It was almost after four years that VCCircle returned to Pune for an event and the response was overwhelming, to say the least. Over 300 people, including investors, entrepreneurs, angels and bankers, attended VCCircle’s Pune Investment Forum held on August 23, making it an instant success.
The event kick-started with a ‘keynote fireside chat’ that effectively mapped the local entrepreneurship scenario, as well as the deal-making market. VT Bharadwaj, managing director of Sequoia Capital, acted as the moderator while MS Unnikrishnan, MD of Thermax Ltd, and Hanmant Ramdas Gaikwad, CMD of BVG India Ltd, shared their entrepreneurial journeys. One of the speakers also touched a key pain point all entrepreneurs have faced – they never get funding when they need it most and investors start chasing them with funds only when they start doing well.
Next came a number of interesting panel discussions that had so many blink-and-miss moments that the attendees were simply glued to their seats. The discussions covered a variety of topics and focused on areas like sectors and stages in businesses that appeal to PE investors; emerging opportunities in IT domains; appetite for scale and growth capital in the manufacturing and engineering sector and most importantly, how to get VC and angel funding for your startup (the dos and don'ts to follow before approaching an angel or a seed-stage investor). The speakers included noted personalities from the VC/PE community, entrepreneurs, bankers, CEOs and CFOs.
To get a first-hand feel of the event, take a look at the event snapshots and soon we will bring you more takeaways.
(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)