Mission 4.

3
Portfolio

Venture Capital Analyst

Entry Level 2022

Market Analysis

The Indian pet care industry is growing rapidly due to the humanisation of
pets and more and more pet parents. After the covid pandemic, there seems
to be a strong curve in the number of pet parents. And since these pets are
considered to be part of the family approximately $300-$350 are spent on
them annually for food, care and other toys. The nature of humans to have
company and treatment of their pet as family has propelled the industry that
is growing.

The current market size is Rs.2500 crores which is growing at 13.5% CAGR
and will reach Rs.5000 crores by 2026. This is just taking into consideration
the pet food industry, but adjacent industries like pet wellness and toys will
also grow and the market cap is supposed to cross Rs.7500 crores by 2026.

Trend Analysis

Major trends in the past few years.

Traditional Companies - Existing giants like pedigree and royal canines have
seen an uptick in their numbers. There seems to be a large increase in the

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pet food sector alone and the companies have increased their production to
match with the demand.

Emergence of pet grooming - Pet grooming seems to be another thing that has
caught on. Increase in mom & pop grooming centers, small business etc have
increased. An average tier 2 city like Gwalior has 5-7 pet grooming centers in
the 10km radius of the city center.

One stop solution for pets - There also seems to be a rise in bigger businesses
which are catering to their entire need of pets at one stop - Vet, grooming,
food, utilities & toys. One stop solution for all the pet needs are becoming a
thing in most metro & tier 1 cities, although there are some chains, nobody is
a current market leader as of now.

Concern about pet food - People are generally aware that pet food is not made
from the best bits of meat but is rather from the waste, this has created a
general concern regarding the quality which inturn has increased the
requirement for quality and healthy pet food.

Some major deals that happened recently

Heads up for tails, raises $37 Million from Verlinvest & Sequoia
Heads up for tails is an offline and online marketplace for pets with pet care,
pet food, grooming etc.

Wiggles, raises $5 Million from Anthill

Wiggles is an online marketplace with their own range of nutritional and
healthy products for pets.

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Wagr, raises Rs.4.2 Crores from Inflection Point Ventures and others
Wagr is a pet care product manufacturer and tele vet consultation startup.

Dogsee, raises $6.7 Million from Sixthsense & Mankind Pharma

Dogsee has its own range of natural, gluten free healthy quality treats for
dogs

Sploot, raises $500k from Info-Edge

Sploot is a pet community startup that aims to empower pet parents.

Pawfectly Made, raises $1 Million from Licious

Pawfectly Made has its own range of freshly made customized food for pets.
The investment of Licious is also a strategic one as Licious is India’s biggest
online meat delivery platform, which has a huge potential for synergy
between the companies.

Just Dogs, raises $7 Million from Sixth Sense

Just Dogs aims to create a full stack online experience for the pet parent.

Key Players

1. Mars International India Pvt Ltd.

Mars is the biggest shareholder in India when it comes to the pet care
industry. They have 50+ global brands which includes Pedigree, whiskas etc.
They have also started pet nutrition centers. Pedigree holds approximately
33% of the Indian dog food market which shows how prominent they are.

Revenue - This information is not available publicly. Its revenue ranges over
Rs.500 crore. And its EBITDA has increased by 35.90%.

Employees - 1019

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Recent developments -
Mars recently invested to join the race for new high quality pet food
New manufacturing plant in Pune setup

2. Royal Canin

A french company which has set their standards in India. The company aims
to provide healthy quality pet food for both dogs and cats.

Revenue - This information is not available publicly. Royal Canin operates

with a revenue ranging between Rs.100-500 cr. But due to competition and
more investment the EBITDA has reduced by 39.55%

Employees - 780

Recent developments -
No major recent development other than the fact their leadership has
changed drastically.

3. Heads Up For Tails

Indian pet care maket-place that offers a single place solution for pet food,
toys and other nutritional requirements. The most established startups
among traditional titans.

Revenue

Year Revenue

2015 Na

2016 Na

2017 12cr

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 2018 20cr

2019 35cr

2020 67cr

Employees - 491

Recent developments -
Plans to expand their pet wellness centers to 140 cities in India
Heads up for tails, raises $37 Million from Verlinvest & Sequoia

My Selection of Startups and evaluation

1. Wiggles

Market

TAM - A Billion $ market by 2025. And the market is growing at 10% - 12% in
India alone. If we take into the global scenario, we will be able to identify that
the market is evolving much faster.

