Interview/ Rishabh Mariwala, founder and managing partner, Sharrp Ventures
Q/ Generally, in business families, children take over the top job when the father decides to step back. It has been different at Marico. Tell us more about the reasoning behind this decision.
When my father started Marico, he moved from a family-owned and operated business to creating a professional organisation. While he was the CEO, I worked in Kaya (Marico’s chain of skin clinics) between 2007 and 2010. That is when I sensed the organisation’s culture, and I realised I did not fit in. We were working in silos; within marketing, we performed specific functions with limited clarity on roles. My father was clear that he wanted a professional organisation. Consequently, my sister and I decided to chart our own paths. Leaving in my 20s was a huge decision; I wanted autonomy, and to take risks.
I took the leap and became an entrepreneur, joining my mother’s soap-making hobby. I started selling soaps from a small 2,000-sqft shed in Sewri, Mumbai. I learned the ropes of doing business in this country and how critical the consumer is. In 2015, I built my own brand, Pure Scents.
Later, I became interested in impact investing. In 2020, I sold my brand to focus fully on investing. I asked my father why we ploughed all our earnings back into Marico. Initially, he pushed back, but eventually, he let me try. We scored big on our first few investments in early-stage businesses like Nykaa and Honasa (Mamaearth).
Q/ How has the investing journey panned out?
We have invested in some 40 companies and 18 funds. We have our venture capital, which invests directly into companies, and a public market portfolio. Earlier, we were sector-agnostic, investing in hardware, clinical testing, and edtech. In 2020, we decided to invest in what we understand: consumer businesses.
As a family office, we have the opportunity to invest across stages. Venture capital funds often cannot do this because they have limited time horizons—they must exit to return money to investors. We, however, have long-term patient capital.
Q/ But some consumer businesses will be in direct competition with Marico. What is the strategy there?
We have clear guardrails regarding investing. For example, we won’t invest in the hair oil business. Beyond that, the positionings are different. The opportunity set is so large that even if we invest in something similar, it won’t eat into Marico’s market share.