Hyderabad-based start-up Flatpebble.com, an online marketplace that helps people find photographers, videographers, stylists, caterers, etc for weddings, birthday parties and other events, plans to expand into Malaysia and Singapore.

“One of the reasons for expanding into these geographies is a huge demand for these services in regions which are similar to South India,” Venkatesan Seshadri, founder & CEO, Flatpebble, told BusinessLine .

The start-up had raised $600,000 from the Indian Angel Network in August 2015.

Its other investors include Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan and former Hitachi Consulting CEO Sanjay Jesrani. Malaysia and Singapore have a sizeable number of people of Indian origin. According to estimates, they made up 16 per cent of the population of both the countries at the end of 2015.

Another reason why Flatpebble decided to expand into those countries is that the people are tech-savvy, plus the broadband speed is good.

“Also, a lot of these people have higher spending power,” added Seshadri.

Few options Additionally, Indians in those nations do not have too many options when it comes to hiring photographers who understand their requirements.

“Our customs are different and the Chinese cannot capture certain nuances,” pointed out Seshadri.

However, Flatpebble did not disclose the quantum of investments it will make in these geographies. Currently, the company counts around 3,500 service providers and is listed in 100 Indian cities. The ticket size of its transactions range from ₹14,000 to ₹22,000.

Investor interest Start-ups in this segment are seeing substantial investor interest. The Wedding Brigade, an app to plan and shop for Indian weddings, raised ₹4 crore in a pre-Series A round of funding led by Blume Ventures.

According to Sajid Fazalbhoy, Principal at Blume Ventures, the second priority in any Indian household, after purchasing a house, is to spend on a child’s wedding. That market, while large, is currently fragmented.

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