Goa-based Browntape eCommerce Pvt Ltd, which provides a SaaS-based service for online sellers to start selling on multiple marketplaces like eBay, Amazon, Snapdeal and Flipkart, has secured an undisclosed amount in funding from early-stage investor Seedfund Advisors, with participation from serial entrepreneur and Growth Story's co-founder K Ganesh.
"We will use the capital to expand our technology team and also for sales & marketing activities," Browntape's co-founder Piyush Goel told VCCircle.
Browntape was started in 2012 by Goel along with Gurpreet Singh. Goel holds a PhD and had earlier developed a software called Scrobbld to support his e-Bay based business. Singh is a Computer Science engineer and also holds a MBA degree in IT from Symbiosis College (Pune). Earlier, he was CEO of DotAhead (now called SreenRoot), a web agency in Goa.
Browntape is a GSF Accelerator startup and had earlier raised funding as part of the programme.
Through Browntape, a seller can track the status of all its orders and bulk print shipping labels and invoices on a single screen through a multi-channel order fulfilment software. For a user, when an item sells on one online store, the stock quantity gets updated on all its other online stores automatically. The data is also updated at the seller's inventory records.
The service is currently free. However, merchants will be charged a nominal fee only after they start processing more than 100 orders a month.
Browntape also offers an enterprise model, wherein it appoints an expert who acts as a partner for the retailer and helps it grow its sales from the online channels. This model is more useful for large brands and retailers, who have little or no experience of jump-starting and scaling sales on multiple online marketplaces. Browntape will soon launch an innovative product feature called multi-channel catalog management wherein, when a seller uploads his products on to Browntape, they get published on all its online stores.
Currently, Browntape has 500-plus sellers in India. The clientle include Organic India, a herbal products manufacturer; Shree Ganga Depot, an Aryuvedic products company in Haridwar; and multi-retail brand CMM Retail, among others.
