Bengaluru-based start-up Gapoon raises $2.5 lakh in pre-series A round

Bengaluru: Bengaluru-based home maintenance services start-up, Gapoon Online Consumer Services Private Limited, has raised USD 2,50,000 in a 'pre-series-A' round.

The investment is led by Vida Ventures and other independent and seasoned investors including Snehal Mantri, Anshu Bahadur, Partner at Cognizant and angel investors from their previous round Pankaj Kapoor, Director at one of the leading investment banks and B V Chandrasekhar, a veteran in the telecom industry.

This investment will be used for new initiatives towards product and technology enhancements, Gapoon Co-founder and CEO Apoorva Mishra said in a statement here.

"In the coming months, we are focused on penetrating deeper into market segments and replicate the success in other cities as well," Apoorva Mishra said in a statement here.

"While customers (both homes and businesses) avail the benefits of our subscription product, the vendors earn up to 40 per cent higher compared to other aggregators. This model drives a favourable unit economics which is easier to replicate in multiple cities."

"I believe this win-win-win model for customers, service providers and aggregators is the only way towards sustainable organisation of this market," the CEO said.

Founded in 2015 by IIT Kanpur graduates Apoorva Mishra, Ankita Asai, Ankit Bindal and Nikhil Gupta from IIT Delhi, Gapoon is a one-stop shop for maintenance services.

The company has pioneered subscription packages offering annual maintenance cover for homes and businesses resulting in long-term partnerships with house owners, developers, property management aggregators, restaurants and retail outlets.

It also operates on an on-demand basis for handymen services like plumbing, electrical, deep cleaning, pest control and mason, among other things.

Ankit Solanki, Advisor at Vida Ventures, said Gapoon's technology optimizes all elements of the equation, which are cost of acquiring supply, clients and the cost of servicing clients.

"This round of investment will enable them to expand their lead in Bengaluru and replicate their model in other demand hotspots across the country," he said.

Apart from the convenience of offering a wide range of services under one umbrella, Gapoon's key features include its year-long warranty on all services among other things.