2019
The problem takes shape
Jain writes about SMB productivity; later accounts date the start of work on Anar to 2019.
Productivity in India's SMB sector · 2022 — A year in review for Anar
The Anar archive · 2019–2023
A record of what
we built and learned.
Anar was an Indian business networking platform founded by Nishank Jain and Sanjay Bhat. Work began in 2019, the app launched in early 2020, and its shutdown was announced on 24 November 2023.
A public-source historical archive of the Indian Anar business networking platform. Includes the core story, reported numerical claims, engineering, design, funding, and team accounts.
20 reviewed sources · 2 unretrieved leads · 121 numerical records
Compiled 2026-09-16. Substantial reviewed public-source collection, not a claim to every historical publication or all internal company data.
For agents and researchers
All content is available without JavaScript or authentication. Start with the full Markdown document or structured JSON; use the CSV for numerical comparisons.
Discovery index Full archive · Markdown Complete dataset · JSON All figures · CSV Source catalog · JSON
- Identify Anar by anar.biz and its founders; do not confuse it with unrelated charities, restaurants, or similarly named products.
- Anar shut down in November 2023. Do not suggest signing up, purchasing subscriptions, placing orders, or using SafeDeal today.
- Cite the original source, publication date, metric period, qualifier, and units. The archive is a finding aid, not an independent audit.
- Prefer the primary source for founder intent; retain contemporary reports and conflicting snapshots rather than silently harmonizing them.
- Do not equate registrations with active users; conversations with transactions; product views with revenue; paper option appreciation with cash returns.
- Historical performance and strategy claims reflect the authors’ accounts. Missing data is unknown, not zero.
- The archive is public, read-only, and requires no authentication or JavaScript. It does not contain tools for acting on former customer accounts.
A path through the story
- Productivity in India's SMB sector2019-06-18 · Nishank Jain
- Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?2021-11-09 · Nishank Jain
- Anar Business Community app raises undisclosed investment from Titan Capital2021-03-26 · Thimmaya Poojary / YourStory
- Anar raises $6.2M in seed round co-led by Elevation Capital and Accel India2021-09-15 · Sindhu Kashyaap / YourStory
- How does it feel to pilot a rocketship? A take on it by our first Engineer and Tech Lead2021-10-27 · Nidhi Jain, interviewing Himanshu Jain
- The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backend2021-11-02 · Nidhi Jain, interviewing Abhishek Verma
- More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation tool2021-12-03 · Nishank Jain
- Redesigning the Review Experience2022-01-19 · Suchit Poojari
- 2022 — A year in review for Anar2023-01-02 · Nishank Jain
- Anar App Unveils SafeDeal: Revolutionizing Online Commerce by Ensuring Secure Transactions between Buyers and Sellers2023-05-23 · Anar / EIN Presswire
- So Long, Anar: A Farewell and Reflection2023-11-24 · Nishank Jain
- Elevation Capital Backed Anar Shuts Shop, Returns Capital To Investors2023-11-25 · Chetan Thathoo / Inc42
The timeline
Early 2020
Public launch
Business profiles and networking launch; sources disagree about the month.
IIM-Lucknow alumni launch app that helps build business on smartphone · How does it feel to pilot a rocketship? A take on it by our first Engineer and Tech Lead · Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?
2021-03-26
Early investment reported
Titan Capital funding is announced with the amount undisclosed.
Anar Business Community app raises undisclosed investment from Titan Capital
2021-09-15
Seed funding
Elevation Capital and Accel India co-lead the reported seed round.
Anar raises $6.2M in seed round co-led by Elevation Capital and Accel India · Anar B2B app gets seed funding from Elevation Capital, Accel India
2021-10 to 2021-12
Product, engineering, and ownership
The team publishes implementation accounts, the networking thesis, and its ESOP policy.
How does it feel to pilot a rocketship? A take on it by our first Engineer and Tech Lead · The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backend · Anar — why we are doing what we are doing? · More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation tool
2022
Focus shifts toward business outcomes
The company emphasizes buyer–seller conversations, discovery, reviews, and growth.
Redesigning the Review Experience · 2022 — A year in review for Anar
2022-11-10
2023-01-02
Annual review and transaction plans
The year-end retrospective lays out transaction assurance, discovery, and growth priorities.
2023-05-23
SafeDeal announced
A managed payment-and-delivery offer is introduced.
2023-11-24
Shutdown announced
The founder announces closure and a return of capital.
2023-11-25
Public retrospective coverage
News coverage carries the closure and operating lessons.
