Pankaj Chaddah on Zomato’s next moves

Gurgaon-headquartered Zomato Media, which runs restaurant listings and reviews site Zomato, is currently in the market to raise a reported $10 million round of funding to power its expansion into overseas markets. Founded in 2008 by IIT Delhi alumni Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah, the company (earlier known as Foodiebay) has raised $6.5 million in…More

How Ashish Dhawan is building India’s first VC fund for non-profits

“I can still connect the dots but I know it (the ability) is starting to fade,” says Ashish Dhawan. The 43-year old Dhawan has been Indian private equity’s most influential and successful dealmaker for over a decade. Last year he stepped back from his private equity career to focus on philanthropy. These days he doesn’t…More

SAIF Partners’ Mukul Singhal on Inkfruit-Zovi

Last Friday, SAIF Partners portfolio companies Inkfruit (Fingerprints Fashions) and Zovi (Robemall Apparels) announced a merger that creates one of the strongest private label ecommerce players in the country. SAIF Partners, a private equity investor that plays in early stage and growth deals, has invested a combined $35.5 million in the two companies over multiple…More

What you didn’t know about the Inkfruit-Zovi merger

The past fortnight has been intense for the 200-odd people who work out of Fingerprints Fashions’ corporate digs in Mumbai. Most of them will relocate to Bangalore over the next three months as the company completes its merger with Robemall Apparels. The merger brings together two of the country’s leading private label ecommerce brands, Inkfruit…More

Opinion: Shoot me if I ever say these things to a startup

I have been involved directly or indirectly with startups all my working life (except Celera which was a big company but with a startup spirit). And it’s amazing what kind of free and useless advice you can get along the way, particularly in the first three or four years. I am surprised at how startup…More