2017 was a pivotal year for Artha. Artha India Ventures surpassed 50 investments, Artha Energy Resources tri...
A couple of weeks ago a small cap stock showed up on my India stock screener. My preliminary research yielded that ....
Founder: ….then we will provide data analytics to the hotel owners providing an overview of what are the common ...
The Masayoshi Son led SoftBank is in a boardroom battle to save its investment in Snapdeal, which is well known to us...
After 20 years I returned to Kullu Manali for a short trip. The drive from to the hotel was breathtaking. The beautiful...
Shoe Dog by Nike founder and chairman Phil Knight traces the journey of Nike from the time it was a startup...
Whosoever dreamed up Ola Select & Ola Play for ANI Technologies (DBA Ola Cabs) should be given a raise & ...
It has been over 12 months since the we have received a payment from our energy consumer, Ajmer DISCOM...
It seems like yesterday when Bhavin Patel entered our office after raising money from VentureCatalysts. ...
A single conversation with Mikhil Innani (of CouponDunia.com and Pharmeasy.in fame) brought about disruption...
Recently, I was on a conference call with experienced investors where our objective was to decide if a startup is f...
An experienced sales person will tell you that the most nervous moment for a salesperson, who is about to close a...
Subscription start-up businesses have become very popular over the last few quarters and it seems to be taking over...
“Such a prima facie view is being taken in view of the fact that the assignment of the huge debt by...
Our company holds a very unique position between Knowlarity and Exotel...
I have wanted to write this post for a very long time but kept putting it off for some good reason best known to ...
We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific...
Artha Venture Partners recently closed on its 25th investment, Interview Master. We have since then committed to...
The verb “cross subsidize” as defined by the Oxford dictionary is “Subsidize (a business or activity) out of the profits o...
I must start this article by stating that I have been using a Blackberry for the past 10 years and I will...
I like Tony Fernandes. He is the CEO of Air Asia with a spunky attitude which has made him one of the richest p...
“When you reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity” – Mary Kay Ash, Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics
Before I open up with my views on this highly controversial topic, I must tell you that I grappled with the thought of...
A picture that says so much about our highly competitive society.
It is well over 4 years since I wrote a post on the 6 ways a founder can get our attention.
Every Monday, I sit with my team to review the funding activity of the previous week.
I am back with my favorite funding news of last week!
Every Monday, I will share my favorite early-stage startups that have raised money (i.e., <Series C) in the last week.
Last week 16 startups raised $403 million, marking a trend of improving deals and amounts raised. The good news...
Every Monday, I sit with my team to review the funding activity of the previous week. Then, I pick out a few companies...
As most of India reopened, so did the funding lords! There was a marked increase in the number of startups that raise...
While the funds raised by India’s startup ecosystem (barring Jio) fell, it was heartening to note that we continued to...
Another week where we maintain the 2 deals a day average with 18 startups raising $31 million. There are green shoo...
Last week 27 startups raised $847 million; the impressive number streak continues with 113 startups raising in the...
For the past several weeks, the ecosystem is plateauing at barely double-digit transactions per week with 10 startups...
Last week, the ecosystem breached the 2 deals/day average yet again with 15 startups raising $168 million. The recen...
It has been several weeks since our ecosystem breached the 2 deals/day average with 17 startups raising $106 million...
Last week, the ecosystem bounced back with over 3 equity deals/day average, with 19 startups raising $70 million. It i...
13 early-stage startups raised over $20 million last week, with the overall funding boosting up to $172 million, accordi...
13 early-stage startups raised $20 million last week. Although the numbers are a little lower, the recent surge in IPOs is...
Last week, 18 startups raised $225 million. Although we’re bouncing above and below the $100 million mark every ...
Last week, 16 startups raised $32 million. Another week that saw the deal value oscillate below $100 million, but there...
Last week, 23 startups raised $501 million. While we are finally back to funding happening more frequently (almost a...
Last week, 23 startups raised $118 million. The ecosystem is striking back!
Last week, 9 startups raised $20 million. The first few days of a new year are usually slow; therefore, I expected the lo...
Last week, 28 startups raised $300 million, and the most heartening statistic to track here is that the number of ...
Last week, 20 startups raised $612 million, starting 2021 on the right track as the previous few weeks' slowdowns get...
Last week, 17 startups raised $157 million, therefore continuing a strong revival in our ecosystem's funding interest.
A bug in my blog led to a critical error that stopped me from posting a new blog. Therefore I missed out on sending my...
Last week 13 startups raised $9 million, indicating a drop in funding in terms of the total amount raised and the number...
