Furniture rental company Furlenco to raise $20 million

Bengaluru-based furniture rental start-up is in advanced talks to raise a series B funding of $20-30 million to expand its operations.

The three-year-old start-up, which was founded by former Goldman Sachs VP, Ajith Karimpana, raised $6 million in series A funding in March from Lighbox Ventures. So far, the company has raised ₹40 crore. Lightbox is also participating in the fresh funding round.

“We have grown from 180 customers in February this year to about 1,600 in Bengaluru itself. Since it is a capital-intensive business, we have used $4.5 million of the $6-million raised for asset buying,” Karimpana told BusinessLine . He said Furlenco has started a pilot in Mumbai already and plans to go aggressive in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Gurgaon.

“We already have 100 customers in Mumbai even before the official launch. Soon, we’ll go big bang in the city with a new range specifically targeted for Mumbai apartments,” Karimpana said.

“Young professionals are always on the move. According to a study, urban Indians move houses once every three years for various reasons. That makes it financially unviable for them to buy and tag along their furniture wherever they go. And that gives a big business opportunity to us,” Karimpana said. Furlenco was started in 2012 with a focus on furniture rental for expats. However, given the small market size, the company decided to reduce its rentals, which now start at ₹1,000 a month to an average of ₹3,500 per month, to tap into a larger market and act as an uber for furniture rentals.

“Seeing a huge initial success, we are now also planning to offer home décor and home appliances on rent,” Karimpana said.

Furnlenco has tied up with refurbished home appliance provider Greendust to provide special packages to its customers.

Greendust is also funded by Lightbox Ventures.

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