'We Provide Free Platform For Investors'

Enablers, a Web-based deal platform that facilitates start-up companies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to connect with financiers, is harnessing the bond between investors and entrepreneurs to create long-term growth opportunities.

Neha Khanna, co-founder and director at Enablers, spoke to BW Businessworld about her business.

Edited Excerpts:

Tell us about Enablers and its inception?
Enablers is an Indian Web-based deal-enabling platform that enables start-ups and SMEs to connect with investors - HNIs, Angels, Family Offices and VCs - to raise funds. The platform offers an easy online listing process to find potential investors for businesses.

The experienced team at Enablers handholds the entrepreneurs through the entire execution of the fundraising process, thereby, providing an end-to-end solution. Founded in March 2015, Enablers is an extension a decade-old investment practice under the aegis Value Prolific Consulting Services (ValPro).

How much have you invested and what's the company's capital?
We are advisors and not a fund, thus we help with identification and mapping of an ideal investor, help with negotiations and finalization of the term sheet, assist the due diligence process and commercial closure of the definitive agreements. The platform is a one-stop-shop solution for end-to-end transactions that leverages the investment banking experience.

Tell us about your revenue sharing model?
The platform is free for investors. The revenue sharing model includes connecting with our network of accredited investors to equip the start-up venture with growth capital and management capabilities and secure funding in an efficient and transparent way without investing excessive management bandwidth. We offer assistance in becoming investor-ready and execution of the entire process for a minimal registration fee and align the main share of our revenue.

Who are your prominent clients?
In 2015, Enablers reviewed over 300 opportunities, of which only 65 companies have been shortlisted as potential candidates for investment listing. The companies are spread across diverse sectors such as waste management, mobile, fashion and lifestyle, e-commerce, education, drone technology and mobile advertising. The ticket size also varies from one million to $5 million.

On the investors’ side, we are working with over 100 investors, ranging from HNIs, family offices, corporates and prominent VC and seed funds.

Who do you think are your competitors, and how are you different from them?
Our competitors are mostly marketplaces such as LetsVenture AngelList. We differentiate ourselves with the quality execution that comes along with our listing service. Numerous boutique CA and investment banking firms are also mushrooming who are catering to the startup funding market. However, we aim to marry quality execution with processes and technology to create a wide reach with customization.

We offer full execution support by experienced I-bankers, end-to-end process run by us from finding investor to closure of the deal and curate deals on the platform and not a marketplace. We are a mix of a tech platform with services.

How many deals have been closed so far?
The company has closed 3 deals including recent funding from HNIs for premium shopping portal RockNShop, a round for foodtech company, BiteClub and a fresh round of funding for edutainment start-up ConveGenius.

We also have 3-4 transactions in advanced stages of discussion at present.

What are your expansion plans?
We are focusing on increasing the conversion rate of deals and catering to seed, Series A and Series B rounds. We are creating an ideal ground to work towards shaping a company for PE investors for the future, which happens to be the strength of our traditional investment banking business, ValPro.