The top executive at a global chemical manufacturer and a social media marketing expert have joined hands to launch a $50-million earlystage fund that will invest in technology-focused Indian startups.
Sudhir Menon, chairman and MD at Mumbai-based Dorf Ketal Chemicals India, and Atul Hegde, who was CEO at Ignitee Digital, have pooled in their own funds to start Rainmaker Ventures.
The fund is already in talks with a couple of startups and is likely to announce its first investment in the next two months, Hegde told ET.
Hegde said the aim is to go beyond seed capital and provide hands-on mentoring to entrepreneurs. “There is a dearth of people actually focused on helping startups build a real business. We know through our experience that building a business takes time,“ he said. The fund is looking to make an average investment of under $1 million.
The two cofounders have not raised funds from outside and Hegde said he did not see that happening in the near future.Based in Mumbai, Rainmaker Ventures will use Dorf Ketal's global presence and have offices in the US, Brazil and Singapore.