How Bira lost its way

Once a promising craft beer maker, the Sequoia-funded company is now facing its most challenging crisis ever.

The agents from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence came sometime in February 2016, when Bira was the talk of the town. 

At the time, urban beer drinkers were raving about this outsider, whose pints came as a surprising but welcome relief from years of living with Kingfisher, Bud and Fosters. In just under a year, Bira, operating as B9 Beverages Pvt. Ltd, had disrupted the market, so much so that Sequoia Capital, one of the biggest names in venture capital, invested in the company. Naturally, Ankur Jain, Bira’s founder and CEO, was basking in the glory of his newfound success. …

Author

Harveen Ahluwalia

Harveen is a co-founder at The Morning Context, and leads our Internet coverage, overseeing a team of reporters writing on startups and tech. She has previously worked as a media, consumer and tech reporter at The Ken and Mint. At The Morning Context, she writes on startups, venture capital, consumer and media businesses—from e-commerce to healthtech to streaming.

Editor, Internet

harveen@mailtmc.com

Mumbai