The Venture Codex

Led · Series B · Sep 2022

Not So Dark builds and launches digital food delivery brands that are sold through existing delivery platforms. After initially operating a network of dark kitchens, the company abandoned that capital-intensive model shortly after its Series A and now partners with existing restaurants to cook delivery-first menus. Not So Dark designs recipes, sources ingredients, and handles marketing and listing optimization while partners cook and fulfill orders, taking a revenue cut akin to a franchise. Its brands — including Vegedal, Como Kitchen, Coquillettes, JFK Burgers, Fat Panda, Gaïa Pita and Walida — appear on Deliveroo and Uber Eats. It currently operates in France and Belgium across 100 cities and employs 150 people. The company raised an $80 million Series B and aims to build what it calls the world’s largest restaurant without a kitchen — a virtual franchise.

Participated · Series A · Jun 2022

Anfin offers a mobile-first stock trading app that provides fractional trading (as little as 10,000 VND), proprietary stock profiling and risk-assessment tools, and social investment features including live audio rooms and a ranked newsfeed. The app currently lists about 300 stocks and nine ETFs and emphasizes educational content for its primarily Gen Z and millennial user base (90% are 18–35). Since launching in October 2021, Anfin has been downloaded more than one million times and has about 100,000 funded accounts; deposits have reached up to $5 million and total transaction value up to $10 million, with average transaction values around $20. Anfin monetizes through trading commissions and a subscription product called Anfin VIP, and it explicitly does not use payment for order flow or sell user data; it routes orders through Vietnam’s regulated exchanges via brokerage partners. The company plans to add more financial asset classes and expand its social-investing features, including influencer-driven incentives and further community tools. Leadership frames the product as a way to lower the cost of investing in Vietnam by offering fractional shares and instant settlement options via spread or liquidity provision.

Led · Series D · Sep 2020

Livspace is an omni-channel home interiors and renovation platform that provides end-to-end design-to-delivery services via a proprietary technology platform. It operates a three-sided marketplace connecting homeowners, vendors and designers and maintains one of the largest digitally integrated supply chains in the home improvement industry. The company currently serves Singapore, Malaysia and 30 metro and non-metro areas in India, and has delivered over 100,000 rooms and sold over 7.5 million SKUs through its platform. Founded in 2015, Livspace has raised around USD 450 million in capital to date from investors including KKR, Ingka Group Investments, TPG Growth, Goldman Sachs, Bessemer Venture Partners, Jungle Ventures and others. With the fresh funding, the company plans to launch in new markets, double down on brand building in India and Singapore, invest further in its platform technology and digitally integrated supply chain, and hire and develop talent. It also intends to make strategic investments into innovative companies and replicate its playbook across APAC, MENA and Australia to scale its business. Livspace is a Mumbai-based home decor startup. The company closed a $90 million Series D round to support its business growth. The firm said the new capital will be used to further develop its technology platform, fund new market expansion, and create new market offerings. It also plans to expand its supply chain and launch private labels in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. The Series D was positioned as a growth capital infusion to accelerate the company’s product and geographic expansion plans. Livspace operates a platform that links homeowners with designers and the supply chain, offering services such as 3D virtual renders, offline meetings at Livspace design centers, and customized furnishings to execute renovations. The company says its integrated model delivers cost savings to consumers and greater efficiency and higher rates for designers. Livspace raised $70 million last year from investors including Goldman Sachs and TPG Growth, and today has taken an undisclosed investment from Ingka Investments; the stake is described as minor. CEO and co-founder Anuj Srivastava (who started Livspace in 2015) said the Ikea investment offers strong strategic and commercial potential to build an omnichannel consumer experience. Specifics of how the companies will work together—such as whether Ikea products will be sold through Livspace—are still to be agreed. Management says there is no immediate plan for an acquisition, the company intends to remain independent, and any international expansion supported by Ikea would be exploratory with no near-term timeline. Livspace offers an integrated e-commerce platform for home interior design and renovations, combining consumers, designers and supply-chain partners. The company maps buildings to enable virtual mockups and 3D models and operates brick-and-mortar Design Centers for material and furniture previews and meetings. It is inherently local—designers and supply partners must serve specific cities—but the platform aims to standardize and aggregate demand and supply. Livspace is present in seven Indian cities and plans to expand to 13 cities in India by the end of next year, with broader ambitions to enter other Asian and Western markets. The company says it is on track to reach $100 million in annualized gross revenue by March 2019, has outfitted 5,000–6,000 houses, and runs 1,200–1,500 projects at any one time. Additional operating metrics in the article include a project completion rate of about one-third, an average project value around $15,000, a roughly 40% take rate for Livspace and about 7% for designers, and a platform of ~25,000 designer applicants (under 10% approved). Livspace is the country’s largest home interiors and renovation platform that offers a proprietary home-design platform called Canvas. The company has used recent funding to bolster Canvas and to grow its design partner community. Management says the business grew about 300 percent last year, driven by Canvas adoption. Canvas has received over 11,000 design partner registrations. The company reports some of the highest order-level profit margins in the industry. Leadership frames the investment as an endorsement of Livspace’s platform approach and is pushing to capture the $25-billion home-design market in India.