Budding entrepreneurs of IIT Kharagpur got a rare opportunity to interact with a venture capitalist in person at the leadership lecture by Mr. Jishnu Bhattacharjee, vice president, Nexus India Capital ( ECE, IIT khargpur, 2000) organized by the Entrepreneurship Cell ,IIT Kharagpur on the 5th of September , 2008.
“It feels great to be back at the campus . So much has changed over the last eight years”, was how Mr. Jishnu
started out. He then went on to explain what exactly Nexus India Capital is looking for in new businesses which they would like to fund. ”We are looking for growing companies in their early stages, driven by innovation in technology or business model”, he said. With over 320 million USD capital under management, Nexus India Capital has already invested in 14 startups, in areas ranging from internet to solar energy.
Providing the students a glimpse of the parameters on which a venture capitalist judges the potential of a business, Mr. Jishnu said that it is the market size, technology used ,scalability, core team competency, and the presence or absence of regulatory hurdles, which determine how good your idea really is.
A novel concept which he highlighted was the 80/20 rule, in which an entrepreneur identifies 20% of the areas in the business that matter to him the most, and then allocates 80% of his resources towards achieving high performance in those areas. He also pointed out the important role a VC plays in shaping the future of a startup.” From taking governing decisions to auditing to hiring people for your company, a VC’s influence spreads across diverse spheres.” He joked that, in America an entrepreneur’s partnership with a VC, outlasts the average married life of eight years.
Emphasizing the need for Kharagpur graduates to take up entrepreneurship with full gusto, he said, “now is the best time to be your own boss.” Whether it be mobiles,
internet commerce, clean technology, or organic farming, the opportunities to be exploited are galore. He also welcomed the news that, there have been two startups from the campus in the last two years, and displayed a keen interest in supporting any innovative, technology driven idea that may originate in the campus in the future.
Jishnu concluded with a question that left the entire audience with something to ponder on. “I see tonnes of
business plans coming up form IIT Bombay, Delhi and Madras. But why not Kharagpur? What is holding us
back?” Now, this is a question that we all need to find an answer to.
