We are a venture capital fund with a dedicated consumer focus and a high-engagement model. Partnering with startups in the F&B, personal care, apparel/lifestyle segments, we work with brands who dare to disrupt the market.
You got an idea? We got everything to put it together.
Every startup journey begins with an amalgamation of several ingredients coming together. You procure a little of everything from everywhere, but you still need that perfect sauce to make it all work. Here at Sauce, we are happy to get our hands messy. Come partner with us, where we can create the recipe of success, together!
Focused Strategy
A razor-sharp focus on consumer startups
Selective Deals
If you have it in you, we’ve got you.
Superior Performance through High Engagement
Assistance at every stage on every key aspect. Grow faster and smarter with our expert help.
EXIT SMART
Investing early, exiting smart
CORE TEAM
Manu Chandra
Senior private investment professional who has been actively investing in the early stage consumer space. Manu’s passion for this space has led him to launch Sauce.vc. He was previously a Director at 3i Group, an FTSE listed UK headquartered private equity firm. He managed investments worth ₹2,000Cr+ there, investing across early to growth stages in sectors such as entertainment, industrials, infrastructure. He has driven exits via secondary sales and also taken his portfolio companies to successful IPOs. Manu has served as a director on the boards of several mid to large companies in India. Prior to 3i, he has had startup experience establishing Grail Research, a research and consulting firm, as one of its founding members and Chief of Staff. Manu also served Fortune 500 clients as a marketing and strategy consultant at Monitor Group. Prior to that, he worked in the consumer banking division of Citibank in sales and operations roles. Manu is an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad where he was awarded the Ratan Tata Scholarship for academic excellence and the Lehman Bros Scholarship for attending the exchange program at Anderson Business School at UCLA. He is a Computer Engineer from Delhi University.
Senior private investment professional who has been actively investing in the early stage consumer space. Manu’s passion for this space has led him to launch Sauce.vc. He was previously a Director at 3i Group, an FTSE listed UK headquartered private equity firm. He managed investments worth ₹2,000Cr+ there, investing across early to growth stages in sectors such as entertainment, industrials, infrastructure. He has driven exits via secondary sales and also taken his portfolio companies to successful IPOs. Manu has served as a director on the boards of several mid to large companies in India. Prior to 3i, he has had startup experience establishing Grail Research, a research and consulting firm, as one of its founding members and Chief of Staff. Manu also served Fortune 500 clients as a marketing and strategy consultant at Monitor Group. Prior to that, he worked in the consumer banking division of Citibank in sales and operations roles. Manu is an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad where he was awarded the Ratan Tata Scholarship for academic excellence and the Lehman Bros Scholarship for attending the exchange program at Anderson Business School at UCLA. He is a Computer Engineer from Delhi University.
Yash Dholakia
Yash is a senior member of the investing team at Sauce. An investment professional for nearly a decade, he has a strong passion for consumer brands and businesses. He started his career as a marketer, building multiple iconic brands in real estate, before moving to investing. He was the founding member at Tomorrow Capital, an early stage consumer focused VC, where he built the team and led investments worth over INR 100 Cr in consumer businesses like Generico (now Zeno Health), Leverage Edu, Bonito Designs, and BeyondSkool. He was on the Board and played a key role in scaling up Generico, helped with setting up key functions and strategic hiring, and delivered a multi-bagger cash exit for the fund. Prior to that, he worked at a family office in Singapore where he handled investments across asset classes in the Asia Pacific region. Yash is an MBA (PGDM) from IIM Ahmedabad and a Chemical Engineer from ICT Mumbai.
Yash is a senior member of the investing team at Sauce. An investment professional for nearly a decade, he has a strong passion for consumer brands and businesses. He started his career as a marketer, building multiple iconic brands in real estate, before moving to investing. He was the founding member at Tomorrow Capital, an early stage consumer focused VC, where he built the team and led investments worth over INR 100 Cr in consumer businesses like Generico (now Zeno Health), Leverage Edu, Bonito Designs, and BeyondSkool. He was on the Board and played a key role in scaling up Generico, helped with setting up key functions and strategic hiring, and delivered a multi-bagger cash exit for the fund. Prior to that, he worked at a family office in Singapore where he handled investments across asset classes in the Asia Pacific region. Yash is an MBA (PGDM) from IIM Ahmedabad and a Chemical Engineer from ICT Mumbai.
Zoeb Ali Khan
Zoeb is a founding member of Sauce.vc. He has experience in consumer and technology startups. Previously he was a Project Manager at Myra, a Matrix Partners portfolio startup. He was also responsible for marketing activities, branding campaigns, and consumer research there. Prior to that, Zoeb was an associate at Wingify Software where he worked on CRM and sales automation projects. He holds a BBS (Finance) degree from College of Business Studies, Delhi University.
Zoeb is a founding member of Sauce.vc. He has experience in consumer and technology startups. Previously he was a Project Manager at Myra, a Matrix Partners portfolio startup. He was also responsible for marketing activities, branding campaigns, and consumer research there. Prior to that, Zoeb was an associate at Wingify Software where he worked on CRM and sales automation projects. He holds a BBS (Finance) degree from College of Business Studies, Delhi University.