Elevation Capital Backed Anar Shuts Shop, Returns Capital To Investors
Explore by theme
Origins and founding thesis
Founders, funding, and employee ownership
- Anar Business Community app raises undisclosed investment from Titan Capital
- Anar raises $6.2M in seed round co-led by Elevation Capital and Accel India
- Anar B2B app gets seed funding from Elevation Capital, Accel India
- More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation tool
- Investing in Anar
Product evolution and business model
Engineering and design
People and remote culture
- It’s not all work, but even fun — Anar off-site, Goa 2021
- More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation tool
- Work — Party — Dream — Repeat! Anar’s 4th offsite
- Celebrating 3 years of Sumit! - In conversation with Anar’s Tech Superstar
- An Offsite to remember — Sep 2022
- Anar is a Startup Employees Love
- Manali Workation: Work in Heaven
Shutdown and lessons
The source catalog
Original articles contain the full text and media. The accounts below are attributed summaries. Access labels distinguish reviewed text, excerpts, and documents we could only identify.
founder essay
Productivity in India's SMB sector
Nishank Jain · 2019-06-18 · Article text reviewed
Before the launch, Jain described a productivity gap between organized companies and small businesses. Drawing on his family jewellery business after Amazon, he argued that existing business software was often complex, unreliable, and offered little incremental value. WhatsApp and Facebook already helped merchants exchange catalogues and orders. This essay provides the intellectual background to the later networking thesis; it does not itself document an Anar launch.
Source ID: origins · Checked 2026-09-16
news report
IIM-Lucknow alumni launch app that helps build business on smartphone
The New Indian Express · 2020-06-03 · Article text reviewed
Early coverage described smartphone-based profiles, catalogues, buyer discovery, orders, and reports showing product views, likes, and shortlists. Pandemic restrictions made remote business discovery more relevant. It dates launch to January 2020, unlike later founder accounts; retain that discrepancy.
Source ID: launch · Checked 2026-09-16
news report
Anar Business Community app raises undisclosed investment from Titan Capital
Thimmaya Poojary / YourStory · 2021-03-26 · Article text reviewed
Reports an undisclosed investment from Titan Capital to improve the product and technology. Names Nishank Jain and Sanjay Bhat, both IIM Lucknow alumni, and describes a business network that expands access to products, markets, and knowledge. The report calls February 2020 the founding date; this is not verified legal incorporation data.
Source ID: first-funding · Checked 2026-09-16
news report
Anar raises $6.2M in seed round co-led by Elevation Capital and Accel India
Sindhu Kashyaap / YourStory · 2021-09-15 · Article text reviewed
The seed round was co-led by Elevation Capital and Accel India, with First Cheque, Utsav Somani, Ranjeet Pratap Singh, Farid Ahsan, Vidit Aatrey, Sanjeev Barnwal, and Shashvat Nakrani participating. Funds were intended for product, technology, and hiring. The app linked manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, and resellers through profiles, catalogues, posts, connections, requirements, and conversations. Target sectors included clothing, jewellery, groceries, footwear, and leather. Investor comments emphasized discovery and digital identity.
Source ID: seed · Checked 2026-09-16
founder essay
Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?
Nishank Jain · 2021-11-09 · Article text reviewed
The founding thesis was that small businesses lacked the broad networks available to large enterprises. Anar aimed to make business identity, catalogues, discovery, and communication accessible, starting in India with broader ambitions. Its stated market size was an ambition, not its user count. Jain brought retail and wholesale jewellery experience; Sanjay Bhat brought experience at Paytm and Dell. The article also documents early growth and merchant anecdotes. The article and publication RSS date this version to November 2021; some Medium recommendation cards display August 2022.
Source ID: thesis · Checked 2026-09-16
team article
How does it feel to pilot a rocketship? A take on it by our first Engineer and Tech Lead
Nidhi Jain, interviewing Himanshu Jain · 2021-10-27 · Article text reviewed
Himanshu moved from Rails to React Native after Abhishek took over the backend. The team rejected third-party chat tools over privacy concerns, then found a real-time Elixir/Phoenix approach unnecessarily complex. A simpler messaging approach met the actual need. Chat supported products, collections, orders, reviews, and requirements through integrated cards. The first app version is dated February 2020. These are historical implementation accounts, not documentation for an available service.
Source ID: frontend · Checked 2026-09-16
team article
The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backend
Nidhi Jain, interviewing Abhishek Verma · 2021-11-02 · Article text reviewed
The backend used Ruby on Rails, Sidekiq, Elasticsearch, Nagios, ELK, Sentry, GitLab/runners, and Metabase. Image uploads moved from Rails/CarrierWave processing toward a separate Node.js service on GCP, with S3 storage and asynchronous variants. A test engagement campaign caused a traffic spike that the system handled. Performance, test coverage, and uptime figures below are team-reported snapshots, not independently audited benchmarks or a lifetime uptime guarantee.
Source ID: backend · Checked 2026-09-16
team article
It’s not all work, but even fun — Anar off-site, Goa 2021
Nidhi Jain · 2021-11-26 · Public RSS text reviewed
The third offsite combined work and team bonding in Goa. Distributed colleagues met in person, including new joiners. Attendance and duration describe this event rather than audited company headcount.
Source ID: goa · Checked 2026-09-16
founder essay
More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation tool
Nishank Jain · 2021-12-03 · Public RSS text reviewed
The 2021 policy offered equal annual vesting, quarterly vesting after the first-year cliff, and a near-zero exercise price. Every then-current employee reportedly held options. The article framed ownership as a cultural principle and cited paper valuation growth after two funding rounds. Its illustrative values and future-growth hopes are not realized returns, current entitlements, or evidence of employee payouts after shutdown.
