The Smart Techie was renamed Siliconindia India Edition starting Feb 2012 to continue the nearly two decade track record of excellence of our US edition.
September - 2009 - issue > VC talk
think Like a VC
Mohanjit Jolly
The spectrum of investors includes angels and seed investors, venture capitalists (typically early and mid stage investors), and growth or late stage private equity firms. Each of these groups has its appetite (investment amount), experience, process, stage, and sector focus. Entrepreneurs should do some research on which of these would be the right category and the right partner within that category for their venture.
2. Get an intro:
In India, bankers are the norm and a completely acceptable intermediary. Having said that, it’s often not appropriate for truly early stage ventures to be working with a banker. The ideal mechanism for getting to a VC is through networking. Get to them directly at an event or via an introduction from an advisor, a friend, a colleague, or a service provider (like a lawyer, consultant, or accountant). Honestly, I tend to pay more attention to the introduction made by a trusted friend or colleague than something that comes in cold.
3. Stand out:
Remember that a VC might get several plans every day. The key really is to be different, but in an outstanding way. Use the first two sentences of the initial paragraph, whether in an email or executive summary, to get the VC’s mindshare. If I am not engaged or hooked in the first two or three sentences, you have lost my attention.
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