Meesho's Vidit Aatrey pitched Anu aunty an investor meeting with SoftBank in 2019. Although bemused at first, SoftBank caught on to the story and stayed curious for two long years. Get early access to this latest cover story by subscribing to Forbes India
(L to R) Sumer Juneja is Partner and Head of India at SoftBank Investment Adviser and Vikas Agnihotri Operations head. Photo by Nayan Shah for Forbes India
May 2019, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai
The investor pitch started, and within seconds, Vidit Aatrey was in pitch mode, explaining his venture to the potential investors. Within a minute, though, Sumer Juneja interjected. “Who is this Anu aunty, boss,” quipped the partner and India head at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “What is this,” the baffled venture capitalist stared at his colleague Sarthak Misra who looked equally bemused.
Aatrey, though, stayed adamant. “You need to understand Anu aunty,” underscored the entrepreneur who had cofounded social commerce startup Meesho with Sanjeev Barnwal in 2015. The IIT Delhi alumnus had already raised over $65 million from a clutch of heavyweight backers such as Sequoia India, SAIF Partners (now Elevation Capital), Shunwei Capital, Yuri Milner’s DST Partners and RPS Ventures. The Y Combinator grad knew very well why it was crucial for SoftBank team to understand ‘Anu aunty’ and he wasn’t about to give up.
(This story appears in the 13 August, 2021 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)