Fireside Ventures

Ankur has over 15 years of experience in investing and scaling up consumer brands with deep expertise in chalking out and delivering strategic growth. Ankur has focused on value creation through brand building and digital initiatives over the last decade. Prior to Fireside, he was part of consumer markets leadership at KPMG where he worked closely with CXOs in consumer tech, CPG, fashion and consumer healthcare to enable accelerated growth for promoter driven and PE invested companies. Ankur has completed a PGDBM from MDI Gurgaon, BE from MVIT Bangalore, and is a CFA level 3 candidate.

Shuchi has 16+ years of operational and entrepreneurial experience across fashion and home. She started Pipa.Bella, a D2C jewellery brand in 2013, which she later sold to Nykaa in 2021. She worked in Nykaa Fashion's senior leadership team, where she led the P&L and brand strategy for private labels across western wear, Indian wear, and accessories. Having been largely an operator for most of her career, Shuchi loves to roll up her sleeves and dive right in to find solutions and works with a strong customer intuition and product instinct. Shuchi holds a BS in Economics from the NYU Stern School of Business, and an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Varun's journey began at Bloomberg, where working across Mumbai and Singapore gave him a strong foundation in finance, technology, and global collaboration. As part of the founding team at Avanti Learning Centers, he learned what it takes to build from the ground up developing empathy for the 0-1 startup journey and deep insights into selling to the Bharat consumer. His hands-on experience in building and angel investing led him to Lightbox, where over 8 years he honed his ability to support founders operationally across fundraising, storytelling and brand building, engage with limited partners, and identify emerging investment themes. Varun graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with as a B.Sc in Computer Science Engineering.

Ankita Balotia is a Principal at Fireside Ventures, where she partners with founders building the next generation of consumer brands and platforms in India. Her select boards include Sweet Karam Coffee, Frubon, Ace Blend, Troovy, and Happi Planet. Her work at Fireside focuses on helping companies move from strong product ideas to enduring consumer businesses. She works closely with founders on product strategy, customer insight, and scaling operating capabilities as companies transition from early traction to sustained growth. Ankita is particularly interested in how technology and data are reshaping consumer brands enabling companies to build deeper relationships with customers and evolve from product-led businesses into long-term consumer platforms. Before joining Fireside, Ankita was part of Venture Highway (now General Catalyst India), where she worked with early-stage startups across consumer and technology sectors. Ankita spent over five years in management consulting with Bain & Company and Strategy, advising companies across consumer technology healthcare, and real estate on growth strategy and digital transformation. Ankita holds a degree in Computer Science from IIT Delhi.

Amit leads the Finance, Legal, and Investor Relations functions at Fireside Ventures, where he has shaped the firm's governance architecture, deal execution systems, and fund administration platform. He oversees fund strategy, institutional reporting, compliance, and overall financial stewardship for the firm. Passionate about helping founders build resilient, high-trust businesses, Amit brings a disciplined yet partnership-oriented approach to scaling early-stage companies. Amit works closely with portfolio teams to strengthen financial clarity and governance as they grow. He supports companies in designing robust MIS and reporting frameworks, enhancing audit and compliance readiness, building finance organizations fit for scale, and navigating capital allocation and debt solutions. He also anchors LP co-investments and helps founders engage effectively with institutional investors and strategic partners. A Chartered Accountant with over 13 years of experience, Amit previously worked in corporate finance at Manipal Healthcare.

Nandika is passionate about building organizations while keeping the founder's vision at the core. She specializes in translating aspirations into reality by aligning people, strategy, and execution. With 15+ years of experience, she has worked as a consultant at Aon Hewitt, led multiple global HR functions at InMobi, and partnered with it's founders driving business strategy, growth and operational excellence as part of InMobi's leadership team. At Fireside, she leads Strategy and People - shaping the fund's long-term outlook, understanding evolving consumer trends, and strengthening the organization for scale. She partners closely with portfolio companies across growth vectors, helping them navigate their next stage of evolution. Nandika holds an MBA from ISB Hyderabad and a BA (Honours) in Economics from LSR, Delhi University.

