Meesho

Meesho is an Indian-origin social commerce platform founded by IIT Delhi graduates Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal in December 2015.[1][2][3] It enables small businesses and individuals to start their online stores via social channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram etc. Meesho is headquartered in Bengaluru, India and was one of the three Indian companies to be selected for Y Combinator in 2016.[4] It was also a part of the first batch of Google Launchpad - Solve for India program.[5] In June 2019, Meesho became India’s first startup to receive investment from Facebook[6].

Meesho
Type of site
Private
Founded(December 2015 (2015-12))
HeadquartersBengaluru, India
Area served
Founder(s)
  • Vidit Aatrey
  • Sanjeev Barnwal
Key people
  • Vidit Aatrey (CEO)
  • Sanjeev Barnwal (CTO)
IndustryIT
Products
  • Mobile App
Services
Employees750+
URLmeesho.com

History

In mid-2015, Aatrey and Barnwal created FashNear, a hyperlocal fashion discovery and commerce app. By end 2015, they pivoted to Meesho, short for "meri shop" (My Shop)[2][3], an app that enabled physical stores to take their inventory online and sell through social channels.[7] Shortly afterwards, Meesho pivoted again, morphing into India’s first online distribution channel for long tail products, providing opportunity for individual resellers to sell these products on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and other social networks.

Funding
  • In July 2016, Meesho was selected by Y Combinator,[1][3] the Mountain View, California-based seed accelerator, for a three-month Summer program where it secured $120,000.[8]
  • Later in August 2016, the startup raised an undisclosed seed round[8] from Indian angel investors VH Capital, Kashyap Deorah, Rajul Garg, Investopad founders Arjun and Rohan Malhotra, Maninder Gulati, Abhishek Jain, and Jaspreet Bindra.
  • In October 2017, Meesho raised $3.1 million Series A funding[9] from investors led by Indian venture capital firm SAIF Partners, bringing its total funding to $3.7 million.[10]
  • Meesho closed its Series B funding round worth $11.5 million led by Sequoia India in June 2018.[11]
  • By November 2018, Meesho closed its Series C raise worth $50 million from China’s Shunwei Capital, DST Partners, RPS Ventures, and earlier investors Sequoia India, SAIF Partners, Venture Highway and Y Combinator.[12]
  • In June 2019, Meesho received Facebook’s maiden investment in an Indian startup.[6]
  • In August 2019, Meesho raised $125 million in Series D round led by Naspers, with participation from existing investors SAIF, Sequoia, Shunwei Capital, RPS and Venture Highway. Facebook and former Vodafone Group CEO Arun Sarin also participated in the round.[13]

Awards & Recognition
  • In August 2016, VC-focused data platform Mattermark ranked Meesho 8 among 25 fastest-growing Y Combinator incubated startups.[14]
  • In July 2017, Deccan Chronicle named Meesho among Top 5 apps for social commerce.[15]
  • In Feb 2018, Forbes India featured Meesho founders Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal in its 30 Under 30 list of young achievers.[2] The startup was also one of the growing Indian businesses to be profiled by Forbes Asia[16] in the same year.
  • In April 2018, Meesho was selected as a part of the first batch of Google Launchpad’s ‘Solve For India’ program for startups building technology solutions for unique Indian challenges.[17]
  • In September 2018, Linkedin named Meesho one among India’s Top 25 startups to work for based on talent pull, employee growth, jobseeker interest and level of professional engagement with its employees.[18]
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See also

References
  1. "Meesho Creates Stores for Indian SMBs Selling Through WhatsApp". Y Combinator.
  2. "Vidit Aatrey & Sanjeev Barnwal: Redefining distribution with Meesho". Forbes India.
  3. "This Y Combinator startup makes it easy to sell on Facebook and WhatsApp but there are many complaints regarding this app. Some customers got poor quality of products are they are not refunded on time". Tech in Asia.
  4. Sharma, Samidha (9 July 2016). "Silicon Valley accelerator YC picks 3 Indian startups for first time". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  5. "Google Launchpad's Solve for India Mentors 10 Startups". NDTV.
  6. "Facebook backs social commerce startup Meesho in first India investment". TechCrunch.
  7. "Meesho wants to make selling through WhatsApp more efficient and less painful". TechCrunch.
  8. "YC-backed Meesho raises funds from a group of angel investors". The Times of India.
  9. "Meesho mops up $3.1 m from SAIF-led investors ". The Economic Times.
  10. "Social commerce startup Meesho gets $3.4M Series A to build a reseller network in India". TechCrunch.
  11. ""Social selling" startup Meesho lands $11.5M Series B led by Sequoia India". TechCrunch.
  12. "Meesho raises $50 million in fresh funding round". Mint.
  13. "India's Meesho raises $125M to expand its social commerce business". TechCrunch.
  14. "The Top 25 Fastest Growing Y Combinator Summer 2016 Demo Day Startups". Mattermark.
  15. "Looking to sell on social media platform- Try out these 5 apps". Deccan Chronicle.
  16. "Forbes 30 Under 30 - Asia - Retail & Ecommerce". Forbes.
  17. "Google to launch an India-focused mentoring program for startups solving local problems". The Economic Times.
  18. "LinkedIn says these are the 25 most attractive startups to work for in India". Moneycontrol.com.

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