GOAT Brand Labs, the latest among a slew of startups looking to build a house of digital-first consumer brands, said on July 26 that it has raised $36 million in its first-ever funding round from Tiger Global Management, Flipkart Ventures and Mayfield.
GOAT, which stands for Greatest Of All Time was started by Rishi Vasudev, who headed Flipkart Fashion and Landmark Group’s Lifestyle International; along with Rameswar Misra, who worked in the direct-to-consumer and apparel space for nearly seven years.
Other investors in the Series A round include Nordstar, Better Capital and angel investors such as Dailyhunt’s Virendra Gupta, Udaan’s Sujeet Kumar, Manipal Group’s Ranjan Pai and BharatPe’s Suhail Sameer among others.
GOAT is modelled around US-based Thrasio, a three-year-old upstart valued at $3 billion with $500 million in revenue and $100 million in profit. It plans to acquire online sellers from Flipkart and Amazon who have shown early traction and helps them use GOAT’s brand, technology and operational expertise.
“Through this venture, we are bringing together passionate entrepreneurs, their D2C brands, marquee investors, industry experts and a dynamic team, who believe in the philosophy of partnering and nurturing. We want these brands to have access to the best resources so that they scale rapidly to become G.O.A.Ts,” Vasudev said.
G.O.A.T said it is in advanced discussions with at least 10 brands for acquisition and is looking for brands in fashion, beauty, personal care, and home and kitchen spaces.
These so-called Thrasio models are collectively raising $300 million across nearly a dozen startups, all with the identical pitch, a phenomenon that was virtually never seen before in Indian startups. Other well-funded players include Mensa Brands, GlobalBees and 10Club.
“At Flipkart, we are consistently focused on identifying opportunities and building new partnerships that benefit the ecosystem at large. Our investment in G.O.A.T. Brand Labs is aligned to this intent, as we aim to work with early-stage startups that have the potential to address emerging business and consumer requirements leveraging the power of technology. The leadership team at G.O.A.T. have deep experience in this segment and we look forward to the transformation they will make in the D2C segment,” said Ravi Iyer, Senior Vice President and Head, Corporate Development, Flipkart.
