The Exchanges

Q Heetal, would you like to talk about the startups you have invested in? Which, which startup you have invested in?

A Sure, sounds good. So, I think I would probably break up my, uh, angel investment experience into two phases. Um, you know, I had a phenomenal experience with, uh, my first three startups, which I was fortunate enough to get an exit out of, uh, Baby Chakra, Mass Blur, and All Is Health. Uh, they were not only the first three startups, uh, it was my entry into the startup ecosystem, and it was a phenomenal learning experience, uh, working with these entrepreneurs, and, uh, what I learned from them. Uh, if I look at the set of, um, startups which I'm currently engaged in, uh, I would, uh, definitely want to call out Wadham T's Advantage Club, uh, Impact Guru, uh, and, uh, and, uh, Leverage EDU, uh, as companies which are on a phenomenal success path in terms of growth and the kind of impact and the kind of change they are driving. Uh, it's a remarkable, uh, privilege to be engaged with them. Uh, other companies like Explore and Zippo are also on the, Significant growth path, and what I really value the most is the amount of learning I get from the entrepreneurs, the zeal and the energy with which they are constantly working towards overachieving their targets, and, uh, maintaining a straight focus despite the kind of challenges they face. I think that kind of neatly summarizes my own, uh, angel investment experience.

AI assessment note: “my first three startups, which I was fortunate enough to get an exit out of”

Q Are you also focused on certain segments of market, which you focus on for 2019, 2020?

A Uh, while in general, I, uh, harp on the, uh, slogan of sector agnostic, because, uh, I would not want to get restricted, uh, from a particular sector perspective, but I definitely see a lot of scope in fintech. Uh, edtech has been around for a long time, but I've seen the monetization journey for edtech has not been as, as robust as some of the other segments have been, but I do see, uh, chance for edtech to emerge, uh, prominent in the next Two, three years. Uh, the food tech industry, which has been talked about a lot, uh, will go through a lot of churn, uh, in couple of years, because the number of players, uh, there is not enough room for all of them to be able to stay profitable at the level of growth they're achieving. Um, and I, I think, uh, fundamental tech, which includes IOT, AI, ML, robotics, and RPA based, uh, uh, businesses, they definitely have Huge potential because there is inherent need for technology infusion on a regular basis, and anyone who's trying to build an IP or build a core tech product, ah, definitely he's gonna get my attention.

AI assessment note: “I definitely see a lot of scope in fintech. Uh, edtech has been around”

Q Let's talk about your personal life a bit. You did a challenge of reading hundred books in 2018. Why you did this challenge?

A Um, to be honest, I was not a great avid reader, and I realized that because of me not reading as much as I should, ah, at the stage of life which I was in, I wanted to take corrective steps which can be significant and game-changing. Ah, I did a Google search and I realized that even big people like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos read about 50 books in a year. And I said, how can I be better than Bill Gates? So I decided to double my target and decided to read hundred books in the year. So that's how the, the challenge got conceptualized. Uh, from an execution perspective, it definitely was not easy. Uh, when you have a full time job, uh, you know, you have your own, uh, daily limitations in terms of being able to read or a amount of time that you can spend. Uh, but yeah, I mean, thank God I was able to achieve it, uh, one day in advance. So I finished it on the 30th of December and I did it to spare.

AI assessment note: “I wanted to take corrective steps which can be significant and game-changing.”

Q The startups which you engage with, how do you help themselves besides money?

A Um, so I, I prefer to help more in kind than in cash. Um, I believe that, uh, engaging with them, uh, on one, once in a quarter is definitely not a good idea. I typically engage with them, uh, once every two weeks, uh, if not every week. Um, there's an open door policy where they can connect with me, reach out to me on a WhatsApp or a call anytime in, in form of a particular issue or a request. Uh, I try and meet the team as well rather than just meeting the entrepreneur because many times Uh, the team can benefit more than just the entrepreneur. Um, discuss with them on challenges, uh, question them on the targets, uh, ask them to revise targets or revise strategy wherever I feel there is a need to, and try and ask them to reach out to me sooner rather than later. Uh, that's, that's broadly the, uh, um, way in which I engage with them.

AI assessment note: “discuss with them on challenges, uh, question them on the targets, uh, ask them”

Q So, amongst, ah, the startups you have invested in, what advices would you like to share with young entrepreneurs being investor and mentor into any startups that would, you know, take them on the path to success?

