Little

Little Internet Private Limited, founded in 2015 by Manish Chopra and Satish Mani, operated as a hyperlocal deals discovery platform within India's online-to-offline (O2O) market. The founders, who previously established the online fashion brand Zovi, leveraged their entrepreneurial experience to create Little. Manish Chopra brought a background in marketing and operations from his time at Microsoft, while Satish Mani had a strong technical foundation from his work at Cleartrip and Oracle. The venture launched with significant financial backing, securing a $50 million investment from prominent investors including Paytm, SAIF Partners, and Tiger Global Management.

The company's business model was centered on an app-only marketplace that connected consumers with local merchants for services such as restaurants, spas, salons, and entertainment. For customers, the platform served as a discovery tool for time-sensitive, location-based deals, enabling them to purchase services at a reduced price. For merchants, Little acted as a sales channel to attract new customers and better utilize their service capacity during off-peak times. Revenue was generated by charging merchants a commission, typically between 6-8%, for each deal sold and redeemed through the platform. The app was available on Android, iOS, and Windows Phone, aiming to provide a seamless redemption process.

Little pursued growth through strategic acquisitions, including the purchase of Chandigarh-based deals marketplace Trideal in October 2015 and the beauty and wellness startup Stylofie in early 2017. These moves helped expand its merchant database and penetration in specific service categories. By 2017, the platform claimed to have over 25,000 merchants offering more than 50,000 live deals across 17 cities. However, in December 2017, in a move to consolidate the hyperlocal deals space, Paytm acquired both Little and its competitor Nearbuy. The two platforms were merged, with Paytm taking a majority stake in the combined entity, effectively marking the end of Little's journey as an independent company.

Keywords: Little app, Little Internet, Manish Chopra, Satish Mani, hyperlocal deals, O2O marketplace, daily deals, local commerce, Zovi founders, Paytm acquisition, Nearbuy merger, deal discovery platform, mobile marketplace, restaurant deals, spa discounts, online to offline, Indian startup, SAIF Partners, Tiger Global Management, venture capital