Vani Kola

"There is no short game for a venture capitalist"

"Building products has become easier and cheaper, but building brands is harder than ever"

"The first phase of ROI is understanding if your unit metrics justify growth. Without that, there is no longer game"

"If you're building a platform like Zepto or Blinkit, you’re in the Formula One lane. You need capital at scale, network effects, and speed. You will get diluted You’ll own less than 10% of your company and that’s okay, if that’s the game you signed up for"

"Somehow, we have come to equate profitability with a lack of ambition"

"Technology has flattened the field - logistics, payments, backend operations - all are easier now. But if you don’t use tech to understand your consumer better,you will burn cash blindly"

"You can test your idea with very little capital. Bootstrap first. Validate your model. Don’t dilute before you’re ready"

"It's not expert-driven influence anymore. It’s user-generated, community-led. You need to meet them where they are with authenticity."

"Gen Z isn’t disloyal. They’re identity-driven. Whether it’s sustainability, ingredient sourcing or personalization they buy what aligns with their values"

"Somehow, we have come to equate profitability with a lack of ambition. That’s wrong"

"Enduring brands will be profitable. It’s not optional. But you need clarity on when and how you will get there and investors aligned with that journey"

"Looking at the last three decades in the field, I would be most satisfied if there were 100 or 1,000 of us in this tribe."

"Women’s relationship with money will have to be fixed. Someone could be a high performer but opportunities pass by because of money - be it their own compensation or fixing a budget"

"My family environment was supportive; in hindsight, that was very important. You need to encourage women in your life to try things out, she said, adding that one must do the hard work alone but a support system makes all the difference. Instead of asking women ‘why?’ loved ones need to ask them ‘why not"

"Progress has to happen. There's more of us; we have a voice. We need to do better. Stand up for yourself"

"We’ve all been stereotyped. But we face it with humour and a thick skin. You cannot let it affect your focus"