Fund of Funds 2.0: Bet on manufacturing; Matching startups with talent using AI
Hello,
Nykaa’s big beauty bet is paying dividends.
Nykaa parent FSN E-commerce Ventures saw its operating revenue grow 27% year-on-year, driven by a boom in the beauty vertical. Over the past year, the Falguni Nayar-led company has also been looking to put down its roots in international markets, especially the GCC region.
Meanwhile, the company’s fashion vertical has been relatively subdued in its growth, and with Shein back in the ring as a challenger, the competition’s set to only get tougher. But the beauty and fashion platform does have a plan in the works: partnering with other international D2C brands and tapping into fashion private labels, for starters.
In the world of fast fashion retailing, speed is key.
Meanwhile, over in the SaaS sector, VC firm Peak XV Partners is divesting from Freshworks, after selling about a 1% stake in the company for $51.5 million. It now holds a 3.9% stake in the SaaS giant.
This comes months after Peak XV cut the size of its largest fund by 16%, as growth-stage funding into the startup ecosystem has slowed down over the past two years.
In other news, this past week has been a treat for fans of Ed Sheeran, as the singer-songwriter embarked on his six-city ‘+ - = ÷ x Mathematics Tour’ in India. Sheeran welcomed Bengaluru to the tour this weekend, charming the crowds with hits like Shiver, Perfect, and Photograph.
His impromptu busking stint on a busy city street did run into a SNAFU, as videos of a policeman unplugging Sheeran’s instruments in the middle of a performance went viral, drawing criticism from netizens.
Clearly, the long arm of the law spares no one, not even international pop stars.
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
Here’s your trivia for today: What is considered the fastest-growing plant on Earth?
It was in early 2016 that the Government of India unveiled the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), armed with a budget of Rs 10,000 crore. The idea was not to funnel this directly into startups but to channel them through SEBI-registered alternative investment funds (AIFs).
Recent data shows that AIFs supported by FFS have already invested more than Rs 20,000 crore in over 1,100 startups. It’s a good time to take stock of the FFS programme as FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new FFS with a fresh capital of Rs 10,000 crore.
Government push:
Startup: JQR
Amount: $25M
Round: Equity
Startup: BorderPlus
Amount: $7M
Round: Institutional investment
Startup: The Energy Company
Amount: $2M
Round: Pre-Series A
Deepak Subramanian, along with Shravan Kumar and Varun Gopalakrishnan started YourTribe in 2021 to help startups hire top talent by combining the power of AI with employer branding.
YourTribe is designed specifically for startups, going beyond traditional job portals by curating top talent and intelligently matching candidates based on skills, career aspirations, and cultural fit.
Recruitment using tech:
Last month, Zepto’s Co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha launched Zepto’s first all-women dark store in Chennai’s Madambakkam, run by a team of 25 women.
From overseeing daily operations to managing inventory and logistics, each team member brings their own unique strength to the table.
Women at work:
Zepto’s first all-women dark store in Chennai’s Madambakkam, employs a team of 25 women.
What is considered the fastest-growing plant on Earth?
Answer: Bamboo. It can grow up to 91 centimetres (35 inches) in a single day.
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