Digital platform for learning music and performing arts, Spardha, has raised Rs 3 crore in a Pre-Series A1 round led by Inflection Point Ventures, an angel investment platform.
A few US-based HNIs have also invested in this round, a release said.
The funds raised will be utilised in branding & marketing, expansion of sales and products team, curriculum development & enhancement, digital platform enhancement, and expanding presence in four new international markets -UK, Singapore, Canada and Australia.
Spardha has grown over 10x in the last 12 months, during the pandemic. It has over 5,000 registered users and over 1,300 paid users in India and the US. Having launched the platform in the US on February 1, 2021, it acquired over 500 registered users and 200 paid users in the US, in the first 10 weeks of the launch.
IPV Co-founder Ankur Mittal said, “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 ed-tech companies which have similar appeal across other verticals,” Mittal added.
With professionally certified trainers, Spardha has made curated curriculums for the students and facilitates the same via its digital learning platform. It offers personalised learning paths for different student needs.
Spardha Founder & CEO Saurabh Srivastav said, “Success of a startup depends heavily on how fast you can bring required specialised knowledge on-board and channelise it towards materialising company goals.”
“For first-time founders like me, IPV is like a mentor helping us with all their specialised 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,” he added.
With the market size of over 40 million potential students in India across all age groups, growing at the rate of 17% YoY, 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%.
