HealthFactorial Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which owns men’s health and wellness brand Misters, has raised Rs 3.5 crore ($486,000) in funding from a couple of institutional investors and wealthy individuals.
Early-stage investment firms Sauce.vc and Rainforest Ventures Pvt. Ltd and a few angel investors participated in this round, Misters said in a statement. It didn’t disclose the name of the angel investors.
The company has so far raised seed funding from external investors.
Misters was launched in May this year by Suhas Misra, a co-founder of PaperBoat juice maker Hector Beverages Pvt. Ltd. An IIM-Calcutta alumnus, Misra was associated with Hector Beverages for five years starting 2009. Later, he had worked with health-tech firm Tardigrade before floating Misters.
The startup’s other co-founders are Gaurav Gupta and Saurabh Kumar. Gupta, an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, had in the past launched book summary app service Bookbhook and also worked with Coca-Cola, Nokia and Citibank. Kumar was previously associated with Berger Paints, ICICI Bank and Reliance Money.
Misters said it aims to use the capital to establish its footprint in the men’s health and wellness segment across the country. The startup says it is an artificial intelligence-driven platform that offers personalised therapy to men on issues such as sexual wellness and hair fall.
Sauce.vc founder Manu Chandra said the investment firm considered the fact that Misra had previously co-founded a successful brand, PaperBoat, before writing a cheque. “He [Misra] showcases years of experience in collating data on consumer behaviour across the country,” Chandra said.
Sauce.vc invests in companies in the food and beverage, apparel and lifestyle, and personal care sectors. Previously, it has invested in Surat-based XYXX Apparels Pvt. Ltd, which runs an eponymous innerwear brand; food and beverage brand &ME; and personalised hair care brand Bare Anatomy.
Misters is one of a handful of investor-backed startups which aim to resolve personal health problems. Recently, Kanwaljit Singh-led Fireside Ventures backed a health-tech startup that focuses on women’s health issues.
In the broader health-tech segment, investment activity has been strong as startups seek to differentiate themselves by addressing gaps in traditional healthcare models and even offering frontier technology-based solutions.
In September, Meddo, a health-technology startup that integrates physical and online healthcare services, raised $3 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by the Philadelphia- and Hyderabad-based SRI Capital.
In the same month, PlusPin Healthcare secured Rs 5.25 crore in its seed round of funding from a clutch of investors of the Indian Angel Network including former Google India head Rajan Anandan.
In July, Bengaluru-based mfine mobilised $4.5 million from venture debt firm Alteria Capital. The company uses its artificial intelligence-powered platform to connect patients with doctors for virtual consultations.