IAN incubating 5-7 companies a month, backed 18 startups in 2013

Indian Angel Network (IAN), a national network of angel investors that invests in startups and early-stage ventures, finished 2013 with 18 investments, averaging one deal every three weeks. In 2011, IAN had invested over $8 million in 11 startups and last year this amount increased to $11 million spread across 17 companies. The firm did not disclose the total amount invested in 2013.

The sectors that IAN invested in included manufacturing, e-commerce, semiconductor, medical devices, social media, education, clean tech and mobile/telecom.

"IAN's investee companies have given IAN investors returns ranging from 3 to 22 times the invested capital, and in some cases the investors are still holding equity. The investee companies attracted next round VC money – in an environment where the ecosystem resounded with 'hard to raise to Series A' sentiment," read an official statement from the firm.

IAN comprises over 250 angel investors - across 10 countries - and has a portfolio of more than 100 companies. Its incubator is also on a growth path with a portfolio of 50 firms and over 30 IAN mentors.

According to the network, it is incubating five-seven companies on a monthly basis. IAN also launched IAN Impact in July this year, comprising around 50 IAN members with a focus on social enterprises addressing the problems of people living at the bottom of the pyramid.

IAN's investments in 2013

While a number of investments by IAN remain undisclosed, here is a quick look at the ones that it did disclose during the course of the year.

Earlier this month, IAN Impact, a sub-group of IAN, and Unitus Seed Fund had invested an undisclosed amount in GoCoop Solutions and Services Pvt Ltd. The company owns and operates GoCoop.com, a social marketplace for co-operatives and community-based enterprises to list and sell their products online.

Last month, High Street Essentials Pvt Ltd, the company that owns and operates FabAlley.com, an online fashion brand exclusively for women, had raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from IAN. The funding was led by IAN members Tushar Singh and Mohit Goyal, and as part of the investment, Singh joined the board of the startup.

Bangalore-based Mukunda Foods Pvt Ltd received its angel round of funding from IAN. The investment was led by IAN members Hari Balasubramaniam and P Gopinath who had also mentored the company post incubation.

IAN also invested an undisclosed amount in AM Edumedia Pvt Ltd, which runs IndiaCollegeSearch.com, an online search engine for Indian colleges and universities. The investment was led by IAN members Anupam Mittal, Vikram Upadhyaya and Varun Khurana and as part of the investment, Upadhyaya and Khurana joined the board of the startup.

It had earlier invested in Delhi-based Gram Vaani, a social tech company which provides a social platform that features voice and video-based local media offerings. The company had received a total of $500,000 in its first equity investment round from IAN and a few other investors.

SnapLion Global Ltd, the company that owns and operates SnapLion.com, an online platform to create sleek, interactive mobile apps for anyone wishing to engage their fans in real time, received an undisclosed round of funding from India Internet Group, Blume Ventures and Rehan Yar Khan-led Orios Venture Partners. Silicon Valley-based investors including Vuclip CEO Nickhil Jakatdar and Piyush Shah, apart from IAN members Rajan Anandan, Sandeep Soni and Gaurav Sharma, also participated in the round.

Prior to that, it invested an undisclosed amount in online education company Rank Junction Pvt Ltd which runs RankJunction.com, a ranking platform for competitive exams.

Early this year, it had invested an undisclosed amount in Seattle-based Mobilewalla, a search portal for mobile apps, with IAN members Rajan Anandan, Venkat Raju and Sharad Sharma leading the investment round. As part of the investment, Raju joined the Mobilewalla board.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)