A Um, I think the first one is to be, ah, very clear in terms of why you are getting to entrepreneurship. I have noticed a lot of entrepreneurs are way too impatient to get investor money even before the business has taken off ground. Uh, I do get a lot of LinkedIn requests, and a lot of them are of budding entrepreneurs who, based on an idea which they have written in a paragraph, they expect investors to put in millions of dollars in their venture, which is a very, very wrong idea. That's one. So, you need to be clear, if you're into entrepreneurship to make money, maybe you're not in the right business, because there are 10 other ways to make money which would be a lot more easier rather than being an entrepreneur. Um, second is to be Aware of the fact that while entrepreneurship means being on your own, you are not likely to be on your own for a very long time. Ah, because you can't run a company yourself, you're gonna hire people, you're gonna have a team of your own, you might have a co-founder. Ability to collaborate, ability to get work out of your peers, your colleagues, and your team members, ah, becomes a very important element in terms of your success. While yes, you can code hundreds of lines of code, you can go around knocking doors on key, ah, customers, and make the sales pitch yourself, you might be able to deliver the solution as well, but all that is okay in ea…

AI assessment note: “I think the first one is to be, ah, very clear in terms of why”

Q So let's talk about the startups which work for you, the startups where you got a multiple exit and which are doing really well now. So what, what differentiates those companies?

A Um, I, I basically follow four simple tenets as far as, uh, investment, uh, in startups is concerned. Uh, they're very simple. Uh, it's the profile of the founder, uh, the uniqueness of the business model, uh, scope for monetization and scope for exit. Uh, when I look at each of these parameters, they kind of symbolize the key ingredients in making a startup successful. Uh, when I look at the uniqueness of the business model, uh, you know, in a world which is full of copy paste where Uh, every second startup is an Uber for something or an Airbnb for something. Uh, it requires a lot of courage and a lot of thinking to come up with something which has never been thought before. And if you're able to do that, and you're able to do it successfully, there is no way that you would not be able to achieve a lot of success. So that's point number one. While profile becomes important, and I'm not a big fan of IITIM, since I'm not one myself, uh, Profile is basically oriented towards the background of what the entrepreneur was doing before he decided to run the startup. A bit of experience in the industry, say five to seven years is what I consider as ideal, because it allows you to be exposed to the corporate world, um, because you're going to be engaging and hiring people who are part of that industry at some point of time. So it's important for you to have been an employee before you b…

AI assessment note: “I basically follow four simple tenets as far as, uh, investment, uh, in startups”

Q What's your purpose of coming into startup after such a rich corporate experience?

A You know, I love that question because, ah, it is, it is in a way, ah, giving back to the society, having spent 18 years working with large corporates, having learnt a lot From those large corporates, whether it is in terms of processes, systems, what should be a vision and a mission, and how do you go around, ah, you know, realizing that vision. I, I felt that, ah, entrepreneurs, especially, ah, you know, who have, don't have too much industry experience themselves, Uh, are not able to, uh, confidently address each and every scenario in their growth path. Uh, it becomes a moral obligation for senior experienced people like me to be able to provide and be that guiding light for these entrepreneurs, uh, whether it is in, uh, areas of growth, which includes sales and marketing or alliances, or is it in terms of strategy, or is it in terms of networking? Or to be able to find potential investors for the next round. So, you know, those become the core objectives where I try and help, uh, the entrepreneurs, and it's a very, um, satisfying experience. Um, it helps you to stay connected with the younger generation, the millennials, and the Zs, and the next, uh, people. Uh, and that kind of keeps you robust, and, uh, it also helps you to stay in touch with the rapidly changing technology, product, and service segment. Which might be difficult, ah, if I was constantly in a, in a large c…

AI assessment note: “it is in a way, ah, giving back to the society”

Q What were those times in your life when you were lost? Would you like to share that word?

