V. G. Siddhartha

Sical Logistics Ltd, a Logistics company founded in India in 1955, was acquired by Coffee Day group in 2011.

At the age of 24, he joined J M Financial Limited in 1983–1984 in Mumbai as a management trainee/intern in portfolio management and securities trading on the Indian stock market.

After two years, he returned to Bangalore.

With capital given by his father, Siddhartha bought stocks worth ₹30,000 and started the company Sivan Securities.

He established his coffee trading company ABC in Karnataka 1993, with a ₹6 crore turnover.

He bought an ailing coffee curing unit in Hassan for ₹4 crore and improved it.

The company now has the largest curing capacity in India at 75,000 tonnes.

He was the first entrepreneur in Karnataka to set up a café in 1996 (Café Coffee Day, a chain of "youth hangout" coffee parlors).

In 1999, it was renamed Way2wealth Securities Ltd. Its venture capital division came to be known as Global Technology Ventures (GTV).

In 1999, GTV was valued by BankAm at $100 million.

He planted banana trees on 3,000 acres (1,214 ha) and had plans to export bananas.

Way2Wealth Brokers Pvt. Ltd. is an investment consulting firm which caters to the financial needs of retail as well as institutional customers.

It is a trading member with all major National Exchanges in India, i.e. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the National Stock Exchange (NSE), National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX), Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX) and MCX Stock Exchange Ltd. (MCX-SX).

The company offers a wide range of financial products and services which include trading, mutual funds, insurance, financial planning, PMS, loans and real estate advisory.

In the segment of investment products, the company caters to mutual funds distributions.

It has its own specialized corporate advisory desk to assist customers with account opening procedures, expert advice and research.

The other investment products and services offered include: Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme (RGESS), portfolio management services, Financial Advisory Services, NRI services, and National Pension System (NPS).

Way2Wealth is an approved Point of Presence under PFRDA for NPS plans.

Way2Wealth provides insurance through its group company Way2Wealth Insurance Brokers Private Limited.

It operates in both life insurance and general insurance.

The company today also offers services to SMEs and corporates for their treasury management, hedging programs, ESOP structuring and employee tax planning.

Its group company Way2Wealth Capital Pvt. Ltd. is a non deposit taking non-banking financial company (NBFC) registered with the Reserve Bank of India.

It provides margin trade financing (MTF), loan against shares (LAS) and mutual fund units and IPO financing.

Moreover, Way2Wealth Brokers has also tied-up with HDFC Ltd. to provide home loan solutions.

In 2000, he founded Global Technology Ventures Ltd, a company that identifies, invests in, and mentors Indian companies engaged in technologies.

GTV set up Global Village Tech Park on a 59 acre plot as an incubator park in Bangalore, providing office space, communication links, recreational facilities, and a commercial centre.

Way2Wealth stepped into the real-estate business in year 2010.

This arm of the company offers a consulting and broking services in the real estate arena to both corporate as well as individual customers.

--> The Dark Forest Furniture Company is named after V. G. Siddhartha's Kathale Kaad (Dark Forest in Kannada) estate in Chikmagalur.

By 2018, the chain had over 1700 cafés in India.

His cafes attract 40,000 to 50,000 visitors a week.

Siddhartha also held board seats in GTV, Mindtree, Liqwid Krystal, Way2Wealth, and Ittiam.

Veerappa Gangaiah Siddhartha Hegde ( – 29 July 2019) was an Indian businessman from Karnataka.

He was the founder of the cafe chain Café Coffee Day and served as its chairman and managing director.

He also served on the board of directors of Mindtree, GTV, Liqwid Krystal, Way2wealth Brokers, Coffee Day Natural Resources, and Way2wealth Securities.

After going missing on the evening of 29 July 2019, his body was found by three fishermen at the Hoige Bazaar beach, near the mouth of the river Nethravati on 31 July 2019.

Veerappa Gangaiah Siddhartha Hegde was born to Gangaiah Hegde in the Malenadu region of Chikkamagaluru district in Karnataka State.

He hailed from a very affluent family of coffee planters belonging to the Vokkaliga community.

He received a master's degree in economics from St. Aloysius College and Mangalore University, Karnataka.