– Acquires capital from prominent angel investors Krishnakumar Natarajan and Sandeep Mathur; Existing investors Aneesh Reddy and Vikas Tandon reinvest, demonstrating continued faith in the venture
– Fresh funds to facilitate improvements in IT infrastructure and greater penetration into existing cities
Marking another step in its growth journey, premier smartphone repair e-commerce platform JustLikeNew.in has recently raised 
funds worth USD 0.5 million ($500,000) through LetsVenture.com. The start-up, which is poised to transform the smartphone repair industry in India by productizing over 10,000 smartphone repair services on its platform, secured investments from leading angel investors including Mr. Krishnakumar Natarajan- Executive Chairman of Mindtree and Mr. Sandeep Mathur- Former Managing Director of Oracle India. Mr. Vikas Tandon- Former Managing Director of Indigo Consulting and Mr. Aneesh Reddy- CEO of Capillary Technologies who had earlier invested in the seed round of funding for JustLikeNew.in have also participated in this round, illustrating their sustained confidence in the robust business model of the start-up.
Incepted in mid-2014 and formally launched in 2015 in response to the highly unorganized state of Indian repair industry, JustLikeNew.in has successfully disrupted the smartphone repair segment through transparency, cost-effectiveness and convenience. The start-up currently provides free pickup and drop service for smartphones and tablets with a service turnaround time of 48 hours, bringing high-quality repair at customers’ doorstep. JustLikeNew.in has also established a dominant presence in the B2B segment through partnerships with Uber, Ola, Swiggy and Qualcomm for smartphone servicing, and offers pan-India services through its strategic partnership with 3PL. The platform is committed to constant innovation and the recent funds raised will primarily be utilised to penetrate deeper into JustLikeNew’s existing target cities and to make improvements in its IT infrastructure in order to provide its users with a seamless repair experience.
JustLikeNew.in has been co-founded by Ajit Panigrahi and Rahul Agarwal, ex-classmates at Xavier School of Management (XLRI) who spent most of their time discussing entrepreneurial ideas. The e-commerce platform was, in fact, inspired by Ajit’s own experience of accidentally causing damage to his phone and subsequently having great difficulties in getting it repaired. The duo have since been committed to ensuring that smartphone users do not have to run from pillar to post for services that are required so regularly.
Commenting on the funding, Ajit Panigrahi, Co-founder JustLikeNew.in, said, “We are extremely pleased by the phenomenal response received by JustLikeNew.in since its launch as can be seen by the fact that we were oversubscribed by 1.5 times on the platform. The investors at LetsVenture have also shown great faith in our model. Vikas Tandon and Aneesh Reddy have been associated with us since our seed round and this round too, is led by Vikas, demonstrating the fact that they see continued potential in our operations and business model. With the number of smartphone owners estimated to cross 702 million by 2020, there is an immense scope for our service network in the country’s after-sales repair space. We are confident that the adoption of online-based repair services will continue to grow at an accelerated pace in the future as well.”
Krishnakumar Natarajan, Executive Chairman of Mindtree, elaborated on the reasons for investing in the start-up, commenting, “JustLikeNew.in has tremendous potential due to its differentiated approach and customer-centric offerings. By bringing in service standardisation and enhancing transparency in pricing, the platform has transformed the smartphone repair experience for the Indian costumer. I am convinced that the model JustLikeNew.in has adopted has great promise and is absolutely suitable for the country’s market.”
Ram Kumar Kakani, Professor at XLRI and one of JustLikeNew.in’s significant investors, expressed his enthusiasm about the future of the start-up, commenting, “I have taught Ajit and Rahul during their MBA days, and they always endeavoured to find solutions to problems around them. With JustLikeNew.in’s innovative solutions, users are sure to experience unparalleled repair and maintenance services.”
By making cost-effective, value-driven and high-quality repair and maintenance services available to smartphone owners across the country, JustLikeNew.in has emerged as a dominant player in a mostly unorganised market. Its focus on quality of service as well as convenience serves to further differentiate it from its competitors. The platform offers a plethora of value-added services such as free home pickup and drop, a standby replacement phone, timely repair and after-service warranty, available at extremely cost-effective prices, and has truly emerged as a pioneer in the segment.
