Anjana Sasidharan, the Partner and Co-Head of India Investments at L Catterton, has exited the company in a major decision in the Indian private equity and venture capital arena. Global consumer-oriented investment giant According to industry reports, Sasidharan will be moving out of the global investment giant within the next few weeks to start a new entrepreneurial adventure by starting her own venture capital fund.

Strategic shift and key role

The new venture of Sasidharan is a strategic shift in her investment career as she is no longer dealing with growth-stage private equity but seed and early-stage financing. The new fund will be a consumer-oriented vehicle and will target the dynamic ecosystem of new Indian consumer brands.

Although the exact structure of the fund is still under development, according to industry sources, the vehicle is being established as a solo General Partner (GP) fund. It is estimated that the fund will commence with a corpus of over ₹200 crore, though it can be expanded as the deployment phase commences. The move is part of a wider trend in India whereby more experienced investment professionals are moving towards independent platforms in order to have increased autonomy and specialization.

In February 2021, Anjana Sasidharan was hired by L Catterton, where she had almost ten years of experience in the past at Sequoia Capital. Under her leadership at L Catterton, she spearheaded consumer investments of the firm in India and was briefly appointed as the leader of the India investments of the firm.

She has been instrumental in the management of a portfolio that comprises prominent Indian brands like Sugar Cosmetics, Drools (Pet nutrition), and Farmley (Healthy snacking). Her departure comes when L Catterton has heavily invested its interest in the Indian market. The firm, headed by the Executive Chairman, Sanjiv Mehta (former HUL CEO) and Co-Head Vikram Kumaraswamy, recently saw the first close of its dedicated India-centric fund of $200 million and a total of up to $600 million.

Decision to launch a solo GP fund

Launching a solo GP fund is an indicator of a growing ecosystem of venture capital in India. Sasidharan is in the footsteps of other big-profile investors who have just shifted to separate platforms. Indicatively, ex-Nexus Venture Partners executive Sameer Brij Verma has recently launched his own solo GP, Northpoint Capital, with a $155 million capital base.

These changes are usually predetermined by the need to have leaner decision-making models and the possibility to collaborate with founders more closely at the initial phases of brand building. To Sasidharan, the new fund offers an opportunity to exploit her long history of consumer trends and scale disruptive brands in the largest startup ecosystem in the world. 

Conclusion

The exit of Anjana Sasidharan to L Catterton signals the end of a very fruitful era at the global entity and the start of a bright new one in the consumer industry in India. She is targeting to own value at the base of innovation by targeting a ₹200 crore early-stage fund where most of the future retail giants in India are being built at the moment. The industry will be keenly observing as she moves out of the current role and the first disruptive consumer category her new fund will first support.