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With Ratan Tata picking up a small stake in DogSpot earlier early year, the five-year-old online pet store is getting investor interest from big industrial houses including Kolkata-based Emami Group and Chennai-based Murugappa Group.
After raising about $1 million from individual investors and VC funds, DogSpot is looking to raise up to $10 million as part of its Series A.
“Investments from Ratan Tata have helped in opening up a new channel of funding for us from big business houses that have hitherto stayed away from investing in start-ups. “We now have investor interest from industrial houses based all over the country as we plan to raise $10 million in our Series A round,” said DogSpot founder Rana Atheya.
Other investors in the firm include Dheeraj Jain, partner at UK-based hedge fund Redcliffe Capital, entrepreneurs Ronnie Screwvala and K Ganesh, and early-stage investment firm India Quotient.
“We sent an e-mail to Ratan Tata and were surprised when he called us about two months ago for our business plan. Being a lover of dogs did help, as he simply asked for documentation of my start-up. Today he has not only lent credibility to our portal but energised the entire ecosystem since we have big business houses approaching us as investors,” added Atheya.
Existing investors are also enthused about the new revenue streams which have opened up for the pet portal.
“A host of industrial groups are now taking interest in DogSpot and even sites based in the UK — like Pet at Home — could look at investing in it , if it were to enter India,” said Redcliffe’s Jain. In fact, Jain is expected to help DogSpot scout for UK-based start-ups that may want to enter India and could be potential investors.
Beyond funds“Ratan Tata may have invested about ₹50 lakh for a 1 per cent stake but it has helped us in getting more investor interest. Today DogSpot would have a valuation of about ₹50 crore,” he added.
Dogspot is set to build its private labels, which range from sweet treats to grooming products for pets. “We plan to sell our private labels like PetSpot and Nibbles through offline stores as well and expect 70 per cent of the business to come from our own brands,” added Atheya.
Offline stores are in the offing but may take a while.
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