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Bangalore-based automotive services marketplace startup Cartisan, has raised an undisclosed round of funding led by Yuvraj Singh’s YouWeCan Ventures, TaxiForSure’s co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna.
Other investors who have invested in this round of funding include, Global Founders Capital (GFC), the multistage European investment firm formed by Oliver and Marc Samwer, the founders of German consumer internet incubator Rocket Internet.
The funds will be used for expanding in 5 metro cities including Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Hyderabad by the end of this year.
On this develpment, Yuvraj Singh, founder of YouWeCan Ventures, said, “We believe in Cartisan’s vision to simplify car care. It’s an innovative product catering to all the servicing related needs of a car owner. By investing in Cartisan, we want to help service providers grow their business and car owners to make an informed choice when it comes to servicing their beloved cars.”
Launched in June by Venkat Sreeram, Sharath Murthy, Pete Bulley and Rajat Patni, the startup helps car owners find the nearest, best value, quality car service providers and easy-to-book services which includes car washes to regular maintenance and more. In simple words, Cartisan is a go-to platform that is easy to operate, hassle-free and requires minimum effort. And as per the company, booking for a service takes less than 30 seconds.
Operational only in Bangalore, the startup has already enrolled 100+ service providers on their platform including biggies such as 3M Car Care, Bosch Car Service, Eco car care and Cherry agencies.
Currently, the users can use the website and Cartisan Android-app for making an appointment. However, the iOS version of the app is still in development and should be out within a couple of weeks. According to the company, 70% of the appointments are enrolled through the website while 30% through the mobile-app; the startup aims more enrolments through mobile app.
One of the co-founders of Cartisan, Sharath Murthy said, “As a car owner I find it challenging to know the prevalent prices in the market for car services and compare what other car owners have experienced with when they deal with car services in the locality. I always wanted to try out better mechanics that handle my car brand and provide transparency and quality work but never found a single site or app where all car service specialists were listed together. Cartisan is that go-to place for all car owners going ahead where they find the best quality specialists.”
The app does not charge from users or service providers and as of now since it is working on building valuable customers. However, the monetisation process would be adhered after the expansion plan.
How does it work
A car owner can make an appointment for a car service by simply giving in the details about the car and the type of service they want. Based on estimated prices, distance and reviews, a owner can decide whether to make the service appointment or not. After the service provider accepts the appointment, the car owner is then notified with an SMS; which includes details like his vehicle service status, work completion and also delivery of the vehicle along with notifying the owner.
Cartisan’s app provides services like car wash including interior and exterior wash and complete car detailing. It also provides pickup and drop facility, as well as doorstep services.
Presenting his views on Cartisan, TaxiForSure’s co-founder Aprameya said, “Cartisan is looking to disrupt the automotive services space by bringing innovative services, transparency in pricing and service quality with comparative price estimates and ratings.”
This is the sixth investment announced by YouWeCan Ventures which puts in about INR 1 Cr. to INR 1.5 Cr. in startups. For GFC, this is the second investment as per their announcement. The Samwers, through Rocket Internet, is backing number of Indian companies including Foodpanda and Jabong. While, TaxiForSure’s co-founder Radhakrishna has alone invested in about six startups, with an average ticket size ranging between INR 10 lakh and INR 40 lakh.
The automotive after-market servicing business in India is pegged at about $2 bn (excluding spare parts) in 2015 according to CII-ACMA.
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