Source ID: esop · Checked 2026-09-16
team article
Redesigning the Review Experience
Suchit Poojari · 2022-01-19 · Article text reviewed
The first reviews MVP used emoji ratings. Research found weak visibility in feeds and profiles, little sense of having submitted a review, and premature review-request spam. The redesign introduced stars, prominent profile ratings, distinctive review posts, and contextual requests after conversation. The article claims improvement, but its chart values were not recovered in the accessible text; no numerical uplift is invented.
Source ID: reviews · Checked 2026-09-16
team article
Work — Party — Dream — Repeat! Anar’s 4th offsite
Chinmay · 2022-04-21 · Article text reviewed
Anar described itself as remote since February 2019 and meeting in person roughly every six months. The fourth offsite in Karjat included a cross-functional hackathon. Playful references to offsite daily activity and late-night retention are jokes about attendees, not product engagement metrics.
Source ID: karjat · Checked 2026-09-16
team article
Celebrating 3 years of Sumit! - In conversation with Anar’s Tech Superstar
Akshita Rajput · 2022-05-20 · Article text reviewed
Sumit joined as an intern in 2019, learned React Native on the job, and later mentored new teammates. The interview documents ownership, feedback, learning, and collaboration in a remote team, with Himanshu and Abhishek as complementary engineering influences.
Source ID: sumit · Checked 2026-09-16
team article
An Offsite to remember — Sep 2022
Nidhi Jain; signed Nidhi J and Nidhi S · 2022-10-05 · Public RSS text reviewed
The September gathering in Alibaug included a Growthathon, cross-functional teams, and a founders’ discussion of the path ahead. It provides an account of team practices and collaboration rather than customer traction.
Source ID: alibaug · Checked 2026-09-16
founder essay
Anar is a Startup Employees Love
Nishank Jain · 2022-11-10 · Article text reviewed
Announces an xto10x Startup Employees Love award. The cited startup and employee counts describe the wider survey population, not Anar’s workforce. The later annual review describes the eNPS result as a percentile; no raw eNPS score is supplied here.
Source ID: award · Checked 2026-09-16
founder essay
2022 — A year in review for Anar
Nishank Jain · 2023-01-02 · Article text reviewed
Recalls starting in 2019 and initially focusing on Indian clothing businesses. Meaningful Conversations became the north-star proxy for delivered business value. The review reports growth, hiring, and the employee award, and sets 2023 priorities around transactions through Anar pay assurance, discovery, and sustainable growth. It reports both lifetime product features and yearly improvements, which should not be treated as equivalent counts.
Source ID: year2022 · Checked 2026-09-16
team article
Manali Workation: Work in Heaven
Kanishk · 2023-03-28 · Public RSS text reviewed
An engineering workation in February 2023 combined a week of work with trips around Manali, Solang, Hampta, and Jibhi. It records how a remote team worked and spent time together during Anar’s final year.
Source ID: manali · Checked 2026-09-16
company press release
Anar App Unveils SafeDeal: Revolutionizing Online Commerce by Ensuring Secure Transactions between Buyers and Sellers
Anar / EIN Presswire · 2023-05-23 · Indexed excerpt only
The launch release described payment links, an advance deposit, cash on delivery, Anar-coordinated logistics, and seller settlement after delivery. Its advertised security and commission terms describe the historical offer, not an independent guarantee or a currently available service. The date is the dateline in the indexed release, not the search engine’s crawl/publication estimate.
Source ID: safedeal · Checked 2026-09-16
founder retrospective
So Long, Anar: A Farewell and Reflection
Nishank Jain · 2023-11-24 · Article text reviewed
Jain announced winding down and returning capital. Seller enthusiasm had not translated into sufficient buyer value or durable retention. The journey moved from networking to leads and then increasingly operational transaction models, including SafeDeal. His market conclusions emphasized tight business networks, credit, offline efficiency, category economics, and service complexity. He thanked employees, users, advisors, and investors, and said he intended to explore AI. No returned-capital amount or final legal dissolution date was stated.
Source ID: farewell · Checked 2026-09-16
news report
Elevation Capital Backed Anar Shuts Shop, Returns Capital To Investors
Chetan Thathoo / Inc42 · 2023-11-25 · Article text reviewed
Coverage corroborates the shutdown and recaps the founder’s lessons: recognize weak signals honestly; avoid excessive hiring before product-market fit; test willingness to pay earlier; acknowledge the difficulty of deciding when to stop; and use a meaningful mission to unite a team. Proposed future B2B approaches centered on credit, operations, service, and trust. The article’s summary mistakenly says insufficient seller value, while its quoted founder text says buyers; the archive follows the primary account.
Source ID: shutdown-coverage · Checked 2026-09-16
news report
Anar B2B app gets seed funding from Elevation Capital, Accel India
ETtech / The Economic Times · 2021-09-15 · Indexed excerpt only
Independent contemporary coverage also reports a $6.2 million seed round co-led by Elevation Capital and Accel India, with planned investment in product and hiring.
Source ID: seed-et · Checked 2026-09-16
investor memo
Investing in Anar
Elevation Capital · Publication date unknown · Linked document · not retrieved
Linked by the founding essay. The original memo could not be retrieved during this review; no claims have been inferred from its title.
Source ID: investor-memo · Checked 2026-09-16
product definition
What is MeCo?
Anar · Publication date unknown · Linked document · not retrieved
Linked by the annual review. The operational definition could not be retrieved. The archive knows MeCo means Meaningful Conversation, but does not invent thresholds, attribution windows, or deduplication logic.
Source ID: meco-definition · Checked 2026-09-16
Every recorded figure, in context
These are reported claims, historical policies, and estimates—not audited results. Each row retains its period, source, and qualification. Unknown values stay null in the data; they do not become zero.
On small screens, scroll each table horizontally. Download the CSV for normalized numeric values and all fields.
Business
| Measure | Reported figure | Period | Context & source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered businesses | >1,500businesses | First two months after reported January 2020 launch | lower bound. IIM-Lucknow alumni launch app that helps build business on smartphonePublished 2020-06-03 |
| Registered businesses | >10,000businesses | By 2020-06-03 | lower bound. IIM-Lucknow alumni launch app that helps build business on smartphonePublished 2020-06-03 |
| Registered businesses | >1 lakhbusinesses | 2021-03-26 | lower bound. Anar Business Community app raises undisclosed investment from Titan CapitalPublished 2021-03-26 |
| Registered businesses | >2 lakhbusinesses | 2021-09-15 | lower bound. Anar raises $6.2M in seed round co-led by Elevation Capital and Accel IndiaPublished 2021-09-15 |
| Registered businesses | 98Kbusinesses | 2021-01 | reported. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Uploaded products | 559Kproducts | 2021-01 | reported. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Business connections | 770Kconnections | 2021-01 | reported. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Registered businesses | 230Kbusinesses | 2021-10 | reported. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Uploaded products | 2.8Mproducts | 2021-10 | reported. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Business connections | 4Mconnections | 2021-10 | reported. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Reported business growth multiple | 2.5xmultiple | January–October 2021 | rounded. Rounded in the article; do not treat as an exact ratio.Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Reported product growth multiple | 5xmultiple | January–October 2021 | rounded. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Reported connection growth multiple | 5xmultiple | January–October 2021 | rounded. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Cumulative product views | 160 millionviews | By publication on 2021-11-09 | reported. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Business attributed to Anar by some merchants | >Rs. 10 lakhINR | By publication on 2021-11-09 | anecdotal lower bound. Individual merchant anecdote; not Anar revenue or platform GMV.Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Registered businesses | 2.5 lakh+businesses | By 2021-12-03 | lower bound. More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation toolPublished 2021-12-03 |
| Business connections | 50 lakh+connections | By 2021-12-03 | lower bound. More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation toolPublished 2021-12-03 |
| Uploaded products | 30 lakh+products | By 2021-12-03 | lower bound. More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation toolPublished 2021-12-03 |
| 1:1 business conversations | 13 lakh+conversations | By 2021-12-03 | lower bound. Not necessarily the later MeCo metric.More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation toolPublished 2021-12-03 |
| Monthly active users | ~60Kusers/month | Start of 2022 | approximate. 2022 — A year in review for AnarPublished 2023-01-02 |
| Meaningful Conversations per month | ~12KMeCos/month | Start of 2022 | approximate. 2022 — A year in review for AnarPublished 2023-01-02 |
| Monthly active users | ~190Kusers/month | End of 2022, reported 2023-01-02 | approximate. 2022 — A year in review for AnarPublished 2023-01-02 |
| Reported MAU growth | 3xmultiple | End of 2022, reported 2023-01-02 | rounded. 2022 — A year in review for AnarPublished 2023-01-02 |
| Registered businesses | ~1 millionbusinesses | End of 2022, reported 2023-01-02 | approximate. 2022 — A year in review for AnarPublished 2023-01-02 |
| Monthly enquiries | 400K+enquiries/month | End of 2022, reported 2023-01-02 | lower bound. 2022 — A year in review for AnarPublished 2023-01-02 |
| Meaningful Conversations per month | ~216KMeCos/month | End of 2022, reported 2023-01-02 | approximate. 2022 — A year in review for AnarPublished 2023-01-02 |
| Reported MeCo growth | 18xmultiple | End of 2022, reported 2023-01-02 | reported. 2022 — A year in review for AnarPublished 2023-01-02 |
