Ecosystem for Investors
Angel Investments Overview
The team consists of 20 people with 4 partners and senior industry leaders who work closely with ESV. We invest $200k-1M per investment in startups where Product-Market Fitment has already been established and there are revenues on the books with positive gross margins. During their last 4 years (since inception), we’ve invested in 19 ventures; so far there have been zero failures, and we’re at about 50%+ IRR based on follow-on rounds. We have ~300 angel investors; we recommend creating a portfolio strategy by identifying the total investment pool and then distributing it across multiple startups.
Strategy for Angel Investors
Where to invest.
How much to invest.
These are the two most common questions in the mind of any angel investor.
Before delving into what’s an ideal strategy to invest, it’s pertinent to recognize the nuances of the startup industry in general.
Investment Thesis
A startup fund is largely defined by (a) the results it delivers, (b) the process it follows to deliver the results, (c) team behind the process and (d) the underlying thesis of the investments that should deliver superior returns.
Our investment thesis is fairly unique, and deeply embedded in our sourcing, selection & finalization process. Here are the salient points
Investment Process
As angel investors, we invest via a SEBI-registered Category-I AIF (Alternative Investment Fund). The Angel Fund category provides us the flexibility to tweak their exposure on a deal-to-deal basis.
Onboarding of Investors (One-Time)
In order to complete the investment, investors get onboarded on AIF platform as an Angel Investor. Onboarding requires standard KYC documentation to be completed.
ESV Fee Model
Ecosystem Ventures has a fairly unique success-only model for Investors. Unlike typical VCs, we have waived off all management fees in our current setup.
We don’t charge the investors anything at the time of investment, or during the next 3-5 years of managing the investment. All our payout is backended after the exit.
Should I invest in startups or not?
Startup investing has become quite a fashion in India these days. The first wave of new age tech enabled businesses came about in 2000s and Flipkart’s acquisition by Walmart in 2016 for $16Bn probably marked the first major success in startup investors securing a massive exit.
With startup economy now being 2 decades old, it’s become common to see ‘Angel Investor’ as one of the keywords in people’s Linkedin profiles.