Last week 19 startups raising $285 million showed a steady revival in the number of deals closed and the aggregated...
Last week 25 startups raised $638 million; as expected, the number of deals and the amounts raised continue trending...
Last week 19 startups raised $46 million; the numbers indicate a dip, but it just a temporary lull. This fire burns...
Last week 20 startups raised $740 million; that once again reassured that the demand for Indian startups ...
Last week 30 startups raised $293 million; while the total funding amount fell, most heartening is the number of deals...
Last week 36 startups raised $761 million! The number of deals taking place continued climbing, and...
Last week 27 startups raised $847 million; the impressive number streak continues with 113 startups raising in the previous 28 days!
Last week 29 startups raised $209 million; the base of 25+ deals a week is firmly set now, and the Zomato & PayTM IPOs led-liquidity...
Last week 28 startups raised $547 million. The ecosystem is flying high now that it set a solid base of 100 deals per month.
Last two weeks 68 startups raised $2.3 billion; our ecosystem is on a sustained bull run now. Just when it seems like there could be a dip, a slew of startups raise...
Last week 28 startups raised $705 million; the slowdown in China has only increased the confidence in India!
Last week 27 start-ups raised $567 million. Given the record-breaking year of 2021 in terms of fund inflow and the emergence of unicorns for the Indian start-up ecosystem, the early signs of 2022 give hope that this momentum may continue.
Last 2 weeks, 73 startups raised $843 million year-to-date, the month of January has seen a steady funding momentum as Indian startups have raised more than $1.50 billion in total capital.
Last week Indian startups raised $1.55 billion compared to $433 million in the comparable previous week period.
Behind every successful fundraise is a strong narrative.
I believe that founders are super-humans.
There is an old saying in sales, “The worst salespeople are the best interviewers”.
The bloodletting in the Indian startup ecosystem continues with hotel-booking app Rooms Tonite shutting shop on the heels of the Stayzilla fiasco,
The Indian wallet is growing larger. A recent estimate predicts that the per capita income for India...
A perfect storm for electricity consumers that was created by the policy paralysis of UPA-II, high interest rates and the slow pace...
As an angel investor and an individual who possesses a serious entrepreneurial streak I sit through atleast 150-200 business pitches in a month...
If all things are equal between two candidates that want me to be their mentor, what would be the difference, that wo...
After what seems like a lifetime, I am happy to announce that Artha Venture Fund-I (AVF-I) is officially an Alternative...
Siri tells me that it took 1,347 days from my first blog post, Dropping Out Of The Rat Race… to my 100th blog post...
I recommend the E-Myth by Michael E Gerber to anyone who is contemplating taking the plunge into entrepreneurship...
On Jan 15th, 2018 I wrote a post about a documentary, Martyrs of Marriage. It highlights the plight of men and...
Angel networks have played an important role in developing a robust investment ecosystem for start-ups in India...
Many people will tell you to “put the customer first” or that the “customer is always right”. While they are correct,...
In January, I found myself at my orthopedics' office for the 3rd time in 12 months complaining about unbearable back...
I have cancelled two previous trips to the North East due to last minute emergencies but this week I finally fulfilled...
Last night I was out for dinner with some friends and we ran into a common friend...
Child rape is a heinous crime and shockingly our society has been unable to curb it. In light of the Asifa case,...
When a founding team of 3 founders expects a salary of 3 lakhs per month (each) in a funding round of 2 crores...
My mom sent me the link to this video last night which just happens to flow perfectly with my post on the...
This book is a collection of lessons from some of the top venture capitalists and angel investors in the United States. ...
In a May 2017 post, The math of early-stage venture capital, I had explained the aggressive return expectations for an...
I have been in awe of the US consumer industry for the past 2 decades. A quick Google search showed me that US ...
The Indian wallet is growing larger. A recent estimate predicts that the per capita income for India will rise to $4,000 by...
During my 3-week, 3 continent tour I fell out of the habit of writing my daily blog posts...
With a growing portfolio and 5 internal companies, someone or the other is always looking for new hires.
Zilingo is a technology and commerce platform in the fashion industry. The Singapore headquartered startup was...
An exciting read forwarded to me by my team inspired the blog for today.Tauseef Shahidi goes into depth about how...
There is clear evidence that many of the most recognized technology companies in the world (and in India) started wit...
Behind every successful fundraise is a strong narrative. That is the honest answer to a question that investors repeatedly ask when they get bewildered by sky-high valuation and moonshot venture ideas.
I’ve written a lot about the fundraising process. Of late (however), I have begun advising founders to pull the plug on their fundraise.
There is a slow recovery in the funding of early-stage startups.
