By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: What would you say are the key points that make Keiretsu Forum stand out from other angel groups? Larry: It’s the breadth of our investors. If a company does well in one chapter, other investors in other chapters also want to see them and possibly invest
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold This is the twentieth interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Larry Chaityn, president of New York Tri-State Chapters, the Keiretsu Forum. Irina: Hi, Larry. Let’s start with your background and then go to the point where you got involved with the
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: What can investors do to be more successful? Amit: We need to devote more time to the companies we invest in. We need to give them more customer references. Early-stage companies lack a lot of things that angel investors or successful entrepreneurs can bring them. On
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: Nurture Talent workshops are live, right? They’re not online? Amit: They are not online. We are going to start our online training programs in the near future, but these workshops are completely offline as of now. Every Saturday we take a conference room and anywhere from
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Amit: Let’s take Apalya Technologies. The first time they came to Mumbai Angels, we didn’t shortlist them at all. We told them to take three or four months and come back with a prototype in place with customers, a few service providers signed up, and television channel
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: Do you require that the entrepreneurs you invest in have previous business experience? Amit: In terms of running a venture of their own, no. In terms of having some experience of at least being in that sector, understanding the nitty-gritty details of what they are getting
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: How many deals do you get each month, approximately? Amit: On average, I would say we get maybe sixty to seventy-five, but it can be up to one hundred. Irina: How many of those deals deserve a closer look? Amit: Once the one hundred companies apply
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold This is the nineteenth interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Amit Grover, member of the Mumbai Angels and the founder of Nurture Talent Academy, a training institute for entrepreneurs in India. Irina: Hi, Amit. Let’s start with your telling us a little