ET Startup Awards 2024: Comeback Kid | Rentomojo shows off scale in its Act-II showstopper

For the Comeback Kid category, the ET Startup Awards 2024 jury aimed to recognise enterprises that have demonstrated resilience and adaptability in the face of external challenges.

The 10-member jury’s focus was on ventures that have come out stronger through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Finally, Bengaluru-based Rentomojo emerged as the winner, with the jurors keeping perseverance as the topmost trait, while commending the team for a successful comeback.

“Rentomojo has made a strong comeback after Covid. The way they’ve been able to build in a difficult category and cracking it with scale has been impressive,” said juror Ritesh Arora, cofounder and chief executive officer (CEO) of BrowserStack.

In early 2020, Rentomojo faced severe challenges due to the pandemic. But by October 2021, the company had turned its financial situation around and achieved profitability. Since then, it has maintained this status in every quarter.

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Geetansh Bamania, the founder and CEO of Rentomojo, credits this turnaround to a shift in the company’s culture during the pandemic. Rentomojo had three other founders, who left in 2018 to start other ventures.

“We are deeply honoured to receive this recognition from The Economic Times Startup Awards 2024. It stands as a tremendous vote of confidence in the relentless hard work and dedication of the entire Rentomojo team over the past few years,” Bamania said.

In the furniture rental market, Rentomojo competes with Furlenco, which was acquired by mattress maker Sheela Foam in 2023.

“The challenges posed by Covid-19 truly tested our resilience and character as an organisation. Today, we are proud to report a 50% year-on-year CAGR, along with exponential growth in our profit after tax and Ebitda,” he said. “This award is a testament to our perseverance and to one of Rentomojo’s core ethos: be brave to be free.”

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In April 2020, when the pandemic’s impact was at its highest, Rentomojo’s revenue stalled while burn continued. This left the company with cash to survive for only a few weeks by November that year.

It undertook significant restructuring, including laying off employees, renegotiating supply contracts and aggressively recovering even small dues.

Emerging from the pandemic’s financial strain, Rentomojo shifted its focus to profitability, leading to sharper emphasis on cost profile. “Thank you once again to The Economic Times Startup Awards for this honour, and to our incredible team for making this achievement possible,” Bamania said.

Jurors also lauded New Delhi-based Awfis' resilience through the pandemic, which had deeply impacted the office sharing and workplace solutions segment.

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Other contenders

Eruditus

Eruditus is an online executive learning platform, which offers programmes developed in partnership with top-tier universities such as Indian School of Business, Indian Institutes of Management, Harvard University, Cambridge University and MIT.

Purplle

Purplle is an online platform for multi-category beauty products, including makeup, skincare, fragrances, body, facial, eye and hair care, men’s grooming and beauty appliances.

Awfis

Awfis offers working spaces in various shapes and forms, including flexible workspaces; a la carte access to facilities such as meeting rooms, virtual offices; and end-to-end enterprise workspace solutions.