Kettleborough Venture Capital Firm Unveils Second Fund, Aiming for INR 80 Crore
Kettleborough VC, an early-stage venture capital firm established in 2021, has announced the launch of its second fund with a target corpus of INR 80 crore. Led by Nisarg Shah, the fund aims to back approximately 10 startups led by seasoned founders who bring over a decade of domain expertise.
The firm's approach emphasises a strong alignment between founders and the markets they serve, focusing on entrepreneurs whose startups represent a natural outcome of a long, focused journey in their specific market. This strategy, which prioritises founder-market fit at inception, favours business-building startups with a clear execution mindset rather than broad-based seed investing.
Initial seed cheques from Kettleborough VC will range from USD 300,000 to USD 500,000 (roughly ₹2.5 crore to ₹4.2 crore), and the fund reserves significant capital for follow-on investments in promising companies. The firm identifies what it calls the "last straw moment," where lived experience, market familiarity, and network depth converge into launching a venture, and it is committed to supporting founders through their execution journey.
Kettleborough VC's strategy is to invest early in startups, a strategy that has proven successful in its debut fund. Notably, Kettleborough was the first institutional backer for nine of the 12 companies in its debut fund. The firm has also achieved over 10 exits and has invested in over 30 companies.
The sectors of interest for Fund II include financial services, commerce infrastructure, vertical SaaS, and AI platforms, among others, reflecting a "Dhandha-first" (business-first) investment philosophy. The fund has attracted commitments from family offices and successful entrepreneurs across India and the US, affirming cross-border investor confidence in this niche, founder-centric strategy.
As Kettleborough VC prepares for the deployment of Fund I this quarter, it has already secured INR 35 crore in its first close for the new fund. The firm maintains a sector-agnostic stance but shows a preference for "Dhandha-first" ventures, demonstrating its commitment to backing promising startups with a strong focus on execution and capital efficiency.
[1] Source: Kettleborough VC Press Release [2] Source: VentureBeat [3] Source: YourStory India
- Kettleborough VC, with its second fund targeting INR 80 crore, intends to focus on investing early in startups, particularly those in sectors such as financial services, commerce infrastructure, vertical SaaS, and AI platforms. The strategy is backed by notable success in its debut fund, with the firm being the first institutional backer for nine of the 12 companies.
- The firm's investment strategy prioritizes a strong alignment between founders and the markets they serve, favoring startups with a clear execution mindset as opposed to broad-based seed investing. This approach, dubbed the "Dhandha-first" philosophy, has attracted commitments from family offices and successful entrepreneurs across India and the US.
- Led by Nisarg Shah, Kettleborough VC's strategy includes providing seed cheques ranging from USD 300,000 to USD 500,000, with significant capital reserved for follow-on investments in promising companies. The firm seeks to invest in startups led by seasoned founders who bring over a decade of domain expertise, supporting them through their execution journey.
