EP 69 : Early-Stage Investing | Prayank Swaroop (Partner, Accel)

To learn more about the nuances of early-stage startup investing, we have with us today Prayank Swaroop, a Partner at Accel, who invests in B2B, Consumer Brands, and Fintech. He has invested in multiple startups solving problems specifically for Indian Businesses across sectors.  He focuses on cybersecurity, developer tools, marketplaces, and SaaS investments. Some of the investments led by him are - Aavenir, Bizongo, Maverix, OnsiteGo, Securden, Sintel, Skeps, and Zetwerk.  

Prior to Accel, he worked at Adobe and Standard Chartered Bank in India and Singapore. He held positions across engineering, product marketing, pre-sales, and product management.  

In this episode, we talk about - 

- How has early-stage investing changed? (02:35) 

- Entrepreneurship as a career choice (05:45) 

- Attracting top entrepreneurs (09:10) 

- Mentoring entrepreneurs (12:12) 

- Institutionalising knowledge (15:56) 

- Identifying the right partners (19:23) - Overcoming challenges (27:53) 

- Tackling small market sizes (32:43) 

- Prayank's investment thesis (43:15) 

- SaaS wave in India (48:44) 

- SaaS Valuations (52:12) 

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