Yesterday, I had an odd conversation with a founding team. They were addressing an important, critical, and an absolutely need-to-solve problem with a lifestyle intervention solution.
There is an old saying in sales, “The worst salespeople are the best interviewers”. However, this saying is even more applicable for sales managers,...
I have looked closely at the EV space for the better part of the last decade.
Bhavesh Kothari invited me to join the United Book Lover’s Club (UBLC) with several esteemed members of the literary...
I have looked closely at the EV space for the better part of the last decade. While I have not made any investments in...
Prashant graduated from IIT Madras worked with HSBC and Capital One in the United States before coming back to...
Yesterday, I was eagerly waiting to see a startup's pitch as it was creating a name for itself in a niche space growing...
I am a huge believer in the applicability of blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the real world. I am incredibly confident...
Arcatron Mobility builds the next generation of innovative physical aid devices to enhance people's lives with limited...
There was a time when a degree from a top college guaranteed a prosperous life. But, because the knowledge taught...
I am a strong advocate for my founders to allocate a PR budget to get utilized only in the last 9 months of their seed...
Vista Rooms provides experiences to customers at exquisite properties across India. They started as a budget hotel platform like OYO Rooms but decided to pivot their strategy, branding themselves as a luxury homestay brand.
The surge in COVID19 cases did not dampen the VC ecosystem's investment spirits as 10 startups raised...
Beardo is a retailer of men’s grooming products. Offers products such as beard oil & growth oil, beard wax, face wash,...
Coolberg launched the first non-alcoholic beer in India with a vision of catering to a new category of drink that is...
It is a well-known fact that I love the water. My friends and family claim that I am a wasted companion on trips if ...
The 1st was a piece of advice I received from the owner of a leading Mumbai based bakery brand. He was sampling th...
Sanjay shared this article over WhatsApp last night, How venture capitalists are deforming capitalism. I guessed that it...
I have known Anil for over 8 years, and I credit him for introducing me to angel investing. He raised the flag for angel...
Yesterday, I was on a pitch call with a consumer brand creating a niche in a mass-market commodity with strong...
Yesterday, an icon in the sports entertainment space – where I have innumerable memories with family, friends, team,...
Two contrasting events took place yesterday. First, as we got to the end of a board meeting, the founders initiated a...
In my last blog on gross margins, I had written about the importance of gross profits for a startup to survive in any...
Last week, the ecosystem dropped below the 2 equity deals/day average, with 9 startups raising $12 million. It is the...
BrandIdea is a business intelligence tool for marketing and sales information. They offer a SaaS-based business ...
Squeakee Media Private Limited was a provider of cloud-based ecommerce store builder on a subscription model...
Triggero was an enterprise rewards and recognition services platform. Triggero worked on a SAAS model and was a...
BookMyCab is an on-demand taxi service with options to rent metered city taxis as well as from their own fleet of cabs...
Fynd is an online retailer of multi-category fashion products. Fynd's product catalog includes apparel, footwear,...
Rolocule Games is a game development studio creating realistic, casual, and social video games for tablets and...
Yesterday was the 60th day since we shut down our office, but it feels much longer. Partly because of the roller coaste...
Exotel is a cloud telephony(IVR, missed call management.)service provider offering various products for a hassle-free ...
Entrepreneurship is an inspired action. Many people equate entrepreneurs as business people, and that assumption ...
It is increasingly clear that India will get back to work in the next 2-4 weeks. However, it won't be business as usual...
6 months ago, I wrote about the real cost of customer acquisition after visiting the offices of a prospective startup that we were evaluating.
Fundraising activity continues to slow down; therefore, my team and I had a tough time shortlisting our favorite picks...
Calling the shutdown caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, an economic crisis is a gross understatement.
United Mobile Apps (UMA) developed and published mobile applications software.
While redoing our website, I accidentally stumbled upon an interesting piece of information.
As I approach my personal goal of personally investing in 100 startups within 10 years...
During my door to door salesman days, I could go through a wall if that meant I would get a referral to a potential sale.
The history of sports and wars is replete with moments of inspiration.
After a lull in funding to gauge the impact of the Covid19 pandemic, the fundraising activity is starting to pick up.
The aftermath of the pandemic spread of the Covid-19 virus has hit financial markets where it hurts the most – their...
It has been fourteen days since VG Siddhartha took his life.
Siri tells me that it took 1,347 days from my first blog post, Dropping Out Of The Rat Race… to my 100th blog post.
As I pulled open the wrapper for an essential part of my movie-going experience ie the Almond Magnum ice-cream, ...
If all things are equal between two candidates that want me to be their mentor, what would be the difference...
