Online tax-filing platform ClearTax on Wednesday launched ClearTax Start-up Programme, a one-stop business platform for first-time entrepreneurs. The programme will launch a company in 20 days with packages starting from Rs. 19,999, all done virtually.
It offers entrepreneurs early-stage advisory services that covers firm structure, registrations, financing, legal compliances, brand protection, eligibility and benefits under government schemes; assists in incorporating the start-up as a private limited company/LLP/partnership to help raise capital; handles business and legal agreements that permit entrepreneurs to do business and assists with tax registration.
“Founding a company is a long, hectic process in which the founder needs a lot of help,” Archit Gupta, founder and CEO, ClearTax, told BusinessLine . “As a founder, I personally faced many issues even though my father is a Chartered Accountant. ClearTax Startup Programme covers many of those pain points.” . ClearTax has also partnered with banks and service providers to offer a ‘Premium Business Kit’ with special deals and discounts — includingopening of a zero-balance bank account with with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank; getting website domain and hosting with Big Rock; accepting/making online payments with Razorpay, Paytm and Instamojo; providing co-working spaces with 91springboard, BHive and Awfis, and business apps such as Google G Suite.
“We are targeting to serve 40,000 start-ups over the next 18 months, generating Rs. 80 crore in revenue” said Gupta.
From an 80-member team in June at the time of raising $12 million in Series A funding from SAIF Partners, ClearTax has grown its headcount to 100 at present, and is aggressively hiring to double its headcount by March 2017. The hires will be made in engineering, business development and strategy roles. The start-up is also looking to rope in some strategy/consulting talent from McKinsey.
Gupta said the start-up is on track to break-even in the next 18-24 months. The firm has been actively poaching engineering talent from Flipkart and InMobi over the past 6-8 months — two senior engineering executives from Flipkart and one senior business development executive from InMobi.
Bootstrapped for the first three years since its inception in 2011, ClearTax has raised a total of $15.3 million, including a pre-Series A round of $ 3.3 million from Silicon Valley-based Founders Fund and Sequoia Capital.