HNIs, celebrities offer lifeline to startups; 101 investments made in 2023
The funding winter hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm of a large number of veteran entrepreneurs, high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and celebrities towards the startup eco system. In fact, they have provided a lifeline to many startup entrepreneurs, according to data gathered by market intelligence platform, TheKredible, they have made upwards of 101 investments in 2023
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Paytm, launched the VSS Investment Fund – his maiden fund with a total corpus of Rs 30 crore, which will target AI and EV-related startups. Zerodha co-founders Nithin and Nikhil Kamath will allocate as much as Rs 1,000 crore to Indian startups through their investment firm Rainmatter Capital, which has already backed several startups, including elderly care platform Age Care Labs, sportstech startup Game Theory and many others.
“Some of the large global VC funds have had turmoil and cashflow issues within their portfolio which has restricted their ability to take risks. However, successful entrepreneurs and corporate VC funds like us have the freedom to back passion-based projects and category challengers,” said Dinesh Pai, head, Rainmatter Capital.
Dinesh said unlike a VC fund, his fund has the flexibility in terms of the time frame and afford to make bets that would take a longer time to be actualised.
Veteran entrepreneurs who have backed startups this year include EaseMyTrip’s co-founder Rikant Pittie, who has invested in diary startup Vaastu Ghee, healthy snacking brand Sohamm Snacks and plus size innerwear brand Happie Curves. Then there is InsuranceDekho’s founder and CEO Ankit Agrawal, who also invested in Vaastu Ghee, wellness retreats platform Yogify and IoT solutions provider Heseos.
Mamaearth founder couple Ghazal Alagh and Varun Alagh have backed handcrafted brass and copper home decor brand P-TAL, and window and door systems brand GreenFortune. Dream11 CEO Harsh Jain has backed fitness equipment brand Cube Club, while Boat founder Aman Gupta has invested in student loan provider Lorien Finance, men’s apparel brand Snitch and premium Indian spices brand ZOFF.
Other such investors include Shaadi.com CEO Anupam Mittal, Lenskart founder Peyush Bansal, Emcure Pharmaceuticals co-founder Namita Thapar and CarDekho’s Amit Jain
Celebrities are also turning out to be attractive backers for several Indian startups. The distribution and influence that celebrities bring along with them is especially handy for D2C startups that are aiming to increase their reach and scale. Alia Bhatt recently entered the startup investment arena with her support for SuperBottoms, a sustainable diaper brand.
Akshay Kumar is diversifying his investment portfolio by backing Two Brothers Organic Farm, promoting sustainable agriculture. Additionally, he has joined forces with The Good Glamm Group to venture into the men’s personal care space. Ranveer Singh was recently promoted as co-owner and face of men’s sexual wellness brand BoldCare. Other such celebrities include Deepika Padukone, Dia Mirza, Kareena Kapoor Khan and television mogul Ekta Kapoor.
“In the past few years of VC activity and exits, whenever they have happened, including IPOs, have brought startups in India back into the limelight. So, everyone wants to have some exposure to that asset class too, including celebrities. For startups, validation, signaling, trust and image is what they think of when taking money from these types of investors,” Dinesh said.