There were rumors that IndiaPlaza, an e-commerce marketplace, and one of the oldest e-commerce ventures in India, was laying off people. K Vaitheeswaran, Founder and CEO of IndiaPlaza, denied that the company is laying off people, but said that they've frozen hiring, and people are leaving on their own accord. The company is currently looking to raise funds, and Vaitheeswaran tells us what investors are saying about funding e-commerce in India right now. Excerpts from our conversation: MediaNama: We've heard that you're laying off people... Vaitheeswaran: We've not asked people to leave, but people realize that follow on capital is challenge right now. We haven't called people and asked them to leave. We're raising funds and right now, fund raising for e-commerce companies is a challenging task. MediaNama: How much funding are you looking for? Vaitheeswaran: We're looking for funding in the region of $5 million, and till that is done, we are trying to do what is needed to sustain the operations, so that when we conclude the fund raising, we can scale up operations. MediaNama: How is the business doing? Vaitheeswaran: Business is tough because if you run into operational issues in terms of lack of capital, business gets impacted, and the focus shifts to maintenance instead of growth. It is a phase, and these phases come and go. It has happened before, and it will continue to happen in a business and an industry is not profitable. MediaNama: Has there been a decline in consumer traction? Are people…
