‘InnerWave’ plans to swoop in on startups

Woah! A great news to all startups

InnerWave Ventures, an elite community of early-stage angel investors are planning to invest in 18-20 startups over the next three years. The network is managed by the corporate advisory firm, InnerWave and was formed after tons of feedback from High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs) that they should start an angel network to allow investment in hidden gems by their expert network.

InnerWave Ventures currently consist of a group of 32 angel investors who are looking to help investment-ready companies that are looking for additional capital and experienced mentors to help with their expansion plans. InnerWave Ventures will also be adding more angel investors to its network who are looking to invest in pre-screened startups supported by the able team of corporate advisory team of InnerWave.

Varun Dhingra, co-founder of Innerwave Ventures said that the angels are highly educated professionals such as IITians, IIM graduates, Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries, who are experienced professionals with proven track records in their respective fields, who could offer wisdom and guidance to the entrepreneur and have the patience to wait for normal company maturation. “A lot of the angels have built up their own businesses and maybe sold them or are in a semi-retired stage and they want to pass on the knowledge that they've picked up to entrepreneurs who maybe need a little coaching and guidance," adds Dhingra.

"Mentorship works when the mentor has some skin in the game. The angels will make investment decisions based on the quality of the business proposal. The investment can come from a single angel or a group and it can range from anywhere from Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.5 crore,” adds Jatin Tehri, Co-founder, InnerWave.  

The Corporate Advisory team of InnerWave will also help in additional rounds including investments from VCs. The community members are industry experts and have vast experience in the respective fields. The active angel investors believe in investing through InnerWave Ventures as they get pre-screened startups and they could focus in mentoring and growth of the startup they have invested in rather than spending time in scouting for new startups.

Apart from the early-stage financing, InnerWave Ventures also facilitate new business connections that help startups to grow and offer insights based on deep knowledge of the industry. The purpose of InnerWave Ventures is Wealth Generation by investing in hidden gems after performing a three-stage screening process. The Venture network will be investing Rs 1 crore or more per investment with a horizon of 18-20 investments over a period of three years.

Procedure of selecting startups for the funding

All the startups who apply for funding will have to pass through a pre-screening process before meeting the Anchor Investors. Post that the Anchor Investors will lead the funding process. The broad process is divided in the following stages: Application, Screening, Anchor Meeting, Introduction to larger group, Commitment, Due Diligence & Term Sheet, Investment, Manage Investment, Compliance, Follow-on funding / Exits

Founded by Varun Dhingra & Jatin Tehri, InnerWave Ventures aims to find hidden gems from the startup ecosystem. It plans to nurture and leverage its business connections to take the startups to the next level. Varun serves as an advisor on early stage equity investments in Indian companies across a wide range of sectors while Jatin’s specialty is deal structuring.

How has angel investing has supported the startups over the years? Please share your views.