Celebs put the ‘star’ in startups with cash, glamour equity, and more

On February 12, when Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh and adult entertainment star Johnny Sins appeared in a commercial for a men’s sexual wellness brand, they took the internet—and the advertising world—by storm. The shock-and-awe aside, Bold Care, the young D2C startup behind the product they were endorsing, was instantly catapulted into the limelight. Online searches for the brand went through the roof, with ‘Bold Care’ seeing hockey-stick growth on Google Trends. Almost a fortnight later, the buzz still hasn’t died down. 

More importantly, it also brought attention to the fact that Singh is not only the face of Bold Care but also an investor and co-owner. Co-founder Rajat Jadhav went on to call it “an iconic partnership”, confirming that the actor had been “deeply engaged in every facet of the business” for over a year. While celebrities associating themselves with startups is no longer new—with nearly 90-100 deals done by India’s top 20-25 stars since the pandemic—the extent of their involvement only seems to be growing. 

“It was inevitable that an ad like that would go viral, but there’s a lot more to it now,” says celebrity brand consultant Harish Bijoor. “Now that we live in the era of startups, it is a way for stars to insulate their future and build a retirement corpus. They want more skin in the game than just 30-second TVCs,” he tells The CapTable. “A brand ambassador would have 25% liability, but a co-owner has 100% liability and remains a continuous asset for the brand,” he says.

“It’s also because consumer protection laws are becoming sharper now. If a brand gets sullied, the reputation of the star is also at stake. So, they’re getting specialists to do product due diligence, brand due diligence, and legal due diligence,” says a person whose firm has conducted umpteen such checks for India's top celebs. “The reputed stars will sign on all documents only after these checks are done,” he adds.

Singh’s association with Bold Care aside, several Bollywood actresses—Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Malaika Arora, etc.—have signed up with startups in dual capacities of investor-co-owner and/or investor-brand ambassador. Kaif, who was one of the first A-listers to back a startup early in 2019, formed a joint venture with Nykaa to launch her own brand Kay Beauty. Nykaa-KK Beauty—in which Kaif holds a 41.5% stake—is now a direct subsidiary of Nykaa.