Fantastic company, widely misunderstood: CaratLane founder and investor Mithun Sacheti defends Lenskart valuation

Time to adjust to public markets

Sacheti said the company should be given "three to four years" to adjust to the public market, since it has spent a long time in the private domain where its challenges and outcomes were very different.

Sacheti, who is also now a promoter at Nazara Technologies, said he is a "big fan" of the IPO-bound stockbroking firm Groww, saying both firms are "fundamentally well-run businesses".

"If you are holding something for 10 years, these are great companies to buy," he said.

Why did Nazara go public?

Lenskart’s IPO was subscribed over 28 times on the final day of its share sale on November 4, and the Peyush Bansal-led company is expected to make its stock market debut on November 10. Meanwhile, Groww’s IPO garnered 57 per cent subscription on the first day of its share sale on November 4.

Mittersain, who took Nazara public in 2021 after an unsuccessful attempt in 2018, said the company pursued the IPO because it felt it was time for at least one gaming company to list publicly. He said this would help create greater investor excitement and seriousness around the industry. It also helps put India on the global gaming map, which he believes has happened over the past few years.

The Nazara chief said they were anticipating more IPOs to happen, especially from real-money gaming companies this year. However, with the new law that prohibits these games, that is now off the table, he said.

"But again, whether it's next year or two or three years later, I have no doubt that there will be an array of interesting Indian gaming companies," Mittersain said.

Mithun Sacheti's growing investment portfolio

Sacheti, who scored one of the biggest exits for an internet entrepreneur in India when he sold his remaining stake in jewellery firm CaratLane to Titan for Rs 4,621 crore in August 2023, has been actively investing in both private and public companies, particularly in consumer-focused businesses. This includes companies such as VIP Industries, Ippopay, Bombay Shirt Company, and Oro Safe, apart from Nazara.

Sacheti is also a general partner and co-sponsor at Singularity Growth, a venture capital firm that largely backs consumer tech startups. He is also a limited partner (LP) in Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal’s 021 Capital and Singularity Ventures.

"I love consumer businesses, and I would love to find new consumer problems which the customer wants solved as well, and keep looking to scale them," he said "I'm also learning everything about gaming."

140 investments before CaratLane exit vs 20 now

Sacheti noted that he was more actively investing in companies before his exit from CaratLane. He said he had made around 140 investments before the exit, and only about 20 afterwards.

"The only difference is that the cheque size has changed. Those 140 investments taught me a lot. I understand a certain kind of business, and I have seen money being made in a certain kind of business," he said.

"I feel businesses can't be built unless the consumer you're going after is really desirous of that category, or there is some aspiration to be in that space. You don't need to be the number one or number two player and worry about that. You just need to find the sunrise sector," Sacheti concluded.