At Ahmedabad University's eChai meetup, hosted by the university's incubation center, I had the privilege of engaging with a panel of entrepreneurs who had appeared on Shark Tank India.

They candidly shared insights into their experiences on the show, revealing the realities behind the scenes, the impact of the exposure, and the invaluable feedback they received from the sharks. Additionally, they delved into their ongoing challenges and future plans for their ventures.

Their narratives of resilience and determination in overcoming obstacles were truly captivating.

The distinguished panelists included Raj Shah Co-Founder of WeHear; Payal Pathak and Soham Payal Pathak Co-Founders of The Simply Salad; Nayan Shah Co-Founder of Maisha Lifestyle; and @illesh sharma Founder of Same Notification.

Here are few notable takeaways from the discussion:

I extend my gratitude for the opportunity to participate in these enriching events and to connect with these inspiring entrepreneurs.

Special acknowledgment goes to Jatin Chaudhary from eChai Ventures for orchestrating such impactful conferences that unite our startup community.

Lovely start to Friday morning with eChai Ventures Breakfast Social in #pune. Meeting fellow founders and investors is always a good break from the hustle of tireless execution! 😊

Thanks Prabhjyot Singh Mann & Jimish Kapadia for getting us all together.

Though I'm not much of a television serial enthusiast, I do consider myself a #series kind of person. I've been captivated by "Shark Tank India" and am keen on exploring the US and UK versions soon. My interest in business and wanting to know more about new startup , ideas and founders led me to attend eChai Ventures meetings. 🌍 Yesterday, I attended eChai Ventures at Ahmedabad University.

There's a saying, "Seeing on TV is one thing, but experiencing it live is something entirely different." The difference between a reel and real life is truly fascinating! 🎥✨ #reelvsreal

I wanted to grow as much as possible and empower as many people as I could. The mantra was, "I don't just want a job for myself; I want to create jobs for many." - #onmyway #startofmyjourney 🚀

Founders who have made it to Shark Tank India, like Payal Pathak and Soham Payal Pathak of The Simply Salad, shared their journey at an e-chai panel discussion. 🥗 "Simply Salad" saw growth from 3k to 9k followers post-Shark Tank and currently boasts 53,000 followers. Inspired by diet and healthy food, the founders believe in the power of authenticity and storytelling. They thought expanding to more cities before appearing on Shark Tank would have been advantageous. 🌱 #healthylife #healthyfood #inspringjourney

In discussions about family support, the consensus is that, while we hope for it, it's often not forthcoming. It's usually a few close people who support you at the start. Social media presence and marketing are key.

Raj Shah from WeHear pointed out that a Shark Tank episode, which lasts 20 minutes on TV, may actually go on for 1.5–2 hours. The foundation of a company lies in its people. #pepole #team #investinpeople

"Why take a flight when you can travel in third economy?" This question underscores the importance of value creation and staying grounded.#staygrounded

This resonates with my personal belief that I don't need expensive gadgets for the sake of it. My journey from coveting an iPhone in school to now prioritizing investment in dreams, vision, and people reflects this ideology. 📱➡️🌟

Nayan Shah co-founder of Maisha Lifestyle, also shared their insights. Failures are seen as learning opportunities. The vision of a firm, like Maisha's aim of providing one bag to every woman, is critical for success. 🎒#vision #goal #learninganddevelopment Esha Shah

Ileshkumar Sharma, founder of Same Notification, shared insights on public perception, there's wisdom in focusing on constructive criticism and ignoring trolls with simple answers. Engaging too much with negative comments offers little benefit. 🛡️💬 #focus #crticism

If you've attended events, what inspired you, or what is your vision for business and startups? Let's discuss for mutual growth. 💡🤝

Thanks to Jatin Chaudhary eChai Ventures VentureStudio for arranging such a great event!!

dhandha chota ho ya bada dhandha hota hai, the use of #smallbusiness around women entrepreneurs is something I have never related to!

No dis but have you ever seen a man calling whatver they’re doing small? From thinking to start, to actually believe in your product, showing up everyday despite financial, operational impediments it takes confidence to step up. And none of the anxiety and tremors one goes through ain’t small.

Confidence sometimes come from within but as human we are vicarious learners. It’s not a sob story that I put forward but rather a perspective - no effort put in business is small.

