Sriram Natraj

💲💲 If you are a D2C Consumer Brand Startup you should know this VC that invests in pre-revenue stage Startups! 💰 VC Background: Meet Sauce VC a Cat II VC that launched their first fund in 2019 with a modest corpus of INR 60 Cr and since then launched 3 more funds and made 33 investments. Their recent INR 365 cr Fund launched in Aug'24 plans to invest in 20-25 consumer brands. They pick 6-7 selective investments annually out of 3000+ deck they get. However, their Fund I has a success rate of 50% (not a bad idea to invest in the fund if you are a UHNI). Infact their Fund IV was oversubscribed 3 times. 💰Notable Investments: Mokobora, Hocco Ice cream, Supertails, Innovist, The Whole Truth etc 💰Stage at which they invest: They invest even at pre-revenue stage to early traction stages. Ideally this VC invests at pre-seed to Series A. 💰What do they look for: Taking call at pre-revenue stage is really tough, especially in Consumer Brand segment. Hence, they look for founders who have deep experience in the segment either by the family background or by the founder's professional background. However, if the founder is not well-versed with the D2C game, they are cool with it. But the founder should know the segment, scope for new brands and plan to differentiate the brand. 💰Ideal cheque size: $ 1 Mn. But can go up to $ 5 Mn. 💰Investment Style: Sauce VC prefers working along with the founders to ensure the success of the Startup. They lead the rounds at pre-seed and Series A stages. Once the Startup is into Series B, they take a back seat and only participate in the following rounds. 💡 Hope this helps. Share it with some great founder of a consumer brand who is at early stages and needs to know this. If you want a warm-introduction, DM me or let me know in the comments. Bhavesh K Jatania Raunaq JaisinghaniAshish SharmaMohit Kanjwani

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Who would invest in founders who have wasted $50M? Koo, an Indian microblogging platform, recently shut shop after raising $50M in capital. Everyone has their views on why Koo failed. IMO, the biggest reason behind its failure was a lack of PMF (Product Market Fit). Koo spent much money on marketing and didn’t build a product people wanted. It kept harping on nationalism, a Twitter for Indians, made in #India. This approach failed. However, this doesn’t mean Koo’s founders aren’t smart or intelligent. I wrote in an earlier post that we shouldn’t be surprised if Koo’s founders raise fresh capital for a new startup. To many of us, this might seem grossly unfair. Millions of smart, hardworking founders are struggling to raise capital while investors are backing failed founders who have wasted millions of dollars. How is that fair? It confirms the widely held belief that the #venturecapital industry is broken and corrupt where a few people with the right connections get all the capital while others don’t see a dime. It shows that the VC industry is a closed group, a cabal where who you know matters more than anything. While these are just complaints, most people who criticise VCs don’t understand how startup investing works. VCs welcome failures. They embrace them because they know failures are inevitable. When VCs invest in 20 #startups, they know 15 will fail. The goal is to invest in startups that can give them a 100x return. Failures are part of the game. They are unavoidable. The aim is to back founders who can build such 100x return companies. Hence, failures are not looked down upon in the VC industry. It’s similar to the American culture where society appreciates the people who take risks, and it easily accepts personal bankruptcies that result from this risk-taking approach. There’s no taboo in failing in the USA and the VC industry. I’m sure Koo’s founders have learnt from their mistakes. It’s an expensive mistake and not everyone is so lucky to have this luxury to spend $50M on their education. ;) However, most VCs will back Koo’s #founders because these founders know how to raise capital and they know how to not build and scale tech companies. Their past failures have improved their chances of future success. In the VC industry, Failure is Good.

