I am happy to announce our latest investment in MotorExchange – a B2B auto exchange for Indian market. The B2B auto market in India is over $11Bn and expected to double over next five years. It is a very early stage investment for us, and the key driver in the decision has been the team […]
Angel Funding Framework – Structure
In my attempts to engage in angel financing, I have seen the typical concerns that potential angel investors have. Many of these have to do with the investment parameters, and figuring out how investors can get their money back (or returns) – especially given the inherent immaturity of these businesses in being able to outline […]
Solution for Angel drought in India?
Sarah has a good roundup of lack of angel investing activity in India. Lets get to the more interesting part – how to solve it? I ran into Vishal Gondal on a flight few weeks back and he had a model that is pretty interesting. And may be there are some other thoughts in the […]
What are you investing in Today?
Media has followed the boom and tone-down in venture capital over past 4 years. As much as last 12 months saw a dip in venture capital, I have a feeling that some of the enthusiasm from journalists declined as well. Only the most dedicated journalists have survived the theme fatigue! And as many of us […]
Book Review – Getting to Plan B
Just finished reading this book by John Mullins and Randy Komisar. It outlines the importance of iterating on the business to evolve the plan continuously – in many cases, the initial plan that entrepreneurs start with doesn’t work as it is.
Israel: Leader in Business Innovation
CNBC has this interesting video on what makes Israel business innovation tick
Will angels dirty their hands?
I was speaking to a successful entrepreneur and angel investor yesterday about the evolving angel investment climate in India. He voiced a concern that seems to strike a chord – that while many successful entrepreneurs in India are involving themselves in angel funding, and even setting up early stage funds, there is a tendency to […]
Entrepreneur Journeys – VW Reviews
Sramana had announced an offer for venturewoods readers to review her first book – Entrepreneur Journeys 1. We have received some of the initial reviews, and I am happy to share those here. People who might have otherwise read the book may please comment here itself.
Special offer for Venturewoods readers for Nasscom Product Conclave
Thanks to Nasscom for offering additional discount of INR 500 on the registrations for the Product Conclave for Venturewoods users. This means, a startup entrepreneur can attend all the sessions, Expo, networking, entertainment for just *Rs 1500.* Please quote my name (Alok Mittal) as reference, and also include your reference in the attached Registration Form; […]
Does your VC suck?
Paul Jazefak has an interesting post on VC bashing. I was at the TiECon last week chairing a panel around fundraising, when the ultimate happened – a VC on the panel started bashing VCs! How much worse can it get 🙂 I think part of the issue here is a lack of understanding of the […]
WSJ: Time required to build software companies
WSJ Venture Capital Dispatch has an interesting article on how long it takes to build large (defined there as time to get to $50M revenue) software companies. The answer: 8-9 years on an average if the sample is top 100 public software companies. Thats pretty long, given that the sample is really the top end. […]
TiECon Delhi – Registrations open
TiECon Delhi is being held on Sep 18th and 19th. The theme this year is “Smart Entrepreneurship in Challenging Times”. The emphasis is on highlighting winning tactics in a market where many businesses have faced uncertainty and slowdown, and external financing has become harder to raise. Registrations are open – you may register here. Looks […]