The brand has to be bigger than you: Shilpa Shetty Kundra

Actor and entrepreneur Shilpa Shetty Kundra may have spent over three decades in the film industry but has made most of her money in the past six years through strategic investments, including in startups, she said at the Mint India Investment Summit & Awards, 2024 on Friday.

“Back in the day, we didn’t have different investment avenues. Today, the options are so many more. You have to have guts to do something different,” said Kundra during a fireside chat titled ‘Scaling startups through brand ambassadors’.

The actor and entrepreneur is deeply involved in the startup ecosystem, as an early investor in skincare and wellness brand Mamaearth, besides agritech startup Kisankonnect. She has also invested in 100Percent Nourishment Pvt. Ltd, a Mumbai-based company selling healthy food products under the brand WickedGud.

Kundra has also launched her own fitness and health app, called Simple Soulful.

The actor-entrepreneur, however, said she has strict rules on what she wouldn’t endorse or invest in, such as aerated drinks and paan masala. “The brand has to be synonymous with what I believe in. When I leverage my name, the consumer need not think twice. I will do the work for them. The brand has to be bigger than you,” Kundra said.

While Mamaearth was the first direct-to-consumer (D2C), or online-first, brand she invested in, Kundra said the move had come at a time when actors were not that keen on investing their own money in companies. 

“When you’re just leveraging your name because you’re paid for it (an endorsement), the whole perspective is different… as compared to when people know the endorser has invested their own money,” Kundra said, adding that she had used the products as a mother herself and recognised there was a lacuna as far as safe products for kids in the country went.

“When there is a solution to a problem, you’ll get my attention and investment,” she said explaining how she plans her investments. 

Moreover, Kundra looks for a passionate partner in the person running a business she might invest in. “You have to have a goal, otherwise it’s a race without a great jockey,” she said.

Kundra said she keeps a minimum guarantee when it comes to investments, emphasising that investors need to hedge their bets. “Very few companies become unicorns. I didn’t think I’d make so much money,” Kundra admitted. 

The actor said she works with fund managers who advise her on where to invest her money.