Indian Angel Network invests Rs 3.9 crore in Flatpebble.com

Flatpebble was founded in May 2013 by former Microsoft employees Venkatesan Sheshadri and Pranav Mehta

The Indian Angel Network (IAN) on Thursday announced that it has invested $600,000 (around Rs 3.9 crore) in TechClove Technologies, a Hyderabad-based startup that owns and operates Flatpebble.com, a services marketplace for hiring photographers, stylists and other ancillary service providers for events and occasions.

Flatpebble, founded in May 2013 by former Microsoft employees Venkatesan Sheshadri and Pranav Mehta, had raised an undisclosed amount in a round led by Raghu Bathina and Lax Gopisetty of Hyderabad Angels in December 2013.

As part of the fresh capital infusion, Sanjay Jesrani and Subram Kapoor, who led this round on behalf of IAN, will join the board of TechClove.

Flatpebble.com, which currently has over 2,500 photographers and other service professionals, is planning to deploy the proceeds from the new fundraising to innovate product, increase supply depth as well as expand into other categories.

“This investment from IAN is a validation of our approach and the effectiveness of our platform. The IAN team has been very supportive, ensuring that due-diligence and other processes were smooth, with emphasis on guiding and encouraging us - the entrepreneurs," Flatpebble co-founder and chief executive Sheshadri, said in a release.

According to Sanjay Jesrani and Subram Kapoor, IAN's lead investors, the local services space is a $50-billion opportunity and an extremely difficult problem to solve.

"The Flatpebble team has crafted a scalable solution to this problem, which is resonating with customers and service providers.  At IAN, we look forward to backing ventures with a disruptive approach to daily problems," they said.