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Once India’s craft beer breakout star, Bira collapsed under unchecked ambition, runaway costs and a founder who just could not slow down.

Editor's note: If you are building a startup or a consumer brand with VC money, this story is essential reading for you. For investors who like to take board positions in portfolio companies, this one’s for you as well. For academics and students of entrepreneurship, you will do well to read this story as a case study that documents the fine line between ambition and hubris.
The country’s top VC funds are flush with new fundraises. They must now find opportunities to invest, but that’s easier said than done.
Peak XV Partners is in a pickle. The loss of much of its senior India leadership has thrown up a familiar venture capital conundrum: how do firms reward and retain top performers in a business where a few big wins end up carrying the entire fund?
For one of the world’s largest and shrewdest investors to entirely skip putting money in the country is a sign of how quickly the nature of the Indian startup ecosystem has changed.