Celebrity investors betting big on consumer startups
equity and venture capital investments in large Indian startups have hit a four-year low, another set of investors are doubling down on emerging startups and direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands like never before – celebrities across Bollywood and sports. Sustainable baby care brand SuperBottoms on Thursday announced Alia Bhatt as its investor.
Earlier this month, Parineeti Chopra acquired a minority stake in personal care brand Clensta, former cricketer Sourav Ganguly picked up a stake in food delivery startup JustMyRoots, and Suniel Shetty invested in do-it-yourself healthcare venture The Biohacker. Executives expect the trend to continue.
It's a win-win proposition, they said, with these mostly consumer-facing startups getting a face to push their brands besides the money, and celebrities getting a low-risk, high-potential investment opportunity. “At a time when traditional established funds may not be investing with as much frequency, what is working for actors or sports celebrities as individual investors is that these new businesses are low-scale, low-risk, and don’t require large funds.
Hence, we are seeing a lot of mid-sized endorsements moving to ownership,” said Manish Porwal, managing director at a talent management and marketing company Alchemist, which works with L’Oréal and Reliance Group. “This trend will escalate,” said Kannan Sitaram, partner and cofounder of early-stage venture fund Fireside Ventures.
“For celebrities, such investments are strategic deals which pay off in many multiples in the long term.” Fireside Ventures has invested in diverse D2C brands such as Traya, Slurrp Farm, The Sleep Company and Pilgrim. “While overall investments in startups have come down, we continue to see lot of traction in
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