Hyderabad: Sector-agnostic accelerator Huddle that has invested in Hyderabad-based electric vehicle startup RACEnergy sees good traction from city-based startups in varied sectors. The accelerator provider is working with 30-35 startup companies per year and about 70 per cent of its portfolio companies have raised capital. Although it is sector-agnostic, the accelerator has been focusing more on the EV, gaming, edtech and direct-to-consumer space along with niche consumer food ecosystems and retail ventures.
“We have been seeing good traction from ventures in Hyderabad as the ecosystem in the city is highly supportive with various academic institutions and the startup ecosystem is highly diverse. We are also looking at partnering with local incubators and accelerators along with venture capitalists in order to support the local startups here,” said Sanil Sachar, co-founder, Huddle.
The accelerator has 40 portfolio companies that it supports currently like Bengaluru-based Cell Propulsion, Mumbai-based BoldCare, Gurugram-based Wellversed, Hyderabad-based RACEnergy and Kerala-based Brainwired among others. Started in November 2017, the accelerator has seen more receptiveness towards business-to-consumer sector startups mature over the years along with direct-to-consumer startups also seeing traction.
In order to support the startups in the D2C space, Huddle has launched an exclusive acceleration programme inviting early and growth stage consumer-focused startups in the country. It will help the new venture in fundraising, working capital support, marketing advisory, logistical support and also gives the distribution access to its new ventures.
“As part of the new programme, we are targeting to work 14-15 D2C ventures by end of this year as we are anticipating much larger rise in early stage startups in 2021 compared to previous year as now businesses are now focusing on providing consumer-specific products with many catering to niche segments like nutrition-based foods and lifestyle-inclusive products,” said Sachar who founded the company along with Ishaan Khosla.
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