STARTUPCENTRAL 2008 December

Biz plan showcase at IIM Ahmedabad

Posted on December 29, 2008 by Snigdha Sengupta

Another business school joins the business plan contest bandwagon. IIM Ahmedabad is inviting entries for its first B-Plan Showcase, which is part of its maiden Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference scheduled for February 6th and 7th on-campus at the Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE). A three-step evaluation process will shortlist ten business plans, which will be showcased…

Venture capital cools off in 2008

Posted on December 29, 2008 by Snigdha Sengupta

2008 was supposed to be the golden year of venture investing in India, poised to breach the psychological $1 billion mark. After the $875 million invested during calendar year 2007, it seemed logical. But, as per Venture Intelligence’s estimates, investments till November 2008 were at $735 million. It is unlikely that December, which has been the worst hit since the…

Steve Jurvetson on cleantech

Posted on December 22, 2008 by Snigdha Sengupta

Which (VC) Investors to Avoid (The Venture Company) Steve Jurvetson on Focusing on Cleantech During the Slowdown (VentureBeat) The Outlook for Venture Capital (The New Entrepreneur) Venture Capital’s Favourite Startups (Businessweek Small Biz) Which States are Favoured by Entrepreneurs in India? (Dare Blog)

How’s your chemistry with your VC?

Posted on December 21, 2008 by Snigdha Sengupta

Early last week a venture capitalist in Bangalore remarked to me: “I’m a bit concerned that our limited partners have not given us any kind of direction. We’ve heard of other firms in the US having annual meetings with their limited partners and being told to be cautious. Ours have not even said let’s set up a call and talk….

Nasscom innovation awards 2008 finalists

Posted on December 18, 2008 by Snigdha Sengupta

Nasscom’s 2008 Innovation Awards kicked off the final leg of the selection process on Monday, December 15, and even among the clutter of startup networking events underway between now and January-end, this one stands out for its sheer outreach and potential business impact. The final leg, simply dubbed ‘Roadshows’, will showcase 24 shortlisted information technology and business process outsourcing companies…

Angels pull back in slow economy

Posted on December 14, 2008 by Snigdha Sengupta

Did Accel Just Raise Money for a Facebook Bailout? (CNNMoney.com) Economy has Angels Pulling Back (Gigaom) Interview with Singapore’s Silicon Valley Success Story: Ong Peng Tsin (Part I) (CNET) DFJ Dragon Raising Second Fund (peHUB) 3 Weeks to Startup: Week 1 (Entrepreneur.com)

Poll: Proto.in versus TiE Summit

Posted on December 11, 2008 by Snigdha Sengupta

This winter, as has been with winters for the past couple of years, two kinds of entrepreneur showcase and networking events offer startups opportunities to promote themselves. First up is the old school model — TiE Entrepreneurial Summit 2008 (December 16, 17, 18) — which gives young companies a chance to connect with industry leaders via pre-formatted panel discussions. Next…

The Riskmaster takes to blogging

Posted on December 10, 2008 by Snigdha Sengupta

Maverick venture capitalist Timothy Draper has taken to blogging and has been at it sporadically since November at The Riskmaster. He talks about women founders of DFJ-backed companies and repealing Sarbanes-Oxley among other things. This one should be an entertaining blog. Canaan Partners’ Alok Mittal has put up a 15-page ‘Entrepreneur Pitch WorkBook‘ at Venturewoods that outlines what the firm…

Mayfield launches $110 million India fund

Posted on December 8, 2008 by Snigdha Sengupta

Mayfield Fund has finally launched its maiden India fund, dubbed Mayfield India I, with a $110 million corpus ( press release at peHUB). The firm set up shop here in 2006 with an investment team comprising of Nikhil Khattau, Vikram Godse, Navin Chadha and Robin Vasan. In September the Silicon Valley-headquartered Mayfield closed the $395 million Mayfield Fund XIII, which…

Proto.in, HeadStart 2009: You can attend both!

Posted on December 8, 2008 by Snigdha Sengupta

Now why do perfectly nice people have to get cocky and spoil it all? The organizers of Proto.in, which hosts its next edition on January 23 and 24 in Bangalore, have come up with a feature called PitchCamp! — “Learn the inside scoop on how VCs (venture capitalists), corporate partners and journalists think.” writes Proto.in curator Vijay Anand. Impressed that…