For an app based platform, specifically in healthcare industry

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What should be the ideal size of "seed funding" round in India

What should be the ideal size of "seed funding" round in India- Grapevine

How do you evaluate the risk and the potential of the offer from an early-stage (seed stage done) startup in India?

For example (hypothetical), a seasoned leader / founder is starting a new startup in fintech industry (e.g., next zerodha, etc). They raise 10 million USD at 30 million USD post-money valuation. 

I took fintech as example specifically to ensure it's not only engineers that will be needed from the beginning.

* Now, If I were to join as a founding team member (founding engineer for example), what kind of salary, ESOPs one should expect as minimum?

* If I were to join after 2-3 engineers are already hired (so not founding engg anymore), what is realistic expectation? 

* What are some questions I must ask to evaluate if the offer and equity I am being given is good or not.

(I know there's probably no way to generalise a "good/bad offer" as that likely depends also on very specific situation of the startup - like what problem is it trying to tackle, and what is the potential of it, etc. So feel free to share your experience as well if not advice)

Evaluating risk of joining a seed stage startup

Software Engineer

Have made a social media app launched it on campus and within few hours we have 200 users and almost 1.5k posts also there is good feedback and users are suggesting various use cases also we have a business model figured out 
How do i meet potential investors in bengaluru 
I will not take more than 10 minutes to show them the product 
What should i be doing at this stage

Made a social media app

Currently at mid-mvp stage fintech startup looking for pre-seed funding to resume their progress. Does this qualify the requirements to achieve a pre-seed funding ? I bootstrapped the startup myself at the beginning and we have not yet reached the stage where we can present a MVP for investors which is a huge setback we are currently facing. I tried to apply to few Indian based pre-seed ventures but all I got was just rejection mails not sure why. Prepared a pitch deck and a company structure profile although all our employees are remote. I just don't know who or how to approach an angel investor or a ventures firm so lacking expertise in this field. Suggestions would be appreciated ☺️

Is lightspeed ventures a good choice for pre-revenue startups

willl try my best to be honest, ask me anything

AMA - I work at a VC fund

Analyst

Welcome to Product Managers's Private Community

Want to know the CTC range to expect with the following experience:

- Total Experience - 9 years (6 years as full stack developer in startups and 3 years as product manager)

- Designation - Senior Product Manager

- Companies - Series A/B/C startups in India


As the current market conditions are changing very quickly, need help from the Grapviners.

Senior PM CTC

Product Manager

Acquiring funding for a startup in india has become a hassle. I myself have been doing research on seed funding Vc's and angel investors. All they ask is pitch deck and LinkedIn profile. Which they don't even go through and just reply with an email saying we are not eligible for funding. On the other side US and other countries are getting funding at the ideation stage. I guess we can't even go for crowdfunding. Started building MVP, but halfway through the hurdle and unable to resume the development due to limited resources.

Tired of applying everywhere for funding.

At Nexus(our startup), we're passionate about revolutionizing the way people invest in Stocks and crypto. But as any startup founder can attest, the path to success is often filled with obstacles.

Recently, we encountered a significant roadblock in our quest for funding. A potential investor turned us down, citing that hit us hard: we didn't have a fully functioning MVP.

Now, you might be wondering, what exactly our MVP was showing? Well it wasn't the flashy trading platform we dream of. Instead it considered a basic interface with stock prices displayed here and there. The cold reality is that users couldn't buy or sell any assets, nor could they access other advanced features. Why, you ask ?

The answer lies in the complex regulatory landscape of the financial industry. To facilitate the trading functionality, a platform must obtain a SEBI license. This license requires rigorous compliance with financial regulations, and crucially proof of "financial backing". 

Investors won't understand that we need a significant amount of funding to take off. Without it, we'd be swimming in the shallow waters.

Navigating the tough terrain of startup funding: the MVP dilemma

Hey guys,

I am currently struggling with my startup and it’s product launch. Having talked to most of the VCs and getting ghosted, what should I do?

I have built the product and it’s ready to be launched, have a small team but I am a solo founder. 

Applied to YC and even got referral from 2-3 YC founders, still no interview. Looking for $500k.