I just got back from my trip to Kolkata which was planned in order to introduce the founding team of an upcoming investment to...
When is the right time for an investor to give up working with a venture?
I finally saw Padman on Thursday night and I’ve got to confess, I absolutely loved it!
I am the Vice-Chairman of Mumbai One Round Table 221 (M1RT221) which is part of Round Table India.
Imagine that you have been invited for a stand-up comedy show of a well-known comic.
Two interns finished their learning cycle with Artha this week. One of them wanted to speak to me and get my feedbac...
After the turbulence of the last few weeks, I finally carved out the time to share my funding picks of Week...
There were 15 deals in week 5 of 2020 that were available on Traxcn, Inc42, and YourStory...
There were a lot of excellent deals last week for me to choose my picks. After shortlisting 15 deals from Traxcn, Inc42, and YourStory...
The first week of 2020 was understandably slow for deal announcements with Yourstory reporting a 73% drop in funding from last week.
Most funds are winding down their operations in December;...
In India, the focus shifts to the Budget 2022 to be presented next week. India has been the biggest beneficiary of the COVID-related Quantitative Easing and...
Propstack Sales Guy (PSG): Hello, is this Anirudh Damani? Me: Yes, who is this? ...
I learned about the need for reform in India's Public Distribution Scheme (PDS) scheme a year after Narendra Modi got...
Yesterday, I pitched 3 family offices to invest in our fund. Oddly enough, I got the same question in each of those...
I have (for a very long time) said that angel networks in India are in a deadly spiral. I had not (yet) discovered "why"...
Maximojo offers cloud-based tools that provide hotels the means to setup & manage their hotel inventory distribution...
Several founders wait with bated breath as the Indian economy reopens after a 76-day hibernation. Many of them wait...
Recently, I was on a weekly update call with one of our food delivery startup founders. They were restarting delivery...
An LP who had read AVF’s monthly newsletter inquired why we had rejected one of the deals based on the fact that the..
I would rate the budget presented by FM Piyush Goyal, a solid 4 out of 5.
The Indian Television industry is undergoing a massive change. Except for Shark Tank & Suits that are available on Ind...
Just last year, I was writing praises of Ola’s product mix that allowed it to have the upper hand over Uber...
I am continuing on the same thread upon which I wrote last week, i.e., Finding Silver Linings in this lockdown
Last year we outsourced our PR to an agency. Although it worked initially,...
Over the past weekend I was a speaker & judge at the Odisha Startup Summit in Bhubaneshwar.
I am re-reading How to Sell Anything to Anybody by Joe Girard...
Yesterday I was in Lucknow attending SIDBI’s first Investor Day in honor of their foundation’s 29th anniversary.
Yesterday was an interesting day. I started off by tasting different blends of single shot coffee made by a start-up that...
A few days ago, I saw a Facebook live interview of Confirmtkt's founders, Dinesh & Sripad.
YourStory did a profile on one of Artha’s in-house companies Artha Creative Studio, led by Aakash Jethwani. He is a...
I find it extremely hard to empathise with founders who want to “maintain” a certain lifestyle with a large team and a
A speaker at a recent closed-door conference that I attended, made a presentation on the different kinds of business...
It has been over a week now since the news of OYO’s $1 billion round and ascent to unicorn status became official. This..
There is a serendipity in deal-making once one summarises the events that lead to its closure...
The horrendous experience travelling to Hyderabad was definitely salvaged by the quality of interactions....
I have been a loyal Jet Airways customer for the past couple of years. Unfortunately, that role made me a...
India had sent its biggest ever contingent of athletes (126), competing in 69 disciplines. Therefore, despite the...
How quickly we’ve recovered from the impact, COVID had on our life & lifestyles.
In this week's episode of #DamaniTalks I spoke to Kailash Katkar, Founder of Quick Heal a man who built a ₹1800 crore...
May 15th, 2021, the day that many privacy champions have dreaded, is finally here.
Our brain plays fantastic tricks with our memories. Events in our history that seemed earth-shattering at the time get...
Daalchini is an operator of smart vending machines. They provide ready-to-eat food to offices, apartments, and...
Coutloot is a local language social commerce offline to online (O2O) platform which lets anyone sell online across the...
A team member leaving and finding a role someplace else is part and parcel of running a company – not just in India bu..
As a consumer-facing startup, where should you invest your marketing rupees? Google AdWords? Social...
I wrote my first Sponsorship Sunday blog in April, backing Savety – The Instant Smart Water Tap. Shortly after, as I ...
The greatest gift one could receive is the gift of growth. You could make a lot of money, live in mansions, and own an...
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