5 New Age VCs Democratizing The Startup Ecosystem With Unique Co-Founder Approach 

The prospering startup world in India keeps on glimpsing the surge of Entrepreneurs as well as a new breed of venture capital (VC) firms that are quick to sustain these organizations from a grassroots level. India has over 61,400 startups recognized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), with at least 14,000 recognized during fiscal 2022, as stated in the Economic Survey 2021-22 with 10% being added every year. There’s likewise unequivocal respect that founders have for these VCs who have strolled a mile in their shoes.

Most importantly, the pivotal aspect of the co-founder approach is being intensely affixed to the startup founder scene. Having said that, “one of us” street cred ignites the feeling of belongingness, guileless trust, and respect in the eyes of founders for their investors. Ultimately, led to an invaluable exchange of thoughts and transparency between both parties. Given the dynamics in the markets, these VCs are taking laps through the revolving door to help founders, leveraging their affinities and defining the new golden era of founder and VCs relationship.

New-age VCs take a hands-on approach in their startup investments and work along with founders to grow their businesses. Their multifunctional experience across sectors allows them to identify gaps and bring expertise along with the value chain by leveraging their network to source quality.

Here is a curated list of the prominent venture capital firms that take a co-founder approach by working closely with their portfolio companies to help them scale and grow.

BLinC Invest – BLinC Invest is an India-based leading Venture Capital firm committed to funding EdTech and FinTech start-ups focused on building a better tomorrow by harnessing the power of technology. They believe It is not enough to be only the springboard, being a hands-on partner is just as critical, an ally that can help founder-teams navigate last-mile execution on the back of their invaluable experience. And they are committed to do the very same. Along with revenue and profitability, they fuel the holistic growth of people and products, and the ability of businesses to adapt and innovate. BLinC invests in businesses that harness opportunities to provide products and solutions to the Indian market, which can be leveraged to scale globally.

Inventus Capital Partners – With the sole goal of making new entrepreneurs successful, Inventus is a venture capital fund managed by entrepreneurs and industry-operating veterans. The firm does not invest in capital-intensive companies. It typically leads the first venture round with $1 Mn to $2 Mn and as the businesses grow, it invests from $0.25 Mn up to $10 Mn.

Blume Ventures – Blume Ventures is a VC firm that funds startups that are obsessed with solving hard problems. They typically partner with founders at a very early stage, helping them achieve product-market fit and power past the first point of scale. We are almost always the first institutional investor in these ventures. They always invest for the long run, staying invested for anywhere from eight to ten years, and as long as the founders are equally invested in the ambition for the business.

Sparrow Capital – Founded in July 2020 by Yash Jain, Sparrow Capital aims to partner with entrepreneurs at the ideation stage and help them grow by infusing capital and knowledge. The firm invests up to $100,000 per company and has made nine investments so far, including GoKwik, Bimaplan, Qoohoo, and Mailmodo. The VC fund focuses on segments like SaaS, fintech, and B2B. It typically invests in Pre-Seed to Pre-Series A stage with participation in deal sizes that range from $300,000 to $2 million.

Astarc Ventures– Established in mid-2015, Astarc Ventures is promoted by the Astarc Group. It is an early-stage VC fund that aims to partner with startups to help them grow into market leaders. The vision of the fund is to “Embark on a collaborative journey with visionary entrepreneurs to solve the pressing problems of today and tomorrow”. The fund has 2 themes of investment focus – Strategic Themes which are aligned with core businesses of Astarc Group and Sector Agnostic Themes where they invest in upcoming areas of business and technology.