Abhinav Bindra, the olympic gold medalist ace Indian shooter, who is also the current world champion in 10m air rifle event, has started his own venture capital firm that will invest in various startups.
Bindra has set up an incubation fund called Shooting Star LLP with an initial investment of $2 million. The incubation fund is created in an equal partnership with consulting firm Franchise India.
Commenting about this development, Abhinav said:
This is my first widespread and extensive business venture. A startup is very much like an athlete’s life… There’s no guarantee for success. There’s no guarantee for success. There are only challenges but that’s a life I’ve lived for the past 20 years.
According to Gaurav Marya, president of franchising and consulting firm Franchise India Holding, the fund will invest in scalable formats with specialized domain expertise in areas like emerging sports academies, sports injury, rehab, tech, equipment and training, health apps, child development, holistic wellness, organic foods and dairy.
Abhinav Bindra holds a B.B.A. (Bachelor of Business Administration) from the University of Colorado, US. He is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics, the sole distributor of Walther arms in India.
In 2000, Abhinav won Arjun Award. In the following year, he also won Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and in 2009, he received Padma Bhushan award.
He joined the GoSports Foundation as a member of their board of advisors. In collaboration with the GoSports Foundation, he will provide support to India’s up and coming talented shooters through the Abhinav Bindra Shooting Development Programme.
Along with having sponsorship tie-ups with Samsung, BSNL and Sahara Group, he is also the brand ambassador by State-run Steel Authority of India Ltd. and also a member of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Sports Committee since 2010.
With this VC fund, Abhinav has become the second major sports personality from India to have set up his own venture firm to invest in and support startups. Last year, cricketer Yuvraj Singh started his own VC firm named YouWeCan Venture. The firm is also going to start an incubation center soon.
