Product Manager

Senior Product Manager

For some reason, I've seen a lot of PM, founder's office and chief of staff roles moving to VC. Do these roles have some edge when it comes to VC space ??

What are the usual exits people opt for? Are PE VCs a thing?

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Potential exits from Product

Potential exits from Product- Grapevine

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Hi all, I am from a tier 1 MBA college and have worked in a startup post graduation. Currently doing strategy and ops planning role in a founder's office role. How can I move to VC?
I don't have the CGPA to get into an MBB or IB roles but am aware that VC hire folks with operating exp as well. Is this a viable option for me?

How to move to VC roles?

Growth Manager

Yoe: 2 years
Tc:32 lpa fixed.
Bg: top 5 IIT, 2 years of PM experience where I led two major 0-1 products to completion independently and had a direct revenue impact of around 25 Cr.
At a crossroad in my career where a top partner in a tier 1/2 VC firm wants me join his investment team (nothing concrete, just expressed his interest in a gathering). Was curious as to how the VC career ladder looks like! I was always interested in a VC career. Just afraid, whether there will be any exit options say 5 years down the line if I want to move out or get stuck. 
All advice, opinion, help will be appreciated. Thanks!

PM vs VC track.

Welcome to Indian Startups's Private Community

To fellow VC friends, 

Have been seeing people putting in their bio as successful Exit.

How much returns do they get when an acquisition happens?

What are the odds of making money.? I know a few who didn't even make any money.

How often founder get a profitable exit?

I currently work as a senior analyst in risk management and analytics at one of the big 3. Don’t really like the work or long hours. What are my exit options? 
Can I move to tech in some product or strategy roles?
Or can I get a VC or PE analyst role?

Appreciate if anyone can share their experience of post exit from consulting.

Yoe 3
MBA tier 2

Exit opportunities post MBB experience.

Founder

So, I have been working at one of these marquee high-growth startups for the last couple of years. On the side, I am also working on my own idea for the past couple of months & was about to put in my papers. 

However, today I got to know that I might be getting laid off (50% chance). This got me thinking, should I stay and get the severance (I could really use the money as I'm starting up) or the lay off tag will be a turn off / put my competency in doubt in a VC's mind? 
Money is important to me, but not so much that I spoil my future chances. 

Any perspective from people who have faced a similar situation or someone working with a VC is highly appreciated, thanks!

To be or not to be

As a business graduate, it's often humbling to see the tech salaries based on my YOE (4-7 bracket) with the people at the top end earning 50-60+ lpa. (Fixed)

Assuming i want to optimise for Money - What can I do as a business graduate to do well similar to tech folks? 

Would love to hear from all of you.

P.S. No IB/Consulting advice please. Not the type of work I've liked 😄

Business vs Tech Salaries

Corporate Strategist

I'm currently in my third year, and interested in a career in venture capital. What are my chances of getting into one, and is it even a wise decision?

I'm in a DU college, and will give CFA L1 in February. Have previously interned at an incubator, and an impact fund.

How to break into VC as a fresher out of college?

Sharing frustrations with starting up a business. In my career I have raised over $30m over multiple rounds.

Co-founders in non-business roles get pushed out by politics. Sharing control with co-founders is messy, inconvenient, time consuming. Money lets you hire people who have to answer to you.

If you are not the main ‘Business person’ in a startup high chance you are disposable, no matter what skills you have. And it sucks to spend so much effort only to get bullied out and left with nothing.

Some investors will follow you on social media, if your business is not growing QoQ don’t post anything on social media that implies you are not working every weekend. They will ask why you are not working.

 If you are CEO, be ready for every random person to tell you how to run your business. Not in a ‘friendly advice’ kind of way, if you are the CEO you have a target on your back.

 Investors don’t know about your industry or have very dated knowledge. Some will just say random tips like ‘try web3’ or ‘try SaaS’ and blame you for following their advice when it fails.

 Your progress is measured against fraud companies who fake numbers, or the 1 in thousands who succeed. Get made to feel like you are failing to live up to super high expectations constantly.

 Employees work half your hours, off sick usuall one day a week, deliver next to nothing and expect 20% hikes every year because that’s what their friends make, or they read some dumb startup hires freshers at 20LPA. 

Smooth talking people with the same idea as you, no traction, never shipped a product in life, will raise a huge seed round due to 'pedigree' and spend it all on self promotion. You will always be compared to these clowns who find ways to lecture others while building nothing of value.

Dark side of starting up.

So much truth in everything you’ve written 
 “your progress is measured against fraud companies who fake numbers”  
  
 This has become just more prevalent over time. Confidently advice learnings from startups that are faking GMV or PMF metrics :)

Investment Associate

Investor

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 :)

My notes on Bain's 2024 VC report as a VC Associate

willl try my best to be honest, ask me anything

AMA - I work at a VC fund

Analyst

The work hours are catching on, don't want to do 70hrs+ weeks. The promotion at 2 yr mark is also difficult (over hiring in our batch, not enough demand + not exceptional performance at my end). Doesn't make sense to stick around for another year at current comp and workload

What are some exit options in the current market? How should I think about evaluating the career move

1.5yr in MBB post MBA, possible exits in current market?

Hi! Can anyone here who has transitioned from PM to VCs guide me? From resume to what is asked in interviews and what is expected from the applicants. Thank you!

Transition from Product Management to Venture Capital

Software Engineer

Hey I'm an undergrad at an engineering college in Bangalore, and am interested in the PE space. Was wondering if there are any big/mid size PE firms in Bangalore where I can try for an internship?

Any PE firms in Bangalore?

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