Krishen Jani, global investment manager at Distill Ventures, is one of our top 50 Rising Stars in corporate venturing for 2025.
Krishen Jani’s interest in venturing was piqued during a placement year at IP Group plc, a publicly traded VC company. “That was my introduction into venture,” he says.
He continued to work in venturing after his return to university, joining the Creator Fund and leading a spinout deal out of the University of Bath in the UK. “After university, I was trying to decide if I wanted to stay in the tech side of things or move into consumer facing investment. Distill Ventures was hiring at the time. And even though I did not know too much about corporate venturing and the difference between that and traditional venturing, I thought, why not. Besides, investing in drinks is an exciting space to work in since it sits at the forefront of many cultural trends.”
Distill Ventures is an independent investment fund with drinks company Diageo as the sole limited partner. It has invested more than $300m in 35 brands, with a typical cheque size ranging between $250,000 and $10m.
“Our founders are really creative and inspirational and I really like hearing them talk and understanding their ways of thinking, innovating and creating. It is my favourite part”
Of all the deals he has worked on at Distill Ventures, one that stands out is Fielden Rye English Whisky, formerly The Oxford Artisan Distillery. Jani worked on this in 2021, around the time of joining. What caught his eye was how this whisky was “part of a wider emerging trend of new world whisky coming in from new provenances. Its production story is centred around sustainability and a pioneering farming method,” says Jani.
Jani believes the highlight of his role at Distill Ventures lies in working with the founders. He sees investors as the enablers who are simply providing the funding and support to help founders realise their ambitions. “I really enjoy seeing those ambitions come true – whether it is a founder hitting their annual plan or realising their dream of being acquired. Our founders are really creative and inspirational and I really like hearing them talk and understanding their ways of thinking, innovating and creating. It is my favourite part.”
See the full list of Rising Stars 2025 here.
