Startup ecosystem has become the buzzword in today’s time. And for any startup funding is the lifeblood for them. Industry experts, institutes, and ministries are trying their best to help aspiring entrepreneurs by providing them with solutions and researchers. Recently, in a report by Assocham-Hammurabi & Solomon, highlighted that startups need to develop stronger and sustainable business plans to receive private equity/venture capital (PE/VC) funding.
The ASSOCHAM-Hammurabi & Solomon joint report titled ‘M&A landscape in India,’ noted that after registering 26 percent dip in fund raising by PE firms last year i.e. from $5.7 billion in 2015 to $4.2 billion in 2016, the year 2017 could be the one for consolidation, with PE/VC (venture capital) firms chasing a business having a strong biz model with a focus on unit economics and profit.
Noting that PE has been a broad-based source of equity capital, both in terms of sectors covered and individual companies, the study said that PE in India has invested in over 3,100 companies across 12 major sectors like telecommunications and others which are critical to the country’s development.
Highlighting the role of PE investments in India’s economy, the study stated that the sector invested a total of more than $103 billion between 2001 and 2014.
It also said that despite a drop in 2008, capital inflows from PE have been more reliable than those from other sources of equity funding, including foreign institutional investment, IPOs and equity issuances, such as secondary offers and convertible instruments.
PE inflows have remained strong, even though India’s GDP (gross domestic product) growth rates have plunged from 9.6 per cent in fiscal 2007 to 4.7 per cent in fiscal 2014 amid high market volatility.Report further stated that to
Report further stated that to fulfill the expectations, the government provided a boost to startups with a number of favorable announcements in the Union Budget 2017, which also addresses certain other concerns of the PE/VC investor community.
The study also said that Indian PE industry, finds itself in the thick of opportunities to map a new route to re-emergence. “Factors like improving business sentiment, making the strategic benefits of PE familiar among Indian enterprises and a pro-reform government would accelerate re-emergence.”
According to the report, the core area to focus on should be the PE/VC exits to generate returns for Limited partners (Lps) and free-up capital for further investment. “M&A activity and a strong primary market are expected to buoy the exits.”
Not only this, the study further highlighted that a strong alliance between stakeholders within the industry and the country’s economic objectives would be required for PE to deliver its full potential to the country’s economy.
“The key factors for the success of private equity are – suitable growth opportunities for the industry and supportive regulatory framework,” said the ASSOCHAM-Hammurabi & Solomon joint study.
It also noted that regulatory framework governing the broader financial services and securities industry in India has a direct impact on private equity investors.
“With the introduction of safe harbor norms for offshore funds which are to benefit PE and VC industry and General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) from April 1, 2017, which is aimed at improving transparency in tax matters and help curb tax evasion the route to re-emergence looks more realistic now. Considering that external environment provides a unique opportunity similar to the government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign, floating a new campaign on the same lines – ‘Manage Indian investments from India,’ could increase capital investment from domestic and foreign sources. With PE contributing more than 40 percent of equity financing today, a set of cohesive and cogent policies specifically aimed at encouraging the flow of PE should be welcomed,” the report added.
Besides, PE appears to accelerate job growth through its portfolio companies. “Between 2001 and 2016, the number of jobs at companies backed by PE posted a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) on average of almost 9 per cent during the first five years after investment, while the annual growth rate at comparable companies without PE funds was just under three per cent,” concludes report.
The ASSOCHAM-Hammurabi & Solomon joint report titled ‘M&A landscape in India,’ noted that after registering 26 percent dip in fund raising by PE firms last year i.e. from $5.7 billion in 2015 to $4.2 billion in 2016, the year 2017 could be the one for consolidation, with PE/VC (venture capital) firms chasing a business having a strong biz model with a focus on unit economics and profit.
Noting that PE has been a broad-based source of equity capital, both in terms of sectors covered and individual companies, the study said that PE in India has invested in over 3,100 companies across 12 major sectors like telecommunications and others which are critical to the country’s development.
Highlighting the role of PE investments in India’s economy, the study stated that the sector invested a total of more than $103 billion between 2001 and 2014.
It also said that despite a drop in 2008, capital inflows from PE have been more reliable than those from other sources of equity funding, including foreign institutional investment, IPOs and equity issuances, such as secondary offers and convertible instruments.
