Bangalore-based Online gifting platform Giftxoxo has acqui-hired BookMyInterest, a marketplace for hobbies and leisure activities.
Since the launch of its Beta Web version in February this year, BookMyInterest which is owned and operated by MyInt Technologies Pvt Ltd has emerged as one of the leading search facilitators of verified and rated service providers catering to various interests and hobbies. It has a vast database of activities and experiences, from cooking classes to fitness programmes, hikes and expeditions to dance classes.
With this acquisition Giftxoxo aims to rope the customer base of BookMyInterest and its partner network to boost its current offering. The combined body will also be better poised to further drive the call for curated activities and experiences space in the country.
Co-Founder of Giftxoxo – Manoj Agarwal said,
“Curated experiences and activities make up a large market in India. On meeting Naveen and his team, we realised that they share the same passion as us, to make this sector more vibrant and enhance consumer choice. We are certain that the two brands are a perfect synergistic match and that together we can strengthen our position in the market and serve our customers better.”
While talking about the challenges in his initial phase he said..
“Unlike businesses like Flipkart where the concept was already established offline, in our case this concept actually doesn’t existed in the offline world. If somebody wanted to do a pottery class or do a horse riding tour, there were no offline shops to book these. Bringing this entire concept online and helping consumer and suppliers understand and convince to get along with us was quite a challenge.”
Naveen M – co-founder of BookMyInterest said
“We are in sync with the promoters of Giftxoxo and their approach towards understanding this market segment. Riding on their strong domain knowledge, we look forward to helping our customers choose the best activities and experiences. We believe that jointly we can improve the quality of offerings, the ability to grow and bring better efficiency to this unorganised market in India,”
As part of the acquisition, BookMyInterest’s Co-founders have received a few lakhs in cash and equity in Giftxoxo.
The startup is targeting a turnover of ₹100 crore in FY 2017. These experiential gifting options can also be booked from its location-based mobile app Frogo. Headquartered in Bengaluru, Giftxoxo has regional offices in New Delhi and Mumbai.
Founded in 2012 by Sumit Khandelwal, Manoj Aggarwal, Abhishek Kumar and Kushal Agrawal with a seed investment of Rs. 1.5 crore from an HNI, Giftxoxo is in talks for a Series A funding of $3-5 million, which it hopes to close in two weeks.
The company offers 4,000 gifting experiences in five categories — fine dining, health and wellness, adventure, hobbies and arts, and offbeat travel.
This is the company’s second acqui-hire in eight months. In October 2015, Giftxoxo acqi-hired another city-based startup Yipeedo that helps Bengalureans discover and book leisure activities. Also in January 2016, it had acquired Actizone, an online portal to discover extra-curricular activities, for an undisclosed amount.
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