10club set to close $30 mn funding round led by Olive Tree Capital

Bengaluru: Roll-up commerce startup 10club is set to raise more than $30 million, in an equal mix of debt and equity, its top executive told ET.

Olive Tree Capital, a Boston-based fund, led the funding round, while existing investors,which includes Fireside Ventures, Secocha Ventures and Boat co-founder Aman Gupta, also participated. 10club has already closed $22 million, while the remainder will be closed over the next few weeks, it said in a statement.

“The commitments for the remaining amount have come in and we are happy with the interest. We are in the process of closing the remaining round,” said Bhavna Suresh, co-founder and chief executive of 10club.


10club is also the second company after Mensa Brands to announce that it would launch its products in the US market. “The team has also initiated a new vertical that exports goods to the middle-east and North Africa (MENA) region and the USA,” the company said.

Roll-up commerce companies buy multiple online sellers that operate on Amazon and other ecommerce marketplaces, and with the aid of better management and shared expertise, help them sell better.

The company said it would double down on the home and fitness categories. Home cateogory includes garden, outdoor, kitchen, bathroom, decor and furnishing.

“Home and fitness are unorganised and bulky categories that are fragmented and predominantly offline. We believe there is an immense potential for growth in a diverse country like India,” she said.

While many companies started out with the same objective and similar funding rounds, ET reported on April 20, citing several industry trackers, that well-funded houses of brands such as former Myntra CEO Ananth Narayanan’s Mensa Brands and FirstCry-backed GlobalBees have cornered a substantial chunk of the funds and acquired a plethora of brands, leaving behind smaller players such as Upscalio, Goat, 10Club, Powerhouse91, Evenflow and Bzaar.

ET reported that 10club was approaching other players for an outright sale, though Suresh had denied that, saying 10club was not in the market for an exit.

10club said it has been disciplined in acquisitions of focus categories and valuations.

“We have been extremely careful and wary about overpaying, even though we are committed to finding the right and most fair valuation that benefits all the stakeholders involved,” she said.

Suresh said 10club operates every business that it has acquired and that every company in its portfolio is profitable, with a 35% growth in the last quarter.

“It has been a steep learning curve, but this was a decision we had made very early on, as we knew that operating businesses is the only way to build the portfolio sustainably for the long term. We are not an investment company, we are a true operating venture,” she said.