Vani Kola

thumb|Vani Kola Vani Kola is an Indian venture capitalist. She is the founder and managing director of Kalaari Capital, an Indian early stage venture capital firm. She was listed as one of the most powerful women in Indian business by Fortune India in 2014. Quotes There is no short game for a venture capitalist Building products has become easier and cheaper, but building brands is harder than ever The first phase of ROI is understanding if your unit metrics justify growth. Without that, there is no longer game If you're building a platform like Zepto or Blinkit, you’re in the Formula One lane. You need capital at scale, network effects, and speed. You will get diluted You’ll own less than 10% of your company and that’s okay, if that’s the game you signed up for Somehow, we have come to equate profitability with a lack of ambition Technology has flattened the field - logistics, payments, backend operations - all are easier now. But if you don’t use tech to understand your consumer better,you will burn cash blindly You can test your idea with very little capital. Bootstrap first. Validate your model. Don’t dilute before you’re ready It's not expert-driven influence anymore. It’s user-generated, community-led. You need to meet them where they are with authenticity. Gen Z isn’t disloyal. They’re identity-driven. Whether it’s sustainability, ingredient sourcing or personalization they buy what aligns with their values Somehow, we have come to equate profitability with a lack of ambition. That’s wrong Enduring brands will be profitable. It’s not optional. But you need clarity on when and how you will get there and investors aligned with that journey Funding and IPOs don’t build brands, customer love does: Kalaari Capital's Vani Kola,30 June 2025 Looking at the last three decades in the field, I would be most satisfied if there were 100 or 1,000 of us in this tribe. Women’s relationship with money will have to be fixed. Someone could be a high performer but opportunities pass by because of money - be it their own compensation or fixing a budget My family environment was supportive; in hindsight, that was very important. You need to encourage women in your life to try things out, she said, adding that one must do the hard work alone but a support system makes all the difference. Instead of asking women ‘why?’ loved ones need to ask them ‘why not Progress has to happen. There's more of us; we have a voice. We need to do better. Stand up for yourself We’ve all been stereotyped. But we face it with humour and a thick skin. You cannot let it affect your focus I want to build a tribe of women,” said Vani Kola at SheSparks as she unveiled the State of Women Entrepreneurship Report 2023,4 March 2023 External Links Category:Management Category:Living people Category:Founders Category:Business