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https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/fashion-/-cosmetics-/-jewellery/nikhil-voras-sixth-sense-ventures-makes-debut-investment-in-ethos/articleshow/45603501.cms MUMBAI: Former equity research analyst Nikhil Vora's Rs 250-crore private equity fund Sixth Sense Ventures today announced its first investment in luxury watch retailer Ethos. "We have invested between Rs 5 crore and Rs 10 crore in Ethos, which is the largest retail chain for luxury watches," Vora, the founder and chief executive of the fund, said. He said that the fund is very near to closing another investment in a week's time and the second company is into road side assistance for vehicles. Ethos operates 44 stores across the country and has been authorised by 50 global luxury watch brands to sell their wares, Vora said, adding that the company has grown 37 per cent per annum over the last five years. It also has a presence in the online space, he said, adding that 20 per cent of the leads from the e-commerce platform are getting converted into sales. Vora said the fund will be deploying the entire corpus of Rs 250 crore over the next two years, with a ticket size of Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore per deal. Before getting into venture investing, Vora was the managing director and co-head of research at IDFC Securities.

https://www.vccircle.com/nikhil-voras-sixth-sense-ventures-targets-final-close-three/ The former IDFC Securities MD has been a private investor in companies like Vini Cosmetics and Technology Frontiers. Nikhil Vora, former IDFC Securities' managing director and co-head of research, expects to close his maiden venture capital fund in the next three months raising money from domestic investors. His venture firm, called Sixth Sense Ventures, has already received approval from market regulator SEBI for the maiden fund. The fund is looking to raise Rs 250 crore ($40 million) from a mix of high-net worth investors (HNIs), family offices, corporate houses and domestic institutions. The fund, which will target the broader consumption theme, will look at investing $1-5 million in both listed and unlisted companies. "Globally the largest value creators, today and tomorrow, will come from ideas and not capital. While capital is a big differentiator, as can be seen from the Fortune 500 companies, the next league of leaders will be businesses which can create non-linear growth without soaking too much capital," Vora told VCCircle. Vora believes that the way to reach the consumer is changing, as is evident by the growth in e-commerce. "We are not just looking to invest in consumption space, we are looking to invest in consumption centric space," he said. While the consumption theme has been a favourite with private equity firms, most PE firms have been focused on deals over $10 million. Some of the firms which have been active in early stage investments in the consumer space include Kishore Biyani's Future Ventures (now Future Consumer) and more recently DSG Consumer Partners. Sixth Sense Ventures will have an investment team led by Vora with operation and sector experts in its board of advisors and board emeritus. These will include promoters, corporate CEOs and other experts across its target sectors like consumer, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and technology. Vora, who has personally been an active investor in private companies, said that he would look to replicate his success with Sixth Sense. "While I have held some of these investments for six-seven years, most of these businesses have been able to grow disproportionately and several have also attracted follow-on rounds from private equity investors," he said, adding that he has backed 15 such companies. Some of his investments include Kangaroo Kids Education Ltd (KKEL), which runs Kangaroo Kids Preschool and Billabong High International School; Vini Cosmetics, an FMCG company which raised funding from Sequoia Capital India last year; and sports-focused digital display solutions firm Technology Frontiers, backed by Avigo Capital.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/IDFC-Securities-MD-quits-to-float-venture-capital-firm/articleshow/28495172.cms MUMBAI: IDFC Securities's managing director and star equity analyst Nikhil Vora has quit to float a venture capital firm focused on investments in the consumer sector, according to people directly aware of the matter. Vora is leaving IDFC after a decade-long stint where he was also the head of research. This move is one of the first crossovers from broking to money management and reminiscent of Wall Street traders and research heads leaving million-dollar jobs to board the hedge fund and private equity business. Vora is best known for his analytical work on India's consumer sector and evolving a strategic road map for FMCG giants like Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, Marico and Godrej. "I am leaving to start a consumer-centric venture capital fund, which will have a very strong operating team including a CEO of a large domestic consumer company," Vora told TOI. "We will look at a broader consumption story, which is non-infra and non-financial services," he said. Vora, who started his career with ASK Raymond James, declined to offer details of his new venture. The fund will make early-stage growth investments with a corpus of Rs 250-300 crore and is backed by a group of large domestic investors, including promoters of a large broking firm, Khandelwals of Systematix Group. Vora may be joined by a few more people from IDFC's investment advisory business, but details could not be ascertained at the time of going to press. Vora's fund will be one of the rare home-grown early-stage investors focused on the domestic consumer space despite a need for more venture capitalists in an increasingly entrepreneurial economy. Both venture capital and private equity, who are long-term providers of risk capital, have emerged as a key source of funds for domestic small- and mid-cap companies in Asia's third largest economy. Venture capital deals accounted for 11% of India's $7.5-billion private equity investments last calendar. They accounted for more than half of 380 PE deals struck in 2013.

https://www.vccircle.com/idfc-securities-nikhil-vora-resigns-start-consumer-centric/ Nikhil Vora, IDFC Securities' managing director and co-head of research, has resigned from the company to float a venture capital firm focused on investments in the consumer sector, as per a report in Times of India citing Vora. Vora, best known as a research specialist tracking consumer sector in the country, has previously worked at ASK Raymond James and GESCO. "I am leaving to start a consumer-centric venture capital fund, which will have a very strong operating team including a CEO of a large domestic consumer company. We will look at a broader consumption story, which is non-infra and non-financial services," Vora told TOI. The proposed fund will make early-stage growth investments and will have a corpus of Rs 250-300 crore (just under $50 million). The report added that the fund is backed by a group of domestic investors including Khandelwals, the promoters of financial services group Systematix. While many PE/VC firms have invested in the consumer space in the recent past, there are just a handful of investors solely focused on consumption as a theme. One such homegrown PE firm is Everstone. However, it has much higher ticket size of investment and has even struck few buyout deals. Another player in the business with a similar venture investment strategy for consumer space is Future Group which has two listed firms Future Consumer and Future Lifestyle Fashions to back firms in the consumer sector.