Shared Accommodation Startup Square Plums Raises $446K From IAN

Shared accommodation startup, Square Plums has raised $446K (INR 3 Cr) in a  funding round led by IAN. Entrepreneurs and IAN investors VGN Prakash, Amitabh Shrivastava, Krishna Jha and Ravindra Krishnappa. As a part of deal, VGN Prakash will be joining the company’s board.

Square Plums was founded in February 2016 by BITS Pilani alumni Rajesh Kumar Kotta and Hemant Attray. The startup was joined by Krishna Jha (partner Telnet Ventures) during its seed stage funding.

The Problem And The Solution

Finding an apartment to rent comes with hell number of problems. One needs to engage a broker, visit multiple apartments before finding a suitable one and the options available online do not come much handy. This is a much bigger problem for singles. Adding on, need to make security deposits and sometimes buying/renting furniture becomes heavy on pocket. Rajesh spotted the problem and found an opportunity. He teamed up with Hemant to launch Square Plums.

Bangalore-based Square Plums provides fully furnished houses to bachelors, and also helps users to find a roommate. It also helps owners by letting out a fully furnished house with up to 50% higher rentals without even spending on furnishing the house. Currently, the accommodation options are available only in Bangalore.

The raised funds will be used for expansion plans in five cities including Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad. The startup is also in process of launching its app in the coming week. .

Earlier this month, Bangalore-based SimplyMoveIn raised an undisclosed amount in angel funding from Hong Kong-based investment firm Swastika Co. Ltd.