Misfits, a hobby-centric offline community platform, has successfully secured Rs 5 crore in a seed funding round, led by Info Edge Ventures and Better Capital.
Founded in 2022 by a team of IIT Kanpur alumni—Shashwat Narhatiyar, Chaitanya Dhawan, Saurabh Sharma, and Shaswat Kar—Misfits aims to foster real-life connections among individuals with shared interests.
The platform has seen impressive organic growth, amassing over 20,000 members across more than 40 active clubs. To date, Misfits has facilitated over 3,000 social meetups in the Delhi NCR region.
Narhatiyar, the co-founder and CEO, emphasized that the inception of Misfits stemmed from a college project. He noted that many existing social media platforms fail to create genuine human connections, spurring the need for a dedicated space for people to engage offline.
Expanding Horizons in Community Building
With the newly raised funds, Misfits plans to enhance its mobile platform, streamlining the process for users to join, create, and expand their communities. Additionally, the startup is set to broaden its footprint beyond Gurugram into other areas of Delhi NCR within the next three months.
Dhawan, the CMO, explained that their initiative was born out of a personal need for connection in an increasingly isolated world. This vision transformed casual gatherings at home into vibrant communities, showcasing the demand for authentic social interaction.
Investors are optimistic about the platform’s potential. Rishabh Katiyar from Info Edge Ventures noted the considerable traction Misfits has achieved.
He highlighted the unique model that empowers club leaders to manage their own interest-based clubs, enabling rapid scaling while maintaining capital efficiency. Vaibhav Domkundwar, CEO of Better Capital, pointed out that Misfits is akin to the “AirBnB of Human Connections,” praising the startup’s innovative approach to fostering community ties.
As Misfits gears up for its next phase of growth, it aims to redefine how individuals connect and engage with one another offline, tapping into the ever-growing demand for meaningful relationships in today’s digital age.