PE inflows have remained strong, even though India’s GDP (gross domestic product) growth rates have plunged from 9.6 per cent in fiscal 2007 to 4.7 per cent in fiscal 2014 amid high market volatility.Report further stated that to
Report further stated that to fulfill the expectations, the government provided a boost to startups with a number of favorable announcements in the Union Budget 2017, which also addresses certain other concerns of the PE/VC investor community.
The study also said that Indian PE industry, finds itself in the thick of opportunities to map a new route to re-emergence. “Factors like improving business sentiment, making the strategic benefits of PE familiar among Indian enterprises and a pro-reform government would accelerate re-emergence.”
According to the report, the core area to focus on should be the PE/VC exits to generate returns for Limited partners (Lps) and free-up capital for further investment. “M&A activity and a strong primary market are expected to buoy the exits.”
Not only this, the study further highlighted that a strong alliance between stakeholders within the industry and the country’s economic objectives would be required for PE to deliver its full potential to the country’s economy.
“The key factors for the success of private equity are – suitable growth opportunities for the industry and supportive regulatory framework,” said the ASSOCHAM-Hammurabi & Solomon joint study.
It also noted that regulatory framework governing the broader financial services and securities industry in India has a direct impact on private equity investors.
“With the introduction of safe harbor norms for offshore funds which are to benefit PE and VC industry and General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) from April 1, 2017, which is aimed at improving transparency in tax matters and help curb tax evasion the route to re-emergence looks more realistic now. Considering that external environment provides a unique opportunity similar to the government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign, floating a new campaign on the same lines – ‘Manage Indian investments from India,’ could increase capital investment from domestic and foreign sources. With PE contributing more than 40 percent of equity financing today, a set of cohesive and cogent policies specifically aimed at encouraging the flow of PE should be welcomed,” the report added.
Besides, PE appears to accelerate job growth through its portfolio companies. “Between 2001 and 2016, the number of jobs at companies backed by PE posted a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) on average of almost 9 per cent during the first five years after investment, while the annual growth rate at comparable companies without PE funds was just under three per cent,” concludes report.
Acquiring the 25th position, he is the first Indian visible on the list. Associated with Accel partners since the year 2008, Gandhi has been successful in gaining significant muscle in the company since the departure of Jim Breyer. He has spearheaded Accel partners investments in Flipkart ( number one Indian startup currently valued at over $15 billion), drone-maker DJI and Dropbox. A year ago, Accel had invested $75 million in DJI in order to cash in on the great potential that drones hold in the near future. Further, in order to give boost to the flourishing drone related startup market, the firm has also established a $10 million SkyFund with DJI. Passionate about sharing his gift of knowledge that he has gained over the years in the industry, he frequently speaks at the Stanford Graduate School of business.
The second Indian on the list, Promod Haque current holds the senior managing partner position at Norwest Venture Partners. Boosting of a magnificent career graph, Haque has had made investments in more than sixty companies and produced more than $40 billion in exit values. He's also responsible for helping over 20 portfolio companies go public and another 30 get acquired. According to industry experts, Haque's most significant deal till now has been FireEye in the year 2013. A cyber security firm, FireEye had the second-best IPO in the United States. His recent investment list is quite long and includes names such as Health Catalyst, Dtex Systems, CareCloud, Palerra and Shape Security.
Having a special interest in open source software and infrastructure, Deshpande's portfolio companies include Engine Yard, Aria Systems, MuleSoft, Typesafe, Redis Labs, Hazelcast, and Iron.io. His foresight and gut has always paid him well and this is the reason that his early Series A bet of $25 million valuation on Lending Club has been such a huge success. This result is inspite of the turmoil hitting the Wall Street market, which saw it trading at a price which was literally less than even half of its IPO price point, with a market capitalisation of $3 billion. Some of his most recent investments are ScaleArc, Rollbar and frame. Dropcam selling to Google at $555 million and Lending Club going public, raising a whopping $1 billion, have been Deshpande's two of the biggest exits till date and coincidentally they both came in the year 2014.
An IIT-Delhi alumnus, Navin is a typical Indian with cricket and Bollywood in his heart. Currently serving in the capacity of Managing Director at Mayfield fund, Chadda heads the enterprise and consumer division in India, China and the U.S. India's matrimonial site Bharat Matrimony, data platform MapR, mobile fashion marketplace Poshmark customer identity company Gigya are currently the companies from which he has multiple hopes and is currently invested in.
