American startup Finary secures US $ 3.2 million in seed round
Finary, a New York based social platform for investing, announced on 9th April 2021 that it has raised US $ 3.2 million in its seed funding round. The round was led by Upfront Ventures along with participation from Dash Fund, and angel investors Lenny Rachitsky, Eden Chen, James Beshara and more. Investors: Upfront Ventures is a California, United States, based...
Indian Car Leasing company PumPumPum raises US$ 55M in Pre-Series A round
Gurugram, India-based startup PumPumPum, which offers used car leasing in the corporate and retail segment, raised US$ 55M (Rs 5.5 crores) in pre-Series A round on 9 April 2021. Investors: The funding round was led by Inflection Point Ventures. Other participants included Lets Venture and Agility Ventures. Purpose of the funding: PumPumPum will utilise the capital for category disruption, consumer awareness,...
Chinese ride-hailing company DiDi Chuxing files for U.S. IPO
Chinese ride-hailing company DiDi Chuxing has filed confidentially with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an IPO (initial public offering) on 9 April 2021. IPO Details: Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley will act as underwriters. DiDi Chuxing is said to be raising US$ 1.5 billion in debt financing ahead of a blockbuster U.S. IPO through a revolving...
A brief history of venture capitalism
Introduction The term "venture capital" (VC) is perhaps one of the most common concepts in the world of startups today. It talks about an investment style where an individual or a company provides the needed capital to startups that show high-growth potential in exchange for an equity stake. To truly understand, thrive in, and perhaps, shape the future of the...
HR tech startup Phenom raises US$ 100M in Series D
US-based Phenom People, an HR tech startup, raised US$ 100 million in a Series D funding round on 7 April 2021. Investors: B Capital Group, Dragoneer Investment Group, Omers Growth Equity and GoldenArc Capital participated in the funding round. The startup is now valued at US$ 1.4 billion. Purpose of the funding: The funds raised will be utilized to evolve the...
Gupshup becomes India’s 10th Unicorn this year after raising US$ 100M from Tiger Global
India-based conversational messaging startup, Gupshup became the tenth startup to join India’s unicorn club this year, after raising US$ 100 million in Series F funding on 8 April 2021. The company increased its value by ten-folds to US$ 1.4B. Gupshup’s last funding round was in 2011. In 2020, the company saw an annual revenue run rate of US$ 150 million. Investors:...
Egyptian fintech startup Paymob secures US $ 15 million in Series A
Paymob, a Cairo based Egyptian digital payments enabler, announced on 8th April 2021 that it has raised US $ 15 million in its series A round. The round was led by Global Ventures along with participation from FMO and A15. Investors: Global Ventures is a Dubai, UAE, based venture capital firm that mainly invests in, in its own words, emerging...
Community driven adulthood simplifying platform Realworld secures US $ 3.4 million
Realworld, a New York based startup, announced on 9th April 2021 that it has raised US $ 3.4 million in its seed funding round. The round was led by Fitz Gate Ventures along with participation from Techstars, Knightgate Ventures, Human Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Underdog Labs and more. Investors: Fitz Gate Ventures is a Houston, United States, based venture...
Online fitness platform Moxie raises US $ 6.3 million
Moxie, an American startup, announced on 8th April 2021 that it has raised US $ 6.3 million in its seed funding round. The round was led by Resolute Ventures along with participation from Taurus Ventures, Interplay Ventures, Greycroft, Burst Capital and a few notable angel investors. Investors: Resolute Ventures is a California, United States, based venture capital firm that was...
Barriers to entry: Methods used by organisations to deter competition
Startup founders come up with great ideas for their businesses, but what is to prevent others from copying their ideas? This is where barriers to market entry come in. Barriers to entry like patents, government regulations, innovative skill set etc help startups in obtaining an initial headstart and grabbing a sizeable piece of the market share before new entrants...
