‘Aspirational India needed new kind of brands’: This is how Kalaari Capital co-founder Vani Kola became the posterchild of India’s start-up ecosystem

Vani Kola, the visionary co-founder of the venture capital firm, Kalaari Capital, is seen by many as the posterchild of India’s start-up ecosystem. Recently, in a conversation with Mukesh Bansal, the co-founder of the fashion e-commerce company, Myntra, Kola shared captivating anecdotes and some profound insights into not just India’s massive societal change, but also on entrepreneurship and leadership. 

“So I left India in 1985. I came back end of 2005 and spent one month in India which I had not done in 20 years. And I saw all around me, this exuberance, this confidence,” she noted. In 2005, when she returned back, the country was going through seismic shifts. Over a decade had undergone since the country’s economic reforms, with the market opening up. Kola told Bansal that even during that time, cities like Gurgaon were coming up and malls had started dotting the landscape. 

Engaging in conversations with ordinary citizens, Kola discovered a newfound confidence and aspirational fervour permeating society. "The one good thing in India's people will talk to you. They'll tell you their whole life story," she remarked. This openness revealed the shifting mind-set and consumer aspirations taking root among Indians.

Amidst these interactions, a memorable incident at a Reliance Fresh store captured the essence of India's changing social dynamics. As Kola stood in line, a cashier's attempt to expedite her service prompted a fellow customer to assert his place in the queue. "He just said, 'I'm in the line, right?' So that was great for me to see India from that equality perspective, where my rupee is equal to your rupee" she recalled. For Kola, it was anecdotes like these which underscored the growing assertiveness and egalitarian values gaining traction in Indian society.

She also highlighted the massive generational shift underway. During this visit, Kola recounts meeting a taxi driver who was planning a vacation to Bangkok, pushing the veteran VC to marvel at the shifting aspirations of Indians. "He said to me, 'You know, I work very hard. I deserve a holiday.' And I immediately thought of my father. I thought, when did he aspire to take a holiday?" she pondered. 

In fact, it were these incidents that forced Kola to understand the role of technology and innovative brands in democratising access to aspirational lifestyles. Taking the example of Myntra, and the way it opened up fashion and lifestyle for a host of Indians, Kola pointed out that the new aspirational India she was witnessing, required brands like Myntra to service such a new consumer. "It requires new brands, technology at its forefront because that's the only way access and affordability can reach mass without technology," she told Bansal.

When Bansal asked what propelled her, eventually, to transition from a CEO to a VC, Kola emphasised the importance of empowering founders and fostering trust-based relationships. "If you are a leader who has built companies, you already learned that your role is to hire great leaders and empower them," she noted.

And as a VC, she realised the close, even symbiotic relationship that exists between a start-up founder and a VC.

"There has to be a deep trust and involvement collectively. And it works wonderfully, especially when things don't go well," she affirmed. In fact, she underscored that unless the relationship is symbiotic, the venture cannot be a success.