As an entrepreneur and ex-techie myself with global experience before becoming a VC fund manager, I believe that it’s the right time to be in the venture investing business in India. We have smart young entrepreneurs setting up businesses to solve real world problems using technology and innovation in such a large domestic market and potential for tapping even larger global markets. VCs can help them with capital to scale faster, lend operating experience as required to young founders and build world class companies. An important outcome of this core activity can also result in wealth creation for the stakeholders and country’s economy and boost it even further and have a multiplier effect.

Q2. What is your view on the future of India as a market

With the normal ups and downs as is common in any maturity cycle, I’m personally more bullish on India than ever before. India is already the world’s 5^th largest economy and within striking distance of being the world’s 3^rd largest economy. GDP is growing and we also need per capita incomes picking up to hit our next inflection point in the growth journey and VC/startup ecosystem can play a key role in this.

Q3. Help describe your investment thesis and ideas you would like to back

Inflexor backs innovative startups across verticals with good founders solving B2B, Enterprise or select B2B2C problems with technology IP/deeptech led solutions with a large domestic market size or building in India and selling globally type business models. We participate from seed round in companies with some initial revenue traction and product market fit to Series A+ rounds. We invest in AI/ML, SaaS, Cybersecurity, Big Data Analytics, FinTech, ConsumerTech, AgriTech, Industry 4.0/IOT, AR/VR, select SpaceTech, CleanTech and other verticals.

Q4. What are your 5 key learnings from your experience as a venture investor

• Gut feel on founders and business model is as important as the data based diligence prior to investment decision particularly in early stage startups

• Entry valuation is important and should not be shy to pass deals based on out-of-whack valuations (right deal vs best deal)

• Picking winners from the portfolio and doubling down on them can really make a big difference in the performance outcome

• VC investing is a long term game in context of building relationships, reputation and giving good cash exits to investors

• Even good startups can get choked in deep downturns if they don’t have enough runway

Q5. Mention top 5 consumer/industry/technology trends in India and globally

         -Main streaming of AI-ML

          -Continued move to Cloud

          -Quantum computing to mainstream this decade

          -Metaverse in some shape or form

          -5G at scale

Q9.If you have interacted with100X.VC, please share a few good words about us.

100X.VCis a great partner/investor for young startups that are at angel/seed/pre-revenue stages as the mentoring and network they offer to such startups is absolutely amazing. I know this first hand having interacted with the entire team at 100X and being associated with them across their various cohorts as Investor partner and MasterClass host.

About Jatin Desai:

Jatin is currently the Managing Partner in Inflexor Technology Fund (Fund-2) and General Partner in Parampara Early Stage Opportunities Fund (Fund-1).

Jatin has over 25 years of global experience spanning Fund Management and Investments, Entrepreneurship and Technology/Operations roles. He has been involved with the startup ecosystem in India for the past few years and was also part of the US startup ecosystem in the mid to late 90s.

Prior to co-founding Inflexor and Parampara, he was the CIO of Bank of America & DSP Merrill Lynch in India. In his CIO role, Jatin was also part of the Country Leadership Team of the Bank which had oversight of all of the bank's business and operations in India, and a member of LMT (the equivalent of the Board of the Bank in India).

Before joining the bank, Jatin spent several years in US, EMEA & India in various technology roles dealing with Wall Street banks and Fortune 500 companies.

Jatin has a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering and has completed the Technology Management Certificate program from the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia.