EP#35 Sanjay Swamy – Identifying category creating startups, adding value as an operator VC & finding investor-founder fit

The VCpreneur: Startups | Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Fundraising

In this episode, Sanjay Swamy, Managing Partner @Prime Venture Partners (Prime), joins our host Digjay, to talk about his journey as an entrepreneur & now as a VC, the genesis story & investment philosophy at Prime, adding value as an operator VC, finding investor-founder fit, identifying & backing category creating startups and the VC-founder relationship at Prime.

Prime VP is an early-stage VC fund focused on backing category-creating tech companies out of India building for the local and global markets. It has a portfolio of 25 startups so far, which includes startups like Recko, MyGate, MoneyTap & Dozee among others. Before starting Prime in 2012, Sanjay took up multiple roles at companies like mCheck & Ezetap. Sanjay also co-founded ZipDial, which was later acquired by Twitter in 2015. Sanjay started his career in the Silicon Valley in 1992, working with companies like Integrated Systems, Xerox, Portal Software before returning to India in 2003. Sanjay is also a volunteer at iSPIRT and played a prominent role on the UIDAI project under the leadership of Nandan Nilekani. You can connect with him here on Linkedin / Twitter

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Show notes –

1. (01:43) Sanjay’s background & path leading up to Prime

2. (07:57) The opportunities that led him to start Prime along with his co-founders; The investment philosophy at Prime

3. (11:27) Adding value to the portfolio companies as an Operator VC; Finding investor-founder fit

4. (17:38) Evolution of the startup landscape & Prime’s investment approach since starting the first fund in 2012

5. (21:31) Why Prime VP likes to back category creating startups? How to evaluate & identify such startups?

6. (30:23) Advice for young VCs – Building trust & supporting founders

7. (34:23) Rapid fire and closing remarks

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