ATLANTA — IMbesharam.com says it has raised seed capital of more than $250,000 from two Atlanta-based investors and founders contributions to launch its global adult store.
According to the company, the global adult store will cater to the Indians and South Asians outside of India, and will ship orders to U.S., Canada, U.K., Europe, West and South Africa, Middle East, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
In October, the founders Raj Armani and Salim Rajan introduced their funding campaign with an elevator pitch video and website. The website features the founders story, the team and their vision, their growth plan and testimonials from industry veterans.
According to the company, the pitch video went viral on Linkedin with more than 2 million impressions and more than 151 comments from business veterans and professionals in a three-day time period.
IMbesharam says the new webstore will have a head office in Atlanta, with sales and support team in Kiev, Ukraine, Lisbon, Portugal and Mumbai, India. The seed capital will be used to launch the brand and fuel operations for the first phase, establish its sales and support teams, inventory, online and offline marketing in the U.S. and Canada and for website redesign/development, the company said.
Raj Armani, the COO and co-founder says, “We are grateful, honored and humbled to have the support and backing of very respected individuals and professionals who not only shared our vision but great understanding of the affluent audience that we will target to. Our business model has always been a unique proposition, with the initial focus on Indian’s in India, we had setup custom logistics, processes and marketing in place to ship and deliver American and European brands to India in 2013 when the idea of cross border commerce was just taking birth amongst the ecommerce industry. Now, after six years of successful operation and half a million orders delivered, we are leveraging the brand reputation and good will to reach out to 75 million Indians outside of India, a $400 million unexplored opportunity.”
Salim Rajan, the CEO and co-founder says, “In the last few years, the adult products industry has witnessed phenomenal growth and entry into FMCG category, most innovations in product design and packaging, and influx of investor funding of over $100 million dollars, including the recent majority stake investment in Lovehoney. This makes it an optimum timing for a territory expansion and targeted marketing of a niche audience, thus a ripe opportunity for the business to scale up and expand its geographical reach. The Global Adult Store will apply the knowledge gained from analyzing the data of over 60 months of buying habits of Indians, and the expertise in managing the various challenges that come in catering to the laws & customs of various countries and culture & values of the Indian community.”
According to IMbesharam, Peter Chang who is a co-investor in the brand is a real estate professional responsible for bringing Chinese and East Asian investments to Atlanta since the ‘80s.
Chang is described as a veteran in the Atlanta real estate community that has been involved in more than $1 billion of assets in multifamily, retail, office and industrial sectors,” the company said. He is also managing partner of Atlanta Chinatown Investments, LLC. Peter obtained his Master’s Degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton and a Bachelor’s Degree from Hong Kong Baptist University. Apart from being an investor, he will also be an on the advisory board of the company, IMbesharam said.
“Many non-resident Indians have access to the adult products in the West and have been purchasing it from online stores likeAmazon.com, Adam&Eve, Lovehoney, AnnSummers and others, but the undisputed fact of sales is based on human psychology which says, Considering all other factors being standard (like pricing, packaging and service) If a buyer likes you and trusts you, they will buy from you. Besharam has earned the trust of Indians in India, and now with the global store, it aims to communicate, educate and deliver world-class adult products at compelling prices to Indians worldwide. Besharam was founded by Indians for Indians, so the NRI audience will be able to browse and shop from a brand they can relate to and connect with. We are very excited to support Besharam’s vision and expansion goals and we hope to bring valuable network and resources in their early stages.”
IMbesharam says that the second investor is a South Asian community figure and a senior director in a multi-million dollar software company with presence in U.S. and India that has chosen to stay anonymous. He will also be an advisor to the company.
“We strongly believe that there is a large potential with NRIs worldwide, who are excited to buy from a brand, Besharam, that has been able to build trust, value and reputation across the Indian subcontinent and now ready to expand their wings to spread happiness across the world, further advancing its founding motto — by Indians, for Indians,” he said.
The global store will showcase brands like Womanizer, Satisfyer, We-Vibe, Lelo, Fleshlight, Kiiroo, OhMIBod, Bijoux Indiscrets, Rocks-Off, Screaming O, Fifty Shades of Grey, Sex & Mischief, Liberator, Amorelie, KamaSutra, Rhythm Toys, System Jo, Pjur, Sliquid, Bathmate, Bodywand, Fun Factory, Tenga, Penthouse, Aneros, Baci, Rene Rofe, BSwish, AutoBlow and many more.
