Notes on Entrepreneurship from Vaibhav (Partner, Better Capital)

Go for it :)

Been spending way too much time on Grapevine lately - absolutely loving it @Micheal_Scott! Posted the Prosus report takeaways yday - lots of you DMed asking questions. Then I saw NewsAnchor break down the entire Prosus Annual Report - great stuff. I was an Associate at one of the largest VC funds in India, so I enjoy going through new reports and summarising them - found my notes from Bain's India Venture Capital Report 2024. Thought of sharing the unedited summary that I shared with the Partners at the fund, have a bunch of these - can share more if of value to any of you here (ofc removing the confidential parts) Notes: 1/ India's maintaining its gravitational pull despite the global funding crunch. Sure, overall funding nosedived 63% to $9.6B, but we're still the #2 destination in Asia-Pacific. Might not necessarily be a crash, it's a necessary course correction. 2/ Early-stage investing is showing remarkable resilience. Seed deals now comprise 70% of all deals, up from 60%, with average check sizes holding steady at $1.4M. Smart money is quietly positioning itself for the next wave of innovation. 3/ The tech-only playbook is being rewritten. While consumer tech, fintech, and SaaS still command 60% of funding, traditional sectors like BFSI are gaining ground, with average deal sizes jumping from $8M to $15M. We're witnessing the birth of tech-enabled, not just tech-centric, growth stories. 4/ The unicorn factory has hit pause, with only 2 new billion-dollar valuations vs. 23 in 2022. Mega-rounds ($100M+) plummeted from 48 to 15. This isn't a drought; it's a return to fundamentals. The era of grow-now-profit-later is firmly behind us. 5/ Generative AI isn't just hype; it's reshaping the landscape. Funding exploded from $15M to $250M, with 80% flowing to existing companies integrating AI. India's quickly becoming a laboratory for practical AI applications, not just speculative moonshots. 6/ Electric mobility is rewiring itself. While overall funding dipped slightly to $600M+, charging infrastructure investment surged 50%. The real opportunity isn't just in vehicles; it's in building out the entire EV ecosystem. 7/ Exits are defying gravity, leaping 1.7x to $6.6B. Public market sales led the charge at 55%, even as IPOs cooled. LPs are getting liquidity, and the secondary market is proving surprisingly robust. There's still appetite for quality assets. 8/ PE is no longer just watching from the sidelines. These players doubled their share to 25% of investments, going toe-to-toe with traditional VCs. The lines between growth equity and venture capital are blurring, and it's changing the game for late-stage rounds. 9/ We're watching natural selection in real-time. Yes, 35,000+ startups shuttered and 20,000+ layoffs hit the headlines. But companies like Groww and Indifi turned profitable. This isn't a bubble bursting; it's an ecosystem strengthening its foundations. 10/ Domestic VCs are coming of age. While overall fund-raising halved to $4B, homegrown VCs led 90%+ of raises. They're not just following; they're specializing, with thematic funds like Omnivore's $150M agritech vehicle. The ecosystem is bootstrapping its own future. 11/ Regulation isn't just tightening; it's evolving. Angel Tax expanded and lending norms got stricter, but we're also seeing innovative policies like UPI for foreign travelers. India's crafting a uniquely balanced approach to fostering innovation while maintaining stability. Topics we can discuss during our standup: 1/ Can India produce global tech giants if it's primarily adopting rather than pioneering in areas like AI? How do we enable this? 2/ How will the shift towards profitability impact India's ability to foster truly disruptive innovations? Implications for us, how should we be evaluating deals differently? 3/ With domestic VCs leading the charge, how will this change India's startup narrative on the global stage? 4/ Is this maturation setting the stage for more resilient, globally competitive Indian startups, or are we risking our innovation edge? How do we look at thesis driven investing v/s fomo investing? Link to Bain's report - https://www.bain.com/insights/india-venture-capital-report-2024/ P.S. Do note that this is 6+ months old - data points mostly look diff now but sharing it anyways. Will post more as and when I get time :)