Unlike businesses set by experienced consultants, bagging funding on nothing businesses run by women from home are frugal and community based.

Giving labels and comparing is not the goal.

Let’s just not call women run businesses small? #notsosmallbusiness

Today was a beautiful day in Bhopal’s Upvanam,as it’s been 6 months of regularly doing eChai Ventures Breakfast Social and seeing my goal become reality is just IT.

Meet my entrepreneur comrades, 3 of 7392 present today!

Isha , Founder Ithiha Gifting
Shuchika, Co-Founder Koozagari
Soumya, NES Studio

Loved how everyone came to support and shop!

It is true, it takes a community for a woman to succeed ✨ cheers to all

#notsosmallbusinesses

Had an incredible time at the eChai Startup Social Event! Connecting with professionals from diverse industry like #Technology, #Healthcare, #Food, #entertainment, #CA, #Sales & #Marketing was truly enlightening.
.
Throughout the event, we engaged in insightful discussions covering a spectrum of industries. From sharing experiences of success to reflecting on lessons learned from failures, our collaborative efforts aimed at fostering growth and development were truly enriching.

The enthusiasm and shared experiences highlighted the vibrant spirit of our startup ecosystem. It was pleasure moderate the event and share knowledge.

My co-founder Phani and I met while we were working together in our erstwhile employer, HDFC Bank, we were a part of the same team managing strategic accounts for the bank.

In Dec'2020, when the bank's servers had an prolonged issue and merchants started asking us to route transactions to other payment gateways, Phani and I had long discussions on while we can not do this as bank employees, we can certainly do this as a Fintech TSP for businesses. Thus, PayAid was founded.

While both of us bring in completely different mindsets and skill sets to the business, we decided early on what the roles and responsibilities of both of us would be. Phani manages Tech and finance, and I manage sales and alliances with payment gateways and banks.

Pranav and I, co-founders of Global Vistar, are childhood friends and partners. Fast forward to 2020, fresh out of college, we stepped into the start-up world with a bunch of friends. After facing the uncertainties in the ideation stage, our friends chose conventional careers. But Pranav and I were gritty enough to stay. 

In 2021, we started with an e-commerce platform for good foods. However, the real struggle of the food manufacturers was distribution rather than e-commerce exposure. That realization pivoted our course, and Global Vistar was born.

Our roles naturally unfolded as we faced challenges - Pranav, has a keen eye for execution, and I, have a strategic approach. This creates a harmony of action and vision at Global Vistar. 

We have been starting up for four years. Today, Global Vistar is at its early stage looking for early traction for its MVP. 

From thick and thin, our perspectives, patience, camaraderie, and resilience as co-founders have only grown stronger.

"I felt like the Formula 1 car driving in the rain knowing that the guy coming at the back is going to have a great time" shared Mithun Sacheti, Founder of CaratLane - A Tanishq Partnership

In my day's dose of podcasts, it was wonderful to hear an entrepreneur being born out of a family business, one that built in what wasn't a sunrise sector yet still a category creator - jewellery! Mithun not only set the path for start-ups in the space but paved the way for everything operations from negotiating the need for it with courier companies to convince the need for it to the banks and even had to explain the concept of online cross-border buying and selling of jewellery to the government, keeping it all ready for the ones to follow.

Some aspects that stayed with me-

- Relationships and your network: The importance of building relationships leading to mentorship backed by one's capability. He mentioned two core ones with Srinivasa Gopalan and how he got Raakesh Jhunjhunwala to listen to him while he got his numbers up after the insights Raakesh Jhunjhunwala shared (listen for more context- it's worth it)

- Partnerships led growth: Partnering with Cartoon Network to introduce a range of products for the 0-5yrs old and also working closely on introducing products with themes like Doremon and Harry Potter exponentially increased their TAM (total addressable market)

The Titan Company Limited partnership is one that went through its course, it gave both brands enough leverage to grow. #Founders, if you want to hear your heart drop for a few minutes, listen to the Titan-Caratlane story shared in the first 30 minutes of the podcast

- Reverse due diligence: The team travelled across the country and even to the US to understand their potential investors. While VCs have a stringent DD (due diligence) process, the founders knew they had to be aware of who they were getting onboard

- Holocracy: Roles > Titles ( What's in a name right? It's more about what you do) and that's exactly what the CaratLane - A Tanishq Partnership spirit was. Your work defines your role, not your title.

