In this episode of DilSe Omni, Ankur Khaitan, Principal at Fireside Ventures, shares how India's leading venture capital firms evaluate consumer brands, why omnichannel has become non-negotiable, and what founders must do to build iconic businesses in the next decade.

I began our conversation with a big number: India’s retail market, estimated at roughly $1 trillion in 2025, could reach nearly $2 trillion by 2030. But the more interesting question was not simply how large retail could become. It was how brands would participate in that growth.

Ankur’s answer brought the conversation back to the person who matters most: the consumer.

Customers are already moving comfortably between digital discovery and physical shopping. They do not organise their lives around our channel structures. For founders, the challenge is to build a brand that follows that behaviour rather than trying to redirect it.