👗 Zilingo: what went wrong?
2015 – 2023 · Singapore (Indian founders)
A fashion platform founded by Indian entrepreneurs Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor that grew into a business-to-business service connecting fashion brands with suppliers across Asia.
Sequoiaearly backer (2015)
Temasek, Burdaamong investors
2023liquidation began
⏳ The moment: It's 2022 and you're raising a big new round. Whistleblowers raise concerns about the company's finances with the board, and investors start asking hard questions. How should a startup handle a moment like this?
What would you do?
What actually happened
In March 2022, after whistleblowers raised concerns with the board, Zilingo suspended its CEO Ankiti Bose and investors commissioned independent audits. She was dismissed in April 2022. Reports alleged irregular payments and inconsistent figures shared with investors; Bose denied knowing about any wrongdoing and called her dismissal wrongful. With trust broken and new funding unavailable, Zilingo began liquidation in early 2023.
💡 Governance isn't optional. Clean numbers and independent checks protect founders as much as investors.
Sources: Inc42 · Mothership