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The downturn in India's venture capital market has been hard on startups across the board and the Lightbox portfolio has been no exception. From taking tough calls on cost efficiencies to gradually finding a balance between growth and profitability in a tough funding environment, several companies in the portfolio have weathered the storm and are now poised to ride the next phase of growth. Through this difiicult period, the Lightbox team has been down in the trenches with portfolio founders to help them navigate to higher ground. Lightbox's Sandeep Murthy recently spoke to Mint about what the firm has been up to in the last 18-24 months and the outcomes we're now beginning to reap.
Lightbox has returned about a third of its $100 million second fund to investors following a partial exit from cloud kitchen startup Rebel Foods and its exit from Embibe, an AI-edtech company, the founder of the venture capital firm said.
“We've returned 30% of the capital so far and it'll likely take another three to four years to realise the balance returns we aim for," Sandeep Murthy, founder and managing director of Lightbox India, told Mint. “Today, the companies are straightforward—Rebel, Furlenco, Droom and Bombay Shirt Company—all with well-understood business models."
According to Murthy, Lightbox’s second fund is expected to deliver a total return of 5x within three to four years. However, the DPI (distributions to paid-in capital ratio) will differ as returns are calculated after deductions such as management fees. The total returns from the second fund include the contribution from Lightbox’s exit from Embibe. Lightbox achieved a threefold return with a 35% internal rate of return (IRR) when Reliance Industries Ltd acquired its stake in Embibe in 2017.
Murthy told Mint in 2023 that 10 of Lightbox’s 14 portfolio companies in India are expected to achieve profitability soon. Today, furniture rental startup Furlenco, digital lending fintech platform Rupeek, and direct-to-consumer female wellness brand Nua have reached profitability, he said.
Nua reduced cash burn by over 50% by optimising costs such as logistics and ad spend, the company said. Murthy expects Rebel Foods, Droom, and Waycool to follow within six months.
