Meesho- From being a platform for resellers to entering the Unicorn Club, how Meesho became a one-stop destination for virtual shopping in India.
Today with the growing popularity of online stores more people are inclined towards virtual shopping for buying stuff required in their day-to-day lifestyle. Many platforms have bagged a place in the hearts of customers and sellers through their fantastic business model and prompt services. One such Platform is 'Meesho'.
Meesho is India’s number one re-selling app, it is a mobile e-commerce platform developed mainly for wholesale selling. The sellers here majorly include housewives, wholesale sellers, and anyone who wants to start their business with zero investment.
Founded in December 2015 by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, an alumnus of IIT Delhi. The name has a hidden meaning inside it, “MEESHO-MY SHOP”. Headquartered in Bengaluru, the services of the platforms are available across the country. Over time it has become an exclusive destination for resellers to sell their products easily. The app is trustworthy and leaves the customer with an amazing experience of shopping at affordable rates. Suppliers also trust the app and its model of working as the commission is only deducted when the actual sales are made. The payments are made on time so that both parties don’t have to worry about the transaction.
Meesho has recorded a revenue of INR 341.6 crores in the fiscal year 2020. Meesho’s business model has over a million dealers throughout the year. Social media platforms like Instagram, Whatsapp, and Facebook performed as a catalyst in the emerging growth of Meesho as one of the leading platforms. Meesho online business claims to have over 15K sellers along with retailers throughout the year.
The prominent investors in Meesho are Facebook, SAIF Partners, RPS Ventures, Venture Highway, Sequoia, etc. In 2016, Meesho became one of the 3 Indian companies shortlisted for a summer program by Y-Combinator. Meesho successfully secured $ 120,000 in seed funding.
The app has different resellers listing their products and carrying daily sales. The process of registering as a supplier is very simple on the app. The app guides you to follow the steps and open your shop with zero investment in few minutes. Meesho’s approachable path towards the general public and consistent efforts secured a place for itself in the world of virtual shopping.
Presently, Meesho has a team of 750 employees. On April 5, 2021- Meesho proudly raised $ 300 million in a new round of funding from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, scaling up extensively the company’s valuation to $ 2.1 billion, opening the door of Unicorn Club for Meesho.
On 13 April 2020, Meesho declared plans to plan its existing business model and diversify it to target 100 million small businesses. In the near future, the startup is all set to compete with big giants like Flipkart and Amazon in India.
