EP44: Consumer & Fintech Investing, and 54x returns from angel investing {Vikram of 8i Ventures}

Stars & Startups

EP44: {Vikram Chachra, Co-Founder of 8i Ventures}

We’ve had 4 of Vikram’s portfolio companies on this show already. Madhu of YAP, Ankit of Signzy, Rajan of Slice and Matt of BlueTokai!! Vikram’s in the process of launching his $ 50 million fund and took the time to have a chat with me about his investment philosophy and the journey being a founder.

Vikram is a SRCC, XLRI & NYU grad who started up a mobile shopping startup in early 2000's and later went on to run the mobile division @ Snapfish ( acquired by HP ). He invests in India and across the world.

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He has seeded over 28 seed to early stage startups over the last decade that have created more than a billion dollars of value for their shareholders. These include several category leaders like Carwale.com, HCG Global (NSE: HCG), EzeTap, Blue Tokai, MoneyTap, Online Tyari, Eatigo, Signzy, amongst others.

Vikram is easy to reach, and if you need someone to hear your consumer or fintech idea, strongly suggest you reach out!

Stay Safe & Spread the word!

- V @varunvummidi

Timeline:

00:00 - Journey in as an entrepreneur

10:17 - Early check in PayTM

14:00 - Impact of COVID on the portfolio

15:01 - 8i and investment philosophy

19:00 - Founders becoming investors

22:45 - IPO’s will start happening in challenger brands

27:04 - Getting deal flow

31:09 - Investing in Signzy

33:45 - BlueTokai

35:42 - Carwale

37:21 - Investing in a hot sauce company { Naagin }

39:50 - Making a decision in early stage companies

42:20 - Not all investments do well

46:01 - Cold emailing Vikram