Indian Cricketers Who Funded Startups In 2022
Many Indian cricketers, including the current and former captains, have gone on to build thriving enterprises.
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The Indian cricketers are not just batting and bowling wizards, but several have also found success as business owners and media personalities. Virat Kohli, the ex-captain of the Indian cricket team, is also an entrepreneur with multiple business interests. He has invested his money wisely, which has led to his being one of the highest-paid athletes in the world, according to Forbes. MS Dhoni, a former captain, and wicketkeeper is also in the running. Dhoni is involved in a wide variety of industries, from owning teams in nearly every sport to investing in technology firms. Many Indian cricketers, including the current and former captains, have gone on to build thriving enterprises. Find here the people who have invested in new businesses.
1. Virat Kohli
If there's one Indian athlete who's known for his savvy in the business world, it's Virat Kohli. The batsman has invested in a number of businesses in addition to launching his own brands, such as One8 and Wrogn. Virat Kohli has invested in Chisel Gyms, a fitness startup, and the social media technology company Sports Convo. Business Standard reports that in 2015, Kohli put in Rs 90 crore to the company. He has also put money into the Hong Kong startup Zeeve in order to get MuveAcoustics off the ground.
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2. Anil Kumble
Earlier this year, veteran cricketer Anil Kumble invested an unknown sum in the health insurance startup Onsurity. The new company has also brought him on as a strategic advisor. Onsurity, founded by Yogesh Agarwal and Kulin Shah in 2020, is a subscription-based platform that offers a variety of health solutions for employees.
So far, $16 million has been invested into the young company. Nexus Venture Partners, Quona Capital, Whiteboard Capital, Harsh Shah, Jitendra Gupta, Sunil Thomas, and Gaurav Munjal are just few of the names on the company's cap table. Kumble created two firms, TENVIC Sports and Spektacom, before he began investing in domestic startups.
Founded in 2010, TENVIC Athletic provides sports education to students, community members, and business professionals alike. Spektacom was established in 2018 with the mission of enhancing the sports industry via the use of innovative goods and technologies that deepen the involvement of fans, broadcasters, coaches, and professionals.
3. Yuvraj Singh
After beating back a tumor in his left lung, the 2011 World Cup victor established his own charity and named it YouWeCan. It was founded a year ago with the goal of raising public consciousness about cancer and its devastating effects. YouWeCan Venture is a branch of YouWeCan that aims to encourage and sustain startup growth. Nishant Singhal, formerly of the world's largest financial consulting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers(PwC), helped develop the company. YouWeCan has taken on roughly ten startups in the past year.
4. Sachin Tendulkar
The batting savant has endorsed a wide range of products over the years. Given his free time after retiring from international cricket in 2013, Sachin became involved in a number of business projects. He is not only the face of the startup smartphone manufacturer Smartron, but also one of the company's primary investors. Soft Machines is a silicon startup that was co-founded by the company's CEO, Mahesh Lingareddy. Musafir, Smaaash Entertainment, and Universal Collectabillia are all companies in which he has invested.
5. Kapil Dev
The cricketer has become an angel investor in the website for buying groceries online, peopleasy.com. Similarly, Kapil Dev took a risk as an investor when he purchased shares of the Mumbai-based firm Samco Ventures.
The cricketer has also made substantial investments in a number of other businesses. For his endorsements in 2018, he joined the B2B marketplace Pumpkart. In addition to WizCounel and the taxi service aggregator VAOO, the cricketer has backed the online marketplace and business networking platform VAOO and cab service VAOO.
6. Mayank Agarwal
Mayank Agarwal, an Indian cricketer, made his first investment this year when he contributed to Fullife Healthcare, the parent company of the direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand Fast&Up.
Fullife Healthcare was established in 2015 by Vijayaraghavan Venugopal and Varun Khanna, and it is responsible for the management of the healthcare brands Fast&Up and Chicnutrix. The corporation claims that its brands enjoy widespread distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Europe.
7. Robin Uthappa
8. KL Rahul
9. Ajinkya Rahane
10. Gautam Gambhir
11. MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni, who just announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket on August 15, 2020, is now focusing on growing his portfolio of startups. After retiring as India's cricket captain in 2022, he invested heavily in two new businesses: Shaka Harry and Garuda Aerospace.
Shaka Harry is a D2C brand of Liberate Foods, founded by Anand Nagarajan, Sandeep Devgan, Hemalatha Srinivasan, Ruth Renita, and Anoop Haridasan. Stuffed chicken paratha, mutton keema, chicken burger patties, chicken fries, and many other faux-meat and snack food items are its bread and butter.
12. Shikhar Dhawan
Earlier this year, in September, Shikhar Dhawan, India's left-handed opening batsman, joined India's startup ecosystem as an investor. Sources say he is funding Upstox, an online stock trading service.
Upstox was started in 2012 by Shrini Viswanath, Raghu Kumar, and Ravi Kumar to aid private investors in gaining access to bourses and mutual funds. Capital market advising services are also available through the site.
Well, there you have it: a rundown of the best investments made by the best Indian cricketers. Please let us know in the comments if you know of any other wise investments made by Indian cricketers.
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