LetsVenture launches platform to initiate startup investment


LetsVenture launches platform to initiate startup investment

The 2013 established Deals syndication platform LetsVenture has launched a new product, LetsVenture Plus, which will allow ultra-high net-worth individuals (UHNIs) and family offices to invest in growth stage startups, as well as come in as Limited Partners in global funds. The invite-only platform, which is currently in stealth mode but is expected to be formally announced later this week, already has about 500 users. It has launched multiple deals, including an exclusive allocation in a global venture capital fund, among others. LetsVenture has, however, not disclosed the name of the fund.

The platform is backed by Accel Partners, Chiratae Ventures, Ratan Tata and Nandan Nilekani, among others and has brought on board Nimesh Kampani, who was formerly with Kotak Mahindra Bank, to head the new product. The platform aims to bring curated and exclusive opportunities to HNIs and family offices at ticket sizes that suit them and provide them access to an asset class that continues to remain inaccessible, according to Shanti Mohan, chief executive of LetsVenture.

"Family offices and UHNIs typically get access to growth-stage companies, or unicorns, by being an LP in a fund. We want try and break that information and price arbitrage in the marketplace, and bring in greater transparency across the board," Mohan said.

This is the second product launched by LetsVenture in 2020. In January, it had launched MyStartupEquity, its employee stock options and cap table management product, and which was also the first such concerted effort in the country's ecosystem to digitise, manage and liquidate startup employee stock grants.

The successive launches are part of LetsVenture's overarching strategy of being an all-round private capital markets partner for the entire ecosystem.