Q. Why are you interested in the role at DSG?

A. As much cliched as it might sound, DSG is on the forefront of the revolution in the
consumer landscape in SEA and India since its very inception. Veeba, Epigamia and XYXX
have been a part of my life for a while now, and I can witness the impact that DSG has
created, nobody comes closer to that. While interning at Sauce.vc, we were really throwing
ourselves out there to the founders day in day out, so that they can utilise us as a resource
wherever it felt relevant.

DSG is known on the street for its highly engaging nuances with the companies it invests
in. I’d love to be a part of the team where not only do I contribute internally, but also be
candidly involved in solving key strategic and operational pitfalls.

Overall, a role at DSG will ensure an exponential learning curve and inside out
involvement.

Q. What is the most compelling industry/theme for consumer investment over the
coming 5 years?
A. ESG - no doubt. ESG themed companies have been focal of the 21st Century. As
governments and stakeholders push towards a more e cient yet e ective business
model, ESG companies t right in.

For instance, brands like Karana, Seppure and Beco (more on this later on), and especially
in the plant meat/urban and sustainable solutions domain are furnishing as much of social
governance as great consumable products.

Also, one can observe the dynamic shift there has been towards ESG investing over the
last few years, with not only Impact VCs, but also institutional investors such as Goldman
Sachs, Apollo Global and many private equity rms/funds have bet on more tenable and
sustainable models.

One point to note is that often the line between impact investing and pro tability/growth is
blurry, as many investors rationale it as less of a money making model and more of a
philanthropic model. Exits are the prime focus of many institutional investors, and for VCs
as well. Although, to me it’s a great zone of building a sustainable business model which
not only makes money, but eventually make this planet a bit healthier.

Q. What is a non-DSG backed early-stage company we should evaluate for

investment (In the Seed to Pre-Series A stage) and why do you nd it interesting?
A. Lately, one of the early-stage ventures that I really got intrigued about has been Beco.
Beco raised seed round funding from Climate Angels Fund and other investors recently
(INR 4Cr.).

The company aims at manufacturing end-to-end organic/eco-friendly consumer products.

When one goes through Beco’s product line, they can nd eco-friendly personal care and
household products which come with a composting deadline (tentative).

One of the best thing about these products are, although these are eco friendly, these are
not priced immensely above those of their non-eco friendly peers which contain plastic
and other harmful elements. The value o ered is also at par with traditional products, such
as kitchen towels (reusable, which is not the case in synthetic products), garbage bags,
facial tissues, and the combos o ered are some of the best ones I’ve ever seen in organic
products.

The supply chain stands as such - from seeding to packaging, there’s no use plastic of any
kind. Also, the entire production is done in house.

Few of the major hurdles stand at scaling these organic products, which are often seen as
supplementary, and not in line with the usual products in the market. But as consumers
move towards being more health & environment conscious, and governments and
institutions towards sustainable growth, Beco stands to bene t from all!

Q. What is something unique about your background or upbringing that we may not
know about that might contribute to you being good at this job?
A. I’d a very unconventional transition to college. During high school, I was associated with
science at large, and had planned to commit to engineering since the very beginning. In
2016 (11th grade), I started reading Sand Hill Road by Scott Kupor (MP, a16z) and Too Big
Too Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin (E-A-L, NYT). By the time I was completing the second
half of my associate degree, I had begun to experience a drift towards corporate nance in
general.

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Therefore, I enrolled myself to a business program. I’ve always felt that one of the best
ways to learn is to just reach out to someone associated with the same and touch base
more often. I have a view that the networking and people skills apart from the technical
know-how that I’ve honed over the years will really help me get my hands dirty at work on
the ground level while e ectively using that as a yardstick to achieve personal and
professional objectives.
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