The “golden decade” of Indian technology is upon us
India is in the middle of a perfect storm of opportunity. We have a $2 Trillion economy, a young population with smartphones in hand, a vibrant entrepreneurial culture, and an enabling regulatory environment. These factors will combine to create $500B+ of value for Indian internet and software companies over the next decade. We are excited to participate in, and enable, this unprecedented value creation opportunity.
Invest in people, not business models
Great founding teams not only “dream the future” but are obsessed with continuously learning from the market and iterating their products, target segments, and business models. They learn. They experiment. They fail fast. It is they who matter, and not their first thoughts on the product or the business model.
There are no templates for great entrepreneurs
Great people define new patterns. Successful entrepreneurs, by definition, are outliers that defy any attempts to put them in a box. Our job is to find the spark that defines every great entrepreneur, recognize its potential and help harness and nurture it.
If it’s not big, it’s not worth it
We believe in backing fearless entrepreneurs with outsized dreams. The odds of success for a start-up are so low, the struggle so hard and long, that it’s only worth doing if it truly does change the world. We look for those teams who want to hit every ball out of the park. Our entrepreneurs will not build incremental features over their competition – they will reimagine entire industries.
Technology matters
Technology creates discontinuous change and provides competitive advantages that are hard to replicate. Over the last decade, we saw our lives change because of the mass adoption of smartphones. Now with a combination of technologies such as IoT, data analytics, and artificial intelligence, we stand at the cusp of multiple technology discontinuities simultaneously. Entrepreneurs who are quick to recognize the impact of this discontinuity on their industries, and build businesses to leverage it, will create the winners of the next decade.
It takes time and patience to build great companies
Nothing happens in a hurry. Building great companies and real businesses takes time. We will back entrepreneurs who are willing to grind it out, building a sustainable business and play the long innings.
New economy, old economics
Business value ultimately stems from the simple ability to deliver a profit, preferably in cash, and preferably soon. We recognize that many tech businesses take time to build revenue and profitability, which is why venture capital exists. At the same time, we love backing founders who build a business that can stand on its own two feet.