Actor Sunny Leone becomes equity holder in Fork Media’s fashion portal Hauterfly

Bollywood actor Sunny Leone has added one more feather to her cap — she has come on board as an equity investor in Fork Media Group’s women digital publication, Hauterfly.

Mumbai-based advertising technology firm Fork Media had launched Hauterfly.

Fork Media was founded by Samar Verma and Upen Rai in February 2013 and the company rolled out Hauterfly, a fashion and lifestyle website targeted specifically towards millennial women in India, in November 2013.

The website is a discovery and shopping platform for brands.

“Sunny Leone reflects the brand values — fierce, unapologetic and opinionated. She is a force to be reckoned with. The association will augur well for both the brands,” said Samar Verma, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Fork Group Media Group.

Leone took right steps as an entrepreneur to make it big in India. Be it bagging endorsements or moving to the television world or starting her own line of make-up or perfumes, the actor-turned-entrepreneur has her focus on building the brand Sunny Leone.

Under the brand expansion plan, Leone launched StarStruck by Sunny Leone and also has perfume line The Lust under her name.

Fork Media had raised around $4 million funding in July 2017 from Agnus Capital, the family office of promoters of pharma firm Strides Group.

Speaking about future plans, Verma said they are in talks for second round of funding.

“We are open to capital. Capital coming in will act like a stimulant for taking it to the next level of growth ,” Verma said without revealing the volume of fund raise.

The firm is planning to utilize 40-50 percent of the capital raised for in organic opportunities and consolidating assets in the next 12-18 months.

Verma said Fork Media has received interest from strategic investors vs financial investors but he is skeptical whether strategics will augur well for their business as that could potentially self-limiting.

“We are looking more at financial capital coming in vs more strategic capital coming in” Verma said .