In a vast and confusing jungle of randomly aggregated products,

We are
brand and venturebuilders

Through the experience of its founders – entrepreneurs who ran multiple global multi-million dollar startups in ecommerce, logistics, education and more, CINCHONA is shaping a new class of entrepreneurs.

We do not call them ecommerce sellers.
We partner with founders of ecommerce brands and we offer them the pathway and resources to act as co-founders.

We do not call them employees. We offer our CINCHONIANs the opportunity to manage brands they use themselves and love as entrepreneurs-in-residence.

It’s no surprise that of all the ecommerce brands CINCHONA invested in, the majority of their founders stayed on as business partners. Entrepreneurship is branching out.

Leadership & Board

Tarig El-Sheikh
CEO

Tarig is a serial entrepreneur with multi-million dollar exits in eCommerce, health tech, education and brings 20 years of experience in finance, investment banking, M&A and scaling businesses across emerging markets.

Chris Valentine
Board

With a prestigious career in investment banking, with roles at JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs where he managed multi-billion dollar investments in global financial services and real estate, Chris is now on his serial entrepreneurship journey working with startups around the world.

Meet our CINCHONIANs

Jack Turner
VP of Operations

Jack comes with 15 years experience in roles across Retail, Hospitality, eComm and 3PL Logistics and Fulfilment. An operational enabler, Jack's focus on people, growth and efficiency helps drive business success.

Nicola Merridan
Head of Supply

From cosmetics to electronics, from SMEs to large corporations, Nicola brings 10+ years of sourcing, merchandising planning and supply chain experience to the brands in the CINCHONA branches.

Ralph Ward
Ops Transformation Analyst

Ralph is English/French native, with a data, marketing, and product management profile. He has over 7 years experience in cross-departmental projects for international eCommerce startups.

Gaelle Tan
Ops Transformation Analyst

Gaelle has 5+ years experience in a global bank as a financial controller and 2+ yrs in a fast pace e-commerce start-up. She brings a a highly process-driven can-do attitude and a solid knowledge on all aspects of supply chain to the Cinchona team.

Akshay Chadha
Head of Amazon Operations

Akshay is a professional with over 10 years of experience in project management, hybrid marketing and ecommerce. He comes with in-depth Amazon knowlegde and experience.

Tiberiu Iacomi
Senior Acquisitions Analyst

Tiberiu has 14+ years of working with tech companies from around the world on scaling them through marketing, PR, customer validation and investor relations.

Ahmed Dawoud
Growth Manager

Ahmed is a business entrepreneur with Shopify expertise. He grows our off-Amazon presence using multiple sales channels and expands our brands by innovating new products.

Astrid Van Essen
Senior Brand Builder

A successful professional with excellent business acumen and 17+ years of hands-on experience in marketing, branding, creative operations and production. Strategic thinker and dots connector.

Karine Assaf
Head of Venture Building

Through her work with plenty of startups and VC firms, Karine adds to our team a diversified expertise on venture building, startup scaling and business strategy.

Ade Marks
Customer Care

Ade has over 10 years of customer service experience with a background in Sports and Leisure, Energy and Retail. He has a devoted attitude which helps to provide a top level of service to customers.

Hayley Brazier
Customer Care

Hayley has 10 years experience of customer service within eBusiness, Retail, Hospitality and Sports and Leisure. With a keen focus on customer satisfaction, Hayley investigates and resolves problems, and implements measures to delight customers.

Joanne Southam
Accounts & Shipping
Co-ordinator

Jo has been with BGH for 14 years and has lots of experience with credit control and purchase ledger. With a background of retail, customer service, travel, education, and market research, Jo holds a wide variety of experience and expertise.

Our growth rings

Partnership
Our vocabulary is not centered on deals, multiples or exits. It’s about growing ecommerce brands together with their founders.
Sustainability
We have the unshakeable belief that positive impact brings generations of loyal consumers.
Mentorship
Through our areas of expertise, business experience and UK & global network, we act as mentors, coaches and enablers.
Co-scaling
We grow products that scale together. Fitness devices for the parents and smart toys for the children? Family wellbeing.

We even have two unique programs for founders who want to continue their entrepreneurial path with our support:

  • Creative Cofounders™ Program for founders who want to stay on as co-founders of their businesses
  • New (Ad)venture™ Program for founders who need our guidance and access to our resources for starting new businesses.

Our trusted advisors

Jon Kamaluddin

Jon's global vision is demonstrated by his 9-years leadership of ASOS International - a timeframe during which sales grew from £32m to £480m. He currently holds several board positions for brands and institutions he guides for global growth.

Sally PM Scott

Sally brings 22+ years experience in fashion retail and ecommerce businesses such as Birchbox, Beauty Subscription and Vente-Privee, Europe's leading flash sale site. She is currently the CEO of Klekt, Europe’s original sneaker marketplace.

Kian Golzari

Kian is one of the world’s leading sourcing experts. He has developed, sourced and manufactured over 2500 products for companies, institutions and athletes such as TESCO, NBA, the Olympic Games, Kobe Bryant and more.

Jiten Melwani

MIT-grad and former Microsoft, Jiten built his property trading software company and sold it in 2012. He become a serial entrepreneur by launching Chaos Theory in 2013, a company that provides blockchain products and services along with sports media and fantasy sports.

Robert McWilliam

Rob brings a vast ecommerce experience from the executive roles he held as CFO and VP of Amazon UK and as CFO of Asda/Walmart. He is also an experienced NED with current non-executive board appointments at Card Factory PLC and Crypto UK.

Nick Telson

After launching several brands in the UK at L'Oreal, Nick founded his own startup in 2010 - DesignMyNight - which he sold in 2017. He now runs Horseplay Ventures - a Startup Playground where he has already invested in 50 startups in the UK and US.

Patrice Molinari

Patrice has 17+ years of PE/VC experience in Europe and in emerging markets with a wide and active business network in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. His knowledge expands across a variety of fields, from B2B to B2C, from education to healthcare and from retail to hospitality.

Backed by world-classinvestors

  • avcap
  • celeres
  • ethos
  • practicalvc
  • pretiosum