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By Snigdha Sengupta December 10, 2013 Read More →
Mumbai’s newest angel network Lead
Angels targets campus incubators
Sushanto Mitra, co-founder, Lead Angels
Last month, Mumbai got itself a brand new angel investor network. Lead Angels, which is still early days
into getting its network and processes in place, formally launched operations with 20-odd members in
early November.
The outfit’s founders are folks who have been associated with IIT Bombay and its entrepreneurshiprelated initiatives for a while. The three-member founder team consists of C Amarnath, who recently
retired as professor of mechanical engineering at the institute (and has long been associated with its
various startup initiatives), Sushanto Mitra, who was earlier CEO of on-campus incubator SINE (Society
for Innovation & Entrepreneurship) and was until recently director at Hyderabad Angels, and Bipin
Kumar, an IIT Bombay alumnus who played a key role in taking the institute’s business plan contest
Eureka global.
We recently chatted with Mitra, who relocated back to Mumbai from Hyderabad earlier this year, on the
why, what and how of Lead Angels. Edited excerpts:
How will you be different from other angel networks in terms of focus?
We think there’s a gap in the ecosystem between on-campus incubators in colleges and universities and
angel networks and the mainstream. We’d like to tap into those incubators and are starting with IIT
Bombay, since all of us come from there. What’s also different is that, unlike some other angel networks,
the founders, i.e. the three of us, will also participate in deals alongside the network’s members. We have
an available pool of about Rs 50 lakh between the three of us and will invest Rs 1-2 lakh per deal.
How many members on board so far?
We’ve just started, so the network is still small, about 20-odd so far. Some of the members on board
include Faisal Farooqui, founder Mouthshut, EN Venkat from Aavishkaar Frontier Fund and Mastek
founder Ashank Desai.
Tell us more about the investment strategy.
As a network, we’ll invest between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 100 lakh per deal. We’re a small network and
therefore cannot afford to have much burn in the companies that we back. So, we will be looking at
companies that are near break-even or have even achieved break-even. In terms of sectors, we’ll look at
things like health, social media, housing, recruitment and so on. The idea is to look for companies that are
evolving a more elegant solution to existing problems.
How much stake will you pick up in each company?
The stake depends on investee-specific parameters but we would collectively like to own not less than 10
per cent per company.
Will you confine yourselves to Mumbai?
No, in fact, we’re starting a Delhi chapter. But more on that later.
You recently invited your first batch of startup pitches. Any deals working out?
We are currently doing due diligence for one of the companies that pitched.
Would you consider setting up a formal angel fund, as per SEBI’s recent recommendations
for angel investors?
That is a possibility in future. Currently Lead Angels only acts as an facilitator to angels who wish to invest
on an individual basis.
Image credit: Lead Angels