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Web and technology entrepreneurs Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan have made an investment in Urban Ladder, online furniture and home décor company. The Silicon Valley-based entrepreneurs have come on board as investors at a time when the company is ramping up its technology platforms and offerings, to redefine furniture shopping in India.
The company is working on several tech innovations to solve complex furniture e-commerce problems. Some of the key focus areas for Urban Ladder are mobile, data and analytics and product visualisation. In an effort to provide world-class furniture shopping solutions, the company will triple the size of its tech team in the next six months.
“We are thrilled to have veterans like Anand and Venky onboard as investors to mentor and guide us. They have done some fantastic work in technology, and set very high global benchmarks. It is great that they believe in the potential of the Indian e-commerce industry and are reinvesting in the ecosystem,” said Ashish Goel, chief executive officer (CEO) & co-founder, Urban Ladder.
Anand and Venky co-founded Junglee Corp in 1996, and pioneered internet comparison shopping. They co-founded Cambrian Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund in 2000, and Kosmix, a website that organises the internet by topic in 2005. In 2011, Kosmix was acquired by Wal-Mart and both Anand and Venky headed the WalmartLabs operations till June 2012.
“Furniture and home décor is a highly unorganised category in India, and Urban Ladder has been able to fill the gap by finding great solutions for customers. The company’s journey has been very impressive. It’s a great team, off to a terrific start, and well-positioned to be the leading furniture and home décor company in India,” said Anand Rajaraman, founding partner, Cambrian Ventures.
Urban Ladder is on a massive growth path to achieve its vision of making a million homes beautiful. The company is strengthening its product portfolio and introducing new categories, along with geographical expansion to 30 cities by the end of the year. Urban Ladder has thus far raised $77 million from Sequoia Capital, TR Capital, Kalaari Capital, SAIF Partners and Steadview Capital in the last three years. Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus, Tata Group, made a personal investment in the company in November 2014.
The company is working on several tech innovations to solve complex furniture e-commerce problems. Some of the key focus areas for Urban Ladder are mobile, data and analytics and product visualisation. In an effort to provide world-class furniture shopping solutions, the company will triple the size of its tech team in the next six months.
“We are thrilled to have veterans like Anand and Venky onboard as investors to mentor and guide us. They have done some fantastic work in technology, and set very high global benchmarks. It is great that they believe in the potential of the Indian e-commerce industry and are reinvesting in the ecosystem,” said Ashish Goel, chief executive officer (CEO) & co-founder, Urban Ladder.
Anand and Venky co-founded Junglee Corp in 1996, and pioneered internet comparison shopping. They co-founded Cambrian Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund in 2000, and Kosmix, a website that organises the internet by topic in 2005. In 2011, Kosmix was acquired by Wal-Mart and both Anand and Venky headed the WalmartLabs operations till June 2012.
“Furniture and home décor is a highly unorganised category in India, and Urban Ladder has been able to fill the gap by finding great solutions for customers. The company’s journey has been very impressive. It’s a great team, off to a terrific start, and well-positioned to be the leading furniture and home décor company in India,” said Anand Rajaraman, founding partner, Cambrian Ventures.
Urban Ladder is on a massive growth path to achieve its vision of making a million homes beautiful. The company is strengthening its product portfolio and introducing new categories, along with geographical expansion to 30 cities by the end of the year. Urban Ladder has thus far raised $77 million from Sequoia Capital, TR Capital, Kalaari Capital, SAIF Partners and Steadview Capital in the last three years. Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus, Tata Group, made a personal investment in the company in November 2014.
