DTM E57. The Future of VC & Deep Tech in India, Transitioning into a VC Career and Understanding the VC Structure - Arjun Rao, Speciale Invest

Arjun is the Founding Partner at Speciale Invest, a seed venture capital fund focused on deep science & tech startups in India, the USA, and Israel. He is passionate about working with exceptional entrepreneurs building emerging tech start-ups in the super early stage. His core expertise has been in product development/management, marketing strategy, org building, fundraising, and finance for over a decade. Prior to Speciale Invest, he spent over 15 years in the technology and Internet start-up ecosystem in India. He started his career with Yahoo! and later joined Ibibo as Product Manager. The entrepreneurial bug led him to start an Edutech startup and also a travel tech startup, Travelyaari. He has led tech and product teams, and strategy and fundraising at all phases of a start-up lifecycle. At Travelyaari, he built the company to achieve revenues of $40mn and raised $12mn in seed, Series A, and Series B funding. On today’s episode, we discuss The Founding Story of Speciale Invest & Why It's One of the Best Places for Deep Tech Startups Understanding VC Firm Structure Skills and Abilities to Transition into a VC Role The Role of Networking & Mentorship in Advancing Your Career in VC Future Trends in the VC Industry and the Deep Tech Startup Ecosystem For topic-wise episode summary & more, click here - ⁠bit.ly/dtm-as Links & References: Arjun Rao- arjunrao (LinkedIn), @raodyboy(Twitter) Speciale Invest - specialeinvest.com, LinkedIn, Twitter Eric Newcomers Substack on VC World - www.newcomer.co Ho Nam, Managing Director of Altos Ventures - Twitter, LinkedIn Pronojit Saha, DTM Podcast - pronojitsaha (LinkedIn), @pronojits (Twitter) Show Notes: (0:26) Overview of Speciale Invest: Motivation and Investment Thesis (4:26) Speciale's Impact on Portfolio Startups: A Showcase of Growth and Credibility (8:35) Transition from a Product Person to a VC: Factors and Inspiration (17:03) Understanding the Structure of a VC Firm (20:46) Roles and Responsibilities within the VC Team (24:03) Key Skills from Product Background Useful in Role as a VC (27:18) The skill of decision-making in ambiguous situations (30:41) Acquiring and Developing New Skills During Role Transition (34:15) Developing Context Switching Skills: Training or Experience? (36:05) Are Financial Analysis and Valuation Skills Essential for Effective Planning? (37:23) Mentors and Role Models During a Transition: Reflection and Thoughts (39:43) Questioning the Existence of a "Right Mentor": Active & Passive Mentoring (42:58) Transitioning from Product to VC: Recommended Resources and Advice (44:39) Future Trends in the VC Industry for Individuals Looking to Transition (48:08) The Future of Indian Deep Tech: Predictions and Projections

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