Look for Like-Minded Investors, Expert Tells Startups

KOZHIKODE:
“While choosing your angel investors, look for like-minded investors, who understand you and your ideas.”
This was the suggestion from Sunitha Ramaswamy, Director of LetsVenture, for the young startup aspirants attending the ongoing conclave of the Kerala StartUp Mission (KUSM) here.
“This is a long-term game. If they do not believe in your vision, there will be a tug-of-war. At least both parties should believe in the similar end goals. But it need not become an issue as you can always find ways and terms of managing your investors by getting power of attorney, which can help you reduce all your logistic nightmares and so on,” said Sunitha Ramaswamy.
She was speaking on “Fundamentals of Angel Investment” at the third edition of ‘Seeding Kerala’ programme organised as part of the four-day meet which began on February 5 at UL CyberPark, Kozhikode.
“How big your company can become and how fast your company can scale are vital points. Scalability factor is important. In non-tech companies, scalability does take time compared to tech companies,” she said, adding, “So look at the right kind of investors, who look at this space so that your pitch becomes perfect that.”
Sunitha opined that startups can look for domain experts, tacticians, smart business people, connectors and product people for better results. According to her, a large pool of angel investors have been investing in tech product or tech-enabled companies. But in the last couple of years, a new trend has emerged where people are open to looking at non-tech companies.
She noted that angel investors would be looking for passion in the team and whether the startup team has the capability to execute the project. The conclave is aimed at promoting and supporting entrepreneurial aspirations of the youth.
A panel discussion on “The entry and exit strategies in startup investments” was also part of the second day of the event. This segment was attended by Sarita Raichura, Regional Head, IAN; Arun Raghavan, Partner, Arali Ventures; Abhijit, Co-Founder, ah Ventures; Sukriti Saroj, Regional Head, Lead Angels; and Nidhi Saraf, Founder, CEO, Key Venture. Rajesh Nair, TiE, President was the moderator.
Angel investors, VC Funds sponsors and High Networth Individuals (HNI) spoke at various sessions at the event.