Techcircle Startup Walkabout Pit Stop I IvyCap Ventures

We began the Mumbai edition of 'Techcircle Startup Summit 2015' on Wednesday with Walkabout, a unique Techcircle.in initiative where we enable entrepreneurs to visit offices of prominent investors and startups.

Entrepreneurs get to hear from founders and venture capitalists on how to build successful businesses. These sessions are generally very interactive as entrepreneurs get into the nitty-gritty of their ventures and seek advice from more established peers.

This time around, Walkabout participants visited offices of Lightbox, Nexus Capital, Matrix Partners, Craftsvilla, IvyCap Ventures and Toppr.com.

Pit Stop I – IvyCap Ventures

Set up in the enchanting backdrop of Powai Lake, IvyCap Ventures' office was the first stop for the walkathon.

About 20 enthusiastic entrepreneurs were escorted to a conference room for an interactive session with Vikram Gupta, founder of the early-to-growth stage venture capital firm.

Gupta laid a lot of emphasis on investing in entrepreneurs and not the idea itself.  "We will not invest in paper plans. We will invest in good entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs must stand by what they put on paper," he said.

Gupta guided the entrepreneurs through various processes that are integral to the entire process of raising funds. "For an institutional investor, exits are really important. Around 50-60 per cent of a term sheet is (structured) around exits," he added.

How should entrepreneurs approach IvyCap Ventures Advisors for seed funding? "First and foremost, you must make me feel that you are the right person. This requires building a track record of trust and someone needs to talk on your behalf," he quipped.

"If you come to us through somebody who I know already, it makes a huge difference," Gupta added.

IvyCap has positions in startups that dabble in agri-tech, cyber security, field force automation, e-commerce platforms and digital ad-tech platforms besides healthcare tech startups. In July, IvyCap participated in a $100 million funding round at online jewellery retailer BlueStone.com.

Before that, it participated in a Series A funding round at private lingerie e-tailer Clovia.

The 90-minute discussion was concluded with a group photograph.