Rashmi Guptey lives in the moment. A philosophy that plays to her intuitive, yet measured approach to addressing the myriad challenges that her role at Lightbox is presented with every day. A clear thinker, she has the ability to break down the most complex problems into workable solutions that take into consideration the interests of all involved stakeholders. Her natural curiosity combined with her meticulous working style enables Lightbox to push the limits and remain inside the lines at the same time.
Early in her career, Rashmi chose to steer clear of the mainstream corporate sector, considered a natural path after qualifying as a company secretary, to dive into the world of startups. After working in the trenches for six years at two young technology startups, her curiosity led her to embark on a “fascinating and exhilarating journey” into venture capital with Sherpalo Ventures and subsequently Lightbox. Through the years, she has come to deeply appreciate the tenacity and grit of founders, and equally, the Lightbox culture of valuing “good failures” and fostering an enabling environment for new ideas.
At Lightbox, Rashmi straddles the entire breadth of finance, legal and ESG functions. Her responsibilities include fund structuring and finance, overseeing compliances related to tax, governance and law, and investor reporting. Specific to portfolio companies, she is actively involved in investment and exit transactions, contributing to legal and operating diligence, investor reporting and governance. Additionally, she defines the ESG strategy for the firm and portfolio companies.
Beyond the numbers and legalese, Rashmi finds time to take road trips with her two young sons, explores the world of podcasts, experiments with bio-enzymes in her garden and even plays the guitar.
“The funding winter in the startup and venture capital ecosystem has demanded higher attention to diligence and governance scrutiny, co-investor collaboration and founder alignment. This has involved evolving better practices across the finance, legal and ESG functions for Lightbox and the portfolio, creating forums for knowledge sharing on best practices with portfolio companies and getting across the important message that change is the only constant and past assumptions aren’t set in stone.”
The regulatory landscape in India is evolving. Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) reporting which has been voluntary for FY 2021-22 will become mandatory going forward and we've spotted 4 trends to look out for in 2022 and beyond:
The Finance Minister today called the 25-year-long lead up to India@100 years the “Amrit Kaal”. The Budget speech had some emeralds to mine, precious green commitments to foster faster adoption of ESG, diversity and inclusion and climate action initiatives towards India’s goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2070.
Our CFO, Rashmi Guptey in conversation with Blue Future Partners on our ESG framework and more
The latest amendments to the angel tax rules provide a certain degree of relief as they bring a sort of closure to the ambiguity surrounding angel investments by foreign and domestic investors. But there is much left unresolved.
Union Budget 2024, unveiled last week, is a mixed bag for the PE/VC industry. Startups and investors are finally free of the troublesome 'Angel Tax' and spacetech got some serious attention. But other moves related to capital gains tax and new share buyback provisions were a bit of a dampener. We unpack key takeaways as relevant to the PE/VC industry.
ESG links to cash flow in important ways such as promoting top-line growth, reducing costs, minimizing legal and regulatory issues and improving employee productivity. These aspects should be part of a leader’s mental checklist when approaching ESG. ESG integration and the associated Impact Outcomes when measured over time could be far more fascinating and valuable than just an IRR or MOIC on an investment.
We are committed to be working with our portfolio companies on their ESG and sustainability journey. We know there is a long way to go, but hope to contribute to their progress. Sustainability is a marathon, not a sprint and we hope to be transparent about this process, from challenges to small wins.
We've summarised some important measures the regulatory authorities are taking during the Covid-19 outbreak.
One of the most bizarre tax provisions in recent times, 'angel tax' has been causing extreme heartburn and confusion within the startup community. And while the procedural change with the January 2019 notification is welcome, what needs to change are the rampant tax notices and coercive action against genuine startups who already run very boot-strapped operations.
Can the government come up with a policy that ensures national security, creates a level playing field for brick and mortar retail and new age e-Commerce requirements, not spook the FDI sentiment and yet regulate the e-economy?
I respect the government’s desire to increase the tax net, curb black money, money laundering and build transparency in our tax system. What I don’t understand is why they make us a part of a guessing game with unheard of potential levies from time to time?
The Indian Startup ecosystem has attracted over USD 5.5 Bn of PE/VC in 2015 alone and is the third largest Startup base worldwide. It’s heartening to see the Government take notice and launch the “Startup India Standup India” initiative.
The DIPP recently told the Delhi High Court that the marketplace model used by ecommerce companies is “not recognised” in the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) policy and that the financial watchdogs are to investigate any violation.
Uber, the popular Bangalore based cap operator was asked to change its payment mechanism by the Reserve Bank of India. Popular ecommerce sites like Myntra, Urban Ladder, Flipkart, and many other have been under the scanner for various regulatory matters like FDI violation, VAT related issues, Enforcement Directorate probes for maters before April 2013, Payment mechanism violations etc. With each passing day new violations or potential violations seem to be added.
Being the last critical budget before the next general assembly elections, we all probably had some sense of what the budget would lay down. Here's a quick summary of what appealed and didn’t appeal from the "Funds/Venture Industry" perspective.
You will receive the next newsletter in your inbox.
The monthly Gazette is your source of happenings within Lightbox - updates, blogs, deep dives, opinion pieces and all things consumer tech
Join the thousands who hear from us