Introducing Bharati Jacob and Seedfund

You're taken up with a great business idea, and have even chalked out a draft implementation plan, but lack the funds to turn it into reality. Will your dreams amount to nothing? 

Not necessarily - you could choose to visit Seedfund's Bangalore or Mumbai offices, where experts will listen to your idea, your vision, your implementation plans, and work with you to identify the risks that exist in the idea, and how you can together mitigate these risks. Once Seedfund likes the idea and the team you put together - it will fund your company.

Sounds good? Well - Seedfund works because those at the helm of its affairs are people with hands-on experience with raw startups in India. Pravin Gandhi and Bharati Jacob came from Infinity Venture, the fund behind Indiabulls and Indiagames. Mahesh Murthy came from Passionfund, where he backed Geodesic, Pinstorm and other successes.

Starting out

Over to Bangalore based Bharati Jacob, for more on her journey to becoming managing partner of Seedfund, Bangalore. Years ago, Bharati worked in a marketing research agency and a leading petroleum company in India. A charter member of TiE, she was, and continues to be an active member of the TiE Womens Chapter.

She went on to major in marketing and finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1991, and gather valuable experience in teaching marketing principles and in financial planning and analysis in USA before returning to India.

Venturing into the venture capital industry

Like the other founder members of Seedfund, Bharati brings to the table invaluable experience in the venture capital industry. She worked at Lazard Creditcapital - an investment bank and affiliate of Lazard Feres, NY - where she was responsible for setting up operations and developing business in South India. Subsequently, she joined the start-up team at the Infinity Venture Fund, as head of Bangalore operations. Infinity, a $22M technology fund, has been one of the most successful early stage funds and counts Indiagames, Indiabulls and Brainvisa as its success stories.

By now, she had realized the immense contribution that the venture capital industry could make to creating wealth for budding entrepreneurs. As she says, "As a VC, we work with the dreams, the passion, the energy, and the enthusiasm of entrepreneurs, and hope to play a role in creating innovative start ups and companies that will hopefully change the lives of people." Further, she continues, "This industry also makes sure we are always learning, always outside our comfort zone as we receive very varied business ideas which we need to evaluate."

Seedfund - a special fund

So Seedfund's founders determined to apply their collective experience to creating a fund that would venture [pun intended!] in an area avoided by most VCs. As managing partner of Seedfund, Bharati explains that it is India's only, dedicated early-stage investment fund that targets small, innovative startups requiring seed-stage funding of rupees two to five crores. The trio determined that they could comfortably work with 15 to 20 companies over the next five years. 

But Seedfund differs in other ways too. Besides funding a venture, it offers all the mentoring and guidance needed to transform the business idea into a proven reality. Essentially, the Seedfund team works alongside the new team providing invaluable inputs - be it strategic thinking, connecting the company to markets, helping open doors or/and help in recruiting.

The Seedfund team has even opted to fund highest risk category investments, albeit in business sectors that they are experienced in - internet or media or mobile or telecom or technology enabled  consumer plays- and that are poised to make a big difference in the market.

What made Seedfund possible?

Establishing Seedfund is, in a sense, a dream come true for all its partners, made possible thanks to the sound backing it has received. Seedfund counts Motorola Ventures, Google, Reliance Capital, Sierra Ventures, Mayfield Fund, SVB Financial Group (affiliate of Silicon Valley Bank), Edelweiss Capital, and individuals like Kanwal Rekhi, KB Chandrashekhar, B V Jagadeesh and Sridar Iyengar as its backers.

The group was able to secure the support of partners that added significant strategic value to its startups, and who believed in backing true innovation from India. Bharati attributes this support to a "prevailing gap in the market - there aren't too many early stage funds, the team with the right background - all three of us have spent time in this field and bring substantial entrepreneurial/operating experience to the fund (essential for an early stage fund) and the way we work - a fact reflected in our track record at Infinity Venture fund and Passion fund." She sums up their combined advantage as representing "an economic opportunity coupled with right team." - leading to oversubscription!

As it has only been 8 months since Seedfund began operations, it's too early to talk of success stories. Nevertheless, Bharati points out that all the portfolio companies are doing extremely well and showing great customer traction - www.redbus.in; www.carwale.in and www.printo.in

More power to women entrepreneurs

Bharati and her colleagues are doing what they do best. But of course, she'd like to see many more women turn entrepreneurs. What does she think this will take? "I wish I knew the magic mantra! I assume we need many more role models, work on de-mystifying the art of being an entrepreneur so that they believe that they can do it, provide greater access to knowledge and funds, and a general desire for empowerment."

Women have it in them to do great things. Hopefully, the likes of enterprising women and companies like Seedfund will help more of us follow their dreams and create wealth for all.  

Charu Bahri is a freelance writer and author of two books. She also writes funding grants and software for a charity working in the health sector.

Issue BG76 July07

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