HomeLane raises $4.5 million in Series A funding led by Sequoia Capital

HomeLane, the technology-led, home set-up company has closed Series A funding of $4.5 million led by leading venture capital firm, Sequoia Capital. The fund round also saw the participation of Dr Ranjan Pai's and Padma Shri awardee Mohandas Pai's Aarin Capital.

The investment will drive HomeLane's expansion to 10 cities as the company, which couples a powerful two-pronged value proposition of a marketplace model using technology, with timely delivery, a high quality, guaranteed product and hassle-free installation, ramps up its operations over the course of 2015.

"HomeLane is growing exponentially with every passing month and we are absolutely delighted to partner with marquee investors such as Sequoia Capital, Dr Ranjan Pai and Mohandas Pai as we move to the next level of growth," said Srikanth Iyer, CEO, HomeLane, who set up the company with Rama Harinath in mid-2014, along with GrowthStory's serial entrepreneur duo and co-promoters, Meena and K Ganesh. HomeLane's founding team includes Prabhu Venkatesh (Chief Operating Officer), Vivek Parashuram (Chief Design Officer) and Srini Battula (Chief Technology Officer).

G V Ravi Shankar, MD, Sequoia Capital India Advisors, said, "We have known Srikanth and team for many years and are thrilled to partner with them again to solve a very large pain point in the home improvement market. HomeLane is disrupting the unorganized and inefficient home setup market with its technology led design, manufacturing and installation services that guarantee timely and cost effective delivery for the consumer."

"We bring a solid value proposition to the market: no unpleasant surprises. And an absolute guarantee of 30 days from order to installation for a range of home set up solutions - from kitchens to wardrobes to entertainment units" said Prabhu Venkatesh, COO, HomeLane.

"The market has responded very positively to this and in just over six months from launch we are growing at 100 per cent month-on-month" added Rama Harinath, co-founder and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at HomeLane.

Besides working directly with end-customers, HomeLane partners with top builders to ensure home buyers receive a wholesome experience enabling from bare shell building to fully fitted ready to move in flat with one decision and touch point.

HomeLane is looking to onboard 10,000 interior designers from around the country over the next six months.
"There is some great design talent in India - not only in Tier 1 cities but also in Tier 2 & 3 cities and we would like to provide passionate designers the opportunity to work with HomeLane providing them part-time, work-from-home opportunities to augment their income," said, Vivek Parashuram, Chief Design Officer, HomeLane.

"Technological advancements in terms of visualization, tracking and design have been enormous in the last few years. HomeLane will give the latest visualization and designing capabilities to our customers", noted Srini Batulla, HomeLane's Chief Technology Officer.

The home set up market in India is estimated to be growing at 20 per cent CAGR and is already a $10 billion per annum industry in the Top 10 Indian cities alone.

"There are huge opportunities ahead for marketplaces focused on niche, highly, domain-specific verticals. When we initially looked at this business, we were convinced that home setup via an asset-light, marketplace model was a big opportunity. HomeLane's performance so far and this investment from marquee names further illustrates the massive potential for this business," said K Ganesh, Serial Entrepreneur and Founder-Partner, Growth story.