Сhennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Sulekha is an India-based technology platform connecting consumers with expert service providers across categories including home improvement, events, education, and professional services. Founded in 2007 by Satya Prabhakar, the company operates a marketplace model in which service providers pay subscription fees to receive matched, verified consumer leads, while consumers use the platform at no cost. Sulekha also maintains a presence among non-resident Indians outside India and operates a US-facing events business. The company generated roughly $200,000 in its first year of operation and crossed $1 million in revenue around 2010. A 2015 projected revenue target of $30 million was missed by approximately 25 percent. As of the March 2021 interview, Sulekha had raised $40 million in total funding and reported approximately 40,000 to 50,000 active paying service providers on the platform. COVID-19 dealt a severe blow to the business, with sales dropping 80 percent in March 2020 as lockdowns froze the service-sector SME market. Monthly consumer demand, which had reached 1.1 to 1.3 million service requests before the pandemic, fell to 600,000 to 800,000 matched requests per month during the COVID period. Prabhakar said he expected demand to recover to 1.5 million monthly requests within three months of the interview and projected the US events market, a key revenue segment, would not fully recover until 2023.
- Revenue
- $58.8M
- Customers
- 40K
- Year founded
- 2007
- Funding
- $40M
- Team size
- 1.4K
