Some Interesting Stats on Angel Networks in the country: The biggest network in the country last year received 3204 applications. The first shortlist was done for 250 startups which had in person pitch sessions and 13 companies were invested into. The 10,000 Startups initiative received a similar 3000 odd applications, shortlisted to 25, out of which 5 were funded.
This is interesting because the role of accelerators in this country is starting to get defined. The role that will be played will not be with funds and writing fast cheques, but in a way also to provide acceleration with tapping into existing networks. Accelerators are important, because they will improve these odds much better.
A good number of good companies get kicked out in the first shortlist because none of the quality angels have time to go through every application and hence is reviewed and shortlisted through an associate. The associate is looking for a well and complete business plan that meets all the criteria and is setup to fail on spotting great companies. The good companies did not even have a shot.
Accelerators come in, where the associates fail. I have been making a few personal introductions to some of the networks whenever i meet an interesting company – helping them get into the 250 without the aid of an associate, and it seems to be working rather well. I’ve often told folks, that capital is not the problem in this country. Information is. Doing the due diligence on the entrepreneurs – with empathy and spotting potential – and also matching them with the right temperament of investors is the missing gap. Most investors who slip in by default, are a bad match most of the time.
The original blog is posted below on my blog: http://www.vijayanand.name/page/3/
