3️⃣ 2.6% of brands founded in 2016 are in the Messy Middle
Let me set the context: You’re now 10 years into starting a company - you’ve taken a significant salary haircut, probably taken nil secondaries & been through some rough months.
Precisely 20 brands out of 800 are in the Messy Middle i.e. ₹10 crore to ₹50 crore of sales in FY25
These include:
(a) Venture funded in bloodbath categories e.g. Sleepy Owl Coffee
(b) Bootstrapped (but profitable) in crazy burn category e.g. GoingNuts in the dry fruits segment
(c) Venture funded in a category where peers have been bought e.g. Beardhood in the grooming category
This is a tough spot especially if you have raised funding - do you continue to build? Or, can you find a buyer?
Btw, I think these chaps will make a TON of money in the next bull cycle by selling to the next Thrasio like business
But, select brands have broken through the ₹50 crore glass ceiling: