Brands
Vineet Minocha joins Burman Sports as head of sales
MUMBAI: After two decades of closing big-ticket deals and building branded content engines, Vineet Minocha is back in the game. The media sales veteran has joined Burman Sports as head of sales, bringing with him a reputation for turning storytelling into sustained revenue.
Minocha steps into the role at a moment when sports IPs, sponsorships and fan-led platforms are becoming prized real estate for brands. His mandate is clear: scale revenue, deepen partnerships and build long-term commercial momentum.
With over 20 years across media sales and branded content, Minocha has built a career at the intersection of creativity and commerce. Most recently, he served as vice president for branded content and IP monetisation at NDTV, where he led multi-crore sponsorship and branded content deals across television and digital platforms, unlocking long-term client relationships and repeat revenue pipelines.
Before that, he held leadership roles at the Times Group, Discovery Communications and Sony Entertainment, consistently outpacing targets. At Sony, he was recognised with the super achiever award after delivering 125 per cent of sales goals. At Discovery JEET, he overachieved pre-launch ad sales targets, signing annual deals worth Rs 5–10 crore even before the channel went on air.
Minocha’s career has been marked by an ability to sell beyond airtime. From branded content IPs and sponsorship models to cross-platform integrations, he has worked across FMCG, BFSI, auto, technology and lifestyle brands, crafting partnerships designed to deliver both reach and return on investment.
In 2025, he stepped away from corporate life to explore a hospitality venture in Phuket, gaining hands-on experience in consumer behaviour, operations and brand positioning from an entrepreneurial lens. The sabbatical, he says, sharpened his instinct for building businesses, not just closing deals.
At Burman Sports, Minocha will focus on expanding commercial opportunities across sports properties, sponsorships and brand alliances, at a time when advertisers are seeking deeper, more authentic engagement with audiences.
As sports and content converge and brands chase attention in crowded markets, Burman Sports is betting on a familiar playbook: experience, relationships and revenue discipline. With Minocha back on the frontline, the push for scale is set to begin in earnest.
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.