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JioHotstar .com Would Not Be The First Domain To Sell For 6-Figures... . Voice .com: $30 million Fund .com: $9.9 million Hotels .com: $11 million NFTs .com: $15 million When you look at these numbers, a Delhi developer asking Reliance for £93,345 for JioHotstar .com doesn't seem that outrageous, does it? The story that's making waves - A tech-savvy developer secured JioHotstar .com ahead of the potential Jio-Hotstar merger. His ask? His Cambridge MBA tuition. But Reliance's response hints at legal action, bringing up an age-old debate in the digital real estate world. Here's what most people don't know about domain flipping: It's More Common Than You Think - Zomato bought their domain for $10,000 in 2015 - Tesla spent years negotiating for Tesla .com - Mark Cuban sold Cars .com for $872M The Legal Grey Area "Acquiring a domain is like an asset," our Delhi developer argues. "There's nothing illegal in buying something hoping its price will appreciate." He's not wrong. Domain flipping is legal if you: - Don't infringe trademarks - Avoid cybersquatting - Don't impersonate the brand Why Companies Pay Big Money: - Brand Protection - Future-proofing - Market Expansion - Competitor Block The Missed Opportunity Cost - Apple paid $4.5M for iCloud .com. That's because MobileMe .com wasn't cutting it. As the developer wrote in his recent update "Kya pata Reliance ki wajh se meri diwali bhi badiya ho jaye" But here's the plot twist He's already getting offers from lawyers worldwide - from Supreme Court to Cambridge to Berlin - offering pro bono services. Whether Reliance pays up or fights it out, one thing's clear Domain names are the real estate of the digital world. And sometimes, a student's tuition fee might be cheaper than a legal battle.

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Revenue to valuation multiple is useless for private startups. You invest now for future growth expectations in 1-2yrs.

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Finding the right investment analyst in India's growing VC ecosystem is indeed a multi-layered challenge. Sridhar A has perfectly articulated the core issues—and I'd like to add my perspective to this conversation. Bridging Gaps in Skillsets While India’s startup ecosystem thrives with diverse opportunities, finding talent that balances analytical rigor with an innate understanding of startups is rare. It’s not just about identifying the what but understanding the why behind trends and business models. A Practical Approach At 1INME, we’ve always prioritized hiring for potential and adaptability over conventional qualifications. The same approach can work wonders in VC hiring. By creating opportunities for candidates from unconventional backgrounds—engineers, entrepreneurs, or even creators—firms can tap into fresh, innovative thinking. Technology as an Enabler I agree that leveraging AI and analytics tools can amplify human talent. In fact, we’ve seen first-hand how AI-driven insights simplify complex decision-making, whether in digital marketing or user behavior analytics. Imagine the possibilities in the VC space! Universities as Incubators Collaborating with universities can be transformative. Real-world case studies, internship pipelines, and industry mentorship can bridge academia and VC practice seamlessly. My Takeaway: The next wave of VC talent may not come from just traditional finance—they may come from entrepreneurial dreamers, product managers, or even creators who can connect dots others can’t see. Let’s be open to reshaping the narrative of what makes a great investment analyst. What are your thoughts on diversifying talent pools in the VC space? #VentureCapital #InvestmentAnalyst #Innovation #Startups #1INME #OneLink

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VCs don't want you to wait anymore. :) Antler India is coming to Delhi/NCR with its fast track edition on 12th September. Referrals received upto 10th September shall be considered. - Ticket Size -> 1. $500k ($250k initially + $250k rolling) - Funding 20 companies - $10Mn total investment by 2024 end. - Decision on residency within 24hrs of meeting the team, and decision on investment within 2-4 weeks. - The only caveat is that you must be recommended by someone known to any team member of Antler India. Here's the process - 1.  Find someone in Antler Team members' networks or someone who knows them. 2. Ask them to message them, tag them on linkedin, tweet, etc. whatever. Convince them to write a 1-2 good lines. 3. All shortlisted individuals and teams will get a direct slot with Antler India on September 12/13 to meet team Antler India (happening mostly in Gurgaon). We could collate the list of all people in Antler India. I will try tagging a few in comments. Also, would need that referral myself if someone knows them 😂. #AntlerIndia #Startups #Funding #thisisgulshan

