Dear Indian VCs: Your Groupthink Act Is Killing Innovation

Here’s a bit of a dialogue I recently had with a partner at a well-known VC firm:

VC1: How many people do you expect to hire in this time frame?

Me: Around 35.

VC1: Don’t you think that’s slow?

Me: Well, we’d like to remain lean, plus our business model allows us to be so. Have a look at my projections sheet.
VC1: Ah! Has random VC2 gotten back yet? We’d like to chip in if they commit.

Me: Not yet.

Since then VC1 has been MIA (missing in action) despite demonstrating solid interest in the business to start with. So much respect for a founder’s time and effort! Imagine what if we do take funding from firms like this! Guess we’d be forced to become a churn-ware factory in no time.

I’ve raised capital from some of the most active and marquee angel investors over the last few years. But actively raising institutional money over the last couple of months has brought me closer to an odd gap in the investment marketplace. There are a very few investors who are actually vying to be the first one to discover hot new tech startups or create new markets. Instead, they’re always trying to find an American/Chinese replica or blindly follow investment decisions of other handful firms.

I find this abysmally ironic.

Most entrepreneurs want to start companies solving problems in a never-done-before way and go where others haven’t. But these venture money people are the exact opposite — their mantra is “I’m going to do the same thing everyone else does, because they might be doing something right.” This herd mentality runs deep in the VC firms globally but in India, where venture capital is limited and hard to come by, it’s stifling innovation.

In fact, I’ve been told by an analyst at one of these funds that they are specifically told not to meet with companies that are attempting something ‘absolutely new’. They go by a shopping checklist to satisfy their LPs and follow the few cool cliques; sentiments are created by this bunch, and the overall effect is a herd mentality. And not to forget, a lot of these partners are super fearful people. They just don’t want to be singled out for the blame if anything goes wrong. So much for supporting entrepreneurs who’re largely a fearless clan.

While most of them would talk about bottom line fundamentals to press, they actually value me-too businesses and a lottery ticket over solid ideas that need more visibility.

No wonder, it has led us to where we are:

Several (not all) VCs continue to invest in underdeveloped business models just because the coolest fund around lead the startup’s first round of funding. Meanwhile, other VCs will now follow the trend and fund any startup that is doing ‘something similar’ because they have a deep-seated FOMO.

A few months down the line cracks begin to appear in the team, business model, TAM etc., and many other copy-paste startups have already cluttered the ecosystem.

Now, this causes other investors to shy away from the space to the detriment of other better companies that need funding to accelerate growth. And, of course, the lousy startups that got funding at undeserving high valuations, struggle to raise more capital, without creating any real value in the process, leading to negative sentiments.

Another thing I’ve identified during my fundraising journey is that I connect more with VCs who were entrepreneurs before. These people tend to be supportive from the go, communicate better, have a vision, and behave more like partners rather than gods. Most importantly, they tend to be more sincere and clear about what they want out of the time they spend with the management. But isn’t it really surprising to know that such entrepreneur-turned-VCs barely exist in the Indian ecosystem?

Indian VCs really need to become less fearful, gain more vision, become more open minded and re-look at their methodologies. Just as a spunky and bold attitude is unconditionally a must for a successful entrepreneur, these traits are absolutely necessary for VCs as well. And this has to translate more than just B-plan analysis and risk taking, it is the courage to support radicalism, and not listen to the herd. It takes an effort and a solid vision, let’s face it – it’s never easy.

All in all, excessive attention by VCs to some specific spaces and virtual neglect of other business models has led to underinvested segments in India.

The best performing funds/investors aren’t influenced much by the opinion of other investors. A lot of investors claim that the key to success is finding the next Facebook. In my view, this is the very reason why any of the VC firms in India have failed to build the next Facebook. It can never be about discovering the next Facebook or AirBnb, it’s about positioning your fund to celebrate radical game changing ideas.

What do you disagree with? What do you agree with? What did I miss? Let me know.