Trell expects to break even at the end of the current fiscal year: Pulkit Agrawal, co-founder
- ByStartupStory | August 15, 2022
According to Pulkit Agrawal, co-founder of Trell, who hopes to bring the firm to break even by the end of the current fiscal year, Trell, an influencer-led video commerce platform, is not being probed for any financial irregularities. In response to rumors that a group of investors has requested a forensic investigation of Trell, Agrawal stated that almost any financial irregularities are “totally baseless & unfounded.”
“There was no inquiry, only an internal evaluation conducted by the corporation. Rapid expansion has its problems, and following an independent evaluation, we have begun realigning our systems and procedures to enable more robust and sustainable growth “He stated. According to him, the company’s board of directors and investors are completely dedicated to the business and have complete trust in the company’s founders and leadership.
While the papers did not name the investors that requested the audit, Trell’s major institutional investors include H&M Group, Sequoia Capital India, KTB Network, Beenext, Fosun, and Samsung Venture Investment. Trell, started by Agrawal, Bimal Kartheek Rebba, Arun Lodhi, & Prashant Sachan (who quit the firm in mid-2020), allows users to develop and upload content relating to beauty or lifestyle items.
The firm earns money through its ‘Trell Shop,’ an e-commerce platform with over 600 beauty and lifestyle items. It also gets a share from brand-content creator collaborations. Social commerce is a growing industry in India, and its expansion was accelerated by the worldwide pandemic. According to Bain & Company research for 2021, social commerce as a sector has the potential to expand to USD 1620 bn by FY25, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 55-60%. Agrawal stated “ there was no “investor-founder face-off”.
The business, which raised USD 45 million in July 2021 in an investment headed by banking organization Mirae Asset, H&M Group, and co-led by LB Investments, has no immediate plans to raise cash but would focus on sustainable development and profitability, he added. “We are now focusing on becoming operationally lucrative by the end of this fiscal year,” he stated, adding that “after that, we will continue to grow the organization’s activities.” Trell lost Rs 78.4 crore in fiscal year 21.
Trell, which was founded in 2017, has 45 million monthly active users on its network and has had 100% month-on-month growth in online transactions. It has over 1,000 e-commerce brands in its portfolio. About 60% of Trell users are from Tier II and III cities like Indore, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Kochi, and Tripura, while the remainder is from metro areas such as Bengaluru and Mumbai.
When asked about layoffs, Agrawal stated that Trell is still implementing the reorganization and right-sizing approach outlined in April. “The firm is working actively on its expansion ambitions and is constantly seeking for skilling, upskilling, and introducing new skill sets into its staff.”
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