E75: Vinay Singh (Partner, Fireside Ventures)

The Desi VC: Indian Venture Capital | Angel Investors | Startups | VC

Vinay Singh is a Partner at Fireside Ventures, a fund specializing in early stage and seed investments in the Indian consumer space. With 7+ years at Hindustan Unilever as Marketing Manager for a multi-crore brand, extensive expertise in digital marketing at McKinsey & Co., and Bankbazaar.com, Vinay has a unique perspective on the intersection between consumer brands and technology. He has also been an entrepreneur, as the founder and CEO of Stepni.com, which was acquired by Quikr.

In this episode, we will cover:

1. Vinay’s take on the market right now (3:00)

2. Does abundant dry powder allow funds to modify their thesis? (8:33)

3. How does a venture capitalist look at ‘brand building’? (14:30)

4. How can you build a global D2C brand from India? (21:08)

5. Does a startup’s mission really matter to investors? (28:45)

6. How does a founder find purpose in their idea / business? (37:46)

7. How important is operating experience for an investor (44:24)

8. For founders: How to build rapport with your investors (48:11)

9. What does Vinay and Fireside Ventures do REALLY well (53:04)