Mumbai: In a world where venture capitalists are increasingly elusive and often leave startups in the lurch after initial meetings, Pneucons, a B2B industrial marketplace startup said that it has turned the tables. The company has just announced the successful closure of its pre-series investment round, driven entirely by the power of social media.
In a landscape where securing funding is becoming more competitive and traditional avenues often fall short, Pneucons leveraged Twitter to capture the attention and trust of investors. The round also saw participation from angel investors and counts Tarun Mehta, Co-Founder & CEO of Ather Energy, as an investor in his personal capacity. This milestone Pneucon said shows its product-market fit and the quality of its services.
Moreover, this development underscores social media’s role in driving brand awareness and attracting the right audience, especially for startups.Social media platforms like Twitter have become crucial tools for startups seeking to make a mark. By leveraging these platforms, startups can craft and share their story in real-time, engaging directly with a global audience of potential investors and customers.
For Pneucons, Twitter not only helped amplify their message but also provided a direct space to showcase their traction, success stories, and investor endorsements. This real-time interaction with the startup’s audience helped build credibility and generate interest from key stakeholders who might have otherwise been overlooked in traditional funding channels. Through strategic use of social media, Pneucons was able to elevate its visibility and attract investors who resonated with its mission and potential, demonstrating how digital platforms can be pivotal in a startup’s funding journey.
Founded in 2022 by Darshit Lakhani and Pritesh Lakhani , Pneucons is an Ahmedabad based B2B Industrial Marketplace startup on a mission to revolutionize B2B transactions within the MRO (Maintenance, Repairs, and Operations) sector by building an ONDC-like infrastructure. Serving SMEs and MSMEs in India’s industrial sector, Pneucons addresses critical challenges such as credit defaults (Udhaari), opaque pricing, and the availability of genuine quality products. With the MRO market valued at $50 billion and growing, Pneucons is poised to deliver significant value to a sizeable audience.
The newly raised funds will be strategically allocated to expand the team, focussing on more cross-border transactions across major engineering categories like fire safety, pneumatics and hydraulics, industrial automation, plastic and packaging, electric cables and Products and Power Tools.
Pritesh Lakhani, co-founder, CEO Pneucons said, “This funding round underscores the critical need for a transactional marketplace tailored for SMEs and MSMEs, particularly those struggling with Udhaari (credit terms) and opaque sourcing and pricing structures. Despite initial hesitations from VCs and investors regarding a cash-based, cross-border marketplace, Twitter played an instrumental role in providing us with market validation. It allowed us to share our vision, success stories, and customer feedback, which ultimately connected us with investors who believe in our mission.”
“With this funding and notable investors on our cap table, we are now equipped to embark on a journey of growth and expansion, driven by the belief in our mission and the trust of our stakeholders,” he added.
Pneucons said that it has achieved milestones that contributed to this successful funding round:
- Presence in 42+ countries with 7,000 buyers and 70 sellers, all acquired through word of mouth.
- Execution of cross-border transactions in 12+ countries.
- Domestic transactions across INDIA
- Established enterprises and government entities like Indian Railways, Indian Oil, L&T Suffin, Telangana Power Plant, and ISRO are now buying on Pneucons.
- Sellers from tier-2 & tier-3 cities are directly exporting & importing industrial equipment via Pneucons.
Pneucons added that it aims to build a global platform from India for the world, catering to the entire SME and MSME segment across all industries and engineering categories who don’t want to deal in credit. The recent funding aligns perfectly with Pneucons’ strategy for growth and expansion, enabling a stronger global footprint across Europe, the Middle East, and APAC countries, and building trust among SMEs and MSMEs as a reliable transactional marketplace both within and outside India.
