Gurugram-based VsnapU, a photography services platform that provides photo and video services across multiple geographies for personal and business events, has raised Rs 2 crore in a seed funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures, a Gurugram-based angel investment platform.
Founded by Parminder Sahni and Taranbir Singh, who are passionate about the idea, along with their vast experience in travel and photography. VsnapU said it provides photography services across multiple geographies at affordable pricing.
The startup aggregates locally available photographers which allow them to provide instant photography solutions to both B2B and B2C clients.
It intends to use the raised capital for technological advancement, business innovation and expansion, and procuring more contracts and team expansion.
Presently, VsnapU operates in 40 cities in India and is rapidly expanding across 28 countries internationally through its ‘Travel photography model being led by its Co-founder Anshu Sharma, who has joined recently with over 20 years of experience in travel and tourism. VsnapU works with both, full-time photographers as well as gig photographers, it said.
Currently, The startup has B2B partnerships with hotel chains (Taj, The Leela), Travel websites (Make My Trip, Thomas Cook), Holiday activity organizers (TripAdvisor), and platforms like Just Dial.
It claims to have done over 30,000 shoots and plans to expand into the wedding photography business by forging new partnerships with established wedding organizers in the country.
Parminder Sahni, Co-founder & CEO, of VsnapU, says about the demand side, “Photographers should be available as easily as other professionals like doctors, engineers, or accountants. Booking a photographer should be as simple as booking a cab or ordering groceries. As social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Tumbler, and Pinterest gain popularity, the photography market is likely to witness rapid growth in the coming years.”
VsnapU said it specializes in all categories of photography and manages the processing and delivery on the cloud via its online technology-enabled platform developed in-house.
The startup sends its trained photographer from a specific genre to the desired shoot location, resulting in the immediate execution of the tasks. Post the shoot, the raw as well as edited images can be seen along with the quality score. The delivery is made automatically via mail and text message of a drive link valid for 365 days on the cloud space.
Notably, It also shares live progress and updates from start to the end of shoots, and the client can view the after-shoot processes like editing and quality scoring on their phone or laptops with the live online panel.
Commenting on the investment, Mitesh Shah, Co-founder of Inflection Point Ventures, said, “A photo speaks a thousand words. Clicking pictures to capture every waking moment of our lives has become a ritual for all of us. VsnapU is addressing this market opportunity to ensure that our life changing moments are captured perfectly. Occasions like weddings, baby shower, maternity, birthdays and anniversary always call for a photoshoot where one can time travel to those special moments whenever we like. However, finding the right photographer has become a challenge due to multiple reasons such as unavailability, affordability, and no way to check track record etc.”
“VsnapU has understood the pulse of the customers and have created a platform which not only empowers emerging and professional photographers but also gives the best possible option to the seekers at any given point of time along with live update and progress on their much-awaited photographs/videos. IPV aims to further elevate their business and help them to expand their horizons in India and international market,” Mitesh said.
The global market for photography is estimated to be $30 billion. Innovation and innovative technologies are the focus areas of industry players. In the years to come, the worldwide photography market is also expected to experience different product launches by market players to lure in users.
The startup offers professional-quality photographs and editing skills, which boosts its presence in the market for photography. VsnapU said it has a first-mover advantage for on-demand “tourist photography” inside resorts/hotels.
Source @Indianstartupnews
