Co-Founder, V3 Ventures
‘Vaidya’ my last name means Ayurvedic doctor and I come from 150 years of Ayurveda legacy. I grew up with asthma and after 14 years of treatment, I was cured. More than just being a family legacy, I became a believer in the potential of science and so I promised him I’d take forward this legacy.
In 2009, I went to Brown University for my undergrad. I witnessed the natural and organic products revolution there. I also saw yoga become a multibillion-dollar industry with a repackaged identity for modern consumers. This made me think about the opportunity we had with Ayurveda…
In 2013, I moved back to India and joined a consumer sector focused growth private equity fund called L Catterton. Here, I spent time understanding and investing in the Indian consumer story. I was also fortunate to see the advent of e-commerce in India closely.
In this time, my grandfather passed and so, I decided to action the promise I had made him.
In October 2016, I quit my job to take on my family’s Ayurveda legacy. Dr. Vaidya’s repackaged the ancient Indian science of Ayurveda for modern consumers and emerged as India’s largest Ayurveda brand online. In 4 years, we successfully reached 2m+ consumers across 16,500+ pin codes in India and launched 80+ products and clocked 5,000+ orders per day!
I was the first Ayurvedic Entrepreneur to be featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia List for and Business World 40 Under 40 List! We also won Youth SMB of the Year from Amazon and the Retail Startup Award from the Retailers Association of India. In June 2019, we partnered with the USD 4b RP Sanjiv Goenka Group and led the business to an acquisition by the group – making it one of India’s first successful D2C exits.
Post the exit, I have become an active early stage investor (through V3 Ventures and as an angel). Outside work, I’m a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and a part Brown University’s Young Alumni Advisory Council. I also run a podcast called Direct to a Billion Consumers on navigating India’s complex and exciting FMCG ecosystem.
Check it out here: https://campsite.bio/d2bc