Latest news with #Kettleborough
Entrepreneur
16-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Kettleborough VC Launches Second Fund with INR 80 Cr Target
The firm plans to back about 10 companies, issuing initial seed cheques ranging from USD 300,000 to USD 500,000, with significant reserves allocated for follow-on investments. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Kettleborough VC, a solo General Partner venture capital firm founded and led by Nisarg Shah, has announced the launch of its second fund with a target corpus of INR 80 crore. The fund has secured INR 35 crore in its first close, with commitments coming from family offices and successful entrepreneurs across India and the United States. The new fund will continue Kettleborough's strategy of investing early in startups led by seasoned founders. The firm plans to back about 10 companies, issuing initial seed cheques ranging from USD 300,000 to USD 500,000, with significant reserves allocated for follow-on investments. The focus remains on founders who bring over a decade of experience and a strong alignment with the markets they serve. Nisarg Shah, Founder and General Partner at Kettleborough VC, said, "We are extremely disciplined about backing execution journeys only. We invest in founders for whom the venture is the natural culmination of a decade or more of expertise in a specific domain. That's the last straw moment for us—the final convergence of market familiarity, lived experience, and deep networks." Founded in 2021, Kettleborough VC has built a reputation for being a high-conviction, construct-specific fund. The firm claims to have invested in over 30 companies, participated in more than 80 follow-on rounds, and achieved over 10 exits. Its debut fund supported 12 companies, including Zippmat, InPrime, Finhaat, Elivaas, and Sumosave. Notably, Kettleborough was the first institutional backer for nine of them. The fund maintains a sector-agnostic stance, but shows a preference for "Dhandha-first" ventures in financial services, commerce infrastructure, and software platforms. It emphasises founder-market fit, capital efficiency, and execution readiness. "We are now doubling down with Fund II to back about 10 more such companies," Shah added. The firm expects to complete Fund I deployment this quarter and is preparing for its first set of exits in the coming months.
Time of India
16-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Nisarg Shah led solo GP VC fund, Kettleborough VC, launches Fund II
Inception capital focussed solo GP venture capital firm, Kettleborough VC , founded and led by seasoned investor Nisarg Shah , has launched Fund II with a target corpus of Rs 80 crore. The fund has already marked its first close at Rs 35 crore with commitments from family offices and successful entrepreneurs from India and US. It is in the process of closing the first few investments in the coming weeks. The new vehicle will carry forward Kettleborough's focused investment philosophy of partnering with deeply experienced founders at the point of venture inception—those who bring over a decade of domain expertise, strategic relationships, and execution readiness to build high-leverage businesses. Since its inception in 2021, Kettleborough VC has carved a distinctive identity in India's venture landscape. Its inaugural fund backed 12 startups including Zippmat, InPrime, Finhaat, Elivaas, Sumosave, Gravity, etc. and was the first institutional fund to commit to 9 of them. These companies reflect Kettleborough's core thesis of investing in founder-led businesses that are execution-first and born from years of category expertise. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cardiologist Reveals: The Simple Morning Habit for a Flatter Belly After 50! Lulutox Speaking on the launch of Fund II, Nisarg Shah, Founder & GP, Kettleborough VC, said, in a statement:'We are extremely disciplined about backing execution journeys only, wherein we invest only in founders for whom the venture is the natural culmination of a decade or more of expertise in a specific domain. That's the last straw moment for us—the final convergence of market familiarity, lived experience, and deep networks. Fund I has shown a clear PMF for this thesis—tracking nearly 2x in just about 3 years from the final close—and we are now doubling down with Fund II to back about 10 more such companies.' With Fund II, Kettleborough VC plans to write initial seed cheques of $300,000–$500,000 and further back them up with meaningful follow-on capital. The fund's strategy is sector-agnostic but has a strong inclination towards 'Dhandha-first' businesses—including financial services (NBFCs, insurance, fintech infrastructure), full stack commerce solutions (B2B commerce, B2C consumer brands), and software platforms (vertical SaaS, agentic AI led platforms)—where strong founder-market fit can translate to sustainable execution and capital efficiency. Live Events
Sky News
03-04-2025
- Sky News
Thomas Kettleborough: 'Vile' former police inspector caught in child sex sting