Swati is a seasoned investment banking professional with over 16 years of experience in consumer and retail. She has a long track record of working with large, iconic consumer companies such as Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Tata Consumer, Godrej Consumer Products and DMart, as well as emerging brands such as Fogg, Paperboat, iD Fresh, Epigamia and Manyavar, amongst others. Swati's expertise extends to advising clients on a wide range of transactions, including M&A, IPOs, fund raises, and strategic alliances. She has successfully executed 30+ advisory and capital market transactions, spanning both listed and unlisted space, totaling over US$ 10 billion. Prior to joining Fireside, Swati was a Director at Kotak Investment Banking. In the past, she has worked with KPMG and PwC. Swati has completed her MBA in Finance from Mumbai University and cleared CFA Level 2.

With over 16 years of experience in Brand Marketing, Khatija has led the charge on building, scaling and revitalizing consumer brands across diverse segments. She began her journey at CavinKare, gaining valuable exposure to the nuances of mass-market consumer behavior and most recently spent over 5years at Zivame, playing a key role in transforming it into India's leading intimate wear brand. Khatija has done her MBA in Marketing from Loyola Institute of Business Administration (Chennai) and Post Graduate Certificate in Digital Marketing from Northwestern University-Kellogg School of Management.

With five year's experience in M&A, Siddharth has worked across sectors on clients including listed IT companies, startups, and retail businesses. He has been at Ernst & Young LLP, where he advised corporates on M&A, and corporate development with a focus on tax and regulatory considerations particularly relevant in the context of inbound investments, acquisitions, divestitures and cross border reorganisations. Siddharth is a CA, and has also cleared two levels of CFA (US).

Chitra is a lawyer with seven years of transaction and advisory experience in venture capital, private equity and M&A deals across varied sectors, working with global and Indian funds and corporates. Prior to Fireside, Chitra was a legal counsel at Peak XV Partners where she gained extensive experience in VC deals. Chitra graduated from National Law University Odisha.

Ipsita is a Chartered Accountant with eight years of experience in transaction advisory across varied sectors, working with global and Indian private equity funds and corporates. Prior to Fireside, Ipsita was part of the financial due diligence team at Ernst & Young and Alvarez and Marsal, where she gained extensive experience across multiple marquee transactions in consumer, IT and financial services.

Utkarsh is a Chartered Accountant with a track record in scaling consumer brands. His career spans leading financial strategy and reporting at Zepto to executing international M&A and FP&A at Wipro Consumer Care Internationals. Utkarsh combines deal rigour with operational insights in cash flow, working capital and inventory management to support early-stage ventures.

With seven years in Statutory Audit, Kapil brings expertise across IT, startup, and manufacturing sectors. As a Manager at BSR & Co LLP, he delivered quality audits and supported clients in meeting compliance standards. A Chartered Accountant with a Bachelor’s degree, Kapil is committed to accuracy and integrity in every engagement.

Aashish started his career with White Whale Partners where he was instrumental in setting up the private and public markets verticals for the firm. During his ~4-year stint there, he covered consumer, retail, auto and IT space across public markets, and led VC investments in companies like Blue Tokai, Vahdam, NOTO, Furlenco, among others. He is a finance graduate from H.R. College and has cleared level I of the CFA program.

Prateek spent 2 years working in analytics consulting, consumer insights and process automation for the FMCG practice at Fractal.AI post which he spent 2 years evaluating early-stage startups in Fintech and Insurtech at Orios Venture Partners. He has an engineering degree in Computers from VIT, Vellore and an MBA from ISB.

Urvashi started her career in management consulting at Bain & Company before transitioning to early-stage investing at Kae Capital, where she spent two years focusing on consumer tech and consumer brands.

Satwik has over two years of global experience in Management Consulting, working on Organisation Structure, Operating Model Redesign, Post Merger Integration and M&A Capability Assessment on over 150+ cases at Bain prior to Fireside. Satwik is a Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies Graduate, and a CFA level 2 candidate.

Aman has over 4 years of experience in the Financial Services industry. He was previously with Carpediem Capital, a growth-stage Private Equity fund where he overlooked investment evaluation across Consumer Brands and Services along with portfolio management for Flipspaces and Fornax Corporate Services. Prior to which he was part of the dedicated FinTech practice with Ernst and Young, where he focused on devising digital strategies and providing financial advisory services across the globe.

Tarak is passionate about fostering innovation and driving impactful initiatives. Previously at Marico Innovation Foundation and 100X.VC, he supported the scale-up of startups and managed strategic partnerships, with a strong focus on creating tangible value beyond capital. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds a degree in finance from Mumbai University.

