Suhail Khan
Srinagar-based logistics startup FastBeetle has secured a funding round of INR 90 Lakh (approximately $120,000) from Lenskart CEO Peyush Bansal and Boat CEO Aman Gupta for a 7.5% equity stake at a valuation of INR 12 crore (approximately $1.6 million). The funding was announced on a popular television show Shark Tank, where the startup pitched their business idea.
FastBeetle co-owner Sheikh Samiullah took to Twitter to express his gratitude as per The Web Story stating, “Our pitch clearly states that we need to create a startup ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir. We had gone [to Shark Tank] not to represent FastBeetle, but to represent the aspiration of the 1.5 crore population of Jammu and Kashmir. Thank you Peyush Bansal and Aman Gupta for believing in us.”
Abid Rashid another partner of FastBestle in his Facebook post said, “Safely shipped to the shores of shark tank India season 2!!
Coming from a zone where even the presence of a secure Internet connection was a dream to securing a position for this zone that the whole Internet shall be talking about it today, we did it.
And this was validated because of the very sincere efforts put in by the crew, Shark Tank India.
Falling short of words to express my gratitude towards the sharks in the tank #aman, #peyush #anupam #namita…. who encouraged us for the hopes we are carrying in our hearts and the path we have chosen towards empowerment.
While feeling elated as we closed the deal with two of the visionaries #peyush and #aman who invested in our idea of solving the delivery problems in the inaccessible areas.
Thank you #peyush and #aman for choosing us, and choosing us proudly as we do!” He added.
The funding round is the latest development for FastBeetle, which in 2021 became the first Kashmiri startup to raise $100,000 in a pre-Series A funding round led by a group of angel investors, including Sandeep Patel from Nepra, entrepreneurship evangelist Saurabh Mittal, Vikram Sanghvi, Rohit Qamra, and a few non-resident Kashmiris.
