Sanjay Mehta’s Micro VC Fund 100X.VC Reveals 10 Early Stage Startups Joining Batch 5

In the past few years, the trend of micro venture capital (VC) funds has caught on in India with multiple VCs launching between 2014-2020. Taking the micro VC approach, Mehta Ventures, the family office investment arm of investor Sanjay Mehta also launched a cohort-based investment model.

Since its launch in December 2019, Sanjay Mehta-led 100x.VC has hosted 5 cohorts and backed 60 startups.

Announcing the fifth batch of 10 sector-agnostic, ideation stage startups, Mehta told Inc42, “The first break is important for any startup in their journey. 100X.VC is designed to help with capital and education, a true catalyst for initial growth. Our mission at 100X is to help these companies with exponential thinking with smart money.”

“After a rigorous process of evaluating 4785 pitches, 458 startups were shortlisted, and after due diligence 10 were funded in Class 05,” the VC said in a statement. Talking about how the selection process takes place, Mehta said, “We look at various aspects of the business but primarily we look at founders’ right to win, their capabilities and assess their hunger to become the category leaders,” he added.

The fund had announced the first batch in December 2019 with 20 early-stage startups, followed by 9 startups in Class 02, 10 startups in Class 03, and 11 startups in Class 04.

The firm uses India SAFE notes or iSAFE notes (India Simple Agreement for Future Equity), an alternative to convertible notes used for investments. The method allows an investor to make cash investments in return for a convertible instrument to buy shares in a future priced round.

They involve greater scrutiny — an investor makes a cash investment in return for a convertible instrument and to comply with applicable Indian law, iSAFE note takes the legal form of compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) which is convertible on the occurrence of specified events, Mehta added.

Meet The 10 Early-Stage Startups That Are Part Of Class 05 Of 100X.VC

1. QwikSkills

Headquarters: Delhi NCR
Sector: Edtech

Founded by Varun Mahajan and Harit Verma, QwikSkills is a practice platform that helps professionals clear Cloud and other tech certification exams in their first attempt.

2. Nooble

Headquarters: Kochi
Sector: Social Networking (Audio)

Nooble is a podcast/social audio platform that lets users share their thoughts in 3 minutes or less on topics of their choice.

3. SpoofSense

Headquarters: Hyderabad
Sector: SaaS

SpoofSense is a deep learning SaaS platform that enables businesses to detect face spoofing — exaggerated comical copies — attacks.

4. Bebe Burp

Headquarters: Surat
Sector: Foodtech

Bebe Burp is a foodtech brand that provides baby food across nutrition, supplements, and instant serve packages.

5. Paperplane

Headquarters: Lucknow
Sector: SaaS

Paperplane is a SaaS aggregator of digital clinics and doctors, creating virtual receptions and chatbots for doctors on WhatsApp.

6. ZuPay

Headquarters: Delhi NCR
Sector: Fintech

Zupay is a wealth management platform for teenagers (kids who are 13+) allowing investments in Mutual Funds, Stocks & IPO with parental oversight.

7. Strive

Headquarters: Bengaluru
Sector: Edtech

Strive is a cohort-based live and interactive course provider from experts from different industries to college students and young professionals in passion and creative domains.

8. Humblx

Headquarters: Kochi
Sector: SaaS

Humblx is a digital assistant for housekeeping staff, helping companies manage their day-to-day operations efficiently.

9. WayFr

Headquarters: Austin, Texas, US
Sector: Logistics

WayFr is a freight business aggregator, building micro-communities of truckers and shippers in the USA.

10. FilterPixel

Headquarters: Delhi NCR
Sector: SaaS

FilterPixel is an AI-Powered SaaS for photographers, saving their time by classifying technically bad photos as errors and providing smart tools to select the best from good photos quickly.

Startups that are part of this batch will receive 100+ hours of masterclass covering a range of topics from industry experts from the pricing of product, business model, market sizing, product management to raising capital for growth.

“It is a finishing school for talented entrepreneurs,” Mehta said. Talking about the non-shortlisted companies, he added, “ We track them and invest in them when we believe they are ready for intensive coaching and consumption of growth capital. They do apply for future classes.

Recently, 100X.VC also announced the launch of a not-for-profit initiative – Entrepreneurship Gurukul. Through the new initiative, 100X.VC will provide a free education platform to aspiring entrepreneurs where 200+ founders were onboarded for the 12 weekly sessions of Live and Video recorded content.