EP#41 Sushma Kaushik – Investing in the Bharat opportunity, DNA of impact entrepreneurs & the evolving exit landscape for impact funds

In this episode, Sushma Kaushik (Partner @ Aavishkaar Capital), joins our host Digjay, to talk about her path to VC, the genesis of Aavishkaar Capital & it’s key portfolio startups, the evolution of the fund’s thesis across 4 funds, unlocking of the massive Bharat opportunity, the DNA of impact entrepreneurs, the evolving exit landscape for impact funds & key learnings from Sushma’s decadal experience as a VC.

Aavishkaar Capital is an early-stage VC firm & the equity arm of The Aavishkaar Group which is focused on developing the impact ecosystem in Asia and Africa. Aavishkaar Capital has ~$500mm in AUM & has invested in notable companies like Chqbook, Agrostar, Soulfull, Utkarsh Small Finance Bank among others. Sushma has ~18 years of diverse experience in the field of early stage investing, small business incubation and consulting across sectors. An ISB Hyderabad alum, Sushma has also been recognized as “40 under 40 Alternative Investment Professionals in India” in 2017 and one of the “Top 100 women in finance in the leading category”. You can connect with her here on Linkedin/Twitter.

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Show notes –

1. (01:50) Sushma’s background & path to VC
2. (05:50) Aavishkaar Capital - Genesis, key portfolio companies & evolution of thesis across 4 different funds
3. (11:05) How India’s digitization push has unlocked the massive Bharat opportunity?
4. (18:25) Evaluation framework for impact creating startups; The DNA of impact entrepreneurs
5. (27:40) Evolving exit landscape for impact funds; Importance of making timely exits for LPs
6. (32:55) Key learnings from her decadal experience as a VC
7. (37:05) Rapid fire and closing remarks

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