Protonn Launches with $9 Million Seed to Help Professionals Create An Online Business in Under Five Minutes

USA - English

Protonn is the first to combine the power of video marketing, scheduling, payments and CRM into one business-in-a-box platform.

SAN JOSE, Calif. and BENGALURU, India, July 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Protonn, a business-in-a-box platform for professionals, announces a seed fundraise totaling $9 million. The round is led by Matrix Partners India along with other venture investors including 021 Capital and Tanglin Venture Partners. Angel investors participating in the round include Binny Bansal (co-founder, Flipkart), Kalyan Krishnamurthy (CEO, Flipkart), Neeraj Arora (ex-WhatsApp), Sujeet Kumar (co-founder, Udaan), and Kunal Shah (founder, Cred).

The company's fundraising announcement comes at a time when Protonn has launched its product to its first users in the U.S., after months of product development and beta testing. With Protonn, independent professionals can grow their businesses by creating powerful, professional videos in minutes that they can share on social networks and with business prospects. Independent professionals can now download the iOS app at https://www.protonn.com/ or from the Apple App Store. The company will also be launching an Android app and the web versions in the coming months.

Protonn was co-founded by Anil Goteti and Mausam Bhatt, both of whom have a track record of scaling large tech companies. Goteti held several leadership positions at Flipkart, the $38B Indian e-commerce giant that was acquired by Walmart in 2018, most recently serving as the senior vice president of marketing and ads. Bhatt most recently served as head of product management for Google Commerce (Buy on Google), chief product officer of RetailMeNot, and held a variety of leadership positions at Flipkart. They formed Protonn in November of 2020 and will use the seed funding for new hires, launching the product to market, and continued product development.

"Independent professionals power the economic engine of the world," said Anil Goteti, co-founder of Protonn. "In the United States alone, nearly 60 million independent professionals generate more than $1.2 trillion in annual earnings—that's 36 percent of the total U.S. workforce. 'Proto' in Greek means 'first', and Protonn's purpose is to put the needs of those millions of professionals first to help them thrive."

"Video technology in professional settings hasn't kept pace with advances on the consumer front pioneered by apps like Snapchat and TikTok," said Mausam Bhatt, co-founder of Protonn. "Protonn is leading that change by providing professionals with an easy way to market themselves using video and manage their business."

With Protonn, independent professionals can launch their businesses online in less than five minutes. Protonn combines a suite of tools into an easy-to-use, mobile-first platform. Product features include:

• Video Marketing: Protonn's magic mode allows users to integrate documents (E.g. PDF, PowerPoint etc.) to create a rich video narrative in minutes and post to social media or share with prospects to attract new clients.
• Hassle-Free Scheduling: Clients can book a professional's time with a click of a button.
• Billing and Payments: Easy and secure payment options for clients.
• Live, Interactive Sessions: Ability to conduct video sessions that include visual capabilities without the need to download extra software.
• Video CRM: Send personalized video messages to clients to keep them engaged with your business.
• Single Dashboard Business Management: View all financial performance and analytics in one place.

"Protonn's video-first and mobile-first approach combined with a  superior product experience will redefine how professionals grow their business and engage with their customers in a post-Covid world," said Vikram Vaidyanathan, managing director, Matrix Partners India. "The rise of the independent professional calls for new solutions, and Protonn is poised to meet the market demand. With their deep expertise in building scaled products, Anil and Mausam bring together a unique set of capabilities, and we're privileged to partner on this journey with them."

Protonn has an international workforce with staff across the U.S., Europe, and India. Protonn hires top talent irrespective of an individual's physical location. View open roles at protonn.com.

About Protonn
Protonn is a complete business-in-a-box platform for independent professionals to market and manage their small businesses using video marketing, scheduling, payments and CRM. With Protonn, independent professionals can grow their business by creating powerful, professional videos in minutes and can share them on social networks and with business prospects. Protonn was founded in 2020 by Anil Goteti, former executive of Flipkart, and Mausam Bhatt, former executive of Google, RetailMeNot, and Flipkart. For more information visit https://www.protonn.com/.  

About Matrix Partners India
Matrix Partners India is an investment firm with approximately $1 billion under management. Founded in 2006, the firm invests in companies targeting the Indian consumer and enterprise market at the seed, early, and early growth stages. Matrix India has invested in several market-leading companies such as Ola (mobility), Dailyhunt (mobile local language platform), Mswipe (mobile POS), Five Star Business Finance (SME lending), OfBusiness (credit led B2B marketplace), Ola Electric (electric vehicles), Razorpay (payments), Stanza Living (tech-enabled student housing platform), OneCard (mobile-first credit card), Country Delight (D2C dairy & fresh foods brand), DealShare (social commerce platform), MoEngage (intelligent marketing cloud platform), SuperOps.ai (all-in-one MSP platform) and Cloudnine Hospitals (leading chain of maternity hospitals) among others. Matrix India has advisory offices in Bangalore, Delhi, and Mumbai. Matrix Partners has a global network of funds investing in the US, China, and India, with approximately $5 billion under management. Further information is available at www.matrixpartners.in. To know more about our investment philosophy & ideologies, check out the #MatrixMoments podcast series.

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