Bengaluru-based relocation service provider Pikkol has raised an undisclosed amount in a funding round led by Indian Angel Network.
The investors who participated in the round include Revathy Ashok and Raj Rathi. The latter led the round of investment on behalf of IAN. He will also join the company’s board as a mentor.
Pikkol, a packers and movers startup, was founded by Deepu Chandran, Suraj Valimbe, Siby Mathew and Jayaram Kasivisweswaran in April 2015. It is a tech-centric relocation service provider where users can generate tailor-made solutions for their needs.
The funding will be used for expansion of its operations and product development. They will also focus on enhancing capabilities of moving teams. They are also planning to launch the product for corporates where the HR/Admin departments can manage both employee relocations and office relocations, from booking to billing.
Pikkol is using a logistics-based approach to formulate a network of standardised services. Their algorithm analyses the inventory on the basis of which it computes the vehicle’s size, packaging and pricing. They assign a personal move coordinator to track the movement of orders they receive.
Deepu Chandran, CEO, Pikkol said, “Currently, this unorganised industry is a constant source of dissatisfaction for customers. We felt that many of those problems related to accountability, reliability and transparency could be solved with technology and operational excellence. Customer experience is the key area that we majorly concentrate on. Really delighted that team IAN for backing us up.”
Pikkol integrates with local home service providers for pre and post move assistance. The pre-move services currently include electrical, plumbing, carpentry, appliance uninstallation and installation.
Raj Rathi on behalf of IAN said, “While the traditional players redirect their customers to other vendors without providing any post move assistance, Pikkol aims at providing standardised logistic services with both pre-move and post-move assistance. I am pretty excited to mentor them in their journey of being the market leaders.”
The startup claims to have completed 10,000 moves to more than 40 destinations in India in 2015. In addition to residential relocation, Pikkol also handles vehicle moves, international relocation, commercial relocation and corporate relocations across cities.
Currently, its services are available in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Hyderabad. It also provides relocation services abroad to various locations including the US, Middle East, Europe and Singapore. It also provides on-demand storage and warehouse services.
IAN has made 17 investments so far in 2016 which include a virtual reality platform SmartVizX $1 Mn investment in NFX Digital. Gurgaon-based lifestyle startup Little Black Book also raised $1.2 Mn from the Indian Angel Network. Other companies in IAN’s portfolio include Paytunes, Oneway Cab, Square plum technologies, FindMyStay, Wiwigo, Roast Media Pvt. Ltd and Staqu.
IAN usually invests up to $1 Mn (INR 6.6 Cr), with an average of about $400-600K and exiting in three-five year period through a strategic sale. It consists of 400 investors from over 10 countries.
