Former Cleartrip CEO’s Startup FirstClub Bags $8 Mn In Funding

Former Cleartrip CEO’s Startup FirstClub Bags $8 Mn To Expand Its Quick Commerce Play

SUMMARY

The funding round saw participation from prominent investors including Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal, CRED's Kunal Shah, and Myntra's Mukesh Bansal

FirstClub aims to differentiate itself by offering high-quality curated products including fresh foods, bakery items and supplements

The development comes amid increased activity in the quick commerce space, with players like Swish and Blitz raising funds, and Flipkart, Myntra entering the segment

FirstClub, a quick commerce startup floated by former chief executive of Flipkart-owned Cleartrip Ayyappan R, has secured $8 Mn (around INR 68 Cr) as a part of its seed funding round co-led by Accel and RTP Global.

The round also saw participation from Blume Founders Fund, Quiet Capital, 2am VC and a clutch of angel investors, including Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal, CRED founder Kunal Shah, and Myntra founder Mukesh Bansal among others.

The Bengaluru-based startup plans to deploy the fresh capital to build its technology infrastructure, refine omnichannel retail strategy, onboard talent and expand product offerings.

The full platform will go live by the middle of next year, the company said in a statement.

Founded in August 2024 by Ayyappan R, FirstClub claims to be building a member-only retail platform focused on premium products. The startup will initially offer packaged foods, fresh foods, bakery, dairy, nutrition and supplements.

“What differentiates us from the other companies in this space is that we are going to curate a range of only high quality products – fresh, first quality and finest ingredients, some unavailable in the other apps” Ayyappan R told Inc42.

Prior to this, Ayyappan served as CEO of Cleartrip and Senior VP at Flipkart. An XLRI Jamshedpur alumnus, he also held the position of chief business officer at Myntra.

“India is often seen as a mass-market economy, but the time has come to unlock demand by providing access to high-quality, premium products at the right price,” Ayyappan said.

The development comes amid rising investor interest in quick commerce platforms. Recently, Swish secured $2 Mn from Accel for its 10-minute food delivery service, while Blitz raised INR 51 Cr for expanding its 60-minute delivery infrastructure.

Major players are also entering the quick commerce space. Flipkart recently launched ‘Flipkart Minutes’ for 10-minute delivery, while Myntra is piloting ‘M-Now’ for 30-minute to 2-hour deliveries.