Rajul Garg, managing partner at Leo Capital, describes common mistakes founders make when reaching out to early-stage venture funds.
Opinion
Building a new Infosys or TCS is incredibly difficult today
“So I do think you have to always keep in mind the sort of the topicality, the times, like for example, you know, like you can't really build a new, I think it's hard to build like a new Infosys or TCS today. You know, there was a time through the eighties, ear…”
Insight
Over-attachment causes bad founder decisions, while over-detachment drains fire
“I think if you get too attached, I think you take wrong decisions. If you get too detached also, you know, then the company lacks the passion and the fire of an entrepreneur, right? So I think balancing the two is definitely a difficult thing to do.”
Disclosure
Leo Capital committed to investing in Bulbul during their first meeting
“I know one investment we did earlier this year, Bulbul, you know, that was the first meeting itself because I just, we loved the idea. We knew the entrepreneur from back to Sachin and all that. The team looked fabulous, right? So that was kind of first meeting…”
Insight
Founders can fix team and traction, but cannot fight a bad market
“Out of the three things, market, team and traction, market is something that you just can't fight with at all, right? I think teams you can still work with, you can fix them, you can hire more people you can chip and chop and things like that. Though it's hard…”
Insight
User acquisition is a money problem; retention is a product problem
“I believe that sort of the acquisition problem or how do you get more users to get into your app is kind of a solvable problem through money, right? So I think you raise VC funding, you advertise, you deal offers, this and that. So I think that, that is kind o…”
Insight
Intercity bus routes lack usage frequency to build sticky consumer apps
“I think intercity use case is not that frequent use case. You know, how many times would you go to Delhi Chandigarh or Delhi Jaipur, right? You'll go once a year, twice a year. So it lacks that frequency to build a sticky consumer product.”