Get All Access for $5/mo

A Nest Where Budding Entrepreneurs Are Nurtured YourNest Venture Capital believes in giving flight to founders' dreams

By S Shanthi

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Company Handout

Sunil K. Goyal, Girish Shivani and Sanjay Pande gave up their steady paycheques to do something where they could help create jobs for one set of people and also help another set invest and earn much more. That is why they launched YourNest Venture Capital in 2012. All of them came with unique skillsets and experiences that complemented each other, and they created the concept of a nest where fledgling entrepreneurs are nurtured, ideas are hatched and the spirit of enterprise continues to thrive.

The firm's logo also connotes the idea of giving flight to founders' dreams. "While the three of us came from diverse corporate careers, we have two things in common: we learn fast, and we course-correct without wavering from our long-term commitment. I now realize that we are the original "Challengineers', a badge we give to the remarkable founders in whom we invest our unique "nurture capital'," said Sunil K. Goyal, managing director, YourNest Venture Capital.

And so, they overcame anger, anxiety and apprehension and moved their investment thesis away from B2C to B2B startups in the deeptech domain who were solving real-world problems that had global potential. "Because we were among the first to do so, we also earned the trust of government-backed institutions such as SIDBI and accolades from Prequin and CRISIL," he added.

One of the firm's early investments was Uniphore where they were involved at multiple levels. It took them six years but, at the height of last year's pandemic, they finally rewarded their investors with a 6.6x return from this maiden exit. They also exited another company, SmartQ, last year. "When we launched our second fund in 2017, we had 40 per cent commitment from existing Fund 1 investors – without them having a single rupee returned because we had had zero exits. This is how we have built trust across all our funds. Faith is a remarkable fuel and that is what has powered our engine," said Goyal.

The firm has launched its $75 mn third fund, focused on innovative, technology-led products: a significant portion of the investment commitment has been fulfilled and the team has already started deploying funds from here.

S Shanthi

Former Senior Assistant Editor

Shanthi specializes in writing sector-specific trends, interviews and startup profiles. She has worked as a feature writer for over a decade in several print and digital media companies. 

 

Side Hustle

'Hustling Every Day': These Friends Started a Side Hustle With $2,500 Each — It 'Snowballed' to Over $500,000 and Became a Multimillion-Dollar Brand

Paris Emily Nicholson and Saskia Teje Jenkins had a 2020 brainstorm session that led to a lucrative business.

News and Trends

Blinkit Enters 10-Minute Food Delivery with Bistro App Launch

Bistro will cater to customers seeking quick access to snacks and ready-to-eat items like sandwiches, samosas, and coffee.

News and Trends

YouTuber Bhuvan Bam Joins Sexual Wellness Brand Peppy as Co-Founder and Investor

Peppy products are available on major e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Meesho, Flipkart, Tata 1mg, and Hyugalife.

News and Trends

Recur Club Announces Credit Offerings for Startups Beyond Series A and SMEs

In FY 24–25, the platform also plans to deploy an additional INR 2000 crores through its Recur Swift program for startups.

Growth Strategies

Tata Motors: 45% Of EV Sales Come From Smaller Towns; Targets Installing Community Chargers

Category acceptance from smaller towns is the key to growth and we have achieved it, Vivek Srivatsa, chief commercial officer, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.