Sequoia Capital-backed women-centric social community platform Pankhuri, owned and operated by RP Cube Pvt Ltd, has elevated Pranay Shrivastava as its new chief executive officer (CEO).
The company was founded by Pankhuri Shrivastava, Pranay Shrivastava and Shravan Muralidhar.
After Pankhuri Shrivastava’s sudden demise in December 2021 due to sudden cardiac arrest, Pranay Shrivastava has now held the designation of CEO and Founder of the company.
Prior to his appointment as CEO, Pranay Shrivastava was serving as the chief strategy officer for Pankhuri.
Pranay Shrivastava has founded multiple companies in the past. His first venture, Wheelstreet, was started when was 21 years old. He was a part of YCombinator and founded Gobike, which was India’s first keyless bike rental company.
He has also established Fanware Today, an influencer marketing agency focused on assisting digital brands to acquire tier 2 users.
“Customers and brands can now interact in real-time, which could be a game-changer for the industry. Traditionally, beauty brands have targeted and sold to consumers through large advertising campaigns and store makeup kiosks.
As beauty aficionados flood the internet to discover products, share tutorials, and post reviews, mainstream social platforms have surged with sponsored posts, products and influencer campaigns,” Pranay said.
In July, the company raised $3.2 million led by Surge, a rapid scale-up programme by Sequoia Capital India for startups in India and Southeast Asia, and joined by India Quotient, Taurus Ventures and angel investors.
The platform claims to have a community of over 250,000 women.
He added, “We at Pankhuri have an engaged women's community of over 8 lakh women who are not afraid to go live, ask questions, or seek advice from the community to make the best decisions.
Live streaming is still relatively new in India, and many women are hesitant to participate or go live. Pankhuri, as an all-female platform, provides women with much-needed confidence and a safe space.
"We are extremely confident in realizing Pankhuri Shrivastava's dream of creating a meaningful platform for Indian women to socialize, upskill, and discover through live streaming and short videos.”