Perspectives from Venture Capitalists - The Do's and Don'ts for an Entrepreneur in ESDM industry

At the recent Business Standard Smart Business panel discussion on ‘Perspectives from Venture Capitalists – The Do’s and Don'ts for an Entrepreneur in ESDM industry’ organised in association with IESA in Bangalore, the panellists were of the opinion that a 5 billion dollar market opportunity awaited start-ups in India's electronics systems design and manufacturing (ESDM) industry in countries with requirements similar to India.

Entrepreneurs should focus on building and scaling up products in India and then take them to other parts of the world which have environments similar to India, they felt.

The panellists, Chinnu Senthilkumar, partner and chief technology officer in Exfinity Ventures, Sanjay Nayak, co-founder and chief executive officer of Tejas Networks, S Thiruvadi, Advisor and former Managing Director of Canbank Venture Capital Fund and M N Vidyashankar, President of the Indian Electronics and Semiconductor Association, detailed the opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs with the Make in India initiative of the government to build strong local firms.

According to the panellists, venture capitalists and investors were looking for strong technical knowledge that could create a massive business opportunity, sound business plans and a focus on fundamentals from start-ups that seek funding. While the market was tough for entrepreneurs to raise funds, companies with a sound product and a sound business plan, coupled with expertise to execute the business, would be able to raise funds, they felt.

   

The event was attended by several entrepreneurs and others keen to raise funds from investors to start on their own. The World Trade Centre in Bengaluru was the venue partner.