Holding a Master of Science from Case Western Reserve University, Chandna is currently a partner at Greylock Partners. In his 13 long years of association with the VC, his focus has mainly been on enterprise infrastructure, data management and cybersecurity. His most famous exits include Palo Alto Networks IPO in the year 2012 and Arista Networks IPO in the year 2014. According to Chandna, Cybersecurity serves as a great business opportunity as corporate concern over their data storage is increasing almost similar to how the suspense and interest increases while watching a cat and mouse game. On a personal level, he is a fitness enthusiast and can be often seen running and hiking around.
This New York-based investor dons many hats rather than just being an investor. Apart from being the Managing Director at Insight Venture Partners, Parekh is a board member of the Tisch MS Research Center of New York and Chairman Emeritus of Publicolor. He also participates actively in making wine in Argentina with his wife. Some of the biggest names in the tech world including Twitter, Tumblr, JD.com and Alibaba have been backed by Parekh in the past. Most recently, he was involved in making a $150 million investment in Automattic, which is the parent company of blogging website Wordpress. He was also involved in taking Diligent, a New Zealand based software company private.
An MBA from University of Chicago, Jai is currently functioning as a managing director at Sapphire Ventures where he leads and manages the VC's investments in Mulesoft, PayTM, Narrative Science, Nutanix, Cyphort, PubNub, Socrata, Alteryx and Mirantis. Having more than 15 years of industry experience, he helps companies in upping their game by suggesting them means to innovate their product offering and conceive marketing strategies that can help them sit at the top position in the market in their segment. Das's primary focus and interest lies in the areas of software defined infrastructure, smart machines, cloud and mobile computing, IoT and pervasive analytics.
Holding the profile of Managing Director at General Catalyst, he hold five degrees from MIT : Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (BS and MS), Operations Research (MS), Mathematics (BS), Biology & Biomedical Engineering (BS). Taneja firmly believes in working with startups and founders who are building technology companies with an authentic mission in sight. His investments at General Catalyst includes SnapChat, Virtual Instruments, TuneIn, Fractyl, Gridco Systems, Gusto, Highfive, ClassDojo, Livongo and Stripe. He also directs a $10 million GC Stripe Platform Fund, an initiative focused on encouraging new ventures that are built on top of the Stripe Connect platform.
Associated with Battery Ventures from the year 2000, he majorly invests in SaaS and internet companies across all stages. Bazaarvoice, Guidewire Software, Marketo, Omniture, RealPage, and Wayfair are some of the companies that Agrawal has invested in and that have successfully gone on to stage IPOs. An MBA from Harvard Business School, Agrawal's private investments include Yesware, AppDynamics, Tealium, Chef, Cohesity, Coupa, Catchpoint, Pendo, Nutanix, Optimizely, SmarterHQ, Sprinklr, Glassdoor.com and StellaService. He also holds the credit of investing in several Battery portfolio companies that have gone on to experience M&A events, such as VSS Monitoring, Brightree, Internet Brands, Consona and APlaceForMom.
A General Partner at New Enterprise Associatee since the year 2006, his interest lies in energy technology and information technology investments. An M.S. in Operations Research from SUNY, Buffalo, NY, Kittu renders his services on various boards for New Enterprise Associates portfolio companies.
Acquiring the 25th position, he is the first Indian visible on the list. Associated with Accel partners since the year 2008, Gandhi has been successful in gaining significant muscle in the company since the departure of Jim Breyer. He has spearheaded Accel partners investments in Flipkart ( number one Indian startup currently valued at over $15 billion), drone-maker DJI and Dropbox. A year ago, Accel had invested $75 million in DJI in order to cash in on the great potential that drones hold in the near future. Further, in order to give boost to the flourishing drone related startup market, the firm has also established a $10 million SkyFund with DJI. Passionate about sharing his gift of knowledge that he has gained over the years in the industry, he frequently speaks at the Stanford Graduate School of business.
The second Indian on the list, Promod Haque current holds the senior managing partner position at Norwest Venture Partners. Boosting of a magnificent career graph, Haque has had made investments in more than sixty companies and produced more than $40 billion in exit values. He's also responsible for helping over 20 portfolio companies go public and another 30 get acquired. According to industry experts, Haque's most significant deal till now has been FireEye in the year 2013. A cyber security firm, FireEye had the second-best IPO in the United States. His recent investment list is quite long and includes names such as Health Catalyst, Dtex Systems, CareCloud, Palerra and Shape Security.
