DTC’s Daily Digest brings you the latest news on the world’s fastest growing direct-to-consumer brands. In today’s edition: Bounce takes advantage of India’s desire for scooters; Vinted raises USD$141m to grow second-hand clothing marketplace; and Pedal Me turns to Crowdcube. 

Bounce takes advantage of India’s desire for scooters

Bounce,  a Bangalore-based startup that operates over 17,000 electric and gasoline scooters in three dozen cities in India, has raised about USD$150m as part of an ongoing financing round led by existing investors Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital and Accel Partners India. 

The year-old startup is now valued at over USD$500m. This is a significant increase since the year-old startup’s Series C financing round, which closed in June, when it was worth a little over USD$200m.

Bounce, formerly known as Metro Bikes, allows customers to rent a scooter for as little as Rs 1 (0.1 cents) per km and Rs 1.5 per hour. Once the ride has been completed, customers can drop the scooter at any nearby parking spot.

The startup, which had raised USD$92m prior to the new financing round, said last month that it has amassed 2.1 million customers.

The affordability of these rides is one of the selling points for smart electric and gasoline bikes in India. The other perk is the increasingly growing realisation that two wheels warp through much faster in crowded traffic than four.

Vinted raises USD$141m to grow second-hand clothing marketplace

Vinted, a site where consumers can sell and buy second-hand fashion, has raised €128m (USD$140.9m) in a round that is being led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with previous backers Sprints Capital, Insight Venture Partners, Accel and Burda Principal Investments also participating.

The market for second-hand clothes — the “circular economy” as it’s sometimes called — has been on the rise in the last several years, fuelled by economic crunches, a desire to make more responsible and less wasteful fashion choices, and a wave of digital platforms that are bringing the selling and buying of used clothes outside the charity shop.

With this investment, the startup — founded and headquartered out of Vilnius, Lithuania — has passed a valuation of USD$1bn (it is not specifying an exact amount), making it one of the biggest startups to come out of the country. 

The company is going to use the money to continue expanding in Europe, and building out more features on its platform to improve the buying and selling process, while sticking to its goal of providing a platform for consumers to list and buy used fashion.

Pedal Me turns to Crowdcube

Pedal Me is fundraising on Crowdcube. The company positions itself as offering “high-tech e-assist cargo bikes, bespoke high-capacity trailers and highly trained riders to out-compete motors in urban areas, providing the sustainable delivery & taxi services urgently needed for 21st century cities.” 

In the year since their last crowdfund, the company’s estimated monthly CO2 saving has increased by 108% to over four tonnes, the size of the fleet has increased from 12 bikes to 32 bikes (with another 10 on the way in November), the monthly number of jobs done has increased by 150% to nearly 3000 and the total distance travelled each month has increased 108% 16598km. Meanwhile, monthly revenue growth since launch as has averaged 19% MoM. 

The funding will be used to expand the fleet; keep improving tech, and keep pace with demand - with the vision being for development of staff, scale and processes in London in 2020 before expansion to other cities in 2021.

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