Home Decor And Furnishings Startup MyGubbi Raises $2.5 Mn Pre Series A Funding

Bengaluru-based home decor and furnishings startup MyGubbi has secured $2.5 Mn Pre-Series A funding in a round led by the family office of Firoze Irani. The round also saw participation from existing investors, including Bigbasket co-founder Vipul Parekh, NeoBytes founder Ananda Kallugadde and InfosysBSE President Rajesh K Murthy.

As per reports, the newly-raised funding will be spent on accelerating the startup’s growth and expansion.

Commenting on the development, MyGubbi co-founder Umesh Sangurmath said, “The funds raised will primarily be used to strengthen operations in our current cities i.e. Bangalore, Chennai, Pune & Mangalore. In the immediate future we intend to expand to Hyderabad, as well. Our core focus would be to enhance customer delight through our distinctive experience centre”

The startup previously raised $2.5 Mn Seed funding in March 2016 from Vipul Parekh, co-founder of Big Basket, Ananda Kallugadde, co-Founder of NeoBytes and Rajesh K Murthy, EVP of Infosys. At the time, it was reported that the company would use the capital to secure a sizeable share of the country’s fast-evolving home interiors market.

MyGubbi was ideated by two friends and former executives of IT companies, Ravi Rao (former executive of Infosys) and Umesh Sangurmath (former executive of Wipro). They founded the startup in 2015, along with Aiyappa A.S and Sunil Rao.

According to Sangurmath, MyGubbi is envisioned as an ecommerce platform that offers interior and furnishing solutions to buyers. It provides end-to-end home decor solutions from designing to execution, along with the providing customise furnishing for each home buyer.

MyGubbi co-founder Ravi Anand Rao added, “Since its inception, MyGubbi has concentrated on modular furniture, but given that décor & furnishing also play an integral role in setting up the home, we intend to further strengthen our presence in these categories.”

With the help of a team of in-house designers, the home decor and furnishings company offers a range of customised designs and 3D renders that can be accessed by customers. Buyers can decide on the décor and furnishing either on their own or with assistance from the MyGubbi Experts.

The company boasts strong local ecosystems of vendors and service providers. MyGubbi currently uses automated tools to streamline their process right from the inception of the project until the delivery of the same. This helps reduce their lead time, which otherwise has been a major concern in this industry. Till date, MyGubbi has furnished more than 600 homes.

Fundings Aplenty In The Indian Home Decor And Furnishings Market

According to a report by Technopak, home furnishings will be a $30 Bn market in India by 2020, which also includes modular fixtures and décor products. In the home interiors sector, MyGubbi competes directly with modular home furnishing solutions provider Homelane.

In January 2017, B2B furniture solutions provider Hipcouch secured $700K angel funding. The startup functions as a B2B portal, connecting furniture designers with verified vendors who create the furniture as per the orders from the designer.

In October 2016, Hyderabad-based Foyr raised an undisclosed amount of funding from JLL India Real Estate Technology Ventures. In addition to offering customised interior design and end-to-end execution services, the startup provides creative visualisation of real estate spaces.

In September 2016, Mumbai-based furniture and home marketplace Pepperfry raised about $31 Mn (INR 210 Cr) in funding from Goldman Sachs, Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), and Zodius Technology Fund.

Earlier in August, home decor startup Livspace closed a $15 Mn (INR 100 Cr) funding round from existing backers Bessemer Venture Partners, Jungle Ventures and Helion Ventures. It had earlier raised $8 Mn in 2015 as part of an internal round of funding led by Helion Ventures, Jungle Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners. The round also saw participation from prominent angels, including Gokul Rajaram.

In June last year, online furniture retailer Urban Ladder raised $3 Mn in venture debt from Trifecta Capital. According to documents filed with the Registrar of Companies, the investment was done against the issue of non-convertible debentures and compulsorily convertible preference shares.

Other startups in this segment include Housify, Furdo and FabFurnish, among others. Although still relatively young, MyGubbi looks to utilise the newly-secured Pre-Series A funding to strengthen its presence in the country’s fast-growing home decor and furnishings market.