Let me know if anyone knows anyone ❤️

Funding for my startup

Founder

Welcome to Business Roles's Private Community

Any idea on what is a good cost per install for a fintech brand in India? Specially early age startups offering not a very conventional investment product.

Partnership Manager

Look you need to have few database server farm decentralised for major countries,, and those will handle millions of searches every second plus you need to build an entire company and software systems to serve customers with potential few office and sales in 5 major countries. The product is full market fit and even 500 million users might pay a premium for it. What's your view? If any questions, please ask in comment.

If you startup SOM is more than a billion customers, could you raise $40 mil as seed funding?

Solution Architect

Hi, what are some average salary of CPO, Head of Product, SVP of Product at mid to late stage startups? I understand it will be a mix of cash + equity. What are those levels?

Salary of CPO, SVP product

Growth Manager

Too many instances of global funds entering India. This will be interesting. The big existing ones (Peak, LSIP, Accel, Elevation) will be forced to deploy because the new ones will  have a lot more appetite. 

General Catalyst investing in Zepto for example. Entering with a bang.
Glade Brook, GC, and rumours of the two biggest ones in the US - one that used to exist earlier here.

Interesting times ahead for founders and invest.

Indian VC ecosystem heating up, global funds incoming

Investment Associate

Hey everyone. 

Thought I could do an AMA. A bit about me - have 4 years of work experience and graduated from a non engineering college. Was at a startup before (from Series B to Series D) before becoming a VC

Personally look at consumer and B2B investments here 

Happy to answer any questions around life as a junior VC, startup ecosystem, career growth etc.

AMA: I work at a large VC Fund focusing on early stage investments

This is the biggest problem with VC ecosystem 4 yoe kids taking calls on experienced, hardworking founders. Dude first learn the game then invest , judge people playing the game. VCs know nothing about how to run startups. Unless they have been entrepreneurs themselves. IMO It's a colossal waste of talent to become a VC for young PPL.

Welcome to Software Engineers's Private Community

Any apps to invest directly in startups? Trustworthy apps

Startup Investments

Basis product, founding team, culture and long term outlook. Or even just something that you'd want to build yourself

What are Seed to Series B companies you'd join in a heartbeat?

Everyone wants Google's distribution, but no one wants to pay for it.

Everyone wants Google to stop doing what it's doing, but no one wants to invest in an alternative.

Alternatives, if any coming up, from India will be of cheap quality. Does anyone remember what happened to BharatOS, or what's happening with Krutrim. 

What these app developers are not realising is that, their business is more or less happening because Android as an OS is there. It's not just about play store. 

I wonder why they're not cribbing against the Apple app store. 

Could the rates be lower? Yes.
But what's in it for Google or Apple when that entire section of business is because of them?

No one is stopping anyone from building a new OS, a better one. As long as a good quality one is not coming up, everyone will have to rely on Google or Apple. 

It feels really bad when the founders try to make it a national issue as well 🤦🏻‍♂️

Oh, and even if a new OS comes up, I wonder how they're going to sustain it, plus make people choose that without the availability of other apps.

Rant about Google Play Store

Which YC funded Indian startups have been successful over the years?

Successful = Profitable / Growing Revenue YoY with necessary burn / Dominant Market share. 

The Indian startups accepted list seems to have increased to a handful every year, but don't see any of them creating the impact that one expects from businesses selected by a seed platform that prides itself on extreme scrutiny for all applicants. 

Where do you think is the gap?  American understanding of Indian business models / consumers / market or somewhere else?

YC StartUps in India

Sales Manager

How to become investor in a very early stage start up? Like investing 2/3 lakh per company?

Hey everyone,

We've got an exciting journey ahead, and we're at a crossroads. Our AI startup is all set to take off, but we're fighting with an important question: should we seek funding for our startup ?

Here's the scoop: Our team is hard at work on a game-changing problem-solving service platform. Right now, we've got the skills to create the entire product, but most of us are Python enthusiasts, and we could use some extra hands with diverse talents to take our venture to the next level, which do require funding.

The story behind our decision to dive into the startup world is the success of our previous project. It gained some impressive traction, fueling our desire to turn it into a startup. But there's a hurdle on the horizon - funding. And also the investment landscape is in a bit of a winter chill right now. And we don't know much about the process of funding 😕. 

feel free to drop your advice in the comments below.

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