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A Private Equity funding does not only benefit start-ups monetarily. It’s all about a partnership with experienced people who will hand-hold you through the myriad teething troubles of managing and eventually making your company succeed.
Set up in 2006 with the objective of providing able solutions to the needs of myriad travellers, this one can’t stop telling people that Yatra.com is a smarter way to travel. However, not many are aware that the portal became possible only through the funding of various venture capital firms. The VCs that have parked their funds in Yatra.com are Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), Reliance Capital and the Television 18 group who came in the initial part of the business and remain a part of the company till date. Dhruv Shringi, Co-founder and CEO, Yatra.com, elaborates on the journey of the online company.
What factors enabled you to convince the VCs to give you funding?
We approached the VC firms initially and, I think, there were a few things that we had got right, which are attributes that VC’s look for. We had a clear idea of what we wanted to do and the right team, with the capability to execute that idea. We were also aware about the competitive environment that the idea would develop in. For us the strongest point was team, we had people who had worked on this kind of business before and hence had the relevant experience to execute the entire plan well. These things worked in our favour.
How has the funding helped you grow?
I think these funds have helped us in multiple ways. As it was really the starting of the journey as far as Yatra is concerned so firstly, the funds helped us in getting together the right kind of team, as also in terms of formulating strategy and making an introduction with key people within the industry. Apart from the monetary aspects, this relationship also got many eminent people on the board of Yatra.com. Some of our investors are reputed people, involved in running companies. They brought with them a lot of experience. In case of start-ups, there are many problems that you encounter from time to time and it’s always good to have experience on your side. We had people like Haresh Chawla, CEO of TV18 who has taken TV18 from a small company to being a media conglomerate today. Likewise, Pramod Haque has invested in about 100 companies in various parts of the world. These guys, with their immense management experience, helped us to put forward our best foot.
How do see the relationship with the three key investors 2-3 years down the line?
The relationship that we share has evolved a lot. I see it more as a partnership. There is a lot of trust and respect involved. We help each other, we respect each other, we value each other and we also trust each others judgments.
Your advice to entrepreneurs who seek funding from Venture Capitalists?
My advice to anyone seeking funds is to not get blinded by valuations.Judge the quality of the investor. A little difference between valuations cannot determine success or failure. But having the backing of a right investors can.
Edit bureau: Surbhi Chawla
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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