Key Players - Heads up for Tails, Dogsee, Royal Canin, Mars International
India etc

Product

What is the problem the company is trying to solve? - A complete ecosystem

for pets and pet parents along with healthy specialized quality food products.
The long term goal is to lock the pet parents within the Wiggles ecosystem for
nutritional food, preventives, vets and grooming solutions.

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Solution - Their state of the art R&D department is working on specialized pet
food and nutritional products for different pets. The lack of something
similar in the Indian industry will propel their chances at being a clear winner
in the industry.

What are their customers saying? - Dedicated Facebook groups and other
forums are already available on the internet from Wiggles, we can clearly see
the set up of a community approach here. Their online ratings are also
promising and does look like a very positive company.

Founding Team

The company was founded by a paw parent after she couldn’t find a proper
solution for her dog. She is a coachable adult who is looking to deliver the
best product to the market, another co-founder is her father who has been a
serial entrepreneur. So it’s a good team and definitely worth deep diving into.

Metrics

ARR - $418k
MRR - NA
CAC - $5
LTV - NA

Note - The pet care industry in India is growing rapidly and Wiggles is
creating a Niche for themselves. It’s a very interesting team and shows all the
potential to grow further with the right guidance.

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2. Blusmart

Market

TAM - The market is valued at INR 20.72 Bn currently and it’s expected to
grow at a CAGR of 13% and reach a value of INR 55 Bn by 2025.

Key Players - Ola and Uber

Product

What is the problem the company is trying to solve? - An online cab booking
platform which will have its entire fleet running on electricity. Keeping in
mind the current market trends and increase in price of petrol, Blusmart is
trying to increase profits of the company as well as of Drivers by using
electric vehicles.

Solution - Well designed fleet management software and fast charging

capabilities to make sure that the best experience is provided for each
customer and drivers.

What are their customers saying? - Due to multiple horrible experiences with
Ola and Uber, the market is warming up to the idea of better service even if it
costs a little bit, but Blusmart is able to provide amazing service at similar
prices which is making Blusmart one of the most loved startups around.

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Founding Team

The team consists of industry veterans from the energy industry which lets
them stay well connected with the industry and also helps in identifying
potential hacks to improve efficiency for electric cars.

Metrics

ARR - $1.07M
MRR - NA
CAC - $6
LTV - NA

Note - The duoply of Ola and Uber is coming to an exit, Blusmart is finding
its niche and is becoming a major player. This is definitely a company that’s
on the right path.

3. Nutrifresh

Market

TAM - The market size is around $85 Bn and is expected to grow annually by
8.23%. The changes in climate and more people turning to healthier options
is likely to propel this growth further.

Key Players - Bowery, Natufia labs, Charloette’s web etc

Product

What is the problem the company is trying to solve? - To provide high quality
non-GMO, unadulterated vegetables.

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Solution - They are able to provide high quality produce by using the latest
farming techniques and smart intervention of IoT devices and machine
learning to monitor and enhance every single vegetable.

What are their customers saying? - Customers are extremely happy with the
kind of vegetables supplied. Their online reviews highlights the quality of the
product and how people are yearning for more.

Founding Team

The founders are serial entrepreneurs and have always been in line with
technology. They would be a great asset and would be able to gather many
more insights from our transmissions.

Metrics

ARR - $837k
MRR - NA
CAC - NA
LTV -

Note - People are skeptical about the quality of everyone, a company like
Nutrifresh can definitely cause a difference which inturn will help the
business as well.

—--------------

1. How would you rank the startups?

Wiggles, Nutrifresh and finally Blusmart (1 to 3)

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 2. Would you present this to your team? Why/Why not?
I would definitely present this deck, these are new companies running
behind the latest technology with some humanitarian coz. And these 3
fit that bill, so I would definitely share it along.

3. What would you like to see for more conviction?

The entire marketing decks and reports regarding LTV is something
which I would definitely want to see. Once those numbers are strong
and we understand the product roadway, we can proceed from there.

Pitchdeck Evaluation

Pitch Deck #1 (TransferWise)

Problem:

TransferWise is trying to solve currency exchange, make it more economical

and get rid of all the hidden charges which banks are charging now.

They have customers that are paying and have exchanged more than $1Mn+
through their platform. The very high retention rate (70%) and the fact that
they are growing 20% YoY organically makes the startup very promising.

Market:

Currently they are focusing on the GBP & EURO market. And they are looking
to touch 2000+ payments in the next 2 years by expanding their market size.

Team:

Both the founders are well versed with finances and startups, it’s a confident
building leadership team. They would require good developers to be
onboarded so as to sustain this growth. But they are clear on their

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investment requirements as well and looks to bolster their employee
strength with the money.

