Clensta cofounder quits as cash crunch pushes the beauty startup toward a sale

Clensta is a D2C beauty and personal care startup founded in 2016, known for waterless personal care products and celebrity-backed funding.

$12M raised since 2016; last round a $9M Series B in July 2023.

Clensta brought Ashish Mishra in from Honasa (Mamaearth's parent), elevated him to cofounder and chief business officer, and tasked him with transitioning the company toward a retail-first strategy. The D2C brand had raised $12M since 2016 — the last a $9M Series B in July 2023 — with actress Parineeti Chopra among its backers.

The retail bet stalled against brutal competition: by industry indications Clensta's products didn't meet new-age standards, with a weak presence in quick commerce, and inventory moved too slowly to generate revenue. In August 2024 salary payments halted. Cofounder Puneet Gupta warned employees they might need other jobs without an infusion; a spokesperson insisted an equity-plus-debt round from 'some of the world's largest investors' was in progress, with a Big Four firm on due diligence. Sources said stalled audit inventory had raised doubts among potential investors.

Mishra stepped down in October 2024 — he told Inc42 the decision came after Clensta started exploring a possible acquisition that 'did not align with my long-term goals' — staying on temporarily to wrap up pending-salary issues before launching his own beauty venture with HNIs and founders. Two months on, investor talks appeared to have fallen through.

The retail-first strategy met quick-commerce-era competition it wasn't staffed for; weak channel presence meant inventory — the cash — stopped turning.

Diligence failures compound: when the audit inventory slips, investor doubt becomes a self-fulfilling stop on the next round.

Founders diverge under distress: Mishra's exit over the acquisition direction shows even leadership splits on what a salvage should look like.

A retail-first pivot needs inventory velocity to fund itself: when stock stops moving, every downstream promise — salaries, audits, rounds — fails in sequence.

As of January 30, 2025, Clensta was still operating with acquisition talks apparently stalled, pending salaries partially addressed after Mishra's interim stay, and its cofounder-CBO gone to build a competing beauty venture.