According to Techcrunch, the startup recently raised $654.38 million+$300,000 in pre-seed funds, mainly invested by angel investors from Y-Combinator, ActOneVentures, Houseparty, Mux and Facebook.
It mainly sells pets to customers through its online platform. Different from other platforms, it allows sellers to show videos of selling pets, and buyers and sellers can chat and interact in the application. "Since the emergence of Yi Bei, classified advertisements or general peer-to-peer business have stayed in the traditional operation mode, and there is no real major innovation. Usually, they are just displays of ordinary lists with pictures and phone numbers, "said MoustafaMahmoud, co-founder and CEO. "Now, we are trying to change this situation and turn the traditional market into a video experience, showing the special story of each pet.
At the same time, we also cooperate with third parties to provide health examination and interest-free financing for customers who can't pay in one lump sum, and establish the safest and most reliable pet purchase method for customers. So far, more than 6,000 pets have been relocated.
The picture is from official website.
When talking about the reasons for his founding, Mahmoud said that the initial inspiration came from his bad experience when shopping on classified websites in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Unrealistic item description and high fraud rate made him sprout the idea of founding.
In order to solve the problem of online shopping fraud, an in-app payment option is provided. Once the buyer confirms the receipt of the pet, the funds will be released to the seller's account. This function can ensure that the buyer will not be deceived by the seller to a certain extent. In addition, sellers will be followed up on the platform to ensure that they keep pets in a healthy environment and complete vaccination, deworming and chip implantation. Mahmoud said, "We strive to provide the best experience for buyers and sellers, providing them with free vaccines, microchips, insect repellents, insurance and pet food.
The picture is from official website.
It is planned to use this fund to develop its own platform, expand its staff and expand its influence in the UK. Mahmoud said, "Our current state is to develop in the UK first, because the UK is a fairly large market. Once we reach the stage of having a large market share, we will begin to expand into the American market.