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.
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.
Adit Jain
Adit interned at Sauce for a period of six months working on deals such as Gobbly, Postcard and Mokobara before joining the core investment team full time. He has a dual background in finance and law, holding a Bachelors of Legal Sciences LLB from Mumbai University and having completed all three levels of the CFA Program. Prior to Sauce he has worked as an equity research analyst at a boutique investment bank in India, evaluating companies across sectors. Adit has also previously interned with the international taxation team at Economic Laws Practice. He's a fitness and fast car enthusiast.
Govind Shrikhande
Apparel/Retail
Shripad Nadkarni
Brand Development
Prashant Chhaya
Manufacturing
Rohan Mirchandani
Food and Beverages
“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.”
“We wanted Manu to join our investor group given he is an investor who rolls up his sleeves and contributes to consumer startups. In a few months of working with him closely, I can see why he enjoys this reputation. He gets branding, consumer insights, distribution – all challenges faced by every challenger consumer brand. Having him on board is definitely helping us grow quicker with fewer mistakes.”
“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.”
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