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Indian Startups Raised $171 Mn This Week . Here's series wise breakdown of funding Series B Bureau: A B2B Horizontal SaaS startup in Enterprisetech, raised $30 Mn from Sorenson Capital, PayPal Ventures, Commerce Ventures, GMO Venture Partners, Village Global, Quona Capital, and XYZ Ventures. Bizom: A B2B Vertical SaaS startup in Enterprisetech, secured $12 Mn from Pavestone VC and IndiaMART. HostBooks Limited: A B2B Horizontal SaaS startup in Enterprisetech, raised $5 Mn from Orange Orbit LLP. Series A Seekho: A B2C skill development startup in the Edtech sector, raised $8 Mn from Lightspeed and Elevation Capital. Arata: A B2C D2C startup in Ecommerce, secured $4 Mn from Unilever Ventures, BOLD, and Skywalker Family Office. Pre-Series A QuID : A B2B Lending Tech startup in Fintech, raised $4.5 Mn from Piyush Jain and MINTCAP. Confido: A B2B Healthcare SaaS startup in Healthtech, raised $3 Mn from Together Fund, MedMountain Ventures, Rebellion VC, DeVC, and Operators Studio. zunroof: A Solar Tech startup in Cleantech with a B2B-B2C model, secured $2.3 Mn from Godrej family office, ANBG Enterprise LLP, and Ravindernath Chadha. Quanfluence: A B2B Hardware & IoT startup in Deeptech, raised $2 Mn from pi Ventures, Golden Sparrow, and Reena Dayal. Mili: A B2B Fintech SaaS startup in Fintech, raised $2 Mn from Chiratae Ventures, BoldCap, Sparrow Capital, SFMG Wealth Advisors, Gregg Fisher, and Better Capital. MBG Card: A B2B Horizontal SaaS startup in Enterprisetech, secured $320K from Inflection Point Ventures, Velocity Revenue Based Financing, and Klub Revenue Based Financing. Seed Funding Curie Money: A B2C neobank in Fintech, raised $1.2 Mn from India Quotient. Fitsol: A B2B climate tech startup in Cleantech, raised $1 Mn from Transition VC. Pre-Seed Funding KiranaPro: A B2C hyperlocal delivery startup in Consumer Services, raised $188K from Yatish Talvadia, Vikas Taneja, TurboStart, Unpopular Ventures, Blume Founders Fund, and Snow Leopard Ventures. Fibroheal Woundcare Pvt Ltd: A B2C medtech startup in Healthtech, raised $741K. Undisclosed Series ZETWERK: A B2B enterprise services startup in Enterprisetech, raised $70 Mn. Veefin: A B2B Lending Tech startup in Fintech, secured $16 Mn. zingbus: A B2C transport tech startup in Travel Tech, raised $9 Mn from bp Ventures. Kissht: A Lending Tech startup in Fintech with a B2B-B2C model, raised funding from Sachin Tendulkar. Rebel Foods: A B2C hyperlocal delivery startup in Consumer Services, raised funding from KKR.

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The Creator Economy in India has taken off big time with significant cost arbitrage and global expansion opportunities 👇🏻 We have been part of a few fund raise calls with India's fastest growing "creator economy" focused startups over the past few weeks and the cost arbitrage is just insane as startups here expand their platforms globally - A subscription pack of Rs. 29 per month in India is being successfully sold for $5 (Rs. 415) per month globally. That's 14X! Purely on the back of the 1) cost differential 2) successful global growth and 3) Building in India for the world, the Indian creator economy / platforms are the key race horses to bet on for fantastic returns.

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🚀23 startups 💰~$600 Mn total funding 🌱17 early stage deals 🧑‍💻 11 key hiring 🤝 5 M&A 💵 2 ESOP buybacks Top funding ◾ Zepto: $350 Mn ◾Healthkart: $153 Mn Startup weekly round up by Shashank Pathak and Md Salman Ashrafi https://lnkd.in/gS4QrvNP

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Raising for your SAAS? Check this list by Ivelina Dineva

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Learn a Web3 Startup a Day 💡 Fandora : India's First Content IP Tokenisation platform 🙌 Roughly 500,000 content projects are made every year across languages, genres, categories, countries, etc. But even then, and even after years of this industry's development, there are just maybe a few thousand entities that fund them, hence leading to obvious power mismatches and imbalances. Building currently in XDC-0xCamp 6 cohort XinFin Powering XDC Network <> Foundership Satish Kataria Aneri Merchant Ritesh Kakkad Bimlesh Gundurao Pranav Agarwal Pranav Khanna #xdc0xcamp

