frendy funding: Social commerce startup Frendy raises Rs 23 crore funding

Bengaluru: Social commerce startup Frendy has raised Rs 23 crore in a funding round led by New York’s Marv Capital and UK-based Centera Fund, with participation from existing investor Desai Family Office and new investors via LetsVenture Angel Fund.

Prominent angel investors including Shalabh Mehrish of Vinson Cap Advisors; Jon Piebenga, partner, Social Venture Partners; Kunal Shah, founder, Cred also participated in the round.

The company said it plans to use the funds primarily for growth, expanding its team and meeting its working capital needs.

It had previously raised Rs 10 crore in a funding round in December 2021.

Frendy, founded by Sameer Gandotra and Gowrav Vishwakarma in 2019, has a team of 100 professionals including its in-house technology team. The startup has a presence in around 25 tier 2-6 towns and over 4,500 products. The company recently forayed into Rajasthan with Madhya Pradesh.

“The company has achieved a revenue of Rs 43 crore in its very first year of operations with break-even unit economics. Frendy is clearly on track to reach an annualised revenue run rate of Rs 300 crore by the end of the financial year,” the company said in a statement on Monday.

Frendy recently appointed a slew of experienced industry veterans, including Harshad Joshi as chief operating officer (COO), and Shilpa Ajwani, former managing director of Tupperware India, as a consulting adviso. It has also hired several mid-career professionals from retail, supply chain and direct sales.

“Entrepreneurial frugality coupled with local knowledge and relationships have been the hallmarks of successful rural distribution businesses and Frendy has adopted this to scale quickly and sustainably with a low capital requirement,” said Gandotra, cofounder of Frendy.

The company said it has an asset-light franchised local distributor model that serves it well in tier 3-6 markets. The startup sells groceries, personal care and home and kitchen essentials on its platform.

“What differentiates Frendy from other community group buying platforms is its Bharat-focussed team that has prior experience and success in building a microentrepreneur business with a capital-efficient execution model,” said Gandotra.

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