2023 has been a memorable one for all of us at Fireside Ventures. Yoga Bar has begun taking clean-label, healthy food across India in partnership with ITC. boAt has gone from dominating the headphones space to being a strong #2 wearables brand, second only to Apple. And in a landmark move for Indian new-age brands, Honasa – parent of Mamaearth and other brands - is now a listed company.
Fireside was founded with the vision of building iconic consumer brands, and we’re seeing the first wave of these brands receive the respect and recognition they truly deserve. It’s both inspiring and reassuring to see that all these businesses have been built sustainably.
Our journey has always had responsible consumption at its heart, and our understanding of the Value of Good has only deepened over the years. This year, we’ve articulated the three pillars of this practice, but it’s been a part of our DNA from Day One.
As Fireside moves into another year – as a collective of individuals who bring their strengths to act as a force of good at the highest level – these are our guiding principles:
Founder First describes how we solve for founders’ dreams by being true partners - in good, bad and tough times. We recognise that it’s a privilege to be a part of their journey, and treat, engage, critique, and support them with empathy, respect, and authenticity. Planet First is our commitment to build responsible consumer brands that doing good for society and the planet, and building a better world for tomorrow. One Fireside reflects our belief that a better world cannot be built alone. We’re building an institution to last with a culture where the strength of the collective is greater than the sum of individuals. Where we're all working towards a common goal.
Founder First
The practice of putting ourselves in the founder’s shoes, and actually being a part of their journey, and not just their Board, isn’t something you can describe in literal terms. There’s no handbook that can tell you “Do X when the founder does Y.” So our approach is one of respect, and empathy. We want our founders – indeed, all founders – to succeed, and we help them in every way we can. Our diverse perspectives allow us to help them in many ways, but it is this respect for their journey, and empathy towards them as people, that guides us in every conversation, in every interaction.
Just like any growing brand we face a lot of crossroads, but the practicality and the comfort they give us, the reassurance that this happens with early stage – that is very helpful. Hence instead of just managing the relationship, we can be transparent and honest.”
“The Fireside family” is the most honest description of our relationship with our founders, and that’s why you’ll find us engaging deeply even with Fireside founders where we have little or no commercial stake left in the business. Even though they’ve moved on much further than the early stage, we continue to be family. To help them navigate good times and bad. Sometimes, we help evaluate new ideas and directions. At other times, it’s connecting the dots. You can’t have that kind of a relationship without absolute trust, without the “safe space” that you build over time.
Planet First
At Fireside, sustainability is every part as important as profitability, and it is new-age brands that will actually help restore the balance between people, planet and profit. They’re the ones who are building businesses around a planet-first mindset. We believe in doing good to do well, and we’re consistently working to help our companies move up the sustainability chain. Just like we have playbooks for digital marketing or platforms, we have a playbook and resource directory for all aspects of ESG.
New-age founders, building a new kind of business, have a unique approach to ESG. On the other hand, legacy companies are addressing the space differently, significantly improving supply chains or packaging or even digitisation. We have a lot to learn from both sets of businesses, and we’re sharing those learnings with the ecosystem at large. “The rising tide lifts all boats” doesn’t apply to a booming economy alone – imagine the positive impact of a booming ESG practice among all companies, big and small.
One Fireside
Only culture can harmonise the values of a company so that there’s a consistent experience internally as well as externally. We want Fireside to continue to empower the consumer brands that India, and the rest of the world, needs.
How do we do this?
We have a playbook approach to initiatives, where, in addition to an investment vertical, each Principal/ Director owns a horizontal program that impacts the entire portfolio – across ecosystems, partnerships, and growth vectors - that incorporates learnings and best practices for all organizations at different stages.
Another aspect is that not one of our incentives are linked to a single deal, they’re all linked to the fund succeeding, and Fireside succeeding - which is when our companies succeed. More so, the incentives of the investing and operating team are the same across the same level of impact. We’re all in it to make the founder and our portfolio company successful, together!”
All the culture design in the world cannot help without transparency and candour. Today, at the Fireside table, there are many voices. There’s also the room for those voices to be heard. Our alignment in thought and deed comes from that deeper space, where there is always room to debate and discover, to roll up our sleeves and dive in, to learn more about things we don’t know enough about.
2023 will always be remembered as the year that D2C went from earning their shelf space in households to carving their name on Dalal Street. Technology, policies and initiatives like ONDC are making our ecosystem so much richer. India now ranks among the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world.
The new-age consumer brand landscape enters the next level in 2024. And we’re ready for it. Our alignment in intent makes what we do for our portfolio and our partners so much simpler, yet, so much more powerful.
Thank you for being part of our journey – and best wishes for the New Year!
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