Users of the new-age investment platform, Grip Invest, made history by becoming shareholders in the company through a user-led equity funding round. The funding round, which the company initiated on strong demand from its users, saw Grip secure $1Mn in funding along with lots of customer love and belief. Grip provided its top 200 users the opportunity to invest via convertible notes which they will be able to convert into equity at a 20% discount in the next funding round.
This is a first in the Indian startup ecosystem, where a privately owned company has presented an unique opportunity to its users to become shareholders in the firm.
Elated on achieving an industry-first, Nikhil Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Grip Invest, said, “We are overjoyed at the belief and love our customers and users have shown in us. For users to have such a strong belief in an 18-month old company is unprecedented and we are overwhelmed by it. Since we closed our last funding round, there was a growing demand from our users to present an opportunity where they can contribute towards the making of a tech-driven new-age investment platform. Based on the user demand, we offered this to our most engaged users and they showed immense love and belief to set us on a path to reinvent the investment landscape in India.”
Grip Invest received strong demand from its users, who have been actively investing through the alternative investment platform. Close to 100 users participated in the round.
Vivek Gulati, Co-founder & COO, Grip Invest, said “Building investor trust through asset-backed opportunities has been our primary focus since the beginning. We’re happy to have built a community of investors that have not only discovered new-age investment opportunities on our platform but now have also become the shareholders in our journey. Drawing on the trust our users have reposed in us and from the success of this initiative, we will continue to offer similar opportunities to more users in the near future.”
With this round, the total funds raised by Grip stands at $4.6 million. The company aims to utilise the funding to strengthen its team, augment its product portfolio and develop best-in-class features to enhance the digital investment experience.
Aashish Jindal, Co-founder & CPO, Grip Invest said, “In an industry first, our users have helped us inch a step closer to our goal of democratising alternative investment opportunities. I am thankful for their confidence and trust in the platform. I am happy to deepen our relationship with our users, who will now become company shareholders.”
The initiative comes as Grip Invest is looking to create a new asset-backed non-market linked investment category. In the past 15 months, Grip Invest has built a community of 150,000+ investors, has facilitated the leasing of assets worth 160+ crores, enabling 70+ companies such as Udaan, Furlenco, Holisol, Loadshare, ChargeZone, etc., to access a different channel of growth capital. Moreover, Grip Invest is witnessing a 35% month-on-month growth of users on its platform following strong demand for alternative investment opportunities in India.
Previously, Grip Invest had raised $3 million in a Series A round led by Venture Highway and Endiya Partners.