Exclusive: Anand Lunia, Partner, India Quotient wants to be entrepreneurs’ first coach instead of handholding them through the end

Anand Lunia who started India Quotient with his old friend Madhukar Sinha, had been clear from the beginning that he wanted to create a fund that had a close connection with the Indian Consumer and every company in their portfolio reflects that.

India Quotient’s portfolio includes around 30 startups such as 91Mobiles, Roposo, ShareChat, LendingKart, HolaChef, and PrettySecrets.
While a lot of companies in their kitty have shut shop, the investors have successfully exited four investments with many of the companies raising follow-on funding from larger venture capital funds.

The fund’s internal rate of return (IRR) is in the range of 30-35 percent, and they are keeping a target IRR of 50 percent for the upcoming fund.

Business Insider caught up with Anand Lunia, Founding Partner, India Quotient who has been investing in start-ups since the past ten years. Consumer Connect

“In the last two years, every VC firm is leaning towards SAAS and B2B businesses but we believe that the India story is largely about consumption. We’re stepping up towards consumer space because we feel that we know and wish to perfect this sector as an investment firm,” says Lunia who says that he has been using the money he earns from his previous investments into India Quotient.

Lunia revealed that the firm is hoping to invest in 25 startups through its new fund, which should have its first close by October, this year. The target corpus for the new fund, which will be the early-stage investors’ third, is expected to be around $50 million. Partners to enable more connections

This fund is a little different, as founders Anand Lunia and Madhukar Sinha will be the general partners, and Prerna Bhutani, Gagan Goyal will form the investment team investing across sectors with a focus on social media, fintech, niche marketplaces and smart devices in healthcare and edutainment.
“Instead of finding entrepreneurs that need mentoring, we try to find companies that don’t need any mentoring and we are just assisting them financially,” says Lunia who sees himself to Tendulkar’s first coach instead of hand-holding the talent to success, which is the case with most investors.

Advising start-ups to think back to why they started, instead of pivoting their business after every business meeting, Lunia said that they don’t meddle with their investments as they feel that it limits their growth and head-space, something that stops them from reaching the potential.