Fluid Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on the direct-to-consumer (D2C) segment, has placed its debut bet from its Rs 80 crore (around $11 million) fund by leading a funding round with a $240,000 (Rs 1.76 crore) investment in Jaipur-based digital retailer Fabriclore.
Fabriclore is a digital retailer of fabrics that sells through its own platform both in India and abroad.
“We invest in startups that have successfully executed their capability and have achieved customer validation in the addressed market. In Fabriclore we found a startup which has defined competitive advantage,” said Amit Singal, general partner at Fluid Ventures.
“We not only provide funds but also provide hands-on support to startups in achieving business milestones,” he added.
Fluid Ventures said the fund will be deploying the entire corpus over the next three years, with a ticket size of Rs 2-4 crore per deal in pre-Series A and Series A rounds.
The fund aims to invest in 15-18 startups in the food and beverages, beauty, personal care, lifestyle, and home products segments.
The first five months of 2021 have seen homegrown D2C brands draw more than $250 million from venture funds.
Currently, India has one D2C unicorn startup, while there are 20 such startups in the world right now, noted Dhianu Das, general partner at Fluid Ventures.
"With this initiative, we hope to open the playing field for more such success stories and encourage large investors to back startups the way they do so in the equity market," he added.
Fluid Ventures' general partners Das and Singal have invested in startups such as PeeSafe, Junio, eBikeGo, Chqbook, Neeman Shoes, Akiva Superfoods, Power Gummies, and Vanity Wagon. They have also exited startups such as Burger Singh, Carmesi, Infeedo, GoMechanic, and ClearDekho.
This year has seen several venture capital firms announce fundraising milestones and float new funds.
In June, Artha Venture Fund marked the final close of its debut fund while WEH Ventures launched its second fund with a target to raise Rs 100 crore.
Last month, Blume Ventures, which has invested in startups such as Unacademy, Grey Orange, Dunzo, and Purplle, was reported to be launching its fourth fund. In January, South Korean financial services firm Mirae Asset, which has invested in Indian startups such as Ola, Zomato, and Bigbasket, launched an India-focused early-stage fund.