Equanimity conducted its first close at a little over US$10 million and we are now deploying this capital in some handpicked early stage firms. We have put together a rock solid team of 7 full time professionals, and designed our own proprietary platform which is a collaborative tool that does a wonderful job of providing real time updates on the deal evaluation process.

We have been involved with startups since 2006 and have had the good fortune of enjoying a ring side view of the ups and downs, trials and tribulations, sweat and glory of the early stage ecosystem. That said, the ecosystem is still nascent and has a long way to go before it matures. The multitude of opportunities that the early stage digital ecosystem throws up are the stuff of dreams. Any asset allocation deserves to have a sliver, if not a whole lot, of exposure to startups.

What do we look for in an early stage business? We think about this deeply. What is it that inclines us to support an entrepreneur on his journey of a lifetime? We confess there is no simple answer to this question. We continue our quest of fine-tuning our answers and the background process by which we want to arrive at these answers. This is our attempt to share with you our thinking about these problems and their answers.

One thing that I can share from my experience is that anything that promises quick results is a GAMBLE - be aware about it. As in the world of investing, “Generating high returns by taking HIGH RISKS is not investing. Good investing is generating high returns, taking low risk, which is an output of discipline and patience

For India to become a force to reckon with on the global platform, we need to build overall infrastructure in the country (brick and mortar) as well as catch up with the US, China, Israel and a few handful of other nations in using technology to build businesses that are globally competitive. These technology enabled businesses are the ones that make our lives smoother by taking out friction (think banking, payments, bookings, etc. that can all be done on your hand held device) or by meeting our demands by providing sources of supply in the most convenient manner (gym memberships, e-commerce, business supplies, etc.).