Last few months have been full of uncertainty and choice. It is rare that life provides us with an opportunity to step back and ask ourselves the all important questions of what makes us happy, and what do we really want to do with ourselves. It is even more rare that it simultaneously provides us […]
IIMB EPGP Students want to meet startups
IIMB’s EPGP is an intensive one year full-time residential program designed for mid-career professionals with 7 to 15 years of experience. During their placement process, some people are interested in pursuing their career with startup companies. With the intention of connecting these people with startup companies, they are planning to organize a event on 29th […]
Pitchbook – Quick review of Global VC 2013
Pitchbook has a review of global VC activity in 2013. Key message – activity continues to shift out from silicon valley to other parts of the world, overall a slightly down year, but rising valuations. India still remains small. http://blog.pitchbook.com/2013-sees-vc-valuations-rise/ 0
Entrepreneurship lessons from the Aam Aadmi Party
How could I resist Snigdha’s hint to opine on startup lessons from AAP’s historic Delhi performance! So here it goes on startupcentral. Key lessons: – Great businesses are created by playing into market shifts – Startups need sharp focus and positioning – Run a well-designed proof of concept – The founder is the best salesperson […]
Venture Capital in India – The Summit Push
As the season for year roundups begins, here are my thoughts, originally published in Economic Times… It is now my eight year in succession of claiming a great year for venture capital. I have been in the business for all of eight years. But then, I am also an amateur marathoner and a climber. And […]
VC Firm Branding – What matters?
NVCA facilitated a recent research around what matters in a VC firm brand – both what entrepreneurs value, versus what VCs think is important. Branding and Venture Capital: Key Findings from BIG:VC from desantisbreindel Note that this is a US based study. Overall the study reinforced the importance of VC firm brand, but highlighted the […]
Online classifieds – calling again
Hindu BusinessLine carried this interview of mine on online classifieds market. Online classifieds remains perhaps that most rewarding space thus far in the internet domain from an investment standpoint, on M&A (carwale, jobsahead), IPO (naukri, justdial) as well as continued companies getting to scale (matrimony, property, food). Surprisingly, it has not generated equivalent entrepreneurial interest, […]
Internet in Tier II/III towns
My article in Strategist regarding the challenges and opportunities for Internet services in Tier II/III towns. Read on… http://www.business-standard.com/article/management/overcoming-the-digital-divide-113060200429_1.html 0
HBR – How to negotiate with VCs
Update: 18th Oct 2013 – The slideshare link seems to be disabled. Please read here. Excellent article on how to negotiate with VCs – valuation is just the tip of the iceberg. Other terms, as well as ensuring alignment through the negotiation process are far more important. Read on… HBR – How to negotiate with […]
Accelerator->Angel->VC flow is still struggling to find its equilibriu...
I had fun moderating the panel on early stage financing at India Internet Day. Vccircle has an interesting article. The key issues are as under: 1. Too few deals are progressing from accelerators to angel, and from angel to Series A. Only 5% of deals going from accelerators to Series A might not be very […]
The role of venture capital in growing Indian ecosystem
Iamwire published this article by me around the broader impact of venture capital. I believe venture capital has had a defining role in getting first generation entrepreneurs out in increasing numbers, at the same time benefiting from that trend. In addition to entrepreneurs, the capital-exit model of venture backed companies also creates the right incentives […]
Will Delhi startups outsource tech to Bangalore?
Delhi NCR seems to have emerged as one of the strongest startup ecosystems in the country. From internet to mobility and ITES/BPO/KPO, the quality of startups is compelling. However, of late, there has been a view that the tech ecosystem is not keeping pace. I was having a chat with a friend, who pointed out […]