The story of Indigo Paints

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In 2000, chemical engineer Hemant Jalan started Indigo Paints with Rs 1 lakh. The founder says the company was established with “practically no capital investment”. A small chemical unit in Patna and an industrial shed in Jodhpur served as the foundation for the company.

In FY20, the Pune-headquartered business reported revenues of Rs 625 crore with a net profit of Rs 48 crore. The company now has three manufacturing facilities in Rajasthan, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. 

In January 2021, Indigo Paints went public and listed on the NSE and BSE. The company’s Rs 1,170-crore initial share-sale garnered an overwhelming response from investors and was subscribed 117 times on the final day of bidding. 

The Interview

Vineeta Singh started SUGAR Cosmetics as a digital-first brand catering to young millennial women in 2012, at a time when ecommerce was just picking up in India. However, she soon realised that about 95 percent of the Indian cosmetics market is offline. For Sugar Cosmetics to be considered as a serious brand among customers, the brand placed its bets on omnichannel distribution. At present, it has over 10,000 retail outlets in over 130 cities, and is also available on major ecommerce sites, including Nykaa. 

Editor’s Pick: App Friday

After the breakout success of Clubhouse, Dispo — another invite-only iOS app — is charming Silicon Valley and the world at large. Dispo (short for ‘disposable camera’) is bringing back the nostalgia of retro film cameras, where you click pictures, wait for it to ‘develop’, and send them for print. Dispo has been touted as the ‘anti-Instagram for Gen-Z’ for its focus on unpolished aesthetics (no ‘filters’ and ‘edit’ buttons in the app). Read more. 

Startup Spotlight

Jaipur-based Nuskha redefines post-birth care in India using Ayurveda

Alpana Tiwari recalls with utmost fondness her childhood memories of cosy afternoons she spent assisting her father, an Ayurvedic doctor, prepare herbal mixtures for his patients. Growing up, she fielded questions from friends and family about home remedies, or ‘nuskhe’, for ailments as common as cough and cold, to as complex as postnatal care. 

When an increasing number of women started asking her for post-birth remedies rooted in Ayurveda, she realised the essential role the ancient Indian medicinal system could play in restoring women’s health. With that in mind, she launched ‘Nuskha’ in 2019. Read more.

News & Updates

• With around 33 deals valued at $647.5 million, India has the highest investment in the fintech segment and has emerged as Asia's biggest destination for financial technology deals, according to a research report.

• Five Indian-origin personalities including Twitter's top lawyer Vijaya Gadde, UK's finance minister Rishi Sunak, and Instacart Founder and CEO Apoorva Mehta, as well as activist Chandra Shekhar Aazad were featured in TIME magazine's annual list of 100 emerging leaders.

• Oxford Economics revised India's economic growth projection for 2021 to 10.2 percent from the earlier 8.8 percent, citing receding COVID-19 risks and the shift in the monetary policy outlook.

• Open, a neo-banking platform for SMEs, acquired Optobizz — a goods and services tax and financial automation startup — for $5 million. The acquisition will add 800,000 SMEs to Open's user base and it will be setting up a development centre in Hyderabad.

• Amazon has urged the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to not allow the convening of any meeting of Future Group's shareholders or creditors for approval of its proposed Rs 24,713 crore deal with Reliance Industries.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“The need to learn and teach from anywhere won't end, even when the pandemic does. We have an incredible opportunity to reimagine learning for what comes next.”

— Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google

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