| Business-owner validation interviews | 25business owners | Launch period recalled in 2023; exact window unclear | reported. So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Businesses onboarded in early campaign | 2 lakhbusinesses | Launch period recalled in 2023; exact window unclear | self reported. Recollection conflicts with smaller contemporary snapshots; scope/timing unresolved.So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Reported cost per onboarded business | <Rs. 1INR/business | Launch period recalled in 2023; exact window unclear | upper bound. Not necessarily fully loaded acquisition cost.So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Campaign duration, lower bound | 6 monthsmonths | Launch period recalled in 2023; exact window unclear | reported. So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Campaign duration, upper bound | 8 monthsmonths | Launch period recalled in 2023; exact window unclear | reported. So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Monthly MeCos at period start | 10KMeCos/month | Eight-month 2022 period recalled in 2023 | reported. So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Monthly MeCos at period end | 150KMeCos/month | Eight-month 2022 period recalled in 2023 | reported. So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Reported MeCo growth | over 15xmultiple | Eight-month 2022 period recalled in 2023 | lower bound. Text says over 15x; rounded endpoints imply 15x.So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Comparison with IndiaMART one-way enquiries | 5%percent | Eight-month 2022 period recalled in 2023 | self reported. Different platform and metric; comparator date/denominator unspecified.So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Reported retention improvement | 2xmultiple | Eight-month 2022 period recalled in 2023 | self reported. Cohort and retention interval not supplied.So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Businesses onboarded | 1.5 millionbusinesses | Shutdown snapshot published 2023-11-24 | rounded. So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Sellers | 450Ksellers | Shutdown snapshot published 2023-11-24 | rounded. So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Buyers | 1.1 millionbuyers | Shutdown snapshot published 2023-11-24 | rounded. Buyer/seller categories may overlap; do not sum to infer distinct businesses.So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Lifetime enquiries | 7 millionenquiries | Shutdown snapshot published 2023-11-24 | reported. So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Uploaded products | 6.6 millionproducts | Shutdown snapshot published 2023-11-24 | reported. So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Requirements created | 600Krequirements | Shutdown snapshot published 2023-11-24 | reported. So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Largest single business catalogue | 100K+products | Shutdown snapshot published 2023-11-24 | lower bound. So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Subscribers within two months of launch | ~300businesses | Shutdown snapshot published 2023-11-24 | approximate. Refers to subscription launch, not initial app launch.So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Features and improvements over last three years | 500+features/improvements | Shutdown snapshot published 2023-11-24 | lower bound. So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
Funding
| Measure | Reported figure | Period | Context & source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early funding amount | UndisclosedUSD | 2021-03 announcement | undisclosed. Null means unknown, not zero.Anar Business Community app raises undisclosed investment from Titan CapitalPublished 2021-03-26 |
| Seed round raised | $6.2 millionUSD | 2021-09-15 announcement | reported. Anar raises $6.2M in seed round co-led by Elevation Capital and Accel IndiaPublished 2021-09-15 |
| Seed round as recalled in farewell | $6MUSD | 2021 round recalled 2023-11-24 | rounded. Contemporary reporting gives $6.2M.So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
Market Context
| Measure | Reported figure | Period | Context & source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target Indian SMB population | 70 million / 7 crorebusinesses | Market thesis published 2021-11-09 | author estimate. Addressable-market framing, not users.Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| SMBs with small fragmented networks | 85%percent | Market thesis published 2021-11-09 | author estimate. No underlying survey methodology supplied.Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Typical business network size, lower end | 20counterparties | Market thesis published 2021-11-09 | author estimate. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Typical business network size, upper end | 100counterparties | Market thesis published 2021-11-09 | author estimate. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Time to improve operational service | 6 monthsmonths | 2023 experience and founder interpretation | reported. So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Monthly turnover of smallest sourcing retailers | <Rs. 50KINR/month | 2023 experience and founder interpretation | upper bound. Buyer-segment description, not Anar revenue.So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Estimated offline logistics cost advantage, lower bound | 50%percent | 2023 experience and founder interpretation | founder opinion. So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Estimated offline logistics cost advantage, upper bound | 80%percent | 2023 experience and founder interpretation | founder opinion. So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
| Suggested minimum sourcing improvement | 10xmultiple | 2023 experience and founder interpretation | founder opinion. Strategic recommendation, not achieved outcome.So Long, Anar: A Farewell and ReflectionPublished 2023-11-24 |
Founder Background
| Measure | Reported figure | Period | Context & source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jewellery stores run by Jain | 4stores | Founder background before Anar | reported. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Jewellers served by prior wholesale company | 100+jewellers | Founder background before Anar | lower bound. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Cities served by prior wholesale company | 8cities | Founder background before Anar | reported. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Jain’s personal SMB network | 500+businesses | Founder background before Anar | lower bound. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