It made me smile to hear this last bit when Mithun Sacheti shared with Karthik B. Reddy that the Power of compounding = Sleep peacefully!

Podcast link

Let me take you back to where it all began - how I crossed paths with my co-founders, Bharat and Vipul. We were buddies who embarked on our entrepreneurial journey in 2011 with our SAAS venture, "Depasser Infotech," where we dabbled in tech services. Fast forward to 2016, the eCommerce scene picked up pace, and we decided to dive into that realm alongside our existing venture. However, navigating the eCommerce landscape proved challenging, especially with the logistical hurdles we encountered. During this time, Vipul reached out to his friend Paresh, who had a wealth of experience in logistics, seeking advice on our predicament. The more we delved into it, the more apparent it became that many others in the eCommerce sphere faced similar issues.

That's when Paresh brought Nikul into the fold, leveraging his expertise in logistics and finance. In 2017, the five of us came together to launch iThink Logistics. We each brought something unique - Vipul's strategic acumen, my knack for communication, Bharat's tech savviness, Paresh's operational prowess, and Nikul's financial wizardry. With a shared vision to transform eCommerce logistics, iThink Logistics was born.

Today, we proudly stand with over 10,000+ eCommerce brands, providing them with a one-stop solution for all their logistics needs.

I believe Valentine's Day holds special significance for every individual, as it's a day dedicated to love and spreading affection. Everyone assigns different values to Valentine's Day. Here's why it's meaningful to me: I found my calling on February 14th, 2022.

It was the day when I took the first step toward Hummingbird. I had been associated with Cadila, and on that day, I resigned from the company. After resigning, as I made my way home, I passed numerous flower shops and realized that after making that decision, it was fitting to treat myself to a bouquet on Valentine's Day. I love roses like crazy, so I asked the cab driver to wait for five minutes while I gifted myself a bouquet :D

Journey from the office to my flat was very difficult and I was feeling “ Aaj ghar kyun nahi aa raha hai” . I questioned myself, wondering if I had made the right decision or not but Abhi to decision le liya tha. I was feeling quite emotional that day as I went to meet everyone. Some of my colleagues seriously started crying and were saying, 'What is this nonsense? Why are you making such a stupid decision but boss samjh to aaya us din ki insaan to apan ache hai Harsha Bhurani :D

I decided to spend quality time with myself when I reached home. The first person I called was Sumita Sharma and I shared the entire scenario with her. It was challenging for her to accept, as she, along with my colleagues, knew I was expecting a significant appraisal after months of hard work. However, she supported me nonetheless.

That day was simply amazing, still, I can recall spending a peaceful evening, enjoying the sunset with a cup of tea, and dinner at my favorite Pav Bhaji place near IIM, Vastrapur.
Eventually, till that time, I gathered the courage to inform my parents about this news. My father was initially shocked but he asked if I was okay, which meant the world to me. I reassured him, saying I was celebrating my day with Pav Bhaji. And then, I concluded my day with a brownie, and you can see the sheer joy reflected in this picture:D

After a brainstorming session with myself, writing three different Harsha on sticky notes and pasted them on my wall. I decided to go with 'Harsha Pro', who wanted to start her own business.

Feeling unsure of my next steps, I called Jatin Chaudhary for guidance and asked if I could meet him, and he suggested meeting half an hour before eChai event at IIM later that evening. I was extremely excited to meet him because I never thought that day would come that soon. So when I met Jatin I said , “Abhi resign to daal diya hai immediate basis par, entrepreneur hi banna hai but pata nahi iske baad kya karna hota hai?

He explained various aspects of HR, training, and development, providing valuable insights and references.

And so began my rollercoaster journey with Hummingbird, which continues to this day. It's been a journey filled with challenges, triumphs, and failures, and I'm ready to build HummingBird whatever it takes.

Taniya Biswas

and I are sisters – we met when she was born (since she is younger to me)! But the decision to become co-founders was made roughly a decade ago. We toyed with a few ideas before finally founding Suta in 2016.

Before co-founding Suta, Taniya (Ta) and I were both passionate about creating a venture of our own, which would serve the greater good. We both let go of lucrative corporate jobs, driven by this vision and our passion for meaningful change. Suta was born of our own nostalgic love for cotton sarees – those worn by the womenfolk in our homes. 

