Participated · Series C · Dec 2017

Skymet provides climate, weather and crop analytics to insurance companies, banks, agribusinesses and public-sector institutions, and operates as a rural fintech platform for insurers and banks to support claim settlement and product design. The company runs about 6,000 automatic weather stations (AWS) covering nearly the entire country and says it directly or indirectly reaches more than two million farmers. Its product set includes weather data, crop measurement and climate analytics, used to substantiate insurance claims and forecast risk. Skymet also supports disaster management activities and positions its technologies as tools to mitigate weather-related risks for farmers. The company plans to expand its AWS network and secure new business in weather data, crop measurement, climate analytics and disaster management. Management has signaled possible future expansion to other developing economies with limited weather-data availability. Skymet provides short-range, medium-range, and seasonal weather forecasts alongside agricultural risk solutions such as crop area and yield forecasts, remote sensing, and agricultural insurance product development. Its services are delivered via the web and Android platforms. The company plans to expand its weather monitoring network and introduce new instrumentation to track hail and frost. Skymet will use funding for R&D to improve weather and crop-area/yield forecasting and to expand its market in India and abroad. It also plans to relaunch its website to serve consumers across Asia and Africa with forecasts in seven languages, including Hindi and Marathi. Skymet was founded in 2003 by Jatin Singh and is based in Noida and Mumbai.

Led · Series B · May 2017

Yopa is a London-based full-service, fixed-fee estate agent that leverages proprietary technology to deliver an improved customer experience for a low fixed fee and a No Sale, No Fee option. Launched 2.5 years ago and led by CEO Ben Poynter, the company operates a network of 140 local agents nationwide. It completed a £20m funding round that brings total equity funding to over £75m. Yopa intends to use the funds to expand its agent network, further enhance its proprietary technology, and continue evolving its product offering. The company will also support development of its customer service centre in Watford. Yopa positions itself as a disruptor to traditional high-street agencies by cutting unnecessary costs and using scale and technology to improve the selling experience. YOPA is a UK-based proptech hybrid estate agency that enables customers to sell property via an online platform for a fixed fee of £839. The company operates a network of 75 local estate agents across the UK and said it plans to double that number by the end of 2017. YOPA raised a £15 million Series B led by Daily Mail and General Trust, with participation from Grosvenor Hill Ventures. This Series B follows a £16 million Series A raised the prior year, bringing total disclosed funding to £31 million. Management cited a strong first quarter of trading as context for the raise. Industry experts quoted in the article predict online and hybrid estate agents could handle up to 50% of sales by 2020, supporting YOPA's expansion plans.

Participated · Series A · Nov 2015

EatFirst is an online restaurant that operates out of London and Berlin. The company was incubated by Rocket Internet and is led by co-founder and CEO Rahul Parekh. EatFirst discussed its online-restaurant model in a TechCrunch interview with Parekh. It recently closed an $8 million Series A round. Backers named in the round include Rocket Internet, Holtzbrinck Ventures, and U.K. media company DMGT. Parekh and the TechCrunch author noted they had mistakenly referred to the amount in euros during the interview.

Participated · Series B · Jun 2015

Brit + Co is a San Francisco-based media startup that creates digital content and branded merchandise targeting women. The company operates online content, video tutorials (priced at $20–$50 per class) and a partnership merchandise line with Target. Brit + Co plans to expand its digital content offerings and build more branded merchandise tied to the Target partnership. The company reports estimated reach of 125 million monthly unique visitors across its website and social platforms, with about 70% of users in the U.S. Revenue from paid videos and Target merchandise has moved the business closer to profitability, and management expects to reach profitability within a year or two. The company employs more than 100 people, primarily in its San Francisco office, and maintains a presence in New York. Brit + Co operates a curated lifestyle media site and an e-commerce marketplace aimed at craft- and maker-minded users. The company sells classes and bundled supply kits (it has sold 15,000 classes and kits) and runs an Etsy-style marketplace alongside advertising. Brit + Co reports 12 million monthly unique users, growing threefold year-over-year, and strong social engagement (Pinterest posts averaged ~50,000 repins daily). Today the business is making the majority of its sales from advertising, but management says classes and kits are growing faster and expects those revenues to surpass ad sales next year; the company is not disclosing absolute revenue figures. The company is expanding its native content and brand-matching efforts to create sponsored maker content and revenue shares. Brit + Co also completed its first acquisition, buying Snapguide’s website, app (renamed “Snapguide by Brit + Co”), its network of users, 100,000 DIY guides and the underlying technology; only one Snapguide employee joined with the deal. Brit + Co is a technology-driven media company that combines editorial content, native mobile apps, and e-commerce aimed at DIY and maker audiences. Since its late 2011 launch the company has grown to a staff of 16 with more than 100 editorial contributors and built native apps for iOS, Android, and Windows. It reports rapid audience growth—11x year-over-year—with strong engagement: 50% of monthly uniques visit weekly and 20% visit daily, and 60% of visitors access the site via mobile. Revenue sources include partnerships, advertising, events, subscription commerce, and premium services such as custom domains on Weduary, and the company has been monetizing from day one. Brit + Co emphasizes building technology in-house to support content and user experience. Future plans include further mobile platform development, expanded social community features, and a larger commerce strategy funded by the new round. Brit launched Weduary, a Facebook app that lets tech-savvy couples build attractive, dynamic wedding websites and leverages the Facebook social graph to import photos, invite guests, coordinate registry details and handle RSVPs. The app also lets guests create personal pages from their Facebook profiles and encourages connections through shared interests. Weduary monetizes via premium features — custom URLs are $15 and premium themes are $20 — while a free version is available. Brit raised a $1.25M seed round from a group of angel and institutional backers to support the product. An iPhone version is coming soon, and the company plans to add more themes and more robust social features. Founder Brit Morin says this is the first Brit app and she is exploring additional verticals including Home, Style, Food and Health.

Led · Series B · Jan 2014

iProf Learning Solutions, founded in 2009 and based in Noida, provides digital education content and school management tools. Its core product is SchoolEra, an automated school management platform the company plans to roll out to more schools in India and internationally. iProf delivers content online and offline (preloaded pen drives, SD cards, tablet PCs and mobile) and offers an Android app that can work without an internet connection. Students can access grade- and subject-based content, view notes, download assignments, and take tests; offerings cover classes IX–XII and entrance tests such as IIT JEE, AIPMT (NEET), and CA-CPT. Clients named in the articles include Macmillan, Simmtronics, Lava, McGraw Hill Education and the state government of Meghalaya, and the firm claims its solutions are used by millions of customers.