Catapooolt
Catapooolt is an India-focused, reward-based crowdfunding platform founded in 2012 that enables startups, creative professionals, and social-cause campaigns to raise community funds across 16 categories, taking a 10% fee plus GST on raised amounts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersMumbai, India
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Catapooolt does
Catapooolt is a reward-based crowdfunding platform founded in 2012, operating primarily in India and legally domiciled in Singapore as INNOV CROWD PTE. LTD. The platform enables startups, creative professionals (filmmakers, musicians, performing artists), social-cause campaigns, and product innovators to raise funds from a community of individual contributors across 16 categories including music, film, gaming, sports, technology, social causes, and startups. Campaign creators submit projects through a self-serve web flow, receive approval within 48 hours, and then run a three-phase marketing process — first activating their personal network to raise roughly 25% of the goal, after which Catapooolt layers on digital marketing, emailers, and PR support, followed by organic spread. The platform takes a 10% fee plus 18% GST on that fee (approximately 11.8% total) only on funds successfully raised, and offers a flexible (not all-or-nothing) funding model that lets creators keep partial amounts. Catapooolt also runs flagship co-branded initiatives — The Economic Times Changemakers, Nasscom Gamechangers, and Product Czars — that serve as marketing vehicles and curated startup cohorts, alongside the Super Solvers program built with AWS and TiE for COVID-19 innovation.
The underlying technology is a self-serve web platform with campaign dashboards, real-time contributor tracking, web analytics, social login (Facebook/Google), and payment integrations for credit cards, debit cards, and net banking. The product's notable differentiators are a 'Trusted Mentors' panel — described as the first among Indian crowdfunding platforms — and an ecosystem layer aggregating 100+ industry associations, 20+ media partners, accelerators, incubators, and CSR funds offering over $30M USD in value propositions to startups. Since launch the platform has crowdfunded more than 300 projects and claims an Asian Record for simultaneous crowdfunding across the largest number of projects on a single day. The company operates with a very small team (1–10 employees), is privately held, and was acquired in 2024 by the promoters of competitor DesiredWings.com for an undisclosed sum, with both brands continuing to operate in parallel under the combined positioning as the largest crowdfunding platform in India.
Catapooolt firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Catapooolt
- Legal name
- INNOV CROWD PTE. LTD.
- Website
- https://catapooolt.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Catapooolt is an India-focused, reward-based crowdfunding platform founded in 2012 that enables startups, creative professionals, and social-cause campaigns to raise community funds across 16 categories, taking a 10% fee plus GST on raised amounts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Catapooolt industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Crowdfunding Platform
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Creator Fundraising & Crowdfunding Platforms (Recurring/Project-Based) (MPACAFAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Nonprofit & Cause Communications (BPAFADAK)
Keywords
Where Catapooolt is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mumbai
- HQ country
- India
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Catapooolt business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Platform Commission: Catapooolt charges a fixed 10% + 18% of 10% (GST) as platform fees for any amount raised. If campaign fails to meet 80% funding target, amounts raised are refunded to contributors subject to platform service fee retention. Amount is non-refundable to project owner as platform fee.
- Flexible Crowdfunding Model: Allows flexible crowdfunding - project owners receive raised amount even if goal is not fully met (after deducting platform fees). This differentiates from all-or-nothing models.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Campaign Creation |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Platform Transaction Fee |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Failed Campaign Fee |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels10 records
Catapooolt product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Catapooolt operates a self-serve, reward-based crowdfunding platform that enables startups, creative professionals, and changemakers to raise funds from a community of contributors for projects spanning music, film, gaming, sports, social causes, and technology innovations. The platform provides campaign creation tools, a real-time contributor dashboard with analytics, a Trusted Mentors panel, and 360-degree marketing/PR support, charging a 10% platform fee plus 18% GST on funds raised.
