Bangalore: Bangalore-based early-stage venture capital fund August Capital Partners, is targeting a fund of $25 million, with a first close target of between $10 to $12 million from institutional investors and High Net Worth Investors (HNIs) from India, GCC and U.S. August Capital Partners hopes to achieve its first close by March or April 2012 and a subsequent close before the end of 2012.

As an early-stage investor, August Capital Partner is usually the first investor in their portfolio companies, with a typical investment ranging from $500,000 to $2 million, but can go higher or lower depending on the needs of the investment. They focus on empowering their portfolio companies with both tangible and intangible resources to achieve mutual goals. August Capital Partners try to avoid artificially competitive businesses that might have a significant exposure to real estate, government regulation, and subsidy risk. August Capital Partner’s group partners (GPs) have, on their own and individually, invested in Avacorp, an IT products and services company; Etable, a social network-based data analytics platform; and HomeUnion, which provides Real Estate investors with income from Cash Flow Homes.

Sameer Narula, Founder and Managing Partner, August Capital, says, “There has been a lot of change among the LPS towards early-stage funds and they are now looking for India VCs who are nimble, entrepreneurial, and have a clear exit strategy.” Prior to founding August Capital Partners, Narula was the Founder and CEO of Indigo Design & Engineering Associates. He has held management consulting positions at PRTM in India and U.S and at Accenture, UK. He was the manager of strategic planning at MCI WorldCom, Japan and has advised and invested in multiple startups including Pyramid Technologies, Rent-a-Keg, and Etable. Narula has a BS in Electrical Engineering from University of Virginia and an MBA from HEC School of Management.