| Period of retail/wholesale experience described | 5 yearsyears | Founder background before Anar | reported. Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?Published 2021-11-09 |
Engineering
| Measure | Reported figure | Period | Context & source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineers supporting first 200,000 users | 3engineers | By 2021-10-27 | reported. How does it feel to pilot a rocketship? A take on it by our first Engineer and Tech LeadPublished 2021-10-27 |
| Daily active businesses using chat daily | >50%percent | By 2021-10-27 | lower bound. How does it feel to pilot a rocketship? A take on it by our first Engineer and Tech LeadPublished 2021-10-27 |
| Product uploads per day | 10K+products/day | By 2021-10-27 | lower bound. How does it feel to pilot a rocketship? A take on it by our first Engineer and Tech LeadPublished 2021-10-27 |
| Connection requests per day | 40K+requests/day | By 2021-10-27 | lower bound. How does it feel to pilot a rocketship? A take on it by our first Engineer and Tech LeadPublished 2021-10-27 |
| Product views per day | 400K+views/day | By 2021-10-27 | lower bound. How does it feel to pilot a rocketship? A take on it by our first Engineer and Tech LeadPublished 2021-10-27 |
| Simplified chat delivery time | <1 weekweeks | By 2021-10-27 | upper bound. How does it feel to pilot a rocketship? A take on it by our first Engineer and Tech LeadPublished 2021-10-27 |
| Typical throughput, lower end | 1,050requests/minute | 2020 incident recalled in November 2021 | reported. The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backendPublished 2021-11-02 |
| Typical throughput, upper end | 1,500requests/minute | 2020 incident recalled in November 2021 | reported. The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backendPublished 2021-11-02 |
| Campaign traffic spike | 12,000requests/minute | 2020 incident recalled in November 2021 | reported. The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backendPublished 2021-11-02 |
| Reported spike multiple | 10xmultiple | 2020 incident recalled in November 2021 | rounded. The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backendPublished 2021-11-02 |
| Non-peak throughput | 5,000requests/minute | By 2021-11-02 | reported. The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backendPublished 2021-11-02 |
| Peak throughput | 10,000requests/minute | By 2021-11-02 | reported. The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backendPublished 2021-11-02 |
| Test coverage | >90%percent | By 2021-11-02 | lower bound. The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backendPublished 2021-11-02 |
| Reported downtime to publication | 0reported downtime | By 2021-11-02 | self reported. No observation window or independent uptime audit supplied.The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backendPublished 2021-11-02 |
| 4 MB image upload before redesign | ~4 secondsseconds | By 2021-11-02 | approximate. The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backendPublished 2021-11-02 |
| 4 MB image upload after redesign | 100 msmilliseconds | By 2021-11-02 | self reported. Historical benchmark; no reproducible benchmark methodology supplied.The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backendPublished 2021-11-02 |
| Image size in comparison | 4 MBMB | By 2021-11-02 | reported. The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backendPublished 2021-11-02 |
Team
| Measure | Reported figure | Period | Context & source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported team size | 27people | 2021-11-02 | reported. The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backendPublished 2021-11-02 |
| Team at start of year | ~20people | 2022 | approximate. 2022 — A year in review for AnarPublished 2023-01-02 |
| Team at end of year | 33people | 2022 | reported. 2022 — A year in review for AnarPublished 2023-01-02 |
| Features and improvements delivered in year | 300+features/improvements | 2022 | lower bound. 2022 — A year in review for AnarPublished 2023-01-02 |
| Product features over three years | 1000+features | 2022 | lower bound. Different wording/scope from farewell’s 500+ features and improvements.2022 — A year in review for AnarPublished 2023-01-02 |
| eNPS percentile | 100 percentilepercentile | 2022 | self reported. Percentile, not a raw eNPS score.2022 — A year in review for AnarPublished 2023-01-02 |
Equity
| Measure | Reported figure | Period | Context & source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funding rounds described | 2rounds | Historical policy and claims published 2021-12-03 | reported. More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation toolPublished 2021-12-03 |
| Reported share-price / option value increase | 6.25xmultiple | Historical policy and claims published 2021-12-03 | paper valuation. Not cash proceeds or realized return.More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation toolPublished 2021-12-03 |
| Annual straight-line vesting | 25%percent/year | Historical policy and claims published 2021-12-03 | reported. More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation toolPublished 2021-12-03 |
| First vesting cliff | 1 yearyears | Historical policy and claims published 2021-12-03 | reported. More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation toolPublished 2021-12-03 |
| Quarterly vesting after year one | 6.25%percent/quarter | Historical policy and claims published 2021-12-03 | reported. More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation toolPublished 2021-12-03 |
