Venture Catalysts Invests in Augmented Reality Enabled B2C Brand Cub McPaws in its Pre Seed Funding Round – BW Disrupt

Various new-age ventures today are disrupting the Indian market by leveraging cutting-edge technology to deliver unique value propositions. One such enterprise is Cub McPaws, a direct-to-consumer brand that focuses on premium and comfortable merchandise for Generation Alpha – kids born after 2010. Set to kick-off a brand-new chapter in the kids retail space on the back of its patent-pending Augmented Reality technology, the company aims to deliver a fascinating and curiosity-inducing shopping experience to kids and parents alike in line with its motto “Be Curious.”

Cub McPaws is founded by two ex-Pepperfry colleagues – Abhay Bhat, an Oxford MBA with 15 years of global work experience in technology and product management, and Kinnar Shah, Chartered Accountant and ex- head of finance at Pepperfry. Cub McPaws offers unique product lines which include Magic T-shirts – a first-of-its-kind AR-enabled clothing line – and Terra, a 100% chemical-free and organic range of clothing. Each product line focuses on chic, trendy yet extremely comfortable clothing for kids.

Kids retail is estimated to be a $ 20 billion industry in India. Around 93% of the market is unorganized and Cub McPaws, with its innovative offering, is well placed to disrupt this lucrative space. In less than a year, the brand has registered a robust 12x revenue growth, having already become a popular go-to-brand amongst parents who want nothing short of the best merchandise for their kids.

Commenting on the factors that drew Venture Catalysts to this highly innovative and unmatched offering, Dr Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Founder, Venture Catalysts said, “At Venture Catalysts, we have always aimed to support high-potential start-ups that are transforming the Indian market on the back of their innovative product offerings and services. We have also recently focused our attention to start-ups emerging within the tech space, considering the immense prospects of the domain. Cub McPaws lies at the very intersection of our focus group and we hope this association will help them build the fastest growing AR clothing organization in India. The market is still untapped and considering Cub McPaws’s stellar offering, I believe they can be the leaders in this space in a very short span.”

Commenting on the successful pre-Seed funding round and their association with Venture Catalysts, Abhay Bhat, Founder – Cub McPaws, said, “When you are building futuristic, next-gen brands, the quality of investors is of utmost importance. We are fortunate to have investors who believe in the vision behind Cub McPaws and our ability to disrupt the market. The addition of Venture Catalysts to our list of investors further strengthens our position as a key player in the kids retail market.”

Kinnar Shah, Co-Founder- Cub McPaws added, “The investment from Venture Catalysts will help us launch new product lines, scale our distribution capabilities and enhance our cutting-edge technology offering. We plan to expand our customer base by reaching out to 200,000 additional customers over the coming months. We will also conduct hiring to on-board senior professionals who will help us drive growth and brand building.”

Cub McPaws has also raised capital from other influential angel investors including Ambareesh Murty, Founder & CEO of Pepperfry.com; Anuj Golecha, co-founder of Venture Catalysts; and Mr. Robin Joffe, Partner at Frost & Sullivan, Japan for pre-seed round .