Honestly Raises Rs 3.2 Cr in Pre-Seed Round from Better Capital
- ByStartupStory | July 22, 2024
Honestly, an AI-powered beauty and personal care (BPC) review platform, has successfully raised Rs 3.2 crore in a pre-seed funding round. The funding round was led by Better Capital and saw participation from Kunal Shah-led QED Innovations, alongside senior leaders from Flipkart, Polygon, and Cred.
Founded in April 2024 by Karishma Rathaur and Vivek Madani, Honestly aims to address significant challenges in the BPC sector. The funding will support the platform’s initial product launch and help achieve early signs of product-market fit.
“We are looking at BPC because the problem is grave here. You can’t return products, and the number of attributes along which you need to know whether the product is working or not, and how a person experiences a product, is very different,” said Vivek Madani.
Honestly utilizes AI to analyze product ingredients, assisting users in understanding how new products might fit into their existing routines. Additionally, the platform facilitates peer-to-peer connections for sharing detailed product reviews.
The startup’s revenue model is centered on business-to-business (B2B) partnerships. It offers brands access to its APIs and the capability to integrate widgets into their product pages. “Once we prove out the business-to-consumer (B2C) user application and we have enough proprietary data, then we will give e-commerce platforms APIs to integrate onto their platforms,” added Madani.
Honestly plans to scale its user base to 1 million in India and is exploring expansion opportunities in regions such as the UAE and Western countries with significant Indian diaspora.
“While social media has helped educate people about skincare, haircare, and makeup, it has also added to the confusion. We’re thrilled to be backed by investors who understand the problem. This investment will enable us to build a strong engineering and marketing founding team over the next few months,” said Karishma Rathaur.
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