We wanted to bring back sarees into the mainstream as versatile garments for everyday wear, instead of being relegated to pujas and festivities alone. That’s how Suta came to be. 

Today, we’re focused on reviving heirloom Indian crafts through our products and finding them audiences across India and even internationally. Our motto is to ensure that the weavers and artisans we work with (17,000+) have a regular source of income, the means and motivation to pursue their crafts, and do not have to migrate from their ancestral homes to larger cities in search of work.

As co-founders, we follow a very fluid process and both of us jointly undertake our responsibilities. We believe that we work best when we work together, and that our two minds are better than either by itself. That said, I am better with more analytical processes and decisions, while Ta is a creative minefield. 

I met my co-founder, Tuhin in 2008 at The National Institute of Design. At NID we teamed up for projects, eventually falling in love, our relationship sparked a realisation to Tuhin about the lack of menstrual education and the stigma surrounding it. My personal experiences and Tuhin's newfound understanding inspired us to address this gap. Leveraging our skills in communication and user experience design, we sought to provide trustworthy and accessible information on menstruation, recognizing its potential impact not only in India but also in other countries facing similar challenges.

In India, every year 1.2 core girls reach puberty. Since periods are a taboo, 85% of these girls would follow one or more restrictive customs.

1 in every 4 girls start to miss out on her school as she starts getting her periods . When a girl misses out on her education, she goes through systematic gender discrimination throughout her life. 

Also in schools, the chapter on periods comes much after the girls have started getting their periods. And in most of the cases teachers skip the topic. As they don’t know how to go about teaching about periods and puberty to their students,

Periods are a taboo in India. Tuhin and I saw it more like a communication design problem.

Menstrupedia Comics are now available in 17 languages and are being used by more than 25,500 schools as a part of their curriculum across India. Apart from India, the books are locally printed and published in 11 countries in their local language.

Tuhin and I are fundamentally different people with distinct skill sets, but when we work together, something magical happens. It's like we're yin and yang, complementing each other perfectly. Tuhin excels in product development, being very diligent in his approach. On the other hand, I bring strong research and people skills to the table. This is how we define our roles: Tuhin takes charge of all decisions related to product development and content creation, while I handle decisions regarding marketing and sales strategies for the book.

Be the change you want to see!

Growing SOQO w little to nothing in a tier 2 city with a fledging startup ecosystem looked like the most impossible task, no one to look around, no one to aspire, no motivation and no empathy.

But that’s the thing, night is the darkest before sunrise. What you are seeking is seeking you, or do we say hungry hardworking entrepreneurs of Bhopal coming together for eChai Ventures Breakfast Social regularly every two weeks to be friends. No questions, no demands. Only good food, small groups and candid conversations.

My fav part of breakfast is morning energy of entrepreneurs, fresh and because we’re all in same boat hence without boundaries.

We talk. We talk about failure, getting into cycle of work after long break, mental health, hiring, lived experiences etc.

Good to just know, we’re all in same boat.

Wise words of Prerna Taneja today at the table “take it one day at a time”. And today was that one day we all met for nothing but meeting. :)

In frame

Sneh Nigam
Founder Mindcafe India

Meenal Rai Shejwar
Founder Amado

Vaibhav Kapoor
Director, RGIM Business School

Arihant Arya
Director, Glafix

HitartH Shrivastava
Founder, Bazarville
Co-Founder, F for Fries

Aman Talreja
Co-Founder, Seesaw

Kanika Gupta
Co-Founder, Seesaw

Amrita Bhama
Founder, Summer Stich

Prerna Taneja
Founder, The Zappy Box

and ofc me my and I haha, Founder SOQO

To many more breakfasts together!

We are elated to share that, we will be exhibiting RoyalPOS at Food & AgriTech Expo 2024, organised by The Southern Gujarat Chamber Of Commerce And Industry - SGCCI.

🗓️ 10-12th Feb 2024

📍 Surat International Exhibition and Convention Centre, Sarsana, Surat, Gujarat

📞 +91 8780228978 

10 days of Shark Tank India Season 3, Episode 6 and that is how it changed my life!

-First of all, with the love and support of India, our sales have increased! We can see 3x-3.5x additional sales on marketplaces and on our website.

