Exclusive: Binny Bansal, GGV and others back Pankaj Chaddah’s startup

Former Zomato co-founder Pankaj Chaddah made a comeback as an entrepreneur in October last year with mental fitness studio Mindhouse. Since then, the company has opened a few studios in Gurugram and now has raised about Rs 15 crore from a clutch of individuals.

Chaddah himself has poured around Rs 10 crore in the six months old venture while blue-chip angels such as Anand Chandrasekaran, Sahil Barua, Karan Singh and Ambarish Raghuvanshi have also participated in the financing round through debt.

Importantly, Binny Bansal’s BTB Ventures has invested Rs 1.5 crore while GGV Capital injected a modest sum of Rs 37.8 lakhs. The funding round seems to be an ongoing one and it’s expected to raise more capital.

According to regulatory filings, Info Edge’s co-founder Ambarish Raghuvanshi joined the round with an investment of Rs 75 lakhs, Chandrasekaran invested Rs 37.8 lakhs, Delhivery’s co-founder Barua put in Rs 1.1 crore while Singh poured in Rs 50 lakh.  The Aarticca Family Trust has invested Rs 35 lakhs.

The financing for the company has come at a time when the company’s operations have been impacted severely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mindhouse is an early-stage startup in the body-mind fitness space. It organises mind-fitness classes for beginners. Its target audience are working professionals with the objective of relaxation, reducing stress, and improving concentration.

Entrackr had exclusively reported about Chaddha’s new startup in October. 

Currently, Mindhouse provides goal-based mental fitness packages via online and as well as offline classes. While Covid19 has led to stop its studio temporarily, the startup is offering online live classes via an app at modest pricing as low as Rs 49.

According to sources, Mindhouse is likely to offer spa, grooming and other beauty-related services in the coming months.

Chaddha left Zomato in March 2018 after a decade at the Alibaba-backed firm. At the time of moving from the company, he retained a 3.11% stake worth about Rs 237 crore. It’s not known whether he has offloaded his stake or continues to hold it completely or partially.

Mindhouse competes with Curefit’s mental fitness brand Mindfit along with multiple mental fitness chains and studios.