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 is a member of KStart’s (Kalaari seed arm) consumer investment committee. He was till recently 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.
Govind Shrikhande
Apparel/Retail
Shripad Nadkarni
Brand Development
Prashant Chhaya
Manufacturing
Nikhil Mehra
Luxury
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.”
“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.”
“I know Manu from 2006 when we worked together at Monitor. I wanted him to come on board as an investor who understands brand building and consumer insights. He has been a deeply engaged investor acting as a sounding board for strategy and connecting us to investors with domain expertise and networks. Given his PE experience, he has the ability to envision businesses at scale, which few early stage investors possess.”
“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, including a continuously disciplined drive for profitability. We now are profitable and 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