A Um, interesting question. So I think, uh, there was a strong decision making point which I had to make, uh, when I had to decide whether I come back to India from Japan. Uh, having spent almost, uh, 10 years in that beautiful country, it was not easy. Uh, Japan remains, uh, one of the best places to live from a family life perspective, from a work life perspective. Uh, people and culture perspective. Uh, it was a big challenge to come back to India, you know, give up that life of so-called comfort, which, um, which was there in Japan, and to face the acrimonious challenges, uh, of a growing country like India. Uh, way back in 2010, we didn't have a metro, we didn't have public transport, uh, in a city like Gurgaon. Uh, yet it was, uh, the place to be because of the growing economy and with the way startups were booming in India. Uh, while I did feel, feel lost initially, um, it was great to be at the right place at the right time, because now I look back, the last nine years which I've spent in India have been phenomenal from a personal growth perspective. Um, I made phenomenal number of friends and, um, and learned a lot professionally and personally. And, um, so I think, yeah, while that was a challenge at that point of time, I think, uh, I'm much better off now than I was when I decided to move back from Japan.

AI assessment note: “While I did feel, feel lost initially, um, it was great to be”

Q So let's talk about that. What motivates you to run?

A Uh, it was a very casual, uh, party, uh, which I was at in, in, in September, when I met a lady, and she was not drinking alcohol, and I said, okay, why are you not drinking? She said, I'm gonna run a marathon, a half marathon to be more precise, uh, and that's why I'm preparing for it. She said, why don't you also run? Uh, I've never actually run actively, though I've been very, uh, you know, Fitness freak and state fit all my life, but I never have run long distance, so running 21 kilometers for ADHM, which was two months ahead of me, was not an easy task. Uh, though I did a easy calculation, I had five weeks to prepare for it, and I just went the following Sunday, five kilometers, 10 kilometers, 14, and 17, and, ah, I completed the 21 kilometer mark in, ah, October, November, 2013. My first half marathon, and it was a beautiful experience. Um, that started my running journey because it helped me to find a new element about myself. Uh, I realized that it was a fitness activity, which is very easy to do. You just need to find a good pair of running shoes and just walk out and run. Uh, while a lot of people prefer to run in groups, which I did that for about six months, uh, I was a member of the Gurgaon Road Runners Club, uh, which, which really helped me to not only learn the finer art of running and improve my running stride and all that, it got me a few very good friends as …

AI assessment note: “helped me to find a new element about myself. Uh, I realized that it was”

Q What's your ticket size, Haythal, and at what stage of the company you come in?

A I typically come in at a very low ticket size. Um, I don't focus on a fixed number in mind. Uh, but I would definitely want to come in at an early stage, uh, entry stage, because at the entry stage, uh, the value of the investor is the highest, where the, uh, bond between the entrepreneur and the investor is very strong, because he remembers, uh, you from early days perspective, number one. Second is obviously the, the multiples are higher, but the third and important point is that at early stage, if, ah, there is correction to be made in terms of strategy or focus or identified market, ah, it's a lot more easier for entrepreneur to do that. Ah, that's the reason I prefer coming to early stage.

AI assessment note: “I typically come in at a very low ticket size... early stage”

Q How do you fit in, you know, mentoring and guiding startups with that schedule?

A So basically I, I prefer, uh, I, I read a book last year called Never Eat Alone, and I'm very strong advocate of the fact that you should make the most of whatever chances you get in terms of Professionally you can use the word networking, but if I look at a personal perspective, meeting people, right? The idea is that you interact with more and more people, you learn, you share, you get your ideas clarified, you get your ideas ratified, so I try and spend as much time with my startups, you know, over a meal, over a coffee, over a call, meet them over the weekends, you know, basically my off times are dedicated towards startups as much as Possible.

AI assessment note: “basically my off times are dedicated towards startups as much as Possible.”

Q What advantage or benefits did you have from this exercise?

A You know, it was kind of a life-changing moment because while I was ignoring the element of reading, the literary world or the whole universe of writers and authors and the number of books being published has been on a meteoric rise in the last eight, 10 years. A lot of authors have started getting a lot of publicity for the good books they're Uh, come out with. And I think a strong, uh, uh, reason for that is the social media, which allows people to be able to talk a lot about what they're reading, cite, uh, instances of what they're reading. So I was, I think, very fortunate to be able to come across a genre of user, uh, readers or authors in the space of, uh, self-help, management, business, autobiography, sports, literature. Um, you know, there were all-time greats, uh, books which I had not even realized that they existed. And I was able to read them, absorb them, imbibe them, and most importantly, I've been able to inculcate or include learnings from these books in my daily life, in my interactions with startups or in my running journey, and I think that's been a very significant game changer for me. I feel I'm, I'm much better, I'm more learned, and I'm more calm and relaxed because of the influence which these books have done on me.

AI assessment note: “inculcate or include learnings from these books in my daily life”