Key Takeaways from VC Panel at GMIC Bangalore –Part 1 Here's what VCs think of markdowns, unicorns, policies and Donald Trump

By Sneha Banerjee

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GMIC Bangalore

VCs investing in India today should not only be concerned about the quality of entrepreneurs and their money bags, but also keep a check on the repercussions of global markets on their portfolios back home.

One of the key VC panels at the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Bangalore was chaired by marquee investors from Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners Kae Capital, Norwest Venture Partners and Lightspeed India Ventures. The session was moderated by Barret Parkman, Founder of G-Startup Worldwide.

  • Here are some key takeaway points from the panel –
  • The Drop in funding/investments has been due to a fall in short term 'tourist money' (funds from outside India) , Shekhar Kirani, Accel
  • Doanld Trump is anti-immigration therefore we will see a lot of Indian talent stay back in the country, Mohan Kumar, Norwest
  • The long-term prospect in India looks very good, Shailesh Lakhani, Sequoia
  • India is a very open market; Mohan Kumar, Norwest
  • Bubbles aren't really a bad thing for an ecosystem; Shailesh Lakhani, Sequoia
  • Last year a lot of investments were done at higher valuations and pre-product market fit; Dev Khare, Lightspeed
  • It's a great time to be an investor as well as an entrepreneur in India; Shubhankar Bhattacharya, Kae Capital
  • India has a very fragmented market; Shekhar Kirani, Accel
  • The press is always about the unicorns and who raised a large round of money; Mohan Kumar, Norwest

G-Startup Worldwide conference - GMIC Bangalore saw 15 choicest startups pitch this week. Amongst them, StockViews was declared as the winner on Wednesday.

Sneha Banerjee

Entrepreneur Staff

Former Staff, Entrepreneur India

She used to write for Entrepreneur India from Bangalore and other cities in South India. 

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