Looking for funding? Look no further!
(Rate this article)
Loading ...
Well WATblog stands for Web, Advertising and Technology blog and since internet came into being and internet companies started making millions.. The relationship between venture funds became the most crucial for an internet or technology companies future. I say this because as an entrepreneur you really dont want to give part of your company away and even if you do you want the right investor and at the same time funds are necessary to reach that next level. Also VC’s and Angel investors take a lot of risk in putting money into business setup’s that they have known for only a few months. So where is India going as far as venture funding in the web and technology space is concerned? We have had articles before some of which have given a list of what copanies have secured funding.. But today we are going to look into the future a little.
Firstly what is the internet and technology scene in India? There are many startups mushrooming also many for them inspired by International successes like digg, youtube, flickr, google etc. There are also innovative technology firms that are creating some worthwhile technology products. But all in all there are two kinds of companies one is those who have sustained the dotcom bust and have grown with time to become profitable and the other is the early stage companies that have mushroomed over the last couple of years with the resurgence of the internet and mobile. As our earlier article stated the middle and late stage companies have got the funding they were seeking and very few of such companies are left now and now the kind of investment opportunity left is in early and seed stage funding. And its no surprise that a number of venture funding events are taking place inorder to help VC’s meet the promising startups and to help them invest in the right companies.
So here is a round up of all the events that are happening and their dates (events in order of date):
Canaan and TIE entrepreneurial Challenge - Canaan Partners a venture capital firm headed by Alok Mitaal (founder Jobsahead) in India and TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) have come together to organize ‘TiE - Canaan Entrepreneurial Challenge’, a national level business plan competition in India with the intent of supporting entrepreneurship in India and recognizing entrepreneurs at an early stage. On-line registration have started from November 1, 2006 at www.canaan.com and at www.tienewdelhi.org and the entry deadline will be November 24, 2006. The winners of the TiE-Canaan Entrepreneurial Challenge will be hosted by Prof Phil Andersen of INSEAD, the leading entrepreneurship school in the world, at their Singapore campus, to have a case workshop on the global potential of their businesses. The winners of the TiE-Canaan Entrepreneurial Challenge winners seeking angel investment will get an automatic sponsorship to the Band of Angels, India.
PROTO - A Showcase of Indian Technological Innovations - PROTO is a premier event to showcase new products, technologies and
companies to a selected gathering (means Venture capitalists). The products presented at PROTO are most likely attract mindshare, finances, and the attention of the VC’s who are expected to be present at the event. But getting there may not be that easy as each product will be carefully screened and selected by the PROTO Team so you better be good! The event would comprise of live, on-stage demos, in-depth product reviews and thought-provoking analysis by industry experts.
PROTO will be held on 21st-22nd Jan 2007. The nomination forms have opened up and will be open till 31st of November. One can register at www.proto.in. Also you can read our exclusive interview with the people behind PROTO.
Venture Intelligence DEMO - As part of the Mobile VAS Connect event in Bangalore on December 12, 2006, Venture Intelligence is providing an opportunity to select companies to showcase their technology products to an exclusive audience - consisting of Venture Capitalists, Investment Bankers and experienced entrepreneurs. There are many conditions to be showcased at this event which one can read about here. Application Deadline is November 15, 2006 and one can apply here. This event looks more foccused on the Mobile VAS segment.
Besides the above 3 The following is a non-exhausitive list of VC’s and Investors whom you can approach with you business plan incase a funding event is not your kind of thing.
Sequoia Capital
Norwest Ventures
DFJ
Clearstone Ventures
Band of Angels
Canaan Partners
Matrix Partners
Kleiner Perkins/Sherpalo
Upstream Ventures
There are many more.. and i shall keep updating this list..
A word of advice for anyone who is looking for funding.. VC’s or investors look at three things Great idea, Great management and Scalability. If your business is lacking even in one of the above criteria’s you would face challenges in getting funded. How do i know all this? Well i guess i have been in the Investor search mode for my startup too.. lol.. Anyways here wishing all the aspiring entrepreneurs All the best!
Loading ...
Leave a Reply