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Co-founders of Revv Karan Jain (left) and Anupam Agarwal. Photo credit: Revv.

If I am told to pick that one startup which has made the biggest impact in India, I don’t have to think twice. It’s Uber. This is me talking as an independent, millennial, working woman. Overnight, I am no longer at the mercy of haggling auto-rickshaw drivers, thuggish cabbies, or crowded buses. Nor do I have to brave driving myself in reckless traffic.

I am part of the growing tribe of those who don’t want to own a car but are willing to pay for the convenience of personal transportation.

The dose of competition infused by Uber from the US forced its Indian counterparts to up their act or be damned. And before you know it, there were several new players in the field, offering multiple options for consumers like me – who simply have to commute for work and pleasure. Delhi-headquartered Revv is one of the youngest startups in India’s personal transportation space. Today, it announced a series A funding round of US$9 million in equity and debt.

Revv is quite different from Uber or its chief Indian rival Ola. Revv offers cars on rent. You can choose a car from Revv’s website or app (available on iOS and Android), get it delivered at your doorstep, use it, and have it picked up when you’re done.

Currently, the self-drive car rental service on hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly basis is Revv’s only product. With the fresh capital infusion, Revv will broaden its product catalog to include other travel options. It will also enter new cities, besides the four it currently runs in: Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Chandigarh.

Revv was founded in July 2015 by ex-McKinsey executives Anupam Agarwal and Karan Jain. It raised US$2 million seed funding in August last year from Gautam Kumra, India MD of McKinsey & Company; Rajat Dhawan, mentor to McKinsey’s automotive practice; Ananth Narayanan, CEO of Myntra; and other angel investors. Revv’s series A equity funding round was led by Edelweiss Private Equity, and debt funding from Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services and LeasePlan India.

So far, Revv has served around 30,000 users, co-founders Anupam and Karan tell Tech in Asia.

See: How Google Launchpad is helping a car rental app rev its engines

Turn it on/off at will

Photo credit: 123rf.

“We have witnessed a continuous uptick in the acceptance of our first product, with very encouraging repeat rates. More than half of our revenues come from repeat users. Users are realizing that a combination of hired mobility options can be a true and practical alternative to owning a car,” the co-founders say.

According to them, the rise of ride-hailing apps has been an important market-creator, weaning people away from traditional car ownership. “The key would be to address the highly varied needs of a shared-mobility user, through a suite of products tailored for each need. For example, a weekend leisure trip, or mobility in a new city where one has relocated for a 3-month project, or a one-way outstation trip for work, or continuous availability of a car, but with the flexibility to turn it on/off at will,” they say.

Revv’s new investor Pranav Parikh, managing partner of Edelweiss Private Equity, believes the startup’s approach “to creating use-case based products will meet customers’ needs without compromising the convenience and flexibility of owning the vehicle, while allowing for better utilization of assets on the supply side.”

A big chunk of the latest US$9 million investment will go into building technological capabilities.

See: How an American came to India, launched a successful startup, and now plans to go international

How about sharing profits as well?

Revv has a fleet of over 300 cars currently, less than half of which are owned by the company. The other half includes leased cars and those rented on a profit-share agreement.

A few months ago, it began crowdsourcing cars to expand its fleet quickly. “A majority of the assets (cars) are owned by other companies or individuals who buy the vehicles, put them on our platform, and earn a return by sharing the revenue earned,” the co-founders say.

This is the main reason why the startup went on to raise part of its series A funding through classical debt and leases. “We went for this structure since debt and leases are required for our supply-side partners who buy cars and put them on our platform,” they explain.

Bangalore-headquartered Zoomcar, Carzonrent subsidiary Myles, and Google Launchpad startup JustRide are Revv’s chief competitors.

The more the merrier for consumers like me!

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