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From 0 to 40% Repeat Clients (We overcame the Trust Barrier) As the co-founder of  Stockify Fintech Pvt. Ltd., a three-year-old startup, I've faced my fair share of challenges. One of the biggest hurdles we've had to overcome is the trust barrier. You see, we're not a bank like HDFC or ICICI. We're a startup, and that can be intimidating, especially when it comes to financial transactions. Our business model involves transferring money first, followed by stock transfer. Understandably, people have concerns about our AUTHENTICITY. I remember when we first started out, it was tough to convince clients that we were the real deal. We're a company registered in Bangalore, with a GST license, PAN number, and all the necessary government credentials. We're a law-abiding company with big plans and visions for the future. But how do you convince someone to take a chance on you? Well, we didn't knew but never gave up. We  met with a potential prospect and explained our process in detail. We did everything possible to reassure them that their money was safe with us. We gave them assurances, and eventually, they came on board. Today, that client is making money and is extremely happy with our services. In fact, our repeat clients make up 30-40% of our existing business! That's a testament to the trust we've built with our clients. We've worked hard to establish ourselves as a credible and reliable partner, and it's paid off. Our clients trust us, and we're getting stronger every day. Ps: If you're a startup facing similar challenges, don't give up. Focus on building trust with your clients, and the rest will follow. Pps: Are you a startup owner facing similar challenges? #stockify #unlistedshares #preipo

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Indian venture market has exploded. Someone reported that there are 800+ funds/networks/syndicates/ accelerators active in Indian venture market now. Not sure, if that number is correct but if you are an early stage tech founder on your fundraise journey, chances are, you would meet hundreds of people. While majority of the fund houses are doing incredible work and shaping the ecosystem. There are certain kinds of investors you need to identify & avoid to save time and stay focused: Sharing from my personal experience, top 5 such cohorts to avoid and the takeaways for the founders: 1. Data collectors: At early stage, you don't have historical data to present. Your projections are just that, Projections. I wasted one whole week discussing with a prospective angel investor on why the CLTV to CAC ratio is x, and not y. Takeaway: Discuss high level strategic numbers only without going into the details. None of the projections would be accurate anyway when rubber hits the road. 2. Document collectors: Met few folks, who would watch from the fences and ask for n number of documents, data rooms, statements without sharing the purpose of the ask or even revealing their investment intent. Takeaway: It is supposed to be a bi-directional conversation. Say 'no' often, till the time, an official relationship is established. 3. Valuer (! investor): At early stage, valuation is a function of multiple parameters, the opportunity itself, the team, or anything else except steady cash flows, because you don't have much. I wasted another week with a prospective investor trying to justify valuation, had to shut down that conversation, after both of us started quoting Aswath Damodaran and his valuation principles. Takeaway: Too much content on the internet for both parties anyway. Shouldn't be a bone of contention at early stages. 4. Facilitators posing as investors: Met numerous people, who would go to any lengths to pose themselves as serious investors, even buying paid media articles. Only to reveal at the last: The success fee. Takeaway: Avoid facilitators until Series A 5. Brokers posing as market makers: People posing as market makers sharing tons of gyaan on LinkedIn but are actually deal brokers looking to make quick %. Personal experience: Two rounds of conversation happened and then out of blue, they added a third party in the mail trail, someone who facilitates mergers & acquisitions. There wasn't even a single instance in the past conversations where we indicated any such intent. Takeaway: Avoid name & shame in public but at least share within founder communities. #venture #fundraise #startups #investing

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Zepto’s $350 Mn funding round sparked a surge in the Indian startup ecosystem, with $579.5 Mn raised in just one week—a 212% jump. The funding wave is here. Is your business ready to ride it? Vpinnacle Loans helps startups and MSMEs secure: - Loans for growth - Equity and debt funding for flexibility - Venture capital and angel investors for scaling Don’t just watch the headlines—make them. Let’s unlock your funding potential. Grow with Vpinnacle Loans.

