Instamojo, a full-stack solutions provider for MSMEs, today announced its first ever acquihire of Bengaluru-based virtual theatre and vernacular content platform, Showman. The acquihire will see the on-boarding of the founding member team of Showman. Kshitij Bhatawdekar, Cofounder & CEO of Showman joins Instamojo as Product Manager, while Rutveez Roopam Rout, Cofounder & COO of Showman joins as User Research Manager. 

Focused on empowering the Indian MSME sector, the Instamojo platform offers products and solutions which enable small businesses to achieve digital independency. Through the pandemic, the company introduced several products to address the timely need of small businesses that were grappling to survive, and consequently recorded a 25% growth in merchant base. Early last year, the company acquired GetMeAShop (GMAS), an e-commerce enablement firm backed by Times Internet, and closed its Pre-Series C round of funding later in 2020.

Sharing his thoughts on the company’s first-ever acquihire, Akash Gehani, Co-founder and COO, Instamojo, said: “The Acquihire of Showman is a first for Instamojo and comes at a time when we as a company are evolving to move to the next level. We are happy to have both Kshitij and Rutveez join our team, bringing to Instamojo their expertise and knowledge in the product and consumer space, along with their entrepreneurial spirit. This acquihire will help Instamojo strengthen its product and tech prowess as we continue to innovate across multiple categories and achieve our vision of being the most trusted platform for MSMEs to start their business online.”

Founded in 2019, Showman operates a virtual theatre that enables users to buy movie tickets online and watch it from the comfort of their homes. The company recently clocked a compound monthly growth rate of 73.2% and has negotiated $30Mn worth of movie contracts across Indian film industries.

Speaking on joining the Instamojo team, Kshitij Bhatawdekar Founder, Showman said: “As an entertainment-focused platform, we have deep insights into the users of India. When we spoke to Instamojo, we realized our insights can drive real impact for the MSME space of India. Both Rutveez and I are excited and looking forward to beginning this new phase of our journey with Instamojo. We are also thankful to the Passion Connect team which connected us with team Instamojo and helped lead the entire acquisition process in a seamless manner.”

Passion Connect, an HR Advisory Unit incubated by Blume Ventures, played a vital role in this acquihire. Led by Sanam Rawal, Passion Connect implements innovative hiring techniques to find the perfect employee-employer fit for their 110+ portfolio startups. The Acquihiring vertical, led by Swati Gupta is one such technique.

According to Sanam Rawal, Lead Talent Advisor at Passion Connect, and Swati Gupta, Lead Acquihiring at Passion Connect: “When we first spoke to Kshitij, we saw a spark - a drive to solve real-world problems faced by the people of India. While Showman was a great product, we absolutely loved their talent and saw potential in their vision. Since we have keen insights into Blume Ventures portfolio companies, we felt that this is exactly what Instamojo is looking for in a team. Once we introduced Kshitij to Akash, the Cofounder at Instamojo, there was no looking back! We wish both teams abundant success in their goal to make products that positively impact the lives of millions of Indians.”