# Pulkit Agrawal

> Pulkit Agrawal is the co-founder and CEO of Trell, a Bengaluru lifestyle and social-commerce platform he started in 2016 with three IIT Bombay classmates. What began as an Instagram page for hidden Mumbai spots grew into a regional-language short-video app that reached tens of millions of monthly users across Tier-2 and Tier-3 India and raised about $66 million, including a $45 million Series B in 2021 backed by Mirae Asset, H&M and Samsung Ventures. Trell later hit a wall of financial scrutiny, layoffs and a revenue collapse, making Pulkit's story one of the sharpest case studies in India's social-commerce boom and bust.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Trell
- **Organizations:** Trell, Personify, Qualcomm, IIT Bombay Finance Club, Mood Indigo, IIT Bombay
- **Nationality:** Indian
- **Education:** Integrated B.Tech + M.Tech, Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay
- **Known for:** Co-founded and led Trell to roughly 50 million monthly active users, one of India's largest homegrown lifestyle short-video platforms, Raised about $66 million in total funding, including a $45 million Series B backed by Mirae Asset, H&M CO:LAB and Samsung Ventures, Built one of the earliest regional-language social-commerce products aimed at Tier-2 and Tier-3 India, spanning eight Indian languages

## Career timeline

- **2011** — Began integrated B.Tech + M.Tech in Electrical Engineering at IIT Bombay
- **2011-2016** — Founding Manager of the IIT Bombay Finance Club; involved with Mood Indigo; internship experience linked to Qualcomm
- **2015** — Founded Personify, a home-automation startup that reached the finals of Eureka! at IIT Bombay and raised angel funding
- **2016** — Started the @trellingmumbai Instagram page for hidden Mumbai spots; grew to ~40,000 followers in under four months
- **2016** — Co-founded Trell in Bengaluru with Arun Lodhi, Bimal Kartheek Rebba and Prashant Sachan
- **2017** — Launched the Trell app as a visual blogging platform; raised roughly $250K in angel funding
- **2018** — Raised ~$1.3M seed round from BEENEXT and WEH Ventures
- **2020** — Pivoted to social commerce with Trell Shop; raised Pre-Series A and ~$11.5M Series A led by Sequoia Capital India, with KTB Network and Samsung Ventures
- **2021** — Raised $45M Series B led by Mirae Asset / H&M CO:LAB, with Samsung Ventures participating; reported ~50M monthly active users
- **2022** — Board-ordered probe into alleged financial irregularities froze fundraising; deep layoffs and a pivot away from e-commerce
- **2023** — Trell reverted to a lifestyle short-video format; FY23 revenue fell sharply

## Achievements

- Co-founded and led Trell to roughly 50 million monthly active users, one of India's largest homegrown lifestyle short-video platforms
- Raised about $66 million in total funding, including a $45 million Series B backed by Mirae Asset, H&M CO:LAB and Samsung Ventures
- Built one of the earliest regional-language social-commerce products aimed at Tier-2 and Tier-3 India, spanning eight Indian languages
- Grew an Instagram experiment to ~40,000 followers in under four months, validating demand before building the app
- Founded Personify, a home-automation startup that reached the Eureka! finals at IIT Bombay and secured angel funding

## Latest updates

- **2021-07** — Closed a $45M Series B led by Mirae Asset / H&M CO:LAB with Samsung Ventures participating.
- **2022-01** — A board-ordered probe into alleged financial irregularities froze new fundraising and led to significant layoffs and a strategy shift.
- **2023-01** — Trell pared back its e-commerce ambitions and refocused on lifestyle short-video content.

## Links

- Website: https://trell.co
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pulkitag/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/pulkitagrwl

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/pulkit-agrawal
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-21