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Everybody, at some point in life, needs a guardian angel to lend a helping hand and steer them through the pitfalls. Startups also need a guardian angel, especially in their early stages, to get off the ground.

For young entrepreneurs who are still too small to be noticed by VCs and have run through most of their own money trying to take off, having an angel investor betting on their idea is a blessing. Although India is the third most prolific startup ecosystem in the world, barely 1% of the startups that set up shop here get any kind of funding in the early stages, apart from their own sources or family and friends.

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Gone are the days of the highly valued and well-funded unicorn startups that leapt high but fell later. Having burnt their fingers with unicorns, investors are now shying away from them and turning their attention to cockroach startups that are slowly, but steadily focussed on building a robust business that can stand the test of time.

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Launching a startup requires a lot more preparation beyond the germination of a great idea, organising some funds to get started and naming the business. It requires management skills, leadership qualities, understanding of the market and forward planning to ensure a long innings for the venture. More importantly sufficient time should be spent in sorting out some key universal fundamentals thoroughly through manageable steps, to take on a whole new industry and its specific demands. New entrepreneurs should not overlook these important preparatory steps in the excitement of launching a new business as, running a startup is a huge lifelong commitment.

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Pimco Japan’s former managing director Makoto Takano has committed to invest Rs 30 crore in the Indian startup ecosystem through Gurgaon-based Green House Ventures (GHV) Accelerator. GHV , founded by Vikram Upadhyaya in 2014, funds and mentors startups between the incubation and venture capital stages, and provides them resources as well as funding between $100,000 and $300,000.Takano, who had held senior roles also at Goldman Sachs and Daiwa Securities earlier, brings with him expertise in fundraising and ecosystem building from his stint in the investment management firm.

Continue reading “Pimco Japan’s Makoto Takano to invest Rs 30 crore in Indian startups (ET)” »

Entrepreneurs can take solace from the resilience of a man who changed our lives, Thomas Edison, who saw more failures than success in his iconic journey of discovery. Here’s how he aptly summed up his struggle, “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Continue reading “Why Every Entrepreneur Must Have a Plan B in Place! (Trak.in)” »

Criticism may be a difficult pill to swallow for entrepreneurs, whose absolute conviction in their vision is what keeps them going against all odds.

The typical qualities of entrepreneurs like passion, determination, and to an extent, stubbornness, can make it difficult for well meaning criticism to be accepted and absorbed by them.

After all it is a lonely path that a founder chooses outside the regular comfort zones of financial security and familiar businesses to launch a startup.

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A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on World Investment that was released in 2016, stated that India was number 10 in the list of the top 10 countries which had attracted the highest FDI inflows globally in the year before (2015). In 2016, as well, India received $21 Bn FDI investments from April-September, a rise of 30% Y-o-Y.

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Apart from long-term planning, establish regular milestones for your business, so you can gauge success and establish short-term goals toward achieving the bigger targets

Tony Robbins, an American businessman, author, and philanthropist once very aptly said, “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” It is these well-defined goals or milestones that help turn dreams into a reality. Be it a fitness goal, a new career move, or bigger financial aspirations, if followed through, they keep us on track to achieve what would otherwise have only seemed a distant dream.

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Adurcup enables restaurants to procure essentials such as food packaging materials, breads, house keeping materials, and pest control materials

Adurcup, an online managed marketplace for procurements needs of restaurants in India, has secured approximately US$325,000 in pre-Series A round of funding from undisclosed corporate investors and family offices, with participation from existing investors.

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As a round off to last year’s festive season, the Indian startup industry has been witness to a lot of traded barbs between Flipkart and Amazon India, who are in a race to gain the top slot in ecommerce. It is indicative of the competitive environment within which Indian startups have to make a mark.

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