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The final few weeks of June provided some important insights from the Indian Startup Ecosystem. The overall investment increased to $906.7 million. After a period of correction, this is a positive indication. Growth-stage transactions were the most common, with Zepto's massive $665 million round dominating the field. This demonstrates investor trust in well-established companies. The most investment agreements were made in fintech businesses (12), which is indicative of the continued growth in this important industry. Growth was the main focus, although early-stage acquisitions (22) showed that investors were still interested in new businesses. In this category, health tech, e-commerce, and AI are distinguished. The data for this week highlights how investors are becoming more picky, choosing well-established companies with robust growth prospects (such as Zepto) and keeping a watch on early-stage startups with promise (such as AI startup OrbitShift). Prospective agreements (such as the funding for Dashtoon and the mega-round for Whatfix) point to sustained momentum. What are your thoughts? Image source: entrackr

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To VC or not I came across two separate notes yesterday. One where Zomato and PolicyBazaar (InfoEdge is the common and largest investor) topped the charts on the market cap of all the 20-30 tech IPOs in the last few years. And the second about 65% IRR growth of Rohit and Kunal's investment. It got me thinking of operating entrepreneurs are yielding impressive returns compared to regular VC's Most first time founders get lured into raising VC funding as they get instant recognition from their social circle. But they suffer unimaginably. 1. The day they raise VC funding they cease to be an entrepreneur but a glorified CEO/senior exec working over time and severely under compensated. 2. Most VC's don't like founders to take enough salary (barely to make ends meet) and they don't like them to sell shares till they get an exit. I meet so many first time founders who are proud of this act of sacrifice hoping for a glorious victory at the end of it all. Their first time romance of entrepreneurship and gullibility gets exploited by VC's who misguide them at times to go without salaries/comp leaving them torn between family care and business priorities. 3. VC's like to invest in high growth, strong businesses with low risk(ideally, showing signs of profitability already) but as soon as they invest, they want the company to grow 100X continuously citing examples from the silicon valley of that one company which did amazing. They only care about the "power law" which is even 2-3 of their 10 investments work, they make enough but in that process the poor first time founder gives the best years of his life to the startup in vain as unwinding from this mindless experimentation and growth is nearly impossible 4. VC's celebrate Job's brashness or Travis's aggression and calls you a weak or a soft founder if you grow and manage business sensibly without undue aggression. They steadily try to influence your character and personality through stories of inspiration of "aggressors" but the moment you get there, ditch you for your insolence. 5. VC's don't bring any operating experience but have high conviction coming from their gut experience and reading a book or two on silicon valley startups. The reality of India dawns on to them after 10-20 years of investing and by that time, several founders have wasted their most productive years getting misguided by the intuition and gut feelings of the inexperienced VC's What's the solution - 1. There are some ideas that need VC capital and some don't - anything that required deep tech, strong network effects (mobility), research need VC capital. 2. Good businesses (so already existing business models getting improved by tech/AI etc) should not need too much VC capital. They should treat VC capital as an expensive debt and don't get influenced by VC's too much (discipline is key here). Example - D2C, or SAAS, or Edtech or Traveltech or such.

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Every founder journey is different. You’ve to find yours. Foxtale, a D2C skin care startup, raised its $15M series B round within 3 years of starting out. Their FY24 revenue was ₹172 Cr. The Pant Project, a D2C fashion startup, raised its first round of $4.2M after 4 years of starting out. Their FY24 revenue was ₹31 Cr. Two smart #founders operating in crowded categories with vastly different approaches. One is chasing quick growth, other early profitability. There is no one right way to do business. You must have fun and continue doing what you enjoy. #startups #India

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OYO's $65M raise isn't just about money. It's a masterclass in strategic positioning: 1. Founder-led investment = Unshakeable confidence 2. 59.2% valuation boost = Market validation 3. Tech-driven expansion = Scalable growth 4. IPO prep = Long-term vision The lesson? Smart funding fuels smarter growth. But remember: It's not just about raising capital. It's about deploying it strategically. How are you funding your business growth? ↳ Share your approach below! PS: Want more insights on tech-driven growth? Follow for daily tips! OYO

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