Sunil Grover aka ‘Gutthi’ joins Gigstart

Gigstart, the marketplace that facilitates quick and transparent connections between entertainers and party planners has versatile and talented comic artist Sunil Grover on board. Known for his currently popular character of ‘Gutthi’ on Comedy Nights with Kapil, Sunil will be looking to entertain people with his comic skills and artistry at corporate and campus events as well as private occasions through Gigstart.

Having established a seasoned reputation for comedy and mimicry through his various stints in radio, films, television and live shows, Sunil Grover became a household name with the recent fame he received as the perky and coy Gutthi on Comedy Nights with Kapil. Mumbai based artist Sunil has revelled audiences with his superb comic timing, affable personality and tongue-in-cheek humour for over ten years now. A theatre artist earlier, he made his debut with the TV show ‘Chala Lallan Hero Banne’ and went on to star in other shows like ‘Kya Aap Paanchvi Fail Champu Hain?’ and ‘Kaun Banega Champu?’

Atit Jain, Co-Founder, Gigstart, says, “Gigstart has always prided itself on offering a perfect assimilation of popular, talented and reputed performers from across the country. Sunil is a well-recognised name in the business of stand-up comedy which itself is a great market today. We are assured of great demand for this artist through our platform backed by his appeal across all ages.”

Sunil Grover will be available for bookings through Gigstart and can double up as anchor and stand-up comic for shows in Mumbai.

Read the rest of this entry

Gigstart closes seed round funding at $ 210,000

Gigstart closes seed round funding at $ 210,000

To channelise new capital towards building a world-class platform  with investments in tech, content and geographical expansion
New Delhi, December 4, 2014: Gigstart, the marketplace that facilitates quick and transparent connections between entertainers and party planners has received seed funding in excess of $ 200,000. The investors include Indian Dream Capital (Mauritius), Rajesh Sawhney (GSF), Rohit Bansal & Kunal Bahl (Snapdeal), Narendra Singh Rawat (FG Wilson), TA Venture Holding Limited, Roshan Abbas and Anand Chandrasekaran.

The funding comes less than one-year into the launch of the marketplace on the back of its steady success in creating value for both sides of the supply-demand chain. The infusion of new funds is likely to be invested in building technology infrastructure, content of superlative quality, hiring key talent to facilitate expansion and exploration of newer geographies.

Atit Jain, Co-Founder, Gigstart, says, “We are pleased at having officially closed the seed round of funding. The faith that the investors have shown in the venture stems from the fact that we have been witnessing 30% month-on-month growth since our inception and the numbers have been particularly positive in the last three months.”

He further added, “Without sounding self-congratulatory, it is pertinent to point out that a platform like ours doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. We aim to channelize the funds in a manner that helps us build a world-class product in terms of scale, reach and value.”

The fresh round of funds will be channelised by Gigstart into four broad domains. Technology building will be one of the core areas of investment with a focus on scaling up the product so it can seamlessly handle the rapidly-increasing traffic on the site. Content creation and promotion will be another major area of emphasis. Gigstart aims to build robust and quality content to attract customers for its services. It will also assist artists in creating videos and audios for better conversions.

Marketing is another aspect that will witness substantial investment. There will be a great thrust on on-ground activities and co-sponsorship of events that become regular affairs and build the Gigstart brand. Hiring of talent across ranks in order to expand both the customer and the artist base will see significant focus.

Expansion of footprint in newer geographies is a core area where the funds will be channelized. The founders of Gigstart firmly believe that the market for a service like Gigstart’s is immense in tier II and tier III towns of the country. With the growth in these geographies, the marketplace aims to tap this latent potential. As one of the investors is based out of Dubai, Gigstart may also explore the synergies in the emirate.

Read the rest of this entry