Noida-based Yourslate raises undisclosed amount

Startups are also grabbing first-time funding

Yourslate has recently raised funds from VC Kalaari Capital and Bangalore-based Tauras Mutual Funds. This includes spot funding of half a million by winning ‘Big Startup Idea Challenge.’ It has also raised an undisclosed amount as seed fund.

Hasan Ali, founder, Yourslate, said, “It’s like early days of e-commerce in India. We have to change the market and make people know about art. We also need to make it more accessible and affordable to people. Hence, we felt the need for funds. This is the first time we've gone for funding and we've grabbed it.

“Yourslate is incubated under GoZoop which is a leading digital marketing company of India. We would spend extensively on marketing and in building a strong online presence. A new website is on its way with over more than 1000 new products,” added Ali. Ali’s need for funds has been met for now. However, he would require further support in the next financial year as he expands abroad.

Ali started Yourslate on October 1, 2016. His ambition was to market artists’ works and to create better opportunities for the artists. Learning about the struggles of his painter grandfather, it came to him as a social purpose.  “The art landscape of India is very unprivileged, non-uniform and sparse. We thought of starting with something everyone would buy and decided to start with portraits,” shared Ali.

Yourslate.in is all about art (inspired from Ali’s painter family). The services provided include portrait making, wall art - graffiti, doodles, portraits, paints, installations etc and paintings. The company offers the service of delivering portraits and paintings at the doorstep. For business, startups, offices and co workings Ali also offers interior designing/wall art services and even consultancy.

“We are building the next generation customization platform in collaboration with various firms. The platform will enable customers buy their personalized products of all sorts. Everybody likes to wear their own personality and we are taking this idea forward. Our bouquet includes customised apparels -t-shirts, sweatshirt, bands and other accessories along with delivery to colleges,” informed the Noida-based entrepreneur.

The Journey

The global art market is booming but investing in art comes with a certain risk. Australia, Russia, and European countries have lack of labour and there exist increasing demand of handmade paintings. The painting market alone will rise to three trillion by 2020. In the coming years Yourslate plans to expand to more countries in terms of our services. Presently it is catering to India and Australia.

“We have a robust set of customers at Yourslate who ask for portraits of parents, grandparents, friends or girl friends. Portraits are priceless gifts, when you see it with your eyes; it touches your core. The future looks bright as interesting things are happening for me,” enthused the youngpreneur.

How viable is investment into an art business, at the current economic scenario? Do share your views.