The Fund, an early-stage VC firm based in the US, told Tech in Asia that it has launched an investment vehicle focused on Indian firms. Called The Fund India, it will be the tenth microfund that the company has set up, and the first that it has launched in Asia.
The Fund co-founders Jenny Fielding (left) and Scott Hartley / Photo credit: The Fund
The company didn’t disclose how much it is targeting for The Fund India, but said they were close to raising the target amount for the investment vehicle. Typically, the size of one of its funds is a “couple of million dollars” and it invests in 20 to 30 companies, The Fund’s co-founder Scott Hartley told Tech in Asia.
Established by Hartley and Jenny Fielding in 2017, The Fund is a community of 500 founders and operators who support the next generation of entrepreneurs. It has funds across the US, Australia, and Europe, which have invested close to US$30 million across over 225 startups.
The VC firm typically aims to participate in first-check rounds by investing around US$50,000 to US$100,000. The valuations of the startups it invests in are below US$10 million. The company’s limited partners put around US$25,000 to US$50,000 into each of its funds.
“We’re really talking to this grassroots group of builders. Usually when somebody is a product manager or one of their best employees, leaving the company to start something new – that’s really who we’re investing in,” said Hartley. He added that some of the VC’s limited partners have gone on to start companies of their own, which The Fund has invested in.
Hartley explained that the company isn’t a typical VC model and doesn’t take seats on the boards of the startups they are investing in. It follows a many-to-many model, where the VC has about 500 founders – its limited partners – who support the 200 entrepreneurs behind its portfolio companies.
Meanwhile, The Fund India’s investment committee includes Saurabh Arora, CEO and founder of Lybrate; Saurabh Goyal, global head of product strategy and sales enablement at Google; and Vir Kashyap, co-founder of Babajob, a jobs platform acquired by Quikr.
See also: Meet the 50 top-funded startups and tech companies in India
The Fund India will include pooled capital from founders and startup executives in the country and the Indian diaspora. It will focus on investing in companies that have a founding team from India but are based outside the country. It is looking at startups that are keen to tap into a global customer base.
(From top left) Saurabh Arora, CEO and founder of Lybrate; Saurabh Goyal, global head of product strategy and sales enablement at Google; and Vir Kashyap, co-founder of Babajob / Photo credit: The Fund
The company has already invested in two startups in India – Vahan and SalesKen – and it has helped them connect to the US market.
While The Fund India will be sector agnostic, it will focus on fintech, digital health, SaaS, logistics, and consumer startups.
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