The Gurugram-based startup ZiffyHomes announced that it has raised Rs 2 crore in a seed funding round which was lead by TradeIndia.com CEO, Bikky Khosla, and Anirudh Agarwal, MD at Shree Sharda Group. As a part of the deal, the duo will also join ZiffyHomes as Members of the Board. According to a statement released by the startup, the funding round also saw participation from a number of individual investors including Ajay Kaul (CEO of Jubilant FoodWorks), Karan Kumar (Founder and CEO of Amalthea Capital, a Dubai-based investment firm) and Mini Monesh (Managing Director of Virgo Wellness)

The startup was co-founded in May 2015 by Sanchal Ranjan and Saurabh Kumar. The startup enables users to rent out their homes via a digital process and involves no brokerage. It offers ready-to-move–in individual rooms to prospective tenants for long stays without maintenance issues along with the added convenience of digital rent payment and the flexibility of moving across homes under ZiffyHomes’ services.

“Combining technology with on the ground operations is our USP,” said Sanchal Ranjan, CEO and Co-founder of ZiffyHomes. “With these funds, we plan to foray into the studio apartments segment which would cater to niche section of executive class accommodation,” he added.

The startup is currently operational only in the Delhi-NCR region and is looking to expand its presence in other cities across the country. The startup provides homeowners with a platform to connect them with verified tenants and thereby enable them to earn higher rental income all year round, in addition to its hassle free home rental management solution. The company uses analytical algorithms to generate an area heat map, which gives the users demand forecasts in prevailing rentals in areas around them.

The rising income, more exposure to global housing standards and frequent shifting across cities due to employment purposes are the causal links behind the rising trend of Indian consumers becoming more demanding when it comes to housing, especially with respect to amenities, quality of interiors and well connected localities.

“India had recently developed a growing appetite for rental housing,” said leading investor, Anirudh Agarwal. “ZiffyHomes intends to exceed the expectations of both landlords and tenants by plugging the efficiency, trust and knowledge loophole.”

The company’s main competitor is the Bengaluru based startup NestAway, which has been funded by prominent investors like Tiger Global, Ratan Tata and IDG Ventures. NestAway has successfully raised $45 million in funding till date. The startup was co-founded in January 2015 by Amarendra Sahu, Smruti Parida, Deepak Dhar and Jitendra Jagadev.

(Picture courtesy: www.interntheory.com)