PC: Inflection Point Ventures
My Pahadi Dukan is a direct to consumer (D2C) brand which aims to promote true Himalayan health and well being products, and has raised a pre seed funding round, led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV). This investment is a huge step for the startup towards its mission of bringing together over 20,000 farmers and cooperatives in the Himalayan region to well connected base of consumers to grow their livelihood and preserve traditional practices.
Participation in IPV Ideaschool Accelerator Program
My Pahadi Dukan was funded after participating in the second phase of the IPV Ideaschool accelerator programme, which provided the platform for early stage startups to perfect their models and get its growth on a fast track. IPV Ideaschool is scheduled to start in January 2024 and seeks to help businesses take them from idea to MVP in just an intensive eight week period.
Selection and Mentorship
More than 1,500 applications have been filed for the accelerator program both from first two batches alone. From these 250 startups were shortlisted: 100 Batch 1 and 150 Batch 2 startups, reflecting the program’s effort to identify the best high potential ventures. As noticed, the startups brought to the bowl in Batch 2 came from diverse cities, including metropolitan cities with 75 applications from women focused businesses, making the program inclusive.
Batch 2 saw the emergence of my Pahadi Dukan as one of the strong contest entrants and secured significant funding for itself, a few other innovative startups, including Connektra.io, and Vividobots. While participating in the programme, these startups were guided in their strategic decisions throughout by IPV’s leadership team along with industry experts like Kapil Kochhar, Sales Leader at Digital Natives at Google Cloud, Anand Banka, Director of the Technical Accounting Group at Barclays and Rajiv Kochar, CFO of Pluss Advanced Technologies.
Impact on Himalayan CommunitiesMy Pahadi Dukan, which now has pre seed capital in bag, is aiming to scale its operations and would start sourcing the authentic products directly from Himalayan farmers and artisans. This not only secures the arrival of original products of health and wellbeing to the consumers but also permits the local communities with a source of sustainable income. My Pahadi Dukan stands at the crossroads of bridging the gap between Himalayan traditional producers and the modern marketplace, thereby one that not only allows cultural heritage to be preserved but also contributes to economic development in the modern market place.
Founder’s Perspective
Co founder and CEO of My Pahadi Dukan Himanshu Dua had to thank the supporting through the IPV Ideaschool initiative. He spoke about the invaluable learning lessons from pitching to the selection jury to meeting IPV’s large network of investors as an ipsum. The IPV team came through with the exceptional guidance when needed throughout the fundraising process for overcoming the putting into practice of the company’s vision and thanks to the team’s support it has become reality.
Conclusion
My Pahadi Dukan’s successful pre-seed funding round is led by Inflection Point Ventures, is a sign of a promising future for the venture. With the growth of its operations, the company plans to continue to bring authentic Himalayan products to consumer while supporting the communities to whom they belong. This development signals the grand potential of the startups committed to preserving culture and empowering the communities and also demonstrates the effectiveness of accelerator programs such as IPV Ideaschool in shaping and carrying startups to their final stages.
