Tanglin Venture Partners invests Rs 40 crore in Lifelong Online in its first bet
Tanglin Venture Partners, a $50 million fund floated by former Tiger Global executives Ravi Venkatesh and Edwina Yeo, has invested around Rs 40 crore in home appliances brand Lifelong Online, its first funding in India.The round includes a mix of primary and secondary infusion, people familiar with the matter said.
Lifelong Online sells home and kitchen products like ovens, gas stoves, cookware, sandwich makers, mixers grinders, as well as personal care appliances and healthcare devices. Lifelong sells through its own website and marketplaces including Amazon, Flipkart, and Udaan.
“We want to build an ecosystem of distribution and service that facilitates fair, honest pricing, and reaches every household in India,” said Bharat Kalia, co-founder of Lifelong Online.
The company is contribution margin positive, with a portfolio of 40 products, he said. Contribution margin is the profit made by a company per unit of sale, and a positive contribution margin means a company has achieved break-even after accounting for its variable costs.Lifelong Online controls end-to-end manufacturing and distribution, and plans to launch the health and fitness category over the next few months.
“There are significant opportunities for new brands to be created which are built for today’s consumer needs, piggybacking on new-age, online distribution channels,” said Edwina Yeo, Partner of Tanglin Venture Partners, which started operations late last year focusing on backing early-stage technology startups in India and Southeast Asia.
Tanglin is among a new set of venture funds backed by domestic internet entrepreneurs, a trend that has picked up significantly in the past two years.
Gurugram-based Lifelong plans to deploy the capital in design, product development, and scaling up manufacturing capability.
The four-year-old startup was founded by Kalia, Atul Raheja, and Varun Grover in November 2015. IndigoEdge was the advisor for the transaction.
