B-town celebs help startups shine, but what happens when stardom fades?

Having a celebrity on board can help an early-age start-up scale to new heights, but it can boomerang as well

Does having a big name attached to your start-up ensure success? Or is it a symbiotic brand-building relationship? From early investors like Salman Khan (Yatra.com) to later ones -- Deepika Padukone (Epigamia), Bollywood celebrities are increasingly investing in Indian start-ups. But making big bucks might not be their main objective. So why invest? 

Endorsements not enough 

Advertisements, be in one-time or long-term contractual ones, have traditionally been adopted by big brands like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan endorsing L'oreal or Shah Rukh Khan pitching for Lux skin care and hygiene products. However, incubating start-ups, which have little room to play with, have