P.V.Anandpadmanabhan
New Delhi:
“In startups, new highs and new lows can happen in the same month—or the same
day. There is no straight line. Founder should be ready for it as the key is to survive,” said
Sandeep Aggarwal, India’s only two-time unicorn founder, drawing sharp parallels between
today’s AI surge and the dot-com boom.
Aggarwal was speaking at the panel discussion at launch of ValleyNXT Ventures’ Bharat
Breakthrough Fund–I, a SEBI-registered Category I Venture Capital Fund, unveiled in New
Delhi. The fund has been structured as a Rs 400 crore platform (including Rs 200 Croce
greenshoe) to invest in startups from seed to pre-Series A, with a focus on sectors including
space, defence tech, robotics, AI/ML, cybersecurity, biotech, sustainability, and consumer
innovation.
This brought together founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders to address what ValleyNXT
calls the most critical phase in a startup’s journey—the early-stage “Valley of Death.”
ValleyNXT’s thesis is that startups don’t fail only because they run out of capital, but because
they run out of clarity.
“Risk can be managed, but uncertainty is harder because it is connected to capital, market,
team, customers, and supply chain. That’s why mentorship is essential. Business needs
passion, not fashion,” said S. P. Singh, CGM, SIDBI, stressing the role of structured guidance in
early-stage execution.
Mentoring helps founders strengthen their vision. “We want to build something for
society—beyond capital. That becomes possible when it includes connections, capital, team,
and other resources,” said CA Anand Saklecha, Founder and Head of the Investment
Committee.
Highlighting the importance of acceleration, Nipun Agarwal compared startups with traditional
businesses. “In business families, systems and processes keep you grounded. In startups, you
need mentor to accelerate,” he noted.
Founders also shared personal lessons. Dinesh Prasad (Navars) said, “Things don’t work every
time, and when something odd happens, we need a mentor and a second perspective.” Sameer
Sharma (Swaha) added that mentorship was transformative: “Mentoring put us in the correct
orbit. It helped us focus on what matters most.”
Investor Ish Babbar emphasized that founders need frameworks, not interference. “You need
someone to guide you—not to take over but to grow you. Personal values pay back in tough ValleyNXT Ventures, which has evaluated 5,000+ deals and invested in 10+ ventures, will run
the fund through its MIB Framework—Mentorship, Investment and Business Connects, led by
Dr. Nikhil Agarwal, Dr. Madhu Vasepalli, CA Anand Saklecha and Mr. Suresh Goyal.
