Spardha Raises INR 3 Cr In Pre-Series A1 Funding Led By Inflection Point Ventures The startup will utilize these funds in branding, marketing, expansion of sales team, and product development

Digital platform Spardha, for learning music and performing arts has raised INR 3 crore in a Pre-Series A1 round led by Inflection Point Ventures, one of India's largest angel investment platforms. A few of the US-based HNIs have also invested in this round.

The funds raised will be utilized in branding and marketing, expansion of sales and products team, curriculum development and enhancement, digital platform enhancement, and expanding presence in four new international markets i.e. UK, Singapore, Canada, and Australia.

"Music is a genre, which is driven by hobby and passion. Spardha is tapping into the music-loving audience who wants to learn new instruments and vocals for many reasons. Music improves focus, acts as a meditation tool, and enables us to learn faster and become more creative. Spardha has found early adopters in users of all age groups across India and the wide Indian diaspora in the US. Future plans include expanding both the markets and the product offering to include a wider user base. Spardha has the potential to replicate the success of some of the leading edtech companies which have similar appeal across other verticals," said Ankur Mittal, co-founder, IPV.

Spardha has grown over tenfold in the last 12 months, during the pandemic. It has more than 5000 registered users and over 1300 paid users in India and the US. Having launched the platform in the US on 1 February 2021, it acquired over 500 registered users and over 200 paid users in the US, in the first 10 weeks of the launch, the company shared.

"Success of a startup depends heavily on how fast you can bring required specialized knowledge on-board and channelize it towards materializing company goals. For first-time founders like me, IPV is like a mentor helping us with all their specialized knowledge so that we take the right decisions and maximize the probability of our success. The platform has a large network of seasoned SMEs across various business functions like product development, marketing, sales, and finance, etc. who are always willing to extend their support in solving our key challenges," added Saurabh Srivastav, founder, and chief executive officer, Spardha.

With the market size of over 40 million potential students in India across all age groups, growing at the rate of 17 per cent year-over-year, the demand for music and performing arts classes is high. China alone may become a $14 billion market in online music lessons by 2022. Globally, it is a multi-billion-dollar market growing at a CAGR of 18.68 per cent.