I have been asked by some of the founders on how they should choose an Investment Banker. I have reflected on this issue and here are my high-level thoughts on the process of choosing the right banker. While quite a few founders are very savvy and handle the process themselves and only hire lawyers and […]
After having spent 30 months and meeting with over 300 Founders and making over 40 Angel investments, it is my strong belief that while customer is the king and people make it happen, but the early-stage start-ups (at least up to Series A) need founders to be wonderful storytellers. This feeling comes from the fact […]
In the knowledge age where software, digitalization and digital technologies are making an impact on businesses, softer aspects are becoming even more important in building a predictable, sustainable, profitable and de-risked (PSPD) scalable business. According to me here are some of the key characteristics of an organization that can help in building a PSPD business […]
I started my journey 36 years ago with family managed businesses, of which the last 28 years were with family patriarchs who were driven by values and purpose. I have spent over two years as a founder of Sarcha Advisors, invested in over 30 start-ups and met with over 300 founders. I have been personally […]
The role of coach has become even more important because of acceleration in speed of change, multiple moving parts in the organization and continuous challenges faced by Start-ups. In these situations it is important to get an independent and outside in perspective from someone who has a holistic perspective of the business and the outside […]
Twenty years ago, when we were doing a scenario planning exercise at the Hero Group, Mr. Arun Maira (ex-member Planning Commission and ex-chairman BCG), one of the most respected professionals and experts in scenario planning had highlighted that non-experts add tremendous value. I have experienced this in quite a few projects and achieved amazing outcomes. I would encourage founders of Start-Ups […]
I am extremely delighted to be named amongst the top angel investors of 2020 by Forbes India and YourStory. While the number of investments shown by Tracxn is 7, I have actually made over 15 investments through my family firm Sarcha Investments in the year 2020. I have now completed over two years of angel […]
The Covid-19 pandemic took over our lives in the year 2020. The pandemic created disruptions in our journeys of life, and we have seen new normal emerge because of this pandemic. I am blessed to have been able to live my values, continue to stay focused on my higher purpose of staying happy, spreading happiness, […]
I have engaged with the Start-up fraternity for a couple of years and have interacted with over 300 founders. One of the common concerns I hear from some of them is that there is so much on their plate and they are unable to meet timelines, which leads to stress in the system. The psychological […]
I was interacting with the CTO of one of my 30 portfolios of StartUps. Here is a summary of key Takeaways on building a collaborative approach to deliver great outcomes 1. All CXOs must think like the CEO of their respective functions. 2. Each of the CXOs must think like a product/ service provider to […]