Invest Stream by Saka Ventures

Raising a round of capital for your startup is rarely easy. Ankur asked on YouTube what are some things that could help get other investors to come on board after you close the first investor. In this video, I share a few things that could help convince other investors to join the round after the first one has made a commitment. *** Don't forget to watch the live streamed show detailing a startup'...

In this episode of InvestStream, I share a few thoughts on balancing the need for due diligence with the need to make fast decisions in early stage startup investing. Investment Committees sometimes ask for lots of information during the due diligence process which could drag out decision making for months, in some cases. What happens when decisions get dragged out could be more of a problem for v...

I wanted to share a few quick thoughts about a startup pitch I received, which wasn’t quite the norm. Here are a couple of tips to be aware and avoid if you can when you are pitching your startup to raise money from angel investors or venture capital funds.

What makes AngelList syndicates exciting for angel investors with access to high quality deal flow? It's the carry. Much like carry in a VC fund incentivizes VCs, carry in a syndicate incentivizes angels to share their deals with others. In this episode of InvestStream, I give an example of how carry creates significant leverage for an angel investor. *** Related Videos *** What is "Carried Intere...

Growth stage companies that have cash and need to fuel growth should look at a few things to create inorganic growth. I answer a question from Dipit, co-founder of InShorts, about how growth stage startups can create a thesis for M&A and strategic investments. What makes AngelList syndicates exciting for angel investors with access to high quality deal flow? It's the carry. Much like carry in...

What is an "Investment Thesis" and why investors in any asset class like real estate, stocks, bonds, startups, cryptocurrencies, etc should have one. *** Don't forget to watch The Raise , a live streamed show detailing a startup's journey to raising money **    *** Social ***  Twitter: https://twitter.com/pjain Instagram: https://instagram.com/pjain001 Facebook: https://www.fac...

More and more VCs and angel investors are investing across international markets these days. This is great news for younger startup ecosystems. However, foreign investors don't always see startups with the same lens as local investors. This can be good, but it can also be a challenge. Here are a couple of things to think about if you're pitching a foreign investor that is relatively new to investi...

In Part 4, Sanjay shares a few thoughts about the challenges of being a Venture Capitalist and selling LPs on the India tech startup dream. We wrap up with a request to our Angel and VC friends in India.

Growth stage companies that have cash and need to fuel growth should look at a few things to create inorganic growth. I answer a question from Dipit, co-founder of InShorts, about how growth stage startups can create a thesis for M&A and strategic investments.   *** Don't forget to watch the live streamed show detailing a startup's journey to raising money **  The Raise : https://www...

In this episode of InvestStream I chat with my friend Sanjay Nath (@sanjaynath) co-founder and managing director at Blume Ventures in India. Sanjay has been an angel investor and VC for well over a decade and has invested in dozens of companies in India. We discuss a lot of topics including the maturing of the talent pool increased capital availability for the growth stage later stage VCs going up...

In this episode of InvestStream I chat with my friend Sanjay Nath co-founder and managing director at Blume Ventures in India. Sanjay has been an angel investor and VC for well over a decade and has invested in dozens of companies in India. We discuss a lot of topics including the maturing of the talent pool increased capital availability for the growth stage later stage VCs going upstream or earl...

Not paying attention to the amount of dilution you and your co-founders get hit with in early rounds could potentially cripple your startup and leave your team with so little equity in your company that it just doesn’t make any economic sense. In this episode of InvestStream, I talks about the challenges of too much dilution and what founders can do to minimize the problem. *** Don't forget to wat...

It's hard to know how much information is enough to share when you're out trying to raise money and sending out a pitch deck. Founders either cram in too much information or not enough. I will share two examples of what not to do and what the objective of the pitch deck that you're emailing out should be.  *** Don't forget to watch The Raise , a live streamed show detailing a startup's journe...

In a previous video, I talked about how AngelList can be used to get started. In this episode of InvestStream I discuss additional things angel investors and new VCs can do to build their startup deal flow.  —————  Connect with me on:  YouTube: https://pjain.co/investstream Twitter: https://twitter.com/pjain Instagram: https://instagram.com/pjain001 Facebook: https://www.facebook.co...

In this episode of InvestStream, I chat with my friend Sanjay Nath, co-founder and managing director at Blume Ventures in India. Sanjay has been an angel investor and VC for well over a decade and has invested in dozens of companies in India. We discuss a lot of topics including the maturing of the talent pool, increased capital availability for the growth stage, later stage VCs going upstream or...

How do you know if an #investor offering to #invest in your #startup is going to be someone who is going to support your #vision for your #company and your #product? People talk about “dumb money” and 
“smart money” but what about “toxic money”? In this episode of #InvestStream, I talk about the importance of doing due diligence on potential investors. #InvestStream, #Due Diligence, #Founders, #St...

There are a few things that should be on the checklist of any startup before they think of approaching investors other than friends and family. The first is TAM or “Total Addressable Market”. VCs need big markets to support big companies. A better understanding of VC economics would help explain this a bit better but for the moment, just assume that VCs need big exits otherwise they go out of busi...

Carry is discussed often amongst Venture Capitalists and other Private Equity investors. Politicians have talked how carried interest should be taxed. Why do Venture Capitalists and other fund managers care about carry and what does it really mean? In this episode of InvestStream, I share a simple example of carry and how it works. There are always variations but this is meant as a simple illustra...

Sharing your startup idea can be a scary thing. All kinds of thoughts pass through our minds when we’re getting started - “What will people think about it?” “Will they think it’s a dumb idea?” However talking to investors about your startup idea can rouse all kinds of other fears - “Will the investor steal my idea?” “Will they share my information with other startups?” “Who else will they share my...

Angel investors are an integral component of the startup ecosystem. In Silicon Valley, more and more people are becoming angel investors. In the rest of the world, there’s a great deal of work being done to build an angel investor ecosystem to help power early stage #startups. How can you use existing social networks like AngelList to start dipping your toe in the water? AngelList syndicates make...

Angel investors are a critical part of the startup ecosystem. In Silicon Valley more people are probably angel investors than those that aren’t. In the rest of the world there’s a lot of interest in building an angel investor ecosystem to help power early stage startups. Many founders  employees from startups have started angel investing. In many cases they have inspired executives and busine...

What are some things that I look for in founding teams? Tips and advice for small businesses and startups. Connect with me on: YouTube: https://pjain.co/investstream Twitter: https://twitter.com/pjain Instagram: https://instagram.com/pjain001 Blog: http://blog.pjain.me

This is an example that a company selling a product online might send to an investor. * Gross Burn Dec 2018: $100,000 / month * Revenue Dec 2018: $20,000 / month * Net Burn Dec 2018: $80,000 / month * Cash in the bank Dec 31st, 2018: $850,000 * Runway (typically Net Burn but could be different based on growth, cost cutting, etc.):14 months * Total Pageviews this month Dec 2018: 4,250,000 * Pagevie...

Many people have ideas but most people get stuck on executing those ideas. They may come across a company that did what they were thinking about and say “I had that idea before they did”. Having an idea isn’t enough. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is the execution of that idea. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0xnCYImGVhbD7vb1cQolgQ https://twitter.com/pjain

What are some things that founders do that can create considerable friction with investors. Keep doing them and your investor may walk. Connect with me on: YouTube: https://pjain.co/investstream Twitter: https://twitter.com/pjain Instagram: https://instagram.com/pjain001 Blog: http://blog.pjain.me