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Sports brand Elevar has raised Rs 19 crore in Series A round of funding led by venture capital firm Kalaari Capital with participation from Dream Capital (DreamCap), the corporate venture capital and mergers and acquisitions arm of Dream Sports.
The company, a direct-to-consumer sports brand that makes cricket bats and athletic performance footwear, will utilise the funds towards expanding its product portfolio, increasing its marketing efforts, and building out its team.
Launched in 2018, Elevar’s team of designers, engineers and partners seek to deliver cutting-edge designs utilizing the latest research from biophysics and sport.
Co-founders, Kunal Joshi and Aayush Taapuriah are friends who met in 2007 at Cornell University. They took divergent paths after college gaining experience across consulting, banking, investing and startups in both the US and India.
Ten years on, Kunal decided to quit his Private Equity job at Temasek Holdings and Aayush decided to return to India after finishing his MBA at Wharton, so that they could finally pursue their dream of building India’s first iconic sports brand.
Their flagship shoe, Arc Racer, is a versatile sneaker. At the heart of the shoe is Elevar’s proprietary sole unit, Rydefoam. Made from E-TPU, one of the world’s most innovative foam technologies, it gives the user pillow-like softness with spring-like responsiveness.
The shoe is made affordable at one-third the price of comparable shoes from international brands.
Elevar’s unique line of cricket bats are engineered to offer an enhanced batting experience, with an ergonomic handle and sophisticated grip technology.
“We are thrilled to have Kalaari Capital and Dream Capital partner with us. This gives us the platform to take our product portfolio to the next level, enabling us to build a millennial-first sports brand that addresses our customer’s performance requirements as well as their modern design sensibilities,” Kunal Joshi, co-founder, Elevar, said.
Vani Kola, Kalaari Capital, said the co-founders’ passion for building an India-first sports brand was infectious. Their understanding of the market, commitment to product innovation and customer experience stood out for Kalaari.
“Cutting-edge materials and technology in sporting goods have always been priced out of reach for several Indians. Our Direct-to-consumer business model enables us to offer customers these innovative technologies at an extremely attractive price point”, said Aayush Tapuriah, Co-founder, Elevar.
The sports footwear market in India alone is around $3.5 billion, growing at around 15-20 per cent per year. While there is still a large unorganized section of this market, rising incomes, changing consumer tastes and e-commerce penetration are all leading to the organized sector gaining more market share each year.
“Elevar's products speak for themselves in terms of their appeal, design and quality. We look forward to partnering with the team to develop India’s leading sports lifestyle brand.” commented", said Dev Bajaj - Managing Director, Dream Capital.
Despite the sports footwear market featuring several established global and Indian brands, Elevar claims that their disruptive product and marketing strategy will prove to be a winning combination allowing them to scale rapidly.
