MAM
Sidharth Rao to take direct charge of dentsu Webchutney from Jan 2022
Mumbai: Dentsu Webchutney on Wednesday announced that CEO Gautam Reghunath and COO PG Aditiya will be leaving their positions early next year to set up their own venture. With this change, the agency will now be back under the direct charge of dentsuMB Group CEO Sidharth Rao. Rao, founder of dentsu Webchutney, will front the agency’s leadership team, even as Reghunath and PG Aditiya will continue to work with him through this period to ensure a smooth transition for the creative agency.
“Gautam & PG have been the two most defining hires in our history. As a founder, you want your people to find their calling at the company you build, and the legacy the two of them leave behind is the best possible example of this,” said Sidharth Rao. “From joining at entry-level positions in 2010 and 2012 respectively, and rising to the very top through hard work, passion and just simply being the best in the business at their jobs. It’s a story that makes me believe that we’ve created an organisation where anyone can shine. And now, they have a chance to do it for themselves as creative entrepreneurs.”
“There is a lot that we at dentsu Webchutney owe them but none more so than the culture they’ve created for us all to thrive in. They’ve also assembled an outstanding leadership group, an army of superstars across all levels, all of whom give me and the rest of dentsu’s management immense confidence in how we will march forward as a company,” Rao further said.
In a joint statement, Reghunath and PG Aditiya said, “There is no other agency or network in the country where we would have had the chance to build our careers as we have at dentsu and at Webchutney. We’ve spent nearly 90 per cent of our careers here, so moving on is not a decision we’re taking lightly. Our personal views of what success, failure, and everything else in-between look like have been shaped at Webchutney and the people that we’ve had the privilege of working with & leading here. We’re so proud and thankful for how it’s all panned out.”
“As for the future, we’re more excited than ever about this wonderful business and have a few ideas germinating in our heads—ones that we get to build out. But for now, we’ve got a few more months left in this dream job, and we’re just going to try and maximize every minute of it. There are so many exciting new pieces of work launching over the next few months, some of them possibly the best work we’ve ever had the chance to be a part of. The best years of Webchutney are ahead of it and we’ll be cheering from the very front,” they added.
Brands
Aman Gupta’s OFF/BEAT secures Rs 100 crore seed funding round
Bessemer backs new venture betting on AI and India’s digital shift
MUMBAI: Aman Gupta has raised Rs 100 crore in seed funding for his new venture OFF/BEAT, with Bessemer Venture Partners leading the round as it bets on a new wave of AI-led, consumer-first businesses in India.
The funding marks an early but significant push for OFF/BEAT, which is positioned to tap into a rapidly evolving market shaped by a digitally native generation and advances in artificial intelligence. The venture aims to build at the intersection of culture and technology, where brand identity and innovation increasingly go hand in hand.
Gupta, best known for co-founding boAt and scaling it into a Rs 3,000 crore-plus business, is now looking to apply those learnings to a new playbook. His focus this time is not just on building a consumer brand, but on leveraging AI and global networks to accelerate growth.
OFF/BEAT founder Aman Gupta said, “Having built from scratch before, I know what capital can do and what it cannot. This time, I was looking for partners with a global perspective who can help me leverage technology and AI, because that is where the future lies. Bessemer’s track record with companies like Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn says it all.”
The choice of investor reflects that ambition. Bessemer Venture Partners has backed global technology players such as Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn, bringing not just capital but strategic support and global reach.
Bessemer Venture Partners partner Anant Vidur Puri said, “We back founders who see around corners. Aman saw how a new India would come to think about aspiration, identity and quality, and built boAt as proof. He is now applying that same instinct to a market being reshaped by AI and by a generation with entirely new expectations.”
The investment comes at a time when India’s startup ecosystem is being reshaped by both consumer behaviour and technological disruption. Founders are increasingly expected to understand not just products, but the cultural shifts that drive adoption.
For OFF/BEAT, the journey is just beginning, but the signal is clear. In a market where attention is fleeting and expectations are rising, building something truly distinctive may be the only way to stay on beat.
