E48: Pearl Agarwal (Founder & Managing Director, Eximius Ventures)

Pearl Agarwal is the Founder and Managing Director of Eximius Ventures, micro venture fund looking to create a thriving global entrepreneurial community and nurture young talent in India. Prior to founding Eximius, Pearl has spent time in PE and Investment Banking in the US and UK, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Corporate Finance from The University of Texas at Austin – The Red McCombs School of Business.

You may follow Pearl and Eximius on Twitter.

In this episode we will cover:

1. Experience raising capital and managing a fund during two different phases of Covid lockdowns in India (2:54)

2. Learnings from conversations with portfolio startups (10:10)

3. Covid impact on a fund’s investment thesis? (14:29)

4. Why did Pearl decide to launch her own fund (19:20)

5. What does a young emerging fund manager today need to know about the investing landscape in India before thinking about setting up a fund (28:36)

6. How welcoming is the ecosystem to new comers? (32:19)

7. What does Pearl mean when she says Eximius is an agile micro fund? (36:00)

8. How do you be agile in VC? (41:35)

9. Why does Eximius have a dedicated HR person on their portfolio support team? (51:53)

10. What kind of support should founders provide so as to maximize their VC’s efforts? (59:48)

11. Advice to founders when fundraising (1:08:01)