Since January 1, 2011, IAN has done 61 investments followed by Mumbai Angels with 52.
In the third place with 51 investments is Rajan Anandan, Vice-President and Managing Director, Google, South East Asia and India, says data from Venture Intelligence, a Chennai-based research firm that tracks private equity and venture capital funding.
Anupam Mittal, Founder and CEO of People Group, and Mohandas Pai, former Chief Financial Officer of Infosys and Chairman of Aarin Capital, took the fourth and fifth spots respectively.
Since 2006-07, due to the efforts of early angel networks such as IAN and Mumbai Angels, the culture of seed funding has taken strong and steady roots among high net worth individuals (HNIs) in India, said Arun Natarajan, Founder, Venture Intelligence, referring to the trend of first-generation entrepreneurs who, upon exiting their businesses, have been allocating a significant share of their capital for investments in start-ups.
Some of the examples include Ronnie Screwvala of UTV and Rakesh Malhotra of Luminous Power Technologies, adding to the momentum to angel investment.
The most heartening factor is that the growth of angel investments in India has not been affected by the decline in public markets in 2008 and by the mood swings of Silicon Valley VCs that is happening currently, Natarajan said.
Vinod Keni, Board Member, Indian Angel Network, told that IAN has so far made a cumulative investment of nearly Rs. 300 crore. “Since inception, IAN has been the most nimble and aggressive angel network group in India and abroad. Being a sector agnostic group and presence in almost every city gives us the advantage of topping the list.”
IAN provides seed and early-stage capital and support to help growth and development of the start-up ecosystem. It brings together successful entrepreneurs and CEOs who share a passion to enable more early-stage businesses to create scale and value.
“Considering the number of investment opportunities we see, the quality of the deals, and a growing number of members, the network is definitely prospering,” Keni said.
By focusing on start-ups, the Network addresses the acute lack of funds available to early-stage companies. IAN believes that early-stage businesses require more than just money to succeed. They require close mentoring and inputs on strategy as well as execution, he said.
If somebody is making a pitch, IAN looks at passionate and exceptional founders/entrepreneurs with disruptive ideas, ability to execute, market opportunity, a well-thought plan and total capital needed, Keni said.
Source: Business Line