-Getting great organic reach and awareness of our brand, that is helping is to minimise our marketing cost. It is now much lower than 54% as stated by us in the episode & we are really happy about it.

-100s of proposals for business development and marketing services received. We are discussing future collaborations and distributions. Crossing our fingers!!

-Opened our doors for international market. Got call from Sell on Amazon International team as well. As we are having required documentation to go overseas, and soon we will be available in US market.

-Being approached by many events, colleges and talks. Such offline branding will surely help us to move forward. Can't thank enough everyone for providing bringing in such opportunities!

-We can see the enthusiastic and tirelessly working team to fulfil the demand. Feeling loved and cared by our small yet efficient team. Kudos to team Nabhi Sutra.

-The way I keep replying emails and messages, by working online for extra hours, switched from Nabhi Sutra healthy hair belly button oil to Eye care belly button oil to protect my eyes from dryness :) Well, such routines cannot be avoided at any stage of life. :) :)

The most important and my favourite, going for sleep every night with a big smile on face. Yes, success looks somewhat like this to me.

With lots of love!!
Swati Vakharia

For the first time, BabyOrgano | India's First Dedicated Ayurvedic Baby Care Health and Wellness Brand went for the campus placement!!

This is something that I had on my bucket list forever. In a world, where every company is asking for some experience, we are willing to be the one who gives experience to the young talent.

My Co-founder, HR and our Digital Marketing Manager went to St Kabir Institute of Professional Studies, Ahmedabad and let me tell you, it was a great experience.

I never expected students to be so aware of marketing, business and startup culture. We had some good conversations with some of the smartest students I have ever met.

We learned a lot about Gen Z’s professional behaviour and their expectations from the corporate world.

All in all, it was a day of learning!!

We have met some talented individuals and we will be hiring some of them for the required roles.

We are excited to welcome them to our BabyOrgano | India's First Dedicated Ayurvedic Baby Care Health and Wellness Brand family and help them grow their skills and careers.

We believe in nurturing young talent and giving them the opportunity to work on innovative and impactful projects.

Also, we are grateful to the St Kabir Institute of Professional Studies for hosting us and being so welcoming and supportive.

The journey of entrepreneurship with eChai Ventures has been like navigating through a maze illuminated by candid conversations.

It’s been 6/7 months of hosting much loved Breakfast Social in Bhopal. Building SOQO I always longed for a community, their insights, support and network.

While the path may not always be paved with gold, our small group meet-ups have been a beacon of hope.

Saw so many people collaborating outside our meet-ups. What little people understand about building community is faster returns on time spent.

They say together, we forge connections and share experiences, reminding ourselves that success is not just about going fast, but about going far - and going far together.

Here's to eChai Ventures for providing the platform for meaningful connections and collective growth. 

Here’s to people who make it better, coz so much can be achieved by just showing up ✨

#community Jatin Chaudhary

Kush Prajapati Ekta Shah Srijan Sharma Meenal Rai Shejwar Divya Sadhwani Arihant Arya Vinay Dhok Sneh Nigam Aleena Zahid Priyanka Gupta

Conversations going beyond businesses but all align to make businesses bigger n better.

It was fun being part of today’s eChai SaaS Social at Magenta Insights office.

One journey setting path for another journey. Problems/Challenges bringing people together for bigger - brighter and more productive solutions.

Thanks you

Vikas Mundhra

and

Jatin Chaudhary

! cannot miss to mention - the happiness bell  is such a motivating n cute thing. 

Entrepreneurs present are great minds bringing innovative solutions.

And we all sneaked in for a quick photo shoot. Looks fab. Great places designed for best working - Devx.

Cheers

Founders, Investors, Enablers- Who are you listening to?

