DTM E57. The Future of VC & Deep Tech in India, Transitioning into a VC Career and Understanding the VC Structure - Arjun Rao, Speciale Invest

Arjun is the Founding Partner at Speciale Invest, a seed venture capital fund focused on deep science & tech startups in India, the USA, and Israel. He is passionate about working with exceptional entrepreneurs building emerging tech start-ups in the super early stage. His core expertise has been in product development/management, marketing strategy, org building, fundraising, and finance for over a decade.

Prior to Speciale Invest, he spent over 15 years in the technology and Internet start-up ecosystem in India. He started his career with Yahoo! and later joined Ibibo as Product Manager. The entrepreneurial bug led him to start an Edutech startup and also a travel tech startup, Travelyaari. He has led tech and product teams, and strategy and fundraising at all phases of a start-up lifecycle. At Travelyaari, he built the company to achieve revenues of $40mn and raised $12mn in seed, Series A, and Series B funding.

On today’s episode, we discuss

• The Founding Story of Speciale Invest & Why It's One of the Best Places for Deep Tech Startups

• Understanding VC Firm Structure

• Skills and Abilities to Transition into a VC Role

• The Role of Networking & Mentorship in Advancing Your Career in VC

• Future Trends in the VC Industry and the Deep Tech Startup Ecosystem

For topic-wise episode summary & more, click here - ⁠bit.ly/dtm-as

Links & References:

Arjun Rao- arjunrao (LinkedIn), @raodyboy(Twitter)

Speciale Invest - specialeinvest.com, LinkedIn, Twitter

Eric Newcomers Substack on VC World - www.newcomer.co

Ho Nam, Managing Director of Altos Ventures - Twitter, LinkedIn

Pronojit Saha, DTM Podcast - pronojitsaha (LinkedIn), @pronojits (Twitter)

Show Notes:

(0:26) Overview of Speciale Invest: Motivation and Investment Thesis

(4:26) Speciale's Impact on Portfolio Startups: A Showcase of Growth and Credibility

(8:35) Transition from a Product Person to a VC: Factors and Inspiration

(17:03) Understanding the Structure of a VC Firm

(20:46) Roles and Responsibilities within the VC Team

(24:03) Key Skills from Product Background Useful in Role as a VC

(27:18) The skill of decision-making in ambiguous situations

(30:41) Acquiring and Developing New Skills During Role Transition

(34:15) Developing Context Switching Skills: Training or Experience?

(36:05) Are Financial Analysis and Valuation Skills Essential for Effective Planning?

(37:23) Mentors and Role Models During a Transition: Reflection and Thoughts

(39:43) Questioning the Existence of a "Right Mentor": Active & Passive Mentoring

(42:58) Transitioning from Product to VC: Recommended Resources and Advice

(44:39) Future Trends in the VC Industry for Individuals Looking to Transition

(48:08) The Future of Indian Deep Tech: Predictions and Projections