{ "updated_at": "2026-09-16", "sources": [ { "id": "origins", "title": "Productivity in India's SMB sector", "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/productivity-indias-smb-sector-nishank-jain", "author": "Nishank Jain", "published_at": "2019-06-18", "kind": "founder_essay", "topics": [ "origins" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "article_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "launch", "title": "IIM-Lucknow alumni launch app that helps build business on smartphone", "url": "https://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2020/Jun/03/iim-lucknow-alumni-launch-app-that-helps-build-business-on-smartphone-2151577.html", "author": "The New Indian Express", "published_at": "2020-06-03", "kind": "news_report", "topics": [ "launch", "product" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "article_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "first-funding", "title": "Anar Business Community app raises undisclosed investment from Titan Capital", "url": "https://yourstory.com/2021/03/funding-anar-business-community-app-smbs-undisclosed-titan-capital", "author": "Thimmaya Poojary / YourStory", "published_at": "2021-03-26", "kind": "news_report", "topics": [ "funding" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "article_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "seed", "title": "Anar raises $6.2M in seed round co-led by Elevation Capital and Accel India", "url": "https://yourstory.com/2021/09/funding-anar-elevation-captial-accel-india-b2b-networking-startup", "author": "Sindhu Kashyaap / YourStory", "published_at": "2021-09-15", "kind": "news_report", "topics": [ "funding", "product" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "article_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "thesis", "title": "Anar — why we are doing what we are doing?", "url": "https://medium.com/anar-business/anar-why-we-are-doing-what-we-are-doing-162b4a0dc56f", "author": "Nishank Jain", "published_at": "2021-11-09", "kind": "founder_essay", "topics": [ "origins", "product", "growth" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "article_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "frontend", "title": "How does it feel to pilot a rocketship? A take on it by our first Engineer and Tech Lead", "url": "https://medium.com/anar-business/how-does-it-feel-to-pilot-a-rocketship-a-take-on-it-by-our-first-engineer-and-tech-lead-a6b78acbb497", "author": "Nidhi Jain, interviewing Himanshu Jain", "published_at": "2021-10-27", "kind": "team_article", "topics": [ "engineering", "product" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "article_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "backend", "title": "The Rockstar behind Anar’s 0 Downtime — Abhishek Verma. How he built a scalable reliant backend", "url": "https://medium.com/anar-business/the-rockstar-behind-anars-0-downtime-abhishek-verma-how-he-built-a-scalable-reliant-backend-b745e212a8a5", "author": "Nidhi Jain, interviewing Abhishek Verma", "published_at": "2021-11-02", "kind": "team_article", "topics": [ "engineering" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "article_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "goa", "title": "It’s not all work, but even fun — Anar off-site, Goa 2021", "url": "https://medium.com/anar-business/its-not-all-work-but-even-fun-anar-off-site-goa-2021-4013e098e583", "author": "Nidhi Jain", "published_at": "2021-11-26", "kind": "team_article", "topics": [ "culture" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "publisher_rss_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "esop", "title": "More than just some stock options— Why Anar’s ESOPs are the best wealth creation tool", "url": "https://medium.com/anar-business/more-than-just-some-stock-options-why-anars-esops-are-the-best-wealth-creation-tool-729361054f43", "author": "Nishank Jain", "published_at": "2021-12-03", "kind": "founder_essay", "topics": [ "culture", "funding", "growth" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "publisher_rss_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "reviews", "title": "Redesigning the Review Experience", "url": "https://medium.com/anar-business/redesigning-the-review-experience-e8c62907d5a1", "author": "Suchit Poojari", "published_at": "2022-01-19", "kind": "team_article", "topics": [ "design", "product" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "article_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "karjat", "title": "Work — Party — Dream — Repeat! Anar’s 4th offsite", "url": "https://medium.com/anar-business/work-party-dream-repeat-anars-4th-offsite-d852494cb1a", "author": "Chinmay", "published_at": "2022-04-21", "kind": "team_article", "topics": [ "culture" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "article_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "sumit", "title": "Celebrating 3 years of Sumit! - In conversation with Anar’s Tech Superstar", "url": "https://medium.com/anar-business/celebrating-3-years-of-sumit-in-conversation-with-anars-tech-superstar-46f4bb0d97e2", "author": "Akshita Rajput", "published_at": "2022-05-20", "kind": "team_article", "topics": [ "engineering", "culture" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "article_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "alibaug", "title": "An Offsite to remember — Sep 2022", "url": "https://medium.com/anar-business/an-offsite-to-remember-sep-2022-6fd2ba07e3ba", "author": "Nidhi Jain; signed Nidhi J and Nidhi S", "published_at": "2022-10-05", "kind": "team_article", "topics": [ "culture" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "publisher_rss_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "award", "title": "Anar is a Startup Employees Love", "url": "https://medium.com/anar-business/anar-is-a-startup-employees-love-22d6b141f450", "author": "Nishank Jain", "published_at": "2022-11-10", "kind": "founder_essay", "topics": [ "culture" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "article_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "year2022", "title": "2022 — A year in review for Anar", "url": "https://medium.com/anar-business/2022-a-year-in-review-for-anar-b2835329bc2", "author": "Nishank Jain", "published_at": "2023-01-02", "kind": "founder_essay", "topics": [ "growth", "product", "culture" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "article_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "manali", "title": "Manali Workation: Work in Heaven", "url": "https://medium.com/anar-business/manali-workation-work-in-heaven-9dddb418515c", "author": "Kanishk", "published_at": "2023-03-28", "kind": "team_article", "topics": [ "culture" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "publisher_rss_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "safedeal", "title": "Anar App Unveils SafeDeal: Revolutionizing Online Commerce by Ensuring Secure Transactions between Buyers and Sellers", "url": "https://www.einpresswire.com/article_pdf/634461920/anar-app-unveils-safedeal-revolutionizing-online-commerce-by-ensuring-secure-transactions-between-buyers-and-sellers", "author": "Anar / EIN Presswire", "published_at": "2023-05-23", "kind": "company_press_release", "topics": [ "product" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "indexed_excerpt_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "farewell", "title": "So Long, Anar: A Farewell and Reflection", "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/so-long-anar-farewell-reflection-nishank-jain-oifxf", "author": "Nishank Jain", "published_at": "2023-11-24", "kind": "founder_retrospective", "topics": [ "shutdown", "growth", "lessons" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "article_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "shutdown-coverage", "title": "Elevation Capital Backed Anar Shuts Shop, Returns Capital To Investors", "url": "https://inc42.com/buzz/as-elevation-backed-anar-shuts-shop-here-are-key-learnings-from-b2b-networking-startups-cofounder-ceo/", "author": "Chetan Thathoo / Inc42", "published_at": "2023-11-25", "kind": "news_report", "topics": [ "shutdown", "lessons" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "article_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "seed-et", "title": "Anar B2B app gets seed funding from Elevation Capital, Accel India", "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/funding/anar-b2b-app-gets-seed-funding-from-elevation-capital-accel-india/articleshow/86223375.cms", "author": "ETtech / The Economic Times", "published_at": "2021-09-15", "kind": "news_report", "topics": [ "funding" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "indexed_excerpt_read", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "investor-memo", "title": "Investing in Anar", "url": "https://elevationcapital.com/summit/insights/investing-in-anar", "author": "Elevation Capital", "published_at": null, "kind": "investor_memo", "topics": [ "funding" ], "summary": "Linked by the founding essay. The original memo could not be retrieved during this review; no claims have been inferred from its title.", "access": "linked_not_retrieved", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "meco-definition", "title": "What is MeCo?", "url": "https://anarapp.notion.site/What-is-MeCo-7bae7b6321394b37806a50abab0ee611", "author": "Anar", "published_at": null, "kind": "product_definition", "topics": [ "product", "metrics" ], "summary": "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.", "access": "linked_not_retrieved", "checked_at": "2026-09-16" } ] }