Techcircle Startup Walkabout Pit Stop IV Nexus Venture Partners

The Worli office of Nexus Venture Partners was the fourth pit stop under the TC Walkabout, a unique initiative that was part of the Mumbai edition of Techcircle Startup Summit 2015 where participants got an opportunity to visit the offices of prominent investors, startups and companies.

At Nexus, participants were greeted by co-founder Sandeep Singhal. He started the session with a light chat and kept the next hour informal and interactive.

As soon as the session started, participants began shooting questions at Singhal. He patiently replied to queries that ranged from taking a startup to the next level to creating a niche in the competitive market.

Singhal cleared entrepreneurs' doubts on various aspects regarding sales, marketing, debt issues, and building the right team. Entrepreneurs, he said, must get the right team on board even if it meant giving them a stake in the venture.

He advised budding entrepreneurs to focus on building a product that could disrupt the existing market. Entrepreneurs must also find out which market is relevant for their products or services, he said.

Sharing one of his investment mantras, he said a good VC should not think about the exit strategy right at the time of investment.

He also assured participants, most of whom were entrepreneurs, about India's potential as an investment destination. "Global investors are taking interest in India and early-stage deals have caught everybody's attention," he said.

Adding a note of caution for entrepreneurs looking to raise funds, he said one should do complete homework on a fund and its portfolio before approaching it for funding.

Nexus invests in early-stage companies in sectors such as enterprise technology, consumer and business services. Since the firm started in 2006, it has backed more than 60 companies including Snapdeal, OLX, ShopClues, Delhivery and Netmagic.

Earlier this month, Nexus said it had raised $450 million (about Rs 3,000 crore) for its fourth fund that took the firm's total capital under management to $1 billion.