Brands
Nameeta Saigal climbs the ranks at femtech startup Nua
MUMBAI: Nameeta Saigal has been elevated to senior vice-president and head of marketing at Nua, the Mumbai-based femtech startup, after nearly four years with the company building its direct-to-consumer presence.
Saigal joined Nua in December 2021 as vice-president of marketing and has now been promoted internally, marking a vote of confidence in her stewardship of the brand’s growth trajectory. The promotion comes as femtech companies face increasing pressure to differentiate themselves in a crowded wellness market.
Her career spans over two decades in consumer marketing, with notable stints at telecommunications giant Vodafone Idea Ltd, where she served as vice-president for consumer segments marketing and partnerships. Before that, she cut her teeth in brand management at Godrej Consumer Products, handling household names including Goodknight mosquito repellent and Kiwi shoe care products.
Saigal’s expertise in building consumer segments and partnerships may prove crucial as Nua seeks to expand beyond its core feminine hygiene offerings. The company operates in India’s burgeoning femtech sector, which has attracted significant investor interest despite regulatory challenges and cultural sensitivities around women’s health products.
The internal promotion suggests Nua is betting on continuity rather than external recruitment as it navigates the competitive landscape of health and wellness brands. For Saigal, the elevation represents the culmination of a marketing career that began in the spirits industry with Shaw Wallace Distilleries before progressing through pharmaceuticals and consumer goods.
Whether her brand-building credentials can help Nua capture greater market share in India’s evolving femtech space remains to be seen.
Brands
UK’s OnlyFans seeks US investor at $3bn valuation after owner’s death
The adult video platform is seeking stability after the death of its billionaire owner
LONDON: OnlyFans is looking for a new partner. The London-based adult video platform is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake of less than 20 per cent to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a deal that would value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The move is driven by an urgent need for stability. Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American billionaire who owned OnlyFans, died of cancer last month at the age of 43, leaving the future of one of Britain’s most profitable privately held businesses suddenly uncertain.
The choice of Architect Capital is not arbitrary. The firm has deep expertise in financial services, which aligns neatly with OnlyFans’ ambitions to offer banking products to its creators, many of whom have long struggled to access basic financial services because of the nature of their work.
The numbers behind OnlyFans are, by any measure, staggering. The platform posted revenues of $1.4bn in the year to 30th November 2024, with a pre-tax profit of $684m, up four per cent on the prior year. Payments to creators totalled $7.2bn over the same period, a rise of nearly ten per cent. Radvinsky personally collected $701m in dividends from the business in 2024 alone, on top of more than $1bn in such payments he had already received. The platform, run through its parent company Felix International, hosts 4.6m creator accounts, with performers keeping 80 per cent of subscription proceeds and the platform pocketing the remaining 20 per cent. It has 377m fan accounts in total.
The current minority stake talks represent a notable scaling back of ambitions. In January, OnlyFans was reported to be in discussions with Architect about selling a majority stake of 60 per cent. Before that, the company had explored a sale to a consortium led by Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm. Neither deal materialised.
OnlyFans has built an enormously lucrative business on content that mainstream finance has long refused to touch. Now, with its owner gone and a $3bn valuation on the table, it is looking for the kind of respectable institutional backing that might finally persuade the banks to take its calls.
