Flatheads, a Bengaluru-based D2C online company, has secured $1 million in a pre-series A round headed by We Founder Circle and angel network Dexter Angels. Other investors who took part in the round were Gaurav Kapur (TV host and founder of Oaktree Sports), Sahil Barua (Co-founder of Delhivery), and Radhika Ghai (Co-founder of Shopclues).
We Founder Circle will make a total of 20 investments in 2021 as part of its aim to fund early-stage startups in India. Siddharth Shah, Sandeep Balaji, Hemant Umbarkar, Swati Mittal, Victor Banerjee, Shefali Saxena, and NK Securiti are among the angel investors who have invested in Flatheads through WFC.
Commenting on the investment, Neeraj Tyagi, Co-founder, We Founder Circle said, “The funding in the D2C sector rose by 251 percent in the first seven months of the year 2021. The reason is the newly identified scope of growth, and performance of innovative business models in the field. Flatheads have a product innovation focus which has resulted in amazingly lightweight and comfortable shoes. They have taken a tough road by choosing to sell from their website aggressively while using big marketplaces also. As a result, they have created unique value by making their online website also a popular platform to launch multiple product lines in the future.”
Tushar Agrawal, Partner at Dexter Angels said,“The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of online D2C brands, and we are seeing supercharged growth with a focus on everyday comfort. With the current fundraise, we aim to establish Flatheads as a lifestyle brand made in India for the world – by building the brand identity, expanding our presence internationally and investing in product differentiation,”
Added Utkarsh Biradar, Co-founder and CEO, Flatheads.”Urban millennial shoppers are attracted towards indigenous, purpose-driven brands which they can resonate with provide them a personalised experience. We at Dexter Angels believe the next decade holds tremendous scale-up potential for innovative D2C brands and we are really glad to add Flatheads into our portfolio. They have built a ‘Made in India’ brand with world-class quality leveraging their innovative DNA. The passion and customer-centricity of founders convince us that they are on the path of building India’s most loved D2C footwear brand.”
