Fireside Ventures Names Former Flipkart Exec As Operating Partner

Early-stage venture capital firm Fireside Ventures has named former Flipkart senior executive Adarsh Menon as operating partner.

In his new role, Menon will serve on the boards of select portfolio companies, providing strategic guidance and mentorship to emerging consumer brands, the VC firm said in a statement.

Prior to joining Fireside, he served as senior vice president and head of new businesses at Flipkart, where he led initiatives including Shopsy, Cleartrip and ReCommerce. 

During his eight-year tenure at the ecommerce major, he also headed Flipkart Wholesale and spearheaded the company’s private brands division.

Before Flipkart, Menon held leadership positions at Hindustan Unilever for 11 years, including roles as general manager for West India and director of customer marketing. Most recently, he served as global president at Zoomcar.

“Adarsh’s impressive track record in scaling businesses makes him an invaluable asset to our team,” said Kanwaljit Singh, founder and managing partner of Fireside Ventures.

Menon said, “Fireside has built a strong niche in the ecosystem by living and practicing 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.”

Launched in 2017, Fireside Ventures manages INR 3,000 Cr of assets across three funds, investing in consumer brands across health and wellness, food and beverages, beauty and personal care, and lifestyle segments. 

The VC firm has backed several brands, including Mamaearth, boAt, Yogabar and The Sleep Company. 

In September, Fireside made a partial exit from Honasa Consumer (parent company of Mamaearth), selling 65.83 Lakh shares worth INR 326.05 Cr.

The Bengaluru-based firm has been actively investing in D2C startups this year, backing companies like The Good Bug (INR 30 Cr Series A extension), Tuco Intelligent, Pilgrim (INR 75 Cr), Aukera, Moxie Beauty, newme (INR 150 Cr), Rozana (INR 183 Cr), and Iluvia. 

Since inception, it has invested in 49 brands across categories. The fund is led by Singh along with co-founders Vinay Singh, Kannan Sitaram, and Dipanjan Basu.

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