VS Mani & Co

Mani Devi, founder of VS Mani & Co, comes from traditional textile weaving family in Tamil Nadu with 3 generations of handloom weaving heritage. Her mission: preserve traditional handloom weaving while making products accessible to modern consumers. VS stands for "Village Sarees"—honoring village artisans and traditional craftsmanship.

VS Mani & Co creates modern designs using traditional handloom weaving by skilled artisans. Products include sarees, dress materials, home textiles—all handwoven by trained weavers. Combines traditional craftsmanship with contemporary designs and colors appealing to modern Indian women while providing fair income to artisans.

Amount: Rs 50 lakhs | Equity: 12% | Valuation: Rs 4.16 crore

Mani presented handloom market opportunity and artisan preservation mission. Highlighted that traditional weavers earn low incomes despite quality products. VS Mani offers fair prices and modern market access. Metrics: 15,000 customers, Rs 80+ lakh annual revenue, 500+ weavers employed, 4.9/5 rating.

Vineeta Singh appreciated artisan empowerment mission but questioned scalability of handmade products and maintaining quality at larger scales. Anupam was supportive but raised concerns about inventory management and seasonal demand fluctuations. Peyush questioned manufacturing consistency and margins.

Only Vineeta showed interest, offering Rs 50 lakhs for 18% equity valuing at Rs 2.77 crore. Mani countered Rs 50 lakhs for 12% equity. Vineeta countered at Rs 50 lakhs for 15% equity. They could not bridge the equity gap—Vineeta felt 15% appropriate for capital and mentorship, Mani felt it undervalued existing success.

Deal Status: NO | Equity negotiation gap prevented investment