I โค๏ธ connecting people, especially if they are folks that want to help others. Thanks for meeting Kushagra Shrivastava while heโ€™s in ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ Jatin Chaudhary! ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™Œ
A discussion all about selling as an early-stage startup, building marketplace businesses, the maturing SaaS landscape in Asia, breaking silos and more with:

- Vamsi Krishna - Co-founder & CPO, Multiplier
- Hardik Batra - APAC Director, Commercial, foodpanda

eChai Venturesย at Draper Startup Houseย Singapore.
I wish I met you earlier in life Jatin Chaudhary! Thank you for sharing how you help tens of thousands of people via eChai Ventures, itโ€™s wonderful hearing how you started it in 2009 and run so many events around the world ๐ŸŒŽ๐ŸŒ๐ŸŒ. Thank you Nishant Bijani & Hitesh Umaletiya for introducing me to Jatin. I learned so much that Iโ€™ll be putting to use in Key and Xoogler.co to help more communities and people ๐Ÿ™.

The location we met at is to die for ๐Ÿชฆ.

Please sign up at key.ai to access our community product, early access to it is about to begin! ๐Ÿš€ Kushagra Shrivastava and I are hiring a growth manager and business analyst incase anyone is looking for a job.
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ #India: It's been a FUN week in the world of #entrepreneurtourism! March is my favourite month of the year. It's a celebration of life and being on many levels: from birthdays to my gender, driving movements for gender equity, etc.

Last week on a panel with Moina, Shruti, Maithreye, Charu, we discussed launching startups, challenges in the entrepreneurial world, and on a less conventional topic of support systems to tide through hurdles, we dived deep and personal over a closeknit roundtable.

The journey can be lonely (sometimes more so as a woman), but how do we navigate that?

It is heartening to hear that support systems for these empowered women range from families and supportive partners, communities, micro-communities, to having access to like-minded peers in the same business social circles, alongside professional networks such as Women in Investing Network and Women in VSEA.

Earlier that day, I caught up with Aashraya who's one of the few #web3 founders in #Hyderabad โ€“ we shared a panel on network states and virtual nations last year in #Bangalore. We discussed ambitions and future plans for Illuminated.

Just yesterday, Deeksha from Anthill Ventures was passing through #Bangalore. Coincidentally, me too! So we couldn't pass on the opportunity to catch up in person at Draper Startup House in #koramangala and explore collectively driving progress in the startup community. It's always cool to meet a fellow woman in VC โ€“ i always have something to learn from them.

๐Ÿ’ซ On a personal note over birthdays and wishes, I hope that people continue to be the progress they want to see in this world.

The future belongs to the dreamers and visionaries who believe in the beauty of their dreams, and I'm always grateful and humbled by the community that shows me, without fail, everyday:

The future is here ๐Ÿš€
#Throwback

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ #Bangalore: Would you attend a startup demo day on a Saturday evening?

4 years since I last saw Jatin at DSH Singapore for eChai Ventures, we finally caught up IRL โ€“ this time co-hosting an eChai #startup pitch event and #investor panel discussion at DSH Bangalore. Our roof was filled with 130+ #entrepreneurs and investors.

Here are some learnings:

โณ45 DAYS to 6 MONTHS

Is the duration for which due diligence, getting a term sheet, to receiving money in the bank can take up to in the process of startups #fundraising (as a gauge) ๐Ÿช™

๐Ÿ“š RESOURCES

โ€“ Venture Deals by Brad Feld is a great read to prepare founders who are #raisingcapital

โ€“ indianvcs.com is a pooled resource built by some VC folks, for entrepreneurs to have access to investor contacts (built with Notion ๐Ÿ”ฅ)

๐Ÿค๐Ÿผ KEEP IT PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL

โ€“ Before reaching out to an investor, research on the fund and what they invest in.

โ€“ Be genuine and authentic. Dishonesty is a red flag; The industry is interconnected, and will soon find out ๐Ÿšฉ

โ€“

Seeing is believing. I wouldn't have imagined a pitch night on a weekend evening being full house, and the energy is uplifting.

Thanks a ton to the investors for their valuable insights (Vijetha, Himansu, Bikramjeet, Mohammed Amaan Memon) and all the entrepreneurs who came to share their vision and business ideas with us ๐Ÿš€ ... Not forgetting one of the best hyper-connectors and startup enablers around: Jatin ๐Ÿ’ฏ


WHO SHOULD I MEET NEXT? ๐Ÿ˜
I've been here for two weeks already, but will be based out of Draper Startup House #India for the next couple more โ€“ I'm happy to connect with #founders, #startups, #investors, ecosystem partners and would love to meet others who are also enabling the startup community! Thanks for the recs ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿผ


Loving this journey so far!
Stay tuned for updates from BLR ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Singapore: We appreciate everyone who joined us at the eChai Ventures event at Draper Startup Houseย 

#Singapore last night! Special thanks to Shilpa S Nath and Anna Rehermann for their valuable contributions as speakers and moderators ๐Ÿ™Œ

45+ amazing humans came together last night for the @eChaiVentures event at Draper Startup House in #Singapore to learn, share experiences, connect with each other, and to grow together as a community.
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