Dear Investor, A few weeks ago, I was among professionals from diverse backgrounds and, after the initial introductions, someone asked me what it felt like to manage a VC firm and work with young entrepreneurs across the country. That set me thinking, and I realised that, along with my partners, we operate like coaches who
Dear Investor, The hallmark of the world’s finest musicians or triumphant athletes (or, for that matter, any high performer) is their ability to perfect their timing. You may well ask: what does music or sports have to do with our business? Or, for that matter, timing? The fact is that success is all about practising,
Dear Investor, The experiment with a glass of water to distinguish between optimists and pessimists is very well known. But what if someone sees it as neither half-empty, nor half-full? What if I look at the same glass and assure you that, whether your view is based on hope or doubt, the glass still has
Dear Investor, Even as I write this letter, a winter fog shrouds India’s capital in its icy grip. And yet there is a warm glow within every one of us at YourNest. We stand at the threshold of a new year, looking back at one of the most exciting periods since we established the company
Dear Investor, While it is common knowledge that we VCs spend a large proportion of our time with startup founders, we also spend hours meeting a number of interns and career-seekers who are keen to join us fresh out of university. And invariably, I discuss what we do and what motivates them to consider venture
Dear Investor, I am writing this at a time when the world is sending mixed signals in almost every sphere: global uncertainties continue to make financial markets volatile, and geo-political shifts are adding to indecisions. Amidst all this, our economy is an exemplary beacon of hope with steady growth and inherent stability. Despite this, the
Dear Investor, The more things change, the more they remain the same… while it may sound repetitive, the underlying principle holds immense value today. In a world where volatility is a constant, and plans are disrupted by geo-political and economic events, there are some things that are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. Two
Dear Investor, The last few months have been dominated by a small two-letter abbreviation – AI. As a technological development, we are witnessing history being made with Artificial Intelligence dramatically altering our lives. And, just recently, we saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi referring to AI as America & India. Beyond the banter, however, lies global
Dear Investor, We have seen the term ‘funding winter’ building momentum across last year: as global recessionary trends increased, India also saw a decline in startup funding and deals by VCs (charts below from ET Prime). This slowdown in fund inflows led to a sharp drop in the number of new Unicorns – from 41
Dear Investor, ALL AROUND US, a ‘funding winter’ prevails across the late-stage startup eco-system. Funding in early-stage startups continues – albeit at more attractive valuations. Nevertheless, our disciplined approach of investing in DeepTech, early-stage, B2B focused startups continues to weather this storm, and is demonstrating resilience as is evident from the August 2022 Nasscom report.
