Athiya will provide creative and financial backing to Stage3 as it builds the next generation of fashion shopping powered by the creator economy
23rd March 2022: Stage3, a leading community-powered social commerce platform for fashion and lifestyle is now backed by Bollywood actor Athiya Shetty. Athiya will take on the role of Stage3’s creative director.
Speaking on this, Sabena Puri, CEO/Co-founder, Stage3 said, “We are excited to have Athiya back Stage3. Stage3 is building an AI-powered social platform where India’s 5m+ Creators (influencers and content creators) can interact, build out social video-led storefronts, and sell to India’s digitally native 300m Genz and millennials. Athiya has a strong authentic voice, and we look forward to working with her closely to fuel the booming creator economy.
There has been an exponential rise of creators-turned-entrepreneurs globally and in India. Fenty Beauty by Rihanna is valued at $2.8B, Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner have both started brands in the fashion and beauty space valued at over $1B. In India, Katrina Kaif has seen the success of Kay Beauty & multiple other celebrities have been large digital brands. There are countless other examples out there of creators, big or small, converting their content into a business rather than just being billboards for other brands.
“I have always expressed myself through fashion, and love being a part of the creator economy. I’d been looking for the right platform through which I could empower others to also begin their journey towards becoming a ‘creator’ and I found that with Stage3. I love the fact that they are building a new paradigm for fashion shopping. There’s such a wealth of untapped potential and Stage3 is leading the way to becoming a conduit of success for the upcoming generation of creators. I’m delighted to be working with them on this” said Athiya on her connection to Stage3’s vision.
The startup recently raised Rs. 20 crores from notable investors such as Blume Ventures, Inflection Point Ventures, Nueva Ventures, Eragon Ventures, Let’s Venture, Stanford Angels, Ananth Narayanan (Founder, Mensa Brands), Dinesh Aggarwal (CEO, India Mart), and Sashwat Nakrani (Co-Founder, Bharat Pe).