, it said in a statement.

The company’s products are available on several e-commerce platforms, said Mehta. The statement added that the company is selling 4,200 units per day and three units, on average, every minute.

Gupta was earlier associated with Harman International as director-sales at the US subsidiary of the Samsung group. He also worked with consultancy firm KPMG and had started a venture earlier as well. Mehta’s LinkedIn profile shows he has dabbled in other entrepreneurial venture, too.

Kanwaljit Singh, managing partner at Fireside, said the funding in boAt is in line with the firm’s investment thesis. “We look for brands that have identified white spaces and come up with solutions and products that cater to these target audiences. boAt as a brand is doing exactly that. They have created a product line-up that caters specifically to how the Indian consumer wants to listen to music.”

Fireside, which was founded by Singh after leaving Helion Venture Partners, had marked the final close of its debut fund at Rs 340 crore (about $52 million), surpassing the original target corpus of Rs 300 crore, in March. It had hit the first close of the fund with a commitment of Rs 180 crore in June 2017.

Last month, it led a new round of funding in Pipa + Bella, a private label non-precious jewellery e-tailer.

Its portfolio also includes Yoga Bar, Samosa Singh, Goodness Beverages, Design Café, Bombay Shaving Company, Mama Earth, Vahdam Teas, Kwik 24, Magic Crate and Frog Bikes.