Chennai-based self-publishing start-up, Notion Press, today announced that it has raised USD $1 million in pre-series A funding from High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNIs). The deal will help Notion Press consolidate its market leadership, strengthen its management team and expand its services in the market.
Notion Press is a self-publishing platform for Indian writers to publish and sell books around the world in both print and eBook form. It was founded in 2012 by two engineers, Naveen Valsakumar (30) and Bhargava Adepalley (29), and Jana Pillay (31), who has a background in publishing. Since then it has published over 2000+ authors, sells books in over 100 countries and is today the fastest growing publishing group in India, well-known for its high-end professional publishing solutions to authors.
Today, Notion Press offers various publishing, book printing, distribution and marketing services to both authors and publishers from around the world. The technology start-up aims to solve the challenges associated with book publishing and distribution by creating highly scalable solutions that work across the globe.
Commenting on the funding, Naveen Valsakumar, Co-Founder and CEO, Notion Press Media Pvt. Ltd, said, “We are growing aggressively and looking to go International this year. We will be intensifying our coverage across India and fuel our operations internationally as well with these funds. We have always envisioned Notion Press as a global publishing brand and have built everything to scale for the global market. We are launching our US operations in the middle of September and would be launching in three other countries by end of this financial year. With support from our investor group, we will be able to execute our vision more rapidly and broadly.”
A spokesperson from the Investor Group said, “We are very excited about this announcement. We commend the cutting-edge publishing solutions provided by Notion Press and the entrepreneurial spirits of the co-founders who put their heads down and built a sustainable and profitable business in just 4 years. Notion Press has shown tremendous potential in its growth, and is well-placed to be a part of the publishing revolution in India in the coming years.”
Notion Press was started as a platform for new writing talent from India to emerge. While self-publishing is not a new concept, the Chennai-based start-up stands out for its innovative methods. The company provides tools; data and expertise that enables authors take business decisions. “We are changing the way publishing solutions are provided to authors in India and do not see self-publishing as a pure service-driven business, our home-grown proprietary technology allows us to automate most parts of the publishing, distribution and book marketing workflow. Our USP is that we treat every book as a start-up and the author as its CEO.” explains Valsakumar.
Notion Press is now working on a technology product that will help authors actively promote their work. Apart from its global expansion, it is also looking to offer its services to more Indian languages.