Karan Kathpalia
Karan joins the investment team to help widen our reach in assisting the portfolio. Prior to Sauce, Karan was an Analyst at the marquee Canadian pension fund CDPQ. He has previously worked at a multi-billion-dollar family investment office based out of Dubai after which he pursued a career in treasury sales and trading at a leading Indian private sector bank based out of Mumbai. He also holds a Bachelors in Management Studies from University of Nottingham, and a Masters in International Business.
Karan joins the investment team to help widen our reach in assisting the portfolio. Prior to Sauce, Karan was an Analyst at the marquee Canadian pension fund CDPQ. He has previously worked at a multi-billion-dollar family investment office based out of Dubai after which he pursued a career in treasury sales and trading at a leading Indian private sector bank based out of Mumbai. He also holds a Bachelors in Management Studies from University of Nottingham, and a Masters in International Business.
Mansi Periwal
Mansi is an Analyst at Sauce.vc. She has previously worked as a Finance Manager with P&G in London, where she undertook strategic decisions for leading brands such as Gillette and Oral-B. Prior to that, she worked for two years with Citibank as a Corporate Banking Analyst. She holds a Masters in Financial Analysis degree from London Business School and a Bachelors in Economics degree from Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Delhi University.
Mansi is an Analyst at Sauce.vc. She has previously worked as a Finance Manager with P&G in London, where she undertook strategic decisions for leading brands such as Gillette and Oral-B. Prior to that, she worked for two years with Citibank as a Corporate Banking Analyst. She holds a Masters in Financial Analysis degree from London Business School and a Bachelors in Economics degree from Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Delhi University.
Meenakshi Agarwal
Meenakshi has joined Sauce team as Team Executive Assistant. Prior to joining Sauce she was associated with Instaoffice as Executive Assistant to Co- Founder and handled Admin, operational and HR related roles. Earlier to this she had worked with Apeejay Stay, National Stock Exchange and ICICI bank with experience in Sales and Operations role. She had completed her PGDM in HR and Marketing from Asia Pacific Institute of Management studies.
Meenakshi has joined Sauce team as Team Executive Assistant. Prior to joining Sauce she was associated with Instaoffice as Executive Assistant to Co- Founder and handled Admin, operational and HR related roles. Earlier to this she had worked with Apeejay Stay, National Stock Exchange and ICICI bank with experience in Sales and Operations role. She had completed her PGDM in HR and Marketing from Asia Pacific Institute of Management studies.
Govind Shrikhande
Apparel/Retail
Shripad Nadkarni
Brand Development
Arjun Purkayastha
Himanshu Bajaj
Strategy
Rohan Mirchandani
Food and Beverages
Prashant Chhaya
Manufacturing
“Manu is not just an investor for us. He has been an integral part of the DRUMS Food journey from the time when Epigamia was barely a vision. More than his capital we have benefited from his time, networks and experience. His deep understanding of consumer businesses helps bring a lot to the table for any consumer startup. My entire team knows they can call upon him at any hour of the day for anything, big or small. We are really happy to have him as part of the family.”
“I was sceptical of raising venture capital but my journey with Manu is quite the opposite of what the media feeds you about venture-backed business. Partnering with Sauce has been pivotal to XYXX’s growth; Sauce brings in the equilibrium between “growth at all cost” and “profitability” approach. Manu has challenged me to perform better and think strategically and is someone you know has always got your back.”
“There is no other investor in our cap table who has a deeper understanding or interest in the F&B space. He has been directly involved in every strategic decision we have taken. We now are on track to crack open food at workspace through an innovative technology-driven solution where Manu Sir is getting us access to everything we need to grow.”
“Sauce.vc was the first institution that backed us at The Whole Truth. And Manu was the first investor who backed me as a founder. Back when all I had was a product and a paper plan. Ever since, Manu’s become both, a close friend and a trusted advisor. With Manu, I never have to doubt who’s side he is on. He loves hearing the bad news first, and his instinctive reaction is to find solutions (not fix blame). And given his deep knowledge of CPG, I find myself relying heavily on his guidance. I’d say that with Manu (and by extension his team at Sauce), I’ve understood what being ‘invested’ in someone (not some-thing) looks like. And I couldn’t have asked for a better investor.”
“Sauce was the first investor in Bare Anatomy, when we were a mere vision. Over a period of time, Manu has also become a friend, an advisor, and sometimes an elder brother. The biggest test of an investor comes when the situation goes bad, and in a startups journey, that is almost inevitable. Even more so, when you are trying to build something against the norm. Manu, has always come through. He goes out of his way to help and support his portfolio companies, and funding is just one of the thing he does. He is a perfect early stage investor, and any founder in consumer space will be lucky to be a part of Sauce’s tribe.”
“Manu and Sauce team have been one of the best teams you can raise funds from especially if you are building an early stage consumer brand. The entire team is always founder first and will always be with you during the ups and down of your startup journey. Manu thinks very long term which is a key to building a successful consumer brand. Having Manu onboard is like having a big brother working behind the scenes and patiently guiding you to move in the right direction.”
Our service partners are well established and known in their respective fields. They will work with our portfolio companies through tripartite agreements facilitated by Sauce.vc
