Community-led commerce firm Marsplay raises Pre-Series A funding led by Venture Highway

Online fashion retail platform Marsplay has secured its Series A funding from a clutch of investors, though the amount raised has not been disclosed. Those participating in this round have been led by Venture Highway and the other investors are Alvin Tse from Xiaomi and Jonathan Lau, Partner, Cadorna Ventures. In addition, existing investors, personal offices of Shailesh Rao, a partner with TPG Growth, and Nikhil Mohta, Director, ICICI Ventures have also picked up a portion of the amount invested.

Marsplay, founded by Misbah Ashraf and Ayush Shukla, has charted a different course while bringing fashion clothes to the customers online. Instead of being a brand-driven model, it’s a community led platform. Here, local communities share their own creations on Marsplay, curate them and present them in a way the customers searching for new ideas and products will be lured into making the purchases. It is an ecommerce platform with a focus on bringing local fashion to people.

Being a community-driven model, you will have the most contemporary designs on tap. Someone has a new design they will upload it the very next day without having to go through several layers of approvals etc. Marsplay focuses on the local influence in the fashions they carry on their site.

“We envisioned a platform that provided easy-to-shop fashion advice on ‘What to wear’ and ‘When to wear’ that was crowdsourced from a community passionate about fashion and beauty. We see our relationship with this crucial community as a symbiotic one - not only do we provide them with a platform to build their personal brand, but also one with the tools to monetise their creativity.” Misbah Ashraf, Co-Founder Marsplay sais.

The funds now raised will be utilized by Marsplay in strengthening its team engaged in product engineering and in expanding the case of creators on the platform. There will also steps taken to induct ‘influencers’ who can add to the way the customers are encouraged to make their fashion choices.

“Fashion-led product discovery has been shifting away from eCommerce websites to social networks, however, the discovery to purchase process is still disconnected. More consumers are now seeking inspiration for fashion trends from people who are more relatable than celebrity influencers. In Marsplay, we have found a single platform that provides users with a seamless discovery of fashion trends and the ability to purchase their chosen product with a single click. We are excited to partner with the Marsplay team, as they build out community-driven fashion commerce in India”, said Samir Sood, Founder, of Venture Highway.