Velmenni’s LiFi Leap: The Final Push to Market?

Velmenni, founded in 2014, was India’s first start-up company to venture into the realm of light communication and carry out research and development for commercializing light fidelity (LiFi) technology. After overcoming various technological and market hurdles, Velmenni had been able to make a few advancements by deploying pilot products with potential customers. However, the company lacked a continuous source of revenue. At this critical juncture when Velmenni was making progress with customers and feeling hopeful of getting substantial funding, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Investors who had committed funds didn’t move forward and Solanki lost most of his team members. The chief executive officer now faced the critical question of Velmenni’s very existence. Asking the team members to leave and selling the technology (licensing or assigning it to someone else) would provide him some cash as well as time to think about his next move. But should he instead restructure the team and get more paid pilot projects, to increase the chances of commercialization and investment?