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Tag: Fireside Ventures

  • Fireside Ventures appoints Adarsh Menon as operating partner

    Fireside Ventures appoints Adarsh Menon as operating partner

    Mumbai: On 12 November 2024, Fireside Ventures, an early-stage venture fund focused on consumer brands, appointed Adarsh Menon as operating partner. This strategic addition aims to bolster the leadership team as Fireside Ventures continues its growth trajectory.

    In his new role, Menon will serve on the boards of select portfolio companies, offering his expertise and strategic insights. With a robust 23-year career spanning sales and marketing leadership at esteemed organisations like Flipkart, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, Menon brings exceptional skills in team building, mentoring industry leaders, and driving business growth.

    Fireside Ventures, founder & managing partner, Kanwaljit Singh expressed, ‘We are delighted to welcome Adarsh to the leadership team and in the Fireside family. As we continue to grow and evolve as a fund, it’s essential to bring in leaders who share our passion for building sustainable, iconic consumer brands. Adarsh’s impressive track record in scaling businesses, coupled with his deep expertise in FMCG and e-commerce, makes him an invaluable asset to our team and portfolio companies. His appointment reinforces our commitment to supporting entrepreneurs with top-notch expertise, and we’re confident that his mentorship will help our companies navigate the complexities of the consumer landscape.’

    Menon shared his enthusiasm, stating, “Fireside has built a strong niche and stature in the ecosystem by living and practising the value of ‘Good’ – being founder-first and helping brands do good to do well. The track record of building purposeful brands is truly inspiring! I am delighted to join Fireside and be a part of this amazing journey.”

     

  • FableStreet raises Rs 21 cr in series A round led by Fireside Ventures

    FableStreet raises Rs 21 cr in series A round led by Fireside Ventures

    MUMBAI: FableStreet – a technology-enabled premium work wear brand, offering timeless, versatile pieces, with custom fits for women, has raised Rs 21 crore in Series A led by Fireside Ventures. Industry power-lifters including Uber India and South Asia president Pradeep Parameswaran,Deutsche Bank MD and head of technology Dilip Khandelwal, and RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (FMCG) CEO Suhail Sameer have also participated in this round and invested in their personal capacities. 

    The newly raised funds will be utilised for market expansion including offline presence, adding product categories and hiring senior professionals who will partner in growth and brand building. As a tech-enabled brand, it also plans to invest in AI and machine learning to build a customer recommendation engine, strengthen product development and set up a tech-enabled efficient supply chain. FableStreet is already ahead of curve in this space with its strong data-backed proprietary tailored fit algorithm – a sizing algorithm that only requires the customer to provide three body measurements online to extrapolate the remaining measurements to 95 per cent accuracy and build a custom-fit garment. 

    FableStreet plans to enter offline retail with brand-owned stores in the coming months and will now adopt an omnichannel model.  

    The three-year-old home-grown brand has a significant customer base within India and, internationally and, is endorsed by top women CXOs in the country. It has registered a growth of 50 per cent Q-o-Q. The return rate for its products is negligible, in contrast to most e-commerce players, owing to their focus on product quality and fits. Besides, it generates half of its revenues from repeat customers – a proof of its brand loyalty.

    The brand is one of the first Indian brands to tap the growing white space of ‘women’s formal wear with a unique business model and competes with the likes of Marks & Spencer, Massimo Dutti, Zara amongst others in quality workwear category. 

    FableStreet founder and CEO Ayushi Gudwani said, “We are building a one-stop destination for all lifestyle needs of professional women. Since launch, we have seen massive product acceptance, globally, and our ‘My Style, Your Fit’ concept to offer bespoke fits has to be the real differentiator. We are excited to partner with Fireside in this journey to scale FableStreet.” 

    Fireside Ventures partner and CFO Dipanjan Basu quoted, “We have been impressed with strong brand followership and customer excitement for FableStreet. The brand has a sharp understanding of customer needs and has constantly evolved to provide quality and unique solutions to address them. We, at Fireside, believe that personalization and technology-driven business models will be the new frontrunners in the consumer segment and are pleased to support Ayushi and her vision to provide quality and premium work wear to women.”

    Basu is also joining FableStreet as one of the board members. 

    FableStreet operates in a $1.2+ Billion work wear industry which is still a white space and undergoing fundamental evolution with increasing the number of women entering the workforce and, with consumers investing in quality clothing. 

    In 2017, FableStreet had raised an undisclosed sum in seed funding from a clutch of angel investors including Fashion Veteran, Harmeet Bajaj, Unilever vice president Pameela Pattabiraman, Fusiontech Ventures and other investors in the consumer, retail, and technology sectors. 

  • DesignCafe raises Rs 200 cr in series B funding

    DesignCafe raises Rs 200 cr in series B funding

    MUMBAI: DesignCafe, a Bengaluru based online home interior design platform, announced that WestBridge Capital will invest up to Rs 200 crore in a series B round of funding with participation by existing investor Fireside Ventures. Bangalore-based boutique Investment Bank Sprout Capital Advisors LLP was the exclusive financial advisor for the transaction.

    Design Café co-founder Shezaan Bhojani said, “We are very pleased to have Westbridge, one of the leading PE investors in India, join the Design Cafe team. We are also excited to strengthen our already close relationship with existing investor Fireside Ventures, who is also participating in this round. These investors share our long-term mindset and align with our values and we are thrilled to have them join us in our journey to script the next chapter of Design Café.”

    Westbridge Capital managing partner Sandeep Singhal commented, “We have been impressed with Design Cafe’s rapid scaling up and initial success. Their high customer satisfaction rate is an excellent achievement and is a testimony to the company’s deep domain expertise in this sector, hard work, and good business judgment. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Design Cafe in their journey of taking the business to even greater heights and building a marquee brand in home design services and products.”  

    Fireside Ventures managing partner Kanwaljit Singh said, “DesignCafe operates in a large white space and have built a solution that caters to a large target audience. Gita and Shezaan come with significant design experience which helps them understand the consumer need better. We have backed the company since its early days and are excited to partner with them to build a large home interior services brand.”

    DesignCafe was set up to address a large personalisation and execution gap that existed in the mid-segment (i.e. homes of 1,000-2,000 sq ft.) home interior market. Founded in 2015 by Gita Ramanan and Shezaan Bhojani, it offers customised interior solutions and personalised designs to consumers. The company also allows the consumers to visualise their home in virtual reality before execution. The company proposes to use the additional capital to expand operations in 6 other cities including Mumbai, NCR, and Hyderabad.