As per a Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) filing reviewed by Inc42, the board of Bengaluru-based startup 10Club has approved filing for insolvency under Section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The company also held a board meeting to seek shareholder approval for the same.
The development was first reported by Entrackr.
In an explanatory note, 10Club stated that its assets are insufficient to repay outstanding debts, and that the company appears to be insolvent on the surface.
Founded in 2020 by Bhavna Suresh, Joel Ayala, and Deepak Nair, 10Club operates as a roll-up ecommerce startup, partnering with Indian ecommerce sellers by acquiring their businesses and helping them scale.
Backed by investors such as Fireside Ventures, Secocha Ventures (led by Sanket Parekh), and boAt founders Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, the startup made headlines in 2021 for raising $40 million in seed funding, at the time the largest seed round in India. Its first acquisition was My Newborn, a D2C baby care brand selling products like swaddles and blankets.
10Club’s business model is inspired by Thrasio, a U.S.-based ecommerce aggregator known for acquiring top-performing Amazon third-party sellers. Launched in 2018, Thrasio gained traction by offering economies of scale to help these acquired businesses grow. It entered the Indian market in 2021 by acquiring Lifelong Online, a Delhi NCR-based home appliances brand.
The Thrasio-style model sparked a wave of similar ventures in India, including Mensa Brands (now BRND.ME), GlobalBees, GOAT Brand Labs, Evenflow, Upscalio, and Powerhouse91. These startups pursued aggressive growth strategies—GlobalBees, for instance, expanded via full acquisitions such as The Butternut Co, while GOAT Brand Labs focused on multichannel growth through quick commerce, offline presence, and exports.
Meanwhile, Evenflow recently raised $5 million as part of its ongoing Series A round led by Venture Catalysts, and BRND.ME, backed by Tiger Global, is raising INR 48 Cr in debt from existing investor Stride Ventures, as reported last month.