A 'vile' former police officer who was caught in a sting operation after travelling to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old boy has been jailed. Thomas Kettleborough, 35, then an inspector with Avon and Somerset Police, was arrested in July 2023 while attempting to meet up with 'the teenager' after communicating with him on Grindr and Snapchat. However, he was actually speaking to undercover officers. After being detained at a car park in Bristol, officers found a bag in the boot of his car containing "an assortment of sex toys, condoms and bondage equipment, including a pair of limb restraints," Exeter Crown Court heard. More than 150 indecent images of children were also discovered on his phone and computer. Kettleborough used the apps to have sexually explicit chats with the teenager, using the name Liam, while claiming to be 28, prosecutors said. In February, he pleaded guilty to several child sex offences, including attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity. Last month he was sacked by Avon and Somerset Police and barred from policing for gross misconduct. He was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison on Thursday. Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall, from Avon and Somerset Police, said the public would be "appalled by the vile and manipulative actions of this former officer". She added: "He was caught following a policing operation designed to keep children safe which has resulted in his wider offending being identified." Detective Inspector Dave Wells, who led the investigation, said Kettleborough's crimes took place over four years, The former officer held positions of trust in the police, the Sea Cadets and the Royal Lifesaving Society, but "concealed his true identity through an online persona as 'Liam', 'L S' and 'Liamss5506'," Mr Wells said. Mr Wells added: "Specialist investigators are ready to listen and investigate any reports relating to Thomas Kettleborough or any other matters of concern. I want people to know that they will be believed. "Thomas Kettleborough is now behind bars. I hope if there are others that have been affected by this case, they now feel empowered to tell someone, if they are ready to do so." Lee Bremridge, defending, said Kettleborough had shown genuine remorse for his crimes. He added that the former officer had "done everything that he can attempt to do to try and understand why it is he committed the offences that he did." Kettleborough was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.
The Independent
03-04-2025
- The Independent
Police officer jailed for child sex offences after being caught in sting
A police officer who was caught in a law enforcement sting after travelling to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old boy he had met on Grindr has been jailed for 32 months. Inspector Thomas Kettleborough, 35, was caught by officers from the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit when he went to meet the child. The Avon and Somerset officer thought he was communicating with a child but was in fact snared in an undercover police sting, Exeter Crown Court heard. Nicholas Lewin, prosecuting, said Kettleborough had used a false name – calling himself Liam on Grindr and Snapchat – and claimed to be 28. After beginning sexually explicit chat with the teenager, the pair arranged to meet on July 14 2023 in a car park in Bristol. ' Police officers attended on Mr Kettleborough and arrested him in relation to the conversation,' Mr Lewin said. 'During search of his vehicle, a yellow Aldi bag for life was located inside the boot containing an assortment of sex toys, condoms and bondage equipment, including a pair of limb restraints.' Mr Lewin said that following his arrest, police found he had previously engaged in sexual communication with a child and had in his possession indecent images. At an earlier hearing, Kettleborough pleaded guilty to charges of arranging or facilitating commission of a child sex offence, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity. He also admitted one count of engaging in sexual communication with a child and four counts of making an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child. Lee Bremridge, defending, said Kettleborough had shown genuine remorse for his crimes. 'It is reflected, firstly in the guilty pleas, it is reflected in the pre-sentence report, and it is also reflected by Mr Kettleborough in his letter to the court,' he said. 'Since the point of his arrest in July of 2023, Mr Kettleborough has done everything that he can attempt to do to try and understand why it is he committed the offences that he did. 'That process has been an incredibly long one, it is continuing, but that should not detract from the fact that he is genuinely sorry for what it is that he has done.' Mr Bremridge said the several character references submitted on Kettleborough's behalf spoke of the 'high regard' he was held in. 'They have known him in a work capacity, they've known him in a personal capacity, and they have known him in a volunteering role capacity,' he said. 'What is apparent from those letters is that he has made a significant contribution to those areas in which he has worked, particularly in a volunteer role.' Jailing Kettleborough for 32 months, Judge Stephen Climie said a combination of childhood trauma and his experiences as a police officer led to a decline in his mental health. 