Alma Mater Store, a customised apparel brand, has raised $200,000 (approximately Rs 1.37 crore at current exchange rates) from Harminder Sahni, who is the founder and managing director of Wazir Advisors, an advisory firm.
Alma Mater Store chief executive officer Sachin Sahni, in a statement, said company will use the funds for expansion and boost technological infrastructure. The company focuses on building a profitable and sustainable long-term business, he added.
Separately, Harminder Sahni said the market for customisation in India was picking up steadily, adding that it is the future of every consumer business and online is the channel future.
Alma Mater was co-founded by Varun Agarwal and Rohan Malhotra. It originally started operations with the intention of creating official merchandise for schools and colleges, but quickly moved into the customised merchandise space as well.
The company says it has worked with clients such as Google, Amazon, Yahoo and several IITs and IIMs. According to its website, it offers services such as digital printing, screen printing, embroidery and allowing potential customers to design their own merchandise straight from its website.
In 2012, Indian Angel Network invested an undisclosed amount in the Alma Mater Store Pvt. Ltd.-operated company. IAN's Ravindra Krishnappa, Joe Fernandes, Deependra Moitra and Rajiv Mehta led the round in the startup.
Sahni, a prolific angel investor, has also placed bets on other startups such as Capillary Technologies, Mcaffeine, Inkfruit and Burger Singh.