Metrics:

Their 70% retention rate is amazing, which means that the product is
definitely strong. Their month on month growth is also excellent. Since the
market can be expanded by adding further currencies, everything looks
good.

Further Questions:

I do want to know about their expansion plans? How are they going to scale
up?
Also, this is a very regulated process, do you have checks in place to make
sure that nothing gets messed up.
What is their marketing method, how did they grow organically?

Pitch Deck #2 (Zestful)

Problem:

Zestful is trying to create a customizable employee and membership perk

card. This will help companies give perk programs for its employees without
too much hassle.

Market:

Not convinced by the market size, although they did have some surveys that
were done among potential groups.

Team:

The team is a confidence inducing with people with expertise in the domain.

Metrics:

No metric that looks attractive at this point. The company feels as if it’s trying
to figure out the market fit.

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Further Questions:

Do they have any paying customers now? Or any customers?

How is the beta list coming along? How is the traction?

Pitch Deck #3 (TransferWise)

Problem:

The inability to book desired artists for events or social media promotion is
something which is lacking now and Fyre aims to be a global event
management marketplace where customers can deal directly with artists and
celebrities, over an app.

This is also a new way of generating revenue for artists and other celebrities.

Market:

It’s a very scattered market as of now, putting a number to it is difficult as of

now. Fyre aims to make it more organised.

Team:

Both the founders do come backed up with successful past ventures and
industry connections. But a deep dive has made some genuine concerns
which need to be discussed and finalised with the Fyre team.

Metrics:

They have already done revenue worth $25Mn which is a great number and
worth focusing on.

Further Questions:

How does the Fyre festival tie up into this? Is it a promotional activity?
What is the profit margin Fyre earns for every transaction that happens
through the app?
Do we have exclusivity with these celebrities?

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Dealflow action plan

I have been connected to startup networks since the start of my career, I

would use this network to create an engine that can generate dealflow.

1. I would use my skills as a GTM, Product and digital marketing expert to

have interactions with early stage founders who are building or in the early
stage of the life cycle.

2. I will use the support of multiple groups and forums I’m part of to get
startups of different stages to come and visit my interactions, which will give
me an incoming funnel for dealflows.

3. I can quickly create an online event to start off with and keep it for free,
but have a selection criteria so that only founders are allowed to be part of
the interaction. I have done this in the past to find out early stage startups
for my own curiosity and I have had success. But with a structured
methodology I’m sure that the results can be much better and going forward,
we can introduce other sessions to get more people on board.

Investment Memo for Wiggles

Introduction

Wiggles is a pet care startup which is covering all aspects of a pet. It is

horizontally spread across all the major things required for a pet - Food,
nutrition, vet, grooming and toys. What makes Wiggles stand apart is the
range of inhouse products they have. The R&D team and huge chain of Vets
in the country makes it a very distinct startup.

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The team is 400+ strong with inhouse vets, R&D experts and other business
related employees. The fact that they have a strong base when it comes to
products is what makes them superior to their competitors.

They are growing at 9% MoM for the past one year and are looking to expand
more as they increase their product range. The team has been on a growth
curve and is looking for capital and guidance for their next step of growth, we
can definitely propel their growth.

Market

The Indian pet care industry is growing rapidly due to the humanisation of pets and
more and more pet parents. After the covid pandemic, there seems to be a strong
curve in the number of pet parents. And since these pets are considered to be part
of the family approximately $300-$350 are spent on them annually for food, care
and other toys. The nature of humans to have company and treatment of their pet
as family has propelled the industry that is growing.

The current market size is Rs.2500 crores which is growing at 13.5% CAGR and will
reach Rs.5000 crores by 2026. This is just taking into consideration the pet food
industry, but adjacent industries like pet wellness and toys will also grow and the
market cap is supposed to cross Rs.7500 crores by 2026

According to multiple studies it shows that the Indian market is not satisfied with
the pet food quality, grooming standards and variety of toys available for their pets.
The humanization of pets has shifted the mentality and wants to provide the best
for their pet family. Which means that there is a huge space out there for pet care
startups to make an impact if done right.

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Competition

The Indian pet care industry is ripe and is looking to be disrupted. The existing
traditional titan players are working in their comfort zone, but with the new age
pet-parents that are coming up and the humanization of pets have increased the
chances for newer companies to disrupt.

Mars International India Pvt Ltd & Royal Canin are the major competitors but
they have been losing market share on the pet food and nutrition food due
to their outdated products. The reduction in their revenue between 2018-19
& 2019-2020 highlights this.

