HYDERABAD: DVC India recently signed an MoU with T-Hub to help mentor the startups of Hyderabad. CE speaks to Abidali Neemuchwala, co-founder and director, about Indian startup ecosystem, his decades-long journey and love for adventure sports.
India is known to be one of the countries to be on the top when it comes to having the highest number of startups and a friendly ecosystem to support them. With a similar aim in mind, Dallas Venture Capital, which has an office in Irving and another in Hyderabad, announced its partnership with T-Hub and the official launch of the DVC India Fund, which has invested in five companies so far. Dallas Venture Capital raised $80 million for its second flagship fund last May. In the last 12 to 24 months, the fund has invested in five India-based startups, including Disprz, an AI-powered upskilling platform; IntelleWings, an anti-money laundering solutions platform; VuNet, a transaction analytics and monitoring platform; BluSapphire, a cloud-native cybersecurity platform; and Hippo Video, which offers AI-powered interactive videos to scale personalised outreach.
Dallas Venture Capital announced the launch of a Rs 350 crore DVC India Fund as well as a partnership with technology startup incubator T-Hub. ‘The focus of the fund will be startups in the enterprise technology or B2B SaaS space. T-Hub’s support will help the fund identify fast-growing, innovative startups to invest in. The startups will get support to create innovative technology meeting global market needs, increase their IT infrastructure efficiency and team’s productivity, and improve their top-line performance. We are optimistic about the role startups have in the digital transformation and solving real-world problems for global enterprises,” says Abidali Neemuchwala, co-founder and director of DVC.
According to Abidali, the Indian startup ecosystem is booming and it was the apt time to partner with T-Hub. “It will give us the opportunity to identify good talent, mentor them and also enable us to reach a large number of startups. Hyderabad is just behind Bengaluru when it comes to being the IT hub. I am very excited about Hyderabad, the government is also focused on development and it is a good place to have DVC’s headquarters when I need to focus on pan India,” he says. Sharing about how a startup makes the cut into the coveted list, Abidali says, “We follow a 3T process before zeroing on a startup for funding. The first T is talent. The team needs to have proven its talent and passion for the startup. Next T is technology. B2Bs are all about deep tech, so they have to be around either cloud, AI, blockchain, machine learning etc. The last T stands for traction. The startup needs to have a proven track record of at least Rs 5 cr market value.”
Elaborating about his three-decades-long journey in the Indian IT industry, the veteran says, “I have worked with Wipro and TCS for about 35 years. I was also a part of the initial group which made TCS. India is successful when it comes to B2C platform, but when it comes to B2B, help is needed. Global enterprises have deep pockets, but startups don’t have that luck. That’s where we come up with our expertise, we identify markets and narrow down potential business opportunities. We provide the 3Cs — capital, counsel and connection. Now with DVC, it’s my second innings where I help young businesses to scale up.”
It is not only work in Abidali’s second innings, it features travelling too. “I love travelling, I just came back from a safari in Kenya. Apart from travelling, I like reading business and philosophy related books. Spending time with family and youngsters bubbling with ideas is a must for me. Not only that, I love adventure sports. I have learned surfing, sailing and I want to learn flying also, so that I am in the midst of nature,” shares Abidali.
When it comes to giving advice to budding entrepreneurs, Abidali doesn’t hold back. “It’s ok to take risks. Our earlier generation were all about fixed deposits, our generation is all about stock market and the current generation is into venture capital which has an educated risk ecosystem. Startups need to follow the 3Ps of passion, perseverance and patience. Things will work out. Last but most important is to have a life beyond work. The work-life balance is important, don’t leave it for a later date. Follow your passion along with work,” he concludes.
Startups need to follow the 3Ps of passion, perseverance and patience. Things will work out.