Anirudh


Damani, angel investor,


So far, Damani’s 60


investments into start-ups range across India and the US, including unicorn budget hotel chain OYO, online cosmetics retailer Purplle, pregnancy and parenting-tips platform BabyChakra, and omni- channel fashion site Fynd—backed by Google. The investments have almost completely been funded by the power generated by their large wind turbine in Rajasthan.


Learning curve Although not all of his investments have been a success, and Damani is candid when exposing what has not worked out and why—even when pitching to potential Artha Venture Fund investors. His investment into


online taxi booking service BookMyCab.com, ended with Damani only getting back about 30% of his original investment via a company sale. It followed a missed opportunity to take on illegal tourist taxis, which a competitor then swooped in to monetise. His foray into the


discount hotel booking site HotelsAroundYou.com, which was wiped out by competition that brought in deeper discounting, was a complete write off. “I do not shy away [from


failures],” Damani says. “In the pitch


presentation I show to potential investors,


ISSUE 75 | 2019


I include a slide that discusses our failures, how it happened, and what the outcome was. I think it offers a window into how we look at our failures and what we have learnt from them. It makes us relatable, it makes us human.” Far from being deterred


by these experiences, Damani has dared to risk more by launching the family’s first $30 million institutional fund, Artha Venture Fund-I, last year. It’s a unconventional


move for the family, but Damani believes


that combining the investment philosophies of the older generation together with the fresh ideas he picked up in the US, will ensure the fund will be kept in check. “When I said I wanted


to do a fund, my father and uncle said, ‘Yes as long as we always return the capital back, make sure there is some return, do not put everything at risk, and do not work with people you do not trust’. “I think investing


with that in mind, plus the western style of management I brought


back from the US, has really helped me to build a different kind of company than is usually seen in India.”


Back to school Despite his swift rise, you get the sense Damani is continually evolving and self-improving. When he is not hunting down his next unicorn, he can be found using his blog ShowMeDamani.com to vent, praise, and shine a light on being a young entrepreneur—something he believes keeps him grounded.


CAMPDENFB.COM 33


entrepreneur and Artha India Ventures managing partner.


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