Product overview
Catapooolt is a crowdfunding ecosystem platform operating in India, offering two core campaign products: General Campaign for standard fundraising and Supersolvers Campaign for startup innovation support. The platform provides campaign creation, project curation, investor connections, PR and marketing support, intuitive dashboards, and a rewards system. Catapooolt positions itself as India's premier crowdfunding platform and pioneers of crowdfunding in the country. The company runs several flagship initiatives including The Economic Times Changemakers, Nasscom Catapooolt Gamechangers, and Catapooolt Product Czars. The platform supports multiple categories including Music, Literature, Gaming, Fashion, Film, Stage, Events, Food, Travel, Technology, Environment, Sports, Art & Craft, Photography, Social causes, and Startups.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- General Campaign
- Supersolver Campaign
Quantifiable outcome
- 221% funded
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Catapooolt
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Catapooolt technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Feature3 records
Catapooolt partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- The Economic TimescoreFlagship partnership for The Economic Times Changemakers Season 1 & 2 - a major startup recognition initiative providing visibility and credibility to campaigns on the platform
- NasscomcoreCo-branded initiative 'Nasscom Catapooolt Gamechangers' focusing on gaming innovation and startup recognition within the tech ecosystem
- AWS (Amazon Web Services)majorPartner in Super Solvers initiative providing cloud infrastructure support and potentially fast-track funding opportunities for qualifying startups
- TiEmajorPartner in Super Solvers initiative - TiE's entrepreneurial network and mentorship support for qualifying COVID-19 innovation startups
- 20+ Media PartnerscoreNetwork of over 20 media partners providing press coverage and marketing support for campaigns and platform initiatives
- 100+ Industry AssociationscoreExtensive network of industry associations providing value propositions worth $30 Million USD+ to startups on the platform, creating an ecosystem approach to crowdfunding
- DesiredWingscoreCatapooolt was acquired by DesiredWings promoters. Both brands continue operating in the market post acquisition, with combined strength making them the largest crowdfunding platform in India. DesiredWings focuses on category-agnostic business idea validation while Catapooolt maintains its focus on startups and specific crowdfunding segments.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Catapooolt competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Patreon: Patreon is a creator-membership and recurring funding platform for artists, podcasters, and creators. It overlaps with Catapooolt's creator-monetization use case but operates on a subscription model versus Catapooolt's project-based campaigns, representing an adjacent business model in the same creator economy.
- Start51: Start51 was an India-focused crowdfunding platform for startups and entrepreneurs. It shared Catapooolt's startup-vertical focus within the same market and represents a comparable Indian early-stage funding intermediary, though with narrower category focus.
Broad incumbents
- Kickstarter: Kickstarter is the global category-defining reward-based crowdfunding platform for creative projects. While primarily U.S.-focused, it sets the competitive template for Catapooolt's creative and all-or-nothing model comparisons and represents the global benchmark in reward-based crowdfunding.
- Indiegogo: Indiegogo is a global reward-based crowdfunding platform offering flexible and fixed funding models. Its flexible-funding feature is the direct global analog to Catapooolt's key differentiation, and it competes for indie creators and tech innovators worldwide.
- GoFundMe: GoFundMe is the world's largest personal-cause and charitable crowdfunding platform. While focused on personal/charitable giving rather than creative projects, it competes for the same donor wallet in India and globally and represents the scale benchmark in crowdfunding.
Direct peers
- Ketto: Ketto is one of India's largest crowdfunding platforms, focused on social, medical, and personal cause fundraising. It directly competes for the same Indian creator and donor base as Catapooolt, particularly in social-cause and changemaker campaigns.
- Milaap: Milaap is an India-based crowdfunding platform specializing in medical emergencies and social causes. It targets overlapping donor segments in India, especially for personal and community fundraising, competing directly with Catapooolt's Changemaker and social campaigns.
- Wishberry: Wishberry is an India-based reward-based crowdfunding platform specifically for creative projects including films, music, art, and performing arts. It competes directly for Catapooolt's core creative-professionals segment within the same Indian market.
- Fueladream: Fueladream is an Indian reward-based crowdfunding platform focused on creative products, gadgets, and innovations. It overlaps significantly with Catapooolt's startup/product and creative vertical and serves the same Indian market with a similar take-rate model.
- DesiredWings: DesiredWings is an India-based reward-based crowdfunding platform that acquired Catapooolt in 2024. It competes directly in the same Indian market with category-agnostic business idea validation, making it the closest comparable peer and now the combined market leader.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Catapooolt social profiles
Digital presenceCatapooolt financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Catapooolt leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Catapooolt funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Catapooolt M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Catapooolt
What does Catapooolt do?
Catapooolt operates a self-serve, reward-based crowdfunding platform that enables startups, creative professionals, and changemakers to raise funds from a community of contributors for projects spanning music, film, gaming, sports, social causes, and technology innovations. The platform provides campaign creation tools, a real-time contributor dashboard with analytics, a Trusted Mentors panel, and 360-degree marketing/PR support, charging a 10% platform fee plus 18% GST on funds raised.
Is Catapooolt a public or private company?
Catapooolt is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Catapooolt founded?
Catapooolt was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Catapooolt based?
Catapooolt is headquartered in Mumbai, India, in the Asia region.
How does Catapooolt make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Platform Commission is the primary driver. The others are flexible Crowdfunding Model.
Who are Catapooolt's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Patreon and Start51. Broad incumbents are Kickstarter, Indiegogo and GoFundMe. Direct peers are Ketto, Milaap, Wishberry, Fueladream and DesiredWings.
Does Catapooolt have an API?
No public API is recorded for Catapooolt.
What industry is Catapooolt in?
Catapooolt's product category is Crowdfunding Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAFAJ, Creator Fundraising & Crowdfunding Platforms (Recurring/Project-Based), with a secondary code of BPAFADAK, Nonprofit & Cause Communications. Its NAICS code is 8132 and its SIC code is 7372.