YourStory Meetup - Inside Seedfund

Among the many things that investment funds do, meeting and mentoring startups is one of the key things, and Seedfund is no different. Last week, on a busy weekday, before they could dive deep into numbers and get on calls with businesses they have investments in, Seedfund agreed to take out a couple of hours in the morning to talk to budding entrepreneurs who had companies in different stages of growth.

Startups from Mumbai, Pune, Kochi and Bangalore reached Seedfund’s Bangalore office early in the day eager to make the most of this one-on-one interaction opportunity with the VCs. Among the many things discussed during the three-hour long session were -- key points to bear in mind while developing products, maintaining customer focus all the time, managing talent in startups and dealing with attrition among others.

Sanjay Anandram, partner, Seedfund emphasized to the participants the need to be in touch with customers that they want to talk their product/ service to cater to. “You should pay attention to the design component of your product/ service and how ensure it is easy for the customer to use,” said Sanjay. The need to focus on Indian market and customers in the Indian marketplace was a point Sanjay emphasized. He also told the startups to be wary of buzzwords, because many times these buzzwords may not really hold any meaning for the company and it is important not to be awed by them.

On the point of direct involvement of investors in running the business, Sanjay told the participants that no investor wants to get involved in the day-to-day running of the company. But nevertheless Seedfund makes sure it meets their portfolio companies atleast once a month and are always available to them for any help they need.

Bharati, told the participants to look beyond the conventional when recruiting. Women who have left regular office jobs to take care of their families could be an option for startups to recruit. “These women would like to work while they take care of their families and can be very loyal,” she suggested.

After many serious Q&As and some little banter, the meetup came to an end. We are very thankful to Sanjay & Bharati for sparing their valuable time to mentor the startups. Check out the video for a snapshot of the meetup.