Indian Actress Athiya Shetty Invests in Stage3 The actress turns an Investor and Creative Director with the social commerce platform

Athiya Shetty has entered a new stage of her life as she invests in India's social commerce platform Stage3, turning an entrepreneur.

Athiya will provide creative and financial backing to Stage3 as it builds the next generation of fashion shopping powered by the creator economy. Athiya will take on the role of Stage3's creative director.

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).

Founded by Sabena Puri and Sanchit Baweja, Stage3 comes from a strong retail legacy and is aimed at disrupting the D2C fashion retail industry by bringing together Influencers, Sellers, Genz and millenials on one interactive platform to buy, sell and resell fashion with convenience at its core.

By delivering stylish and affordable fashion from end-to-end consumer support, the platform is open for small retailers, homepreneurs, budding fashion designers and thrift stores to sell their wardrobe and styles without the hurdles of packaging and delivery. This closet monetization module encompasses an advisory board of experts and influential voices and stylists from Bollywood, Renowned bloggers and youth of the nation. Stage3 takes a sustainable approach to fashion for the pre-loved and unused items by production houses, bloggers to make use of it to earn an income.