How Did Carousel Originate?

Carousell, founded in 2012, is a mobile classifieds network that allows buyers and sellers to connect via a smartphone app. The application permits vendors to list their products and services, such as appliances, apparel, books, electronics, furniture, and pets. Using the app’s camera, sellers can photograph, describe, and set a price for the item they wish to sell. The app’s image recognition technology also assists shoppers in locating the desired item. Customers can submit offers immediately through the app and make purchases on the platform. Carousell offers several premium services to vendors.

How Did Carousel Originate

These include buyer protection, app-based payment, and paying vendors straight through the app. Users of Carousell are typically between 16 and 34 years old. It is estimated that its yearly GMV is $5 billion. The founding team of Carousell consisted of four young guys with entrepreneurial aspirations. The co-founders intended to create a platform that would simplify listing items online. They were motivated to establish Carousell after recognizing a market gap for a mobile application that would facilitate purchasing and selling. The trio had previously utilized Yahoo auctions and Craigslist, but they determined that a mobile application would be a more efficient approach. They began by coding the concept’s prototype. The prototype was developed in a mere 54 hours.

After constructing the prototype, the Carousell team participated in a Singapore Startup Weekend competition. They won the competition and were awarded a stipend of $7000. Subsequently, they recruited individuals from Malaysia and India for the project. The team released the initial version of the Carousell app in August 2012. The software was a smash in Singapore and reached the top 20 in the Apple App Store.

Carousell is one of the world’s most rapidly expanding marketplaces. It is one of the most popular shopping and leisure apps in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore. Multinational banks and venture capital firms have approved it. It is also regarded as one of iTunes’s top two lifestyle applications. Carousell offers over 40 million listings and has successfully facilitated over 50 million transactions.

Carousell expanded fast during the past year, acquiring three companies. The company’s founders are still trying to take it to the next level. The business has secured three funding rounds thus far. In November 2013, Carousell earned $800,000 as part of their initial investment round. Carousell completed its most recent investment round in August 2016, when it raised $35 million in Series B capital. Sequoia Capital, the largest venture capital firm in the world, led the investment. Golden Gate Ventures, Rakuten, and 500Startups have also invested in Carousell.

The team at Carousell has attracted a considerable number of talented management personnel. Among them are Andrius Baranauskas of Vinted, Rakesh Malani of Komli Media, and Jia Jih Chai of Airbnb. In addition, Carousell has created a robust engineering department, which has been essential to the company’s quick expansion.