Sanjay Wadhwani
Member at The FUD Collective
Sanjay Wadhwani
Member at The FUD Collective
London, England
Overview
Work Experience
Founder and CEO
2021 - Current
An immersive media studio with our own proprietary platform creating immersive content and experiences for retail, luxury, photography and art brands to elevate their brands and deepen user engagement.
Member
2023
Founder and CEO
2023
Venture engineering firm, operating at the intersection of brands, entertainment and tech. We design, create and build content and experiences, to build brands.
Founder and CEO
2016
Advising and/or investing in a range of start ups and early stage ventures, from media and entertainment to wellbeing, fitness, nutrition, digital art, content marketing, foodtech, fashion, cybersecurity, SaaS, publishing and events.
Founder and CEO
2022
Exclusive partners to the Maradona family and owners of the Diego Maradona rights and memorabilia; leading on strategy, development, licensing and operations of the Maradona brand in all categories worldwide.
Founder and CEO
2014 - 2016
Wearable audio tech start up joint venture, bought out in March 2016 by distribution partner (as they were themselves subject of an acquisition) after launch of product range and first season's profitable trading.
Founder and CEO
2010 - 2014
Founder of Ascension Ventures with focus on start ups; launched the first SEIS funds in the market in 2012.
Director
2009 - 2010
Working on launching a new LP fund in the media and entertainment sector and raising money for existing VCT fund. Highlights include: - Launch of a Media VCT in 2010, raising 11% of the entire VCT market in one season - Ambitious, extraordinary and very amusing transaction which involved attempting to buy The Pirate Bay.
Director
2000 - 2009
Director of Ingenious Corporate Finance from 2000 to 2006. Responsible for M&A advisory deals in the media and entertainment sector. CEO of Ingenious Ventures from 2006 to 2009. Responsible for managing a £150m private equity fund making investments in the media and entertainment sector. Working with and advising and investing in companies on start-up, management, financing, strategy, operations, marketing, business development, and growth. Highlights include: - Advising Robbie Williams on the largest artist deal in UK recorded music industry history - Developing the original concepts and model for the “Beckham” brand for David and Victoria Beckham (subsequently taken forward by portfolio company, 19 Entertainment) - Advising on investment in and sale of Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment for $200m - Advising a number of companies and investors in the independent television production sector on consolidation and formation of Super Indies including Shed Media, RDF, and Ricochet - Advising Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group and Really Useful Theatres on strategic options - Managing a £150m venture capital fund - Launching a range of media and digital start-ups and early stage media and digital ventures including Whizz Kid Entertainment (acquired by Entertainment One), Outside Line (acquired by Publicis), and Taste Festivals (acquired by IMG).
Manager - Tax and Corporate Finance
1993 - 2000
Recruited onto the Scholarship Programme as a school leaver and sponsored through University, returned to obtain ACA and ATII qualifications, specialising in corporate and private equity transactions, before moving to Arthur Andersen Corporate Finance and joining Private Equity Transaction Services.