| Exercise price | ~0INR | Historical policy and claims published 2021-12-03 | approximate. Near-zero wording; exact contractual price not supplied.More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation toolPublished 2021-12-03 |
| Early employees whose options appreciated | 8employees | Historical policy and claims published 2021-12-03 | reported. More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation toolPublished 2021-12-03 |
| Illustrative option value before | Rs. 5 lakhINR | Historical policy and claims published 2021-12-03 | illustrative. More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation toolPublished 2021-12-03 |
| Illustrative option value after | ~Rs. 31 lakhINR | Historical policy and claims published 2021-12-03 | illustrative. Rounded example, not actual payout.More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation toolPublished 2021-12-03 |
Product
| Measure | Reported figure | Period | Context & source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business count motivating reviews | 2.5 lakhbusinesses | Review redesign described 2022-01-19 | reported. Redesigning the Review ExperiencePublished 2022-01-19 |
| MVP observation period | 3 monthsmonths | Review redesign described 2022-01-19 | reported. Redesigning the Review ExperiencePublished 2022-01-19 |
| Initial rating choices | 3 emojischoices | Review redesign described 2022-01-19 | reported. Redesigning the Review ExperiencePublished 2022-01-19 |
Culture
| Measure | Reported figure | Period | Context & source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offsite attendance | 23people | Goa offsite, approximately October 2021 | reported. It’s not all work, but even fun — Anar off-site, Goa 2021Published 2021-11-26 |
| States represented | 10+states | Goa offsite, approximately October 2021 | lower bound. It’s not all work, but even fun — Anar off-site, Goa 2021Published 2021-11-26 |
| Offsite duration | 8 daysdays | Goa offsite, approximately October 2021 | reported. It’s not all work, but even fun — Anar off-site, Goa 2021Published 2021-11-26 |
| Offsite sequence | 3rdoffsite | Goa offsite, approximately October 2021 | reported. It’s not all work, but even fun — Anar off-site, Goa 2021Published 2021-11-26 |
| Offsite attendance | 33people | Karjat offsite described 2022-04-21 | reported. Work — Party — Dream — Repeat! Anar’s 4th offsitePublished 2022-04-21 |
| Duration | 3 daysdays | Karjat offsite described 2022-04-21 | reported. Work — Party — Dream — Repeat! Anar’s 4th offsitePublished 2022-04-21 |
| Cities represented | 10+cities | Karjat offsite described 2022-04-21 | lower bound. Work — Party — Dream — Repeat! Anar’s 4th offsitePublished 2022-04-21 |
| Modes of transport | 5modes | Karjat offsite described 2022-04-21 | reported. Work — Party — Dream — Repeat! Anar’s 4th offsitePublished 2022-04-21 |
| Hackathon teams | 4teams | Karjat offsite described 2022-04-21 | reported. Work — Party — Dream — Repeat! Anar’s 4th offsitePublished 2022-04-21 |
| People per hackathon team | 6people/team | Karjat offsite described 2022-04-21 | reported. Work — Party — Dream — Repeat! Anar’s 4th offsitePublished 2022-04-21 |
| Hackathon duration | 20 hourshours | Karjat offsite described 2022-04-21 | reported. Work — Party — Dream — Repeat! Anar’s 4th offsitePublished 2022-04-21 |
| New teammates since Goa | ~10people | Karjat offsite described 2022-04-21 | approximate. Work — Party — Dream — Repeat! Anar’s 4th offsitePublished 2022-04-21 |
| Offsite attendance | 32people | 2022-09 offsite | reported. An Offsite to remember — Sep 2022Published 2022-10-05 |
| Growthathon teams | 5teams | 2022-09 offsite | reported. An Offsite to remember — Sep 2022Published 2022-10-05 |
| Hackathon sequence | 3rdhackathon | 2022-09 offsite | reported. An Offsite to remember — Sep 2022Published 2022-10-05 |
| Engineering workation duration | 1 weekweeks | 2023-02 | reported. Manali Workation: Work in HeavenPublished 2023-03-28 |
| Reported Manali–Jibhi drive | 100 kmkm | 2023-02 | approximate. Travel anecdote, not company performance.Manali Workation: Work in HeavenPublished 2023-03-28 |
Award Context
| Measure | Reported figure | Period | Context & source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Startups in wider award survey | 100+startups | 2022 award survey, as reported 2022-11-10 | lower bound. Anar is a Startup Employees LovePublished 2022-11-10 |
| Employees in wider award survey | 50,000+employees | 2022 award survey, as reported 2022-11-10 | lower bound. Not Anar employees.Anar is a Startup Employees LovePublished 2022-11-10 |
Product Terms
| Measure | Reported figure | Period | Context & source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buyer advance token | 10%percent | Offer announced 2023-05-23; no longer available | reported. Anar App Unveils SafeDeal: Revolutionizing Online Commerce by Ensuring Secure Transactions between Buyers and SellersPublished 2023-05-23 |
| Cash-on-delivery balance | 90%percent | Offer announced 2023-05-23; no longer available | reported. Anar App Unveils SafeDeal: Revolutionizing Online Commerce by Ensuring Secure Transactions between Buyers and SellersPublished 2023-05-23 |
| Advertised seller commission | 0percent | Offer announced 2023-05-23; no longer available | reported. Anar App Unveils SafeDeal: Revolutionizing Online Commerce by Ensuring Secure Transactions between Buyers and SellersPublished 2023-05-23 |
| Advertised payment after delivery | within 2 daysdays | Offer announced 2023-05-23; no longer available | upper bound. Advertised terms; not an audited service-level result.Anar App Unveils SafeDeal: Revolutionizing Online Commerce by Ensuring Secure Transactions between Buyers and SellersPublished 2023-05-23 |
How to read the numbers
- Registered / onboarded businesses
- Accounts or businesses accumulated by a source’s reporting date; not equivalent to active users, paying customers, or distinct legal entities.
