Srijan Capital to incubate 6-10 ideas, invest in four startups in pre-Series A round

Srijan Capital, an India-focused tech startup incubator-cum-seed fund, is looking to incubate 6-10 ideas and invest in four companies by 2015, according to its founder Ravi Trivedi.

Founded in July 2011, the Bangalore-based early stage investment firm has so far invested in three companies, including mobile app provider Aurality and ConsumerDaddy, a consumer complaints registration platform besides a startup in the event ticketing space. It is currently incubating online coupons and discounts startup CouponRani.

"We are part incubator, part angel, part seed fund," said Trivedi. "We have just started and are looking to incubate 2-3 ideas a year and would focus more on incubation than angel funding. The goal is to build ideas from scratch and build something big one day."

Srijan is focusing primarily on startups operating in the e-commerce, SaaS, mobile, social media and consumer internet. "We started incubation only in July this year. We typically incubate and invest in companies that focus on B2B or Business2Small Business segments."

The average ticket size is Rs 200,000 to Rs 15 lakh though at the top end, it can stretch to as much as Rs 50 lakh. It is currently focusing on startups based in Bangalore.

"We incubate startups in which we can take an active role till the firm reaches product-market fit and has a defined business and revenue model. We typically invest in pre-Series A rounds," said Trivedi.

He added, "I use my personal capital - cash from the business and consulting activities from VC funds and mid-sized internet startups – to invest in startups."

An MBA holder from Duke University, Trivedi has several years of experience in investments, digital marketing, product development and software engineering. He currently works as a principal at Southeast Interactive Technology Funds, an early stage technology VC Fund in North Carolina in the US. Prior to this, he worked as equity analyst with Bank of America.

(Edited by Prem Udayabhanu)