Raising Pre-series A Funds is More Than Just Art Say These 4 New Winners on the Block From seed funding to angel investors to big shots venture capitalists, every business entity goes through the cycle of raising investment funds whether it's a startup or an SME.
By Komal Nathani •
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The startup ecosystem functions with the wheel of an investment cycle that helps, supports and fuels the growth of company with funds. From seed funding to angel investors to big shots venture capitalists, every business entity goes through the cycle of raising investment funds, whether it's a startup or an SME. In an atmosphere of enormously increasing number startups in India, the rate of falling down startups are unfortunately greater than the sustainable ones.
These #4 entrepreneurs share tips to raise Pre-series A funding, and tell how to look for sustainable model of business growth, simultaneously .
"Always be ready with pitch presentations to impress investors", TripShelf
– Holiday Packages Marketplace
To follow the passion for travelling, Dhruv left his lucrative job in Google and envisioned a business model to transform the passion into living. This startup is organizing and easing the unorganized market of travel agencies in India by giving them a platform to compare packages and pick the best one based on the needs and requirements.
An online travel marketplace for holiday bookings, Tripshelf raised INR 1.6 crores in a Pre-Series A round from GEMS Advisory and early stage VC fund Quarizon within seven months of its incorporation.
How did they raise fund?
- First thing's you must be a company that would have its multinational presence to cruchbase, angel list.
- One should always be ready with pitch presentation to raise investment. You can raise funding in 7-9 months, that depends on the founders vision. There is no bar of restriction in that.
- One should start getting admitted oneself to the number of competitions across the country, that's how you get in notice of VCs and thus get a lot of exposure.
says, Dhruv Raj Gupta, founder and CEO, TripShelf.
"A sustainable business growth model was always my first vision", Revv
– Self Driving Car Rental Providers
With the new concept in market, this startup raised its seed fund from the partners and directors from Mckinsey, with whom Karan (founder, Revv) worked with a decade.
"When we were planning to start off with this concept in market, those people were more willing to invest in it and stand behind of it."
"A sustainable business model is what needed in market. There are a lot of companies which have raised major amounts of investment and yet they have failed. Therefore, there should be at first a sustainable business model that would land you on a profitable platform." says Karan Jain, founder of Revv.
"Reach out investors on the basis of geography, interests and proximity", Innoplexus
– An Automated Data Services Application
This German and India based company, had no fear of losing anything when they started off!
Gaurav and Gunjan, an alumni of IIT Mumbai, started operations with no round of seed fund in 2011. While working together in a project under previous company BCG in Germany, the two of them identified a dire need to run an automated data and analytics, and they gave it worth a shot. Recently, Innoplexus raised its Pre-series A fund from HCS, a German based venture capital fund with an undisclosed amount.
Innoplexus, is a platform that has unique Data as a Service (DaaS) engine with real-time data and insights along with an ecosystem of Continuous Analytics as a Service (CAaaS) applications help enterprises make better data-driven decisions.
"I believe we have been one of the kind of startup that has never been into losses, and rather started earning profit from Day 1."
"You can't make entire bed at one go. There are stages to it." says, Dr. Gunjan Bhardwaj, the co-founder and CEO of Innoplexus.
How did they raise funds?
Three steps to raise Pre-series A funding are:
- Plan investors that would have interest in your field, it could be anything traveling, technology, clothing etc.
- Shortlist investors from a pool of investors very carefully, who suggests possibility of funding you.
- Reach out to the selected ones on the basis of the geography, taste and vision.
"In India, we have a different VC landscape, people are more clinched on commercial" says Dr. Gunjan, co-founder and CEO, while sharing his experiences of rasing funds.
"Funding is the bridge round that supports companies", Netree E-services
– A Cloud Computing Retailer Platform
The first of its kind, Indian retailer engagement platform, Netree rose funding in the pre-series A round led by The Chennai Angels and LetsVenture with an undisclosed amount.
"We started our operation with 3 employees on-board in 2012, and now the team of "Netree' has 40 employees in Delhi office." says Valli to Entrepreneur.
"When we decided to expand to the next level, we started to look for funds. Before looking for Series A, we decided to have a bridge round that not only support us financially but also gives a Validation out of an investor community." says Desi S Valli, Founder and CEO.