Over the last few weeks I've been constantly trying to rediscover learning through podcasts and here are some of them that are on my radar-

🎙 Seed to Scale by Accel - A podcast series highlighting the journey of various founders while launching a 2 podcast series with the Accel team from across the globe - Jim Swartz, Anand Daniel, Sameer Gandhi, Harry Nelis, Mahendran Balachandran celebrating their 40 years in the VC industry in 2023

🎙Blume Ventures podcasts - Season 1 on XUnicorns followed by Season 2 focusing on Power of Compounding where Karthik B. Reddy hosts founders like Peyush Bansal, Raamdeo Agrawal who have excelled at compounding from the last decade to almost half a century

🎙Matrix Moments by Matrix Partners India - Highlighting human capital while also discussing trends of 2023 and 2024 hosted by Rupali Sharma ranging to over 180 episodes over different seasons and topics

🎙DesiVC by Akash Bhat - Candid conversations with leading investors from across India with insights from Akash's journey as a founder and investor having spoken to 127+ people. This one has been on my list for over 3 years now

🎙Indian Silicon Valley podcast by Jivraj Singh Sachar- Intricate conversations with founders, investors, and enablers in the Indian start-up ecosystem spanning 161 episodes and more. Jivraj has been closely associated with the start-up and investment ecosystem bringing out his unique perspective through the questions he asks his guests

VCs have extensive insights and access to diverse information. They have access to insights ranging from an industry understanding brought together by cumulative team experiences, in-depth sector focus, and access to real-time information through their portfolio companies. Often these insights stay unshared or when shared, undiscovered by some of us. This year I'm on a mission to uncover some of the most insightful podcasts and will keep sharing as I keep listening.

So what are you listening to, to stay up to date? Drop startup and investing podcast recommendations in the comments. I'm sharing links to the ones I've mentioned above in the comments too.

Notes for founders raising funds for the first time

BabyOrgano has raised the funds from DevX Ventures.

During our pitches to various investors, we've recognized that the transparency of our business model and the founder's honesty have been pivotal in garnering positive responses.

Key pointers:

Conversations with startup founders can be so jam-packed with energy, insights, and ideas! And these are even richer in a casual setting, like at today's Social event by eChai Ventures.

It was a pleasure getting to know you,

Janvi Tiwari

  and

Srijan Sharma

  ! Your energy and mission are very inspiring - all the best for the road ahead. 😊

I'm incredibly excited to announce the AICamp!  (https://x.com/shreya_gr/status/1753045008507355374?s=20)

Special Thanks to

Mehul Fanawala

  and

Dhaval Nagar

  for being early adopters and helping us in shaping the platform 🙏

AICamp allows your entire team to work together in a shared and collaborative workspace, utilizing all premium AI models(GPT3/4, Claude and many other ). Empower your entire organization with role-based access and detailed AI usage analytics.

Key features:

* Multiple LLMs in Single Interface
* Bring your own API key for any LLMs (Pay as you go!)
* Unlimited Chat History
* Share Chat/Prompt with Team Members
* Single API for entire organization / Easy to manage and light on pocket!

Currently it's for individual use and team version will be release on 10th feb.

Where I am seeking help:

* Feedback and improvement idea from folks who use AI in their day to day life.
* Any team specific feature that you might think to must have.

Where I can help you:

* Building products
* GTM
* Opensource growth

PS: please connect your paid openAI keys to see how it works (aicamp.so)

 

#Throwback

🇮🇳 #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 – 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:

⏳45 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) 🪙

📚 RESOURCES

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

– indianvcs.com is a pooled resource built by some VC folks, for entrepreneurs to have access to investor contacts (built with Notion 🔥)

🤝🏼 KEEP IT PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL

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

– Be genuine and authentic. Dishonesty is a red flag; The industry is interconnected, and will soon find out 🚩

–

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 🚀 ... Not forgetting one of the best hyper-connectors and startup enablers around: Jatin 💯


WHO SHOULD I MEET NEXT? 😁
I've been here for two weeks already, but will be based out of Draper Startup House #India for the next couple more – 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 🙌🏼


Loving this journey so far!
Stay tuned for updates from BLR 🇮🇳

Do's and Don'ts of Fundraising for early stage founders.

Do's

- You should have a clear plan for atleast next 12 months that can be seen on excel sheet, which clearly shows, what this fund raise is going to achieve for you.

- Start the process 4-6 months before you actually need the funds

- Get an understanding of funds portfolio/thesis/decision making process by reaching their portfolio companies prior to pitching.

Don'ts

- Try not to mention about valuations untill explicitly asked. Do not become rigid on a number, try to negotiate and substantiate your number.

- Don't keep high hopes from 1 single investor, keep talking to multiple people at the time. But at same time be transparent about the options to them, whenever you start doing serious conversations on terms and stuff

- Do not mess your cap table with number of people, keep it as clean as possible, it makes your life much much more easy when raising next rounds!