Startup Saturday Pune – Action from June and plans for July 2015!

“India has become the fourth largest country in the world for Startups! SEBI relaxes listing, fundraising norms for Startups” is trending on the media while I write this 🙂

There is a lot happening in the Startup space in India and the media is abuzz with all the action around it, especially FUNDING! Be it foreign VCs of the likes of Sequoia Capital putting increasing stacks in Indian Startups or be it our home grown Angels investing in domestic ventures. Be it tycoons of the likes of Ratan Tata or be it celebrities like Yuvraj Singh and The Bachchans, all have become a part of the game.

This month at Startup Saturday Pune, held on Saturday 13th June 2015, we discussed about the much fantasised and talked about event in a Startup’s life – Startup Funding.

A whooping 130+ Pune entrepreneurs showed up on a Saturday morning to clarify their doubts, seek guidance and network with fellow entrepreneurs sailing in the same boat. Our speakers this month were an ideal mix of people who have seen both sides of the table when it comes to startup funding and are well known figures in the Pune Startup Ecosystem.

Our first speaker was Karamveer Singh – Startup Mentor, Angel Investor and Co-founder Medifee.com.

Karamveer shared his insights on some of the fundamentals that any early stage startup need to bear in mind, before approaching an investor, viz, Why investors invest? Is your idea fundable? Your team and can you raise funds again in future? Traction? How to summarize what your company does in two sentences – elevator pitch? Contents of Pitch Deck? etc

Some of the tips that Karamveer shared:

1. Ask for help, not money 2. Learn how VCs say no 3. Reach back after significant traction 4. Parallel Approach

Our second speaker for the session was Arun Purohit,  Co-founder and CEO Simplibuy Technologies (Wicfy.com)

The session was kicked off by Anousha, cute 8 year old daughter of Arun, who shared her experiences of using technology while deciding buy something and how easy it is to use what her father has built! Arun took over and stressed the importance of building a simple product which can be used by anyone. Arun then shared his journey of raising funds from multiple resources, starting from what he termed as being a  startup porn addict, complications with co-founders, utilizing PF and friend’s money in initial few months and very interestingly decoding the Investment Onion! Check it out here

 Arun’s session was followed by Startup pitches by two upcoming startups in Pune buybackmart.com of Miran Shaikh and Hellodhobi.com of Arman Verma, who got some constructive feedback from the speakers and audience.

Then the most awaited session which got the audience talking was of Introductions and shout out, followed by Question and Answers with the speaker panel.

Thanks a ton to our amazing speakers Karamveer and Arun, who readily accepted our invite and for sharing their valuable time and insights. Thanks to Parag of QuickAudition who readily accepted my request to shoot the speaker sessions and last but not least, our volunteers Amit Rawat, Raakesh and Jainal who helped to make the session organized!

Networking over refreshments in the lush green campus of Venture Center!

Some more 🙂

Announcements:

The theme for the upcoming July Edition of #SSPUNE is “Building initial team and culture for your Startup” where we will talk about hiring rockstar talent and getting the best out of your team.

Pune’s first Startup hiring Event in Speed dating format – Headstart Higher Pune is happening on 18th July. Have you registered yet? For more info check: http://higher.headstart.in/pune/

For more help on Startup Saturday or any Headstart Initiatives, you may reach arti@headstart.in

Written and compiled by:

Arti Agarwal

National Ecosystem Lead

Headstart is India’s largest early stage startups community. It is a nonprofit, purely driven by passionate entrepreneurs across over 16 Indian Cities touching over 18000 lives a year! Startup Saturday is our flagship event, where entrepreneurs’ get to listen from successful entrepreneurs, talk about their startups, get inspired, and network every second Saturday of the month across India.