Garvit began his VC journey with Campus Fund during college and has spent the past two years at Pravega Ventures, focusing on early and growth-stage investments in enterprise technologies, deeptech and healthcare. Garvit graduated from Ashoka University with a degree in Economics and Finance, alongside Mandarin, History, and Entrepreneurship.

With 16+ years at large MNCs like LeEco, Mercedes-Benz R&D India, P&G, and HP, Ramya has supported global and national leadership teams in Administration, HR, Project Management, Procurement, Events and Budget functions in diverse cross-cultural environments. Passionate, self-driven, process oriented and creative, she is an exceptional organiser. Ramya has a BSc in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.

With 18+ years of experience, Shiva has been at companies such as Helion Advisors, Carlyle Advisors, and Textual Analytics, handling a multitude of responsibilities spanning office administration, vendor relationship, and visitor management. His multi-lingual skills are an asset to the team.

With over 20 years of experience in the Private Equity sector, Andrea has managed offices and assisted Senior Management in companies like The Carlyle Group, Och-Ziff Capital Management, Omidyar Network and LGT Lightstone. During this span she has used her organisational skills to set up many offices, put systems and processes in place, and host events with seamless precision. Andrea has a Bachelor of Science degree from Mount Carmel College Bangalore.

Kritika has over 7 years of experience in administration support and vendor management. She has worked with companies like Writer Relocations, Nissei Pastic I Pvt. Ltd. and Johnson & Johnson in sectors like logistics, retail and manufacturing. Kirtika is a graduate in Philosphy (H) from Delhi University. She has completed N5 certification in Japanese which empowers her with basic communication skills in the language.

With 14 years of experience in executive assistant roles, Neha has honed skills in diverse sectors including digital marketing (Akarmax Tech PVT Ltd), automobile (Hype Luxury ), manufacturing (Shyam Textile), and the food industry (Elior India). Her expertise lies in efficient management, creative problem-solving, and adept communication. With a knack for strategic thinking and meticulous organization, she has successfully navigated complex environments and facilitated smooth operations. Neha is a BA Graduate and a professional Fashion Designer.

With 5 years of experience in front office and administration, Sharon has worked across diverse industries, including recruiting, manufacturing, and retail. She is skilled in efficient coordination, effective communication, and ensuring seamless operations and service delivery. Her expertise combines professionalism with strategic thinking to foster a well-organized and welcoming environment for both clients and teams.

With over 20 years of experience, Sumy Sara Mathew is a seasoned Senior Executive Assistant and Office Manager, recognized for supporting C-suite leaders and working with prestigious organizations, including diplomatic offices, the Prime Minister’s Office, and global brands like Vodafone, Diageo, Levi’s, and InMobi Technology.

Deep Vaghela is a seasoned compliance professional with over 15 years of experience in corporate, securities and financial laws. Having led legal and compliance functions for GVFL, Terazo and PAG, he specializes in transforming regulatory complexity into strategic advantage. His expertise spans fund structuring, regulatory compliance, risk management and transaction execution across the fund lifecycle. Previously as Vice President at Zincmoney, Deep built compliance and regulatory frameworks for sustainable growth. Deep is a Fellow Company Secretary (FCS) with an LL.B and an MBA in Finance.

Animesh brings over a decade of revenue leadership across India's most dynamic Consumer categories. He has scaled multi-million-dollar P&Ls at JioHotstar, Blinkit and Mondelez, driving growth across AdTech, Quick Commerce, and FMCG. At Fireside, he works with portfolio companies on Go-To-Market strategy, focusing on sustainably scaling Digital Commerce tracks. Animesh holds an MBA in International Business from IIFT and a BE from the University of Pune.

Swati Shah Gupta is an infrastructure investment and sustainability specialist with over 20 years of experience across impact investing, public policy, and urban development. She believes that purpose and profits can and must grow together and is deeply committed to positioning India as a global hub for circular economy innovation. At Fireside, she leads ESG and sustainability, working closely with founders to build responsible, future-ready consumer brands. Her career spans roles at Aavishkaar, Northern Arc, and CRISIL, where she advised governments, DFIs, investors, and startups. Swati holds an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, an MBA from NMIMS Mumbai, and a bachelor's in Urban Planning from SPA Delhi.