India, Nov. 10 -- From a brand known for its cool urban image and setting the Indian craft brewery benchmark, Bira 91's survival hangs by a thread.

The startup, which has raised more than $200 Mn in funding to date from investors such as Peak XV Partners, Sofina, and Kirin Holdings, among others, is struggling to move past the slowdown that hit its business last year.

At the centre of the storm are 600 employees, the investors, and Ankur Jain, the CEO and founder of B9 Beverages Ltd, Bira 91's parent company.

Jain is under pressure to step down after a series of misfortunes for the company, including having to convert the parent entity from a private limited company to a public limited company.

More importantly, Jain and his family me...