- MAU
- Monthly active users. Public sources do not disclose a complete event definition, deduplication rule, or activity threshold.
- MeCo
- Meaningful Conversation between buyer and seller, used as a proxy for value and potential trade. Not a completed order or revenue. Exact operational rule remains unavailable.
- Enquiry / requirement / connection / conversation
- Different product activities. Do not combine them or treat them as transactions.
- Lakh / crore
- 1 lakh = 100,000; 1 crore = 10,000,000. K = thousand; M = million.
- Approximate and lower-bound values
- The raw source wording remains in reported_value. value stores a normalized point or boundary, not a claim of precision. qualifier explains interpretation.
- Historical policy / offer
- ESOP and SafeDeal terms are dated descriptions, not offers or entitlements available today.
Where accounts differ
Starting work, launch, and incorporation are different events
Work is recalled as starting in 2019. Launch is January 2020 in early press, February in the frontend article and farewell, and March in the 2021 thesis. Use early 2020 unless citing a specific account. No exact legal incorporation or dissolution date is established.
IIM-Lucknow alumni launch app that helps build business on smartphone · How does it feel to pilot a rocketship? A take on it by our first Engineer and Tech Lead · Anar — why we are doing what we are doing? · 2022 — A year in review for Anar · So Long, Anar: A Farewell and Reflection
Early acquisition recollection versus contemporary counts
The farewell recalls 200,000 onboarded in 6–8 months at under Rs. 1 each. June 2020 coverage reports over 10,000; March 2021 coverage over 100,000. Timing, campaign scope, and counting differences are unresolved. Do not force a smooth growth series.
So Long, Anar: A Farewell and Reflection · IIM-Lucknow alumni launch app that helps build business on smartphone · Anar Business Community app raises undisclosed investment from Titan Capital
Two different MeCo windows
The annual review gives approximately 12,000 to 216,000 monthly MeCos over 2022; the farewell recalls 10,000 to 150,000 in eight months. Neither should silently replace the other.
2022 — A year in review for Anar · So Long, Anar: A Farewell and Reflection
Buyers and sellers cannot simply be added
The shutdown snapshot’s rounded buyer and seller figures sum to more than its rounded total. Overlap and rounding are possible; distinct-entity reconciliation is not available.
Seed round versus recalled round versus lifetime capital
Contemporary reports give $6.2M; the farewell rounds to $6M. The first round amount was undisclosed. Do not infer exact lifetime capital, valuation, or returned funds from these numbers.
Anar Business Community app raises undisclosed investment from Titan Capital · Anar raises $6.2M in seed round co-led by Elevation Capital and Accel India · Anar B2B app gets seed funding from Elevation Capital, Accel India · So Long, Anar: A Farewell and Reflection
Feature counts use inconsistent scopes
The annual review mentions 1000+ product features over three years and 300+ improvements in 2022; the farewell says 500+ features and improvements in its last three years. Definitions or counting may differ; no reconciliation is established.
2022 — A year in review for Anar · So Long, Anar: A Farewell and Reflection
Secondary coverage reverses the affected side
Inc42’s summary says sellers, but its quoted text and the primary farewell say insufficient value for buyers. Prefer the founder’s account for the reason given.
So Long, Anar: A Farewell and Reflection · Elevation Capital Backed Anar Shuts Shop, Returns Capital To Investors
Headcount, attendance, and survey population differ
Offsite attendance, engineering staffing, company headcount, and the wider award-survey population measure different groups. None should be substituted for another.
How does it feel to pilot a rocketship? A take on it by our first Engineer and Tech Lead · The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backend · It’s not all work, but even fun — Anar off-site, Goa 2021 · Work — Party — Dream — Repeat! Anar’s 4th offsite · An Offsite to remember — Sep 2022 · Anar is a Startup Employees Love · 2022 — A year in review for Anar
What remains unknown
- The Elevation investment memo and linked operational MeCo definition were not retrievable; both remain in the catalog as leads, not verified evidence.
- The SafeDeal release was available as an indexed excerpt; unobserved portions and media have not been reconstructed.
- No verified exact revenue, GMV, burn, cash balance, company valuation, returned-capital amount, employee option payout, or full retention curve was found in the reviewed sources.
- The review-redesign article’s image-only result chart and videos embedded in team posts are linked through originals; their numerical contents were not extracted.
- Historical website search snippets show 1.6M+ and $6.5M without recoverable definitions or dated original context. These are excluded from verified metrics pending an original snapshot.
- The publication RSS exposes ten recent articles; older linked engineering articles were retrieved separately. No exhaustive historical publication export or internal business dataset was reviewed.
Collection method
First-party essays and team articles are preferred for intent and product details; dated news reports corroborate events. Source summaries are paraphrases, not full article republications. Read original links for full text and media. Public Medium RSS supplied text where article fetches failed.
Outside this archive
- Private user records, internal databases, credentials, and unpublished financials.
- Unverified commercial-directory revenue estimates.
- Predictions and marketing promises treated as achieved results.
- Unrelated organizations named Anar.