Mr. Abishek Surendran, AVP Investments, Reservoir capital – Exfinity fund. Mr. Surendran has 9 years of experience in Private Equity, Investment Banking, Corporate strategy and Software development. He currently leads investments at Reservoir, a 125 Cr [USD 20 M] VC fund. He holds an MBA from IIM Bangalore and a B.E. from Mumbai University.
Understanding funding is critical for entrepreneurs. How do I fund my startup – friends & family, seed, angel or VC funds? What are the implications of choosing one over the other? A startup is confronted by many such small and big decisions and taking informed decisions avoids having to deal with pitfalls later. Also, understanding the psyche of the investment community is important and this is a great opportunity to get your nagging questions answered.
“Demystifying Funding for Startups” was an excellent session that sketched the basics of early stage funding. Picking the right “color of money” is important – an investor’s attitude, risk appetite, knowledge, and networks, amongst others, add value to the Startup. Likewise, picking the “wrong” investor could deplete valuable focus, time, energy and resources – a misstep Startups should avoid. To keep this session aimed towards early-stage Startups, the focus rested on FFF (Friends, Family & Fools), Angel and VC fund classes, and how they differ in terms of goals, demands and time-frames.
