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Gurgaon-based Shadowfax, an on-demand hyper-local merchant delivery services start-up, has raised $300,000 (Rs 1.96 crore) in an angel round led by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal of Snapdeal, Zishaan Hayath of Powai Lake Ventures, and Prashant Malik of Limeroad.
Launched in May, Shadowfax has an average delivery volume processing of 3,000 orders a day. It has 120 to 150 outlets as clients that use it for last-mile delivery in the Delhi-National Capital Region. “We are looking to strengthen our team of 35-plus employees and 350-plus riders and expand into 10 more cities within one year,” said Abhishek Bansal, co-founder and chief executive.
“With the recent investment, technology maturity and endorsement from our partners, we are well poised to achieve that goal,” he added.
The company aims to take its services beyond food delivery and expand its efficient logistical infrastructure to other categories.
Shadowfax has a strategic tie-up with the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC)’s training partners to enhance skills of riders and provide customised training that are focused on continuous improvement.
The company has opted for a partial crowd-sourced model, where anyone wishing to be a rider can join its rider pool. Riders are imparted vocational skill-based training before deployment.
Co-founders Bansal and Vaibhav Khandelwal have been friends since their time in Indian Institute of Technology - Delhi. Bansal’s work experience includes closely working with Walmart for two years across India and China, while he was working as a management consultant at Haygroup. Khandelwal, a technology enthusiast, worked as an analyst with System Two Advisors.
