As part of our ongoing quest to get you meaningful stories and insights from the startup ecosystem, we invited seasoned investor and entrepreneur – Pavan Kumar, for an exclusive interview with BrilliantRead Media. He is an Early Stage Startup Investor, Mentor, Keynote Speaker, Thought leader, Partner, F50 Elevate, Silicon Valley, Active Panelist, Speaker on Numerous Forums, Events and Industry Meets. Let’s read more about his journey as an Angel Investor and his advice for entrepreneurs!
Excerpts from our exclusive conversation with him:
We are aware of your contribution to the startup ecosystem, talk us through your journey, please
The first startup was in 1996. We were the first consumer internet to provide realtime election results, matrimony and gifts. We also developed portals, flash greetings and games. Eventually exited this startup by transferring the IP to Customer. The second was in 2001, online retailing of Calling Cards to Indians living abroad to call India. We had to shut down due to failure of MCI WorldCom, our supplier of calling platform.
In 2014, I turned an angel investor by funding NewsBytesApp.com and funded 14 companies so far. Ever since my first startup, I am closely associated with Startup ecosystem across different geographies by speaking at events & panels, mentoring founders and by associating with accelerators, incubators and educational institutions.
I get to review or meet a new startup or founder almost every day, either through Linkedin, direct emails, introductions, accelerators, network or otherwise.
For the past few years, I moved to the USA, the epicentre of the startup ecosystem and connected with some of the amazing founders, mentors and investors driving the startup ecosystem. As Partner at F50 Elevate, San Francisco, an accelerator for early-stage startups from across the world, I help founders in Healthtech, AR/VR, Foodtech and Deeptech. I mentor startups in MassChallenge, Texas and companies funded by 3pm Ventures.
What key factors do you look at before investing in a startup?
Founders, Founders and Founders. My decisions are based on their attitude and aptitude. I bet on founders who have the knowledge, skills and perseverance to realize their idea. I spend a lot of time understanding their thinking, achievements, challenges they went through, family background and flexibility.
I look for startups with multiple founders and with diverse skill sets to deliver 60% of the work by themselves. The next key aspect is their ability to identify the market niche, stay focused and make it happen. All the startups I funded so far have been very agile to adapt to the market needs and pivot in time to become successful.
I fund very early startups. Most of them I funded based on PPTs and founder insights about the problem they are addressing. Once I choose a startup, I work along as a co-founder until the idea becomes a reality, acquire customers and generate revenues or get new funding.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
Very few have the courage to challenge the status quo, think different and walk away from the crowd. It is motivating to back such a team that is bringing change or something new to the market. I want to stay aligned with all the changes happening in technology, society and life around us. The very thoughts of being disruptive and change seeker keeps me young and abreast with the new generation. I interact with many youngsters, their bold views and ambitious goals are a source of inspiration and courage to keep going.
What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person/investor?
Find the right founders with a great idea, stay involved deeply till they succeed. I spent over two decades in the corporate world is highly competitive space, battling market share. Though a techy by education, I was lucky to don various leadership roles in operations, customer services, sales and partnerships. All this experience turned out to be useful in giving an outside view to my funded startups and minimize mistakes. All these years, a Customer-centric approach always wins. Any founder should be spending the majority of time with Customers and building something to solve their problem.
In your opinion what are the keys to startup success?
Ideas don’t bring success, it is an execution that differentiates winners. Few success rules are: having right cofounders, socialize your idea, bootstrap, get anchor customers, make noise and use investors.
Based on my experience, I wrote a book(Startup Success) available on amazon. It has simple rules to improve the probability of success. I urge every aspiring founder to read it.
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
Many founders start off, just with thought and believe it to be the next big idea. With the recent news about WeWork and listed companies like Uber, the investor focus is shifting to revenue models. Do your homework before you start the journey to validate the idea, get the anchor customer who is willing to back your journey, pool enough financial resources, target early traction and revenues. Take the plunge with the assumption that you won’t get funding. Be prepared for a bumpy ride with rejections and setbacks. The startup journey is not a story of a year or two, to be successful you have to endure for 5+ years.
There is a dearth of women entrepreneurs in the startup ecosystem, what advice would you give to aspiring women entrepreneurs?
Today, women are on par in any field, be it education, employment or leadership. Women entrepreneurs should draw inspiration from personalities like Sudha Murthy, Vani Kola, Shradha Sharma, Kiran Majumdar, Veena Ganesh etc. and take a risk. The positive changes in society provide enough avenues to venture into any space and make their idea work. It just needs a spark and bold first step to embark on the entrepreneurship journey. Entrepreneurship is not about realizing personal ambition, it is about creating opportunity(jobs) for others and contributing to society. There are many who survive on the system, but very few who create something new to sustain and support others. Aspire to be different, success is not guaranteed but you will definitely enjoy the adventure and discover a new person in YOU.
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