On Demand Furniture Rental Startup, CityFurnish, Raises Seed Fund

Gurgaon-based Magneto Home Pvt Ltd owned CityFurnish, an on-demand furniture rental platform, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed round funding from Jitendra Gupta, co-founder at Citrus Pay.


CityFurnish’s idea was conceptualised by Neerav Jain in August, 2015 but was launched in late September. The startup offers furniture, furnishings and appliances on rent. It has tied-up with third-party providers through a marketplace model besides keeping inventory on its books.


Currently, the startup is offering its services in Gurgaon and Delhi-NCR region. The company has already furnished 175 properties and is looking to furnish 200 more by January, 2016. Besides, the company is also looking to expand its arm to Bangalore market soon.


The raised funds will be utilised to strengthen CityFurnish’s core team, improve product management and order fulfilment.


CityFurnish has also launched a great offer for startups and early stage businesses, offering 3 months free furniture on subscription of 12 months plan.


Other players who raised funding in this space include, online home appliances & furniture rental startup, RentoMojo – raised $1.96 Mn from IDG Ventures India and Accel Partners India; and Furlenco – raised $6 Mn in a Series A funding round led by LightBox VC.


Resource: http://inc42.com/flash-feed/cityfurnish-raises-seed-fund/

Furniture rental company Furlenco to raise $20 million

Bengaluru-based furniture rental start-up is in advanced talks to raise a series B funding of $20-30 million to expand its operations.


The three-year-old start-up, which was founded by former Goldman Sachs VP, Ajith Karimpana, raised $6 million in series A funding in March from Lighbox Ventures. So far, the company has raised ₹40 crore. Lightbox is also participating in the fresh funding round.


“We have grown from 180 customers in February this year to about 1,600 in Bengaluru itself. Since it is a capital-intensive business, we have used $4.5 million of the $6-million raised for asset buying,” Karimpana told BusinessLine. He said Furlenco has started a pilot in Mumbai already and plans to go aggressive in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Gurgaon.


“We already have 100 customers in Mumbai even before the official launch. Soon, we’ll go big bang in the city with a new range specifically targeted for Mumbai apartments,” Karimpana said.


“Young professionals are always on the move. According to a study, urban Indians move houses once every three years for various reasons. That makes it financially unviable for them to buy and tag along their furniture wherever they go. And that gives a big business opportunity to us,” Karimpana said. Furlenco was started in 2012 with a focus on furniture rental for expats. However, given the small market size, the company decided to reduce its rentals, which now start at ₹1,000 a month to an average of ₹3,500 per month, to tap into a larger market and act as an uber for furniture rentals.


“Seeing a huge initial success, we are now also planning to offer home décor and home appliances on rent,” Karimpana said.


Furnlenco has tied up with refurbished home appliance provider Greendust to provide special packages to its customers.


Greendust is also funded by Lightbox Ventures.


Resource: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/real-estate/furniture-rental-company-furlenco-to-raise-20-million/article7716183.ece