Flash.co, an ecommerce startup founded by former Flipkart Senior Vice-President Ranjith Boyanapalli, has completed a $6.7 million Pre-Series A investment round led by Blume Ventures and existing investor PeerCapital.
Other existing investors including White Venture Capital and Emphasis Ventures also participated in the funding round.
Including the current capital, Flash.co’s total funding stands at $12.5 million. The Bengaluru-based startup plans to use the capital to strengthen its position as one of the leading lifestyle apps for shoppers. One of its distinctive features, it says, is the world’s first email tailored exclusively for shopping.
Flash.co has secured this recent funding round within five months of its app launch in April 2023. Its email platform has managed more than eight million emails, with users having placed over 1 million orders encompassing over 1000 brands using their Flash.co email IDs, according to a press release.
The company is also embarking on an ambitious international expansion with the goal of establishing a global presence by 2024.
One securing the funding, Boyanapalli, said, “From processing our very first email to crossing the 8 million mark in five months is a testament to the trust and support of our users. We are just getting started and I am very excited to have such high-quality investors in the company and we look forward to our next phase of growth.”
India has about 25 million power shoppers—consumers who make frequent purchases. These account for almost 70% of online shopping revenue. This demographic is expected to expand to 65 million by 2030.
Power shoppers encounter various challenges, including issues related to spam, order tracking, and a lack of rewards. Flash.co addresses these challenges by providing a seamless shopping tracking experience, maintaining a spam-free inbox, offering valuable spend insights, and delivering personalized lifestyle rewards tailored to individual shopping behaviors.
“The idea of simplifying an individual’s digital commerce lifecycle by unifying it into a single comprehensive mailbox, thereby deriving substantial benefits for the customer, is a compelling value proposition whose time has come. We partnered with Ranjith, inspired by his bold ambition to develop a world-class product in India that will resonate globally,” Karthik Reddy, co-founder and managing partner of Blume Ventures, said.
“We are delighted to be doubling down on Flash and our collaboration with Ranjith is driven by his ambitious vision as Flash stands on the brink of becoming a globally transformative, game-changing company. We are thrilled to be part of Flash’s journey which creates endless possibilities for consumers and brands in enriching shopping experiences,” Ankur Pahwa. Managing Partner of PeerCapital shared.
The company is backed by prominent global venture capital firms such as Global Founders Capital, Soma Capital, Zinal Growth as well as noted angel investors including Binny Bansal (Co-founder, Flipkart), Kunal Shah (Founder, CRED), Sujeet Kumar (Co-Founder, Udaan) and others.
In November 2022, Flash.co had also secured a $5.8 million seed round.
