'We Are Long-term Investors'

<div>Former president of Reliance Entertainment and founder of GSF Superangels in India, <strong>R</strong><strong>ajesh Sawhney</strong>, recently announced the launch of GSF Accelerator for startups in the country. Come October 15, and GSF Accelerator will kick-start 12 start-ups with personalised and intensive mentoring and initial funding. The Accelerator has inducted ten exceptionally motivated serial entrepreneurs with deep domain expertise in technology and start-ups as entrepreneurs-in-residence (EIR). These 10 EIRs will work with a start-up each as buddy mentors. A long-term investor, GSF Accelerator will invest with a five-year horizon in mind.<br /><br />GSF, a network of 30 leading digital founders and investors, will work with GenNext entrepreneurs. Its partners include Indian funds such as Kae Capital and Blume Capital. It has also tied up with the renowned 500 Startups, founded by Dave McClure, extending its reach to the Silicon Valley networks. Similarly, the leading European incubator and mentorship platform, Seedcamp will provide GSF start-ups access to Europe.<br /><br />A network of leading digital founders in India, GSF Superangels has made three investments so far, Autowale (radio tuk-tuk service), Biosense (non invasive hemoglobin measurement) and Chottu.in (a specialist e-commerce logistic Company). In an email interview with BW Online's <strong>Poonam Kumar</strong>, Sawhney talks about his first start-up that provides funding to wannabe entrepreneurs in Delhi, Mumbai and Banglore.<br /><br /><strong>What made you start the multi-city start-up accelerator?</strong><br />My belief is that India will add a billion new Internet users in the next 10 years and will become World's largest digital economy. <br />&nbsp;<br />Secondly, I believe that most value will be created by young companies, many of which may not yet have been born. Hence, I thought of GSF Accelerator to focus on providing mentorship capital to the young startups.<br /><br />Unlike the Silicon Valley, India has multiple hubs of entrepreneurship. Foremost amongst them are Bangalore, NCR and Mumbai. Each of the hubs has its unique characteristics and value proposition. We want to be closer to the eco-system in each of the city and in fact want ecosystem to support the accelerator and the start-ups. Collaboration with the local ecosystem is a deep rooted DNA of GSF Accelerator.<br /><br /><strong> How much you will invest in your start-up? Who are the other investors?</strong><br />We will invest $20,000 to $30,000 in each of the 12 startups. Additionally, at the end of the programme, we will provide seed funding to a few which will be announced at the the Second Global Superangels Forum (GSF2012). GSF Accelerator start-ups will be showcased at the GSF2012 on Nov 26-27, 2012, where they will seek further funding from over 400 of the leading early stage investors from across the world.&nbsp; GSF&nbsp; is backed by 30 founders and 5 funds. Thirty leading founders are funding GSF Superangels and GSF Accelerator. Leading Indian funds such as Kae Capital, and Blume Venture have also partnered with GSF Accelerator.<br /><br />GSF has tied up with the renowned 500 Start-ups founded by Dave McClure to provide access to its Silicon Valley networks. Similarly, the leading European accelerator and mentorship platform, Seedcamp will provide deep access to the GSF start-ups in Europe. GSF is proud to announce its tie-up with Singapore-based fund, Ruvento. This relationship with Ruvento will create a cross-border fertilisation of businesses and capital between India, Singapore and Russia.<br /><br /><strong> Which are the sectors you are going to focus on?</strong><br />We are focused primarily on the tech space and especially looking for bright startups in the area of mobile, local, social and cloud. The GSF Accelerator programme is built around three unique values: intensity of mentorship, deep collaboration with the ecosystem, and creation of a global springboard for the next generation of Indian start-ups. This programme is designed to create the next wave of product-oriented technology start-ups in the areas of mobile, social, local and cloud. There is no reason that Indian entrepreneurs cannot create the next Instagram, or the next twitter, or the next Inmobi.<br /><br /><strong> What will be the selecting criteria? OR How will you select a person or a company?</strong><br />We are looking for founders with big dreams and vision to build world scale businesses. The caliber and passion of the founding team are the most important criteria. We are also looking for the evidence of their passion and belief in the product/prototype they are building. We are extremely product focused.&nbsp; <br /><br /><strong> There are already a dozen accelerators running in India. What do you think of the Indian entrepreneurial scene?</strong><br />I think the entrepreneurial supply is increasing both in quantity and quality across different regions of India. However, there is severe drought of mentorship capital. <br /><br /><strong> Why is so much money backing ideas that could potentially fail?</strong><br />I don't think there is much money backing startups. There has been a few announcements, but not much action on ground. Last year, about 50 companies received proper seed round of financing. There is potential to fund 500. <br /><br /><strong> How many start-ups are you in talks with? Have you already firmed up any deal?</strong><br />We have met over 300 start-ups so far in the last few months. We have shortlisted 30 and will announce our final 12 in a week. <br /><strong><br />What is your exit strategy?</strong><br />We are long-term investors. We invest with a five year horizon and may exit through M&amp;A, PE rounds or IPO.<br /><br />poonam(dot)kumar(at)abp(dot)in<br />&nbsp;</div>