Sanjay Mehta on investment preferences and startup ideas he won't fund

Sanjay Mehta, a serial entrepreneur-turned-investor, gets nearly 200 startup investment proposals every month. The early-stage investor has backed about 40 startups, either in his personal capacity or through various angel networks.

"Startup investments allow investors to move the needle and make a meaningful contribution to the venture, unlike other asset classes (equities, gold, etc.) where you have to wait and watch how the market reacts," Mehta told Techcircle.in.

Mehta says he will explore investments in early-stage ventures that specialise in big data, marketing automation, productivity enhancement, location services, quick services restaurants and medical devices. He lists marketplaces, e-commerce platforms and home services ventures among the 15 startup segments he would refrain from funding.

Mehta's portfolio includes names such as Zippr Smart Address, AllizHealth, Prettysecrets.com, and Poncho (Box8.in). He is a member of Indian Angel Network, Mumbai Angels, Venture Nursery, B2B1K Ventures and CIO Angel Network. Mehta last invested in Bangalore-based Green Enabled IT Solutions Pvt Ltd, which operates IT reverse logistics startup Blubirch.

As an entrepreneur, his most recent venture was MAIA Intelligence. Last year, its business was recently sold to publicly-listed Datamatics Global Services.