What are some of the articles which are a must read for someone who is part of the VC ecosystem or aspiring to be a part of the VC ecosystem in India

I've been in startups for the last 8 years. From Series B/C onwards to even a unicorn, over time worked at 3. One of them was an outright scam, raised many millions of $s from top investors, and then ultimately died. Also close with CXOs at decent sized startups, and there is a pattern out there. A few thoughts: 1. Being a startup founder is tough. There's pain. Some people thrive in pain. AKA Masochists. Know how to spot a founder who works 15 hours a day because they love their vision vs. somebody who works 15 hours a day because they're masochists. These people thrive in pain, and hence love to see you miserable as you slog away the hours under their leadership. There is absolutely no vision for the future that they have. They do it for the fame, money, and cause a lot of pain in the process. Nothing good comes out of it. Investors love this breed. 2. I wish I'd done more than just leave the scammy startup. At the point, I decided against whistleblowing. Because I thought there's so many people employed here, they would all be impacted. Over time, 200-300 people more joined after I left. Once the scam was caught, all of them lost their jobs. 3. I'm not a coder. I'm a generalist. Over time, my pay grew but not in line with my peers who went into consulting/VC and then came back to big tech/startups. Over time, you disadvantage yourself if you stick around as a generalist in startups for too long. The next team pays you at some premium over the last one, there's no step jump. You need to somehow find a successful startup early, and genuinely, that is impossible to game - even VCs have to bet on 20 to get it right. These are a few disjointed thoughts. I hope they give some insight. My only takeaways: - If you work at a scammy startup, don't stand it. At least, don't stick around. - I earn lesser than my peers (tier 1 undergrad), but I regret nothing. I love my work, and I'll never get over the kick. I cannot imagine working at a larger company ever again. - Ultimately, you have to be optimistic. Believe that India will grow, good founders will come around, magic will happen ❤️

Businesses not startup. And you should've sold your product to customers not VCs. Saw a recent post of a guy who did same raised $5M and his startup failed but I am sure he took out 10L pm salary. Anyways I won't criticise him for burning someone's money because people who funded him have IQ and EQ equivalent to peanuts. I am starting out alone cuz I couldn't find a co-founder for myself. Realised this is the best route, still didn't have a technical co-founder since all tech guys are busy looking for a job or PG. And remaining of my batchmates are "idea" guys. Who I consider equal to product managers. They're like basil leaves on poha. It doesn't add anything to it's taste nor the looks. I am right now on a solo route. Any tips or tricks is welcome even psychological. Actually psychological is more helpful since I am in the industry where doing a job is considered as a "hobby" now imagine making your own product. Even tips on taxes and personal finance is welcome from men and women here. P.s the industry is gaming industry and I make mobile games. So only comment if you have something to add cuz I am already done with "find a job" ones from everyone in my life. Btw I made some games and 1 of them is doing good and making me decent money.

Just saw this entrepreneur bootcamp program by Inc42

I'll go first : 1. Clickup 2. whop 3. Even healthcare 4. Gumroad 5. Polymarket And mention the reason also, if possible. Time to discover some less-known startups 🍿

👇🏽 who are some founders/leaders that you actually like and believe will be able to make great things happen. They don’t need to be famous.

I'm seeing so many posts where startup employees are cribbing about things like layoffs, work culture etc etc. Doesn't seem like they have perspective on everything it takes to build a startup. I've built a failed startup myself and have immense respect for founders who are grinding it out there in such difficult recessionary circumstances. And then you have so many of the engineers and PMs cribbing about basics without talking about important things like learning growth, building for the future etc. Why such myopia? I work at a big tech and envy the speed at which startups move, the big responsibility everyone gets to handle, the fast career growth. All these things are being cribbed about. They crib about founders wanting more. Their job is to ensure success, not to give lifetime jobs to entitled people. They have more headaches you can imagine. In my small startup I had a million headaches. I can only imagine how hard it must be to run larger ships. Is everyone joining a startup these days looking for a get rich quick scheme?