Product

A complete ecosystem for pets and pet parents along with healthy
specialized quality food products. The long term goal is to lock the pet
parents within the Wiggles ecosystem for nutritional food, preventives, vets
and grooming solutions.

Their state of the art R&D department is working on specialized pet food and
nutritional products for different pets. The lack of something similar in the
Indian industry will propel their chances at being a clear winner in the
industry.

Sales & Distribution

They have an omnichannel approach now with both offline and online
methods to promote and distribute their product. Wiggles are present across
major pet stores across the country. They also have a website through which
a D2C model is explored.

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They entered the market through their network of Vets, who started
recommending these products. That along with a clever play of guerilla
marketing to share the product with people really worked out for them.

They are currently doing 120,000 units of products every month and that is
with limited presence. With the right supply chain and deals they will be able
to triple this number in the next 12 months. The addition of new products
are also a reason for this projected growth.

Metrics

ARR - $418k
MRR - NA
CAC - $5
LTV - NA

The fact their CAC is so low shows that they have been very creative when it
comes to marketing. Also, the existing network of vets they have created and
community of pet parents is also something that seems to have worked in
their favor.

Note - The pet care industry in India is growing rapidly and Wiggles is
creating a Niche for themselves. It’s a very interesting team and shows all the
potential to grow further with the right guidance.

Sales & Distribution

The company was founded by a paw parent after she couldn’t find a proper
solution for her dog. She is a coachable adult who is looking to deliver the
best product to the market, another co-founder is her father who has been a
serial entrepreneur. So it’s a good team and definitely worth deep diving into.

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Deal

They are looking to raise $20Mn as their Series B round

They will be using this round for -

New range of product development
New production setup
Marketing and growth

They have previously raised $5Mn from Anthill.

I recommend a $12Mn investment from X in a $20Mn round. We would own

8.7% of the company and will act as a strategic partner with a seat at the
board. There is significant risk involved but the future returns are tempting
and do sound promising if the company continues to perform as it is. I am
excited to recommend this deal.

Due Diligence for Wiggles

Team + Management

Anushka Iyer - Founder, CEO - Proven business leader with previously

successful startup.

Raj Iyer - Founder, proven serial entrepreneur who has multiple strong
ventures running parallely.

Dr Mahini Iyer - Head of product development and business. Veterinarian

with 25+ years of experience heading the business vertical.

Prabal Guha - Head of Sales and Marketing. Sales veteran with previous stints
in major FMCG brands in India.

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The team is a mix of very experienced folks with new raw talent. Their
attrition rates are also low, which makes the company base very strong and
ready for the future.

Market

The Indian pet care industry is growing rapidly due to the humanisation of pets and
more and more pet parents. After the covid pandemic, there seems to be a strong
curve in the number of pet parents. And since these pets are considered to be part
of the family approximately $300-$350 are spent on them annually for food, care
and other toys. The nature of humans to have company and treatment of their pet
as family has propelled the industry that is growing.

The current market size is Rs.2500 crores which is growing at 13.5% CAGR and will
reach Rs.5000 crores by 2026. This is just taking into consideration the pet food
industry, but adjacent industries like pet wellness and toys will also grow and the
market cap is supposed to cross Rs.7500 crores by 2026 .

Product

A complete ecosystem for pets and pet parents along with healthy
specialized quality food products. The long term goal is to lock the pet
parents within the Wiggles ecosystem for nutritional food, preventives, vets
and grooming solutions.

Their state of the art R&D department is working on specialized pet food and
nutritional products for different pets. The lack of something similar in the
Indian industry will propel their chances at being a clear winner in the
industry.

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Traction

They have an omnichannel approach now with both offline and online
methods to promote and distribute their product. Wiggles are present across
major pet stores across the country. They also have a website through which
a D2C model is explored.

They entered the market through their network of Vets, who started
recommending these products. That along with a clever play of guerilla
marketing to share the product with people really worked out for them.

They are currently doing 120,000 units of products every month and that is
with limited presence. With the right supply chain and deals they will be able
to triple this number in the next 12 months. The addition of new products
are also a reason for this projected growth.

Their ARR was $418k for last year and that number is proposed to grow by 3x
in the next 12 months.

Financials

Wasn’t able to get data on their finances. These are the questions that would
have been asked.

1. Share the marketing document, so that we can understand their CAC

and LTV
2. Their shipping document because they are a company who is into D2C

as well, so we need to see their delivery percentage, RTO etc.

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Legal

Wasn’t able to get data on their Legal. These are the questions that would
have been asked.

1. Their share status document

2. Contracts with vendors and vets
3. Their regulation documents

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