THE GREAT CAPITAL SPLURGE

Sudhir Sethi, Founder & Chairman, Chiratae Ventures, a leading technology-focused venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies in the Indian market, in an exclusive interaction with BW Businessworld sheds light on the current Indian investment environment, the workable strategies during 'funding winter', the impact of rupee capital as a game-changer for homegrown startups, and the growth plans for his organisation. Excerpts

- Annurag Batra & Resham Suhail

You started with IDG Ventures long ago. What is the background story behind Patrick McGovern writing a big cheque to you?

It's an interesting story. I wanted to start my own firm and find someone to anchor us. By pure luck, I met Patrick McGovern, who was the founder of IDG (International Data Group) Worldwide. We met on May 21, 2006 at 09:30 AM (IST), at Oberoi Hotel, Bangalore. He was looking to beg somebody to start a VC firm and we were looking for somebody to look at starting us up as an investor.

And after that meeting, I had a good feeling, so he asked me for a formal proposal. I gave a four-page proposal. The wheels were churning about. After about a month on June 21, 2006 at 09:00 PM (IST) he and I were talking. Patrick McGovern said you're raising $100 million, why don't you look at $150 million to which I said okay, that's a good idea. But the question is, who will anchor me? He said, 'I will anchor you. At that point in time, I said how much? And he said full $150 million. That's how we started. We were very fortunate as that was a very tough time for the VC industry. Fast forward, we turned to Gerardo because he (McGovern) passed away; he anchored us for three funds.

You have been actively involved since the last 18 years. What has changed since then for the better, and what are some things which haven't changed?

I think everything has changed. I think the startup ecosystem is massively scaled right now. Our recent Chiratae and Zinnov research shows that Indian SaaS is expected to reach $100 billion in revenues by 2026. That's humongous. I think that investments in the country, which were approximately $200 billion during the last six years, is likely to scale up to anywhere from $350 to $400 billion. It indicates that the supply chain of entrepreneurs is increasing.