A group of NRIs and high-networth individuals have set up Guptaji Invests, the country’s first exclusive angel network that focuses on entrepreneurs from the Gupta/Vysya community.
“Vysyas are traditionally businessmen. The new generation in the community is moving away from family businesses, taking up jobs in the corporate world,” Ravi Teja Gupta, an entrepreneur-cum-seed investor, said.
“The new angel network will help them fund their startups and build their own businesses. We would like to promote the startup enthusiasts from the community to explore newer avenues,” he said.
“We will help the startups to raise ₹50 lakhs to ₹1 crore. Our target is to support at least 100 startups in the first year,” he said.
The angel network, which has onboarded 10 investors, is in talks with 30 other investors, targeting to rope in at least 500 investors in the first year of operations.
Ravi Teja said the angel network has set a target to raise ₹100 crore to support its funding plans.
“Besides infusing strategic investments, the network would focus on bridge rounds to take care of the spending needs of startups during the gaps between different funding rounds,” he said.