Having a special interest in open source software and infrastructure, Deshpande's portfolio companies include Engine Yard, Aria Systems, MuleSoft, Typesafe, Redis Labs, Hazelcast, and Iron.io. His foresight and gut has always paid him well and this is the reason that his early Series A bet of $25 million valuation on Lending Club has been such a huge success. This result is inspite of the turmoil hitting the Wall Street market, which saw it trading at a price which was literally less than even half of its IPO price point, with a market capitalisation of $3 billion. Some of his most recent investments are ScaleArc, Rollbar and frame. Dropcam selling to Google at $555 million and Lending Club going public, raising a whopping $1 billion, have been Deshpande's two of the biggest exits till date and coincidentally they both came in the year 2014.
An IIT-Delhi alumnus, Navin is a typical Indian with cricket and Bollywood in his heart. Currently serving in the capacity of Managing Director at Mayfield fund, Chadda heads the enterprise and consumer division in India, China and the U.S. India's matrimonial site Bharat Matrimony, data platform MapR, mobile fashion marketplace Poshmark customer identity company Gigya are currently the companies from which he has multiple hopes and is currently invested in.
Holding a Master of Science from Case Western Reserve University, Chandna is currently a partner at Greylock Partners. In his 13 long years of association with the VC, his focus has mainly been on enterprise infrastructure, data management and cybersecurity. His most famous exits include Palo Alto Networks IPO in the year 2012 and Arista Networks IPO in the year 2014. According to Chandna, Cybersecurity serves as a great business opportunity as corporate concern over their data storage is increasing almost similar to how the suspense and interest increases while watching a cat and mouse game. On a personal level, he is a fitness enthusiast and can be often seen running and hiking around.
This New York-based investor dons many hats rather than just being an investor. Apart from being the Managing Director at Insight Venture Partners, Parekh is a board member of the Tisch MS Research Center of New York and Chairman Emeritus of Publicolor. He also participates actively in making wine in Argentina with his wife. Some of the biggest names in the tech world including Twitter, Tumblr, JD.com and Alibaba have been backed by Parekh in the past. Most recently, he was involved in making a $150 million investment in Automattic, which is the parent company of blogging website Wordpress. He was also involved in taking Diligent, a New Zealand based software company private.
An MBA from University of Chicago, Jai is currently functioning as a managing director at Sapphire Ventures where he leads and manages the VC's investments in Mulesoft, PayTM, Narrative Science, Nutanix, Cyphort, PubNub, Socrata, Alteryx and Mirantis. Having more than 15 years of industry experience, he helps companies in upping their game by suggesting them means to innovate their product offering and conceive marketing strategies that can help them sit at the top position in the market in their segment. Das's primary focus and interest lies in the areas of software defined infrastructure, smart machines, cloud and mobile computing, IoT and pervasive analytics.
Holding the profile of Managing Director at General Catalyst, he hold five degrees from MIT : Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (BS and MS), Operations Research (MS), Mathematics (BS), Biology & Biomedical Engineering (BS). Taneja firmly believes in working with startups and founders who are building technology companies with an authentic mission in sight. His investments at General Catalyst includes SnapChat, Virtual Instruments, TuneIn, Fractyl, Gridco Systems, Gusto, Highfive, ClassDojo, Livongo and Stripe. He also directs a $10 million GC Stripe Platform Fund, an initiative focused on encouraging new ventures that are built on top of the Stripe Connect platform.
Associated with Battery Ventures from the year 2000, he majorly invests in SaaS and internet companies across all stages. Bazaarvoice, Guidewire Software, Marketo, Omniture, RealPage, and Wayfair are some of the companies that Agrawal has invested in and that have successfully gone on to stage IPOs. An MBA from Harvard Business School, Agrawal's private investments include Yesware, AppDynamics, Tealium, Chef, Cohesity, Coupa, Catchpoint, Pendo, Nutanix, Optimizely, SmarterHQ, Sprinklr, Glassdoor.com and StellaService. He also holds the credit of investing in several Battery portfolio companies that have gone on to experience M&A events, such as VSS Monitoring, Brightree, Internet Brands, Consona and APlaceForMom.
A General Partner at New Enterprise Associatee since the year 2006, his interest lies in energy technology and information technology investments. An M.S. in Operations Research from SUNY, Buffalo, NY, Kittu renders his services on various boards for New Enterprise Associates portfolio companies.
IndianWeb2.com is an independent digital media platform for business, entrepreneurship, science, technology, startups, gadgets and climate change news & reviews.
