Sulekha
 | |
| Type | Venture-Funded |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Area served | India, United States, Canada |
| Founder(s) |
|
| Chairman | Param Parameswaran |
| CEO | Satya Prabhakar |
| Employees | 1300 |
| Website |
www |
| Alexa rank |
 1493(27 April 2015)[1] |
| Type of site | Web Portal |
| Advertising | Online |
| Registration | Optional |
| Available in | English |
| Current status | Active |
Sulekha.com led by Param Parameswaran[2][3] (Chairman) and Satya Prabhakar (Founder and CEO), is one of India’s largest and fastest-growing digital business and consumer brands that has transformed local services ecosystem through a powerful need fulfillment and monetization platform that generates qualified, parameterized leads to a vast number of local SMBs in more than 40 cities.[4][5][6]
Sulekha.com is a platform for local service need fulfillment, connecting tens of millions of users and local businesses in 800+ need categories such as computer training, serviced apartments, wooden flooring, party catering, baby-sitting, elder care, yoga lessons, kitchen renovation, wedding photography, moving-packing, pest control, event planning and auto repair. Sulekha has 14 offices and 1,300+ employees across India, including Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Austin.[5]
History
Satya Prabhakar (CEO) and Sangeeta Kshettry founded Sulekha.com as a platform enabling interactions among Indians worldwide. Sulekha raised its initial investment from Indigo Monsoon Group[7] when Param Parameswaran (as Chairman) and Harish Raghavan joined its Board. Param Parameswaran actively advised and helped focus the company on its India expansion in 2007, and expand its digital and mobile platform to connect users and businesses for local services. At this time, Norwest Venture Partners (NVP)[8] invested in the company, and Promod Haque,[9] Senior Managing Partner of NVP, joined Sulekha’s Board. In 2011, Mitsui & Co. (Tokyo),[10] a Global Fortune 200 company, led the Series B round of investment with NVP also participating. In April 2015, GIC, the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Singapore, led a further round of investment along with NVP into the company.[11][12][13]
Sulekha commissioned an animated commercial called "Arjuna the Archer" from J. Walter Thompson which emulated the style of Patta Chitra Katha, a traditional form of leaf painting folk-art.[14][15] The advertisement won the 2008 Cannes Lions Bronze Award for "Animation under film craft".[16][17]
Awards
- Internet and Mobile Association of India (2011): Rated Sulekha.com The Best Multi Utility Website.[18]
- PC World (June 2008) Rated Sulekha.com The Best Local Search Site in India.[19]
- Comscore (Jan 2009): Ranked most popular Classifieds and Yellow Pages in India.[20]
References
- ↑ "sulekha.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2015-04-27.
- ↑ "GIC and Norwest back Sulekha.com - PE HUB". PE HUB. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ We Connect -- Episode 128 -- Mr.Param Parameswaran - Chairman -- Sulekha.com, 2012-06-14, retrieved 2016-01-14
- ↑ "About us Sulekha.com: For all your local needs". www.sulekha.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- 1 2 "About us Sulekha.com: For all your local needs". www.sulekha.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Sulekha.com raises Rs 175 cr from Singapore's sovereign fund, NVP". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Indiaplaza.in Looking At $10M Fundraise | Techcircle.in - India startups, internet, mobile, e-commerce, software, online businesses, technology, venture capital, angel, seed funding". techcircle.vccircle.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Companies". Norwest Venture Partners. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Promod Haque". Norwest Venture Partners. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Mitsui's Private Equity Arm Opens India Office | VCCircle". www.vccircle.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Sulekha.com raises Rs 175 crore from GIC, NVP". The Hindu. 2015-04-21. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Sulekha.com raises Rs175 cr from GIC, Norwest Venture Partners". The Financial Express. 2015-04-21. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Sulekha raises $28 M from GIC & Norwest; to expand to more cities". MediaNama. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Sulekha.com revives the ancient art of Patta Chitra Katha". Campaign India. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Arjuna The Archer - Sulekha.com". arjunathearcher.sulekha.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Sulekha.com's 'Arjuna the Archer' scores another metal". www.afaqs.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "J. Walter Thompson India - Awards - AdForum Profile". www.adforum.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Sulekha.com gets a new brand identity". www.afaqs.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Sulekha.Com wins PC World Web Award". www.moneycontrol.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Sulekha.com Releases Market Study on Luxury Housing Market in India". Sify. Retrieved 2016-01-14.