In this episode, Ritu Verma (Co-founder & Managing Partner, Ankur Capital), joins our host Digjay, to talk about her path leading up to venture capital, thesis & vision at Ankur Capital, learnings from past investments in Agritech & Healthtech, common blind spots faced by founders in the 0-1 phase, Learnings from Fund I, challenges faced as a GP, collaborating with fellow VCs & more.

Ankur Capital is an early stage VC fund that invests in startups with transformative technologies building for the next billion Indians. The fund has invested in some marquee startups like Wasabi, Rupifi, Cropin & Niramai among others. Prior to starting Ankur Capital, Ritu worked on bringing innovation from the lab to the market for companies like Unilever and Philips. An ex-physicist, Ritu also has experience of investing in IP led renewable technologies. She has a PhD in physics from University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from INSEAD. You can connect with her here on Linkedin/Twitter.

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Show notes –

(01:37) Ritu’s background & path leading up to venture capital - physicist to VC
(04:58) Thesis & vision at Ankur Capital
(10:27) Learnings from investing in Agritech & Healthtech
(13:14) Adding value to portfolio startups
(16:50) Common blind spots faced by founders in the 0-1 phase
(18:48) Learnings from Ankur Capital’s Fund I; Adapting to changing market dynamics
(24:08) Collaborating with fellow VCs
(26:04) Challenges faced as a General Partner
(30:39) Addressing the diversity challenge in VC
(34:05) How has being a VC influenced Ritu’s personality over the years
(34:39) Rapid fire and closing remarks

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