Padmaja Ruparel is an Angel Investor and President of Indian Angel Network (IAN), which is India’s first and Asia’s largest group of business angels, involving successful entrepreneurs and CEOs from India and overseas. Just after five years from inception at 2006, the company had over 200 investors with a portfolio of 40+ companies across multiple sectors, operating across 5 cities. She has now established a unique model of an incubator with a partnership with the Government of India, which is based on domain expertise and mentoring value that can be provided to young fledgling incubatee companies. The incubator today engages over 40 mentors and has a portfolio of over 24 incubatee companies. Padmaja has been a key player in the entrepreneurial eco system of India.She operationalized the TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Delhi chapter and set it to become a strong foundation. Padmaja has been vital in stimulating the Indian Venture Capital Association, India’s oldest and largest association of VC and PE firms as CFO of the organisation. She funded actively in the Planning Commission’s Committee on “Angel & Early Stage Investing in India”.In her entrepreneurial avatar, Padmaja has grown a real estate business from US$1mn toUS$15mn. PadmajaRuparel, president of IAN, spoke to FWD Business regarding the company’s initiatives and the current Indian market.
How do you choose the companies to invest?
I think the most important factor in the startup eco system is three. One… there is a clear differentiator… you need a proposition that a company has. There is either a product or a service. Second, there is this customer base that needs this products or service, need in the market and the market should be the high-end market. Three, is to really know what needs to be done… a theme with a high focus on execution. They should be someway experienced in what they are trying to do. They can’t be learning on the job when you are in a startup. These are the three primary things when we invest in a company.
What is the major concern for an angel investor in India?
One of the big concern or the big risk an angel takes is you can access an execution focus but will they actually deliver? An Angel investor is betting on the future of the company. Future is never known. The biggest risk is you can do as much diligence as you can but will the team be able to achieve the target, projection, and overcome the crisis that is going to come which is inevitable. Will they finally be able to convert in to money? That is why the team has to be very good. But even then will the team deliver or not can’t be assured.
You have recently come up with the small ticket funding. Why so?
Indian eco system is growing rapidly and entrepreneurship has moved from the last ladder of the career option to the top priority of the career option. There are so many young entrepreneurs. Some not even yet graduated. We thought we should encourage them and give them access to money. Personally I am very passionate to entrepreneurship and this is perfect for India and this is what we wanted to do. These are job seekers who are moving out of the job market and in to job creating order. So being the investors we are we thought we should mentor them. They really help to value to the company, strategize and provide networks. So if a little bit of money gets them going, why not?
You have started at 2006. What are the changes you have seen in entrepreneurship in India by 2015?
Lots of changes! As I mentioned, one big change is entrepreneurship has moved top of the ladder in terms of career option. The quality of themes has really gone up. Internet itself has created a huge opportunity. In 2006 internet was nowhere close to what it is today. We were not talking about 3G or video calls back then. I think the global market access is much better. There is a whole angel investing phenomena which we started off… which has bought in so much money to the eco system of entrepreneurship. Which I feel is brilliant. And the whole domestic market in India has created a completely new opportunity for entrepreneurs to build proposition products which cater through this large market. The needs of this market are different from that of an US or an UK market. Now overseas entrepreneurs are looking to make products for Indianmarkets. It’s a huge change.
How welcoming is this field to women these days?
Very welcoming.
How did the concept of angel investment take place in India?
It took shape because I had thought about it. I had done TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Delhi and also been with the Indian Venture Capital Association. I understood the needs of the gap in the market. TiE was encouraging people to go entrepreneurship. There was really no money that they could get as banks didn’t provide credit. We were getting a lot of business plans individually. Then we thought why not pool the business plans and pick the best of those. That is what made way to Indian Angel Networks (IAN) 4.
