Mohit Sadaani: From Scaling The Moms Co. to Championing Founders
Mohit Sadaani: Co-Founder of The Moms Co. on strategy, D2C economics, India's largest D2C exit & his investor journey with DeVC & Z47. #Founder #Investor #D2C
Meet Mohit Sadaani – the strategic mind who, alongside his wife Malika, co-founded The Moms Co. and steered it towards becoming India's #1 online Mom & Baby care brand, culminating in the country's largest D2C acquisition at the time by The Good Glamm Group in 2021. Now a Managing Director at investor firms DeVC and Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners India), Mohit is channeling his experience into his next mission: redefining what it means to be a truly founder-first investor. He recently shared invaluable insights from his journey on the Founder Thesis podcast with Akshay Datt.
Check out the video of the conversation here or read on for insights.
🛠️ Early Hustle: From Assembling PCs in Bahrain to IIM Ahmedabad
Mohit's entrepreneurial spirit was kindled early on, influenced by his father's remarkable journey. His dad, starting with little, moved to Bahrain in the 70s, taught himself coding (working with punch card machines!), and eventually started his own computer business at 40 after being laid off.
"My father... grew up in a home which didn't have too much... he in the 70s took a 800 rupee loan to be in the bunker of a ship and travel seven days... to Bahrain... started his business at the age of 40..."
Growing up, Mohit saw this resilience firsthand. By tenth grade, he was working in his dad's shop, assembling computers. This practical experience translated into his first venture during his Computer Engineering studies at Thadomal Shahani Engineering College, Mumbai (2000-2004) – assembling and selling PCs to fellow students.
A two-year stint as an Assistant Systems Engineer at TCS (2004-2006) handling TIBCO middleware projects, however, proved less fulfilling ("2 years in TCS drove that out of me"). This pushed him towards pursuing an MBA in Strategy at the prestigious Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (2006-2008), a decision that significantly shaped his future trajectory. It was also at IIM-A where he met his future wife and co-founder, Malika Datt, during a college fest.
💼 Consulting & E-commerce: Honing the Strategic Edge
Post-MBA, Mohit joined McKinsey & Company (June 2008 - Feb 2015), rising to Senior Engagement Manager. His nearly seven years there involved high-impact work with Consumer Goods and Retail clients in India and London, focusing on Sales & Marketing strategy, supply chain optimization, and organizational effectiveness. This period honed his analytical and strategic planning skills.
He then transitioned to the booming Indian e-commerce scene, joining Snapdeal as Head of Strategy and later VP - Growth (March 2015 - May 2016). Working closely with the leadership, he drove customer acquisition and retention, led major campaigns, helped launch the FreeCharge wallet integration, and gained critical insights into the Indian online consumer.
"What struck me about that experience [at Snapdeal]... the true consumer of internet in India is going to be the mother... she is now discovering a lot of new things on Instagram and Facebook... e-commerce is enabling this entire retail journey for her."
These insights perfectly complemented Malika's personal pain point regarding safe baby products, laying the strategic foundation for The Moms Co.
🚀 Co-Founding The Moms Co.: Strategy Meets Passion (2016)
While Malika identified the urgent need for safe, natural products, Mohit saw the massive D2C opportunity, recognizing the power of combining e-commerce reach with social media engagement to build a trusted brand for the digitally-savvy Indian mother. They officially founded The Moms Co. in May 2016.
Mohit's strategic thinking was evident from day one:
Building Trust: Identified trust as the biggest hurdle in the mom & baby category for a new brand. Focused investment on professional branding, packaging design, and high-quality formulations.
Mentorship: Believed in leveraging expertise, bringing onboard industry veterans like Shripad Nadkarni and Nandu Nandkishore as mentors early on.
Strategic Category Entry: Launched with pregnancy care first – a niche with less offline competition and high online potential – to build credibility before tackling the larger baby care market.
Channel Mix: Launched simultaneously on D2C and Marketplaces, later adding a doctor/hospital channel (pioneering shop-in-shops) before pivoting to broader offline retail post-pandemic.
Long-Term Vision: Ensured the brand name ("The Moms Co.") and initial branding allowed for future expansion beyond baby care into broader wellness categories for mothers.
