Urban Ladder

History

Urban Ladder was started by Ashish Goel and Rajiv Srivatsa in 2012. Ashish Goel previously worked with McKinsey & Company and served as the CEO of Amar Chitra Katha. Rajiv Srivatsa previously worked with Cognizant and Yahoo! before co-founding Urban Ladder.

Funding

Urban Ladder secured seed capital of $US1 million from Kalaari Capital in August 2012. The company later raised another $US5 million in a Series A round led by SAIF Partners; Kalaari Capital too participated in the Series A funding. The company subsequently raised $US21 million in Series B round of funding led by Steadview Capital, SAIF Partners and Kalaari Capital Four months after the company raised Series B funding from Steadview Capital and existing investors SAIF Partners and Kalaari Capital, Urban Ladder received a personal investment from Ratan Tata, Tata Sons.

On 9 April 2015, Urban Ladder announced that they had raised $US50 million in funding led by Sequoia Capital and TR Capital. Existing investors Steadview Capital, SAIF Partners and Kalaari Capital were also participants.

Business model

Urban Ladder is an online marketplace for furniture and home decor products. The company delivers and installs all the products it offers. The company also started a new practice in the Indian e-commerce market by initiating trials of sofas in customers' homes.

Geographical Presence

The company is currently present in 19 cities across India and plans to expand its presence to 30 cities by 2016.

Awards & Recognition

Urban Ladder collected the 'Best Digital Start-Up' Award at the 4th India Digital Awards conducted by Internet and Mobile Association of India. Ashish Goel was voted by the Network 7 Media Group Jury as "Game Changer Entrepreneur of the year" 2016 at Satya Brahma founded 8th edition of India Leadership Conclave 2016.

Marketing

Urban Ladder advertised on LinkedIn for Senior mattress tester which was later confirmed to be an April Fool's prank.