Knowledge And Value Add Are The Powerful Tools Of Building Trust In Relationship.
Padmaja Ruparel, is the Co-Founder & President of India’s largest Angel Network, Founding Partner of IAN Fund - believes that women must add value to family decisions when managing money is concerned. She is a woman who knows what 5 steps are to be taken in managing her financial stuff in case of any eventuality, which is a mark of a true woman.
Born and raised in Kolkata, she began her career in her family-owned real estate business and nurtured the entrepreneur within her. Later in Delhi, she began her Corporate journey. Being involved with NASSCOM, she refined her networking and management skills. Later, as an Executive Director she played a key role in building the Indian Venture Capital Association. Woman of substance, Padmaja Ruparel, has led her company to a level where it is tracking an IRR of 32% with a failure rate of 15% which is commendable. She has made everyone believe that nothing is impossible in life – One just has to do what one wants to do.
Give us an insight of a beautiful journey that you have travelled so far?
I grew up in Calcutta at a time not known for entrepreneurship. Although, I took up the opportunity of growing the family owned real estate from 10,000 sq. ft. into 2.5 lakh sq. ft. space, which became a profitable business over 2 years. That was my first brush with entrepreneurship. Soon after, I got married and moved to Delhi where my Corporate journey began in the sunrise industries of media and software .
Along with my corporate life, I got deeply involved with NASSCOM (Association for the Indian Software Industry Companies), which exposed me to networking, how peer bodies work, & the impact they create. In my corporate stint I had performed various functions apart from the technical side: be it sales, marketing, recruitment, project optimization, and so on.
I was involved in the corporate strategy function – JVs, listing & delisting, M&As etc. In 1998, when the company merged with a LSE listed company, I regeared ourselves. When my Chairman, decided to bring TIE, world's largest organisation for entrepreneurs to Delhi, I helped operationalize it – literally from a concept setting up a strong foundation. It has in fact become one of the best performing chapters of the world & has been winning for the past 5 years consistently.
Later I played a key role as Executive Director in building the Indian Venture Capital Association, India's oldest and largest association of VC and PE firms. These two organisations gave me an insight of what entrepreneurs needed and what VCs, at that time, were investing no less than US$7 to 8 mn.
At that time, the 2 – 3 crores that entrepreneurs needed after investing 25-30 lakhs, was just not available! That was the vacuum that IAN filled.
“That is why 'Indian Angel Network' was set up.”
Give us an insight into your business 'IAN’?
IAN is a group of first generation successful entrepreneurs who put in little bits of money. This is how it works - 10 investors get together and put in 20 lakhs each. The entrepreneur gets his 2 crore . Each one has put very little money, but they have added a lot of value in terms of mentoring giving those startups credibility and global market access.
“So, six of us, put this together, and became the cofounders of IAN.”
We saw lot of startups coming to us. When we looked at the Western models, Angel groups were very local. We did not want to do that. We wanted to do something which is Geography agnostic, but Geography leveraged. We revolutionized the Angel group concept all over the world with the creation of this platform.
“We have nearly 500 investors investing with us from 11 countries. We have invested in 135 plus companies across 7 countries across 17-18 sectors and tracking an IRR of 32% with a failure rate of 15%.”
We invest & breed innovative companies. So, that is what our business is. We invest in innovation, investing in startup companies, breeding them, creating disruptive businesses for this country, plugging gaps both in India and other places with not only early money but mentoring & market access.
Secondly, we have launched a Rs. 450-crore fund where an entrepreneur can raise money from 25 lakhs to 50 crores on a single platform. Best entrepreneurs are attracted to the IAN platform because the fund raising time can be crunched for entrepreneurs as they build their business.
Hence, IAN is a network where you can raise money if you keep performing, access mentors who are globally recognized domain experts and leverage their networks. We have had companies where we have connected NASA as one of their early clients. This is where we make a difference. Therefore, IAN is a platform for money , mentoring and market access.
Why one should invest in IAN?
If we see all the traditional asset classes, returns on them are going down. Hence, for you as an investor , your portfolio IRR is dropping. You are almost linked to Public markets.
But where IAN is concerned -
1. This is an unlisted space
2. Our IRR is 32%
3. For an ultra or normal HNI, this asset class would be the kicker for your portfolio
4. One can get the collective view on innovation of various sectors
5. It is a collaborative thinking platform
How is risk taken care of?
Risk is mitigated across sectors, across countries, stage of companies, size of companies, type of companies, in terms of combination of promoter and peer investing and lastly close monitoring and mentoring of the companies.
What are the obstacles which you faced?
I don't think, I see the word obstacle in my life. Just figure out what works and what doesn't. If there is something which doesn't work, just try to figure out what works.
What made you successful in life?
I don't think I am successful. I live my life very simply. I don't compete – the only person I compete with is myself. So, what I did yesterday, I shouldn't be doing it today. I should be augmenting myself.
We were the first Angel group in the country. Many have come behind us but I still say, 'if they are good, we will embed something from them, if not, we are fine.'
“Just keep doing with an integrity of purpose, vision, effort and honesty and you will see there is a path that you will follow. That path doesn't need to be better or worse than others, that is your own path.”
Do you manage your finances on your own?
My husband manages all our finances, but I know my asset allocation. If an emergency arises, I know where to hit the road. I know the 5 steps I need to take to manage my financial stuff.
Should women manage their finances on their own?
It is very important for men and women to have financial knowledge. For me, managing finances is a much bigger question, women should be able to add value to decisions, but who manages it remains immaterial.
I feel, power of knowledge and power of value add are much higher, than keeping control of it. Knowledge and value add are the powerful tools of building trust in relationship.
How do you balance out everything?
There is nothing called balancing in my life. I do what I want to do. I enjoy every minute of life and prioritize as per situation.