'There is no criticism of the police themselves but unfortunately the inevitable, from time to time, is there are traumatic experiences that officers find themselves faced with,' he said. 'Your mind diverted away from what is otherwise a very positive background and positive performance on the areas of employment I've described. 'So too does the description from family members that makes it very clear to me that you were otherwise a decent member of society. 'In the context of this case, it may be suggested that your employment as a police officer in some way, shape or form, aggravates the position. 'In my judgment, that might have been the case had you been using your position as a serving police officer to incite the sexual activity, but you did not. 'It is, of course, regrettable from society's perspective that any serving police officer finds himself or herself before a court charged with a criminal offence, but it is not in my judgment an aggravating factor for the purposes of passing sentence.' Kettleborough was also handed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and will be on the sex offenders' register for life. After he was jailed, police shared the Snapchat username and avatar Kettleborough used to help identify any further victims of his offending. Detective Inspector Dave Wells, who led the investigation, said: 'The serious sexual offences against children that he's been convicted of span a period of four years. 'Thomas Kettleborough was in a position of trust at the time, both as a police officer and as a volunteer for the Sea Cadets and the Royal Lifesaving Society, however he concealed his true identity through an online persona as 'Liam', 'L S' and 'Liamss5506'. 'Specialist investigators are ready to listen and investigate any reports relating to Thomas Kettleborough or any other matters of concern. I want people to know that they will be believed. 'Thomas Kettleborough is now behind bars. I hope if there are others that have been affected by this case, they now feel empowered to tell someone, if they are ready to do so.'
BBC News
03-04-2025
- BBC News
Police officer with 'double life' jailed for child sex offences
A former police officer who led a "double life" has been jailed for two years and eight months after admitting numerous child sexual offences. Thomas Kettleborough was formerly an inspector with Avon and Somerset Police but was dismissed on 12 March for gross misconduct and barred from policing. The 35-year-old concealed his true identity online by using the pseudonym Liam to engage in sexual communication with multiple children over a span of four years. Officers from the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) also uncovered more than 150 indecent images of children on his phone and computer. Kettleborough was arrested in July 2023 by SWROCU officers after communicating with and travelling to meet who he thought was a child. Instead, he was confronted in a sting by officers from the unit and taken into a search of his vehicle, a yellow Aldi bag for life was located inside the boot containing an assortment of sex toys, condoms and bondage equipment, including a pair of limb restraints, the court February, Kettleborough pleaded guilty to the following offences under the Sexual Offences and Protection of Children Acts:Arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offenceAttempting to engage in sexual communication with a childAttempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activityOne count of engaging in sexual communication with a childFour counts of making an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child. In a statement prepared for the sentencing hearing, the mother of a victim said: "I now live every day in fear for my children's safety."The guilt I feel as a parent that I couldn't protect my child has eaten away at me."But the reality is, it isn't my son's fault or anything I did or didn't do as a parent. My son is a victim. "It has affected the whole family more than I can ever explain, but I am so proud that my son had the strength and courage to come forward." 'Position of trust' Det Insp Dave Wells, who led the investigation, said Kettleborough was leading a "double life" with the sole intention of "furthering his own personal interests"."Thomas Kettleborough was in a position of trust at the time, both as a police officer and as a volunteer for the Sea Cadets and the Royal Lifesaving Society," he said."However he concealed his true identity through an online persona as 'Liam', 'L S' and 'Liamss5506'." Det Insp Wells added he believes there may be more victims impacted by Kettleborough's actions, and appealed for those with information to come forward. "Thomas Kettleborough is now behind bars. I hope if there are others that have been affected by this case, they now feel empowered to tell someone, if they are ready to do so." Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall, from Avon and Somerset Police, described Kettleborough's actions as "vile, manipulative and heinous". "We've got clear standards in policing and within the constabulary of what is expected of us, and Thomas has absolutely breached those standards in the worst of ways," she was handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.
