IvyCap Ventures

Funds managed

Fund nameAsset ClassLicense
IvyCap Ventures Fund IEarly/ Growth stageSEBI AIF Cat 1
IvyCap Ventures Fund II
Early/ Growth stageSEBI AIF Cat 1
IvyCap Ventures Angel FundEarly stageSEBI AIF Cat 1

About the AMC

  • IvyCap Ventures was established by Vikram Gupta in 2011 with a vision to foster entrepreneurship in India and maximize returns of its investors. 
  • It believes that, in the case of early/growth stage companies, a strong collaborative approach is critical for success. For which they have organized a structured “Mentor Model” that brings the requisite skills, industry experience and passion to support the creation of distinct value in portfolio companies.
  • In 2015, they launched IvyCamp (incubator) to create value for early stage entrepreneurs and innovators.
  • Apart from the three funds and an incubator it also provides venture debt investments.
  • It has $120 million AUM, 20 institutional investors, a network of 5000+ from the IIM/IIT & 55 mentors under its belt.
  • The timeline below explains their journey since inception –

Key staff

  1. Vikram Gupta (Founder & Managing Partner)- He has over 22 years of experience in private equity, business consulting, M&A, strategy and operations in healthcare and life sciences, education, consumer goods and other industries. Prior to IvyCap, Mr. Gupta was the founding member of a $100 million healthcare focused private equity fund that he conceptualized and raised in 2008. He has completed B.Tech from IIT Delhi and has an MBA in Strategy and Finance from Case Western Reserve University.
  1. Vishal Gauri (Co-founder & Mentor)- He is an entrepreneur and strategist with experience in building global businesses and brands. Prior to co-founding IvyCap Ventures, he was a Principal at Nagarro (acquired by Allgeier SE), a California based high-tech solutions company where he led North America sales and strategy. In his early career he held key research positions at GE and Lam Research.  Vishal is an inventor of 15 patents across technologies and industries.

Investment Philosophy (for firm)

  • The firm has an entrepreneur-centric investment approach. They aim to invest capital in ventures founded or managed by professional entrepreneurs from premier institutions.
  • They prefer early to growth stage companies, with highly scalable and innovative business models and demonstrated sales.
  • Their investments have been in sectors such as, consumer, healthcare, enterprise tech, fintech, emerging tech & agritech.

Media

Title: Fund I, II, Angel fund & debt fund information, Source: LiveMint, Date: 18 October 2018

https://www.livemint.com/Companies/AcBFYMcBiZSXicKllLInwN/IvyCap-Ventures-unveils-angel-fund-targets-60-crore-corpus.html

The article talks about the targeted corpus Rs. 60 crore that the angel fund planned to be raised. It was planned to be used to invest in 30-40 companies especially in the technology sector. The fund was to be raised from HNIs who are IIM/IIT alumni and are in powerful positions today. Some part of this fund was to be used to tie up with foreign accelerators.

It also describes the fund size of funds I & II and mentions which companies it has invested in so far.

Title: Investment in Pharmarack, Source: VCCircle, Date: 23 September 2019

https://www.vccircle.com/ivycap-ventures-injects-3-mn-into-pharmarack-via-series-a-funding/

It mentions the amount of Series A funding Pharmarack received from IvyCap ($3 million). It also talks about the funding it has made in the healthcare sector so far.

Title: Vikram Gupta discusses the VC sector in India, Source: YouTube, Date: 21 February 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAziGFCGcmY

The part when he starts talking 0:44 – 6:11 minutes. He starts off by explaining how back in 2013 a PE fund would simply be clubbed with VC as per the regulations in force then. Then he gets into explaining the basics of venture capital and when funding rounds take place. Later, he talks about the exit strategies/routes in a simplified manner so that it is comprehended by the common people present there at the event. 

Title: Introductory video about IvyCaps and its operations, Source: YouTube, Date: 02 July 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-W3QCl72zs

Some of the core team members, mentors and advisors come forward and talk about the company and how the process of funding, advising and mentoring is carried out. It also features some of the founders of the portfolio companies that have gotten help or raised funds from IvyCap and how it has helped them scale their businesses.

Title: Invests in a fintech start-up named Fingpay, Source: Economic Times, Date: 04 April 2020

https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/startups/ivycap-ventures-pumps-rs-27-crore-in-fintech-startup-fingpay/74950192

Talks about the start-up Fingpay briefly & the amount raised (Rs. 27 cr) through series A funding. Vikram Gupta further talks about the company’s recent funding in Singularity Algorithm.

Analyst questions

  • Can you tell us in detail about the debt fund? What is the interest rate at which the debt is offered?
  • How do you think your investment philosophy helps in choosing the right start-ups? Also, was it the same when the firm started out or has it changed over the years?
  • In what way do you think the IIT/IIM alumni network helps the firm thrive in decision making or advising the start-ups?
Share:

You must be logged in to post a comment.