Apoorv Ranjan Sharma
A doyenne in the field of early stage investment and start-up incubation, Dr. Apoorv Ranjan Sharma is the Co-Founder of Venture Catalysts, India’s first Seed Investment & Innovation platform. In his role, he is responsible for driving the strategic planning and overseeing the overall functioning of the organisation.
If you know people in the right places, then you’re already ahead of a lot of people. If you don’t, then leveraging your existing network and hunting for opportunities ceaselessly to make connections with influential people is a part of your job description.
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Deals RoundUp: Carro, Matrubharti, Viridian Capital, Alibaba, Sminq, Oneway.cab, Bonhomia, DCB Bank, Microsoft. Tata Cliq, VMware, Arkin, GoBolt, Mcube8, Nokia, Thinkphi, Google and Zone startup India
After working hard for months developing your product or service, you are finally done. You’ve mapped out your business model and are all set to take your business venture to newer heights — but how do you raise enough capital to get started?
Angels and early-stage investors are an attractive option for entrepreneurs and start-ups unable to secure funding from banks or financial institutions, but not every start-up is lucky enough to get funded by one. It is not enough to have just an idea or a product that you want to sell. A business venture must consider a whole range of factors that angels look at before they write you a check. All businesses are unique and face their own challenges from the very beginning, but if you tick all these checkpoints before going for your investor meeting, you will give your chances of securing an investment a big boost:
• Team
The most important factor that swings the investor vote in your favor is the team. A good team is the foundation of a potentially successful start-up and must include people who are not only good at ideation, but also know how to execute their ideas in a manner that fits the market requirements. It is rare for start-ups to have the perfect product that fits the market right away, and they will most likely need to pivot depending on what customers need, the competition in the market, and the transformation…