"We had with The Moms Co. name... 4 categories drawn out... We had renders of storefronts... So if we ever did do stores here is what a store could look like... a lot of work that happened."
💰 Funding, Growth & The Record Exit
The Moms Co.'s strategic approach resonated with investors:
Angel Round: Raised ₹1.15 Crores from friends and family (Sep 2016).
VC Funding: Secured $1 Million from DSG Consumer Partners & Saama Capital just months after launch (when doing ~₹2 lakhs/month revenue), followed by approx. $9 Million more over subsequent rounds from the same investors.
Growth Trajectory: Scaled from ₹25-30 lakhs/month in Year 1 to ₹1-1.5 Cr/month after launching baby care, eventually reaching a ₹150 Crore annual run rate by mid-2021.
The Acquisition (Oct 2021): Seeking infrastructure for the next phase of growth (₹500 Cr target, global expansion), they evaluated multiple offers. They chose The Good Glamm Group for its strategic fit (content-to-commerce ecosystem, shared services, founder alignment) over traditional FMCG or Pharma players. This marked India's largest D2C acquisition at that time.
Transition: Mohit and Malika transitioned to board roles post-acquisition and fully exited in March 2024 after ensuring successful integration.
Mohit on D2C Economics (General Investor View):
For a healthy D2C business doing ₹100 in revenue:
~₹25 Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
~₹20-25 Marketing
~₹25-30 Distribution (Marketplace fees, logistics, trade margins)
~₹10 Overheads (Team, etc.)
Target EBITDA: ~15% (Note: Economics vary significantly by category and business model)
🔄 Life After Exit: Investing with a Founder's Lens
Exiting The Moms Co. in 2022 presented Mohit with a blank canvas. He explored various paths – angel investing, content creation, even coding again. Through this exploration, his passion crystallized: helping other founders succeed.
"Every time, the moments that excited me most were those spent helping founders through their toughest challenges..."
Angel Investing (Amishi Ventures, Dec 2021 - Apr 2024): Made 30 angel investments, focusing on consumer brands (Perfora, Knya Med, My Muse), D2C enablers (Ripik.ai, House of X, Bidso), B2B platforms, and new tech (Digital Paani, CureSkin, Zippee, Stupa Sports Analytics). He enjoyed being a sounding board for founders on strategy and personal challenges.
Content Creation: Launched "Unscripted With Mohit & Malika" (Dec 2022 - Apr 2023) to share founder stories and learnings, making entrepreneurship more accessible.
🌟 The Current Chapter: MD at DeVC & Z47
Mohit's focus on supporting founders led him to his current roles as Managing Director at DeVC (joined Sept 2024) and Z47 (fka Matrix Partners India, joined Aug 2024).
DeVC ("Distributed VC"):
Mission: To be India's most founder-focused early-stage investor. "For Founders, By Founders."
Model: Combines capital with hands-on support from experienced founders and operators.
The Collective: Co-invests alongside a community of 40+ top Indian angel operators/founders.
Focus: Mohit leads Consumer and Commerce investments (brands, marketplaces, consumer tech, healthcare, B2B, new-age sectors).
"Build what we wish we had when we were founders."
Investment Thesis:
D2C Enablers: Believes in supporting the infrastructure ("selling shovels during a gold rush") for the D2C boom.
Category Creating Brands: Selectively invests in D2C brands with the potential to define new categories (like The Moms Co. did), seeing long-term value despite higher initial costs.
Founder-Focused (Beyond D2C): Invests in founders who are open to mentorship and where he feels he can add meaningful value, regardless of sector.
💡 Mohit's Advice for Founders:
Drawing from his own journey and interactions with numerous startups:
Leverage Mentors: "It's very hard to read a label when you're inside the bottle." Get external perspectives to guide strategy and avoid pitfalls.
Focus on Outcomes, Not Tasks: "It's not your job to solve. It's your job to get it solved... It's not your job to do? What's your job to get it done?" Focus on hiring, strategy, and enabling your team.
Build Systems: Invest in processes early to make the organization scalable and less dependent on individuals.
From building PCs in Bahrain to executing a landmark D2C exit and now empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs, Mohit Sadaani's journey is a masterclass in strategy, resilience, and purpose-driven leadership.
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