Apr 4, 2014

Ecommerce software startup Browntape raises funding from Seedfund, K Ganesh Browntape founders Gurpreet Singh (left) and Piyush Goel Porvorim, Goa headquartered Browntape Technologies , developer of a multichannel online sales management software for online merchants, has raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Seedfund and serial entrepreneur and angel investor Krishnan Ganesh. The stage of investment has not been specified. Following the investment, Seedfund’s Paula Mariwala joins the Browntape board, the firm said in a statement today. Browntape, founded in 2012, was also part of GSF Accelerator’s 12-week programme, where it was mentored by former Sierra Ventures partner Vispi Daver. Daver is now a formal advisor to Browntape. Browntape has two founders — Piyush Goel and Gurpreet Singh. While working on his PhD in artificial intelligence in the UK, Goel, who was also selling electronic gadgets on eBay at the time, built Scrobbld.com, an online sales management software which became the foundation for Browntape. Post his PhD, however, he set Scrobbled aside and in 2009 went on to join Goa based web agency DotAhead (now known as ScreenRoot) where Singh was the CEO. The two subsequently joined hands to create Browntape. How Browntape works Most brands and individual sellers today, apart from their exclusive websites, have an extensive presence across multiple online marketplaces such as Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon and eBay. In order to fulfill an order and manage inventory, sellers need to log in manually to each site and maintain a separate excel sheet for a comprehensive record. The process is cumbersome and time consuming. Through Browntape, sellers can track the status of orders and bulk-print shipping labels and invoices on one screen/ platform through a multi-channel order fulfillment software. At present any merchant can start using the Browntape software online free of charge. The company starts charging a nominal fee only after the merchant starts to process more than 100 orders a month. For merchants who already process 1,000 orders a month, the company’s entry package starts at Rs 999 per month. The company also offers an enterprise model wherein it appoints an expert who acts as a partner for retailers and helps them grow their sales from online channels. This model is targeted at large brands and retailers who have little or no experience in jumpstarting and scaling sales on multiple online marketplaces. At present, the company claims that more than 500 sellers in India have signed up for the service. Customers include herbal products manufacturer Organic India, Aryuvedic products company Shree Ganga Depot, and multi-retail brand CMM Retail. It will soon launch a new product feature wherein, when a seller uploads his/ her products to Browntape, the product will gets published on all his/ her online stores. The upcoming service is dubbed multi-channel catalogue management. What’s the latest at Seedfund Browntape is the first deal that Mumbai based Seedfund is announcing this year. The firm typically invests at the seed and Series A stage and is currently investing from a $54 million fund raised in early 2011. It had a relatively quiet year in terms of dealmaking in 2013, after closing a very active year in 2012 with 10 deals.Two deals from last year include a follow-on round in Mumbai based dental service chain MyDentist and, a $3 million follow-on round in Delhi based online publisher Banyan Netfaqs . The current year kicked off for the firm in somewhat unsavoury fashion. In January, portfolio company Innoz, developer of an SMS-powered search engine, saw its founder team move on to start new ventures. One half of the four member founder team, Deepak Ravindran and Mohammed Hisamuddin, have moved to California to start Quest, a question-and-answer app for smartphones. Seedfund had invested $3 million in Innoz as part of the company’s Series A round and was last reported to be in the process of recovering that investment. Other ecommerce companies in the firm’s portfolio include DonebyNone , and fashion and apparel estore Festise (which folded operations last year). Image credit: Browntape Technologies/ Seedfund Share this post