Simsim’s FY22: Spends Rs 178 Cr to Generate Rs 18 Cr Revenue under Google Ownership
- ByStartupStory | February 21, 2023
During the fiscal year ending in March 2022, vernacular social commerce startup Simsim was acquired by YouTube for an undisclosed amount. Despite now being under the Google umbrella, Simsim’s growth during the period was not particularly rapid.
According to the company’s annual financial statement filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Simsim saw a 64.5% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 18.21 crore in FY22, up from Rs 11.07 crore in FY21. However, Simsim’s losses amounted to a staggering Rs 155 crore during the same period.
Simsim’s primary business involves providing a technology platform to merchants and influencers for retailing household, consumer, and fashion products. The company earns a significant portion of its revenue from marketplace services, including transaction fees.
In FY22, the collections from these services rose by 69% to reach Rs 13.94 crore, up from Rs 8.24 crore in FY21. Simsim also offers logistics services, which experienced a significant spike, with collections from this vertical more than doubling to Rs 3.18 crore in FY22, while it generated Rs 1.09 crore from promotional activities and other support services.
Simsim, founded by Amit Bagaria, Kunal Suri, and Saurabh Vashishtha, offers a video-based platform in Hindi, Tamil, and Bengali, which enables retailers of all sizes to connect with buyers. In FY22, the company generated a non-operating revenue of Rs 3.13 crore, bringing its overall topline to Rs 21.34 crore.
However, employee benefits accounted for 33.5% of the total expenses, ballooning to Rs 59.83 crore in FY22 from Rs 14.06 crore in FY21. It is worth noting that these expenses included an ESOP cost of Rs 7.28 crore.
In FY22, Simsim increased spending on advertising and promotional activities to expand its customer base and accelerate its growth. The cost for these activities surged 3.4 times to reach Rs 45.58 crore, while expenses towards influencers grew by around 80% to Rs 9.42 crore.
Simsim has raised a total of $17 million to date and was last valued at approximately $50 million after its Series B round of $8 million in February 2020. In July 2021, YouTube acquired Simsim to enhance its viewers’ ability to find and purchase products from Indian retailers. The deal size was undisclosed, but it was reportedly worth over $70 million.
Simsim’s quick success in securing a Series B funding round within half a year of its launch sets it apart from many other startups. This feat begs the question of how the company managed to make such a compelling pitch to investors.
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